After finally finishing the matter of Changning Guard, Su Ze ordered Xiong Wu and Yao Chun to carve movable type at the guard station. Chen Haizhang continued to repair Jianxi, and left the matter of dealing with the Black Mountain Bandits to Lin Mojun.
Luo Erlang was a rebel wanted by the court. There was a reward for his head, but his head had to be sent to Fuzhou Prefecture to receive the reward.
The Black Mountain bandit is also a famous bandit in the county. Xue Gao is also wanted by the county government. His head was cut off by Lin Mojun, sprinkled with lime and put into a sack. There are also a dozen other Black Mountain bandits who have life lawsuits on their hands.
, were all tied up by Lin Mojun, and a small flagman from the guard station was asked to lead the regular soldiers of two flags and escort them to the county seat to receive the reward.
Su Ze also hitched the carriage and headed to the county town with Xiao Qi.
This time, he was escorted by the guardsmen, and all the merchants and travelers on the road hid when they saw him. The reputation of the Ming army these days was about the same as that of bandits.
This flagman's name is Lin Xianda, he is Lin Xianyang's uncle and brother, and he was very attentive to Su Ze along the way.
As they approached the gate of the county town, Lin Xianda said, "Mr. Su, we will go to the county government office as soon as we enter the town."
Su Ze nodded and said, "You can go back directly after you finish your work. You don't have to wait for me."
Lin Xianda said: "Baihu asked us to escort Mr. back. Last time we even escaped some Black Mountain bandits, just in case they cause trouble for Mr."
Su Ze could only nod and said, "Then where will you stay after finishing your work?"
Lin Xianda smiled and said: "We have some relatives in the county where our guard is located. Just stay overnight. Sir, just be busy with your business. Just say hello to us when you leave the city."
Su Ze thought of the time when he and Lin Xianyang entered the city, they also stayed at a relative's house in Changningwei.
So Su Ze nodded and said, "When you guys settle down, come to the county school to find me. I'll take you all to have a good meal in the county town tonight!"
All the officers and soldiers cheered one after another. Although the officers and soldiers in Changningwei had the best food, they only had enough staple food. There were no restaurants in the county that tasted good.
After entering the city, Su Ze and Zhengzu parted ways. As soon as he reached the gate of the county school, he saw a figure he had been waiting for for a long time.
Yu Zongyuan, the number one supporter of Su Ze's rebellion and a major source of grievance, was sitting under an umbrella waiting for Su Ze.
Seeing that the corners of Yu Zongyuan's mouth were boiling with anger, it seemed that the second young master was having a hard time.
Sure enough, as soon as he saw Su Ze, Yu Zongyuan hurried over, took Su Ze's hand and said, "Brother Su is so lucky! I really suffered a disaster!"
Su Ze once again felt sad for the Yanping Wei Yu family. The public shouted so loudly that even if the Yu family did not suffer disaster, it would suffer.
Mr. Yu also noticed his gaffe, pulled Su Ze to sit under the parasol, and said eagerly: "Brother Su, help me!"
Su Ze was also speechless. He was not a world-viewing Bodhisattva. Every time Qin Yu Zongyuan came up, he would cosplay the monkey. It was really unbearable.
"I've also heard about the Yanpingwei incident. Has the matter at Brother Yu's family not been resolved yet?"
Yu Zongyuan sighed and said: "Brother Su, are you talking about the matter of Yushi Qingjun? That matter has been resolved."
Su Ze wanted to ask how much money the Yu family spent to eliminate the disaster, but felt it was not appropriate.
Forget it, given that the second young master is so pissy, he will tell it himself sooner or later. Su Ze is curious about what is causing his trouble?
Yu Zongyuan said anxiously: "The matter of Yushi Qingjun has been solved, but my disaster has come!"
"Brother Su has a clever plan. Do you know the scandal about my ancestors?"
Su Ze nodded. The scandal about the ancestors of the Yu family is now well known to everyone in Nanping County. Some comedians even arranged this part into a joke, which greatly enriched the spiritual culture and entertainment of the people in Nanping County.
Yu Zongyuan said: "My father is afraid that something like this will happen again in this generation, so he is planning to separate my family!"
Su Ze now understood what Yu Zongyuan's trouble was. He had always coveted his brother's career, and he probably knew it now in the commander's mind.
If things like our ancestors happen again, I'm afraid the Yu family will be dismissed from their posts by the imperial court.
Therefore, the commander-in-chief simply let sons like Yu Zongyuan divide the family property and move out in advance to save them from coveting their brother's property.
This is naturally a great thing for Yu Zongyuan's brother, but it is terrible for Yu Zongyuan.
Yu Zongyuan was busy with family matters, but when the matter was settled, his father kicked him out of the mansion.
The concubines and maids raised in Yu Zongyuan's house used to be paid for by the public account, but after moving out, he would have to pay for them himself.
