The Story of Leaping from the Dragon Gate

It has been nearly a hundred years since the Xianxi Dynasty raised troops in the northwest of Gaozu, and it was the heyday of vertical arch rule.At the beginning of the founding of the country, the capital was set at Longcheng at the junction of Yongliang and Liangzhou.Emperor Taizong came to the throne, and the world was unified. In order to control the economic lifeline of the southeast more effectively, he moved the capital to Yuancheng, Yanzhou.Since then, Dragon City has traditionally been called the old capital of the Western Capital.

Here is a fortress of soldiers and horses, tigers and dragons, towering gates outside the city, and bustling markets inside the city. It is the hub of water and land transportation from the northwest to the southeast of the Great Xia Kingdom. The most important base of trade.

Since it is called Old Beijing, its administrative standards are naturally higher than those of other cities.There are 24 squares in the east and west of the city, and there are still many old houses and residences of princes and noble families.Many senior officials of the imperial court, either on vacation or in retirement, haunt here from time to time.Coupled with the particularity of this place in terms of diplomacy and military affairs, its military defense deployment and daily order are much stronger than those of ordinary towns.

To sum up, we can know that Xidu is a well-developed city with stable military, good public security, developed economy, beautiful environment, diverse culture, open civilization... livable and suitable for business.Hundreds of thousands of people in the city live and work in peace and contentment, live a harmonious life, and their happiness index is quite high.Among them, tens of thousands of Hu people and mixed races of Hu and Xia lived in Fanfang near Xishi.As a result, Old Jingxi City has also become the largest distribution center for imported goods in the entire northwest region of Daxia.Curious old Beijing residents and visitors from other places regard visiting Xishi Fanfang as a fashionable pleasure.

Song Wei got up early to send her mother to work, had breakfast at a Persian restaurant, and helped her mother with the work for half a day.Open the market before noon, prepare for business in the morning and in the morning.Although the customers haven't come yet, the delivery trucks and horses have crowded the market.

With the sound of drums for the opening of the market, Song Wei greeted her mother, and disappeared in a flash.

Maasa's wine shop is both wholesale and retail, and there is also a restaurant attached, which occupies a dozen or so shops.In the past, it was a shop specializing in expensive utensils, mainly selling amber, agate, glass wine utensils, lamps, and smoking utensils imported from the Western Regions.The family next door specializes in all kinds of fragrant wood, from sandalwood and agarwood as thick as a coffin to finely crafted hairpin bracelets.Next, there are those selling jewelry and jade, balsam and powder, fur felt blankets, medicinal decoctions, Buddhist scriptures and medical skills... and even exotic flowers and plants, birds and animals, clothing accessories, handicraft supplies, and delicious food. .What all these items have in common is that they are imported.

In addition, there are two extraordinary special markets at the westernmost end of the West Market.One is the horse market, where horses and mules are sold.The second is the slave market, selling Kunlun slaves, Silla maidservants, dwarfs from Yanjiu, dancers from Tianzhu... These foreign slaves are very expensive and very popular.Some of them were bought by slave traders from distant countries, and more were prisoners of war released by the government, which not only increased the social labor force, but also enriched the national treasury.

Song Wei wandered around the West Market for days and never got tired of it.He still remembered that his purpose was to find a decent job.However, once viewed from this angle, all the fun is gone.At this time, the society was stable, the market was prosperous, and the old Beijing of the western capital had a strong atmosphere of advocating business, so it was not difficult to support a family.The problem is that there is no job that fits Song Xiaolang's ideals.

What, you say he is lazy?In fact, Song Wei herself never admitted this.He just hates being boring and doesn't like being stuck in one place doing the same thing.Perhaps in the final analysis, what he hates is the feeling of being forced, whether it is being forced by others, by the environment, or by himself, all of them are hated.In the past, no matter how many lives she lived, no matter what her circumstances were, Song Wei was always in a state of being persecuted, and every life was more violent than the last.He resisted, obeyed, and even pandered, but the feeling of disgust never disappeared. Instead, it accumulated in his heart and finally became an almost instinctive reaction.

Today's Song Wei may not be able to say what she wants, but she clearly knows what she doesn't want.

He walked around the shops and stood in the middle of the market with the tourists to watch the Turkic jugglers, spitting fire and swallowing swords, dancing with hands and feet, it was very lively.

Two curly-haired, barefoot, black-faced and bearded Kunlun slaves led the Nanman elephant past, and it was unknown which rich man bought it newly.A large group of people followed and watched, and he followed suit, which was really interesting.

