Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 152 Arriving in Shanghai County for the First Time ([-])

When Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng returned to the Thor, they greeted the men who were going ashore and began to shave their heads.

Liu Siting looked at the big bald gourds happily for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Then what should I do?"

have to!A group of people were busy for a long time, but they really forgot about her.Director Liu originally had shoulder-length short hair, but after he came to Beihai Town, he cut his hair even shorter because of work considerations.Usually looks really sassy, ​​but now.
Zhao Xin thought about it for a while, and then said: "I'm to blame for this. You should find a piece of cloth to cover your head before boarding the sandboat. If I buy you a wig for women from the Qing Dynasty, there will be too little time!"

A group of men tossed and tossed about for a long time wearing fake braids, but fortunately there were three people from Lu Shoushan to help, so they didn't make a fool of themselves.Liu Sheng touched the rat-tailed pigtail on the back of his head, and tried to shake it around his neck like in movies and TV dramas.How can such a short braid be wound up!

He couldn't help cursing angrily: "It's all so deceitful!"

Zhao Xin said with a smile: "Isn't it a scam? Look at "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" and "Scary Step by Step", if the elder brothers, Erkang, Ertai and the like all have a money rat tail, the audience will not like it. look."

"That's right, when the domineering music played, the emperor played by Zheng Shaoqiu came out, with a pigtail dangling behind his head, that scene... tsk tsk!"

Everyone laughed when they heard Wu Siyu's words.

Xu Dayong, who was at the side, couldn't help being secretly startled when he heard the "emperor", "elder brother", "pig tail" and the like said by the old men of Beihai Town.

Three days later in the morning, Shen Jingdan's "Shen Yihe" sandship arrived.He and Lao Huang boarded the Thunder God with a few big bags full of clothes, hats, shoes and socks, and asked everyone to change into them.

As for the identities of everyone, everyone has already thought about it.Because Zhao Xin is fluent in Beijing movies, he pretended to be a certain businessman from the capital who purchased cigarettes; Liu Sheng, Wang Yuanfang, Ding Guofeng, and Wu Siyu pretended to be the men he hired from the escort agency; Liu Zheng pretended to be Zhao The new personal servant.As for Director Liu, he had to pretend to be Zhao Xin's wife.Lu Shoushan, Pan Xiucheng and Xu Dayong pretended to be helpers hired by Zhao Xin in Shanghai.

Deng Fei couldn't get off the boat, he wanted to drive the Thunder God back to Beihai Town.The next time they come to pick up Liu Sheng and the others will be 30 days later.

After receiving Liu Sheng's explanation three days ago, Shen Jingdan prepared the corresponding clothing and accessories according to his identity.Everyone then found clothes and changed according to their respective identities.

Zhao Xin's clothes consisted of a brand-new cyan satin jacket, a caramel lake silk double-breasted mandarin jacket, white cotton socks, and black satin shoes.In addition, there was a black satin hat with a coral knot.This was specially ordered by Shen Jingdan according to Zhao Xin's figure, and it fits very well.

As for Liu Sheng and the others, they wore bunts; Liu Zheng wore a half-worn black jacket with a dark blue cotton mandarin jacket with a large breast.

But when Liu Siting changed clothes and came out of the ship building, everyone on the deck was stunned.

A collarless royal blue top with black trim, and a light satin vest with a large cloud head; the lower body is a dark skirt trimmed with black embroidered railings, which looks very graceful.However, the shoes on her feet were hidden in the wide skirt, and only the red corner could be seen.But when Liu Siting took out a blue cotton scarf from behind and wrapped it around her head, everyone felt that it was really a disgrace.

After everyone was dressed properly, Shen Jingdan and Lao Huang respectively explained the words and deeds of the people pretending to be identities, including how to salute and how to reply.It took a long time for Zhao Xin and his group to learn how to salute with fists, how to beat Qian'er and kneel down, how to greet people and so on.

As for the weapons that everyone carried with them, except for Xu Dayong who didn't give anything, everyone else had a SIG P226 hidden on their bodies.

After we bid farewell to Deng Fei and the soldiers and sailors, we boarded the sandboat.Before sailing, Shen Jingdan repeatedly warned that if there is a situation, one must take shelter in the cargo hold, so as to avoid the Qing army patrolling the sea showing their feet when boarding the ship.

Zhao Xin and others noticed that when the sailors on the sandboat saw them boarding, they all had a calm expression, neither curious nor staring.He couldn't help thinking secretly that these people were either his own people who had followed Shen Jingdan for many years, or they had been bribed by Shen Jingdan with money.

Sure enough, when Zhao Xin asked Shen Jingdan in a low voice, Shen Jingdan smiled slightly and said: "To be honest, these people on the sandboat are all old people who have been with me for more than ten years. I have taken them to do the smuggling before." Pass."

