Feeling that Tang was becoming more and more powerful, the merchants of Xinluo finally united with each other and prepared for the road construction. Led by Li Dong, they started to negotiate with Zhang Tie.
Superficially, Zhang Tie's conditions had already given the merchants of Xinluo a great advantage. However, merchants pursued profits. As long as you made a concession, they would want to take a step forward.
Facing Li Dong's group who were united and aggressive, Zhang Tie was not anxious at all. He knew that even if they continued to make concessions, the merchants of Xinluo would not gain any advantage at all. Instead, they would suffer a complete loss.
However, he could not agree with all the conditions of the other party at once in case of arousing suspicion. Therefore, he called a team to negotiate with the merchants of Xinluo.
At the same time, the transport team of Zhang Clan and Wang Clan also transported piles of goods from Tang to Sashui River, which was dozens of kilometers away from Nihe River.
This batch of goods was made up of the worst quality pottery and the first batch of silk that had not been sold out. There were also a small number of luxury goods.
It would take some time for them to complete. It was the right time for Zhang Tie to negotiate with the merchants of Xinluo.
****
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan still didn't leave. They were fishing and eating the barbecue that they had been bored with. They looked very leisurely.
At the beginning, they were accompanied by some guards. Later on, when the construction site was suspended, all the guards had left. The hired guards of Xinluo also went back home helplessly. When the riverside became tranquil, the two people came here alone every day in a very regular manner.
"They're fighting over there again. Go ahead. Fight with your full strength." Zhang Xiaobao opened the bellies of some shrimps and prepared to dry them under the sun. When he smoked them and gave them to his younger siblings as snacks, he gloated at the moving figures on the other side of the river.
Wang Juan picked up the binoculars and took a look. Seeing that the people over there were bleeding, she shook her head. "You're really ruthless. You're too evil. Did you have this idea when you wanted to connect the river?"
"It's blasphemy to hear the word 'cruel' from your mouth. No matter how cruel others are, are they cold-blooded like you? There aren't many kind-hearted people like me nowadays. I can't bear to see others bleed. After seeing it, my legs went weak.
"To be honest, I really didn't expect them to fight because I didn't know that someone would cause trouble. I only wanted to clear the river so that it would be convenient for the Blackwater Governor's Mansion to transport goods and at the same time, hold Xinluo hostage. However, when they saw an honest person like me, they started to bully me. It's a crime to bully an honest person.
Zhang Xiaobao looked like he was bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind. His hands moved faster and more decisively. When the shrimps were put under the sun after peeling the skin and removing the innards, they could still move a little.
Wang Juan curled her lips, "Forget it, Comrade Zhang Xiaobao. I'm not soft when it comes to killing people, but when it comes to killing people, I can only use it to threaten the people who are still alive. You're torturing people to death bit by bit. A lot of food was transported to Tubo. I heard that when they left, Chide Zu Zan cried when he saw the food. According to Princess Jincheng, many people in Tubo are so hungry that they're all skin and bones. Many people have already died. If there's not enough food, in a few months, we can only see corpses everywhere."
Speaking of this, Wang Juan's expression was very interesting. To be able to force the ruler of a country to cry, it could probably be recorded in history.
When the two of them were talking, the other side was still fighting. The main reason was that the Xinluo people who were hired to work were disturbed by the people who stopped the construction, and they lost a lot of income. When there was work to do, Tang Dynasty did not give them money. Instead, they directly gave them food, bean oil, and smoked meat. After working for a day, the food they got was enough for a family to eat for five days.
More importantly, the food they ate was much better than before. The meat and oil were not something that could be eaten casually. Now that the construction site was stopped, and thinking about the situation at home, they naturally hated the people who stopped them from working. Therefore, both sides started to blame each other, and then it turned into a physical fight.
After Zhang Xiaobao finished cleaning up the shrimps, he looked at the battle on the other side that was still not over. He pulled out a piece of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth. Suddenly, he stopped and turned his head to look at the place where he pulled out the grass. He threw out a knife from his sleeve and carefully dug.
"What are you doing?" Wang Juan saw Zhang Xiaobao's actions and asked.
"I'm digging something good to eat." As he spoke, Zhang Xiaobao dug out something that looked like a radish from the ground.
"Platycodon?" Wang Juan recognized it, but she was a little unsure. She had never dug it herself.
"Yes, it's this thing. There's a song called Platycodon ballad, also called Daolaki. Some people call it Gou Bao, some call it Monk Head, because there's another name called Monk Crown Hat. It's very delicious when it's made into salted vegetables. It's a pity that there's no chili. When the people from North America come back and take a look, they can make some for Xiaobei and the rest."
Zhang Xiaobao shook the radish in his hand and introduced it to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan swallowed her saliva and smacked her lips twice, "It's delicious. Usually, it's called North Korean salted vegetables. Later on, some people felt that saying North Korean salted vegetables was not noble, so they insisted on making South Korean salted vegetables. They even printed Korean words on the packaging to show that they were of noble origin. In fact, we have a lot of them here."
"This is not the fault of the people. It's the problem of the leaders. There's a problem with the propaganda. Let me tell you, this thing was not salted vegetables in the beginning. It was the people of Xinluo who had no food to eat, so they dug wild vegetables to fill their stomachs. It was very miserable and very sad. Therefore, I decided to help the people of Xinluo liberate themselves in the spirit of internationalism and humanity.
Don't say that I'm hypocritical. Back then, the western countries did a lot of things. They spent money to create an anti-government organization in other countries. Then, the soldiers rushed over and bombarded them. The excuse was to help those who were bought by them gain power. I'll learn from them. "
Zhang Xiaobao chuckled and continued to search for the Platycodon. This thing was too small, one was not enough to eat.
Wang Juan looked at the leaves on the Platycodon and also started to help find them. She prepared to dry them first and wait for the chili so that Zhang Xiaobao could make them into North Korean salted vegetables. At that time, the spicy cabbage would also appear.
"Xiao Bao, are you planning to do something ruthless to Xinluo?" At first, I thought that you only wanted to connect the river. Later on, seeing that your plan was constantly improving, I reckon that your thoughts are not small. "
Wang Juan, who had found two Platycodon, picked it up in satisfaction and showed it to Zhang Xiaobao, who had already dug out more than ten Platycodon, and said to him.
"At that time, I didn't think too much about it. Later on, I saw that there was an opportunity. If I wasted it, I would be punished by the heavens. So, I conveniently made the arrangements and stayed for another five days. If no one else made a move, we'll go back."
Zhang Xiaobao pretended to be surprised, took the two precious Platycodon from Wang Juan's hands, and replied.
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