Chapter 46 The Changes of Xidu and the Surprise of the Merchants
Chapter 46: Changes in Xidu and Merchants’ Surprise
During the autumn harvest, caravans came from time to time on the road outside Xidu. They brought a large amount of food and specialties from various places, adding to the prosperity of Xidu.
Before winter comes, caravans from various places will arrive more and more frequently, because after winter, it is inconvenient to travel and unable to do business, so they need to buy enough salt.
The salt production in Xidu is not large, and it cannot be compared with the sea salt on the coast of the East China Sea. However, the salt in Xidu is relatively close, easy to transport, and profitable, which makes caravans from nearby vassal states flock here.
Especially the Izumo Kingdom, which is southeast of Xidu, has thousands of miles of fertile land and produces countless grains every year. The nobles and big businessmen have a lot of surplus grain, so they go to Xidu every autumn to exchange for a large amount of salt and seek more profits.
Of course, the caravan will also purchase large quantities of leather, herbs, rhinoceros horns, ivory, crystal jade, etc.
The Izumo caravan is the one with the deepest background and the most powerful strength among the many caravans. It can be seen from the caravan flag that they belong directly to the king of Izumo country.
Every year, the Izumo caravan is the largest food supplier to the Xi country, and this year is no exception. The Izumo caravan is huge and has a large number of people.
"Head, it's just ahead. Xidu has finally arrived."
"Um."
"Head, the Xi Kingdom has a new king. I heard that he is a sixteen-year-old boy. Is this true?"
"It is said that King Yao Xuan of Xi led his elite troops deep into the wilderness, and then disappeared. Only Xuanhou's horse returned to Xidu, and then the emperor appointed Prince Yun of Xi Kingdom to the throne!"
"Oh oh oh, there is another matter. Hey, head, you said that Xi Kingdom suffered heavy losses. Why didn't our king take Xi Kingdom? By then, this will be our salt field. There is no need to spend so much food to buy salt.
.”
"You bastard, don't talk nonsense. You don't understand the things between high-level officials. Do you think the king doesn't know? It makes sense for the king not to do anything."
"Okay, I'm just saying."
As they were talking, the Izumo caravan quickly arrived under the city wall of Xidu. A middle-aged man with a scar and a young boy with a tiger-like head quickly came to the front of the caravan.
The scarred man looked fierce, but spoke very kindly. After making a statement to the soldiers guarding the city of Xidu, the Izumo caravan's carriage soon entered Xidu.
The place where the caravan rushed was naturally the market, where the scarred man leader came every year. Naturally, he was familiar with the road and did not need the guidance of the people of Xidu.
But this time, the middle-aged scarred man was a little surprised because there had been great changes in the market.
The first thing is a place to eat. Every time a caravan arrives at a place, the first thing to solve is the problem of food. After all, the food is rough on the road, so it is natural to have a full meal at the destination.
The middle-aged man with the scar asked the caravan workers and slaves to unload the goods, while he took the tiger-headed boy to find a clean shop to have something to eat.
Chunhua Restaurant.
The name of the store was familiar to the middle-aged man Dao Scar. He had liked to eat here before, but this time he was surprised.
There were too many people and the business was so busy that it was hard to find a seat to sit down.
"Head, is there always so many people in this store?"
The scarred man shook his head slightly. He was also surprised that so many people had not come into the store to eat before. After all, not all business people were rich, and many people were very economical outside.
But now the situation in Xidu has changed drastically. Many businessmen who came to Xidu came into the store to eat.
Not only was Chunhua Restaurant overcrowded, but other restaurants passing by on the road were basically full, and business was very good.
This made the scarred man doing business very puzzled and full of curiosity. His businessman's instinct made him feel that there must be a big secret in it.
"Lady boss, I haven't been here for a few months. Why is your business so good? You're going to make a fortune. I'm so jealous!"
Chunhua, the proprietress of the Chunhua Restaurant, came over with a smile: "No, the small business can't be compared with your brother Dao, but this year I have new food, and the business is indeed much better!"
When Brother Dao heard this, he immediately became interested: "Oh? New food? No wonder the business has improved so much. Hey, is this what they eat?"
Brother Dao and the tough-headed boy had already discovered it.
The table next to me was filled with novel food.
"Yes, soy milk and tofu puffs. These are recipes spread from our Xi Palace. They are not only novel but also very delicious. You must like them. Why don't you give both of you a bowl today?"
"Okay, I'd like to trouble the boss lady."
"Okay, two bowls of soy milk and two bowls of tofu."
Soon, the proprietress Chunhua served soy milk for the two of them.
The boy couldn't wait to take a sip. The entrance was very hot. Unprepared, the boy's face was distorted. He was about to curse, but as the temperature dropped, he tasted the strong aroma of beans and the warmth deep into his abdomen, and his curse words suddenly came back.
Holding it back:
“It’s so hot, but it’s so delicious and fragrant. It’s very cold in late autumn, so it’s a pleasure to drink a bowl of it. It would be even more comfortable in winter!”
Brother Dao seemed much calmer. He also took a sip and nodded, agreeing with the young man's statement.
"Yes, no wonder business is booming."
Soon, two bowls of tofu puffs were also served.
The white and tender tofu puffs looked very appetizing. With the soy milk in front of them, the two of them tasted it with great anticipation.
"The head is so tender. It's something that comes from the royal palace. It's so fine. If you try it, you'll find it has a salty taste. There's salt in it. It's worthy of being from Xidu!"
"Your uncle, I have been to many vassal capitals, but this is the first time I have eaten this kind of food. No wonder the business is good."
The young man glanced at the scarred man and said expectantly: "Boss, I will make a lot of money in Xidu with you this time!"
Because of the delicious food, the two chatted happily, but Brother Dao did not pay attention to the young man.
As a Qigator, his hearing was amazing, and he quickly heard the conversation of the businessman next to him.
"Since the new king of Xi Kingdom came to the throne this year, Xidu has changed a lot. I heard that the nights in Xidu are the safest and the ghosts don't dare to act arrogantly. Some time ago, some ghosts made trouble. Guess what, King Xi captured them all.
Get up!"
"That's not all. I heard that King Xi established a ghost law to restrain ghosts. Ghosts that break the law in Xidu must be tried. Ghosts that were caught before are now sentenced. I heard it is called reform through labor. Hey, it should be "pull-up"
It’s hard work.”
"No way, even ghosts dare to make plans. This is too outrageous for King Xi."
"What's this? It's said that the giants and fungi from the caravans came before. They used a lot of rare treasures to get refined salt from King Xi. I heard that the refined salt is as white as snowflakes and has no bitter taste.
The quality is even better than the Emperor’s tribute salt, and it can be said to be unique in the world!”
"Really or not, if there really is this kind of salt, if you sell it to nobles in other places, wouldn't it be a huge profit? Will King Xi still sell this kind of salt?"
"It is said that selling..."
"Is this true?"
"It's absolutely true, King Xi said it himself, but this kind of snowflake salt is difficult to refine, and King Xi didn't say much about it. Xidu is short of food this year. If there is a lot of food, King Xi will be ready to cut it off...
..”
"Hey, that's not going to be easy. Winter is coming soon. Everyone is storing grain, and we can't transfer too much grain..."
When Brother Dao heard this, his eyes suddenly flashed with excitement, and his heart was beating fast. Izumo Country is famous for its grain production in the neighboring countries, and the Izumo King's Palace has a large amount of surplus grain. If...