Succubus' Manor

The day the wheat wine was brewed was a rare good day when there was no rain in the rainy season. The alcohol content of the freshly brewed wheat wine was not high, and it was already over 20 degrees. He took a sip first, the old man never drank alcohol, so he smashed it now, and he didn't, but the old god still said: "It's delicious, not bad."

Chi Yan also drank a cup himself. The aroma of the wine was very strong, a bit like beer, but it didn't taste like pure beer. He had never drunk modern undistilled wheat wine, so he didn't know what the taste was. .

One-fifth of the wheat wine was kept, and the rest was distilled to make medical alcohol that can be sterilized.

Chi Yan doesn't know how much the distillation temperature should be, so he can only experiment first. Anyway, wheat wine can be brewed at any time, and it doesn't matter if this batch fails.

The remaining one-fifth, except for Chi Yan who took two jars to drink for himself, was shared by the servants.

Wine is a luxury, especially wine made from grain. Except for the big nobles, no one among the small nobles and ordinary people is so full that they turn their full stomachs into wine that will disappear after two sips.

So this wine is the best reward for those who have worked hard in the past two years.

And only once a year.

When the weather is good, people will also go to the woods to pick wild grapes. After the wild grapes are peeled and crushed, they are mixed with sugar residue and sealed to make jam, or to make wine. There is still a bitter taste in the mouth.

Spread the jam on the steamed buns, and the tasteless steamed buns instantly become sweet.

Now every household knows how to make old yeast noodles. It is probably because baking bread is too troublesome, not as easy as steaming steamed buns, and the taste and softness are similar, so fewer and fewer people eat bread.

Before winter, Josh and the others finally came back.

They came back with jars of coarse salt on the cart.

Josh probably also knew that it would be difficult to buy salt in the next few years, so he bought enough salt this time to last Chi Yan's small territory for several years.

As soon as he got off the carriage, Josh's tense spirit for the past few days relaxed, his legs softened, and he fell to his knees by the side of the road. Spit up.

——You don’t need to help it now, why help it up?Standing up to vomit.

Da He also wobbled down from the carriage, he didn't pay attention when he got off the carriage, and fell on his back.

The situation of the two leaders is so bad, let them go to see the lord with this virtue?The servant stood aside expressionlessly, thinking very seriously and calmly: Let's forget it.

The entourage they took away was not much better. Among these entourages, there were a few old guys who had been with Josh all the year round. Their faces were pale and their legs were shaking when they walked. I have lost a lot of weight, and I walk very "slender".

So the servant could only lead them to wash and rest, eat something, and sleep before going to see the lord.

Chi Yan knew that Josh and the others were back, so he was not in a hurry to see them. He just asked the servants to take good care of the people who went out this time. He went to look at the salt. The yellowish coarse salt was in the jar. Chi Yan tasted a little. Salty and bitter.

But Chi Yan didn't have any good way to purify.

The reason for the high price of salt is very simple, because it consumes a lot of manpower and the output is small. The only way to produce salt now is to boil it. At least Chi Yan has never heard of anyone drying salt.

It is impossible to purify it into modern refined salt without chemicals. It is a pity that Chi Yan can't even make glass for test tubes, let alone chemicals.

Josh brought back so much salt, it didn't take a brain to guess that they must have paid a lot this time.

"Let them have a good rest, ask them what they want to eat, and give them whatever they have in the territory." Chi Yan said to Kadi.

Now Josh and the others are "heroes", and Chi Yan can't give it to the others, so it's okay to eat and drink to satisfy them.

Josh vomited cleanly, and was taken to rest in the castle room. The servant brought him warm water to rinse his mouth and face, and asked him if he wanted to take a bath. Change, wet with sweat, dry and wet again, has formed a pungent rancid smell.

It's just that Josh didn't realize it. He waved his hand: "I'm out of strength. I'll eat something first."

The servant asked respectfully, "What would you like to eat?"

After half a year of eating and sleeping in the open air, I haven’t had a few birthdays, and I’m not in the mood to eat well. Now that everything has settled, he’s back safely, and he’s brought back salt. I want wild vegetable soup and bread, do you have meat?"

The servant lowered his head and said, "Yes, and wheat wine."

Josh grinned: "I want wine too."

So after Josh barely washed his hands and face, the table was full of dishes and a small can of wine.

The Katuo cake only needs to be heated up, the bread is ready-made, and the wild vegetable soup only needs to be boiled, put wild vegetables, add some salt and spices, and it will be out of the pan. eat.

Such a table meal, if modern people see it, they probably feel that it is not much different from what savages eat.

