Chapter 67 Smuggling
I started out slowly last year, but this year I was familiar with the road, so of course I walked a lot faster.
Look, we arrived at the border town just in time for the beginning of spring.
Song Ting had lost a lot of weight after the long journey, and his cheeks showed signs of wrinkles.
Song Xirong still felt sorry for her nephew. "Didn't you see it last time? Our family is doing pretty well. There's no need to rush."
"Aunt, don't worry. We're a bunch of young people, and spring came early this year. We haven't felt the cold yet after coming from Jiangnan. We sold a lot of sugar that our cousin Lan gave us last time, so we'll have enough money to stay at an inn this time."
Song Xirong knew she couldn't persuade him, "I'll go get my sister-in-law next door to help prepare dinner, and then call my fellow merchants to come over for dinner."
Last time the conditions were limited, but now that they are better, I have to treat everyone to a meal.
If you really want to make a lot of money, there are trade routes. Supplies from Jiangnan are welcome to be sent anywhere.
A group of clan members chose this business route in order to look after their family.
"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt." Song Ting felt relieved when he saw that his aunt and cousin were in better spirits than last year. He handed over the letters he had brought with him. "This one is from my grandparents, one is from my parents, and the other one is from my second uncle's family."
"Okay, okay, let's watch it tonight." Song Xirong's eyes were filled with tears. "You two should discuss your matters first. I'm going to get busy."
Song Ting also agreed repeatedly.
"Cousin Lan's family is doing well, and I can go back and report to my work. Why don't I see my uncle?"
Jun Qiulan smiled and said, "My father has gone to the village school to teach. I guess he should be back soon."
"Okay, okay." In Song Ting's eyes, his uncle was so educated that it was a waste of his talent to be a teacher in the village. But it was just as good as setting up a stall in the city to write letters for people last year.
Jun Qiulan also felt warm in his heart, as his family members were always concerned about them.
Song Ting lowered his voice again, "I sold the sugar you gave me for a good price. My brothers and I shared some of it, and everyone kept their mouths shut. Before I left, a wealthy family came to ask if I could get more next time."
Jun Qiulan: "There's no rush. It's better not to have too many people. This way it will be safer."
"That's what I thought." He fished out a purse from his bosom. "You were the one who gave me this sugar. After discussing it with my family, we decided to give you some. Grandmother made the decision and tied all the money for you into small gold lockets: one for you, one for cousin Wan'er, and one for that kid Song Yan."
Due to limited financial resources now, the gold locks are hollow, but they look quite beautiful.
Song Ting continued, "What they mean is that when you have children, this little lock can also add some color to the child."
Jun Qiulan smiled, but didn't want to say more on this topic.
His situation is different; it's impossible for him to have a child.
Wan'er would not have such thoughts in recent years, and they also agreed with Wan'er's approach.
The only thing left is to rely on Song Yan.
He was thinking about the task that Song Ting had assigned to him before, but he had not yet found a particularly suitable candidate.
He accepted all the small locks and said, "I'll pass them on when they come back."
"It's all fine. You can give it to them after they get married."
Seeing that the topic was still about marriage and having children, Jun Qiulan quickly changed the subject and talked about business first.
"I have something to discuss with my cousin today."
Song Ting waved his hand and said, "Just say it. We are a family, so there is no need to discuss it. I will definitely do my best to do what I can."
"My cousin should have noticed that spring arrived too early in the border town this year. Experienced farmers say there might be a severe drought this year."
Before he could finish his words, Song Ting was shocked.
"Is it possible to find a way to hide somewhere else?" After saying this, he thought of the status of his cousin's family and they could not leave this place without an order.
But drought is no small matter. He went to the northwest with his father many years ago and witnessed a drought.
When there is drought, there will be locusts.
The drought had not yet completely ended, and the people had just planted their crops when the locust plague came again.
Leaving people with no way to survive.
He had witnessed with his own eyes people exchanging their own children for food, and even the corpses of people who had just starved to death on the roadside were not spared.
To survive.
What would happen to my cousin’s family if a drought occurred in this border town?
"Don't worry, cousin. I have found a solution, but I need your help."
"Cousin Lan, please go ahead." Song Ting paused. "Cousin Lan has already reached adulthood. Can you give him a courtesy name?"
Nowadays, it is more convenient and intimate to call people by their courtesy names.
"My courtesy name is Bai, and it was given to me by my father."
"Since you are my cousin, let's get down to business first."
Jun Qiulan nodded and said, "I have a batch of drought-resistant grain seeds. The prefect, Duan Wen, is a student of Mr. Su and a man of high character. He was able to distribute all of these grain seeds to the village. However, the quantity of these grain seeds is large and their origins are unclear. Coincidentally, my cousin brought dozens of carts of supplies..."
Song Ting wanted to ask where the grain came from, but when he thought about the sugar, he didn't ask any more questions.
He hasn't talked to his brother Song Yan yet, so he doesn't know how big his cousin Ji Bai's secret is.
He can feel more at ease knowing that he has a way to save his life.
He waved his hand and said, "It's a small matter. Where are the grain seeds? I didn't see them when I visited just now. Did they dig a cellar? We can find a late night and transport the grain to the store."
