The Litchi Road Episode 15 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
One day in February of the thirteenth year of Tianbao, Li Shande woke up early as usual to make breakfast for his daughter, Li Xiuer, then called her up. While Li Xiuer was eating, Li Shande braided her hair. Li Xiuer suddenly had a whim and wanted to see the old house. Li Shande gave her the house key and told her to go with her uncle Zheng Pingan when he returned from out of town.
Li Xiuer worried that Zheng Pingan wouldn't come back, but Li Shande believed that Zheng Pingan couldn't leave Chang'an. Li Shande took Li Xiuer to school. All the way, Li Xiuer complained that Li Shande's cooking was bad and his braids were ugly. Li Shande wanted Li Xiuer to become independent as soon as possible so that even if he was away on official business, she could take care of herself.
Li Xiuer, in a huff, refused to let Li Shande walk her and went to school by herself. Li Shande was worried, so he quietly followed behind Li Xiuer. The street was crowded, and in a blink of an eye, Li Xiuer was out of sight. Li Shande was anxious and searched everywhere for Li Xiuer. Finally, he found her at the old house. Li Xiuer missed her mother.
Li Shande couldn't bear to tell her the news of his wife's death, so he lied that she would be back when the osmanthus tree in the courtyard bloomed. Li Xiuer hoped the flowers would bloom soon. Li Shande felt a mix of emotions; the osmanthus tree in the courtyard had died after his wife passed away. Through unremitting efforts, Li Shande, A Tong, and the Dong people finally arranged all the work for the city-circling run.
Li Shande was both excited and nervous. He stood alone on the city gate tower until dawn, and the common people came to watch. At Li Shande's command, the city-circling run officially began. Lan Ge and Yan Yazhuang confirmed that the two baskets of lychees on the horses' backs were properly secured. They leaped onto their horses and galloped along, quickly disappearing from view. At the same time, the annual meeting of foreign merchants was held as scheduled.
A Mita, as the head of the merchants' association, attended in grand attire. Su Liang also came to participate. Zheng Pingan arrived shortly after. He came to support the meeting under the banner of the Right Chancellor's envoy. A Mita asked the foreign merchants to introduce the trade routes they had developed respectively. As long as everyone approved, they would pool funds to make money together.
A Mita distributed two ox bones to each person as per custom; a solid one represented agreement, and a hollow one represented opposition. Everyone used ox bones to vote. Zheng Pingan learned the rules from Lan Yu and found it very interesting. The foreign merchants each presented the trade routes they had developed, but they were all rejected one by one. Zheng Pingan was very anxious.
A Mita took the opportunity to mention the trade route she opened last year for exporting Tang porcelain and silk to Dashi, and suggested that everyone invest to expand the scale. Zheng Pingan thought it was feasible. Fa Qi was the first to stand up and support A Mita, calling on everyone to vote in favor of A Mita.
Su Liang publicly raised a question, stating that although the trade volume of the foreign merchants had increased in recent years, their profits had not, and they were also exploited by pirates. Su Liang suggested that the foreign merchants invest in transporting lychees, guaranteeing a profit of over thirty percent. A Mita disagreed and reminded Su Liang to think twice. Su Liang felt this was a sure-profit business.
If the Emperor and the Consort were satisfied, and Li Shande helped to put in a good word, transporting lychees to Chang'an would be a never-ending path to wealth. The foreign merchants were eager to try. Fa Qi told Su Liang to invest himself. A Mita worried that failure to transport the lychees successfully would result in total loss. Su Liang asked everyone to wait for Li Shande's test results. The foreign merchants looked at each other.
Zheng Pingan stepped forward and persuaded the foreign merchants not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A Mita proposed postponing the meeting for a few days until Li Shande's test was successful. Su Liang and Zheng Pingan exchanged smiles. A child wanted to eat ripe lychees. A Tong disagreed, so the child took green lychees to Li Shande for help.
Li Shande put a banana and the green lychees together, saying they would be edible in a day, and the child left satisfied. Li Shande was stationed at Xiaodongmen. In a blink of an eye, it was the third day of the test. The riders of the city-circling run successfully returned to Xiaodongmen, and the lychees they transported were still very fresh.
A Mita had originally planned to continue her export business to Dashi according to her plan, but Su Liang disrupted it, forcing her to postpone the meeting. A Mita came to He Youguang immediately to complain. He Youguang summoned the foreign merchants and repeatedly claimed that Li Shande's city-circling run test was just a stunt. Zhao Xinmin added fuel to the fire on the side. He Youguang publicly promised to fully support the foreign merchants' business of exporting to Dashi.
The riders were exhausted. Two of Lan Ge's riders were also injured. Li Shande personally brought them tea and water and bandaged their wounds. Lan Ge strongly protested to Li Shande, worried that the riders and horses couldn't endure it. Li Shande apologized to the riders. He wanted to get accurate data, so he had to make the riders and horses go all out. Li Shande let the two injured riders rest.
He suggested that each rider and horse rest after running three laps. Yan Yazhuang said he could still keep going, and Lan Ge also didn't want to give up. Zhao Xinmin heard that Yan Yazhuang had been persisting in the city-circling run, so he sent Commander Yang with men to set up an ambush halfway. They tied a tripwire. Yan Yazhuang's horse tripped as he rode past, and Yan Yazhuang fell off the horse.
