national surname chiming

Chapter 4 Everyone is an old fox

In order to put smoke bombs on the Zheng family, Shen Shuren asked his father to pretend to write a reply letter to Nanjing Guozijian, and made some other arrangements, which took a whole afternoon.

In the early morning of the next day, the Shen family prepared the car early in the morning to wait for the young master to go out.

On the third day after traveling to the Ming Dynasty, Shen Shuren finally went out for the first time.

The destination is not far away, just in Liujiagang Town, Taicang, a Zheng's business.Zheng Hongkui stayed there during his stay in Suzhou.

Liujiagang in the Ming Dynasty was the largest river-sea transshipment port at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and it was also the base for Zheng He's seven voyages to the West.

The Zheng family claims to have a business network of "Five Merchants in Mountains and Seas", and there are commercial firms in Suzhou and Hangzhou responsible for purchasing sea trade goods. Of course, the Zheng family's stronghold is also indispensable in Liujiagang.

When he first went out, Shen Shuren was quite curious.

Although there is a part of the memory left to him by his body, which allows him to adapt to the lifestyle of the late Ming Dynasty, but seeing the various things in the market with his own eyes, the feeling is still different.

Suzhou Prefecture is now the most prosperous place in the world, and the counties and Sanzhous under its jurisdiction are also leading the way.

As the prefecture of Wu County, sericulture embroidery and luxury curios are extremely developed;
Taicang is an important place for river and sea shipping and trade, where rich long-distance businessmen gather;
Kunshan, between Wu County and Taicang, is the benchmark of culture and fashion, and "Kunqu Opera" was born here.

In order to get more familiar with the situation, Shen Shuren ordered Shen Ford to let the carriage go around the town for a while. It was only five or six miles away, but he walked more than ten miles in a daze.

Along the river in the port area are all kinds of commercial firms and warehouses, crowded with people, and most of them are rice shops, silk and satin shops, and cotton cloth shops.

A steady stream of grain transport ships brought in grain from other places and unloaded at Liujiagang.Then the silk from Suhu and the cotton cloth from Songjiang were shipped and sold to various parts of Daming, or they were transshipped southward to Fujian and then resold overseas.

Seeing all this, Shen Shuren was also a little surprised: "Suhu is cooked well in the world", the proverb is too famous, how can there be a reason why you have to buy rice from outside when there is a land of fish and rice?

But soon he remembered a possibility: It is estimated that the business is too developed, and the income of other types of cash crops is higher.

He opened the curtain of the car with a folding fan, and confirmed with Shen Fu: "Ah Fu, go and ask what the price of rice is now. The Suzhou government has to buy grain from outside, and the fertile fields in the surrounding counties are all planting mulberry and silkworms? "

"Young Master, I don't know that the fertile fields in the Su and Hu prefectures do grow mulberry and raise silkworms. Because the texture of Husi and Susi is particularly smooth, it is one of the best in the world. The price of a load of local raw silk can be compared to other places. More than two loads.

However, the soil quality in the nearby Songjiang and Yangzhou prefectures is not as fertile as those around Taihu Lake, and most of them are barren sandy soil, which is not suitable for growing mulberry and silkworms.Fortunately, irrigation is still abundant, so kapok is widely planted, and less than half of the cotton used in Songjiang cotton cloth is grown in Jiangbei. "

Shen Fu answered the second half of the young master's question first, and then went to the rice shop on the side of the road to inquire about the market price, and returned after a while and added:
"Young master, I just asked. This year's rice is very expensive. In previous years, early rice only cost one tael and eight silver a stone, and late rice was more expensive. But this year, Jiaxing Mansion's surplus grain is not enough, and there is also rice from Shaoxing Mansion, which costs three dollars." Two or four dollars. Even Zhejiang has experienced severe drought, and it hasn’t rained since summer.”

Shen Shuren was also shocked when he heard this figure, the price of goods in Suzhou is indeed outrageously expensive.

When I looked at the bustling street scene in Suzhou Prefecture again, I suddenly felt that the "filter" was different.Even the dying dock workers on the street looked more and more like refugees.

The natural disasters in the later period of Chongzhen were really too exaggerated.

According to "History of the Ming Dynasty", from the 14th year of Chongzhen to the [-]th year, there were actually five consecutive years of severe drought every year-of course, it is impossible for the whole country to be severely drought at the same time, but at least it is the turn of [-]% to [-]% of the provinces every year. drought.

This year, even Zhejiang, which has a mild coastal climate, suffered a severe drought, so that Suzhou’s purchase of grain from outside was affected.

Fortunately, double-cropping rice has long been popularized in the south of the Yangtze River. Zhejiang has enough rain this spring, so the summer grain has been harvested. The current drought will only lead to the failure of the subsequent autumn grain harvest.

