Chapter 152
A strong adult donkey can carry hundreds of kilograms, and even more if it is carrying cargo.
If traveling alone, a donkey can pull a carriage for dozens of kilometers. But if Xu Yi wanted to take A Xu and A Jin with him, only one donkey would be insufficient.
When Uncle Liu learned that Xu Yi would also bring A Xu and A Jin with him, he felt envious in his heart.
If he were still a dozen years younger, he might be able to follow Xu Yiyuan for a while.
Thinking of this, Uncle Liu asked Xu Yi: "Doctor Xu, how about we choose two?"
They walked around the donkey and horse market, and the donkeys they saw were not particularly strong, some had bad hooves, and some had too small heads. .
Uncle Liu said that the donkey's head was too small, its eyes were not sharp enough, and its teeth were not arranged neatly. We should not buy a donkey like this.
When he said this, the donkey farmers around them who were always paying attention to the two of them knew that this old man was an expert.
"Doctor Xu, this old man you brought here is quite capable." Manager Huang was immediately impressed by Liu Bo, who was plain-looking and a little dark-looking.
Uncle Liu chuckled and said, "When I was young, I raised donkeys for customers for a while, so I know better."
Manager Huang suddenly realized: "I see, it seems that I can definitely pick a good donkey for Dr. Xu."
Xu Yi listened to them As he spoke, his eyes fell on the shed not far away. There were two donkeys tied up in the shed, one big and one small. The big one held the little one next to him. At first sight, he thought he was bullying the little donkey. Then he took a closer look. , it turned out that it was arched into the trough next to it, and there was fresh grass in the trough.
The little donkey brayed twice and lowered its head to eat the grass.
Surprise flashed in Xu Yi's eyes. This big donkey seemed to be quite smart. Its dark eyes seemed to be sizing up the people coming and going around it.
He pointed to the donkey and asked Uncle Liu, "How about that one?"
Uncle Liu looked over, said "Huh", and walked quickly over to take a closer look at the donkey Xu Yi pointed to.
The donkey had a strong physique, well-developed muscles, and a well-proportioned back and buttocks. When Uncle Liu approached, it stepped forward with all four hooves and snorted air from its nostrils, as if resisting Uncle Liu's approach.
Uncle Liu's eyes were even more surprised. He wanted to touch its head, but the donkey snorted and ducked away: "..."
He turned back to look at Xu Yi: "This donkey is good, but his temper is not very good."
Xu Yi looked at it carefully and came to the conclusion: "It looks very healthy."
Although Xu Yi is not a veterinarian, livestock and people are similar, and there is a clear difference between a healthy life form and a sick and disabled body. This donkey can be evaluated as healthy and strong just by looking at its physique, eyes, and hooves.
Its eyes are bright, without tears, and it looks smarter than other donkeys.
The more Xu Yi looked at it, the more he liked it: "I want to buy it."
Uncle Liu hesitated, struggled for a moment and said, "Doctor Xu, do you really want it?"
"Yes." Xu Yi nodded firmly.
Liu Bo said: "If this donkey has a good temper, it will be obedient. If it is a stubborn donkey, it will be difficult to tame."
After Xu Yi heard this, he thought deeply and felt that what Liu Bo said was right, so he planned to try to get in touch with it. Will it exclude itself.
When he stretched out his hand, the donkey grunted, expressing the emotion of not being slow.
Xu Yi slowed down his movements and spoke softly: "I won't hurt you, don't hide away, let me touch you." The donkey's eyes were bright black, looking straight at him, in the sunlight Under the light, it seems as if it can speak.
This time, when it saw Xu Yi's extended palm, it didn't turn its head away and was willing to stroke Xu Yi's head.
Xu Yi was pleasantly surprised and smiled: "It doesn't reject me."
Uncle Liu: "..."
When the donkey farmer saw someone coming, the donkey that couldn't be sold did not take the initiative this time. Attack people.
He thought to himself, could he sell this stubborn donkey this time?
"Manager Huang, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing lately?" The donkey farmer greeted Agent Huang first, then looked at the young gentleman in the group and asked with a smile, "Say hello to this official." "Have you taken a fancy to my donkey?"
Xu Yi nodded: "Master, how do you sell this donkey?"
The donkey farmer said proudly: "In this donkey and horse market, which one has the best donkey?" This one belongs to me. Look at his physique. No other family has such a good donkey. I see that the official is kind and all he needs is twenty sticks."
