Chapter 88 Arabic numerals? Trade secrets!

Chapter 88 Arabic numerals? Trade secrets!

Outside the Hanlin Academy.

Hua Lun and others walked out of the high wall one after another.

They have been working there for two months and have begun to get involved in certain political affairs.

Lian Zining walked side by side with Hua Lun, seeming to think of something, and said: "If I remember correctly, today seems to be the day when Xia Zhibai's salt shop opened."

Hua Lun nodded and said: "It seems so."

Huang Zicheng sneered and said: "I really don't know what Xia Zhibai is thinking. He doesn't do a good job of editing the Hanlin Academy, but he has to go into business, and he is also in trouble. Let me wait.”

“It is said that His Majesty originally planned to give our Jinshi class the same important responsibilities as the first Jinshi class.”

“But because of Xia Zhi’s appearance. Regarding Bai's matter, and during the palace examination, we were agitated by Xia Zhibai's words and stood up, and then we were all assigned to the Hanlin Academy to set up a biography."

Huang Zicheng looked depressed.

The Jinshi of the first imperial examination were directly entrusted with important responsibilities after the imperial examination, and served in the six ministries.

The Jinshi of their current class originally had high hopes, but because of this incident, they were all thrown into the Hanlin Academy. Although they were not bad, there was still a gap.

Especially because he was pushed out of the first grade.

I felt even more unhappy.

Hua Lun and Lian Zining looked at each other and couldn't help but frown.

Huang Zicheng is really resentful.

Two months have passed since this incident, and Huang Zicheng still thinks about it and is still fighting against the injustice.

Hua Lun looked at Lian Zining. He didn’t know why Lian Zining suddenly mentioned it, and asked curiously: "Do you have any plans?"

Lian Zining said: "Xia Zhibai No matter what happens now, we are still the top pick of our class. If we are bullied by merchants, it will also damage our reputation. So I thought about it, or should I come forward to help? "

" Help? How?" Hua Lun frowned even more.

Lian Zining smiled, with a flash of shrewdness in his eyes, and said: "Of course I'm going to buy some salt."

"We can't make Xia Zhibai look too ugly."

Hua Lunruo Thinking.

In fact, they are not optimistic about Xia Zhibai's business.

There is no reason to be optimistic.

Not to mention the low status of merchants.

How could Xia Zhibai, a person who had never been in business before, suddenly run into business and compete with those treacherous and cunning merchants?

And starting from scratch is destined to be a difficult start. If you want to make a profit, you can only sell it at a high price.

And how can this be sold in large quantities?

Failure is a foregone conclusion.

As he said that, Lian Zining also had a look of helplessness on his face: "Xia Zhibai, the number one scholar, acts freely and does whatever he wants, but it also affects us, causing our reputation to be lowered again and again."

"You should have discovered this during this period."

"Although we are editors of the Hanlin Academy and handle relevant political affairs for His Majesty and His Highness, we are mostly despised by the courtiers."

"And This has nothing to do with Xia Zhibai.”

“Xia Zhibai’s intention to abolish the ‘shi’ caused dissatisfaction among too many officials, and we also suffered unforeseen disasters.”

"Right now, regardless of whether he is willing or not, Xia Zhibai is dragging him into the water."

"If he fails to make progress in business and ends up with a reputation of being ambitious but not talented, we will be affected to some extent, at least. During the period when Chu Cai was appointed to the Hanlin Academy, he was inevitably ridiculed by some officials. "

"The court is a place of right and wrong."

"It is difficult for us to stay out of the matter. .”

“If you can help now, try to help.”

"We can't be completely free until we leave the Hanlin Academy in the future."

Hua Lun and Huang Zicheng were silent.

How come they don’t understand this truth?

In particular, Your Majesty has a very indifferent attitude towards the scholars. If they are repeatedly despised by Your Majesty because of Xia Zhibai's matter, they are afraid that they will really be suppressed in the Hanlin Academy for many years. What's the matter? Is it what they want?

What they can do now.

Just try to help Xia Zhibai as much as possible.

Let Xia Zhibai avoid doing business too ugly.

Finally dragging them down.

Hua Lun nodded and said: "Let's go with Brother Yi Lian."

"This Xia Zhibai is really doing a lot of harm to people. Letting him be the number one scholar is really a rip-off for us. .”

"If I hadn't done it again"

Before she could say the words, Hua Lun seemed to have thought of something, and smiled coquettishly. If he hadn't taken the test again, I'm afraid it wouldn't be as good as it is now.

Now it’s just the lesser of two evils.

But when they think of Xia Zhibai's lawlessness, several people feel a headache.

"Going together?"

"Let's go together."

Hua Lun looked at the other people and invited them to go together.

When a group of six or seven people went to the salt shop of Kyoto Salt Industry, they were shocked by the scene in front of them.

I even wondered if I had gone to the wrong place.

There is no hint of depression in sight.

It was clearly crowded and lively.

“Is this the Kyoto salt shop opened by Xia Zhibai?” Huang Zicheng was a little confused.

When they came, they expected that it would be deserted and there would be only a few people in front of the store, but the result was exactly the opposite.

There was a huge crowd.

If it weren’t for the banner of ‘Beijing Salt’ flying in front of the ten-foot-long store, they would not have believed it. This was a grand scene created by Xia Zhibai just after he opened the store.

"How did Xia Zhibai do this?" Lian Zining was also a little stunned and said: "Although I heard that the price of his salt will be reduced, but no matter how low it is, it will not be too low, and I have heard some news privately. , Many salt merchants in Yingtian Mansion are also preparing to lower prices today."

"What is going on right now?"

Lian Zining is a little confused. This was completely different from the scene he imagined.

