The first Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty

In the early morning of the second day, after Zhong Wen and his sister got up, they went to the edge of the forest to gather firewood, while Xiu had already gone to work in the fields.

But at this moment in Lizhou City, Zhong Mugen carried a load and walked quickly to the north gate of the city. Fortunately, the load was not heavy, otherwise, it would not be too fast.

Zhong Mugen stayed in a dilapidated earthen house not far from the north of Lizhou City last night. In fact, he had already arrived near Lizhou City yesterday evening. He did not dare to spend the night in Lizhou City because he had no money with him. , not to mention that there is a curfew in the city at night.

Zhong Mugen carried the burden through the city gate, entered the city, and walked cheerfully towards the market that sells things.

In his mind, he was thinking of selling these things as soon as possible, so that he could quickly buy some food, and he could rush home while it was still early.

Coming to Fangshi in Dongcheng, Dongcheng is the most prosperous place, much better than other places.

In this area of ​​Dongcheng, apart from the square market, there are also many shops along the street.

"Excellent mushrooms, hare fur, please come and have a look."

Zhong Mugen stood beside the two baskets and began to sell them loudly. Although it sounded awkward, to Zhong Mugen, these were all food, so he dared not be careless.

"Get out your fur and have a look."

A well-dressed middle-aged man heard the cries, approached Zhong Mugen, and asked, followed by a young man with a basket in his hand.

"Guest officer, look, these furs are quite complete. I still have 45 hare furs in this load."

Zhong Mugen quickly took out a few hare furs from the basket, held them and spread them out in his hands, so that the guest officer could take a good look at them.

"Well, it's not bad, but the fur of the wild rabbit is worthless. I'll give you seven hundred coins and sell this fur to me."

The middle-aged man did not directly touch the fur in Zhong Mugen's hand. This is also a rule. Buyers will not touch things that have not been agreed upon. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain clearly if something happens.

"Guest officer, all 45 of my furs are complete, but the [-] texts are a little short, how about the [-] texts?"

Although Zhong Mugen doesn't know the market price very well, he still knows the integrity of the fur. As long as there is some damage, the price must be greatly reduced.

"None of the 45 sheets are damaged? That's not bad at all, let's say nine hundred words."

The middle-aged man heard Zhong Mugen say that the 45 furs were not damaged, so they were really not worth 45 Wen, but in his eyes, [-] intact hare furs could earn him two pennies no matter what.

"Thank you, guest officer, here are 45 hare furs tied up, guest officer, please count them."

After Zhong Mugen heard this, he was overjoyed. Nine hundred Wen is enough for the family to spend a lot of money.

"This is [-] Wen, you take it well, and you will get both money and goods."

After counting the furs, the middle-aged man confirmed that there was no problem. He took nine hundred cash from the young man behind him and handed it to Zhong Mugen.

Zhong Mugen, who took the copper coin, looked at the quality and counted it, and after confirming that there was no problem, he thanked the middle-aged man loudly, and the middle-aged man left immediately.

Zhong Mu hurriedly put the nine hundred Wen coins strung together into the basket, as if someone would snatch them away, but in this market, no one would dare to rob money so blatantly.

For Zhong Mugen, he had never seen nine hundred Wen coins since he was a child, not to mention nine hundred Wen coins, even one hundred Wen coins, he had rarely seen them.

I thought about how much grain to buy back, but I didn't know the price of the grain at this time, so I had to come to my senses and think about selling the dried mushrooms in the basket as soon as possible.

Although there are only two large baskets of dried mushrooms, they are not heavy, at most only thirty or forty catties, and there are more than half of them left at home.

"Excellent dried mushrooms, does anyone want one?"

Zhong Mugen suppressed the excitement in his heart, shouted and sold dried mushrooms, hoping that these dried mushrooms would be taken away as his son said.

"What's the price of your dried mushrooms? How do you sell them?"

An elderly man came to Zhong Mugen, looked at the dried mushrooms in the basket, and took one to taste.

"Guest officer, this is also the first time I've picked and sold it. The Taoist priest in the Taoist temple said that we can sell it for some money, so we picked some back."

Zhong Mugen didn't dare to say that it was Zhong Wen who said it, but thinking about what the Taoist priest in the Taoist temple said, it must be better than other people's names.

"Well, the mushrooms are pretty good, and they're big too. Your load probably weighs nearly forty catties. How about I give you six hundred Wen?"

The old man looked at the load of dried mushrooms. They were of good quality and big in size, so they could be used for a long time.

"Okay, okay, thank you, sir."

Hearing the six hundred Wen, Zhong Mugen was even more happy to jump up. In the past, these mushrooms were just picked for taste, but he never thought that his son would sell them for money if they were dried. He just picked it up and tried it. He really didn't expect that less than [-] catties of dried mushrooms could be exchanged for [-] Wen. This is really a big trap hanging from the sky.

"Then you pick and follow me." After the old man finished speaking, he walked forward, and Zhong Mu hurriedly picked up the basket and followed him.

