Old Xianyu stared at Zhu Er as if looking at a fool - going to sea to make a lot of money? Couldn't this young man be stupid because his head was hit by a stone? Although sea trade is indeed profitable, no matter in Jiangnan,
In Fujian and even in the big ports in the north, who among the wealthy gentry with their own ships would send out their true core disciples?
Only those children from the side branches who are marginalized at home will have to risk their lives and go out to sea to fight for their lives, hoping to find a way out in the waves... No, it is a way to make money! Is it possible that this noble young man in front of me is obviously doing nothing?
Are you stupid enough to think that money at sea is so easy to make?
But at the same time, he also suspected that the other party was pretending to be a fool to fool him, but in fact he thought he was a fool.
But when he thought about the stories in countless dramas and scripts, he vaguely felt that there was an image that seemed to overlap with Zhu Er at this moment. His eyes suddenly popped out, and he stood up suddenly.
"Second Young Master said you ran away from home? Haha, how could you bring so many followers with you to show off after running away from home? It's impossible! If I had to guess, you are probably the real eldest prince, and the one in the Cangzhou palace is a fake.
!”
Lao Xianyu's movement was very big, and the bow of the boat shook a little because of his sudden rise. As a result, Zhu Er in the cabin was frightened to death and had to desperately cling to the edge of the boat to avoid losing his balance and falling into the water.
Go. After the fright passed, he glared at the old salted fish and cursed angrily.
"Old man, have you watched too many of those messy dramas? That vicious bastard, I have nothing to do with him! The eldest prince and the second prince are simply worse than each other. There are so many messy things in the capital.
Dui, whoever gets involved will be unlucky! In the past, he was protected by the queen like a hen protecting her young, but now that such a big thing has happened, the eldest prince must have his skin peeled off!"
The dignified prince was scolded as a piece of shit by the young man in front of him who claimed to be the Second Young Master of Qi. Naturally, Old Xianyu would not take it lightly. He only felt that the person in front of him had an extraordinary status and might be the key to solving the situation in Cangzhou. But he is not a big man.
Prince, there was no hope in the drama where the scapegoat was all blamed on the traitor and the royal family was all honorable and upright, so he had to apologize and give Zhu Er a hand.
"Second Young Master, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Isn't it because I care that I become chaotic? If you were the eldest prince and there was an impostor in the Cangzhou palace, then you could stand up in an instant to suppress the situation and punish those bullies who act recklessly in the name of the royal family.
Give the common people justice... At that time, even if you chop off the head of my nephew Xian Yunhe, I will never frown at all!"
Nonsense, it’s not your head that cuts off your nephew’s head!
Zhu Er was madly cursing in his heart, but what he was even more disapproving of was Old Xianyu's vulgar civilian consciousness - the dignified prince was hiding and letting a fake person cheat and harm the people? What the hell is this idea! If that's really the case.
A guy secretly hiding in the dark, then this guy is definitely the real mastermind!
Thinking of this, he gained some confidence in his own wisdom, and immediately laughed and said: "Old Xianyu, don't be so hollow. Your nephew is your nephew, and you are you. The decree to punish the Nine Clans, then
He has been completely useless since the time of Taizu. Even if he rebels and rebels, it has nothing to do with your maternal uncle. Those guys who chased us before will not be able to stay alive for long! "
As he spoke, he waved his hand proudly: "When the capital has the confidence to send someone over, those damn guys will be wiped out in the blink of an eye!"
Zhu Er, the speaker, didn't think there was any problem with his words, but for the old salted fish, there were many problems with his words. However, the old man who had been floating on the sea for most of his life and was extremely slick didn't show any signs of it.
When he came out, he smiled and nodded repeatedly: "If everyone had a clear understanding of justice like the second young master, Cangzhou would not have suffered such a disaster."
He then looked at Zhu Er with sincerity on his face and sighed: "What kind of bad luck is it for Cangzhou? It has caused such a catastrophic disaster! Even if this disaster is in the past, in the eyes of the imperial court, Cangzhou
The common people have also become allies of the rebels. When the time comes, the tax and labor officials will inevitably be exploited by the superiors. Poor people... wu wu wu..."
The old man cries whenever he wants, without any ambiguity, and he is just like a drama star. However, his acting skills may be able to deceive ordinary young men, but for Zhu Er who can be a drama star even if he is smart, that aspect is still not enough.
