Song female man

After saying this, the three people who stopped Shunniang hesitated even more, even the strong man in the lead showed hesitation, he turned his head and asked the two men behind: "What do you think?"

The two men glanced at each other, didn't speak, just threw the wooden stick in their hands to the side of the road.

Now, the strong man in the lead understood what they meant. He turned around, glanced at the wooden stick in his hand, and followed the example of the two men behind him, throwing the wooden stick in his hand by the side of the road, and then Xiang Shunniang clasped her fists and said, "My brothers would like to make friends with you, but I don't know what to call you?"

Shunniang smiled slightly, thinking that she knew it would end up like this, so she also bowed her hands to those people, and replied, "My surname is Xi, and I rank second. I don't know how to call the brothers?"

The leading man said that his surname was Lei, and he was the eldest in the family. The two men behind him were both surnamed Lei. One of them was his own brother, who was the third in the family, and the other was his cousin, Lei Liulang.

It turned out that they were all relatives, both surnamed Lei, no wonder they came to Jiedao together as companions.

After Shunniang found out what these people's surnames were, she wanted to find out more about them, and who else in Heshan was as robbed as they were, and even wanted to know if they knew there were still people on the road from Jincheng Town to Bianliang City. Whoever robbed them warmly invited them to go to Jincheng Town for a drink and then talk in detail.

The three of Lei Dalang got together to discuss again, and finally agreed that Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang would go with Shunniang, while Lei Liulang would not go, but went back to the coal mine where they were mining.

Shunniang saw that they left one person behind, so she knew that the three of them were cautious. They were afraid that Shunniang would coax the three brothers to go to Jincheng Town by envoy Shunniang, and then find someone to take them down. They were caught, but if one person was left behind, even if Shunniang tricked them into arresting them, the remaining one would escape. If Shuniang really came to Heshan to buy coal, she would probably encounter Lei Liulang's revenge, saying Maybe he will invite someone to snatch Shunniang. At that time, the enemy will be very jealous when they meet, and Shunniang will have something to do.

Shunniang could understand that they were holding back. She felt that if she was in Lei Dalang's group, she would probably do the same.

So, she didn't take it seriously, and invited Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang to go to Jincheng Town with her and Heiwa, but she and Heiwa each had only one donkey, and Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang needed to go on foot.

Lei Dalang said that the more than 30 miles is nothing at all. He and his brother can walk like flying on the mountain road, let alone flat land.

So Shunniang and Heiwa rode donkeys in front, followed by Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang. When it was dark, they arrived at Jincheng Town at about the end of the unitary hour (seven o'clock in the evening). After coming down, he led the two of them to a hotel to sit down, drink and eat.

After spending more than 100 Wen, they ordered food and wine, and Shunniang sat down with Heiwa, Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang, and discussed future cooperation plans while eating wine, and got to know each other better by the way.

From Lei Dalang's mouth, Shunniang knew that the three brothers were from a place called Leijia Village in the depths of Heshan Mountain. Their village lived together, and most of the villagers were named Lei, and they were related to each other. , There are about 200 people in a village.Because it is located in the depths of Mount Heshan, the land is barren, there is no reliable water, and there is no large area of ​​forest for hunting. Therefore, most of the villagers are poor. In times of disaster, there will be no harvest, and the men in the village will go out to work for others. make money.

In the past, the men in the village often went to Bianliang City to look for work, earn some money to buy rice and salt, and lived in poverty.

Since coal was dug out of Heshan and someone came here to mine coal, the men in Leijia Village basically went to the coal kiln to mine to earn money to support their families.It's just that digging coal is extremely hard, and it's also very dangerous. If you don't do it well, you will be injured and killed by the stones in the coal kiln.In the past year or so, several villagers who went to dig coal in Leijia Village have died. The mine owners who died only had to pay dozens of pennies, and the money was not enough to lift the family out of poverty.But to support their families, even if everyone knows that the work of digging coal is hard and dangerous, they still have to do it.The main reason is that mining in Heshan is closer to home after all, and it is more convenient for them to go back.He also said that recently the three brothers came out to rob Dao because their mother was seriously ill and had no money for medical treatment, so he brought two brothers out to do this illegal thing. They robbed two people before they met Shun Niang, I got a few hundred coins and a donkey, but the income was only about twenty pennies, which was divided among the three of them.

