Go back to ancient times to engage in sideline business

The county prison was dim, and there was no big difference between day and night. The only difference was that the ventilation window behind Tang Zhong could let some light in.

But after a long silence, the concept of time gradually became blurred and numb.

Tang Zhong has already sensed in advance what the so-called prison life is like.

It seemed that three days had passed, and it seemed that three ten days had passed, and there was a rare commotion outside the prison.

Soon, there was a rush of footsteps, accompanied by the clink of keychains, getting closer...

"Dongcheng gatekeeper Tang Zhong, are you convicted?"

The adults outside the prison said so, but there was no hint of threat in their words.

Tang Zhong knew nothing about the changes outside, stood up and looked at the strange adult in front of him, but didn't know how to answer.

Until... the other party took out a crumpled piece of paper from his sleeve pocket, and unfolded it in front of Tang Zhong.

This is the draft paper for the donkey to move the boat?

"This official is the co-prefect of Yongning Prefecture. From now on, I will be in charge of the government affairs of Qingjiang County. Hu Bingyi has already given a general account of your affairs. What else can you say?"

Tang Zhong knew that since Hu Touer handed him the draft paper, he must think that this lord is a clean and honest parent official.

Before he had time to think about it, he knelt down and begged for orders: "The matter of commerce has nothing to do with others. It is caused by the villain's private thoughts. Please be careful with the adults and don't hurt other innocent people."

Liu Ruocun folded the paper again and put it away, motioning Tang Zhong to get up and answer.

"As far as I know, you have done a lot of things in Qingjiang County other than the duties of the city gate guard. You are the one who built the square, you were the one who built the donkey and the boat, and you were the one who ran the business for profit as an official servant."

Tang Zhong opened his mouth, and was about to argue a few more words, but Liu Tongzhi didn't have the slightest intention of blaming him, and continued: "Your contributions are real, and your mistakes are obvious. I will fine you half a year's monthly silver, a small punishment. Great Commandment, I hope you can put your merits to shame and see the effect later.”

To see the aftereffect?

Meaning, don't continue to go to jail?

Unexpectedly, Tang Zhong quickly pinched his thigh.The piercing pain reminded him that now is not his daydream, but that he really wants to regain his freedom.

Overjoyed, he immediately clasped his fists at Liu Tongzhi, and said, "Your Excellency makes a clear decision, and my villain promises that in the future, I will concentrate on guarding the East City Gate, and will never have extra thoughts about other things in the county!"

"Hey, that's not what I said just now to see the effect later."

"That is……"

Liu Tongzhi sighed slightly, and there was a hint of worry between his brows: "I want you to plan for all walks of life in the county for free in the future, so as to make up for the previous crime of commerce."

Tang Zhong was at a loss when he heard that.

Master Liu is really a sensible person.

"Qingjiang has many mountains and little land, and it is impossible to feed the people in the county by growing food alone. There is not much money left in the yamen treasury, and there is no food left in the official warehouse. Among them, even if there is corruption and fraud in the former magistrate, it is also the same as all the businesses in the county. It's not unrelated to being poor. I have never seen such a large number of beggars in Qingjiang in other places."

"And many of your previous ideas may be helpful to improve Qingjiang's predicament. Seeking profit for one's own selfishness is a waste of business, and making profits for tens of thousands of people in Qingjiang is a meritorious deed. Tang Zhong, do you understand?"

What Liu Tongzhi said was not just chatting, but a real entrustment, Tang Zhong didn't know how to answer for a while.

In the dark, it seems that a little weight has been added to the shoulders.

After he finished the release paperwork in the hands of the new prison boss, went home to settle down with his younger siblings, changed and cleaned, and came to the East Gate, Tang Zhong heard that most of the county government servants had been dismissed.

Officials are appointed by the imperial court, and most of the servants are recruited by magistrates while they are in office.

Following Lin Yue's dismissal and sent to the governor's office, the county magistrate and the head secretary, these high-ranking officials, began to fear, fearing that they would be implicated and investigated at any time.

And the guards without grades, such as Duan Laotou and Qi Tutou, were given a meal and sent home.

The east and west city gate guards were all retained because they were not deeply involved.

This means that the whistleblower Zhang can also come back safe and sound.

Standing on the gate tower, Tang Zhong watched his old acquaintance, who loved stabbing in the back, walking across the square, and couldn't help feeling angry.

The two catastrophes were due to him.

When Lao Zhang climbed the stairs, he was very surprised to see Tang Zhong again suddenly.