Before he could finish his words, there was a "chi" from beside him. jeers.
I saw a middle-aged man who was about the same age as the donkey farmer and dressed in gray and short brown clothes. He unceremoniously exposed his words: "This official must not be deceived by him. This donkey has been here for more than a year." "It hasn't been sold yet."
"Why can't it be sold?" Xu Yi asked him curiously.
When the man saw Xu Yi talking to him, he became even more enthusiastic and said bluntly: "This donkey is very fierce. Every time someone wants to buy it, it will kick people as soon as they get close to it. This temper is not small, and officials have a hard time choosing who to buy." "Yeah, you dog can't spit out ivory, what are you talking about! "
Seeing this, the donkey farmer yelled angrily.
This old guy is trying to destroy all his good deeds.
After waiting for so many days, I finally hoped for something I wanted to buy, but I couldn't let this old thing mess with it.
He shouted hurriedly: "Officials, please don't listen to him. This donkey of mine is spiritual. It only recognizes its owner. Look, if you touch it, it won't be cruel to you. It's destined to be with you.
" Yi looked at him, then at the donkey who was willing to pat his head, and said with a smile: "The master is right, but the price you are shouting is not cheap."
"That's right, old man, your price is comparable to the market price. It's a few bucks more expensive." Uncle Liu agreed from the side.
Just as the donkey farmer was about to quibble, his rival did not leave. He sneered from the side and said, "I am planning to kill you."
Xu Yi raised his eyebrows.
The donkey farmer was furious: "!!!"
"Old man Xu, don't slander anyone!" He was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves and was about to fight, "I just accidentally stepped on your precious donkey last time. Dude, how can you bear such a grudge?" The man yelled back: "Is that a trample? My donkey couldn't walk for several days and turned into a weak donkey." The donkey farmer heard
this!
After saying this, his arrogance weakened a bit, and he said evasively: "Didn't I bring up the wine to apologize later..."
"Bah, who cares about your pot of loose wine?"
The two of them cursed for a while, and Xu Yi looked at Agent Huang with a suggestive look. Agent Huang was also confused as to why the two people started quarreling after a disagreement.
Unable to do so, Manager Huang said that he would resolve the matter and stepped forward to stop them from continuing to quarrel.
He shouted to the two of them: "Don't you two quarrel, are you still going to do business?"
The donkey farmer nodded immediately, obviously he wanted to do business.
The middle-aged man didn't dare to be too presumptuous when facing Agent Huang. Although he still wanted to stop him, he didn't want to offend Agent Huang, so he had to keep his mouth shut.
When Agent Huang saw that they had stopped arguing, he said to the donkey farmer: "Your donkey can't be sold for less than 20 guan. If you really want to sell it, come up with a sincere price."
The donkey farmer blurted out: " Agent Huang, my donkey is as good as a mule..."
Agent Huang waved his hand to interrupt him. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have been so interested, but this time it was Xu Yi who was receiving him.
He knew that Xu Yi had the best agarwood in his hands.
"We'll report the number. If you think it's suitable, the deal will be done."
After Agent Huang said to the donkey farmer, he turned around and told Xu Yi that the donkeys, mules and horses in this donkey and horse market are all It is registered in the tooth shop.
In order not to disturb the market price, although the price can be bought and sold at different prices, there are regulations that cannot exceed a certain amount.
He whispered to Xu Yi the price of an ordinary donkey in the market, and then asked for Xu Yi's intention.
Xu Yi knew that the donkey was good and didn't want to cut it too hard, so he compromised on the price and planned to buy it for eighteen guan.
The donkey farmer still wanted to raise the price, but looking at his rival who was still looking for an opportunity to scuttle the deal, he was afraid that he would go too far and let the customer run away, so he reluctantly agreed.
After agreeing on the price, the next process was handed over to Agent Huang.
Agent Huang worked quickly. The next day he went to the Yamen to stamp the red seal, complete the deed and send it over.
Also delivered was the donkey that liked to puff.
A Xu and A Jin squatted a few meters away from it, not daring to get close.
When the big guy saw them, he stepped on his hooves very rudely and watched them squat there without moving, making a dissatisfied sound of "咴咴".
