Li Quan was really happy these two days. Yesterday she received news that the goods she invested had arrived in Jiuquan and was about to make money.

Today, her brothers showed their might and won the whole audience with their archery skills, which really made her feel relieved.

For this reason, Li Quan fryed a few more dishes at night and made an exception to get two bottles of wine from the wine cellar. This was the wine she made herself last year, and the whole family raised their glasses to drink it.

Meng wanted to eat vegetarian food and was afraid of meat dishes, so she never ate with them. She dined in her room every day, and there were actually only three people on the table.

Li Quan drank two glasses of wine, and a red glow on her pretty face. She couldn't help but feel excited and said to her husband: "It's still my Azhen who is promising and is unwilling to be buried. She shocked the gang of officials and speechless, and finally got the opportunity to enter Beijing.

Buddha slave, you should learn more and don’t keep silent all day long. You should let your boss know that you have done more than others and are better than everyone else.”

The Buddha slave is Cao Wen's nickname. Cao Wen smiled. So what if the boss knows? If you don't have money to manage it, it's useless no matter how much you do it or how good you do it.

However, he was very interested in another thing that happened today. He whispered to Li Zhen, "How did you know General Wang?"

"Where did I know him? It was the first time I saw him yesterday, and it was a bit of a mistake. Did my brother-in-law want me to introduce you to you?"

Cao Wen hesitated for a moment. It would be nice if he could go to Wang Xiaojie's account to be a civil servant, but the Tang army was about to start a war. It was too dangerous on the battlefield. The most important thing was that he also wanted to go to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination.

Cao Wen shook his head, "No! I just asked casually, but you performed well today, let's have a drink."

The two of them touched the cups and drank the wine in the cup. At this time, Li Zhen asked Li Quan again: "Sister, I will set off tomorrow morning. Where are you going?"

Li Quan was stunned, "Didn't Dazhuang tell you?"

Li Zhen shook his head, "I've been too busy these two days, I haven't seen him yet!"

"I thought he told you that this is the case. Three months ago, I heard from Aunt Kang that the musk in the Tang Dynasty was very popular in Persia, and the prices have risen sharply since last fall.

Musk can make ten times profitable when transporting from Tang Dynasty to Persia, and even when transporting to Dunhuang, it will have twice the profit. I think it is profitable, so I invested a sum of money to buy Musk, and Uncle Kang helped me sell it to the Sogdians.

Yesterday I got the news that this batch of goods had arrived in Jiuquan. Uncle Kang told me that the caravan that helped us carry goods this time would not go to Dunhuang, but would go directly to Yiwu, and he had to go to Yumen to pick up the goods by himself. He asked Dazhuang to go to Yumen. I thought it would be just right to hone you... "

"So sister asked me to go to Yumen to pick up the goods!" Li Zhen then realized that the eldest sister's kindness was not to let herself practice, but she clearly wanted to save shipping costs.

Li Quan glared, "If you don't go, I'll go find someone else."

Li Zhen quickly raised his hand, "I'll go! I'll go!"

Cao Wen next to him smiled and said, "Azhen, your eldest sister has staked this batch of goods. Not only did she take out all the savings from her family, but she also mortgaged the land. She borrowed 300 guan, a total of 500 guan. If something happened to the goods, we would lose everything. Your eldest sister couldn't sleep well every night, so I won't let me tell you."

Only then did Li Zhen understand why the eldest sister splashed her with ice water yesterday. It turned out that she was in a bad mood, but Li Zhen didn't dare to say this, so he had to ask: "Let's go tomorrow morning. Are the eldest sister ready?"

"It's been ready. Aunt Kang and I have been busy all afternoon. We have prepared biscuit food for you and asked someone to draw a map. I'll give you a few more staples of money. After you arrive at Yumen, you can replenish your own dry food. If you think it doesn't work, come back quickly and don't act as a hero. Have you heard?"

"Sister, I understand, I won't ask for trouble."

Speaking of this, Li Zhen asked again with a smile: "Sister has made money this time. Do you plan to continue to invest in Uncle Kang's place?"

Li Quan shook his head repeatedly, "I will never do it again, it's not that I'm afraid of risks, the key is that the risks cannot be controlled by me. I plan to make wine next."

