Chapter 11 Volume A: Qi Lu is still young and "mature"
“What kind of business is Mr. Xue planning to do when he comes to Linqing?” Feng Ziying was unmoved and continued to ask.
It was quite shady under the big locust tree in the courtyard. Feng Ziying was standing on the verandah, while these people were standing under the locust tree.
Feng You was leaning on the steps beside the gate and courtyard wall. He kept silent. He just put his hand on the handle of the narrow-edged knife at his waist and watched everything coldly.
To be honest, Brother Kang's performance surprised him. He had no impression of this young master at all.
Although he has been practicing martial arts since he was a child under the pressure of the master, but to be honest, he is still at this age, and he cannot endure much hardship. He is mostly showy. However, the doctor Zhang who has a close relationship with the third master likes Brother Keng very much. Son, I usually teach some medical skills to Brother Keng.
This martial arts training is, at most, just a basic foundation for strengthening the body.
To Feng You, it feels like Feng Ziying is a different person today.
He knew that Feng Ziying had been to the Imperial College for a few months, but how many months could the Imperial College transform Feng Ziying?
Whether it’s how to treat people or how to talk, he seems to have matured a lot all of a sudden. It seems that he didn’t feel like this on the road a few days ago. Could it be that a serious illness made Brother Keng wake up?
When answering this question, Brother Keng was really methodical and well-founded, so Feng You left it to him.
In any case, these people are under his control. If anything happens, he can defeat the enemy with one move at any time.
The businessman surnamed Xue didn't pay much attention to a child's questioning. At least he provided you with a place of refuge. Especially under such circumstances, some requests are normal.
"Well, I can't answer my brother's question. To be honest, our Xue family is quite famous in Jinling. However, business has been difficult in recent years. Our Xue family also hopes to open up some other avenues. We have some contacts here in the North. Linqing has always been the worst dock in the North for floods and droughts. We have passed by it before, but we have not had much contact with it. This time, our family also hopes that we can come and get to know it first to see what kind of business is available. Do it." The man surnamed Xue responded quite satisfactorily.
"Although we are here to take a stand, we should at least have a general scope, right? Food, cloth, salt, ironware, antiques, silk, medicinal materials,...?" Feng Ziying asked casually: "You Xue family can't do everything, right? "
“My brother is right. The Jinling family’s money and silk business has a bad reputation. In addition, the medicinal materials business is also similar to that of Bashu in Huguang, so...”
The man surnamed Xue cupped his hands and answered calmly.
Feng Ziying thought for a moment, then saw the thin and dark boy standing aside, so she waved.
The young man was stunned for a moment, as if he felt that Feng Ziying's attitude could not be refused. Thinking of the huge owner of Feng's house, he was a little reluctant, but he came over anyway.
"What do Guozi Lane and Ma Market Street do for a living?" Feng Ziying asked in a low voice that everyone around could hear.
The young man thought for a moment and then said: "The fruit alley sells silk and satin, but Ma Shi Street sells miscellaneous goods, such as leather goods, fruits, and seafood. Of course, that section of Ma Shi Street also has the most pawnshops."
Feng Ziying nodded slightly.
The money business is nothing more than banks and **** shops. If you are new to Qing Dynasty, it is unrealistic to say that you want to open a bank. Without several years of business contacts and reputation accumulation, no one will believe it.
Pawnshops are relatively simple. There are about seventy or eighty pawnshops in Linqing City, large and small, and at least ten or eight of them open and close every year.
When Feng Ziying first came here, she also bought five pieces of gold-woven damask, which cost a total of forty gold, just to return to Beijing to honor her parents.
This question can't explain anything, but at least it can prove that the other party is not lying.
If you lie about these small details, it only means that there must be something wrong with this person.
You can’t say that the other party is fine if you didn’t lie, but there is definitely a problem if you lied.
"Uncle You, I'm fine." Feng Ziying said directly without asking any more questions.
