Jinyi champion

Chapter 60 Partnership
On the last night before going home, Jing Hong suffered from insomnia.

It was rare for him to start adapting to the new environment in the past two days, but Jing Hong tossed and turned on the couch unable to sleep when he thought that he would be able to go back to the county office to reunite with his parents and family in the future.

As always, Zhu Hao went to sit at the door after writing something.

Now there is no wall for him to ride on, and he can’t secretly observe the movement in the palace. He can only wonder whether he will live here in the future... The courtyard where he currently lives is the duty room of the guards of the palace. Even if few people come at night, the outside is Sentry, it's easy to be spotted when you go out.

"Why don't you sleep? Oh, by the way, what happened to the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"?" Jinghong pretended to be concerned, got up from the couch, and walked to Zhu Hao's side Sitting down by the threshold, I couldn't help inquiring about the story in his heart.

Zhu Hao said: "In the end, the Forty Thieves managed to find the place where Ali Baba lived. Ali Baba, his wife, and his maid escaped by chance and went far away. The Forty Thieves occupied that city."

"..."

Jing Hong was speechless.

Obviously, the ending of this story is very different from his imagination. After a long silence, he asked, "How is this possible? Alibaba is so brave and smart, why..."

Zhu Hao looked at the starry sky and said quietly: "One hits forty. What's the use of being brave and smart? Isn't this the ending you want?"

Jing Hong shook his head again and again: "How could this be the ending I want?"

Zhu Hao smiled: "A story, either has a good ending, or a bad ending, or... an open ending, which is left to the imagination of the listener.

"Anyway, it's not a real story. It's just a random story I made up. If you think Alibaba won the Forty Thieves in the end, you don't have to keep asking me about the result, do you?"

"You asked me what the finale is, and I can only tell you one that is different from what you imagined... There are always two sides to everything, and stories are no exception."

Hearing Zhu Hao's words, Jing Hong was restless.

I'm just an eight-year-old kid, what are you telling me that has two sides?
When you are talking about big things, should you think about whether my little brain at this age can accept such complicated things?

"I think that the real ending of the story must not be like this!"

Jinghong said to Zhu Hao seriously, but he didn't argue, and knew that Zhu Hao would not tell him a good story, so he got up and went back to the couch to lie down.

Zhu Hao continued to look up at the bright galaxy, trying to find his own one among the thousands of stars.

……

……

Early the next morning.

Before the sky fully opened, Zhu Hao got up to pack up, put his things back and went out, without waiting for Jinghong to leave the palace together.

As the ceremonial guard of the palace, Lu Song didn't spend much time on night duty, and Zhu Hao didn't see him that morning.

When they left the west gate of the palace, several guards on duty looked at him curiously, but knowing that it was a holiday, they didn't come out to stop them, and let Zhu Hao leave.

When we came to the street outside, it was already [-] o'clock in the middle of the night, seeing the farmers in Anlu who got up early in the dark and went into the city to catch the morning market as soon as the city gate opened, Zhu Hao quickened his pace to go home.

Not surprisingly, the old lady Zhu Jiashi went to the city last night and lived in the East Wing. She got up early this morning to get dressed, and she just waited for her grandson to come back and ask about the situation in the palace.

Zhu Haoshang didn't have a chance to talk to Zhu Niang and Aunt Li, so he was called into the main room by the old lady alone.

"...I am studying with the prince now, and I don't know what his real name is. We are all used to calling him Zhu San. As for whether he has brothers or sisters, I don't know."

"As for Jiaoxi, we call him Mr. Sui, and his expression is fair. In addition, the palace has been a little tense in the past two days, probably because of the fire before..."

The information Zhu Hao brought out was not much, and it was the same as last time. Zhu Jiashi was not very satisfied and kept asking.

Zhu Hao abided by the principle of not harming the palace, and did not get entangled in the identities of Zhu San and Zhu Si. If asked about the relevant content, he would say that he did not know. The old lady had nothing to do with such a tactful and sophisticated child.

"Grandmother, I found something. It seems that the palace is going to change teachers... I heard what the guards said, it may not be accurate."

Zhu Hao finally revealed information that satisfied Zhu Jiashi.

Zhu Jiashi frowned and thought for a long time, then got up and went out.

……

……

After Zhu Niang sent Zhu Jiashi away, she hurried into the hall and took her son's hand and asked, "Xiaohao, no one will make things difficult for you when you enter the palace this time, right?"

Zhu Hao grinned and said, "No, mother, I live and eat well in the palace, and I have started to study... I have learned several chapters of "The Analects of Confucius". Don't believe me, I will recite it to you?"

Zhu Niang said: "No need, as long as you are safe and well... Are you hungry? Have you had breakfast? I will ask your aunt to cook something delicious for you."

Because of Zhu Hao's return, the courtyard became busy again.

Zhu Niang encountered a little trouble in business, but in order not to distract her son, she kept silent to Zhu Hao, but Zhu Hao still noticed a clue.

"Mom, is there something wrong with our business?" Zhu Hao asked.

Zhu Niang smiled wryly: "The production of Yantian has plummeted...it hasn't rained recently, but at the end of July, the weather is cloudy and sunny, and the harvest is not good when it is not summer."