“Winemaking!”

Li Zhen and Cao Wen looked at each other, and Li Zhen asked, "Didn't my sister start brewing wine last year? Do you want to expand the winery?"

Li Quan sighed and said helplessly: "To be honest, the wine I made last year is really bad, sour and astringent, so I have never had confidence in making wine."

Li Zhen savored the wine in the glass carefully, "I think it's okay! Where is it sour?"

Li Quan snatched his wine glass and glared at him fiercely and said, "What do you know? The wine I drink now is from outside. I pretended to be the wine I brewed, and I specially tried it for wine buyers. Of course it is good!"

Li Zhen almost burst into laughter. If his sister does a big business, she will definitely be a profiteer.

Li Quan's eyes showed his longing for the future. She took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "I heard from Uncle Kang that Chang'an and Luoyang have a great demand for wine, and the prices of top-quality wines are amazing.

But they all come from Gaochang for long distances. The wines made by the Dunhuang Suojia are also good and are very popular in Chang'an. It is said that the Sojia winemaker is a famous craftsman invited from Gaochang, and his monthly wages are 60 trump cards.

I was wondering... Can we also go to Gaochang to hire a brewing chef, it doesn't have to be that good. I can afford it if I have 20 guan a month."

Li Zhen has always admired his eldest sister's courage and dared to think and do it. He thinks that his eldest sister can really do something.

He smiled and said, "When I come back from Yumen, I will go to Gaochang again and invite a brewing master for my eldest sister. From now on, the eldest sister will be the owner of the winery, so I will run errands for my eldest sister."

Li Zhen said it interestingly, Li Quan giggled. She suddenly smiled and seemed to remember something. She knocked on Li Zhen's head, "Don't dream, you must calm down after you come back from Yumen, practice martial arts well for me, and go to Beijing to participate in the martial arts next year. Have you heard?"

.........

Before dawn the next day, Li Zhen and his group set off. In addition to Li Zhen and Jiu Zhi, they also had two hardcore partners.

One is Kang Sisi's second brother Kang Dazhuang. He is only one year older than Li Zhen, but half a head taller than Li Zhen. From a distance, it looks like an iron tower.

Although Kang Dazhuang has a Sogdian appearance, he also grew up in Dunhuang. He could not tell the difference between him and the Han children when he spoke and did things. Kang Dazhuang had excellent martial arts skills and had set ambitions since he was a child and wanted to do something big.

There is another person who is a thin and small boy. His name is Yao Xi, his nickname is Xiaoxi, and he is also a friend of Li Zhen.

Xiaoxi was one year younger than Li Zhen. His mother died of puerperal fever when she gave birth to him. He and his father depended on each other for life, and the father and son lived in Dayun Temple.

Xiaoxi's father was the most famous sculptor in Mogao Grottoes, but he knew that the status of craftsmen was too low and he was unwilling to let his son become a craftsman again.

He thought of a way to make his son become a monk at the age of five, and return to secular life at the age of fourteen, spending another money to manage his son, and finally successfully get rid of the craftsmanship.

The reason why Xiaoxi became Li Zhen’s hardcore brother is that he served Master Li Zhen’s master Wangchen in Dayun Temple since he was a child. Master Wangchen regarded him as a registered disciple and studied and learned martial arts with Li Zhen and Jiuzhi.

Xiaoxi is limited by her body and her martial arts skills are average, but her light skills are very good. Her body is as quick as a monkey, and she climbs the eaves and walks on the walls like walking on the flat ground.

In addition, he had excellent medical skills and received the true teachings of Master Lingyin, the host of Dayun Temple. When an epidemic broke out in Dunhuang six years ago, he and Master Lingyin saved many lives.

Xiaoxi received his father's consent yesterday and followed Li Zhen to Yumen to pick up the goods.

It took at least five to seven days to travel far this time. Except for Kang Dazhuang who has been to Gaochang several times, the other three of them are the first time they are traveling far away.

All four of them seemed particularly excited. They didn't sleep all night last night. As soon as the city gate opened, several people rushed out of the county town impatiently.

All four of them have the ability to travel with animals, and Li Zhen still rode his white dragon horse. The BMW he won by riding a shooting yesterday has not yet been obtained. It will take two days before Wang Xiaojie will send someone to him.

