Chapter 1049 The joke of history
The sound of "嗗拉" was heard repeatedly, and the pieces of thin ring cakes passed through the oil pan and instantly turned golden - no, emerald green.
In fact, the color has become much lighter. The alfalfa oil used in Gainfang City has a very good texture and has been filtered multiple times. It is no longer that green and oily paste.
Today is April 20th, the fifth day of the Luoyang Fang Market. Shao Xun brought Queen Yu Wenjun and Shuyuan Guanqiu, as well as several princes who had not yet arranged errands, to come without disturbing the merchants. We arrived at the top floor of the attic in the northwest corner of Fang City.
I brought Yu Wenjun here just to relax with her.
Bringing Mrs. Guanqiu here also felt that she had been neglected too much in the past, and she felt guilty and wanted to make up for her. It was not because her brother Guanqiu Lu was a leader in the commercial front of Daliang, nor because her clansman Guanqiu Ao was the governor of Jin Yizhou and Badong. Supervise the army.
As for the princes, of course they came to feel the flow of money.
However, the first thing that entered their noses was the smell of lunch——
Fried thin ring pancakes were brought to the table.
Shao Xun sniffed the aroma and asked Yu Wenjun, "Do you still remember the oil press in Xuchang back then?"
"Did your husband invite you from Luoyang Palace?" Yu Wenjun asked.
"Exactly." Shao Xun said: "One of his sons was found to have paid someone to serve on his behalf. Later, he was drafted to transport grain and grass. When he fell into the valley, he was crushed by a car and died. Another son and a daughter died in the year of the war. He died of illness, so the family business was passed to his son-in-law, whose name was Zheng Qian. He was born as a son of the Zheng family in Xingyang, and was a son of Chenliu Bajiao Longxiang Prefecture soldier. Now he is a wealthy businessman in Xuchang. He makes a living by harvesting perilla and perilla oil and selling them. He divides the oil into two grades, A and B, and sells it in Yingchuan and Xiang. Cheng, Xingyang, Runan and other counties became more and more famous. ”
"How can my husband recognize this person?" Yu Wenjun wondered.
"I met once in Guangchengze." Shao Xun said: "It makes me sad to talk about old things in the past. He is also here today, right over there."
After saying that, he pointed with his hand.
Yu Wenjun looked out of the window and saw a middle-aged man arguing with a few people in front of a shop with a big flag with the word "oil" hanging on it.
From the faint sounds, it could be heard that the two sides were arguing about the price.
Next to the Zheng family's oil shop, there are several shops selling similar products: selling alfalfa oil, sesame oil, and flax oil.
Sesame oil (sesame oil) is produced in small quantities and is expensive.
Flax oil (linseed oil) is produced in large quantities and the price is very cheap.
The oil output is neither large nor small, and the price is moderate.
The latter has emerged suddenly in the past 20 to 30 years and is relatively popular in Henan.
In the past, there were also jelly oils, but the quality was not good. The whole product was in the form of a semi-solidified paste and the taste was not good. So I mostly used hair oil or lamp oil. Things are very different now. The technology spread from Luoyang Palace gradually spread in Yingchuan, Xiangcheng, and Luonan areas. The sudden rise of sesame oil has greatly eroded the market of flax oil.
If we carefully calculate the edible oil production, today's Henan Province must have greatly increased compared to thirty years ago. This is mainly due to the large amount of edible oil entering the market, which has driven down the prices of other oils.
No one specializes in growing perilla and perilla, but you can always find a lot of them in front of and behind the house or in the wilderness. You can collect them and take them to the oil shop to change the oil, or sell them directly in the market. They are useful for home use. The degree is not without small supplements.
It can be said that Shao Xun artificially added an extra cooking oil to the market, greatly increasing the supply side and bringing tangible benefits to the people.
The debate in front of the oil mill lasted for a while, and finally ended with Zheng Qian's "painful" concession.
Several merchants gathered around him and went to the government office to register the transaction.
