Destiny Only Han

Anhai Protectorate.

Old Port (today’s Palembang, Indonesia).

Jia Yi stepped off the boat, carrying his luggage and dressing like the businessmen around him who were in a hurry.

Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles, and as the imperial deputy envoy, he not only traveled with public funds, but also had the responsibility to record what he saw and heard along the way and send it to Chang'an City regularly for Liu Ying to read.

Therefore, he did not take the same boat as the interviewer Liu Yingke, but traveled alone incognito.

Of course, Liu Ying was not worried that his "Records of Nanyang Experiences" would be tasteless and vulgar...

After all, this is Jia Yi, the Jia Yi who surrendered to Changsha, the Jia Yi who wrote "On the Passage of the Qin Dynasty", "Political Policy" and other famous works that have been passed down for thousands of years!
Jia Yi walked out of the pier and was immediately stunned by the sight in front of him.

Lots of people.

This was his first thought.

The old port was like many Nanyang ports he had seen. It was full of stilt-style buildings made of bamboo and wood. The cement floors were clean and tidy, and there were bustling people and cars.

But most of them are locals wearing Hanfu.

When those people looked at him, some showed hatred, while others showed flattery and awe.

rich.

This was his second thought.

He recognized at a glance the types of street trees planted on both sides of the cement road.

Borneol camphor tree!

This is a spice and one of the most precious medicinal materials. He once remembered that after he became a servant, he was able to enter Tianlu Pavilion to read the vast collection of books. In one of the inconspicuous books, there was Such a passage.

The fragrance of borneol is the best among hundreds of medicines.

The borneol here refers to the rhizome of this camphor tree!
Jia Yi shook his head and sighed. He couldn't help but sigh that people are cheap when leaving their hometown and things are expensive when they leave their hometown. A treasure like borneol, which is more expensive than gold and jade in the Han Dynasty, is actually used as a street tree in the Xuanwei Division of Jiugang...

While he was looking around, a little boy wearing Han Chinese attire but with dark skin and who looked like a local aboriginal ran over.

The little boy raised his head and asked in Chinese with a local accent: "Sir, do you need a guide? Choose me, I'm cheap!"

"Huh?" Jia Yi asked curiously: "You can actually speak Chinese?"

The little boy replied: "That's natural! Except for the elderly grandparents, everyone here can speak Chinese! On the contrary, it is our own language, and no one can speak it anymore..."

When he said the last sentence, he looked a little frustrated.

Jia Yi touched his head and asked with a smile: "So, how cheap are you?"

The little boy's eyes lit up and he immediately became suspicious: "Sir, are you really going to hire me? Aren't you lying to me? Are you planning to let me take you around the port and then take the opportunity to dump me?" Drop it?"

"Just like those drug dealers before..."

As he spoke, his eyes gradually turned red.

After all, this will happen to anyone who works hard but does not receive anything in return. What's more, it hurts his feelings and undermines his trust in strangers.

Jia Yi cursed a few words in his heart after hearing this, and then said seriously: "The Han people are different from others. His Majesty the Emperor who rules all directions once wrote a poem, saying that if you drink three cups of wine, the five mountains will be lighter!"

The little boy was stunned and murmured softly: "It sounds so nice, although I don't know what it means..."

Jia Yi smiled and explained: "It means that Han people will not lie to you, at least I will not lie to you!"

The little boy immediately cheered.

He held Jia Yi's hand and said with a smile: "Sir, let me take you to eat delicious food! There is a shop next to the pier that sells grilled fish. Last year, it was rated as one of the top ten delicacies in Old Port by the Xuanwei Department. If you go It’s so late and I don’t know how long the queue will be!”

"But I'm very familiar with a handyman in the grilled fish shop. As long as we give him a little money, he can bring us in from the back kitchen..."

Jia Yi followed obediently.

After all, he was hungry too.

Moreover, recording local food is also an important part of recording local customs and customs.

The most important thing is that he finally figured out that this little boy was a talker, so he could learn a lot of secrets from his mouth that were unknown to outsiders, especially to officials like him.

Even if the secret is false...

But he is only responsible for writing his experiences and travel notes, and is not responsible for distinguishing between true and false.

........................

Grilled fish shop.

After paying a bribe, Jia Yi successfully jumped in line and sat near the kitchen to wait for his grilled fish.

At this moment, he looked around and saw that except for the helpers, there were basically no locals among the diners who came to dine, which surprised him.

So he looked at the little boy next to him and asked: "Isn't it the top ten delicacies? Is it the top ten delicacies only for tourists? Why don't you see the locals from Old Port coming here to eat?"

The little boy stared: "Sir, do you know how much this grilled fish costs?"

Jia Yi looked at the menu: "Twelve point nine Han Yuan, what's wrong? Of course, there is also a 5.00% consumption tax and a [-]% tip..."

The little boy asked again: "Sir, do you know how much I am going to charge you?" Jia Yi suddenly woke up from a dream: "Yes, I forgot to ask you, how much am I going to pay you?"

The little boy held out three fingers, and then, as if to be cruel, he held out two more fingers: "Fifty! Fifty cents!"

