Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 579 Travel Notes of Dongmen City

Yang Shixiang's family banquet that night was very delicate, it wasn't a five-five-five-five-seat table that was fancy or not, and there was no lion fairy candy, and the dishes were decorated in a fancy way.Twelve small plates of appetizers, plus ten hot dishes.The local flavor is mixed with the official dishes of Guangdong, which is unique.Although Li Luoyou has tasted it a little bit, he still feels that it has a unique flavor.

After dinner, tea and fruit were served, accompanied by two kabukis presented by Yang Shiyi, singing and ordering. Although Quark didn't know anything about it, he was excited to have a woman, and he kept giggling and applauding.That night, he even licked his face and asked Sao Ye if he could get a woman to sleep with him?Let a group of people be very contemptuous.

Li Luo was exhausted from the journey, so he got up very late the next day, only getting up around noon.After lunch, I told the steward who came to serve me that I wanted to go around the county town and Dongmen City, and take a look at the local attractions by the way.I wonder if the ground here is quiet?How many people should I bring out?

The steward smiled and said: "The ground is very quiet, gentlemen just play around." He hurriedly called out: "Prepare the car!"

Li Luoyou worked as a mule cart in the capital, and at that time he was almost shaken to the point of turning his internal organs upside down. He frowned when he heard that he was about to be caught by the cart, so Sao Ye hurried over and whispered a few words to the steward.

"No problem," said the steward. "This is an Australian carriage, not the big saddle cart in the north. It's more comfortable to sit in than a sedan chair that doesn't rely on all sides."

Laide's car is naturally a Hongqi carriage, but the model has been improved: the number of leaf springs has been increased, ball bearings have been installed on the wheel axles, and the interior of the carriage has also been improved to some extent.As for the appearance of the car, it was decorated by skilled craftsmen from Zizhenzhai from Guangdong, and it is generous and luxurious.

Due to the limited number of horses, only two of this kind of carts were built, and they were not used in the weekdays, and were only used as protocol.

"It's very similar to a European carriage." Li Luoyou sat in the car, with a spring cushion under his buttocks - the springs rolled out of the factory are not qualified for manufacturing, and it is barely enough to make sofas used.

"It's much lighter and more comfortable than British carriages." Quark looked at the interior of the carriage, "It's more like the sedan chair we used to ride in." The weather in Lingao was relatively hot, so this carriage abandoned the previous one used by the first red flag. The interiors such as velvet and satin are replaced by cool and smooth bamboo rattan and yarn.

The windows are inlaid with glass, covered with green screen frames, and there are thin bamboo curtains for sunshade.In addition to the two rows of chairs facing each other in the car, there are also low stools on the side.This is specially designed for the national conditions of Ming Dynasty.The speed of the carriage is fast, and it is impossible for the servants and maids to follow on foot like sitting in a sedan chair. If they are in the same carriage, how can ordinary lords and officials be willing to let their servants sit shoulder to shoulder with them, so two low stools are specially designed for it.

Sao Ye was sitting on this low stool, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Master, this car is really strange!"

The so-called strangeness is the dark cabinet on the wall of the car. When I opened it, I found two bottles with rattan shells inside - they recognized it in the room yesterday. hot.

With this thing, you can take it with you wherever you go, and you can have hot water anytime, anywhere. Sao Ye thinks this Australian product is much more practical than mirrors and the like.

One bottle contained boiling water, while the other was filled with crushed ice.In addition to hot water and cold ice, there are still several glass bottles of kvass, sealed with corks, and several bottles of bright red drinks, I don't know what they are.Quark was impatient, so he simply opened a bottle to drink.

"What's the taste?" Li Luoyou teased him.

"Sweet and sour, with a strange aroma." Quark pouted, "It's delicious."

After downing a bottle of kombucha, Quark became drunk again, but there was no rum in the cabinet.Let the Englishman shout "stingy".

