Divine Tang Era

"Young master, would you like me to give you a ride?"

A voice came from behind.

Xu Dan turned around and saw a sturdy donkey with shiny black hair slowly pulling a cart full of salt blocks. A thin boy sat on the cart, and when he saw Xu Dan looking over, he smiled and nodded at him.

There is a salt lake nearby; it is very large and shallow.

During the rainy season, thanks to the influx of rainwater, there is still some water in the lake.

When there is no rain, the lake surface is exposed to the sun for a long time, and it will gradually dry up, forming a thick layer of salt. However, the salt on the outer layer is mixed with mud, sand, and various impurities and is not edible. Only the salt in the inner part is edible, but it also has various sour, astringent, and alkaline tastes, and should not be eaten in large quantities, otherwise it will cause poisoning.

Wealthy families generally look down on the salt from the salt lake, but clearly, the majority of people in Jingning City are frugal or poor.

This led to the development of a trade route.

That involves mining salt blocks from the salt lake and selling them in Jingning City. With a little effort, one can even transport them to more distant places. A bag of salt weighing 100 jin (approximately 50 kg) can earn 20 wen (approximately 10 copper coins) per sack transported to Jingning. With a little hard work, it's not difficult to make money.

However, this road is located on a plateau, far from Jingning County, and the dangers along the way are unpredictable.

You might encounter monsters, ghosts, or bandits, so for some people, this trade route is like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.

Although Jingning is a remote town located on the border, there are many ways to make money.

The simplest method is undoubtedly gold panning.

Although the large veins and exploitable areas of the gold mines on Jinshan Mountain are controlled by the government, the gold dust washed down by rainwater and springs, as well as the abandoned and tiny veins, are left unattended.

So, some people went to pick up the bargains.

If you're lucky, you can find a lot of gold dust and live a fulfilling life.

Furthermore, there's the matter of gathering herbs. Whether it's a rare or common herb, there's a market for them all once they're found in Jingning.

Since Princess Wencheng's marriage to the Tang Dynasty, highland medicinal herbs gradually came into the Tang people's view. With the help of Tibetan monks, they flourished and became widely known medicines. The easiest to harvest was undoubtedly Cordyceps sinensis, which was everywhere. However, easy to harvest meant cheap prices, so in Jingning City, apart from those who were desperate, few people would bother to dig for such readily available things.

Another way is to dig for treasure, but this money-making skill requires a certain amount of luck and extremely high skill.

If you're lucky, you can dig up treasures with just a few strokes of the dig; if you're unlucky, you can dig around for a year and still not find anything.

The rest are the things ordinary people do, like farming, raising livestock, and working odd jobs. They can barely make ends meet and can't get rich quick, but the things mentioned above are possible.

Dongye Yu actually wanted to make a fortune by collecting herbs, searching for treasures, and panning for gold, but unfortunately, he was weak and sickly and could not withstand the unpredictable climate of the plateau. In addition, he was also practicing mechanical arts and could not stay away from Jingning City for long. That's why he went to dig up salt blocks to sell. Otherwise, he would have been running a business to make money long ago.

Upon hearing his words, Xu Dan glanced at his car, shook his head, and said, "No need, I can tow it."

This broken-down cart would probably crush a golden yak if it were put on it.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Dongye Yu said seriously, "Don't worry, my cart is very sturdy. It can handle not only one long-haired cow, but even two more."

Xu Dan felt that he was bragging, but he didn't call him out on it, after all, the other person meant well. He just thanked him and said, "No need, I can handle it. I'm leaving now." After saying that, he strode forward.

Higashino was surprised that such a small body could drag such a large woolly cow, and couldn't help but be curious.

Seeing that they were being left behind, they quickly drove to catch up.

Hearing the sound, Xu Dan turned around and saw the donkey cart chasing after him. He quickened his pace, but the cart caught up quickly. He quickened his pace again, and the cart caught up again. He quickened his pace again, and the cart caught up again. This happened several times. Seeing that the donkey cart was still following, and with Jingning City in sight ahead, he simply slowed down and stopped trying to outrun the little donkey.

I glanced at the big black donkey's eyes and suddenly realized something was wrong.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the big black donkey's eyes were lifeless, as if it were dead.

