Chen Xuanfeng, Mei Chaofeng, Lu Chengfeng, Huang Rong and Guo Mo, a group of five people, left "Guiyun Village" and came down the official road heading southeast.
There were five people and ten riders, one person with two horses. Along the way, the horses rested and the people never rested.
When we set off from "Guiyun Village", noon had just arrived, which was the beginning of the hottest day of the day. No one spoke a word and hurried on with their heads down.
At this time, the official road, even the official road, was not as easy to walk as in later generations. Basically, after running for an hour, everyone would come down to drink water, mainly to change horses.
Even so, when the horses were changed for the second time, two horses had already fallen on the road.
Fortunately, it's not far from Lin'an. There is a pretty good horse market in the east of Lin'an city.
Around Shen hour, we arrived at Lin'an Ma City.
"Rong'er, you guys take a rest here, drink some water and eat some dry food, I'll go buy a horse."
Guo Mo got off his horse and said to Huang Rong.
Lu Chengfeng wanted to go with him, but Guo Mo stopped him.
"Brother Lu, I am more familiar with horse buying than you. You should take the time to rest here. We will continue on our way in two-quarters of an hour at most."
Lu Chengfeng nodded gratefully. Guo Mo was familiar with horses. After all, he grew up in the desert.
The most important thing is that I feel sorry for the physical strength of these people. After all, everyone has been running for two hours, and some horses have been replaced. How can people not be tired?
"Brother Mo, please drink some water and eat something. If you really have something to do, don't rush it."
Huang Rong calmed down and her thoughts were still very clear. However, only she could say this, and it would be inappropriate for others to say it.
Guo Mo nodded and dived directly into the horse market.
Everyone was sitting on the ground outside, eating some solid food, drinking water, doing exercises and regulating their breathing, waiting for Guo Mo.
Guo Mo entered the horse market. Not long ago, a man who looked like a "tooth man" came up to him.
"Sir, do you want to buy a horse?" He greeted Guo Mo very politely.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, horses had been upgraded to a "luxury product", and a good horse usually cost more than 150 pounds.
Therefore, those who dare to come to the horse market to buy horses are basically wealthy owners.
Although Guo Mo is in a hurry and is not short of money, he doesn't want to be ripped off for no reason.
"I'm just taking a look. Do you have any good horses to recommend?"
Guo Mo pretended to be leisurely, looking here and there, but didn't stop in one place.
"Yaren" kept smiling beside him, "Uncle, you asked me to the right person. There is no horse that I don't know about in Lin'an Horse Market. I promise to give you the most suitable horse at a fair price."
"It's not possible to just talk. I want to find some horses with good endurance and the price is negotiable, but I'm afraid you won't be able to get a good horse." Guo Mo said casually.
"How many?" "Yaren" heard this and realized that this was a big customer.
"Uncle, if you had just said no, I will take you there. There are some Mongolian horses in the west. Even though they are shorter, they have the best endurance."
Guo Mo didn't expect that Mongolian horses would be sold in Lin'an Horse Market.
The characteristic of Mongolian horses is that they are relatively short, but their endurance is definitely stronger than other horses.
It's just because of the Han people's habit of "tall-headed horses" that look impressive, but they are not very keen on this short Mongolian horse.
Following the Yaren, they came to a horse pen just to the west. Far away, Guo Mo saw a dozen Mongolian horses tied there, but no one cared about them.
"Shopkeeper Liu, come out quickly, the big customer is here," the Ya man shouted from the front.
A middle-aged man in his forties walked over from the side in a shadowy manner.
"Sanwa, what kind of unreliable customer did your uncle bring here again?"
Shopkeeper Liu was quite familiar with Yaren. He first made a joke and then came to Guo Mo.
"Hello, sir, we only have short Mongolian horses here. They have good endurance. If you want to buy a tall horse, you have to go elsewhere."
Guo Mo was delighted when he heard this. Is there such a down-to-earth person in business these days?
The toothy man named "Sanwa" kept winking at Shopkeeper Liu from the side, wishing his eyes would fly out.
"Shopkeeper Liu, right? It doesn't matter, I want to see the condition of the horse first."
Guo Mo thought it would be nice to have such a down-to-earth shopkeeper, but before seeing the horse, he wasn't sure whether he was real or just pretending to be down-to-earth.
Seeing that Guo Mo really wanted to see the horses, shopkeeper Liu led the way, opened the horse pen, and the three of them walked in.
Guo Mo looked carefully and saw that there were no horses that were too eye-catching, but overall, they were pretty good.
"Shopkeeper Liu, the horse is okay. Please give me a price and I'll listen."
Shopkeeper Liu was stunned when he saw that Guo Mo was really satisfied with this Mongolian horse.
"Sir, look at this. I'll charge you a hundred bucks for a horse. It has a saddle, a saddle, and stirrups. It's also all about 'brushing, washing, drinking, and walking.' You can ride on it and hit the road. How about it?"
?”
Shopkeeper Liu asked for one hundred guan, which was honestly considered a price, so Guo Mo didn't counter-offer him.
"Shopkeeper Liu, where are these Mongolian horses? I want five of them, and all the supporting equipment has been prepared for me. Just
The settlement will be the hundred dollars you said."
After saying that, Guo Mo took out a five hundred tael silver note from his arms and handed it to shopkeeper Liu. He took out another five hundred taels of silver and gave it to Na Yaren.
Shopkeeper Liu didn't expect Guo Mo to be so straightforward. He happily took the banknote, checked the authenticity, and carefully put it into his arms.
"Sir, please wait a moment."
Then he personally went to the shackles where the horses were tied and untied five horses.
From Guo Mo's perspective, these five horses are definitely the best among all the horses present.
It seems that shopkeeper Liu is grateful for his "generous spending".