Student Wu acted as a recording pen and recorded the entries and exits in several people's account books, and then printed them separately, keeping one copy for the record and giving the other copy to them to take away.
After completing the transaction, Zheng Qian returned to his oil shop with a smile on his face.
The wives and children came forward one after another, carrying water and wiping sweat, all attentive.
However, before resting long, two more people came over, and a new round of bargaining began.
"Have you seen the faces of the oil dealers next to you?" Shao Xun asked again.
Yu Wenjun glanced at it and smiled.
The noodles are like the bottom of a pot!
Hutou glanced at his head, then grinned and said: "His wife and children didn't bring water to wipe their sweat."
Several other princes also came over and looked at it with different expressions.
Shao Xun looked at his sons and asked, "What do you think they should do?"
Hutou said with a smile: "It's not difficult at all. In the past, my grandfather helped Zheng Qian's uncle to open an oil mill on the condition of bringing in more apprentices. Now they are scattered in Yingchuan and Xiangcheng counties, and I'm afraid there are also some in Luonan, Xingyang, and Chen counties. . Find a way to learn. If you don’t learn, you can’t sell it. His oil is oil, and your oil is ointment. How can you sell it?”
"Pay money to learn." Chunlang said.
"Learn. After you finish studying, go back and make corrections. Otherwise, if you come to this city next year, you still won't be able to sell it." Liang Nu said.
This is basically what other people mean.
Shao Xun smiled and said: "Look, if you put them together, it's clear who is good and who is bad. Those who can't sell will have to learn their shame and then be brave. If they don't learn the real skills, don't do this business in the future. You guys Tell me, is this good for the whole world? ”
"Yes." Everyone nodded, it was obvious.
"But -" Shao Xun changed the topic and said: "If you don't learn, you will be able to survive for a while. People in the countryside will still buy it, but it will be worse than before."
"My father calls it 'competition'. If there are no merchants going around to resell it, but the manor harvests and squeezes it himself, the oil quality will be uneven, and there will even be no change for decades or hundreds of years. This is true for oil, but other things Why not? Without competition among businessmen, it would be difficult to improve in many things. "I am not saying this for my father. It's up to the craftsmen to learn how to press oil or make crafty things. If you become an official in the future, what you have to do is to protect the merchants and let them compete. The Zhang family's oil is of good quality and cheap, so the Li family rises. Follow up and make their oils better and cheaper, that’s what you have to do.”
"Grandpa, what if someone takes advantage of me?" Hutou said, "It's just a businessman. He robs my business and cuts off my money. Can't I just accuse him and arrest him?"
Shao Xun smiled and said: "It's great that you can think of this level, Hutou. Liang Nu, do you have a solution?"
Liang Nu thought for a while and said: "Master, if the family that does this business has a family background of two thousand stones, I'm afraid it won't be so easy to find charges, right?"
When Yu Wenjun heard this, he glanced at Liang Nu and then at Shao Xun, with a different meaning on his face.
"Haha." Shao Xun smiled and said: "Liang Nu is right. My father once wanted to eradicate the gentry, but later found that it was impossible. In this case, we should adapt to local conditions. For example, your second brother, your mother's family Fan Yanglu's family was a famous family in Hebei Province; his wife's family, Fan Yangzu's family, was worth two thousand stones. These two families are equally matched in the oil business. If their in-laws, the Qinghe Cui family and the Zhongshan Liu family - oh, the Zhongshan Liu family were defeated, then add the Pingyuan Liu family, the Pingyuan Hua family, and the Leling Shi family. , what will happen if each joins the competition? ”
"Maybe they will divide their territory and sell one or several counties each. But over time, when there are five or six kinds of elm oil in Hebei, but the quality and price are very different, some people will take the risk and sell the elm oil that is of good quality and cheap price. The oil travels through counties and is sold to other places. In the end, those families that produce poor quality and extremely expensive oil are forced to follow suit for reasons of honor or other reasons, and they will all improve."< br>
"Of course, the reality may be more complicated. But it is always good to have competition, and progress will gradually be made. It is much better than a pool of stagnant water. This is the use of businessmen, but don't underestimate it. Give them a piece of sky, no one dares Tell me what the world will be like.”
