Chapter 5: The Journey of Youth, Splendid Mountains and Rivers
"Chamber of Commerce?"
"It seems you still don't understand what it is..." Ma Youyi explained to Zhang Junsheng: "During the time of Emperor Taizu, the Chamber of Commerce was just an organization for related industries to trade with each other. But now, not only related industries, but also different businesses can
Join the meeting. Businessmen negotiate prices, inquire about information, etc. here, do you understand?"
Zhang Junsheng nodded in understanding, but he didn't understand. This uncle obviously didn't have any goods, so what could he sell them for?
"Uncle Ma, are you really going to sell me anyway?" Zhang Junsheng trembled in fear.
Ma Youyi smiled and took out a small wooden box as big as the palm of his hand from his pocket: "You are not as valuable as this thing. Let me tell you, the things in this box are enough to buy ten of you!"
"What's inside?" Zhang Junsheng reached out and was about to open it. Ma Youyi put it in his arms: "You can't open it now. I'll let you see it when I get to the chamber of commerce later."
Zhang Junsheng pouted in dissatisfaction, it's just a small wooden box, why should it be so mysterious?
The two came to the Chamber of Commerce in the city and saw several rows of carriages lined up in front of the Chamber of Commerce, with merchants coming and going in an endless stream. People were either talking about business or asking about market conditions. It was the same outside, not to mention how lively it was inside.
.
Ma Youyi pushed open the door of the Chamber of Commerce, and everyone looked over. Ma Youyi skillfully took out a piece of silver and shouted loudly: "Head of the Chamber of Commerce! Serve good wine to every person at every table!"
The boss responded, and the waiter hurriedly moved the wine vat. The atmosphere at the scene became lively. Zhang Junsheng looked at everything in disbelief. How could a chamber of commerce still look like a tavern?
Ma Youyi saw what he was thinking and explained with a smile: "Nowadays, chambers of commerce are not just about economic exchanges. Some powerful businessmen will organize martial arts practitioners to form caravans and assume the obligations of the escort agency."
"What about the escort agency?" Zhang Junsheng asked.
"The current bodyguard bureau is in a state of disarray. They only collect money and do nothing, so the caravans take advantage of the situation. While escorting others, they can also sell goods to faraway places. If they meet a big customer, they can make a lot of money."
Ma Youyi said proudly: "In the past, we had so many caravan masters that we dared to accept even the government's arrest warrants!"
"Now?" Zhang Junsheng asked foolishly.
Ma Youyi choked up. This child made him speechless with just three words. But looking at his expectant look, he finally couldn't bear it anymore, so he found a secluded place to sit down and prepared for
he explained.
"What happens now has nothing to do with me... I am no longer a member of the team..." After Ma Youyi said these words with difficulty, he changed the subject: "I told you, just do two days of work for me.
Go home, your father and mother will be worried about you."
Zhang Junsheng twisted his head and nervously held his left hand with his right hand: "Actually...actually I didn't run away from home...but..."
"But what?" Ma Youyi became interested and continued to ask.
"Master took me away when I was young. Now I want to see my parents, but even their faces are blurry..." A thin layer of sweat oozed out on his smooth forehead, and two black eyes appeared on his face.
The black eyes were bright and translucent, revealing his thoughts without any concealment.
Ma Youyi thought for a while and continued to ask: "Do you remember your parents' names?"
"I only remember the word 'dream' in my father's name, but I always keep my mother's name in mind."
"What's it called?"
"Yao Qiu..."
Ma Youyi thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's a bit difficult. There are countless women in the world with such titles. Have you even forgotten your father's status?"
"I vaguely remember..." Zhang Junsheng put his index finger on his lower lip and looked at the ceiling and replied: "I remember that the place where I lived when I was a child was a vast grassland. A group of people around me were respectful to my father, and they would leave the original place after a while.
land……"
Ma Youyi was excited for a while: "No need to say it! Your father must be the leader of the caravan! Otherwise, who else could lead a group of people traveling around? In this case, I will take care of your job, Ma Youyi!"
"Really?" Zhang Junsheng's eyes sparkled with stars, and his smile turned into a flower.
"I don't have any other skills. When it comes to the connections of the Chamber of Commerce, I, Ma Youyi, am the second best, and no one dares to be the first!" Ma Youyi patted his chest: "Leave everything to me!"
Zhang Junsheng smiled happily, rushed into Ma Youyi's arms, hugged him tightly: "Uncle Ma, Uncle Ma, you are the best!"
"Don't make trouble, get down quickly, others are watching..." Ma Youyi pushed him awkwardly, but he didn't expect Zhang Junsheng to hug him tighter.
At this time, a group of people came towards them. The leader took off his hat and greeted them: "Old horse! Here we come!"
"Ouch, you're late!" Ma Youyi called to the waiter: "Hurry up and get a jar of wine!"
The leader sat on a chair on the side: "What kind of wine should we drink when discussing business? Just bring a pot of tea."
"Yes, yes! This old cat loves tea the most!" Ma Youyi laughed, and the leader also smiled and retorted: "You don't know what to say!" Then the two pointed at each other,
Laughing loudly.
Zhang Junsheng looked at the people behind him. They were fierce-looking and armed with weapons. He was very frightened. He continued to nestle in Ma Youyi's arms, Bai Xi's small hands tightly holding his collar.
The leader noticed the child, pointed at it and asked, "Say, Lao Ma, you can make a child after a month? This is too fast!"
Ma Youyi shook his head: "This child is alone and can't find his parents. I want to do some good deeds to gain some virtue and help find him." Then he explained what Zhang Junsheng knew about his parents and said, "Help me bring some snacks, are you there?"
Do you know?"
The leader turned around and called the team members over: "Look at this kid, do you know anyone? And do you remember the names just mentioned?"
A strong man holding a giant hammer approached Zhang Junsheng, looked him up and down, and shook his head helplessly: "I have never seen this child, and I have never heard of his name."
The housekeeper came closer and said, "This child looks a bit handsome. He doesn't look like an ordinary person."
The leader looked at it for a few times, then smiled and asked Zhang Junsheng: "I wonder why your child is so beautiful."
"You're not young!" Zhang Junsheng pouted: "I'm twelve this year!"
"The boy is so good-looking, so his mother must be a great beauty too. If I could sleep with his mother for one night..."
"Shut up! Children, listen!" Ma Youyi shouted loudly, and the leader hurriedly covered his mouth: "I'm confused! I'm so bad!"
After some questioning, no one knew anything about the child's parents, so it was impossible to rely on them.
"I said, Lao Ma, have you got the Western goods?" The leader tapped his fingers on the table.
Only then did Ma Youyi remember his business, so he hurriedly took out the small box and opened it gently. At that moment, everyone, including Zhang Junsheng, came closer to get a glimpse of this treasure.
What catches the eye is a lion's head black jade ring. The lion's head is made of pure gold, with luxurious workmanship and shining brilliance. The black jade shines, and a faint purple light emits, which further shows that it is rare and unique.
"This Western product really has a different reaction. The exquisite workmanship is really a once-in-a-hundred-year experience. It is really a first-class product..." The housekeeper looked around and admired it.
The leader said, "How about this? I'll give you five thousand taels of silver."
Ma Youyi frowned: "This number is too low. According to what I've learned about the market, it starts at 100,000 taels no matter what."
"I said, Lao Ma, you are a bit uninteresting..." The leader smiled and said: "If you think it is too little, twenty thousand taels of silver?"
"No!" Ma Youyi was very straightforward. He knew that the price offered by the leader could not even earn back the capital, so how could there be any profit?
The leader's face instantly changed, and he said unhappily: "Say, Lao Ma, I came all the way here to play with you? I can't get out one hundred thousand taels of silver, and even the banks under my name can't get it together at the moment.
out."
"In this case..." Ma Youyi put on his bamboo hat and picked up Zhang Junsheng who was clinging to his body: "We don't need to talk. I have something else to do, so I will stay here soon."
The leader sneered: "Please, go slowly without seeing me off."
Ma Youyi said nothing, put away the ring box and left the chamber of commerce without even looking back.
"Boss, are we here for nothing?" The strong man holding a giant hammer asked the leader. The leader smiled and did not answer, but gave the butler a look, and the butler understood and immediately followed him out.
