Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 467 The capital begins to grab food

Early today,
Xue Pan didn't eat in the house either. He had already left the courtyard of Lixiangyuan with his servants. He made an appointment with Jia Qiang and others to find a place to have fun. After leaving the side door of the mansion, he came to Ningrong. On the street, not far to the east, Jia Qiang had already been waiting here with people.

When they saw Xue Pan coming, they all rushed to greet him.
"Boss Xue, you are here, let us wait easily."

"Look at you guys, what's going on after a while? As the saying goes, good luck comes after waiting a long time."

Jia Qiang stood on the side and scolded a few people, but they also smiled and didn't care.

Xue Pan was surrounded by everyone, so he naturally had the aura of a big brother, so he said casually,
"You guys have kept your promise. You got up so early. Have you eaten yet?"

The children of the Jia family looked at each other with red faces, shook their heads, and someone said,
"Boss Xue, as you said, when you get up so early, the stoves in every house are cold. Where can we eat?"

"Yes, Boss Xue, when you told us to wait here earlier, we didn't dare to listen. We all rushed here without even drinking water."

As if in response, everyone's stomachs also swelled, looking a little embarrassed.

Xue Pan was actually a little hungry. If he had known it, he would have come out later. Seeing everyone like this, he couldn't help but ask, and said generously,

"In that case, come have breakfast with me this morning. By the way, where is the best place for breakfast on Ningrong Street?"

It was obvious that he was asking about Jia Qiang, so Jia Qiang replied,
"Boss Xue, when it comes to breakfast in this area, the breakfast in Zuixianlou on the street in front is the best. It has all kinds of authentic Beijing food and all kinds of steamed buns. Our specialty is too expensive. Or go to the previous wine shop, it tastes good and everyone around here goes there.”

Xue Pan thought for a while and decided that it would be better to be closer. He still had things to do after returning, so it would be easier to leave if he was closer.
"Okay, let's go to the old place. It tastes good. Besides, we are in a hurry today."

"That's fine, Boss Xue, let's go after we have enough food and gain strength."

The few people who were chatting and laughing were gossiping here again.

Jia Qiang saw so many people standing on the street and there were more people around. It didn't look good, so she urged,

"Boss Xue, everyone, let's not stand here anymore. There are so many people and it's difficult to talk. How about we go to a wine shop to get together and eat and drink."

"Okay, if you didn't tell me, I forgot. Let's go together."

Xue Pan took the lead and led the people to the wine shop on the corner of the street. Strangely enough, on weekdays, this small wine shop would be full of people, but today there were only a few scattered people sitting inside. I wanted to ask, But the aroma of the steamed buns on the stove also filled the room.

Xue Pan smelled the smell and swallowed several times. He looked at the busy waiter and shouted,
"Secretary, your Uncle Xue is here. Come on, let's prepare two tables of steamed buns first. Serve them with whatever is available. Then give each of the gentlemen a bowl of porridge. Let's eat first."

"Okay, Uncle Xue, you are here, please take a seat."

The waiter hurried over to greet them, cleared two tables, and asked everyone to sit down. Then he urged the waiter to bring four drawers of steamed buns, put them down on two tables, and then gave everyone a bowl of porridge.

"Uncle Xue, brothers, eat first and serve later. They are all steaming in the cage."

"Okay, everyone, eat quickly. You're welcome. Feel free to eat. I'm here to treat you."

Xue Pan was not polite and took the lead in using his chopsticks. When the others saw it, they also moved their chopsticks and started eating.

After eating a round, I felt warm in my stomach, and then I felt comfortable all over. I took another sip of porridge, and then said,

"It's still a comfortable life today. Don't tell me, these few days in the capital are probably the happiest times for me. Anyway, it's much more lively than the Jiangnan side."

Jia Qiang also picked up the bowl, slurped it along the hot porridge, put down the bowl, and asked,

"Boss Xue, the capital is crowded because there are so many people. Also, where should we go to have fun today? Should we go to those romantic places to open our eyes?"

After all, Jia Qiang didn't have the nerve to say the word brothel. After all, this matter was disgraceful. If it was spread, she didn't know what the rumors were.

Only Xue Pan didn't care. He was a frequent visitor to these places. What sister had never seen him before? He was just asking for money.
"Look at you, you are so promising, what a romantic place, isn't it a brothel? Tell me, which is the best brothel in the capital? I've invited you, let's go and have fun together."

Jia Qiang's face turned red. Although everyone wanted to go, they could only think about it for a moment. They had no guts and no money, so they could only enjoy the pleasure in private. She sighed and replied,

"Boss Xue is still talking about loyalty. The most famous one in this neighborhood is Chun Tower. It caught fire years ago and burned it down. Now a new one has been built again. Although it is not as high as before, it is better than before. It is more spacious and divided into three floors. It is said that many Hu girls from the northwest came here. It is said that the owner behind it spent a lot of money to buy it from the Western Regions. Not to mention the figures of those Hu girls."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Xue Pan, Hu Ji, how is this possible? The Western Region was occupied by the Xianbei people and the trade routes have been cut off for a long time. How did they get it? The people behind it are not simple.

