Xiaoyao Nongjiazi

"Qingran, the crossbow was a prohibited item in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and I don't know if it can't be banned in the border towns. How about dealing with it?" Jian Mingyu discussed with Zhong Qingran softly.

Zhong Qingran made a calculation in his mind and decided not to take this risk: "Stop, everyone checks their bags to see if the hand crossbow is packed away."

The crossbow is a big killer, no matter where it goes, it will attract attention, especially the hand crossbow, its lethality at close range is unparalleled, it is too deterrent to people, and it is easy to be vigilant, which is obviously not good for their trip , requiring special attention.

After confirming that everything was handled properly, the group set off again.The accompanying horses carry a lot of weight, and most of the time, except for the few horses on guard, they are led by people, so the speed of travel is not fast.

Not long after entering the main road, Zhong Qingran and the others were overtaken by a caravan. Judging from their attire, they could be recognized at a glance that they were from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The place where Zhong Qingran and the others came out of the mountain was close to the border of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so the chance of encountering people from Beisha was not high, but it was very common to see people from the Great Zhou Dynasty.But here in the border town, the people of the two countries are not so clearly separated. The closer they are to the border town, the more people live together.The two small villages that Zhong Qingran and the others visited were quite a distance from the border town, so they only occasionally saw people from Beisha, and even mixed-race people were lucky enough to see them.

Frontier towns do not charge entry fees, but this does not mean that no one is guarding the city gates.The city is established, what does it sound like when the gate is opened?

However, the inspection here is very loose. At the beginning, Zhong Qingran was worried that the people guarding the city gate would turn things into a mess. In the end, his worry was in vain.That's right, the reason why the border town can be so prosperous is because of the low business tax and the atmosphere of freedom. Without these two, who would be willing to travel a long distance and risk their lives to come here?

Knowing that there is an inspection process when entering the border town, Zhong Qingran buried all the Wuguo near the exit of the mountain.That thing can shine by itself, even if it is wrapped with good fortune, it still does not lose its style, and it is really not suitable to see the light.After getting rid of this burden, Zhong Qingran was much more relaxed.Such an important thing cost him a lot of luck, and he didn't want to take advantage of others for nothing.

Taking advantage of the gap between inspections, Zhong Qingran calmly looked at the gate guards and the crowd waiting in line.The prosperity of the border town is really not exaggerated. Although it is not as crowded as Shangjing City, it is busier than other prefectural cities.In just a short while, there was a long queue behind them.

Looking at the people who entered the city, most of them were wearing unpatched cotton and linen clothes, and their complexions were much more ruddy than those of the lower class in the Zhou Dynasty. Zhong Qingran couldn't help admiring the ability of the border city managers.It is not easy to resist the temptation of power and money, and it is no wonder that the border town can survive so well in the gap between the two countries.

Zhong Qingran heard from the third prince that as long as the border towns did not garrison troops, the two countries would not send troops, nor would they have official organizations. Of course, it was inevitable to dispatch secret agents.If you don't even have this, how can you talk about controlling the border town?

In fact, to be honest, the forces in the border town are complex, and the famous dignitaries of the two countries have all played a hand here. As for how much they can get from this piece of fat, it all depends on their own abilities.Here, everything depends on strength. The title of Guangda official and noble person is not so easy to use. A few forces in power in the border town may sell their face and want to use power to suppress others. That is a disgusting thing. No one cares get on.

These are all relatively confidential information. Zhong Qingran knew nothing about it before, and he only learned about it when he arrived in Jizhou.This was of great help to Zhong Qingran, he accepted the love of the third prince, if he followed the agreement and sent people to the border town, he would not let him down.

After a simple inspection, Zhong Qingran and his party officially entered the border town.

There are a lot of migrants in the border town, and the transactions are varied and strange. As long as the buyer has a demand and orders in advance, the next time, the merchant can deliver the goods on time, which shows how powerful they are.

Since Zhong Qingran and his party walked through the city gate close to the Great Zhou Dynasty, most of the people they saw were the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so the village guards did not make a fuss.After entering the city, there are completely two worlds. Apart from Beisha people, you can also see other people of various races. I think they came from afar by way of other countries.

Looking at the strange and weird goods sold on the street, everyone was eye-opening.The village guards couldn't help but secretly rejoiced, if they hadn't followed Zhong Qingran for this trip, they probably wouldn't have had such a novel experience in their entire lives.These are all pretty good. What surprised them the most was the barbarian people of all colors. They were quite uneasy when they saw the white and miserable Beisha people before. If Zhong Qingran hadn't told them in advance, they might have killed them. When the monsters were dealt with, not to mention, those blacks whose skin was as dark as coal made the village guards get goosebumps all over their bodies.

