The midday sun shone directly on the valley, and He Qizhou actually felt a touch of warmth. The guards who had been riding for a long time dismounted, stretched their bodies, untied the stiff scarves on their faces, and breathed in the warm air.
Some people even took off their coats and started practicing boxing.
He Qizhou unexpectedly discovered that the four people who had been sitting in the felt carriage also got out of the car to bask in the sun, and they all took off the scarves covering their faces. Under the sunlight, with just one glance, He Qizhou could clearly see the faces of the four people.
face.
The most eye-catching one is a woman in her late twenties, with a beautiful face and snow-white complexion. There is no blush on the face of the prairie people. She is wearing a black and shiny fox fur coat, and she should have a slender and strong body.
The other woman, who is slightly shorter, looks to be in her early twenties, with an upper-middle appearance, and a fair complexion with a rosy complexion. Although she is wearing a white fur coat, the texture is obviously far inferior to the black fur suit.
The two men were both in their forties and looked quite similar. None of them spoke much, as if they got out of the car just to breathe some fresh air.
He Qizhou thought that Xiaoxue, who had been hiding in the tent all day long, seemed like he should come and bask in the sun, so he went to ask Xiaoxue in the car.
Xiaoxue, who was about to get sick, even wanted to come out. When He Qizhou came to ask, she just wanted to get out of the car. She pretended to be sick and got out of the car. She put on some sheepskins and sat on the ground, enjoying the rare sunshine. Then she noticed someone looking at her and turned sideways.
At first glance, it was the two women a few feet away.
Xiaoxue didn't dare to look any further and turned around quickly. Then she remembered that she forgot to put on a scarf when she got off the car. The other person must be curious about her "respectable appearance", and lamented in her heart, if I hadn't pretended to have never seen the world.
The shepherds have long stared at you so hard that you can’t even lift your heads!
He Qizhou was sitting on the sheepskin with Xiaoxue when he suddenly heard someone calling him "Hey". Looking back, he saw that the voice was coming from the direction of the two women. The younger one was waving to him and hesitated.
After a while, he got up and walked towards the two women.
"Little brother, is that your wife?" the young woman took two steps forward and asked.
"Yeah." He Qizhou replied with some doubts.
"Is she sick?"
"Yes."
"We are businessmen returning to Qingcheng. We knew a few days ago that there was a person sitting on the hay cart. Unexpectedly, it was a female patient. My lady would like to invite your wife to ride in our carriage with us. It will be much warmer inside, which may be beneficial to her.
I'm sick." The woman said harmoniously.
"This, I'm afraid this is not good. I'll ask her if she is willing." He Qizhou was actually very willing, because Xiaoxue was still very afraid of the cold.
He Qizhou walked back to Xiaoxue and informed the other party of his good intentions. Xu Muxue hesitated and said: "The other party is definitely not simple. I don't want to take the risk. Besides, it's not convenient to go to their tent to take medicine or exercise. I'd better stay on the cart."
Just tell me that my lung disease may affect others." After saying that, he turned his head and nodded in the direction of the two women to express his gratitude.
He Qizhou walked up to the maid-looking woman with a little regret and said: "My wife said that the doctor is not sure whether her lung disease will be life-threatening, so thank you for your lady's kindness. She will stay in the hay cart."
Wrap yourself in more sheepskins and you won’t get cold."
"We are not afraid. If your wife is willing, you can come to my car at any time. There is no problem in taking two or three more people." The woman in black fur sitting on the ground raised her head and said to He Qizhou, who was a few steps away, with a strong voice.
There is even a hint of majesty.
"Okay, I'd like to thank you both first." He Qizhou bowed to both of them.
"Haha, you Pangu people have also learned to be pedantic. There is no need to be polite, we are all one family on the grassland." The woman in black fur smiled and looked at He Qizhou in a strange way.
"I, I'm going back first." He Qizhou knew that he would make mistakes if he spoke too much. She might be a princess from some tribe, so he turned around and walked towards Xiaoxue.
"What a strange Pangu man." The woman in black fur murmured.
On the eighth day of the journey, He Qizhou felt that there were some cavalry following the team at a distance, and they might have been following for three days. However, he thought that the six cavalry guards at the end of the business trip should have discovered those cavalry before he did.
Since they don't take it seriously, then I won't talk too much.
In the afternoon of this day, the caravan was traveling along the mountains, and its direction had changed from northeast to southeast. The low rolling hills in the distance were already vaguely visible. For some unknown reason, the caravan suddenly stopped. He Qizhou suddenly discovered that there was about a mile ahead.
On the slope of the place, two horsemen blocked the traveling route of the business traveler. Then they saw one of the business travelers riding a horse and shouted loudly, dozens of feet away from the other party: "The Baiyin gang is stealing goods. I'm Jiang Li. How dare you?"
What do you call your brother?"
The two riders on the low slope did not answer, and actually pulled their horses' heads and ran towards the depths of the grassland. The caravan continued to move forward. When they reached the grassy slope, someone from the Salt Gang threw a bag of things on the ground. When the Lotus Gang passed by
, but saw that one of the men behind Guo Wen was also throwing a cloth bag. He Qizhou took a look and saw that it should be a bag of flour of about ten kilograms. And from the second carriage behind him, a piece of broken silver was thrown out, about one tael or so.