The carriage left the county seat and went straight onto the main road.The weather will be fine, it is neither hot nor cold, and the weather is good. The farmers are all going to the fields, working, trading, or walking or pushing carts to carry loads, and there are many pedestrians on the road.This two-horse carriage proudly passed through the middle of the street, amidst the sound of wheels and whips, people kept pointing and pointing.Li Luoyou turned a blind eye and just sat firmly.He regretted secretly in his heart, it was too ostentatious to go out like this!

The car dealership stopped after a while, and the steward stepped down from the driver's seat to report: We have arrived at Dongmen City.

"Please show me, master, should I get off here and enter, or drive the car directly to the city?"

"Just get off here."

When I got off the car, I saw a gray embankment across the river. The river water slanted down from the top of the dam, surrounded by white water vapor, and the scene was quite magnificent.Looking not far away, there is a large area of ​​red houses on the bank of the river, surrounded by high earth barriers, and there are many towers on it.

In the center of this pile of houses stands a tall iron tower that he has never seen before. On the other side of the river is another patch of red houses, stretching like sawtooth. It belches black, yellow and white smoke.Li Luoyou almost forgot to look at it.This kind of scene has never appeared in even the weirdest dreams.

There were rhythmic roars and hammering sounds faintly in the wind.A pungent smell wafted in the air, vaguely like the smell of sulfur.Li Luoyou shuddered, the sun was shining under the blue sky, but he felt a smell of hell.

Quark involuntarily made a sign of the cross.

"Masters, please go here."

The prosperity of Dongmen City quickly attracted them.Of course, the prosperity here is not as prosperous as Foshan, Guangzhou.But the houses are neat and the roads are smooth, which is unprecedented.The weather in the city is a hundred times better than that in Foshan, Guangzhou.The road surface is clean, not to mention garbage, not even a fruit peel can be found, and there is no stagnant water on the street.Although the street trees on both sides are not big, they can already provide some shade.

What is puzzling is the tall poles along the street, with iron mesh glass covers on them.

"What is this?" Li Luoyou asked.

"It's a street lamp." The steward replied.

Li Luoyou also guessed that it was a street lamp.But lined up along the street, this kind of courage is probably only found in the palace - he said when he was listening to eunuchs gossip in the capital, there are stone lanterns on both sides of Yongxiang in the palace, which are lit every night.

It would be too extravagant to light street lamps in such a town.Even if the night market is prosperous, the merchants will light their own lights, so why bother.Li Luoyou didn't think so.

Walking on the street, there are many pedestrians on the road, rich and poor, all busy, including local aborigines, foreign traders, and Australians wearing blue, gray, and khaki double-breasted coats and short monk-like hair. people.At a glance, there are quite a few Australians.It's just the accent that they speak, but it can be heard that most of them come from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian.This is probably the so-called "false hair".

There is no way to verify how much real hair is.But there are many fake haircuts.After a little attention, I found that although the fake hairstyles are almost the same, the specific occupation can still be seen in the details.

Wearing a hat with a brim, a belt around the waist, and a dagger hanging from the waist, they are soldiers; It is said that they are farmers who have gone to the fields.The last category was neatly dressed and meticulously dressed, and most of them were carrying a bag. Li Luoyou couldn't see where it came from, so he asked the manager.

"This is a book office for Australians," said the manager. "It is dedicated to handling affairs and administration for Australians."

"It's the clerks in the yamen." Li Luoyou nodded.

"Yes, and no." The manager said, "It's complicated inside. The book office alone has three, six, and nine grades. They are called 'cadres' internally. There are many tricks in it, and we outsiders can't understand it. But You see, sir, for those who are 'cadres', there are four pockets on the jacket. For ordinary book offices, there are only two pockets on the bottom."

Looking over, as expected.Li Luoyou nodded, and suddenly saw a woman wearing similar clothes again.

"Why? Australians still have Nvshu Office?"

"Exactly." The manager told him as if it was news, "Australians have no protection against men and women, and women also have officials and managers. Some factories and workshops even recruit female workers to work. It is not surprising that there are a few women's book offices."

