"Mr. Tang, you have been following me for some time. You must cooperate with Grand Sima this time so that no one can notice any clues."
Chu Nanzhi warned Tang Weiming.
Although Tang Weiming was deeply reluctant to give up, he knew the important mission of the Queen's trip and was determined to live and die with her. He gritted his teeth and replied: "Please rest assured, Queen, even if I lose my head, I will fulfill the Queen's duties."
The assigned tasks.”
Chu Nanzhi smiled happily. Thinking of the disguised woman who was next to Ji Wanying in the past, she was inspired. She asked people to find some flour, and used rouge and gouache to slightly modify everyone's makeup. They changed their outfits and in a blink of an eye.
During this period, both himself and Sang Qi became business travelers with beards and particularly vicissitudes of life on their faces.
After that, he sneaked out of the post house under the cover of night.
After walking back for a long time in the snow, we finally entered Dangyang County at dawn.
"Sister Zhi, do you think it will arouse suspicion if we enter the city rashly like this?"
Malaifu asked worriedly.
"Perhaps we will strictly check the passers-by, but after what happened yesterday, I don't think Grand Administrator Sun will dare to block business travelers leaving the city again."
Chu Nanzhi smiled confidently.
After all, he didn't dare to impose restrictions on the entire city under the guise of disaster relief.
"Oh, by the way, Laifu, you can't call me sister again after entering the city."
Chu Nanzhi reminded.
Nowadays, the surnames Chu and Lin are too ostentatious. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly smiled and said: "Now my surname is Mu. I came from Pingning Prefecture to do business. I am the eldest in the family. Sangqi is an orphan from a foreign country adopted by my father in his early years.
He is known as Mu Erlang, and he is also the second shopkeeper of our caravan. We all rely on the Zhao family's caravan in Luyan Port to make a living."
"Oh, what about me?"
Ma Laifu asked with an air of dignity.
Looking at Ma Laifu, who was dressed as a one-eyed dragon, Chu Nanzhi covered his mouth and chuckled: "Of course you are the number one guy in our caravan. You encountered pirates at sea two years ago and lost an eye."
Ma Laifu sighed weakly, not expecting that his experience would suddenly become so miserable.
As Chu Nanzhi expected, the group successfully entered Dangyang City and found an inn to stay at.
In order to attract attention, Chu Nanzhi directly booked the entire inn, and after running around all night, everyone was a little tired, so they went into their rooms to eat a few mouthfuls of food and fell asleep.
When Chu Nanzhi woke up, it was already afternoon. Before Chu Nanzhi could get up, she heard Ma Laifu's voice outside the door: "Big shopkeeper, there is shopkeeper Sun from Dangyang County asking for an audience."
Shopkeeper Sun?
Upon hearing the surname Sun, Chu Nanzhi immediately became interested.
I quickly put my makeup in order and went downstairs calmly.
As soon as I arrived downstairs, I saw a bloated middle-aged man coming up to me with a warm face: "Businesskeeper Mu Da has come from a long way, and there are only a few visitors."
Chu Nanzhi was startled by his affectionate attitude, but thinking that she had booked the entire inn, she immediately got used to this kind of hospitality attitude. She stroked her beard lightly and asked arrogantly: "I wonder who this person is?"
Why did Shopkeeper Sun come to visit you? I don’t know you."
"Ahem, everyone who comes is a guest."
Shopkeeper Sun replied with a smile: "Shopkeeper Mu has come all the way, presumably to do business."
As he spoke, he patted his chest heavily: "I can't guarantee anything else, Mr. Sun, but there is no business that I can't do in Dangyang City. If Shopkeeper Mu wants to make this trip worthwhile, he should just come to me.
"
"Shopkeeper Sun is actually so powerful?"
Chu Nanzhi casually walked to a table downstairs and sat down, and continued to ask in a lukewarm tone: "Shopkeeper Sun, why don't you tell me what business is the most profitable in Tanzhou City right now."
Seeing his hesitation, Chu Nanzhi stretched his body as if nothing had happened, and told the innkeeper: "Prepare a few tables with the best food and wine in the store. Our caravan has been traveling for several days, so let them take care of themselves."
Relax and relax.”
As he said that, he immediately took out a thousand tael silver note from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper, saying, "Don't neglect it. Find me all the delicacies in Tanzhou City. I won't be short of money."
Seeing her spending so generously, both the innkeeper and shopkeeper Sun smiled.
"There are a few of the most profitable businesses in Tanzhou right now."
Shopkeeper Sun was now afraid that she would refuse to do business with him, so he quickly said: "This first deal is naturally Ren Yazi's business. This year, there is a serious famine in Tanzhou. The mountains have been blocked by heavy snow for the past two months. It is even more difficult for poor people. Today
This is the night to watch the New Year's Eve, but many people are afraid that they can't even have a full meal at this time. At this time, shopkeeper Mu only needs three to five hundred cash, and those poor families are rushing to sell their sons and daughters. The big shopkeeper sells people to
The prosperous land south of the Yangtze River is bound to make a lot of money."
Without waiting for Chu Nanzhi's reply, Shopkeeper Sun immediately changed his words and said, "But I heard that Shopkeeper Mu relied on the Zhao family in Luyan Port to do business. I guess he disdains doing such an unsightly business."
"Of course."
Chu Nanzhi sneered: "The Zhao family has a great business. I accept Old Madam Zhao's kindness and can enter the Zhao family's caravan to do business. I am not willing to do such a business that will harm people's good fortune and reputation."
After a pause, she continued: "Besides, how much money can be made from this kind of petty business? Shopkeeper Sun may not look down on our Zhao family caravan."
After he finished speaking, he pretended to be impatient and stood up.
"Ahem, shopkeeper Mu, don't worry, I have a more profitable business."
Shopkeeper Sun suddenly panicked when he saw that she was leaving.
Seeing his anxious expression, Chu Nanzhi sat down again, clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to listen attentively."
Shopkeeper Sun looked around and suddenly lowered his voice: "The most profitable industry right now is the field business."
"Field business?"
Chu Nanzhi shook his head disdainfully again: "Shopkeeper Sun, aren't you trying to trick me like this? I heard that the imperial court has increased taxes. Now, even if you have thousands of hectares of fertile land, I'm afraid it's not a cost-effective business. The output of
Half of the food was given to the court, and the tenant farmers still had to make a living, so there was not much left."
"Hey, my silly brother, who said you should be hired to farm?"
Shopkeeper Sun frowned and said: "You don't understand the current situation in Tanzhou. Although the imperial court has issued an order, the government's land is not enough to distribute to poor families. Even if the family has several acres of thin farmland, it is now hit by a snowstorm.
It would be difficult to maintain for a while, and I was afraid that I would have to sell land to survive. Although those wealthy families owned a lot of fertile land, they were forced by the court's new policy to sell their hoarded land as soon as possible to make a safe profit.
"
After carefully looking at Chu Nanzhi, shopkeeper Sun said again:
"No one can be sure about the decree of the imperial court. Although the Empress Dowager and the new emperor will let the noble families return the occupied land to the people without being held accountable, who is willing to put what they eat into their mouths again?
To spit it out, they originally wanted to wait for a good price, but they were worried about the court's accountability. Judging from the current situation, they probably couldn't afford to wait. It was very difficult for the people to survive now. They couldn't get the money out for a while, but they could throw it into their hands.
And on tenterhooks,
Nowadays, as long as someone offers money, Tanzhou's fertile fields are easily accessible, and it is not difficult to wait until the storm has passed before selling them at a good price."
"I see."
Chu Nanzhi smiled sweetly: "Listen to what shopkeeper Sun said, this is really a good deal."