The Bookish Scholar of the Red Mansion

The next day, after Chen Heng had breakfast at home, he waited for Liu Xianglian for a while. When he didn't show up for a long time, he took Xinda out first. He was going to see Manager Zhao today. The schedule was originally scheduled three days ago, and Xue Biao also helped him apply for leave at the academy.

Unexpectedly, the two brothers were caught by Liu Xianglian who had been waiting for a long time just after they left the door.

You two are too good at sleeping.

Chen Heng was a little strange when he met him at the door of his house. There were few people on the street at this time, and only a few breakfast shops were open here and there. Liu Xianglian, who was dressed in brocade clothes and robes, held a family heirloom sword as usual and sat on the bench to relax. She didn't know how long she waited for them.

The two parties, one waiting inside the house and the other waiting outside on the street, created a misunderstanding inadvertently. Chen Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He walked to the shop with Xinda and said politely, Brother Liu, thank you for waiting. Has Brother Liu had breakfast?

Xinda curled his lips and frowned when he heard this. Why didn't his brother say anything about what we were waiting for at home? Liu was waiting outside and complained about them.

Eat, eat. Liu Xianglian threw the sword into her right hand, stood up with a sword show, and said eagerly, Quick, quick, quick, if you have anything important to do today, I will accompany you.

Seeing how impatient he was, Chen Heng smiled, shook his head, and led him out again. The two were walking side by side on the street, Xinda following leisurely on his brother's left side.

The road from the east of the city to the west of the city is really long. Chen Heng didn't have the spare money to call a carriage, so he had to rush early. This is mostly how poor people save money.

The three of them walked slowly on the road. By the time Chen Heng finished telling Liu Xianglian about Qiupu Street, the latter's interest had lost most of its interest. He came to Yangzhou this time with the idea of ​​showing off his talents.

Yesterday, when he heard Chen Heng talk about Qiupu Street and Manager Zhao, he thought he was involved in something shocking. I was thinking of using my martial arts skills to help the Chen family's younger brother kill a lot of people and do something important to eliminate violence and bring peace to the people.

But hearing that it was just a trivial matter, Liu Xianglian herself was speechless and worried. When I come to Yang this time, I won't just follow the young man from the Chen family and wander around in a daze, right?

This is what Chen Heng is confused about. He also doesn't understand Uncle Lin's intention of finding a helper for him. He is just wandering around the city now. No matter how powerful Liu Xianglian is in martial arts, even if he has Li Yuanfang's abilities, there is no place for him to show off? To put it bluntly, following yourself is really a waste of talent.

The two of them had questions in their minds, so they didn't mention them for now until they finally arrived at the archway on Qiupu Street. Liu Xianglian was still fine, but Chen Heng's forehead was already sweating. This sweaty appearance was not easy to see.

The group of people took a break at a breakfast shop at the corner of the street. Liu Xianglian had already followed them here, so they simply spared a day to work hard with Chen Heng. He just sat firmly on the bench and his eyes were already scanning the people on the street.

Now is the time when female embroidery workers and sericulture farmers from various households enter the street. From time to time, people will rush under the archway. Liu Xianglian looked at it freshly, and gained a better understanding of the excitement of Yangzhou. There are many people in the capital who want to be officials, which is really different from the business scene in Yangzhou.

During the break, he asked Chen Heng about the origin of Qiupu Street, and then learned that this street was set up by the government to resettle the refugees. His heart surged with passion, and he immediately praised: Uncle Lin is such a good official who makes decisions for the people. It's really It’s so admirable.”

When he is excited, his words tend to sound dramatic, which is fun for others to listen to. However, Liu Xianglian said it casually, which made Chen Heng understand him better. This person's temperament is somewhat straightforward and straightforward. Chen Heng kept this little discovery in his heart and didn't mention it much.

After resting, the sweat stains on the clothes disappeared slightly. Chen Heng then stood up and led the two of them towards the street. Manager Zhao's office is located at the back of the middle of the street. It is a two-story private house, not far from Wanghuo Tower, and is extremely easy to find.

Chen Heng and the others were brought into the hall by the officers sent by the government. After waiting for a while, they heard the sound of people coming downstairs. Wearing a scholar's blue robe, Manager Zhao hurried over. When he saw Chen Heng, he smiled without saying a word, raised his hand and congratulated: We haven't seen him for a long time, but today I want to ask for a favor and call him brother Chen, the head of the case.

This was not the first time for both parties to meet, but it was the first time that Manager Zhao was so kind. Chen Heng was a little surprised.

