Before I knew it, the New Year was really approaching.
In the streets and alleys, you can hear the sound of urchins firing small whips here and there.
My child, I wish every day was a Chinese New Year.
Sir, I hope that the New Year will come later every year.
It's the so-called Pan Chi.
Rich people feel that time flies too fast and are afraid of getting old.
The poor feel that they make no money throughout the year, but they have to spend a lot of money.
But no matter what, the new year is still here.
Therefore, rich people curse the fast passing of time while waiting for the arrival of the New Year. Since they cannot stop it, they must enjoy it.
The poor, on the other hand, are rolling up their sleeves and exerting twice as much effort as usual, amidst the noise of their children's new clothes and big elbows, gritting their teeth and hoping to earn a few more dollars so that the whole family can live a good year.
The New Year is festive, but people are different.
Presumably this joy will vary from person to person and will be discounted.
~
The aroma of tea, meat, and noodles can be heard from the bustling teahouse.
The poor people passing by looked enviously at the wealthy and idle people in the teahouse who had no worries about food and clothing, and continued on their way with their heads down.
"Everyone, have you heard that the Burmese king Dedopaye who just left Beijing made a big joke in the Qianqing Palace?"
Mr. Liu was wearing a brand-new short-haired robe with silver fox lapels. On the hand holding the newspaper, a huge cat-eye saddle ring shone brightly.
Someone immediately shouted, "Sixth Master, you are well-informed, tell everyone!"
"It is said that before leaving the capital, Dedopaye was going to the Qianqing Palace to kowtow to our emperor!" Mr. Liu put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a laugh, "At that time, Cao Guogong was accompanying him and he was walking outside the gate of the Qianqing Palace. !”
Everyone came over and waited enthusiastically for what was going to happen next. Only the shopkeeper frowned and shook his head at the counter.
"Where is the Qianqing Palace? That is the first center of our Ming Dynasty!" Mr. Liu continued loudly, "There is a sign at the door. Do you know what it says?"
"Say it quickly!" someone laughed.
"The sign at the door of the Qianqing Palace says that it is an important military and national territory. No idlers are allowed to enter!" Mr. Liu smiled and said, "Guess what?"
As he spoke, Mr. Liu took a sip of tea and continued, "Dedopaye, King of Namen, stood in front of the sign saying "no visitors allowed in" and turned to ask Duke Cao Guo.
Immediately, he turned his eyes and smiled again, "He asked Cao Guogong, what does it mean on the sign in front of the Ming Emperor's palace that says Idle Man Rabbit Enters?"
"...."
Everyone was stunned and didn't seem to understand.
Then, poof!
An old scholar next to him spat out a sip of tea, "Hahaha! Fortunately, he is still a vassal king... When a rabbit comes to an idle man... Haha! There is no difference between a rabbit and a rabbit..."
"Hahaha!" Immediately, unbridled laughter broke out in the teahouse.
"Barbarians are barbarians!" someone said scornfully, "ignorant and ignorant!"
"That was... the day he came, I saw it with my own eyes!" Someone followed and said, "Our Ming Dynasty Crown Prince is such a spirit when he is riding on a horse. He is riding a horse, and he is on horseback with his mother. He looks like a monkey, and it blinds the horse!"
"Everyone, are all the people over there like that, with sharp mouths and monkey cheeks?"
Everyone started talking about it. The wealthy and idle people at the emperor's feet had extraordinary premonitions and always held a contemptuous attitude towards the outside world.
"He's not a good person, he doesn't have the aura of a king!" Mr. Liu suddenly said mysteriously, "But I heard that Kuai is a good place!"
"Hey, where can the poor mountains and rivers be better?" Some people were dissatisfied and argued, "That poor place can't help but ask us, the Ming Dynasty, to provide grain every year..."