Therefore, Zhu Er shouted angrily: "Okay, okay, stop it! I am just a second-generation ancestor, how can I care about such a shocking thing!" But when he said this, he coughed again and said,
"Of course, I've been hunted down to this extent myself, so there's no way I won't get some rewards! As long as I get in touch with my guards, it's not like I can't think of a way for you!"
Old Xianyu was immediately overjoyed, and immediately thanked him profusely, and then got into the cabin. Soon he was washing himself at the bow of the boat and cooking dinner. Zhu Er, who had not eaten well in the past few days, smelled the fragrance.
, he was greedy for a moment, but just when he couldn't help swallowing his saliva, he suddenly thought of the purpose of his trip.
"By the way, Old Xianyu, don't you always sell some weird things in your shop? For example, that sweet and sour tomato sauce. I ate it last time. Please come to me with some dishes.
Try it, like a tomato fish..."
He had previously pretended to meet Lao Xianyu by chance, and even though he had been to his shop later, in order to avoid arousing suspicion, he always pretended to be interested in those things, but did not delve too deeply into them.
At this time, he was talking while looking into the pot, perfectly avoiding the scrutinizing eyes of the old salted fish.
"Right now, we are on the boat. We only have dried fish, dried shrimps, crabs, and two cans of spring water. These are the ones I prepared for going out fishing. There is no tomato sauce! Besides, they are all sealed in porcelain jars and have to be sold to
A noble person who likes rare things, I will eat it myself...are you crazy? Every bite is worth money!"
At this point, Old Xianyu saw Zhu Er snorting disapprovingly. Thinking of the ignorance this guy showed in the past few days, the panic and embarrassment in his previous escape, and the inadvertent revelation of his origins just now, he let go
He softened his tone.
"Then what is sour and sweet ketchup? You have eaten it yourself. The main word is sour! In order for a noble man like you to eat it, I have to mix in a lot of sugar or honey! You want it?
If you like it, I will send you ten or eight cans later. If you mention it to the pregnant ladies in the capital, I can sell more, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Er immediately slapped his thigh energetically: "This is what you said! Don't coax me! Wait... Since this comes from overseas, isn't it too easy to have eight out of ten cans?
Damn old man, you're not lying to me, are you? Those ships wish they could pack more overseas treasures, who would load a pile of all this messy food?"
"So how do you, a wealthy young man like you, know this kind of knowledge?"
While Old Xianyu was stirring the fragrant soup in the pot, he was adding all kinds of condiments that Zhu Er couldn't understand. He didn't care that the man's salivating expression gradually became a little subtle, but he was minding his own business.
Said: "In this maritime trade, there are many and heavy things shipped out from our Ming Dynasty. For example, silks, cloths, porcelain, and tea leaves can fill a boat to the full."
"As for what was packed when we came back? Gemstones, spices, gold and silver, these things take up much less space than the cargo when we left, so in order to ballast the ship, we had to find ways to add heavy things to the ship. For example,
Wood, for example, rare stones that we don’t have here... Anyway, as long as it’s heavy, what’s the point of bringing these along for food?”
The corners of Zhu Er's mouth turned up, with a somewhat proud smile on his face: "I don't know what you are talking about, but I have eaten that tomato sauce, and it is not like those pickled sauerkraut and radish, it is obviously another
Planting sour food. My teacher said that any food that has not been fermented, ahem, and is not pickled or dried, will be difficult to preserve for such a long time."
"Besides, your ketchup doesn't contain much sugar, so it won't be able to be stored well. No sea-going ship is allowed to drift at sea for a month or two. If it's really something brought from overseas, it's stored in your shop.
It has been put away for so long, and it has already gone bad! So, I think you are greedy and pass off the things you grow as treasures brought back from overseas!"
At the end of the sentence, Zhu Er was so proud that he felt that the sea breeze blowing on his face was also praising him. However, when he saw the old salted fish raising his head, he felt that something was wrong.
Because all I saw was this old man who used to be a fairy but was now in a state of utter disarray. There was some kind of shuddering light in his eyes, it was like...
Could it be that he was right? The old man is now thinking about how to kill people and silence them!
Zhu Er was originally timid, but his face turned pale at this moment. He quickly looked around, wondering if it would be better for him to dive into the water to escape. However, the old salted fish stared at him with sharp eyes like a hawk for a long time.
, the eyes once again returned to their usual turbidity and dimness.
