Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1179 Postscript : Do you have the woolen coats?

The next day, Daiyu and Baochai's parents came.

The two parties signed a five-year employment contract. From the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty to the present Ming Dynasty, "five years" has always been the longest employment period. It is possible to renew the contract after it expires, and a single contract cannot exceed this period.

Generally speaking, maids sign the contract when they are thirteen or fourteen years old, and get married when the contract expires at the age of seventeen or eighteen.

For girls from poor families, this is not only a job, but also a way to gild their reputation. After learning the rules and increasing their knowledge in wealthy families, they will be very popular when looking for a husband.

At this time in the Ming Dynasty, there was no Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and there were no slaves everywhere. Employers did not have strong personal control over their servants.

Moreover, with the development of commodity economy, employers do not need so many "house-born servants" because that would greatly increase the cost of employment. It is like a capitalist hiring workers, and then directly dismissing them when they become disabled or old. Do I have to provide for your retirement?
Therefore, it is very rare for people to serve as servants in the same family for generations. On the contrary, such hereditary servants are absolutely trusted.

Most of them are fired after working for five or ten years, and very few can renew their contracts for fifteen years.

Supplies!

Li Minqiu was responsible for drafting the contract, and he was also the guarantor, that is, he played three roles: the scribe, the middleman and the guarantor.

A middleman is a middleman, including matchmakers and brokers. If the middleman is a professional, he or she will usually charge a commission of 5% of the transaction amount.

The guarantor's name suggests itself and needs no further explanation.

Different eras have different emphases.

In the Song and Yuan dynasties, because the government was extremely powerful, all kinds of contracts were mainly based on middlemen, because they had official backgrounds as guarantors. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, guarantors were the main ones, and if there was a problem, the guarantor would bear the responsibility.

In addition, sales contracts are often mainly handled by middlemen, while loan contracts are mainly handled by guarantors.

Contracts have become very formal since the Song Dynasty, and even have extremely detailed legal clauses. For example, in a house transaction, if the seller maliciously conceals information (the house has been mortgaged, resold, etc.), the government can directly declare the contract invalid, and the losses caused will be borne by the middleman.

The three parties signed and sealed the contract in duplicate.

The families of the two little girls were very happy and bowed to Xie Yan again and again, begging him to treat their daughters well.

Xie Yan also prepared some small gifts, which were cakes bought in a neighborhood outside the city, and gave them to the girl's family as a gift. This move made the other party completely relieved and felt that Xie Yan was a good employer.

"Is Mr. Xie going to the Imperial College?" Li Dunshi asked.

Xie Yan said, "Wait until the academic conference is over before going."

Various academic conferences will end in three days, and Luoyang Imperial College will be on holiday during this period.

But there was nothing worth listening to anymore. The real great scientists had already formed groups privately and lined up to do experiments.

Li Dunshi asked again: "This is your first time in Luoyang, Master Xie. You haven't been to many places, right? I am very familiar with Luoyang."

Xie Yan was somewhat moved by what he heard and wanted to experience listening to music in a brothel.

Oh, forget it.

I am now a Furong scholar and I must cherish my reputation.

Xie Yan asked in a low voice: "Will it have a bad influence if the scholars go to the brothels to listen to music?"

Li Dunshi said, "How could that be? If a student went to listen to music, he might be reprimanded by his elders for wasting his studies. But if accomplished scholars went to listen to music, it would definitely be considered a romantic and elegant thing."

Xie Yan felt itchy after hearing this.

Before the pandemic, he worked as a construction worker for a while and often heard his seniors on the construction site bragging about how in the heyday of civil engineering, those who studied civil engineering were nothing but dogs, and that they were often invited to work in commercial buildings, and they didn't have to pay for it themselves.

Xie Yan felt so sorry that he was born a few years later.

"Lang Jun!"

The two little girls sent their families away and came back to stand there in a row waiting for instructions.

Xie Yan was in high spirits when he saw them. He already had two beautiful maids, and he was also having an affair with a real princess. Why would he need to go to Shang K to find a fake princess?

Humph, I, Xie Yan, am not that kind of vulgar person!

Seeing that they were still dressed like country girls, Xie Yan asked, "Is there a clothing store in Luoyang?"

Li Dunshi said: "There is a ready-made clothing store, and we also make custom clothes."

Xie Yan bowed and said, "Please lead the way. I will buy them something."

Li Dunshi immediately asked the servants to prepare the carriage, and the two little girls cheered with joy.

This place is near Luoyang and is close to the Longmen Grottoes. Noble ladies often come here to worship Buddha. Daiyu and Baochai naturally dare not compare themselves with the noble ladies. They just envy the maids in the rich families who can wear colorful and beautiful clothes.

The floral skirts they wore were made of the cheapest printed fabric, and they usually didn't want to wear them.

Li Dunshi believed that even a maid should be treated with respect, considering Xie Xueshi's status. So he asked the driver to go directly into the city instead of going to the shops in the suburbs outside the city.

The carriage came to a street in the southwest city, where all kinds of textiles were sold. There were even wool felt and cashmere cloth from the grasslands, as well as various furs from the northeast and overseas. Li Dunshi jumped off the carriage and pointed to a shop and said, "This is Zhong's Clothing Store, a first-class shop in Luoyang City." He pointed to another shop and said, "That's Zijinfang, which has an elegant name, but it's actually not as good as Zhong's Clothing Store."

