The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Twenty miles southeast of the city, there are dozens of ships moored on the Feishui River. These boats traveled upstream from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, passing through Ruxu River in Wuhu County, going up to Chaohu Lake in the north, and then passing through the Feishui River to the northwest. At the city south pier.

There is a ready-made car dealership on the pier that specializes in helping people transport goods. At this moment, several big shopkeepers have already disembarked, sitting around a temporary tent and waiting for Su Jin's news.

When Su Jin arrived at the pier, he exchanged pleasantries with several shopkeepers, and Su Jin asked, "How many stones did you buy?"

Shopkeeper Hou smiled and said: "One stone costs 650 ren, and 26 guan can buy a total of more than [-] shi of high-quality rice, and a total of [-] boats returned with a full load."

Su Jinxi said: "Very good, how is the drought in the south?"

Shopkeeper Hou lowered his voice and said, "I spent three days visiting several state capitals, and the drought is really raging. This year's production reduction is certain."

Su Jin frowned, and sighed: "Hey, the people are still suffering when the drought is like fire, but we ass people have no good plan, and God can't control the business."

The three shopkeepers rolled their eyes at the same time. This guy said something serious, and he looked worried about the country and the people. In fact, he was not sure how happy he was.

In fact, they only guessed a small part of it right. Su Jin was a little happy, because the severity of the drought showed that he had taken the right step, but if he said that he hoped that the drought would be more serious, it would be wronged. Su Jin even thought Well, when the time comes, if there are refugees and hungry people again, they will set up porridge sheds to donate to them. This is not entirely a famous thing, but also a kind deed that Su Jin wants to do in his heart.

"Young master, do you think it is time to move it at dawn or now? I mean to wait until dawn to unload the ship. At this time, it is dark and blind, and I am afraid of making mistakes." The shopkeeper Hou asked.

Su Jin pondered and said, "How is the contact with the car dealership?"

"There is a ready-made car dealership on the wharf, but they don't stay up all night. Fifty big-gu ox carts can be assembled within half an hour."

Su Jin said: "Then let's transport it away at night. It's not appropriate to make a show of it. During the day, there are many people on the boat at the wharf, and the words are mixed.

The three of them agreed in unison, and they split up to arrange various matters. There are often night boats arriving at the pier, and it is common for the guys in the car dealership to lie in the straw shed with all their clothes on. Dozens of wind lanterns were hung high on the pier, shining brightly, the grain ships docked slowly in order, boarded the widened springboard, and bags of grain were continuously loaded onto ox carts and headed to Luxi. The manor is shipped.

More than 50 bullock carts had to be transported back and forth six times before all the twenty or so boats were unloaded. The dozens of warehouses waiting for empty warehouses were gradually filled with bags of grain. Looking at dozens of piles like hills On the stack of grains, a big stone in Su Jin's heart fell to the ground, with grains in hand, she felt relieved.

After all this busy work, from the second watch to the day when the sky turned pale, the dust finally settled. After paying the fare for the boat, Su Jin looked at the dozen or so shopkeepers and assistants around him. Legs fluttering, tired enough to choke.

The three shopkeepers are old, and this meeting is even worse. Su Jin hurriedly ordered Xiao Zhuzi to drive the three of them back to take a bath and rest first. They made an appointment to come to the Su residence in the evening to discuss matters. These old shopkeepers must not fall down. , I was so young and energetic that I didn't notice the bodies of the old shopkeepers. I really shouldn't have done so. With such a desperate posture, within three nights, the old shopkeepers would all have their lives on the line.

After tidying up, Su Jin walked back to the city in the morning dew, went back to the house to take a bath, and fell asleep soundly.

This sleep lasted until the end of the night, the sun was westward, so I stretched my waist and slept for a full four hours. I simply made some food and filled my stomach. Su Fu had already come to report At that time, the shopkeeper Zhang Da of the cloth shop, the shopkeeper Zhao Da of the garment shop, and the four shopkeepers Hou, Hu, Ma, and Min of the grain and oil shop had all come to the side hall to wait for Shaodong's house.

Su Jin was a little surprised. Several old shopkeepers met here regardless of their hard work and did not rest for a while. Su Jin was very moved by their conscientious attitude. There are three stakes for one fence, three gangs for one hero, and only relying on his own ability No matter how big it is, there is no high efficiency and success rate of teamwork.

