North and South groceries

The vendors in Chang'an City were still on their way out, but Changle County was already crowded with people.

The three thin needles are only sold for a penny, which is already cheaper than the market price. In addition, the quality is so excellent, so people can't rush to buy them.

After all, in the current era, clothes, shoes and socks are basically made by every household. For ordinary people, they are almost as important as salt. You can't cook without salt, and you can't sew without needles.

Changle County is located near the westernmost end of the Hexi Corridor. The Hexi Corridor is the Longyou Road west of the Tang Dynasty and west of the Yellow River. It is basically the area where Gansu Province is located. It looks long on the map. of one.

To the north of Changle County are Gaochang Yanqi and other small countries in the Western Regions, as well as the Turkic Empire, and to the south are Tuyuhun and Tubo.Compared with the Central Plains, Changle County is a little closer to these places.

Recently, such a fine needle was released in Changle County, and many merchants from surrounding countries came to buy the needle.

There are some serious people who brought customs clearance certificates to buy, and some who came over the Great Wall privately, but recently, it is very dangerous to climb the Great Wall. There is a war in Gaochang, and the soldiers guarding the border on the border of the Tang Dynasty They are also very vigilant, and if they fail to do well, they will be caught as spy.

Most of the markets that formed spontaneously on the border in the past have disappeared due to the tense situation recently, so many people had to buy from some Changle people living on the border.

Recently, many people have come to Changle County to buy needles, and the needle workshop is also producing at full capacity every day.

Based on their current production capacity, they can make more than 2000 fine needles per day, which is not enough to sell. Some vendors who failed to buy them in time had to temporarily live in Changle County. Fortunately, the accommodation and food here are not good enough. expensive.

Three needles sell for a penny. At present, there is basically no profit for the needle workshop, but this needle workshop is supported by the government, and it is still in the process of continuous investment. The goal is to improve the needle-making efficiency as much as possible through the use of some auxiliary equipment. Reduce costs and achieve profitability.

In return, the needle workshop sells fine needles at such a low price to attract popularity to Changle County. After all, there are other industries in their county that need to be developed. If there is no popularity, don’t mention anything. , the monthly taxes of those shops on the street alone cannot be paid.

At present, Heng Erlang and others have built a wire drawing machine for this needle workshop. It is a foot-operated type. First, fix the iron bar, and then a few big men stand on it, and it can be stretched and thinned by three or two strokes. Then fix this iron wire in a smaller mold and draw it again. After several repetitions, you can get the thickness required for needle making.

After this wire drawing machine, they want to build a needle nose punching machine, which is more difficult. If you want to punch a hole on a thin needle, it not only requires extremely high precision, but also the selection of the drill bit is a problem. Also consider the cost consumption after it is put into use.

Hengzhi and others study new equipment with those craftsmen every day. Luo Yong went to see it a few times and wanted to come up with ideas along with him, but he found that he could not keep up with Hengzhi and their rhythm.

After making Yanerfei and other things, and thoroughly understanding gears, bearings, and pulleys, these people now have a lot of experience in the manufacture of these machines. Yu Luo will only copy books without really going deep Laymen who have studied it have gradually distanced themselves.

What Luo Yong can do now is to keep bringing them money, metal, and craftsmen.

A few days ago, there was a young lady at the cashmere workshop who asked Luo Erniang that her family Aye could forge iron, and asked whether the needle shop would accept it. Luo Erniang told Luo Yong, and Luo Yong asked him to try it. , as long as there is real craftsmanship, the monthly salary must be more than [-] Wen.

As a result, that person came, that was really powerful, the way of frying steel was very subtle, and the other craftsmen who worked with him were thrown out for several blocks, and now the steel he fry is given priority to supply to Hengzhi and the others for making For equipment.

As for the salary, because of his outstanding skills, it is currently the same as his three hundred cash per month, which is the same as the several stewards in the cashmere workshop. This man is also very happy.

