A few people watched the horses for a while, then found a saddlery shop near the horse market. They explained that they wanted to buy a good set of saddles and tacks. As long as they liked it, the price was not a problem.
When the shopkeeper saw the good customers, he hurriedly asked the waiters to bring tea, water and snacks, and served them diligently. He also ordered several sets of high-quality saddles to be brought out for them to take a look at.
The so-called saddle is actually a complete set of horse equipment including saddle, stirrup, whip, saddle, stirrup seat, girth, and front and rear saddle.
The saddle was first invented by the people of Northern Xinjiang, but it is relatively simple, just like a seat cushion.
Our modern concave saddle with front and rear bridges was invented by the Xianbo people.
After this type of saddle is fixed on the horse's back, it can limit the rider's body from sliding forward and backward on the horse, ensuring longitudinal stability. Therefore, this type of saddle was first called the 'two-bridge vertical saddle'.
Later, it was improved and the front saddle bridge was designed to be higher and upright, while the rear saddle bridge was relatively inclined downwards. This is the "rear saddle bridge tilt saddle".
This style of saddle can make it easier for riders to get on and off the horse without affecting its stability. It is a great progress in design and has been passed down to this day after it was finalized.
The components of the saddle include the front saddle bridge, the rear saddle bridge, the front saddle wings, the rear saddle wings, the saddle and the saddle ribs. Generally speaking, they are made of willow and birch, because these two trees are more common in the north.
, strong and durable after drying treatment.
The sets of saddles in the store are very exquisite in workmanship and gorgeously decorated. According to their use, they are divided into sitting saddles, pack saddles, wedding saddles and carriage saddles.
And the materials of saddles are also diverse, including gilt saddles, silver-inlaid saddles, cloisonné saddles, lacquer saddles...
The front and rear saddles of the saddle are also decorated with various decorations, either painted with patterns, or inlaid with shell carvings, bone carvings, or even jade carvings.
There are also saddle hats, cushions, saddle ridges, saddle flowers, etc., all decorated with edge patterns or corner patterns. The saddle flowers are mostly made of silver or copper, and some are made of pure gold, but they are extremely rare.
The cushioned saddle is an embroidery craft, which was later improved by the Chinese. The earliest northern tribes were not so particular.
Therefore, the production of a set of saddles includes woodworking, embroidery, fur, weaving, silversmithing and other crafts, among which there are many things to pay attention to.
There are many Xianbo people, Capricorn people, and Wuhuan people in Yanyun County, among whom there are many outstanding saddle craftsmen. On the basis of their traditional crafts, craftsmen from China have innovated and improved them, forming a kind of
The unique style is the world-famous Yanyun Anqing.
Someone once described Yanyun Anqing like this.
'The saddle and bridle are light and simple for galloping, weighing no more than seven kilograms. The wings of the goose on the saddle are vertical in front and flat in the back. They can be turned around without hurting the arms. The stirrups are round, so the feet are neutral and not lopsided. The bottoms of the stirrups are wide, so boots are easy to put in.
.The leather for the stirrups was rubbed by hand but not salted, and filled with mutton fat. Therefore, it was exposed to the rain and rotted continuously. It was only more than an inch wide and was not long enough to reach the four generals, so I immediately turned around and turned around...'
Xiao Chen didn't know much about this thing, he just thought that everything was good, but Tie Kunlun was an expert, and he carefully looked through the selections. The light in the room was too dark to see clearly, so he simply took it outside to look at it.
The shop owner was extremely shrewd, and was afraid that he would steal the saddle away, so he nuzzled at a young boy, who quickly ran out and stood next to Tie Kunlun to closely monitor him, as if to guard against thieves.
Xiao Chen chuckled, "Boss, we are all sitting here, can he still take your treasure and run away? If you are worried, I will give you money as a deposit."
As he said this, Xiao Ye took out a large ingot weighing fifty taels from his wallet and threw it on the table with a loud sound.
They came out ready to spend money. Xiao Ye had two thousand taels of silver in the wallet on his back.
Today's jin liang is based on the hexadecimal system, which means that one jin of silver is sixteen taels. A fifty-tael ingot is not five jins, but only about three jins.
Therefore, two thousand taels of silver only weighed about one hundred and twenty kilograms, and it was light for Xiao Ye to carry it on his back.
"How can that be possible?" The shopkeeper smiled shyly, but picked up the silver and looked at it, "This silver looks to be of good quality, but fake silver filled with lead has recently appeared on the market, which has also deceived a lot of people.
"
Does this mean that your stuff is really expensive?
"Boss, if you don't believe me, just cut it open and have a look. Anyway, I want to buy something in your store. I like these sets of saddle shackles very much, but I don't know how much they cost?" Xiao Chen took a fancy to them all and wanted to
Buy them all back, give the best ones to Liu Ruyun, and give the rest to other friends.
"That's different, too. For example, the man outside the door saw it, but it's gilded with silver, fine embroidery, selected cowhide, fine birch wood... If you like it, uncle, I'll give you three hundred taels of silver.
Let’s go.” The shop owner said.
"One hundred taels!" Duan Linger raised a little finger.
"Are you guys joking with me about your relationship?" the shop owner suddenly made a face.
"Just kidding, actually three hundred taels is not expensive." Duan Ling'er immediately softened his words, thinking, "Damn it, this bargaining failed again."
"We who do business are all real people. We don't dare to flatter the girl's joke. Although the other pairs of saddles are made of slightly different materials, the workmanship is just as fine. They are all the work of our Yanyun craftsmen. In terms of price,
, it all depends on my reward... but if it is less than two hundred taels, the villain will not be able to obey." said the shop owner.
"The boss is right. These pairs of saddle shackles are really exquisite. The embroidery craftsmanship alone is extraordinary." Ye Baiqing also liked it very much.
"This gentleman also has discernment. I'm not just bragging. In this huge horse market, our store has the best. Not to mention anything else, the silver inlaid on it is all pure and abundant..."
After all the boss said, he still suspected that Xiao Chen's money was fake.
"You, the boss, are really noisy. Why don't you just cut it and take a look?" Ye Baiqing said with a smile.
"Isn't this embarrassing?" The shop owner asked a boy to get some scissors and cut one in front of everyone.
Of course it was real, and the quality was so good that the shop owner also praised it repeatedly, with a happy smile on his face.
Suddenly, an imposing and luxuriously dressed middle-aged man walked in outside the door. As soon as he entered the door, he said loudly, "Boss, I heard that your saddles are the best. Pick out a high-quality pair for me to see!"
The shop owner was very happy when he saw that another wealthy customer had arrived. I don't know where the sun rose today? Two big businessmen came to the door early in the morning...
He hurriedly invited him to sit down and asked the young man to bring him some high-quality saddles for him to take a look at.
This man was extremely generous. He glanced at it and pointed at a pair of cloisonné saddles, "How much does this cost?"
"Things that can catch the eye of the uncle are naturally high-end goods. I think the uncle is also a wealthy man. If the asking price is too low, I'm afraid it will be an insult to the noble man. Do you think the price of only 200 taels is reasonable?" the shopkeeper said hurriedly.
"I like this thing very much. Two hundred taels is not much. I want it. I only want to buy a horse, but I don't know if it is suitable. How about this? You send a man to take it to the horse market with me. After a walk, if it was Chinese style, I would buy all the saddles and horses, and I would keep this as a deposit."
The wealthy man also took out a large fifty-tael ingot and threw it on the table, which was much more generous than Xiao Chen...