In fact, the Great Zhou Dynasty was not closed. The southern coastal areas have long been patronized by foreign merchants. However, Hewan Village is located in the hinterland. Although the transportation is relatively convenient, it cannot travel thousands of miles a day like modern times, so the news is very lagging. .What's more, the village guards are all from humble backgrounds, have no connections, and have no access to these things at all. It is normal that they don't understand people other than the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so there is no need to be harsh.

Zhong Qingran's request was that when they saw anything beyond their imagination, and encountered something they couldn't understand, they just kept their mouths shut. This trip was mainly about completing tasks, and they would not take the initiative to cause trouble.

None of Zhong Qingran and his group had ever been to the border town. Even if they heard some news from the Third Prince and the villagers of the previous two villages, their eyes would not be dimmed.Even though they tried their best to hide their expressions, anyone with a slightly vicious eyes could tell that it was their first time entering the border town.

Among the group, Zhong Qingran was the one with the most knowledge, and he was not intimidated by the border towns. In modern times, what kind of big cities had he never seen?However, the prosperity of the border town was beyond his imagination.

The border city is located in the southwest of Hanhai Prefecture, and the weather conditions are also not good. The time for normal business and trade is only six or seven months. The rest of the time is rushing, and it is an old crime. If it is not really getting into the eyes of money, or there is enough warmth Measures, no one will rush to the road in the ice and snow, and the road is blocked by heavy snow.

Of course, high risks are accompanied by high returns. In the cold winter, the profits of goods are higher. Far from normal times, the returns from transactions can be compared.

There are so many goods on both sides of the street that even the well-informed Zhong Qingran couldn't help but take a look.There are many items here that even he has never seen before.Indeed, in modern times, life is convenient, and as long as you have money, you can basically buy what you want.Some things have only been heard of, and the craftsmanship has long been lost, or has been eliminated by cheap items, but this does not mean that those things are worthless. high.

Although everyone was quite curious about the goods on both sides of the street, none of them left the team and acted without authorization, unable to fully control their actions. At least they did not lack this concentration.

Zhong Qingran saw everyone's expressions in his eyes, but right now was not the time to think about these things. He didn't say to let everyone do whatever he wanted, and walked straight along the street. After passing by several teahouses, he finally entered a teahouse. It is not a high-end tea house.

The teahouse was originally a distribution center for news, the one Zhong Qingran entered had a huge flow of customers, even though he rarely saw distinguished guests, but the traffickers and pawns came and went frequently, and the news was replaced very quickly.

Zhong Qingran never thought that he could get any confidential information from here, he just wanted to understand the situation in the border town and avoid getting into trouble with troublesome people without knowing anything about it.

It is now the busiest months in the border town, and in a month or two, the number of merchants coming and going will drop sharply, which is also a unique phenomenon in the border town.It takes half a year to make enough money for a year. It is conceivable how prosperous the business was during this period.

Zhong Qingran and his party brought a lot of goods and handed them over to the waiters in the teahouse to take care of them. They were not at ease.Together, Zhong Qingran and Jian Mingyu left the second and third teams of the village guards to take care of the horse supplies, and the two took a team of five people to the teahouse to rest first, and then let the first team come to replace them later.

Tea is a scarce commodity in the north, and the profit is quite considerable. It stands to reason that ordinary people live a tight life, and they will not be willing to waste money on it. At most, they can buy some tea foam and enjoy it slowly at home.Border towns are different, there are also poor people here, but most of them are ordinary people with two spare money in their hands.

Xu Ji, it just so happens that with some money in his pocket, he can go to a teahouse where he can have a drink.

This is not the time when the teahouse has the largest passenger flow, but the lobby on the first floor is already crowded.The seven of Zhong Qingran waited for a while before the guests at a table dispersed, so everyone had to ask Xiaoer to add a few stools to squeeze in.

It was very sunny outside, but it was quite cool inside the teahouse. Xu Ji was willing to spend the capital, no wonder his business was so good.

As soon as he got the refreshment list, Zhong Qingran realized that the consumption level in the border town was not low, and the luxury items might not be comparable to those in the upper capital, but in other respects, it might be even worse.Not to mention goods such as tea that came from afar, other snacks, more than half of the raw materials are produced near the border town, but the price is obviously higher.

It’s fine if the skills are exquisite. The high price is easy to understand. Rare things are more expensive. My family has things that others don’t have, so they can be sold at a good price. The problem is, what kind of taste are those snacks and tea fruits on the table? It is also at the upper-middle level, far from being a unique secret skill. This restaurant is only a mid-to-low-end teahouse. You can guess that this restaurant has a good reputation just by looking at the number of tea customers. It can be seen that such prices should be a common phenomenon. , maybe, this one is still in the category of high quality and low price, so other teahouses of the same level may sell at a higher price.