Two harvests a year can keep one season, and not too many people will starve to death.

However, those provinces in the north that can only grow for one season will definitely face a drought of the same level. It is no wonder that Zhang Xianzhong pulled the flag casually and coerced so many people.

Shen Shuren let out a long sigh, put down the curtain of the car, and was not in the mood to continue shopping, and told Shen Fu to drive directly to the destination.

Shen Fu just came here not long ago, so he doesn't know much about the young master's temper.But he is good at observing words and expressions, so he passed a step quietly:
"If the young master finds it unbearable, I will arrange for someone to distribute some copper coins to the hungry people on the pier, or ask someone to give away porridge tomorrow."

"No, there are too many people in this kind of place, and they move around frequently, and there will be troubles. I would rather go back and talk to my father to increase the piecework wages of dock laborers. But limit the daily workload and use a few more people."

After all, Shen Shuren has received systematic public management education, and knows that throwing money directly will definitely cause favors and hatreds, and the management cost is too high.

After Shen Fu heard this, he was quite admirable in his heart, and quickly said that everything was done according to the order.

The carriage soon arrived at the street where Zheng's business was located.Located in the northeast corner of the town, at the confluence of the Liuhe River and the Yangtze River, it is also the busiest place in Liujiagang.

The Liuhe River is an important river on the boundary of Suzhou, connecting Taihu Lake and the Yangtze River.The three prefectures and counties of Wuxian, Kunshan and Taicang are also distributed along the Liuhe River.The place name Liujiagang is also named because it is located at the mouth of the Liuhe River.

Approaching the Zheng family business, Shen Shuren lifted the curtain of the car to watch casually all the way, and inadvertently saw some strange phenomena, so he casually asked the servant:

"Shen Fu, this is already the busiest place in the port, how come there are fewer warehouses and shops on both sides of the road, and there are so many places to hang out for leisure."

It turned out that Shen Shuren saw that many pavements beside the road were hung with colorful lanterns. Although they were not lit in broad daylight, they could be seen as entertainment places at a glance.

After hearing this question, Shen Fu immediately regained his energy, and explained eloquently in a tone that "men can understand":

"This place is the gathering place for scholars from the Su and Song prefectures to rush for the examination. Every time it comes to the year of the rural examination, those who choose to take the Yangtze River waterway to Nanjing Qiuwei will wait for the boat here. It's just that the big boat will not set sail unless there are enough people. Come early , I will stay here for a few more days.

The prices of the churches in this neighborhood are fair, and most of them are run by local gentry with subsidized funds. It can be regarded as a good relationship with the poor scholars——Young Master, the third one diagonally opposite is our own. "

Shen Shuren nodded, but there was no further incident.It's nothing more than some low-end entertainment venues, not worthy of curiosity.

……

When they arrived at Zheng's House, Shen Shuren asked someone to hold a gift, and then went straight in.

Zheng Hongkui also came out to ask about his health when he heard the news, and the two sides made false claims for a while, and outsiders would definitely mistakenly think that the relationship between the two families is good.

Shen Shuren knew the history, so he didn't like anyone in the Zheng family except Zheng Sen.

Of course, there are different levels of disgust.Shen Shuren also knew that Zheng Hongkui had a bit more backbone than his three older brothers. In history, he did not surrender directly to the Qing Dynasty, and he followed his nephew Zheng Sen to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

The two parties first politely said a few words about Shen Shuren's condition, and entered the room to divide the guests and hosts into seats. Then Zheng Hongkui asked about the follow-up arrangements obsessively:
"My nephew seems to be in good spirits, but I still need to take care of him..."

Shen Shuren came prepared, and when he saw that the other party had finally taken the bait to talk about drama, he quickly put on a grateful expression:
"Speaking of this matter, I really want to thank Uncle Shi for helping me. To put it bluntly, I'm not suitable for studying, and I didn't want to go to Nanjing. Unfortunately, my father was strict and forced me to study. Fortunately, that day The doctor said that I still need recuperation, and I can skip school for a while."

Zheng Hongkui was taken aback for a moment, and it took him a while to understand the reversal. He was overjoyed immediately, and relaxed his guard against Shen Shuren.

He thought to himself: "Sure enough, he is a fool and doesn't like reading. Most of the rumors about this kid's naughtiness in the market are true. The only thing the Shen family needs to worry about is Shen Tingyang."

However, even though he despises Shen Shuren as an idiot, subconsciously he also feels that this kid is closer.After all, none of the Zheng family likes to read, including him, Zheng Hongkui, who usually likes to make friends with friends.

