Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 15, ultra-low prices
In the county seat of Changli County, Yongping Prefecture.

Liu Jin took Zhao Erhu to walk in this small county very leisurely. The county is very small, with only a few streets, and it only takes less than half an hour to go shopping.

Although the county town is small, it is very lively. There are many people coming and going, and all kinds of shouts come and go.

"It's quite lively, just like Chinese New Year."

Liu Jin looked at the bustling scene in front of him. There were scholars in robes and fans, with their nostrils upturned; Dan, shouting loudly for small businessmen doing business, operators of specialty snacks, and so on.

Such a scene is hard to see in later generations. In Liu Jin's memory, such a scene can only be seen during the Chinese New Year in the countryside, and with the development and progress of the times, such a lively scene is becoming more and more rare.

Although compared with later generations, it is much, much worse, but Liu Jin feels that this place seems to be more like shopping, and people can't help but look at everything here carefully.

"It's very lively. I haven't been to the county seat for many years."

Zhao Erhu patted his head, his eyes kept looking around, just like Grandma Liu entered the Grand View Garden, and couldn't help swallowing when he saw some food sellers.

"Dumplings, delicious pork dumplings~"

Hearing the sound of pork dumplings, Zhao Erhu couldn't help swallowing, and at the same time, his eyes were fixed on a small stall.

"Let's go, eat something~"

Liu Jin naturally noticed Zhao Erhu's slander, smiled and walked towards the dumpling stand. When Zhao Erhu saw it, he immediately followed up.

"Young man, what do you want to eat?"

The owner of the dumpling stand is a middle-aged man who looks to be in his 40s. When he saw the business coming, he hurriedly wiped the stools and tables.

"What delicious food do you have here?"

Liu Jin looked at the stall carefully. The shed was built next to a wall, with several sets of seats, and next to it was the cooking stove. Things like pig skulls exude a burst of meaty aroma, and some bones and small minced meat can be seen as the soup rolls.

"The best noodle soup and the best pork dumplings are all freshly made, guaranteed to be delicious."

The boss looked at Liu Jin and saw that Liu Jin was dressed as a scholar. Although he was dressed in general, he still had money for a meal, so he introduced them all. Noodle soup is out.

"Then give us two bowls of dumplings."

Liu Jin looked at Zhao Erhu's appearance, smiled and said.

"Okay, two bowls of dumplings, please wait a moment, come right away."

When the boss heard this, he yelled happily, and then began to roll out the dough and make dumplings. He was very skillful and very fast. In less than 10 minutes, two big bowls were filled with dumplings and soup.

"Two bowls of dumplings are here, please eat slowly~"

Liu Jin picked up the spoon and chopsticks, and was not in a hurry to eat. He looked carefully, and found that the dumplings were very big. Compared with the most common Shaxian dumplings in later generations, they were almost as big as two dumplings in later generations, and they were more wrapped. dense.

Liu Jin counted carefully, and there were actually 20 dumplings in this big bowl, which was a lot, but he didn't know how much the price would be.

Gently pick up a dumpling, let it cool slightly, and bite slowly, and suddenly there is a sweet and refreshing fragrance. The pork is accompanied by Chinese cabbage, plus some green onions, the taste is perfectly blended in Together.

“The dumplings are delicious~”

Liu Jin couldn't help but praise.

Compared with the dumplings of later generations, although there are not so many seasonings in this era, the ingredients are very real and the ingredients are very fresh. The soup is also made of big bones. The boss has made dumplings for a long time. said.

Although the dumplings of the later generations bear the name of dumplings, they often cut corners and use meat without knowing what kind of meat is used. The soup is also clear water soup, and the dumplings have no taste at all.

"Thank you young master for your compliment. It's delicious. Remember to come here often in the future."

Hearing Liu Jin's words, the boss who had no business idle also said with a smile on his face.

"Wow~ so delicious~"

At this time, Zhao Erhu who was at the side finished drinking the last bit of soup in the bowl, and couldn't help but say.

"Aren't you too fast?"

Liu Jin looked at Zhao Erhu's bowl, and then at his own bowl. He only ate one dumpling, and Zhao Erhu had already finished the whole bowl. He looked at the dumpling in Liu Jin's bowl eagerly, as if he was not full. look.

"I haven't eaten any delicious dumplings yet, so I ate it a little faster."

Zhao Erhu said with a simple smile.

"Boss, give him another bowl."

"You eat slowly, no one will rob you."

Liu Jin couldn't help but smiled and shook his head and said.

"Okay, a bowl of dumplings, I'll come right away."

Seeing the business again, the boss got busy happily. As for Zhao Erhu, when he heard that there was still a bowl to eat, he couldn't help swallowing again. It's good to follow Brother Jin, and he can eat two bowls of dumplings.

Liu Jin ate very slowly. When Zhao Erhu finished his second bowl, Liu Jin still had a few dumplings left, which was quite enough. Liu Jin's body didn't have a big appetite, so he couldn't eat any more.

