klisemfg Chapter 148 4 Sea Order
Chapter 148 4 Sea Order
Early the next morning, as soon as the rooster crowed, the Li family got up.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people got up early to worship gods and pray to their ancestors for health and reunion for the whole family. So, for the first time, Li Yuer was not allowed to sleep in, and Li Meir had to drag and carry him up.
Li Lao Da and Li Da Lang were pasting couplets. The red couplets were pasted on both sides of the main entrance of the cabin. Big red "Fu" characters were pasted on both sides of the cabin, one on the left and one on the right. The atmosphere of the New Year was immediately aroused.
It was a fine day on New Year's Eve. Although dry and cold, there was no wind. The couplets with the word "Fu" pasted smoothly, which in the old saying means that the ancestors and God are collecting things.
The Li family also set up a shrine in the cabin, placed the tablets of their ancestors on it, put some white rice in a flower bowl, and then lit a stick of incense.
The smoke of incense rises, carrying with it the fortune for the coming year.
Old man Li led his children and grandchildren to offer tributes to their ancestors according to their seniority. Life was better this year, so they placed three small animals for the ancestors: roast chicken, pig's head and whole fish, as well as auxiliary tributes, candies, cakes and fried nuts, a total of six items, representing good luck.
The big rooster that was supposed to be placed on the tribute table was now just resting with its eyes closed in the chicken coop.
The reason was that when Old Lady Cai saw Li Yuer and the others bought roast chicken and the rooster crowed, she didn't have to get up in the dark looking at the sky. Sometimes when she had something to do, she was afraid of oversleeping, so she became tense and woke up several times a night.
Ever since I got the big rooster, I can just sleep peacefully. I know the approximate time when the rooster crows.
After paying homage to the ancestors, the women in the family began to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. Now there were no natural gas stoves or running water, and it was slow to make fire and cook. If there were more dishes for the New Year's Eve dinner, it would take a whole day to prepare.
"Da da da!"
The sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and the Li family members were very surprised, wondering where the sound of horse hooves came from on the island.
"The sound of horse hooves seems to be coming towards us." said Li Erlang.
Zhang's face turned pale with fear. "Could it be pirates?"
“Puh, puh, puh!” Old Mrs. Cai spat on the ground a few times, clasped her hands together, and said to the ancestral tablet: “The good ones work, the bad ones don’t!”
Old Man Li also said, "It's Chinese New Year, and the pirates have to go home to celebrate the New Year. Besides, what is there for us poor islanders to rob?"
Although he said this, he felt uneasy in his heart.
The man from the Li family sent the women back to the cabin, and then stood outside to observe the situation.
The sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, and there was only one horse, which made them relax their vigilance a little.
Sitting on the big chestnut horse was a young man, dressed in tight clothes and with an extraordinary temperament.
"Is Li Yuer here?" Jinbao asked Old Man Li after getting off the horse.
Before Old Man Li could react, Li Erlang recognized Jinbao and quickly stepped forward and said, "Brother Jinbao, wait a moment. I'll go in and call my sister."
The Li family was stunned. It turned out to be someone Li Erlang knew. They all breathed a sigh of relief and said enthusiastically, "Young man, you have come a long way. Come on board and have a rest."
Jinbao politely declined, saying, "I'm sorry, but I have important tasks to attend to and cannot rest. Please forgive me."
"It's okay, it's okay." Old man Li said politely.
"Brother Jinbao, Happy New Year!" Li Yuer greeted Jinbao.
Jinbao smiled and said, "Happy New Year, Yubaoer, Happy New Year to everyone."
He handed a humble brocade box to Li Yu'er and said, "Yu Bao'er, this is the New Year gift that the young master asked me to give you. The young master said you would definitely like it."
Li Yuer took the brocade box with a smile, curious about why Young Master Jing gave her a gift and what he gave her.
When he opened it, he found it was an exquisite token with the words "Si Hai Chamber of Commerce" written on it. There was also a small word at the bottom: Wan.
Li Yuer asked, "I don't know what this is. Please help me, Brother Jinbao."
After all, she is still illiterate.