The good boys listened and each had their own thoughts.
Yu Wenjun frowned and said, "Husband, you should be careful about what you say about 'eradicating the gentry'."
"I know, I know." Shao Xun said with a smile: "I am still working for the benefit of the nobles. Who dares to say that I want to eradicate the nobles? The whole south has been promised to them, what else? Come, come, eat the cakes."
There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!
Shao Xun picked up a piece with chopsticks and brought it to Yu Wenjun's mouth.
Yu Wenjun tilted his head back and glanced at the children.
"Grandpa, I don't want to eat. I'll ask Tong Qianjin to take us for a walk. It's too boring here." Hutou stood up and called the brothers downstairs.
Everyone laughed and walked away together.
Yu Wenjun's face turned red, but he no longer refused. Instead, he gently bit into his mouth and started eating.
"Here's a piece of Xuanzhu, too." Shao Xun picked up the cake and brought it to Guanqiu's mouth.
Mrs. Guanqiu smiled and ate generously.
"Husband, it would be great if you could stay like this." Yu Wenjun said softly after eating a piece of cake.
Shao Xun looked at his wife's swollen belly, his heart softened, and he said, "Husband, you know you were wrong. Can you change it in the future?"
"Really?" Yu Wenjun's eyes lit up and he said in surprise.
"Really." Shao Xun said: "Then what happened before..."
Mrs. Guangqiu covered her mouth and snickered.
Yu Wenjun came to his senses. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Liang Pushe's grandson is sick again. Let's talk about it later..."
Shao Xun was a little silent when he saw her like that.
Yu Wenjun is still willing to forgive him, as long as he doesn't mess around in the future. This weak and kind little wife is really easy to be bullied to death.
Some people may think that since he is the lord of the world and has great prestige, what does it matter if he forgives his wife or not? But that's not what happened, at least Shao Xun still cared.
But then again, there was only a wrong name, not a wrong nickname. Shao Thief was Shao Thief. His various guilts and emotions were time-limited. Who knows if he would return to his old ways after a while.
After the three of them finished eating the cakes, they drank some tea.
The merchants outside gradually dispersed, eating their own meals.
At this time, Yu Zhi, the governor of the Shaofu, was led up by the soldiers, followed by officials from the city department.
"City Department" is a general term. In fact, there are subdivisions below. For example, the person who manages the city in front of us is called "Luoyang Nanshi Department". The chief official of the department is called "Ling", which is the Luoyang Nanshi Ling. There are two assistant officials. Said "Cheng".
Under Ling and Cheng, there are also some Lingshi and records.
The City Department is now under the control of the Shaofu, but that may not be the case in the future.
If the important ministers of Taiwan and the cabinet find that the city taxes are increasing, they will never tolerate the Shaofu controlling this financial source, although they have lived their lives without this financial source in the past.
"Your Majesty, in the five days since the opening of Luoyang Nanshi, one hundred and twenty-seven merchants, large and small, have bought and sold 4,100 dragon coins." Yu Zhi said: "Based on twenty taxes per one, this is——"
"More than two million yuan." Shao Xun said with a smile: "Yes, Henan West Market should not be much different. Unfortunately, only Luoyang, Bianliang, Yecheng, and Taiyuan have opened Wujiafang Market this year. Next year, there will be more Open more.”
The transaction demand of businessmen that had been suppressed for many years was suddenly released, which was indeed a dividend of the reform.
In the past, this income was close to nothing, but it will gradually increase in the future.
The world is changing slowly but surely.
Shao Xun always felt that the historical context was very clear in the past, but now he found that there was a fork in the middle!
With the implementation of one beam, two systems, the traveler's prophetic advantage has been greatly weakened, and now he can't figure out which way to turn.
The day of crossing the river by feeling for the stones is probably not far away.
(End of chapter)