Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 223 Practice Encounter
The so-called "After the Lantern Festival and the New Year", the Lantern Festival on the 45th, [-]th, and [-]th day of the first month is a carnival between the government and the people, and it is also the end of the first month.

Although the city inside and outside Tianjin was quite dilapidated by the earthquake the year before last, both the government and private households are quite wealthy. Although this lantern festival is not as luxurious and magnificent as the capital, it also has its own characteristics.

Young people like to have fun, servants and teenagers are thinking about watching, but Wang Tong did not give them a holiday, including Wang Tong himself did not go, everyone is training non-stop, and only those dealers, blacksmiths and I went to see it with my small brocade guards.

Tianjin is no different than the capital, everything has to be done personally, and Wang Tong has never been at ease. There are undercurrents and undercurrents in every yamen and on the ground in Tianjin. I don't know what danger there is.

The best way to keep yourself safe is self-improvement. What Wang Tong does is the same as what he did in the capital, that is, to constantly strengthen himself.

Except for the youngest Li Hutou who was quite reluctant, the servants and other teenagers accepted Wang Tong's arrangement. They had been militarized for too long, and they had a habit of obeying orders.

After discussing with several of his subordinates, Wang Tong set a day on the [-]th day of the first lunar month to assess those young adults who had signed up, and all the preparations for their barracks and supplies were ready.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, many shops in the city began to open. Although the goods were not yet ready, and the folks from far away had not returned, the year was over and everyone had to live.

After breakfast in the morning, he led his servants and teenagers to finish the preparatory activities in the yard, and started running again. He had experienced in the military training in that life, and Wang Tong used everything he saw and heard on his subordinates.

Exercising really has a very good effect. Wang Tong completed various items that were very strenuous in that life, but now he can complete them relatively easily. The strength and flexibility of the body are obvious.

Seeing the sun rise, the gate of the city has been open for more than an hour, and there are no messengers or messengers coming to the gate. It seems that the capital's reply letter will not arrive today.

The fast horse transmission from the capital to Tianjin Wei almost had to rest at the post station outside the city for one night and then enter the city the next morning.

"Little ones, run in line!"

Following Wang Tong's greeting, everyone behind him responded loudly, a servant had already opened the door, and a group of people ran out quickly.

General Tan has his own way of working out his body, and General Tan has taken over those farmers. Now there are not so many livestock and horses for them to take care of, and they practice non-stop every day.

I ran to the base of the city wall, and then started to run along the road beside the city wall. The people at the base of the city wall in the capital city were all poor households, but Tianjin Wei was a little different. There were basically no people living there, but warehouses and shops.

These warehouses and shops often have small fronts, but the courtyard houses are very large. These are merchants dealing in goods from the north and the south, because the silk, cotton, satin, porcelain and bamboo wares they make are relatively delicate goods and cannot be stacked in the open air, so It is also safer to put it in the city.

There are so many merchants in the city, and they are in this transshipment hub, so the focus of everyone's business is not on retail, but on wholesale.

After running for more than ten days, Wang Tong felt that he had a much deeper understanding of Tianjin City. This made Wang Tong ponder whether to change the running route, maybe he could see more things.

When there were more than two hundred steps to the north gate, there was a rare congestion in front, and many people in idle clothes could be seen crowding there to watch the excitement.

There were faint cries from the crowd. Since the twelfth lunar month came, the road near the base of the city wall was very deserted. When Wang Tong led others to run, he had never encountered such a situation.

Wang Tong raised his hand, and the servants and teenagers stopped in unison. This uniform movement stunned the onlookers, who turned their heads to look at this side.

Although some people knew that the newcomer Wang Qianhu was running around the base of the city wall, many people didn't know, especially since the road was deserted and Wang Tong and the others were wearing casual clothes, so everyone didn't take it seriously. , glanced and turned around and continued to watch the excitement.

After letting his subordinates rest for a while, Wang Tong also walked forward. If ordinary disputes were made to let people pass, the cries could be heard coming from the yard towards the outside, it should be people walking out.

The sound became louder and louder, and people outside could hear it clearly. Someone could be heard crying:

"Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, you can't take this money away. This is the basis for our family to stock up this year. If you want to take it away, how can we do this business!"

"I don't care what you do. You have been burning incense for three years, and you don't know the rules. How dare you refuse to pay last year's incense money. You put the incense burner in the shop. There is no such cheap thing in this world."

"Brother Jiang, it's not that our family refuses to pay. The boat transporting porcelain was overturned by an official ship in Jining, and it can't be turned around for a while. You can give it half a year. When the river thaws, the porcelain from the south will have silver. gone."

