The midwinter night came exceptionally early. In less than three quarters, the sun has sunk completely below the horizon. Immediately afterward, boundless darkness quickly enveloped the land. The darkness seems to be tangible, it can invade the human body and make people feel like they can't breathe.

However, outside the Zhengyang Gate in the inner city of Jingshi, the suffocating darkness no longer exists. Above the brightly lit markets, there are more crowds than during the day. The tireless cries of the hawkers, the drunken shouts, the flamboyant prostitutes beckoning their customers, and the hoofs of the wheels of the carriages passing by from time to time, all these sounds come together in a way that seems to have a great magic power that stirs up the passers-by.

According to the ancestral system, the Beijing division implemented a curfew at night, but by the time of Jiajing and Wanli, the rules formulated in the early years had been basically destroyed. Except for the area around the Imperial City, which was still heavily guarded, the rest of the inner city had greatly reduced the number of sergeants patrolling at night, and it was only an errand. As for the outer city, no one cares about it. Therefore, the area around Dashilar outside Zhengyangmen has gradually and spontaneously formed a lively street market.

At this time, Zhu Youzhen was taking Lin Youkun and Mei Lan Zhuju four sisters to wander in this bustling street market with great interest. He asked with great interest, "Why is this place called 'Big Rock Rotten'?" ”

Lin Youkun said with a smile: "During the Hongzhi period, due to the increasing prosperity of the market, thieves were mostly hidden in it, and the government set up wooden fences on the streets and sent soldiers to guard them to check suspicious people. Later, the fence was gradually abandoned, but the name 'Dashilar' has survived. Word of mouth, but the pronunciation gradually became 'big stone rotten'. ”

"Where is Shaanxi Lane?" Zhu Youzhen asked.

"After Dashilar and further south, there are many alleys, commonly known as 'Eight Hutongs' by the common people, which is the famous place of fireworks and willow lanes in Beijing." Lin Youkun said, "Among them, the most famous are the eight alleys, from west to east: Baishun Hutong, Rouge Hutong, Hanjiatan, Shaanxi Lane, Stone Hutong, Wang Guangfu Xiejie, Zhujia Hutong, Li Shamao Hutong. Among these eight alleys, the most famous is Shaanxi Lane. During the Yongle period, it was once the place where Shaanxi merchants put timber, so it was named. The Shanglin Yuan we are going to is the largest brothel in Shaanxi Lane. ”

Zhu Youzhen didn't expect that Qiao Qitai was going to entertain himself in a brothel. Where had he ever been to such a high-end entertainment venue, listening to what Lin Youkun said, this Lin Yuan was comparable to the heavens and earths in his previous life, and he immediately became acute.

After a short time, go to Shaanxi Lane. Although the name of this Shaanxi lane is "lane", it is really wide, enough to walk three carriages side by side. On the left and right sides of the alley, there are two-story blue brick buildings. Looking at the signboards, not all brothels, theaters, tea houses, restaurants, etc.

Of course, the most are brothels. At the door of each brothel, there are always two or three young women with red scarves and green sleeves, and whenever someone passes by, they immediately enthusiastically solicit business: "Ouch, isn't this Uncle X, you must have forgotten us if you haven't seen us for many days!" Why don't you come in and rest, let the girls pour you a few glasses, and sing a little song, which is guaranteed to make you happy! ”

Not far further, the road gradually became crowded, and Lin Youkun also raised his vigilance, and whispered to Zhu Youzhen: "Shanglin Yuan has arrived." ”

When Zhu Youzhen looked up, he saw a three-story building standing like a flock, which was not much larger than the scale of Wanghai Tower. The plaque is hung high at the main entrance, and the three big characters of "Shanglin Yuan" are written on it. Looking through the open gate, I saw that there were still several courtyards inside, and the courtyards were lit up with lights, but they were like festivals, and they were dotted with flowers. Above the floor, in the courtyard, there are prostitutes with heavy makeup everywhere, which can be described as a chaotic flower that is gradually charming.

Zhu Youzhen looked at it attentively, Qiao Qitai came out of nowhere, and said happily: "You Gongzi is here, Qiao is really honored!" The banquet has been prepared, just wait for You Gongzi to come and start the banquet, please come inside! ”

Zhu Youzhen politely said a few words, and followed Qiao Qitai into Shanglin Garden. Qiao Qitai did not go to the most lively street color building, but led Zhu Youzhen and his party straight through several courtyards and came to a remote cross-courtyard. There is also a two-story small building across the courtyard, but it is more small and delicate than the one facing the street, and the inscription on the plaque is also quite delicate: Fenglai Building.

Entering the hall, I saw several gorgeously dressed men waiting. As soon as Zhu Youzhen came in, everyone avoided the table one after another.

Qiao Qitai enthusiastically introduced: "Everyone, this is the distinguished guest invited by Qiao, Hainan You Gongzi. You Gongzi, please let Qiao introduce you one by one. This is the boss of Chang Lian Tianchang in Yuci, Shanxi, who is mainly engaged in the tea business; This is Wang Maochang, the boss of Huizhou, who is mainly engaged in the salt industry; This is Zheng Tuohai Zheng Boss of Chaozhou, mainly engaged in overseas trade; This younger one is the young leader of the Shaanxi Business Gang, Li Zicheng Li Gongzi. ”

"Li Zicheng?" Zhu Youzhen was startled and couldn't help screaming.

