North and South groceries

Luo Yong was going to see Hassan, but when he reached the gate of the county government office, he saw two cannibals talking to the guards guarding the gate of the county government office.

"But the Hassan caravan?" Luo Yong asked them.

"Exactly." The two big cannibals also bowed their hands to Luo Yong like the Han people.

"I'm just going to find him, let's go there together." Luo raised his hand to signal for them to lead the way.

"County magistrate, please." A big cannibal said.

Just as Luo Yong was about to leave, County Captain Guo Fenglai hurried out of the county office: "Why don't I go with the county magistrate?"

"Then you can come too." Luo Yong said cheerfully.

The four of them walked on the street and met Qiao Junlin who was walking towards him. Qiao Junlin asked them where they were going. Luo Yong said to see Hassan, and Qiao Junlin said he would go with him.

"In that case, County Captain Guo won't go. In the past two days, merchants from Gaochang have come and gone to and from Changle County. The affairs inside and outside of this place are always inseparable from County Captain Guo. It's not a big deal on my side. Qiao Dalang is with me. That's fine." Luo Yong turned to Guo Feng.

Guo Fenglai hesitated for a moment, then hugged Luo Yong and retreated.

Luo Yong and the others continued to move forward. Guo Fenglai stood at the corner of the street and took a look in the direction they left. His eyes fell on the saber on Qiao Junlin's waist.

Qiao Junlin has been mostly at the wine shop these days, sometimes going in and out of Changle Academy, rarely going out of the city, and not wearing a sword every day.

Today he actually put on this big knife again. I don't know if it's because he had quarreled with those big cannibals before, so he was wary when he heard about their arrival this time, or he had expected Luo Yong to go at this time. Seeing Hassan, he got ready early and waited here specially.

Guo Fenglai was dispatched to Changle County this time, not just for the post of county lieutenant, he was also the eyeliner arranged by the superiors around Luo Yong.

At this time, Guo Fenglai inevitably had to think about whether Luo Yong and Qiao Junlin had any agreement with the big food merchant Jia Hassan that outsiders did not know, so they could not let Guo Fenglai accompany them this time.

Guo Fenglai is right to think so. In fact, the last time Luo Yong had a meeting with Hassan and others, a small part of the content was conducted by Luo Yong and Hassan alone.

The person Luo was waiting for all these days was Hassan, and he was waiting for Hassan to bring him something from the Arabian Peninsula.

"Did you bring what I want?" After meeting Hassan, Luo Yong asked Hassan just after they sat down.

"But this thing?" Hassan took out a few white cotton balls from his pocket and put them on the Kang table.

Luo picked up a cotton ball, twisted it gently with his fingers, then peeled it off with both hands, and took out a few fluffy cotton seeds inside.

—Yes, this is cotton.

"How many are there in total?" Luo Yong asked him.

"..." Hassan glanced at the entourage beside him, the tall and strong cannibal quickly left the house, and after a while, he came in with a bag, followed by several people, each shoulder They all carried a bulging big sack on their shoulders.

"But enough?" Hassan asked Luo Yongdao.

"I want to inspect the goods first." Luo Yong said.

"You test it." Hassan signaled these people to open the sack, and asked Luo Yong to examine it carefully.

There are six bags of cotton balls with cotton seeds in total, and there is another bag of cotton seeds weighing about ten catties.

Luo Yong read it and felt that there was no problem, so he took out a neatly folded hemp paper from his sleeve and handed it to Hassan.

"Is this method feasible?" Hassan asked Luo Yongdao after reading the content on the paper.

"Just give it a try, if you encounter any problems, just come to me again." Luo Yong said with a smile.

Coming out of the inn where Hassan and the others stayed, Luo Yong recruited a few servants and asked them to move the cotton seeds back to the county government office, and then ordered some white wine to be delivered from the wine shop.

About ten days later, Hassan came to bid farewell to Luo Yong, and then the group of them, ignoring the cold winter, headed to Gaochang Kingdom despite the wind and snow.

Going from Gaochang to Dashi, although it takes a long detour, fortunately, there is no need to cross the desert, which is relatively safe.

When they left, they bought some liquor from the wine shop in the county, and bought as many needles as possible. A caravan composed of 30 people had only a dozen or so camels with goods on their backs. It's easy to pack.

These big cannibals sat on the backs of the camels, looking behind them from time to time, with worried expressions on their faces.

"Hassan, do you think those Han people will come after them?" Someone couldn't help asking Hassan.

They exchanged cotton seeds from the young man in Zhongyuan for the method of making canned food. They have been experimenting with this method for the past few days and it is indeed feasible.

