Li Siye was still hesitating to save money, Zhang Xiaojing stood beside him and whispered: "You'd better buy the quilt core together when the weather is hot, otherwise in autumn and winter, the silk and satin shops in the West City will take the opportunity to raise prices.
"
Li Siye was convinced. He glanced at Zhang Xiaojing with admiration, nodded and said, "Of course it is with a quilt core."
"Okay, do you want rushes, catkins, or reeds? Or, wool quilts are also available, but they are much more expensive."
Li Siye was stunned. He only covered himself with down quilts and quilts. Can these strange plant fibers also serve as fillers?
Zhang Xiaojing intervened at the right time to help him out: "Of course it's rushes, catkins and reeds are not very warm."
"The rush quilt is forty-five cents."
"No, for thirty dollars, you still have to give me a Gebu ticket."
After some bargaining, Zhang Xiaojing bought a quilt and sheet for Li Siye at a cheap price. But only the quilt and sheet were not enough to keep him warm. He needed straw mats and sheep felt to isolate dust and moisture, which is what everyone prepared.
There is an open space in a remote area facing south of the West Market. Many small vendors who cannot afford to build stores set up stalls here, and the prices are quite low. This place is also a shopping place for people at the lowest level of society.
Li Siye followed Zhang Xiaojing to this place. The vendors lined up vertically and horizontally to make way for customers to walk.
The old woman who weaves the straw mat is blind, but the reed poles are like divine help in her hands. Just by the touch of her hands, she can weave a square straw mat with regular patterns, which is both beautiful and practical.
Li Siye bought a roll of straw mats, and the old man only wanted thirteen coins from him. Li Siye squeezed the few copper coins in his arms, gritted his teeth, took out twenty Tongbao and threw them into the clay pot in front of her. The old man raised his eyebrows
After listening to it, he bowed gratefully: "It's true that our guests can't use so much money."
In addition to the straw mat, Li Siye also bought a clay pot and two rolls of wool felt. The Hu man selling the felt spoke authentic Central Plains Mandarin, and his words were playful and very businesslike.
They turned back from the more prosperous wine market and crossed a stone arch bridge covered with green moss. Two rows of three-story wooden buildings appeared in their sight. When people built houses in the Tang Dynasty, they only used bricks and stones as the foundation and gable walls.
It is all made of wood, and the bracket components are simple and simple. It is not as complicated or gorgeous as in later generations, but it is a kind of solemn and generous beauty.
The three of them went to the butcher shop to buy cooked mutton. The tender brown meat had just been fished out of the old soup in the iron pot, and was hung piece by piece on the iron hook by the shop owner. Li Siye was anxious to ask the store, but Zhang Xiaojing snatched it away.
First: "How much does the mutton cost? I'll pay for it."
Li Siye quickly pushed his hand: "No, Mr. Jing, we agreed that I would treat you. How can I ask you to pay this price?"
Zhang Xiaojing said in a calm but slightly cold voice: "Don't you know your own family background? If you use all the money in your hands to buy wine and meat, how will you use it to support your sisters?"
While fighting with Zhang Xiaojing, he calculated his remaining money. He spent a total of 130 yuan selling quilts, straw mats, wool felts and water jugs, and had a total of 140 yuan left. A pound of cooked mutton cost 30 yuan.
Even if I only buy four kilograms of money, I only have twenty yuan left, which can just buy a bucket of rice, but with the rice, I don't have an iron pot.
He had never experienced such poverty before. It was hard for a heroic man to save even a penny, and he couldn't even take care of his face. Li Siye could only say silently, "It's so difficult for me."
He watched helplessly as Zhang Xiaojing took out a bunch of copper coins from his own pocket, handed it to the shop owner and said, "Bring me five kilograms of cooked mutton and cut it into slices."
"Okay." The owner of the shop skillfully wrapped himself in a leather apron, picked the fresh and tender mutton from the iron hook, and took off the pointed meat cleaver from the hanger, and cut it with the speed of an electric motor.
It didn't take long for red and tender meat slices as thin as paper leaves to pile up on the chopping board. Each slice exuded a greasy sheen, making people salivate.
He used a kitchen knife to pull the meat into a pile, took out a lotus leaf from the cabinet, and covered the pile of meat. Then he lifted the pile of meat with the kitchen knife, and all the meat was piled in the lotus leaf. He removed it again and again.