The young man was surprised: "Why, You Gongzi knows contemptible? ”

Zhu Youzhen secretly thought that it was not right, it is said that Li Zicheng was born as a post man, and because he lost his job because of the abolition of the post station, he joined the rebel thieves and finally destroyed the Ming Dynasty. But right now, this Li Zicheng is not only a graceful Yushu family, but also the young gang leader of the Shaanxi Business Gang, so there is no reason to be a thief anyway? After hesitating for a long time, he asked tentatively: "Li Gongzi is a member of the Shaanxi Mizhi family?" ”

This Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "The contemptible person is from Xi'an, Shaanxi, not from Mizhi County." My brother Li Ziqian is now serving as a county magistrate in Mizhi County. Could it be that Gongzi You has seen his brother? ”

Zhu Youzhen tilted his head and thought for a long time, only to understand that this Li Zicheng was not the Li Zicheng who was powerful in the world and was as famous as Zhang Xianzhong. Since his brother's name is Li Ziqian, the third word of his name has words next to it, and his name should naturally be the same, as "Li Zicheng", just one word difference.

After thinking about this section, this thing suddenly put his heart in his stomach, and hurriedly said: "I recognized the wrong person, Li Gongzi's name is very similar to an acquaintance of mine, hehehehe." ”

After everyone re-seated, the food and wine were served like water. After three rounds of drinking, Qiao Qitai introduced again: "You Gongzi, in addition to running their own business, these bosses also have silver horns. How about letting them introduce themselves? ”

Zhu Youzhen knew that he was going to start talking about business, so he immediately stopped and listened. He thought to himself that this is also one of the ancient habits of the Chinese, and business is often negotiated at the dinner table. When it comes to the office or negotiation table, the atmosphere is not as harmonious as at the dinner table, and it is difficult to carry out business.

Chang Liantian, who was the oldest and had begun to turn gray, spoke first: "The contemptible person is from Yuci, Shanxi. Since Kuching merchants have traveled all over the world, the north and south roads of Tiannan and Haibei are far away, and it is inconvenient to carry a large amount of silver. In addition, the three currencies of silver, money and banknotes of the current dynasty are parallel, which is quite cumbersome to exchange and brings great trouble to business. Therefore, the contemptible people have operated the silver trumpet from their ancestors, named 'Baofeng'. At present, Baofeng has branches in Beijing, Taiyuan, Huzhou, Hangzhou and other places. If You Gongzi deposits the silver in my Baofeng, he can not only sit back and relax, but also charge a monthly interest of one and a half percent. ”

"How much is this centimony?" Zhu Youzhen asked stupidly.

In fact, these bosses are also old rivers and lakes who have been in the business for many years, and they have long seen that Zhu Youzhen is not a businessman from Hainan, but he just refuses to break it. Seeing him ask, Chang replied in a hurry: "One-tenth is one point, one hundredth is one centimeter, and one thousandth is one millimeter." Let's put it this way, if You Gongzi deposits 1,000 taels of silver in this account, then the monthly interest is 15 taels of silver, and the annual interest is 180 taels. ”

Eighteen percent? This interest rate was high enough in the previous life, at least much higher than the pitiful 3 percent of a year's fixed deposit in the bank. However, in the previous life, the banks were state-owned, and they were managed by the central bank, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and other institutions, and their credibility was guaranteed. Today's silver horns are all privately founded, which can only be regarded as commercial credit. In case the silver number goes out of business, let alone 18 percent, and you can't even get the book back, what can you do?

Chang Liantian saw Zhu Youzhen's hesitation, and immediately smiled: "Gongzi You is worried about the safety of the principal? At this point, you can rest assured that the Baofeng is strong, and the silver money that passes through it every year is more than 10 million taels. The silver horn itself is quite profitable, and coupled with the despicable tea business, it has to earn two or three million taels of silver every year, and there will definitely be no arrears of interest or even erosion of the principal. ”

After Chang Liantian, Wang Maochang, a Hui merchant, Zheng Tuohai, a Chao merchant, and Li Zicheng of the Shaanxi merchant gang, also introduced their silver numbers. These silver horns have their own geographical focus, such as Wang Maochang is mainly in the salt industry, and his "Risheng" is also mostly concentrated in Yangzhou, Yancheng, Wuchang and other salt distribution centers. Zheng Yulong is mainly engaged in overseas business, and has also opened many branches in Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou and other places, and even has one in Manila on Luzon Island. The silver number of Shaanxi merchants is the most widely distributed, north to Datong, south to Dali, west to Jiuquan, east to Shanhaiguan, all have their semicolons.

After several people introduced the situation, they all looked at Zhu Youzhen with hope, thinking that with their own strength, they would definitely be able to attract him to deposit the silver.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youzhen was silent for a moment, and then said slowly: "In this way, all the bosses are strong. But I have always been timid and afraid, and I still have a little anxiety. I don't know who can provide collateral? ”

As soon as these words came out, the faces of several bosses suddenly fell. In fact, they certainly need capital turnover to do business, and the silver number also lends usury, so the demand for silver is not small. However, at this time, business is the most important word for credibility, and since the existence of the silver number, there has never been a funder who has asked for a silver number mortgage. If you ask for a mortgage, it is clear that you don't trust them.

At this moment, a loud noise from the front yard came from afar. Qiao Qitai was anxious about the cold field, and hurriedly took the opportunity to play a round and said: "In business, don't be in a hurry. Listening to this noise, it must be the beginning of this month's Oiran election. Why don't you go and have fun first, and then talk? ”