Chapter 28: The Smuggling Business of the Foreigners

  This Lanzhou place, even in the Song Dynasty, the ecosystem was already out of balance, with very strong winds and sandstorms. Of course, compared to later generations, it should have been much better. It's just that Wen Fei hadn't been to Lanzhou in later generations. Every time he came to Luoma Street, he would wash his hair and take a bath when he returned. He always felt like there was a layer of wind and sand on his body, but this young man wore white clothes, wouldn't they get dirty? Or did he bring 17 or 18 sets of clothes with him every time he went out, changing into new ones at any time?

  "Ah, is this kid a girl disguised as a boy? Otherwise, why would he be so fond of cleanliness? It seems like in ancient times there were often such melodramatic plot twists. Wen Fei thought about the TV drama scenes and looked at the white-clothed youth's throat and chest area. In the dark night, even with a flashlight in his hand to illuminate, it wasn't very clear, but it seemed not to be a woman's appearance."

  "Hey, you little brat, what are you staring at!" Wen Fei was being quite rude with his gaze, but the young man in white hadn't said anything yet. However, the large man beside him had already been provoked: "You dare to offend my family's young master? I'll cripple your legs! You Daoist priest, do you think you could have escaped from that ancient battlefield alive without my family's young master saving you? With your meager skills, you would have been devoured by the fierce ghosts long ago!"

  It turned out that he was saved by someone! Wen Fei suddenly realized, he thought he had really passed through with a simple forbidden technique, but unexpectedly there were other twists and turns. Wen Fei hurriedly thanked the lifesaver: "Thank you, young master, for saving me!"

  "It doesn't matter," the white-clothed youth spoke up this time, his tone seemingly softer. He even slightly bowed and said: "I am Wang Zhiming, I was rude last time. May I ask for your esteemed name, Daoist priest?"

  Wen Fei was still wearing his Taoist robe, and with a nonchalant air, he pushed the cart open and said, "Alright, alright. I'm Wen Fei, but I don't have any great surname or reputation!"

  Wen Fei was so slow that the big man behind him suddenly became furious: "Taoist, I should not have saved you at that time!"

  Wen Fei suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't mean to be rude, it's just that modern people have simple etiquette, and when placed in ancient times, it seemed too crude and impolite.

  It was Wang Zhi Ming who seemed to have taken a liking to Wen Fei, and he smiled: "No need to worry, no need to worry. This land of Lanzhou is actually the border between our Great Song Dynasty and the Tanguts, where battles often take place. More than ten years ago, our Great Song army fought a great battle with Western Xia here, but we were defeated, and many soldiers died. The battlefield was near this Luoma Market. Since then, there have been many ghostly apparitions in this area. I think Chen Shi hid out here to deal with the evil spirits that haunt this place!"

  Wen Fei suddenly realized and I said how did Master Chen Niwan and his apprentice run to this godforsaken place, it turns out there's such a thing!

  Wang Zhiming smiled and said: "It's not a big deal now, even if I don't save you, nothing serious will happen. This place has been cleaned up by Master Chen... there's nothing harmful left."

  Wen Fei only then noticed the white-clothed youth, although he knew he wasn't very old. It was only after being in contact with him for a while that he realized Wang Zhi Ming was even younger than he had thought, looking no more than thirteen or fourteen years old.

  He curiously looked at Wen Fei's pushcart and asked: "So, Dao Zhang is also here to rush the fair? I wonder what good things you've brought!"

  "Did you also come here for the fair?"

  "That's right," said Wang Zhiming, "This time I'm helping out at home by transporting some goods to sell!"

  He was speaking, but behind him, a man dressed like an accountant was pulling on Wang Zhiming's sleeve: "Young master, young master..."

  Wang Zhiming flung out his sleeve and frowned, saying: "What's the matter that can't be said openly, why must you be so secretive?"

  The accountant behind him was suddenly very embarrassed, he originally wanted to remind the young master of his family not to talk nonsense everywhere. After all, private transactions with foreigners are against the law, and the royal family is so big that they have to avoid some taboos. But unexpectedly, Wang Zhiming didn't understand his kindness at all.

  Wang Zhiming furrowed his brow, although he was young. However, he was born into a wealthy family and naturally had a discerning eye. He knew what the accountant wanted to say, but Wang Zhiming was proud by nature and didn't stoop to being secretive. Moreover, he trusted Wen Fei's character, in his eyes, Wen Fei was someone who remained uncorrupted by wealth and power, and unbowed by might and majesty.

  In Wang Zhi Ming's view, that flashlight was indeed a treasure. However, it was nothing more than that. He played with it for a moment after picking it up, and although he couldn't understand the principle behind it, he knew that this thing wasn't a natural wonder, but rather a clever trick made by skilled craftsmen. Although he didn't pay much attention to the flashlight, he naturally knew that someone must have used it before, so in his opinion, there must be a place where you could buy one. And it was definitely not worth 500 taels of gold and silver.

  If Wen Fei knew that he had refused Wang Zhi Ming, but was instead regarded by him as an extraordinary person, a surprising person, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

  Wen Fei naturally didn't know what was going on and asked: "What kind of things does your family sell?"

  "It's just tea and wine!" Wang Zhiming said calmly.

  Tea, wine, that's all? Wen Fei almost choked. He had come to this Northern Song Dynasty many times before and had some understanding of the Great Song Dynasty. In those days, tea and wine were monopolized by the imperial court. Privately selling these things was much more serious than smuggling cigarettes in later generations. This is what it means to do big business, Wen Fei admired with all his might, far surpassing his own small-time operations.

  Wang Zhiming curiously examined the things on Wen Fei's pushcart, saying: "These things of yours are quite... distinctive..." He was too embarrassed to say they were bad, so he directly used the word "distinctive" instead.

  He shook out a piece of fabric, and his brow furrowed: "This fabric isn't bad, it looks like satin, but it seems a bit too thin. The color is just too tacky..." He tossed the fabric back into the carriage.

  Wen Fei really wanted to ask: "Do you want to buy a flashlight from me? If you do, I can give you a discount..."

  "Master, the carriage team is almost here. Let's set off first, the leader of the Gu Zheng tribe is still waiting for us!" The accountant said cautiously.

  "Let's go!" Wang Zhiming clapped his hands, nodded and smiled apologetically at Wen Fei: "Goodbye!" Then he led his men to mount their horses and left with a flourish.

  How strange, this guy has changed his temper. Wen Fei was a bit curious, the last time he saw Wang Zhi Ming looking at people, his nostrils were facing the sky, and the corners of his eyes were almost growing on someone else's head. And this time, it's actually so polite? Nima, won't there be some conspiracy or trickery?

  Wen Fei blurted out a sentence, unaware that his previous display of "wealth and honor cannot corrupt, power and prestige cannot bow" had made the arrogant Wang Da Gongzi look down on him with disdain.

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