But in Josh's opinion, it was already a very hearty meal. It is estimated that the king did not eat as well as he did. After all, the king ate rotten meat with spices to cover up the rotten smell.

Josh took a sip of the wine first. The wheat wine seemed to have the aroma of the remaining grain. Josh smelled the wine, and with the wine in his mouth, his comfortable sky was numb. The pain is not in vain.

This time they went out and took a few detours. He used to buy salt from others, but when he went to look for it this time, all the "old friends" disappeared. I don't know if they ran away, ran away, or died. .

After trying in vain several times and wasting two or three months, Josh took advantage of the many people around him and went to a place where salt was produced.

That piece of land doesn’t grow flowers or grass, and you can see yellow-white crystals when you dig the soil. This is also salt, but people in the local village will add this salt to water and boil it again. Only when it is boiled can it be real. Use as salt.

What Josh didn’t expect was that he thought salt would be expensive, but he didn’t expect it to be cheaper than before.

The people in the village told him that since the chaos outside, the merchants who originally came once a month hadn't come for a long time, and they didn't want money, but food.

Originally, the salt they boiled every year, except for the big head to the local lord, the other small heads can be exchanged for food and daily necessities, which can be regarded as the reward given to them by the lord. Empty control them, so a lot of salt is stored, but it can't be used.

So Josh traded the food that he could only bring back half of the salt in exchange for so much now.

It can be regarded as unlucky all the way, and finally turned around and had some good luck.

Josh exhaled a long breath, quickly cleaned up a table of dishes, walked around the castle, and after eating, he went to the bathroom to take a bath, changed into new clothes, washed off all the dust from the journey, and had a good sleep I think I can recover my spirits tomorrow.

Pots of salt were put into storerooms, and men came early the next morning with sugar and sackcloth to exchange the salt.

Chi Yan felt that this was inconvenient, but it was even more inconvenient to make money. He planned to make "food stamps" like the canteens of elementary schools as a substitute for money. Anyway, they could only be used in the territory, so he didn't worry about someone's cost, and these "food stamps" "Money" He is going to write it himself. There are three kinds of numbers, one is the number symbols like Roman numerals that are commonly used now, one is Arabic numerals, and the other is uppercase Chinese.

Even if there are really people in the territory who don't have the brains to counterfeit, the authenticity of the three fonts can be clearly seen at a glance.

Moreover, Chi Yan felt that there was probably no one in his territory who could make such a fake, and there were only a few people in his territory who could write.

So Chi Yan asked the paper mill to produce thicker paper, and shut himself in the room to write "food stamps". The largest number is a Roman symbol, the upper left corner is Arabic numerals, and the upper right corner is Chinese capital letters. Chi Yan wrote quickly, But I don't want to write too sloppy, lest I may not be able to recognize whether I wrote it by myself.

When wages are paid at the end of each month, people can use "food stamps" to exchange for what they want, such as sugar and salt.

The soy sauce is also ready, and it is estimated that it will be ready for use next month.

There are quite a few things that people can buy with "food stamps".

In addition to the basic salary, there are performance bonuses - the more you accomplish, the more you earn.

Chi Yan doesn't have many gold and silver coins himself, but copper coins can be made by himself, just by engraving a mold. After all, the money made by the royal family does not use the same mold. There is a lot of copper, and some are mixed with less copper. Even the royal family can't recognize the difference between the fake copper coins and the official copper coins.

But now it is so chaotic, money is useless, people only believe in food, not money.

A little piece of black bread can buy a life.

"What is this?" Kleist pointed to the Arabic numerals in the upper left corner.

Chi Yan didn't raise his head when he wrote, his hand already had his own memory, and he wouldn't write problems even if he did two things at once.

"Numbers are the same as what we usually use, but it's more convenient to write." Chi Yan wrote all the numbers on a piece of paper by the way, and the following correspond to the characters they are using now, and let Kleist learn by himself.

Kleist is not surprised by Chinese capitalization, because he thinks it is Chi Yan's "self-created character", like a totem, and only Chi Yan can understand it.

After writing the "food stamp", you have to set prices for salt, sugar and other things. The most expensive is the quilt, then cotton cloth, salt, sugar and linen next. As for grain, there are other prices, which are not expensive. , much cheaper than linen, only lotus root is the most expensive crop.

Kleist watched Chi Yan write Chinese, and felt that Chi Yan's brain seemed to be born with such a complicated totem, each of which was different when he looked closely. pronunciation.

Chi Yan noticed that Kleist was staring at the paper in front of him instead of looking at the Arabic numerals. He raised his hand: "Do you want to try?"

Kleist did not refuse. After Chi Yan stood up, he sat at the desk and "copied" a food stamp written by Chi Yan.

