The wharf is close to Xifang City, the city gate is called the small east gate, and the people also call it the treasure banknote gate, which is the rush of water and land. The entire wharf area is under the jurisdiction of the Shuntian Prefecture, and it is also under the household tax collection, and the area along the road is densely populated.

Xu Hao and Qingwen walked out of the inner city with a smile and a smile, and gradually, pedestrians began to become crowded.

In the past, Xu Hao hated people next to each other the most, but now he is very happy, the more prosperous the people, the more it represents the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

Everywhere there are tax officials and school captains, inspecting the merchants to check whether there is any leakage, and they hang shiny tiger head cards on their waists, one by one.

Groups of officers and soldiers patrolling the city carried wolf's tooth quivers on their backs, held steel knives in their hands, and swaggered through the city with their chests held high.

In front of the inns on the side of the road, the big guest characters on the lanterns swayed in the wind, greeting passing passengers; There are a variety of signboards hanging on the doors of each shop, attracting tourists from all over the world.

In the distance, the people waiting in line to enter the city could not be seen, and the men carrying the loads of goods sweated on their foreheads, and from time to time a coachman with a whip drove the carriage, shouting to get out of the way.

Because there are so many people here, most of them are low-level toilers or small traders, so the traffic rules do not apply at all, and everyone is huddled together, and can only move forward slowly.

Just like the vegetable market or wholesale market in later generations, it was crowded and lively, a necessity for people's livelihood, and in ancient times, because of the limitations of the city wall, no matter how it was planned, it was difficult to solve the congestion situation, even if the city added the north and south markets in succession.

Carrying a load is the most characteristic scene here, a load of flowers or food passing by, bringing a gust of fragrant wind, on the contrary, carrying a load of urine or water outside the city, the smell is disgusting.

The first thing to scramble for is vegetables and fish and shrimp, and they are in a hurry to pick them up and sell them in the local area; The men chatted and laughed in groups, and unhurriedly carried the water home to boil water for the mother-in-law to cook.

Moving like a crab is a firewood load, and one after the other is the buddies of the big merchants.

Beggars on the side of the road squatted on the ground and played with snakes to attract passers-by, some poor women held baskets in their arms and mended clothes for pedestrians, and wandering monks recited scriptures along the street.

Qingwen has hardly been here, and it is very interesting to look at it with her handkerchief over her nose. Xu Hao was impatiently squeezed, and pulled her to turn a corner, with most of the incense stores on both sides.

Some shops are thriving, others are deserted, and they cross the dock at the end. At the intersection of four forks, all the way to the south is the Great Confucian Lane near the Gongyuan, to the east is Nanliu Lane, to the west is Beiliu Lane, and the Neiliu Lane where the Zhang family lives is also nearby.

After walking for a long time, Qingwen, who was tired of walking, asked, "Where are you going to take me?"

"Aren't you hanging out?" Xu Hao pointed ahead, "Yangzhou there is very famous early, I'll take you to taste it." ”

"Hmm." Qingwen was very happy, and looked at the teahouse in front of her along the guide, there are two pink and white ear doors on both sides of the gate, and there is a very large courtyard behind, the white courtyard wall is not high, you can see a few green trees, several green bamboos, and more than a dozen plum, apricot, peach, and pomegranate trees.

It is the weather in April, the peony inside the flower stand outside the teahouse is blooming beautifully and lovely, a Nanmu plaque is just above the teahouse, and the big characters in sky blue are written "Yangzhou Pavilion".

There are six pink and white screen doors in the middle, Qingwen followed Xu Hao in, and there is a sea plum incense table on the opposite side, and a painting of Yangzhou landscape is hung on the snow-white wall, and there are mud gold hammer couplets on both sides.

The wind comes and the water surface is green, and the moon is green in the heart of the sky.

Qingwen said happily: "It's really elegant and extraordinary."

Xu Hao said with a smile: "There is no white ding here, it is naturally elegant."

I was invited to the private room on the second floor, and there was a horizontal drape of "A Fang Gong Fu" hanging on the wall, and a mahogany table of ten immortals was placed on the terrace by the window on one side, on which was placed an ancient bottle of Longquan kiln, and five branches of fine white peony were inserted in the bottle. Carved fence Hunan curtain, quiet and elegant.

Qingwen enjoyed the scenery outside by the railing, Xu Hao ordered a pot of good tea, a plate of raw meat and bamboo shoot buns, a plate of ham glutinous rice and roasted wheat, a plate of five-kernel bean paste steamed buns, and a plate of crab steamed dumplings.

The door was open, and a storyteller in the hall was telling a story about Yangzhou, and the family who came with him ordered some snacks.

After breakfast, Xu Hao took Qingwen to visit Gongyuan and Wuyi Lane all morning, and chose a Shanxi noodle restaurant at noon.

"Guests, please come in." The runners greeted each other attentively.

Xu Hao chose a table in the middle of the hall on the first floor and sat down, Qingwen didn't bring a maid, she sat on one side, and her family sat at the next table.

