Red Mansions: My Book is Cool

Lin Qing's uncle was named Li Jingxing, and he had served as a state official in Xuzhou for nearly eight years.He was also a Jinshi, but he was only ranked in the top three, and his official career was worse than that of his fellow students in the top two.But his advantage lies in his transparency in world affairs, his ability to deal with political affairs, and his official reputation.Seeing that the next year is the day when the Ministry of Officials will make a big review every three years, I also wonder where I can make some more political achievements, so as to improve myself to a higher level.He, the prefect of Xuzhou, started from the fourth rank. If he can be promoted to the Taoist platform of the fourth rank, it will be a dividing line.The fourth grade can be called a high-ranking official, and when he becomes a Taoist, he will have the hope of seeking the position of chief secretary in the future.His children and grandchildren have ordinary talents, but fortunately they keep a low profile and are obedient. He always has to think more about them, so that when he retires from office in the future, he will be able to live a good life.

Today, he also received the good news from Lin Mingan, and he was also very happy in his heart.Although An Ge'er is not the biological son of his nephew, over the years, he has carefully observed that his nephew treats An Ge'er as his own, and is proud of him. An Ge'er is also filial and close to his nephew.That's enough, he and his son aren't that warm yet, hey, unfilial son!

He is very optimistic about Brother An, this kid is better than his nephew!At that time, he strongly invited his nephew to Xuzhou, and when he came, he really wanted to make him a petty official and find a family background; at the same time, he also had his own selfish intentions. He was in Sichuan, and his son was not expected to be an official and studied, and ran the family business It's okay, he urgently needs a trustworthy person to help, and his nephew is practical and capable, so he can only try to ask, who knows that the nephew really dragged his family here, it was a surprise.

Over the years, his nephew has not let him down. Whether it is doing things or being a person, he has been well received by others.It was pretty good, but it was only good, but it was An Geer who really made his eyes shine and felt that he had dug a treasure.Xiao He has just shown his sharp corners, and his sharp eyes can see that this is an extraordinary talent!Maybe, the Lin family will be reborn because of him in the future, and even the Li family will have a great future with his help.Although this is just his intuition, his intuition has always been very accurate.

Seeing his nephew and grandson Junshan coming in together, Li Jingxing said with a smile: "Qingxi, you are not at home to entertain guests today, why did you come here when you have time, where is Brother An?"

"Uncle, classmate An Geer came to congratulate him, he can't go away, Mrs. Chen is entertaining guests at home. I'm here because I have something to discuss with uncle." Lin Qing told him about Anger's proposal. Tell Li Jingxing ten times.

Li Jingxing listened intently, thought for a while, and said to Lin Qing: "Qingxi, I think Brother An's words are reasonable, but it's hard for him to think so thoroughly at his age." As he spoke, he sneakily stared Li Junshan on the side glanced at him. Li Junshan looked at his grandfather's eyes that hated iron and steel, and quickly lowered his head, secretly calling it unlucky. He was obviously accompanying his cousin to talk about business, so why was he implicated again?

"You are not too old now, and you still have the energy to fight it out. If you succeed, it will be a good story for father and son to be on the list together. Even if you fail, you have nothing to lose!" Li Jingxing persuaded: "The court's residence report It is said that by the end of the year, the emperor will officially abdicate, and he will order the four princes to succeed him. It will also touch the interests of some people. The kindness that the new emperor bestowed just now, no one is willing to touch this bad luck now, so naturally they will not object. But wait another three to five years, it will be hard to say. After passing this village, there may not be That store! If you have the intention, you still have to seize the opportunity."

"As for the official business, I will send Mr. Ying to help you. He is capable of handling things. You should also plead with your superiors and explain the situation. You might as well ask your colleagues to help you with the work in hand, and spare time to review books. Your salary will be given to you." Give them as a reward. Do it generously, lest others complain and gossip! In a few days, I will bring you and An Geer to visit Song Daru, and Song Daru must be happy to see it happen." Li Jingxing instructed.

"Yes, the nephew will do as uncle said." Lin Qing said respectfully, and then said casually: "Brother An asked me to ask uncle for advice, and some of the methods he said are the same as what uncle just said."

"Well, Brother An is a smart boy!" Li Jingshan said meaningfully.