Really support the bold, starve the timid.Zhao Xin didn't expect Shen Jingdan to do such a thing.

"It seems that Boss Shen has done many illegal things before!" Wu Siyu who was listening at the side said to Wang Yuanfang in a low voice.

Two hours later, the sandship entered the ocean on the south side of Chongming Island, and three Susong Town Zuoying sentry ships patrolling here soon appeared in the distance.

Shen Jingdan ordered the sailors to slow down the speed of the sand boat, and the three sentry boats quickly approached.But when the other party saw the three big characters "Shen Yihe" on the bow, he turned his head and left in the distance.

Because the smell in the cabin was really bad, everyone in Beihai Town stayed near the cabin door.When the sentinel boat came, everyone entered the cabin, and Wang Yuanfang and others put their hands on their backs to prevent emergencies.

When the sentinel ship was gone, Zhao Xin and others came out of the cabin.He smiled and asked Shen and Huang who were standing on the deck: "How much money did you give?"

Shen Jingdan shook his head and said: "Master Zhao, you don't know something. The Su Song navy knows my boat, and it costs 2000 taels of silver to honor the admiral of the navy every year. But when we enter Wusongkou, there will be a lot of sandboats coming and going. , when the time comes, please stay in the cabin; if the ship is not docked, please don't show your head."

Zhao Xin nodded, and suddenly asked curiously: "Boss Shen, Boss Huang, did you do the same when you came back from Nagasaki?"

Shen Jingdan said with a smile: "Yes, no."

After he finished speaking, he explained.It turns out that when the sea trade ships of the Qing Dynasty returned to China, the inspection procedures after entering the inner ocean were still very strict.

When the sentinel ships patrolling the sea find the merchant ships returning home, they will immediately return to Shuiying and notify the large driving ships to intercept them so that they can board the ship for inspection.

The content of the inspection includes whether there are prohibited goods entrained, or whether there are Japanese or other foreigners in possession.If everything is normal, then the officer on the sentinel boat will issue a customs business license, which needs to fill in the name of the ship, the size of the ship, and the load, and indicate that the goods on board are not contraband, and then the stamp that allows entry into the customs will be stamped. print.The sea trade ship has to take this business license to Jianghai Customs in Shanghai County to pay customs duties. After paying the tax and getting the receipt, they can find a dental agency to sell the goods on behalf of them.

Liu Sheng, who used to be a seaman, said with a look of enlightenment: "Oh. It turns out that you can enter Wusongkou with the business license."

"Not yet, we must have this." After Shen Jingdan finished speaking, he raised his finger and pointed to the khaki pennant on the top of the mainmast.There seems to be a red flame-like border around the edge of the flag.

"With the stamped customs certificate and this flag, ships carrying cargo back to China can enter the inland waters and then enter Wusongkou."

After Shen Jingdan explained, he asked Zhao Xin: "Master Zhao?"

"Boss Shen, just call me Zhao Dong's family. From now on, my identity is a businessman. As for them, you can call them aliases."

"Zhao, Mr. Zhao's family, after you arrive in Shanghai this time, where do you want to go?"

Zhao Xin already knew that Lao Huang had bought a yard in Jiangning, Suzhou and Yangzhou respectively.He thought for a while and said, "Let's take a look at several places. As for where to go first, it depends on how you arrange it, Boss Shen."

Shen Jingdan thought for a while and said: "Then I and Boss Huang will accompany you to Suzhou first, then Yangzhou, and finally Jiangning."

After that, everyone chatted with Shen and Huang.When Zhao Xin learned that Lao Huang's largest cigarette customer in Shanghai County and Suzhou Prefecture was brothels, he couldn't help being stunned. Everyone didn't expect brothels to sell so well.

And Shen Jingdan talked about the sales situation in Yangzhou.The biggest customer group of cigarettes in Yangzhou is actually a group of literati!Since Shen Jingdan brought cigarettes into the Ma family's poetry club gathering, he has been praised by scholars.With the spread of poems praising cigarettes one after another, cigarettes became popular among the upper-class gentry circles in Yangzhou.

In the evening, the sand boat docked at the pier outside Chongming County overnight.In order to reduce trouble, Zhao Xin and others lived on board without disembarking.

Although the accommodation conditions were very poor, everyone knew that tomorrow they would land in Shanghai County in the [-]th century, and the anticipation and excitement in their hearts prevailed, so they endured the discomfort for the whole night.

Early the next morning, the sand boat left the dock in Chongming County.Since there was no cargo this time, there was no need for tax evasion and smuggling, so the ship entered the Huangpu River from Wusongkou.

The Huangpu River in the Qianlong period was also called "Whampoa".Although the river course is very wide, in the common people's understanding, the Huangpu River at this time is just a fork of the Wusong River.

