North and South groceries

Around the end of the new year, fewer and fewer people came to Changle County to sell sheep, and the canning workshops and bacon workshops in the city also became idle. For a while, these two workshops dismissed many employees.

After working these days, each of these people has earned some money. In addition, it is difficult to find any jobs in the city, so many people have gone home one after another. Earn some money, spend time with your family, and live a more relaxed and comfortable life.

There are also those who refuse to go back. They either carry goods on the platform with others, or go to the cement workshop. I heard that Luo County Magistrate will use a lot of cement to build canals in their Changle County, so this cement workshop needs manpower all year round. .

If you talk about being porters with those caravans, few people are willing to go in the area around Changle County nowadays. Not to mention the difficulties of going out, it is also relatively dangerous. In the past, some people went out to be porters with others, but they didn’t Those who can come back, whether they are dead or alive, and where they are, in the end depends on what other people say, and they will never be found anyway.

"Although our Changle County is a small border town with a remote village, porters are a little more expensive in our place than in other places." Some local people will also feel a little proud of this.

"It's a lot more expensive, even more expensive than Jinchang."

"It's more expensive than Dunhuang."

"That can't be it?"

"Why not, there are many porters in Dunhuang, and many families rely on porters for their livelihood."

"I heard that some people went outside the customs with others. Aye did not come back after he went out. The family, wife and children lost their support, and it was easy to drag the dolls down. When they grow up, they will become porters..."

"I heard that there are also rich people."

"How many can there be?"

"..."

For the people of this era, survival is not easy at all, and they have seen too much of those bleak situations. These years are better after all, after all, they don't fight much.

These people outside can sit and chat as much as they want. Everyone in the government is under a lot of pressure at this time. This year, the county has produced so many canned mutton. How to sell them in time? In the eyes of some officials, it is almost impossible do.

How much canned mutton did the canning workshop produce this year?When the city wall was expanded last time, the wasteland that came in many circles, now except for a few workshops and a small piece of low-rent housing, the rest are all warehouses, and all the warehouses are filled with canned mutton and bacon.

The scale of those warehouses is huge, and I am not surprised when I go in for the first time, but I still can’t put it down. I heard that in the Changle County Government, even the prison is cleaned by the soldiers, and the cans are carried in. Cans wish they could be stacked up to the roof, let alone those warehouses.

Luo Yong has been thinking about this problem all day recently, and Luo Erniang saw that he had to worry about it again, so she couldn't help saying a few words.

"You do know that Si Niang should not treat the county magistrate too well from the beginning, why did she forget about it when it came to her?"

Having said that, she didn't know in her heart that being the county magistrate and being the head of the county are two different things. Luo Yong became the head of the county and shouldered the responsibility on his shoulders. He is clever, but he never knows how to cherish strength.

Luo Erniang has been doing business with people over the years, and has met many people of all kinds. However, it is precisely because she has met so many people that she feels that her brother's character is even more rare.These complaints are nothing more than words and distress.

At the beginning, this large amount of eucommia gum was shipped to Changle County. If it was sold directly, the local market is limited. If it wants to go out of the customs, it may encounter some problems. Two years is not as severe as before, but it is still a little sensitive.

Coupled with the low price of local mutton in Changle County and the low cost of labor, Luo Yong naturally thought of making canned mutton. This will not only bring profits in a high probability, but also provide many jobs. Alleviate the difficulty of selling mutton for surrounding herdsmen.

All in all, Luo Yong just chose a path that is relatively more beneficial to everyone.

If it is said that he already has a well-thought-out plan for the sale of this batch of canned mutton, that is not the case. Even if he has been a human being for two lifetimes, he is still just an ordinary person after all.

"At this moment, everyone is not short of oil and water. Wait until three or two months later, when the price of mutton is high, and people will mostly eat vegetables, grains, and dried meat. At that time, these canned food will be sold."

The location of Changle County is really not good. From the east to Liangzhou and other places, and to the west to the countries of the Western Regions, within a radius of several thousand miles, mutton is not a rare commodity.

"In my opinion, I can't make much money." Erniang was not very optimistic about their canned mutton business.

"Earning less is earning." Luo Yong does not regret his decision to make canned mutton. After all, before the government earns money, he hopes that the local people can earn some money, and every household can save some money. In this way, It is not because of some natural and man-made disasters that many people will die easily.

"It's just, when will the canal be repaired?" Er Niang sighed.

"Take it easy, anyway, I don't want to go back to Chang'an City any time soon." Luo Yong smiled and said helplessly.