Jiuzhi's family is a butcher. His father had a big green horse that carries meat. It was an old horse that could not run anymore, but he could barely carry people.

Kang Dazhuang rode a mule in his home. Xiaoxi was unable to rent a livestock, so he had to ride a small and thin donkey with wine. Fortunately, he was also thin and small, and the man and the donkey were paired together.

Another thing is self-defense weapons. The long sword is a must-have item for men in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang people were martial, and basically everyone would use swords, even scholars were no exception. Sword skills are a compulsory course, and the difference is only the level.

Each of the four of them was equipped with a long sword. Although they were all bought from the weapon shop, they were not expensive and sharp, but they were more than enough to defend themselves.

In addition to the long sword, everyone also has their own special weapons, and Li Zhen is naturally a bow and arrow.

Jiu Zhi was equipped with seven flying knives. Although he was not good at other martial arts, he worked hard for seven or eight years on the flying knives. Within thirty steps, the flying knives were hit by every hit.

Kang Dazhuang carried a copper rod about meter long, and he was extremely powerful and could run for a mile with hundreds of pounds of weight.

The Tang Dynasty strictly prohibited the use of long weapons among the people, but the stick was an exception. Kang Dazhuang begged his father to build a 40-pound cooked copper stick for him.

The weapon that Xiaoxi is good at is even more distinctive. It is a roll of thin rope. The string is thirty feet long and very strong. This is also related to his thin figure. He has good light skills, is agile, and can climb eaves and walls.

Not long after leaving the city, Jiu Zhi coughed and said, "I thought about it all night. This time I went to Yumen, the four of us must have a leader, what do you want... I am respectful and have to lead the way. Hey! Isn't this talking about me, Fatty? Could it be that I am a natural leader?"

The three of them looked at him and looked at the voice in a lengthened manner, "No - Yes!"

"Okay! I'll just be reluctant to be a military advisor!"

There was a funny person like Jiuzhi on the road, and he was not lonely along the way. After more than an hour, everyone walked for more than thirty miles.

Dunhuang City is located in the northwest of the Hexi Corridor. This area is already a semi-arid zone. However, due to the melting icebergs, the Ganquan River comes from the Nanshan Mountains, giving birth to this pearl on the Hexi Corridor.

Large areas of Hu* can be seen everywhere on both sides of Ganquan River, dyed into a green color by the warm spring breeze. The riverside is covered with various wild flowers, colorful and full of spring.

But after walking ten miles north from Dunhuang City, Ganquan water turned westward and flowed into Oizawa. The land was no longer moistened by the river and gradually became dry.

There is a desert on both sides of the official road, with drought-tolerant shrubs and dry grass roots. You can still see the ruins of some abandoned houses from afar.

There is a lot of wind and sand in the desert, and the strong wind is wrapped around the sand and rushes to the head and face. If you are not careful, your eyes will be fascinated by the wind and sand.

The four of them no longer had the excitement they had when they first left the city and became silent. They put on their hats, lowered their heads to resist the wind and sand, and walked with difficulty.

At noon, they found a shelter to rest and have a meal.

While eating meat pies, Jiuzhi told Xiaoxi about his romantic affairs that year. Xiaoxi was malnourished in the temple and developed slightly slower, and seemed to understand men and women. Jiuxi became an enlightenment teacher in his life.

"It was about ten years ago! I can't remember exactly when it was. That day I took a few cents of money to go to the brothel to find a lover. Guess what I saw, tsk tsk! It's so unforgettable. I'll say it and your nose will bleed."

Xiaoxi opened her mouth wide and looked at the verbal winery with admiration. He didn't hear the flaw. Ten years ago, this fat boy was only seven years old.

Not far away, Kang Dazhuang laid a carpet on the ground. Like all Sogdians, he also believed in the Zoroastrianism. He raised his hands and bowed to the sun devoutly, muttering words, "The omnipresent Ahuramazda gives us light and wisdom..."

In front of the big stone on the other side, Li Zhen spread a map on the stone and studied the road to Yumen. Although there was a shortcut to Yumen, I heard that it had been in disrepair and had been buried by yellow sand.
Chapter completed!