Chapter 19 Station
Chapter 19 Station
At noon, Zhu Shenzui and his party walked out of Yangtou Mountain and continued to walk eastward.
That night, the group camped near Dayuling, rested for another night in Dayuling, and continued their journey the next day. By the evening, they finally arrived at their destination, Zhaocun.
When they arrived at Zhaocun, Zhu Shenzui finally relaxed the tension he had been feeling along the way. The next things became much simpler. Zhu Shenzui had partners in Zhaocun, and they trusted each other after many transactions. They delivered the goods and settled the accounts step by step. When they received the money, this salt transport was completely completed.
According to the plan, they were originally planning to return after resting in Zhao Village for two days, but because of the incident at Yangtou Mountain, Zhu Shenzui made some temporary adjustments.
He asked Wang Jinwu to stay and assist Wang Chuer, Wang Gui and others to stay in Zhao Village for a few more days. One reason was to purchase some things, which were naturally the food promised to Li Hu, including farm tools and seeds.
Secondly, Zhu Shenzhui had to make a trip to Pingshun in the north. Pingshun was not far from Zhaocun, and it would only take Zhu Shenzhui three or four days at most to go back and forth. If nothing unexpected happened, by the time he came back, the things he had asked Wang Chuer and others to do would have been almost done.
Zhu Shenzui went to Pingshun alone without bringing anyone with him.
After leaving Zhao Village, we quickly got on the official road and headed north.
The official road was much easier to walk on than the small path that led to Yan. We walked more than twenty miles in half a day. Looking at the sun, we found a place on the side of the road to rest and drink some water.
Zhu Shenzhui had just sat down and was taking out his water bag to drink water. Before he could take two sips, he heard a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds.
After a slight pause, Zhu Shenzhui put down the water bag and turned his head to look in the direction where the sound of horse hooves came from.
I saw a cloud of dust rising not far behind, and then I saw four riders running towards me.
The leader was a young general wearing a soft chain mail armor with a front breasted collar. The three riders behind him were all wearing cotton armor with a front breasted collar. These people were riding war horses, with sabers and three-barreled muskets hanging next to the saddles. Seeing their attire, Zhu Shenzui recognized at a glance that this was the equipment of the border cavalry.
Zhu Shenzhui felt a little strange. After all, the location they were in was not close to the Nine Borders. Logically, how could the border troops come here? Moreover, the young man leading the group looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, about the same age as Zhu Shenzhui, but he was wearing the uniform of a mid-level officer, and his rank was at least a deputy captain.
Slightly distracted, the four riders galloped past Zhu Shencui like a gust of wind. The young general in the front saw Zhu Shencui resting on the side of the road and just glanced at him, but did not stop and continued to ride at full speed.
In a flash, the four riders disappeared, leaving only the dust raised on the official road that slowly fell down.
Zhu Shenzui didn't care and continued to sit and rest. After drinking some water, he rested for about half an incense stick before getting up and continuing to walk forward.
In the evening, Zhu Shenzui finally arrived at a place south of Pingshun along the official road. This place was not far from Pingshun. About a few miles ahead was Pingshun City.
Zhu Shencui did not enter the city. He came to Pingshun not to enter Pingshun City. His destination was a small town in the south of the city. There was a post station there, and the postmaster of this post station, Zhou Anmin, was Zhu Shencui's brother-in-law.
Zhu Shenzhui's eldest sister Zhu Xiuer got married several years ago and moved from Pingyang to Pingshun.
My brother-in-law Zhou Anmin's ancestors were officials, but the family business had long been in decline over the past hundred years. Zhou Anmin's position as a postmaster sounds good, but in fact, he has no rank. The so-called postmaster is just the director of a local government guesthouse.
Although Zhu Xiuer is a daughter of a royal family, there are rules for daughters of a royal family to marry, but their family is a low-level royal family.
The country has been founded for more than two hundred years, and there are countless royal families in the entire Ming Dynasty. It has long been no longer a big deal for a low-ranking clan daughter like Zhu Xiu'er to get married. Moreover, the post station chief has a stable job after all. On weekdays, he can make some money from the reception fees of the post station, and even more benefits if he meets a generous guest. It is much better to marry Zhou Anmin than to marry an ordinary citizen.
