Little wealth

The brightest star hangs in the sky, guiding them in the direction to go.

Going straight along this dirt road is the road to the town. Many people walk this road every day, and people in nearby villages take this road to the town.On the way, they met people from other villages, some with loads on their shoulders and baskets in their hands. Everyone was in a hurry, presumably they were rushing to the town to do business.

After they walked for a while, the stars and the moon in the sky disappeared at some point, the sky was pale, the black clouds faded, and the sky was about to dawn.

On the way they stopped to rest, and the two sat down under a tree by the roadside, drank a little water, and ate their breakfast.

The steamed buns wrapped in gauze in the basket were already completely cold. Fortunately, today's steamed buns were made by him, so even if they were cold, they would not be as hard as rocks.After eating two steamed buns and drinking a little water, Josh felt full and asked the man opposite: "Are you full? Do you want some water?"

"No more." Seeing that Fu Lang was full, Zhao He went to help pack the things back.

"Oh, then let's continue on our way." The two of them put back the lid of the bamboo tube together, wrapped the unfinished steamed buns, packed up the things, put the basket back on the cart, and the two of them continued to push the cart on the road up.

It rained a lot during this period, and the road surface was a bit potholed. The man in front was pulling the cart, and Josh, who was walking behind, would push the rear of the cart.Feeling the light of the car, the man in front looked back, then turned back and continued to pull his car.

The two of them didn't talk much along the way, and they were rushing seriously along the way.

After walking to the back, Josh felt a little tired, and his pace slowed down a bit.

He felt that his body was still too lack of exercise, he couldn’t carry it on his shoulders, he couldn’t lift it with his hands, and he was tired after walking a few steps. He thought that he used to carry a big bag and climbed several mountains with the team without panting, and wanted to miss it. That great body from before...

As if feeling that he was tired from walking, the man pulling the cart stopped, turned to him and said, "Sit up, I'll pull you away."

"No, I can go." Josh was also a person who insisted on him. He looked up and thought he could still go.Seeing that the man looked at him without moving, he gave the man a smile and said, "I can go, let's go, don't delay the journey because of me."

It's not just a few steps, but he thinks he can still walk to the town.

Seeing that he insisted on walking by himself in the end, the man didn't force him to ride in the car, but slowed down and stayed by his side all the way.

Noticing the man's thoughtful behavior, Josh felt warm in his heart.

During this period of getting along, he has long noticed that although this man doesn't talk much, he is the kind of person who does a lot and talks a little. Many times before he thinks about something, this man has already said something. Things are done.There is also the silent companionship of the man along the way, silently slowing down and walking with him, all of which make him feel heart-warming.

When it was daylight, they finally reached the town.

From a distance, I saw a wall surrounded by stone walls, and there were three big characters written on the gate of the town - Anyang Town.

Anyang Town is the largest town near them, and people from the following villages come here to go to the market to do business.They are here by the river, and the river passes through Anyang Town, and there is a small pier in Anyang Town, where passing boats will stop for goods, so there are many restaurants and restaurants in the town, and the business is pretty good.

Compared with small towns in other places, Anyang Town is still a bustling and lively place.

"Let's go get in line."

"Ah."

When they arrived, there was already a long queue at the gate of the city, and they were all people who were queuing up to enter the town. They stood at the back of the line and entered the town in a line.After they stood in, some people came one after another from behind, and the line continued to grow.

While standing in line at the back, Josh noticed that among the people who went in ahead, some women went in directly with empty hands or just a small basket in their hands.

But he also noticed that some merchants and peddlers who were pulling ox carts and donkey carts or pushing a lot of goods would stretch out their hands to the soldiers defending the city when they entered the door. It seemed that they had given the soldiers a few copper coins to enter?

So you have to pay for pulling the goods into the city, right?Josh didn't quite understand this, so he approached the man in front of him and asked, "Should we also pay for the way in later?"

He remembered that there were a lot of exorbitant taxes in ancient times, especially when some fatuous kings were in power and local corrupt officials came up with various names to exploit the common people. This has led to some officials who have no bottom line and try every means to exploit the common people.

For example, donations in ancient times had many names, such as housing donations, mu donations, salt donations, rice donations, etc.; and taxes are even more cheating. Caravans must first pay land taxes when they set off from a certain place, and pass through every city. There is a checkpoint tax, that is, road money, and a land tax when you reach the destination, as well as various money to bribe government personnel.So really, there were so many miscellaneous taxes in ancient times that it was simply jaw-dropping.

