Daming Yinghua

Chapter 87

The sun is shining brightly.

Chun Mian didn't wake up, the clansmen in the village, and those tired and sleepy visitors from yesterday, all seemed to be still sleeping soundly, and there was no movement.

Grandma Wen, who got up early to patrol the village, raised her eyes and saw that her granddaughter, A Kun, was climbing the mountain with Zheng Haizhu.

Aunt Wen took two guards with her and went there.

When I met them on the mountainside, I saw Zheng Haizhu bowing his waist and burrowing into the green bushes.

"Miss Zheng, why did you come to see these wild teas?"

Grandma Wen asked kindly and curiously, still using the address habit of Song Dynasty.

Zheng Haizhu hurriedly came over to salute, and asked respectfully, "Grandma, are there many tea trees like this nearby?"

Grandma Wen took a few green and tender leaves together, put them under her nose and smelled them, Shi Shiran said: "Going to the top of the mountain, there are still many more. In the next few days, you should be able to pick new leaves. Yesterday What I serve you is last year's tea, so I'm neglecting you."

Zheng Haizhu said seriously, "Grandma, yesterday's tea was steamed with fire and then dried?"

"Well, what the lady said is right, this is the method passed down by our Wen family ancestors, what's wrong?"

Zheng Haizhu looked at the eyes of the old lady who was sincerely asking for advice, and said with a smile: "Grandma, don't misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with it. This is an ancient method in Tang and Song Dynasties. Nowadays, on land, Ming people often use frying method."

Aunt Wen raised her white eyebrows slightly: "Miss, can you explain to me in more detail?"

Zheng Haizhu observed the gestures of this female chieftain while drinking tea yesterday, and from the slight frown and sip when she sipped the soup, she guessed that she is actually particular about tea.

Seeing that she was really interested in new knowledge, she gestured and said, "Grandma, it is much cheaper and better to buy iron woks and charcoal fires than in the past. We put the new leaves on the iron woks." In a wok, turn on the fire and stir fry directly with the palm of your hand.”

"This, won't it hurt your hand?"

"No way. The iron wok is as big as a bamboo plaque. The heat is spread evenly. The palm of the hand touches the tea first, and then raises the tea. The tea will not fall down. The leaf will lose its greenness soon. The leaves are more fragrant, and the soup color is clearer and more beautiful."

"Oh, so."

Grandma Wen couldn't help showing fascination, and then the bright color dimmed again.

"Miss Zheng, the Ming Dynasty was rich and prosperous, and ordinary people must be able to afford such an iron wok. We are a small island on the side of the country, iron utensils are very rare, and we use earthenware pots for cooking. How can we have a big iron wok to fry tea."

Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu raised her eyes and caught the old man's complicated gaze.

But she did not return with a sad expression such as sympathy, melancholy, or apology, but said with encouragement and boldness: "Grandma, don't underestimate yourself. Although your big island is alone overseas, it is obvious that you are a big island." It is a place favored by the God of the Pot. The mountains and forests are fertile and wild, and you can do fishing, hunting and farming. Even the wild tea has a strong aroma, which shows that the land climate is suitable for the growth of tea trees. In this case, when I go back to collect some capital, I will fry the tea seeds, iron wok and know how to fry them. All the artisans of tea brought to the island, okay?"

"what?……"

Although Grandma Wen heard every word of the woman from the old country clearly, she didn't know how to respond for a while.

The female chieftain, who has experienced years of hard work, has so sharp eyesight, it was already seen yesterday that this young woman can be regarded as a talker in a group of people.

It's just that she didn't expect that she would take the initiative to say such an idea so quickly.

Zheng Haizhu didn't interrupt her train of thought because of Grandma Wen's stagnation.

"Grandma, it takes at most one day and one night to drive a boat from the seaport of Fujian to you. Sea ships need heavy ballast, and there is a kind of ore in Fujian, which just happens to be ballasted. That mine, even Ah Peng dug in Manlajia The ones that have been processed and beaten are called tin in the Ming Dynasty, and they are also called pewter. Tin cans can be used to store tea and be transported to faraway places for sale. Therefore, on Grandma’s island, tea can be grown, made, and tinned. In exchange for porcelain vases, farm cattle, silk cloth, iron tools, books in A Kun's room, inkstones, and other good things. Well, in fact, there are many things that can be traded on the island, such as deerskin, antlers, Beans, fruits... Your land is so vast, you can still dig canals, grow the rice we eat, and transport it back to Fujian to sell."

The aged sheikh listened quietly.

When she was a child her mother had vaguely told her about the land beyond the great sea.