There are none of the beggars and gangsters that are common in the bustling market.You can't even see a person from the rivers and lakes like horse racing and selling solutions.Li Luoyou looked at it and wondered secretly: Could it be that he came here to clean up and rectify here?Thinking about it, I don't have such a big face.

At present, I just stroll around the market, and I see that there are many shops here, and all kinds of goods are available.Li Luoyou casually went into a few shops to have a look, and there was nothing unexpected. All kinds of Australian goods sold here can also be bought in Guangzhou.But the houses here left a deep impression on him.

Almost all houses are more than two storeys, and three storeys are very common.One building is next to the other, densely packed, and the style is different from that of the Central Plains.Quark shook his head when he saw it, saying that it had a slight resemblance to European houses, but it was by no means the same.

It's hard to say whether the house is good-looking or not, but this kind of house is obviously very land-saving.Li Luoyou has always been puzzled, there is so much wasteland in Lingao, why is it so frugal?
Seeing that there is a big shop with five bays in front of you, it is very lively with people coming in and out.Strolling past, I saw a few women in blue cloth dresses at the door of the store greeting customers from time to time, Cantonese vernacular, Hakka, Leizhou dialect, and Hokkien... Li Luoyou secretly frowned , there are still female buddies in this business?It's almost intended to attract by color.

But when I walked in, I found that the so-called solicitation of color is nonsense.These female buddies are all big-bodied, and none of them are graceful, with wooden name tags hanging on their chests.On the back of the clothes, there are three large characters: "Cooperative".

"Is this your first time here, sir? All kinds of fresh and easy-to-sell goods can be disassembled and packaged. Our store also packs and consigns them for customers. Large quantities are favored!"

A female buddy saw Li Luoyou was stopping to watch, and hurried over to promote enthusiastically.Li Luoyou didn't refuse, and simply went into the shop to have a look.

The store is very large, with an atrium in the middle that goes straight to the roof, and the second and third floors are all Zoumalou.Standing in the middle of the room, the lofty aura made people speechless.

The most surprising thing is the roof, which uses Mingwa skylights.

Mingwa skylights are not uncommon, of course, some people use translucent mica, ox horn or large clam shells to make Mingwa on the roof for lighting.But it's just a small piece.

Here is the bright tile of glass, and it is a huge side-the entire atrium is covered with a frame made of iron bars, and a whole piece of glass is inlaid on it.The sun shines through the bright tiles, illuminating the three-story building extremely brightly, which is quite different from the dark feeling in ordinary shops.

"What a great handwriting!" Li Luo couldn't help but praise.

On the three-story walking horse building hangs a large plaque, a sign with mud gold on a black background, with three large characters "cooperatives" written on it.On both sides of the large plaque, there is a wooden pillar on each side, with the inscription: "High quality and low price", "No bargaining".

Li Luoyou asked the supervisor: What does this cooperative mean?
"I don't even know the little one." The manager said, probably brought his name from Australia.

There is a circular counter in the atrium, and there are five or six female waiters in blue skirts. These people are different from the waiters outside, they are all 24 five-faced and pretty women.There is something like a small box in front of everyone.When a customer came over, the female assistant would press something on it from time to time, and then there would be a crisp "jingle" sound, and a drawer would pop out of the box.Li Luoyou was fascinated by it, but he didn't understand what it was doing.

"This is collecting money." The manager said, "The money should be collected in this drawer."

Li Luoyou didn't know the significance of doing this, and asked the person in charge, but the person in charge didn't know either.But Australians seem to like to use this thing very much, but they use this box that pops up the drawer when they collect money.

Outside the counter, there are female waiters standing around the atrium. When they see customers who are standing still and don't know what to do, they go up to greet them and guide them in the direction of shopping and looking at the goods.

"Really, really," Gu Baocheng blushed when he was young, he had never seen such a formation before, "it's not a decent place."

"This is also a kind of business experience." Li Luoyou didn't think so, "There is no real money that can make money, so what's the use of just using a few women?"

