Poor Family

  Chapter 51 County Encounter

  Today is the third day of the first lunar month, and Shilin Yuan Bookstore opened early. Although it is the New Year, the business has to continue as usual. Except for the first day of the first lunar month, the bookstore cannot be closed on other days.

Li Yanqing walked into the bookstore, and the bookstore was very quiet. Li Yanqing thought that there was no one there, but when he walked into the store, he found that the floor was full of teenagers and children, each holding a book, which was "Big Books" written by himself. Saint Monster Hunt: Red Boy".

   Shopkeeper Luo heard the sound of the shop door, and looked down the stairs, but saw Li Yanqing. He was so excited that he almost stumbled and rolled down the stairs, and grabbed Li Yanqing, "Brother Qing is finally here!"

  Li Yanqing's wrist was painfully caught by Shopkeeper Luo, so he broke free and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Shopkeeper."

   "You are my life-saving pill now, if you don't come again, I will go to your house tomorrow."

"is it so serious?"

   "Only worse!"

   Shopkeeper Luo invited Li Yanqing to the second floor, closed the door, and said in a pleading tone: "Bodhisattva bless you, the little official must have sent me the manuscript!"

Li Yanqing grinned, and took out two manuscripts from his arms and put them on the table. Shopkeeper Luo's eyes shot out a strange light. There were still two manuscripts. He grabbed the manuscripts and spun around excitedly, "It's finally here! It's saved!"

  Li Yanqing actually understood the mood of shopkeeper Luo, Wang Gui and Tang Huai sighed every day, thinking about wanting to watch the next one, as if they had lost their souls.

  The other students in the school were similar. They bought Wang Gui’s books, like buying addictive drugs, and jingled copper coins in Wang Gui’s ears all day long, urging him to get another book to sell.

  This is the case in Lushan Academy, and it must be the same in other places.

Shopkeeper Luo finally calmed down, ordered a pot of tea for Li Yanqing, sat down and said with a smile: "A few days ago, the proprietor sent people to urge me every day, forcing me out of the illness, and I also went to your father every day to let him I have a message for you..."

  Li Yanqing was taken aback, when did his father bring a message to him, did he forget? As soon as he thought about it, he knew that his father must be afraid of affecting his studies.

   "How to send this manuscript?" Li Yanqing asked again.

   "I'll leave right away. I want to send it to the Daming Mansion myself. The proprietor has repeatedly told me that the manuscript will be sent to him as soon as it arrives."

   Speaking of this, shopkeeper Luo suddenly slapped his forehead, "Look at me, I'm so happy and confused, I even forgot the money I gave you."

  He quickly took out a roll of paper from the cabinet, and said with a smile, "This is the roll of the cash deposit box at the silver shop next door. There are two hundred taels of silver in it, and one hundred taels of it is the manuscript fee for your second and third books."

  He handed the cabinet roll to Li Yanqing, and said: "You still need your signature on it, and I will go to the bank with you later to complete this formality."

Li Yanqing was very curious, took this paper roll made of mulberry paper and looked at it carefully. Of course, this is not a banknote, but something similar to a deposit receipt. Money business, not to mention the highly developed commodity economy of the Song Dynasty.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, this kind of money-saving Jiaozi scrolls first appeared in the Bashu area, and then gradually spread to all parts of the country, becoming a paper currency in disguise. Issued by the imperial court, Qianyin was issued during the Song Huizong period, which is also a kind of banknote.

But now Qianyin can only be used in some big cities, such as Tangyin County, which is not available for the time being. The handover certificate given to Li Yanqing by shopkeeper Luo is the bank deposit certificate of the Hong Registered Bank in Daming Prefecture, which can only be used in Xiangzhou, Wei Hong registered bank exchanges in the five places of Cizhou, Cizhou, Mingzhou and Damingfu.

  Li Yanqing put down the handover paper, and said again: "Didn't you agree on thirty pennies? Why did it increase?"

   "This is the meaning of the boss. I will give you the highest finishing fee for ordinary scholars. I also hope that the petty officials can continue to write."

  The other party treated him kindly, of course Li Yanqing didn't care about it, so he smiled and accepted the paper.

