Chapter 65
The opportunity came much earlier than expected, and Meng Xi naturally would not refuse this kindness. After expressing his gratitude, he followed the team north along the cleared road.
After the repair of the outermost city wall was completed, Amu and his companions set off back to Xinyi.
"Sometimes I feel that if this stalemate continues, the other side may collapse from within before we can take any action." Wen Yi received the latest news from Nan Xun.
Previously, they had always circumvented the remaining sphere of influence of the Xi State, so they didn't know much. However, judging by the news here, the previous incident was the result of a struggle between the two sides. After the defeat, the forces that had been at a disadvantage and supported the young lord regained the initiative and began to move further south, no longer directly confronting Fengyi.
However, after experiencing the previous fire, Nan Xun and others will not give up.
The guys who were caught spreading rumors in the city were also taken into custody, but there might be some who are still holding back. The patrols and guard duty have been much stricter during this period, but nothing else has happened for the time being.
"That's true, but I've been here for a long time, so I still need to go out and stretch my muscles." Nan Xun has not been slacking off during this period. He still gets up early every day and takes people to practice in the temporary training ground.
"That's true. I heard that Yao Wenjun is almost at the edge of the battlefield. We can't keep delaying here." Wen Yi took a look at the documents sent from Pingyi. The construction of other cities was faster than here.
Now the blocked roads have been opened, and with the arrival of caravans from closer to the south, things from Pingyi and other places can be sold more conveniently.
Of course, there would be some who coveted it, but they were no longer limited to Pingyi and a few hundred soldiers. Even if someone could send troops across a long distance, they would be stopped far away from Pingyi.
The new weapons they have developed during this period are not just for show, they are a good opportunity to try them out.
*
Meng Xi and his group followed behind the team and would greet them when the team took a break.
They rested next to the team. Fortunately, these people had walked this route a lot, and although the speed was not fast, the daily arrangements were still appropriate.
When they saw the city walls with familiar colors, everyone knew that they had finally reached their destination.
Pingyi has been relatively peaceful recently. The spring plowing has long been completed, and there are not many accounts at the moment. Sang Yu simply came out to supervise the registration and handover of this batch of very important things.
There were many merchants in the nearby cities. After greeting the guide, Meng Xi walked towards the caravans and started chatting with them.
"You came from the south?"
One of them, a middle-aged man who looked kind, leaned forward. He had been to the south before and was familiar with the local accent. However, since both sides had been at war for so long, they had not traveled south again.
Upon hearing the origins of Meng Xi and others, the merchant immediately became excited. Even the people next to him pricked up their ears and walked a few steps towards this side, looking a little curious.
If we can go south, it would be great. We can't make much money here now, and it's mostly hard-earned money.
"Of course not." The manager under Meng Xi stepped forward to start a conversation, and at the same time unfolded the deed he brought with him. On it were seals left by different cities. This thing could not be faked by ordinary people.
The people around were amazed. At this time, unless they had a strong background, most people would not dare to cross into such a chaotic place. A few people had just seen this person coming back with the city's transport team, so they thought he had a rather impressive background.
Thinking of this, the originally polite smiles became more genuine, and many people even exchanged small items with Meng Xi and others, creating a harmonious scene.
The inspection line wasn't moving very fast, mainly because they had to register their belongings. But everyone was used to it, and after chatting for a while about the latest prices in different places, the time passed quickly.
Meng Xi and others also stored the things in a unified place like the merchants, but they still left a small number of people to guard them, and the rest followed the very enthusiastic merchants to the post station.
The trees beside the main road have sprouted new buds, and the temporary stone slabs on both sides of the road have been replaced with long bricks of green and red. Many people are sitting under the trees chatting, and it looks like a peaceful and tranquil scene.
The merchant enthusiastically introduced various things in the inner city to Meng Xi and others:
"We have a lot of novelties here. If you're bored, you can come here in the evening. There used to be a lot of storytellers at the tea stalls here. They were great. Now they're probably having dinner."
He pointed to the open space next to him. There were many simple stalls nearby, but the food on them looked very clean and exuded an enticing aroma of oil.
"The oil we eat here is made from beans. It's not expensive. If it weren't readily available in every city, we could still make a lot of money from it."
"If you feel this place isn't clean enough, you can go to the restaurant over there and leave a sign for the inn. They'll deliver the food when the time comes, so you don't have to make an extra trip out."
The businessman showed a nostalgic expression on his face, probably remembering the delicious food he had happened to eat before, and swallowed his saliva imperceptibly.
“If you have a chef, you can buy some fresh food and make it yourself, but I still recommend coming here to try it. Some of the flavors are really good.”
Meng Xi and his companions were actually more interested in places like bookstores that merchants were accustomed to but did not often visit. After politely saying goodbye to the kind-hearted man, they simply strolled along the main road.
