Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Okay, that'll work!" The tea shop owner smiled and said, "You guys go to Cangzhou!"

"Cangzhou? Where is Cangzhou?"

"It's not far from here!" the tea shop owner said with a smile: "Just go out of the north gate and walk eastward along the official road. Ask along the way. It only takes about a hundred miles, which can take as little as four or five days and as many as six or seven days. , it’s here!”

"Thank you for your advice!" the middle-aged man asked cautiously: "But why is there a way to survive in Cangzhou?"

"I also heard what the merchants said!" The tea shop owner smiled and pointed to the two mules and horses resting on the bench: "Why don't you ask them, they seem to often run that route!"

"Thank you!" The middle-aged man thanked the tea shop owner, walked to the two merchants, and said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have something to ask, please give me your advice!" "

The two merchants were chatting. The taller one glanced at the middle-aged man and cupped his hands: "Brother, you're welcome. If you have anything to say, just say it!"

"Thank you both!" The middle-aged man said with a smile: "I heard that there are many ways to live in Cangzhou. As long as you have some strength, you can make a living. I don't know whether it is true or not. I heard that the two tea shop owners are If you’re traveling this way in Cangzhou, please give me some advice!”

"That's right!" The tall merchant nodded: "There are indeed many ways to live in Cangzhou. As long as you are willing to work hard, you will have food to eat!"

"Is it okay for outsiders like us?" The middle-aged man asked cautiously: "Is it okay for lowly households?"

"Hahaha!" The short merchant sitting opposite laughed and said: "You are really funny, who cares about you? There are piles of Japanese, Baekje, Silla, and Mohe people over there in Cangzhou, who cares whether you are Outsiders and untouchables, at least you can speak Tang dialect, right?”

"Japanese? Baekje? Silla? Mohe?" Upon hearing these unfamiliar words, the middle-aged man couldn't help but be stunned. When the tall businessman saw it, he smiled and said: "These are all foreigners from overseas. Wherever General Wang conquered, it became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. Many local people became slaves of the Tang people, and some became merchants. Go to Cangzhou to make a living!”

Hearing that these subjects can also make a living in Cangzhou, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief: "So that's it, but why are there so many jobs in Cangzhou?"

"Yes! There must be!" The short businessman said firmly: "And we want all kinds of people, men, women, even the elderly and children!"

"Woman, what are the old people and children doing?" the middle-aged man asked.

"The general plans to build a large salt field in Cangzhou, as well as a port. There will be windmills, roads, and canals to carry water. There will be at least 30,000 to 40,000 men working there! Not many of these men have wives. Someone has to cook and wash clothes for them. Isn’t this a woman’s job? There are also a lot of reeds in the local area, and even old people and children can weave reed mats. There are also ropes for boats and straw sandals for people to wear. Think about it, as long as you have the hands. You have legs, how come you have no work?”

"That's great!" After hearing the merchants' explanation, the middle-aged man was overjoyed and hurriedly saluted the two of them: "Thank you both for your tips. Thank you very much, little man!"

"So you plan to go to Cangzhou?" The tall merchant looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Are you going alone or as a family?"

"Family!" The middle-aged man pointed not far away: "They are all there!"

"Well, there are more than ten people! There are men and women!" The tall businessman nodded: "Then what skills do you have?"

"My father can raise horses, my two brothers and I can be carpenters, my wife can spin and weave, and my brother-in-law can blacksmith! The remaining few can also work hard and work hard!"

"That's great!" The tall businessman's eyes lit up: "It's a good time for you guys to go to Cangzhou! Maybe you can even make a fortune!"

"Get rich?" The middle-aged man was stunned when he heard this: "How do we start talking about this? Can those of us who sell our strength also get rich?"

"It can't be done in other places, but it can be done in Cangzhou!" The tall businessman said with a smile: "I see that you are getting along well with each other today, so I just want to tell you that it should be a good relationship! Shopkeeper, bring some more tea, and let's sit down and talk together. !”

"That's easy to say!" The tea shop owner smiled and picked up a large pot of crude tea, then took a coarse pottery bowl and filled it in front of the three of them: "You guys, please use it!"

The tall businessman took a sip of tea and said, "You said you brothers are good carpenters, but do you know how to make doors, windows and beams?"

