After a long winter of waiting, spring in the steppe has finally arrived, but spring is short.
I haven't felt him yet, but summer has arrived.
The grasslands are full of wildflowers of all kinds.
The grassland under Helan Mountain, the sky is gloomy.
But the shepherds were very happy, because a heavy rain was coming.
Rain dominates all creatures in the grassland, and it is a necessary condition for the grassland grass to be beautiful and the sheep to be fattened.
Only when there is enough rain will the grassland be green, the grass will be beautiful, and the sheep will be fat.
Wool, cashmere, and sheepskin will also be better.
To the east of Helan Mountain is a grassland with lush water and grass, while to the west is an undulating sand dune grassland.
In the grasslands of May, the grass is not green enough, the eyes are not full of green rivers, and the sand and soil are exposed in many places, and the horses and caravans pass by, and the dust is flying.
After several hours of trekking, the caravan finally saw a tent camp.
It was a family camp of about twenty tents, with a population of more than 100 and thirty or forty young herdsmen.
Horses were tied to the tent, and there was a fire made from cow dung next to it, and a simple grill was set up on it.
Dots of white sheep were scattered across the horizon, the smell of sand, cow dung and goat's milk in the wind, and the bleating of sheep could be heard faintly in the wind.
The patriarch of the family was an old man with a gray beard, who welcomed guests from afar with a water bag.
Bringing water and goat's milk to the guests, he pointed to the distance and said proudly, "Look, over there is our family's flock, more than 10,000 sheep, more than 1,000 cows, more than 500 camels, and more than 100 horses. ” Their cattle and sheep are all free-range, and a large area here is their family's pasture, and the nearest neighbor has to ride horses for a day.
The work of the men of the family is to drive the cattle and sheep to graze every day, while the work of the women is to milk the cows and goats, beat cream, fetch water, collect cow dung, cook, weave, etc.
The old man of Niu Mai is responsible for taking care of the children and the calves and lambs.
Their life is very quiet, and as long as there is no white plague in winter, then the life of the year will be very rich.
They usually eat cow and sheep dairy products, and occasionally sheep.
Camels and oxen would be traded in exchange for some needed saddles, knives and bows.
They will also exchange sheep and sheepskins for salt, etc.
It's a relatively simple life.
A goat was receiving combing in the tent, and the lamb was lying there very obediently, with long and fine snow-white fluff.
The family mainly raises sheep and shears them every year, but also raises goats.
Goats have less fluff on their bodies, but they are much more expensive than sheep's wool.
A goat can only be combed once a year, about five or six taels of cash, but these hairs are very popular with merchants.
After being sold to the Central Plains, it can be sold at an excellent price, and after carding and spinning and other processes, it can be processed into extremely expensive clothes.
The family's sheep are usually not sheared until after autumn, but cashmere is often combed in April and May.
At this time, there are always merchants who come to collect cashmere.
"This year's velvet is very good, Uncle Hagen, your velvet is always so good."
"When the sheep are full and fat, the cashmere will naturally be fine.
When the grass is yellow, then you will come and collect our sheep's wool, and it will be just as good. ” Hagen said proudly.
It's dark and it's going to rain.
Hagen beckoned the caravan into the tent to rest, summoned the women of the family, and prepared the food.
He also asked his son to pick a few of the fattest rams and kill the guests.
The Hagen family had been looking forward to the caravan for a long time, and this time was not only to sell cashmere, but also a good opportunity for them to shop.
When the caravans come to collect the velvet, they always bring with them a lot of goods, all kinds of things, they can choose as much as they want, and it will be cheaper, and it is much more cost-effective and convenient than riding a few days on their own horses to trade with the tribal nobles.
The host and guest sat down in the tent.
Hu Shang asked, "Old Hagen, how many sheepskins and how much cream can your family take out this year to sell, and are there any other skins, cattle, sheep and camels, can they be sold?"
A pit was dug in the ground in the tent, and cow dung was burned in it.
The cow dung was very dry, it didn't smell like smoke, and it didn't smell.
Old Hagen took out a clay pot, put it on the fire, poured fresh milk into it, and took out a piece of black tea wrapped in sheepskin, knocked off a piece with a knife, smashed it in a wooden bowl, and added it to the milk.
Brewing milk tea to entertain guests is a very courteous way to treat guests.
"It's just summer, and the grass hasn't grown yet, so how can cattle and sheep be sold at this time?"
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This caravan has been dealing with their family for many years, and they are all familiar with each other.
Herdsmen rarely sell cattle and sheep in early summer, because at this time the grass is growing, and the cattle and sheep begin to grow fat after losing weight in a winter and spring.
Now selling cattle and sheep is too much of a loss, and the cattle and sheep are still very thin and have no meat.
When selling cattle and sheep, you always have to eat the fat of the grass for a summer in the autumn, and then sell it at that time.
At this time of year, they sell cashmere, some skins saved from killing sheep in winter, as well as some medicinal herbs dug up, and some previously hunted prey skins, such as fox skin, wolf skin, marmot skin, deer skin, and marmot oil.
The caravan leader, Deli, was not very tall, with small eyes, single eyelids, and a large beard.
He always wears a top hat and smiles at all times.
"Old Hagen, this year is not as good as it was in previous years.