Mr. Lin has been working in the countryside all year round and has seen many farm cattle with bad tempers, so he told them not to get too close to avoid being kicked by the donkey, which would be bad.
"Brother, why did Lang Jun buy it?" Ah Jin didn't understand. He wanted to get closer but didn't dare to whisper, "It looks so fierce."
Ah Xu stared at its strong limbs and said, "It's very strong. "
So Lang Jun bought it if he could persuade us?" Ah Jin's eyes lit up instantly.
A Xu said cautiously: "Maybe."
As they were talking, footsteps came from behind. The two of them turned around in unison, and it was Xu Yi who was coming.
This morning, Chen Liu knew that Xu Yi had bought a donkey, so he sent fodder over, which could be used to feed the donkey.
When A Xu and the others saw that Xu Yi was coming to feed the donkey, they quickly stopped Xu Yi from getting closer.
"Langjun, it's so fierce, let me feed it." A Xu shouted confidently.
He is now sixteen years old and seven feet tall. According to modern calculations, he is almost 1.7 meters tall.
Among the many malnourished people with flat heads, A Xu was very tall. Years of martial arts training made his shoulders look broad and Kong Wu strong.
He stood in front of Xu Yi, only half a head shorter than Xu Yi.
Xu Yi smiled and said, "It's not harmful to me."
The two of them stared at each other, obviously not believing it.
They had been squatting for half an hour, but the donkey still didn't let them get close.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yi came over with the fodder. When the donkey saw Xu Yi, not only did it not make a sound of ejection, but it also took the initiative to pick up the fodder in Xu Yi's hand.
A Xu: "!"
A Jin: "!" Her eyes lit up even more.
I really want to feed it.
Ah Jin came over slowly, hid behind Xu Yi, and whispered, "Mr. Lang, can you give me some?"
Xu Yi gave her some fodder after hearing this.
When the donkey saw Ah Jin coming, it snorted twice, but this time with Xu Yi around, it didn't kick its hooves.
Of course, there is still no good attitude.
Looking at the fodder that Ah Jin brought to his mouth, he didn't even smell it.
Ah Jin stamped his feet in frustration and looked at Xu Yi with a disappointed face: "Lang Jun, why doesn't it eat mine?"
Seeing it being so disgusted, Xu Yi was amused by this scene and laughed.
...
After buying the donkey, the next step is to customize the carriage.
Xu Yi did not go to the market to buy a finished carriage, but took Uncle Liu's car to Master Ji's home.
Master Ji was working in the yard. When he saw him coming, he stood up happily and came to greet him.
"Doctor Xu, why are you free to come here today?" He wiped his palms covered with sawdust and wanted to pour Xu Yi tea.
Xu Yi took the cold tea he poured, took a sip, and said, "I want to customize a carriage with you."
Master Ji was surprised: "A carriage?"
Xu Yi took out the drawings he brought over and showed him.
Before he drew the drawings, he first visited Pang Boyi's family's mule cart, and then visited Xing Yuesen, Xin Shengyuan and Tao Qinghao's family.
Comparing the different design styles and structures of each of them, it was found that the mule cart Pang Boyi rode was different from the other three.
His carriage is made of ebony, which is quite hard, and the four closed corners inside are fixed with iron sheets. In addition to the wooden board, the base is also fixed with three thumb-thick iron rods.
Not only that, the ebony wood is carbonized, and a layer of natural lacquer is applied on it.
This paint is made from the sticky juice of the bark of the lacquer tree.
This kind of structure can make the carriage more sturdy and durable, able to withstand wind, rain, and sunshine on sunny days.
After reading the drawings, Master Ji quickly expressed that he could make it.
"This structure is not difficult. Only these few parts are more troublesome. You have to pay attention to whether the dimensions can fit together."
Master Ji is very confident in his professional field. He points to the iron sheets and iron sheets drawn by Xu Yi. On top of the stick.
"I've seen this structure before, but for these, Doctor Xu has to find a blacksmith shop."
Xu Yi nodded: "Just leave this to me."
He showed the drawings to Master Ji, also wanting to confirm whether he could do it. .
Now that you can do it, the next step will be easy.
Later in the conversation, Master Ji told Xu Yi the amount and time.
After Xu Yi put down the deposit, he didn't wait long and asked Uncle Liu to take him to the blacksmith shop in the city.