Zhou Anmin was a good match for Zhu Xiuer in terms of age and appearance. After they got married, they loved each other very much. Zhu Xiuer gave Zhou Anmin two sons. The eldest, Zhou Chong, is five years old this year, and the second, Zhou Bin, is three years old this year. The two nephews are smart and lively, and the family is harmonious. After his father and brother passed away, Zhu Shenzhu took up the burden of the family alone. At that time, Zhu Shenzhu had not yet led Wangjia Village to smuggle salt. At that time, not only Zhu Shenzhu had to survive, but also his sister-in-law Zhang and his newborn niece Qiaoer had to be supported.
At that time, thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, they came all the way from Pingshun to help with the funeral. When they left, they left some silver for Zhu Shenzhui and told him to contact them if anything happened. Although Zhou Anmin's family was not rich, as a post station chief, they were much better off than ordinary families. They were all relatives, and they would never stand idly by if they could help.
Speaking of which, the initial capital for Zhu Shenzui to smuggle salt with the people of Wangjia Village came from Zhou Anmin. If it were not for the silver left by Zhou Anmin when he left, Zhu Shenzui would not have been able to do the private salt business even if he wanted to.
In the past two years, Zhu Shenzui's life has gradually improved a lot thanks to the private salt business, and even Wangjia Village has benefited greatly.
Zhu Shenzhui always remembers the help of his sister and brother-in-law. So every time he goes to Zhaocun, he will take time to come to Pingshun to visit his sister, brother-in-law and two nephews as long as he has time. They have a deep affection for each other.
Zhu Shenzhui arrived at the post station with familiarity. As soon as he entered the door, he ran into the postman Lao Tang who came out. Lao Tang was over fifty years old and was already a grandfather. He had been a postman here all his life.
"Hey, Sixth Master, you're here. I haven't seen you for a while." Seeing Zhu Shenzhui, Old Tang grinned and greeted him. His face was full of wrinkles and he was wearing a patched robe. He had lost a lot of teeth due to his age, so his mouth looked empty when he smiled.
"Uncle Tang, how are you?"
"Good! Thank you for your concern, Sixth Master. I am in good health! Sixth Master, you are here to see the master and the mistress, right? Please come in, a distinguished guest just came, and the master is entertaining him in the south yard. The mistress and the young master are in the backyard. Please go there by yourself. I, an old man, have to be busy first." As he said this, Old Tang pointed to the things in his hand. He was holding a large bundle of hay and it seemed that he was about to go to the side yard.
"Did that gentleman pass by today?" Zhu Shenzhui asked subconsciously.
Old Tang shook his head and smiled, "It's not a senior official in the court, but the fifth son of General Hei, who is stationed at Zhangjiakou."
"The son of General Hei, the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou?" Zhu Shenzhui frowned and asked in confusion.
Old Tang nodded and told Zhu Shenzhui that this Black General was actually Hei Yunlong, the former assistant commander of the Xuanfu Vanguard, who had just been promoted by the imperial court to the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou.
When Hei Yunlong was mentioned, Zhu Shenzui suddenly realized that Hei Yunlong was also from Shanxi and his hometown was Datong, so he and Zhu Shenzui were fellow villagers.
However, Hei Yunlong has been working in Xuanfu as the vanguard commander. Zhu Shenzui has heard of the Datong Hei family but has never seen them. He did not expect that Hei Yunlong's family and son would appear here.
With a slight thought in his mind, Zhu Shenzhui followed Old Tang to the side yard to take a look. As expected, there were several horses eating grass in the stable over there. Zhu Shenzhui recognized them at a glance. They were the ones he had seen on the way. Wasn't one of them the mount of the young general? After all the fuss, this young general turned out to be the fifth son of Hei Yunlong.
After learning the other party's identity, Zhu Shenzui had no intention of meeting him.
After all, his identity was too sensitive, so when he left Pingyang City and traveled outside, Zhu Shenzhu used the pseudonym Wang Shen, and the household registration and documents he used were not his own.
Moreover, he had no friendship with the Hei family. Hei Yunlong was a general at the border. It would not be a good thing if a low-ranking clan member like him contacted a general at the border. Besides, he came here to visit his sister and brother-in-law, and did not want to cause any trouble.
After leaving the side yard, Zhu Shenzui went straight to the backyard where his sister and brother-in-law lived.
The backyard of the post station is the residence of the postmaster, which is somewhat similar to a government office. However, unlike the county and government offices, the conditions of the post station are naturally much worse. Even the backyard is just an ordinary courtyard.
(End of this chapter)