However, the tax was so high in ancient times, and it was not because the imperial court deliberately emphasized agriculture and suppressed business. Here, the imperial court naturally hoped that farmers would stay in one place honestly and farm for them compared to merchants running around.If many people run to become businessmen, who will cultivate the land for them?If no one farms the land, it means that there is no food. Once a war starts, the court will not even have food for the war.

The man glanced at their car and hummed in a low voice.

The two people in front went in, and when it was their turn to go in, Zhao He handed over the two copper coins prepared in advance to the soldiers defending the city.

The soldiers guarding the city took it, threw the money into a basket at the back, waved their hands, and let people in.

After entering the city gate, as soon as they entered, in front of them was an avenue that could accommodate four carriages and drive past. The road was paved with blue bricks, and pedestrians and horses walked on it.After a long time, there are traces of wheels passing by on it.

There are shops along the street, all of which are low houses, and there are several small two-story buildings in the distance.A sail flag was planted in front of the shop, and the shop assistants were opening the door. It was just dawn at this time, and some shops were just opening for business.

When they arrived, there were already many small stalls set up on the street.

The stalls on this street are randomly placed. Whoever comes early picks a good spot, and those who come late will have no good spots left. Therefore, those who want to do business must go out early and come here as soon as possible. Take a good position.

They didn't come too early, but they weren't particularly late either, so there were still quite a few vacant seats on the street at this moment.

I heard that the magistrate of Anyang County is an upright official, and his rule is strict. The atmosphere in this town is also better than other places. The merchants do business in an orderly manner, and there are very few incidents of evil officials oppressing the people on the street, so in this town People who set up stalls can also do business with peace of mind, without worrying that someone will come to trouble them from time to time.

"Do you usually have a fixed stall? How about we set up a stall here?" Josh glanced left and right, next to it was a stall selling vegetables, and beyond that was a stall selling breakfast buns.At this time, the business of selling early stalls is good, and they can gain some popularity by setting up stalls here. Maybe the business will follow suit?

"It's not fixed, let's go here." The man saw what Fu Lang meant, put down the cart, took the board off the cart, quickly set up the stall, and took down two small stools from above Put it on the ground, and said to Fu Lang who was standing, "Sit down."

"It's okay, I'll help you put things together." Josh didn't sit down to rest immediately, but helped the man set up the booth together, and then took out the things in the box and put them on the table one by one. Turning around, he saw the man put a basket of oil-paper umbrellas on the edge of the table, and he asked, "You usually come to set up a stall, how is the business?"

Zhao He paused, hummed lightly, and said two words, "It's, it's okay."

In fact, in business, there will definitely be times when business is good and business is not good. When there are many people, business may be good. This is really hard to say.

Seeing the man's appearance, Josh understood a little bit in his heart, and let out an oh.

He casually picked up the small animals on the stall and looked at them. In fact, he thought that these small animals were well carved.Of course, it doesn't matter if he likes it, the customer must like it. Their purpose is to put these things out in order to exchange them for cash. If the things can't be sold, they won't make any money.

It was still early at this time, and there were not many people going out to shop, so not many people came to their stall to look at things.They could also take the opportunity to rest for a while, he was a little tired after walking such a long distance just now.

Seeing that it was still early, Josh was not in a hurry. When he reached out to pull the stool, he paused for a moment before sitting down.

Seeing that the man was still standing still, with such a big head stuck there, he had to raise his head when he wanted to talk to him, so he said, "Why don't you sit down for a while, don't stand still." They never The family came here after walking such a long way, and took a break in the middle. Anyway, he felt a little tired. Why does this man seem to be unaffected at all?

Zhao He looked down at Fu Lang who was sitting down, and sat down on the stool too.

"Hey, have you ever thought that the stool we sit on can also be folded?" When the man sat down, Josh told the man the thought that flashed through his mind just now, and put his feet on the ground After making some gestures, "...that's it, close it in the middle and fold it into a board."

For the convenience of later generations, there are a lot of foldable tables and stools, and even the bed can be made into a multi-purpose, usually used as a sofa when not sleeping, and put down when it is needed.

However, compared with furniture as big as a bed, Josh thinks that they can start with small stools and chairs. These things are more practical, and people may buy them after they are made. It’s folded, isn’t it more convenient for us to take it with us when we go out? At that time, we can put two pieces on the stalls and sell them to see if anyone buys them. If someone buys them, we can make more and sell them.”

"Well, I'll try it when I get back." Zhao He's mind is flexible, and after hearing Fu Lang's words, he understood what a folding chair and stool are, and he also felt that he could try to make it when he went back.