Chastity Layman

  Chapter 721 Old Horse Head

  Lao Huang's horse face is still so long, and his smile is still very wretched.

  In the afternoon on Chang'an Street, Lao Huang held a glass of fine wine in his hand and looked at Chang'an Street. "It's only been two or three years since I left Chang'an, and this place has completely changed. Guangyuntan is more lively than ordinary Zhoucheng, and there is a circle of Guanxiang outside Chang'an City, not to mention that the walls of the squares in Chang'an City have already been demolished. , Six streets become a street market, it's too lively."

   "Well, Wu'an Prefecture should have changed a lot in the past few years, right?" Qin Lang also said with a glass of wine with a smile.

   "That's a world of difference. Before I went north, I was a little complacent. I felt that Wu'an Prefecture had changed a lot in the past two or three years. When I returned to Chang'an, I could brag about it with Saburo. Don't mention it."

Ah Huang was dressed in brocade clothes, with gold belt buckles around his waist, and a silver fish bag reminding Qin Lang that this is no longer the old horse head from yesterday, he is the founding Earl of the Tang Dynasty, and the Governor of Wu'an. At the same time, he was also Qin Lang's retainer who was reappointed by Tweet.

  In the past few years, he, Qin Yong, and Qin Yong managed the fief for Qin Lang in Wu'an Prefecture. Qin Yong was in charge of the system of the Duke of Wei, serving as the state order, and commanding the army of Duke Wei's 3,000 kingdoms. Qin Yong served as the governor of Weiguo Duke's mansion, and he was in charge of the nine hundred tents and the marriage mansion. A Huang was the governor of Wu'an, and he was in charge of the three hundred fiefdoms.

After Qin Lang returned to Beijing, Wu'an Prefecture was not peaceful, especially the barbarians in the mountains and barbarians on the islands, who often made troubles. Ah Huang and the others almost fought every month to encircle and suppress them. As the long history of Wu'an Prefecture, Ah Huang Huang now also has the majesty and aura of being alone in the town.

However, when he returned to Chang'an and faced Qin Lang again, he still smiled so wretchedly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, but the front teeth that were missing in the past were replaced by two big golden teeth, making his wretched Added a bit of cheesiness.

   "Thank you for your hard work, I will stay for several years."

Ah Huang chuckled, and Da Jinya rolled his eyes, "Actually, I've already gotten used to and liked that place, and I really don't want to leave. If it wasn't for Saburo calling me back this time, I really wouldn't want to move. .”

   Wu'an Prefecture, which is five thousand miles away from Chang'an, is wild and backward, but Ah Huang has a wife, concubine, and children there. This makes him, who was wandering and lonely before, feel the warmth of home again. Not to mention, Qin Lang also allocated a fiefdom for him. Ah Huang married the daughter of the Yang family in Langshan, and also built Wubao and manors, planted sugar cane, cotton and rice, and even felled trees and mines. Now Huang also has his own family business, which is still thriving.

In the past, Ah Huang ate enough alone, and the whole family was not hungry, so he didn't have much to think about. He was very comfortable and unrestrained by Qin Lang's side. Even if he was conferred a title and became an official after serving in the Zhenfu Division, he still stayed in the Duke of Wei's mansion. .

For several years in Wu'an Prefecture, he started from scratch, managed and built his own fief bit by bit, bought slaves, recruited immigrants, hired people, reclaimed wasteland, built manors, opened mines, and built workshops. Well, life is really different.

   "I'm very happy for you, Ah Huang." Of course, Qin Lang also knew the changes of those who stayed behind in the fief, so he didn't know the changes of Ah Huang in the past few years. But he was very happy to see such a change. Ah Huang was his life-long friendship. Back then in Luoyang, he was the one who desperately guarded Qin Lang and fled back to Chang'an. Birds, chased rabbits out of the grass, picked mice out of holes, often had three full meals, and sometimes in order to avoid being chased, they were so hungry that they could only sneak around along the way, and were often chased and beaten.

  When he arrived in Chang'an, Ah Huang followed him loyally for several years.

