Chapter 328 News
On the Jiangnan Road, on an unnamed inland river.
In the eleventh month of winter, the weather in Jiangnan is not exactly freezing, but it's not exactly warm either.
On the cargo ship with a fairly high draft, Du Qingning rubbed his stiff neck, thinking to himself, "After seven or eight years, I still can't get used to sleeping on the wooden planks in this cabin."
The charcoal brazier on the corner of the window had long since gone out. Du Qingning dressed, went to the stern to relieve himself, and then walked to the bow.
"Oh, the boss is up?"
"Just a moment, the porridge will be ready soon."
The boatman's wife looked up and smiled at Du Qingning.
"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. I'm really hungry."
After a while, the three men who did odd jobs with Du Qingning also walked over, still half asleep.
"Master, all is well."
Looking at the three of them, Du Qingning laughed and scolded, "I told you to play less of that card game. The way you two are acting, you must have been playing half the night again last night."
"Hehe, boss, if we stop playing now, we should be able to reach the ferry today, right?"
Just then, the boatman came over carrying two fairly large fresh fish. Upon hearing this, he replied directly, "Let the owner know. It should take about two more hours by boat to reach Yangzijin."
As he spoke, the boatman handed the fresh fish to his wife. The boatwoman worked quickly and efficiently, removing the scales and innards from the fish and slicing it into very thin pieces. She put half of the fish into the congee and arranged the other half on a plate to be eaten raw.
When Du Qingning saw this, he said, "I have some excellent soy sauce sold in Chang'an City. It's the most delicious thing to eat with it."
After saying that, Du Qingning went back to the cabin to get the soy sauce he had bought from a supermarket in Chang'an City.
Since they had known each other for five or six years, they didn't distinguish between places. Du Qingning and his three helpers ate together, but only the boatman himself ate with his family of five.
Seeing this, Du Qingning quickly took more plates and distributed some to others. The boatman kept declining, but seeing that Du Qingning was sincere, he finally accepted.
"Master, was this purchased in Chang'an, the capital?"
"The employer is kind; I'm benefiting from his kindness today, even getting to eat things sold in the capital."
These fresh fish sashimi slices are indeed sweet and delicious, and they taste even better when dipped in this soy sauce.
Du Qingning, after hearing the boat captain's words, also became interested in talking, but after taking another bite, he said, "That's for sure."
Chang'an City is truly vast, not only vast but also populous and bustling.
When I returned, I discovered that the city had already expanded for the third time; the original capital city was now referred to as the inner city.
"I see the boss has a lot of goods this time; it's going to be much more difficult than before."
The boat captain only ate two bites of sashimi dipped in soy sauce before stopping, eating only the porridge in his bowl.
"Hey, boss, you don't know, the boss bought a lot this time, all of them are good stuff that we don't have in the south."
Hehe, those Western Region girls in the West Market are really beautiful, completely different from the girls in our South.
They're all fair-skinned, and have big eyes too.
Following the current, we finally arrived at the Yangzijiang Ferry, where the dock was densely packed with boats.
The boat that Du Qingning was on wasn't the biggest, but it wasn't a small boat that couldn't carry much either; it was somewhere in between.
Although there were many boats, officials on sampans maintained order, and even on the shore, there were men on horseback patrolling the streets with knives on their backs.
Under such circumstances, ordinary people would not dare to cause trouble.
You should know that this area is under the jurisdiction of the Du family army. They have established rules, and those who disobey them have long since become victims of their own violence.
Although they arrived at noon, Du Qingning didn't get to dock until sunset.
After the goods were registered, taxes were paid, laborers were hired to unload the goods from the ship, and the laborers and shipping costs were paid, the Chamber of Commerce Alliance that came to pick up Du Qingning finally arrived.
"Old Du, you're finally back! Your tigress asks me about my wife eight times a day, while my wife asks me about her sixteen times a day."
"It wasn't that I came late on purpose; the traffic was terrible on the way here. My boss left around noon."
When Du Qingning arrived at the warehouse with the goods and returned to the Chamber of Commerce, there were already seven or eight allies waiting for him.
As soon as he entered, Du Qingning addressed the old man at the head of the table as, "Grandpa, grandson, Qingning is back."
Someone quickly placed a prayer mat in front of the old man, and Du Qingning knelt down and kowtowed three times before the old man said, "Good, good, good, it's good that you've returned safely."
"Get up quickly and tell everyone what's happening in the capital."
Du Qingning then sat down, and a servant brought tea. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and then began to speak directly: "Every time I go to the capital, Chang'an, it feels like it has changed."
...This is the third expansion, and it's become much bigger. The inner city doesn't look so crowded anymore.
This time, I not only spent all the money I brought, but I also used the money from selling our goods to buy more.
Therefore, they brought back quite a lot of things this time. The water was deep, but because they were regular customers, the boat captain only increased the fare by 20%.
...Apart from the newly opened supermarket, many new items appeared in shops throughout the capital.
Furthermore, I contacted a branch of our alliance in the capital. This branch has been doing quite well over the years; one of their relatives by marriage is an official in the Ministry of Revenue, and they gave me some inside information.
At this moment, the banquet that had been ordered arrived. After it was set up, there was no wine. One of them said, "Qingning, let's talk business first today, and I'll reward you properly later."
Du Qingning quickly stood up and replied, "Yes, thank you for your consideration, Uncle."
"The branch you're referring to, is it the branch that branched off from Du Yaozong during the reign of Emperor Taizong?"
Old Master Du, the head of the chamber of commerce alliance led by the Du family, thought for a moment and asked a question. After receiving an affirmative answer from Du Qingning, he simply nodded, signaling Du Qingning to continue.
"These two pieces of news are related. One is that starting next year, the imperial court may launch a military campaign against the Western Regions."
Secondly, someone in the capital invented a new way of treating illness, which requires a lot of cloth to make clothes and items to cover the face and head.
Later, I spent some more money and went to the shop my grandfather had told me about earlier, and bought some information.
At this point, Du Qingning took out something wrapped in oilcloth from his pocket. When he unfolded it, he saw that it contained folded papers.
Du Qingning handed the origami to Old Master Du with both hands, and then Old Master Du looked at it by candlelight.
After Old Master Du finished reading it, he passed it on to the remaining six or seven people one by one.
Afterwards, Old Master Du directly designated Du Qingning, saying, "Since you obtained this information, then you should handle this matter."
Afterwards, you should keep an eye on the purchase of cloth, starting with more remote areas to avoid arousing suspicion.
However, no matter how much our family collects, it's not certain that the capital will demand more next year.
According to the news, not only in the capital, but also in other places where troops are stationed, these cloths should be stockpiled for use.
"With the year drawing to a close, we'll see how much each family gives the Du family before deciding whether to inform them of this news."
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