Jun Qiulan seemed a little embarrassed. "The grain seeds are related to my adventure. I'm afraid they can't be taken away from home. I need to ask my cousin to find a way. I have another way. I can put the grain seeds in the backyard of the shop. Then I can let Prefect Duan take them away, and we can get away."
Song Ting seemed to be thinking about something, so he didn't say much about the secret.
"Well, I'm sorry to bother you tonight. You guys are tired from all the journey, and we've finally reached our destination. I'll buy a few jars of Border Town Shaodaozi later so we can all enjoy a good drink."
That is to say, get the people away first.
Song Ting didn't ask about anything else.
Jun Qiulan nodded, "As for other matters, please talk to Cousin Yan when you have time."
The house has been built for so long, and Song Yan has been living and eating with them. Not to mention other high-tech things, the rice, flour, grain and oil in the house are not things that can be found in this world.
Most of it is still speculation.
But I never asked.
I guess the two brothers will talk to each other in the evening.
Song Ting said that was a good idea.
After unloading the goods in the city, a group of young people returned under the leadership of Song Yan.
There are still a few rooms in the front yard of my house. If we all squeeze in, we can settle down. It's better than renting someone else's house in the village.
Song Xirong and her aunt next door prepared several tables of food.
Song Ting was just about to say that he would go out and buy some wine so that everyone could relax.
As a result, Jun Shuwan came back first in a carriage.
The experiments on allicin have reached a stage. The experiments were conducted on disabled soldiers and the clinical results were quite good.
She reported this to General Huo again, and she and Miao'er taught people how to prepare allicin, which delayed the process for another while.
Today she received news that her cousin Song Ting had arrived. Seeing that the people arranged by General Huo were already able to do the job, she asked for leave from Mrs. Huo and went home.
"Last time I said I would treat you all to some good wine, and Wan'er won't break her promise. Let's all eat and drink well today."
"Thank you, Sister Wan'er, for your trouble."
A bunch of grown men felt quite embarrassed.
But once the wine and meat were served, the atmosphere at the table became lively as people talked about what they had seen along the way and their plans for the future.
Song Ting and Song Yan were not outsiders, so they were responsible for entertaining everyone first.
Jun Qiulan, Jun Yu and the teacher quietly slipped away after three rounds of drinks.
When I entered the city at night, I was questioned a few times at the city gate.
It was also a coincidence that the soldiers guarding the city gate today had all received Wan'er's favor, and knowing their identities, they immediately let them pass.
The little donkey cart rumbled all the way to the back door of the shop.
Jun Qiulan: "Dad, it will take me about a cup of tea to deliver the things here, please pay attention to the other things."
He also had to take a taxi from his rental house to the warehouse.
"You go now."
With General Huo and Duan Wen in control of the city, it is much safer than before.
The goods that Song Ting and his team brought in today were piled up in the warehouse, and it was almost full. The grain seeds he brought had to be piled in the yard.
We have to let Senior Brother Duan take him away as soon as possible.
Otherwise, the business brothers would also be curious about how these things appeared overnight.
Warehouse.
Jun Qiulan didn't even turn on the light, he just turned on the flashlight on his cell phone and started to act.
All the sweet potatoes were packed in sacks.
A sack weighs about 100 kilograms.
Jun Qiulan is quite strong and can easily carry a 100-jin sack.
The only problem is that the quantity is a bit too much. Every time I carry them up, I have to go back and put the sweet potatoes down, and then repeat the action again.
People are very hard-working.
Jun Yu pondered for a while and said, "Why don't you just grab the edge of the sack and see if you can bring it over directly."
Jun Qiulan's eyes lit up, he really tried it, and actually brought it over.
I couldn't help but laugh at myself, "I was stupid. I grabbed the sack and thought I was holding it in my hands."
Jun Yu was also happy, "Okay, go get busy, I'll watch over here."
With this method, the speed is much faster.
By picking up the corners of several sacks together, you can bring several sacks at once.
It took more than two hours to move all the things.
"This sack contains seeds I saved for my family's sand fields. I have to take it back later."
The father and son immediately carried the sack onto the donkey cart.
It’s still early, and business will start here the next day.
Jun Qiulan almost didn't think twice, "Dad, please stay here and watch over me. I'm going to the Duan Mansion."
Try to take away the grain seeds tonight.
Duan Wen was also shocked when he received the news in the middle of the night. Fortunately, he had not yet gone to bed. He had been calculating the amount of grain seeds needed in the village recently and was busy until midnight every night.
After receiving the news, he did not alert anyone.
He brought a few servants who had followed him for many years and drove over in a few ox carts.
"This, so much?"
Jun Qiulan remained calm, "My cousin and his family just arrived today. I feel it's not safe to leave the grain in my hands, so I think it's safer to give it to my senior brother."
Duan Wen hesitated to speak.
Forget it, I won’t ask anymore.
"Moving things."
He was clearly the governor of a state, but he acted like a thief in the area under his jurisdiction late at night.
Duan Wen was amused by his own idea.
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The author has something to say: The additional chapters were successful, and today I updated 11,000 chapters.
I have to continue writing tomorrow morning's update, hahaha.
Thank you for your support, my dears. I love you. [Keep going]
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