Chapter 408: Luotuo
Xiangzi, the young clerk of the Shen family bookstore in the capital, said to Shen Yiguan who walked into the bookstore:
"Master nephew."
"Tong An, how is your family?"
"Thank you, master nephew, for your concern. The family is already in the capital." Settled down."
Shen has always been very indifferent to people, so he just cares about the new guy casually and then goes into the bookstore.
The new bookstore clerk breathed a long sigh of relief. He was very afraid of the cold young nephew Shen Yiguan. In comparison, the bookstore shopkeeper Shen was much kinder.
Tong An was originally a scholar in Shandong. He studied for the provincial examination at home and planned to become an official after passing the examination.
However, when the Ming Dynasty encountered a strong and clear country, Tong An, who was originally a self-cultivated farmer, was forced to leave his hometown and flee with his family property.
On the way to escape, when Tong An arrived in the capital, his family resources had been exhausted.
Tong An's father and brother both died of illness during the escape, leaving only her mother. In order to survive, Tong An could only take off her long gown and find a job in the capital.
Tong An is a scholar, can read and write, and has good looks. He is hired by the Shen family's uncle and nephew as a bookstore clerk.
Bookseller is the official identity of the Shen family's uncle and nephew in the capital.
As for why the bookstore hires outsiders, Shen's consistent saying is that if you want the intelligence station and underground printing house to be safer, you can't be a low-key bookseller.
In a place like the capital, the more low-key you are, the less safe you are, and the more high-profile you are, the safer you are.
Shen Yiguan first arranged for a bookstore to transport Wang Shizhen's new book "Yanshan Garden Collection" from Jiangnan. This was an article written by Wang Shizhen during his period of mourning. Although they were all prose-like life insights, as a Wenzong at that time, he A representative of antique prose, this book is very popular in Jiangnan.
In modern terms, it is a collection of essays in a literary and fresh style, most suitable for the taste of the Ming Dynasty scholar-bureaucrats.
Wang Shizhen did not serve as an official in the southeast, and his "Yanshan Garden Collection" does not involve classics or politics, so it is most suitable to be the flagship product of Shen's Bookstore.
Sure enough, after the dignitaries gradually returned to the capital, the business of Shen's Bookstore became better.
Shen Yiguan took advantage of the situation and purchased two closed bookstores in the capital. Tong An was the clerk of this new bookstore.
All the businesses in Shen's Bookstore are legal, and the books on the market are also legal. However, some dignitaries in the capital know that this bookstore is "very capable" and can obtain Some special books.
In fact, this kind of thing is also very common in bookstores in the capital. Which bookstore doesn't sell a copy of "Jin Ping Mei"?
Especially the latest version of embroidery illustrations from Southeast, which is said to have been made by a Western painter. Even a sixty-year-old man blushed after reading it.
Of course, the best-selling banned book among the bookstores in the capital was the "New Commentary on the Three Classics" personally annotated by Su Ze.
News came from the Southeast that this autumn the Southeast will hold an examination to recruit scholars, and the content of the imperial examination will be this "New Commentary on the Three Classics".
Ordinary scholars in the capital secretly bought a copy of "New Commentary on the Three Classics". Who knows when the Southeast New Army will come back?
If the "New Commentary on the Three Classics" was also tested in the capital at that time, wouldn't those who studied in advance be one step ahead of others? Win at the starting line?
And those scholars who already have Ming Dynasty fame must also leave a way out for themselves.
But lower-class scholars like Tong An felt angry at the Ming court. These confused scholars found the source of their pain in the "New Commentary on the Three Classics" and studied the new ideas in the "New Meaning of the Three Classics" to arm themselves.
After Tong An settled down, she secretly joined an organization called "Study Club".
This organization was established by scholars who fled to the capital from Shandong. Naturally, they studied the New Commentary on the Three Classics. These scholars helped each other survive in the capital, gathered together to discuss the current situation, and criticized the Ming court.
This power was noticed by Lu Er's Southeast Intelligence Station. In addition to being an editor for the "Jingshi News", Shen's uncle and nephew also had another job: to contact these progressive young people and understand their ideological trends.
Shen Mingchen has a very positive attitude towards these progressive young people. He believes that these young people can be united and that these people can provide strength to Southeast Asia.
But Shen Yiyuan's attitude was very cold. He said to Shen Mingchen:
"Since ancient times, a group of young scholars alone have not been able to achieve anything. This group of people in the study association has neither force nor power. They can't influence anything at all. "
Shen Mingchen was poured cold water on by his nephew, but he still refused to give up. He funded several key members of the "study club", and also arranged several positions for contributors to the study club in the "Jingshi News" and sent out letters to the key members of the study club. Some royalties.
Shen Guanyi walked into his study room. He first sorted out the newly arrived books. These were all ordered by old customers. He checked them and prepared them for delivery to his door.
Maintaining old customers is something that most Jingshi Bookstores do, and Shen's Bookstore is no exception.
Through door-to-door delivery, Shen Guanyi also established contacts with some powerful people in the capital.
"Tong An, prepare a carriage."
The bookstore is a small business, so there is no need to buy a carriage yourself.
Tong An quickly called a green rickshaw from the street.
This is the latest popular means of transportation in the capital. It is probably a carriage that can accommodate two people, with large wooden wheels that are pulled by human power.