In addition, all other expenses that can be shared among the public will have to be borne by Yu Zongyuan himself in the future. These expenses are not small expenses.
Yu Zongyuan cursed and said: "My father is killing the donkey! If you give me four shops and a farm, plus three thousand taels of silver, he will beat me! If I had known, he would not be busy in Fuzhou Prefecture at that time, and let the Yu family be destroyed.
Forget about confiscation of the house!"
Su Ze could only lament that the Yu family was really wealthy. An ordinary adult man these days could not earn more than fifteen taels of silver even if he was busy in a year. Commander Yu divided the family for his second son who had no inheritance rights, and all he had to do was earn three thousand taels of silver.
, that is, two hundred years of wages for ordinary people.
There are four shops and a farm. After these operations are completed, they can earn an income of hundreds of taels of silver a year. This is after the Yu family was severely blackmailed by Yan Maoqing.
But when I think of Mr. Tuohu’s troupe, which he was reluctant to part with even for a thousand taels of silver, it’s not that the Ming Dynasty was not wealthy, but that these utilitarian classes were too rich!
Su Ze looked at Yu Zongyuan and asked, "What does Brother Yu want to do?"
Yu Zongyuan whispered: "Do I still have a chance to inherit the family property?"
Su Ze continued to pretend, "Brother Yu, please tell me another number."
Yu Zongyuan said a number, and Su Ze pretended to count it with his fingers. After a stick of incense, he said:
"It's difficult! Running around for the Yu family has cost Brother Yu too much of his luck. Now that your brother is gaining momentum, you have to work hard to make it happen."
Yu Zongyuan slapped his thigh and lifted it up and said: "No wonder that old man asked me to go to Fuzhou City at this time! It turns out he wants to consume my luck! Damn it!"
Su Ze continued: "Brother Yu, I suggest you hibernate for a while. Anyway, Yu commanded to keep your body healthy. This is not a temporary matter."
Hearing what Su Ze said, Yu Zongyuan could only sigh and said: "Brother Su, my family's expenses are quite high. My father only gave me this small amount of property. I'm afraid I won't be able to sustain it!"
This bit of family property?
Is this what you said in human language?
The Changning Guards combined may not have as much wealth as you and the Second Young Master alone!
But when Young Master Zai showed up at his door, there was no reason why Su Ze wouldn't cheat him.
It was still early, so Su Ze pulled Yu Zongyuan and said, "Let's find a tea shop. I'll help Brother Yu figure out these four shops."
Yu Zongyuan asked excitedly: "Brother Su, do you still know about business matters?"
"Know a thing or two."
Yu Zongyuan immediately pulled Su Ze towards a nearby tea shop and said as he walked: "I'm about to find someone to help me check it out!"
When he arrived at the tea shop, Yu Zongyuan even opened up his chatterbox. He poured out his bitter words and said:
"These four shops are all old shops of our Yu family, and the shopkeepers are all old people in the house. These treacherous slaves don't know how much they have embezzled from them. The four shops combined only make seventy or eighty taels of silver a year!
"
Su Ze drank from the tea bowl, thinking about it using the [Estimation] and [Accounting Room] skills in his mind.
Nanping County is Yiguo County, which is the county where the prefecture is located. It is the economic center of Yanping Prefecture.
The property of the Yu family was the property of Yanpingwei, and the tax collectors in the prefectures and counties did not dare to exploit them, so there were almost no excessive levies or miscellaneous taxes.
Under such circumstances, four shops only make seventy or eighty taels a year, which is indeed a huge deficit.
It has always been a common thing for a cunning slave to eat his master's food.
Back then, Yu Zongyuan's father had just inherited the position of commander. He also wanted to rectify the old servants in the family and sent people to check the account books of these shops.
However, these servants have been in charge of the store for a long time, and they are very good at fake accounting. There is no problem at all in the books.
In the end, Commander Yu had no choice but to find an excuse, and transferred a few greedy and excessive managers to a farm outside the city, and replaced them with a few of his cronies.
After these cronies took over the store, they were still greedy.
The reason why there is still some profit every year is because all the servants who are in the third grade are commanded by Yu, and these slaves also have to rely on the Yu family.
But it was different when it came to Yu Zongyuan. Everyone in the Yu family knew that Yu Zongyuan was a fool and could not manage the shop well. They were afraid that he would not be able to pay the eighty taels of silver in the future.
At all times and in all over the world, the career path of a professional manager is a fart, and it is the norm to be a shopkeeper who eats up all his family property.
Yu Zongyuan said: "My four shops are a powder shop, a pickle shop, a dyeing shop and a book shop."
Su Ze pricked up his ears. This young master was full of treasures. These four shops were all Su Ze's favorites.
Changningwei's cotton cloth has been woven, but Su Ze is still thinking about printing and dyeing.
