In the kitchen, there is a large iron pot where ingredients are being cooked.
The fragrance comes from inside.
Wang Mazi chuckled, understanding the situation. "Sir, you're at the toll booth up ahead. I guess you didn't stop to rest or eat."
"How do you know?" The caravan owner was a little wary, afraid of being targeted.
The goods they transport are of great value, so they cannot be careless.
Wang Mazi sat everyone down at the table. "Since you don't know what the aroma is coming from, I took a guess, and it turned out to be correct. The aroma you smell comes from our rest stop specialty, braised food. Every rest stop along the way has this dish. If you've eaten at the previous rest stop, you naturally wouldn't be curious about this aroma."
I see!
The caravan owner breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately he was not targeted.
"Would you like some braised food, sir? We have braised pig's offal, head, tail, ears, liver, lungs, as well as braised duck, chicken, and so on..."
Listening to Wang Mazi announcing the dishes, the caravan servants, who were tired and cold all day, all started drooling.
The caravan owner wasn't much better, but he was reserved and didn't show it obviously enough.
According to Wang Mazi's introduction, he prepared a platter of braised food, some stir-fried dishes, and sweet potato rice for each table.
Winter melon and pork rib soup is free and available as much as you want. However, the soup only contains winter melon, no pork ribs. If it weren't for the distinct pork rib flavor, everyone would be wondering if it was vegetarian winter melon soup or winter melon and pork rib soup.
The steaming hot meal was served on the table, along with a side of braised food.
The caravan owner picked up a piece of pig ear and said, "Wow, it tastes really good."
I ate another piece of braised pork intestines. I didn’t expect that pig offal could be eaten like this. It didn’t have any fishy smell at all, but instead had the taste of spices.
The caravan owner was very satisfied with the braised food platter and ordered two more pots to give the crew some meat. If everyone was well fed and satisfied, they would work harder tomorrow.
While the caravan owner was eating, a large caravan arrived from the direction of the capital on the cement road outside.
There were at least forty or fifty mules, horses, and donkeys pulling the carts, and at least twenty or thirty carts laden with goods.
The caravan owner beckoned Wang Mazi over and asked, "Has the Wei River frozen over in the capital?"
"I haven't heard of it. According to past years' experience, we can still sail for another half a month."
The caravan owner pointed outside at the large caravan coming from the capital and said, "Why don't they take the Wei River instead of land transport? Isn't that a waste of time?"
Wang Mazi glanced outside and laughed. "I know this caravan. They run this route every month. They're going to Luozhou. Our cement road is more convenient than water transportation, and it's cheaper."
As you know, there are many checkpoints along the waterway, each of which charges a fee, and delays can take half a day or a whole day. It's better to take our concrete road. Although there are many toll booths, it's cheaper. It's also convenient for food and accommodation, and it doesn't delay your trip. You just pay the toll and you're on your way."
I see!
When the caravan owner was in Luozhou, he also thought about using water transportation.
But they were afraid that the Wei River would freeze and waste time on the way, so they changed to taking the cement road.
Who would have thought that today's cement road is more convenient and saves money than water transportation.
The caravan owner secretly felt lucky that he had chosen to walk on the cement.
Li Dashan brought several toll collectors to count the number of mules, horses and vehicles.
The car was packed full of goods and covered with oilcloth.
Li Dashan lifted the oilcloth and casually inspected the box. Looking at the seal on the wooden box, he immediately recognized it as cashmere clothing produced by the Sihai Textile Workshop in Beijing.
A set of cashmere clothes, extremely warm, and the price is very touching.
The stationmaster said that even if it was sold internally to employees, it would cost ten taels of silver per set. If you bought it from outside, it would cost twenty or thirty taels per set.
He also heard that cashmere was a very rare commodity.
A sheep only has a few ounces of cashmere on its entire body.
A single set of cashmere clothing requires several kilograms of cashmere. That's how many sheep must be slaughtered to make just one set. No wonder it's so expensive.
He also heard that cashmere is only produced on sheep from winter to spring.
Li Dashan looked at the cartloads of goods, and was impressed by the caravan's strength. Then he focused his attention and registered honestly.
Give the receipt to the steward and ask them to pay the toll themselves.
This caravan coming from the capital had to travel overnight without stopping to eat or rest.
Upon hearing this, Li Dashan shouted, "Come here, lift the fence."
Ding ding dong dong...
The sound of chains rang out.
Several prisoners wearing anklets walked out from behind the toll booth, trudging along the concrete road and lifting the heavy wooden fence to let the caravan through.
The caravan owner, who was eating by the window, was surprised to see the men with shackles on their feet.
"Who are they? You..."
Wang Mazi guessed what the other party was thinking and said quickly, "Sir, please don't misunderstand. Those people are all criminals, bandits and bullies, committing all kinds of evil. The county government is wasting food by locking them up. Our stationmaster has discussed with the county government and asked them to send the prisoners here for labor reform. This will not only save food for the county government, but also deter those bandits and bullies who have not been caught."
The caravan owner heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "That's a good idea. Bandits and road bullies are not good people. They need to be reformed."
These traveling merchants were well aware of the dangers posed by bandits and road thieves, and they strongly supported the actions of the local county government and toll booths.
