Chapter 002 Along the River During the Qingming Festival
In Lu Sen's field of vision, there is a transparent window.
About a hundred squares make up a square gray interface.
The wooden block that was just sucked into his palm was placed in the first grid and was marked with the number: 54.
Lu Sen turned his head and saw Hei Zhu's pious and fanatical expression.
Seeing his master's gaze coming over, Hei Zhu lowered his head slightly, walked up and asked, "My dear, your hand is injured. Do you want to go to the clinic to bandage it?"
Lu Sen wiped the knuckles of his right hand with his left hand. The blood on the knuckles had already coagulated. With just one wipe, the bloodstains disappeared and the skin on the knuckles was as smooth as before, with no sign of injury at all.
Hei Zhu was stunned again, then showed a matter-of-fact expression.
Then Lu Sen asked, "Is there any place in the city that can sell rare wood? If there is one that is fair, take me there to have a look."
"Yes, of course. Sir, are you going to sell the strange wood just now?"
"We must have some money to exchange for food." Lu Sen said with a smile: "Besides, I have to change my clothes at the right time, otherwise it will be difficult to talk to outsiders."
In fact, Heizhu was very hungry now. He had only eaten a black, rotten steamed bread from morning till now. Upon hearing this, he immediately led the way.
Back on the street, the two once again enjoyed the street-cleaning effect brought by Lu Sen's strange costume. It was very easy to move forward on the crowded street. In less than half an incense stick of time, they arrived in front of a shop.
"'Si Hai Tong Mu'." Lu Sen read out the name of the store.
Hei Zhu explained, "When I was begging in the city, I heard about the owner of this shop. He was fair in his dealings. The owner's name was Huang Mugui. I heard that when he was young, he wanted to do business. He didn't know what business he could make money in, so he went to ask a famous fortune teller in the city. The fortune teller said that his name contained the word 'wood', so he was suitable for a wood-related business. Huang didn't want to do the funeral supplies business, so he started wood carving, and he really set up this wood carving shop."
Lu Sen looked at this wood carving shop which was obviously much larger than the surrounding shops, and then went up the stairs.
When he arrived at the store door, he found that Heizhu did not follow him. He turned around and saw Heizhu staying on the ground below with an awkward smile on his face.
Not only was Heizhu's clothes tattered, he was also shoeless.
A pair of feet as black as coal.
The floor of the shop 'Si Hai Tong Mu' is paved with smooth wooden boards that are shiny and are obviously made of precious wood.
"Wait there for me."
Heizhu bent down and nodded.
Lu Sen stepped into the store.
In fact, when you are outside the store, you can already smell the unique and elegant fragrance of wooden products. After walking in, the smell is stronger, but not unpleasant.
The interior of the store is very large and elegantly decorated, but what is even more eye-catching are the various wood carvings displayed on the shelves inside the store.
Chickens, ducks, birds, and fish are all common small animals.
In the very middle, there is a large wooden sculpture that is over two meters tall and is unpainted.
A phoenix.
Standing on a huge mulberry tree, it is spreading its wings as if ready to fly.
The feathers on the phoenix are clearly visible, and it looks very real. If it was just a "resemblance", that would be fine. This phoenix is carved with great charm, and it really has that kind of noble and elegant aura, with the momentum of a phoenix appearing and hundreds of birds coming.
No wonder the store was able to succeed. The wood carvings in the store are amazing even for someone like Lu Sen who has been baptized by a lot of literary and artistic information.
At this time, the waiter who was busy dusting the cabinets heard footsteps behind him, turned around immediately and said with a smile: "Sir, good afternoon..."
Then the waiter swallowed his saliva, and his expression became a little frightened. He felt that he had encountered a monster.
There was no way. The black and white skull on Lu Sen’s clothes was too advanced for the people in Bianjing City.
At least for now, the people in Bianjing City have not evolved to the point where they can appreciate this thing.
"Sir...Sir, how can I help you?" The waiter's voice was trembling.
He is the only one in the shop now. What if this monster has bad intentions?
Lu Sen felt helpless. He also knew what the other party was afraid of, so he tried to smile more kindly: "I heard that the store is buying rare wood here?"
"Yes, yes." The waiter nodded repeatedly, fearing that if he answered slowly, he would anger the demon in front of him. "As long as it is high-quality wood or rare wood, our store will buy it at a high price."
"So what do you think of this stuff?"
Lu Sen flipped his palm, and a light yellow wooden cube appeared in his palm.
Changing things out of thin air... The waiter was stunned, his body seemed to be shaking even more violently, but he didn't dare to run away.
"My dear... would you please let me take a look at this... strange tree?"
