OBS Chapter 273 Decisiveness
Chapter 273 Decisiveness
How could Shopkeeper Dai not be respectful? Ever since the girl in front of him showed a token at the ferry last month and said, "It turns out that the Li family's ships are smuggling salt," the Li family, which controls half of Linghe County's shipping business, has been in a precarious situation.
The key issue is whether there are people in the Li family who really use the ship to run shady businesses. So far, not only has it been found that they are smuggling salt, but they have also been found to be illegally buying and selling and transporting people.
He noticed that the two were heading towards the post station, but he did not show any fear. "Miss Shen, are you going to Deshengkou to participate in the horse fair this fall?"
"I didn't go to the inspection, I just went to have a look.
You are passing by here, and I think you are going to the same destination. I just wonder if I can take a ride with you and go to the horse market together." Shen Xiaoye's tone was sincere, and he gave the other party half a body space and asked him to go in front.
Shopkeeper Dai was confused for a moment, "Don't you have a permit either?"
That shouldn't be the case. With the background of the Guard Bureau and the ability to live in the post station, he must have connections in the court.
"So you don't have any either?" Shen Xiaoye couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but it didn't affect her treating him. It just so happened that they met this time, and she had other business to discuss with the other party.
A long time ago, she had seen the loose tea leaves of the Dai family at the warehouse at the ferry, but she didn't have the financial strength to negotiate at that time.
This time, my uncle got the job of dyeing brown tea color, and he will definitely get it in the future.
Using tea leaves for dyeing can make up for the shortage of lotus shells, and old tea is cheaper than lotus seeds and lotus shells sold in pharmacies.
"Miss Shen, you are joking. Our Dai family is just an ordinary family in Linghe. How can we afford the threshold of the border town horse market?
It was only after much hesitation that he was able to find a border merchant who could enter the horse market and supply tea to him. "Shopkeeper Dai started out as a clerk in the prefectural city a long time ago, and gradually became a shopkeeper.
After that, the original owner passed away, and they were squeezed out and left, so they gradually started to work on their own.
But it is not entirely true to say that the Dai family has no backing. His daughter married the son of a clerk in the government office, so he has an official relationship with the family. The Dai family is also a decent person who does honest business and does not cheat customers. He has a good reputation in Linghe County.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten here so late." It was because the other party wanted the goods late and required them to be delivered as soon as possible that Shopkeeper Dai chose the current route.
He cried and laughed: "I didn't expect that this road would be difficult to travel this year, and there is no water."
"The next post station will be fine. Please come in." Shen Xiaoye led the people into the post station, ordered a table in the lobby and sat down, and asked Guard Chen to find his cousin to accompany the guests.
Shopkeeper Dai waved his hand and said, "Why spend so much money?
If Miss Shen has anything to say, you can tell me directly. I will not refuse if I can do it. "
Shen Xiaoye filled his cup with tea and said, "It's not a big deal, I just wanted to ask if you have any extra old tea or loose tea that you don't sell?
I need some dyes." Shen Xiaoye didn't beat around the bush. She said, "To be honest, last year at the ferry warehouse, I saw Grandpa Dai, who was guarding your warehouse, sighing at the tea leaves that had soaked in water, and I wanted to buy one or two bags of them.
Unfortunately, I was short of money at the time, and I was too busy to come visit you afterwards."
"That's easy. We have several hundred kilograms of aged loose tea in the warehouse now. If you use a lot, I can buy a batch specifically for you from the tea garden in the south." Shopkeeper Dai thought it was a small matter, and he responded very promptly.
Shen Xiaoye thanked him and asked about the situation of the cloth merchants in the border areas, but got no news.
When Shen Cungeng came to accompany the guests, Shopkeeper Dai had already said, "... it has only been in the past ten years or so. They have established a firm foothold in the border towns and reclaimed a large amount of farmland. They also have a close relationship with the border troops, and a considerable number of them have subcontracted the goods they need to more small businesses."
"The Kaizhong method uses salt vouchers for settlement. Will they share the salt vouchers with you?" Shen Cunyan heard a lot of useful things, but still wanted to know more.
Shopkeeper Dai said, "I am billed for gold, silver or various leathers, but they are very strict about salt permits."
However, there are also some people who are loose-handed. For example, the Li family once received salt from others.
He said: "Basically, those who use salt vouchers to exchange salt are all big merchants from the south."
Shen Xiaoye had heard of this. The current method of transporting grain to the central region was still an important way to supplement the food supplies for the border troops and was the cornerstone for supporting the war against the northern barbarians.
Shopkeeper Dai was not one to hide anything. He would tell everyone what everyone knew. For example, in the sale of cloth, the major merchants had to follow the price controls of the imperial court. When selling to the various northern barbarian tribes, they were absolutely not allowed to sell at a price lower than the government's offer.
While Shen Xiaoye and his sister were listening carefully, Lu Guan, who had gone out to look for water earlier, found it without much effort more than ten miles away.
He watched the cart from the inn leave before he approached the water source.
But we soon discovered that there were people patrolling the river every hundred meters.
As he rode closer, two or three strong men with sticks immediately surrounded him and said, "Pay for the water."
"I remember this river. It's not privately owned, right?" Lu Guan didn't even get off the horse. There was peach blossom snow in February and March this year, so the flow in the lower reaches should not have been cut off.
The three people on the other side stared at him coldly: "Where did you come from, you foreign boy? Don't you know that the river was dug with great effort by you gentlemen?"
Snap, what answered him was Lu Guan's loud whipping of the horsewhip, which knocked the man to the ground with just one blow.
When the other party was groaning and his accomplices were showing signs of weakness, Lu Guan stopped one of them who was trying to get help, and threw a stone at the attacker's leg, causing him to fall to the ground and dare not move.
You can't run away or hide.
He also said: "You are good at intercepting water flows, so you are not afraid that when a large army is transferred and passes by, they will not be able to find water and get angry.
Moreover, it seriously affected the irrigation and moisture conservation of military fields over an area of twenty to thirty miles.
Just wait, I will find the commander of your garrison and make public the evil deeds of your military households."
"Don't slander me, you foreign boy. Cutting off the water supply is something that the military households on both sides of the border do every year. It will be the same even if you report it to the general's office." The man who was whipped earlier got up and glared at the man and said:
"Last year, when the downstream area was blasting the river to increase the water volume, why didn't you come out to complain about this and that?"
"Is there such a thing? Blow it up..." Lu Guan originally wanted to say that if he blew up the river, it might flood the fields.
But when I looked at the river from a distance, I realized that the water volume was not abundant. Even a decent earth dam was blocking the water from flowing downstream, so it would not flood even if it exploded.
He didn't know much about military settlements, but he could tell with his naked eyes that the river ahead seemed to have been artificially widened.
As I was lost in thought, most of the people within sight of the river were rushing over.
Judging from his posture, he doesn't seem to have any experience in battlefield.
Before the three people lying in front of him could react, Lu Guan turned around and rode away.
It was impossible for him to fight against the remaining soldiers in the army with a knife alone, so he rode away decisively.
However, he soon found another river bank a few miles away. This time, facing the river guard, he quickly said, "I don't ask for much. I just want some water to feed my horse."