The Ming Dynasty started with caution

After seeing Liu Jin off, it was already moonlight and the stars were sparse. The bearers were probably impatient, and Yan Chengjin was walking out of the palace.

Zhu Houzhao is really nothing. It's so late, and Liu Jin won't be allowed to leave after dinner.

Back at Yan Mansion, when Yan Chengjin walked through the yard of the old courtyard, he saw Chun Xia and Qian Jin feeding sheep.

The fodder was supplied by the sisters' father, Lao Wang. He cut fresh fodder from outside the city every day, and the Yan Mansion settled the money for him. He made two trips a day, which made him more than the chaihu.

After getting closer, I found that there was an extra lamb in the sheepfold. It seemed that it had been born just two days ago. It was very small and there were blood stains on the hay on the ground.

What a happy little lamb.

hapiness?

Speaking of which, in the previous life, there were many chickens, ducks, cows and geese who grew up listening to music.

Hearing that meat tastes tender, plump and nutritious, Yan Chengjin fell into deep thought.

"How can!"

He Neng trotted to the chicken pen: "Master?"

Yan Chengjin said: "From today onwards, you will blow joy to these chickens, once every morning and evening, for an hour each time."

How could He open his mouth as big as a duck egg and look at Yan Chengjin like a fool? Could it be that the young master is suffering from heart disease?

With such an unbelievable idea, everyone might think he is a lunatic.

Yan Chengjin kicked him over: "What are you doing standing there in a daze? Blow!"

He Neng took out the trumpet, blushed and started playing the drum. Yan Chengjin couldn't listen to the music anymore. It was not even as good as the background music of square dance.

"Go find a musician tomorrow and learn the rhythm."

How can I be so shameless and just serve the young master every day? I also have to serve a group of beasts. Since the young master likes me, I will find a good musician tomorrow.

……………………

Zhou Yu had only lived in Chengcheng Mansion for a few days, and he kept thinking about the 20,000 taels of silver he had spent.

How nice is it to live in vain?

Twenty thousand taels of silver seemed too expensive no matter how much he thought about it, so he came to the Yan Mansion aggressively.

Yan Chengjin was very polite: "Hello, Uncle Chang Ning. I wonder why Uncle Chang Ning is here to visit? My father said that once the Cheng Mansion is sold, it will not be returned or exchanged. You'd better invite Uncle Chang Ning back. I have to eat."

Zhou Yu said with a smile: "I'm not here to vacate the house. It's a good house, and I won't refund the money. I'm here today to discuss business with my nephew. My nephew should eat first. Oops, why haven't you eaten so late?" ? The servants in your house are really taking their time. My dear nephew, let’s eat first and let’s talk slowly.”

When guests come, they are always received in the old courtyard. This is the family rule of Yan Mansion.

The servants brought today's braised running chicken, steamed crucian carp, fragrant glutinous dumpling soup... to the old courtyard.

Yan Chengjin glanced at Zhou Yu: "Then you're not welcome, then?"

Zhou Yu smiled and said: "I've eaten before, you eat and I said, I came today because I want to do a salt business with my nephew.

Although the Huai'an salt merchants and Yangzhou salt merchants are very powerful, I, Uncle Chang Ning, can still speak on the boundaries of the capital city.

As long as I have enough money, I can buy salt in the salt warehouses in Datong, Taiyuan, and the capital, and then resell it to the people in the capital, saving transportation costs, wouldn't it be a big profit? "

Yan Chengjin thought carefully.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the Kaizhong Salt Method was adopted. In order to allow merchants to transport food to the border troops, the court thought of a way.

If you, a merchant, want to sell salt, you must first transport a certain amount of grain to the designated granary at the border. The government will give you a salt certificate based on the amount of grain you transport.

You take the salt certificate, go to the designated salt warehouse, exchange it for a certain amount of salt, and it doesn't matter where you sell it.

It was very troublesome to go back and forth like this. Some smart gentry bought fields directly on the border and paid all the grain they grew to the government in exchange for salt, thus saving them the trouble of transportation.

But this creates new troubles.

The price of food has been fluctuating. Today is different from tomorrow, just like the stock price. Sometimes the salt exchanged for is still valuable on the road of transportation, but it is worthless when it is put on the shelf.

It is better to keep the value of the food grown.

In other words, the opening of the Salt Law was equivalent to treating grain as a currency for trading salt. Later, fewer and fewer merchants transported salt.

During the Hongzhi Dynasty, Ye Qi reformed the salt law. Merchants no longer had to transport grain. They could buy salt by paying money directly to the Salt Transportation Department.

The Salt Transportation Department then handed over the money to the imperial court, and the imperial court bought grain and transported it to the border town.

Yan Chengjin knows that selling salt may not always make money, and there are many possibilities of losing money. Salt is difficult to transport and store because it is susceptible to moisture.

This is not what they are most afraid of. What they are most afraid of is the delay in the government's supply of salt and the changes in salt prices.

It costs a lot of money to buy salt, but it takes a long time to get back the money.

Yangzhou salt merchants and Huai'an salt merchants are very powerful. If you want to compete with them, you have to use some gray means, but under the emperor's feet, Chang Ningbo may not dare to mess around.

After some thought, Yan Chengjin came up with an idea: "Uncle Chang Ning had a great idea, so I was enlightened, but I don't have any money."

Zhou Yu said angrily: "My nephew, please stop joking. I just gave my nephew twenty thousand taels of silver. My nephew can't finish it even if he eats it?"

Yan Chengjin said frankly: "With all due respect to Xiaguan, there is no shortage of salt merchants in the capital, and the money belongs to my father. If Uncle Chang Ning wants to do this business, it is better to go to the border and ask my father. Xiaguan can't make the decision. Try Xiaguan's running." Chicken, will Uncle Chang Ning go back?"

As he said that, he pushed the half-eaten braised chicken in front of him.

You can tell the aroma of this chicken just by smelling it. Just watching him eat it just now made Zhou Yu greedy.

This bitch just keeps eating by himself without even saying hello to himself. I've eaten, aren't I hungry?

He smiled and said, "Actually, I can still eat a little more, so you're welcome."

When you take a bite, the aroma is fragrant. It is obviously different from what you usually eat. The meat is tender and juicy.

Zhou Yu's mouth was glossy and he sucked his fingers: "It's delicious. It's delicious. Did you buy this chicken from the east market or the west market? I'll buy some tomorrow too."

"This chicken is raised by my family. Every morning, my servants have to chase it several times, so it is called running chicken. It tastes better than the chickens raised in cages. If you want Uncle Chang Ning, I will give you a few chickens."

Zhou Yu's eyes rolled, but he secretly took note of Yan Chengjin's words. When he went to pick chickens, he was careful to pick big and fat ones. He didn't leave happily until he couldn't take anymore.

Early the next morning,

The Ministry of Industry received the decree and was responsible for supervising the construction of a new library, located next to Wenyuan Pavilion.

After listening to Yan Chengjin's advice, Emperor Hongzhi also asked people to review and proofread the books in three places in the capital, and all the unique copies had to be copied again.

The Hanlin Academy was very lively, and the floor and roof of the courtyard were covered with books.

Everyone in Hanyuan was cursing, which bastard made this suggestion? They were exhausted.

The Wenhans should dig out the books in Wenyuan Pavilion and dry them to get rid of bookworms before entering the new building, and proofread and approve them.

Yan Chengjin was moving books. Suddenly, he heard someone from behind asking in a very mean voice: "Sir, do you want chicken? My chicken is soft, tender, smooth, crispy and delicious. I ate my running chicken. I am moving books." Your strength will be much greater, if you don’t believe it, you can try it?”

Why is this voice so familiar?