After Lin Qing left, Li Jingxing snorted coldly at Li Junshan: "You often run to the Lin's house, why didn't Brother An learn half of his skills? Could it be that he just goes to eat all day long?"

Li Junshan murmured: "The cousin doesn't seem to be as smart as Brother An, let alone my father, why are you holding on to me?"

"You!" Li Jingxing was so angry that he wanted to stand up and hit him when he was contradicted by his grandson. After thinking about it, he sat down again and sighed: "Brother An is really rare. You can't judge others by him. You should always get along with him , not to mention that there will be support in the future. Even if he acts according to his ideas, if you can understand more, you will also benefit a lot."

"I'm not as good at reading as he is, what can I do!" Li Junshan muttered dissatisfied.

"Don't talk about studying, you and your father are not the seeds of studying!" Li Jingxing said angrily: "Just talk about taking care of the family business and earning a living. You are not as good as Brother An!"

"Brother An was studying in the academy, when did he take care of the family business? Isn't his aunt in charge of his family's shop business?" Li Junshan retorted.

Li Jingxing sneered and said, "I've been paying attention all these years, and I can see it very clearly. Aunt Chen is indeed in charge of your uncle's family property, but the person who secretly advises and makes decisions about the property is Brother An!"

"Don't believe me? Then I'll tell you in detail!"

"Your uncle's family settled down. At first, they rented an official house. The rent was not expensive. With the money brought from Gusu, Mrs. Chen was going to buy some land, but she couldn't find a suitable farm for a while, so she thought of going to Xuzhou. There is also a shop in Xuzhou. Xuzhou is not as rich as Gusu, and the Chen family planned to cook some Sichuan food, with small profits but quick turnover. An Geer, after a few days in the city of Xuzhou, suggested to the Chen family: Why not open a shop? restaurant!

Chen is worried that he can't find a good cook, and the cost of opening a restaurant is too high.Angle came up with a special way to eat, that is, the hot pot is now open all over Syria, and even other state capitals have it.

"An Ge'er actually thought of this?" Li Junshan was taken aback.His family also opened a hot pot restaurant, and the business is good, but the old restaurant of Lin's family, the uncle's family, is the most respected by diners, because it is the first in Xuzhou and authentic.He thought it was a way of eating that was passed down from the south of the Yangtze River. It was really novel and convenient, and why did it suit the tastes of people in Shu?Put a brass pot on the shelf and burn it with charcoal fire, add various pot bottoms, fish soup, bone soup, or white water are fine, all kinds of meat and vegetables are raw, just wash and handle them well, A plate, the customer ordered, it will be served directly.Guests cook and eat in the pot by themselves, without a chef, the key lies in the bottom of the pot and the seasoning for dipping.This hot pot can be served in a big pot, and everyone sits around the stove to cook, what you want is that kind of warm atmosphere; you can also have a small pot for each person, and have a leisurely meal.Frugality depends on people, and what's even better is that opening a hot pot restaurant doesn't require particularly good decoration, and you don't need to hire a skilled cook. The back kitchen can handle the ingredients well.

This way of eating has become popular in Xuzhou after the cousin's family's Lin's hot pot restaurant opened.Some people follow suit, but the one most recognized by people is the cousin's house, after all, it is the first one.My cousin’s hot pot restaurant didn’t stand still, and opened one after another. The pots and dipping sauces are constantly coming out, and there are rules. If someone in the store makes a better taste, there will be a generous reward take.Each store sets a certain income amount every year. If it exceeds, proportionally, there will be dividends from the shopkeeper to the waiter; if it is not reached, the shopkeeper will be warned and will not get the bonus.If it is still the same in the second year, it will be demoted or dismissed.The rewards and punishments are very clear, so every store is doing well.

Could it be An Ge'er's idea too, not my cousin?He also secretly admired his cousin's skill and skill. How could An Ge'er, a young man, have the same skills as that long-time merchant?But how come everyone doesn't know it at all?

"It's because your uncle and aunt are afraid that An Ge'er will be told by outsiders that he is not doing his job properly, and that he has lost his duty as a scholar!" Li Jingxing explained to his grandson.If the Chen family sent someone to take care of the family business, there would be no problem at all.

"The Lin family's dim sum shop was also suggested by Brother An." Li Jingxing continued.