Lu Sen nodded naturally, then put the block of wood on the counter.
The waiter timidly walked behind the counter, holding the block of wood in both hands, fearing that it would drop. After staring at it for a while, the fear in his eyes turned into curiosity.
After looking at the wood for a while, the waiter was attracted by it and was no longer afraid. He even showed excitement in his eyes: "Sir, this is indeed a rare wood, but I am short-sighted and can't tell whether it is good or bad. Please wait a moment. I will ask the owner to come out and take a look at it for you."
"sorry to bother you."
"You are too polite, sir."
The waiter immediately turned around and went to the backyard.
Lu Sen waited there. Less than half an incense stick of time passed before a middle-aged man in gorgeous silk clothes came out. He had a white face and a long beard, and walked with his hands behind his back. He looked more like a scholar than a businessman.
When he came, he had been looking at Lu Sen with hesitant eyes, especially when he saw the skull painting on Lu Sen's clothes, his pupils shrank slightly.
But overall, he was able to control his expression.
At least he didn't show any fear or panic.
The middle-aged shopkeeper approached, bowed with both hands, and asked with a smile: "Master, it is fate that we meet. May I ask your name?"
A mage is a general term for Taoist priests, monks, witches, and sorcerers who have achieved success in their practice.
Lu Sen imitated the man and cupped his right fist with his left hand, bowed in return and said with a smile: "I don't deserve to be a mage. Everyone comes and goes for business, so why should the store owner care about the name?"
He simply didn't want to tell his name to a stranger. Besides, the shopkeeper didn't introduce himself just now, but asked about other people's background first.
The middle-aged shopkeeper was stunned, then said helplessly: "Yeah, it's just business."
Then he cast his gaze towards the block of wood on the counter, was stunned for a moment, walked over, took it in his hand, and looked at it over and over again, the light in his eyes becoming brighter and brighter.
After a while, he looked up and asked, "Sir, do you have any more of this kind of wood?"
Lu Sen flipped his left and right hands, and two more identical pieces of wood appeared, and then were placed on the counter.
The middle-aged shop owner was stunned for a moment, and finally a moved expression appeared on his face.
He glanced at Lu Sen, turned over two more pieces of wood, took a deep breath, and said, "If you can give me a few more pieces of this rare wood, I will definitely give you a high price."
"No more." Lu Sen shook his head.
"That's impossible." The middle-aged shopkeeper shook the yellowish wood in his hand. "The length, width and height are all six inches. The three pieces of rare wood are exactly the same size. The surface is extremely smooth and obviously polished. Such rare wood must have been cut from a big tree. There is no way there are only three pieces. Sir, it's not very useful for you to keep it. Why don't you give it to me..."
Lu Sen didn't say anything, just smiled, stood straight, put his hands behind his back, and looked quietly into the eyes of the middle-aged shop owner.
The middle-aged shopkeeper felt a little uncomfortable being stared at. In less than ten breaths, he smiled awkwardly, "Haha, I was inconsiderate. This kind of rare wood is made of the essence of heaven and earth. It is a rare treasure. How can there be too many of them? I was rude. I wonder how much you would like to pay for it?"
"The public price will do." Lu Sen replied calmly.
The middle-aged shopkeeper thought for a while and said, "Although these pieces of wood are unique, they are still a little small. How about giving ten taels of silver for one of them?"
"OK."
Lu Sen didn't care much. Silver was hard currency with great purchasing power. Besides, he just needed a little capital to start a business, so the difference was not big.
Three silver cakes were placed on the counter, and the middle-aged shopkeeper said sincerely: "Sir, if you have such rare wood again in the future, please sell it to our shop. I am eager to buy it."
Lu Sen nodded, put the silver into the system backpack, turned around and left the store.
Watching Lu Sen walk out of the door, the middle-aged shopkeeper sighed regretfully. He has been in the exotic wood business for more than ten years, and it can be said that he has seen and played with all the precious woods in the world.
He handled a lot of even the rarest Hantan agarwood.
Yet these three pieces of wood are completely different.
It has no smell, and from the surface texture and grain, it looks like banyan wood, but the color is not right.
In addition, banyan wood is relatively light, but these three pieces are very heavy and tough in texture.
It was a super-high-quality wood that he had never seen before.
Too bad there are only three.
I guess I can only make three sets of tea sets.
what a shame.
If it happens a few more times, he can open a few more branches and put a set of such store treasures in each store.
The more he thought about it, the more distressed he became. He then said to the waiter next to him, "Go ask Master Kang to come over. Let him carve the best wood. Also, close the door. We won't be doing business today."
