There is a large open space in the northwest corner of the West City. Hu merchants who come to do business all year round are stationed here. These Hu people have a strong sense of experience. In addition, they run outside all year round, so it is rare to take a bath, which makes the entire square smell full of stench, so Chang'an people gave this place a very vivid name - Smell City.

In fact, from the heart, the reason why the stinky market is not just because the Hu merchants are not hygienic. In addition, there are also a large number of livestock here, such as camels, cattle, horses, sheep, etc., especially sheep and camels, which taste very much. In addition, these livestock defecate everywhere and the weather is hot, which makes the smell here very mellow.

This is not the first time Zhang Zong and the others have been here, so they are ready before they come. Everyone is wearing a face towel dipped in vinegar. With the help of the strong vinegar smell, they can suppress the odor. The only disadvantage is that they keep saliva flowing. After all, the smell of vinegar is so exciting.

"Good thing, Brother Shi, come and see, there are so many gems!" Xue Shao shouted to Zhang Zong with an excited look at this time, and in front of him was a man in the Indian setting up a stall, and the stalls were filled with various gems.

Generally speaking, the Indian country is famous for its abundant gems, especially the Lion Kingdom next to India, which is later Sri Lanka, which produces various gems. Therefore, half of the most famous gem merchants in the West City are Indians, and there are also many Persians and Southerners.

Zhang Zong walked to the gem stall, reached out to pick up a few gems and observed them carefully for a while, then smiled at Xue Shao and said, "Don't be too happy too early. These things are mixed with half of the real thing, and some of them are simply glass!"

"Glass...Glass? Brother Shi, are you sure?" Xue Shao was stunned when he heard this. Of course he knew what glass was. Zhang Zong had bought him a set of glassware before, which was said to have been shipped from Rome thousands of miles away.

"You see, there are bubbles left during firing. This is too unprofessional!" Zhang Zong immediately handed a "gem" as big as a fist to Xue Shao and said.

Xue Shao took the "gem" and looked at it. Sure enough, there were many small bubbles inside, and the color was not right. This made him glar at the Indians who were setting up the stall with anger, and immediately threw down the gem and left.

Don’t think there were no fakes in ancient times. In fact, the entire stinky market is basically a Tang Dynasty version of Panjiayuan. There are more fakes than real ones, but due to ancient technical means, the fakes here are either very inferior or inferior as good ones. For example, the one sold with glass as gems is a very typical example. This is also the main reason why Xue Shao and the others wanted to call Zhang Zong together, because Zhang Zong can help them check.

"Sir, look, there are many people around there. It is said that a overseas Hu Shang has a bone of a sea dragon. Let's go and see it!" At this moment, Li Guangshun and Li Dan also ran over with excitement. After saying that, he pulled them and ran towards the crowd in front.

In fact, even if you stand outside the crowd, you can see the huge bones displayed inside. When Zhang Zong and the others squeezed into the crowd, they could see more clearly. They saw a huge skeleton standing on the open space, more than ten meters long. Although there was only one skeleton left, you can imagine how huge it was during its lifetime.

"Bad Sea Dragon, this is a whale bone!" Zhang Zong looked at the skeleton and said helplessly.

These Hu merchants have no professional ethics at all. They can sell glass as gems, let alone whale bones as keel bones. Moreover, the bones are very fresh, with black flesh and blood in some gaps, and a rotten smell is scattered. It is estimated that the whale's death will not last long.

"Is this what you mean by sir? It's really big!" Li Guangshun looked at the skeleton of the whale with a longing look when he heard Zhang Zong's words, and his mind flew to the magnificent world overseas.

Li Dan and Xue Shao were also amazed. Although they had heard of whales from Zhang Zong and knew that there were many huge creatures in the sea, their ears were weak, and they were far less shocking than they had seen with their own eyes now.

In addition to this whale bone, there are many fresh items brought by Hu merchants from the sea, such as huge shells. If Zhang Zong remembers correctly, this thing is scientifically called giant clams. Compared with the whale skeleton next to it, although giant clams are much smaller and only the size of a millstone, its value is much higher than the whale skeleton, because the shell of giant clams can be used to make gems and is one of the seven treasures of Buddhism.

In addition, tridacna is different from pearl shells. Pearls form pearls in meat, while tridacnana produces a white hard block in its thick shell, just like pearls, so it is called tridacna pearls. This thing is one of the top gems and is something that is hard to come by.

However, not all tridacna can produce tridacna pearls. For example, the complete tridacna shell in front of you is not sure whether there are pearls inside, so if the buyer wants to buy it, he can only bet on his own luck, just like a gambling stone in later generations.

"Good thing! Brother Shi, do you think there are pearls in this giant clam?" Xue Shao also came over to look at the complete giant clam and asked.

The meat inside this giant clam has long disappeared, leaving only two thick and heavy shells. There may be tridacna pearls in the shell, but there may be nothing. Moreover, the price of this giant clam is not cheap. If there are no pearls inside, it will be a loss.

At this time, Zhang Zong carefully counted the patterns on the shell of the giant clam. Generally, every year the giant clam grows, it will form a pattern, just like the annual rings of trees. The more patterns, the longer the tridacna live, the more likely it is to form pearls. The life span of the giant clam will generally not be less than twenty years, and even the longest life may reach a hundred years, and it is the longest-lived shellfish creature.

"I am almost seventy or eighty years old, which is considered a very long life, and it should be worth a try." Zhang Zong finally said. Such long-lived clams are rare, and the shell is pure white and has dazzling gold wire. If a skilled craftsman is asked to polish it into utensils, it is very suitable to give it to others.

Xue Shao believed in Zhang Zong's judgment very much and immediately found the Hu merchant on display. Although the giant clams were exhibits, they were actually sold, so the two bargained for a while, and finally Xue Shao bought the giant clams at a satisfactory price.

Next, Zhang Zong looked at other exhibits, such as the huge turtle shells, the skeletons of other marine creatures, etc. These familiar things made Zhang Zong feel like he was revisiting the aquarium in later generations.

After walking around, Zhang Zong and the others went to other stalls. When they met something they knew, Zhang Zong would explain it to them to increase their knowledge. However, when they walked to a stall, Zhang Zong suddenly stopped and his eyes were wide open, because he saw something that shouldn't have appeared here at all.
Chapter completed!