"Second Young Master, do you really dare to think... Haha, if I really grow a large area of these strange things, do I still need to open such a small shop in Cangzhou? Even if I go to the capital to find a wealthy family, I can recommend myself.
As a gardener, maybe people will also like these strange things. After all, I heard that many powerful people in the capital like to show off."
As he spoke, he shrugged and said, "As for the preservation of this ketchup, we actually have to thank Emperor Taizu. If he hadn't disclosed to the world how to make spirits at that time, this ketchup wouldn't have been able to be preserved for so long. In fact, we have to thank Emperor Taizu for it.
It's very simple to say the least. Put the prepared sauce into a clean porcelain jar, put it in a steamer, and then pour strong liquor into it while it's still hot. The stronger the better."
After a pause, he continued; "After heating, take out the porcelain jar and seal it with wax. It can be stored for several months. Although you have to eat it immediately once it is opened, the unopened tomato sauce can be stored for a long time.
You must know that when a ship is on the sea, it is easy to get sick, there is a lack of medical treatment, and people are easy to die. Emperor Taizu also made it known to the world that it is because of not eating fresh vegetables and fruits."
"So, this ketchup is an excellent thing for maritime merchants. Of course, the same is true for orange jam and plum jam. You may not know that all kinds of sauces are the most popular on sea ships these years.
!”
Being able to speak out those previous doubts in a serious manner is already the limit of Zhu Er's ability. Therefore, after Lao Xianyu said a lot of words, although he lacked the corresponding common sense, he was doubtful, but in the end he still couldn't give any reason for doubting.
.
And when the other party poured a bowl of soup directly into his hand, although it was so hot that he almost spilled it, he was really hungry. He blew in a small mouth and drank two sips, but he couldn't help but feel happy.
Come to life.
"It's cold tonight. After you drink the soup to warm yourself up, take off your clothes and dry them, otherwise you will get cold and sick." Old Xianyu said without raising his head. Seeing that Zhu Er didn't say a word,
He couldn't help but look up in surprise, and saw that the person was looking at the linoleum wrapped around his body with a tangled face. Then he remembered that this was also a noble man, and he coughed.
"Just make do with being naked for one night. Just don't care about the smell of salted fish. In critical moments, you won't be able to survive if you continue to be so picky. Between salted fish and illness, it's not my place to say.
That’s right.”
Well, on the issue of salted fish and illness... I choose salted fish, just like at home, between survival and decency, of course I choose survival! As long as I can live a good life, what is decency and can I eat it?
After eating and drinking, Zhu Er tragically took off his clothes and spent the night wrapped in the linoleum that seemed to have been wrapped in salted fish in the cabin that smelled strongly of salted fish. As for when he fell asleep,
He didn't even know it. When he woke up early in the morning, he was used to the smell of salted fish and was in a daze for a long time. Then he came back to his senses and realized where he was at this moment.
However, when the dried clothes were brought to him by Old Xianyu, Master Zhu became anxious. How could he wear these wrinkled, dry clothes? He was finally persuaded to put them on by Old Xianyu.
He looked at what he was wearing, and then scratched his dry and tangled hair and astringent scalp due to soaking in sea water. He almost felt that he was acting out a real-life version of the story of a young man in trouble.
If he returns to the capital safely, no matter how hard he tries and spends all his money, he will still hire someone to put a sack on him and give the eldest prince a lesson!
Although he felt angry, Zhu Er did not want to stay on the boat for a few more days, so he reluctantly followed Lao Xianyu to the shore from a remote place, and then walked to Cangzhou on two legs.
The skin on my feet is all worn out.
He had already kicked off his shoes in the water because he thought they were too much trouble when he was diving to escape. Now he only has a pair of rag shoes, but they are better than the old salted fish's straw sandals. And this originally decent clothes has been soaked in sea water.
It had faded and shrunk so much that it had completely lost its original appearance, and his outfit was completely different from the fishing documents hanging at the top of the city.
The most important thing is that the disguise on Zhu Er's face has long since disappeared.
Today, he has no resemblance to the proud young man with a mustache on the list.
As for Old Xianyu... If the old man on the reward list is at least a down-and-out old scholar, then Old Xianyu, who is now wearing a bundt, looks like an ordinary fisherman. The sun spots on his arms are fake, and the soldiers who are interrogating him are genuine.
He didn't even bother to look at the two of them, and waved his hand impatiently: "Remember, no one is allowed in or out of Cangzhou City these days!"