golden scales

The news of Zhu Hezhi's return soon spread in newspapers of all sizes. ?. .Various No. 1 travel notes were published one after another. Zhu Hezhi’s own work diary has a large number of pages "nothing happened today", but this does not prevent it from becoming a popular item among booksellers. The price of banknotes was bought out.

The accompanying guards, medical officers, officers, and scribes also wrote a lot of travel knowledge, and even sailors who were illiterate gained a lot of extra income through dictation.

"The land that can grow food should be said to be fertile; the land that cannot grow food should be said to have gold mines underneath!" The Ministry of Rites set the tone for this big publicity.

As a result, America has become a land of gods and gods full of fertile land and gold and silver in the narratives of the Ming people, whether true or false.

"I don't know if the land is fertile or not, but think about it with your toes. Why do you have to go so far to plant the land? Isn't the land in Hetao and Haixi not good enough? But if you talk about gold, it is real! My uncle's family's cousin Brother just picked up a piece of dog-head gold in Dongjing Mansion, which weighs a full sixty catties! It's so big!"

In the teahouse, an old tea drinker gestured with his hands, gesticulating the size of the dog's head gold with a solemn face.

The so-called dog head gold in the world is named after its shape like a dog's head.This kind of gold is different from gold ore and alluvial gold. It is mostly extraterrestrial meteorites rich in gold, which is extremely rare.Such a story was recorded in "Mengxi Bi Tan" written by Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty.Because it is related to the stars in the sky, the dog's head gold is not only valuable in itself, but also because "gold from the sky" is valuable.

In fact, this person is also hearsay.Where have I seen real dog head gold.

As for the dog's head gold that he gestured to be as big as a human head, it weighed fifty or sixty catties.It is almost a fantasy.

But the teahouse is a place to brag about not paying taxes.If everyone is as serious as writing a graduation thesis, what fun is there?Therefore, many tea drinkers covered their mouths and laughed, waiting for someone to come out and argue.

Sure enough, another tea customer said: "The shopkeeper Zhang is too exaggerated. If America can really pick up such a large amount of gold, who will work? They have gone all over the mountains and plains to find gold!"

The shopkeeper before opened a rouge shop.Purchase from Suzhou and other places.Now there is another "perfume" made in Taiwan.Made with alcohol and floral dew, the aroma penetrates into the body and lasts for a long time, making it very sought-after.Based on this supply.Shopkeeper Zhang has indeed earned a lot of money, although he still often comes to this teahouse to drink tea, his tone is much louder, and he does not want to see people contradicting him.What's more, today he is not talking nonsense for fun, but showing off his extensive knowledge, how can he be slapped in the face?

"There are only natives in America. They can't buy gold if they ask for it, and they can't eat it themselves. What's the use of asking for it? It's just like a stone thrown by the roadside!" Zhang Zhang pushed his neck back.

The man shrank his neck, knowing that the shopkeeper Zhang was right.Rare things are more expensive.Daming emphasizes gold and silver because there are not many gold and silver in the first place.Why three coins and one catty of iron?It is because of the iron!In the same way, if gold is everywhere in America, it will be as cheap as iron in Ming Dynasty.

"Even in America, it's impossible to have a sixty-pound dog's head gold thrown away for people to pick up. It's so big, it's good to carry it back to press the pickle jar!" The man took a step back and returned to his basic position. The existence of ten catties of dog head gold was questioned.

If this made him question his success, wouldn't he be slapped in the face?Seeing all the tea lovers nodding their heads one after another, and the admiring eyes gradually dissipating, shopkeeper Zhang quickly said, "There are so many wonders in the world. Have you ever been to America? You know that the natives eat pickles?"

"That's right! Maybe the native Americans think that the sixty catties of dog's head gold is too small, and they use a hundred catties of dog's head gold to press the pickle jars!" Some people who have trouble followed suit, causing the whole room to laugh.

The serious atmosphere created by shopkeeper Zhang just disappeared, and he couldn't help but blush, and said: "It seems that some people really don't believe it! It's okay, in two months, my uncle's cousin will also be in Tianjin. At that time, I Go talk to him and let him bring the gold to open the eyes of the old buddies."

"That couldn't be better, I'm afraid you won't have that much face." The former man said in a strange way.

Shopkeeper Zhang rushed forward with enthusiasm, and said: "I, Zhang, don't have much face, but it is not difficult to borrow such a piece of gold!"

"So what if I can't take it out by then?"