After the success of the hot pot restaurant, Mrs. Chen planned to open a dim sum shop in Xuzhou. She originally wanted to make dim sum in Shu, with small profits but high sales, because Xuzhou was not as prosperous as Gusu.An Geer proposed to make special snacks from the south of the Yangtze River and the north, some delicate ones, such as Qingtuan, rose cakes, pea cakes, etc., which are not available in Sichuan, and specially ordered molds of various colors.He said that things are expensive away from home, and ordinary people do not have the conditions to travel around, and they are very curious about things in other places.It doesn't matter if things are well-made and the price is higher.We have to find out the positioning of customers, and we can make money only by satisfying their tastes and needs.

The dim sum shop of Lin's family is not too big, and they take a small but refined way.The high price has invited chefs who can make Northland and Jiangnan dim sum. The dim sum they make is made of real ingredients, not to mention the taste, and the shape is very delicate. When it is placed and used to entertain guests, it is very good on the table.Most of these snacks are pre-ordered by big families and high-end restaurants every day, and the rest are placed in the store, which is in short supply.Angie also doesn't allow people to do more, saying that the quality must be guaranteed, and what's called "hunger marketing", it sounds absurd. How can anyone stop doing business and make money?My son still wants to persuade Mrs. Chen, if you have no hands and no capital, then our two families can cooperate!

He asked his son to take a look. Besides, he didn't care about the income of a dim sum shop, he just wanted to observe the effect of An Ge'er's approach.He feels that this child's way of thinking is quite different from others, but it is often refreshing.

Now, the Lin family's dim sum shop is very famous in Xuzhou, and it is still expanding, and the number of people ordering is also steadily increasing.Speaking of which, your restaurant, and his family's banquet, order dim sum from Lin's, which is very popular.Everyone thinks that although Lin's dim sum is expensive, there is a reason why they are expensive. How can they show their status if they are not expensive?

Lin's dim sum also introduces new varieties from time to time, such as chicken cakes, saqima, egg yolk cakes, and Bazhen cakes.Since opening the shop, his family has received fresh snacks from the Lin family every day, which makes him feel very comfortable, and his niece and daughter-in-law are very considerate.Later I heard that this was also arranged by Brother An. Mrs. Chen was busy with various things and had to take care of Yi'an, so she didn't think about it for a while.He was secretly startled, how could this child be so considerate and understanding?

The Lin family's business was booming, and they made a lot of money. Coupled with Jiangnan's income and Lin Qing's salary, they set up a farm in Xuzhou, and even bought the current house.When buying a house, Angle also chose it himself.Others thought he was a young student who didn't know much about the world, and he was trying to coax him with sweet words, asking prices all over the sky.Unexpectedly, An Geer was familiar with the market, and clearly explained the advantages and disadvantages of this house, which surprised the other party. They fought with each other, and finally settled on a reasonable price.He looked at it coldly, even if his nephew went to talk in person, I'm afraid it might not be better than this.Moreover, when he went to the Lin's house to look at the house, he found that An Ge'er had excellent taste, seemingly unobtrusive, but actually elegant and luxurious. Could this be inherited in his blood?

"And that year, the silkworm harvest in Xuzhou was particularly good." Li Jingxing recalled: "When the silk merchants in Xuzhou were about to harvest silk, the largest dyeing and weaving workshop in Shu caught fire, and the remaining workshops took the opportunity to raise prices. The price is twice as high as in previous years. The printing and dyeing technology is in the hands of several large workshops in Sichuan, and there are only a few small workshops in Syria, and the dyeing is not good. If the silk merchants want to accept The high price of dyeing and weaving means very little profit, and if it is not dyed, it will be difficult to sell the white silk. Unprepared, they decided to only accept silk cocoons from some old and big customers for business considerations.”

"For silk merchants, it's just a year of less money, and it's good not to lose money. But for those silkworm farmers who make a living, it's just a year of no livelihood. But in business, it's hard to blame them At that time, my grandfather and the officials in Syria were very anxious, but they could not be forced to collect the silk. We could only negotiate with them. It would be okay if the price was lower, as long as they were willing to collect the silk, so that the silkworm farmers could survive for a year. Not only is it the livelihood of the farmers, but it is also really related to our political achievements.”