"The person in charge of this shop is a female Australian, so all the shop assistants are women." The manager interjected interestingly.

"Oh? This is a strange woman."

"Who says it's not!" said the person in charge as if it were news, "This old lady is very powerful! One business idea is better than the other. Look at this shop, from building a house, choosing a man to setting up shop rules...all come from her handwriting."

"If there is a chance, I'd like to see you again." Li Luoyou said.

There is no counter in the shop, only treasure shelves inlaid with glass, on which various goods are displayed, which can be seen but not touched.Next to each piece of goods is a piece of hard cardboard with the price written on it. Li Luoyu looked at it and found that there are three prices in total, retail, whole piece and whole batch.Finally, there is a "large quantity" that says "Negotiable".

There are so many kinds of goods, it is dazzling.It seems that most of them are daily necessities and local products.It was the same as Li Luoyou's guess: the so-called Australian goods were actually Lingao goods.Cooperatives are mainly wholesale,

The customer chooses the goods in front of these treasure shelves, and when he likes them, the female clerk draws the ticket on the spot. The customer takes the ticket and goes to the counter in the middle to pay, exchange for a small ticket, and walk back. I don't know what the trick is?

"The rules here are like this," the manager explained for him, "pay for the invoice at the front, and pick up the goods with the invoice later."

Quark asked: "There is only a sample, and the product I got doesn't match the sample, what should I do?"

"This is absolutely impossible. The goods here are the most concerned about authenticity." The manager said: "Australian goods have one of the biggest advantages, that is, the quality of the goods is exactly the same, what the goods look like, the goods are what they are. Even if there are some differences Within a millisecond."

He then asked another question: "What is the 'Yuan' in this price tag? I see that silver and copper coins are not used to collect money."

"It's a negotiable ticket."

After hearing what the steward said about negotiable coupons, and seeing the real samples of the negotiable coupons, Li Luoyou fell into deep thought.What he saw and heard today gave him a lot of surprises and shocks, but none of them could compare to things like negotiable notes.

Li Luoyou is not an economist and does not know what monetary economics is.But with his businessman's mind, he will not fail to understand the difficulty of promoting banknotes and the huge benefits once they are successfully promoted.

The entire Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to coin casting, and the people suffered from the lack of coins and inconvenient circulation.As a result, privately coined small money and bad money are rampant, and the government can't help it.Tokens similar to circulation coupons are also used, but not on such a scale, and from the mouth of the steward, Australians have a strict system for the use and exchange of circulation coupons, and a special food bank has been set up to manage them However, these practices are by no means a general expedient solution to the shortage of coins.

The Australians have tried their best to promote circulation coupons here, which is not as simple as settlement trade.There was another layer of doubt in Li Luoyou's heart.

The second floor of the cooperative still has various glass display shelves, while the third floor is filled with small rooms with closed doors.Occasionally, people come and go.The manager said that if there is a big business, the clerk will invite people to this small room, offer tea and smoke, and naturally someone will talk to you in detail.

"...Our shopkeeper has also done business here."

"Master Yang also buys goods here?"

"No, it's selling goods."

It turns out that this cooperative not only sells and wholesales all kinds of Australian goods, but also purchases locally.Some of the "Mei Su Pills", "Secret Tangerine Peel", "Lotus Leaf Tea", "Withered Grass Tea", and "Spices for Stewed Meat" produced by Runshitang in large quantities are also sold through here.

In the past, there were many such things that were not regarded as medicine but were sold in traditional Chinese medicine stores, and they did not account for a large part of the business.Pharmacies do not try to make money from this, mainly to win over the relationship with local customers.Therefore, the price is not high, and it is convenient for ordinary people to use at home, so it is very popular.Liu San attaches great importance to this business, and believes that these products have a great market in the vast rural market, so they are manufactured in large quantities and sold in unified packaging.Although the profit earned from this is limited, it has a miraculous effect on playing cards.

(End of this chapter)