Hanfen are those one hundred banknotes that can be exchanged for one 'one dollar' steel coin.

"Take the young master?" Jia Yi's eyes widened.

"Or, thirty?" the little boy said weakly: "No more, really... I want to save money to study in Han Dynasty and see the prosperity of Chang'an City in Han Dynasty..."

Jia Yi asked hesitantly: "Is your father or grandfather Han?"

The little boy shook his head.

Jia Yi was silent.

Today's Han Dynasty is a patriarchal society. That is to say, no matter who the child's mother is, as long as his father is Han Chinese, he is Han Chinese. It is nothing more than paying an extra amount of money when registering for household registration. The same rights as those children whose parents are Han.

Such as reading.

Another example is being an official.

But this little boy is not. The important thing is that he is very poor. Therefore, if he spends his whole life, he may not have the opportunity to set foot in the mainland of Han, let alone go to school in Han.

When Jia Yi was about to say something, the grilled fish he ordered was ready. A curly-haired old port native waiter respectfully placed the plate in front of him, with a well-honed ceremonial smile on his face, and spoke with a very standard Chang'an It said:
"Sir, please use it slowly."

"If you need anything, please feel free to call me."

Jia Yi nodded and said nothing.

But the little boy stared at the waiter's back and exclaimed: "Wow! It would be great if I could work here when I grow up!"

"Sir, do you know that his name is Hassan and he is the most promising person in our village!"

"Hassan has been very smart since he was a child and can learn everything quickly, especially the Chinese language!"

"That's why he can work in this shop, earning a monthly salary of seven yuan. In addition, he can pick up some good things like grilled fish, rice, sugarcane wine and other unfinished items left by the customers and take them home to eat. Our clan leader is doing well!"

"All the girls in the village like him and want to be his wife, but he doesn't like any of them..."

"I heard from his mother that he wants to marry a woman who works in Old Port. He seems to be pursuing Wulandari who does laundry for the Governor's Palace recently..."

"Wulandari can earn three yuan a month, so they will have ten yuan a month, and they will be able to own a small house of their own in the Old Port in a few years!"

As the little boy spoke, his face was full of longing, as if he had passed through Hassan and had already lived the life of a 'city dweller'...

Jia Yi just lowered his head and ate.

The taste of the grilled fish was very unique. Although it was covered with a layer of spices that he couldn't name, they complemented each other. No one spice overshadowed the freshness of the fish itself.

This kind of delicacy with distinct flavors made Jia Yi, who could only eat various kinds of paste and canned food that had been stored for an unknown period of time on the ship, move his index fingers. He just wanted to eat more and couldn't stop eating.

The little boy looked at Jia Yi eagerly and asked, "Sir, is it delicious?"

Jia Yi didn't even raise his head: "I think this grilled fish master can definitely go to Chang'an City to open a shop! With the tolerance of Chang'an City, the business of this shop will definitely not be bad. The only problem is that the prices of many spices are definitely not as good as this." It’s cheap, but you may need to take the high-end route…”

Well, he is already brewing emotions at this moment, preparing to carefully record the smell of grilled fish, and send it to Chang'an City like the travel notes he wrote in the past, and invite His Majesty the Emperor to see it...

Of course, it is another matter whether the emperor will be greedy after reading it and immediately make a mental note to him because he cannot eat such strange delicacies...

After a while, Jia Yi looked at the messy cups and plates in front of him, wiped his mouth, stood up and said: 'Let's go, let's go shopping elsewhere...'

After all, he had to go to the Protector's Mansion tomorrow to meet with the Protector-General Shen Tujia, and it was already getting late. Naturally, he wanted to end this 'incognito private visit' quickly and return to his residence to record what he saw and heard today.

The little boy picked up the chopsticks and quickly swept away the leftovers on the table, ignoring the blank looks from Hassan and others, and then chased out while licking his lips.

..............................

into the night.

Jia Yi sat in a guest house next to the pier. After bathing and changing clothes, he lit a few sticks of incense in the corner of the desk.

This is not only used to repel mosquitoes, but more importantly, it expresses inner respect and piety.

After all, the article he writes next will be submitted to Liu Ying for reading, so there is no room for sloppiness.

Although there is no one else here except him, he is a respectful person and naturally has to behave like others before him and behind him.

"Your Majesty Jia Yiqi:"

"After noon, I have arrived at the old port. Tomorrow I will go to visit the late Anhai Shentu, the protector of the Anhai Protectorate. Today, I met a young man named Wahid in the city. I saw a lot..."

"In addition, under the guidance of the young man from the corner, I also tasted a delicious grilled fish, and I still feel the fragrance on my lips and teeth..."

"...I assert that this place is already like the island volcanoes I saw along the way, with undercurrents surging beneath it. If we don't make plans in advance, trouble will definitely arise!"

"Please also..."

"(Start another line) Your Majesty's Holy Judgment."

"On the seventh day of the ninth lunar month in the eighth year of the Great Sage, the emperor ordered an interview with Deputy Envoy and Attendant Jia Yi to be held in Old Port."