Zhang Nuo, who was so absorbed in practicing calligraphy that he couldn't stop until his hunger became unbearable, finally put down his brush at dusk.
Looking up, he realized that he had been practicing for the entire afternoon since he finished his lunch.
As he looked at his pieces of calligraphy filled with the fragrance of ink in the room, Zhang Nuo was filled with a sense of accomplishment.
Perhaps it was because he already had a foundation in calligraphy, or maybe it was due to the photographic memory skill granted by the cheat he received when he traveled through time, which had proven to be incredibly effective.
After practicing for the entire afternoon, Zhang Nuo was surprised to find that his brushwork seemed to have improved.
He was still modest, acknowledging that he couldn't compare himself to the great calligraphers, but he was satisfied with his own work.
It seemed that he needed to make some money and earn some merits.
However, he couldn't go out tonight as it was late, and there was a curfew in Chang'an City. He didn't want to risk being beaten up by those unsavory characters on the street.
So, he decided to spend the night thinking and plan his move for tomorrow.
The next morning, Zhang Nuo woke up well-rested, feeling energized and refreshed.
He dressed up in a white brocade robe, adorned with a jade pendant, a sachet, and a purse on his belt, and carried a folding fan in his hand, looking like a dashing young man.
His destination today was the Western Market. He wanted to see if he could find any unusual seeds or plants.
He wasn't worried about not being able to recognize them as he was familiar with the most common seeds from the elementary school and junior high biology textbooks.
Even the high school biology textbook was too advanced for him. He didn't have access to an electron microscope.
So, he just needed to look for the plants and cells introduced in the seventh-grade biology textbook.
The charming young man, Zhang Nuo, walked to the Western Market, swinging his fan and his jade pendant.
No way, the restaurant is just in Kai Hua District. You go out and walk straight through Zhu Que Avenue, then go through two markets and you'll arrive at Western Market.
This is the convenience that only the high-end residents living in the city center can enjoy.
Translated to modern times, it's basically like living across from Manhattan, it's enough to make you proud just thinking about it!
Western Market is different from Eastern Market. As a foreign trade market and a trading place for common people in the Tang Dynasty, it is completely different from the luxury of Eastern Market.
If we were to make an analogy, Eastern Market is like World Trade Center, where people who don't have enough wealth can't enjoy the pleasure of shopping, while Western Market is like a small commodity wholesale market, where you can fill your trunk with just a few hundred dollars.
What's particularly rare is that since the Tang Dynasty has been established for almost ten years and foreign trade is very developed, people of all colors can be seen here. As long as you have a pair of discerning eyes and are not afraid of being cheated, you can almost buy all kinds of special products from the entire Eurasian continent.
Sure enough, Zhang Nuo, who was wandering around, enthusiastically discovered the first good thing from the roadside hot Hu ji.
Wine!
At this time, wine was much more precious than the red wine that could be bought for a few dozen yuan per bottle in later supermarkets.
This is a specialty of the Western Regions!
Although the wine at this time can only be regarded as fermented grape juice, far from the many categories of red wine, rose, white wine, sparkling wine, and so on in later generations.
But as a man who drinks red wine with Sprite, and then drinks it all in one gulp, and won't stop until he's had at least two bottles, Zhang Nuo really likes the sweet and sour grape wine of the Tang Dynasty, which can be drunk directly without adding Sprite.
Therefore, with some money in his pocket, Zhang Nuo confidently bought a large can of grape wine, and then very happily refused Hu ji's excited invitation to come in and taste the wine.
Throwing down some money, he picked a clean jar, and casually called a common helper commonly seen in Western Market. Zhang Nuo turned around and left.
These helpers are all locals in Chang'an City, who rely on helping people carry things, pointing the way, and introducing buyers and sellers in the market to make a little money to make a living.
These people are the most well-informed and have sharp eyes.
I have to say, Zhang Nuo's outfit today is quite intimidating, at least the hangers-on following behind him are feeling pretty pleased with themselves at the moment.
After all, among the hangers-on, the most common comparison is who followed which wealthy guest, and who followed which dignitary with status and power.
After finding out that Zhang Nuo will be sending someone back to Kaihua Lane later, the small hanger-on named doggy is practically elated.
Joking aside, anyone who has a house in Kaihua Lane, even if they're not an official, must have some family background. It's possible that their relatives are high-ranking officials or even nobles in the court.
Zhang Nuo strolls around the West Market with his hands behind his back, sipping wine that he's kept for himself, but he hasn't achieved anything yet.
But even though he's been wandering around for almost a whole circuit, he hasn't discovered anything like someone selling sweet potatoes or potatoes, as described in stories where the protagonist discovers something that no one else knows about.
Doggy is also a little puzzled at this point. Why isn't this young man buying anything? Is it because he doesn't like anything? Or has he not found anything he likes yet?
After all, these hangers-on rely on their main families to buy more things, so they can earn more money.
If they only earn money for transportation fees, the hard-earned money isn't enough to support their families. Doggy has an elderly mother and younger sister to support, not to mention he hasn't found a wife yet.
So Doggy carefully approached and asked,
"Young sir, are you looking for any particular items? If not, let me give you some suggestions, or I can inquire for you. I'm very familiar with this area."
Zhang Nuo squinted at the slightly nervous Doggy for a moment. Finally, just as Doggy was about to break out in a sweat, Zhang Nuo suddenly patted him on the shoulder and said,
"How could I forget that you're the boss around here? Come on, find me a place that sells special seeds."
Doggy thought he had offended the young master, but the situation quickly turned around.
However, this request is a bit difficult. What exactly are "special seeds"?
If it were other food, drink or entertainment, even if it was something very strange, Doggy could ask others or find out which merchant has it. But the problem is, where in the West Market sells seeds? Which farmer doesn't save their own seeds, and if they are missing any, they would ask other farmers or buy from the grain store at most.