The gate of Sihaitongmu was closed, and Lu Sen and Heizhu had already walked away.
"Now that I have money, let's buy some clothes first."
Clothing stores are easy to find, you can see one just by walking a few steps.
This time, Lu Sen did not let Hei Zhu wait outside, but took him in. With the waiter's unsatisfied look, he selected two sets of clean but not gorgeous clothes for Hei Zhu.
For a beggar who has grown up from childhood, making him wear fancy clothes from the beginning is undoubtedly harming him.
At the same time, he also bought two pairs of cloth shoes for Heizhu.
Afterwards, I bought myself three sets of casual clothes that looked more comfortable, and three pairs of cloth shoes.
Heizhu almost choked with sobs as he changed into clean new clothes and put on shoes in the inner room.
But when he came out, he found that Lu Sen was still dressed as before, so he asked, "Why don't you wear new clothes, sir?"
"If I change my clothes, it will be difficult to act." Lu Sen pointed to the black and white bones on his chest: "The deterrent power of this thing is much greater than my own body. I will change into new clothes when I feel really at ease."
Hei Zhu didn't quite understand and had a puzzled expression.
Lu Sen did not explain, but said: "Let's go eat something first. There are cheap and affordable roadside stalls that are delicious."
"It's at Hongqiao."
"Hongqiao?"
"Well, it's the busiest place in the city. On days when there's no curfew, there are always crowds of people from dusk to dawn for twelve hours every day. There's a stall called 'Lao Zhang Pancake' there. The sesame and scallion pancakes they make are said to be the best in the city."
"I heard? You've never eaten the Black Pillar?"
Hei Zhu shook his head embarrassedly: "I have been begging on the streets since I was a child. How can I have money to eat such delicious food?"
The two walked forward while chatting.
There were more and more people on the street, especially when we arrived at the riverside, where there were crowds of people everywhere.
In particular, a large wooden arch bridge was so packed with people that it was almost impossible to move.
Both sides of the bridge were crowded with vendors, shouting out their wares.
The place was bustling with people.
Thanks to the skull painting on Lu Sen's clothes, everyone was afraid of him and the people around him subconsciously avoided him, forming a small empty circle, so the two of them could move around more easily than others.
The bridge is very big. I went to the top of the bridge, found the "Lao Zhang Pancake" stall, and ordered two large scallion pancakes.
Heizhu ate it with great relish.
But Lu Sen felt it was just average, even a little unpalatable.
Although onions and a small amount of oil were used to cover up the smell, the noodles themselves actually had a sour smell. It was probably because they had been left unsold for a long time and were then roasted and sold to customers.
In addition, this pancake has no salt and is not salty at all. It also contains very little oil and tastes dry. It is more like a grilled dough with scallions than a scallion oil pancake.
What's even more outrageous is that Lu Sen also ate some hard, flaky objects in the bread that were difficult to swallow. Judging from the chewing texture and the slightly astringent pain when his tongue touched them, they were most likely ground wheat husks.
Although it tasted bad, Lu Sen did not spit it out or throw it away. He stood on the railing of the bridge, eating the pancake with difficulty while looking around.
This wooden arch bridge is very long, wide and very high.
The archway under the bridge is huge, with a constant stream of boats coming and going.
Small fishing boats and large pleasure boats.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west. The orange-lit river surface was filled with the sound of the boatman's fishing calls and the sweet laughter of the beautiful girls on the pleasure boats.
Behind me was the noise of vendors and pedestrians chatting and laughing on the bridge.
Although the dress, customs and habits of the people here are different from before you traveled through time, the prosperity and bustle are still the same.
Familiar voice, familiar smile.
Chewing the tasteless pancake, Lu Sen felt as if he was in a painting.
A certain picture that was deeply hidden in my mind and that I would never truly forget, reappeared before my eyes as my memory revived.
The painting and reality gradually overlap.
"Qingming Shanghe Tu!"
Lu Sen shouted out .
At the same time, every time he shouted a word, his left hand, which was not holding the pancake, would slam the bridge railing.
Very excited.
After five heavy slaps, white marks spread all over the surface of the wooden arch bridge.
Many passers-by noticed these white, twisted spider-web-like lines, but they didn't understand why and didn't feel any sense of danger.
At this time, Heizhu was so scared that the almost finished pancake fell onto the bridge.
He knelt down with a thud, hugged Lu Sen's legs and cried out: "My dear, my dear, please. If the bread is not to your liking, if it is too unpalatable, you can kill that Lao Zhang, or you can kill me, but don't take it out on this bridge. There are at least a thousand people on it, my dear!"
