North and South groceries

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Qiao Junlin in Chang'an City received two pairs of boots from Luo Yong, one for Qiao Junlin and the other for Du Xi.

Many people in Chang'an have heard about these rubber-soled leather boots now. Firstly, the emperor's action this time is really big, and those well-informed gentry can know the reason behind it just by inquiring about it.

Secondly, General Youwuhou wandered around wearing his pair of leather boots all day long, and it was hard for everyone not to see them, and those ministers and officials in the same department as him even watched them every day. It's been a long time, but I haven't seen him change his shoes once.

"It's said that you can't buy these boots even if you want to buy them now." Hou Lin held his nephew's pair of boots, looking at them so much that he couldn't put them down.

Luo Sanlang from Xipo Village is also a weird guy. I heard that many people have traveled thousands of miles to buy boots from him recently, but he didn’t buy them. He said that he wanted to make a pair for each of his disciples first, which won many people’s hearts. He was dissatisfied, and there were more rumors about him in Chang'an City a few days ago.

However, this situation did not last long this time. It is said that there were a few low-mouthed people who made random arrangements to make fun of Luo Sanlang in the wine shop on the street, but they were taught a lesson by Zheng Shilang who happened to pass by, and in front of the people on the street In front of his face, those boys were ashamed.

That Zheng Shilang was born in the Zheng family of Xingyang, and the Zheng family of Xingyang is the best among the gentry at present, and that Zheng Shilang also has a lot of status in the clan. Who would have expected that he would stand up to help Luo this time? Saburo spoke.

Originally, among these gentry, not everyone hated and hated Luo Sanlang, and there were quite a few people who liked him or even admired him, but some of the things Luo Yong did hurt the interests of the entire gentry group after all. , so when someone stood up to oppose and boycott him, other people naturally didn't have much opinion.

The reason why Zheng Shilang stood up this time was probably because the words and deeds of those young people were really downgraded, seriously disgraced the entire gentry group, and made it impossible for those who originally wanted to bear it for a while.

Then after Zheng Shilang, many people stood up to speak for Luo Yong one after another, and many of them were famous and prestigious.

Since Tang Jian brought back the vertical calculation method from Lishi County some time ago, the reputation of Luo Sanlang in Chang'an City is somewhat different from the past.

The reason is actually very simple. Last time, Luo used papermaking to turn the papermaking technology that was originally unique to the aristocratic family into a popular commodity. Of course, the gentry were very unhappy.

This time, Luo Yong came up with this vertical calculation method, which turned the secret method that was originally not passed on by the Hu merchants into a popular commodity. These noble people also gained knowledge, and it brought a lot of convenience to their lives.

Especially in terms of the property of each family and government. In the past, only a few professional accountants could understand the accounts. Everyone knows how to count the accounts, and it is not as easy to be fooled as before. It is naturally more difficult to make a fuss about the accounts than in the past.

First there is the method of burning soil and dung, and then there is this vertical calculation method. In this severe winter, every household is still using the kang that was passed down from Xipo Village.

Just like this, you still have the nerve to talk about Luo Sanlang on the street without shame, no wonder Zheng Shilang couldn't listen anymore.

"You are lucky to have such a good friend." Hou Lin said with emotion, and stretched out his hand to hand the pair of boots back to his nephew.

"..." Qiao Junlin took the boots handed over by his uncle, held them in his hands, and stared at them. For a moment, he didn't know what it was like.

Can he and Luo Yongying be considered friends?

In the earliest days, the reason why I went to his house was because of the skill of making tofu. The stepmother at home couldn't tolerate him, and he had always regarded him as the father he relied on, and he didn't value himself as much as he expected.

At that time, he was sent to the countryside by his family, and he felt as if he was kicked out of that home by them. He didn't know what to do in the future, so he wanted to learn the craft of making tofu so that he would not starve to death in the future. Not long after, there was the matter of Azhi again...

Luo Yong saw all of his distressed looks, his insignificance and his powerlessness, everything that Qiao Junlin tried to hide and overcome now, Luo Yong once saw clearly.

This is not what he wants. When we meet again in the future, Qiao Junlin hopes that he has become a better person. He hopes that he can stand in front of Luo Yong with a mature and confident image, and let him know that he will be a better person again. It's not the messy kid from before.

"I'll go to the Du Mansion." Qiao Junlin said to his uncle.

"Go, come back earlier." Hou Lin waved his hand.In his opinion, his nephew is really lucky, he can help you, and he can make friends with people like Du Shiwu. He is also a diligent student, and his future achievements must be higher than that of his uncle. It is also unknown to stand out.

Qiao Junlin took Du Xi's boots and went out. On both sides of the street outside, he saw many farmers selling cashmere with baskets.

