Eat in Song Dynasty

Chapter 486 There is someone behind his family
At this time, Zhuo Rufeng came over from behind.

"We can talk about it. We are visiting Hangzhou Prefecture. We did not bring any rice or food with us, but we do have some food. If you don't mind, you can take it all. Just don't hurt the relationship."

Hearing this, they were overjoyed.

Five people stayed to watch them, and one person went to Zhuo Rufeng's carriage to search.

After a while, the man came back with a sad face, "There is indeed no rice or flour, only some gifts that look good but are not useful."

"Then each of you should take a box of gifts back. We can't go back empty-handed." said the leader.

"Hey," the person who answered the question responded and turned back to get the gift.

One box per person, not greedy.

You have to know that there is half a carriage full of stuff in their carriage.

The more Wen Shu thought about it, the more he felt that they were not ordinary bandits.

Just as they went to get the gifts, there was another burst of thunder in the sky and the dark clouds became even denser.

Zhuo Rufeng suddenly started coughing, and Wen Shu patted him on the back.

"It's windy, sir, please get back to the car. We can move the wood. You are weak, don't get wet in the rain."

"It's okay. The rain hasn't started yet. I'll go with you and help you."

The tree blocking the road was almost as thick as a waist. Even the young lady got out of the car to help. How could a grown man like him just sit there and watch?

"Don't move!" Just as they rolled up their sleeves to move the tree, the boss shouted again.

"What? You guys are going to break your promise?" Qin Jingyang said angrily, "We agreed that you would let us go after we get the things."

The boss shook his head and said, "I meant well. It rained a few days ago and the Qiantang River swelled. Two villages were flooded and a section of the official road was also flooded, about five miles ahead. Even if we let you pass, I'm afraid you won't be able to enter Lin'an Prefecture."

Qin Jingyang didn't know whether what the other party said was true or false, and couldn't help but look back at Wen Shu.

"So what suggestions do you have?" Wen Shu asked.

The boss pointed to the right and said, "We live over there. If you don't mind, you can go over there and hide. When the rain stops, it will be convenient for you to go home or take a detour."

Wen Shu looked in the direction she pointed, and saw only scattered houses and what seemed to be tea mountains in the distance. Then he saw Zhuo Rufeng who was still covering his mouth and coughing.

"Okay, please lead the way."

The five men put away their sticks, two walked in front to lead the way, and the other three followed beside the carriage.

Qin Jingyang whispered in Wen Shu's ear: "Let's just follow them. There won't be any problems, right?"

Wen Shu glanced at him and joked, "I believe that even if they have bad intentions, with your ability, you can easily take them down."

Qin Jingyang:
"Please sit down." About half an incense stick of time later, Wen Shu followed a few people to their house.

There is a small wooden house at the foot of the tea mountain. Although it is called a small wooden house, it actually has four or five rooms connected together.

Old Man Wen parked the carriage under the eaves, and as they entered, they saw a lady serving them tea.

At this time, the wind outside was getting stronger, making the trees next to the wooden house rustle.

"It's not a good tea. Just have a drink and quench your thirst." The leader said as he invited them to sit down.

Wen Shu picked up the teacup and looked at the green tea leaves floating up and down inside. He couldn't help but ask, "What difficulties do you have? Why did you give up selling tea and stop by the road?"

There are tea mountains in the distance. The tea in our hands is fresh, but they say it is not good tea. I guess they also grow tea at home.

The Lin'an Prefecture area is rich in tea, and every year many caravans transport tea from the south to Bianliang.

Logically speaking, they shouldn't be short of money.

Even if you are not rich, you can always have enough food to eat.

"Is this Ruilong tea?" Qin Jingyang took a sip and looked over in surprise.

"Young master, you have a good eye." The leader praised.

"Since you grow Ruilong tea, why would you rob people?" Qin Jingyang was also confused.

Ruilong tea is considered a top-grade tea in the capital, and one tael of loose tea costs four or five taels of silver. Speaking of this, the leader and his brothers blushed.

Even their wives were a little embarrassed.

"We really have no choice, otherwise..." Several people spoke of their difficulties with red faces.

Wen Shu and his friends then realized that these people all had the surname Hou and were cousins.

This village is called Hongye Village. The villagers make a living by growing tea, and this has been passed down for several generations.

The Hou family has accumulated dozens of acres of tea plantations over several generations, and can barely support the family by selling tea every year.

However, the caravans that used to come to collect tea suddenly stopped coming this year, so that no one collected the dozens of acres of tea they planted.

The family only planted two acres of rice and vegetables. Now, two or three months have passed, and the little output from the fields has long been eaten up.

Their daily food and drink expenses were all dependent on the money earned from selling tea, and now they were really stretched to the limit.

As luck would have it, there was a flood that submerged the road into the city, making it impossible to go into the city to find work.

Seeing that the rice jar at home was almost empty, the few of them could only go to the road and block the way to see if there were any noble people or caravans passing by, and either buy or beg for some rice.

"For such a large tea-growing village, even if the original caravan didn't come, would other caravans not come?" Wen Shu asked.

It was not that she was overly suspicious. Looking at the Hongye Village, she saw at least a hundred households. The tea mountains in the distance were connected and looked quite large.

It's impossible that no one in the entire Hongye Village would collect tea just because one caravan stopped coming.

Speaking of this, Hou Da sighed again.

"Everyone else in the village has sold their tea to Wang's business. Only our brothers and two other families have sold their tea, but no one is buying it."

"Why is this? Is there something wrong with your tea?"

Hou shook his head.

"Then why doesn't Wang's business accept your tea?"

Hou Da just sighed but didn't explain.

Hou Er said anxiously: "In previous years, our tea was collected by the Zhuo family caravan. The price they offered was higher than that of the Wang family, so we have been supplying to the Zhuo family business. However, the Zhuo family and the Wang family business have always been at odds, so..."

"So Zhuo's Company didn't come, and Wang's Company refused to accept your tea?" Wen Shu took another sip of tea.

Hou Er nodded.

Qin Jingyang heard this and nudged Zhuo Rufeng next to him with his elbow, "The surname Zhuo, it can't be..."

"I didn't expect this kind of situation. I apologize to you all." Zhuo Rufeng stood up and bowed.

"What does this have to do with you, young master?" The brothers were shocked and helped him up.
"To be honest, I am the third son of the Zhuo family." Zhuo Rufeng explained, "The Zhuo family caravan has recently encountered a series of disasters and suffered a lot of losses. For safety reasons, the Zhuo family temporarily stopped major businesses such as tea and silk. Unexpectedly, it affected your livelihood."

When the brothers heard this, their expressions became complicated for a moment.

After a moment, Hou Da said: "Forget it, it's time and fate."

Wen Shu asked again: "Even if the Wang family caravan is unwilling to accept tea, what about other caravans? In such a large Lin'an Prefecture, there can't be only two companies that accept tea, right?"

“There are some small businesses, but…” Hou shook his head.

"Just what?"

"The Wang family has informed all the small merchants that they are not allowed to accept any business that has come into contact with the Zhuo family caravan."

Wen Shu frowned: "Do these small businesses just listen to the Wang family?"

"Young lady, you don't know that the Wang family has a high-ranking official in the capital as their backer. How dare those small merchants in Lin'an Prefecture offend them?"

Qin Jingyang got angry when he heard this, "What a great person, how dare he be so arrogant!"

Hou Er said, "I heard that the Wang family has a daughter who married the current Prime Minister Qin."

Hearing this, Qin Jingyang almost spit out the tea in his mouth.