"Brother Keng, how will these people be settled?" In the past, Feng You would have made arrangements directly, but today, he felt that he should seek Brother Keng's opinion at this time.
"What does Uncle You plan to do?" Feng Ziying thought for a while, "When will the banditry in this city end?"
Feng You shook his head, "Brother Keng, I don't know this, but I thought it would be difficult. The guards are not here, and the people from the Inspection Department are afraid to leave the city gate alone. Besides, I don't know how to make this effort." Such a big mess is coming?"
Feng Ziying observed that the businessman named Xue was hesitant to speak, so he looked at him: "Mr. Xue, does he know?"
"Well, I know a little bit about it." The man surnamed Xue did not hide it. "I have been walking around the city in the past few days. I heard that the tax supervisor in the palace wanted to increase the miscellaneous tax by 10% to celebrate the birthday of the concubine at the end of the year. Originally, In the past few years since Grandfather Chang came to the Qing Dynasty, taxes have been increasing day by day, business has been sluggish, and the livelihoods of mechanics in the city and bricklayers outside the city have been unsustainable. They are very resentful, and they never thought that miscellaneous taxes would be added now, and many machine rooms He kiln has no choice but to close its doors, directly affecting the livelihood of countless people, so..."
Linqing is not just a dock for floods and droughts. It is also famous for local specialties. Linqing Northern Flowers (cotton) and Linqing tribute bricks are the two largest commodities.
Since the pre-Ming Dynasty, cotton planting has been increasingly prosperous at the intersection of Hebei, Shandong and Henan, and the cotton spinning industry has also developed, but it is not as good as that of Songjiang in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, it has become a common practice to transport cotton cloth to the north and flowers from the north to the south.
Linqing tribute bricks have been the first choice in the capital and palaces since the Ming Dynasty. However, with the establishment of the Zhou dynasty, Linqing tribute bricks have become increasingly famous, as famous as the gold bricks fired in Suzhou, and their scale has become larger and larger.
Along the canal, from Daijiawan in the south to Wangjiaqian in the north, there are countless kilns. At its peak, there were as many as two to three hundred kiln owners, and there were many who made a living by firing tribute bricks. Thousands of people.
"Suzhou gold bricks" and "Linqing green bricks" became royal tributes, and gold bricks for laying on the ground and blue bricks for walls became the custom of using bricks in royal palaces and mausoleums.
Although Linqing Qingzhuan is a major player in the royal court of Beijing, it also bakes green bricks for wealthy families in Beijing and other areas. The green bricks exported to various places along the canal every year also bring huge income to Linqing Chaoguan.
It can be said that once the cotton and tribute brick business was affected, not only the businessmen were angry, but also the cotton field owners and farmers, the kiln owners and kiln workers, the laborers on the docks, and the ship owners along the line were all greatly affected. .
Hearing what the businessman surnamed Xue said, Feng Ziying also realized the seriousness of the problem.
If it's just the businessmen who are affected by their business, then that's fine. They can tolerate it anyway, but if farmers, kiln workers, and Lifu all rely on their own strength to support their families, then it will really push them to death. .
When we are really at the end of our rope, if there are some people with ulterior motives inciting us, it will be really difficult to control.
"If this is the case, I'm afraid it will be difficult for this chaos to end." Feng Ziying hesitated for a moment, "Uncle You, how about we let them rest in the outer courtyard and not make any noise, just..."
Feng You didn't say much, and directed Uncle Fu to arrange for these people to find rooms to settle down. Then he said to Feng Ziying: "Brother Keng, I'm afraid that this mess won't be dealt with for a while, and I'm worried that once the chaos outside the city comes in, I'm afraid that there will be more chaos, and when these chaos people see through the real situation, I'm afraid that we will not be immune here. I plan to go out to take a look at the real situation, and also find out if there is a way out of the city."
During the streaking period of new books, brothers, give me some encouragement, collect and vote, add to the book list to help promote it and expand its popularity.
(End of this chapter)