Send a waiter to the inn every afternoon - the Australians ask the post office to deliver the goods. The shopkeeper's note is also marked with the words "Pu", "Dian" and "Quick". Lin Ming also followed Wang Xinglong's instructions.
One is written on the envelope.
He guessed that these might be some kind of business secret words, and he never asked in line with the principle of not being too fussy, but Wang Xinglong quickly told him that this was just a marked way of sending letters.
"The so-called 'common' refers to the general mail route, which uses vehicles and ships, and is shipped on a normal schedule; if it is 'fast', it means expedited, and it will be sent on the same day and will be shipped the same day, which is twice as fast as 'regular'..."
"Like ordinary official documents from the imperial court and eight hundred miles urgent?"
"That's exactly what Brother Lin is comparing. How can ordinary people use the official post station? Only the high officials and gentry can take advantage of it. Our merchants usually use 'flying feet', which is very fast, but unfortunately the price is not high either."
It’s cheap. For people like me who live in a remote rural area, there’s nowhere to look for ‘flying feet’. The only way to get important news is to send a waiter to deliver the letter. It’s better for Australians to be considerate of our businesses..."
"Can this Australian post station still be used by merchants?"
"Why not? Let's not say that our merchants are just ordinary people digging in the soil. We only need to pay a few cents to send letters by post. Unfortunately, it is only in this place of Qiongzhou. The postal route in the Ming Dynasty can reach it.
There is very little space and we have to send 'quick' letters."
Lin Ming knew that this post was a huge burden to the imperial court. For this reason, the imperial court also deliberately abolished the post station. Post soldiers lost their jobs and became homeless and became bandits. This happened several times in Guangdong. But after all, Guangdong is a peaceful and prosperous land.
, a small quarrel could not cause a big disturbance. It soon subsided.
He didn't expect that Kun Thief would not only run Yi Chuan, but also use it for common people - it was really unbelievable. In his opinion, this was meaningless except for "buying people's hearts".
But he couldn't say this clearly. Although Wang Xinglong refused to shave his hair, he was a "kun fan". Normally, he wouldn't tolerate others saying anything bad about the thief. Lin Ming watched with cold eyes, knowing that he had always had evil intentions towards his cousin.
, in the realm of the Ming Dynasty, it was probably because of the etiquette and laws that they did not dare to act rashly. When they arrived at Lingao, a "land of alienation" where "rituals collapsed and music collapsed", no one cared about this kind of thing. Lin Ming only spent a few days here.
We know that it is easy to make a living here, and there are many opportunities to make a fortune. There are stories everywhere about people who have become rich in just a year or two after arriving here. Therefore, they take the etiquette and rules very lightly.
"I wonder if the prefix 'electricity' is appropriate?"
"'Electricity' is a telegram." Wang Xinglong said with great interest, "Speaking of this telegram, it is really strange! The post office here delivers a letter, even if it is thousands of miles away. It will be delivered to the receiving post office in a moment. No.
You know what Australians use!"
He said that Haixing's business is so prosperous now. It is largely due to this telegraph. The head office in Guangzhou exchanges the prices of various local products here through the post office in Hong Kong. What prices in Guangzhou are rising and demand is strong?
, if there is too much inventory and the price drops, you will know within a day or two. Shopkeeper Qian can arrange for shopkeepers in various branches in Qiongzhou to buy or stop collecting.
"You can also use this telegraph to deliver money. Compared with banknotes, money orders are much more convenient."
Lin Ming shook his head repeatedly. No matter what, he couldn't believe that such a thing could happen in the world.
"Brother Lin, if you don't believe me, let's go and have a look next time when we send a telegram." Wang Xinglong said with a smile. "It's good to open your eyes."
Lin Ming was dubious. After arriving at Lingao, there were so many new things, far beyond his imagination.
While we were chatting, another clerk delivered a box of mail. This was Wang Xinglong's job.
Every day, Haixing has to write and send many letters, and a large number of letters are also delivered. Wang Xinglong is specifically responsible for this, opening and reading various letters, and then writing "abridgements" according to the importance of the letters - shopkeeper Qian is busy with business
, it is impossible to read them one by one, so we adopt this method. Some letters are related to price changes, so there is no need to write abbreviations. You only need to fill in a special "bill" with full lines - Wang Xinglong calls it
"Form" - just upload it.
The two stopped talking and started working on their respective responsibilities. There were only two of them in the copywriting and accounting room, and the room was silent for a while. They were busy until noon. As usual, an apprentice brought water for them to wash their faces and hands. Then they brought dinner.
There were meat and vegetables, there were not many dishes, and the rice was filling. Lin Ming had always been well-dressed, but he hadn't had a good meal these days. Not to mention eating well, he didn't even have many opportunities to be full. He felt like he had a huge appetite.
, I had a full meal.
Wang Xinglong didn't eat much, he only ate all the dishes and only one bowl of rice. Seeing that Lin Ming had a good appetite, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Looking at Brother Lin's appetite, he doesn't look like a scholar, but like a martial artist.
"
Lin Ming was shocked when he heard this and said quickly: "To be honest, I haven't had a few full meals in these years..."