"Old Zhang, old Zhang, if you are the one who procrastinates on the sale and purchase of many shops in Weihejian Mansion, Tianjin, then you don't need to light the incense, and you don't need to make the boat head incense. Master Xiangtou has already ordered Come down, if you don’t collect the money today, your shop will be smashed, and I will show it to everyone and make a rule.”

The voice of the so-called Big Brother Jiang was quite loud, which also meant to shout at the crowd, but Wang Tong heard the word "Chuantouxiang", and the crowd was blocked on the third floor inside and outside, and for a while After a while, I still couldn't squeeze in, so I had to ask the people around me:
"Brother, do you know what's going on inside?"

The person he asked was a little impatient, but seeing that Wang Tong's clothes were not something ordinary people could wear, and there were a group of people standing neatly behind him, he had no choice but to answer patiently:

"My little brother sounds like he's from a foreign country. If you're doing business in or outside Tianjin, every household must order incense to keep you safe."

"Light some incense to keep you safe?"

"It's just to invite a burner of incense from the Chuantou Incense. They said yes, but they bought it with silver. It seems that this incense burner costs about 50 taels of silver a year."

Hearing this, Wang Tong almost didn't laugh out loud, but at least his face was sullen. What's the difference between this incense burner and the Ping An brand? After calming down, he asked again:
"Ask this big brother again, burning incense can really keep you safe!"

"Idiots don't believe it, but it's true that if you don't light this incense, you will definitely be unsafe. There are many people in the bow incense and they have official backgrounds. Even if they go to court, they are not afraid of lawsuits. Instead, it is unlucky to sue afterwards. After so many years , who dares to offend them."

The idle man who answered the question became louder, and the onlookers turned their heads in amazement. The idle man immediately lowered his head and dared not speak. Wang Tong did not dare to speak any more.

"Lao Sha is the one who let go quickly, or I will do it!!"

As soon as the words fell, he heard a cry of pain from inside. It seemed that Lao Zhang had been hit hard and fell over there. Wang Tong pondered for a while and said to himself:

"After paying this amount of money, if the servants in the yamen don't come to blackmail, and the rogues don't come to harass, it's worth it."

Before he finished speaking, the people around him snorted and laughed at the same time, and someone whispered:
"This Chuantouxiang just wants money, and it does the same thing if it is free to take advantage of. The servants and gangsters... Hehe, isn't this the same group?"

The old man fell on the ground, but heard two more women crying inside, it seemed that there was a girl among them, and someone beside him was talking in a low voice:
"Sin, Lao Zhang's daughter became a widow last year, and was kicked out by her husband's family with her child. When she returned home, Lao Zhang's wife was so angry that the boat capsized again, and the money for the incense burner was delayed again. Really..."

"Old Zhang, I see you are pitiful, sir, let me give you a way to go, your girl and granddaughter are still pretty, and go to Xinghua Village in the south of the city to work for a year, not to mention the money for the incense burner, maybe this store will be sold again. I bought one, how about it, this is the way!!"

After finishing speaking, some people in the inner circle burst into laughter, and a woman suddenly cried loudly, followed by the sound of "Bengpeng". The old Zhang prayed with a hoarse voice and crying:
"Uncle Jiang, take the money, I won't do this business..."

There was another sound of heavy blows and screams of pain, and the two women, young and old, screamed together, and Uncle Jiang cursed angrily:

"I pointed out a way for you, but you don't want it. Why do you still want to threaten this business? These two women are going to Xinghua Village today. They really don't know good people."

The inside and outside are all quiet, the intention is too obvious, this person from Jiang with a fragrant bow seems to have come here with the idea of ​​Zhang's daughter and granddaughter.

"Jiang Song, if you really do such an outrageous thing, I will die here today!"

The inside suddenly became intense, that old Zhang's voice was very shrill, the helplessness of the weak is like this, and they can only be forced by death, that Jiang Song laughed loudly, and said:
"If you want to die, die. If you don't dare, grandpa will help you, so as to save these two water-spirited girls from worrying about it!"

Wang Tong grabbed the idle man who was chatting with him just now, and asked:
"Does Chuantouxiang often do this kind of thing?"

The idle man wanted to yell at him, but when he saw Wang Tong's eyes softened, he muttered in a low voice:

"It's not just one or two lives. The government doesn't care. Of course they are willing to do it often."

Wang Tong threw the person aside casually, but at this moment he heard a scream from inside: Father, don't...

"stop!!!"

Things were about to get out of hand suddenly, Wang Tong yelled outside, no one expected such a sudden yell, the inside and outside became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on Wang Tong.

Wang Tong strode towards the inside, and the onlookers automatically made way for him. Inside the circle, a woman was hugging an old man's calf, and a little girl was crying loudly beside her...
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thank you, thank you all

(End of this chapter)