The fat pork was put into the hot pot, and the oil was refined for a while. Wang Dachun's wife wiped out the fat, and then fried the remaining meat.
The family sat on the table at the end of the kang, eating pork deliciously. Wang Dachun looked at the fat corners of his wife and children's mouths, and showed a happy smile. He put a glass of wine in his bowl and took a sip.
Not many families in the capital can have dinner with wine and meat like Wang Dachun's family. The Hong San family in Nancheng are also having dinner, but they can only eat simple meals.
A basket of coarse grain steamed buns, a pot of wild vegetable soup, and a plate of pickles are a normal dinner for ordinary people in this city.
To be honest, not every family can have such a dinner. A few days ago, the Hong family could only eat porridge and wild vegetable soup.
"Mom, this is the money I got from selling rat tails today, a total of thirteen coins." While chewing on the dough, Hong Gouzi, the second eldest son of the Hong family, took out the copper coins that were polished and glowing yellow.
Hong San's daughter-in-law quickly took the copper coins handed over by her son and said: "My dog is very promising. Now I heard from people outside that the rats in the capital are almost wiped out, but our dog is still making money every day."
After listening to my mother's praise, Hong Gouzi lowered his head and gnawed on the bun, feeling a little shy. What made Hong Gouzi shy was not the words of my mother's praise, but something in his heart.
Rats in the capital are difficult to fight, but this does not mean that Hong Gouzi cannot fight rats. After catching rats for such a long time, he has gained more and more experience. In the past, he fought alone without any equipment. Now he has
He gathered his friends together and organized a mouse-catching team. He also thought about and made many special tools to catch mice.
Relying on this small team and these tools, he can kill more than a hundred mice a day. The children who follow him can earn three to five cents a day. Hong Gouzi himself does not earn thirty cents a day, and he feels that this day
All in vain.
In the area of Nancheng, Hong Gouzi is now considered a small and influential person. People who are hanging out in society will usually respect him as "Rat Lord" when they meet him. Ordinarily, with this small business of selling rat tails, he has become a prominent member of the gangster community in Nancheng.
No matter how much he stays, he won't be able to get on the stage, but Hong Gouzi is different. He is doing a small business, but he has a big backer.
Cao Zhe, the eunuch in charge of the rat tails in this area, values Hong Gouzi's talent very much. Some time ago, a gang of unworthy gangsters robbed Hong Gouzi and their rat tails. After Eunuch Cao found out about this, he went to the Yamen
Those gangsters who snatched the rat tails had their legs broken by the people in the yamen and were thrown on the street crying for a long time.
From then on, no one dared to mess with Hong Gouzi on the streets of Nancheng. Everyone was just a gangster, and there was no reason to stand up to such a ruthless man who had a backer in the palace.
After eating a few mouthfuls of steamed buns, Hong Gouzi pretended to be full and went back to sleep on the kang. In fact, he had been out all day and ate much better than at home.
Early the next morning, Hong Gouzi went out and was about to see how many mice had been caught in the mousetrap he had put out last night. A little follower ran over in a hurry and said breathlessly: "Second Master, Superintendent Cao has sent you a message.
, saying that I have something to tell you."
Eunuch Cao called me? Hong Gouzi didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly followed the waiter to the last stall. He saw Eunuch Cao drinking tea from a teapot on the table behind the case.
"Boy, pay your respects to the supervisor!"
"Here comes the dog. Sit down quickly. Why did I call you here today? It's hard to control the rat tail in the capital these days. Only with the support of a clever guy like you, the Za family can barely do it.
The task was completed. But continuing like this is not an option. I heard some people were harvesting rat tails in the countryside a few days ago, and the harvest was pretty good. So the Zajia thought that you and your gang would also go for a walk in the countryside to harvest like this.
It’s better.”
You want me to go to the countryside to collect rat tails? Hong Gouzi felt miserable when he heard this. In the area in front of his home, others are familiar with it, so it is very convenient to catch rats. But outside the city, his skills are not as good.
Already.
Seeing Hong Gouzi's expression of embarrassment, Eunuch Cao continued: "The Za family knows that you will be in trouble after you go out. Rat tails are worth a penny per piece. Everyone knows that even if you go to the countryside, you can only use this price."
Come to collect it, so the Zajia family has thought of an offer for you. The jing porcelain recently produced in the palace is very easy to sell, and many people have money but can't sell it. The Zajia family happens to have some connections in the factory over there, but there are not many, so I will give it to you at once.
You can still make dozens of pieces. Zajia will give you the original price of the Jing porcelain they made, and you can sell it on the street at a higher price without worrying about finding a buyer. How about that? Can you handle this job?
No?"
"But that kind of green glazed iron porcelain?" Hong Gouzi is now considered a figure in the market, so he naturally knows what is happening on the streets recently. Enamel is sold out in the capital, and the thousands of items that flow into the market a day are simply not enough to sell.
Businessmen from out of town come in and buy hundreds or even thousands of pieces. As a result, the enamel sold on the street is usually 20 to 30% higher than the market price in the palace.
"What the hell, Zajia will give it to you on credit at a low price. You can make some money by doing whatever you do. It's definitely more profitable than you selling rat tails! To be honest, if it weren't for seeing you falling in love, Zajia wouldn't have made such a good deal.
I gave it to you. Alas, when the Za family was as old as you, they were just living on the streets. It was so pitiful at that time, and there was no one to take care of them. In the end, they had no choice but to go to the palace. Now you, baby, have the support of the Za family.
You have to fight for your reputation."
Eunuchs also have feelings. The reason why Eunuch Cao favored Hong Gouzi was not only because he had the ability to catch mice, but also because Hong Gouzi reminded him of himself back then. Of course, he handed over the enamel business to Hong Gouzi
Doing it is not a loss-making business. Chongzhen has a special policy for eunuchs. They can get goods at a 10% discount based on their status. But under normal circumstances, each person can only get one or two items. Eunuch Cao can get more because
He had a personal relationship with Liu Dachang, the director of the enamel factory, and he could be given more of the share of the money sold to the palace.
Give the enamel to Hong Gouzi on credit, and he can do his best to collect the rat tails for himself. The job of collecting the rat tails is a job that Wang Chengen, the palace boss, personally oversees. Recently, these big bosses of the Heavenly King have been very concerned about it. Cao Cao
The eunuch asked Hong Gouzi to collect more rat tails to plan his own future.
Wang Cheng'en didn't have much talent, but one thing was loyalty. In addition to loyalty, he was also superstitious. When the emperor first ordered him to collect rat tails in the capital, he didn't think it was anything. But during this time, the more he thought about it, the more he felt
Xuanhu. He found that since the rat's tail was collected, the atmosphere in the capital had changed somewhat. Various things in the palace began to go smoothly, and the corruption of the Ming Dynasty seemed to have eased a lot. Because of this, he paid more attention to collecting the mouse's tail.
Regarding the rat tail matter, I feel that this should really be a dream entrusted by the gods to the emperor of tomorrow to solve misfortune and bring good fortune. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, this matter should be done well.