But Chen Heng finally found out that Manager Zhao actually had the reputation of being a scholar. He quickly stood up and returned the courtesy: I just found out today that Brother Zhao is still a senior in the examination room. I am disrespectful and disrespectful. I hope that Senior Brother will not blame me for my usual rudeness.

Seeing Chen Heng's tone, he was also very polite and approachable. Manager Zhao, who was in his fifties, immediately raised his eyebrows. This was the effect he wanted.

Mr. Lin had sent someone to inform him before, and Manager Zhao knew that Chen Heng's coming this time had the shadow of the prefect behind him. I was also worried that the other party was here to accuse me of poor management on behalf of Shang Feng, so I changed my approach to build a relationship.

To be honest, the job of managing Qiupu Street is a fat one. Most of the people who come and go on weekdays are wealthy merchants, and the beauty of socializing and giving gifts is indispensable. Although Manager Zhao is not very greedy, he can't avoid taking small advantage occasionally. Naturally, he didn't want to lose such a good position.

Thanks to their shared reputation as scholars and the friendship they had with resettling refugees in the past. Manager Zhao enthusiastically chatted with Chen Heng. Before long, they had exchanged more intimate terms with each other.

These things may sound tacky, but if you want to accomplish something, you need to be humane and sophisticated. The county magistrate is not as good as the current manager, and Chen Heng also smiled and accepted Manager Zhao's kindness. With this background of so-called one of his own, when Chen Heng asked about the situation on Qiupu Street again, Manager Zhao, who was at ease, knew everything.

Generally speaking, Qiupu Street currently faces three difficulties. First, the situation is spreading, there is a lack of skilled technicians on hand, and the progress of finished products that can be put on the store is slow. Second, many business travelers from various places who came here to catch up with the fun stopped coming due to flooding and heavy rain. Third, the embroidery workers in Suzhou and Hangzhou have been famous for a long time. Although Yangzhou embroidery has made great achievements in its ancestors, picking it up now is like starting from scratch again.

With the good intentions of laymen, Manager Zhao has always asked his craftsmen to strive for excellence, just to surpass Su and Hangzhou in terms of quality, so as to open up the trade route in Yangzhou. After several attempts, the business on Qiupu Street became worse and worse.

Manager Zhao himself is also confused. His intentions and actions are obviously good, so why is there no improvement?

Chen Heng listened silently, knowing in his heart that Manager Zhao was telling the truth. Opening Qiupu Street is indeed a good move, but it will take at least half a year to train a group of skilled workers.

This is a pain that every manufacturing industry has to go through. If there are enough masters on hand to teach and guide people, it can still reduce some time. But the current situation on Qiupu Street is that an old embroiderer leads hundreds of refugees to work. With the addition of both inside and outside, it is naturally a bit difficult to improve the embroidery skills by leaps and bounds.

And this kind of cloth is put on the shelves while teaching. It is inevitable that the things that come out will be mixed, and they are inherently inferior to Suzhou and Hangzhou. Silk cloth also requires fine workmanship. If your goods are defective, the merchants who purchase the goods will naturally be dissatisfied. They will be even less willing to buy more after losing money once or twice.

So Brother Zhao is interested in making goldware?

Hearing Chen Heng's question, Manager Zhao nodded awkwardly. He was kind-hearted. Seeing that there was no way to go, he wanted to make a living for the workshop in hand. This thing is faster than raising silkworms and weaving cloth. Yangzhou people are rich and extravagant. There are many ready-made gold craftsmen in the city, and they can teach people quickly.

But this move, which was taken for granted, attracted secret resistance from the jewelers in the city, which was something that Manager Zhao did not expect. He once complained to Lin Ruhai and wanted the government to come forward and punish these businessmen.

It was rejected by Zhang Shangxian, the magistrate who was in charge at the time, and it was not for the purpose of seeking wealth or murder. There is no law against commercial competition in Dayong, so how can the government intervene. Don't forget that Qiupu Street is still half-government and half-people. If the jewelery dealers make a big fuss and stir up trouble, it will be very bad for the government.

After guessing what happened, Chen Heng immediately stood up and expressed that he wanted to go to the horse training workshop. Manager Zhao had a good conversation with Chen Heng and did not object. He personally took Chen Heng and walked from the trail to the square.

Although the stone monument of Pi Lian Fang stands at the intersection of the street, its real location is actually behind the shops along the street, and all the way to the mulberry forest can be attributed to the name of Pi Lian Fang. This place can be roughly divided into three areas, mainly focusing on silk weaving, dyeing, and embroidery. There are mostly small rooms separated here and there, and most of the hired workers are here.

