The general kneels on the washboard again

The winter snow has fallen, and all preparations for the academy have been completed, except for this place which is still hanging in the air.

Yue Niang plans to go to Rongzhou, Linhai, before the festival.

The journey to Rongzhou is long and it takes about ten days to go back and forth. Ah Qi also put down his work for a while and came back.

After settling the old lady down, he left without hesitation.

The one driving the carriage was Zhao Xiaoming, Ah Qi was sitting beside him, and in the carriage were Ruoyan, Wenshu and Yue Niang.

This carriage was bought by Yue Niang after she came back from Yunzhou. Zhao Xiaoming insisted on driving it and even drove it around the town several times, which made it look quite decent.

Yunzhou and Rongzhou are in opposite directions. Yunzhou is close to the inland and borders Qiefeng State, while Rongzhou is on the sea.

Zhao Xiaoming was a novice on the road, and Yue Niang really wanted to label him an intern. The car was shaking so much that it made eighteen bends on the mountain road, and Wen Shu was even shaken to the point of vomiting.

To go from Yunzhou to Rongzhou, one has to pass through the territories of three states. Since the few people did not go into the city, they did not see it.

In the second half of the journey, Ah Qi took over driving the car, and it finally became more stable.

In just four days, they arrived in Rongzhou.

Rongzhou is a county near the sea with a much smaller population than Yunzhou, and the city of Rongzhou is far less prosperous than Yunzhou.

The group entered the city, where the fishing industry was very developed.

There were many novel seafood here. Ruoyan surrounded Wen Shu with a thousand questions in her mind: "Master Wen, what is this?"

...

"Master Wen, you are so knowledgeable." She seemed to have transformed into Wen Shu's little fangirl.

Suddenly, an old woman in front caught Yue Niang's attention.

I saw the old woman sitting on the steps in front of a closed shop, holding a bamboo basket covered with a blue cloth with a small corner lifted.

The old woman did not shout out her wares impatiently. She just opened the bamboo basket and sat quietly. The things inside were barely visible, with just enough space to make out their outlines.

Yue Niang walked over and asked, "Old lady, how much do you sell this for?"

The old woman looked Yue Niang up and down and said with a smile, "One thousand taels."

Seeing how expensive it was, several people gathered around. Zhao Xiaoming asked bluntly, "What are you selling? It's so expensive."

The old woman didn't answer Zhao Xiaoming, but looked at Yue Niang with clear eyes and said, "Girl, do you think it's expensive?"

"It's not expensive." To be honest, if it is genuine, one thousand taels is indeed not expensive.

Several people were shocked at the same time. Ruoyan stopped Yue Niang and said, "Yue Niang, don't be impulsive. You can't even see what she's selling. Isn't one thousand taels expensive?"

At this time, the old woman lifted the cloth on the basket, and saw that there was a basket of pearls inside. After a few people saw it clearly, the old woman immediately covered it up.

Yue Niang reached in with a smile, picked one out and looked at it.

This corner is secluded and does not stand out from the bustling street.

The pearl in Yue Niang's hand was about an inch in size, full in shape, almost flawless, and felt cool and delicate.

In Dacheng, pearls are also a symbol of status, but the clam farming technology is not mature enough, so it is not easy to come across pearls of such quality.

It is no exaggeration to say that each pearl, which is one inch in size, is worth a thousand taels of silver, and the one that the old woman just opened contained at least twenty or thirty pearls.

Although the assembly line technology for mass-producing artificial pearls has not yet been mastered in this era, it never hurts to be more careful.

When Yue Niang was learning her trade in the hotel kitchen, she often heard the chefs bragging. She remembered that they once talked about how to identify pearls. She never expected that it would come in handy.

Apart from varying shapes and sizes, real pearls feel cool to the touch and do not change with the environment.

This moon has been held in my hand for a long time, and it is still cold and delicate.

In addition, it can also be judged by friction, burning, and hydrochloric acid, but hydrochloric acid is not necessary.

The old woman also saw that Yue Niang was an expert, and hurriedly said, "These are all real. They are my life savings. Now that my grandson wants to get married, I am really desperate.

The old woman looked at the few people again and said, "Otherwise, I have made up my mind to take it to the underworld. How could I bear to sell it? But this thing is beyond the reach of ordinary people and not even the rich and powerful can afford it." Tears flashed in her eyes.

Yue Niang took out two smaller pearls from the bamboo basket and rubbed them against each other. They felt rough and a little powder fell off.

I asked Ah Qi to light a fire stick and burn it. There was no odor and it did turn black, but after wiping it, it became as shiny as new again.

After this operation, it was found that there was indeed no problem with these pearls.

At this time, the old woman was also a little unhappy: "Girl, are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to make fun of me, an old woman?"

Yue Niang's face was filled with joy: "Of course, here is a thousand taels of silver, keep it."

Knowing that the old woman had suffered a loss, Yue Niang asked Ah Qi to personally send her home.

Fortunately, they came for ambergris, so Yue Niang took most of her belongings with her.

The purchasing power of gold and silver in Dacheng is not equal, about one to ten.

Ruoyan picked up the bamboo basket. It was already late, so they wanted to find an inn to settle down first.

Before entering the inn, I could hear the hustle and bustle, as if there was a quarrel inside.

As I got closer, I saw a waiter pushing a man carrying a basket outside: "Get out, get out, we don't have any business with you."

The man had been pushed to the door. When he passed by Yue Niang and the others, they smelled a strange fragrance that seemed somewhat familiar.

The man was driven out, sighed and left.

When Yue Niang and the others entered the inn, the waiter came up to greet them eagerly: "Sir, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"

Yue Niang opened her mouth and said, "Stay in the hotel, three rooms upstairs." She took two taels of silver and tossed two more copper coins to the waiter.

The waiter couldn't stop smiling: "Great." Then he informed the cashier: "Three rooms upstairs."

Wen Shu was not used to sharing a pillow with others, so she had her own room. Ah Qi was also not used to sleeping in a bed, so naturally he did not open his.

Yue Niang asked the waiter, "Waiter, I want to ask you something."

The waiter accepted the tip and said attentively, "Sir, please speak."

Yue Niang lowered her voice and asked, "What kind of business did that big brother want to do with you just now?"

At this mention, the waiter's face was once again filled with anger. "Just now he said he wanted to do some spice business with our shopkeeper. I smelled some really nice spices, so I took him to see our shopkeeper. But he pulled a big stone out of his backpack, and the shopkeeper scolded me."

Yue Niang seemed to recall something: "Stone? But a grayish-white stone?"

"It's a grayish-white stone." The waiter answered without hesitation.

Yue Niang chased after it in a hurry. That was not a stone at all, it was clearly a piece of ambergris, but the shopkeepers and waiters didn't know its value.

No wonder the smell felt familiar. The ambergris in Yunzhou tasted similar to this one, but I hadn't remembered it just now.

Fortunately, the man hadn't gone far when we chased him out.

"Brother, can I see what's in your backpack?" Yue Niang ran out of breath.

The man saw that the little girl was dressed gorgeously and thought she must be a daughter of a wealthy family, so he agreed.

Seeing Yue Niang bringing the man back to the inn, the waiter was a little confused. Because of the two copper coins, he quietly advised Yue Niang: "Miss, he is just a stone. Don't be fooled by him."

Yue Niang smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder. My grandmother loves collecting stones, so I wanted to take a look. Could you please give me a portion of the restaurant's signature dishes? Do you have a private room?"

The waiter didn't know what to say and led them to a private room.