Martial Arts and Longevity: Starting from the Spiritual Beast Picture

Chapter 22 A Trip to Songyuan County

"Brother Pao is back."

"How about it?"

Zhao Lin and Liang Song greeted each other one after another.

"Go inside and talk."

Zhou Pao grinned and closed the door casually.

Entering the main room, Zhou Paotou took off his hat and jacket, grabbed the water bottle and sipped a few gulps of it into his mouth.

Zhao Lin saw his expression, knew that the matter was done, and didn't rush to ask questions, but Liang Song couldn't hold back and said, "How is the matter, have you found a suitable buyer?"

"I'm thirsty, let me drink two more."

Zhou Paotou raised his neck and drank all the water in one breath, wiped the water stains around his mouth and said, "I went to several counties and asked around.

"Besides, it's not the territory of the Mountain Leopard, and the shipment is safe."

Both Zhao Lin and Liang Song said: "Brother Pao has worked hard."

Zhou Paotou didn't care and said: "It should, but be careful when passing the checkpoint. I'm worried that the tax collector has a bearded eyeliner."

"Let's pack up and leave tomorrow."

Zhao Lin shook his head lightly, "Brother Pao, you stay at home, Liang Song and I will go."

Zhou Pao was stunned, "What... mean?"

Zhao Lin knew that he had misunderstood, and explained: "Brother Pao, your appearance is too...so strange, anyone who sees it will be impressed, if you go to the same place twice, it will easily attract suspicion."

Liang Song spoke more bluntly: "Brother Pao, you will never forget this face for the rest of your life."

In this era, except for warriors and business travelers, ordinary people rarely leave their homes for hundreds of miles. Zhao Lin's worry does have some truth.

Zhou Baotou touched his face and sighed: "You are right, I will tell you the name of the store in a moment, it is an old store for decades, and its reputation is not a problem."

After speaking, he told the two of them in detail the places that need attention on the road and the name of the shop.

The three of them discussed for a while before starting to prepare for departure.

There is an important thing to do before departure: deal with the bear gall and the mane of the mane.

The taxation of the Dai Viet Dynasty was quite complete. Farmers paid land tax, and fishing and hunting had to pay mountain tax.

Orion hunters don’t need to pay extra taxes when they sell their prey locally, but if they cross the border to trade in other counties, they will be charged heavy taxes.

There is Lushan County between Songyuan County and Qinghe County. If the tax is collected according to commercial goods, at least [-]% will be deducted, and the loss will be even greater if you encounter ruthless tax collectors.

Merchants have business leads, but the proportion of handover is relatively low.

The reason is that the Dayue Dynasty, like Zhao Lin's previous feudal dynasties, did not like the flow of people.

On the day he came back from the deep mountains, Zhou Paotou flattened the bear gallbladder with wooden boards and dried it in lime.

It's hard to hide Xihao's mane, it's thick and thick, and it weighs more than ten catties, so it's very conspicuous when you carry it around.

But it didn't bother Zhou Paotou, he found an old sheepskin jacket, cut the mane into sections, and sewed it on the leather jacket.

"How about it, can't you see that we are selling goods?" Zhou Paotou said with a proud face.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song didn't expect this kind of tax avoidance trick, so they praised him severely.

Zhou Paotou handed the leather jacket to Zhao Lin, "We are about the same size, try it on and see if it fits you well."

Zhao Lin put on the leather jacket and jumped twice on the spot, "Okay, it's just a little heavy."

"It's a bit ugly." Liang Song joked aside.

It was past noon, and the three agreed to leave tomorrow.

Zhao Lin went home and told his parents and elder brother about going out for a few days. The three of them were so surprised that they didn't ask any more questions. They just told him to be careful when going out and not to cause trouble.

Now that he can earn money, and has the ability to bring his brother back, his words at home are becoming more and more important.

Early the next morning, Zhao Lin came to Zhou Paotou's house, put on a mane fur coat, took a bear gall bladder, and set off with Liang Song.

The two of them left the village and went straight to the chariot dealer at the north wharf of the county seat.

This trip is more than 200 miles away, and it is definitely unrealistic to walk on two legs. Traveling by car and horse is equivalent to a long-distance bus in this era.

In addition to horse-drawn carts, there are also ox carts, but the ox travels slowly and only travels short distances.

Horse-drawn carriages usually go back and forth between two counties, and there are different seating options such as two, four, and six.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song chose the cheapest six-seater carriage, fifty cents a trip, and the distance between two counties is a hundred miles, which is equivalent to traveling two miles for one penny.

They paid a deposit and boarded a carriage that already had four people seated.

Before Zhao Lin got on the car, he glanced into the carriage, and saw an old man with two and a half children, who looked like grandparents and grandchildren, and a young man in blue. Get in the car with confidence.

This is his first time traveling far, so he should be careful.

"drive!"

The coachman drew a whip, shouted, and the carriage started to move.

"Oh, why are your clothes pricking people?"

The carriage shook, and the young man in blue touched Zhao Lin, and immediately screamed out of breath.

Zhihao's mane is extremely sharp and hard, and he basically looks like a human porcupine on his body. No wonder this person can't stand it.

"Offended, please forgive me."

Zhao Lin quickly apologized, took off his coat, rolled it upside down and put it on his lap.

"I don't pay attention to what I wear."

The young man in blue muttered, and sat back a little.

The passengers were unfamiliar with each other, and it was somewhat awkward to sit face to face, so the compartment was extremely quiet, except for the sound of the wheels bumping on the road.

After driving for half a day, the carriage suddenly sank with a "clang" sound and stopped.

The people in the car were stumbling around, and the two children almost fell out. Zhao Lin and Liang Song had sharp eyesight and quick hands, and each of them grabbed one of them, so they didn't get hurt.

"Thank you both."

The old man thanked repeatedly and hugged the frightened two children.

"Handlebar style, how did you drive the car?" the blue-clothed youth complained while holding his scratched forehead.

"The car is stuck in the pit and can't go away." The coachman's voice came in.

Everyone got out of the carriage to watch, and saw a big hole in the ground, and the wheels of the carriage sunk deeply into it.

The coachman whipped his whip a few times, and the two horses dragged and tugged, and the carriage could not be pulled out for a long time.

At this time, spring is approaching, and the snow has been tanned by the sun, making the road muddy.

Zhao Lin stared at the mud pit for a while, feeling a little strange, and then looked at the expression on the coachman's face, he was not panicked, as if he had known it for a long time.

Liang Song also noticed it, and said in a low voice: "This driver is weird, I don't know how to avoid such a big pit."

"Well, let's see what tricks he plays."

Zhao Lin wasn't too worried, this was an official road, no matter how daring the driver was, he wouldn't dare to rob, and the few people in the car didn't look like rich people.

"Why don't you leave?" the blue-clothed youth shouted.

"Didn't you see it? The car has sunk in." The coachman waved his whip twice to show that he was helpless.

"Then what should we do? We paid the fare for the car, so why not stop here?" the blue-clothed youth said angrily.

The coachman pointed at the carriage and raised his eyebrows, "How about you carry it for me?"

The carriage is made of solid wood and covered with thick iron sheets, which weighs at least a thousand catties.

The young man in blue glanced at the old man and the two children, "How can we lift such a heavy car?"

The coachman spread his hands, "Then there is no other way."

Suddenly remembered something, pointed to a village not far from the road and said: "There is a village over there, I will call a few people to help."

"Why don't you go soon?" the blue-clothed youth urged.

The driver stood still, with a smile on his face, "He won't help us in vain, he has to give money to instruct us to move."

(End of this chapter)