The morning in Yangzhou City in the Qing Dynasty started with tea shops scattered inside and outside the city. During this period, there were dozens of famous tea shops in Yangzhou. Some were simple, some had carved beams and painted columns, and some were simply located in the garden.
There are also some teahouses that build rooms next to the river, with windows open to overlook the lake and mountains. The so-called pavilions, flowers, trees, bamboos and stones, cups, plates, spoons and chopsticks are all exquisite.
Because spring water, lake water, and canal water are often used to make tea, the tea tastes fragrant and sweet. Each teahouse has its own special snacks, such as various kinds of sesame cakes from Shuanghonglou, soup dumplings from Ermeixuan, and Wenxingyuan’s
Huai dumplings, etc.; as for meat and blanched dried shredded noodles, they are even more indispensable delicacies.
These tea shops are divided into meat tea and vegetarian tea. The so-called meat tea is that in addition to tea, it also sells various snacks; as for vegetarian tea, it only sells tea.
In the Ermeixuan Teahouse by the Yuanmen Bridge in the old city, Jia Wang was sitting by the window having morning tea. An older man bought Longjing tea leaves, a drawer of soup dumplings and a small plate of boiled and dried shredded silk.
As a local agent, Jia Wang's recent business has not been bad. After the summer harvest, droughts and floods occurred in many places in Henan. Some farmers with their families fled from Weihui, Zhangde, Huaiqing, Kaifeng and other places.
When they arrived in northern Jiangsu, many refugees in Henan Province began to sell their sons and daughters in order to exchange for a life-saving grain.
Every time like this, for Ya people like Jia Wang, who are engaged in human trafficking, it is the best time for business. They will go north to Huai'an, Xuzhou, and even Kaifeng and other places to buy from those four or five-year-olds who were sold.
Among the little girls, the most beautiful ones are selected and brought back to Yangzhou and then sold to families who raise thin horses. A baby girl can be bought from the refugees in Xuzhou for only one or two coins, but when brought back to Yangzhou, she can be sold for eight to ten coins;
If you flip seven or eight hands, your income will be pretty good.
Jia Wang felt that he was doing a good deed. You must know that in years of great disaster, these baby girls often become food for the refugees. He rescued these children from hunger and brought them back to Yangzhou to train them; if they were outstandingly beautiful,
If she is smart and dexterous, she will be sold to a wealthy family as a concubine, and she will naturally be well-dressed, well-fed, and well-dressed.
After Jia Wang was full, he was not in a hurry to leave. He took out a square flat wooden box from his arms, opened it carefully and took out a white cigarette. He also borrowed a light from the person at the next table and started smoking happily.
.
"Jia Er, you are so rich! You can even afford Tiantian cigarettes." A middle-aged man at the next table joked. Nowadays, this cigarette is becoming more and more famous in Yangzhou, and many salt merchants and officials are smoking cigarettes.
.But because the price is too high, ordinary people still smoke dry cigarettes.
"It's so careless. Yesterday I took a gentleman from the North to pick out a thin horse. The gentleman gave me this cigarette casually."
"Good guy! So rich. Is your business successful?"
"No." Jia Wang shook his head and continued: "The master is generous in his approach, but unfortunately he is not satisfied after seeing it for seven or eight times."
"Whose house did you take with you?"
"The Li family in Hedong."
"The Li family doesn't like anyone, so what does he want? Chang'e in the sky?"
"Who knows what these gentlemen from the north are interested in!"
Since the morning before yesterday, a news began to circulate in the teahouses in Yangzhou City. Several wealthy businessmen from the north planned to buy thin horses to take back as concubines.
As soon as the news came out, by noon the day before yesterday, several Yabo agents had already found the residence of those wealthy businessmen outside Gongchenmen. After inquiring, they found out that this house actually belonged to the maritime businessman Shen Jingdan, and now there are several people living there. A wealthy businessman from Zhili.
Jia Wang came to our door yesterday morning. I thought it was just one person who wanted to buy, but unexpectedly there were five or six people who wanted to buy, and each of them said they wanted to buy seven or eight to take home and become concubines, cooks, and accountants. All.
