Chapter 120 Chapter 120 Update.
Hearing the drumbeats outside, Tian dipped a comb in water and combed her hair into a neat bun.
"Yexiang! Pour out the night fragrance!"
Tian took the urine bucket out of the house and met an old woman who was collecting night-blooming incense outside. She had two large buckets on her wheelbarrow.
"Pour it for me? Is there such a good thing?"
When Tian asked, she found out that they had to pay for it. She waved her hand and said no, then carried it herself and went to the public toilet on the street.
The walls of the outhouse were more than 12 feet high, and the inside was like a leaky well. At dawn, some residents of Sangshu Lane had already come out with their trousers pulled up.
There were some noises of people getting up in the neighborhood of Anling. Tian came back, picked up a pair of buckets, and went to the nearby canal to fetch water.
According to what the scoundrel said yesterday, Chang'an is surrounded by eight rivers. In addition to canals such as Zhengguo Canal and Baiqu Canal for irrigating farmland, there is also a canal built by tens of thousands of workers on the side of Wei River, which is used for transporting grain and supplies from all over the country to supply Chang'an.
Now there are ships stationed at the canal and the port, and the servants are carrying and unloading the cargo.
In addition to this canal, there are also crisscrossing canals that connect eight rivers near Chang'an, including Fengshui, Bashui, Chanshui, and Jiaoshui, to supply water to the city of Chang'an.
For example, the Kunming Lake in the southwest of Chang'an is a reservoir dug by human hands. It is connected to the water supply outside and has two canals leading to the city. One branch flows to Cangchi and Taiyechi, specifically supplying water to Weiyang Palace and Changle Palace; the other branch passes through the city to provide water for the people in the city. Of course, some nobles also have wells dug in their homes, which is much more convenient than drawing water from the canals.
Near Anling Town on the "Second Ring Road", there is also a large reservoir connected to the canal, which is guarded by a special water commander. If you carry water yourself, it costs three cents per load. There are also special water carriers who will carry water for you to the neighborhoods and alleys, but you have to pay them a few extra cents based on the distance you walk.
Tian is a strong man, but he is reluctant to spend the money.
"The water is coming, make way, make way."
I saw her rolling up her sleeves, carrying a full load of water, and when she got home, not a drop was spilled. She poured it into the water jar and started preparing breakfast.
In her words, this big city seemed better than the countryside in every way, except that everything cost money, even a drop of water or a piece of wood for burning, had to be bought outside.
The load of firewood in the kitchen was bought yesterday.
The monthly salary is several hundred yuan.
She measured the glutinous rice, mashed the black leaves picked from the roadside into juice, and steamed them together, giving them a beautiful black and purple color.
Spread it on a square towel while it's still hot, wrap it with fried egg pancakes, and add homemade cucumber sauce. It tastes glutinous on the outside and fragrant on the inside, sour, spicy and crispy. They call it egg sorghum. Ji Xu especially loved eating this when she made it when she was a child. However, they were poor at that time, so she could only make it secretly for her to satisfy her hunger without Jun Gu's knowledge.
The courtyard was cool. Ji Feng combed Ji Zhu and Xiao Yao's hair one by one outside and asked:
"Mother, where's my sister?"
"I just went out in a hurry to look around." Tian said through a window.
Here, Ji Xu bit the sorghum eggs made by Tian Shi and walked all the way to the nearest Jiaomen Market.
This bustling market is at the north end of Wei Bridge, where cooked food is everywhere, including Yang pig leek roe, fried fish liver, sorghum rice and meat soup, and Luoma cheese wine. Small stalls in the market have everything you could imagine.
"Girl, do you want to cut up the sheep's liver and stomach?"
Many of the tens of thousands of people living in Anling bought breakfast here to fill their stomachs. There were also minor officials from various government offices who loved to eat here. It was very lively and bustling, with the aroma of various meats and wines.
"Lama wine! Drink Laoma wine and you will get promoted and rich!"
Luoma wine is made from horse milk. It was originally used as a reward to officials by the imperial court, and then it became popular among the people.
Ji Xu bought two liters of goat's milk and asked the vendor about the rent of the shop. He was shocked when he heard it.
Here, the monthly rent is ten thousand coins, ten taels of silver, which is five or six times what it costs in my hometown. This is without a shop, just a small stall in the tunnel, about the size of an outstretched arm, which can accommodate one or two people to turn around.
"God, is it really that expensive?"
Tian was shocked when she heard this.
"That doesn't even include the monthly city and trade taxes. It's so expensive, and I still can't rent it. I only saw one unsuitable spot vacant, and the city official seemed reluctant to give it to me. It seemed like he wanted some benefits before he would agree."
