Qin Hu

Chapter 145 How will Husband and Yue'er behave mischievously?

Shi Lu was wondering, not to mention how refined this salt is?What are candles?
He saw that Mr. Da Qin clapped his hands, and someone immediately brought up a tray...

On the plate was a cup of snow-white delicate things that looked like icing sugar, and several light brown and powdery cylindrical things.

"sugar?"

"Salt!"

Shi Lu didn't believe it, so he stretched out his hand, seeing that Mr. Da Qin didn't stop him, he tried to put some on his finger, put it on his mouth and sucked it, and immediately opened his eyes wide: "Salty..."

"It's very salty! Very clean and salty! But. How can salt not be a little bit bitter? And it's even more beautiful than icing sugar. This is your Daqin salt? Why haven't we heard of it before?"

Zhao Zihu remained silent, grabbed the horizontal knife scabbard, and hit the bulkhead behind him a few times, the window panels of the cabin were lowered from the outside, and the cabin door was also closed.

Immediately, the cabin fell into a situation where he couldn't see his fingers. Shi Lu just sighed secretly, "It seems that the young master still doesn't trust us", then he saw Zhao Zihu suddenly blowing on the fire, and quickly touched a candle to light it.

Most of the cabins were dazzlingly bright again in an instant, and the glare was just the discomfort caused by Shilu seeing the light again in the darkness, and his mouth was open enough to stuff two chickens: "Is this a candle?"

"Of course."

What Zhao Zihu said made Shi Lu feel like he was dreaming, he looked around for a while, and even rubbed his eyes.

"It's several times brighter than an oil lamp! Just, I just don't know, how much is it worth?"

"Fifty dollars!"

These words surprised Shi again: "An oil lamp costs at most three renminbi."

Zhao Zihu smiled more cheerfully, obviously meaning that oil lamps can't be compared with candles.

Not to mention the present, even in the ancient times of his previous life, candles were definitely a luxury item.

For example, it is said in "Xijing Miscellaneous Notes", "The king of Minyue offered two hundred honey candles to Emperor Gao, and the emperor was very happy."

In the Song Dynasty, when the economy was very developed, Kou Zhun lived a very extravagant life. He never lit oil lamps at home, only candles. For this reason, Ouyang Xiu even read a copy of him.

Shi Lu is not an ignorant person, so he didn't follow up and ask, "How long can the candle last?" and other silly words.

He is good at observation, and quickly figured out that if such a large candle is used for all purposes, at least the whole night will not be worrying.

"Then, what is the price of refined salt?"

Hitting the bulkhead again with the scabbard, Zhao Zihu blew out the candles, and asked Shi Lu to come over: "We will act as merchants on the small islands outside the East Sea..."

Xiangliyue, Fat Qinger, and several other sailors also walked in, and everyone had a secret discussion.

"Okay! That's the decision. Lao Lu, you go back to freshen up and have a good rest. For specific questions, we can adapt to the situation at that time!"

After the discussion, Zhao Zihu dismissed the crowd, and with Xiang Liyue, he returned to a small cabin that belonged to himself alone.

This place is still three hundred nautical miles away from Juzhang, which is called "Ningbo City" in later generations, and it will take about eight hours...

That is to say, the clipper ship can only dock in the early morning of tomorrow, and must find a hidden place to anchor, and only put a few small boats close to the border of Dongou.

Zhao Zihu thought that the matter had come to this point, so there was no need to be impatient, and he asked Xiangliyue's aunt and nephew to enter Dongou with him, and he also considered that they were female relatives, and it was easier to be convincing if they pretended to be merchants.

This world is not a fantasy martial arts plane of "Qin Shi Mingyue". There are no precedents of women and children serving as soldiers and assassins in Daqin and even the six kingdoms...

Xiang Liyue also has a little-known high-strength martial arts, which undoubtedly greatly reduces the risk of this trip.

"So, why not do it? Just a few days more than the originally planned voyage..."

Thinking this way, Zhao Zihu suddenly realized that Xiang Liyue was leaning against him, drawing small circles on his heart with his beautiful index finger.

"Oh. How is my husband going to mess with Yue'er?"

Seeing such actions, Zhao Zihu felt that he was even younger than those coquettish little women in his previous life. As a big man with a strong blood, how could he be indifferent, and immediately hugged Xiangliyue by the waist...

The next day, the clipper ship was parked concealedly in the Juzhang Waterway as originally planned.

Zhao Zihu, Xiangliyue's aunt and nephew and the other ten sailors carefully changed their outfits, then lowered the boat, and under the guidance of Shi Lu, set out for the Dajia River.