"I, Mr. Zhang, will not step into this teahouse again!" Shopkeeper Zhang said loudly.

"Okay! If you really can show it to everyone, I, Old Tang, will never come to this teahouse to disturb your eyes again!" The man followed suit and placed a bet.

The owner of the teahouse became anxious when he heard this, and quickly came out with a smile to smooth things over: "I said you two masters, you have spoken well, why did you make this agreement, no matter who wins or loses, it's just a waste of the little old man's job." ?”

Everyone laughed.Those two were also a little embarrassed.

Speaking of which, this teahouse is not very popular. The tables are often not wiped clean, the store is also dark, the tea is not good, and even the water is boiled to scum... But this is the teahouse at the door of the house. I came with my grandfather when I was young. Drinking tea and chatting here to broaden your knowledge has become the norm in life.If you really can't tell, where should you go to spend your time?

"Well, let the men present be a witness. They are all neighbors. If you win, don't say anything. If anyone loses, please treat everyone to a bowl of tea and grab peanuts. Everyone is happy and happy. How about it?" The teahouse owner's idea can be said to kill two birds with one stone, that is, he pulled the old customers and refused to let him go, and he also attracted business for himself.He himself was elated after speaking, praising himself for being so talented.

"Okay! One counts as one here, and everyone will come to have tea in two months." Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at Old Tang, and said, "It's rare for Brother Tang to treat guests, so don't refute his face."

Old Tang chuckled: "I don't know who will take money!" He picked up the tea bowl and pretended to drink tea, but he didn't know when the tea bowl was empty.Old Tang yelled: "Hey, golden teapot, you've been slacking off again? Mix the tea here!"

The golden teapot was listening interestingly. It was only when he was called out that he realized it. He ran over in a hurry, but he still couldn't escape the boss's slap. He staggered and almost fell down.It made everyone laugh.

Boss Zhang smiled preoccupied.

With his net worth today, let alone treat these 30 people to a bowl of tea.It doesn't matter even if you have a meal of running water.

The key issue.It's about saving face!

Boss Zhang himself was a little guilty.When he heard his relatives talk about this cousin's family letter that day, he felt a little inconceivable, but they are all relatives of his own family, so don't they go on the road like Old Tang?Today's picture is so satisfying, it is so convincing, if there is another misrepresentation.Where do you put your face?

——Go to my uncle's house first and ask.

Boss Zhang left the teahouse.He went straight to his uncle's house.When he saw his uncle, he immediately talked about the dog's head gold, and wanted to ask his uncle to help him speak and see it with his own eyes.

Who knew that his uncle was a little unhappy.He hesitated and said: "People often say that wealth should not be revealed, how can such a large piece of gold be seen by others casually?"

"Uncle, you are all from your own family, why should you be on guard like this?" Shopkeeper Zhang said displeased.

"It's okay if you want to see it. I'm afraid you'll allow someone to watch it outside." The uncle obviously knew Zhang Zhang's character very well, so he blocked the way out beforehand.

Shopkeeper Zhang felt cold, and thought to himself: Not only do I want to show it to outsiders, but I also want to show it to people in the teahouse!Thinking about it this way could spell disaster.

When he came out of his uncle's house, shopkeeper Zhang was unhappy.Although he still went to the teahouse to drink tea every day, as the day of the sea ship's arrival approached, his worries became more and more serious.I hoped that everyone would get tired of this talk, and follow the newspapers to change the limelight as usual, but today’s newspapers are also repeatedly talking about gold mines in America. Dozens of times.

In October of the sixth year of Longjing, the large ship returning from America finally docked in Tianjin.

Shopkeeper Zhang went to the teahouse for several days in a row to meet acquaintances who asked him: "Shopkeeper, when can I see the big dog's head gold?"

"It's coming soon, wait for cousin to come back." Shopkeeper Zhang could only bite the bullet and perfunctory.

Fortunately, Old Tang was a kind person, and he didn't embarrass him in public anymore, which also made shopkeeper Zhang very grateful.

Finally, at the beginning of November, the cousin of shopkeeper Zhang's uncle's family finally returned to the capital's home.According to the rules, relatives are far and near, and it is inconvenient to disturb them when they just come home, but shopkeeper Zhang couldn't bear it anymore, and went to visit the door with some pastries and fruits. .

"That piece of gold?" said the cousin, "I don't know how to let people know. The ship was bought by the officials of the imperial court as soon as it arrived in Japan."

"Bought it?" Shopkeeper Zhang felt uneasy: This is hard to explain.