When she became a young girl and threw herself into the embrace of the foreign man enthusiastically, the man also described to her the world of gorgeous houses and novel characters.

Her husband died of the plague, so she changed her husband's two cloth shirts into skirts for herself and her daughter Akun to wear.Those are the only two clothes in the tribe that are not made of hemp animal skins. They are nostalgia for relatives and a symbol of authority.

Unexpectedly, in her twilight years, this woman from the old country who suddenly broke in and wore a softer cloth shirt opened the door of imagination for her again with simple and straightforward words.

But soon, the elderly female chief seemed to realize something suddenly, and her face became serious.

"Miss Zheng, you just said that today's big ships only need one day and one night from their homeland to our islands. When A Peng escaped, he said that he saw eight sunrises on the boat. Therefore, the world is no longer what it was when my great-grandfather. Is that like that?"

Zheng Haizhu sighed, found a branch, and simply drew Daming, Taiwan, Manga, European countries, and the American continent on the ground.

"Yes, grandma," Zheng Haizhu pointed to the ground, "Since there have been large ships moored to fetch water in the stupid port in the north recently, I'm afraid that the whole big island will soon have all kinds of Frankies breaking in. .”

The female chief and her daughter Akun, who will inherit the mantle, stared blankly at the deer spots on the ground.

"Catch, catch." A Kun raised his head and said to Zheng Haizhu.

Grandma Wen fell into silence.

……

It is night, the moon is bright and the stars are thin, and the evening wind from the South China Sea, even in early spring, is still as warm as a loving mother's hands.

Although most of the members of this Siraya tribe, which has the blood of the survivors of the Southern Song Dynasty, cannot speak Chinese, they generously offered the simplest celebrations to comfort the mainlanders who met by chance.

Standing in the corner of the training ground, Zheng Haizhu looked at the fellow men who survived the catastrophe. They were filled with local wine brewed from wild millet. They jumped into the arena one after another, joining the local men dancing around the bonfire. Men and girls.

Yan Siqi was also among them.

Zheng Haizhu knows his drinking capacity, and it is not an exaggeration to say that there is no bottomless pit.

But at this moment, he seemed to be completely drunk, and his usual sophistication was gone.

Laughing and dancing, like a hard-working actor, and like a funny bear.

The more Zheng Haizhu looked at it, the more uncomfortable he felt, and his brows were involuntarily knit together.

"Azhu, if you are worried about your fellow countryman, how about I drag him out and send him to rest?"

Stepping on the shadow of the banana tree, Ma Xianglin came over and asked softly.

Zheng Haizhu waved his hand: "As long as he is happy, he is tired from repairing the boat these days, let him relax."

Ask again: "Why don't you go to the lively scene?"

Ma Xianglin said: "I just poured wine on the shore for the three brothers, and paid homage to them for a while, I'm really not in the mood."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Ma Xianglin felt that he was mocking Yan Siqi, who also had his subordinates die in the sea battle.

He hurriedly changed his tone and said: "Besides, I'm fine with guns and sticks. I really don't see it when I dance. My mother just laughed at me. Shila people, regardless of gender, can sing and dance well. The sound makes people stiff."

Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips: "Oh, yes, General Ma..."

"I said, just call me Xianglin."

"Xianglin, to tell you the truth, when I found out your identity in the bandit village, I really wanted to meet General Qin."

Ma Xianglin did not hide his pride, and said openly: "I often hear people say this sentence. My mother is indeed powerful. Her reputation is not based on some old students and old officials, but on battle after battle. It's a pity that my marksmanship is still not as good as hers. She has experienced hundreds of battles and has never been injured. The first time I mounted a horse and killed an enemy, I made the enemy earn a piece of meat."

Having said this, the young general Xiao touched the scar on his face, and looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

Zheng Haizhu knew that his feelings of homesickness had ignited, and waited for him to look at the moon to express his feelings. After a while, he said again: "When I saw Grandma Wen today, I couldn't help but think about it. The blood of the Han people is mixed. In fact, the imperial court can confer titles, rewards, and recruit them as one state and one capital of the Ming Dynasty, just like you Shijie Tusi, and then migrate people from Fujian to teach farming and train standing soldiers. , Resisting the enemies who invade the sea, isn't it a good thing for the court and the natives?"

Ma Xianglin's eyes withdrew from the blue sky and cast on the woman's shining eyes.

"Azhu, if you think so much, you are actually planning a way out for one person, right?"

Zheng Haizhu lowered his eyes: "How lucky I am, all I meet are smart people."

Ma Xianglin sighed softly and said, "I'll take you to see your father-in-law, he has something to tell you."

(End of this chapter)