Jinbao smiled and said, "The Sihai Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce jointly established by large coastal merchants headed by the Wan family. Those who hold this token are members of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. Although you cannot be considered a member, you can be affiliated with the Wan family's Sihai Chamber of Commerce.
In the future, you just have to hang this thing on the door. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be making things difficult for our Wan family and the Sihai Chamber of Commerce.
This is a good thing that others would beg for, I hope you will use it with caution, Yu Baoer."
"Definitely." Li Yuer promised. It would be very difficult to enter such a chamber of commerce. Although the chamber of commerce did not have the obvious power like the government, it actually had much more influence in the business world than the government. Members of the chamber of commerce could not only jointly resist foreign businessmen, but also adjust supply and shipment internally. It was related to an industry's right to import and export goods and the right to set prices, and its real influence was not insignificant.
Letting Li Yuer and others be affiliated with the Wan family's Sihailing is also to use the Wan family's reputation to guarantee Li Yuer and others.
So Jinbao's words of caution imply that the Wan family's reputation should not be affected.
Young Master Jing originally said that he would protect them, but Li Yuer never expected that he would go to this extent.
"Now that the thing has been delivered, I will go back to report." Having said that, Jinbao jumped on his horse and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Li Yu'er stopped him and said, "It's impolite not to return the favor. I have a little toy here. Brother Jinbao, please help me bring it to your son."
Li Yuer took out a wooden dragonfly she had left behind and demonstrated it in front of Jinbao.
Jinbao's eyes lit up. It was another thing that could fly. It was definitely more interesting than the thousand-mile horse or the king cricket. The young master would definitely like it.
Jinbao took the wicker box containing the wooden dragonfly and said, "Don't worry, Yubaoer, I will definitely bring the things over."
After saying this, he turned his horse's head and galloped away, with cotton cloth wrapped around its four hooves.
The method of wrapping donkey hooves to prevent slipping that Li Yuer taught the coachman Lao Zhang has now spread.
Especially when it was introduced to military camps in the north, the probability of accidents caused by horse hooves slipping when transporting goods or conducting exercises in the camps was significantly reduced.
Invisibly, Li Yuer made a great contribution to the Cangyuan Dynasty.
Li Erlang stared at the Four Seas Order in Li Yuer's hand with envy, "Yu Baoer, show it to big brother."
Li Yuer did not hide it and showed it to them generously.
"Wow! Look at this pattern, what material is it made of?" Li Erlang carefully stroked the exquisite pattern on the token.
Li Laosan: "This is the first time I've heard of this."
"I seem to have seen this thing somewhere. Now I remember there was a piece at the door of the shop where I picked up the pith of rush last time!" said Li Erlang.
Li Laosan said, "That's Wanbao Commercial Bank, the property of the Wan family. There are probably very few merchants in our town who can join the Sihai Chamber of Commerce."
After they finished looking, Li Yuer put the things away and put them away carefully.
She suddenly remembered that the two caves in the front beach still contained her two treasures, ambergris and whale bones.
We have to move as soon as possible. When the weather gets warmer and the villagers come out to move around, there's no guarantee we won't be discovered.
After the New Year, you can go to Wooden Man Zhang to pick up your custom-made whale bone carvings.
The lunch was very rich, with fish, meat, and some seafood.
Because Li Yuer and his friends will be selling braised seafood at the temple fair in a few days, so there was very little seafood on the table today and no one was satisfied.
Old man Li sighed, "I've been eating seafood all my life. When I was poor, I ate so much seafood that I vomited. I just wanted to eat meat. Now, this bite of seafood with rice wine has made me craving for meat."
Old Lady Cai said, "It's because we don't know how to cook it. Otherwise, why do we cook such fishy abalone, but why do we charge dozens of coins for a bowl of golden porridge in Nongchao Tower?"
Li Erlang secretly took a sip of wine, but was caught by Li Laosan, "Are you an adult?"
Li Erlang finished the wine in one gulp, his eyes narrowed due to the spicy taste, "Aren't we all adults by the New Year?"
Li Laoer patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Yes, you are already a grown man. You will be a father in a few years. Be more stable."