Passing by the poultry and bird shop, the parrot hanging in the shop was shouting happily: "Jun Alang, pretty girl. Someone is coming, hide in the house." The customers couldn't help laughing.This five-color imported parrot, which is said to be able to speak three languages, is priced at [-] yuan.

Song Wei teased the little bird for a while, the shop owner set up a cockfighting fence at the door, and many people rushed over immediately.Horse-riding cockfighting, that is, playing polo and cockfighting, are two games that Xian Xichao likes from top to bottom.The former has high requirements for venue equipment, mainly played by rich people, while the latter is much more popular, from court to slaves, almost no one is bad.

In order to attract business, the poultry shop would hold a cockfight from time to time.At the beginning of the gladiatorial fight, everyone stared and stamped their feet, yelled and shouted, more excited than the roosters fighting each other.Song Wei took out the copper plate and bet accordingly.He was lucky, after a few rounds, he actually won ten or twenty coins.Weighing the weight, it was just enough to rent a fine horse and ride for a while. Turning around, I left the cockfighting stall, bought two meat buns, ate them while walking, and went to the horse market.

Song Wei knows how to ride a horse, because she likes it, and her riding skills are quite good.As a barbarian in this life, he has even better talent. When he came to the horse market for the first time, he couldn't move his legs.It is unaffordable to buy, the cheapest old horse and young foal cost several thousand, as for a good horse and a gallant horse, it is worth millions or even priceless.Fortunately, horse dealers fully consider the needs of ordinary people and provide leasing services, as long as there are sufficient guarantees or mortgages.People in Song Weifan's workshop, and Boss Mai as the backstage, it's not a problem.He was also fortunate to meet the Gao family's son-in-law here, surnamed Li Mingkuang, simple and honest, he always felt that he was robbing love, and I was sorry for Song Xiaolang, seeing that he was the one who came to rent the horse, he took the initiative to offer a discount in half.Song Wei deeply felt that this person was on the road, and after coming and going, he became a friend.

Song Wei was walking and watching while eating, and when he was inattentive, he was hit hard by his arm, and a bundle of felt fell down, causing him to stagger.Barely trying to stand still, the blankets were scattered into a pile, stumping him and tripping him to the ground.It hurts but it doesn't hurt, it's just too embarrassing.

"Who doesn't have eyes..." Song Wei raised her head and was about to curse, but it turned out to be two panicked women's faces.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, this little brother, is it hurt?"

Swallowing down the foul words on his lips, Song Wei moved his shoulders and twisted his waist, and got up from the ground: "It's okay. You are too careless. Although it is a soft blanket, it is not light."

The two women hurriedly cleaned up, and the older one apologized again: "It's fine, I'm so sorry."

Seeing that the two were struggling to roll, Song Wei reached out to help: "Why is there no man following you when you buy such a heavy thing?"

The Xianxi Dynasty is open, and it is common for single women to walk outside. As for groups of three or four, there are more people visiting Fanfang in Xishi.

The other party seemed to have seen him clearly, and the younger girl blushed: "I didn't plan to buy this, my sister-in-law and I really like this color, but the store only has this one left, and it will probably be gone next time... ..."

Song Wei helped the two of them re-bundle the felt and carried it on their shoulders: "Where are you going, I'll give you a piece."

The older woman said: "How embarrassing this is!"

The little girl has already said softly: "Sister-in-law and I plan to go to the horse market to hire a porter."

Song Wei raised her leg: "I happen to be going to the horse market too, let's go."

A piece of felt is not too big, but it weighs dozens of kilograms.After walking not far, my shoulders trembled a little.It's just that the two women are talking and laughing lightly by their side. This hero must be full of strength no matter what.

The little girl was a little shy at first, but later she showed a lively and talkative nature.Along the way, I talked about what I bought, how much copper money I spent, what I used it for when I went back, and what regrets I had on this trip.As Song Wei listened, his heart suddenly moved, a flash of inspiration flashed, and he remembered a job.

Turning his head, he said, "Actually, if you go to Fanfang, the price will be much lower. The shops on the main street of West Market will inevitably be a bit more expensive."

The older woman smiled and nodded: "That said, time is limited, but it's too late. Besides, Fanfang is no better than Xishi, and the types of shops are clear. Even if you know there is a better deal, you can't find it."

The little girl said: "Today I only went to the West Market, and my legs are about to break. I heard that Fanfang is even bigger. When can I go shopping?"