However, even though some money was robbed, many were frightened, because some government servants came here to search. Fortunately, they fled back to Leijia Village, and they were not found.After several months, seeing the calm, they came out to do this robbery again. The main reason is that the money obtained by robbery came easily, and they couldn't help being tempted. this.

However, after listening to Shunniang's words, they came to their senses and realized that if something happened in this business, the family would have no food and clothing, and their windfall would not last long.Lei Dalang also said that he believed Shunniang because he saw her appearance and sincerity, and followed her to Jincheng Town.

Shunniang pursed her lips and smiled, and shook her hands and said that Lei Dalang had praised him absurdly. Since the three brothers knew their way back, she would tell the two of her plans and arrangements.

She told them that she would come back to Jincheng Town in about half a month, and then the Lei brothers would come to this hotel to wait for her, and then they would buy charcoal with her and transport the charcoal.Each time there are about nine guans, the three brothers will share them.Moreover, she asked Lei Dalang to rest assured that she would not lie to him, because she was determined to do this charcoal business.

Lei Dalang said: "If our brothers didn't believe you, we wouldn't come to Jincheng Town with you. Since Second Brother Xi said to come here at this time next month, I will bring my brothers here to wait for you."

Shunniang nodded, and after drinking a bowl of wine, she asked Lei Dalang again whether there were other people in Heshan besides the three brothers who did such a robbery.

Lei Dalang told Shunniang that apart from the three brothers, there were a few people in Leijia Village who had no money and would occasionally do robbery. This was because there were coal diggers and businessmen who came to buy coal in Heshan. Only then did this kind of thing happen.In addition to people from Leijia Village who do this, there is also a person from Xijia Village who occasionally does this business.That Xijia Village is also located in the innermost village of Heshan, similar to Leijia Village.He asked Shunniang to rest assured that as long as the three brothers guarded the car for Shunniang, no one would dare to rob Shunniang of charcoal, and no one would dare to rob Shunniang, because the three brothers knew those people. Tell the officials, but they know their surnames and where they live, and they will catch them as soon as the officials send them.

"Well, I heard that there were people robbing the road between Bianliang and Jincheng Town recently, so do you know who those people are?" Shun Niang continued to ask.

Lei Dalang: "Which people are probably not from our Heshan, because our brothers have never heard of people from Leijia Village and Xijia Village leaving Heshan to rob the road outside. They are not so courageous. Because I know the mountain roads of Heshan very well, I can run back to the village immediately. It is not easy to catch the officials. But if I go outside, one accidentally has an accident, where will I escape? But I am not sure, after all The strongman who robbed the road between Jincheng Town and Bianliang City was only after the excavation of the coal mine. Why, did Second Brother Xi also encounter someone who robbed the road between Bianliang and Jincheng Town?"

Shunniang shook her head: "That's not true, I just heard someone say it, and I don't know if it's true."

Lei Dalang: "It's true. My brother and I have also heard about it, but I heard that these people are far more daring than us. They have done it a dozen times in the past half a year. When the Yamen came to search, they also searched everywhere. No. I really suspect that some of this group of people know people from the government and know when the Yamen who arrest them will come and when they will leave."

Shunniang: "Well, I think so too...fortunately, in the future, my charcoal boat will go by water, so I won't be able to touch them, otherwise they would really be a hindrance, but those merchants who sell small things from Jincheng Town It’s bound to be frustrating.”