From time to time, you can see inscribed plaques and vertical flags on both sides of the road. There are words and pictures on them, and together with the samples placed at the door, you can know what is inside at a glance.
Many things that seemed commonplace to the people of Pingyi caught the manager's attention, not to mention that various medicinal soaps that were very valuable in the south could be purchased at extremely low prices.
There was also a library. Although I didn't recognize all the words on the books sold there, I could still understand some of them if I had read them before. They were displayed here like this. People who came in didn't even care about these hard-to-get books, but only looked at the storybooks.
The steward saw a few books that interested him and turned to look at Meng Xi, who was standing aside, as if asking for his consent.
Meng Xi nodded, and the manager quickly selected a few books and went to check out. Only then did he realize that there was a limit on what non-locals could buy each time, with the upper limit being five books. This was definitely enough for reading, but it seemed that they could not buy in large quantities for sale.
The bookkeeper smiled and said to the somewhat troubled manager, "It's not that we forbid this, but any transaction like this requires approval from the city government. You look unfamiliar, and judging by your accents, you don't seem to be from here. If you want to do this, you can send a letter to the city government. After they review it, someone will naturally come to your residence to negotiate."
"Not only that, the prices of the items sold in our store are still much higher than those at the workshop. Most caravans still prefer to purchase goods directly from there." The accountant kindly added, "This is for your convenience in daily life."
The steward thanked him and took the book. Meng Xi flipped through the storybooks and picture albums next to it with great interest and bought some as well.
Next door was a place that sold seeds and farm tools, offering repair and rental services. These were all regulated, so those without land outside the city couldn't buy anything. However, no one prohibited them from trying out the tools in the open space behind the shop. After all, the tools there were simple and wouldn't leak.
There are even toy-like plows, harrows and small water wheels at the door. Most of these are carved by idle people in the city. Some are willing to sell them themselves, but more people will sell them directly to the city government at a lower price, and then sell them here. This kind of business is more stable.
Originally they just wanted to go shopping, but Meng Xi and others came back with lots of bags. They bought so many things but didn't spend all the money they had, which shows that the prices are not that high.
Moreover, although there were many people in the city, it was more peaceful and stable than Changyu. This was probably the reason why weapons were confiscated when entering the city.
There were no dirty things in the city. The city gate guards and the kind-hearted businessman had emphasized that garbage and stolen goods must be placed in barrels at a certain distance. If they were caught, they would be fined. If they did not change their ways after repeated warnings, they would be arrested and punished.
Meng Xi opened the package next to her. Inside were fabrics of varying price points. Some of the patterns looked familiar, but the prices were significantly lower than those at Changyu. She also bought a few so-called "sweaters" to keep warm. Although the weather wasn't so cold anymore, Meng Xi had keenly sensed the market for these items.
There are also those exquisite ceramic utensils. These things can also be found in the south, and she even has some in her own home. However, most of them are accidental and unique pieces, which are completely different from the ones here that are obviously made in sets with mastered technology.
Originally, the utensils she used also included some golden copper products, but fortunately, for safety reasons, the most commonly used ones were still silver cups. On the way from Fengyi, someone kindly suggested that it was best not to use these things, but could not explain the reason.
She had just come across some simple explanations in the library's book, and when she thought of the symptoms of many nobles, even she felt a chill down her spine. She had originally thought these were just like what the witch doctors said, special illnesses requiring a mixture of talismans and various refined pills to alleviate them, but now it seemed completely useless.
I haven't seen anyone recover.
Although there are still many places I haven't visited, especially the workshops mentioned by several store accountants, but just from the ingredients in the restaurant, I can tell that this is a really good place.
This was different from the prosperity of Changyu. Although she had plenty of money, she only lived better than the average person. Many things were simply beyond her reach with her status. Often she had to spend countless amounts of money to smooth relationships in order to get the detained people and goods out.
It seems that most things in Pingyi have no restrictions on the threshold. Even the food served in the city government is delivered from restaurants.
And the strangest thing is that there seems to be no nobles here who are superior to the city government or in the same status as the city government. Maybe I didn’t notice it when I came here. In short, I still need to observe.
"What people said before is true." Meng Xi said to the manager beside him.
Although Wen Yi felt that these places were still far behind the prosperity of Changyu and other places, and those carved beams and painted buildings might never appear in Pingyi, for Meng Xi and others, those places were originally just out of reach, and the benefits that could be obtained were real.
"This trip is absolutely the right one." She knew very well what kind of impact these things would have if they entered the southern market. "Go find some people and ask them how to write the documents to the city government."
Naturally, she would not miss the first piece of the pie, but thinking of the behavior of Wen Yi and others, Meng Xi hesitated for a moment and decided to stay here for a while, sell what she had first, and wait and see the attitude of Pingyi for the rest.
Since the other party offered generous benefits, he must have something he wanted to achieve through himself. Meng Xi felt that this deal could be done.
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