"The Tang Dynasty was pretty good under Li Er's governance."
Zhao Chen left the tavern today and came to the East Market next to Pingkangfang.
Seeing the prosperous scene in front of you, you can't help but sigh.
He also wanted to come to Dongshi in the past two days to look for business opportunities.
Although running a tavern was a leisurely business, he didn't have much money, and he was already weak, and Uncle Fu was getting older.
After all, it's not a long-term solution.
Walking into the East Market, he saw all the young girls and young wives on the street looking at him with amazement.
Zhao Chen had gotten used to this kind of gaze a long time ago.
But he didn't take it to heart and continued to move forward.
Not far away, I saw a table in front of the door of a rather luxurious shop.
There is a wooden sign standing on the table, which reads: Today's pepper is on sale, only one hundred wen per tael.
Only when Zhao Chen saw this wooden sign did he realize that there was no such thing as chili pepper in the Tang Dynasty.
All we have now is pepper.
And the pepper at the moment is worth as much as gold.
Nowadays, the meat that people eat most is mutton, which has a strong fishy smell.
And pepper can greatly improve the taste of food, especially meat.
Therefore, pepper also became the "king of spices" at this time
How do rich people show off their wealth at this time?
Grab a handful of pepper when cooking meat, and soak two peppercorns in it when drinking tea!
A small patch of peppers has been planted in Wannian County, and the villagers even sent a basket with them.
Lao Li Tou and Li Ruoshuang also ate it.
Zhao Chen secretly thought that he almost missed the opportunity to make a fortune.
I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.
"Shopkeeper, why did the price of your pepper drop today?" Zhao Chen was looking at the stall in front of him when he heard someone ask.
"Well, I have some pepper at home and need some money. I have no choice but to lower the price to get rid of the pepper."
"Sir, these are fine peppers shipped from the south. Other spice shops would sell them for 120 to 30 cents." The shopkeeper shook his head, with a look of embarrassment on his face.
"Okay, wrap this good pepper with so and so, and so and so will go back home to get the money..."
"Wait a minute, shopkeeper, I want all these peppers. Here's the money. Count them and wrap them up for me." Before the previous person finished speaking, Zhao Chen heard another person asking to buy these peppers.
I even took out the money.
"Don't you know first come, first served?" The man before frowned.
"If I pay first, I will be the first to arrive." The man who paid the money said disdainfully.
"This guest, although he arrived later, paid first, so I gave him the pepper. You can go and look elsewhere." The shopkeeper took the money bag and said with a smile.
"Hmph——" The man before snorted coldly, turned around and left with an angry look on his face.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhao Chen felt more and more that his plan was feasible.
As I was walking back to the way I came, I saw a small vendor in the corner next to me.
The stall owner is a young man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks.
Displayed on the stall are some small white crystal stones.
Zhao Chen recognized the white crystal as the saltpeter he used to make ice.
It's summer in Chang'an City. If a large amount of ice can be produced for sale, then...
Zhao Chen felt increasingly happy and walked to the small stall.
"Sir, you have fallen in love with that stone. You have come to the right place. The stones here are of the highest quality and the price is extremely low." Before Zhao Chen could speak, the young man took the initiative to talk to Zhao Chen.
Seeing Zhao Chen so young, he wanted to kill him.
"Aren't these saltpetres for medicinal use? How can they be said to be of good quality?" Zhao Chen looked at the young man and said lightly.
The young stall owner also did not expect that the young man in front of him turned out to be a knowledgeable owner.
Many people from the Western Regions came to trade in the East Market of the Tang Dynasty. He came here to set up a stall just to deceive these foreigners who did not understand.
He also thought that Zhao Chen, a young man, could not know so much.
Who wants to...
"What the young master said is that this is saltpeter. If you want it, the young master will buy some." Seeing that Zhao Chen had seen through his deception, the stall owner was not as enthusiastic as before.
The tone of his speech was also lukewarm.
Zhao Chen smiled lightly and didn't take the stall owner's indifference to heart.
"One penny can buy a pound of saltpeter, but I need a lot, so I want to know how much stock the shopkeeper has?" Zhao Chen smiled and looked at the stall owner.
The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Sir, to tell you the truth, I picked up these stones on a hillside. If you can give me some money, I can tell you the place."
"The stones there are far more than just money."
"Master, think about it?" The stall owner looked at Zhao Chen with a sly expression.
When Zhao Chen heard that these stones were picked up on a hillside, he couldn't help but feel a sudden surprise in his heart.
And the stall owner was so sure that there was a lot of saltpeter.
There must be a huge saltpeter mine there.
If he could capture this ore resource, wouldn't he be able to make a fortune?
Although he was ecstatic in his heart, Zhao Chen's face showed no emotion.
"I always have too much money, how about a hundred coins?" Zhao Chen said lightly.
"One hundred cents?" The stall owner's face twitched, and he secretly thought that this boy actually cut him 10%.
"One hundred cents is a lot. If you sell these saltpeters here, you won't make five cents a day." Zhao Chen looked at the stall owner and said coldly.
The stall owner's throat rumbled.
He hasn't opened a business these days, and he hasn't seen even a copper plate, let alone five cents.
The wife at home said that she would kick him out if he never came back with money to buy rice.
"Well, Master, can you..."
"Forget it, just keep it as a treasure and see when you can sell it for a hundred coins." Zhao Chen waved his hand, turned around and left.
"Oh - Young Master - Young Master, wait a minute." The stall owner looked anxious and hurriedly ran in front of Zhao Chen.
"Sir, I promise." The stall owner was afraid that Zhao Chen would leave like this, so he said quickly.
"Lead the way." Zhao Chen said calmly.
"Sir, please come with me." The stall owner said to Zhao Chen with a flattering face, but he was already walking in front.
…
Zhao Chen is weak and cannot walk too far.
And I have to tell Uncle Forbes first when I go back.
He asked the stall owner to wait for him at the city gate, and Zhao Chen returned to the tavern alone, preparing to find a carriage to take him there.
As soon as I returned to the tavern, I saw Li Ruoshuang standing in the tavern, talking to Uncle Fu.
"Uncle Fu, I want to go out of the city." Zhao Chen said to Uncle Fu.
"Master Zhao is leaving the city, I will go with Master Zhao." Li Ruoshuang said to Zhao Chen with a smile.
After returning from Wannian County, Li Ruoshuang has been at home all the time, and Hong Funu doesn't let her go out.
In the past few days, Hongfu Nu has been making arrangements for her marriage.
All kinds of distinguished disciples, even members of the royal family, came, but they didn't even see Li Ruoshuang's face.
But Hongfu Nu was so angry that she almost died.
After having a quarrel with Hongfu Nu today, Li Ruoshuang was heartbroken and climbed over the wall to leave Li's house.
Thinking that I had nowhere to go, I felt pretty good when I got along with Zhao Chen before.
I wanted to come to the pub to have a meal and then look for other places to go.
"It's okay for Miss Ruoshuang to go together, but the journey is a bit long..." Zhao Chen frowned.