Since the beginning of winter this year, there have been many people killing sheep inside and outside Chang'an City, mainly for the cashmere that has just grown on the goats, which caused the price of mutton to drop a lot during that time, Ah Zhi I bought it several times, and Qiao Junlin also ate a lot.

Recently, those who sell wool in the city are mostly farmers outside the city. They kill the sheep themselves, scrape off the wool, and then sort the wool and cashmere. The wool is sold to others to make cushions. The price of cashmere is much higher, and many merchants and wealthy households are willing to buy it.

Ordinary wealthy families would collect some cashmere if they looked at the cheap cashmere. When they had saved enough, they could exchange cashmere sweaters and trousers with those merchants from Xipo Village. , they had to exchange three catties of cashmere.

At this time, in a small workshop in the south of the city.

"Hey, your kid's hands and feet are pretty fast, and you can pick them up cleanly. That's enough, go and get two biscuits." A tall and fierce young man carefully inspected the goods delivered by the kid on the opposite side. This job was done better than most people, so he boasted.

"Hey." The skinny, monkey-like kid opposite him responded, and went to make cakes in no time.

Looking around, there are still many people in their workshop, most of them are half-grown children, and there are a few women.

There are quite a few workshops like this in Chang'an City now. In the workshops where the common people live, almost every workshop has them. They help people sort wool. People and children come to work, and then earn some price difference from the middle.

Most of these workshops are also paid according to the amount of work done by the individual, but they refuse to ask people to take it home to do it, for fear of being ignorant of the cashmere.

Especially in their workshop, it is even more forbidden to ask people to take things home.The owner of this workshop was originally a local hooligan. He has improved a little over the years. At least he has mixed himself up as a protection fee collector. It is not the kind of coercion and extortion. Find them out.

Most of the children in the workshop at the moment had dirty hands and feet and were caught by him. To put it bluntly, they were all thieves in the past.

Usually the workshop owner catches the thief. If the opponent is an adult with hands and feet, he will definitely beat him to death. If this kind of person is not scared, the block they cover will not stop.

But if you are holding children, sometimes there is really nothing you can do, unless you can be ruthless and kill these children, otherwise there is no rule of law for this matter, they have nothing to eat, what do you think? .

So the owner of the workshop used to be annoyed by these children who stole things the most. He caught them and threw them out, and then he had to run back after a few days.

It was also because of his soft heart, he gave it once or twice, but there was no way, who told him to come here when he was a child.Fortunately, the little beggars and thieves in Chang'an City all know him now, and take him for nothing.

Seeing that he was going to have nowhere to go, he was so annoyed by these children that he was so poor that he would use it as pants, but he had a flash of inspiration, but he came up with such a way to get a helper In the wool-picking workshop, all these children are asked to work, and those who do not work and want to earn a living are all thrown out.

Although he has been on the streets since he was a child, he is very righteous and trustworthy. Over the years, he has made many friends. It is not too difficult to get some wool picking business.

"Xing Er, have I finished picking all my wool?" At this time, a merchant with a round belly and fur wrapped around his body came to pick up the goods.

"No, didn't you say that you will have it the day after tomorrow?" Xing Er held a bamboo stick in his mouth, and he was writing something crookedly on a small blackboard. If you look carefully, you can still recognize it. What he wrote is all some Arabic numerals.

"A friend brought back a batch of goods from Shizhou. I told him to keep it for me first. I have to send the cashmere to him before dinner, otherwise he will have to exchange it for someone else." The fat man said in a hurry.

"Boys, did you hear that? Get this batch out before dinner, and I'll ask Fat Qiyi to buy you a mutton pancake." Xing Er's words immediately caused the group of brats to groan.

"I'm going to call my younger sister to help." There was a ghost who wanted to bring his family to eat together.

"Okay, your sister is only four years old, what can I do to help, don't let me think about it, hurry up and work." These brats are too greedy, there are only so many people in the workshop at this moment, one person A mutton pancake is enough for Fat Seven to feel distressed for a long time. If it wasn't for his urgent demand for goods at the moment, it would be strange to make him bleed.

It’s really cold in winter, and the conditions of this workshop are very simple. Xing Er didn’t have much savings at first. Now, for the sake of lighting, he simply gave up the earthen house that was sealed on all sides, and built it on the open space behind his house. I built a grass shed with air leakage on all sides, and the little boys worked in the shed.

These little brats have big noses and stinging stings, and the movements of their hands are not slow. There are also a few other women, most of whom are poor neighbors in the nearby area. His movements couldn't help but speed up a bit...

Although Chang'an City is prosperous, there are also many poor people living there.

As for the mutton biscuits that look very ordinary on the street, not every household can afford them. Many children from poor families look forward to them day and night, but they still can't look forward to a delicious hot biscuit.