They came to the blacksmith shop, and Xu Yi took out another drawing. This drawing only showed the dimensions of the iron piece and the wooden stick.
When the blacksmith got the drawings, there was no surprise. He quickly said that he could make it, but the price would not be cheap.
"The iron bars you want are all solid and must be of this number." The master blacksmith compared the numbers and explained that the government now strictly controls iron and it is not easy to get iron.
These days, the prices of blacksmith tools in Yanting County’s blacksmith shops have increased.
Xu Yi also learned the news from Yu Qiulin.
It was a businessman from the Shu region in the Central Plains who brought the news, saying that the imperial court was about to go to war with Xixia, and now it was preparing military rations and needed to temper its iron weapons.
In addition to being made into coins, the iron mines in Shu also have to be made into iron tools and sent to various borders.
Hearing that there was another place to fight, Xu Yi was in a daze. It was obvious that the border between Xixia and Song Dynasty was far away from Yanting County. His heart was beating subconsciously.
Going to war means that the people will be forcibly recruited again. Not only that, the women who stay at home have to take care of the housework at home and work in the fields. In addition, the military rations needed for the war were collected from various places, which meant that taxes would start to increase again.
He came out of the blacksmith shop not in a high mood.
I originally planned to go to the grocery store to buy some useful things, but now I lost interest.
After returning home, Xu Yi joined the pharmacy and began to concoct various first-aid pills, such as Musk Baoxin Pills and Ginseng Powder.
He did not tell his friends about his upcoming trip.
Xu Yi stayed in the pharmacy for several days. As soon as he came out of the pharmacy, A Xu came to tell him that Xing Yuesen and the others were here.
"Come here?" Xu Yi was stunned for a moment.
A Xu nodded: "Well, Amu ran over first to inform him in advance, saying that Xing Langjun and the others will be arriving in half a quarter of an hour."
As he said that, he looked at the cotton shorts Xu Yi was wearing.
Xu Yi naturally knew what he was wearing. He smiled and said, "You will wait for me later, and I will change my clothes."
After a while.
Two donkey carts were parked outside Xu's house.
Xin Shengyuan and Tao Qinghao got off one of them.
They didn't wait for Xing Yuesen, who was sitting in another donkey cart, and rushed in with his clothes on.
As he came in, he saw A Xu waiting at the door and asked, "Where is your husband?"
A Xu saluted and said, "The husband is changing his clothes and will be here later."
"Take me there." Sheng Yuan said angrily, "I know from other people's mouths that he is leaving Yanting County, how can he still have time to change clothes!"
Xing Yuesen, who stepped in from behind, couldn't help laughing when he heard this. shook his head.
A few years ago, he saw Xin Shengyuan was like this, and a few years later, Xin Shengyuan was still like this.
However, Tao Qinghao has changed a lot. Over the years, he has become much more reserved. Only in front of Xin Shengyuan will he be as light and comfortable as before.
But Xing Yuesen knew that in the past two years, Tao Qinghao had been taking over the Tao family's industry step by step.
Two-thirds of the Tao family's property is already in the hands of Tao Qinghao.
Only one-third of the property fell into the hands of the uncles in the family. Even Mrs. Tao, who used to firmly hold the power of the family in her hands, now does not care much about external affairs and has turned to the inner house.
There's something fishy here.
However, Tao Qinghao concealed it so deeply that even friends like them were just trying to make up for it and didn't know the truth.
At this time, Tao Qinghao smiled and stopped Xin Shengyuan who was about to break into Xu Yi's house and said, "Why are you in a hurry? No matter how anxious you are, you have to wait for Xu Yi's explanation."
Xin Shengyuan shouted: "I see him I can’t explain it.”
Tao Qinghao: “…” That makes sense.
If this was what Xu Yi decided to do, their friends wouldn't be able to persuade him.
But suddenly I learned from others that Xu Yi was leaving Yanting County, and I couldn't help but feel a little upset.
He looked at Xing Yuesen, who had a calm expression and found a comfortable seat to sit down after entering the main room.
Tao Qinghao asked him: "Brother Xing, do you know anything?"
"I don't know anything." Xing Yuesen shook his head.
Xin Shengyuan stared at him: "He didn't even tell you? Then what you said before that Xu Yi knows you best seems to be a lie to me!"
Xing Yuesen: "..."
How long ago did this happen? Yes, how come I still remember it now?