"Finish mine too."

Liu Jin moved the bowl to Zhao Erhu's side, then turned to the boss and said, "Boss, pay the bill."

"Young master, three bowls of dumplings, 10 Wen for a bowl of dumplings, a total of 30 Wen."

As soon as Liu Jin paid the bill, the boss immediately came over with a smile.

Liu Jin took out some pieces of silver from his pocket and put it on the table.

The boss took the broken silver, looked at it carefully, and then bit it with his teeth, and soon a smile appeared on his face. The silver was very fine, then he took out a small scale and weighed it carefully .

"Young master, your broken silver is worth about 100 Wen, and I will ask you for 70 Wen."

Soon, the boss put away the broken silver, took out another sling of money, counted out 30 Wen, and put the remaining 70 Wen in front of Liu Jin.

"Hmm~"

Liu Jin didn't count, and put away the copper coins.

"You can eat such dumplings for 10 yuan, which is really cheap. If you have such dumplings in later generations, you won't be able to eat them if you don't have 20 yuan a bowl."

In Liu Jin's mind, he couldn't help making a comparison, and he had to say that the price level of this era is still very low.

"Let's go~"

Watching Zhao Erhu finish the last bit of soup, Liu Jin also got up to take another stroll.

"Young master, walk slowly~"

Seeing Liu Jin and Zhao Erhu leave, the boss smiled and sent them off respectfully.

The weather was relatively cold at this time, and after eating a bowl of hot dumplings, the whole person felt much more comfortable. Walking on the streets of the small county town, Liu Jin couldn't help but began to look around and ask questions.

"Boss, how do you sell the eggs and chicken?"

"Young master, a chicken costs 15 cents, and an egg costs two."

"How cheap?"

Hearing the price, Liu Jin couldn't help but said inwardly, remembering the TVs and things he had seen before, the purchases were all calculated in silver, but he didn't expect to buy a big rooster weighing a few catties for only 15 cents .

Looking back now, the dumplings I ate just now seem to be not cheap at all. A bowl costs 10 Wen, and 3 bowls are worth two big roosters.

"Boss, how do you sell this firewood?"

"Young master, you are really discerning. My wood has been dried in the sun. It is a high-quality and strong cypress, and it must weigh more than 100 catties. It only costs 50 Wen."

Liu Jin looked casually along the way, and when he came across something he was interested in, he also went up to ask the price. Generally speaking, in this self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy, the price level is very low.

A piece of high-quality cotton cloth only costs less than 200 Wen, high-quality polished rice from Jiangnan only costs 2 Wen per catty, and high-quality cotton only costs 25 Wen per catty.

Everything is very cheap, and of course it can’t be said to be cheap. At this time, because there is no large-scale inflow of silver from America, people still use copper coins for daily use, and the price level is much lower than that in the late Ming Dynasty.

When the concealment was cleared, silver flowed in on a large scale, and silver gradually replaced copper coins and gradually became the mainstream currency, and the price level was relatively high.

"Brother Jin, the butcher's place is right in front of you."

Walking, walking, Zhao Erhu looked at the meat stalls in front of him, couldn't help swallowing, and said to Liu Jin.

"Let's go and have a look."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin nodded and walked over.

The place that sells meat in a county is very small, and there are very few people who sell meat. There are only a few stalls, one selling mutton and two selling pork. As for beef, there is no place to buy it at all, because in this era, It can be said that the status of cattle is higher than that of people. They are protected by law and cannot be slaughtered. Unless the cattle die of old age or disease, cattle are absolutely not allowed to be slaughtered.

"Young master, do you want to buy meat?"

Liu Jin came to a pork stall. The boss who killed the pig saw Liu Jin's appearance, and asked with a smile, while sharpening his knife, he said: "My pork is all the best pigs. Look at this fat meat, how can you eat it?" It's as thick as a finger."

Liu Jin looked at the pork on the chopping board. The pig was indeed very fat. The butcher also put out the fattest part. Liu Jin remembered that in the era when it was hard to eat meat, the most popular one was fat. Meat, as for things like lean meat, bones, and elbows, are the least desirable.

Therefore, when the butcher saw a business, the first thing he introduced was fatty meat. In later generations, this kind of fat meat would be the most undemanding item, but ribs, lean meat, and elbows are what everyone likes the most, just the opposite.

"How much is a catty?"

Liu Jin smiled and asked a little bit, he promised Zhao Erhu to treat him to eat braised pork.

"Fat meat is 12 renminbi a catty, and lean meat is 9 renminbi a catty. How much do you want?"

The butcher smiled and said.

"Cut me 5 catties of fat, and cut me some ribs~"

　I don’t know if this price level is right, I checked some information, but because the calculation of ancient currency is more troublesome, and the calculation of weight is also different from now~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)