"Short-sighted!" Liu Ye rolled his eyes at him and shook the gem ring on his finger, "Do you see it? That place is rich in this..." He said, lowering his voice again, "Gems, gold, spices, wood, medicinal materials, beasts
Peel... And that place is rich in rice, which is harvested three times a year!" As he said that, he looked at the crowd and said, "My brother-in-law was with the army to supply military supplies during the conquest of Burma, you know!"
"I know!" Someone nodded, "I just do business with the army!"
"Sent!" Mr. Liu said solemnly.
"Hiss..." Everyone gasped.
"We, the military men of the Ming Dynasty, robbed it... No, there is no place to sell the ivory gems we got, they all passed through his hands!" Mr. Liu whispered, "The imperial court needed a lot of teak for shipbuilding, and he took it with him
We bought a lot of cotton, satin, and porcelain from the Ming Dynasty there... Now, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works settle with him in cash!"
"Don't talk about anything else!" Mr. Liu said, pointing to the shoes under his feet, "Do you see it? A pair of shoes like that over there is worth two taels of gold sand..."
"Hiss..." Everyone gasped again.
But some people don't believe it, "Sixth Master, please don't exaggerate on purpose!"
"If I am exaggerating, I am this..." Mr. Liu measured the shape of an eight in his hand, and then said, "The newspapers have said that several of the clan's descendants, the emperor's cousins, are making trouble.
Do you want to go to the land of vassal and Burma?" As he said that, he exaggerated the man and said, "If the place is not good, can the royal children go there to cause trouble?"
Everyone was in a daze.
"To be honest, after the Chinese New Year, I will also go to Myanmar to see it!" Mr. Liu crossed his legs and said, "The imperial court has issued an order. Doing business there is tax-free!"
"You used to open a silk shop?" Someone laughed, "Can they afford the clothes?"
"Not everyone in the Ming Dynasty could afford to wear silk!" Liu Ye looked at the man with contempt, "Besides, who said I open a silk shop?"
"Then you are..."
"Grant the land to grow mulberry and raise silkworms!" Mr. Liu said with a raised face, "It's a hugely profitable business, and it costs nothing! But, we can't lose our old business. It's been said in the newspapers that the imperial court is about to immigrate there.
Oh! Not counting future immigrants, just feeding the army and their families is a huge deal!"
"Oil press shop, rice noodle shop, ready-made clothing shop." Mr. Liu clapped his fingers, "Even if you just open a teahouse, you can still make money with your eyes closed!"
"You can pull it, that's nice to say!" someone laughed.
Mr. Liu rolled his eyes at the man again, "You are just born in a good family!" After saying that, he paused and said, "You have no way of making money, and you don't have the vision!"
"I never thought about this money at all! My father has left me more than a dozen yards, and I can't even eat the rent. Are you thinking about making money? Get out of here! You guys can't bear that crime, and you can't afford to lose that.
Man!" The man laughed.
As he said that, the man suddenly scratched his head and said, "Hey, when you said that, I still remembered it. The rent hasn't been increased for several years. I have to raise the rent for the coming year before the end of the year!"
"Just do the damage!" Liu Ye glanced at him, "How can it be so easy for poor people? Are you causing trouble for others during the Chinese New Year?"
"You don't make losses, and I don't see that your business doesn't make money!" The man retorted, "If they think it's expensive, they can't help it. I'm begging them?"
Mr. Liu's eyes widened and he was about to run away.
"Sixth Master, Sixth Master!" The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter at the right time and said with a smile, "What's new in the newspaper today?"
"It really does!" Mr. Liu opened the newspaper and shook his head as he read, "The first article is that the emperor wants to inspect martial arts... and teach swordsmanship to those who are talented in martial arts and so on...?"
While thinking about it, he suddenly exclaimed, "This is amazing!"
"What's wrong?" asked the shopkeeper.
"The emperor has decreed that people from rural areas selected from each province must come to Beijing... Strange, why do you let those country bumpkins come to Beijing?"