Time passed in a hurry, and the sun was slowly but firmly climbing upwards. Huang Chen was completely immersed in the book, so much so that Mr. Zhang and the mute girl were not even aware that they were approaching.
When he realized the figure at his feet, he raised his head and saw an expression of disbelief in Zhang's eyes. He had already thought about this and said calmly: "This book was borrowed from Uncle Zhao.
Just take a look. Wasn’t my child kidnapped for half a year in the past? That person planned to sell me to a wealthy family with no heirs, so although he beat and scolded me mercilessly, he taught me how to read and write. Haha, after so many years, some of my words have changed.
I forgot, so I can only read and understand half of it."
This statement is not entirely fabricated. The person who kidnapped him really wanted to sell him to a wealthy family, but not as a son, but as a slave. In order to get a good price, he had to learn some simple words and numbers, which is about
Dozens and hundreds. These half-truths and half-false words were quite convincing. Ms. Zhang dismissed her doubts and sighed: "Brother Jin is no longer afraid when he mentions that sad past?"
Huang Chen said: "This matter has been in my heart for five or six years. The person who was tortured was not like a human being, and the ghost was not like a ghost. When I came out, I looked back and found that there was nothing terrible. I am now the mainstay of the family. I am afraid that it will be difficult to
Let grandma live a good life."
Mrs. Zhang was relieved and happy, and touched his head. The Huang family is the successor of Huang Cegong, a scholar of the Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, there have been Jinshi scholars.
People in two consecutive generations are illiterate, which can be said to have broken the inheritance. Now Huang Chen picks up the book, which is equivalent to continuing the inheritance. He is possessed by a thief and wanders on the sea. There is no hope for an official career in this life, but future generations will work hard and strive.
Make a name for yourself and restore the glory of your ancestors.
Mrs. Zhang did not want to disturb her son's interest in studying, so she left quickly. The dumb girl stayed, her beautiful eyes shining with curiosity.
Huang Chen asked with a smile: "Mute sister, are you literate?" The mute girl shook her head, and Huang Chen asked again: "Then do you want to learn?" The mute girl pursed her petal-like lips tightly, neither nodding nor saying anything.
He shook his head, showing a confused look.
Huang Chen suddenly understood and said, "I have nothing to do at the moment, so why don't I teach you how to read." Yan Wan found two branches from the side, handed one to her, then squatted on the ground and wrote ten simple and commonly used words, while
I read while writing. The mute girl imitated cats and tigers. Huang Chen's writing was straight and rhymed, but she wrote crookedly. Her pretty face immediately turned red, like a ripe apple.
"There's no need to be shy. Writing is like walking. Have you ever seen a baby that can walk quickly after birth? There has to be a learning process." Huang Chen encouraged her with a smile: "There are thousands of literate people in the world.
Men only hit one or two in a hundred, and women are even rarer. If you take this step, you are already better than most people."
The mute girl nodded shyly.
Teacher Huang Chen found it interesting and taught her for an hour, which was enough for her to digest for a whole day. She stood up and stretched her arms and legs, which made her whole body feel alive. She turned around and asked: "Mute girl, weren't you born dumb? What's the reason?
To silence you?"
The mute girl's clear and bright eyes dimmed instantly when she heard this, and she lowered her little head.
Huang Chen frowned. The mute girl couldn't speak and couldn't tell the reason. He could only speculate on some reasons. Then he asked the mute girl again and said, "Did you eat something by mistake? Or was it because you were frightened?"
The girl suddenly raised her head. She didn't expect Huang Chen to guess the reason. She eagerly stretched out two fingers to indicate that it was the latter point. She was frightened and lost the ability to speak.
Huang Chen rubbed his fingers and muttered: "Maybe it was when the pirates snatched you away..." The mute girl nodded repeatedly before he finished speaking, and tears fell. Huang Chen saw that she was crying very sadly, and it was not like she was simply robbed.
Luo asked, "Have any of your relatives been killed by pirates?" The dumb girl choked and nodded again. She felt that Huang Chen was like a tapeworm in her belly, knowing everything...
It was inconvenient for the two to communicate. When Huang Chen got the general idea, he stopped asking for details and reminded the mute girl: "You are suffering from aphasia. This disease is very troublesome and cannot be cured by medicine. You can only rely on yourself. You must get yourself back together as soon as possible."
Open your mouth, or if you delay for a while longer, you will truly become mute and will never be able to speak."
When the mute girl heard what he said, she felt anxious and uneasy. However, her face turned red from holding back, but she couldn't shout a single syllable.
Huang Chen sighed secretly and said: "Don't be anxious, take your time, I believe you can overcome the psychological barrier."
"Brother Huang..." Huang Chenshun said, Wang Yong strode from far to near, complaining: "Brother Huang, why did you sneak away from the banquet yesterday, making it difficult for me to find you."
Huang Chen smiled dryly and said: "Brother Wang drinks like an ocean and can't get drunk after a thousand cups. My younger brother is resigned to being the loser and has no choice but to take the first step."
Wang Yong complained about his lack of loyalty again, turned to the mute girl, and said with a smile on his face: "Is this your little wife?"
Huang Chen smiled but did not answer, fearing that the mute girl would not be able to bear Wang Yong's teasing, so he asked her to go home first and asked: "What does Brother Wang want from me?"
"Second Master is leading the team. Forty or fifty people are preparing to go to the market. I want to ask you if you want to go."
"Market?" Huang Chen thought about it carefully. There is indeed a market at the western end of Dachen Island. It is the busiest place in Dachen Mountain. It is said that everything that can be bought in Taizhou Prefecture can be bought there. Not only
In this way, everything is available for food, drink, prostitution and gambling. Whenever the pirates have free time, they will go there to have a good time and will not stop until they spend the last coin in their pocket. In his memory, he only went there two or three times. He just sat at home and was bored.
It’s okay to go shopping, so I nodded in agreement.
Wang Yong looked solemn and said solemnly: "Your Majesty is at home? I'll go pay a visit."
"good."
Wang Yong was in his late thirties, barely a few years younger than Zhang. However, he and Huang Chen were friends and insisted on meeting each other as juniors. During the conversation, Wang Yong mentioned that he was saved by Huang Chen on the battlefield and saved his life. Zhang
Mrs. Zhang was stunned when she heard that her son had not told her about this at all, so she couldn't help but glared at him. Wang Yong knew that Huang Chen had just lost his father and was orphaned and widowed. He was in a difficult time, so he patted his chest and repeatedly assured Mr. Zhang
, I will definitely protect Huang Chen like my biological brother in the future and never let him be bullied in the slightest.
When Mrs. Zhang heard that Wang Yong wanted to take Huang Chen to the market, she did not hesitate to hand over two taels of silver to Huang Chen for expenses. Two taels of silver was enough to buy more than a hundred kilograms of rice, which could feed a family of three.
For several months, it was not a small amount of money for their family. Huang Chen wanted to return some, but was afraid that Wang Yong would laugh at him, so he kept the money in his arms silently. It was said that in his previous life, he spent money like water, but when had he ever been so careful in his calculations?
.
When the two arrived at the north gate of the village, almost everyone else was there. Hu Yin was there, and so was Zhang San. This guy was beaten with an iron fist by Huang Chen yesterday and his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, but he was lucky enough to escape the battlefield behind.
, Misfortune depends on blessing, this statement is absolutely true.
The group of people set off and walked a ten-mile mountain road from the village to the market. It was not far or close, and it took about half an hour to arrive. Taking the waterway was obviously faster and more convenient, but Mr. Hu might have
He was worried that Taipan Lao and Lin Qilao behind him might set up an ambush at sea, so he chose to go to the market by land.
Driving on the mountain road was hard and boring. In order to distract themselves, Huang Chen and Wang Yong kept chatting. Hu Yin soon joined in and had a heated discussion with Wang Yong about which local bitch was the most beautiful and tasteful. He was only ten years old.
Five children with immature faces openly talked about prostitutes, and it was obvious that he knew this well. "Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?" Huang Chen was dumbfounded and found it difficult to accept.
After climbing over the high mountains and low hills, the market was finally in sight. It was completely different from Huang Chen's imagination. The fences and low stone houses outside the market seemed to be no different from his own village. If he hadn't told him, he would have thought that this place was an ordinary island village.
.….
As you get closer, you can clearly see the difference. There are more and more pedestrians. As soon as you enter the market gate, you can see everywhere there are people walking around. It is bustling and noisy. Due to the limited number of market buildings,
More people set up stalls on both sides of the road, sat on the ground and hawked along the street.
"Take a look, take a look, the finest Matsue Ayabu..."
"Japanese red copper, the finest Japanese red copper, can be used to make guns and money..."
"Swords, guns, swords and halberds, axes, axes, hooks and forks, firearms and blunderbuss, whatever you want..."
"There are nine men who are quite powerful and are accustomed to maritime affairs. Anyone who wants to recruit them should come quickly and will not wait until the time comes..."
"Fortune telling classes are starting, no money required..."
There are many pedestrians around, and there must be many people who are looking for nothing, and there are many secret thieves. Huang Chen firmly holds the broken silver in his pocket and looks to both sides as he walks. As in the rumors, there is indeed everything you want here, Chinese goods, foreign goods, weapons and even
As long as you can't think of it, there is nothing they dare not sell.
Hu Yin opened up the chatterbox and mentioned that the seller had a name, called rowing boats. Ninety percent of them were Zhejiang residents, and the other ten percent were Fujianese. They themselves were family members and relatives of the local squires. Under the banner of the local squires, they usually used large and small rowing boats to carry goods out to sea.
, pretending to be trading with fishing boats at sea, but in fact they are traffic pirates. Boating cannot cross the ocean to trade abroad, so the government and the army generally do not interfere.
Wang Yong nodded repeatedly, obviously these things were not secret.
Fishing boats paying taxes to pirates and rowing boats transporting goods to pirates have always been regarded by knowledgeable people in the Ming Dynasty as two major hazards on the sea. Some people even said that if they are not eliminated, pirates will continue. The speaker is high in the temple and speaks easily, but he does not
Practically speaking, let alone fishing boats, how can millions of fishermen make a living along the forbidden coast? Just talking about boating, the local power of the country gentry behind it is huge. They have connections from the state capital to the countryside, and their involvement is very wide. Even if someone comes from the capital,
How can a strong dragon suppress a local snake? In the end, it was nothing.
Huang Chen couldn't help but shake his head, thinking how did the Ming Dynasty rule the world? It would be strange if neither the land nor the sea could be controlled.
Passing by a large-scale weapons shop, Wang Yong's Japanese sword was about to expire, so he planned to replace it. He immediately separated from Hu Erlao and others. Huang Chen followed him into the store, and a commoner boy ran forward.
He was greeted with smiles and greeted with greetings, which was so cordial. "What do you two want to do?"
Wang Yong got straight to the point: "Japanese knives are high-quality Japanese knives. Don't use inferior ones to show your embarrassment. They will only be looked down upon."
The waiter said in his mouth: "What did you say? I am not bragging. In this market, there are not only thirty but also twenty shops selling Japanese swords. My family considers itself second, and no one dares to consider it first. You
Just buy with confidence.”
Wang Yongnai is a frequent visitor to the market. How could he be so easy to coax? He said disdainfully: "Everyone you enter will tell you the same thing. Stop talking nonsense and show me the fine products. They should be four feet long."
The clerk got into the counter, took out a long black sheath knife from the bottom of the box and presented it to Wang Yong. The latter took the heavy Japanese knife with one hand, looked around, and then pulled out a few. A flash of blue light suddenly appeared, and Wang Yong
Yong secretly nodded. The style of this knife is simple and light. It does not have too many decorations such as fur, sheath, etc. It is a good knife that focuses on practical combat. He asked: "It's not bad. How much does it cost?"
The waiter said: "This sword was collected in Japan and made by a famous craftsman in Japan. It must be made in pairs."
"Too expensive." Wang Yong shook his head.
Doing business is basically a business where the store asks for a high price and the customer pays the money after landing. After the two bargained for a while, the final price was locked at 225 yuan. Wang Yong paid the bill and put away the knife, turned to Huang Chen and said: "Brother Huang
, do you want to buy something?"
"How do you sell that gun?" Huang Chen looked down on ordinary weapons, but a matchlock gun on the wall aroused his interest. Yesterday, during the fierce battle at sea, he saw someone using matchlock guns, but the number was not large.
However, more people are using three-eye muskets with three muzzles. It is a fire-gate gun, that is, a tubular firearm. In fact, this thing should be eliminated as soon as the matchlock gun appeared. The Ming Dynasty still
With continued use, it inevitably feels like reversing the course of history.
The clerk said: "This blunderbuss is five feet and two inches long and weighs more than six kilograms. The fire door and rails are all exquisite and delicate. The barrel is durable and has no worries about exploding the chamber. The power can reach a hundred steps away, and within fifty steps, it can hit the target 100 times."
.Three taels or six dollars, I will never let you lose."
When Huang Chen heard the price, he immediately stopped thinking. He only had two taels of silver in his pocket, which was less than half.