But today, this big client wants special seeds, which clearly aren't grain. Doggy thinks this big client is deliberately making things difficult for him. This question is obviously beyond his ability.
The Doggy stuttered and hesitated for a while before blushing and telling Zhang Nuo that he had grown up in this western Market and really didn't know who specialized in selling seeds here. At most, there were only ordinary grain seeds for sale.
Zhang Nuo didn't blame him. It was probably his fault for asking the wrong question. Even if there were seed shops now, they would probably only sell commonly planted crops that were already grown on a large scale.
It seemed that he would have to go to the hands of those Western merchants to see if they had any seeds or other things hidden among their wares.
So Zhang Nuo looked at the Doggy and continued to ask,
"Do you know which Western merchant in this western market likes to bring some rare and strange things to sell?"
The Doggy felt relieved this time. This question was within his knowledge, a necessary exam question that he had memorized!
"The Western merchant Hu who you bought wine from before is the oldest and most experienced merchant in the market. His caravan always brings some strange and rare things, some of which are extremely valuable while others are worthless. You'll know when you see them."
Zhang Nuo didn't expect that the Western merchant Hu he randomly bought wine from before was the one he was looking for. He had just gone in a big circle for nothing!
Feeling frustrated, he sighed and didn't even need the Doggy's guidance. He quickly made his way to the previous shop with three steps in two.
Once he had a destination in mind, he naturally walked faster. It didn't take long for Zhang Nuo to return to the wine shop where he had made his previous purchase.
The Hu Ji at the door clearly remembered this handsome young man who had just bought wine, and immediately spoke in a strange accent of Mandarin to greet him.
Zhang Nuo didn't bother to be polite with her and directly asked to see their boss, saying that he had business to discuss.
Upon hearing that there was business at the door, the Hu merchant's boss naturally came over quickly.
But upon hearing Zhang Nuo's request, she could only smile bitterly and shake her head.
"Master, it's not that I don't want to earn this money. I have brought some seeds from my hometown before, but without exception, they could not adapt to the soil and water here in Chang'an City. So I seldom bring them now."
Seeing Zhang Nuo's disappointed expression, Boss Hu suddenly realized the business opportunity and quickly made up for it.
"However, if you have a request, I can ask the next caravan to bring more of them for you when they come back. As long as it's available in my hometown, I'll definitely bring it for you!"
Zhang Nuo nodded with disappointed, but there was nothing else she could do. He casually reported his name and address, asking Boss Hu to notify him as soon as the goods arrived, and then ready to leave.
But as he turned around, Zhang Nuo suddenly noticed a few pieces of white melon seed shells on the ground.
This discovery made his heart race, and he quickly grabbed Boss Hu next to her and asked,
"Who ate this fruit skin? Find it and I'll buy it!"
Boss Hu looked down at the scattered melon seed shells, unable to figure out what was going on. He had no idea what this thing was!
However, since the distinguished guest didn't even ask for the price and just asked to buy it, there was nothing else to say. Quickly, they must get it!
Boss Hu immediately called on the staff to inquire. After all, there were only a few people here, and it must have been left by one of them.
After a while, a Hu girl was called over. Boss Hu pointed to the melon seed shells on the ground and asked her about it. Then he pointed to Zhang Nuo.
The Hu girl nodded after listening for a while, then looked at Zhang Nuo and slowly replied,
"Honored guest, that's a snack I brought from my hometown. There's only a little left, I'll go get it for you!"
After confirming that Zhang Nuo had no objections, she quickly turned and went into the inner room.
Zhang Nuo is now so nervous that he is worried that the other party has already roasted the pumpkin seeds, which would be disastrous. Who knows when the next batch will come.
Yes, what Zhang Nuo found on the ground earlier was the skin of the pumpkin seeds!
For Zhang Nuo, who not only loves to eat pumpkin seeds but also has cleaned up countless pumpkins in the kitchen, this thing is too familiar.
Although in the future, pumpkins will be everywhere and cheap to buy, but at this moment, they are considered a precious commodity.
You know, the yield of pumpkins is a starting point of one or two thousand catty, and an acre can produce four thousand catty.
For this kind of crop that is both a vegetable and a grain, as long as it is grown on a large scale, things like famines can basically disappear.
Therefore, as long as this crop is cultivated properly and presented to the court, a title is basically guaranteed.
So it's no wonder that Zhang Nuo is so nervous.
Soon, the Hu Ji came running over with a small bag, panting, and handed it directly to Zhang Nuo.
Zhang Nuo held his breath and prayed to the gods, then gritted his teeth and opened the bag, followed by an uncontrollable burst of excitement.
It's not roasted yet, and it can still be planted!
Without hesitation, Zhang Nuo took off his money bag and emptied all the money inside.
A pile of copper coins was thrown in front of Hu Shang's face, and Zhang Nuo pushed the money towards Hu Ji.
"Here's about two strings of coins, I'll buy all of your snacks! If you have any of this stuff in the future, I want it all!"
Hu Ji looked at the pile of copper coins in front of her, completely stunned.
You know, she followed the Hu caravan to Central Plains for money, so that when she gets old, she can bring a large dowry and marry an honest man.
But now, with just a few snacks she brought from her hometown, she can sell them for so much money. She would be crazy not to be happy.
Hu merchant also brightened up. It seems that this guest is very wealthy. The matter he promised him earlier will require more effort.
After saying goodbye to the grateful Hu Ji and the booming Hu merchant, Zhang Nuo tightly grasped the small bag containing the pumpkin seeds and happily prepared to go home.
This is not just a matter of having an extra delicacy at home and in the store. What is in this small bag is his future achievements and title!