When passing by the three major workshops, Chen Heng was taken around by Manager Zhao. But he didn't know that his appearance was discovered by his family. Zhou, Gu and others all worked in the first and second workshops, and Feng was also here with his maids Lushui and Yinglian.

Gu family and Feng family are neighbors, and they work not far away. When Manager Zhao led Chen Heng from a distance, Chen Xian immediately noticed the figure of her younger brother. She pulled Gu at her side in disbelief, Auntie, look, that person doesn't look like Heng. younger brother?

Mrs. Gu was chatting happily with Mrs. Feng, but when she heard Erya's words, she turned her head in confusion. Although there were many obstacles between her and Chen Heng. But even if her son only shows his back, she, as a mother, can tell it at a glance.

No, the clothes he is wearing are ones I bought this year. Mrs. Gu was also secretly surprised. They also knew Manager Zhao. Although he doesn't show up much on weekdays, he also knows that this person is the undisputed leader of the Pi Lian Workshop. Seeing him now, following his children, looking like he was leading the way with enthusiasm, made the family members even more confused.

Auntie, do you want to say hello to my brother? Chen Xian said excitedly, probably thinking that the opportunity was too coincidental. Her lively temperament is more similar to that of her second uncle Chen Huaijin.

Forget it, look at him like that, he's just busy. Gu waved her hands, not wanting to cause trouble to her child, When I get home for dinner at night, I'll find out what's going on if I ask.

Chen Heng didn't know that he had been recognized by his family, and he didn't expect that Gu and others would be present in the weaving room where Manager Zhao brought him. He just followed Manager Zhao attentively and took a clear look at every corner of the Piping Training Workshop.

Later, the two of them went to the dyeing room, silkworm room and other places. When he finally walked through the goldware room, Chen Heng, who had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, declined Manager Zhao's invitation to stay for dinner, and returned home with Xinda and Liu Xianglian.

The latter two followed him in a daze for a day. Fortunately, Xinda had always trusted his brother and said nothing on the way back. Only Liu Xianglian was a little confused. When they were eating together on the roadside, she asked a few questions about Chen Heng's thoughts.

Chen Heng asked himself that he was not a genius. Although he had scattered ideas in his mind, if he really wanted to put them into one place, he could not put them into words or write a book. He blocked Liu Xianglian's question by saying, We still need to consider it in the long term.

After eating with them, Chen Heng immediately turned back to the academy and went straight to the library in the courtyard. There are not many books in the courtyard, but there are still a lot of history books from the past dynasties. Chen Heng deliberately found the history books of the pre-Ming Dynasty, using the Jiajing Dynasty's Weaving Bureau as a fulcrum, to carefully look at the history of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The reason why we mainly choose historical materials from the Qing Dynasty is that the market data is more valuable for reference because the time is close. The second reason is that due to the Yongcheng-Ming system, there are many similarities in officialdom between the two.

On the way, Xue Biao and others also came to help. With several people working together, the filtering and summarization of messages becomes extremely fast. When Chen Heng came home at night, he already had a thick stack of information in his hand.

In the evening, Mrs. Gu and Chen Xian asked one after another about what happened during the day, but Chen Heng didn't answer. He just said that someone would come over to take a look, and took Xinda back to his room to do some work.

Everything in the world has lessons learned and traces to follow. It depends on the reader whether he discovers it carefully. Nowadays, Qiupu Street is faced with the problem of few business orders, slow production, and gaps in quality. Although Chen Heng has the business logic of later generations, the solutions he can think of must be based on the current reality.

If you really think that you can be invincible by relying on the knowledge of later generations, that is a big mistake, and it was Zhao Kuo's mistake.

The significance of studying historical data is also here, first understand the situation in each place. Only by combining their past and present life can we find the optimal solution. There is no outdated method, just see if it can match the drug.

It is impossible to go to Jiangsu and Hangzhou for on-the-spot investigation, but through a few words of historical materials, we can still get a glimpse of the leopard. People in this land are keen on writing history books, which may serve as lessons for future generations.

Chen Heng watched it at home for several days, and he found some clues. Objects such as silk and satin have had the property of currency since ancient times and are often used to exchange goods for goods. Since Jiajing, the national treasury has been in deficit one after another. In order to make up for the deficit, at the suggestion of Party Yan, the national policy of converting rice to mulberry was implemented in Jiangnan and other places.