"You, aren't you?"

"Shouldn't I accept your favor and stay in prison honestly, should I?"

Lao Zhang consciously made a slip of the tongue, and immediately changed his words: "No, no, I was detained in the county government for other things, I didn't..."

Hu Tou'er heard the voice, and came out aggressively from the tower.

"Are you going to leave or I will drive you away?" The words were concise and to the point, leaving no room for Lao Zhang.

Lao Zhang just smiled apologetically, and still pretended not to know: "Hu Touer, what happened? It was really Linzhi County who detained me in the backyard of the county government. I don't know anything!"

"I look down on people who betray my brother the most in my life! Are you going to get out or not? If you don't realize it, I will be rude!"

Hu Touer talked all about this, and Lao Zhang knew that the whistleblower was exposed, so there was no need to pretend anymore.

The flattering smile from before was still frozen in the corner of his eyes.In an instant, Lao Zhang's face was full of contempt.

He stretched out his finger to Tang Zhong, but his eyes were still looking at Hu Tou'er, the resentment accumulated in his heart surged out instantly.

"Okay, you all protect him! The Dongcheng Gate is like this, and so is the newcomer in the yamen. Why! Why are you all facing him, but you are the only one who is unfair to me!"

"I have been in Dongchengmen longer than you! In terms of seniority, I have seniority than any of you! He Tang Zhong is just a young boy who knows some heresy things. Say I betrayed Brother, why have you ever treated me as your own!"

Old Zhang chattered endlessly, Tang Zhong didn't want to hear him gossip anymore: "My own people? My own people would put aconite in steamed buns? Even though you were targeting me at that time, you dared to gamble with the lives of everyone in Dongchengmen. Who would dare to do that?" Your own person? If you don’t leave by yourself, do you want us to send you to the City God’s Temple and hand it over to the beggars, or let Liu Tongzhi personally interrogate you?”

"what?"

Lao Zhang was only concerned with venting his injustice, but forgot all the good things he had done.

Suddenly being brought up again, he remembered the fear.

If it was found out that the guards had indulged in drugs, it was not as simple as being expelled from the city gate guards. At least one had to choose between imprisonment and exile.

Lao Zhang closed his mouth angrily, swallowing his dissatisfaction.

Tang Zhong: "One last piece of advice."

Old Zhang: "What?"

Tang Zhong: "Get lost before I regret it!"

"Those who are masters can help the world at the same time", this is the task set by Mr. Liu Tongzhi to Tang Zhong.

In the past few days, he pondered these six words back and forth under the East City Gate.

According to the previous thinking, give advice to some merchants, Lala's business is okay, but if you want him to revitalize the business of the entire Qingjiang County, I really don't know where to start.

Although the annoying people around me are gone, the pressure on my shoulders has not diminished at all!

Looking across to Zhao Li, who was also on guard with his tasseled spear, Tang Zhong suddenly felt that it was better to be ignorant!

The less you know, the less trouble you have.

"Hey! Why are you staring at me! It's not me calling you!"

"Ah?" Tang Zhong came back to his senses and followed Zhao Li's gaze, only then did he notice that someone was really calling him by the side.

At this moment, the six clerks were pawing at the base of the city wall, waving at him vigorously: "Master, here it is, Master!"

Tang Zhong looked around to make sure there were no other guards passing by, so he responded.

"Didn't you tell shopkeeper Liu? I won't be involved in the restaurant's business from now on. I've just been released from prison!"

The six sons were troubled, but their hands were not idle. They squeezed Tang Zhong's arms and dragged the older girl forward like a sedan chair: "It's not that we are looking for you, it's about our restaurant. Only you can settle it!"

Tang Zhong also worked hard, like the six sons pushing their hands to dismantle their moves, he forced his arm back: "What's the difference?"

The six sons were anxious, but Tang Zhong didn't cooperate, and he couldn't take people over for a while, so he had to focus on the key points and roughly explain the ins and outs of the matter.

This has to start from a few days ago.

During the few days when Tang Zhong was in prison, businessmen from other places came to Fuxing Restaurant one after another to inquire about the nail clippers.

It is said that in Yongning Mansion and Laizhou Mansion, the small nail clippers have already caused a sensation.

Qi Anbo, who was born in a rich family, was originally a handsome and handsome young man, and his words and deeds on weekdays often affected the hearts of the girls in the city.

After recovering from a serious illness, his frail and thin appearance is even more worrying.

