White Bone Monkey King

One tree has two flowers, and the flowers bloom at two ends.

It is said that Jiangnan, as a land of plenty and because of its connection to the Grand Canal, has always been the most important granary in the world.

In addition, the water and sea transportation here is developed, so every year a large number of rare and exotic animals, delicacies from the mountains and seas are collected here, and then transported to the Central Plains and the capital through the Grand Canal, where they do business with the nobles and nobles. Therefore, people from Jiangnan do the most business, and Jiangnan people Businessmen are the richest and most famous.

Kangding State had a vast territory and could support people from all over the country. It is a bit exaggerated to say that the taxes paid in Jiangnan were worth half of the country, but it was not much different. For example, tea merchants, salt merchants, silk, porcelain and other trades were mostly in Jiangnan. These were all heavy taxes.

From this we can see the prosperity of Jiangnan.

However, since ancient times, according to the ranking of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, the status of merchants has always been at the lowest. Therefore, major commercial banks in the south of the Yangtze River have always wanted to get close to the noble lords in the capital and find backers for themselves.

These intertwined affairs between officials and businessmen are all side stories, too far away from ordinary people. Today's corner is Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Jiangzhou Prefecture has developed water and sea transportation and water systems all over the place. Even though thousands of mountains are like a screen, it still can't stop it from being a wealthy place with mountains of gold and silver.

Jin'an got clues about Master Yuyangzi from his brothers in the escort agency years ago, saying that the place where Master Yuyangzi carried his body was an inconspicuous small fishing village near the sea below Ye County under the jurisdiction of Jiangzhou Prefecture.

They took a boat all the way south, changing trains several times along the way, and finally arrived in Jiangnan after a month.

However, when they arrived at the small fishing village, they found that it had already been sealed off by the local government. They didn't even see the small fishing village, so they were driven away by the government officials. It was said that in order to prevent the outbreak of the plague, the entire small fishing village had been evacuated and abandoned. , there was no one alive inside.

Jin An did not express much disappointment when he did not see the small fishing village where many corpses of shipwrecks washed up. He came south mainly to Jiangzhou Prefecture this time.

However, their inquiry into the whereabouts of Uncle Yuyangzi did not go smoothly. Although they had a letter of introduction from Mr. Yin of Wuzhou Prefecture and the local government opened the door for them, because it had been so long, they did not meet Ye that day. None of the county officials, including Wu Zuo and Yizhuang, knew where Uncle Yuyangzi had gone.

Originally, the old Taoist priest wanted to see the remains of those shipwrecked, but it didn't go well. The remains were soaked in seawater and rotted too badly. They were left in the yizhuang for several days without anyone claiming them, so they were wrapped in straw mats and ordered a few times. He was given an incense candle to see him off, and finally he was hastily buried in a mass grave and became one of thousands of lonely ghosts.

The clues about Master Yuyangzi's uncle have been completely cut off at this point. The only clue is that Master Yuyangzi once stayed briefly in Ye County and Fucheng, and the last place he stayed was in Fucheng, Jiangzhou Prefecture.

At the end of March in Jiangnan, there was continuous spring rain.

Fucheng, Jiangzhou Prefecture.

The lobby on the first floor of a tavern was at the end of work time in the evening. The place was full of people and noisy. In this season when the damp, cold wind can make people’s brains and knees hurt, passers-by after a busy day , my biggest hobby is to hang out with three or five friends, sit in a tavern and sip rice wine with appetizers, bragging and chatting and telling dirty jokes. This is the most rare leisure time of the day.

Yellow rice wine is a major specialty in the Jiangnan area. Local people prefer to call it old wine. This yellow wine is like a woman, getting more fragrant with age and becoming more intense as time goes by, so local people prefer to call it old wine.

At this time, Jin An and the old Taoist priest were sitting in the noisy lobby on the first floor. They took the opportunity to sneak out of the inn and ate delicious boiled mutton while listening to interesting things in the market to see if they could hear something. Regarding the whereabouts of Uncle Yuyangzi.

The old Taoist priest held a mutton chop in one hand and a bowl of mutton soup in the other. His mouth was full of oil as he ate, and he kept slurping. From time to time, he would lower his head and take a sip of rice wine from the wine bowl. His face was oily and his face was rosy. It was a wonderful little life. So moisturizing.