Seeing him frequently glancing into the donkey's eyes, Dongye Yu couldn't help but laugh and say, "Look how well my big black donkey is made! I spent a lot of money to make it, and I'm still in debt."

"Did you make this donkey?" Xu Dan was so surprised that he almost lost his voice.

"Yes, this is a mechanical donkey I made myself. It's quite well-known in Jingning City. You haven't heard of it?"

Xu Dan shook his head, thinking to himself: I've only been here a few days, it would be a miracle if I'd heard of it.

Yet, they couldn't help but be curious about the mechanical donkey that could walk on its own, and examined it closely. They then discovered that the mechanical donkey was merely covered by a skin; the mechanism underneath rose and fell, occasionally stretching the skin. If they had looked more closely earlier, it wouldn't have been difficult to see the difference between the mechanical donkey and a live donkey. They had simply been in a hurry and hadn't noticed.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the mechanical donkey was limping on one leg.

Even so, the donkey cart didn't seem to have any problems moving, which was truly amazing. I wonder what the power source of this mechanical donkey is, that it can even move. How strange, truly amazing.

Seeing that he was looking at the donkey's feet, Dongye Yu said, "It was accidentally hit by a falling rock a few days ago. It will be repaired in a few days."

Actually, he didn't have the money, otherwise he would have fixed it long ago.

Manufacturing machinery requires good materials, which in turn require spirit stones to purchase, and even slightly inferior materials require large amounts of gold and silver.

Dongye Yu was very poor, so he could only choose trees outside the city, which he could cut down himself for free. However, he needed to refine the trees he brought back to make mechanisms. This cost him a lot of money and also depleted some of his vital energy.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be in this half-dead, frail and sickly state now.

"oh"

Xu Dan chimed in, then suddenly remembered bicycles and couldn't help but ask, "Are you very good at mechanical arts?" A bicycle is a type of bicycle, and the name "bicycle" is easier to understand here than "bicycle." "Bike" is a very descriptive phrase; it's a vehicle powered by pedals.

"That's right."

Dong Yeyu proudly puffed out his chest and said, "I'm famous in Jingning City, everyone knows me."

The last sentence was spoken a little weaker, lacking in energy.

Xu Dan wanted him to help make a bicycle, preferably a tricycle that could carry things. That way, he wouldn't have to carry things by hand when going out shopping, and his storage bags wouldn't be exposed. He also wanted to make a small bicycle for Xiao Que'er to play with.

As for Yunniang, forget about her.

She has the air of a well-bred young lady, so it would be hard for her to accept riding a bicycle with her hips swaying in the street.

Bicycles aren't hard to make; you can find finished ones made of wood all over Africa. If this guy can make a walking donkey, there's no reason he can't make a bicycle.

"Where do you live? I'd like to ask you to do something for me after we get back to the city," Xu Dan asked.

"I live in the government compound next to the Mo Family Martial Arts School. Just tell me my name when you get there and I'll know," Dongye Yu nodded and said.

"Okay, I'll be going now."

Xu Dan gave a shout, then pulled the golden yak towards the city gate at breakneck speed, kicking up a cloud of dust. The soldiers guarding the city saw a golden streak flying in from afar and were about to shout when they heard a child's voice yell, "The cart is coming! The cart is coming! Everyone get out of the way quickly, or we'll be hit!"

Upon seeing this, those entering the city quickly made way for him.

The soldiers guarding the city recognized Xu Dan; some of them had almost been scared to death last time. Seeing him now, they ignored him and let him pass.

A soldier guarding the city watched the golden woolly yak fly by and exclaimed, "The woolly yak is huge!"

Another soldier nodded in agreement, "This cow has beautiful hair; it should fetch a good price."

Huleitu was also among the crowd entering the city. After being beaten last time, he originally wanted to find an opportunity to take revenge. But now, seeing Xu Dan leading the golden yak into the city, he was only filled with fear and had no other thoughts.

He Rong sits at the door every day.

When someone brings something into town, they will approach them and ask if they are willing to sell it; otherwise, they will wait for others to come and buy or sell their goods.

At this moment, seeing Xu Dan leading a tall, golden yak into the city from afar, he immediately jumped up from his chair and went to greet him.

When Little Magpie had nothing to do, she liked to sit with Black Bear at the upstairs window and watch the commotion through the cracks. When she saw Xu Dan return, she quickly ran downstairs to call her mother to open the door.