The sky over the entire city was almost reverberating, and the mosque teleported out of the mosque. The sincere and loud chanting of the prayer.

The people here are really simple, the road is not wide, the houses are not high, and it is rare to see the colorful signboards that show off, and there are no sound dogs and horses.

Looking at the Arab woman wrapped in a black turban, looking at the deep-eyed, bearded Arab man, listening to the message of the mosque. The chatter that seemed to be singing like an ode, Li Zhi's slightly uncomfortable, and magically disappeared.

He asked curiously the reason, and Afifa smiled: "It's the simplicity and quietness that is very different from the Tang Dynasty here, as well as all kinds of non-powdered and refined freshness!" ”

Li Zhi thought about it, but he didn't allow him to feel much, the city center with many shops was already close in front of him.

"I'm afraid Brin isn't as big as 30% of Guangzhou City?" Away from him, who was walking not far away, asked.

Ah Ming, beside him, nodded, "That's why we don't have to ride horses, but Brin is small but full of organs, very inclusive, I've been here countless times, but the people I see on one street are far more aliens than in the whole of Mascus!" However, it is rare to see Oriental faces, otherwise how can they be watched! ”

He was talking about the way he came, the Salem Palace was outside the city, and even a short distance away it was submerged in the barren wilderness, where the blazing sun could faintly be seen scorching the corners of the yellow sand.

There are not many aliens walking on the streets, and a group of locals once passed by, which attracted what Amin called onlookers.

But when you enter the city, such a situation is rare, although there are still three or three in the distance to look at a rare person.

Having a house in the area, Afifa was clearly familiar with the streets and alleys, and with this qualified guide, the group soon arrived in the bustling neighborhood designated by Hisham.

Different from the relatively simple layout of Datang, the commercial area here is quite well-organized, with rows of monolithic shops with a double-layer turning structure on both sides of the wide bluestone pavement.

The walls are all Arabic traditional earthy yellow glaze, the upper and lower floors are semi-dome open façade, the difference is that the size of the first floor façade is twice the size of the second floor, because the blank space of the dome wall between the two floors, there is a mosaic mosaic pattern separation, making this cookie-cutter architectural style, more vibrant.

Saying that its architectural style is the same can be a little exaggerated, along the way from the port, Li Zhi has seen too many buildings connected by row of arches, mosques, long bridges across the river, square porches, ordinary houses, including the ground floor of the Salin Palace are also this kind of tapered brick columns, large arcades and arches piled with a large number of bricks.

These two rows of façade houses, like large mosques, protrude from each distance a double-storey façade like a cylindrical attic, with a four-sided protrusion in the shape of a quadrangular shape, and each edge is a huge colorful glazed window.

This kind of glazed window surface is also very different from a row of hundreds of stores, and at this time when glass has not yet become popular, there is no doubt that this alone shows the biggest difference between it and ordinary stores.

According to the house number, I quickly found the two attic-like facades that Hisham gave to Li Zhi, and the two rows of buildings on the left and right were in the same position, and the arches on the first floor were facing each other.

There is no need to enter, just the divine sense has probed, and the corners of Li Zhi's mouth show a satisfied smile.

It seems to be a wide dome doorway, but there is a hole inside, about three zhang wide, and the store space is seven feet long, and there is a milky white marble floor.

The walls are decorated with intricate and varied wall decorations, and the exquisite painted roof looks extremely luxurious.

The second floor has the same area, but the difference is that it is divided into six sections, and the partition is a movable solid wood wall with hollow walls of different colors, painted with different themes and compositions, but it is integrated with the overall tone.

Both stores are marked with the word seventeen, and because the Arabic numerals that have survived to this day at that time were nearly twenty years after they were created, the numbers are in ancient Roman numerals.

The front of the two seventeens is marked with the words east and west, which is the middle position of the two shops.

Because there is more than a dozen zhang of space between the double row of facades, it looks like a small square in the middle all day long, which is designed as a long oval artificial waterfall pool between the two No. 17.

If this kind of involvement is changed in Datang, it is not unusual, but it is great to appear here, the groundwater in the desert area is extremely scarce, and this fountain pool is drawn from the seaside hundreds of zhang away, so the project is big.

Moreover, the water that flows through here has been scorched by the scorching sun and has a partial desalination effect when it is not led to the rockery in the pond by windmills, although this water quality is far from being drinkable, and it is far lower than the salt content in the seawater.

Li Zhi and the others tried it after the locals, and it was completely feasible to wash their faces with it, which also made the location of the pool the most concentrated place for people, even if the sun was scorching, there was still a steady stream of people staying here.

Even on both sides of the pool, there are people who spread out blankets on the ground, holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun, and some stalls are full of fruits and other food.

"Brother Zhengwen, there was no such pool when I came here before, and I think it is right in front of our storefront, which guarantees that the two stores will be the most popular place on this street! Look there, there are also people with oil-paper umbrellas from Dongtu, this thing is very expensive, not ordinary people can afford it, it seems that there are many rich tourists on this street! Afifa laughed.

Li Zhi has no reason to be dissatisfied, especially when he sees more than a dozen oil-paper umbrellas brushed with tung oil to waterproof, and its style is almost the same as Datang's umbrella.

At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a rough structure of umbrellas in the east soil, but at that time there was no paper, all of them were tung oil cloth umbrellas, paper umbrellas had just appeared for twenty or thirty years, and the price was not low in Datang, and low-grade goods also needed and hundreds of copper coins.

