Cheng Ling brought people ashore, and the first thing he needed to replenish was fresh fruits and vegetables.

This kind of thing is difficult to store for a long time. Unlike staple foods such as corn, which can be stored in large quantities. If you want to go to sea, the vitamins in vegetables and fruits are indispensable, otherwise people on the ship will easily get scurvy.

Cheng Ling had inquired about the route when he was in Chixia City earlier and knew that the Haozhou area was rich in red oranges.

Now that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, it is also time to harvest a large number of red oranges. It is also the most suitable choice to go down the Shen River to a small town under Haozhou to harvest red oranges, and then go to sea.

This plan cannot be said to have any problems. However, after landing, Cheng Ling discovered that every household in the town was worried. Occasionally, there were a few who were not so sad, who were also in a hurry and did not like to talk to others.

Cheng Ling led Hong Feng and others through a street before they found a North-South Warehouse where things were being packed. After paying more money, they finally talked to the storekeeper.

The shopkeeper glanced at them, and while instructing the waiters to count things, he sighed and said, "Oh, it's not that we don't like to deal with people, but some brothers don't know something. The food collection is very serious here!"

He raised his hand and pointed to the east, which was the direction of the main city of Haozhou.

He added: "Military service has also come, and each household has to provide two adults. Those who can't, have to use grain to pay the bill. Now it's hard to even use money!"

Hong Guangyi suddenly became excited and asked quickly: "What kind of place is this? Are you recruiting food and troops? Are you going to fight?"

He was a quick talker, even saying "war is going to happen" without hesitation, but the warehouse manager did not feel dissatisfied. Instead, he said with obvious clues: "We don't know about the things above. Anyway, there is no news at the moment.

But I heard..."

This expression seems to tell a story.

Cheng Ling immediately stepped forward, took out a small silver ingot weighing two taels from his satchel, and placed it in the hands of the warehouse manager like a handle.

The shopkeeper quickly accepted the small ingot, then gestured and whispered to a few people: "I heard that Yunchuan County, Sishui County, and Guangling County are uniting to rebel!"

As soon as these words came out, Hong Feng felt his ears buzzing, and Wu Yun was also confused.

Hong Guangyi swallowed his saliva and was speechless. Cheng Ling quickly asked: "Yunchuan, Sishui, Guangling, how many counties are these surrounding the capital?"

The warehouse manager had an expression that said, "I didn't expect you to have some knowledge." He said in a breathy voice: "It is said that under the banner of Qing Jun, the message was sent to Haozhou Fucheng. In other words, our town is small, and the news is only

It didn’t come through…”

Then he sighed again, with a sad look on his face: "However, this is a food and military conscription. Here... we don't know how many days of peace we can have."

As he said that, he looked sideways at Cheng Ling and others, and then as if he remembered something, he asked: "Hey, no, where did you come from? Since you are a businessman, how come you haven't seen any signs along the way?

"

Cheng Ling hurriedly said: "We came from the south and crossed the river from the south bank of Shenchuan River. This south side is quite safe now."

The warehouse manager said "Oh" and became somewhat interested, so he quickly asked Cheng Ling about the situation in the south.

Cheng Ling picked up something he could talk about and the two sides chatted for a while before Cheng Ling turned the topic to Haozhou Red Orange.

The shopkeeper immediately sighed again and said: "Oh, it was not bad in previous years. There were many people coming to harvest by water and land. But this year is over. Something happened just after the harvest. Now I am afraid that all the oranges in the mountains will be piled up.

There's mold in the cellar!"

Isn't this just a pillow for sleepiness?

Cheng Ling quickly said that he could collect the oranges and asked the shopkeeper to contact him for help.

The warehouse manager said that there happened to be a lot of oranges piled up in his warehouse. If Cheng Ling could eat them, he would pack them together and sell them to her at a low price.

Of course Cheng Ling could eat it. The Chasing Moon was big enough, and the storekeeper's total supply of oranges was less than three thousand kilograms. If he bought them all back, it would be enough for the people on the ship to eat for a while.

In this way, Cheng Ling, Hong Guangyi and others used small boats to transport goods. They made several trips and transported several thousand kilograms of oranges back to the Chasing Moon. As for other basic supplies, they were unable to replenish them.

It's not that Cheng Ling couldn't afford the money, it's that he simply couldn't sell it.

Of course, they later also asked other people in the town for information and confirmed that the warehouse manager was not lying.

Hong Feng said a little unfairly: "That old boy didn't lie, and he seemed to be honest, but he sold us oranges for three pennies per catty, so he must not have sold them cheaply! I looked at it, even in normal times, the oranges were at most this price!

"

How could Cheng Ling not know this? She said: "Brother Hong Feng, we are spending money to buy timeliness. Sometimes, timeliness is more important than anything else, and we don't care about other things. Do you understand?"

Hong Feng still had some market anger, but Hong Guangyi had been following Cheng Ling for a long time, but he understood it very well.

He immediately said: "This town is now a big sealed oil pot. We go in and out, and no one pays attention to us for a while. That's because they are busy recruiting troops and food, and we don't want to provoke anyone. But if we bother too much,

and delays…”

Who knows the consequences?

Hong Guangyi added: "In short, although we did not take advantage, we did not suffer any disadvantages. At this critical moment, the biggest advantage is that we can escape quickly without suffering any disadvantages."

After saying that, he looked at Cheng Ling seriously, eager for recognition.

Cheng Ling nodded in agreement, and Hong Guangyi immediately beamed with joy.

After returning to the Chasing the Moon, Hongfeng's wife, Qiu, took people to put away the oranges. Cheng Ling summoned the main personnel on the ship and held a small meeting.

Yao Shouzhong was at the helm, and the Chasing Moon was still heading east quickly.

Cheng Ling ordered Wu Yun to tell what he had seen and heard in the town. After Wu Yun finished speaking, Bian Bosong immediately said: "That's not right, it's both a military conscription and a food conscription, so why aren't there any people from the Yamen stationed at the dock in the town?

"

He had worked in the Shipping Department of the County Sheriff's Office ten years ago, and he was somewhat familiar with these routines in the yamen, so he pointed out that it was unreasonable at that time.

But the next moment, without waiting for others to say anything, he figured it out first, and said in shock: "I know, it must be because of the shortage of manpower. There are so many ferry crossings in Bozhou on the Shen River, and the Haozhou government can't guard them.

Got it!"

Hong Feng let out a long breath and said: "It's lucky that we left early, otherwise, if we were still in Chixia City..."

Chixia City is the county seat of Yunchuan County. If Wang Yong, the governor of the county, really wants the whole county to rebel, then Chixia City must be the first place to bear the brunt of the war!

Who among ordinary people wants to fight? Their homes are shattered, and life and death are uncertain.

Hong Feng turned his head and looked toward the southwest, which was the direction of Chixia City and his hometown.

In the cabin, everyone's eyes suddenly turned to the southwest involuntarily.

At this moment, who has not looked at Yunchuan and Chixia in the distance?
Chapter completed!