Chi Yan: "..."

Every stroke is no different from what Chi Yan wrote himself, and Chi Yan also realized from this print - why did he write by hand?He can print with movable type!And you only need to engrave numbers and symbols instead of printing books, which is much more convenient than handwriting!

Another fool.

Chi Yan stood behind Kleist and watched Kleist copy his words, feeling very novel.

Although he knew that someone could imitate other people's handwriting, he never thought that the master was by his side.

Even the uppercase Chinese numbers are exactly the same as those written by Chi Yan, and there is no awkwardness at all.

If Chi Yan hadn't been lazy and impatient to be a teacher, Kleist might have been able to learn Chinese very quickly.

After a whole day of copying, Kleist learned two counting and writing methods. He felt that the "characters" made by Chi Yan himself had many strokes. See the truth.

"Very good." Kleist was so generous in his praise, he reached out and rubbed Chi Yan's hair, "This time I thought very carefully."

Chi Yan waved Kleist's hand away, and muttered in a low voice, "A man's head and a woman's waist are not to be touched casually!"

Kleist didn't know why, he hung his hands in the air, looked at Chi Yan intently, and wondered, "Why?"

Chi Yan: "..."

This is a common saying, you ask me, who do I ask?

So Chi Yan coughed twice, and changed the subject: "This... paper money, let's implement it from the end of this month."

With banknotes, Chi Yan doesn't need to give them food or sugar or cloth when they are paid, and then exchange them for their necessities. This kind of operation is very troublesome, everyone's needs are different, and it is inconvenient to exchange.

With this kind of temporary banknotes, you can go to the "market" to buy what you need with the banknotes.

There is no need for Chi Yan to trouble, nor for the people in the territory, everyone is happy.

Every time the "salary" is paid at the end of the month, everyone in the territory is the happiest time. Although they don't enjoy luxury, the more things they hoard, the more secure they feel.

Only this time, when they were waiting to get their "salary" after get off work, the servants did not bring a lot of things as usual.

This time there was only one servant.

There was silence in the spinning room. People looked at each other, but they didn't understand what was going on.

This time, the person who came to pay them "wages" was Kadi. There were not many servants in the castle who could recognize numbers, and Kadi was one of them. In addition to teaching his colleagues, he also had to teach these "workers".

After taking a class, they can finally tell the denomination of the banknotes in their hands, but compared to the real ones, the fluffy banknotes always make them very worried-this thing can't be easily lost, can't touch water, and can't touch fire .

Knowing their worries, Kadi said incomprehensibly, "Then you all go to the supermarket and buy everything you want."

A group of people looked at Cardi in confusion: "What is a supermarket?"

Cardi had to try his best to explain what a supermarket is.

Then Cardi led the group to the supermarket, and when he went, he said: "Only take what you want to buy, if someone secretly hides things out..."

Cardi turned his head and smiled: "If you find out once, you will be kicked out of the territory. If you think you can live well without leaving here, then you can give it a try."

The person behind Kadi swallowed, this punishment is even more terrible than closing a small black room.

Bernie was also in the crowd, and he held the papers tightly, lest the fluffy papers be blown away by the wind.

They walked into the supermarket under the leadership of Kadi - this house was originally built as a staff dormitory, but because there were enough houses for living, it was transformed into a supermarket with wooden shelves inside. Made by the dwarves, they are neatly placed on both sides, and each floor has different things.

And there are partitions, there are supplies area, this area is full of daily necessities.

There is also the food area, because there are no seasonings now, so salt and soy sauce are also in this area.

Then there is the fabric area, linen and cotton are available, and different qualities have different prices.

Although there are not many things, for the "bumpkins", it is like entering a new world, it can be called a dazzling array, and it is so clean!

It’s not that there are no bazaars in the city, but most of them are ugly and dirty. The ground is full of feces and sewage. Pedestrians come and go, stepping on it is a pit, splashing filth all over their bodies. In their impression, the bazaar , is a place that is dirty and smelly but has to go - other places may not be cleaner than the market.

They tied their hands and feet and stood where they were, not knowing what to do.

Cardi can only demonstrate it to them first.

He stood in front of the shelf and took a small pot of salt from it: "Pick out what you want, and then go to the counter."

He handed over the money for the jar of salt to Jeff, who managed the supermarket, and said, "You can take the jar directly, or you can take it back for money."

After the demonstration, Cardi asked them to get what they needed.

Bernie is with Renee, they both have a jar of salt, and Bernie asks Renee, "Anything else you want?"

Renee: "There is bread, I'll get two pieces, do you want it?"