The runner wiped the already bright table with a rag, made two bowls of tea, and asked, "How many distinguished guests are there today?"

"Eight people." Xu Hao replied.

"Okay!" Eight pairs of ebony tooth chopsticks, more than a dozen sheets of paper, and eight small disks were placed on the side, and then they stood next to them and waited.

Qingwen curiously picked up the mat paper, the texture is a little like rice paper, the color is coarse and white, and the grass paper is mostly provided before, which can be said to be a big step forward.

I ordered knife-cut noodles and snacks, and while I was eating, two diners on one side had an argument. Xu Hao recognized at a glance that one was the clerk of the Ministry of Rites' signing room, named Zheng Guanzhi, and the other was Yuan Huan, the bookkeeper of the Ministry of War's revenue and expenditure room.

Xu Hao opened his mouth and said, "What's the matter?"

Zheng Guanyi, who was blushing and thick-necked, turned around, stood up in surprise, and said, "Oh, why is Master Xu here?"

"I've seen Master Xu below." Yuan Huan was also very surprised.

The two of them secretly glanced at Qingwen who was smiling, and guessed in their hearts, Xu Hao didn't bother to explain, so he beckoned people over and asked them to sit down and ask the reason.

Yuan Huan said: "You give a comment. Last year, Mr. Zheng loved me so much that he asked me to help him borrow 80 taels of silver, deduct three cents, and promise to return it in March this year. When the date came, not only did they not return the money, but they even hid. I went to his house again and again to ask for peace, and the housekeeper of his house casually agreed, saying that I would stay at a friend's house yesterday, and that I would eat flowers and wine at a house tomorrow and never come back.

In order to find him, I don't know how early I got up, how much sleep I slept less, I ran around looking for him, my shoes were broken, and I couldn't find him. And the creditor quarreled with me all the day, saying that I had cheated him of his money. Finally, I met him today with Master Zheng, and asked him for silver, but he actually asked me to play with eggs, you say you can't be angry?

Master Zheng, let's open the skylight today and say something bright, if you have silver, if you don't have silver, I will go to Shuntianfu with you Master Zheng to roll the dragon, and ask my colleagues and friends in the sixth department, see that I Yuan Huan has done too much?"

Both of them are unpopular officials, and they can't control them when they eat flowers and wine, so they don't shy away from it, of course, prostitutes-prostitutes have to be more obscure now.

After Yuan Huan finished speaking, Zheng Guanzhi immediately said: "Master Xu, listen to me, I have always been good friends with Brother Yuan, and it is not a matter of money once. Go to La, accept his affection, help me borrow 80 taels of silver, and make an appointment to return it in March this year. Why is it because I have a business that I haven't done yet, so I am late to this day, and Brother Yuan has run a few times, no wonder he is angry today. But I really don't have any money in hand recently, and I have to wait until the end of the festival, and then I will return to Zhao with the principal and interest. ”

"Nope." Yuan Huan shouted: "I definitely can't cross the gate today, it's not that I don't care about the situation, but I can't drag it out, and I have to be trustworthy."

Xu Hao opened his mouth and said: "Lao Zheng is tight, only eighty taels, you can give him a few days, anyway, he missed the deadline, just ask him to pay it back quickly, why bother for a few taels of silver?"

"Master Xu, you don't know what you're suffering." Yuan Huan sighed and said with a wry smile: "That creditor is a violent temper, you borrowed his silver for three months, and when it came to three months and one day to repay his silver, then I was not comfortable in my heart, and I was scolding." I'm not afraid to say it so that you and your sister-in-law and your brothers will laugh at me, just because my family is poor, I often handle it on behalf of creditors, and I can subsidize and replenish tea with a few pennies. That's the finch that was hit with a flick, and when he said that he would turn his face, he would turn his face, and now he was stopped by Master Zheng's silver, and even I couldn't scream. Today, I told him a grace period of a few days, but he definitely disagreed, unless the east wall was demolished to make up the west wall, and Master Zheng would spend a few more points of interest. ”

Zheng Guanzhi was hindered by Xu Hao's presence, and he wanted to save face, so he immediately said: "Listen to you, how to say it."

Yuan Huan said: "There is only one way to do it now, find another gold owner to borrow money and return the money first, I don't know what Master Zheng wants?"

"Okay." Zheng Guan agreed.

Xu Hao shook his head slightly when he saw this, there are many people like Jinling who don't fall on the donkey, and they have the same virtue as the down-and-out Manchu Eight Banners.

"Say something ignorant." Yuan Huan said as he gave up his hand again and again, "I have to write another credential, and then I can find a way to borrow money." ”

Zheng Guanzhi only begged not to pay back the money today, and said with a grin: "It should be so."

"That's good." Yuan Huan suddenly jumped up, ran to the bookstore opposite to buy a piece of printed paper, borrowed a black ink saucer, and an old pen, all of which were placed on the table.

Zheng Guanzhi was about to pick up the pen to write, Yuan Huan said: "You slow down first, I want to calculate."

