I was the richest man in Da Song

Chapter 18 Popsicles
The first thing He Shao did after he left the Prime Minister's Mansion was to find the snakehead Min Weng. Without his help, he really couldn't do this by himself, but there are some ugly things to say first.

After arriving at the place where Weng Min lived, the old man was feeding the fish by the pond with his back bent.

"He Langjun walks with the wind, it seems that the matter is done."

"It's done, and I'm here to find Min Weng and ask for more people"

"This is a good thing, it's a big deal." The happiest moment in Min Weng's life is when someone comes to him to buy someone.

"I am short of people but also short of money, so I want to run out of people first until autumn, and then I will supply you as much as you want"

He Shao was originally unwilling to cooperate with this kind of human traffickers, but now he has no choice but to buy a house next to the Solfang Wine Store, and almost all the money was invested in it, and he found many dental agencies in Kaifeng City. Can't figure it out at all.

"Then you have to tell the old man, how can you be sure that you can make money?" Min Weng neither agreed nor refused.

"When I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion today, I happened to know that there was not enough ice in the cellar of the palace. The third envoy and I agreed to supply [-] cubic meters of ice to the forbidden area and the government offices of various ministries every day, one penny per catty, and two guanice per cubic meter."

"One penny per catty? In Fangshi, it has already reached ten pennies. Besides, you have so much ice from there."

"To tell you the truth, I have as much ice as there is water in Kaifeng City," He Shao said confidently.

"One hundred cubes of ice for your cart and people to transport the ice will cost you ten labors. This old man is also working as a dentist here. In autumn, it's not too expensive for you to give seven cubes per person."

The strong labor force in Kaifeng City can earn about [-] wen a day, and Min Weng's Qiguan is indeed reasonable, but if there are only so few people, He Shao will not come here.

"Strong labor is responsible for transporting ice and cutting ice every day, and it costs [-] yuan a day according to the city standard. I don't bother to make money from these poor people, thirty strong labor.

To make it all up, I still need seventy people, both women and children." He Shao didn't want to owe this favor.

"What do you want them to do? These people can't do hard work." Min Weng was a little curious.

"Sell popsicles!"

On the way here, He Shao had already made up his mind. Since this year's summer is extraordinarily long, he will give a cool suit to the people of Kaifeng City.

"Si, move here for me"

He Si brought over a wooden barrel, which was still covered with a layer of quilt, and Min Weng lifted the quilt, which contained half a bucket of crushed ice, and small iron boxes with sticks stuck in them were buried in the ice chips.

He Shao took out the iron box from the ice chips, pulled the wooden stick, and a milky white popsicle came out.

"Try it"

Min Weng Wuya licked it with his tongue, the coldness was mixed with a faint taste of goat milk, and there was some sucrose in it.

"The last time I ate such a delicious thing, it was you who brought it here."

"What do you think of this popsicle for ten cents?"

"It contains goat's milk and sugar. It's cheap. Do you want those women and children to sell popsicles?"

It was still a bit of a mouthful for Min Weng to say it, it was the first time he had heard this word in his eighties.

"Yes, I won't pay them wages, but I will charge you five cents for each one they sell."

Min Weng smiled happily. There are more wealthy households in Kaifeng City than He Shao imagined. The old man understands the truth that rare things are more expensive. Even if this thing sells for fifteen or sixteen dollars, people will want it.

"When they sell popsicles in the streets and alleys, by the way, they tell those big families that Solfang sells ice."

Making popsicles is just a matter of convenience, which is like picking up money for nothing.

"It's a good deal. Now the whole city of Kaifeng is short of ice, and the price of a catty of ice is more expensive than the price of food, so there is no market for it."

"The ice that is given to the government is a penny and a catty, and the wealthy households in Kaifeng City sell them for two pennies and they have to be grateful!" He Shao still understands the principle of small profits but quick turnover.

"Tuantou, go gather people up and take Master He to pick them out"

When He Shao was selecting people, he frowned when he looked at the disheveled and shabby clothes in front of him, how could such an image sell food.

Finally, after letting Ji Zai take them to clean up, each of them bought a piece of clothing. The cheapest clothes cost about [-] yuan, and seventy people only cost about [-] yuan. Compared with the huge profits of popsicles, this amount of money is nothing .

In the early morning of the next day, it was still daylight, and the inside of Solfang was already busy. There were dozens of large vats outside the ice room. This was the ice that Ji Zai had asked someone to make with slaked stone overnight.

He Shao only provided the methods and methods, and Ji Zai was responsible for the specific implementation.

When He Shao came yawning, these people were pouring out the ice in the tank, trimmed it with a chisel, and put it on the rented oxcart with bedding. There is no way to lose some during the transportation. .

A large pot of goat milk is being boiled on fire in the yard, and the smell can be smelled from a long distance away.

The price of goat milk is very expensive, about two hundred yuan a catty, but after adding three or two catties of water, it can be boiled in a large pot, and the taste is a bit bland.

Standing next to the fire in this weather would get drenched in a short time, and He Shao heard bursts of laughter coming from the room.

"This is too white"

"This is big"

He Shao thought to himself that this would not work. Although the goat milk has been mixed with water, the amount should not be too much. It must be in accordance with the specifications of the iron box, otherwise there is no way to make money.

"Master, you can't go in..."

He Si was about to taste the goat's milk when he suddenly saw He Shao stepping into the room, but it was too late to shout, there were screams in the room, and He Shao fled staggeringly When I came out, I almost tripped over the threshold.

"Why don't you call me"

He Shao looked at He Si who was following him and kicked his ass in anger.

"I yelled..."

"Don't be wronged, what's going on inside"

He Shao wiped the sweat from his forehead, the scene just now was shocking.

"They were afraid of sweating and getting their clothes dirty, so they took them off..."

The smell of boiled milk spread far away, and He Shao couldn't bear to see a group of children watching from a distance around the yard.

The city of Kaifeng is indeed prosperous. Official historians have recorded that the salaries of officials are tens of thousands of gold, and the luxury of the rich, but they turn a blind eye to the poor people who occupy the vast majority of the world.

The herdsmen divided the people into five classes of household registration according to the amount of land they owned, and in Suoerfang He Shao saw the sixth class, those tomb households who had no house, no land, and only a cemetery.

Even commercial firms that are in urgent need of strong labor will not hire tomb householders. These people can only beg along the streets and alleys, and even their descendants can only accept this fate. Grandpa is an old man, father is a man, son It's Hanako.

In the past, He Shao thought that beggars were synonymous with good food and lazy work. It wasn't until he got to know Solfang that he realized how wrong he was.

Outside the ice room, those Hanako who used to beg on their knees along the street were laughing and laboriously moving the heavy ice pieces onto the bullock cart with bare hands. He Shao was terrified when he saw it. a life.

The woman beside the fire was working naked in the sweltering room for the popsicle that He Shao said could earn ten cents, regardless of etiquette.

Solfang was a little more popular and angry than when he came here before.

It's not that they want to be beggars, but the oppression and helplessness of this era. If possible, no one would give up the opportunity to be a human being.

What people are afraid of is never suffering, but hopelessness.

"Si, boil an extra pot every day, as long as the children in Suoerfang have a bowl every day"

He Shao grew up in the most affluent environment since he was a child, studying, and even after he came to the Song Dynasty, He Anwen was very fond of him, so he also expressed his warmth to this world.

(End of this chapter)