I heard that he used to be a craftsman in Yanqi Kingdom, who specialized in frying steel for those sword masters who forged swords. Because of his superb craftsmanship, he was quite well-known in the industry. Sheep on the prairie.

But I don't know whether it is true or not. After all, it is still a sensitive period, so Luo Yong told his disciples to only call him fried steel for the time being, and not let him touch other technologies.

After this incident, several craftsmen came to vote one after another. Although the craftsmanship is uneven, it is still useful.

I heard from these people that the Turks and the Tang Dynasty are now fighting. These herdsmen living on the grassland are actually more nervous than the Han people living in the city. Like them in Changle County, there is still a city wall to block it. It's different in the world. If herdsmen encounter people from the military, no matter which country's army it is, they will often suffer in the end.

Of course, it is also a very important factor that the treatment offered by this needle workshop is good enough. One or two hundred Wen a month is basically enough to feed the whole family. If there are one or two daughters in the family who can enter the cashmere workshop, Or if you have a more active mind and sell some wine-tailed needles and the like, your days will be more moist.

Although Changle County is a small town, life is still much more convenient than that in the Gobi Grassland. You can buy what you need at any time, and you can go to a restaurant from time to time and take a few sips of wine. I am used to this kind of life. From then on, I gradually didn't like to go to those deserted places to herd sheep and horses.

If we want to talk about the shortcomings, the main thing is that the life in this pass is still a bit restrained. If you meet good officials, it's okay, but if you meet bad officials, life will be sad.

In the past few days, the government has posted official documents, asking those in Changle County who do not have household registration to go to the government to get their household registration, so these herdsmen began to get a little tangled up.

On this day, those noble men from Chang'an City who were learning nonsense from the Hu merchants went to the street to hold a tooth sacrifice, and then heard two herdsmen at the next table eating wine and talking.

The two brought their own wine bags, so they ordered a plate of cold salad in this shop, and the two of them ate a sip of wine and a sip of food.

"Hey, isn't your family registered as a registered household?" A herdsman who looked relatively thin said.

"Entered, the cashmere workshop my aunt entered before, she said that if you don't register as a registered household, you can't get wages. Even if the Naluo county magistrate doesn't check, it will be troublesome if the officials above check it out on a whim." The tall man opposite the thin man The herdsman Zhuang took a sip of his wine, let out a sigh of relief, and told him about his family's situation.

"If you become a registered household, you have to pay taxes and do corvée." The skinny herdsman said worriedly.

"Not afraid." The tall and strong herdsman didn't care.

"Although the county magistrate Luo is a good official right now, he is afraid that a corrupt official will come back." The skinny herdsman shook his head and sighed.

"Don't be afraid." The tall and strong herdsman said the same thing.

"You stupid man, you only know how to eat these few bites right now, why don't you think about the future?" The skinny herdsman was furious.

"Of course I have my own thoughts." The tall and strong herdsman laughed twice.

"What do you think about it? Tell me." The skinny herdsman asked him.

The tall and strong herdsman looked around and said in a low voice, "Look at how tall the Great Wall is. My aunt can turn it over. Can it still hold you and me? If the life in this pass is easy, you and I will be here." Live here, if the life in this pass is not easy, we can just go back and herd the sheep."

"Tsk, what you said is quite reasonable."

"That's the reason."

"If the wind direction is wrong, let's leave quickly."

"That is."

"Remember to call me when you leave, our two families will still be together then."

"of course."

"Eat wine, eat wine..."

"Cough, cough, cough!" A young gentleman on the table next to him was almost choked to death by a mouthful of white water.

What kind of people are they? When they have a good life, they jump over the wall to become a registered householder. Once the life is not good, they have to jump over the wall and slip away.

In this way, in the next few days, Changle County successfully recruited these herdsmen who were ready to leave at any time.

It stands to reason that in Luo Yong's hands, these people should not be allowed to slip away. As for whether these people slip away after the officials change in the future, it will not be under Luo Yong's control.