Others were also stunned and stood on the spot, not knowing what happened.

Hua Lun suppressed the shock in his heart, looked around, stretched out his hand to stop someone, and asked: "May I ask my husband, why do so many people come to buy from this salt shop? Is the price very low?"

Been When someone stopped him, the old man immediately showed displeasure. He just turned his head and saw that the people blocking him were a bunch of people in brocade clothes. He also quickly showed a flattering smile on his face: "Young Master, we people, naturally, It’s because it’s cheap.”

“Fifteen cents per catty, which is half less than other salt shops.”

“Fifteen cents? So low?” Hua Lun was shocked again. .

"How dare I lie to you about this kind of thing? But if you buy it individually, it is eighteen cents, and fifteen cents is the group price for ten people, but this does not limit the place of origin, age, frequency, etc. , which is basically fifteen cents per pound, and the salt is good, fine, white, and salty enough." The old man explained with a smile, his eyes couldn't stop being happy.

"Won't he lose money?" Lian Zining asked, expressing his doubts.

The old man chuckled, shook his head and said: "I don't know, I just heard that the salt seller was the number one scholar in the dynasty. This is a good official and a good person."

The old man looked at it Someone in the front said nervously: "Sir, I'm going to line up. If you don't wait in line, the store will be closed soon. I advise a few of you guys to get together with ten people and buy a few kilograms. This salt is really good. It’s better than many refined salts outside.”

“The quality of the salt sold by Zhuangyuan is not bad.”

Hua Lun nodded.

Seeing that Hua Lun didn't ask any more questions, my father-in-law also jogged a few steps and returned to the queue.

Hua Lun and the others looked at each other, full of doubts: "What exactly does Xia Zhibai think? Fifteen cents? Is the price too low?"

"If so. The quality of the salt is poor, so I can understand why it is sold so low, but from the looks of it, the quality should be okay."

"What is his plan?"

Hua Lun. I really don’t understand.

The others were equally puzzled, but they didn't think too much about it. They pulled a few people from the people around them who hadn't finished forming a team, and formed a team of ten people, ready to find out what it was. Then they would know what it was. situation.

The queue was not long.

While waiting in line, Hua Lun saw the number board at a glance.

He looked at it suspiciously and asked Lian Zining behind him: "Brother Lian, look at that big sign, does it look like a Chinese numeral?"

Lian Zining He raised his head and looked over. After looking back and forth a few times, he said in a deep voice: "Like."

"It's just that this set of numerical symbols is not taken seriously."

"How did Xia Zhibai use it?"

And how did Xia Zhibai know this set of numerical symbols?

They knew it and saw it while browsing books in the palace. It was originally introduced to the country by the Hu people in the Tang Dynasty, but China has its own set of arithmetic methods from ancient times to the present, that is, calculation. Therefore, this set of numerical symbols has been rarely used by people.

It is also rarely known to the outside world.

Regarding this counting system, Hua Lun and others actually didn't have a very intuitive feeling in the past, and rarely studied it seriously. After all, what good things could be found in something that was abandoned by the ancients?

Just seeing such a big counting card hanging in front of their eyes gave them a very strange feeling.

Even this counting system seems to have merit.

At least it’s clear at a glance.

"What on earth is Xia Zhibai doing?" Lian Zining asked this question again.

He couldn't understand it more and more.

Xia Zhibai is completely unconstrained in what he does.

Rarely fall into ruts.

This time again and again, Xia Zhibai seems to have no end, and he can always come up with new tricks.

It is refreshing and creepy.

soon.

It was Hua Lun and others’ turn.

They originally wanted to buy a few kilograms at a time, but when they heard that they could only buy one kilogram at a time, they couldn't help but frown, with a strange look on their faces. There were some businessmen who didn't want to sell more. ?

And just waiting in line a few more times, what does Xia Zhibai think?

Compared to the indifference of Huang Zicheng and others, Hua Lun's eyes were always on the counting card.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt that this counting system was unusual.

He had a hunch that Xia Zhibai had a deep understanding of this counting system, which made Hualun a little excited.

Many of the political affairs he is responsible for today are related to data.

This counting system is obviously more intuitive and easier to count than calculations. If this system is combined with calculations, will it greatly improve the speed of political processing?

Hualun was thinking secretly in his heart.

Instead of going with the others, he made an excuse to leave.

Wait until the salt shop closed, Hua Lun appeared again, pointed at the counting card above and asked: "What is this?"

"The number of kilograms sold by the shop in one day."< br>
“What number is this?” Hua Lun asked solemnly.

Fang Mo glanced at it suspiciously: "Arabic numerals? This was taught by Commander Xia. Commander Xia felt that the previous counting was too troublesome. Counting with words, there were too many strokes, and the calculation process was also very complicated. It is cumbersome, so it was deliberately simplified. This counting system is said to have been introduced by the barbarians. ”

"This '1' is one, and this '2' is two."

Fang Mo explained patiently.

Hualun kept this statement in mind one by one.

"Where is Xia Zhibai?" Hua Lun thought and wanted to meet Xia Zhibai and ask about the number.

"Our chief is running business outside." Fang Mo said with a smile.

"Run for business?" Hua Lun looked stunned.

Fang Mo nodded and said: "The specific business involves commercial secrets and cannot be disclosed."

Hua Lun's eyes moved slightly, hesitated, and said slowly: "When he comes back, remember Tell him that Hua Lun is looking for something."

Then he added: "The editor of Hanlin Academy is looking for him."

"Hanlin." Fang Mo's eyes brightened.

Hua Lun had no intention of saying anything and walked away directly.

He was going to go back and look through the information to see if the counting system that Xia Zhibai came up with was really the one that was passed on by barbarians.

(End of this chapter)