"Yes, the imperial court bought it with an equal amount of pure gold." The cousin said: "As far as gold is concerned, the dog's head gold is not pure, and there are many things mixed in it. The imperial court is kind to buy it with pure gold." Sighing, he said: "But no matter how expensive gold is, there is always a price. Such a large dog's head gold is rare in the world. If it is not for the sake of the emperor, I may not refuse those officials."

Seeing Zhang Zhangui's doubtful expression, the cousin suddenly showed a complacent expression, and said, "They said it was to celebrate the emperor's birthday next year. This dog head gold is a specialty of America, so it was my initiative to donate it."

Upon hearing this, shopkeeper Zhang said, "That's good, so I don't feel at ease if I don't leave it at home. Can the court give me a certificate? Cousin, don't be deceived."

"Here, how can I give it to him if I don't give the voucher?" His cousin said: "Not only did I give the voucher, but also this invitation card, which invites me to eat the emperor's birthday wine!"

Since the Tang Dynasty, the old man has been the best supporting role at the emperor's birthday banquet.No matter how blessed the birthday stars in the sky are, it is not as good as the old birthday stars in the world to add joy.The birthdays of Zhu Cihong and Chongzhen were very close, so after the court changed the Yuan and changed the calendar, Shengshou and Qianqiu were combined together, taking the old name of Tang Dynasty "Tianchang", and the beginning of February must be the Tianchang Festival, which means the emperor, the emperor The Shang Emperor and the Ming Empire can last forever.

Shopkeeper Zhang unfolded the invitation card, and saw that the paper had gold-plated characters and a bright red official seal, which was completely royal.He didn't read the text, or didn't remember it after reading it, and carefully returned the invitation to his cousin as if he was drunk.

"I'm afraid I'm the youngest among the people who attended the birthday banquet." My cousin said proudly, without even thinking about why the court would know that he had brought such a large piece of dog's head gold.

In fact, after shopkeeper Zhang leaked his cousin's family letter, the gold teapot who was in charge of mixing tea and pouring water in the teahouse had already written the story in the report, which went straight to the Jinlinhui.

As a peripheral organization of the Jinyiwei, the Golden Scale Association is still in operation, and even runs its own newspaper called "News", which specializes in publishing trivial inquires from heretics to supplement expenses.It was because of this that Zhu Cihong knew that there was a lucky person who picked up such a large piece of gold, and it was because of this that he asked someone to redeem the gold to buy it back.

In other people's hands, this dog's head gold is at most just a plaything, but in Zhu Cihong's hands, it is the clarion call of the era of the great wave of American development.

Shopkeeper Zhang never expected that the treasure that was thought to be in the emperor's treasury would be exhibited in a large museum.

On the day of the exhibition, three long queues lined up at the entrance of the museum, twisting and winding, as if all the people in Beijing had come to see it.Shopkeeper Zhang saw the piece of dog head gold from the album, and excitedly showed it off in the teahouse. Seeing Old Tang bowed his head in silence, he said generously, "The tea was invited by someone Zhang! As long as all the neighbors know that I am someone Zhang It’s not good to be a big talker.”…

Why do people care about him so much, as long as there is free tea to eat.

The owner of the teahouse was quite happy at first, and asked the golden teapot to serve tea and water for everyone, and picked peanuts to accompany the tea.Unexpectedly, after eating a bowl of tea, everyone went to the museum to see the real thing. The whole teahouse was suddenly deserted, and the quietness made him worry.

This time the museum has really put in a lot of effort, and specially emptied three other courtyards to display all kinds of rare and exotic animals brought back from America, the most eye-catching one is the Venus debris - the dog's head gold!

Anything in words is not as convincing as the real thing.

Once this piece of dog's head gold is put in a museum, even if the newspaper says that America is made of gold, most people will believe it.

In terms of geographical environment, the American West is indeed not an ideal settlement for Ming Dynasty, but people's desire for gold is absolutely irrational.In the original historical script, the western gold rush contributed to the rise of San Francisco and other important western towns, and now, this craze is also brewing in Ming Dynasty.

More and more big families are regretting that they did not send more people to America, otherwise they might have discovered this piece of gold by their own family members.

There are even more people who believe that since there is such a large amount of gold that can be picked up, most of the gold veins buried underground are not false rumors, and they can be dug to see.

After the entire Americas Expo, more and more people applied to buy land in the Americas, but the land they chose was mainly mountains and hills, and the price of flat land that can really be farmed has dropped.

Nobody wants to give up the chance to be a patron. )