Chapter 62
Wen Yi happily wrote a letter to everyone in Pingyi and Yao Wenjun who was far away in Ji, then packed up and left Fengyi with a few skilled workers and the exquisite gadgets he had made in the past few days.
Before leaving, Nan Xun hesitantly accepted the letter from Wen Yi and watched the carriage depart with the other officials. Song Jin or the others would have said something, but Nan Xun wasn't one to offer opinions, and even getting to say a few words was a real struggle. Although he felt it was inappropriate, he didn't make any move to stop them.
After sending out the letters and recent documents according to the above names, people in the city fell into busyness again.
Not to mention how shocked the people of Pingyi were after receiving the letter, the disguised team successfully bypassed the city where Xi State was still resisting and continued to move south.
This time I went out mainly to look for those crops, or collect some rare things. If there is an opportunity, I will establish a new trade route. For the rest, I will let nature take its course.
Before setting off, Wen Yi prepared household registration information for several cities. The name on it was naturally not his real name. There should be no problem after verification, after all, the seals and materials used were real.
Most of these were used by previous caravans, and Wen Yi had handled quite a few of them.
This time they traveled light, carrying mostly items for trading and food. The frame looked like the kind most commonly used by merchants, but there was a metal grid between the wood inside and outside, which made it difficult to completely destroy it with just a chop.
There was a lot of luggage piled up in the frame, and there was very little space left, so she often sat behind the frame and looked at the mountains in the distance.
"There's a village ahead. Let's stay there today."
Wen Yi leaned out the window, squinting to see smoke rising from the distance. The village over there looked like it was inhabited. Spending a little money to get a place to stay would be much better than sleeping outdoors, and they could also use the stove to cook something.
There are many fields not far away, and the water source must be sufficient. The group can wash and fill the water bags at the same time.
It was a distance from the city, but the terrain was flat, and I could see many fields sprouting new shoots, freshly pulled weeds piled to the side, and wild vegetables in baskets. These were considered proper food at this time, and were excellent for making porridge.
Seeing a caravan passing by, the people working in the fields simply glanced up and continued with their work. People often passed through here, and a few days ago, a caravan arrived from the south. Many families had already bought what they needed, but if the things these people brought were cheap, they could buy some more to keep in stock.
There was someone standing in the village closest to the road, probably the head of the village, who was holding a roll of something and examining it. Others nodded subconsciously when they passed by.
The carriages of Wen Yi and others stopped at a distance. Two people were left holding the horses, and the rest followed Wen Yi over here.
"It's getting late. I wonder if we can stay here for the night."
The village head looked over at him, and Wen Yi handed over the household registration and seal he had prepared, stating his purpose.
I don't know which faction this place belongs to, but it seems quite friendly. Many merchants have come and gone over the years, so some of the seals are naturally familiar to Li Zheng. After asking a few more questions, he nodded.
"But we only have two empty houses here. You can stay overnight, but it's inconvenient to go anywhere else."
This is understandable. Wen Yi nodded to show that he understood, and then took a box from the person next to him. Inside the box were various wooden and pottery products. He planned to set up a stall here for a while. Since they were a caravan, they naturally had to perform the whole set.
What was taken out were naturally various daily necessities, and some soap. Wen Yi's prices were not low, but some people still exchanged some. It seemed that people here were still quite wealthy, at least not to the extent that they could not afford to eat.
"What's this?"
A middle-aged man who had bought a bar of soap asked when he saw the wooden ball in the box.
Wen Yi smiled and picked up one of them, indicating that the person in front of him could pick it up and have a look.
There were gaps on the surface of the wooden ball, and it looked like it was pieced together, but the man tried for a long time and couldn't figure out what was going on. Instead, another person next to him who picked up the hexagonal box seemed to have discovered some tricks and pushed a few pieces of wood.
At Wen Yi's signal, a person nearby reached out to take the wooden ball, observed it, and then disassembled it into wooden blocks.
"This is a toy to kill time. You can put some things in it." For example, this wooden ball contains soap with some dried herbs added. You can smell the scent even if you don't open it. This is naturally intended to be sold in those wealthy cities.
In the other side of the hexagonal box are several copper coins of different styles, which are more suitable for storage.
However, even if they were interested, they would not spend money to buy these. Instead, some extremely cheap wood carvings and building blocks were sold.
Wen Yi had commissioned the carving of not only animals but also miniature furniture and farm tools. As for whether these farm tools could actually be used after being scaled up, it depended on whether anyone discovered it.
She wasn't afraid to increase production in these areas. She believed that with the abilities of Yao Wenjun, Nanxun, and the others, they would be able to bring their troops here. In fact, she hoped that these areas would develop their own infrastructure, but after thinking about it, she knew that was impossible.
The village head didn't know that the people sitting at the entrance of the village had already set their sights on this piece of land.
After everyone had dispersed, Wen Yi and the others followed the guide sent by the village head to a somewhat dilapidated house at the entrance of the village. Although it was far from other houses, there was a stove at the door, and it looked like it was cleaned regularly.
"Where can I get some water? We've been on the road for a long time, and I'd like to wash off a little."