When Jia Wang was talking to an old man named Zhao, he heard that the other person spoke like a banner man. Moreover, during the conversation, Mr. Zhao patted a stack of money bills on the table with an arrogant look on his face; that meant I am not short of money.
The emperor has visited Yangzhou six times during his southern tour, and Jia Wang has also met a lot of banner people. Mr. Zhao looked like he was a young man who came to Yangzhou for the first time. I don’t know which family would send someone like this if he didn’t have the foresight to do so. One of them came out to do something. However, Mr. Zhao's official language was not wrong at all, and his words also alluded to his background as a bannerman.
When the other party turned around, Jia Wang secretly glanced at the stack of money notes and found that the top note was a three thousand tael instant pay note issued by a local bank. He couldn't help but feel relieved. Besides, when the time comes, Once you've chosen someone, you won't be able to take them away without paying enough money.
So he patted his chest and assured Mr. Zhao that the girls on his side were all first-class in beauty, and he would definitely be satisfied with them.
Unexpectedly, he took people to Li's house in Hedong outside the city in the afternoon. Mr. Zhao saw seven or eight first-class girls in a row and was not satisfied. In the end, he actually expressed a little interest in a second-class girl.
Thinking of this, Jia Wang was very disdainful and secretly cursed: "These bannermen are really ignorant. They don't want a first-class girl, but they choose a second-class one. What's so good about that Shandong girl? She's tall and has big feet, besides being good at pulling. I can't use abacus and beads to keep accounts, but I can't play chess, calligraphy or painting at all."
When he was thinking about whose house he should go to in the afternoon, he suddenly heard a loud woman's voice coming from the door of the tea shop. When he looked sideways, he saw that it was his colleague Chen Yapo.
"Where is the person?! I've been waiting for a long time. Where is the waiter?"
"Come on, come on. Hey, it's from the Chen family. Are you taking it home to eat again today? What do you want?"
"A drawer of soup dumplings, a plate of meat, one hot or not, some boiled dried shreds, and another steamed dumpling."
Several guests who were smoking and drinking tea on the side heard this and asked with a smile: "Chen Yapo, are you rich?"
"No way. Yesterday, I took a wealthy businessman from the North to see a thin horse, and he broke his leg in the whole day. Fortunately, my master saw my hard work and rewarded me with a few extra coins."
"No wonder, I said I would not eat dried shredded noodles today, but instead boiled dried shredded noodles in chicken soup."
"It's just hard-earned money."
Jia Wang understood as soon as he heard this. He and Chen Yapo were busy working on the same thing. It seemed that there were many competitors! He hurriedly took two strong puffs on the cigarette butt in his hand, then threw it on the ground and stamped it out. He stood up and called out The waiter paid the bill, turned around and went out through the side door of the tea shop.
"Isn't that Jia Er?" Chen Yapo saw Jia Wang's back while waiting for the takeout. She knew that the other party was also helping those wealthy businessmen in the North buy thin horses. This kind of thing belongs to the "fast feet and slow feet" "There are many businesses that have been going on for a long time but failed to make any money in the end. Thinking of this, Chen Yapo hurriedly shouted to the waiter: "Are you ready? Hurry up!"
In the house outside Gongchenmen, Zhao Xin was talking to Shen Jingdan. Boss Shen came to the door early in the morning. There must be something urgent.
"Dong Zhao, please save me!"
"Boss Shen, what happened? I will try my best to help you if I can."
"Alas~!" Shen Jingdan sighed and told Zhao Xin the whole story.
The Wang family, a salt merchant, came to visit again. This time Mr. Wang no longer wanted Ah Quan, but instead focused on the cigarette business and Shen Jingdan's youngest daughter, Ayu.
The name of Mr. Wang is Wang Jinglong. Ever since he became ingratiated with Heshen's steward Liu Quan, he has paid him 200,000 taels of silver. In addition, he also paid tribute to Heshen with a number of gifts. Qianlong's Wanshou Festival gift.