At this moment, a silver ornament appeared on Young Master Qi's waist, matched with tassels, and swayed with the jade pendant when walking, it really complemented Young Master Qi's outstanding appearance and weak temperament.

The girls in the city speculated one after another as to which of the ruthless Hu Meizi had made an early move and sent this token to hang on the body of Mr. Qi's family.

A few days later, everyone suddenly realized, why does the young master of the tea merchant Yang's family have such a shiny silver thing on his waist?

As a result, innocent girls who don't know what masculinity is, dismissed their worries about tokens of love one after another. They only thought that it was a trendy accessory, and began to scramble to find out where they could be purchased.

That's why foreign merchants came to Fuxing Restaurant to compete for nail clippers today.

Of the three nail clippers made at that time, two were given to Qi Amber and Yang Yu, and the last one was lying in Fuxing Restaurant, waiting to be exchanged for [-] points.

The shopkeeper Liu treated all the guests who came to ask about it before, and replied that they would exchange points for points.Many days passed, but nothing happened.

But today, three customers suddenly appeared, all of whom had accumulated enough points and insisted on exchanging for nail clippers, none of them would back down.

The guests were arguing so loudly in the lobby that they couldn't even suppress the gongs and drums on the stage.

There was no other way, shopkeeper Liu had no choice but to let the six sons come to the east gate and pull Tang Zhong over to help solve it.

Tang Zhong thought about it, and first he sympathized with Qi and Yang, who were embarrassed by not being seen as a couple, and scratched his forehead thoughtfully, and said: "You go back first, Hu and I Just say hello and come over."

Unexpectedly, Mr. Qi actually sent the advertisement to other places, attracting many merchants to come to Qingjiang County.

This was something he hadn't expected before.

Right now, Qingjiang County is very popular, and the opportunity is rare. Whether the task assigned by Mr. Liu can be completed depends on this trembling.

At this moment, in the Fuxing Restaurant on the other side of the county seat, shopkeeper Liu was surrounded by three merchants, asking for explanations one by one.

"This is what I saw first, so I should give it to me!" The merchant on the left held onto Shopkeeper Liu's cuff tightly.

"It's clear that I got enough points first, so why give it to you!" The one in the middle didn't give in, and grabbed his collar.

"Fart, obviously I paid the bill before you, and the nail clippers belong to me!" The brother on the right did not lose the wind, and unceremoniously tightened his belt.

Shopkeeper Liu was clutching his nail clippers tightly with both hands, and was imprisoned in the middle by three big men. He looked to the left and then to the right, with a troubled expression on his face and he couldn't get in his mouth.

The rule of exchanging [-] points for one nail clipper has not changed. After receiving the news, the three merchants came from Yongning Mansion at about the same time. After eating and drinking in the restaurant these days, they accumulated enough points almost at the same time. .

Seeing that one of them paid the bill first and came to exchange for nail clippers, the other two immediately couldn't sit still and came over to stop them.

The three of them were at a stalemate and refused to give in to each other, and they were all determined to get the last nail clipper.

The public said that the father was right and the wife said that the mother was right, but shopkeeper Liu was like a wronged little daughter-in-law, who was placed in the middle to suffer.

After arguing for a long time, someone finally asked the most important sentence: "Shopkeeper Liu, tell me, who does the nail clippers belong to!"

Shopkeeper Liu twisted his body, signaled the three to let go, and asked cautiously: "Why don't you wait a little longer?"

"There is only one nail clipper on the left and right. You must choose one among the three of us! What is there to wait for!"

"Of course I'm waiting."

Hearing the familiar voice at the door, shopkeeper Liu's eyes were almost moved to tears. Looking back, he saw the name he had been chanting in his heart just now, standing in the light and shadow of the door, walking towards him.

Shopkeeper Liu couldn't help whimpering softly in his throat, struggling to break free from the shackles around his body, and stabbing towards the warm embrace with a fierce thrust.

Tang Zhong said in his heart, what the hell!Hurry up and dodge sideways, barely avoiding the bearded Uncle Liu.

Then he straightened his body, stood in front of the three merchants, and protected shopkeeper Liu behind him.

"Who are you!"

"Let shopkeeper Liu come over and talk to us!"

But Tang Zhong didn't dodge, he just took off the nail clippers from Shopkeeper Liu's hand, stuffed them into his sleeve pocket, and said to the merchants, "Everyone is a visitor from afar, why bother to make a big fuss about a trivial matter. Come to Dongchengmen in five days In People's Square, the nail clippers issue will be resolved."