Shopkeeper Liu thought for a while, then returned to the shady place where he was originally, and took a few water bottles and two large paper bags.
"Sir, these are the five horses I have selected for you. I guarantee your satisfaction."
"It looks like you are on a long journey. Here are a few water bottles, a large bag of cooking cakes and a large bag of cooked beef. You can take them with you to eat on the way."
Shopkeeper Liu was really good at business, and it was exactly what Guo Mo needed, so he took it over. The cooked beef weighed more than ten kilograms.
"Shopkeeper Liu, thank you very much. I will pass by Lin'an another day and come to buy horses from you if necessary."
After saying that, without further delay, he put the food and water bag on the horse, got on a Mongolian horse and left.
Back and forth, it took less than two quarters of an hour.
Back outside the horse market, everyone was almost rested.
Lu Chengfeng and Chen Xuanfeng stepped forward to take over the newly purchased horse, "Mongolian horse? Yes, although this horse is not as explosive, it has the best endurance and is suitable for long distances."
"Black Wind and Two Evils" also lived in the desert, so Chen Xuanfeng could naturally recognize them and was familiar with Mongolian horses.
Guo Mo also distributed water bags and food to everyone. Each of them got a Mongolian horse and prepared to continue on their way.
However, Huang Rong insisted that Guo Mo eat something first. Guo Mo had no choice but to eat a pound of beef and two cooking cakes, and drank half a bag of water.
When we reach Lin'an, we have walked a little more than one-third of the journey.
Everyone continued to mount their horses, and nearly four hours passed with this breath.
I felt hungry and thirsty on the way, but I didn’t dismount. I just relaxed a little and solved it right away.
By the time everyone arrived at Zhoushan Pier, it was almost midnight.
We were really short of people and horses. Apart from the five Mongolian horses we bought later and the ten healthy horses we brought from "Guiyun Village", there were only four left.
"Rong'er, how can we get to the island this late at night?"
"Brother Mo, don't worry. There is a shipping company in this town that I am familiar with. They have several ships that can sail at night, but the shipping fee is just a little more."
Huang Rong led the way to a boat-running business.
Even though it was so late, there was still a young man taking a nap at the counter. It seemed that business was really good.
Guo Mo stepped forward and knocked on the counter, "Hey, man, wake up."
The waiter opened his eyes in a daze and saw five people coming in, and a young man was talking to him.
"Oops, I'm sorry, I just got confused. Master, do you want a boat?"
The waiter hurriedly came out from behind the counter, nodding and bowing to accompany him.
"Man, can we still send a boat to Peach Blossom Island now?"
As soon as he heard "Peach Blossom Island", this guy was completely frightened out of his daze.
"Sir, sir, please be alright. It's true that our business has a 'night boat', but if you want to go there, we don't dare to run away."
This guy was so scared that he didn't even dare to say the three words "Peach Blossom Island".
Huang Rong squeezed forward and said, "Man, I know that the island is not accessible to people on weekdays, but you don't need to be afraid. That's my home there. I'm coming home from other places and I won't cause any trouble to you."
The clerk looked at Huang Rong. Such a pretty girl didn't look like a bad person.
"Then please wait a moment, I'll go ask the shopkeeper for instructions."
After saying that, the guy turned around and went to the back.
After about a meal, the waiter came back from behind, followed by a burly man.
"Who wants to go to 'Peach Blossom Island'?" the man asked, looking at everyone.
When I saw Huang Rong in front of me, I always felt that she looked familiar.
"Zhang Damengzi, you have become the shopkeeper and you don't recognize me anymore? Two years ago, your ship also went to 'Peach Blossom Island' several times to deliver things."
"Oh, it turns out to be a young lady, but I haven't seen you for a while. What are you?"
"I just came back from outside. I'm not stuck on the time. At this point, I have to come to you to find a 'night boat'."
"No problem, please wait a moment, Miss. I will arrange someone for you right away and I will send you there myself."
This big piece of shit fell into the hands of a purchasing manager from "Peach Blossom Island" three years ago, and none of those deaf-mute people had any trouble with it.
If he hadn't happened to meet Huang Rong, who was only fourteen years old at the time, he would have probably fed the fishes long ago.
After going back and forth, he was considered an acquaintance, so Huang Rong came here to look for him so late.
In just a quarter of an hour, preparations were made and everyone boarded a boat.
After struggling for a long time, it was past midnight and a new day began.
"Miss, you know that the boat doesn't dare to go too fast at night. And the road is not very close. You'd better find a place to sleep for a while. It will take more than two hours anyway. It's already dawn.
.”
Huang Rong knew that Zhang Damengzi was telling the truth. No matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do.
Looking at everyone, they are all tired after this bumpy journey.
"Sir... senior brother, second senior sister, and fourth senior brother, you should find a place to sleep for a while. We don't know what will happen when we arrive on the island at dawn."
Chen Xuanfeng, who was originally exhausted, was moved to tears when he heard that Huang Rong actually called him "elder brother".
He nodded, said nothing, and looked for a place to stare.
Mei Chaofeng and Lu Chengfeng also walked away one after another.
"Rong'er, don't think too much. Maybe nothing happened to your father at all, and everyone was just in a false alarm."
Seeing that no one was present, Huang Rong couldn't hold back anymore and cried "Wow".
"Brother Mo, I'm really afraid that something will happen to my father. I haven't seen my mother since I was a child. Only my father takes care of me..."
The boat was moving slowly, Huang Rong was chattering, and the two of them just cuddled up in a corner of the deck of the boat.
Slowly, Huang Rong fell asleep, and Guo Mo kept holding her gently like that.
The night became quiet, with only the gurgling water, the stars in the sky, and the moist sea breeze.