Thanks to Qiao Hui, the hereditary lord and third-rank official, the group of people upgraded their mule carts to horse-drawn carriages. Seven or eight carriages and more than ten tall horses formed a cavalry. They took the official road during the day and if they could enter a town at night, they would take a letter to the local chief official to arrange for accommodation; if there was no town, they would settle for a village with inhabitants to rest for the night; if there was no town, they could only rest in an inn with a shop every 60 miles, which was similar to the highway service areas in later generations. Although it was simple, it could shelter them from the wind and rain.
If they missed even the post station, they would find a cliff or deep forest, build a bonfire, and set up a hut. The strong guards, mute guards, and men from the paper shop would guard the periphery, taking turns, and the women would sleep in their clothes on the carriage.
Even in later times, with convenient water and electricity and abundant food, traveling for more than a month would still be tiring.
Especially the current situation.
Xianjin thought Chen Fu would complain, but his cheap father was very contented. When he took a break, he took out his reed pen to write.
Xianjin took a closer look and saw a lot of scattered paragraphs on the single page: "There are pavilions scattered along the road. There are 93 wells on both sides of the official road in Dantu County, which provide drinking water for pedestrians, horses, donkeys and mules." "On both sides of the official road, earth is built into beacons with wooden signs and stone carvings on them. The li beacons mark the course of the road, and the jie beacons mark the state and county boundaries. Even if you travel thousands of miles, you can have a clear idea of where you are going." "At each post station, you can get a map with a travel note. There are also people selling "Chaojing Mileage Map" for 15 or 20 wen a piece. The 20-wen one has a more detailed map, even showing the osmanthus tree at the head of the village"...
Xianjin smacked his lips: These were just trivial things during the journey, Chen Fu recorded them all.
Chen Fu was still writing furiously. While thinking of a sentence, he looked up at his daughter. "Two official posts and forty days - how about this name? I plan to find a printing shop after I go to Beijing and publish the new book."
Xianjin nodded repeatedly: It does have some of Mr. Lin Qingxuan's charm, the writing style is plain, sincere and simple, but it makes people want to read on.
Xian Jin smiled: "It seems that you got rich before me."
Chen Fu shook his head: "Don't expect to make a fortune from this book."
If he wants to get rich, he will write about tragic love. Don’t you see that coward Qin Fuzi, after passing the imperial examination, he stays at home writing sad literature? Today he publishes a book called "Liang Sheng, Can We Not Be Sad", and tomorrow he writes a book called "Sadness Goes Upstream, You and I Go Downstream", and he makes a lot of money. He is so rich that he has saved enough money for studying at the Imperial College next year.
He doesn't want to get rich.
What is money? He is not interested in money.
As long as his daughter is at home, it is like a silver mine. He is tired, bored, exhausted and lazy about money. From now on, he will fight for his literary ideals!
"Many women who have been raised in seclusion have read books and can read, but they have never left home. This book can help them see the scenery and people on the road, and bring them comfort. This is also a great merit of mine."
Chen Fu said seriously.
Even the three layers of hair oil on my head instantly felt refreshed.
Xianjin was stunned for a moment, and was about to praise him, but he heard Chen Fu's next words.
"What's more, my brother-in-law said that he would make me the best writer in the capital. From now on, when I go out, I will have to be carried in a sedan chair by four people. When I open the door of my house, I will be greeted by flowers and praises. Wherever I go, the bookstore owners will wait for me, and they all say, 'Please, Master Ai Sui, please write more!'" Chen Fu narrowed his eyes, with a silly smile on his lips.
Xianjin was silent.
Okay, case solved.
She knew what kind of magic potion Qiao Hui had given Chen Fu.
......
Since Chen Fu, the most delicate member of the team, was tireless under the influence of adrenaline called "success", their horse team and car team really achieved the goal of "two servants in forty days" and arrived in the capital in the middle of July, on a midsummer morning when the sun was rising.
The watchtower is tall and majestic, and the carts carrying goods are moving slowly forward in the queue entering the city.
Shops were opened along the streets in the alleys surrounded by the capital. Officials were in a hurry to rush to the government offices. There were many breakfast shops and street stalls. Wooden signs read "Porridge, rice and snacks no more than 20 cents". Among them, fried white sausage, blood soup, lung soup, baked cakes, steamed cakes, sazi, and bean porridge were fragrant.
Suo Erba leaned against the wall of the carriage, tears welling up in her eyes: "I never thought that I would be able to come to the capital in this lifetime!"
Xian Jinxiao: The charm of the capital city will never fade no matter how much time passes.
The capital was divided into five cities and thirty-three wards in the east, south, west, north and center. The Qiao family lived in Jiqingfang, which was relatively close to the Wei Palace. It was like living outside Tiananmen Square and looking at the moat first thing when they woke up every day.
Turning into the west city and entering Jiqingfang, there are lions holding drums all along the way, and the facade is more imposing than that of the Xuancheng prefectural government office.
The Mansion of Duke Anguo, the Mansion of Marquis Ningyuan, the Mansion of Prince Yu...
Suo'er kept mumbling to herself, and after a while she blinked her eyes. The fat black girl asked Xianjin seriously, "Are these all true?"
Xianjin leaned over to look and said very seriously, "It doesn't look like a stage."
Suo'er was under a lot of pressure, but Mother Zhang had the calm madness of a middle-aged woman who was facing a collapse of the mountain but could not show her emotions.
Xianjin thought about it carefully for a moment. It might be because Zhang's mother was illiterate and had escaped the literacy campaign. Ignorance is bliss. She couldn't even understand what was written on those plaques, so why should she be afraid?
The Mansion of Marquis Zhongwu.
The horses and vehicles stopped one after another. Xianjin stepped on the smooth and bright bricks and saw Captain Qiao standing in the front row with his back hunched. Then came the bearded general seen in the negotiation group, and behind him came a handsome young man. Then came the women dressed in red and green. There were one or two older ones, and the rest were three or four girls with their hair loose.
Qiao Hui stepped forward.
With tears in his eyes, Shanzhang Qiao walked forward without looking around - he walked straight past Qiao Hui, and with his legs and feet not very conveniently walked to the side of Xianjin and Baozhu, his voice trembling: "Well done, well done... I heard about it... The negotiation was very successful, and it won at least twenty years of peaceful seas for the Wei Dynasty..."
Shanzhang Qiao wanted to pat Xianjin's shoulder, but this was not Jing County, this was the capital, and they were a foreign man and a virgin girl after all, so he could only pat the frame of the car in the air and led the two girls inside with an excited look on his face: "Hurry up, hurry up! It's hot outside!"
The Marquis' Mansion was larger than Xianjin had imagined. It took about half an incense stick of time to enter the main hall from the main gate.
Everyone sat down in rows.
Shanzhang Qiao introduced mainly to Xianjin: "This is your aunt, this is your uncle, this is your ninth brother, this is your sister Yiqing, sister Yiyu, sister Yiwu, and that sister is your uncle's niece, sister Jiang."
He introduced the newcomers: "You've all heard of them. This is my last female disciple, Jin Jie'er. This is her father, Mr. Chen San, and the others are her paper shop assistants - just call them by Baozhu's generation."
Xianjin called them over one by one.
That aunt had an inexplicable resemblance to Qiao Hui in terms of face shape and facial features.
Xianjin just said "Aunt" and got a very beautiful jade bracelet.
Aunt Qiao smiled and said, "Thank you for taking care of our Baozhu!"
Director Qiao was a little unhappy: "Why thank her for this! This is her duty! Her strengths are not here!"
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