This is a rare and sunny morning. Although the mist in the mountains and rivers is white and dense, it looks extremely thick, but it can't stop the thousands of rays of light from the red sun.

Zhao Zihu and others looked up, and occasionally they could vaguely see strands of pure white clouds, like flawless white jade, floating in the sky, there was no wind, no birdsong, and all the sounds of beasts and humans were dormant.

The Daxia River originates from the eastern foot of Siming Mountain. It is high in the west and low in the east. Several small boats traced its source. At first, the people along the river were sparsely populated. When the thick fog gradually cleared, you could occasionally see some fishermen and mountain people...

Like beavers and wild deer, they stretched their necks and took a look at the boat, and immediately dropped their work, or fled into the mountains and forests, or punted to the sides...

Then, in the pleasing gurgling of the river, the branches of fir, pine, and camphor trees trembled one after another, hiding a touch of green and green, and the oriole and bamboo chicken chirped and rushed out.

Zhao Zihu and Xiangliyue's intuition was extremely accurate. Suddenly, they both noticed the movement in the rear left. There seemed to be a crisis lurking in the low part of the dense forest, and it was almost about to burst out just a moment ago.

Their feeling was right, just where Zhao Zihu's eyes passed, Alai, who was lying in the grass, pulled back his companion Atie who was about to shoot: "I want to die..."

"It's in broad daylight! If those guys are from Qin, once they find us, where do you tell us to go? Qin people's archery skills are much better than your three-legged cat's kung fu!"

Ah Tie looked furious, he squinted his eyes, his long and shriveled face was full of veins, he was holding the bow in one hand, and he was trying to get back the arrow with the other...

The arrow was newly poisoned by him last night, as long as it hits the arrow, the throat will be sealed when it sees blood, but Alai actually held down the arrow body tightly, and with Ah Tie's strength, he couldn't twist it at all.

At this time, A Lai and A Tie slipped to the riverside under the orders of King Zou Yao...

Because there was news that Lu, a capable digger, fell into the sea a hundred miles above the cliff.

Lu is an iron buddy of Zou Yao and Wu Zhu, and now there are accounts along the coast of Dongou to inquire about...

Even if he couldn't save the living Lu, it would be a great achievement to get this buddy's dead body back to work.

Not long after the fog cleared, they didn't notice the presence of Lu on those small boats...

Ah Tie, on the other hand, was born with an almost abnormal hostility towards faces, always ignoring them, and would kill anyone he saw.

"Alai! What are you doing nonsense? People from Qin are better, we shoot them all, and we can show our merits to the king when we go back. The king has a good relationship with Chu, and he hates Qin very much!"

A Lai rolled his eyes straightly: "A Tie! Ru Bi Niang said stupid things. The king asked us to come here to find money and save people, not to make trouble for you! We can't find it..."

"Seeing these people, how many people are there? Let's go back and report. Who wants you to shoot people indiscriminately? Can you knock down the Qin people with just a few shots? If that's the case..."

"Chu will not be destroyed, and the king doesn't need to take us to hide in this mountain! Are you right?" As he spoke, Alai patted Ah Tie's head with his backhand like he was disciplining a child.

Ah Tie took back the poisonous arrow, but did not move rashly, after all, the target had gone with the river.He just murmured, "Then go back and report", then put the arrow in the pot and scratched his head.

"That's right! He's an obedient boy." Alai pulled Ah Tie up and patted him on the shoulder as encouragement.

The two then rushed into the denser woods like an antelope.

A few small boats docked in the southwestern part of the Daxia Jiangxi, where the terrain is relatively flat. Before Zhao Zihu and others landed in time, Zou Yao personally led people to surround them.

"Stand still! Don't move! Wow..."

Dozens of indigenous soldiers nearby with copper spears and iron axes yelled at the group of people. There were only two archers among them, and one of them was Ah Tie with a fierce face.

Zou Yao looked around first, focused on Xiangliyue and Fat Qinger, and finally fixed on Zhao Zihu and Shi Lu, and asked with a sneer, "Where are you waiting?"

Before Zhao Zihu could speak, Shi Lu took off the straw hat first and shouted: "Brother! It's us, Lu Ye! We survived a catastrophe and were saved by noble people..."

"Lu? It really is Brother Lu Xian! Are you safe? That's great! You said that the nobleman saved you..." Zou Yao was overjoyed.

But he didn't yell excitedly, but laughed with a hint of doubt. After carefully looking at Shi Lu, he stared at Zhao Zihu again.

"I have seen the king!"

Zhao Zihu immediately smiled, and respectfully shook his hands at Zou, Xiang Liyue and the others also bowed to him with somewhat uneven movements.