The guide pointed to the other side and said, "There's a river over there, but be careful, the water is fast."
There was no yard here, so Wen Yi and others simply parked the car at the door. Some of them went to the river to fetch water, while the rest looked for some firewood and hay around to start a fire.
I have been eating dry biscuits for some time. After asking, Wen Yi decisively decided to make some porridge in the evening. If you don’t like it, you can eat flatbread.
The dry food prepared before departure had been almost eaten in the previous two days. Now, while it was still light, I simply made some more, packed them after cooling them down, and then baked them before eating. They were light and easy to carry.
After eating, several people took turns wiping and cleaning with water, then washed the clothes they took off and hung them on the bicycle rack so that they could dry early the next morning.
There was only some hay in the house. Wen Yi and the others naturally had their own bags. They used the wooden boards removed from the box to separate the rooms, tidied up the bedding, arranged their night shifts, and prepared to rest.
These detachable boxes are also specially prepared. They can be used to store mattresses during the day and serve as bed frames at night to isolate some moisture in the wild.
As the weather gets warmer, there are more insects. Even though everyone is wearing special cloth bags, they are still easily bitten. Wen Yi wipes the exposed skin with boiled medicine so that he can sleep well.
At dawn the next day, the group woke up.
After packing up their things, the two people who were on duty last night were arranged to catch up on their sleep on the back carriage. The rest of the people said goodbye to the village head, left a few copper coins as accommodation fees, and then continued on their journey.
According to the maps provided by the previous caravans, if all goes well, they should reach the first city by evening. This is the southernmost point the caravans have reached before, and it is described as extremely prosperous, with water transport connecting various places.
Developed transportation is one of the prerequisites for economic prosperity. However, in this era dominated by agriculture, this convenience mainly serves the transportation of food during wars, and only a very small number of large merchants can take advantage of it.
However, the commercial taxes there are also extremely heavy, and they have to go through several rounds of exploitation. Unless there is something necessary, the caravan will not enter the city, but will exchange what they need with other merchants in the surrounding area, and then gradually sell them on the way back to make a profit from the difference.
Wen Yi was strolling around the temporary market where vendors gathered with great interest. For the safety of the goods, they would not bring out all the items. Instead, they would take samples and take them over for inspection after confirming that they were good. Therefore, it was not out of place that Wen Yi and his companions were only carrying cloth bags.
The things that can be brought out as commodities at a high price are naturally not the food or coarse pottery that can be brought when traveling to nearby places. Most of the things that can be seen here are unique things, and you can even see different spices, but the prices are extremely expensive.
Of course, there are also various flowers and plants. Many nobles like to plant these in their gardens. When they seek shelter or are in trouble, they can hand them over to gain temporary peace of mind. Those with good quality are also extremely popular among these big merchants.
Wen Yi naturally wouldn't buy those plants that looked extremely expensive. She focused on the seedlings and seeds nearby, picking up any that looked similar to the crops she needed. The concept of seed conservation hadn't yet taken off, so these things weren't worth much. She could get quite a bit in exchange for some specially made medicated soap.
There were even people nearby asking about the prices of these things, apparently wanting to purchase them in large quantities.
Naturally, the caravans from Pingyi had brought some here before, but the supply was always insufficient to meet the demand. In addition, during this period of time, they were fighting with the Xi State, so the original channels were cut off and the prices soared.
Noticing some malicious gazes staring at him and the people around him, Wen Yi nodded and dealt with them, while signaling those who were originally somewhat scattered to gather together.
Seeing that Wen Yi was not the only one or two people around, those who had originally had some bad thoughts thought about it, suppressed those bad thoughts temporarily, and put on a smiling face.
Things were not as smooth as before, and some people even followed him blatantly. Wen Yi simply took a few people into the city, disguised himself, and sent someone to inform the people outside the city, so that they could enter from another gate and finally meet up in the city.
Anyway, they didn't carry much, so even after being extorted by the guards at the city gate, most of what they had would be saved. Merchants would have to think twice before coming in, because the accessories on them alone were worth a lot of money, and if they were seen by the greedy guards, they would be skinned alive.
This city, called Changyu, lies at the intersection of three factions, a major transportation hub. The various factions have tacitly refrained from attacking it, and the local rulers are also sensible. They pay a substantial amount of money to all parties annually, thanks to the prosperous trade. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to afford such a large "protection fee."
The buildings in the city are also different from those in other cities. They are much taller than the city walls. Standing outside, you can also see the high platform where the center of the city is located.
The city is not very clean, but the roads are quite wide. Perhaps because there are so many people walking on them, there are still potholes in many places. You have to be very careful when driving a carriage to prevent the horse from spraining its ankle.
After giving them a copper coin, the little boy standing next to them pointed out the place where these outsiders could rest.
The place where Wen Yi and others temporarily stayed was very similar to the later post stations, but after walking in, they found that it was actually a series of small courtyards separated by a circle. There were only mats and low tables in the rooms of each courtyard, but the open space in the middle could accommodate carriages and horses, and it was safe because of the door bolts.
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