In recent years, natural disasters have occurred frequently and many places have suffered.
As a result, along the official road, in the mountains and forests, there were groups of bandits here and there, you occupy a hilltop, I occupy a valley. In just a few years, many bandits emerged.
Some of these bandits really couldn't survive and had to go up the mountain to become bandits.
Some people are really lazy and like to eat and do nothing. They steal and cheat on a daily basis. Life is difficult, so they think it is better to go up the mountain and become a bandit, living a good life.
Some, eager to advance but frustrated by a lack of opportunities, decided to go all out and head for the mountains, hoping to one day kill officials and rebel, be recruited by the court, and embark on a new path to officialdom.
This group of people with different motives gathered together to rob passing merchants and travelers along the way, causing harm to the local area.
A typical bandit and road thug who is a disaster to the local people's livelihood and economy.
Merchants and travelers passing by suffered greatly, but there was nothing they could do.
As a result, in recent years, many merchants have changed their careers.
If you can't even save your life, how can you dare to travel around the country as a merchant?
How can this be!
Without passing business travelers, how can toll booths and rest stops make money and support their employees?
Therefore, when the toll station was first established, a guard team was set up to suppress bandits.
If we want to keep this trade route open, we must eradicate the bandits and bullies along the way.
In addition to organizing a guard team, Sihai Road and Bridge Trading Company also issued a reward notice.
Wang Mazi pointed at the reward notice posted on the wall and said, "Sir, please look at this. Killing a bandit will earn you five taels of silver, and capturing one alive will earn you ten taels of silver. Our boss is paying for it. The county yamen runners are really active right now, just to earn this reward."
As he was speaking, several county yamen runners came with four prisoners wearing shackles and chains.
"Boss Niu, someone is sent to you. Take him in." The bailiff shouted at the top of his voice.
It was cold outside, so we went into the rest stop. The rest stop was heated with floor heating, so it was very warm.
Several prisoners, wearing thin clothes, stood in the cold wind, shivering.
Boss Niu walked out of the toll booth picking his teeth.
He first greeted the yamen runners, then went forward to check the teeth of several prisoners.
"Hey, I think the person you sent here is not the right one. Could this pretty boy be a bandit or a bully?"
"Don't disbelieve me, Boss Niu. This is his military advisor."
"What a bullshit military advisor! I can kill him with just one punch."
"That's it! This is Boss Niu!" The bailiff gave a thumbs up.
"Boss Niu retired from the Tianlang Army, so of course that's different."
Sirius Army?
The caravan owner was surprised when he heard this.
That rude toll booth owner turned out to be a retired soldier from the Sirius Army. No wonder he looked so fierce.
Boss Niu chuckled and kicked the yamen runner, "A hero never brags about his past achievements. Come, call my relatives."
Mr. Niu, a cousin of Mr. Niu, has cross-eyes and is not good-looking. He looks to be in his fifties or sixties, but he is actually only in his forties.
He has been working as a bandit for nearly twenty years, rising from a small soldier to a military advisor, and he is quite capable.
Unfortunately, his luck was against him. When Boss Niu came, he took the lead in suppressing the bandits that Mr. Niu was in. He became a coolie at the toll station and was undergoing labor reform.
"My family is here to identify someone. The county government sent a few people, saying they are bandits. Do you recognize them?"
"They must be bandits." The bailiff emphasized.
Ten taels of silver per person, this is not a bandit, this is clearly pure silver.
Mr. Niu didn't waste any words and started to perform oral skills, speaking the bandit slang.
In a short while, the background of several people was exposed.
Mr. Niu pointed at the pretty boy and two other men and said, "These three are from the Niutou Mountain gang. They've been in business for at least three years. I've seen this pretty boy once before. As for this big guy, he's a porter, not a bandit. I don't know how he was captured to make up the numbers."
"Alright, you bastards, you're playing tricks and forcing people to make up the numbers. Do you really think it's easy to get our boss's money? If I fail your assessment at the end of the year, I'll skin you alive."
Boss Niu rolled up his sleeves and waved his iron-like arms at the yamen runners.
The yamen runners scattered in all directions, their faces filled with fear and anxiety.
"Boss Niu, please calm down. We really didn't know anything about this. It was all decided by the county lieutenant. Here is the file. Please take a look, Boss Niu."
Boss Niu sneered, "I don't care about that. I only know that you guys are using tricks to cheat people out of money, and you're not good people. Do you know the consequences of cheating people out of money?
Last month, a yamen runner at the Jiulipu toll station also arrested people to defraud the reward. Guess what happened? The runner was sentenced to three years of labor reform at the Jiulipu toll station. You can still see him if you go there. The county lieutenant was simply dismissed.
You guys are so bold! You also want to come here for labor reform? I'm digging a pond in the mountains and I'm in need of some coolies.
"No, no, no, Boss Niu misunderstood. Maybe the county lieutenant made a mistake. Let's go back and fix it."
"Is it really a mistake? Didn't I recognize the wrong person?"
"We made a mistake."
"These four prisoners, stay here and get out of here. Once you have sorted out the situation, come back with the case files and get the receipts and the money."
"Yes, yes, Boss Niu, you have the final say."
Several yamen runners ran away in a panic.
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