At the same time, Shi Lu made a recommendation: "Brother Xian! They are the nobles who rescued us, the merchants from Ryukyu Island in the East China Sea. This is the owner Chaohu!"

"Chaohu" was the name Zhao Zihu made up during his trip, Xiangliyue was named "Chaoyue", Fat Qing'er was "Chaoqing", and the rest had nicknames.

Zhao Zihu was about to raise his hands to say something again, but he saw Nu shaking his brows slightly, his smile became more natural, he strode forward, and waved with open hands: "My dear brother! Honorable guest! Please..."

Zhao Zihu went ashore with Shi Lu in a frank manner, and the three of them bowed to Zou Yao together.

"Your Majesty!"

"Thank you, honorable guest, for saving my brother's life!" Zou Yao bowed deeper this time, and his voice became more choked up.

Zhao Zihu smiled: "Your Majesty's words are serious! This effort is worth nothing. This is my wife, this is my nephew!"

Taking advantage of the situation, he briefly introduced Xiangliyue and the others, but when he saw Zou Yao, he also saluted them one by one, without the slightest airs.

"Everyone! Brothers! Let's move to the dormitory with us..."

Even, when Zou Yao saw two big boxes being brought out of the boat, he subconsciously stopped and looked back: "My respected guest! This is..."

"Return to the king! It is a certain goods."

After hearing Zhao Zihu's answer, Zou Yao only nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

But when Shi Lu thought about it, he knew that this virtuous brother cared more, so he gave Zhao Zihu a wink without showing any signs.

Zhao Zihu actually noticed it too, and felt that the chances of winning were great.

Along the way, the scales of the bamboo forest are spread out on the left and right, with bamboo rats leaping among them, butterflies and birds fluttering, the sound of chickens and dogs can be heard in the distance, and the bamboo huts are peaceful, and several waterwheels can be seen "clicking" to divert water from the stream for irrigation.

So at first glance, it seems almost the same as Xanadu, but in fact, all the people I met were skinny and pale, and some of them looked young, but half of their hair was already gray.

After Sui Yao came to a central square and a row of houses, Zhao Zihu initially estimated that the tribe had about five or six hundred households and thousands of people.

As for how many other odds and ends there are, it is unknown.

"Your Majesty!"

"Hello, Your Majesty..."

"Hello, Mr. Lu!"

Although the mountain people greeted each other with smiles and even some children ran up to chase and fight, their eyes were dull and full of vigilance.

Zou Yao summoned all these men, women and children to the square, and introduced to them: "Folks! Lu He is back. He survived a catastrophe and was rescued by nobles..."

"And the person standing next to us is Lu's nobleman and this king's distinguished guest, the proprietor of a sea caravan! Folks, everyone said, what should we do in the face of a distinguished guest?"

Under his appeal, many mountain people showed brighter smiles and shouted loudly.

"The honored guest is here, with good wine and good food..."

"There are singing and dancing, and there are competitions!"

"We must let the distinguished guests feel our enthusiasm!"

Zou Yao decided to let the mountain folks hurry up to make preparations.

But Zhao Zihu stopped him suddenly: "Slow down! Your Majesty, there is something to add to the fun..."

"To add to the fun? Honorable guests, don't make jokes. There is no reason for us, Dongou, to bother our guests!"

Zou Yao's first reaction was to smile, saying so.

"Your Majesty, don't be in a hurry. Just listen to someone! This item is actually something that someone wants to dedicate to the King, and hopes to promote friendly exchanges."

Zou Yao was originally curious about Zhao Zihu's two boxes of goods, but when he heard that there were still some for him, he was both surprised and delighted.

But immediately, he said humbly: "No, no, no! Your honored guest. You saved my virtuous brother, and we should be the ones who thank you and give gifts..."

"My lord, why don't you see what the thing is before making a decision?"

Zhao Zihu's suggestion made Zou even more tired, thinking to himself, this guest is really confused!

If you present something, how can this king refuse...

If you refuse, doesn't it seem that we are too rude?

Zou Yao also understood that if he refused again, it would be even more rude, so he hurriedly agreed.

Zhao Zihu ordered his subordinates to open the first big box, and said with a smile: "Look, Your Majesty, this is the first meeting gift from someone—refined salt!"

Zou Yao, as well as the mountain people in the entire square, were fascinated by the big box of bright salt flowers, and everyone's breathing suddenly became short of breath.

The refined salt is not only packed in a large wooden box, but also wrapped and covered with special moisture-proof whale skin, so they look distinct and comfortable to the eye.

"Refined, refined salt? Is this salt? Did you hear that?"

"Yeah! I heard that. The guest said they were salt!"

"Impossible! How can there be such a beautiful salt in this world."

(End of this chapter)