Zhu Hao thought to himself, of course, the summer output cannot be used to measure the annual output of Yantian, that is when the sun shines most violently, and it may be because the money is too fast at that time, Zhu Niang thinks it should be like this all year round, but in fact once In autumn and winter, sun-dried salt will usher in an off-season or even a failure to harvest.

"Mom, what happened to the loose salt we sell?" Zhu Hao asked.

Zhu Niang shook her head and said nothing, which means that the retail business is still not satisfactory. After too many things before, the business of the neighbors of the shop is actually unsustainable.

Zhu Hao thought about it carefully.

In fact, it’s okay to return this shop to the Zhu family. It’s not profitable anyway, but we must firmly control the salt drying business outside the city.

……

……

After breakfast, Zhu Hao brought Yu San over.

When Yu San saw Zhu Hao's smiling face, he felt relieved for no reason. In his eyes, this little shopkeeper had a lot of ideas, and it was worth his special trip.

"Little brother, there is something I want to discuss with you...but don't tell my mother, this is our secret, do you think it's okay?" Zhu Hao leaned forward with a mysterious look.

Yu San was inexplicably nervous and asked, "Brother Hao, you know I'm not very capable, so don't scare the little ones."

Zhu Hao said: "How can I scare you? I have a good job to ask you to do... It's like this, I got a few storytelling books from the palace, and they are all very good stories. If we open a bookstore in the city, you Do you think there will be a future?"

Yu San looked puzzled: "Bookstore?"

Looking over with confused eyes, it seems to be asking, what are you going to do, little ancestor?
Zhu Hao took out a cloth bag from his bosom, opened it, and found some scattered money inside, which was the pocket money that Zhu Niang usually gave, which he accumulated hard.

"I've saved a little money here, it's useless to keep it in my hands, why don't I use it for a small business... Isn't there a lot of open space on Wangfu West Street? You go and buy it, build a wooden shed, and find a storyteller with a loud voice ...Little third brother, it seems that you can also read and write, you can stand up if necessary!

"At the beginning, when others come to listen to the books, we don't charge money. When the business is on the right track, one person will receive one penny, and the relatively front position will receive two to three. As for the frontmost place near the table, we can arrange a few rows of seats and put a few tables. Provide tea and dried fruit snacks. Those who have money and leisure can listen to books while drinking tea.

"The bookstore talks about ten times a day, and the latest one can even be delayed until the sound of the second watch drum. Anyway, isn't there a curfew in Anluzhou City, which just happens to enrich the nightlife of the people in the city... Little brother, you take care of everything. is it okay?"

Zhu Hao wanted to pull Yu San to do business with him.

Yu San wondered: "I'm afraid it won't be easy, the cost...is not old or young."

Zhu Haodao: "I've done the calculations, the venue or something may cost a tael of silver in a month. After all, we don't need a house, and if we add tables, chairs and benches, it shouldn't cost a tael. Recruit a storyteller and pay him a monthly salary. He commissions tea, as for the two of us...you don't have to pay, just be responsible for your efforts, if you make money, we will pay you three or seven, I will give you three, and I will give you an extra four coins of hard work every month, what do you think?"

Originally, Yu San didn't want to engage in any partnership with Zhu Hao, because he had no capital, and because it might not be beneficial to run errands for others.

But he heard that there is no need to pay for dry shares, and there is a fixed salary to get it. He has no reason to refuse such a good thing.

"This... can be done, but it may not be done."

Yu San didn't dare to say enough.

Zhu Hao said with a smile: "Anyway, I only have five taels of silver. I'll spend it when I'm done. I'll buy it for a thought. Of course, the most important thing is to say it's good. Someone will come to support me! As long as I open up my reputation, I'm afraid people in the city will They will come to join us, and we will add games every night."

The reason why Zhu Hao opened the bookstore was because it was too boring in the palace.

Because of Lu Song's relationship, it's actually not too difficult to get out of the palace at night. For Lu Song, it's just to prevent him from entering the palace to do something wrong. If you want to go out of the palace...please feel free.

Although Zhu Hao has the conditions to escape at night, there must be something to play outside for him to pass the time.

There is an even bigger reason, there is indeed a lot of open space on Wangfu West Street.

Zhu Hao had inquired that there was a big fire here in the last years of Hongzhi, and a large area near the west gate of the Wangfu was burned to white ground. The rich people feared that people would be burned to death here and the Feng Shui was not good, so they chose to rebuild it.Poor people also have concerns. If they build their own houses here, their own houses will be expropriated for the expansion of the palace in the future.

Yu San always had a lot of tricky ideas, but when he heard Zhu Hao's words, he became excited and his eyes lit up.

Zhu Haodao: "I don't have to go back to the palace today, so I will accompany you to make arrangements. You first find Yazi to choose a place, and then find a craftsman to build a shed, make tables, chairs and benches, and I will tell you how to arrange it after everything is done..."

Zhu Hao wanted to do it.

Enrich the daily entertainment life of the local people in Anlu, let yourself have some fun, and maybe make money, why not do it?

If it was about those clichéd stories, naturally not many people would listen to them, but Zhu Hao has written many wonderful stories during this period.

People in this era have plenty of free time but not enough entertainment. If there is a place where they can listen to books for fun, even if they spend a penny or two a day, they will flock to it.

(End of this chapter)