Jin An looked at the hurried passers-by on the street who had forgotten to bring umbrellas and bamboo hats and were rushing in the continuous spring rain. He also thought that it was the end of March and another Qingming Festival was coming soon. He said from the bottom of his heart: "It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and on the road it rains heavily." Pedestrians want to die..."

Before he could finish reciting the poem, he was interrupted by the old Taoist priest: "It is indeed a good poem! It's wonderful. Even a rough guy like me, a Taoist, is suddenly immersed in Chang County. I miss my old friends a little."

Jin An looked at the old Taoist priest who had a mouthful of mutton on the left and a mouthful of warm and delicious mutton soup on the right. His face was red after eating, and there were a few black lines hanging down his forehead. What a fool!

The old Taoist priest, who was still full of fat, did not notice the twitching of the corner of Jin An's mouth. He was busy opening his bow left and right while continuing to speak: "Little brother, you are suddenly inspired by poetry. You seem to be in a good mood. Have you thought about Taoist friend Yuyangzi?" Any other clues?"

Jin An looked at the pedestrians hurriedly on the road and shook his head: "No."

They have been staying in Jiangzhou Prefecture for nearly a month, but they have not heard the latest news about Uncle Yuyangzi. I wonder how Uncle Yuyangzi is doing now. Is there a place to take shelter from the rain? Did you encounter any difficulties? Do you miss the Five Zang Taoist Temple during the Qingming Festival?

When he thought of this, he began to worry about Uncle Yuyangzi, with worry written all over his face.

On the contrary, the old Taoist priest has experienced more, unlike Jin An who was a little depressed after encountering some setbacks. He continued to draw his bows from left to right and said: "Looking at the passers-by on the street holding their heads to hide from the rain and walking in a hurry, the old Taoist suddenly had some ideas. ."

The old Taoist priest knew that Jin An was worried about Yuyangzi, so he continued without any pretense: "Brother, you said that Taoist friend Yuyangzi traveled between Yin County and Jiangzhou Fucheng, and stayed for a period of time. Did he? Who is he looking for or what is he looking for? Even if he is not looking for anything, it still shows that Jiangzhou Prefecture is very important to him, otherwise why would he wander around two places for a while. "

Jin An's brows moved. He had also considered this issue. He nodded to the old Taoist priest: "Old Taoist, please continue."

When it came to business, the old Taoist priest put away his nonchalant temperament and said seriously: "If fellow Taoist Yuyangzi really cares about Jiangzhou Prefecture, maybe he will come back?"

"So, instead of trying our luck like headless flies, in case we accidentally miss it, it is better to make a name for ourselves in Jiangzhou Prefecture and wait for fellow Taoist Yuyangzi to contact us when he returns to Jiangzhou Prefecture!"

The old Taoist priest who took a sip of rice wine, his thoughts became clearer and clearer as he spoke, his face flushed: "Little brother, what kind of things can you say to arouse the interest of fellow Taoist Yuyangzi? As soon as I hear your name, little brother, I will come to see you immediately. ?”

After listening to the old Taoist priest's analysis, Jin An felt that it made sense and cheered up: "For example, let's open another Wu Zang Taoist temple in Jiangzhou Prefecture!"

The old Taoist priest nodded: "Good!"

"The two of us really want to get together again!"

"With your ability, little brother, if you open a branch in Jiangzhou Prefecture and become famous, it's not easy to catch it. Fellow Taoist Yuyangzi will definitely come to you, little brother!" The old Taoist priest winked at Jin'an, just to cooperate with him. He has a fat-mouthed image and really doesn't have the slightest bit of aura of superiority at all. Instead, he looks even more vulgar.

Jin An was in a good mood, and this time he didn't care about the old Taoist priest taking advantage of him again. He extended a thumbs up and praised: "It is said that having an old man in the family is like having a treasure. Old Taoist priest, you have done me a big favor today!" "

After Jin An finished speaking, he couldn't wait to stand up: "Waiter, check out."

Old Taoist priest: "Huh?"

Jin An put down a few grains of silver on the table, put on his bamboo hat and raincoat, pulled the old Taoist priest and plunged into the crowd of passers-by. He did it as soon as he thought of it, and immediately went to choose the location of the new Taoist temple.