The ship traveled all the way eastward, exited the Three Gorges and entered Jingnan. It took more than ten days to travel. This morning, the ship arrived in Jiangxia County, Ezhou.
When the passenger ship passed through Yuzhou, it boarded a dozen more guests, including businessmen, scholars on study tours, and many women and children. They only paid one or two guan for the ship, which could not be compared with Guo Song, who paid 80 guan for the ship.
Therefore, they can only live in the bottom cabin or the first floor, and cannot go to the second floor.
It was more comfortable to travel by boat. Before leaving, Xue Tao bought a lot of paper and pens in Luchuan County, and some books. Guo Song also bought her a piano. Along the way, Xue Tao played the piano and painted, and asked Guo Song to
Song accompanied her in reciting poems and writing poems, and the two of them lived as carefree as gods.
Xue Tao laid down the paper and was about to continue her painting when suddenly a child cried and a man cursed downstairs, followed immediately by a woman's cry.
This is a small businessman from Ezhou, his surname seems to be Mao. He went to Yuzhou to do business and lost money. He was in a bad mood. He kept drinking along the way. After drinking, he vented his anger on his wife and children. Their cabin was just under the living room.
, I heard their family crying and howling along the way.
Xue Tao sighed, her elegance was disturbed by the people below again, so she had to put down her pen, stood up and came to the window, standing side by side with Guo Song.
"Guo Lang, can we buy our own boat in the future?"
Guo Song nodded and said with a smile: "I was disturbed by the people below again. You should have listened to me and chased them off the boat in Zigui."
"don't want!"
Xue Tao shook his head and said: "Although I don't like them, I don't want to be so overbearing. The best way is to have a big boat of your own, and then enjoy the coastal scenery quietly along the way."
Guo Song put his arm around her shoulders and said with a smile: "We are arriving in Jiangxia soon. Everyone except us has to get off the boat. I won't let the boss of the boat board the boat. I will take them all on board. What do you think?"
Xue Tao nodded expectantly.
Guo Song added: "There is another option. After we charter this boat, we can take the Han River to Xiangyang as planned, or we can continue to take the boat to Yangzhou. We will then change boats from Yangzhou back to Chang'an. Which one do you want to choose?
?”
Xue Tao bit his lip and thought for a while, "I want to go to Yangzhou, but the premise is that there are only two of us on this ship."
"No problem. After they all disembark, I will negotiate with the boss of the ship."
At this time, the captain of the ship shouted from outside, "Jiangxia is coming!"
An hour later, the big ship slowly docked at Jiangxia Wharf. The passengers waiting by the ship all took their luggage and got off the ship. Guo Songding's previous ship was bound for Xiangyang, so he had to take the Han River instead. If the passengers wanted to go east,
To leave, we can only change boats.
The boss of the ship shouted to Guo Song: "Mr. Guo, we are going to replenish supplies here. We will stop for two hours. Do you want to go ashore for a walk?"
"What's so interesting about Jiangxia?" Guo Song asked with a smile.
"Young master, you can go to the Yellow Crane Tower and have a look!"
Only then did Guo Song realize: Isn’t Jiangxia the Wuhan of later generations?
"My husband, there is one more thing we need to discuss. We want to go to Yangzhou. Can you guys go? If not, I will find another boat."
The boss of the ship chuckled and said: "If you pay us another eighty guan, we won't bring any other guests, and we will charter this ship for you. As long as the price is acceptable to you, we will be happy to do it."
"Then it's agreed that we will fully charter this ship to Yangzhou, and we won't bring any other guests."
The ship boss nodded, "We have an agreement!"
Jiangxia is today's Wuchang, with Hanyang County on the opposite bank. In the Tang Dynasty, it was also the city with the most prosperous commerce and the largest population in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. When Guo Song and Xue Tao walked out of the dock, they immediately felt the noisy and lively atmosphere. People were coming and going everywhere, and the population was
dense.
The Anshi Rebellion also caused a large number of wealthy northerners to flee to the south. One route was to Jiangnan, and the other was to Jingxiang. As a result, the population of Jiangxia more than doubled in just twenty years.
Although the Anshi Rebellion has ended, many people have settled here and do not want to go back.
"You two, take my ox cart! I will take you to the Yellow Crane Tower."
Several bullock carts were parked aside to collect customers, and they shouted loudly, giving Guo Song a sense of confusion as he traveled through time and space.
Xue Tao changed into a thick dress and dress bought in Zigui County, and wore a gauze curtain hat. She could see the scene outside, but her face could not be seen clearly from the outside.
She held Guo Song's arm and whispered: "Guo Lang, let's take a walk first, stroll around the streets, have something to eat, and then go to the Yellow Crane Tower."
