Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Weird Things.
Days on the road are boring.
The initial novelty faded, and fatigue gradually came over me.
As the cheapest means of transportation, the riding experience of a donkey cart is really disappointing.
Even though Song Jiaoniang had made preparations and had laid out mattresses and cushions in the carriage, the bumpy ride still made Lin Zhi, who was riding for the first time, complain bitterly, and her stomach churned for two days in a row.
By the third day, which was today, Linzhi's condition had barely improved, but there were only a few sour plum candies left in the box.
At this moment, she was leaning listlessly against the wall of the carriage, lifting a corner of the curtain to get some fresh air and looking at the scenery outside.
Now the caravan was traveling on the official road. Looking around, there were layers of mountains on both sides. There were few people living there. Apart from the post station passing by, there was not even a shoe store.
According to the caravan, they first had to travel west along the north bank of the Yangtze River to Hezhou, where they would take a boat to cross the river to the other side, and then follow the waterway to Luzhou. Then, from Luzhou, they would head north through Shouzhou and enter the Huainan West Road. They would then pass through Chenzhou and Xuzhou, and finally arrive in Bianjing. If the whole journey went smoothly, they would be able to reach Bianjing in more than 20 days.
When Lin Zhi thought of this, she couldn't help but think of the Bianjing City that Song Jiaoniang and Lin Sen had talked about. It was said that there were rows of restaurants on Jiuqiaomen Street, with embroidered flags fluttering like clouds, covering the sky and reflecting the sun, which was extremely ostentatious. Among them, there were even towering pavilions that were three stories high.
At first, Linzhi thought it was just an ordinary thing, but later he found out that there was a brick and stone platform under the building, so the first floor alone could overlook the imperial palace. Only then was he shocked by its grandeur.
Just as Linzhi was feeling fascinated and daydreaming, wishing she could grow wings and fly to Bian Jing, she happened to hear whispers coming from outside the car.
Then the driver said loudly, "Uncle Lin, the boss said there are no inns or hotels ahead, and the post house ahead also said they don't accept ordinary people, so we need to go to the foot of the mountain and find a flat place to stop and rest for a while."
At that time, post stations were mainly set up to receive officials on official business. Only when they had free time would a few post stations agree to receive merchants and ordinary people.
Apparently, the group's luck was not good, as the nearest post house directly rejected the caravan's request.
Lin Sen responded with a "OK". After a while, he saw the donkey cart gradually slowing down and finally stopped in a shady place.
After the donkey cart stopped, the family of three got out. Lin Sen stretched his body and immediately inquired about the surrounding situation; Song Jiaoniang tidied the carriage, took out the mattress, shook it, patted it, and then hung it on the side of the donkey cart to bask in the sun.
Linzhi was driven aside by the two men and chose to sit on a big rock by the roadside, swinging his legs boredly and watching the actions of the caravan members with great interest.
But I saw several men tied ropes to the surrounding trees, then tied the oilcloth to the ropes, pulled them tight, and created a shady place on the side of the road.
Linzhi turned his gaze to the other side, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He saw several people over there carrying stones of suitable sizes and piling them up, and a temporary stove took shape.
Are you going to cook outside?
Linzhi instantly became curious. You know, in the past two days, there were many hotels and inns in Taiping Prefecture, so the group had all eaten in the inns. This was the first time she had seen such a scene.
Linzhi jumped down from the stone and ran to the stove excitedly. His eyes were full of curiosity as he kept looking at the busy people.
"Sister Zhi, why are you going to the stove again?" Song Jiaoniang finished tidying up her bedding and came out just in time to see Lin Zhi heading towards the stove. She couldn't help but wonder, "She was like this when she was at the mansion too. She would go to the kitchen whenever she had something to do."
"That's normal." Lin Sen followed his wife's gaze and looked at his daughter, a smile in his eyes: "Did you forget? She grabbed a cooking spoon during her one-year-old celebration. At that time, I thought she would become the Kitchen Goddess."
"What good is there in being a kitchen girl? It's very hard." Song Jiaoniang shook her head, disapproving. "With all the smoke and fire every day, good skin will be ruined in two years, not to mention those hands. Have you ever seen a kitchen girl with beautiful hands?"
When in the mansion, only those who are not favored by the master or have no connections will be sent to the kitchen to learn skills. Most of them learn skills such as needlework, hairdressing and makeup so that they can serve the young lady in the house. Another group learns skills such as arithmetic or growing flowers and plants so that they can help the young lady with housework.
"I just said it casually. Besides, the skills of a kitchen lady have to be learned since elementary school. Sister Zhi is already a good needlework woman, so how can I ask her to change and learn this?" Lin Sen replied with a smile.
Song Jiaoniang was satisfied after hearing this. Speaking of the future trip to Bianjing, she also had a lot of worries: "After we go to Bianjing, we can't just sit there and eat up all the food."
"I'll look for a job for you and then ask Sister Zhi to take the entrance exam for an embroidery or brocade academy. With Sister Zhi's skills, maybe she can get into a workshop. Then she won't have to worry about her life in the future."
"The rules of the Embroidery Institute and the Brocade Institute are a bit strict. I think it would be better to let Sister Zhi make the things and then sell them in chain stores like Baijinfang. Life would be easier then." Lin Sen thought for a while and asked.
Song Jiaoniang shook her head repeatedly: "No, our shop in Taiping Prefecture, Baijinfang, doesn't even allow the names of the embroiderers who are consigned to the shop to be registered."