At that time, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces had textile bureaus under the imperial court, which often did business with foreigners. During the Ming Dynasty, it was mentioned in high school history classes that the handicraft industry in the south of the Yangtze River developed rapidly and the germination of XXism emerged. This is roughly the stage it is talking about.

It was just that at that time, potatoes and other crops had not been grown on a large scale in the Qing Dynasty, and Qingliu and Yandang were constantly fighting with each other. There were also natural disasters during the Little Ice Age, and the combination of several factors led to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.

The man-made disasters involved are complex, including Jiajing's deliberate imperial intentions and the entanglement of multiple interest groups. Chen Heng looked through these layers of fog and found a place that could bring Qiupu Street back to life.

In more popular terms, the silk produced in Suzhou and Hangzhou was produced through special supply and foreign trade. The cloth they produced was either sold to foreigners to increase the revenue of the treasury, or was presented as tribute to nobles in the palace. The prices of things that can be distributed sporadically on the market are also high, and they are monopolized by big families.

A family like Jia's is almost like this. Some of the clothes in their homes were rewarded by the palace, and some were purchased by themselves. The best fabrics are used to tailor clothes for the master. The remaining fabrics were bought from outside and put together for the servants to wear.

From this point we can see that the cloth industry in Suzhou and Hangzhou is taking a high-end approach. Its price is so high and its quantity is so small that ordinary people in Jiangnan and other places cannot afford it. And people who want to buy it may not be able to buy it.

The model of a society is always a pyramid structure. Compared with the rich and powerful families and the most numerous people at the bottom, the needs of the people in the middle are obviously not taken seriously.

There are certainly clothes suitable for them, and no one is a fool who would leave good money without making any money. It's just that people here lack large-scale production capacity, which makes the market supply exceed demand.

Chen Heng was keenly aware of this business opportunity, and the emotions that had been building up in his heart for a long time were greatly lifted. He continued to dig deeper along this road and found that the reason for this situation was still related to the positioning of the weaving bureaus in Suzhou and Hangzhou.

The cloth craftsmanship of the Weaving Bureau is cumbersome, and the demand is exaggerated and scary. Just for qualified silk materials, there is a saying in the history books that only one piece of three pieces can be produced. Coupled with its cumbersome process, losses during production are naturally inevitable.

But can this step be omitted? If anyone dares to mention this, the officials of the Weaving Bureau will probably hit him on the head.

The essence of the Weaving Bureau is to first serve the royal family and nobles, make money for His Majesty's inner court, and finally increase revenue for the national treasury. The nobles in the palace and the foreigners who spend money all pay attention to the quality of things. Compared with these wealthy people, the officials of the Weaving Bureau inherently do not consider outsiders.

From the perspective of Dayong officials, except for Shangfeng and himself, the rest of the world are common people. The so-called gentry may have contacts in governing the common people. But asking officials to consider their needs is obviously impossible.

To serve one nobleman well, it is better to serve hundreds of gentry or thousands of common people. Which one is more conducive to their promotion? Officials have their own accounts in their minds and they know it very well. This has nothing to do with intelligence. This is a problem where the butt determines the head. It is also a common problem in ancient officialdom.

After thinking about this level, Chen Heng found the point to break the situation. His thinking logic is several versions ahead of the current people. We also know how much energy these so-called wealthy families can unleash.

Lin Ruhai may not be able to see Chen Heng's inner talent, but he also understands his junior's practical talent. Lin Ruhai was surprised and admired just the idea of ​​using the hands of refugees to promote consumption in the city.

Yangzhou's financial situation has been strong since last year's drought. In addition to Wei Yinghong's many years of governance and the generosity of salt merchants and others, Chen Heng's wonderful writing is also indispensable. Otherwise, Yangzhou's tax accounts would not be so eye-catching during the disaster months.

The night was long, and Chen Heng, who had relaxed his mind, used the small family home as a breakthrough point, revising his plan over and over again. For some things, seeing the cause is not enough, the solution must also start here.

The rise of an industry in one place will naturally affect the interests of other places. How to balance the relationship between China and China and avoid the disaster caused by Manager Zhao's goldware is a difficult problem that tests Chen Heng's thoughtfulness.

Continuing along this line of thinking and finding the fastest way to bring Qiupu Street back to life is the best strategy that can truly save the world and bring peace to the country.

A few days later, Chen Heng, who was finished, came to the government office to visit Uncle Lin with a book full of documents.

Brothers, come on with your monthly ticket. When it reaches one thousand, there will be an additional update. I originally wanted to write more, but I had a lot of things to do at work today, so I was delayed when I came back.