  . ． ． ． ． ．

  After finishing his work in the county seat, Li Yanqing planned to go back after lunch.

The street he is currently on is called East Street, which is the busiest commercial street in Tangyin County. There are three taverns alone, as well as inns, teahouses, silver shops, pharmacies, bookstores, various restaurants, etc. There are many shops, and the shop signboards are stacked one after another. Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year, and the street has begun to be lively, with a lot of people, and several taverns are basically full.

People in Song Dynasty don’t eat lunch, but it’s not absolute. They’re like coolies. They’re so hungry that they don’t care about noon and afternoon. In addition, many people get up late during the New Year, so they miss their morning meal, and it’s normal to have lunch at noon. .

At this time, Li Yanqing saw a steamed stuffed bun shop in front of him, so he walked slowly. Just as he got to the steamed stuffed bun shop, he heard someone calling him from behind. When Li Yanqing turned around, he saw a man running from behind. When I met Li Dongdong, Li Yanqing was planning to go to his house on the fifth day of the lunar new year, but I didn't expect to meet him in the county.

  Li Yanqing hurried forward, "Why did Brother Dong come to the county?"

   Fortunately, his father told him yesterday that this Li Dongdong was of the same generation as him, otherwise he would have called Uncle Dong.

   "I came to the county to buy some things, just now I saw that the back looks a bit like you, so I chased all the way, and it turned out to be you."

  Li Dongdong was very enthusiastic, pulled Li Yanqing and said, "Haven't eaten yet! I invite you to the restaurant."

  Li Yanqing pointed to the steamed stuffed bun shop, "It's pretty good here."

   "Hey! What's delicious about steamed buns, come with me."

He dragged Li Yanqing into the opposite Linji Tavern, went up to the second floor and found a seat by the window and sat down. Li Dongdong ordered four or five dishes and a jug of wine, then asked with a smile: "How can you, little brother?" In the county."

   "I came to the bookstore to buy some books, why is Brother Dong here?"

   "To tell you the truth, my return to my hometown this time is to worship the ancestors, and secondly, I want to buy a batch of medicinal materials to return to Beijing."

   "Brother Dong sells tea, why is he selling medicinal materials?" Li Yanqing asked in confusion.

Li Dongdong smiled, "How much money can I earn by selling a few bowls of herbal tea? It's not enough to pay the rent. I have to do other things to make a living. I happen to know a Yaoya man. When he heard that I was going back to my hometown, he entrusted me Buy a few thousand catties of cooked coptis, a specialty of our Tangyin County."

   "How much money can Brother Dong make on this trip?"

  Li Dongdong smiled and waved his hands and said: "I don't tell ordinary people, but if my brother wants to ask, I will not hide it, just this number!"

  Li Dongdong stretched out two fingers, Li Yanqing smiled: "Two hundred guan!"

   "Where is it! Twenty sticks."

  Li Yanqing was surprised, "You only earn 20 guan for a few thousand catties of medicinal materials!"

   "How much do you think I can earn? I only earn a hard fee. Most of the money is from Yaren. It is Yaren's capital. If it is my capital, I can earn at least three hundred guan in this trip."

Yaren is an intermediary, who connects buyers and sellers and charges commissions. Some wealthy Yaren become middlemen to earn greater profits. Of course Li Yanqing has heard of it, but he didn’t expect it to look like a big business. The big Li Dongdong is actually running around for 20 pennies. It seems that he is not doing well in the capital.

   "Brother Dong said two days ago that Tokyo is full of money, why not do some other business."

Li Dongdong shook his head, "Tokyo has a lot of money, but it's not easy to make money. Things like salt, tea, wine, alum, iron, and fragrant medicines are all government-run. If you dare to join in, you will lose everything in the slightest, and you will go to jail if you are serious. , and even if many businesses are not government-owned, they are monopolized by the rich and powerful. , and can only run errands, or sell a few bowls of herbal tea for small business."

   "Then why didn't Brother Dong go back to the county to do business?"