Last time, because of the matter of King Gong Li Boyi, the relatives of the emperor in Chang'an City were very resistant to him. Even if the emperor wanted to call him back, he would probably have to wait until the influence of this incident gradually faded.

People in this era have a strong sense of clan, even the Ninth Five-Year Lord, it is impossible not to worry about the feelings of their own family members.

Luo spent the past few days thinking about it, and finally he was a little bit open. If the canned mutton is sold this year, if there is not enough money to repair the canals, then they will work for another year next year. If they can’t make enough money next year, then Continue to do it next year.

"It's good if you can think like this." Hearing what he said, Erniang was relieved, she was afraid that Luo Yong would think too much and hurt his body.

"I heard that some Yiwu people came to your cashmere workshop to look at the goods yesterday?" Luo Yong asked her.

"I just looked at it." Erniang said indifferently.

"Didn't buy it?" Luo Yong asked.

"After picking for half a day, I only bought a few pieces." Erniang shook her head.

"After all, someone will buy it." Luo Yong said with a smile.

In the places in the west and north of Changle County, most of the local people’s clothing is felt and linen. Felt cloth is made of wool, which is easier to obtain than linen, and the price is also lower. Wool products are not very interesting and the market is limited.

However, the cashmere sweaters produced by Luo Erniang's cashmere workshop are exquisite after all, and the colors are also very rich. Over the past few years, there have been more and more styles, and some Hu people outside the pass are also more fond of them.

"After the beginning of spring, I will transport a batch of goods to Liangzhou." After a while, Erniang said again.

"Is the warehouse over there out of stock?" Luo Yong asked her.

"Soon." Er Niang said: "I heard that Liangzhou City has become more lively and prosperous in the past two years than before. Hu merchants from all over the country and Central Plains merchants exchanged and gathered to buy and sell goods there, especially in the past two years. There are a lot of people from the Central Plains, but many of them buy properties in the Liangzhou area, not Yanzhi Mountain."

At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established four counties in Hexi, from east to west, namely Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang. Wuwei County was the area around Liangzhou at the beginning of Tang Dynasty. Liangzhou used to be Ganzhou, and the state capital of Ganzhou was then It's Zhangye.

Between Liangzhou and Ganzhou, there is a Yanzhi Mountain. Before the Sui Dynasty, most Hu merchants were reluctant to pass through Yanzhi Mountain. At that time, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty hosted a banquet for envoys and merchants from various countries in the Western Regions in Yanzhi Mountain. Xu and many benefits gradually led these Hu merchants to the Central Plains.

The weather on Yanzhi Mountain was harsh and changeable. When Emperor Sui Yang passed through Yanzhi Mountain that year, he encountered snow in Biandukou in June. Most of the soldiers and entourage were frozen to death, even Emperor Sui Yang’s sister was frozen. die there.

Nowadays, because of the convenience of the two cement roads, the prosperity of the cashmere trade, and the white daisy flowers on the west side of the river, many merchants and wealthy households from the Central Plains have come to the west of the river one after another. The bustling scene, but in the west of Yanzhi Mountain, it is much deserted.

"I heard that the concrete road of Longyou Road is about to pass?" Luo Yong said.When he chatted with some merchants from the east these days, those people said that the cement road in Hexi was about to pass, and now there were only a few sections of the road that had not yet been paved.

"It's coming soon." Er Niang also said, "It should be repaired by the beginning of spring."

The Hexi Corridor is less populated than the Central Plains. Walking on the post roads, there are often large expanses of wilderness as far as the eye can see.

With few manpower and resources, harsh natural conditions, and untimely supply of money and silk from the imperial court, one can imagine how difficult it was for Ding Chaoyi to pave this road.

"Finally, it's almost finished." Luo Yong also breathed a sigh of relief for him.

"That's not true." Er Niang also expressed emotion.

"Have you decided on a date for your trip?"

"About around Qingming."

Erniang and the others are still cooperating with the Zhao family when transporting goods this time. The Zhao family has a business in Dunhuang, and they often have goods exchanges.

The porters needed for this shipment were recruited by the Zhao family from Dunhuang. They first transported a batch of cashmere products from Changle County to Liangzhou City, and then shipped a batch of goods from the Zhao family company from Liangzhou City. Back to Dunhuang.

In this way, the Zhao family not only transported their own goods, but also earned a freight fee from Luo Erniang. As for the money earned by their family selling goods in Dunhuang, most of them bought properties there, and a few Change it into gold and silver, and bring it back to Liangzhou to maintain the business.

"How do you calculate the foot money?" Luo Yong asked again.

"Thirty percent of the goods." Erniang replied.