"Of course we can!" the middle-aged man replied: "We can even use tables, chairs and benches roughly!"

"That's good. You can ram it with mud, build walls, and lay hay on the roof, right?"

"Who doesn't know how to do this?" The middle-aged man said with a smile: "I have watched my elders do it since I was a child, and I don't know how many of them I have followed. Not to mention these, we brothers can also build citrons on beams!"

"That's good!" The tall businessman said with a smile: "Look, your family has seven or eight young and strong men working alone, and they are all skilled in crafts. After arriving in Cangzhou, we will build a shack to settle down. , men help people build houses. With your skills, there are more than a dozen people, and they can earn back the money to buy the beam materials in two or three months. The mud to build the house and the reeds to pave the roof are free. , just put in the effort. Then get a piece of land by the road and build a mule and horse inn. Your father can raise horses, and with two boys, he can take care of the mules and horses of the merchants. Your brother-in-law can blacksmith, and you can still do it. If you know how to be a carpenter, you can help people make horseshoes, repair cars, and women can help in the kitchen and sew clothes. Are you afraid that your business will not be prosperous? In just a few years, you will be able to live a good life!" "Well, it's okay! Is it that simple?" The middle-aged man smiled bitterly: "We have the strength and skills, but why do we have so many jobs in the local area? And where does the land for building a house come from? The government can only agree if a big business owner provides a guarantee, right? Have you ever thought about how much it will cost?"

"You are a careful person!" The tall businessman said with a smile: "This is indeed a trouble in other places, but in Cangzhou, there is no need! The land for building houses is given according to the population. If you report how many people you have, the government will follow the rules. I'll give you a homestead, which I think will be a permanent place for you. As for the mule and horse shop, even if you announce it to the government, you don't need anyone to guarantee it. Of course, you have to pay a rent and tax to the Yamen every year, which is calculated according to the size of your shop. It’s not much. For such a big store, there are only a dozen items in a year!”

After confirming many details, the middle-aged man returned to his relatives with worries. He did not tell the news he got from Xing Shang immediately. Instead, he waited until all his relatives had expressed that they could not find a way out before he whispered Said: "I did find out a way out, but I don't know if it is true or not!"

"Boss, please tell me first. Let's think about it together if it's true or false!" the old man said.

"Well!" The middle-aged man recounted the suggestions of the two merchants, and finally said: "Yeah, I think what those two merchants said makes sense, but Cangzhou is hundreds of miles away from here, and our family No one has been there, and I don’t know if what they say is true or not, so I don’t know what to do!”

"Then why are you hesitating?" The young man jumped up: "We have no way to survive here. No matter how bad it is in Cangzhou, it is better than staying here! As I see it, pack up your things quickly and set off, so that you can save money and stay here. What trouble!"

The young man's words caused a debate. Some people agreed with the young man's suggestion and thought that the sooner he left, the better. However, some people felt that it was too reckless to leave home based on just a few words from the two merchants, not to mention whether the two merchants would set up a trap. A trap to trick them into murdering them on the way?

Whoa, whoa, whoa!
The old man's cough interrupted everyone's argument, and everyone's eyes focused on the old man, waiting for his decision.

"The boss said something wrong. Someone in our family has been to Cangzhou!" The old man said: "When I was young, I followed the old man to Cangzhou. It is indeed rich in salt and reeds. Those two merchants did not lie to us!"

"Really!" The middle-aged man was overjoyed when he heard this: "Have you also been to Cangzhou? Is it really that prosperous there? Are there people everywhere?"

"No!" The old man shook his head: "When I went there, it was very desolate. There were no people in the land dozens of miles away from the sea. There were large tracts of reed beaches. I heard from the locals that the land was full of alkaline water. It’s so clear that when autumn comes, it’s all white, and it’s all alkaline soil. Nothing can grow except reeds, and even the water you drink tastes bitter.”

"Ah? Are those two merchants trying to deceive us?"