All the shops in Jiaomen City belong to the government, and the money is collected by the city officials.
These days, Ji Xu and her friends went to various cities in Chang'an one after another.
There are nine markets in Chang'an, namely East Market, West Market, Jiaomen Market, Huai Market, Liu Market, Zhi Market, Xiaoli Market, Jiaodaoting Market and Gao Market.
The East and West Markets are located within the city.
The East Market was built during the reign of Emperor Gaozu and is an ancient and large market; the West Market is located in Lijiafang, and faces the East Market from east to west across the Hengmen Street.
There are big merchants from all over the country in these two markets. They have huge shops in the city to store goods, which are taken out in carts every morning for sale. There are brocades from Bashu, grains from Guandong, fine horses and felt carpets from the Western Regions, pomegranates from Tashkent, and glass from Sindhu... The goods are divided into different categories, and there are millions of rare goods. The carts cannot turn around, and people cannot look at them.
Feng, Zhu and Xiaoyao, the three children, stared with their eyes wide open.
"Sister, is that person sick?"
A foreigner with a high nose and green eyes walked into the East Market. He was fat and had a full beard that reached his chest. Ji Zhu stared at him with wide eyes, but couldn't bear to look at him any longer, so she asked Ji Xu quietly.
"Oh my, that man's eyes are dark green, like a pool of water." Tian was also frightened and patted her chest.
Ji Xu said, "Those are foreigners. There is a Barbarian Residence in Chang'an that is specially used to receive envoys from the Western Regions, Nanyue, and the Xiongnu."
"What do foreigners eat? They look different from us?" Ji Feng was very surprised.
The East and West Markets in Chang'an City opened their eyes, but the rent for shops of the same size here was three to four times that of shops outside, so they could only take a look and then leave.
Then he left the city from Hengmen and arrived at Zhishi in the north of the city.
There is no second price for goods here, all are bought and sold at a fixed price, hence the name. Twenty-five miles away from this direct market, there is a Fupingjin ferry. Cargo ships often stop at the ferry and trade in this direct market.
Therefore, there are pottery bottles, ear cups, gargle bowls, tiger pots, pottery plates, boxes... Everything for daily use, even a needle, is available here, all at a fixed price, just like a wholesale market, focusing on large quantities.
Merchants from the East and West Markets would also come here to purchase goods, but there were no vendors selling cooked food.
Ji Xu thought that if he could afford to open a shop in the future, he could come here to buy some plates, wooden tables, and chopsticks.
However, it is obviously unrealistic to open a restaurant in such a wholesale market that sells miscellaneous items, so this direct market is also ruled out.
We also went to Liushi in the western suburbs. This place was called Xiliu. Decades ago, the Huns threatened the Central Plains. The emperor sent a large army to garrison in Xiliu, Bashang and Jimen near Chang'an. The garrison on the north bank of the Wei River was Xiliu Camp. The famous general Zhou Yafu disciplined his troops strictly and even stopped the emperor from inspecting him. This famous story happened in Xiliu Camp.
There were many people here in the past, and a willow market was formed near Xiliu Camp. But now that the army has withdrawn, this place has become a large granary called Xiliu Granary.
Because the place is remote and far from its former glory, Liushi is much quieter and is not considered for the time being.
Later, I went to the Imperial College in the south of the city. I saw stone-carved scriptures standing at the entrance of the college, and the students entering and leaving were graceful and polite.
"This locust tree market is really only open two days a month. Back then, there were so many students under the shade of the locust trees, but now there are hardly any people."
Tian's way.
What is worth mentioning about Huai City is that it was formed spontaneously by Tai students in order to trade books. It was not large in scale and did not have high walls, towers, tunnels, or shops like other markets. Naturally, there were no market officials to collect rents, taxes, etc.
I went to Xiaoli City, Jiaodaoting City and Gao City one after another. Needless to say, there were always some reasons why it was not possible to open a store there.
"The rent in the East and West Markets is expensive, the Zhi Market doesn't sell cooked food, the Liu Market is remote, and the Xiaoli Market is far away... In my opinion, the Huai Market next to the Imperial College is better. It can save a lot of money. It's a pity that it is only open two days a month." Tian said.
"I can set up a small stall here in the future. If I want to open a shop for a long time to attract customers, it seems that the nearest store to us is more suitable. There are many stalls selling prepared food there, and there are many people. The rent is also reasonable." Ji Xu said.
"Well, that's the case. Then let's decide on that place?" Tian said.
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