Divine Tang Era

Chapter 107 Crispy Dried Fish to Replenish Qi and Blood

After walking around the street for a while, Xu Dan suddenly remembered the letter delivery request he had made on his way to Jingning before.

I've been so busy lately that I haven't thought about it.

Now that I remember, I need to hurry and do it, lest I forget again. The second aunt's son works in the yamen; he's said to be a clerk. That makes things easy; with his name and surname, sending a message is simple.

Xu Dan took out the box he had almost forgotten from the Hidden Mystery Cauldron, opened it, looked at the envelope inside, and went to the address on it.

As he approached the county government office, two constables saw him and asked, "Young master, what brings you here?" Xu Dan had some reputation in the county town; otherwise, the two wouldn't have been so polite. An ordinary child would have been chased away long ago.

"Uncles, do you know someone in our county government office named Zhang Yu? Someone has asked me to deliver a message to him," Xu Dan asked politely.

"Zhang Yu?"

The gatekeepers were one young and one older.

The younger one clearly didn't know, and after pondering for a while, shook his head. The older one thought carefully and actually remembered, "I wonder if the young master is referring to Zhang Yu, the former registrar?"

"If there's no one else in the county office named Zhang Yu, then this should be him. Do you know where he is, uncle?"

"I don't know."

The older yamen runner said, "Ever since the former registrar was promoted, he left with him, and I heard he went to the capital, Chang'an. As for where he went, nobody knows."

"Then how am I supposed to deliver this letter?" Xu Dan was dumbfounded.

"I heard that Zhang Yuwen is working under the former registrar. Young master, you can go to the yamen and ask. However, a new county magistrate has recently taken office, and the yamen is in a frenzy. If you have something to do, young master, it would be best to wait a couple of days before you speak," the older yamen runner advised.

"Alright."

"Two days is fine, there's plenty of time," Xu Dan thanked the two constables and went on to deliver the letter to the next household.

"Knock knock knock"

"Who is it?" He arrived at another house and knocked on the door. A woman came out and opened it. Seeing him, she asked, "Young man, is there something you need?"

"Is Zhang Gongjin at home? Someone asked me to deliver a message to him."

"Zhang Gongjin?" The woman looked puzzled. "Young master, you must have come to the wrong house! There is no one named Zhang Gongjin in my family."

"No, but the address is clearly here?" Xu Dan glanced at the address on the envelope inside the box again and was dumbfounded.

Seeing his expression, the woman thought for a moment and said, "Young master, wait a moment, I'll go ask my husband."

"This is troublesome."

The woman closed the door and went back inside to inquire. A short while later, she and a man came out from inside.

"Sanlang, it's this young man who's asking."

"Hello, sir, do you know Zhang Gongjin?" Xu Dan asked.

"I don't know him, but I've heard of him. According to the broker who sold me the house, the previous owner was named Zhang Gongjin, but he went to Liangzhou to sell the house," the middle-aged man said.

"Liangzhou, do you have a specific address?"

"I don't know."

Although the middle-aged man didn't know, he enthusiastically led him to the broker. The broker didn't know either, only that he had heard they had moved to Liangzhou, but he didn't know exactly where.

Xu Dan was speechless after failing to find the person he was trying to deliver the message to twice.

To thank the man for showing him the way, Xu Dan offered to treat him to a meal, but the man politely declined. Xu Dan then bought him some pastries from a roadside stall instead. Even so, the man remained very polite and kept refusing the gifts, saying he wouldn't have accepted them if Xu Dan hadn't insisted.

Even sending a letter is this troublesome, Xu Dan shook his head repeatedly.

"Ancestor".

Suddenly, he heard someone call from behind. Turning around, he saw Wan Zhen, a friend he used to train with at the martial arts school. His family was large, and they couldn't afford for him to continue training. So, after the school's trials, he started working, reportedly as part of the school's escort team, delivering goods.

"No escort missions today?" Xu Dan asked.