Jian Mingyu's culinary skills are getting better and better. After Zhong Qingran tasted it, he lost interest in ordinary food. This can be regarded as gain and loss.He doesn't dislike it, wasting food, no matter where it is, is not advocating behavior. In this world, food is hard to come by, so it should be cherished even more.

Zhong Qingran picked up a piece of brown pastry and tasted it slowly. This kind of pastry is the most expensive, and the taste is not very good. The advantage is that the ingredients are rare and come from Beisha.Of course, this is a border town, which brings together the special products of the two countries, and merchants from other countries come here from time to time. The refreshments provided by Xu Ji are really not very good, just mediocre, and not too expensive.

Zhong Qingran ate slowly, he was just trying something new, if it was about the taste, he might as well go home and enjoy the delicious food cooked by Mingyu's skill.

Zhong Qingran didn't care much about these refreshments, but it didn't mean that the five members of the village guard team thought the same.A team consists of either members of the Yan clan, or relatives and friends of the Zhong family. They are all from out-of-the-box farmers. Usually, they have to figure out how to eat a full meal. They only live in Fucun. I can't even imagine a good day.

But this kind of good life is also based on the poor life in the past. Compared with those high-ranking officials and wealthy households who frequently eat delicacies, the gap is as great as the light of rice grains and the bright moon.If they hadn't been at the same table with Zhong Qingran and Jian Mingyu, they might have grabbed the plate directly.

People really don't pay much attention to tea. Although they have to save it in Fucun, at least there is a short-term internal shortage of this thing. On the contrary, it is the refreshments from other countries that attract their full attention.These are not considered expensive in border towns, but they are not something ordinary people can enjoy when they are brought to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Regardless of the people coming and going in the border towns, there are a lot of supplies sent to the two countries, but due to the inconvenient transportation, the goods that the caravans can carry are limited, and the Great Zhou Dynasty has a vast territory. It's not enough for high-ranking officials and nobles to make a little waves, so how can it be the turn of ordinary people?

Zhong Qingran picked up the teacup, took a sip to relieve his boredom, his eyes were not looking around, but his ears were pricked up to receive all available information.Jian Mingyu's five senses are the most sensitive, and he can almost hear all kinds of sounds in the noisy lobby by listening carefully.

"Have you heard that there was a war between Beisha and Haran. The two armies faced each other for more than a month. Seeing that winter is approaching, they are still at loggerheads. In recent days, there have been constant small battles. Both sides have captured a batch of prisoners from the other side. Those who can be redeemed They were redeemed, and the remaining part was taken to the border towns because no one wanted it, and I don’t know if it can be sold.”

"Why are you worried about this? They are not prisoners of our country. The border customs dare not accept them out of safety considerations. If these people work carefully, it will be a big deal. At most, merchants who do business in the hinterland can be less Buy some, it's so far away, and the language is barrier, but I'm not afraid of them acting as demons."

"You're right. I just sigh. The war just hurt the people. You said, why didn't the courts of the two countries pay for them and buy them back? Like this, who would dare to serve them wholeheartedly?" ?” The person who spoke was obviously dissatisfied with this approach.

"It's not as simple as you said. You don't know how much money is spent on war. I think these prisoners are probably old, weak, sick and disabled, and they are not good for the country. We just let them go and save money." How many people will doubt the next batch of military pay, and report back to the higher authorities that they were killed in battle?"

"According to what you said, wouldn't the people of Beisha and Haran not buy their compatriots? Then if people from other countries are not interested in them, these people should not be in their hands? The cost of bringing them to the border town is not high. Low, such a loss-making business, would businessmen from the two countries do it?"

"What's so difficult about it? If you can't sell them, you can use them as coolies or servants. You just need to give them a bite to eat and prevent them from starving to death. No matter what, they will make a net profit."

Jian Mingyu did not expect that they would get such useful news when they first arrived.Although he was a little upset that this person was selected, at least they don't have to worry about returning empty-handed.

Good luck cannot last forever. Afterwards, Jian Mingyu did not hear any similar news. After all, most of the people seated in the lobby are small merchants and local people. Occasionally, he would just knock his teeth, no one would be stupid enough to spread secrets here.

Before, the two middle-aged men who talked about the prisoners of Beisha and Haran sat relatively in the back, so they could hear clearly because they were concise and had good ears.After asking, De Zhiqing didn't know about it, so Jian Mingyu repeated it softly.

Now, Zhong Qingran had the bottom line in his mind. Hearing what Mingyu said, this batch of prisoners might not be sold out for a while. If he couldn't find enough people, he would go over and have a look.

Staying in the teahouse until lunch time was considered fruitful, so Zhong Qingran took people to the inn for the night.This time, the goal was clearer, everyone went directly to Shuangfu Inn and asked for a small courtyard.