As for the eucommia glue needed to make canned food, they have bought a lot from Han merchants before, and it was originally intended to be used for shoe soles. Use part of the eucommia gum used for shoe soles as cans, and then let those large and small caravans continue to buy eucommia gum from the East.

The prescription given to them by the county magistrate named Luo Yong is indeed feasible, but what about the cotton they gave each other?

Of course, they didn't tamper with those cotton seeds, but the output of this kind of stuff is not high, and with the climate of Datang, it is probably only suitable for planting in the Hexi area. The most important problem is that the processing of this cotton is particularly troublesome However, the process of peeling cotton seeds alone is very labor-intensive. A woman can only peel a small handful of cotton after working hard for a whole day.

Therefore, cotton cloth is quite expensive, more expensive than linen, and not as gorgeous as silk. It is hard for them to imagine that Changle County Magistrate can use this thing. Maybe he just heard a few words from the merchants and thought that cotton It is a very good thing, just like some people on Dashi who have never seen the world often regard some originally worthless things produced in other countries as treasures.

And there is another thing, none of them mentioned to Luo Yong, that is, in a small country next to the commercial road not too far from Changle County, there are people who grow cotton.

These big cannibals know this species, so when they saw it on the business road before, they felt a little friendly. If others didn't know it, they might not notice it.

"Don't worry, he won't come after you." Hassan laughed while riding on the camel.

He was very happy to be able to get this recipe for canning. They can start production after they return to Dashi Country.

"But the cotton..." They still have little confidence in the cotton produced in their own country.

"Since it is an exchange condition proposed by himself, even if he suffers, he can only accept it." Hassan said with a smile.

Besides, what he gave to Luo was not just the cotton and cottonseed. If the Kunlun slaves did not have the parchment he gave him, it would have been impossible for him to pass through the Great Food Kingdom and return to his hometown alive.

With that piece of parchment in hand, whether they can survive or not depends on God's will.You must know that when Hassan did this, he also risked offending those slave traders, so in the process of this transaction, he did not think that he had taken advantage of Luo Yong, but his These men don't seem to think so.

Obtaining this method of making cans can not only preserve food for a long time, but also keep their fresh taste as before. This is really important for the people in their big food country. Their country lacks water and food is very precious. , especially in seasons of scarcity.

If they don't go through Luoyong, they will have to go to Liangzhou City or even Chang'an City to find a way. The process may not be very smooth, and they may spend two, three, or even longer for this. At that time, maybe other big food merchants will rush to obtain this method before them, so that Hassan will not have any advantage at all.

At this moment, Hassan was sitting on the back of the camel, bumping his body up and down as the camel walked. Condition.

If there is no accident, he will soon become the first canned producer in the big food country, and no longer just a peddler walking between countries.

Hassan was very aware of the value of this canned recipe to a big food merchant, and Luo Yong was also very aware of the value of the cotton they brought to the Hexi region.

There are many varieties of cotton. The cotton that Hassan and the others brought is called African cotton. The plants are short and the yield is low, the quality of the fluff is not very good, and the cotton seeds are not easy to peel.

Without the aid of tools, just peeling cotton seeds can make people stupid. This is probably the reason why the historical white folds are so valuable.

However, this African cotton also has some advantages, that is, it is drought-resistant and salt-alkali-resistant, and it is especially suitable for planting in the Hexi area.

Originally, the people in Hexi had to grow hemp in the fields for annual tax revenue. Hemp planting has relatively high requirements for water sources. In Changle County like theirs, there are not many fields that can grow hemp. It can also grow food, which affects the output of food to a certain extent.

Luo Yong really couldn't put it down for these cotton seeds, and he wanted to look at them hundreds of times a day, so he put a plate of cotton on a ceramic plate and put it on the table, looking at it from time to time, feeling very satisfied.

"How can you promote the planting of this plant?" Luo Yong asked Qiao Junlin on this day.

Farmers are also not easy. They work diligently throughout the year. Once something goes wrong, the year may be wasted. Trying to plant a new species is also a huge risk for them.

"A high price lures him." Qiao Junlin said concisely.Isn't Luo Yong rich? These things are much easier as long as he has money.

"That's right." Luo Yong said with a smile. Although it is a bit simple and rude, there is probably no more effective method than this.

"How do you know that the Great Food Kingdom can have this thing?" Qiao Junlin asked Luo Yongdao at this time.

Luo Yong paused, and replied, "Those Sogdian Hu merchants told me."

When Luo Yong asked a few well-informed Sogdians about cotton, they did mention big cannibals.

However, what really prompted Luo Yong and Hassan to propose this deal was a sentence he saw in a document: "...the original factories of cotton are India and Arabia."

The Arabs of the later generations are the big food countries at present.