  Loyalty should always be rewarded.

  Ah Huang is getting old, and now he is old enough to have his second spring. It is a good thing that he can settle down in Wu'an Prefecture. His fief is very large, and he needs many loyal, reliable and capable retainers like Ah Huang.

  The fiefdom was entrusted to him by Qin Lang, and his manor, mine workshop, etc. were also established with the help of the Qin family, and many even took shares in it.

  Furthermore, Qin Lang himself can enjoy one-third of the taxes paid by Ahuang's fief and fief, so he is naturally willing to see the changes and growth that Ahuang and the others bring to the fief.

  Out of the outer city gate, drive into the outer gate of the city. This is the place where the common people live together, and it is getting more and more lively.

   "I still like this place, unlike the high city walls, where the imperial guards and bad people with shiny armor are everywhere." Ah Huang said.

   "Then go down and find a place to have a drink or two before leaving, and get some appetizers."

  Both of them are very casual people, and they won't dislike the fact that most of the shops in this pass are small shops, so they parked a carriage on the side of the road.

   "Xiaoer, cut two catties of beef, and then two servings of water basin lamb, and two more side dishes."

The waiter is a boy of twelve or thirteen years old. He is wearing a patched short jacket and a towel is hung on his shoulder. He usually entertains drivers who go in and out of the city. Senior official?

  Seeing the two of them coming over with the high-quality wine from the altar, they didn’t even dare to say the phrase that the shop refuses to bring their own drinks.

   He promised in a low voice, and then hurried to the back to tell the shopkeeper.

   "Shopkeeper, the God of Wealth has come to our house."

The shopkeeper was serving wine for a guest. He scooped up a tube of wine from the wine jar with a bamboo tube, and then poured it into a bamboo sieve in another bowl. There are more impurities. The wine is slightly green in color, and there are many wine lees and some wine mosquitoes in it.

This kind of wine is naturally unrefined, but they opened a shop on the side of the road, especially for those drivers and laborers who go in and out of the city, so the wine still needs to be prepared, but those Kuhaha didn't have much money, so he couldn't afford those good wines, so he drank this kind of green ant water wine.

   It's not bad for one coin.

This wine has a small capital and a small profit, but it can add up to a lot, but it is also the most profitable in this store. Their store still applied for the approval of the self-brewing license with great difficulty. You can only buy other people's wine, so the profits will be made by others.

   "Our small shop, how can there be such a God of Wealth?" The shopkeeper didn't care.

   "It's the real God of Wealth. The Duke of Wei, Qin Xiangye, came to visit. He said he wanted two catties of beef and ordered two water basins of mutton, plus two side dishes."

  The shopkeeper's hand shook, and he spilled a lot of wine, and he didn't care about it, "Don't play with me, Erzhu."

   "That's right, I recognize Xiangye Qin's carriage, and even more so, Xiangye Qin, sitting outside."

  The shopkeeper hurriedly dropped the wine spoon and rushed outside.

Sure enough, there were two people sitting at the old wooden table outside the door of his shop under the flag with the word "Xinghuang". A young man in purple robe and jade belt was not Mr. Qin, respected by everyone in Chang'an. Qin Tianwang, God of Wealth, Door God.

  The shopkeeper was so excited that he didn't know what to say. He didn't know why Qin Guogong came to his small shop today.

   "Shopkeeper, do you have beef and mutton?" Qin Lang asked with a smile.

   "Yes, yes." The shopkeeper stuttered.

  Qin Lang took out two silver coins and placed them on the table, "Two catties of cold-cut marinated beef, two more mutton in water bowls, and two more side dishes. Is the money enough?"

  The shopkeeper hurriedly said, "That's enough, that's enough, it's not enough."

   "The rest will be your reward."

   "The source of your beef is right, isn't it farm cattle?"

  The shopkeeper hurriedly explained, "He came through an absolutely serious way. Even if you have a hundred guts, you wouldn't dare to sell farmed beef. Once that is seized, you will be punished severely."