After lunch, five people were left to check their luggage, while Zhong Qingran and Jian Mingyu led the rest of the people, carrying some goods, to the largest market in the border city - West Market.

The West Market sells everything, and you can even see some items that are explicitly prohibited by various countries and are not allowed to be sold privately.The West Market is divided into an outer market and an inner market. The main business of the outer market is retail and small wholesale, while the inner market is a place for bulk goods trading.

Zhong Qingran originally wanted to inquire first about the manpower sent by the third prince, but then he thought that he would act as soon as he entered the border town. He was afraid that someone with a heart would notice him, so he planned to dispose of the goods first, which would reduce the burden and relieve them a little. He has a horse but can't run fast, which makes him feel a little uneasy.

Zhong Qingran himself was not afraid, but there was nothing he could do for the others. Since he brought them out, he had to bring them back whole.In their current state, it's good that they didn't encounter any troubles. Once they are targeted by someone, they might not be able to run away.

Everything they bring is not too much, the outer city is enough for them to consume, and they are not going to enter the inner city for the time being.

Zhong Qingran took a general look. Except for those rare items, the most sold in the outer market were all kinds of dried meat, dairy products, fur and medicinal materials.These are the things that are abundant in the border towns. They can be described as high-quality and cheap. They are not rare here. If they are shipped to the south or further north, the price doubled is the conscience price of the merchants. It can be doubled, dozens of times, or even dozens of times. , depending on the scarcity of goods.

Fucun has just been built, and many things are in short supply, so it is impossible to sell them outside, except for seafood and sea salt, as much as you want.Because salt melts when it meets water, and it is more eye-catching, Zhong Qingran and his party didn't bring many.Salt is an item controlled by the imperial court everywhere, and only merchants who have obtained the imperial court's permission can sell it openly.

The profit of salt has been extremely considerable since ancient times. The north has always been a place with insufficient salt production, and salt sales have always been good.

Zhong Qingran changed the entire foreign market, and after understanding the market here, he began to ship out one after another.He has no time to waste on sales, so he can only suffer a little loss and sell directly to the receiving merchant.

The people in the border town were diverse, and because of communication barriers with foreigners, Zhong Qingran didn't want to find an interpreter to act as an intermediary, directly ignoring the quite large number of people from Beisha, and just talking about business with people from the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"Two guest officers, please come inside." The shop clerk had a friendly face and a courteous attitude. His eyes were bright, and seeing Zhong Qingran and the others, he guessed that there might be business coming, and rushed forward to meet them.

"What do you store charge?" Zhong Qingran casually asked while looking at the store.

"We accept everything sold in the shop." The waiter pointed to the items on the shelf, explained the purchase price one by one, and handed him a brochure at the end.

Zhong Qingran flipped through it quickly, and the more he flipped, the more surprised he became. It seems that the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated.This store has clearly marked the price, and it is rare to see such a level. Even in modern times, except for retail, it is rare to see such a company. Most of them give different quotations according to different objects.

Zhong Qingran didn't doubt that this shop had internal prices.It is enough to be able to do this, and it will bring great convenience to merchants who are new to this industry, at least it will not embezzle most of the profits like slaughtering a pig.

The price given in the brochure is quite fair. Zhong Qingran's previous work was not in vain. After collecting so much information, he knows the approximate price of the goods he wants to sell.

"This, this... and this, about this number, can you make the decision?" Zhong Qingran would not underestimate anyone, but although the goods he brought were not many, the total amount was not small, and I am afraid that the waiter in the shop was not enough. Qualified, take this business.

"Guest officer, this way please." The smile on the waiter's face became even brighter. This business is not small. Although it is a bit trivial, if you can get enough reward money, why not work harder?If others want it, they may not be lucky enough to come across it.

Zhong Qingran and Jian Mingyu were led into the side hall, and after a while, tea and snacks were served.The service attitude of this store is good, it is worth it, it took a lot of time to choose it.

Soon, the waiter brought in a person who looked like a manager.Zhong Qingran's guess was correct, this person was one of the managers of this shop, responsible for purchasing.

Jian Mingyu usually doesn't talk much, but he doesn't hesitate at all when doing business.That's right, he started running the family at a young age. If he didn't have any skills, he would have been torn apart by his ruthless family long ago. How could he live such a good life now?

Zhong Qingran set the tone, and Jian Mingyu was behind the mediation. After some haggling, the two sold the goods at a satisfactory price.

Looking at the back of the two leaving, the steward could not help wiping the sweat from his forehead.I really saw a ghost. These two young masters are not very old, but they are not easy to get along with. I think he has been alone in the border town for many years. Today, he was surrounded by two people. Could it be that he already old?