Chapter 157 Chapter 157 Collecting Old Clothes
Nanzhao had informed Lin Si before, and although it didn't have any effect, Nanzhao made their attitude clear.
After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the exchanges between Da'an and Nanzhao became closer.
In terms of commodities, Da'an is fair, but it will occasionally send a medical team to Nanzhao to provide assistance, or negotiate with Nanzhao about planting rubber trees.
Rubber trees are suitable for planting in warm climates, and looking across the continent, there is no place more suitable than Nanzhao.
Although a batch of rubber was also planted in Xiguang Road, Lin Si never thought that too much rubber was good.
The rubber tree planting was allowed by Monno. After all, Da'an said that it would give the same subsidies to Nanzhao farmers.
After the rubber is tapped, it can be transported directly via the trade route.
Meng Nuo had not been to Da'an for a long time. She was detained in Nanzhao by her father, the emperor, and her mother, the queen, to handle government affairs.
The Nanzhao royal family has had few offspring since ancient times. In addition, Nanzhao was a regime evolved from mountain people, so it was not opposed to a woman becoming emperor. The queen was not just a mere decoration, but could also participate in political affairs.
Although Monno's parents only had her as a child, she had a cousin who had been eyeing the throne.
This time, Meng Nuo did not dare to indulge in eating, drinking and having fun. At most, he would buy a copy of Li County Daily and take a look at the new works of the calligraphy and painting lady.
Meng Nuo had assisted his father and mother in handling government affairs for a day and was physically and mentally exhausted. He had kept the newspaper until now just to see the new work of the calligraphy and painting lady.
Monno picked up the newspaper and planned to read it carefully.
The protagonist of this drama "The Lady of Calligraphy and Painting" is actually a woman with great strength who does hard labor.
Meng Nuo praised the calligraphy and painting lady without thinking, admiring that her brushwork had improved again. In just a few words, he portrayed this innocent and kind-hearted young lady very well. However, this young lady's brother was very annoying.
After reading it, Meng Nuo put down the newspaper with a feeling of being unsatisfied. It was a pity that he could not go to the book fan club, otherwise the message board would definitely be very interesting.
The maid reminded her to rest early. After all, the doctors from Da'an would come to Nanzhao tomorrow to provide one-on-one assistance, and as a princess, she had to receive them in person.
It was only after Meng Nuo had been in Lingzhou for a long time that he realized how backward the medical level of Nanzhao was.
She used to believe in witch doctors and thought that Nanzhao's witch doctors could save lives.
As a result, after she had a stomachache after eating hot pot, milk tea and barbecue in one go, she was sent to Lingzhou People's Hospital. Only then did she realize that medicine is a very complicated subject.
In addition, Da'an had doctors who specialized in treating girls. The emperor of Da'an also encouraged these female doctors to write down their insights and submit them to the local state and county governments to compile them into a medical book on women's diseases.
Meng Nuo was still a little dazed when he was discharged from the hospital. How could the emperor of Da'an arrange everything so well?
On the second day, Meng Nuo changed into Nanzhao's clothes and respectfully received the doctors who came to Nanzhao to provide assistance.
It was Shen Youer's first time in Nanzhao. The climate here was indeed warmer than Da'an. No wonder the female workers in the textile factory said that the orders for cotton-padded clothes were being snatched up in Xiping, while there were very few orders for cotton-padded clothes in Nanzhao.
Maybe it was because I had stayed in Da'an for too long, I really couldn't accept that a group of elephants suddenly appeared on the way here.
Then the official who came to greet them got out of the car calmly and asked the nearby farmers to drive the elephant away.
She even saw people riding elephants on the road. Nanzhao also imitated Da'an and set up transportation in the capital, but the animals pulling the carts were elephants.
Shen You'er didn't expect to be greeted by the Princess of Nanzhao in person. She quietly raised her head and found that the Princess of Nanzhao was indeed pretty and charming, with a plum blossom birthmark on her forehead which was the finishing touch.
Monno was very polite to these doctors. After all, they had come here after a long journey, so he had to arrange for them to eat and rest first.
The food in Nanzhao is somewhat different from that in Da'an, but it surprisingly suits Shen Youer's appetite. She thinks the bait blocks made from pounded rice are good, the sour fish made by fermenting fish and rice is also good, and the mint in the soup tastes even better.
Shen Youer's fatigue from the long journey was wiped away by the delicious food. However, the next day, she saw just how unreasonable Nanzhao witch doctors could be in treating illnesses...
Lighting herbs and using the smoke to fumigate the patient is one thing, but what is the point of jumping around in front of the patient wearing a mask?
Every witch doctor has his own special tricks, and some even use needles to prick scarecrows.
Shen Youer couldn't help but ask, "Won't the patient think you're cursing him?"
The witch doctor replied, "This is to use a scarecrow to represent the patient. The scarecrow is treated and then burned or thrown away to symbolize that the disease has been transferred."
Shen Youer: ………Is there such a saying?
So now the question is, how can we make these witch doctors reshape their values?
*
Xiping had previously sent spies to steal the secrets of cotton cloth and other commodities, which made Lin Si very dissatisfied. He had originally planned to send more spies to Xiping in two years, but now he had put it on the agenda.
Going to another country as a spy is a meticulous task that can only be done by veterans, at least the leader must be a member of the first Wugengtian.
