When Laomiao Zhu had not passed away, he once told Cui Yunming about the prosperity of Jiazhou City many times. Although Jiazhou is located in the southeast, due to the sea trade, it has been connected to the oceans, connected to the eight states, and silk and porcelain and other specialties in the Jin Dynasty were transported from the inland, and spice glass was imported from the ocean. Countless wealth gathered here.

The wealthy businessmen and giant houses have earned a sea of ​​money and silver by relying on sea trade. Under the rule of the people, they either rented houses or worked for the wealthy businessmen and giant houses, and they also made a lot of money, so the people are rich and live a healthy life.

But when Cui Yunming arrived in Jiazhou City, he found that the scene in front of him was very different from what Laomiao Zhu said. The street market was no longer as lively as it used to be. The legendary streets were left with only a few pedestrians, and most of them were worn out and were in a hurry, and they had no interest in the goods in the shops on both sides.

On the door of the colorful silk door in front of the hotel, the flowers made of colorful silk are already worn out. The girl standing upstairs to attract guests was also weak. Looking in from the door, there were only four or five tables of guests in the hall that could accommodate hundreds of people to eat at the same time. They were all frowning and lost their enthusiasm.

"Customer, are you here to stay in the hotel? Our store is a famous time-honored brand in Jiazhou City. It only costs three cents of silver for a room, and you can also give you some soup for washing and three meals for breakfast, afternoon and evening." Perhaps because he had been staying at the door of this store for a long time, the waiter quickly stepped forward to pick up customers.

Cui Yunming looked at the signboard upstairs, "You Fengle Building was probably not the price in the early years, right? Why are you so down and out now?"

This Fengle Building was originally the first main store in Jiazhou. There were hundreds of girls who were wearing heavy makeup on the upper floor every day to attract customers. They stayed here for a night without ten taels of silver and could not get enough. Now there are not many girls left, and the cost of staying at the hotel has been reduced to three cents.

Laomiao Zhu’s last visit to Jiazhou City was three years ago. In a short period of time, an extremely prosperous city became so depressed. What happened in the past three years?

"Who said no? Three years ago, we had to attract customers here? If there were no acquaintances, ordinary people would have to wait for at least three days if they wanted to stay in Fengle Tower for one night! But since the evil dragon came out, the fleet that went out to sea was almost spared. The sea trade in Jiazhou has declined, and our business that relies on sea trade for food has also plummeted." The waiter said with a wry smile.

He pointed at both sides of the street, "Customer, look, this street was originally a famous golden cave in Jiazhou City and even the entire southwest of the Great Jin Dynasty. Tens of thousands of silver spilled on this street every day; now, Qinlou Chuguan, restaurants and inns are poured one by one."

"We are pretty good, at least we are still holding on. Restaurants like Changqinglou and Renhelou were not much worse than us before, and they are now closed!"

"Oh, life is so sad!" Cui Yunming sighed, took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and handed it over, "Then let's rest for a night tonight!"

"Good!" The waiter took the silver happily and shouted in a long voice, "Please, an old customer inside, go to the room, serve you very much!"

"It's so bad~~" Several people in the building responded in unison. It seems that although Fengle Tower is now in a down-and-out situation, its foundation is still there. Such a capable service staff can't be seen anywhere.

Someone came to help carry his luggage, someone slapped the dust on Cui Yunming with a towel, someone came over to register his name with the store sheet, and then welcomed him in and the waiter took him to the best room upstairs.

"Mr. Cui, my little name is He Qi. Just tell me if you have something to do. You can sit for a while first, and I will give you a hot soup to wash your face. If you want to take a shower now, I will bring you a bathtub!" He Qi said after helping to make the bed.

Nowadays, restaurants and teahouses like to call guests without fame and fortune as official staff, so Cui Yunming was not surprised to hear it.

"Let's wash your face first. I'll go out for a walk later and take a shower in the evening! By the way, I have some ready-made food in the store. I've been hungry all the way!" Cui Yunming ordered.

"Come soon!" He Qi bowed and retreated, and soon brought him a wash water. When he finished washing up, the two-cold and two-hot dishes were already arranged on the table.

"Mr. Cui, please drink a cup of hot wine to relieve fatigue when you are tired from the journey!" He Qi served him while eating, pouring wine and talking to him.

Cui Yunming had already seen He Qi using the Qi-seeking technique before. He knew that he was an honest man, so he didn't refuse. He just drank wine with Xiaocai and asked for information while drinking, "You just said what happened to the evil dragon on the sea?"

He Qi said, "According to Jiazhou customs, sea merchants must worship the Dragon King before going to sea, praying for the Dragon King to bless the Dragon King and return safely. Over the years, everyone has done this!"

"Who knew that three years ago, the court suddenly banned lewd sacrifices. Shortly afterwards, several maritime merchants dreamed of a black dragon at the same time, asking maritime merchants to offer it six pairs of boys and girls, otherwise they would cause trouble."

"The sea merchants were shocked and gathered together to discuss, but if they took the boy and girl to the sea and threw it down according to the orders of the evil dragon, wouldn't it be a murder? Moreover, the dragon king that everyone worshipped in the past was a green dragon. What's the matter with a black dragon suddenly popping up?"

"So no one dared to agree. Just like before, I would like to worship the Dragon King with fruit noodles and set sail to sea. I will never come back after going there!"

"After half a month, a sailor was drifting to the shore with his mast in his arms. At this moment, everyone learned that the fleet had encountered the evil dragon on the sea. The evil dragon blamed them for not offering a boy or a girl, and then it blew heavily and rolled up big waves and brought the boat into the sea."

"The sailors and sea merchants were either swallowed by evil dragons or buried in the belly of fish. Only a few people survived the disaster. They held the mast and floated back to the shore."

"As soon as this happened, the remaining maritime merchants were shocked and quickly began to find a way. Someone tried to buy the children of poor families to worship the evil dragon, but this fact was a detriment to the good deeds. Before they could do it, they were stopped by the government."

"Some people also tried to invite Taoist people to go out to sea with them to protect them from harassment by evil dragons. Unfortunately, no matter they are successful Taoists, great monks, or swordsmen who are good at using flying swords, they cannot stop the evil dragons and are buried in the sea!"

"I tried it a few times, but no one came back every time. After repeated attempts, no one dared to go out from Jiazhou again! I could only walk around from other ports!"

"So that's it!" Cui Yunming nodded silently. There were monsters in the city and evil dragons on the sea. The people of Jiazhou were really pitiful!

"Then is there no other way?" Cui Yunming asked again.
Chapter completed!