He shouted to the hall and asked for an abacus, and said to Zheng Guanzhi: "I borrowed eighty taels of silver before, and ten days have passed, and I want to recognize the turn of three taels of silver, plus three months of interest, and now I must borrow one hundred taels of silver."

Because it is necessary to deduct the fold of five taels of silver, the default of four taels of silver, and the interest of three months, it is necessary to deduct the Chinese capital of one or two and a half pieces of silver, and the price of one or two and a half pieces of silver. In this way, the previous loan was repaid, and it was all removed, a total of ninety-eight taels and three yuan, and there was one or two or seven coins of silver left, and I will give your brother and nephew a tooth sacrifice, and I will buy a new pair of shoes to wear, right?"

"What else do you need to say?" Zheng Guanzhi was very open in front of people, picked up the pen and wrote an IOU.

Qingwen asked quietly, "What did he say?" I don't understand a word. ”

Xu Hao chuckled and said, "This is all the jargon that the ministry is used to, don't talk about you, I don't understand it."

After writing, Yuan Huan said happily: "Shicai's words are presumptuous, the younger brother really doesn't know how angry he is with the creditor, and he has been running for many days in vain, and he will inevitably be angry when he sees his brother, and he hopes to beg for forgiveness when he offends."

Zheng Guanzhi also said politely: "It's all mine, it's not my brother." When I have the money, I'll thank you personally. ”

At that moment, Yuan Huan put away the new bills and made an appointment to return the eighty taels of arrears at the Yangzhou Teahouse tomorrow afternoon.

When they returned to their seats to eat and drink, Qingwen said: "There are so many people like Jinling, obviously the family is not enough to live by frugality, so they have to pretend to be an uncle outside, and they can't afford to borrow money to pay it back, and those who hide in Tibet don't even dare to go home, which is embarrassing." I was afraid that I would take risks for money, accept bribes and bend the law, and finally the East Window incident occurred, affecting my wife, sons, and daughters. ”

Xu Hao nodded, in fact, these people are crawling in the officialdom, and their family history has cultivated a smooth ability, and there are many ways to make money. Generally speaking, casually revealing some news to the provincial officialdom, or helping to say personal favors, they don't have to worry about not being able to pay back the money, and they won't be stupid enough to kill their heads.

This is also the norm of officials throughout the ages, anyway, there is no hope of promotion, and you have to get by.

After eating and drinking a cup of tea, Xu Hao said goodbye to Yuan Huan and Zheng Guanzhi. As soon as he came out, he saw a man outside reprimanding his family.

This man looked to be in his thirties, with a white face, big eyes, and a little anger on his face.

"People are so bad now." The man turned his head and explained to his friends, "In the morning, the younger brother asked his family to go to the wharf of Xiaodongmen to hire a big boat, he just came back to me, saying that the people on the wharf said that there were too many people to hire a boat, and the big boat was at least four taels of silver, and the family returned two taels of silver, so the boatman ridiculed two taels of silver and wanted to call a boat?" Let's sit on a boat. ”

The friend listened and said, "Four taels of silver? Why don't you grab it?"

"yes!" Then the man said, "A couple of silver is enough to go around the city in a boat outside the city." They didn't argue about it, because the boatman wanted to beat my family because there were so many people, it was really too deceitful. I'll tell him to go home and get my father's name card, and go to Shangyuan County, and be sure to seal the boat of the boat, and see what they can do?"

My friend smiled: "These boatmen are all dogs who can't be fed, and they are the most likely to bully the soft and fear the hard.

Xu Hao frowned slightly, it has always been very expensive to hire a boat to play in Jinling, a big boat, the boat guy counts four or five people, if you eat and drink for a whole day, four taels of silver is really not expensive, especially in spring and summer.

However, the boat at Xiaodongmen is not a painting boat, and the general painting boat is not allowed to hire at least twenty taels a day? It should be an ordinary boat outside the city, and he suddenly stepped forward and said, "Brother Tai's surname?"

The man saw that he had the image of a rich man, but his bearing was elegant and abnormal, and he was accompanied by a middle-aged beautiful woman with outstanding temperament, so he hurriedly said: "The younger brother's surname is Wu Mingzhen, and he is from Jinling." At dawn today, the old lady of her family passed away, and she sent someone to our house to report the funeral. Because the younger brother had to accompany the princes today, he couldn't be buried separately, so he rushed over to pay his respects and hurried back to the city. In the morning, I asked the guy to hire a big ship and planned to invite the princes to play, and I didn't want to get angry. ”

Xu Hao glanced at several of his friends, and they all looked like scholars, some old and young, some ugly and some handsome, probably from Beijing to participate in the macro vocabulary department.

can be recommended by the local government to enter Beijing, and they are naturally people who are full of poetry and books. If the guess is correct, then this person named Wu Zhen must also be a celebrity.

With a move in his heart, Xu Hao thought to himself, why don't I get in? One is to take a boat for free, the second is to see what will happen next, and the third is to test the quality of these people for the country, whether they have real talent and real learning. (To be continued......)