Although Xue Pan didn't care about the Chamber of Commerce in the past, he also knew that things in the northwest were not simple. With the trade routes cut off, it would be interesting if he could get Hu Ji.

However, I had only heard of the beauty Orchid, but had never seen it before, so I couldn't help but feel itchy.
"What are you talking about? Don't eat. Waiter, pay the bill. Brother Qiang will lead the way. Come over quickly. I have never seen what a Hu girl looks like. I heard about it in the south. All Hu girls are like this." It’s so enchanting and I don’t know whether it’s true or not.”

Xue Pan stood up, took out some broken silver and put it on the table, urging everyone to hurry up.

Everyone hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of porridge, took the buns and followed him out.

Jia Qiang was also confused by the question, and she didn't know what Hu Ji looked like.

In the past few days, Chunlou only said that there was a Hu girl, but almost no one had seen her appearance, and it was either that she had never seen her before, or that she had no money, so how could she see her.

"Boss Xue, I'm afraid none of us can answer your question. After all, Chunlou is not something ordinary people can go to. Besides, Hu girls are rare and expensive. Those who can stay with them all night are high-ranking officials. How can the dignitaries, wealthy merchants, and wealthy families get our turn? Even if they take a look at us, we won’t be able to get our turn.”

"That's right, Boss Xue, I'm afraid no one has seen it here."

Jia Ke, a descendant of the Jia family, boldly replied, and everyone else nodded.

In this way,
Xue Pan was even more anxious and wanted to take a look at its appearance. In his anxiety, he stopped talking and led the people, under the guidance of Jia Qiang, to prepare for a trip to Chunlou.

The rest of the people were also very excited, knowing that when they got there, even if they could take a look, Hu Nu must be Boss Xue's, but if they could see her, they could also use it as a conversational gesture, and their legs and feet would become a little more agile.

The group of people walked very fast, showing no sign of fatigue. When they reached the intersection, they turned left. It was not far away and they should be able to reach Chunlou.

Unexpectedly, suddenly on the street in front, many people crowded together and rushed to one place, as if they were fighting for something. Some people fought at the street entrance to fight for seats.

This scene happened to be seen by Xue Pan and his group who were passing by, and they all felt strange as to what had happened.

Xue Pan stopped and asked Jia Qiang,

"Brother Qiang, what's going on? Why are there so many people there? What are they doing?" Jia Qiang also stood on tiptoe and stretched her head to look, but there were too many people. The street was full of people. They didn't know what they were grabbing. Yes, they were robbed. I vaguely saw a lot of people entering a shop and grabbing things.

"Boss Xue, I have never seen anything like this before, but it looked like he had entered a shop and was grabbing something, but I didn't see it clearly."

After saying this, everyone became curious. They stood on tiptoes and stretched out their heads to look. Xue Pan couldn't see clearly even though he was far away. He stamped his feet anxiously and shouted,

"Stop looking, let's go in and see what good things everyone is grabbing. If that doesn't work, let's grab one too."

Although I don't know what the people who came here are grabbing for, but those who can make them come here must be greedy for cheap. As the saying goes, you can't afford to be early without profit.

Xue Pan had seen the refugees in Jinling, so as long as he could take it, he was welcome.

After saying that, he took the lead again and walked over. Everyone followed him. Only Jia Qiang still couldn't forget Hu Ji. But seeing that everyone was leaving, she didn't dare to ask again, so she had to follow at the back.

The people in front were crowded and it was impossible to squeeze in. When Xue Pan saw it, he asked the servants and people from the Jia family to rush forward, and he cursed from behind,
"Why are you squeezing? I didn't know Uncle Xue was coming. If you still don't get out of the way, you need to clean up."

Not to mention, the people who were crowded together just now, refusing to give in to each other, relaxed and allowed Xue Pan to squeeze in. Xue Pan snorted coldly and led the people to continue walking inside. The people around him, When they saw a group of richly dressed and bohemian nobles arriving, they all shrank back without daring to provoke them.

At such a scene, Xue Pan's face raised even higher. When he reached the innermost part, he saw a shop with three rooms. It originally had three doors, but now only one entrance is left, and only one person can enter or exit. Instead, It seems weird. Look at the plaque again, it says "grain store".

Isn't this a food seller? They come to grab food at any time. Xue Pan is very puzzled. He looks back at Jia Qiang, who is also confused. He knows that he doesn't know anything.

I could only turn around and walk over, look at the guy guarding the door, and ask,

"You, what's going on? Why are so many people here? What are you doing?"

The waiter was quite discerning. When he saw the noble young master asking, he stood up quickly and replied respectfully,
"I've seen you all, and if you come to the grain store, you're naturally here to buy grain. There are too many people, and the shopkeeper is afraid that something will happen, so he sealed the other doors and left this place for their safety. "

After Xue Pan heard this, he was even more puzzled. He was fine yesterday, but today he was robbing food. He had not heard of any rumors in the capital, so he asked curiously,

"Then tell me why they came to grab food. What happened to the capital?"

