Zhao Yingong said: "You are a local aboriginal in Hangzhou, so you can lead the way and walk around as you please."
Cai Shixin joined the mansion and knew that all the servants around the master were brought from Guangdong. He came to serve as an "outsider". If he wanted to succeed in the mansion, he had to figure out his boss's intentions. Therefore, everything was done very carefully.
This meeting asked him to lead the way, which was a common habit of his local aborigines, so he immediately cheered up. He figured that since the master came from a wealthy family in Guangdong, he should not care about ordinary fun and enjoyment. After arriving in Hangzhou, his daily life and use were moderate.
, and he is not in a hurry to go out for fun. It may not be as simple as coming to Hangzhou to have fun in Hangzhou because he is greedy for the wealth and prosperity of Jiangnan, but he has other motives. Thinking about how he recently sent him to the street to buy "Jin Shen", and asked him to go to the Yamen every day to buy it.
I read the newspaper in the morning and asked about the prices of various commodities on the market. It seemed that I was planning to make a career in the official career, and I also seemed to be planning to go into business. It was a bit uncertain.
After thinking about it again and again, I felt that taking this old man to the downtown area would definitely satisfy him, not only for sightseeing but also for him to understand the business situation. Thinking of this, I made up my mind and led him to the main market in the city.
After turning a few alleys, the houses gradually became smaller and smaller, but no matter how small the houses were, they were all made of bricks. The streets were either paved with bricks or paved with gravel, which was quite neat. However, garbage could be seen everywhere on the roadside, and the wind
When it blows, the dust flies up. In some places, there are no drainage ditches, and sewage flows across the open ditches, mixed with a lot of garbage.
The number of pedestrians and merchants on the road gradually increased, and the number of traffickers and foot soldiers was clustered in clusters. Zhao Yingong noticed that although the number of women doing business in the local area was not as high as in Guangdong, it was not uncommon. A considerable number of working women did not bind their feet, and their appearance was quite respectable, but
They are generally short in stature - of course men are not tall either.
Looking at the clothes and complexion of the people, they are much better than the people in many places along the way, and their expressions are relatively happy and stable. There is a large proportion of middle-class pedestrians wearing cheap silks and satins or high-quality cotton and linen. Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty is indeed
It is a piece of paradise on the land of China!
Of course, there are also a lot of beggars and homeless people. Some are begging along the streets, and some are huddled under the eaves of small temples in the streets and alleys. They are all in rags and have no food. But this is a very common thing in this time and space.
Zhao Yingong was no longer surprised.
Hangzhou in the Ming Dynasty was far less prosperous than that of the Southern Song Dynasty, and even compared to the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties. However, this is the capital of a province after all, and Zhejiang is a land of plenty, and the essence of the province's wealth gathers here. "Land and Water"
To start with, "all the shopping malls and department stores from China and abroad" have restored considerable prosperity. "The inner and outer streets and alleys of Hangzhou stretch for dozens of miles...the people are prosperous and the products are vast", and "car hubs are beating on the streets.
People rub shoulders."
Zhao Yingong followed Cai Shi along the street, looking at the prosperous scenery of Hangzhou in the 17th century. For a true Song fan, the scenery in front of him made him sigh. This prosperous scene was ten times better than what he had originally imagined.
I don’t know what the prosperity was like back then?
Cai Shi saw the old man walking all the way without saying a word. However, his face had a complicated look, which was quite sad. He wondered whether Mr. Zhao had been to Hangzhou before? Or had an adventure here? Thinking that this old man was young
He is already in his thirties, and his accent is very strange. He must have been a traveler.
"Sir, this is Shouanfang City." Cai Shi said. Zhao Yingong knew that this was the "Flower Market" in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, it was a comprehensive market that sold various handicraft products, fruits and vegetables, candies, rice, noodles, food, etc.
There is also a night market. It is a larger market in Hangzhou. However, this market has declined in the late Ming Dynasty, and its scale is less than one-tenth of its heyday.
Zhao Yingong walked casually. There were many people here and there were many burdens. Cai Shi quickly stepped forward and shouted to clear the way. Zhao Yingong and his party walked slowly along the street among the crowd.
In ancient cities, the streets were narrow. According to the standards of the old time and space, the widest "street" along the way was just a wider "alley". The width was only five or six meters. It was barely enough for two cars to run. However, the ground was
The stone paving is quite neat. In addition to the shops, there are many vendors along the street taking up most of the inside. The shops on both sides have their shop signs extending into the street. They look densely packed and especially crowded. Cai Shi and the two escorts spent a lot of time
It takes strength to squeeze through the crowd.
Zhao Yingong seems to walk casually, but in fact he pays great attention to the products sold in shops and even vendors. From time to time he goes into shops to choose products and often asks for prices. In order to show off his merit, Cai Shi often has to squeeze in to negotiate prices in Hangzhou dialect. Zhao Yingong is both
He smiled and waved his hand. After a few times, Cai Shi realized that the master was actually watching the market, and he became more and more confident in his original judgment.