When she said this, Shunniang inexplicably thought of the Chen Dalang brothers who were in the spice business. The spices they bought were low-volume and high-priced goods. This category also included various jewelry, rouge, powder, medicinal materials, etc.Thinking about it this way, she seemed to understand the reason why Brother Chen Dalang wanted to go with her and Heiwa, and wondered to herself, was she too suspicious to refuse the warm invitation of Brother Chen Dalang?

Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang then also asked about Shunniang's personal situation, and Shunniang told them that it was not important, but she didn't say that she lived in Yangliu Town, but a town not far from Yangliu Town Zhang's family lives in the town, and she is also engaged in the seed business, and now she wants to do charcoal business.

For Lei Dalang and Lei Sanlang who were once robbers, Shunniang did not fully trust her, so her words were half true and half false. She thought, maybe Lei Dalang brothers also said the same way?Also, she doesn't think she will get to know the Lei family brothers well in the future. They will criticize her if they know their real situation.

After dinner and dinner, Shunniang paid two hundred Wen to Lei's brothers and told them to find a place to stay and go back tomorrow morning. As for herself and Heiwa going to stay at a friend's house, she would not go with them.

The Lei family brothers took the money and thanked them, and then separated from Shunniang and Heiwa, and went to find a place to live. Shunniang and Heiwa came out and got on the donkey, and rode away on the donkey. The inn in the middle of town.

Seeing that no brothers from the Lei family came behind, Hei Wa asked Shunniang if she believed what the brothers from the Lei family said, and he thought it was inappropriate for Shunniang to turn these robbers into bodyguards. Heshan, she didn't ask him to fight out of the siege with her and return to Jincheng Town. He said that if he really fought, he and Shun Niang would not be defeated. After his father died of illness, he paid homage to Xie Yi as his master to learn how to butcher pigs, but he never forgot his fists and kicks, he would beat him every night when he went to bed and every morning when he got up early.

Shunniang looked Heiwa up and down, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to be able to punch, but you never told me about it."

Heiwa patted her head foolishly: "I don't like to talk on weekdays. I just do what the master told me to do. Later, I sold seeds with you. I did what you told me to do, and you never asked me." , how can I tell you."

Shunniang laughed loudly, and then said: "Hei Wa, you are really hiding your secrets! But even if I know how many fists and kicks you have, I won't ask you to fight them back."

Hei Wa asked, "Why?"

Shunniang said: "Because I have already seen that they are hired laborers digging coal on Heshan Mountain, not strong men who specialize in robbery. Such people should come out to robbery because of life. Let's repel them and rush out , unless you don’t come to Heshan to buy coal in the future, you will inevitably meet these people again. Since they dig coal on this mountain, they are of course more familiar with the terrain of this place than us. Next time they seek personal revenge, they In the dark, if we are in the light, we may suffer a big loss. Not to mention that we will travel frequently between Heshan and Bianliang in the future. If they and others follow our charcoal convoy, Not to mention grabbing charcoal, even pushing a few big rocks on the road to stop the convoy from moving forward will also delay a lot of things. I thought about it, instead of so many troubles and hidden dangers, it is better to buy them off and let them They helped me transport the charcoal and gave them some benefits, so that our charcoal transport convoy and our people who came to buy charcoal were safe. Later, they were really persuaded by me and agreed to my proposal."

After hearing this, Hei Wa let out a "huh", but he still had doubts, so he continued to ask: "Second brother, they need nine pennies to help us guard the charcoal convoy once. Is this too much? You also said I have heard that in the beginning, it is not bad to earn [-] guan each time, but this [-] guan money means that the money you earn is cut in half at once. Their money is too easy to get, and you It’s not worth it to spend such a lot of planning and running around, but in the end half of the income was shared by the brothers of the Lei family. I was afraid that what the brothers of the Lei family said was not true. If they cheated you, since they got your money, they would not Help me well, what do you do?"