To the east of the mountain, the Liang division was destroyed by the Tang State, and the Tang people occupied Lingzhou again.
Our Great Khan also married Tang people, signed a treaty of friendship, and not long ago opened a border market.
Now we don't fight, let's trade in the mutual market.
As long as there are cows, sheepskins, horses, and camels, you can exchange for the Central Plains goods you want, and what you want is much cheaper than before. ” Hagen was a little puzzled, he was still far away from Helan Mountain, and the situation on the other side of the mountain was even more unclear.
It's just that in the early years, he led his people to be recruited by the leaders, rode across the desert and over the mountains, and went to fight on the banks of the big river over there.
But he hadn't left in years.
Liang Shidu, he seems to have heard of it.
Yu shoots, it seems that he is the son of Luo Khan in the past.
"It's better not to fight if you don't fight?"
As he gets older, Hagen's heart doesn't have the thoughts of his youth.
It's good to live in this place.
"Yes, there is no war, and now there is no need to go to the Central Plains to rob, trade, and exchange whatever you want.
Old Hagen, I just came over there and brought you some good things.
Do you want to take a look first?"
"Okay, let's see what good stuff you've brought."
Deli brought a lot of things, and after trading goods from Ningyuan, he went all the way west to sell to his regular customers.
Several iron pots, large and small, are relatively deep and suitable for boiling and stewing.
It can be boiled hanging on the fire or on a fire pit.
Deli tapped his hand on the pot.
"It's an iron pot, you see, it all makes a different sound.
It cooks much faster than a clay pot, and it's stronger, but it won't accidentally crack and break.
It's so fast to cook."
Deli took out tea again, there were brick tea and loose tea, and it seemed that the smell was much better than the original Hagen family.
Of course, there are a lot of goods.
There is tea, wine, sugar, and good quality salt, as well as cloth, hemp rope, wooden barrels, basins, bowls, cloth bags, and even some medicines for healing, as well as corn, flour, etc.
Hagen is dazzling to see.
Hagen met his sons, brothers, and nephews, and they knew some of the goods, and many of them didn't.
Deli is a businessman, especially to show everyone, and even give some things to everyone to try.
"This wine is good, delicious, and the whole body is hot and warm after drinking.
A bottle only needs a sheepskin, so it's more than that."
"It turns out that I want to exchange a bottle of this wine for a sheep, but now that Ningyuan Border City has been opened, there are many goods, and the price has also dropped, so the cost is lower, and I will naturally give you a cheaper."
Hagen also paid for it, and the wine was really tasty.
He had gone to a meeting of the chiefs of the tribe last year, and had heard an old fellow in the neighborhood boast that he had drunk the wine and how good it was.
"Then buy some."
"Old Hagen, how about you plan to buy it, I can give you a discount, buy ten bottles, how about I give you a bottle, who called us old friends for many years."
"Ten bottles, no, twenty."
"Okay, twenty bottles, twenty sheepskins, I'll give you two more."
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When I bought wine, I was able to do a lot of other things.
This iron pot is a good thing.
"A camel and a pot, you see how good this pot is, it is made of iron, and this craftsmanship is not said.
Even in the Central Plains, the blacksmiths in the Han people have to be specialized blacksmiths, and they have to be blacksmiths who have studied for at least more than ten years to make such a good pot.
You will not suffer a loss if you change a camel. ” "You see this flour is a good thing, the wheat knows, after the wheat is harvested and dried, and then the husk is milled and milled, and it has to be filtered through a sieve, in short, it is very troublesome, so that the wheat is made into such fine white flour.
This flour tastes much better than wheat, you mix it with water, boil noodles and eat it, it's delicious, if you add some mutton fat, or just add some mutton, it's delicious.
I ate in Ningyuan City, and I thought about two bowls after eating one bowl.
Let's drink milk and eat meat every day, so eat some of this noodles, it's okay.
If you come to a guest or relative, you cook a pot of noodles and take a bottle of wine, then you will have face. ” I also bought pots, wine, flour, and corn.
In the end, of course, I had to buy some cloth, as well as shears for shearing sheep and knives for cutting meat.
Salt was also bought quite a bit.
Anyway, this is what I think is good, and that is also good, under Deli's sharp mouth, Hagen led the family to pick and choose, and finally chose a lot of things.
Deli was very happy.
Keep saying that this discount, that one is cheap, that one buy ten get one free, and that add a little bit to the head.
But in the end, the general ledger was calculated, and it still startled the old man Hagen.
The furs and medicinal herbs saved at home are not enough to settle the account.
"Old Hagen, buy it if you like it, there aren't many of them anyway.
You have so many cattle and sheep at home, you just need to take some offset.
Don't worry, although your cattle and sheep are thin now, I will open more prices to collect, no less than what you sold in previous years."
In the end, Hagen was reluctant to return some of the things he had chosen, and finally, as Deli said, he used some of his cattle, sheep and camels to trade in the short.
In the end, the business did not work out, and everyone was very happy.
The sheep were slaughtered over there.
"Old Hagen, I'll teach you a new way to eat, use this fresh mutton blood, and this leg of mutton, add this flour, and add some mutton, you can make a delicious mutton blood sausage, I tell you, you have eaten it once and think twice.
Let's go, I'll teach you to do it." t1706231537: