An old lady's life

Jia Amnesty was curious about his mother's sudden intention to do overseas business, but his mother didn't want to tell him, so he had nothing to do. The only way was to find out the situation early, and when the time was right, his mother would naturally tell him.

Jia Amnesty's speed is very fast, and he will come to the business in five days.

At this time, Hongye is discussing with Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Wang about tomorrow's birthday banquet for the old lady of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion. The old lady of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion celebrates her birthday, and more than half of the people in Beijing will go to celebrate her birthday.

The old lady of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion is the aunt of Emperor Changping.When Emperor Changping ascended the throne, he canonized his grandfather as Duke Cheng'en. Unfortunately, his grandfather was old and passed away three years later. After that, Emperor Changping's uncle Xijue Chengyonghou, unfortunately Chengyonghou was ten years old. He passed away before, and the eldest son Cheng Yongbo was the cousin of Emperor Changping.

Emperor Changping did not show special kindness to his aunt and cousin, so the title was downgraded and inherited step by step. Therefore, Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion was extraordinarily low-key and never provoked trouble.

Hong Ye pondered about the affairs of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion. It is said that as the emperor's uncle's family, he should be favored and valued especially, but Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion was not.If it wasn't for the fact that Emperor Changping would have made a big difference when rewarding things during festivals, others would have almost forgotten the identity of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion.

After Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Wang left, Jia Amnesty whispered to her mother.

"Mother, I have already found out part of the situation about the merchant ships that you asked me to pay attention to." Jia Amnesty sat beside his mother with a serious face.

"These merchants are backed by dignitaries. The foreign goods business on the street of Liulifang is the best, and behind them are Prince Qi and the clan princes. Next are King Xiangjun and Prince Gong, and other princes and princes are also involved. Yes, but not many, just follow the clan prince and prince to pick up some bargains."

Hongye nodded, and since Jia She said: "It's the end of the year, and now there are no merchant ships going to sea. I asked people around, and basically they will go to sea after the spring. He will not accept new partners easily." At this point, Jia She hesitated a little, and said after a while: "After the death of King Su Jun, most of his power has fallen, but Su Dowager and Concubine Su The new Sujun King has taken over a group of people, and the merchants still follow the Sujun Palace, and plan to go to sea after the spring. After the prince’s bad things, some of the merchants who took refuge in him were implicated, and some were not implicated.”

Hong Ye nodded, glanced at Jia She, and said, "Don't hesitate, just tell me what's going on."

"There is a businessman surnamed Song who has been in Beijing for several months and is looking for someone to cooperate with. However, King Qi and the others already have merchant ships, so they are not very interested in his business. Those who are interested also want to buy his ships, but Boss Song doesn't care. No matter what, I won't sell the boat." Jia Amnesty asked clearly.

Hongye nodded again and said, "Where is that boat? It can't be in the capital, right?"

Jia Amnesty immediately shook his head, tucking his hands into his sleeves, "Four ships are in Haicheng, and one is at the pier in Beijing. Boss Song went to Beijing on his own ship."

Haicheng is the closest city to the East China Sea. Because of the prosperous maritime trade, Haicheng is another economic center of Dafeng.

Jia She moved closer and said, "Mother, this merchant surnamed Song was just an inconspicuous merchant under the Crown Prince's management at first. He had five boats, which was no match for the number of other merchants who often had more than a dozen. Only by going bankrupt can he save the lives of his family. As long as the boat is still there, he can make a comeback. However, when the wall is overthrown by everyone, there are few people who give charcoal in the snow, and there are many people who fall into trouble. Boss Song has been wandering around the capital for several months, but he has not found anyone to support him."

"Why? The foreign goods in Liulifang are extremely profitable." Hongye was extremely surprised. It's unreasonable that no one is attracted to such a profitable business!

Jia She scratched his head and said, "If you don't have a backer, you will be suppressed, and Liulifang's business is almost monopolized, and there are only so few people in Beijing, so there are too many people to consume. And the risk at sea is too high. If a ship has an accident at sea, if this ship has an accident, a large amount of cargo will be lost, and the loss will be hundreds of thousands or millions, and ordinary people dare not take risks."

"Mother, what do you think?" Jia She looked at her mother eagerly.

Hong Ye picked up the teacup, removed the tea cover, and a puff of green smoke billowed, "Don't worry, I'll think about it." Now she just wants people to go to Overseas to have a look, but her eyes are dark about Overseas. Good for her next plan.

After a while, Hongye said again: "Do you know where this Boss Song has been the farthest?"

There was a charcoal basin in the room, but still couldn't resist the cold, Jia She held the hot teacup, shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."

Hong Ye nodded: "Ask Boss Song, what is the farthest place they have been to on their sea trip? If it is farther away, would they dare to go?"

Now the quality of the ship and the technology of sailing make the ship not far away, Hongye wants to know if his ship dares to sail to Europe and other places?I'm afraid that this area of ​​Asia will be covered by the boats of Qi Wang and others, so there will be no business to do.

Jia Amnesty nodded. Anyway, he was resting today, so he left Rong'an Hall, so he went straight out of the mansion to find Boss Song.

In the past few months, Boss Song realized the coldness and warmth of human relationships. When he was in prison, his brothers and sisters only cared about the family property, and no one came to rescue him. It was his wife and son who ran up and down, consuming the entire Song Only then did he get him out of the prison.People only know who is really good to him when he is lonely.

It’s just that he has been in Beijing for more than two months, and still no one can cooperate with him. Now he has the worst plan and cannot find a partner. He will return to Haicheng after the next year, intending to sell the merchant ship and start other businesses.

However, things turned around, Rongyang Hou asked him about going to sea, Boss Song seemed to have caught the last straw, he tried his best to persuade Rongyang Hou to sell our Dafeng's things overseas, this is a profit, and then Buying foreign goods at a low price from overseas is another profit. The whole trip back and forth, at least ten times the profit.

It was snowing heavily outside, and Boss Song was sitting on pins and needles in the backyard of this small inn. Rong Yanghou was the first person who was very interested in overseas business after he came to Beijing. If Rongyang Hou failed here, he would look for him again There are no other collaborators.

Jia Amnesty came in the wind and snow, and when Boss Song received him, his heart was pounding.When Jia Amnesty asked him about his previous experience of going to sea, he would not hide it, and he told it in detail.

"You only have five boats, but you can't travel too far. If it is a farther place, do you dare to go?" Jia She frowned and asked, "Do you understand other places besides the places you often go to? "

Boss Song has never been to far places, but he knows more than those who have stayed in Beijing all his life, "To tell you the truth, the two islands we often go to are Mandan Island and Irian Island. The place is enough for us to consume. There are also merchants from other places. They buy our goods from us and ship them back to their own country. These people have white skin and black skin. I heard them say that their country is farther away The place."

Jia Amnesty talked with Boss Song for more than an hour, and he didn't leave until it was getting dark and the snowflakes floating in the air were thicker.

"Master Hou, I really want to agree to your request, but there are no more boats. With my five boats, I can't go too far." Boss Song also smiled wryly.

Jia She said thoughtfully: "There is no rush, I will give you an answer as soon as I think about it."

Hongye knew that Boss Song had never left Asia, not even Malaysia and other places, after hearing what Jia She told him.

"Let's talk about this later. Since Boss Song wants to find someone to cooperate with, let's cooperate with him. It's just that we really can't pay too much money. It's not enough to pay hundreds of thousands at once. We have to pay back a hundred thousand in debt every year. , so you need to find a few more partners."

Afterwards, Hongye handed over to Jia She, and she didn't care about it any more, just waiting for the final result.She believed that in terms of making money, no one in the past and present would give up his own interests, not to mention that Jia She was a smart person, and Boss Song did not have the guts to lie to Jia She.

On the second day, all the family members of Rong Mansion came to Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion to celebrate his birthday. Mrs. Zhao, the birthday star, was over seventy years old, with white hair all over her head and wrinkled face, she was a kind-hearted old lady.

Hongye was sitting in a group of old wives, front, back, left, and right were either princesses, concubines of the county, or old wives of the prince's mansion. Everyone was of the same status, and they were all in their tens of years. There will be no winking against others.

After Concubine Nan'an, Concubine Beijing and Concubine Pingyang arrived, Hongye had someone to talk to. Not long after, Ai Cao and Jia Min came together, and Ai Cao was still holding Princess Jingrong's wrist. When Min saw Hongye, she immediately moved to her mother's side.

Hongye secretly counted the old ladies in this hall, this is really giving Cheng Yongbo's house face, basically a large number of dignitaries in Beijing have come.

When Concubine Pingyang saw Princess Jingrong coming, she immediately moved up to her, and Ai Cao withdrew from her seat, sitting right next to Hongye.

"Min'er abandoned my mother-in-law after having a mother. Hey, I'm so sad." Ai Cao joked, and greeted Princess Nan'an and the others with a smile.

Concubine Nan'an sneered: "It can be seen that you are not easy to get along with as a mother-in-law, don't you pretend to be very good on weekdays?"

Ai Cao smiled in surprise: "Hey, you can see it, you are really a roundworm in my stomach, you know what I think."

Concubine Nan'an let out a pooh: "Who is the worm in your stomach? Su Mingxiu, you are so disgusting."

Ai Cao couldn't help laughing, and the others couldn't help laughing too. Every time these two people got together, they would argue, and the others felt very happy even watching them.

Jia Min lowered her eyes and didn't answer the elder's words, she just listened with an ear.

Ai Cao looked at the people in the hall, and saw snowflakes floating outside, but there were quite a few people coming and going, and many unmarried teenagers and girls went to play in the snow on purpose.

Jia Lian ran with his two cousins, he couldn't stay with his mother, so Zhang Ying and Zhang Li had to take their cousins ​​along. Jia Hu and Jia Zhu were older, and Jia Zheng led them in the front hall.

"I found a strange thing." Ai Cao leaned closer to Hongye, lowering her voice extremely low, "The daughter of Uncle Cheng Yong looks somewhat similar to Jing'er."

Hongye raised her eyebrows: "Who is Jing'er?"

Ai Cao gave Hongye a white look: "I don't believe that Min'er didn't tell you that the little girl who has always regarded her as her mother, their brother and sister were carried back from the wild by people on the village, and there was a car that fell off the cliff at the scene. The carriage, the carriage fell to bits and pieces, and they survived only after being protected by their own mother, and that mother was used as a living mat for human flesh."

Hong Ye nodded knowingly, but it was also the secret of the back house. Anyway, either the east wind overwhelms the west wind, or the west wind overwhelms the east wind, and this has been the case since ancient times.

"I heard that it was Princess Mingyi who took a fancy to Cheng Yongbo's son and wanted to marry him wholeheartedly, which led to this marriage. At that time, Zhao Shizi had a childhood sweetheart who was talking about marriage. This cousin's reputation has been ruined. Later, I had to marry Zhao Shizi as my concubine." The reason why Hongye knew so clearly was because of Jia She.

The group of dandies Jia She and Zhao Jin who strived to make progress didn't look up to anyone. Usually, everyone doesn't interfere with the river, but they all know whoever is in trouble.When the cousin was about to reach Ji, Prince Zhao was very proud of himself. Jia She and the others knew that he was going to be engaged, but they didn't want to hear the news of Prince Zhao's engagement with Princess Mingyi. Jia She and the others inquired about the follow-up. Do you understand everything?

Ai Cao nodded, thinking silently in her heart, the reputation of Princess Mingyi as a jealous woman is well known, and Princess Mingyi has no son under her name, she only has one daughter, how could she be willing to let a noble concubine The son survived, especially this noble concubine was still the cousin that Zhao Shizi put on top of her heart, the person she hated the most was this cousin.

"Liu Ling is very clear about his affairs. Since he doesn't want to come back, let's live in Zhuangzi for the time being. At least he can save his life." That kid is mature and prudent at a young age, and he keeps everything in his heart. It will be over when he grows up.

That's all for now, today's visit to Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion is to celebrate his birthday, the guests only need to eat and drink.At noon, people from the palace rewarded a lot of things. After the banquet, most of the guests left, leaving only relatives who were related to Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion.

Back at Rongfu, it was already past time, the children had been playing for so long, Jia Lian's eyelids were drooping, Hongye hurriedly asked someone to take them back for a lunch break.

Hongye changed her heavy coat, and felt relaxed.She didn't feel sleepy, so she read in the study, and she had to give Jia Zheng exam questions, and the person who gave the exam questions must know more, so she needed to read more books.

On the way home, Ai Cao didn't hold back the conversation, and talked to Jia Min. Jia Min suddenly realized: "No wonder why I think the little girl in front of Mrs. Zhao is so familiar."

Jia Min heaved a long sigh, no wonder Liu Ling didn't mention the past, without the protection of his own mother, the siblings might not have a better life in Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion, so they didn't want to go back.

"When I was chatting with other concubines and grandmothers, the aunt of Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion specifically mentioned that the first daughter of the son of Zhao looks like a person." Jia Min looked up at the sky and saw that her mother-in-law hadn't understood yet, so she coughed. Said: "Like Empress Dowager Xiao Anren."

Empress Dowager Xiao Anren, Emperor Changping's biological mother, passed away early when he was in his teens.From the memory left by Lin's mother, we know that Emperor Changping's mother's status was not high when she was alive, and she was conferred a concubine after her death. As for Emperor Changping's feelings for his uncle's family, this outsider does not know.

In the imperial palace, it was rare for Emperor Changping to take people to visit the imperial garden. The plum blossoms in the plum garden had not yet bloomed, the green trees were covered by snow, and the branches of flowers and plants were also covered by snow. The whole garden was completely white.

"Is Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion lively today?" Emperor Changping asked abruptly, if Wang Wei didn't know the emperor well and had been paying attention to Uncle Cheng Yong's mansion, he would really be caught blind.

"Reporting to the emperor, it's very lively, even Princess Jingrong went to celebrate her birthday." Wang Wei replied slightly respectfully, as if he couldn't feel the flying snowflakes.

Emperor Changping stepped on the lawn and creaked, "Is Mrs. Zhao still in good health?"

Wang Wei replied again: "Very good. Last time the imperial doctor said that the old lady is in good health."

Emperor Changping stopped talking, and when they heard that there were concubines coming this way, the group of them left the imperial garden directly, causing all the concubines who came to meet the emperor to stomp their feet and feel depressed.

Back in the imperial study, Emperor Changping had just taken a sip of hot tea when Ji Yang came in from the door to report the matter.After reporting the matter, Ji Yang retreated to the corner, and he could leave the palace and go home later, and he couldn't help but think of his home outside the palace.

Mrs. Jia gave the seeds to Zhang Shuo. Zhang Shuo planted them for a year. He originally planned that if the weather is good and the harvest is good this year, it would be a great event to spread the seeds, but he didn't want to encounter drought.

Why it was sent to Lao Qi was only discovered by Lao Qi's disciples accidentally, and the disciples under Lao Qi's hands have a heart for the people.

As for whether it was a coincidence, Emperor Changping didn't think it really mattered. He was not afraid that these officials would curry favor with his superiors or a certain prince. As long as he only put his attention on the common people, that would be fine.

Jia Daishan's wife is quite interesting, why didn't she offer it herself, why did she have to make so many detours?He shook his head, the thoughts of these back house women are unpredictable.

Hongye didn't know that Zhang Shuo had been seen through by the emperor. Later, because the weather was too cold, she just stayed at home and read a book. Most of the entertainment outside was about Zhang and Wang's affairs. Occasionally, she, the old lady, had to come out to go out.

In this way, a few more days passed, it was already late November, the weather was getting colder and colder, and the weather this year was a bit colder than before. The government had already started defensive measures to help the people survive this severe winter as much as possible.

Jia Shezhen thought carefully for several days, considering all aspects, and then signed a cooperation agreement with Boss Song, but Jia Shezhen made it clear that he couldn't do it alone, so he had to find several partners.

partner?Jia She made a list of people, only thinking of Lin Hai, he couldn't trust others.

The Lin family belonged to a low-key rich man with plenty of money. Lin Hai heard from his elder brother and met Boss Song in person. After evaluating it himself, he agreed to cooperate.

After the matter was completed, Lin Hai talked to his wife and mother at home.When Jia Min heard that she was cooperating with her elder brother, she thought that Lin Hai agreed because of her face.

As soon as Ai Cao heard about going out to sea, she immediately became interested and asked Lin Hai to tell about Dafeng's maritime trade.

Dafeng’s sea ban was only lifted ten years after the founding of Dafeng. From the beginning, the clan took the lead in doing business. The clan and the rich and powerful ate meat, and the merchants drank soup. These merchants also made a lot of money just by drinking soup. Boss Yi Song didn't want to give up this piece of fat.

For this maritime trade, Dafeng also made great efforts to cultivate it in the navy. Otherwise, wouldn't Dafeng's merchant ships be robbed by bandits from other countries in vain?

"The imperial court does not prohibit merchants from going to sea, but most of them are still in the hands of the royal family. Dafeng's clan and princes all keep their own place because they have money in their hands, and one-tenth of the national treasury's tax revenue comes from maritime trade. "This is what Lin Hai analyzed from the clues in various memorials. No one else knows about the clan's maritime business, and the treasury still has a share.

Ai Cao nodded: "What about these princes?"

Lin Hai said again: "As long as the prince opens the mansion, there will be merchants who will take refuge in him. Xiangjun Wang Gongjun and the others have such big merchants under their names, and Zhaojun Wang and Qinjun Wang who just opened the mansion not long ago may not be able to take care of this. , but as the palace costs more and more, the princes will also be short of money, so they will always think of this."

"Boss Song only has five boats, so he can't travel too far, but let's try it first and talk about it later." I didn't think about sea business before because he really had no connections, and he might not make money, but now the opportunity gives him In front of him, he would be a fool if he didn't hurry up.

Jia Min listened quietly, anyway, she knew that the Lin family was not short of money, even if they lost 10,000+ taels, the Lin family would not become poor.Lin Nuan wasn't at home, she was still out to see a doctor, it would be very late when she came back.

Ai Cao thought of King Zhaojun, that former boy has now become a tough young man, and now she rarely meets him, wondering if he is annoying now?After all, there are some people in Beijing who are trying to get his backyard.

But Ai Cao didn't expect to see King Zhaojun soon, and he was still at home, and King Zhaojun came to visit her in person.

The author has something to say: Replaced.