Song smiled and said, "If you come here a few times, you'll get used to it."

The little girl sighed: "How can I have time on weekdays? I can go out with my sister-in-law once every half a month, and many sisters in the neighborhood only have the opportunity to go out once every two or three months."

"Isn't there a salesman coming to the door?"

"The peddler comes to the door, nothing more than ordinary things like oil, salt, charcoal, crispy cheese tofu, rouge powder, etc. There are no novelties. The goods in Fanfang in Xishi have never been seen before."

"Then if the peddler also sells these, is there anyone?"

"Why doesn't anyone want it? For example, to buy a turban for incense, it's so troublesome to go to the West Market. It's always hard to get what you want, and the shopkeeper comes to the door. After all, some people are picky, aren't they?"

While chatting with her aunt and sister-in-law, Song Wei secretly calculated in her heart, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this idea was good.I intentionally asked more about my daily expenses, what my boudoir likes.He looks handsome and cute, with a pure and gentle demeanor, and his words are clever, and he is the most attractive to the opposite sex when he talks and laughs.The older sister-in-law heard his intentions, she knew everything she wanted to say, and finally added: "We Changpingfang are all small families. If I go to Changningfang, there are many big families there, and it is inconvenient for women and children to go out. , if you are familiar with it, business should be easy to do."

While talking, I came to the horse market, but it was not easy to find a porter.Every big business firm has its own staff, and most of the temporary hires are during the pre-noon loading season.As for the customers who came to buy things, they either brought slaves or had animals, and they didn't buy anything they couldn't carry.So after noon, there were only a few sporadic pick-ups.The distance to Changpingfang is not close, and the sister-in-law and sister-in-law have few things, and no one is willing to give them away.In the end, Song Wei found Li Kuang and rented two donkeys. The sister-in-law and his sister-in-law took one together, and he took one with the goods.

That's right, although the horse market is called a horse market, there are all kinds of donkeys and mules.Rent a horse for [-] cents an hour, rent a donkey for [-] cents a day, and long-distance will be calculated separately.

Song Weigu is a good person who will do his best to the end, and at the same time, he also has the intention of conducting field investigations.If it weren't for him, the aunt and sister-in-law would not have been able to rent a donkey, because they couldn't guarantee it, so they were very grateful, and when they arrived at the house, they had to invite him in for tea and snacks.

Before the sun set, Song Wei rode a donkey, led a donkey, and took a quick look around the four squares in the center of the Twelve Squares in Dongcheng. Sure enough, as I heard before, I ran into a peddler walking around the streets, selling basic necessities and daily necessities .Those who stay at home and deal with shopkeepers are mainly old people, women, children and servants.In any time and space, women and children's money is the best money.On the way back, Song Wei had a smile on his face and asked for directions. Before the sound of the drumbeat, he crossed the East Market. He was very happy to see that there were many gold and stone porcelains, calligraphy and painting classics, the four treasures of the study...etc. High-end literary and artistic goods.

Half a month later, a donkey with a shelf on its back appeared in Dongcheng. On the shelf was an exotic colorful flag, embroidered with the words "Xishi Fanfang Song Jialang" in Xia, Uyghur, and Persian.Song Wei's first official job started like this.

The capital is from my mother, the donkey is rented from Li Kuang, and the shelves are custom-made from Fanfang craftsmen.As for the source of goods, neighbors help, search corners, find the latest and most interesting items at the lowest price, and then resell them, the profit margin is still quite considerable.

Song Wei was extremely satisfied with this job.Stock up in the morning, go out in the afternoon, travel with a donkey, and go home at that point.Each square in Dongcheng takes turns on a fixed day, for example, every two days is in Changping Square, every three days is in Changning Square, and so on.Close every Monday and Friday, and stop working if the weather is bad.Be free and unrestrained.Each square goes there every ten days, and every time there must be something new and wonderful.After getting familiar with it, even if many people don't buy it, they will definitely wait in front of the door when Song Jialang enters the workshop, waiting for the crowd to watch, scrambling to see it quickly.

Sometimes a certain family would ask Song Wei to bring something from the West Market, and the travel expenses would be calculated separately.Sometimes an old lady from a certain wealthy family invites Song Wei into the side hall to look at the goods, and she is so happy that she leaves everything on the shelf.Sometimes Song Wei forgets the time when she plays with others, and rushes to deliver the reserved ones, leaving a shelf full of goods and heading home.

In this way, it is impossible to earn a lot of money, but it is enough to support yourself.