Zhong Diyan finally chose Qi Liang and Guo Han.
This time, the spy does not need to stay in Xiping for a long time like he did when he was lurking under Zhuo Zhengchu's command.
After all, Xiping's eating habits, clothing and hairstyle are completely different from Da'an. Rashly disguising oneself as a Xiping person would only arouse suspicion.
The roles that Guo Han and Qi Liang need to play are smugglers.
When Qi Liang first heard the word "smuggling", he asked anxiously, "Smuggling, smuggling what? There are still people smuggling things into Xiping? I must teach these guys a lesson."
Zhong Diyan said calmly, "They buy old cotton-padded clothes, sweaters, scarves and gloves from ordinary people and then sell them to the people of Xiping. How can we control this?"
Guo Han was truly impressed by the ways these businessmen made money. "Now that you put it that way, it seems there's nothing wrong with it."
Qi Liang was silent for a few seconds. "So we're going to play the role of smugglers this time?"
Zhong Diyan nodded. "That's right. This is the fastest and most convenient method, and it also carries the lowest risk."
After saying that, he handed the communicator to Qi Liang.
Qi Liang nodded and took it. He knew that the communicator would not work once in Xiping. If there was any special news, it would have to be delivered back to the border of Da'an.
Speaking of this group of people who smuggled old clothes, they accidentally discovered that the country of Xiping had such a huge demand for cloth and clothes.
Xiping was originally a regime composed of branches of nomadic peoples. They were not very good at weaving and did not have the ability to process plant fibers into yarn.
Therefore, all of Xiping's cloth relied on foreign trade. Even the linen that was worn by the lower-class people in Dachen in the past was unaffordable for ordinary people.
Not to mention the finely woven cloths of Nanzhao and the silks worn by the rich in Dachen.
So this group of people set their sights on old clothes. Now that the people of Da'an have extra money, they will definitely buy a piece of cotton cloth to make clothes. Then the people in the wealthy areas will not lack clothes to wear.
They bought these old clothes at a relatively low price and sold them to Xiping, making a profit.
Although these clothes are old and patched, they are still ready-made clothes.
You have to know how rare it is to have people who can sew clothes in Xiping. The price of a ready-made garment is so high that not only ordinary people but also middle-income people in Xiping have to think twice and dare not buy it casually.
Qi Liang and Guo Han successfully mixed in.
The smuggler who brought them in had already been taken care of by Wu Gengtian and was only submissive to the other partners. "My cousin and her husband didn't study well in school, so they asked me to bring them out to find something to do."
Guo Han and Qi Liang took out the old clothes voluntarily donated by Wugengtian and successfully changed the attitude of this group of businessmen.
"You still have these good goods?! These clothes are in pretty good condition, just a little worn out, but that's not a big deal. As long as they're wearable, they can be sold for a good price in Xiping."
Guo Han asked, "Then how do we get into Xiping?"
"We've already arranged things in Xiping, and someone will come to take care of us. The officials in Xiping can be bribed with just money, unlike in Da'an. They all know that His Majesty has capable people under his command who spy on the officials, so they don't dare to act so blatantly."
Guo Han and Qi Liang successfully infiltrated the smuggling team and arrived at the border between Da'an and Xiping.
The smugglers then explained the key points of the transaction to Guo Han and Qi Liang and told them how much money they could make on this trip.
Qi Liang suddenly said, "Aren't you afraid that His Majesty's capable men will capture you?"
"Of course we're afraid, but we've thought about it. We're buying used clothes for money and selling them to Xiping. This is a consensual deal, so it shouldn't be a big deal!"
"Yes, yes, so don't be afraid, my dear. This business can be done without any cost, and we are not passing off inferior goods as good ones. We have already said that these are Daan's old clothes, and they know it too."
Entering Xiping was surprisingly smooth. They followed the merchant to a clothing store in Xiping. The owner of the store selected a few newer clothes and paid for them.
The rest of the tattered ones will be distributed by themselves.
When Guo Han and Qi Liang came to Xiping for the first time, they realized how backward Xiping was and how expensive clothes and cloth were for them.
A family living in a respectable-looking house picked through old clothes and said, "Are you out of cotton-padded clothes? Winter is coming soon. I want a cotton-padded coat for my child."
"We don't have anything for children right now. If all else fails, you can just pick up a large winter coat and make do."
"Here are some sweaters. Would you like to choose one?"
The woman was very surprised: "Where is the sweater? Let me see it."
In Xiping, besides cotton-padded jackets, the most popular item is sweaters. If you can't afford cotton-padded jackets, you can still keep warm by wearing a sweater.
The woman pulled out a wrinkled, pilled sweater, clearly a worn item from a child's childhood, one that had been stored away in the bottom of a closet. "This one's good. It's the perfect size."
The woman often wondered how the people in Da'an could be so skillful that sweaters were made of wool. She racked her brains to understand how wool could be made into such clothes.
Unlike Nanzhao where the four seasons are like spring, the winters in Xiping are very cold. Even if there are warm clothes like cotton coats from Da'an, they are very expensive.
Except for princes, nobles and officials, the rest of the people could not afford it at all.
These clothes were very popular and sold out in no time. Some people even came late and regretted not discovering them earlier.
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