"That's not necessarily true!" the old man said, "What I'm talking about happened more than twenty years ago. It's not surprising that anything happened for such a long time. Besides, others also said that the general planned to be there. If there is no other way to build a large salt farm in Cangzhou, it would be a good idea to build a salt farm. Besides, if the local population is already large, there will not be so many Japanese and Mohe people, and it will not be so easy for us to gain a foothold. "

After hearing what the old man said, everyone became excited again. After all, if what the two merchants said was true, they would have one more way out. So the old man went to tea time and discussed with the two merchants, and after getting the agreement, they went to Cangzhou together two days later. Before parting, the tall merchant gave the old man a suggestion: "Old man, there are many people over there in Cangzhou who are in need of everything. If I were you, I would bring some daily necessities with me before I go, such as needlework and so on. The sales are also You can make back the money you spent on the road!”

"Thank you both for your tips!"

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Cangzhou, Salt Supervisor Yamen.

The sea breeze blew through the tops of the locust trees in the yard, making a whining sound, like a ghost weeping. Several officials in green robes stood in the hall with their heads bowed, holding their breath for fear of offending the big shots in the hall and attracting punishment.

"Well!" Wang Wenzuo put down the book in his hand: "All the shops drying salt on the seaside of Cangzhou are listed in this book?"

"Report to the general!" The leading green-robed official took a step forward and carefully replied: "The coast here in Cangzhou is winding, and the salt flats are more than two hundred miles long. There are reed marshes and salt marshes everywhere, and there are countless places where you can dry the salt. There are too many to count. There are only about a hundred people in the low-level yamen. It is really difficult to inspect all the salt flats in such a long area. The official can only say that there are fixed and larger salt drying places in this book. Some of them scraped off the alkaline soil on the ground and then found a place to boil water to make salt. I really can’t find out all of them!”

"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo nodded, his expression calm. The salt industry system in the Tang Dynasty was generally divided into two stages. Before the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang government's tax on the salt industry was very low, or even tax-free. Therefore, the price of salt was not expensive, and people selling private salt were not After the Anshi Rebellion, due to the lack of funds of the Tang central government, it focused on the salt tax and promulgated a salt monopoly policy. The price of salt also skyrocketed, and selling illegal salt became a serious crime, and it was still banned repeatedly. It was still in its first stage at that time, and naturally there were no severe penalties for boiling salt in private in later generations. Just like what the official of the Salt Supervision Bureau said, some poor people simply scrape off the alkaline soil that can be seen everywhere on the ground, then soak it with water and then cook it. If this practice is done decades later, it will be easy to eat. Naturally, Wang Wenzuo would not have trouble with these poor people because of the serious crime of losing their heads.

"Whether it's boiling salt or drying it, it's all common people's business! Although my general has ordered the salt industry to be developed, it doesn't mean that only one family is allowed to specialize in it!" Wang Wenzuo said: "It's just that if this salt can be sold to other places, , not only in Hebei, but also in Shanxi, Henan, Haidong, and even all parts of Guanzhong. If you want to be better than pool salt and well salt, you must achieve four words: 'good quality and low price'! "

"Yes, yes! What the general said is true!" The green-robed official kept saying yes, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart. He secretly wondered why the general had gone crazy today, and actually ran to his little salt. The superintendent's office began to talk nonsense. Good salt is expensive, bad salt is cheap. How can there be a reason why salt is both good and cheap? Besides, people in Shanxi and Guanzhong eat Chi salt, and people in Huaibei, Henan eat Huai salt. These are all rules passed down for thousands of years. Is there any reason why Hebei salt should be sold there? Wouldn't this be ruining other people's jobs? Cause countless troubles? This general is so powerful that he thinks that everything in the world can be decided by just one word? How ridiculous! "

"An Salt Supervisor!" Wang Wenzuo suddenly laughed and said, "Do you think I was talking nonsense just now?"

"No, absolutely not!" The Salt Supervisor An was startled and said hurriedly: "How dare you question what the general said!"

"Haha!" Wang Wenzuo laughed: "You said you didn't dare to question because you were a junior official. Well, I will promote you to an official position. Do you dare to do that?"

"Huh?" An Yanjian almost thought he heard it wrong. The general said he wanted to be promoted? The moodiness of this big man makes it really difficult for subordinates to take care of him!

"I said I want to promote you to an official, do you dare to think that I am talking nonsense?" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "For example, how about changing the official robe you are wearing to dark green?" (End of Chapter)