Bernie nodded. They didn't have the habit of baking bread, so they took food to the kitchen in the castle to exchange.

Originally they only wanted to take a jar of salt, but the salt seemed to be just the beginning. After Bernie took the salt and bread, he remembered that the sugar at home had also been eaten, so he went to get another jar of sugar, because they ate in the cafeteria, so they didn’t Don't worry about running out of money and having nothing to eat.

When I finally went to the counter to pay, the banknotes I just got shrank by more than half.

Because Bernie also bought a bolt of cotton cloth, he was going to find a friend to make a new suit for the tooth. Although the tooth looked rough and thick, he occasionally complained to Bernie that the linen cloth was uncomfortable to wear.

This piece of cloth was the most expensive, and he chose the one with the highest price, because the weaving was fine and dense, and it felt particularly good.

Although there were fewer banknotes, Bernie's heart was back in his stomach.

Compared with the light "paper money", he still prefers real objects. As for copper coins-he didn't use copper coins much before he became a slave. Use copper coins.

Only big merchants and nobles used silver and gold coins. Ordinary people like them who were not rich may have never seen silver coins or gold coins in their entire lives.

Bernie and Renee went home with their shopping.

Not long after they left, a servant brought a new group of people to the supermarket.

This is a very novel thing. When people gather to chat at night, they can't avoid "paper money" and "supermarket".

But they don't call "supermarket" a "supermarket", but a bazaar.

Although it is not open-air, and although it is not that big, they accept the word bazaar more, and they are more familiar with it.

"It's much better than the market in the city!" The elderly civilian sat at the door, blowing the evening breeze, holding a piece of candy in his hand, licking it while talking, and throwing it into his mouth to chew when there was only a little bit left.

Others were also sitting next to each other, and each of them had to express their opinions.

"It's much cleaner than the bazaar! I can't think of a day when I think the city's bazaar is dirty."

After all, it used to be pretty much the same everywhere in the city, and they were used to the dirtiness of the market, so they didn't think it was dirty.

"Such a light and flimsy thing can actually replace copper coins!" A commoner was very worried, "I have to hold it in the palm of my hand so that I don't think it will fall."

Abel squatted aside, also looking at the "money" in his hand, he sighed.

The person next to him asked, "Abel, why are you sighing?"

Abel shook his head quickly: "Nothing."

It's just that Burt never came back, and he was very worried whether his brother would encounter any danger outside.

Abel felt that the changes in the territory were too great. They even had their own market, and those who worked for the lord were paid a fixed "salary" every month.

Abel farms the land by himself, and after their family pays the rent, some of the leftover grain can be given away to exchange for daily necessities.

The servants told them that they could choose to trade privately with others, or they could sell the food to the lord.

Abel and the others sold it to the lord without even thinking about it, and then got these "notes".

They no longer have to exchange food with others.

There are no strict measuring instruments. Sometimes what can be exchanged for a medium-sized card tuo can only be exchanged for a large one next time. However, the castle collects grain with a uniform measuring tool, and there is no error.

After all, this is the only set of measuring instruments in the territory, and if everyone uses this set, there will be no errors.

Chi Yan felt that the Holy Academy and the royal family had been busy for so many years and hadn't come up with a unified weight and measure, so he should slap himself twice and reflect on it.

The business of the supermarket is very good every day, and Jeff, who manages the supermarket, is also very busy. The reason why he got this job is because he is one of the few people in the castle who can calculate numbers, that is, addition and subtraction are no problem. , but once the number is too large, he can't do it, and he has to think for a long time to figure it out.

It was also after this incident that Chi Yan discovered that besides being illiterate and illiterate, most people were able to add, subtract, multiply, and subtract before meeting. Of course, most people could still add and subtract within ten, but if it exceeded ten, it would be impossible. No, it’s either that it can’t be calculated or it’s a wrong calculation.

It would be a waste of effort to choose a Jeff.

In order to make it easy for people to calculate, the prices of commodities are all integers.

It seems that the literacy project ... has a long way to go.

The author has something to say: This banknote is like a school meal ticket, it can only be used in a small area, and it is impossible to promote it as money, because the counterfeiting requirements are too low, and counterfeit copper coins must have real copper, which is too difficult to prevent counterfeiting. High, and if paper is not allowed to be used by people, it is meaningless to make paper.

It is said that the Yuan Dynasty promoted paper money the most (you should have an impression after seeing the little angels in the early Ming Dynasty). Paper money (that is, silver notes, Jiaozi) was the official "money" in the Yuan Dynasty, and the anti-counterfeiting was not bad. The only problem is that the economy declined in the late Yuan Dynasty, and paper money became one of the driving forces of inflation.