Chapter 55 Ceylon

Sri Lanka, now called Ceylon, is like a teardrop on the Indian Peninsula, embedded in the vast Indian Ocean.

The Aeolus sailed slowly along the coastline at the lower end of this tear.

The Sri Lanka that Ling Qingyu knew was destroyed after many years of war. She could only remember the port of Ceylon in this era in the lower half, but the specific location was not very clear.

After walking around the bottom of the tears for half a day, a village located at the mouth of the river appeared in the distance.

Ling Qingyu looked at the map and estimated that this place was not far from Colombo in later generations, that is to say, not far from Gem City.

The Fengshen was parked far away on the sea. Ling Qingyu took Zhou Tan, Yan San, Yang Zhao and a few skilled sailors to slowly approach the village in a small boat.

Several dark-skinned women were fishing for offshore fish by the water. When they saw the boat approaching, they screamed and ran towards the village.

"People here are very aggressive, so we try to avoid any disputes with them." Ling Qingyu ordered and got off the boat.

Holding several pieces of silk satin, Ling Qingyu greeted a group of people running out of the village with various weapons with a smile on their face.

After saying hello in the Indian language she knew little about, Ling Qingyu placed the silk satin on Yan San's hand next to her, clasped her hands together and gave a salute.

The group of people had been shouting all the way over, but when they saw her like this, they stopped, whispered to each other in confusion, and then moved out of the way, and an old man walked through the middle.

"We are merchants from Dazhou, and this is a gift for you." Indian is too difficult to learn, and she doesn't know much, so she said these two sentences in a stumbling manner. However, Ling Qingyu said that this is the most practical skill when he traveled around the world and learned a few daily expressions in the past year.

The old man's expression softened, he changed his smile, and said something to the people around him. The people next to him relaxed, put down their weapons, and laughed.

Ling Qingyu took the silk satin from Yan San's hand, put it respectfully on the old man's hand, and asked in Chinese with a smile: "Can we supply supplies in your village?"

The old man looked at her with a smile and said nothing. Ling Qingyu saw that he didn't understand, so he made a gesture of eating. Now the old man understood, and hurriedly made a gesture of invitation and brought a few people into the village.

As we walked further inside, the village was not as shabby as it looked from the sea. The houses built inside were very beautiful, with various flowers and plants planted around it. There were also several stone-paved roads in the village, making the whole village look neat and beautiful.

The old man took them into a large house in the middle of the village. The outside of the big house was surrounded by a fence, covered with vines and flowers. At the front of the yard was a gorgeous pagoda, gilded with gold and silver.

On both sides of the entrance to the main house, several people were selecting gems from bamboo baskets. The gemstones were all very small and sparkled in the sunlight.

Ling Qingyu resisted the urge to go and see, and with a smile on his face, he took off his shoes in a very humble and polite manner and followed the old man into the house.

The room was spacious and bright, with some mats spread on the floor. Following the old man's instructions, Ling Qingyu sat down on the mat on the left.

Because they had to take off their shoes, Yan San and the others stood outside. Yang Zhao followed Ling Qingyu in. Unlike Ling Qingyu who was sitting cross-legged, he was sitting in a kneeling posture.

"Aren't you tired?" Ling Qingyu looked at him and asked in a low voice.

"It's okay." Yang Zhao also replied in a low voice.

Not long after, a woman brought food, fruits and two bowls of water.

Ling Qingyu opened the two bowls of water, and then said softly to Yang Zhao: "The one on the left washes his hands, and the one on the right drinks."

handwashing? Yang Zhao looked at her in confusion and saw her washing her hands elegantly in the bowl of water, then using her right thumb, index finger, and middle finger to grab a small ball of rice in the bowl of rice, and put it in the bowl of rice. When he put it in his mouth, he smiled at the old man and said in Indian: "It's very delicious, thank you."

The old man looked even more happy now and kept saying hello.

Ling Qingyu ate half of the rice in the basin to express his intention, but Yang Zhao only used some fruits. During this period, the old man was called into the inner room once. Ling Qingyu saw an old woman inside holding the red silk and yellow gauze she gave her and saying something to the old man. When the old man came out again, the smile on his face became even brighter. .

Ling Qingyu washed his hands and signaled that he was done eating. The old man waved for people to clear them away, and brought juice. Then he smiled and asked people to put the yarn and silk in front of him.

The old man placed a few gems in front of a piece of yarn, and a few more gems in front of a piece of silk. Then he pushed it in front of Ling Qingyu and said a few words with a smile.

Although Ling Qingyu didn't understand, she could understand what he meant. Seeing that the gem was just an ordinary amethyst, topaz, and jasper, he shook his head and brought the gems on both sides to the side of the silk.