"Even if you work there for three to five years, you'll still be an unknown little embroiderer when you come out." Song Jiaoniang explained the problem to Lin Sen in detail: "The rules of the Embroidery and Brocade Courts are very strict. Maybe after three to five years, you can become a female official! Even if not, if you open a shop after leaving there, you can still talk about it."
Lin Zhi didn't know that Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang had already started discussing her future. She was watching everyone's actions intently.
As the stove was built, the man stepped forward and skillfully lit the fire into the stove, then placed an iron pot on the stove and poured spring water into it.
At this moment, a gentle voice came into Lin Zhi's ears: "Sister Zhi."
Lin Zhi looked up and saw that it was none other than Madam Xie. This Madam Xie was a rare woman in the caravan. She was tall and slender, with clear eyes and brows. Her hair was neatly combed, sleek and meticulously done, with only a silver hairpin for a simple look. Her clothes were also very simple, with a dagger and other items slanted diagonally from her waist belt, a stark contrast to the average boudoir woman.
"The stove is burning brightly. It's dangerous to get close to it."
Madam Xie took Lin Zhi by the hand and led her away from the stove. She stuffed an orange into Lin Zhi's hand and said softly, "Come, sister will give you an orange to eat. Be good and eat the orange here."
Lin Zhi looked at the orange in her hand, thought for a moment, took out the box of sour plum candies from her bosom, and handed it forward with a smile: "Thank you, sister. Eat it."
"Our sister Zhi is such a good child." Madam Xie smiled as she picked up a sour plum candy generously.
"Sister Xie is acting so arrogant again..."
"Tsk tsk tsk, when will you be so compassionate to us?" The men nearby saw this and immediately started to make a fuss in twos and threes.
Madam Xie smiled at Lin Zhi, but turned to the gossiping man with a fierce look, waving her fists. "What's the matter? Do you think you don't train enough on weekdays and want to add some more? Or are you itching to get a fist?"
"Come on, let's go get some more firewood."
"There seems to be some fruit on that tree over there. Let's go take a look!"
Seeing Madam Xie showing off her power, the men immediately scattered.
Linzhi took in the scene before her eyes, and suddenly recalled the conversation her family had last night.
After traveling with the caravan for two days, the Linzhi family was sure that there was something seriously wrong with this caravan!
First of all, according to Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, they learned from chatting with others that the caravan was heading from Yongzhou to Bian Jing and was doing silk business.
It just so happened that Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang, one of them had previously managed a silk shop under the name of the Xi family, and the other was once a top embroiderer, so with their years of experience, they could see the clues at a glance.
At present, famous products such as Shu brocade, Song brocade, and kesi are in full swing, but this caravan chose to go far away and purchase fabrics from Yongzhou, a remote and desolate place regarded as a barbarian land.
While Yongzhou's fine ramie cloth was somewhat renowned, it was nowhere near as renowned as that from Leizhou, Wendeng, and other places, and was not particularly sought after in Bianjing. Even more bizarrely, Yongzhou's medicinal herbs were its golden signboard, with white flower snakes and linglingxiang being highly sought-after items, yet the caravans were ignoring them, a truly baffling prospect.
Furthermore, Lin Sen secretly observed and discovered that half of the people in the caravan were martial artists, and their behavior was particularly like that of an official military camp.
If you come from an official family or even a military camp, and want to become a transporter, you can just go to a delivery shop to escort the goods. Why bother to accept the employment of a pawnbroker and do this hard, tiring and poorly paid job?
Anyway, after two and a half days, everyone's doubts have accumulated.
Lin Zhi looked at Madam Xie teaching a few men a lesson with a heroic look, and thought to herself: Although it is not uncommon for women to engage in business and learn skills nowadays, a woman with such superb martial arts skills and the ability to intimidate a group of men is truly rare.
Such a person must have been quite famous. However, whether Lin Sen was out tending the shop or inquiring about Chen Yan's information, he had never heard of her existence.
Lin Zhi's eyelids trembled, and a thought emerged in her mind: Could it be that this caravan is not as simple as it seems, and there may be other secrets behind it?
Just as she was thinking, Linzhi suddenly saw Madam Xie kick the man with a flying kick, sending him to his knees. She withdrew her thoughts and watched the men's movements intently, her eyes shining and her hands clapping loudly, wishing she could immediately go forward and learn from them.
She still had some rationality left and remembered her situation. She barely suppressed her restlessness and silently turned her attention to the orange in her hand.
Peel off the evenly thin skin and the fragrance of the orange will flow out.
Linzhi picked up a petal and put it in her mouth. As she squinted her eyes to savor the sweet and sour taste, she suddenly heard the man in front of the stove screaming: "Stop messing around - come and save it!"
Linzhi:?
Hearing the sound, Madam Xie and the others stopped what they were doing and rushed forward: "What are you trying to save... What is this?"
"Eh—what is this?"
"Why does it look like mush? Can you eat it?"
“…I made it according to the recipe!”
"Ridiculous! There's no recipe that could produce something this weird."
Lin Zhi first heard the conversation, and then looked at the faces of several people that were as colorful as a palette, and couldn't help but feel curious.
She took a few steps forward, looked towards the large iron pot surrounded by several people, and her eyes suddenly widened.
The contents of the pot were bleak, a mixture of white and gray, and extremely sticky. Even Linzhi found it difficult to tell what they were originally.
But the man in charge of the preparation was waving the spatula persistently, stirring it hard - as if by trying harder, he could restore the contents to their original state.
To be honest, Linzhi felt that there was nothing left to save at this point, so it would be better to just throw it away so that the souls of the food could ascend to heaven soon.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