Guo Song nodded. In fact, he had another idea. He wanted to buy a little maid for Xue Tao. Xue Tao's maid Xiao'e didn't come with him in Chengdu, so it was a bit inconvenient for Xue Tao to live.
Not far ahead was the county seat. The two of them strolled into the city. The county seat was still very lively. There was a spacious street leading from north to south. The ground was paved with stone slabs. It was very clean and tidy. There were many shops on both sides. It was extremely prosperous, almost as good as Chengdu.
Compare.
Guo Song stepped forward and asked a soldier guarding the city: "How can I get to Jiang Renyuan?"
The soldier pointed forward, "It's about thirty steps ahead. Do you see it? It's the store with the apricot-yellow flag."
"Thank you!"
"Guo Song, what is Jiang Ren Yuan?" Xue Tao asked strangely.
"I heard from the boss of the ship that Jiangrenyuan is a place where official slaves are bought and sold. I want to buy you a little maid."
Xue Tao did not object. There was no maid around, so many things were indeed inconvenient. Guo Song had to do many things, which was really difficult for him.
After a moment, they saw a big black sign with the words "Jiang Ren Yuan" written on it. Many people were coming in and out. This was the largest place for buying and selling official slaves in Ezhou. Official slaves didn't just mean those who entered the government.
slave.
Most of them refer to people with low status registered with the government. They are dependent on their masters and do not have to pay poll tax. They include singing and dancing prostitutes, musicians, craftsmen, servants, servants, etc., and their status is lower than that of the common people.
"Do you two want to buy a servant girl?"
As soon as he entered the yard, he was greeted warmly by a broker in his thirties. Not only could he introduce business to others, he also had official slaves on his hands.
Guo Song nodded, "I want to buy a little maid, is there a suitable candidate?"
"The number of little maids may be hundreds, if not thousands. The key is what conditions are required, such as age, family status, what are you going to ask her to do, whether she will be a rough maid, or a personal maid, etc. Can the young master put forward specific requirements?"
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "The age requirement is about eleven or twelve years old. It is best to be an orphan. We can take him away. He must have stayed in a wealthy family and be able to become a personal maid. He must be smart and smart, and his appearance must be more delicate."
The broker laughed and said, "This is actually the best little maid. I happen to have one on hand. She is the little maid of the Huang family in Ezhou. The master passed away and all the maids and servants were sold by the Huang family. This little maid came yesterday.
, I’ll show it to you.”
"Is it the right age?"
"It's definitely suitable. He just turned eleven last month. He's a very well-behaved and smart kid. He's also good-looking. Wait a minute, you two."
The broker hurried to find the person, and Xue Tao whispered to Guo Song: "Let me take a look. If I like it, I'll squeeze your hand."
Guo Song nodded, he liked this about Xue Tao, he was not pretentious and had a straightforward personality.
After a while, the broker brought a young lady, who was carrying a small baggage. She looked like she was eleven or twelve years old, her skin was very white, her eyes were big and round, with a hint of sadness in her eyes, and she had a very good temperament.
, there is a faint bookish atmosphere.
Guo Song and Xue Tao squeezed each other's hands almost at the same time. They both took a liking to this child with feelings. The sadness in her eyes moved them both.
Xue Tao knelt down and took the little girl's hand: "We are coming from Chang'an. Are you willing to go to Chang'an with us?"
The little girl nodded slightly, and Xue Tao said to Guo Song, "Guo Lang, she is the one."
Guo Song said to the agent: "Just buy her."
The broker smiled and said: "Young Master has good eyesight. This little lady is the best maid I have ever seen. The price is fifty guan. I will help you apply for the deed. I have connections. You don't have to queue up. You can get it right away."
"
It only cost ten guan to buy a maid here. When the broker heard that they were from Chang'an and liked the little lady, he asked for five times the price.
Guo Song knew that he was asking for a high price, but he was too lazy to argue with him, so he said: "Okay, you can help me establish a contract."
The agent asked for Guo Song's information and hurried away, but Xue Tao asked in a low voice about the little girl. The little girl was very well-behaved and did not show off her temper. She answered in a low voice.
Guo Song was surprised when he heard this, "This little girl is actually literate, which is rare."
This is what Xue Tao is most satisfied with. Her maid, Xiao'e, is illiterate and refuses to learn. She always secretly reports her situation to her mother. Then she simply lets her stay with her mother.
"Well! Since your father named you Minqiu, then from now on you should be called Aqiu!"
At this time, the broker ran back and handed a deed to Guo Song. From then on, the owner of this little maid was Guo Song.
Guo Song took five taels of gold and handed it to the broker. The broker was extremely happy. He spent five taels of gold to buy the little maid this morning, and he made ten times the profit from the transaction.
"let's go!"
The three of them walked out of the gate, and the broker diligently found an ox cart for them. They got on the ox cart and headed toward the Yellow Crane Tower.