In view of Mr. Wang being so sensible, when Liu Quan came to Yangzhou a while ago, he helped him to stand on stage to show his face. In his words, he showed that Wang Jinglong was from He Zhongtang. This time, Mr. Wang was even more trembling!
A few days ago, he heard that Shen Jingdan was back, and he had been looking for an opportunity to deal with him. But the day before yesterday, Shen Jingdan's youngest daughter Ayu took her maid to burn incense at Fahai Temple, and she happened to be bumped into by Mr. Wang, who was shocked. God.
I can't get the eldest daughter, and I can't let go of the younger daughter no matter what. So my subordinates forged an IOU of 20,000 taels and went to Shen Jingdan last night to threaten him; if he didn't agree, he would go County government prosecutor of Ganquan County.
In the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou City was under the jurisdiction of Jiangdu and Ganquan counties. The western half of the old city and the southern half of the new city belonged to Jiangdu County, while the eastern half of the old city and the northern half of the new city belonged to Ganquan County. Shen Jingdan's family was in the north of the new city. The Dongguan Street area is under the jurisdiction of Ganquan County.
Now that the Wang family has become He Zhongtang's lackeys, Shen Jingdan, even a native, is difficult to deal with, so he came to Zhao Xin early in the morning.
Zhao Xin listened and was silent for a long time. It was not that he didn't want to help with this matter, but he was thinking about how to help. Dealing with a salt merchant was nothing at all, but at the moment he was planning the matter of losing a horse, and suddenly there were complications, which would have a real impact on subsequent actions. Hard to predict.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xin asked: "Boss Shen, running a salt merchant is really not a big deal. But what about your family?"
"I also have some connections in the yamen. But the Wang family is now very powerful, and no one in the county yamen dares to offend him."
Zhao Xin got up and walked around the main hall a few times, and suddenly asked: "Is the Wang family rich?"
Shen Jingdan said: "Although it is not as good as the Jiang family who 'turn commoners to the emperor', they are still extremely rich among shipping merchants."
The salt law in the early Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system, but receiving salt must be based on the wogen. The so-called "wogen" means that the salt merchants need to pay silver grain to the government to obtain a certain range of sales area allocated by the government, and the government provides a voucher. By virtue of this, the businessman has permanent ownership rights to the land.
The "shipping merchant" means that there is no nest root. You must first rent the nest root from the nest merchant and pay the "nest price" before you can engage in the salt selling business. Since the Kangxi Dynasty, the Qing court's salt transportation envoy Yamen has been among the shipping merchants. Select those with strong family backgrounds and strong capital to be named general merchants. The Jiang Chun mentioned before is the largest general merchant today; in addition to this person, the Huang family, Ma family, Cheng family, and Bao family are all general merchants.
Zhao Xin nodded after hearing this and continued to ask: "How much money does the Wang family have now?"
Shen Jingdan was stunned and replied: "I really don't know about this, but there are always hundreds of thousands of taels."
In these days, Yangzhou salt merchants generally did not keep their money at home. Except for their descendants' silver, most of their funds had to be loaned out. The 30% usury income every year is so delicious!
In the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong's reign, when the Qing Dynasty was at its peak, the household deposits in the household department were only more than 78 million taels, but the total wealth of hundreds of salt merchants in Yangzhou exceeded 80 million; even Qianlong would issue "salt" Shang's financial resources are great." Sigh!
(Historically, it was precisely because of the Qing court's extreme squeeze on the Yangzhou General Merchant and constant donations that Jiang Chun, who once spent as much as 30,000 taels of silver on food alone every year, ended up in poverty in the 54th year of Qianlong's reign. Passed away sadly.)
Zhao Xin asked in a low voice: "Boss Shen, where do you think the Wang family will hide their money at home?"
Shen Jingdan looked at Zhao Xin and asked in a trembling voice: "Ah! Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao, what is your plan?"
"Yes, since you are going to do it, you must do it in full! Otherwise, the government will easily suspect that you paid to commit murder."