The traditional oil-paper umbrella making process is very tedious and relies on manual work. There is a folk proverb: the process is seventy-two and a half, and it is not good to move in and out, which means that the process is quite complex and cumbersome, so it is not easy to get up in the house.

In fact, there are more high-end umbrella processes, it is said that there are 86 ways, from cutting bamboo to drawing patterns are all handmade, and the materials are also sticking to the tradition, in order to maintain the natural charm of its ancient methods, and not to make it fall into industrialization.

When he was in Hangzhou, Li Zhipai ordered a batch, but he did not plan to sell it, but marked the word Zhengqing Wenqitang on the top of the umbrella as an overseas gift.

Of course, this kind of gift will only be matched on a few hundred taels of silver, and the purchase price is not expensive, so he will not do it at a loss.

What appears here are beautifully painted mid-to-high-end oil-paper umbrellas, which are obviously wealthy families, which also shows that the level of customers on this street is not low.

He pointed to the façade of No. 17 and said with a smile:

"Decorating such glass windows is an old book, the dogs in the palace of the Tang Dynasty have not yet popularized these windows, and the plane glass is far more demanding than the special-shaped glass technology, which is what Master Tan told me!"

Li Zhi gave him a thumbs up, "Uncle Seven's observation is very meticulous, and the reminder is timely, our glazed craft there is relatively backward, at least I have never seen such a huge flat glazed object!" ”

There is another reason, since ancient times, because of its scarcity, the glass has been enjoyed by the royal family, and the use of glass is a felony, which shows its scarcity and preciousness.

The glass snuff bottle of Zhengqing Wenqitang is customized by the glass factory in the palace of Wang Tuo of Linhuai County, and the glass factory has to ask for fifty percent of the profit.

In fact, glass beads already appeared during the Warring States period, and at that time, bead-shaped glass was more expensive than gold, and it was only reasonable that no one had the ability to develop flat glass.

Xin Jingshan smiled on the side: "Mr. Li, you have mastered the alchemy technique, it shouldn't be too difficult to refine the colored glass, right?" ”

Li Zhi shook his head, "This requires a fully designed material sheet, accurate melting temperature and forming temperature, casting method, sintering method and annealing process, even if I have a complete secret recipe, I will not waste effort on this, how can it be equivalent to gold, but there is a kind of Qiankun bag with a big income?" Pure thankless! ”

Xin Jingshan thought about it, but all refining things would require a huge amount of spiritual power and true qi, and they would only be used for life, and for any refiner, they would not waste a huge amount of energy on this.

However, Xing Yichun guessed Li Zhi's plan: "Mr. Li wants to invite a few craftsmen from here to return to Datang?" Yes, it's a way to make money! ”

"That's true, not only must I be invited, but if possible, I will hire a large number of people, but I am afraid that few people will be willing to leave their hometowns, maybe a few people will be invited, but it should not be a big problem to teach in time! The value of such craftsmen and masters must be very high, Afifa, is the glaze field here also official? ”

Seeing Li Zhi asking, Afeifa nodded and replied: "Only the government has the ability to provide glazed stones, and it is said that the stones themselves are extremely expensive!" ”

Li Zhiliu showed such a sense of relaxation, but he was relieved, there were members of the imperial family who directly ordered them to be dispatched, which was far more convenient than hiring people with high salaries, and perhaps the cost was much less!

Chatting, everyone has been strolling into one shop after another, since they plan to open a branch here, the surrounding business environment must be well understood.

If the conditions are met, there are ready-made goods, and they can be opened for business within a few days.

However, this requires good contact with the royal family, and Hisham, Mahdi and others have promised a lot of privileges and qualifications to Zhengqing Wenqitang.

If it goes well, it will be the only one in the entire Arab Empire that sells alcohol openly, and it will be able to reap the benefits in a short period of time.

After a brief walk through a few stores, everyone has seen the clues, the main commodities here are mostly local products, and the only overlapping with Zhengqing Wenqitang products is only perfume and spice.

But the quality is far lower than the quality of the essential oils produced by Zhengqing Wenqitang, and Li Zhi's branch originally took the luxury route, and the only common selling point will not affect him.

However, he became interested in the Persian carpet, which had three floors, of course, not for commercial purposes, and although it was a foreign product to the Tang Dynasty, there were enough shops to run such a business.

Li Zhi's interest lies in the various myths and legends woven on the carpet, and the Arabic carpet is an important carrier of local culture, and it is a window for the people's versatile skills and colorful spiritual world display.

The content is all-encompassing, including mythological figures, emperors and generals, farmers and craftsmen, flying insects, birds and beasts, wind and snow, etc.

These carpets are like history textbooks, chronicling the ancient splendor of Persia; Like the scriptures of religion, they express the true principles of life.

It is also like the encyclopedia of life, showing the flowery scenery of the Persian plateau, the joy of people's labor, and the sweetness of love.

It is also a long scroll of art, that vivid characters; The brilliant and harmonious colors, the abstract geometry, the vast sea and the sky and the symmetrical composition present the extraordinary display of Persian culture.

But one of them was the main reason that attracted his attention, it was similar to a canon pattern painting in the nature of myths and legends, and the scene of stepping on a flying sword in the sky among the many mountain scenery and forests couldn't help but make him connect with the cultivation world.

Quietly pulled Afifa over and asked him about the meaning of the densely woven Arabic words that appeared in the lower right corner of the carpet, but Afifa did not answer in time, but gave him a look and asked about the price.