Shunniang: "I also thought of what you said later, so after I go back this time, I want to ask Shitou to go to Leijia Village, ask him to find out if there are three Leijia brothers in Leijia Village, and go to Xi'an Jiacun, let’s see if it is consistent with what Lei Dalang said. If it is true what the Lei brothers said, I will use them with confidence. If something is wrong, I have to go to Heshan to buy coal in the future, and I will hire some people who can fight people go together."

"Second brother, I still have a layer of worry, I don't know if I should speak or not?" Hei Wa said again.

"Say."

"Since the brothers from the Lei family have robbed other merchants, if they are used by you and later recognized by the merchant they robbed, what if you go to the government to accuse you of being associated with robbers?"

"Don't talk about it, you really talked about the only worry in my heart. I want to ask the brothers of the Chen family what their thoughts are when I meet with the brothers next time. If they also know that it is not appropriate, they will I retreated despite the difficulties, and I won’t resent me when the time comes. No matter what, we only spent more than 300 Wen this time, and returned from Heshan safely. We also know who is robbing in Heshan. When you go, you can be prepared.”

"Second brother is right. No matter what, we didn't have any accidents this trip. It's not bad to spend a little money to return to Jincheng safely."

The two men rode their donkeys forward while talking, and when they reached the inn in the middle of Jincheng Town, it was already around the end of the fifth hour (nine o'clock in the evening). Back to the room to wash and sleep.

On the second day, I got up early, had breakfast, and took my donkey to the wharf in the southwest of Jincheng Town to see what kind of goods were in the warehouses along the river. I asked how many cargo ships of all sizes on the wharf could carry. How much is the freight for Bianliang?

After some research, Shunniang found that the shipping cost of these cargo ships was similar to what she estimated, but generally speaking, the larger the shipping volume, the lower the shipping cost when converted to each catty of coal.

After making this clear, Shunniang went to the warehouse by the pier that sells silk and satin, and bought a few bolts of flimsy fabrics, planning to take them back home and give them a share to the mother, old lady, sister-in-law, and mother-in-law Wu. Also make some summer dresses.

Heiwa and Shunniang were wrapping the purchased silk in linen and tying it to the donkey, when suddenly a familiar voice with a smile came from beside him: "Oh, brother Xi, brother Heiwa, I didn't expect us to be here We met again here, what a fate!"

Both Shunniang and Heiwa had the impression of this voice. When they turned their heads to look, they saw that it was Chen Dalang who broke up in Jincheng Town the night before, and behind him was Chen Erlang. Their donkeys also carried some bags. The pockets smell of rich spices.

Shunniang smiled and bowed to him and said, "Brother Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Then he asked if they had already bought the cheap spices.

Chen Dalang nodded and said yes, he said that he and his brother met acquaintances, and it took two days to get all the goods they bought, and today they planned to take the cargo ship by the pier back to Bianliang City.

Shunniang saw the goods on the big black donkey they were leading, and then thought of the fact that they wanted to go with her and Heiwa the day before yesterday, so she understood that they had bought goods, and she was even more afraid of encountering some strongman. Therefore, I would rather have a donkey than sit on it, but spend money to go back by boat.

She asked: "Brother Chen, how much does it cost and how long does it take you to take the boat back to Bianliang City?"

Chen Dalang: "There are more than 70 miles of waterway. My brother, I and our donkeys and goods cost [-] Wen, and it takes two hours. If there are no strong men who rob the road, we are naturally willing to save the [-] Wen. Go back on your own donkey, hey... don't talk about it, I don't know if the two brothers will go back by boat with us?"

Shunniang didn't hesitate, and quickly agreed.

Hei Wa was a little hesitant, he asked Shunniang in a low voice, is it because he met Lei Dalang and the other three from Heshan, and now he is afraid, afraid that he will ride a donkey back and meet a strongman before coming out to rob?He also said that the silk and satin that Shunniang and he bought were not worth much, and it was not worth spending eight hundred cash in this way.If he encounters a strong person, he can deal with it.