The old man frowned, turned around and said a few words to the woman next to him. After a while, the woman took out a large box of gems from the house and placed it in front of the old man and Ling Qingyu.

Ling Qingyu glanced at it and saw that there was really everything there, including sapphires, rubies, cat's eye stones, and moonstones. His heart twitched, and he said to Yang Zhao: "Bring down a hundred pieces each of medium silk, silk, and gauze. Bring more." Red, white and yellow, and two more red horses.”

Yang Zhao stood up, put his hands together and saluted the old man, then turned around and went out, taking a few sailors to the seaside.

Ling Qingyu winked at Zhou Tan, but Zhou Tan didn't see it. He only noticed after being poked by Yan San. Then he took off his shoes, followed Yang Zhao's example and bowed to the old man, and sat down next to Ling Qingyu.

The old man nodded, indicating that you can see as much as you can, and then touched his beard and smiled.

Ling Qingyu said thank you, pulled the box closer, then took out a piece of white satin from his arms, took out a handful of gems and placed them on the white satin.

Zhou Tan looked at them one by one and said to Ling Qingyu: "Good things, very good quality, these can be sold at a high price."

After inspecting all the gems in the box, Zhou Tan took a breath and said, "There are no top-grade ones, but these can be sold for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. If we process them again, we can probably double the price." "

Before he finished speaking, there was a burst of noise outside. Yang Zhao came back with his people. The hands of more than 20 people were full of silk, which glowed dazzlingly in the sun.

Four hundred bolts of silk and gauze of various colors and patterns were placed on the floor, and the old man's eyes widened.

"Ah!" screamed, and several women ran out of the house. Each took the silk they were interested in and unfolded it. Suddenly, the whole room was filled with the smooth color of silk. Several women shouted happily in the old man's ears.

Ling Qingyu looked at the old man with a smile and said nothing. The old man was knocked unconscious by the woman's noise. Seeing that the silks and satins were mostly red, yellow and white, he glanced at Ling Qingyu a few more times and gave instructions to the lady behind him. Not long after, the woman again He took out a small box from the inner room, opened it and placed it in front of Ling Qingyu.

Inside are more than twenty semi-rough stones of top-grade gemstones, including dark green and amber cat's eyes the size of a fingernail, red sapphires the size of a little finger, and several bright red pigeon's blood rubies.

"It's worth tens of thousands of gold after processing." Zhou Tan whispered in Ling Qingyu's ear.

Ling Qingyu smiled and pushed the satin forward. The old man also pushed the two boxes of gems to her, and at the same time he threw the few that were originally placed on the ground into the box very grandly.

Ling Qingyu asked Yang Zhao to put away the gem, took a piece of red rose, and gently pumped it. The light red rose filled the room with splendor. The red color seemed to be floating in the air, making people stop breathing for a moment. .

"Wow!" A woman jumped up and ran into the inner room. After a while, she ran out again. She placed a pigeon-blood red treasure the size of a red date in Ling Qingyu's hand and picked up the red horse. Luo ran away.

Before Ling Qingyu came back to his senses, the red rostrum in his hand turned into a red treasure. He blinked and saw several other women jumping on their feet and calling loudly to the old man. So he smiled very appropriately and showed off another Hong Luo.

This red horse is different from the previous one. There are some silver threads in it, so the magnificent red color is shining with silver, making it even more gorgeous.

At this time, all the women ran back. The old man had quick eyes and quick hands. He jumped up and rushed in front of Ling Qingyu. Yan Sanben was standing at the door and saw him taking something out of his arms. He flew in with his feet and saw the old man taking out something again. When it was not a weapon, it flew back again. The speed was so fast that the surrounding Ceylonese people did not even notice this person coming and going.

The old man took out a pair of star gems, one red star gem and one purple-blue star gem, both about the size of pigeon eggs.

Throwing the gem to Ling Qingyu, the old man hugged Hong Luo tightly in his arms. When the women rushed out of the inner room, they had already returned to their seats holding Hong Luo.

It was so lively that a few women almost started fighting, but then the old man couldn't help it anymore and yelled, and the women calmed down.

One of the women was very beautiful, although her complexion was rather dark. Seeing that the old man refused to let go, she moved to Ling Qingyu, placed the gem in her hand in front of her, and looked at her pitifully.

They were two rough stones. They were not big and the true state of the gems inside could not be seen. Several other women laughed when they saw the two rough stones. The woman's dark face seemed to turn red and she lowered her head. , and seemed reluctant to give up, pushing the two gems towards Ling Qingyu.

Everyone around them had disdainful smiles on their faces, but Zhou Tan said in Ling Qingyu's ear: "Find a way to get it, this is a good thing!"