Zhao Yingong is indeed investigating the market situation. Shou'anfang City is a market mainly focused on retail. From here, we can see the local people's spending power, product preferences and general price fluctuations. Compared with Guangzhou, the price level here
It’s not low at all. It seems that there is also a large amount of silver flowing here, and there are many types of goods. Although this is not a textile market, the shops sell all kinds of silks and satins, and a wide variety of cotton and linen cloths in different colors.
.Even woolen fabrics produced in Europe and cotton fabrics produced in India and Southeast Asia are also sold. Obviously, the consumption power of the local citizen class is considerable.
"Let's go to another market." After the group visited the market, Zhao Yingong told Cai Shi that they would go to another market. "Go to a place where things are sold cheaply. The goods are generally affordable to poor people."
Cai Shi was puzzled, but it was his master's order and he couldn't dismiss it, so he led a group of people to Mapo Bridge. The streets above and below Mapo Bridge extended to Shengxian Bridge and Wangxian Bridge and there was also a market.
Before we reached the intersection, we could smell the stench of livestock manure in the distance. It was almost noon, there were not many pedestrians on the street, and most of the vendors had closed. Only a few vendors were packing up their belongings and preparing to leave. On the street
There was garbage and livestock excrement everywhere. Zhao Yingong took a look and saw that this place was different from Shouanfang City. First of all, there were far fewer shops and the scale was not uniform. There were many merchants and hawkers of all kinds carrying loads. The goods for sale were
It is also very miscellaneous, ranging from cloth, clothing, livestock, utensils... everything. Many are obviously second-hand goods, and it feels a bit like a junk market.
"This place has the meaning of a ghost market in the capital." When Zhao Yiggong was reading, he learned that there was a "ghost market" in Beijing, which set up stalls at dawn and sold all kinds of second-hand goods and fake and shoddy products.
"Sir, this place is called 'East Garden City', also known as 'Poor Han City'. Most of the items sold are cheap and worn-out things. A market is set up since the city gate is opened, and it disperses at noon." Cai Shi said, Donghua Garden City
Many of the vendors come from four villages. There are also thieves selling worthless stolen goods here.
The group of people strolled forward until they reached a stone bridge with the words "Wangxian Bridge" on it. Cai Shi said that the bridge was Wangxianqiao Street, where the local cloth market is located. Foreign and local cloth.
They all do large-scale transactions here, and there are many cloth shops concentrated here.
Zhao Yingong became interested: "Let's go and have a look." He waved the fan in his hand.
Wangxian Bridge is a small stone bridge. It looks very similar to the bridges he often saw in water towns in the old time. It is small and elegant. He stepped onto the bridge and walked a few steps quickly, but he felt as if he was being pulled violently.
He seemed to have stopped in his tracks.
Lying on the bridge was a human figure with a swollen face. It was called a human figure because the whole body was dirty, covered with mud and even garbage. Judging from the size of the body, he was only a seven or eight-year-old child.
Starving people on the streets and corpses lying on the road are common sights whether in Guangzhou or in the prefectures and counties along the way. Zhao Yingong felt a little unbearable when he saw it in the past, but now it is commonplace. Cai Shi immediately caught up a few steps
, led him to the other side of the bridge, and cursed: "There is nothing wrong with dying, but on this bridge!"
Before he finished speaking, the "corpse" moved and made a slight squeak. It turned out that the person was not dead yet.
Cai Shi didn't take it seriously and asked Zhao Yingong to come over.
Zhao Yingong felt compassion at this moment, and walked closer to take a look. When he looked carefully, he saw that she was a girl, naked. Her hair was unkempt, and there were some places on her body that were purulent and leaking yellow water. She looked really dirty and disgusting.
.I don’t know who threw it away.
He signaled, and the escort next to him immediately probed the girl's breath with his hand, then touched the blood vessels around her neck, then turned around and nodded to him:
"Sir, he is a living person!"
Cai Shi, who was next to him, said: "Sir, there are people like this every time the little man on the bridge comes here. They are children who cannot be fed at home. Some of them are children who escaped from famine. They are left here in the hope that someone will take them in. Don't worry about it, master."
"
Zhao Yingong knew that Cai Shi was telling the truth. He saw a lot of people dying on the roadside on the way to Hangzhou. But he was in a hurry and couldn't take them in. Although it was the Senate's consistent policy to take in orphans as much as possible, this child
Taking her in may not save her. Leaving her here to fend for herself seems to be the best option. Anyway, in this troubled world, I don’t know how many people are going to die.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yingong finally said: "Take it away."
Cai Shi felt it was necessary to remind the new owner: "Master! This child looks like this. I'm afraid he won't be able to survive if he is taken back. Even if he can survive, he will need to be treated and nursed back to health. He will not be useful for at least a year and a half..."
"Take this child with you," Zhao Yingling said, "Although life or death depends on me, I really can't bear to sit back and do nothing like this."
Cai Shi hurriedly said: "The master is kind!" As he said that, he helped the child up without caring about her dirty body. He still muttered to himself: "You are lucky and out of trouble! There is this master who is willing to save you..."