Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu drove "Bu Yue" to the "Ghost Kingdom Cave" and took Liu Hu to the ferry.

It is said to be a ferry, but it is more like a port. It is quite large in scale. Not only are there many passenger ships and cargo ships docked, but there are also restaurants, inns, taverns, tea shops, brothels, warehouses, and warehouses on the shore. In addition, there is also a house with two front and back entrances here, with several signs hanging, including those from the imperial court and the shipping hall, as well as a certain chamber of commerce, which is half public and half private, and manages both. It plyes cargo ships, manages the hotel warehouses on the shore, and also handles the business of passenger ships.

Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu came to the small courtyard here and went directly to the side hall with the "Passenger Ship" sign.

Naturally, this place cannot be compared with the spacious hall where flying boat tickets are sold, but it is not bad. It is somewhat similar to a pawn shop, with high counters, wooden fences, and small windows one after another. Some windows have people standing behind them, and some windows have people standing behind them. It was empty, with a "Sold Out" sign.

After getting along with Zhang Yuelu for a short time, Qi Xuansu found that the old man's appearance might not suit him. Although the white fox mask can change his voice, Qi Xuansu is a young man after all, and his manners, demeanor, and behavior habits are not like those of a real old man. Zhang Yuelu was beaten to death anyway. I don’t believe that Wei Wugui is an old man.

So Qi Xuansu simply changed his face to a young one, very handsome. Because of the previous fight, his sleeves were destroyed, so he spent ten peacetimes to buy himself new clothes of good quality. He also looked good-looking and decent. of gentry.

The East is called gentry, and the West is called gentry, a class that is lower than the real dignitaries but higher than ordinary people.

Qi Xuansu came to a window and asked: "Do you have a ticket to Bohai Palace? No sea-going ship. If you take the Grand Canal, it is best to leave immediately and don't wait too long."

Inside was an elderly man. Seeing Qi Xuansu's well-dressed appearance, he immediately smiled: "This young master happens to own a ship. It's just an iron ship, and the ticket is a bit expensive."

Since the introduction of Western ironclad ship technology to the East, there have been not only ironclad ships on the sea, but also smaller ironclad ships on inland rivers. They are said to be ironclad, but in fact they have no armor to defend against artillery. They just changed from wooden ships to iron ships. They do not rely on sails and do not rely on sails. Relying on manpower and burning coal, not only can you go upstream, but you can also go faster.

However, due to the annual steel production and the priority given to the navy to build giant ironclad ships, there are not many such iron ships.

Things are rare and expensive, so the price of a boat ticket has naturally risen. Even if it is not as good as a Taomen flying boat, ordinary people cannot afford to ride on it. Only the gentry will choose this type of iron boat when traveling.

Qi Xuansu asked directly: "How much?"

The man introduced: "The iron ship has rooms in grades A, B, and C, and the prices are naturally different. Grade C costs three yuan of peace money, grade B costs five yuan of peace money, and class A costs ten yuan of peace money. There are dedicated waiters for rooms in class A. Waiting, hot water for twelve hours, and three meals a day are all handled by cooks specially hired from Jinling Mansion. A decent person like the Young Master..."

Having said this, the man paused and looked at Liu Hu next to Qi Xuansu: "I'm bringing a female family member with me again. It's best to have a first-class room."

Qi Xuansu thought for a moment and took out two small tickets: "Two first-class rooms."

The man quickly put away the two small tickets, then handed them back to Qi Xuansu two beautifully printed tickets with a little bit of ink fragrance remaining, and explained: "The yellow pier and the iron ship with the 'A Thirty-Six' flag are "As he spoke, he looked at the clock again and said, "The ship will sail in two hours. Master, be sure to remember this and don't waste time."

Qi Xuansu took the ticket with a calm expression on his face, but actually felt a little distressed.

The pair of swords he bought for 2,500 Taiping were broken by Zhang Yuelu. That was 1,250 Taiping, and they were gone.

He couldn't settle this account with Zhang Yuelu. Not to mention that he had not cleared himself of the suspicion. Even if he was cleared of the suspicion, he would still get compensation from Zhang Yuelu. Then what? He will still have to face Zhang Yuelu in the future. Wei Wugui's identity cannot be hidden from Zhang Yuelu for a lifetime. When the truth came out, Qi Xuansu had fun when Zhang Yuelu thought of this incident again.

In addition, although Qi Xuansu obtained a set of "Seven Phoenix Feathers" and several "Bliss Needles", the ammunition of the "Dragon Hand Cannon" was also consumed a lot. Not counting ordinary armor-piercing projectiles, there were still four rounds left. "Dragon Eyes B-2" and the eight-shot "Dragon Eyes B-3" and "Phoenix Eyes B-3" have been exhausted. One in and one out, it is considered equal.