Ordinary cotton cannot be sold at a high price because rich people still like to wear silk.
Moreover, Changningwei’s small output cannot imitate the colonial dumping practices of the British.
To make money, you still need to increase added value.
Dyeing cloth is a good way. If you can dye brightly colored cloth, you will definitely be able to sell it at a high price.
But high-priced products cannot be purchased at ghost markets or stalls. Su Ze had previously wanted to take advantage of the Yu family's misfortune and buy a shop from Yu Zongyuan, but he did not expect that the Yu family would pass the test so quickly.
I looked at Yu Zongyuan and said, Brother Yu, if you can't make a decision in these shops, let me help you.
It happened that Su Ze was engaged in movable type printing, and the bookstore could also sell books printed by Changning Wei.
Su Ze had no clue about the pickle shop and the powder shop, but they were both profitable industries.
There are so many profitable industries, and as Yu Zongyuan's good brother, Su Ze is bound to help.
He said: "Well, after I finish my class tomorrow, I will accompany Brother Yu to the four shops to look at the accounts and beat these cunning old servants."
"Brother Su still knows how to keep accounts? That's great! I've heard my mother say a long time ago that these shopkeepers are all treacherous people. My mother originally wanted to ask my uncle for help, so she sent Brother's gentleman who is good at accounting to help with the accounts. Now,
Brother Su can help! That would be great!"
Fortunately, he took the initiative to mention it. Yu Zongyuan's mother's family was also quite powerful in Yanping Mansion. If he wanted to deceive Yu Zongyuan, he had to do it as soon as possible!
Su Ze added: "We in Changningwei also have some good products, which can be sold in Brother Yu's shop when the time comes."
Yu Zongyuan said gratefully: "With Brother Su helping me, why worry about the family business not being prosperous! When things are done, I will invite Brother Su to invite Yuelou for a drink!"
After sending Yu Zongyuan away, Su Ze walked into the county school. This time, the county school was a lot more lively. Scholars gathered everywhere and discussed something loudly.
Needless to say, it must be Mr. Tuohu’s essay call.
Sure enough, as soon as Su Ze arrived at the dormitory, Lin Qingcai took out a stack of paper, handed it to Su Ze and said:
"Brother Su, help me read this play."
Su Ze took it over and took a look. It turned out that the handwriting belonged to Lin Qingcai. It seemed that he couldn't help but write a play and submit it.
What scholar can resist the temptation of fame?
Su Ze took it and looked at it, and had to say that Lin Qingcai really had no talent in opera creation.
The old-fashioned story of a talented man and a beautiful woman is full of the obscenity of poor scholars, and the lyrics are not outstanding. Su Ze bit the bullet and read it and said: "The format is neat, and the story seems a bit ordinary."
Lin Qingcai sat down dejectedly: "Brother Su, don't you think it's okay?"
Lin Qingcai sighed and said, "It would be great if I had Brother Su's talent."
Su Ze was about to comfort Lin Qingcai when Chen Chaoyuan also came in with a stack of paper. He handed the two scripts directly to Su Ze and Lin Qingcai, and then looked at the two of them expectantly.
After reading the play written by Chen Chaoyuan, Su Ze almost died of poisoning.
This is a drama that imitates the legends of the Tang Dynasty about establishing a successful career. The story is clichéd, but it also has a lot of poisonous points. There is even a scene where the male protagonist goes out to have a life and the female protagonist remarries. If it were placed in the first chapter of a modern online novel, readers would abandon the book.
.
Su Ze sighed and said, "You two can submit your manuscript and give it a try. What if it meets Mr. Tuohu's wishes?"
The two of them also had hope. They looked at Su Ze and said, "Where's yours?"
"My what?"
"Brother Su, won't you participate?"
Su Ze said: "I don't want to participate. I don't understand opera. Wouldn't it be ridiculous to write it down?"
Lin Qingcai said: "I have never written a play before. With Brother Su's talent here, maybe one of his articles will become famous in the Southeast?"
Chen Chaoyuan also said: "Mr. Tuohu's call for papers will not end until the end of June. Brother Su can start writing now and hand it in when he comes to the county at the end of the month."
Writing a play? Can you gain experience?
Su Ze doesn't have enough experience at the moment, so he has no time to write plays.
Su Ze politely declined again. Seeing that Su Ze persisted, the two stopped trying to persuade him.
Xiong Yue was the last one to arrive at the dormitory. He used to like participating in Shilin activities the most, but he did not write plays. It seemed that the Cha Gong incident made him uneasy.
After the four people arrived, Chen Chaoyuan said: "I heard that Huang Shixing of Yanping Academy is planning to start a small newspaper to publish everyone's plays for the scholars in the mansion to appreciate. Now that the engraving master has been hired, this is our Yanping Mansion again.
It’s a prosperous era in the literary world!”
Huang Shixing? The second grudge that explodes gold coins?