Seeing her like this, Qiao Yuyan didn't hesitate to ask more questions, so Qiao Yuyan only asked her about the changes at home in the past two years.
It's just that although Xu Lu loves to play outside, she is just a boudoir girl. In addition, the Xu family is also wealthy, so she doesn't know the details of the specific things outside.
But even so, Qiao Yuyan still noticed the change in the situation from her few words.
For example, those festival activities that everyone liked to participate in in the past are rarely held now. Even when they are held, they seem deserted, and the people coming and going on the street seem to be in a hurry.
It had only been two years, but the things Xu Lu said were already very different from what Qiao Yuyan remembered.
"That's right!" As she was talking, Xu Lu suddenly remembered something, "But in the past two years, we have a lot more Western goods here. In the past, when we saw anything from the West, we were very curious.
There are several foreign goods shops opened on Xunyang Street now! Let’s go shopping in two days.”
Qiao Yuyan couldn't help but be a little surprised, "What do you say? The late emperor had been in power for decades and ordered that no pieces of wood be allowed to enter the sea. We also knew full well that the foreign goods flowing in were all smuggled.
Now you dare to open a store openly and openly? It seems that the Holy One has not mentioned the ban on maritime trade!"
Speaking of this, Xu Lu could only shake her head helplessly, "I don't know the specifics, but it seems that when people talk about this foreign product, there is nothing to avoid. Anyway, everyone is buying it. I even saw it before.
The eldest girl who came to Zhang Yuan's house had a big coral-glazed hairpin on her head! I heard that it was from Tianzhu, and I was depressed for a long time. It's hard to buy such a good hairpin even if you have money."
Qiao Yuyan paid attention and told Wen Tingyuan about the incident when he came back.
Wen Tingyuan also nodded, "Although your second cousin has not taken over the Xu family's business very much, he does know a lot about the outside world. I asked you just now, and now along the southern coast, almost all the merchant ships that go to sea are considered...
This is a blatant act.
A merchant ship loaded with silk can be sold for two million when shipped overseas, but the number sold domestically is only seven to eight million. This is still calculated according to the market price. If the silk merchants directly participate,
The profit can be even higher.
Nowadays, the imperial court does not have effective control over the south. Whether it is taxation or public sentiment, it is beyond its reach. It is not that the Holy Emperor has not heard of such shipping matters. In the final analysis, it is still beyond its control now."
Qiao Yuyan asked in a low voice: "What does this have to do with..."
She paused, then continued: "Does it have anything to do with that person?"
Wen Tingyuan gave her a meaningful look, and finally nodded helplessly, "In matters like this, the most important thing is money. The South relies on the advantage of shipping, and every time it comes, it's all money. He
The power is concentrated here, and these are naturally his economic foundation."
As soon as he said this, Qiao Yuyan immediately understood the difficulty between the Holy Lord and that person. No matter what kind of dispute it was, at the end of the day, all it cost was one word - money!
Whoever has money can survive until the end.
And that person now actually controls the southern provinces, which gives him the confidence and strength to drag on.
However, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and since the Holy Emperor is firmly on the throne, it is naturally impossible for him to let such a threat exist next to him.
The governance of this area in the south is imperative.
And Wen Tingyuan was the leader of His Majesty in doing this. Qiao Yuyan couldn't help but feel worried, "You must be careful."
Although their journey was quite long in order to take care of her, Qiao Yuyan also noticed that the path they took was actually not the path they would choose under normal circumstances, not to mention that occasionally Prince An would disappear for a day.
Half a day.
At first, she just thought he had never been to the south, so she went out to play with horses. But after many times, and seeing the way Wen Tingyuan and Prince An were lagging behind the others, she knew that there must be something going on here.
There is some other reason.
Of course she knew that Wen Tingyuan's visit to Jiangxi would not be a simple matter, and he might also encounter danger.
But when she heard about the huge profits from shipping, she realized how dangerous it was to come here.
There is a saying that cutting off someone's financial path is like killing one's parents. What's the difference between Wen Tingyuan's coming this time and cutting off someone's financial path?
It still cuts off so many people’s financial resources.
Perhaps sensing her worries, Wen Tingyuan patted her shoulder and said, "Think about why the Holy One sent me to deal with things here? It's not because my roots were in Jiangxi in the past, not to mention, there is Xu
Home is here.
The Xu family is considered to be the top among all Jiang Youshang merchants in Daqi, and now I am the Xu family's grandson-in-law. Just because of this, they should be a little afraid of me."
Qiao Yuyan knew that this matter was not something she could intervene in. The more worried she appeared now, the more she was dragging him down.
So he suppressed all his worries back to the bottom of his heart, and just smiled and said: "I know you have always been successful. How can I be better than you in this kind of thing? I want you to take over this matter, and I feel so happy in my heart."
I also have my own plans.
I don’t understand official matters, so don’t tell me. It will be bad if I accidentally ruin your business. Don’t worry so much now. Let’s pack up first and go to grandma’s place for dinner.
Seriously, my aunt has been busy with the family dinner all afternoon!"
When they arrived at Mrs. Xu's house, uncle Xu Song and uncle Xu Bai had just entered the house. When they saw her coming, they all laughed sincerely, "The little girl has finally grown up to get married. The climate of the capital is different.
It looks a lot more mature than the past two years."
Qiao Yuyan smiled and said: "It's obvious that I'm two years older. I have to say it's because I went to the capital. Could it be that I was so ignorant before?"
Xu Song burst out laughing, "You girl, you never want to suffer a little loss! Okay, okay, just come, so as not to worry about your mother-in-law all the time. Now that you are married, I won't
I’ve talked to you, just talk to my nephew and son-in-law.”
After saying that, he took Wen Tingyuan away directly and went to the male guest's table to eat.
Qiao Yuyan complained: "We are all one family, and we are divided into male and female tables. If there is no choice, we will all be divided."
Old Mrs. Xu smiled and said: "You don't know that your uncle always likes to have a good face in front of others. Now that your husband-in-law is already a popular person in front of the Holy Emperor, he naturally has to act like he understands etiquette.
I’m afraid I’ll be looked down upon by those from the capital city.”
Speaking of this, the second wife of the Xu family asked: "Yan'er, what kind of official is my uncle now? What did he do in Jiangxi?"