As soon as this remark came out, not only the merchants, but even shopkeeper Liu behind him were dumbfounded.

Easy to solve?

Could it be bragging!

In the next few days, the foreign merchants living in the guest house of the restaurant gradually discovered that almost everyone in Qingjiang County in front of them was busy.

First, on the first day, I saw the city gate guard surnamed Tang, leading a team of guards, going door to door into the shops along the street, looking for something mysteriously.

On the second day, the shopkeepers and clerks in the shops on the street were visibly busy.Some even closed the door directly, shutting the door and turning around.

On the third and fourth days, the situation on the streets became even more strange. From time to time, people could be seen carrying large and small bags and transporting them to the east in a hurry.

The businessman surnamed Xie who had previously squeezed the belt of the shopkeeper Liu was frowning and returned to the inn from the outside.

But in the past four days, many merchants came to the city again, almost like them, they all came for the nail clippers.

I don't know where they heard the news that there are nail clippers for sale in Tomorrow Square, and the quantity is large and the quality is good.These people, like cats smelling fish, hurried to the county town to wait.

With so many merchants gathered here, he, who is well-informed, didn't he try the first opportunity?

Annoyed!What an annoyance!

As soon as he stepped over the threshold, the inn clerk trotted over to meet him, holding something in his hand.

"Thank you, sir, this is specially sent by the government."

As he said that, the clerk handed over a palm-sized square piece of paper with both hands. It looked harder than ordinary rice paper. It should be made by gluing multiple layers of rice paper together and then cutting it.

Mr. Xie received the card in his hand, and saw the three big characters "Admission Ticket" in black ink on a red background at a glance, and couldn't help wondering: "What is this thing?"

"To tell you the truth, this is the admission voucher for tomorrow's east gate, and every businessman from other places can get one."

Mr. Xie was about to inquire about the details, when he suddenly saw several men entering the hall.

They are all familiar faces from Yongning Mansion, and they are all for the nail clippers!

Before he had time to think about it, he quickly grabbed the buddy's arm and pulled him aside, commanding under his breath, "Quick, give me all the tickets in your hand!"

"This……"

"Don't be long-winded, give it to me quickly!"

The inn clerk didn't know what to do, so he had to follow suit.

Mr. Xie collected the twenty or so tickets in the buddy's arms, making sure that the people behind would not get them again, feeling as if he had won the next game first, and then he went upstairs and went back to his room contentedly.

The man looked at his back eagerly, feeling strange.There is still a thick stack on the admission ticket counter, why collect this?

Finally, the fifth day came.

Mr. Xie got up early in the morning, looked at the still bright sky outside, and walked down the stairs lightly.

Apart from the guys who were busy in the lobby, there were no other guests. It was estimated that no one had gotten up yet, so he felt more confident.

The inn clerk raised his head from behind a pile of tables and stools, and greeted him warmly, but Mr. Xie ignored him completely, and hurriedly stepped across the threshold like a hot wheel.

"Have they all been chased by ghosts? One by one."

The guy looked at the door and muttered a few words, then buried his head and continued to wipe his table.

Mr. Xie didn't have the time to listen to the man's words, he went out feeling good about himself, and arrived at the side of the square not long after.

Although looking at the busy appearance on the street before, I had a rough imagination in my mind in advance.

But when he actually came to the scene and witnessed the grand scene in front of him, Mr. Xie was really amazed.

On the originally solemn square, red silk and satin were hung everywhere in a festive manner as if it was Chinese New Year.

And in the middle of the square, there were seven or eight rows of tables filled with a long snake, occupying most of the space in the square.

From a distance, it looks like a lush and mature market.

Mr. Xie naturally knew that these tables were brought from shops in the city, but it was unexpected that there were so many merchants in Qingjiang County!

At the front of this market, two bamboo poles were temporarily inserted, and a bright red banner was stretched on the poles, with ten large characters written on it:

Qingjiang County Special Commodities Fair.

Mr. Xie felt an inexplicable sense of ritual, he couldn't help straightening his front, took out an admission ticket from his arms, and walked quickly to the road sign marked "Entrance".

Beside the road sign, the official surnamed Tang whom I met a few days ago was smiling and waving at him.

"Hello, welcome to the Qingjiang County Special Commodities Fair, please enter along the red silk belt."