It is estimated that it would be inappropriate to bring out Hongluo again. Rare things are more valuable. After thinking about it, Ling Qingyu said to Yang Zhao: "Go and get a piece of high-quality colored silk and a high-quality red silk."

Yang Zhao responded and walked out quickly holding the gem box. The sailors outside followed suit. Boats need to be rowed.

"Wait," Ling Qingyu said to the woman gently in Indian.

The woman's eyes suddenly shone, she sat next to Ling Qingyu affectionately, and poured her a glass of juice.

The old man's eyes also shone, and he pointed at Hongluo and screamed. Ling Qingyu quickly shook his head, meaning that this was really gone. Just kidding, Hong Luo brought a total of 500 horses, intending to use them to rob the Indian royal family and the Arab royal family.

"Yan San, ask Yang Zhao to bring some more porcelain, ordinary utensils will be fine." Ling Qingyu said to Yan San. Seeing that Yan San glanced at the Ceylonese and didn't move, he added: "It's okay, don't worry. Come on. Just go and come back quickly."

Then, the Ceylonese people in the yard saw that the man in black who had been standing outside the door suddenly disappeared. After a while, he suddenly appeared outside the door again. After being stunned for a while, they all moved away from him. step.

While waiting for Yang Zhao to come over, Ling Qingyu drank ten glasses of juice that the woman poured out diligently. She felt uncomfortable in her stomach and wanted to ask where the toilet was, but she couldn't remember how to say this word in Indian.

Counting the seconds until Yang Zhao finally brought two pieces of silk and a pile of porcelain, Ling Qingyu took a long breath, pushed the silk in front of the woman, and then asked the sailor to put the porcelain in the yard, and at the same time said to the old man: " It’s for you, it’s free, just give me some water and food.” He picked up the cup filled with water as a gesture.

The old man finally understood when she made the gesture for the third time. He ordered the people outside to fill the water, and then carried Hong Luo to check the porcelain. Seeing those exquisite porcelain, the old man expressed great satisfaction. He is the lord of this land. In a few days, it will be the day when the king celebrates his birthday and elects a new concubine. The silk fabrics from the Great Zhou Dynasty have always been owned by the royal family and nobles. As the great lord here, he can only make them in one year. He bought only a dozen pieces from merchants at a high price, which was not enough for his wives, daughters and daughters-in-law. Recently, even the merchants in the capital were unable to get new silk fabrics, and silk fabrics in Dazhou became very in short supply. There are so many products this time! So many! Moreover, this red horse has never been seen by the nobles or even the king. As long as he offers one, the king may even reward him with a large area of ​​land next to it. A few gems are nothing, his land is full of them. To plant something, just let the slaves dig it. This time, I will definitely make those people in the capital look at me with admiration!

The woman took two pieces of silk and smiled happily at Ling Qingyu. Although the two pieces of silk were not as gorgeous as Hongluo, they were much more beautiful than the others. This year, her sister who married the king will definitely be able to show up at the banquet. .

Ling Qingyu picked up the two rough stones and then stood up. She had been sitting cross-legged for too long and her feet were numb. She fell down before she could stand firmly. Fortunately, Yang Zhao hugged her waist and kept her from falling.

After stabilizing his body, Ling Qingyu walked out and saluted the old man. When he saw that the villagers had led the sailors to fetch water, he also left.

Walking on the road, Ling Qingyu handed two rough stones to Zhou Tan and asked, "What treasure? Are you so nervous?"

"I heard my master say that someone once brought back a ruby ​​with a tear-like core from the Lion Kingdom. That ruby ​​can ward off disasters of blood and light. Placing it at home can make the family rich and prosperous." Zhou Tan took the gem and looked at it carefully. He looked at it and said, "I don't know if it's this one. Oh, little girl, you won't suffer any loss anyway. Those three at the back are worth ten thousand taels of silver each."

"Yan San, take me back to the ship." Ling Qingyu looked at him with contempt and said to Yan San. Oh my God! I'm almost suffocated. If I had known it was such an unreliable thing, I would never have waited!

While resting on the boat, Ye Shiyi asked Ling Qingyu: "Sister, that silk yarn can be exchanged for so many gems, why don't you exchange for more?"

"Everything has a degree. If we give them too much silk, it will be worthless. The old man is probably the lord of that area. How much silk can he need? How many clothes can be cut with one piece of silk? , I was originally worried that four hundred horses would be too much, maybe they have some grand event." Ling Qingyu answered him with a smile while leaning on the bedside. Speaking of gems, she still has several large boxes hidden on Fengshen Island. Those gems are not sold in the big week. First, she is afraid that they will be sold when she goes back. Second, with so many gems put into the market, the price will immediately rise. Suppress it. Everything is rare and expensive.