The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

On the tenth day of June, Su’s residence was crowded with people from the morning. Su Jin used this free time to call all the shopkeepers and foremen of Suji’s major shops, manors, and old men who had worked in Suji for more than five years to come to Suji. Outside yard party.

In the large courtyard of the outer house, a sun-shading curtain was placed on the top, and seven or eight large wooden tables were set up to form a large bar-shaped table. There were seats on both sides, and shopkeepers in blue jackets, big and small, sat on both sides according to the number of seats.

The table was covered with a red silk tablecloth, and there were dozens of plates of melon and fruit desserts. There was a row of teacups filled with fragrant and high-quality green tea.

There were 49 people present at the meeting, including all the big shopkeepers and foremen of Suji cloth shop, garment shop, grain and oil shop, manors outside the city, several warehouses, and elderly people over five years old. These are the backbone of Suji, supporting Suji The pillars that will not fall.

In the past ten years, apart from the New Year's Eve, the Su family has never met once in June of the year. According to the inside information obtained in advance by well-informed sources, this meeting held by the Young Master's family will have important announcements, which are related to your well-being; this news makes everyone Excited, everything the Young Master has done since taking over Su Ji has not harmed the interests of the guys. On the contrary, many people have been promoted. It seems that this time there will definitely be benefits.

Everyone is usually busy with the affairs of their own shops, and it is rare to see each other several times a year. This meeting is naturally to greet each other and greet each other; some ask how their health is, some ask how their children are, four or fifty people greet each other, the scene There was a lot of hustle and bustle.

At the end of the hour, Su Jin helped Mrs. Wang come down to the yard surrounded by a group of maids, and everyone's eyes turned to the two of them at once. Yingying's unrestrained and unrestrained self-confidence is indescribable.

"Hi, old fellows, I salute you all." Mrs. Wang was very happy, bowing her head and saying blessings with a smile.

"Okay, okay, hello old lady, hello young master." Everyone hurriedly returned the salute, knocking down several stools.

"Sit down, shopkeepers, seniors, sit down, there is no need to be polite." Su Jin greeted, turned around and waited for Mrs. Wang to sit at the end of the long platform, and everyone sat down one after another.

"Is the tea ready?" Su Jin asked knowingly.

"Going back to Young Master's house, everything has been arranged." Several maids in charge of serving everyone said in unison.

"Sui'er, go and take out all the dried yaks from the Western Regions that the entrusting person brought, and give you a taste." Su Jin smiled.

Everyone was excited, the Young Master really treated them like family members, they were kind and generous; dried yaks from the Western Regions were a rare commodity, not to mention the long journey, just hunting, cooking, tasting, drying, it took a lot of trouble to do business The team shipped it to the Central Plains, and the price was really expensive, but it was not something that everyone could afford.

The old shopkeeper Zhang and several other celebrities rolled their eyes, and the young master started to take the route of buying people's hearts with warmth again. This kid is playing tricks everywhere.

After some fuss, Su Jin sat down beside Mrs. Wang, coughed, and the scene fell silent. This is the official start.

Su Jin got up from his seat, made a group bow first, and then said with a smile: "Today is a good day. The elites of Suji's shops and Zhuangzi are gathered here. It’s nothing, but for me, Su Ji, and everyone here, it is definitely a memorable day. Many of you may have never met me, and I have also seen many strange faces, so let’s Take this opportunity to look at each other and get familiar with each other; don't face each other on the street, if you don't know each other, it will be a joke."

Everyone burst into laughter. It was the first time that the guys from Shaodong's house saw Su Jin's enthusiasm and humorous conversation. They were obviously in a good mood, and they were all infected by it. The restraint gradually disappeared, and the scene became much more relaxed and lively.

"You may be wondering why I want everyone to spare a day to participate in this meeting before the end of the year; this is because, I personally feel that the time interval between year-end inventory is too long, which is not conducive to inventory gains and losses, and rewards and punishments for error correction, so I It is suggested to set a rule, every six months from now on, we Su Ji’s seniors and shopkeepers will gather together to form a routine, and at the same time, we will conduct an inventory on the basis of half a year.”

Everyone is a veteran in the mall, so they naturally understand what Su Jin said. In the past, a meeting and discussion once a year is really not conducive to timely discovery of mistakes and omissions. , obviously want to speed up the pace of operation, it is an innovative move; this move has no disadvantages, it will only have positive effects, so they all expressed their approval.

Su Jin smiled and said: "Seniors, since you have no doubts, let's make a decision and ask Steward Su Fu to mention this item in the transcript as one of the supplementary clauses of the old store motto."

When everyone heard this, they suddenly realized that today's topic included the agenda of revising the store training, but the old store training has not changed for more than ten years. How would the lady feel.

Su Jin continued: "There are two main topics for today's meeting, but before that, the old lady would like to say a few words to you all, everyone, welcome to Mrs. Wang, the virtuous and kind boss of Su Ji, with warm applause." Come on stage!"

Su Jin finished his introduction in a slightly playful tone, and then took the lead in applauding. The applause was thunderous, and several old shopkeepers couldn't help but smile.

Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes at Su Jin, stood up with a smile, Wan Fu, waited for the applause to subside, and said with a smile: "This child, how could he talk like that? Fortunately, he is at home, and he is all his own. If it spreads, it will be ridiculous to mislead others." Q."

Everyone laughed, and felt warm at the same time, this mother and son really deserved to be mother and son, their words are so heart-warming, Madam Wang said that, in fact, it means that you don't treat you as outsiders, why don't people feel warm.

"Seeing all of you today, I feel extremely relieved in my body and mind. Since my husband passed away, Su Ji has thanked all the uncles and brothers present for their support, and they will never leave to support this family business. Without your help, Su Ji is afraid that this will happen Xiao Pian's family business has long been reduced to someone else's property; old man... old man... thank you on behalf of my husband and the ancestors of the Su family." Mrs. Wang said emotionally, tears flowed down and she bowed down.

Everyone hurriedly shouted to stop them, and Su Jin hurriedly pretended to bow down, and hurriedly returned the salutes to the old shopkeepers, who almost suffered a cerebral hemorrhage; fortunately, Xiao Sui'er and others saw the opportunity and stepped forward to help Mrs. Wang. Only in order to avoid causing a wide range of seats to overturn, and the disaster of teacups toppling over.

Mrs. Wang took out the silk scarf, wiped away the tears on her face, and continued: "This year my son suddenly paid attention to business affairs, and I thought that this family business will be handed over to him sooner or later, so I told Zhang Da and other old shopkeepers After ventilating, I asked Jin'er to try to take care of the cloth shop and the garment shop. Many shopkeepers present here haven't told you about it yet. I want him to exercise, so I'm here today. Seeking everyone's opinions, if you feel that my son Su Jin still has a bit of talent in business, I will officially announce that my son will be in charge of Su Ji. , then continue to practice for a few more years, and when he can take on this burden, it will not be too late for him to officially take over."

Su Jin secretly admired the old lady's language art, and made progress by retreating. If she thinks it will work, then she will follow everyone's wishes. It would be a fool to come out against it for no reason.

In fact, Mrs. Wang was too worried. She stayed at home for several months. She didn't know that Su Jin was already famous in Luzhou City. The sky is about to turn upside down; what she doesn't know is that it took only two months for her precious son to successfully win the hatred of the magistrate and the bosses of the chamber of commerce, and was almost framed and assassinated.

Mrs. Wang only knew about the big deals that Su Jin talked to her about. In her opinion, such risky behavior must have made the shopkeepers intolerable. She actually wanted to support Su Jin.

Mrs. Wang was surprised by the reaction of the shopkeepers. Zhang Da shopkeeper stood up first and said: "The old lady's words are very true. The young master's talent and character are enough to take on this family business, and the old man is the first to support it."

Next, shopkeeper Zhao from the garment shop, shopkeepers Hou and Hu from the grain shop, shopkeepers Ma, shopkeeper Min, manager Zhang from Luxi Manor, and managers from several small workshops all echoed, expressing that the Shaodong family is absolutely Suitable for family business, quite a bit of praise.

Mrs. Wang looked at Su Jin, saw the smug smile on this guy's face, and felt emotional in her heart: My son has really grown up, so my worries are really unnecessary, and I don't know how this kid can fool these people Everyone listened to him, which even gave me a headache when I was in charge of the family business.

"Since everyone said so, son, mother will replace the ancestors of the Su family and hand over this burden to you in front of all uncles and brothers. From today onwards, you will be the boss of Su Ji, and everything will be done to you." Matters can be discussed and decided with the shopkeepers on your own, and there is no need to report to my mother, and my mother can finally relieve this heavy burden and enjoy the happiness."

Seeing Mrs. Wang smiling, with tears in her eyes, Su Jin was very moved. From now on, he will officially occupy the magpie's nest and become Su Jin who is not Su Jin. From then on, he will be with this cottage The honor and disgrace of Zhousu's family were tied together.

Su Jin lifted her robe and knelt down, respectfully kowtowed three times to Mrs. Wang, expressing her gratitude and apology.

Mrs. Wang accepted it calmly, and after Su Jin finished kowtowing, she stood up and pulled him up, patted his shoulder and said softly, "Son, do it well, it's up to you."

Su Jin smiled and said: "Don't worry, my son will live up to the expectations of my mother and the ancestors of the Su family."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said: "That's good. Mother agreed to what you and I talked about last night. Entering an official position is also a glorious move, but my son doesn't need to force it. If he fails the imperial examination, the sky will not fall."

Su Jinru obeyed Lun's decree, and Mrs. Wang finally agreed to his suggestion to set up the Su Ji Management Presbyterian Council. At the same time, she took time to study and take the exam. In everything she did, she had to be united inside and outside. A little worried, he can let go and do it.

Mrs. Wang got up to bid farewell to the shopkeepers. It was time for the morning Buddha worship, and everyone got up to send each other off.

The back of Mrs. Wang disappeared into the inner house surrounded by maids, marking the official start of a new era for Su Ji, a new era led by the 16-year-old boss Su Jin.