  At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there were detailed regulations on cattle, horses, mules and donkeys, which are mainly used for transportation and farming. For example, private slaughter is strictly prohibited, especially cattle.

  At that time, the chaos of the Sui Dynasty had just passed, a lot of waste was waiting for prosperity, and there was a shortage of farming cattle. Therefore, the protection of cattle was extremely strong, so that ordinary people had no chance to eat beef.

  However, in recent years, with the rise of border markets, a large number of livestock have gone south, making beef and mutton the same as mutton, which has been on the table of more and more people.

The imperial court still has very strict control over farm cattle. Governments in various places have special cattle accounts. Every farm cattle must be registered and even have a special number, and they must be inspected regularly. Inadequate maintenance leading to death from illness, or death from exhaustion, etc., must also be held accountable and punished.

   Even if the cattle fell to death, died of illness, exhaustion, etc., they had to report to the government and send special personnel to handle the slaughter. Cowhide, tendon and horns are important strategic materials, which are used for military needs such as armor and bows. Therefore, beef is usually slaughtered by the government and then flowed into specific markets, such as for officials, nobles or the army. They can get some subsidies, but they don't have the right to make their own decisions.

  In recent years, a large number of Biansai Hu people’s cattle and sheep have gone south, which not only increased the number of cattle in the Central Plains, but also brought in many cattle specially used for food.

These cattle have another special cattle account, and the route is also clearly recorded, where they enter the customs, how much they pay, which cattle shop changes hands, which slaughter house slaughters, etc., all have a list, and every time they pass through, they are all accounted for. It must be stamped.

   Without a complete procedure, once investigated and dealt with, a very heavy fine will be imposed.

Although this kind of small shop is small, when they buy beef, they buy from a special butcher and are required to check the documents. Otherwise, if there is a problem with the meat, not only the butcher will be punished, but also the meat buyers. to be punished.

  Qin Lang was just asking a routine question. Anyway, even if the store sells privately butchered farm beef, the blame will not be pursued on the customers who dine in the store without knowing it.

  Nowadays, a big bull can be sold for about five guan, a big cow can be sold for about four guan, and a one-year-old scalper can be sold for almost 2,000 yuan.

But those beef cattle are more valuable than farming cattle, because beef is very popular and the price is higher. In the current market where you can buy three eggs for one penny, one chicken for fifty or sixty yuan, and a bucket of rice for only about twenty yuan, a three-four Big sheep with ten catties of meat is only about a thousand yuan, and a catty costs only twenty or so yuan, but beef costs more than fifty yuan per catty.

  A strong cow can produce at least 200 catties of meat, which means that killing a cow and selling its meat can make you ten cents of money, not counting things like cowhide and tendons that can also be sold for money.

In the final analysis, beef is scarce. Beef, like mutton, is red meat. It is deeply loved by people in Guanzhong, especially by nobles. However, in the past, many cattle were protected as farming cattle, so beef is scarce. Some beef cattle are open for sale, so they are naturally more popular.

  Demand determines the price, and the more popular beef is naturally much more expensive than mutton. Generally speaking, a pig is only 1,000 yuan today, while a sheep costs 1,000 yuan, but a beef cow can sell for 10,000 yuan.

The price difference between beef cattle and farm cattle has also led many people to steal and slaughter farm cattle privately. After all, a big bull can be sold for up to 5,000 yuan, but if it is slaughtered and sold for meat, it can be sold for more than 10,000 yuan. , the profits here are huge, so some people will take the risk.

  However, the imperial court is now severely cracking down on this. The meat cattle are basically traded from the surrounding northern Hu and Nanman, and the channels are controlled at all levels.

  The shopkeeper took the money and quickly thanked him, turned around and almost fell down when he went back. After entering the back, his face was red with excitement, "Sure enough, the God of Wealth is here."

  He bought a catty of beef for only 50 yuan. Normally, a catty of beef can be marinated for more than half a catty, or 70% to 80%. And like this small shop, their beef can be marinated at least twelve taels per catty, sometimes even sixteen or seven taels, and the more marinated, the more it is, the key is to add ingredients and brew.

  (end of this chapter)