On the other side, Ma Youyi was a little tired, so he put Zhang Junsheng down gently: "Let's go by yourself, you are not young anymore, why do you always have to be held by others?" Zhang Junsheng chuckled and followed.
"Uncle Ma, why did that guy change his face instantly?"
"We clearly promised 150,000 silver, but it turned out to be empty words here. It's really heartless. Businessmen are driven by profit. If there is no common interest, their greedy nature will be exposed." Ma Youyi explained helplessly.
For the young Zhang Junsheng, he obviously did not understand the meaning of this passage. Just looking at Ma Youyi's frustrated expression, he also understood that the matter was ruined.
At this moment, a pair of eyes was watching them quietly...
At night, Ma Youyi found an inn to stay. Zhang Junsheng, who had been exhausted for a day, fell asleep on the bed before he could take off his clothes. However, Ma Youyi always felt uneasy. He was afraid that the group of people would try to plot against him, so he sat aside
He sat on the chair and rested cautiously for a while.
"Is there a person named Ma here? There is a child with him." Ma Youyi vaguely heard some noise, woke up instantly, and hid behind the door to continue listening.
When the innkeeper informed him that he was upstairs, the group of troops armed with weapons rushed up aggressively. Ma Youyi was frightened to death and hurriedly slapped Zhang Junsheng awake from his deep sleep: "Run, those guys really came after me during the day!"
"Well..." Zhang Junsheng woke up drowsily. Before he could react, the door was kicked open with a "thud". Ma Youyi hurriedly grabbed the young man who was angry about getting up and jumped out of the window. Fortunately, there was a pile of people below.
The horse information continued. Ma Youyi patted his butt and ran away from the inn quickly.
Under the moonlight, this middle-aged man ran for his life with all his strength, and the people chasing him were like hungry wolves, as if they were going to skin him alive in the next second.
"Uncle Ma...I can't run anymore..." Zhang Junsheng blushed, sweat hanging on his eyelashes, which looked particularly glistening under the moonlight.
Unexpectedly, the housekeeper suddenly came out from the side, grabbed Zhang Junsheng who was alone, and quickly took out a knife and put it on his neck: "Horse hoof! Look who this is?"
Ma Youyi was so anxious that he wanted to take Zhang Junsheng back, but unexpectedly the strong man stood in front of him brandishing a giant hammer.
"Hand over the ring wisely, otherwise this child will have no chance of living!" the butler threatened with a smile.
Ma Youyi roared angrily: "Aren't you afraid that the government will arrest you if you are like this?"
"We are a caravan, and we are fully qualified to kill the 'little thieves' who blocked the road and robbed us. This was a rule established by the late emperor when he was still alive. As a businessman, don't you know this?"
Ma Youyi's heart skipped a beat. He knew that he couldn't escape this encounter today. Whenever a caravan kills people, if it's a small thief or a big bandit, the government will never ask questions. If it's an ordinary person, the caravan only needs to go to the official to take care of it.
Confusing right and wrong. Caravans help officials make money, while officials protect the caravans. This unspoken rule has always been used in the officialdom of the Taiwei Empire.
"Ouch, you bastard!" Zhang Junsheng took advantage of the butler's opportunity to speak and bit his arm tightly, causing the butler to yell and scream in pain.
The housekeeper got angry and strangled Zhang Junsheng's neck, forcing him to let go. Then he said viciously: "You are tired of living, aren't you? Then I will send you to see the King of Hell today!"
"Whoosh!"
A gust of cold wind pierced the sky, only a few inches away from Zhang Junsheng's body, and the dart pierced the butler's heart. The butler died before he could even raise his head.
Zhang Junsheng felt a damp heat in his body and face. He touched it with his hand and brought it close to his nose. It smelled of blood! He looked at the corpse next to him, screamed in fright, and collapsed to the ground.
The incident happened suddenly, and Ma Youyi couldn't react for a while. He looked around. At this time, he saw a high platform standing in the middle of the bright moon. A black-clothed hero with a bamboo hat on his head stood there, with a sharp sword in his hand.
It looks extremely cold under the moonlight.
Just when a few people were confused, a magnetic mature female voice came along the cold wind: