Zhou Wen considered that if he did not follow the caravan, traveling alone with a dozen or so people would easily arouse suspicion from others. Think about it, if a dozen strong men without reputation traveled in a group, everyone would be suspicious, and
The weapons and radios they brought were not easy to hide. Now the Japanese army was constantly stirring up trouble in Shanhaiguan. Troops were already stationed in the surrounding counties. It would be troublesome to attract the attention of the garrison.
Thinking of this, Zhou Wen called Lao Jiangtou for discussion and wanted to hear his opinion as an old Jianghu.
When Lao Jiangtou was invited into the courtyard by Zhang Xiaoping, Zhou Wen got straight to the point and asked: "Uncle Lao Jiang, I'm going to get straight to the point. We are in a hurry to go to Jianchang Camp and follow the caravan to do business all the way there. Time is a bit tight, but we
I'm going alone, and I'm not familiar with the place, so I'm afraid I might get into some trouble. Uncle Jiang is well-informed, do you have any good ideas?"
Uncle Jiang was stunned when asked by Zhou Wen, what does Young Master mean? If you are in a hurry, then you don't do business along the way. What's so difficult about this?
Immediately he said: "The Shaodong family is in a hurry, so why don't we go directly to Jianchangying in one go? The Shaodong family is afraid that we will not be able to bear the hardships of the journey, so they are looking down on the little old man. We who have been doing business all year round
, we won’t be afraid of the hardship of long journeys. In the years before September 18th, when did we go to Kouwai, we didn’t have to walk hundreds of miles of mountain roads?”
Zhou Wen was also stunned. Is it that simple? He asked: "If your caravan doesn't enter the city when it encounters it, and keeps passing through the town, no one will suspect it?"
Old Jiangtou finally came to his senses. It turned out that the young master was afraid that he had some confidential matters going to Jianchang Camp that should not be known to others. He immediately explained with a smile: "When doing business, we didn't say that we had to enter the city when we saw it.
The further away you go, the higher the selling price, everyone knows this truth, we just rush to Jianchangying and no one will say anything."
Only then did Zhou Wen realize that he had gone astray. One was because he was not familiar with the rules of doing business, and the other was because he had a guilty conscience and was afraid that the purpose of his group would be discovered. It was funny to think about it.
So he said: "That's it, Lulong, let's not stay here anymore. We will buy some food for the road today and set off early tomorrow morning."
Lao Jiangtou simply agreed. Just as he turned to leave, he was stopped by Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen thought that he was not afraid of arousing suspicion anyway, so he wanted to ask if there was a shortcut?
"Is there any faster route to Jianchangying?"
Old Jiangtou hesitated and said: "There is a mountain road that is closer, but it has to climb several mountains, so I'm afraid it is not very safe. The young master's rich body, there is no need to take risks."
"Is there anything unsafe? Is there a military guard or is the road too dangerous?"
"No, you may encounter bandits. It's okay to just rob property. But I'm afraid of encountering unreasonable ones, kidnapping and murder."
"Can a carriage be passed on the mountain road?"
"The mountain road is not too steep. It was an old commercial road outside the exit. Carriages could pass it, but now that there is an official road, fewer people use it."
"How much faster can it be?"
"If you don't spare the horsepower, you can leave before dawn in the morning and arrive by the evening."
Zhou Wen felt relieved after hearing this. He measured on the map that the official road from Lulong to Jianchangying was only about 60 kilometers, but it had to pass through several towns, and there would inevitably be some checkpoint inspections and negotiations, but the distance on the mountain road was longer.
It's close, and there are no checkpoints along the way. As long as you can go quickly, you don't have to worry about a few bandits.
He immediately said: "Then take the old road and leave early tomorrow morning."
Old Jiangtou is still a little worried. This is the young master's family. I heard that he is the only one in the old master's family. If anything goes wrong on the road, he will never be able to redeem himself.
Seeing his hesitation, Zhou Wen smiled and said, "Uncle Jiang, just listen to me. My brothers can protect us on this road."
Old Jiangtou saw that the young master's family had said this, and he could no longer disobey, so he could only walk out with a heavy heart, thinking: "I'm afraid I have to find some familiar local Jianghu people to escort me."
Seeing Old Jiangtou walk out, Miaohua said with a smile: "Uncle Old Jiang is afraid that a rich man like you will be killed by bandits. Don't you know that it will be the last time a bandit encounters you that you will be unlucky for the rest of your life?"
Zhou Wen is also in a good mood. To be honest, since time travel, when has he been hiding like this now, and he is still hiding from his own countrymen? Although it is not a serious problem, he always feels uncomfortable in his heart. Now he is better.
When we walk on the mountain road tomorrow, the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Who else will you be afraid of, brothers?
Immediately, he waved his hand and said loudly: "Except for those who are stationed on duty, everyone else will come out with me and treat you to a nice meal."
Of course, the brothers were overjoyed. A group of lively young men took the stuffy truck for two days, got off the bus and went directly to Lulong County. Although everyone strictly obeyed the scholar's orders and had no complaints, there was always something amiss.
After feeling depressed, now you can go out for a walk and have a good meal by the way. Who wouldn’t want to?
Only the two team members left behind smashed their mouths and looked at everyone with envy. Zhou Wen laughed and said: "Don't worry, you two also have a share. We will bring you a food box after eating, and I will ensure that there is enough meat."
"
At this time, Xu Dacheng was already impatient and shouted: "What are you talking about? Let's go. Don't you see, Ah Jing is drooling."
Ti Jing quickly blushed and argued, "No...I'm not drooling."
Everyone laughed and followed Zhou Wen out of the inn.
…
Early the next morning, the sky was still dark, and the city gate had just opened. Fuyuan Company's caravan left Lulong County in a single file. However, there were two more caravans than yesterday.
It turned out that Uncle Jiang was really worried, so he entrusted an acquaintance to help find two guards who were somewhat famous in the local area. They were an uncle and nephew, and they were hunters in the Jianchangying area. They hunted in the Yanshan area in spring and summer, and there were few prey in autumn and winter.
I took my furs with me to Lulong to sell them and find some work.
The uncle of these two people is called Wan Tiangui, a strong man in his forties. The nephew looks to be about the same age as Zhang Xiaoping. He is a boy of 17 or 18 years old named Xiao Shui. He is also stocky and looks like he hunts all day long.
, my daily food is quite greasy.
Lao Jiangtou introduced to Zhou Wen that the uncle and nephew had been selling mountain products and doing part-time work in Jianchangying and Lulong all year round. They could do any kind of work and were very familiar with the terrain in this area. Moreover, because their uncle Wan Tiangui had been hunting and practicing all year round,
As for his good marksmanship, both the black and white teams in this area are well-known. With them leading the way, it will be much safer.
Zhou Wen naturally would not refute Lao Jiangtou's good intentions, it was nothing to him.
Not long after uncle Wan Tiangui followed the caravan out of the city, he realized that the caravan actually valued Zhou Wen. In order to show that Lao Jiangtou had found the right person, he intentionally or unintentionally talked loudly about the terrain conditions along the way next to Zhou Wen.
Which section of the slope is steep, which section of the road is narrow, and what needs to be paid attention to are explained one by one.