The clerk's eyes widened, he looked over with confusion, and tried to ask,

"Don't you guys know?"

"What do you know? Tell me quickly."

Xue Pan was a little impatient, there was something he didn't know.

"Don't worry, gentlemen. Listen to me. Last night, there was a fire in the official warehouse in the capital. Hundreds of thousands of grains were burned in one fire. I am afraid that the capital will be short of grain. Today, my boss sent a message that the price of grain has doubled today. three times."

The waiter didn't know whether he was afraid of being heard or did it on purpose. He came over and whispered to Xue Pan the inside story.

"What, this happened."

Xue Pan was shocked when he heard this. The official warehouse in the capital was burned down. This was a big deal. If it didn't happen, he had to go back to Rongguo Mansion to inform him about this matter. There had also been a famine in Jinling. The refugees were extremely hungry but they could do anything.

After saying that, he was about to leave, but as soon as he turned around, he stopped and took out a tael of broken silver and handed it to the man who spoke.

"Is this a reward for you? Is this true or false?"

"Oh, sir, this must be true. Sir, you can find out if you ask around. Although I don't know how many people know about it, there are many people from noble families who have come to place orders for food. This sir, your house Do you want to stock up on some food?"

The man got the reward and was very happy. When he saw that the noble master was about to leave, he asked a lot about it. After all, only these noble masters were really rich, and it was not a loss to buy grain. Although I didn't know that at this time, the boss would open a warehouse to store grain. It was a big sale, but the shopkeeper said that if you sell more, you will be rewarded. Naturally, I kept it in mind, so I asked this question.

Xue Pan wanted to go back to his house to inform him about this, but when he heard the clerk's inquiry, he felt that it made sense. Although he didn't know how much grain the Jia house had in stock, if the capital was really short of grain, it wouldn't be a loss to buy it, but this person just now I said that the price of food has tripled. I don’t know what the price is now, so I asked,

"Then I'd like to ask you, how do you sell grain?"

The waiter was delighted when he heard this and quickly replied,

"Uncle, you have asked the right person. In the past, one stone of rice cost one tael of silver, but now it costs three taels. Ordinary rice cost only four taels of silver before, but now it costs one tael or two taels of silver. This is today's price. If it is tomorrow, , I don’t know what the price is.”

"You are robbing money."

Xue Pan cursed casually after hearing this. The previous price was not bad. After all, the capital city is close to Anhu Lake and is surrounded by good paddy fields. The price of food is very low. It is even lower in Jiangnan. A good rice is only eight coins of silver. For one stone, ordinary rice is even cheaper. Only grain in the north and south is expensive. Now the price in the capital is really a steal.

The guy didn't dare to talk back and said with a grimace,
"Uncle, you can't say that. This is decided by the owner, and the shopkeeper can't do anything about it. I heard that the price will increase tomorrow."

"you,"

Xue Pan was going to scold him again, but there were so many people in front of the door, and someone who could open a grain store must be from a noble family. It would be troublesome if the master heard about it. After seeing that he was not easy to get along with, he held back and decided to buy it anyway. He still had a thousand taels of silver notes on him and said,

"How much food does the store have now?"

Seeing that the noble man in front of him seemed to have lost his temper, the waiter became bolder and replied,

"Back to the uncle, there are currently 400 shi of rice in the shop intact, and more than [-] shi of ordinary rice. How much does the young master need in his house?"

Xue Pan glanced at the man who was telling lies. No matter how stubborn and unreasonable he was, Xue Pan was also an imperial merchant. He had left the rice and two hundred stones intact because the price had gone up and he hadn't sold it yet.

"Tch, you kid is dishonest. You've just kept it sealed and it's just that you can't sell it at a higher price. Where's the shopkeeper? Let him come out and buy it at a cheaper price."

"This, yes, yes, uncle, please wait a moment, I will call you right now."

The waiter smiled bitterly and got in. After a while, a middle-aged man with a big belly came out of the shop and gave him a smile happily.
"I have met you gentlemen. The young shopkeeper Feng Jinbao is the shopkeeper of this shop. He buys and sells some things for his future employer."

Although he didn't say much, he made it clear that there was someone behind him. Xue Pan couldn't tell it. Fortunately, he wasn't reckless.
"Shopkeeper Feng is also a talented person. I am also from Ningrong Street. I don't want to say much. Food is expensive and difficult to buy."

Shopkeeper Feng Jinbao immediately looked behind this person. Many of the faces were familiar to him, but they were descendants of the Jia family. It was just that the man in front of him was a little shy, but when he thought of Ningrong Street, he naturally knew that it was the Jia family of Ningrong's second residence. Regardless of the person, it’s more or less the same meaning.

"What a coincidence, gentlemen, I'm here today. How much do you need? The price is negotiable!"

(End of this chapter)