Erdi wrapped up the lotus leaves, pulled a thin hemp rope from his head, tied the lotus leaf meat package well, picked up the lotus leaf package with the scale beam, and cast a look at Zhang Xiaojing: "Mr. Sir, please look at it, it's tall."
Li Siye watched with pleasure and felt that the store owner was very skilled in his business.
The cheap wine in the brewery was called Fuping Stone Cold Spring, and it was said that it was a technique passed down from Fuping County. Zhang Xiaojing rushed to pay the money as usual, which made Li Siye feel very confused. The bad guy seemed unaware.
, I personally sold two jars, tasted a few sips with a bamboo sheng, and greatly praised the aroma of the wine in the store.
After the two of them walked out of the wine shop, Zhang Xiaojing said loudly to Li Siye: "Actually, the craftsmanship of this store is very poor. It is not Fuping Stone Jelly Spring at all. I have drunk the real Stone Jelly Spring. It has a refreshing fragrance in the mouth and a long aftertaste. This wine
At best it’s considered a turbid wine, often mixed with water.”
Li Siye looked at the color of the wine. It was slightly yellowish and brown, and he didn't know what it tasted like. Liquor in the true sense only existed in the Yuan Dynasty. The brewing and refining of wine in this era was not yet purified.
He secretly vowed in his heart that when he earns money in the future, he will repay today's favor. After all, he and Zhang Xiaojing have only known each other for a few hours, so such care is truly deserved.
The three of them continued to walk forward, going deeper and deeper into the prosperous place. In front of them were two spacious Xieshan-style pavilions, more than three stories high, with high-hanging corridors, stacked green tiles, and densely arranged red pillars.
The front of the building was crowded with people coming and going.
Li Siye lifted his sister onto his shoulders again, while Li Meier held her brother's hair with one hand, her red face full of excitement and nervousness. She had never seen such a lively scene, even more so than the annual temple fair in Gaoling County.
lively.
Li Siye and Zhang Xiaojing moved forward with the crowd, and saw the word "Sumo Building" written on the door of the building. Two strong men in short-sleeved robes stood at the door of the building.
He was very interested and wanted to squeeze in to take a look, but was stopped by the strong man and pointed to the wooden sign on the wall, which said that admission required 30 coins.
Li Siye curled his lips, not wanting to spend 30 yuan to see something so popular. It would be nice if he could take a look at it from a distance. He lifted Li Meier above his head and stood on tiptoes to look at the ring inside. The audience surrounded Yuan Yuan.
It was a shaped earthen platform with white silk circles on the ground and soft sand in the center. Two fat men wrapped in white crotch cloth bent down and faced each other.
Zhang Xiaojing walked up behind him, raised his eyebrows and said, "If you know how to sumo, you can try it. You can make thousands of dollars by participating in it."
Li Siye shook his head. He knew that he really didn't understand sumo wrestling.
They followed the crowd to another building. The name Dou Wu Tower was written on the forehead, but there was no one guarding the door. Only after listening to the explanations from the people around them did they realize that this was a purely public building.
The law of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that private fights are not allowed among the people, but the people of the Tang Dynasty favored martial arts. Many wealthy merchants in the Western Regions like to hire swordsmen and bodyguards through competitions in the ring. Some bodyguard firms and military general families also like to set up a ring to recruit sons-in-law. Therefore, officials from the West City Department set up a ring in the center of the West City.
A sumo wrestling hall and martial arts building were built on an open space. Anyone who wanted to compete had to come to the building and only needed to pay a venue fee.
Only then did he meet Li Siye's professional counterpart. He stood at the door and looked at the two people fighting on the stage from a distance. The agitation factor in his life broke out restlessly. This seemed to be his fate, and somehow God wanted him to
It is a pity to complete the unfinished game in the previous life. Now that this regret can be realized in the arena of Datang West Market, it is not a blessing to complete the unfinished game.
He looked eagerly at the ring, holding the sheep felt and hemp rope tied to his back with both hands. He shook his shoulders to let Meier sit up, and came to the ring with the crowd. Zhang Xiaojing had no time to stop him, so he had to crowd around the crowd.
Got in.
"Give way, Siye!"
Li Siye raised his head and looked up. Long flags were hung on the pillars on both sides. The left side said "Sweep across the four towns of Anxi" and the right side said "Across hundreds of states in the Central Plains". But there was a fat Hu man standing on the stage, with one foot on the stage.
The man fell to the ground. His beard and hair were blown out, and his upper body was exposed. He was only wearing a pair of sheepskin trousers, with the sleeves of his robe knotted and tied around his waist.