Wang Xinglong said: "When I came to Gao, I was like a starving ghost reincarnated. When I saw this white rice, I didn't even ask for food - I think in Laizhou, my family couldn't eat rice every day." He said.
Shaking his head, he seemed to be filled with emotion, "The Australians here are just peddlers and lackeys. They work long hours and short days, but they can still make enough rice and noodles. I haven't thought that there is such a place in the world..."
Lin Ming also felt this problem. On the day he stayed at the Weimin Inn, he ate in the public canteen outside. The long counter covered with glass was filled with large porcelain plates and piled with food. There were many varieties: vegetables.
, bean curds, vermicelli, meat, pickles, seafood, rice, steamed buns... The diners get their own plates, take as many dishes as they like, and pay the bill when they get to the end. It doesn't cost much, but they eat a lot.
When I was full, I was given a bowl of soup stock with a few vegetable leaves and some oily flowers at the end.
Although he didn't understand exchange rate conversion, he could probably estimate in his mind how much a similar meal would cost in Foshan under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. He concluded that in the Ming Dynasty, guests of a similar class could not afford it.
The price of grain and vegetables here in Kunthi is so low, which only shows that their output is very high. However, Kunthi has always encouraged industry and commerce, allowing farmers to move into cities to work and do business, and there has never been a sense of worry about farmers moving into cities and leaving their land uncultivated and uncultivated.
It seems that the thief Kun must have some secret method for farming. If he can obtain this secret method and present it to the court, wouldn't it be a great achievement?
While Lin Ming was thinking wildly, Wang Xinglong had already stood up and left - he was going out with his cousin - "shopping".
"Shopping?" Lin Ming was surprised. In most towns in the Ming Dynasty, not only the city gates were closed at night, but the gates on the streets were also closed, and there were usually curfews. Because there were no street lights on the streets, it was very unsafe to walk at night.
Except for festivals such as the Lantern Festival, few people go out after lighting lanterns on weekdays. He quickly advised:
"It's already time to turn on the lights, it's pitch dark outside, and you still have your female dependents with you..."
Wang Xinglong smiled and said: "Brother Lin, you don't know something. This place is very prosperous at night, and there is no danger in walking at night - you will know after you follow me to the street."
Lin Ming was doubtful and followed him out. It was not yet completely dark. On the street in front of the store, the iron pillars whose purpose he could not guess at first were already lit with lights. Bright flames danced behind the glass cover.
Not only is it much brighter than lamp oil candlelight, even the best "Australian foreign wax" light cannot compare with it.
One after another, the lights extended along the street until he couldn't see it. Looking around, the street was bright. It was no problem to read and write on the street, let alone walk.
Lin Ming suddenly grabbed Wang Xinglong's arm as if he was in despair: "Is this a street lamp?"
"Exactly." Wang Xinglong said proudly, "My little brother is right."
"This street... there are street lights?!" Lin Ming was quite knowledgeable. He knew that in the palace of the capital and the residences of some wealthy families, there were stone lanterns on both sides of the long road, which were lit at night. This was already
It was an extremely luxurious thing. He had originally suspected that these iron pillars with glass covers were street lamps, but he still couldn't believe that Kun Thief had such financial resources and could afford so much oil and wax lighting - let alone at night.
What's the point of lighting the streets?
"It's not just this street. The entire Dongmen City, as well as Bopu, and every town in the county, have street lights that stay on all night. There are many businesses that have to do business in the middle of the night or even all night long.
."
Because the street where Haixing is located is not a busy city, most of the shops have been opened now, and there are not many pedestrians on the street. However, the pedestrians look leisurely, and it does not seem like there is a curfew. Lin Ming composed himself, and just about to say something, he saw that Wang Jinchun had already left the shop
She came out of the side door. She was dressed differently from yesterday. She had pink silk strips tied around her hair, and she was wearing a blue one-piece dress like that worn by women with prosthetics. She was covered with an embroidered silk top, and the skirt underneath was
It only reached the knees, revealing her calves wearing white socks and a pair of black cloth shoes. She also held a straw bag in her hand.
Lin Ming secretly shouted: "Fancy clothes!" Wang Xinglong, however, had already greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Cousin, do you want Mr. Lin to go too?"
"No, no, Brother Lin is not going. He just went to the street to see the night view." Wang Xinglong was not polite and directly denied it. Lin Ming secretly cursed: "frivolous and lustful person!" but said in his mouth: "I have heard for a long time.
The night view of Lingao is picturesque, come out and take a look, you can do it at your own leisure..."
Wang Xinglong no longer wanted to be perfunctory, and was about to leave with his cousin, but Wang Jinchun was enthusiastic: "If Mr. Lin is so busy, why not go for a walk on Dongmen Street - go east here, turn left at the second intersection. There. It’s the most prosperous and has many shops, so even if you don’t want to buy anything, you can just go and have a look.”
Lin Ming only thanked him, but Wang Xinglong had already pulled his cousin away. Seeing that the two of them were holding hands, he couldn't help but secretly shouted: "It's immoral! It's immoral!" (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature for better and faster novels. !