Nowadays, Qi Xuansu does not have the status of a Taoist priest, let alone a fourth-grade Taoist priest. He cannot go to Tianji Hall to replenish the projectiles. However, if he replenishes the projectiles from the black market, the price will at least double. With Qi Xuansu's current net worth, he cannot buy much.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu had to plan carefully and try his best to control the expenses along the way within fifty yuan of peace money.

To be fair, fifty yuan of peace money is not a small amount. The Taoist sect has a Xuanhuang Division that specializes in refining "Xuanhuang" to keep the flying boats running. Many Taoists are engaged in this kind of business. Each person's monthly salary is three yuan of Taiping money, which is only thirty-six yuan of Taiping money a year. If calculated based on the minimum standard, ten yuan of peace money is enough for a family of three to cover the ordinary expenses for a year.

Fifty yuan of peace money is already five years of expenses. Even if it is not the minimum standard, it is still worth two years of expenses.

It can be seen from this that how expensive spiritual objects are, not to mention that there are treasures on top of the spiritual objects, which can easily cost tens of thousands of peace coins, and the quantity is not much. Semi-immortal objects are even more valuable.

It can also be seen why Liu Futong's embezzlement of 100,000 yuan in peace money was regarded as a major case. A family of three spent 10 yuan of peace money a year, 100 yuan of peace money in ten years, and 1,000 yuan in 100 years. Based on this calculation, one hundred thousand peace coins is worth ten thousand years.

According to Liu Futong's own confession, one hundred thousand Taiping money was mainly used to buy houses, raise women, and raise illegitimate children. In addition to the money to buy houses, tens of thousands of Taiping money was spent on these women and illegitimate children, not to mention ordinary people, even Qi Xuansu This quasi-fifth-grade Taoist priest who had experienced life and death in the light of swords and shadows could not be taken out, or even seen.

To put it bluntly, Qi Xuansu, a country bumpkin who has never seen money, has only gained some wealth in the past six months. If he suddenly became rich, he would not only buy spiritual treasures, firearms and elixirs, or buy houses and land, but just enjoy himself. I can't even imagine how to spend so much money. His imagination still lingered on going out on a flying boat and going in and out of the palace.

Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu left this place and came to the Yellow Pier. They saw the only iron ship at a glance - it was too conspicuous. Compared with the surrounding wooden ships, it stood out like a flock of chickens. It was extremely huge and could carry hundreds of people. passengers.

Iron ships, as the name suggests, are made entirely of steel and rarely have wooden structures. Because it is an inland river and not a navigation, it is not equipped with artillery or sails, and is replaced by tall chimneys.

In terms of beauty, chimneys are naturally inferior to beautiful sails. It makes people somewhat unaccustomed and uncomfortable. But I had to adapt and get used to it.

This is an era of "coexistence of hot and cold".

On the one hand, men in black hold firecrackers and sail across the seas in armored ships. The truth is only within the range of the artillery.

On the other hand, on land, cavalry and cold weapons are still respected. With the blessing of magic talismans, iron armor that can withstand fire guns appeared. Although the cost of cavalry increased, the word "iron cavalry" became worthy of the name, especially when both man and horse were involved. The armored heavy cavalry are really rampant on the battlefield. Not only can they charge with blazing guns, but ordinary horses cannot stop them. If the warriors of heaven wear armor and charge into the battle, ordinary city gates can also be broken through.

The same is true for Taoism.

On the one hand, Daomen Tianji Hall is committed to developing various powerful firearms. The "Dragon Eye" and "Phoenix Eye" series are famous all over the world, and they also have a fleet of flying boats to dominate the sky. Huashengtang, on the other hand, researches and develops various creations. Turning waste materials into geniuses depends only on whether you think about it or whether it is worth it, not on whether you can do it. Even ordinary people can possess great supernatural powers as long as they are equipped with spiritual armor, which can be said to be the creation of a man who conquers the sky, not to mention various yin objects and legendary god-making projects. These changes have pushed the Dao Sect to its peak. From the Western Region to the East China Sea, from Posu Continent to Fenglin Continent, the reputation of the Dao Sect is unknown to everyone.

On the other hand, the Taoist priests who lead the Taoist sect still value their own realm and cultivation, prefer treasures and fairy objects, and do not use firearms very much. After practicing to the extreme, there is no need to create gods. They themselves are gods, taking over the creation of heaven and earth, and invading the sun and moon. He can fly into the sky and escape from the earth, call the wind and rain, create things with his wave of hands, move mountains and seas, and is omnipotent. It is not illusory to say that one person is against ten thousand people. Therefore, despite the availability of shortcuts such as firearms and spiritual organs, many people are still keen on cultivating Taoism and seeking immortality, and ancient swords, crossbows, charms, and spells can still play a role.

This is a world that is undergoing drastic changes and is also a world full of contradictions.