Chapter 67 Pepper Seedlings
The government issued a notice saying that a merchant caravan from another country had set up a market here and the people of Dongping County could go there to trade on their own.
When Cui Qingyi arrived, quite a few people had already gathered at the Bay Wharf. Due to their absolute trust in the county government, everyone came to watch the excitement after hearing the notice.
Everyone had the same idea in their mind: what would a person with blond hair and blue eyes look like? They had to take a good look at this once-in-a-century excitement.
The officials from the yamen specially marked out an area at the dock for Phil's caravan to store their goods.
They had been drifting on the sea for several months, and the food and water on the ship were almost exhausted. Now they finally found a place where they could exchange goods for the supplies they needed.
So the people of the Phili caravan swept away the gloom of the previous few days and happily set up the market.
At first, the people who came to watch the fun just watched from afar. When the caravan had almost put the goods in place, they began to get closer to see the wonder.
When discussing goods, we also discuss people.
The people in the Fili caravan didn't take it seriously. Instead, they became more motivated because of the crowds of people stopping to watch.
When Cui Qingyi arrived, the dock was crowded with people, and it felt like half of the people in Dongping County were there.
But there are very few people who take the initiative to trade with the caravan.
Konjac stood on tiptoe and saw through the crowd a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner behind the counter.
She widened her eyes in shock, her face flushed slightly, and she tugged at Cui Qingyi's arm, whispering, "Girl, these people are so good-looking."
Cui Qingyi followed her gaze and saw a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes standing behind a pile of cloth. She was wearing an open-necked green dress and a ruby the size of a pigeon egg hanging around her neck. When she lowered her head and nodded, a large area of snow-white skin was exposed on her neck.
Although they don't speak the same language, whenever she sees someone stopping by her counter, she will pick up the colorful cloth and enthusiastically sell it to them.
Konjac immediately fell in love with the bright red fabric in the woman's hand. The girl had fair skin, so she would definitely look good in red clothes.
Cui Qingyi also saw that it was obvious that the dyeing technology of foreigners at that time was already very advanced. The bright colors must have been added with some industrial preparations.
Cui Qingyi pulled Konjac to browse all the containers. The goods brought by these foreign merchants were richer than Cui Qingyi had imagined.
But it also makes people astonished at how bold these guys were. They dared to bring such valuable goods with them when they crossed the ocean to the legendary Eastern country for the first time.
There were three whole containers filled with gemstones of various colors, several containers filled with watches, pocket watches, and clocks inlaid with broken gemstones; gold and silver products of various shapes, palm-sized bronze mirrors; rhinoceros horn and ivory products; exquisite glass wine utensils reflecting brilliant colors in the sun; woolen fabrics neatly stacked together, waiting for their lovable owners.
Cui Qingyi finally saw the spices in front of the last container. She got closer and saw pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, etc., but no chili!
Perhaps the disappointment on Cui Qingyi's face was too obvious, so the short-haired man who was watching from the side stepped forward and asked in stiff Mandarin, "What do you want?"
All seven words in the sentence were in a tone that Cui Qingyi could not imagine.
If Cui Qingyi wasn't afraid of exposing the fact that she, a native of Dajin, could speak a foreign language, she really wanted to say, "I can speak English."
Fortunately, she was well prepared. Cui Qingyi took out the pepper plant and ripe pepper fruits she had drawn and handed them over, then gestured a few times with her fingers, which roughly meant, "I want this. Do you have it?"
The short-haired man took the drawing paper and looked at it. A big smile immediately appeared on his face. He said hurriedly: "Oil, oil~"
The man then turned and called out to the young men who were busy moving goods not far away, and quickly spoke about their own needs.
The young man put down the goods in his hands, turned around and ran towards the cargo ship parked in the distance.
Cui Qingyi was ecstatic. She had not thought that she would be able to find chili peppers, but she did not expect that this caravan actually had some. God was really kind to her. Her hot pot, her happiness was coming back.
As if he was afraid that the two guests who had finally arrived would leave because they were tired of waiting, the short-haired man greeted them attentively with the few Chinese characters he knew.
Fili had been observing the entire caravan from a distance. Seeing that the local people were only interested in watching the fun and had no intention of trading with them, he could only feel anxious in his heart.
Seeing two customers coming to Kane's container selling spices and seeing that both sides had difficulty communicating, Phili hurried over here.
After standing still, Philip bowed like a gentleman. A green gem hung on his forehead in his long, curly golden hair. His blue eyes were like the clearest lake Cui Qingyi had ever seen in her previous life.
He said gracefully:
"Hello, beautiful ladies, how can I help you?"
Although the tone was still stiff and strange, at least Cui Qingyi could easily understand what he was saying, which made things much simpler.
She pointed to the shelf and said, "I want some new spices. Can you help me introduce them?"
When Fili heard the customer wanted to buy spices, he immediately smiled broadly and said, "Of course, beautiful lady, I'm happy to serve you."
The dimples on Cui Qingyi's lips hadn't faded at this moment. She pretended to be calm on the surface, but in her heart she was already screaming like crazy: "Ahhh, in my previous life, did all those handsome foreign guys who looked like goblins walk through the sewers when they went out?"
Phil didn't know much about spices, but Kane did. Kane introduced the name and usage of each spice, and Phil then relayed it to Cui Qingyi.
In fact, Cui Qingyi knows the name and usage of every spice here, but with so many yamen runners around, Cui Qingyi can guarantee that these people are not just here to maintain order.
I believe that it won’t be long before anything wrong at the market will reach the ears of the county magistrate.
Cui Qingyi has been in this ancient time for so long, and the first word she learned was to be cautious and not treat anyone as a fool, especially in an era when supernatural beliefs are prevalent. If you are not careful, you may die without a burial place.
So she was willing to spend time waiting for Fili to explain.
While talking, Cui Qingyi ordered a few pounds of pepper. Pepper is a good thing. It can be used in stir-frying, stewing, and making porridge. It has a spicy taste but does not hurt the stomach. It can also have a warming and tonic effect.
As for cinnamon and saffron, Cui Qingyi also bought some of each. She didn't use these spices much in her previous life, but this is the Great Jin after all. These foreign caravans may not come here for more than ten years, so these things are better than nothing.
From the direction of the cargo ship, a young man ran over holding a potted plant.
Cui Qingyi saw it from a distance.
It was a very weak pepper seedling. Perhaps it had been floating on the sea for too long, and its leaves had begun to wilt. It looked like it would not live long.
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