After the cargo ship passed Laohezui (Han Haitang), it was only forty miles away from the Daguan Wharf in Shanghai County.At this time, the sand boats going north to sea formed a long queue.

Liu Sheng stood at the hatch and looked at the densely packed two-masted and even three-masted sand ships on the river, and asked in surprise, "Where are all these ships going?"

"Shandong still has Kanto." Lao Huang explained with a smile.

"Crossing the Guandong now?" Liu Siting asked suddenly.

Shen Jingdan explained: "Everyone doesn't know. In Shanghai and Jiaxing's Zhapu Port, there are about five or six thousand sand ships that go to Shandong and Kanto every year, and each ship can carry two to three thousand stones. These ship owners He is a local person, and his net worth is well worth hundreds of thousands. Every year, he transports oil, wine, bean cakes and other goods between the two places, about three or four times.”

"cake?"

"soy?"

"Soybean oil?"

A group of people were stunned. They did not expect the sea trade between the north and the south to be so prosperous during the Qianlong period.

Lao Huang also responded: "Yes, it is soybeans. This is a good product. After the oil is squeezed, the bean cake can also be used as fertilizer. To tell you the truth, these merchants engaged in sea trade in the Kanto have shops in Kanto and Shanghai. "

Zhao Xin thought for a while and asked, "Where are soybeans grown in the north?"

Old Huang said: "That's too much. For example, in Shandong, there are mainly Qing, Lai, and Deng prefectures. In the coastal areas of these three places, due to the thin soil, the local people have to grow beans for a living. "

When Zhao Xin heard the word "thin and thin", he didn't quite understand it.According to his estimation, it is saline-alkali land.

I only heard Lao Huang continue to say: "As for Kanto, the main production area is Jinzhou, but the shops are all in Niuzhuang."

Zhao Xin did not expect the bean trade to be so prosperous under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. He originally thought of planting soybeans on a large scale in Beihai Town for trade. It seems that this road will not work.

Historically, before the Opium War, the richest sand ship owner in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had more than a hundred sand ships under his command.Sometimes more than a dozen of them can go to sea at the same time.When going to sea, the officers and soldiers of the Su Song Navy were the backing, and the green battalion boats protected them.There is a fine division of labor on the ship, and there are many people; there are stewards, cooks, financial assistants, bows, and sellers, each performing their duties.

Several people chatted for a while, the boat had already passed the area of ​​Taiping Temple, and there were more and more sand boats on the river.From the Wusong River in the northwest, and Shanghai Pu, Yangjing, and Xigou in the south, there were long queues of sand boats going out to sea; at this time, the city walls of Shanghai County were already faintly visible.

"It's almost here. Everyone, please go back to the cabin for a while." Lao Huang reminded.

At this time, there were too many sand boats going south and north on the river, and the speed of sailing slowed down.It was almost noon before we docked at the Xiaodongmen Wharf in the northeast corner of Shanghai County.

After the boat came to a steady stop, Shen Jingdan specially came over and told Zhao Xin to wait a while, he had already sent someone to call for a carriage.

At this time, Zhao Xin and the others wanted to rush out of the cabin to have a look on the deck, but they were afraid of causing trouble to Shen and Huang, so they endured it all the time.

Almost half an hour later, there was a sound of horseshoes and yelling animals outside the cabin; everyone guessed that the carriage had arrived.Sure enough, after a while, Shen Jingdan greeted at the cabin door: "Everyone, please get off the boat. The carriage has arrived."

Zhao Xin and his group came out of the cabin, facing the city wall of Shanghai County.On a city gate not far away, there are four big characters "Baodai Yanhai" written impressively.

Shen Jingdan said as he walked: "The city wall of Shanghai County is two feet four feet high, and there are seven gates in total. The place we stopped here is Baodai Yanhai Gate in the northeast, but we usually call it Xiaodongmen. "

Liu Sheng and the others had already entered their roles at this time, so they bowed their waists and asked Shen Jingdan: "Master Shen, are we going to enter the city?"

"I'm really sorry about this, because the time is short, and the new yard needs to be cleaned before people can live in it. Please go to rest in the humble house first, and go to the newly bought yard later."

Zhao Xin nodded without speaking, and walked towards a carriage in the middle according to Shen Jingdan's pointing.Liu Siting wrapped her hair with a cloth handkerchief, bowed her head in silence, and followed Zhao Xin to the carriage.

In the end, before Zhao Xin could speak, Director Liu passed Zhao Xin, stepped on the bench prepared by the driver, got into the carriage, and got into the carriage shed.

This stunned the hired coachman.Everyone can see clearly that this woman just now is Tianzu!In these days and months in the south of the Yangtze River, the only people who dare not bind their feet are the bannermen, except for the boat lady.

(End of this chapter)