After straightening out his thinking, Zheng Hongkui was still a little uneasy, and asked further details:
"Nephew, to put it bluntly, with your Shen family's family business, what's the use of studying? Don't tell me you'll need to donate some money to officials in the future? You can go to Nanjing to enjoy yourself, and stay away from the control of your family. You really don't want to go?"

This suspicion is very reasonable, before Shen Shuren came, of course he had already thought of it.

So he just showed a smile that a man could understand, and pretended to be embarrassed to explain:

"Hey, I don't want to talk about this, some family ugliness is publicized. But Uncle Shi is not an outsider. You should know that I got into an awkward situation with my father a while ago, and in a fit of anger, I accidentally suffered from heat stroke."

Zheng Hongkui answered the words calmly: "I have heard a little bit about it."

Shen Shuren: "The cause of the incident was that I wanted to buy a sister and son as a concubine for 1 taels, but my father refused to let go, and even blocked my money. Although I have recovered from my illness, I still refused to let go of that matter.

If you go to Nanjing, and you can't redeem those good friends here, wouldn't you want to separate the two places?Although there are many smoked willows in the ten-mile Qinhuai River, I am nostalgic, and I have to wait until the things here are put down before I can leave. "

When Zheng Hongkui heard it, he immediately believed five or six points more.

It turns out that there are still a group of women in Suzhou who can't let go!Shen Tingyang didn't let him redeem those women, so he didn't want to go to Nanjing!
But after thinking about it, Zheng Hongkui still had one last doubt: "How can your family be so stingy in buying concubines?"

Shen Shuren pretended to sigh helplessly: "Actually, I also want to understand that my father is doing it for my own good. When he got married, he was not yet an official, and his family was only rich, so he couldn't marry a woman from Zhongming Dingshi's family. Mrs. She came from a humble background, just the daughter of a talented scholar in Ningbo Prefecture.

Later, my concubine passed away, and when my father succeeded me, because he had donated an official position in the household department, my stepmother's family background was rather prominent.

My father also didn't want me to follow his old path, so he kept telling me not to take concubines, and not to rush to marry early. Only after I donated an official and married again in the future can I marry a wealthy family.As for flirting with maids and asking women, he doesn't care about me. "

Speaking of this, Shen Shuren's tone seemed to have no city, and he was completely chatting with friends, so Zheng Hongkui believed it completely.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were many scholars who believed that they could go to high school or buy an official. They were not in a hurry to marry wives and concubines, but just wanted to get ahead and marry someone of the right family.

Anyway, not having a wife doesn't mean that you can't play with women. You can solve your physiological needs through other methods.

The Zheng family completely relaxed their vigilance, and the two chatted for a while, then Shen Shuren left a gift and got up to leave while talking and laughing.

Zheng Hongkui sent him out, but Shen Shuren stopped him for a while, pretending to be casual and said: "Uncle Shi doesn't need to send him off, my nephew still has some things to do, don't rush back home, I'm going to the pier."

"Going to the pier? We can help." Zheng Hongkui said casually.

Shen Shuren: "No, it's a trivial matter - my father wrote a reply letter to Siye of the Imperial Academy last night, asking for sick leave for me. Today my family happened to have a boat going to Nanjing, so I took the letter with me when I went out, and delivered it to me. Get on the boat and go back."

As Shen Shuren spoke, he naturally flashed an envelope in his sleeve that was sealed with wax but not stamped with wax, in front of Zheng Hongkui's eyes, and then retracted his sleeve.

Zheng Hongkui was already completely relieved of him, but he became alert again after hearing the words.

He was afraid that Shen Shuren would follow the ship directly to Nanjing after delivering the letter, so he hurriedly said, "What a coincidence? Uncle Yu happened to remember that today he is going to pick up a batch of goods from the pier, let's take a walk together."

Saying that, the two carriages of the Shen family and the Zheng family drove towards the pier one after the other.

As soon as Shen Shuren got into the car, Shen Fu, who was waiting for him to get into the car, also stepped up.Shen Shuren was slightly surprised, but he still asked calmly: "Is everything prepared according to plan?"

Shen Fu's face was a little ugly, and he explained: "There was a little accident just now. The master ordered yesterday to let the sailors who stayed on our boat on the pier go out to rest, and gave them money to listen to music and drink.

Unexpectedly, when my second brother went to check this morning, he found that there were some overly diligent sailors who were clearly on leave and still guarding the ship.Last night our people obviously got their hands and feet on the bottom of the ship where the tung oil was applied, but it was repaired by the diligent sailors.

My second brother came over in a hurry and told me about it just now, and told us to delay going to the pier for a while, otherwise we might be spotted by the experts of the Zheng family. "

When Shen Shuren heard this, he secretly screamed.