Li Dongdong smiled bitterly, "If you go to the capital to see the world, you won't look down on this small county town. To be honest, the county town is good, but the money is too little. I know the owner of the steamed stuffed bun shop just now, a family of five. People get up early and work late, and only earn six or seven yuan a month, and they can't hire a clerk. Now Tangyin County hires a clerk, and it costs at least three guan a month.

It’s more expensive in the capital, it costs five guan, and I can’t afford to hire a tea shop. I’m in charge of ordering tea and boiling water, and my wife sells tea in the hall. Xiang pretends to be a wealthy man in the capital. "

   Li Dongdong originally just wanted to say that Tangyin County was too poor, but he involved himself in it while he was talking. In addition, he drank a few glasses of wine, and his words were irrelevant, shaking out his old self.

This is actually a bitterness in his heart, and he doesn't dare to say it usually, so he can only pour out his bitterness to a half-understood child like Li Yanqing. He is not afraid that Li Yanqing will preach to him, anyway, few people believe what children say .

Li Yanqing has some ideas. He also knows that it is not easy to make money in Tangyin County, and it is even more difficult in Lushan Town. Like Uncle Hu, he butchers pigs, transports goods, does coolies, and farms. Dozens of pennies, the father is even more pitiful, and only saved ten pennies in four years.

The prices in the Song Dynasty were not expensive, and Tokyo was only 30 yuan for a bucket of rice. It was even cheaper in the Great Plains where grain is abundant. A bucket of wheat in Tangyin County was only 15 yuan. For ordinary grain farmers, food and clothing were not enough The problem, the biggest problem is that there is no money at home.

If he wants to make money, he has to think about the capital, so he is very interested in this Li Dongdong. It happens that Li Dongdong has no capital, but Li Yanqing has it. If the two sides can cooperate, it is also a way to invest. More importantly, Li Dongdong is from the same clan. With the line of the family leading him, Li Dongdong didn't dare to cheat himself.

   "How much did Brother Dong spend on the medicine this time?"

   "Actually, it's not much, about 1,000 guan. After deducting the manual shipping fee, you can finally earn 30% of the profit."

  Li Yanqing has two hundred taels of silver on him, so he can invest in it, but he can't rush to do this, it's best to talk to the patriarch first.

   "When does Brother Dong plan to return to the capital?" Li Yanqing asked again.

   "The goods are still being received, and it will be around the end of the month."

Li Dongdong is an extremely shrewd person. The reason why he wants to win over Li Yanqing is not because Li Yanqing can write a few couplets, but because he heard from his tribe that the patriarch values ​​Li Yanqing very much. If Li Yanqing is willing to say a few words in front of the patriarch Good thing, maybe he can borrow money from the patriarch.

Li Dongdong no longer wants to open a tea shop. His customers are all low-level coolies who can't make much money, and his wife is always molested by those rough people. He has gradually found his way in the capital over the past few years. He wants to If you change your career to be a dentist, you can earn more if you have capital.

  Thinking of this, Li Dongdong picked up a chopstick dish for Li Yanqing, and said with a smile: "Brother Qing, can you speak nice words to the patriarch for me?"

   "What good things to say?"

   "I want to charge more medicine this time, but I don't have enough capital. I want to ask the patriarch to borrow 500 guan, but the patriarch doesn't believe me. Hey, I can't do anything!"

  Li Yanqing smiled and said: "If you only want to make money for yourself, I guess the patriarch will not agree. You should think about making money with the family and benefit yourself. Isn't it better?"

Li Dongdong was silent for a long time, before sighing, "You're right. I've worked hard outside these years, and I saw that many people around me have made a fortune and found a way, but I don't have capital, and I can't borrow money everywhere. , but never considered cooperating with the family, but you reminded me with one sentence."

  Li Yanqing said with a smile: "Let's do it! Let me talk to the patriarch. I also have some capital here to invest in. You, me and the family, we work together, and all three parties will benefit."

   Li Dongdong's spirits also cheered up, "Then we'll make a deal. If my brother and the patriarch make an agreement, come to my house the day after tomorrow and we'll discuss it in detail."

  【I have some business at home today, only two chapters, and the first chapter at noon will be temporarily gone, but the ticket is still required, and I implore everyone to continue to support Lao Gao! 】

  (end of this chapter)