Because the first batch of people pulling this kind of cars painted their bodies green in order to attract business, they were called green chartered cars.
Originally, dignitaries in the capital usually traveled by horse-drawn carriage or sedan chair. The riding experience in a green charter car was still more comfortable than a bumpy sedan chair.
With the influx of refugees from various places, the price of manpower in the capital dropped to the point where it was cheaper than horses and oxen to pull carts. Under this involution, the price advantage of green chartered cars was reflected.
There are now such green chartered buses in the streets and alleys of the capital, and some ordinary people in the capital will choose to take these buses when traveling.
Shen Guanyi boarded the green chartered car with the book in his arms and ordered the driver to head east of the city.
"Sir, the road ahead is a bit congested. I know a better way, but it's a little detour." The young coachman said cautiously, implying that he wanted to add some money.
Shen Yiguan said coldly: "If there's a jam, just jam it. I'm not in a hurry."
The coachman's plan to take a detour and increase the fare failed, so he had to take the car on the original route.
Shen Guanyin was sitting in the car. In the past two months, the number of people in the capital had increased.
Some are refugees from Shandong, and some are young people from surrounding villages who have entered the capital to look for opportunities.
It's just that the new workshops of the Ming Dynasty were not able to provide so many jobs. The young people who poured into the capital in large numbers either became street gangsters or, like the coachmen, became low-level service workers who sold cheap labor.
Green-chartered buses are not very fast, and most of the capital's roads are filled with bumpy dirt roads, making it quite difficult to pull up.
When we arrived at the area east of the city, where dignitaries from the capital gathered, the ground was paved with bluestone slabs, making it much easier to pull up.
The coachman quickly arrived at his destination. Shen Guanyi asked him to wait for him where he was, and walked to the side door of this inconspicuous house with a pile of books in his arms.
After knocking on the door, an old housekeeper opened the side door and took the book handed over by Shen Yiguan.
"This is the book that Gao Ge Lao asked for, and the shop finally got it together."
Shen Yiguang smiled in a rare way.
The old butler immediately said: "Thank you very much, Boss Shen."
The old butler handed over another book list and said: "This is the book list that Mr. Ge wrote a few days ago. Please thank Boss Shen for your trouble." Shen Yiguan took the book list
. , this is another batch of "anti-books" popular in the Southeast. He nodded and said: "The store must try its best to prepare it." Who would have thought that the then cabinet minister would be the number one customer of
Shen's Bookstore for buying banned books?
Shen Guanyi returned to the car, and the rickshaw driver's attitude became more respectful.
He asked carefully: "This house is the old man's house, right?"
Shen Yigui raised his head and said, "How do you know?"
"The last time I brought over a distinguished guest, he came to visit Mr. Gao Ge, but I couldn't even knock on the door."
Shen said indifferently: "I just delivered books to Gaoge's hometown, and I have never met Mr. Gaoge."
But the rickshaw driver said respectfully: "I can do business in Gaoge's hometown. , the shopkeeper must have a prosperous business and a lot of money!"
After saying a few auspicious words, the rickshaw driver gradually became talkative.
"Sir, my name is Xiangzi. If you want to use a car in the future, you can call me. I'll be there at your call and the price is cheap."
Shen Yigui nodded. He looked at the green chartered cars all over the city and began to think.
"Xiangzi, are there many rickshaw drivers like you now?"
Xiangzi said immediately: "There are so many. In the past, when there were few green chartered cars, you could make money just by running around, but now it's difficult." "
I still rent this car. If you can't receive five orders a day, you will lose money just on the daily rent."
Xiangzi sighed and said: "I envy those seniors who came early. They made money early. Some of them have already bought cars, and now they are running no matter how much they drive. Earn."
"Do you rent all your cars?"
"Most of them are rented. How can we afford to buy a car? The car dealer buys the car and then rents it to us. We have to pay every day. Rent."
"Stop talking, you won't be able to eat if you don't run for a day."
Xiangzi complained about the high prices in the capital and the difficulty of life, but Shen Yiguan saw something else.
After delivering all the books, Shen Guanyi returned to the bookstore. He walked to the underground printing factory and found Lu Er who was busy.
"You want to open a green car dealership?"
Lu Er asked.
Shen Yiguan said: "Yes, these rickshaw drivers are well-informed. They walk in the streets and alleys every day. They are familiar with the streets of the capital. They can also talk to different guests. If they make good use of it, they can collect a lot of useful information." Lu Er touched his hand
. Huzi asked: "But there are already many car dealers in the capital, and we still have to compete with those car dealers. The capital is so big, it is impossible to control all the green cab drivers." Shen Yiguan said: "This is
simple , Order some comfortable green chartered cars from the southeast, add wind and rain-proof carports, make the cars more high-end and comfortable, and specialize in high-end business." Lu Er nodded and said: "
This is a good idea. Just go get in touch."
At this time, in the Daku market, the news that the hot air balloon Kuafu from the southeast had ascended to the sky reached the capital.
Emperor Longqing was horrified when he heard that Southeast Asia had developed a device that could not only fly into the sky, but also rushed his ministers to the Wenhua Hall for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.
Transition chapter, 1k words less, will be added in the 7pm chapter
(end of this chapter)