The original plan he had made with his father was to send out all the boats of the Shen family on the pier last night, leaving only one for today.

And this one, just before the sailing inspection, was temporarily discovered that "the last time I went back to the dock for maintenance, the place where the bottom of the ship was hemped for maintenance did not brush enough tung oil, and water may seep in strong winds and waves. It must be re-inspected and the sailing postponed." .

In this way, the Zheng family can take advantage of the opportunity and let Zheng Hongkui take the initiative to propose, "Our Zheng family also happens to have a boat going to Nanjing, why don't we let us carry this letter for you."

And this letter only added sealant, but no additional letter was stamped on the sealant. It was just an ordinary private letter with a low level of confidentiality.So as long as the Shen family's messenger boarded the Zheng family's boat, they would definitely be unsealed, peeked at it, and then re-sealed with sealant.

In this way, the smoke bomb of "Shen Tingyang really wants Shen Shuren to take sick leave for a long time" was actually passed on to the Zheng family.

Unfortunately, people are not as good as God.

In order to keep it as secret as possible, the Shen family and his son must know that there are fewer and fewer people who know about this kind of thing, and it is impossible to let the ordinary sailors on their ship know the inside story.

They originally thought that as long as they gave the sailors some money, found an excuse to take a day off, and transferred them away, they would be able to sabotage smoothly.

Unexpectedly, a guy who volunteered to be the master 996 without overtime pay appeared among the sailors. He also guarded the ship at night and diligently inspected it. As a result, he temporarily repaired the damaged tung oil numb part!
Shen Fu's second brother, Shen Shou, went to the ship early in the morning to secretly inspect and confirm the acceptance. He was dumbfounded when he saw that the damaged position had been repaired last night. .

On the other hand, while Shen Shuren was chatting with Zheng Hongkui, he urgently notified Shen Fu who was waiting outside, asking him to hold on for a while.

After Shen Shuren sorted out the situation, he couldn't help rubbing his temples with a headache: "How can we procrastinate now?"

Fortunately, Shen Fu and Shen Shou had already thought of a way just now, Shen Fu quickly said: "Fortunately, I have inquired just now, today Young Master Biao happened to hold a meeting at the Goulan that our family opened on the pier, and invited a lot of people. Guest—Young master, do you still remember? It was the goulan opened by the house we passed by on the way here early in the morning.

The carriage will pass there in a while, remember to open the curtain.My second elder brother has already notified Young Master Biao that he will just see you off when the time comes, and you happen to see you, so you take advantage of the opportunity to say goodbye to the Zheng family, saying that you will meet relatives and friends on the way, and you want to listen to a few songs along the way. Anyway, there is no rush to deliver the letter. The family's boat will leave the port in the afternoon. "

"Young Master Biao? Which Young Master Biao?" Shen Shuren was still a little timid, he still didn't fully recognize his relatives.

Shen Fu did not doubt that there was him: "Ningbo Zhang's family, Mrs. Xian's distant nephew."

"Okay, then do this." Shen Shuren pondered for a while, then nodded to indicate that it was feasible.Thanks to the fact that the Shen family's influence in Taicang is also intertwined, there are a lot of backup resources.

As soon as he made up his plan, Shen Shuren lifted the curtain of the carriage, pretending to watch the entertainment venues on both sides of the road.

After walking for a while, the carriage slowly passed by the Goulan opened by the Shen family that I had seen earlier, and then I saw a few young men come out with their shoulders clasped and their backs clasped, saying goodbye.

One of the sons, who looked like the host, glanced at Shen Shuren, and exclaimed naturally: "Yo? Is the Shen family's cousin in the car? Why are you here today, please hurry up."

Shen Shuren also showed surprise, and hurriedly stopped, and the Zheng family's carriage behind him was naturally blocked by the road.

Shen Shuren got out of the car and exchanged greetings, and then turned to Zheng Hongkui: "Uncle Shi, if you have something to go to the pier, I won't delay you. This is my cousin, Yuyao Zhang Cangshui, who is going to Nanjing for the exam. He is passing by Taicang temporarily. Boat. I happened to meet on the road today, so I will listen to two songs to reminisce about the old days before leaving.”

Zheng Hongkui had come to monitor Shen Shuren, so he was willing to leave first.

So he quickly said that he was not in a hurry, the Zheng family's ship would not be unloading until this afternoon, so he just had to be there before the unloading was over.

Therefore, Zheng Hongkui also brazenly entered this Goulan and listened to the music together.

-

A [-]-word chapter, ask for votes and comments, if you think the pace is slow, you can spray and submit.

(End of this chapter)