"Then even if they are willing, the price will be lowered a lot, and the life of silkworm farmers will not be easy!" Li Junshan said

"That's right, it's better than not having enough food and clothing!" Li Jingxing sighed, "That year, it was your cousin who came up with an idea that solved this problem."

"I've heard that after cocoons are harvested and reeled, they are processed and finally made into silk quilts. It's a good thing. It's light and soft to cover, and it's very comfortable. Thin ones don't get hot in summer, and thick ones It’s not cold even in winter. Now the rich people in the entire Shu area don’t use quilts at home, and they use this instead.”

"It's easy to say, it takes a whole process to deal with. After the cocoons are harvested, they need to be dried, peeled, cottonled, washed, boiled, made into silk floss, then dried and exposed to the sun, and then pulled by four people into a suitable size. It takes a lot of effort to complete a silk quilt. However, after making it and trying it out, people can't put it down. The people present were very impressed. The whole family reserved a bed for each person. After experiencing it for themselves, the silk merchants liked it very much and were willing to pay the same price as previous years or a little higher to buy all the cocoons of the silkworm farmers. Only in this way can Xuzhou get through a difficult time.”

"This method was proposed by your cousin in public when everyone was discussing this matter. After this incident, your cousin fell into the eyes of the county magistrate Wang and asked him to be the master book, the official title of the eighth rank, but no one objected. , because he is a real credit."

"Could it be Ange'er's idea too?" Li Junshan asked uncertainly.

"Exactly, he taught your cousin this method, but asked your cousin not to mention his name. The cousin thought that his son was still studying, so it would not be good to attract attention like this, so he agreed. Brother Ang also suggested this The idea should be donated free of charge, announced by the government, and no money from merchants can be collected, showing that it is for the government and the common people to relieve their worries."

"This method is announced to the public. The large-scale silk merchants have an advantage in doing it. But if there are profiteers who want to buy farmers' silkworm cocoons at a low price, then the farmers will have the confidence to refuse. At worst, everyone will cooperate to make silk and be sold for money. He won't be at a disadvantage either. At his age, it's rare to have such a heart and vision. Your cousin has always believed in him. Not only did the silk merchant give him money but he didn't accept a cent, he even donated the money that the government rewarded him. You My cousin's family is very famous in Syria now, and it's mostly because of this incident."

"So, when Song Daru and I talked about accepting An Ge'er as an apprentice, Song Daru agreed immediately, not just because An Ge'er was the case leader this year. Ordinary people don't care about reputation, but you have to study hard. Shi, even if this business wants to grow, it is indispensable! Now, your cousin's family has such a good reputation, which is very important! About your cousin, I will visit Song Daru in a few days and take the opportunity Let me mention it, I reckon Song Daru would not refuse." Li Jingxing sighed.

"An Ge'er has scheming and tricks, but I see that he is also a child who is affectionate and grateful. I know that you have a close relationship with your cousin's family. I just ask you to walk more with An Ge'er and treat others with sincerity. Don't give birth. I always feel that our Li family will benefit a lot from An Geer in the future!"

"Grandpa, why don't you tell me that? Although Brother An and I are not blood brothers, we are also blood relatives. How could we be separated?" Li Junshan said carelessly.

Li Jingxing smiled and said nothing, but sighed regretfully in his heart.The reason for this is inconvenient to tell the grandson.Forget it, An Geer has seven apertures and a delicate heart, and he himself is a smart person. Jun Shan's straightforward heart may be more to his liking. Everyone has their own destiny.

"Oh, by the way, Grandpa," Li Junshan patted his head: "I almost forgot, brother An asked me to tell you."

"What?"

"An Ge'er said, if you go to see Song Daru, if Song Daru asks, why is my uncle still striving for fame at this age? You should tell the truth and say it was his idea. He said, it's not for fame, just He saw that his father was knowledgeable, ambitious, caring for the people, and full of passion. He couldn't bear to see his father buried! If the great Confucianism could not accept his father, the disciples would not dare to abandon their father, and would like to find another teacher who could accept their father and son. Great Confucianism of the Song Dynasty had great knowledge and reputation, but 'filial piety comes first'! We can only ask for the great Confucianism's forgiveness."

Li Jingxing took a deep breath: "Good idea!"

How could Song Daru refuse this sentence once he said it?Such a talented and filial disciple must be accepted!Father and son are of the same family, that is also a good story!