Su Jin hurriedly ordered the kitchen to quickly prepare a sumptuous banquet and put it on. The old shopkeepers must have not eaten seriously, so they dressed up and came to the side hall.

The atmosphere in the side hall was extremely lively, and several old shopkeepers were having a good time talking. When Su Jin entered through the door, the old shopkeepers stood up and saluted one after another.

Su Jin made a bow respectfully, and pointed at the tall and big shopkeepers: "Jiang is still old and spicy, such a large transaction is extremely cumbersome, and the old shopkeepers managed it in ten days. Thank you, Su Ji is really lucky to have all of you here, and the day of Su Ji's revival is not far away."

The shopkeepers were very happy, and they all said humbly: "Young Master's praise, we old bones are just doing what we are supposed to do, and this is all due to the Young Master's strategic planning."

Su Jin laughed loudly and said: "Our family doesn't say these polite words, it's all thanks to our concerted efforts. No one can live without a radish and a hole."

The shopkeepers also laughed, and after chatting for a few words, they suddenly smelled the aroma, which caused several old shopkeepers to grumble in their stomachs.

Shopkeeper Hu said with a smile: "I know that Young Master's will not let us go hungry. When I came here, my old lady insisted on letting me eat a few pieces of cakes before leaving. I will never starve my old bones."

Shopkeeper Ma said with a smile: "You old man is good at calculating. If you come to eat hungry, you can take advantage of it?"

Shopkeeper Hu said contemptuously: "Don't talk about me, the rumbling sound in your stomach is like thunder, I'm afraid it's not much better than mine."

Everyone roared with laughter, pointing and teasing each other, Su Jin said with a smile: "Then what are you waiting for? Let's eat, everyone will have a big ball of glutinous wood meatballs first, one ball is three taels, keep two in place; if others want to eat, they will be afraid It's me who don't give a single fish bone, and if you old shopkeepers want to eat it, it's too late for me to be flattered, it's best to eat it until I'm a hundred years old."

Su Jin could talk, and he coaxed the old fellows into elation with his words. Under Su Jin's leadership, they chewed sullenly for a while until their stomachs were a little full, and they were all satisfied. Sighing, Su Jin picked up the wine glass and said something to clean up the dust. Everyone toasted and drank together, and then gradually got to the point.

Su Jin put down his cup and said: "This time, Su Ji spent almost all of his savings to hoard more than [-] pieces of cloth of various colors and more than [-] shi of grain. It can be said that the supply is sufficient; in fact, I am also worried in my heart. After all The time to take over the Su family's property is still short, and we don't know much about some traps and risks in the market, so we need to be cautious about the future trend."

Zhang Rongqin said: "It's very rare for the young master to understand the difficulties. Originally, the old man was worried that the young master would be overconfident and even make mistakes in judging the situation, but the young master's words made the old man feel at ease."

Su Jin said: "Without your support, Su Jin wouldn't dare to make a major decision decisively, but as far as the general law in the business field is concerned, this time I shouldn't miss it. What I'm worried about is that the Su family's power is weak, and the chamber of commerce Sooner or later, they will get the news, if they also wantonly hoard, there will be much less room for profit in the future.”

Shopkeeper Hou heard the words and said: "This matter is a bit exaggerated. I am indeed taking a huge risk when I wait for this large-scale procurement. However, it is not our family who went to purchase in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. As far as we know, the secret purchases in various roads in Hebei As well as Jingdong Road, there are merchants who are buying grain, cotton and cloth in large quantities. If Su Ji’s old customers are not loyal this time, the foundation laid by the previous owner is still there. Madam has never neglected those people over the years. I am afraid that things will not go so smoothly. "

Su Jin was startled and said, "Oh? Is there anything else like this?"

Shopkeeper Hou, shopkeeper Hu, and others all nodded, and shopkeeper Hu said first: "Let me go first, the price of grain in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is only five hundred yuan a stone, but then it changes every day, and by the time I leave, the price of grain has risen to 920 yuan. Wen Yishi is almost the same price as one stone. Fortunately, the shopkeeper Hou started to buy directly from 650 stones. He ordered [-] stones in the first six days. Although the price rose later, it was still full with the rising trend. We paid [-] shi, which is only [-] shi per shi under equilibrium, otherwise we may lose nearly [-] shi of food this time."

Su Jin's heart was agitated. He didn't expect the businessman's sense of smell to be so fast. Some people realized that the price of grain and cotton would rise next year, which would cause the purchase price in the market to soar.