Just as he was about to explain, he saw a slender figure coming over with tea.
The three of them looked at Ah Jin.
They had watched Ah Jin grow up, but why did he suddenly change his appearance?
Xin Shengyuan asked directly: "Ah Jin, how do you become more beautiful?"
Ah Jin's hand holding the tea paused, then his face turned red, and he glared at him with some embarrassment.
But thinking that he was Lang Jun's friend, she gritted her teeth and said, "Xin Langjun, please don't make fun of A Jin."
Xin Shengyuan said, "What am I kidding you for? You have really become more beautiful."
A Jin After all, she was still an ancient girl, and after being "molested" like this, she covered her face and ran away.
Tao Qinghao quickly apologized and said, "Don't blame me, Miss Ajin, Xin Yao is just ignorant. It's useless for you to annoy him. Just tell your husband exactly what you said and ask your husband to fight him well." He paused to see if he still dared to be mean."
Ah Jin was stunned for a moment, and soon realized that Xin Langjun had no intention of praising her, but Tao Langjun did it on purpose.
She snorted at Tao Qinghao, turned around and ran away without looking back.
Tao Qinghao watched her run away and said regretfully: "I still have a lot of things to say to Miss Ajin, so why did I just leave?"
"What do you want to say to her? Why don't you tell me?"
Suddenly, a smile came out. A long figure crossed the threshold and walked in from the outside.
As soon as Xu Yi arrived, he heard Tao Qinghao Meng Lang's voice and couldn't help but frowned.
Tao Qinghao immediately sat upright: "Xu Yi, you heard wrong, I didn't say anything."
"Xu Yi!" Xin Shengyuan stood up and shouted.
After shouting, he ran up to him and asked directly, "Are you leaving Yanting County?"
Xu Yi looked at him and said, "It's for travel. I have been in Yanting for so many years, and now that I have achieved something, it's time to leave." I went to visit other places in Shu."
Xing Yuesen said, "Have you thought about where to go?"
Xu Yi thought for a moment.
He said he was leaving Shu, but in fact, Xu Yi only went to a few places in Shu.
Apart from Zizhou, there are state capitals such as Luzhou and Chunzhou to the south, as well as Nanguangbu located further south, but it is not as lively and prosperous as Zizhou, Changzhou and other places.
If Xu Yi goes to Nanguang Department further south, he may encounter fewer doctors and patients than if he stays in Yanting County.
This place was no longer on his radar.
Therefore, there is only one road to the Central Plains. There is a direct road from Shu to the Central Plains, and that is the Shu Road.
He planned to start from Shu Road and take one step at a time.
After expressing his thoughts, Xin Shengyuan and Tao Qinghao fell silent.
The atmosphere got weird.
A long while.
Xin Shengyuan's disappointed voice sounded: "Are you going to the Central Plains? Are you not coming back?"
This time, Xu Yi responded to him seriously: "No, I will be back."
He couldn't be sure about the rest. , but he was 100% sure of this.
"Xu Yi." Tao Qinghao took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you leaving?"
Xu Yi said, "It's not that urgent. I have to prepare things before I can leave."
Tao Qinghao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and said: "I'm getting married. The sixth day of next month is an auspicious day. You must come then."
There are still seventeen days until the sixth day of next month.
There's enough time.
Xu Yi nodded and promised to leave after he got married.
They talked a lot today, from the time when they first met to the changes in the past few years.
At noon, Xu Yi asked A Xu to go to the restaurant and buy some hot dishes.
Tao Qinghao waved his hand and called his servant to pick up two food boxes from his restaurant.
The food boxes are filled with the signature dishes of his restaurant. Paired with the osmanthus wine brewed by Xu Yi, it is sweet and sweet in the throat. After drinking it, I feel that my body is covered with the aroma of osmanthus.
After coming to the Song Dynasty for so many years, Xu Yi also fell in love with drinking.
But most of the wine he drank was brewed by himself.
Xu Yi drank all the wine in the cup and his eyes fell on them. Everyone became drunk even if the wine was not intoxicating.
He raised the corner of his mouth slightly and murmured softly: "It's great to meet you here."
Xin Shengyuan was sitting next to him. He could hear what he was saying, but it was a little unclear. He looked sideways at him: "Xu Yi, what are you talking about? "Huh?"
Xu Yi shook his glass: "The wine is gone."