"Just got back, need to rest for a few days. What are you doing? I could see you shaking your head from afar."

"Someone asked me to deliver a message, but neither of them is in Jingning. One went to Chang'an, and the other went to Liangzhou. They don't even have an address. How am I supposed to deliver them?" Xu Dan complained.

"What's the big deal? Just find a martial arts school," Wan Zhen said.

"What can the martial arts school do if it doesn't even have an address?" Xu Dan didn't understand.

"You don't know this, but the head of our Mo Family Martial Arts School is a member of the Mo family. The Mo family has members all over the world, so finding someone isn't easy. Besides, you already have a name and know where to go, and you're from our county, so it shouldn't be hard to find you."

"Really?" Xu Dan thought it was unlikely.

"Why would I lie to you? I can't guarantee the size of Chang'an, the capital. Liangzhou is much smaller; I can find out about it in a few days."

"Then have someone find out for me, and I'll treat you to dinner later."

"OK."

Wanzhen had nothing much to do, so he and Xu Dan strolled around the streets. They saw someone selling roasted lamb skewers, and Xu Dan bought a bunch. The two of them ate as they walked, thoroughly enjoying themselves. As they wandered around, they came to the market market behind the main market.

After being away for a while, Xu Dan felt that the market seemed much more lively.

At the entrance to the market, there was a stall with a canopy, and a huge salted fish ran across the entire stall.

Wan Zhen had lived in the remote and desolate Jingning since childhood, and had never seen such a large sea fish before. He walked over curiously. Xu Dan had only ever seen them on TV, in movies, and in newspapers before, and had never seen them up close before. He couldn't help but be curious as well.

As they approached, a sturdy, slightly overweight young man carrying a wooden bucket came over and said with a smile, "Young men, come and try our family's crispy dried fish, it's free."

Seeing his politeness, Xu Dan and Wan Zhen did not refuse and took out a piece of dried fish from the wooden bucket to try.

It's crispy on the outside, sweet with a hint of salt, and tastes pretty good.

"How much are your dried fish?" Xu Dan asked.

"Not expensive, 100 coins a bucket." Seeing that he was interested in buying, the young man's smile became even more amiable.

"A hundred coins? Are you robbing me?" Wan Zhen was shocked. He knew that rice in Jingning was only a few coins per catty, and fresh fish was also cheap. How could a small bucket of dried fish cost a hundred coins? He didn't even know if it weighed a catty. What else could it be but robbery?

Upon hearing the price, Xu Dan also wanted to comment.

Before it even left the stomach, the dried fish transformed into a gentle flow of qi and blood, merging into the body.

"This dried fish can actually replenish qi and blood." Wan Zhen looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Otherwise, how could it be so expensive?" the young man said amiably.

The dried fish didn't replenish much of his vital energy; it was roughly equivalent to that of a low-level demon beast. This amount of vital energy wouldn't have much effect on Xu Dan, but it was just right for Xiao Que'er and Yun Niang. Therefore, he wanted to buy some to take home.

Do you have any other dried fish here?

Seeing his interest, the young man quickly took out two buckets from the side. One bucket contained another type of crispy dried fish, and the other contained squid.

"These two are the same price, and they replenish about the same amount of qi and blood. You should try them."

This guy is really generous; otherwise, if you went to other places to buy things, who would let you try them? You'd probably be told to get lost the moment you even had the thought.

Xu Dan tried them, and found that the two kinds of dried fish tasted similar, one sweeter and the other milder. The dried squid seemed to be squid tentacles cut into sections, marinated, and then dried. It was sweet and tasted good, perfect for pairing with alcohol.

"If I buy more, will it be cheaper?" Xu Dan asked.

"Young master, if you sincerely want it, I'll give you ninety coins."

Seeing how generous he was, Xu Dan didn't say anything. He bought fifty buckets, which cost only fifteen taels of silver. Wan Zhen watched him take out the silver without hesitation and was filled with emotion. He wondered when he would be able to spend money so freely.