After coming to the backyard of a shop selling groceries, the old man got two baskets to let Zhong Mugen free.

After the handover was over, there were already [-] Wen in the basket. Of course, the two bowls of salt at the bottom were not counted, and I don't know if anyone wanted it.

Zhong Mugen, who was overjoyed, thanked his father, and then went out of the backyard of the shop with baskets, and came to the main street.

Zhong Mugen was thinking about how to sell these two bowls of salt, and wanted to see if he could exchange some money to buy more grain.

But regarding the sale of salt, Zhong Mugen didn’t know anything about it. It was because of these two bowls of salt that he was beaten. This is also the reason why Zhong Wen read few history books. , Salt and iron are either monopolized by the imperial court or a monopoly, how can it be possible for private individuals to sell salt.

Picking up two empty baskets of Zhong Mugen, he returned to the square market, brought out two bowls of salt from the baskets covered with thatch, and started selling them directly.

"I have extra high-quality table salt, does anyone want it?"

What Zhong Mu yelled directly woke up many people in Fangshi, they looked at Zhong Mugen as if they were looking at a fool, but Zhong Mugen also looked at other people like they were looking at a fool.

"Who dares to sell salt here in private."

A middle-aged strong man with a beard and three companions ran over when they heard someone selling illegal salt, but they saw a farmer holding two bowls of salt in his hands. The blue-gray crystals were undoubtedly table salt .

"You dare to sell private salt in this square market, saying, who ordered you?"

The strong man pointed at Zhong Mugen and asked loudly, which frightened Zhong Mugen at a loss.

At this time, Zhong Mugen didn't know why?Why can't homemade salt be sold?

"Brother, these salts are the hares I hunted, and I exchanged them from the Taoist priest in the Taoist temple. The family ran out of food, so I thought of selling some hare furs and dried mushrooms, as well as these two bowls of salt, so I can exchange them. Food back."

Zhong Mugen looked at the ferocious four people in front of him, and quickly opened his mouth to defend, so as not to cause any misunderstanding.

"Don't you know that this table salt is a specialty of my Wang's shop? How dare you come to this market to sell your table salt and give me a shot."

The middle-aged strong man completely ignored Zhong Mugen's justification, waved his hand, and ordered his three companions to do it.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting, ah, ah, ah."

The three of them punched and kicked Zhong Mugen at the same time, and the two bowls of salt fell to the ground.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the three of them passed their hands, and then they stopped, but at this time, Zhong Mugen was already covered in bruises, with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and his head was cut several times, and some blood flowed out.

Zhong Mugen arched his body, hugged his head, lay on the ground, moaning silently, no one came to dissuade him, and likewise, no one came to help Zhong Mugen, let alone a yamen servant to stop him.

"Hmph, do you still dare to sell private salt in this square market in the future?"

The middle-aged strong man looked at Zhong Mugen in this way, but his eyes stared at Zhong Mugen fiercely, took a sip, and then left.

But before leaving again, he turned over the two baskets and saw the [-] Wen coins in the baskets. Although he was slanderous, he didn't dare to take it away in front of everyone, so he sighed and left. .

"My little brother, I can't sell this salt even if it's too much. In the future, you must remember that this Wang's shop is not something everyone can afford."

An old man, after watching the four thugs leave, helped up the wounded Zhong Mugen, and gave a soft warning.

"Thank you old man, I see."

After being supported by the old man, Zhong Mugen stretched out his arms with difficulty, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stroked the blood from his face and head, and thanked the old man.

But Zhong Mugen's body was in great pain. After being beaten for such a long time, it was inevitable that his body would suffer some kind of injury. As for whether the bones and inner palace were injured, it is not known for the time being.

After a while, Zhong Mugen struggled to get up from the ground, picked up two bowls, put them back in the basket, picked up the burden, and staggered away from the market.

Every step he took, the pain in his body made Zhong Mugen clenched his teeth, frowning, enduring the pain in his body, and slowly walked towards the grain store.

Regarding the matter of being beaten just now, I can only swallow it in my stomach. How dare a peasant family fight with people in this city? Zhong Mugen was afraid that he would buy food and go back. Forbearance, but I can only go to the grain store to have a look first.

Chapter 33 Worry

It took a full half an hour to drag Zhong Mugen, who was covered in bruises, before he arrived near the entrance of the grain store. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the grain store, his appearance really shocked the staff of the grain store.

Originally it was only a quarter of an hour's journey, but Zhong Mugen endured the pain and still came to the door of the grain store resolutely, in order to quickly buy some grain and go back to solve the problem of food shortage at home.

"Guest officer, this is..."

The clerk at the grain shop saw Zhong Mugen coming to the door carrying a load, apparently to buy grain, but he had never seen such a person come to buy grain before, so he asked.

"Brother, it's okay."

Zhong Mugen knew that his current state was not very good, and he was indeed a bit embarrassed, but in his heart, he just wanted to buy some food.

"Guest officer, let me get you a bowl of water to drink, you can take a rest for a while."