In fact, Shunniang was reluctant to spend [-] Wen, but she was a cautious character, and felt that if she could buy peace with money, it would not be considered a waste of money.Besides, going back to Bianliang City by boat with the two Chen family brothers, she could observe the situation along the river and know what wharves berth cargo ships and places to eat and rest on this waterway, which would be beneficial for her to transport coal in the future.

After making up her mind, Shunniang told Heiwa that she would tell him why she did this when she boarded the boat.

So after Shunniang and Heiwa tied all the silk and satin they had bought to the donkey, they followed Chen Dalang and Chen Erlang onto a half-loaded boat by the river, and gave the owner eight hundred cash. At that time, the boat owner asked someone to take their donkeys aside and tie them up, and brought them a few stools, let them sit down, and then ordered the boatmen to start the boat.

The Chen family brothers talked happily with Shunniang and Heiwa on the boat, and Shunniang learned about the shipping situation between Jincheng Town and Bianliang City from the mouths of the two of them, and thus learned about the shipping industry. It is also a profitable business, but because she is a traveler, she knows that the coal business has greater business opportunities than the shipping industry, so she just listens.She was more interested in what the two brothers told her about the docks along the coast where boats could be parked and the places where she could eat and rest, and she also remembered these places.

At the hottest time of noon, the cargo ship they took arrived at a wharf in Bianliang City, and the four of them took their donkeys to get off the boat. The Chen brothers said goodbye to Shunniang and Heiwa, and Chen Dalang also gave Shunniang a few small bags of spices. She took it back and used it for her wife to fumigate or add to the incense burner. As for Shun Niang, she didn't have much to give away, but she found out where the Chen brothers lived in this city, and said that when she was free Definitely go visit them.

The Chen family brothers readily agreed and left.

Shunniang and Heiwa led the donkeys to a foot shop near Tianshui Lane at this time, where Shitou and others had dinner and met after delivering the bean sprouts.

If you are lucky, you should be able to meet Shitou and Qu Dalang, Shunniang thought, if you meet, we can have a meal together, and she also wants to ask the two of them about the delivery of bean sprouts when she is away these few days.

I don't know if her luck is really good. Just when she and Hei Wa left the pier with their donkeys and walked along the street for a short time, an ox cart drove up from behind, and the ox cart passed by. When she was beside Mother, she stopped suddenly, and someone lifted the curtain of the car and shouted in surprise: "Xi Er!"

Shunniang turned her head after hearing the words, and saw the charming and charming Sister Song Yu in the large ox cart pulled by two oxen, she opened the curtain and looked at her.

"...Sister..." Shunniang was stunned for a while, then laughed, and happily called Sister Song Yu, and then asked knowingly, "Have you returned from Jiangnan?"

Sister Song Yu had a smile on her lips and said, "Xi Er, aren't you a knowing consultant?"

Shunniang smiled sheepishly, and continued: "It's good for my sister to come back, I will visit you at my sister's place someday, and ask for a bowl of good tea."

Sister Song Yu curled her lips together and smiled lightly: "Okay, I've got good tea again when I go to Jiangnan. I'm looking forward to your coming to drink! You must come!"

Shunniang was about to talk to her, but a beautiful face appeared in the window exposed by the curtain lifted by Sister Song Yu. She glanced at Shunniang, tugged at Sister Song Yu's sleeve, and said in a low voice, "Let's go, you I didn't see Xi Er standing there talking, he was so sunburned, it doesn't look like you are sitting in a car and relaxing."

Only then did Sister Song Yu notice Shun Niang's dusty appearance, it seemed that she hadn't seen her for several months, and her complexion had turned yellow again. Just now, she only focused on her eyebrows and eyes, which still made her like it in her heart.

Hey, she sighed slightly in her heart, could it be that, as ordinary people say, what is not available is the best, the most unbearable and the most memorable.

Even after going to Jiangnan for nearly half a year, she thought she would forget about Shunniang, but when she returned to Bianliang, she would still be genuinely happy and excited when she saw that person's figure, and when she looked back at herself, she felt hot.