"Master Zhao, what are you going to do?" Shen Jing was heartbroken and said through gritted teeth.
"You need to stabilize the Wang family first, and then you need to discuss it with your wife, and then find an auspicious day. It only lasts a few days, so I will help you do it. Remember, you have to draw a map of the Wang family's residence for me. ."
When Shen Jingdan thought about it, it was easy. He didn't need to find anyone, he could draw it himself. So he nodded in agreement.
Seeing that the trouble could be solved, Shen Jing's heart dropped. He had breakfast at Zhao Xin's place and left in a hurry. Zhao Xin and others will continue to choose the "Skinny Horse" trip today.
"I said, can I take a break today? I watched all day yesterday and had to pretend, I'm really tired!" Ding Guofeng couldn't bear it after just one day of watching.
"no!"
Liu Zheng also complained: "Mr. Zhao, Mr. Zhao, why do you think girls nowadays have to bind their feet? The ones I saw yesterday were all unable to walk on their own, and they had to be supported when they went out. .Also, my great-grandmother has small feet, which I saw when I was a child. When I think about it, I get goosebumps all over my body, it’s life-threatening!”
"Bear it!"
Wang Yuanfang asked: "How many more days do we have to watch?"
Zhao Xin asked Lu Shoushan: "How many locations have you memorized in the past two days? Have you checked the situation around the yard?"
"Five. Three have been identified, and Xu Dayong will check the remaining two today."
After hearing this, Zhao Xin said to everyone: "We will wait for two more days and we will take action at night the day after tomorrow."
Liu Zheng lamented: "Ah! It will take two more days, I have to see the eye of the needle!"
"Okay, just look at the tip of the shoe. If you want to see someone else's feet, I won't let you see them!"
Wu Siyu and Liu Siting on the side were whispering and muttering to each other, completely ignoring what was being said here.
"What are you two talking about? Say it and let everyone listen." Liu Sheng said at the top of his voice.
"Wu Siyu said." Just as Liu Siting was about to say it, Wu Siyu hurriedly winked at her to tell her not to say anything. Liu Siting smiled and said, "What are you sorry for? He asked me if the little foot can be cured after it is released."
"Can it be cured?" Zhao Xin and others are also very concerned about this issue. It will be troublesome to take the person back and cannot walk. Do we need to arrange a maid to take care of him?
Liu Siting shook her head and said: "It can be recovered in the early stage. But if it takes too long, the arch of the foot will be broken and there will be no cure."
When Zhao Xin heard this, a picture immediately appeared in his mind: a group of girls with small feet, holding crutches, standing in the classroom and teaching children in Beihai Town.
But as soon as this thought passed, Zhao Xin reacted immediately. He looked at Wu Siyu with a smile and asked: "Hey~ Who are you attracted to?"
Wu Siyu said sheepishly: "We met Miss Chen in the painting boat that day."
Let me go! It turned out to be Chen Yin'er who sang the song that day! The grown men suddenly started to gossip.
Zhao Xindao: "She is not a thin horse. We can't snatch her this time."
"I know, I want to redeem her."
Zhao Xin leaned over and whispered: "Is she a yellow flower girl? Have you asked clearly?"
Wu Siyu's face suddenly turned a little red, and he said calmly: "Ask me, she is a prostitute and not a prostitute."
"Do you know how much money she needs to redeem herself?"
"I asked Lao Huang that day, and I got at least two thousand taels of silver." Wu Siyu's biggest wish is to visit Yangzhou in the 18th century and "find a wife" by the way. Oh no, it is to find a wife. Although Chen Yin'er is not
Skinny horse, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Wu Siyu was obsessed with it as soon as he saw it that night.
Wu Siyu is a good helper. Since people want to start a family and start a business in this time and space, then he must help him no matter what. Thinking of this, Zhao Xin said: "The ugly words are ahead, whether they will be successful or not is still a matter of debate. The matter of money is no big deal.
To redeem yourself, I have to ask Lao Huang to ask first. If people don’t like you, all the money will be in vain.”