The clerk entered the backyard of the store, brought Zhong Mugen a bowl of water, and brought it over. He looked at the man in front of him, and didn't know what happened. He seemed to be beaten. Even if he is pure, he won't be blown away just because of Zhong Mugen's appearance.

"Thank you brother."

Zhong Mugen took the water and drank it. After drinking the water, Zhong Mugen regained a little energy.

"Brother, do you dare to ask how the food is sold?"

After drinking the water, Zhong Mugen asked the clerk, hoping that the usual [-] yuan he earned today would be enough to buy some food, so he could go back quickly, but he didn't care about his injuries now.

"This guest official, the low-grade rice is [-] renminbi a stone, the middle-class rice is [-] renminbi, and the high-grade rice is [-] renminbi."

The clerk looked at Zhong Mugen, and if he could come to the grain store, he must come to buy grain, but he was really worried about whether Zhong Mu could pick him back.

"Brother, then give me a stone of low-grade rice, my basket should be enough."

Zhong Mugen listened to the price of grain in the mouth of the clerk, and estimated the cost of the family in his heart. The low-grade rice at a stone would be enough for the family to get through the current dilapidated days.

"Guest officer, can you move a stone of rice with your appearance?"

The waiter looked at the baskets on both sides, and found that a stone of rice could hold it, but as for the guest officer in front of him, he didn't know whether he could pick it back.

"Brother, I can pick it up, thank you."

Zhong Mugen wanted to buy food and go home as soon as possible. For this city, he really didn't want to stay for a quarter of an hour. Although his injury was a little painful, he could pick it up if he gritted his teeth.

The farmers in Puai are like this. No matter how far the journey is, how hard it is, how tiring, as long as you have faith in your heart, everything will become much simpler.

The clerk stopped talking and went into the store to weigh the rice. Zhong Mugen got up, went into the store, and watched the clerk weigh the rice.

Inferior rice is bound to be not very good. It is almost the same as what is eaten at home. It needs to be picked and removed to remove some impurities before it can be cooked.

The clerk poured the weighed rice into two baskets equally, but Zhong Mugen carried up the copper coins and a hare wrapped in big leaves from the bottom of the baskets.

"Guest officer, this rice has been packed for you, try to see if you can move it."

"Brother, don't worry, I can pick it up, here is five hundred Wen, you take it, thank you."

Zhong Mugen counted five hundred Wen and handed it to the clerk, thanking the grain store clerk in his heart.

The clerk didn't say anything more. After receiving the copper coins, he watched the man in front of him leave the grain store with a stone of rice, but he began to miss his father in his heart. Just like this man, he was simple and pure.

The weight of a stone of rice pressed on Zhong Mugen's body, which made his injured body a little unbearable, but thinking of his wife and children at home drinking a bowl of gruel, he had inexhaustible strength all over his body.

Not too far away, just passing by a shop selling cloth, Zhong Mugen put down his burden and entered the shop with copper coins in his arms.

"Guest officer, what kind of cloth should I buy?"

When a clerk in the cloth shop saw a guest officer coming in, he hurried forward to ask a question.

"Brother, how much copper is needed for five feet of coarse cloth?"

After Zhong Mugen entered the cloth shop, he was thinking about how much cloth would be needed to make some clothes for his wife and children, so he asked the clerk.

"One foot of rough cloth is one hundred Wen, and five feet is five hundred Wen. However, today we have a discount. Buy seven feet and get one free. Guest officer, do you want to buy some cloth?"

The man looked at Zhong Mugen, and didn't know why the man in front of him looked like this, but he took a fancy to the copper coin he held in his hand.

"My little brother said just now that you buy seven feet and get one free, but is it true?"

Zhong Mugen listened to the man's words, and calculated the price in his mind. With the remaining copper coins, he could buy some rough cloth to go home, but he must be happy to hear that the man said that he would buy seven feet and get one free. ah.

"Guest officer, buy seven feet and get one free. This store will never deceive customers."

The clerk responded firmly and confidently to Zhong Mugen, as for whether this man is willing to buy more, I think there is no problem, as for the copper coins held by the man in front of him, there are at least regular money.

"Brother, please measure seven feet of coarse cloth for me, but you have to give me one foot."

Zhong Mugen made up his mind, gave away one foot every seven feet, thinking it was enough to make some clothes for his wife and children.

Zhong Mugen, who had finished buying the cloth, went on the road again with a burden, but he was thinking about whether he could buy a good knife with the remaining three hundred Wen, but he remembered that the villagers said that a good knife , it would cost one or two copper coins, so he gave up his idea.

Carrying a stone of rice, he walked towards the north gate of the city with difficulty, thinking that he had to go home quickly. At night, he rushed to a cave on the way, where he could just sleep overnight, and he could return home tomorrow.

At this time, Zhong Wen's family had already had breakfast and Xiu had gone to work in the fields, while Zhong Wen's brother and sister went to the wilderness to look for hares.

"Brother, brother, come quickly and see what this is?"

Xiao Hua came to a sling, but saw an unknown prey hanging on the sling, calling out to Zhong Wen at another place.