Chapter 29 The Most Elegant Criminal Official of the Song Dynasty (Part 1)

Half of the beauty of the scenery lies in its place, while the other half is the person who is watching the scenery.

Su Dongpo was a poet. He could see the beauty that others could not even feel in heaven. He used the salary of the official family to support his family. Now he truly knew the fragrance of grains. Seeing the small green seedlings as small as needles on the ground, he would jump up like a child with joy; watching the rice stems stand up straight, sway in the breeze, or watching the stems covered with dew flashing under the moonlight, like strings of pearls, he felt proud and satisfied.

Just living in this simple mud house, Su Shi boasted everywhere: He woke up from his nap and forgot where he was. The curtains were raised and on the bed, he could see the sails on the water up and down. Looking from afar, the water was connected with the sky, and it was vast.

At this moment, the door of the mud house was not completely closed...

Seeing someone working on the hillside, Xu Zhizhou did not slow down. He repeatedly urged the yamen run with him. When he rushed to the small house near the river, he heard the sound of snoring like a cow in the house. Xu Zhizhou smiled on his face, and he walked slowly and slowly... and when he got closer, the snoring was already like a cannon.

Xu Zhizhou stopped and turned around and scolded the master: "Listen, listen - where did he run? Can others snore so loudly?"

The master is very ashamed.

Su Dongpo's snoring sound is awesome. He not only once admitted in his poems that "snoring sounds like a cow" but in fact, this is his humble statement. Zhao Xing was in the scene and could say responsibly: The person snoring sounds like a cannon, and thus, he admires the other person's wife very much.

Xu Zhizhou turned to Zhao Xing and explained: "Since this person is here, your name is settled... Let's not disturb this person today. When he wakes up, I will bring you to disturb him."

As Xu Zhizhou spoke, the yamen runners had already begun to greet the official sedan chairs behind him.

The habit of sitting in a sedan chair started in the Song Dynasty. At first, sitting in a sedan chair was a treatment given to the prime minister by the emperor, but then local officials repeatedly banned from sitting in a sedan chair. By the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the lack of transportation, the court simply agreed that all officials could sit in a sedan chair.

Xu Zhizhou was anxious just now, and he ran all the way and threw the official sedan chair behind him. Now, he was so breathless that he ran away. In order to show his loyalty, the yamen runners quickly greeted the sedan chairmen.

When Xu Zhizhou got into the sedan chair, he found that Zhao Xing was still standing by the river looking at the small house by the river. His face was full of yearning and he had no intention of moving at all. He reminded in surprise: "The deceased nephew, this is a famous criminal... He is tired today, so you can't disturb him, and go back to the inn to rest..."

Zhao Xing was a little ashamed. He lowered his head and said carefully: "Sir, is this person the one who made the 'a boat passed away from now on, and the river and sea will be sent to the rest of his life'... The student had seen him by the river and happened to make a bet with him. Unfortunately, the student lost the bet and still owed him half a boat of mountain cargo and half a boat of wine. Since he met him today, the student planned to ask his family to pay off the gambling debt."

After Zhao Xing said this, Xu Zhizhou felt relieved. He nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, this person is in a difficult life. If you have a half-boat wine, a few days later, he will have something to entertain friends... Wait, do you say there is a half-boat wine, do you have a lot of wine?"

Generally speaking, how can there be as many wines as produced and used as one-sized boat?

But the truth is: Zhao Xing has more than half a boat. He honestly replied: "The students have a lot of money. If they are not careful, they have brewed a little more wine. After paying off their gambling debts, they still have a lot left. The students plan to transport the rest to the city for sale, to..."

Xu Zhizhou understood: "So, you want to give the wine a good name...How much do you plan to sell this wine?"

Zhao Xing's answer was vague: "Students are not good at managing, so they plan to sell them for a pot of money no matter what kind of wine they want."

After hearing this, Xu Zhizhou felt that he wanted to spit on Zhao Xing - it was too dark. He could buy ten pigs for a lifetime, and the purchasing power was equivalent to RMB 10,000. This price... was extremely dark.

But the Song Dynasty was so rich.

At that time, there were many good wines selling more than five sprigs. According to records, Cai Jing drank a jar of 150 sprigs. The small jar of the wine that Cai Jing drank was not much larger than that of Zhao Xing's bottle.

With this change of thought, Xu Zhizhou's enthusiasm was calm. Zhao Xing always sold two things: one was wine and the other was wine pot.

I just opened my mouth with all six bottles of wine. Except for the last two bottles of high-end wine, the other fruit wine is actually contained in a beautiful wine pot. The wine pot is finely crafted and is a full and vivid craft. It is used as a teapot and has a great taste.

Such fine wine and pottery skills are sold for only one-month of money. This person is quite honest. If you sell this thing in Hangzhou or Tokyo, you can even sell it for more than fifty taels.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhizhou's eyes lit up and he asked kindly: "Would you like to 'enter the industry'?"

The so-called entry into the industry refers to joining the "bank license".

The policies on merchants in the Song Dynasty can be summarized into guild policies, dentist policies, business policies, etc. To set up shops in towns, you must join the guild. Once a merchant joins the guild, he is ranked as "business registration". Just like the "craftsmanship" of a handicraft, once a merchant is included in the "business registration", it will not only be difficult for him to escape, but also affect his descendants - this is mainly to ensure that there are enough merchants to bear the official responsibilities.

In fact, in the Song Dynasty, it was not only the "hangers" who joined the guilds who were merchants. Generally speaking, the government did not control the foreign merchants, farmers who went to the city to trade, and the large number of small merchants engaged in sporadic transactions in the city, and the tax was extremely low, with the former being 3% and the latter being 2%.

The agricultural products of Chengjiaao were previously the latter type of mobile sales that avoided scientific and technological provisions. In the Song Dynasty, the court encouraged them to set up stalls to make a living.

Zhao Xing agreed to the expectations of Xu Zhizhou: "I would like to obey the arrangements of the envoy."

Xu Zhizhou was quite satisfied. This meant that a new tax source was opened up during his tenure. He could understand what Zhao Xing said was limited in production. After all, smart people like Su Dongpo did not produce good wine, which shows that mastering winemaking technology is not that simple. In this case, small amounts and essence are inevitable.

When he was in a good mood, he liked everything. Xu Zhizhou kindly invited Zhao Xing to come again tomorrow and explained solemnly: Since the exam was about to come, he couldn't have much contact with Zhao Xing, so he couldn't invite him to the house during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. However... Zhao Xing had to deliver wine, because there were many guests, so he had to deliver more.

Zhao Xing was very obedient, and Xu Zhizhou felt a little embarrassed. The old man was not as good as he was. When he learned that Zhao Xing brought two students to the autumn exam together, he blinked meaningfully and reminded Zhao Xing to take the students to the mansion to speak.

When Xu Zhizhou left, Zhao Xing kept arching his body and rushing away to salute respectfully. When the official sedan chair disappeared at the city gate, he straightened his waist and returned to normal. When he turned his face, he found that Cheng Xia was tilting his head and looking at him with his index finger in his mouth, and his face was puzzled. Cheng Shuang was curling his lips, as if he was confused about Zhao Xing's humility.
Chapter completed!