Mr. Xie always kept in mind the purpose of his visit, and hurriedly asked: "Where are the nail clippers? Didn't you say that you can solve it when you come?"

However, Tang Zhong played tricks on purpose: "Please walk along the red silk belt, and you will naturally see what you want. Mr. Xie doesn't like the feeling of being led by the nose. But this is the end of the matter. There are servants from the yamen patrolling back and forth to control order, and it seems that it is not advisable to mess around.

Looking forward, he realized that the red ribbon in front of him was not only used to create an atmosphere.

The silk belt surrounded the meeting place in front of you, forming a one-way passage. Only by walking in the indicated direction and visiting every merchant without landing can you come out from the exit.

Forget it, let's wait and see for a while to see what tricks they are going to do.

Mr. Xie put away the admission ticket, endured the displeasure in his heart for the time being, and walked quickly.

Most of the merchants in the first row were selling spiced cloth, and he had never been interested in these rouge colors, no matter how the merchants on both sides greeted them, he would not squint and walked quickly.

The second row is nothing more than the same. It's nothing unusual for women's favorite things.

When he walked to the third row, the smell of makeup suddenly dissipated and was replaced by an increasingly strong smell of wine. He couldn't help it, and gradually slowed down.

The row of merchants in front of me are almost all buying wine.

Several jars of wine are displayed on each table, and there are wooden signs in front of the table, which state the names of the various merchants.

Mr. Xie is a good wine drinker, and he knows the taste is good when he smells it.

Just turned my head to take a look, and heard the waiter at the side say hello: "Guest officer, this is the old rice wine that has just been taken out of the cellar. Come, come, and enjoy a small glass for free. It's quite strong!"

Mr. Xie pursed his lips, his stomach was full of alcohol, and if he moved his mind a little, how could there be any room for parrying?

Picking up a cup casually, pursing his lips and sucking it into his mouth, the rich and mellow taste flowed down his throat and into his belly, and the violent backlash caught him off guard.

"Good wine!"

"Guest officer, why don't you take a look at my house, it's full of newly brewed fruit wine, appetizing and refreshing!"

Senior official Xie smacked his lips unsatisfied, his expression could not stop yearning: "Really? What kind of fruit is it made of?"

……

I have to say that hard-working men can't resist the charm of trying food and drink.

After drinking a lot of wine in the third row and trying a lot of cured meat in the fourth row, Mr. Xie was so happy that he almost forgot what he was here for.

Fortunately, at this time, he suddenly caught a glimpse of several familiar figures in front of him, all trying to eat something.

Shouldn't they be sleeping in Rugui Inn now?

Why come out early in the morning to participate in the fair!

A strong sense of crisis swept through his body, scaring most of his half-drunk and half-awake alcohol away.

Nail clippers, what matters are nail clippers!

Mr. Xie walked forward quickly along the red silk belt, and when passing behind familiar people, he was even more careful with his hands and feet.Finally, when he turned to the seventh row, he found nail clippers among the farm tool stands.

This is a stall called "Wang Ji Blacksmith Shop".

He was very pleasantly surprised when he came up, not only because there were a row of nail clippers of different styles on the booth, but also some more exquisite things, which were placed prominently in the center of the table. No worse than nail clippers.

The sky was getting brighter, and the rising sun passed through the gate of the city, casting warm yellow light on the rows of stalls.

Mr. Xie reached out to pick up the most shining long utensil on the table, with welcoming pine and floating clouds carved on it, matching the warm sunlight, creating a special artistic conception.

He held it in his hands and played with it repeatedly, but he couldn't figure it out, he couldn't see what it was for.

"May I ask the shopkeeper, this is?"

"This is a Swiss Army Knife, forged from fine steel, it's strong!"

Not only is the style strange, but even the name sounds weird. After thinking about it for a long time, Mr. Xie couldn't help asking: "What is Switzerland?"

Tiejiang Wang recalled carefully, as if Tang Zhong had said before that this thing is a place name.

"Oh, do you care where he is? Anyway, he's not in our county."

Blacksmith Wang saw that the other party could not use it, so he picked up another Swiss Army knife at hand, opened it and showed it to him one by one.

"Look, here are the blades, here are the scissors, and there are tweezers, hooks, screwdrivers..."

Seeing a small iron implement changing repeatedly in Blacksmith Wang's hands, showing [-] kinds of martial arts in one piece and one combination, Mr. Zhao couldn't help but praise him again and again.

What nail clippers do you want?

In this trade fair, where is the good stuff!