Xie Yan walked in and saw all kinds of ready-made clothes hanging inside, and there were also various fabric samples on the upper counter.

You can choose the fabric and style here, ask a tailor to make it for you, and it will be ready in a few days. We also provide door-to-door delivery service.

"Please come in, distinguished guest!" The shopkeeper came over to greet him personally.

The owner of the clothing store was obviously more knowledgeable than the students from Huangzhou Prefecture. He glanced at the lotus jade pendant on Xie Yan's waist and immediately became more enthusiastic: "But is it Mr. Xie with long black hair?"

Xie Yan smiled awkwardly.

Li Dunshi said, "The shopkeeper has a good eye. This is Mr. Xie. Mr. Xie will stay in Luoyang for a long time. He has hired two new maids. Please help me choose some clothes."

Except for the shopkeeper and the tailor, who are men, all the shop assistants here are women.

One of the female clerks was instructed by the shopkeeper to make tea, while the other female clerk waited by the side with a smile on her face.

The shopkeeper said, "Both the first and second floors are my shops. It's early summer now, and the first floor is full of summer clothes. There are more ready-made clothes upstairs, so Mr. Xie might as well go upstairs and take a look."

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Xie Yan looked at the ready-made clothes carefully. Unlike the clothes worn by the ladies in the short videos, there were no wide-sleeved ones on the first floor. Maybe it was because summer was coming, and all the clothes had narrow or short sleeves.

Clothes become more convenient to put on and take off, which is the mainstream development trend.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a clear distinction between the clothing of noble ladies and common women, but by the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, this distinction had become blurred. Noble ladies also liked to wear the style of common women's clothing, and the sleeves became narrower and narrower, but the materials and details were more exquisite.

"What kind of skirt is this?" Xie Yan was like a curious baby.

The shopkeeper said: "This is a swirl skirt, which women wear when riding horses or donkeys. The noble ladies in Beijing like to play polo, and this kind of skirt is the most convenient to wear."

Xie Yan studied it carefully and found that it was indeed very suitable for riding.

This thing actually existed as early as the Northern Song Dynasty. It was invented by a prostitute in Kaifeng. The crotch was open at the front and back to facilitate riding. At that time, noble ladies in Bianliang competed to imitate it. Moral people sighed and said that the world was going downhill and people were dressing like prostitutes.

Nowadays, the people of Ming Dynasty have become accustomed to it and have long forgotten the origin of the swirling skirt. Everyone wears it on the polo field.

"How much?" Xie Yan asked.

The shopkeeper said, "Twenty strings of cash."

Xie Yan thought: This tattered skirt doesn’t use much fabric, it’s simply a shady shop!

Daiyu took a step forward and quietly pulled Xie Yan's sleeve, meaning that this place was too expensive and they should go to another place.

Baochai's attention was on those beautiful clothes. She was dazzled by the dazzling array and didn't hear what the shopkeeper was saying at all.

Xie Yan was not afraid of being embarrassed, and said directly: "I didn't bring much money to Beijing, and I can't afford the clothes here. I will come back when I have money in the future."

The shopkeeper was startled when he heard this. He had never seen such an honest person. He smiled and said, "It is an honor for us to have Mr. Xie come to our shop. Whether you want to buy something or not, you can take a look. It is a great honor for me to meet Mr. Xie."

At the shopkeeper's kind invitation, Xie Yan toured the first floor and was then invited to the second floor.

There are more styles on the second floor, and there are even many foreign costumes, from Japan to Egypt. But most of them have been modified to become more in line with the aesthetics of the Chinese people.

Xie Yan's eyes fell on a coat, which was similar in style to a modern windbreaker. He saw his parents wearing it in Huangzhou last winter.

This thing was originally called a pi'ao, and was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Nobles did not wear it properly, and liked to wear it on the outside, just like those in later generations who wore windbreakers without wearing them.

During the reign of Zhu Ming, the pi'ao was modified and it became the common uniform of the musketeers. Now many officials and civilians also wear it.

The one in front of me is made of different materials.

Woolen coat!

"What kind of material is this?" Xie Yan asked.

The shopkeeper replied: "Hu Rong."

Xie Yan asked again: "Did it come from overseas?"

"It was first made by Lanzhou craftsmen, and then improved by Jiangnan craftsmen," the shopkeeper introduced in detail. "Agriculturists crossbred sheep from Monan, Tubo, Anxi, Qihe, Dayuan, and Tianfang, and a few years ago they bred a kind of sheep with fine and long hair. Craftsmen used the wool and cashmere of this sheep, mixed with silk and other materials, and finally wove this kind of Hurong fabric."

Xie Yan said: "I have never seen it in Huangzhou."

The shopkeeper said: "Hu Rong was originally a cloth worn by the poor. At that time, it was only woven with wool. Although it was warm, it was not delicate. It was thick, heavy and would prick the skin. Later, craftsmen in Lanzhou added cashmere, and craftsmen in Jiangnan added silk cotton. It has only been in the past two years that it has become popular among the nobles in Beijing. It is estimated that in a few years, it will spread to the southern provinces. I heard that more and more herdsmen are raising this fine breed of sheep."

Xie Yan's expression became a little strange, and he suddenly imagined a picture.

The background of the picture is a factory chimney, and the people coming and going on the street are wearing tweed coats, but each of them has a bun or wears a Chinese hat.

How steampunk!
(End of this chapter)