, was accurately thrown on one of the flours. He Qizhou was a little confused, so he rode his horse to Guo Wen and asked: "Gang leader, have you encountered a horse bandit?"
Guo asked: "Yes, we have been following us for three days, but they are just some affected Shengzhou herdsmen. They dare not rob us."
"Then why do you still need to give flour?" Qi Zhou asked.
Guo asked: "This is a rule on the road. It is to give them some face. Those born in Zhou... and those affected by disasters sometimes take risks in anger. It is better to do less than to do more."
"Then there won't be any more coming after you?"
"Jiang Li of the Salt Gang is not someone to be trifled with. He will not come again. They are also hungry. Normally they would not dare to stop such a large business trip. In fact, these horse bandits are almost the same as beggars. The reason why
They didn't block the road until the last moment because they will reach the hilly area tomorrow and their hands can't reach there." Guo Wen thought that Deren was also born. The Zhou herdsman's tone softened a little.
At sunset on the ninth day, a small town suddenly appeared in front of the business trip. The city walls and buildings were covered with a thin layer of snow. Under the reflection of a huge red sun, the whole town seemed to be enveloped in a layer of crystal red.
Under the light, Zhai Biao rode over excitedly and said to Qi Zhou: "Ahead is the town I mentioned. You can have a good sleep tonight!"
"Why is there a city wall in such a small place?" He Qizhou asked.
"It's convenient to collect money! The small town just blocks the road into the mountains. It's a military town in name, but it's actually exploiting merchants and gangs like us." Zhai Biao said: "I'll treat you to a drink when we get to the inn. As I said last time
I have, but I haven’t had the chance yet!”
"good!"
The small town is called Anping. It is square and square. The walls on each side are only about a hundred steps long. The walls are one foot high and built with rammed earth. It was not until the merchants approached the city gate that four men with spears walked out of the wooden house outside the city gate.
After the soldiers stopped the merchants entering the city, they called out to the city gate. An officer hurriedly ran out of the city gate. The fourth brother went up to talk to him, and then one of Guo Wen's subordinates also came forward. The three of them said
After a few words, the officer waved his hand and let the merchants enter the city.
There are only two east and west gates in the small town, with a stone road in the middle as the boundary to divide the north and south halves. The southern half of the city is full of military camps, while the northern half of the city is filled with inns, restaurants, warehouses and other merchants for merchants to stop and supply supplies.
Zhai Biao said that there used to be only about a hundred sergeants in the small town, but now there seem to be as many as a battalion. I don’t know if it is to encircle and suppress the Korean government or to fight the war with Qi, but with these sergeants, at least within a hundred miles, there is no need
Even though I'm worried about horse bandits, I can have a peaceful sleep today.
The inn where the business traveler stayed was called Yunlai, but before the business traveler arrived, there was not a single customer in the inn. Most of the merchants from the winter market had returned, so this might be the last business for the store in the winter.
The four sergeants came to the inn with the business traveler, checked everyone's household registration one by one, stamped the small town's stamp, then took some silver from the fourth brother and left the inn happily;
The inn is not small in size, with dozens of guest rooms. The innkeeper has already greeted each guest at the door, offering a bowl of hot and fragrant butter tea. The aroma of butter permeates the cold air.
It made everyone who had been walking in the cold and hungry for a day unable to help but swallow their saliva.
The fourth brother and others who were the first to enter the house seemed to be convinced by the fifty-year-old shopkeeper and started to drink from it. He Qizhou picked up the butter tea that had just been scooped up from the iron pot. There was nothing strange about it after a careful taste, and he took a big gulp.
, I felt a warm current flowing from my throat to my heart, and the mellow taste seemed to be the most beautiful thing in the world. Even Xiaoxue, who had a very small appetite, drank up a bowl of oil tea.
The rooms have already been arranged. As the hall masters, He Qizhou and Xiaoxue live in the upper room on the second floor. The guards and coachmen are divided into rooms for four or six people. Each room has an iron stove for burning cow dung.
, so there is no more suffering from severe cold.
He Qizhou didn't start drinking tea until he walked up to the second floor and saw the rich woman in the felt carriage. He had already discovered that the guard was using a silver needle to detect poison. The maid who was in the same carriage tried it again. It seemed that this wealthy family was not very good.
Believe in the Salt Gang.
Less than half an hour after entering the room to rest, someone shouted downstairs that dinner was ready. When He Qizhou and Xiaoxue went downstairs, the restaurant was almost full of people. A charcoal stove was set up in the middle of the square restaurant.
A fat goat that was about to be cooked was being roasted. The fat dripped into the charcoal stove below, emitting waves of tangy aroma.
The seats were arranged around the carbon stove. He Qizhou sat in the first row at Guo Wen's invitation, and it seemed that he could reach out and touch the fat sheep spinning on the iron frame.
The people from the Yan Gang came first and most together. After entering this small town, there was no need to arrange for people to watch the goods or watch the night. This meal should be the most comfortable meal along the way.