"Steamed rice with fried dough sticks, white rice cake..."
In the early morning in the capital, I was awakened by the rhythmic and elongated shouts of the vendors, and the mist that filled the sky and the earth also dispersed with the sunshine.
Vendors selling breakfast walk through the streets and alleys. People who make a living always have to get up very early, wake up at midnight and face the cold in the middle of the night. The heavy poles bend their shoulders, and they have to shout energetically.
, with a tired face full of flattering smiles, greeting every customer.
"White rice cake, freshly baked white rice cake..."
In the long alley, a hawker put down the pole on his shoulder and stood at the entrance of the alley. The towel on his shoulder carefully wiped the steaming cage, and at the same time, the hot air warmed his rough, dry and cracked hands, which were blown away by the cold wind.
Hands that are cracked by blowing.
"The rice cake seller!"
Two policemen in the distance came following the sound.
"Master, how many of you want to buy breakfast?" The vendor greeted him warmly.
Anyone who eats from the yamen must be called "Shengye" regardless of whether they are an official or not.
The two policemen patrolling the streets in front of them also looked tired after staying up late, but they looked coldly at the hot faces of the vendors.
"Who the hell asked you to shout here so early?" A policeman scolded, "People in the whole street are sleeping, why the hell can you sleep when you shout like that?"
It's daybreak, the city gates have long been opened, and there are more and more people on the streets. How can any serious person sleep in bed at this time? Don't go out to earn money to eat?
But the hawker didn't dare to refute, and he nodded and bowed, "Isn't it worth living? There's nothing you can do about it!" He said, opening the cage, "Can you two use it?"
Another guard yawned and said, "Take two portions of white rice cakes, want them hot!"
"Don't worry, it will be hot!" The vendor quickly started to put the hot white rice cake on the yellow paper and handed it over with both hands.
The scolding servant was picking through the basket, and he chose a steamed rice bag with fried dough sticks and took it in his hand.
"Here, it's yours!" The officer who asked for the white rice cake threw a copper coin, which clattered onto the basket.
"Isn't this... not enough?" The hawker said with a bitter face, "You two officials, this is a small business..."
"Huh?" The guard squinted his eyes fiercely, with an unkind look on his face, "What's not enough?"
Another officer also sneered, "Isn't your deal too good?"
The vendor trembled and said with a smile, "That's enough. I just saw it wrong!"
Seeing that he was on the right track, the two officers nodded and walked towards the street in front of them with eight-footed steps.
Seeing them walking away, the smiling hawker turned angry and looked at their backs, "It's not like I'm beating you up!"
~
However, the two officers, carrying the early morning snacks brought by the autumn breeze in their hands, were yawning when they suddenly saw two carriages approaching in front of them. They were stunned at first, and then hurried forward at the same time.
"Please see Marquis Chengen!"
There were three carriages in total, and there were several young, strong, and tough-looking men around them.
The person driving the carriage at the front was none other than Chengenhou Zhao Sili.
Someone came quickly to say hello, and Zhao Sili was also stunned.
"You don't know me? When you were in charge of the Military and Horse Department, I was lucky enough to serve under you!" A guard said with a flattering smile, "You are out on patrol this early in the morning?"
Zhao Sili had no impression of them at all, but he still nodded and said, "Well, you two patrolled all night last night. Nothing went wrong, right?"
"The world is peaceful and safe!" a guard immediately laughed.
Zhao Sili looked at the carriage behind him and swung his whip, "Okay, thank you for your hard work!"
"Looking at what you said, shouldn't this be a fair share? This is what you eat, and you have to keep the neighbors safe, right?"
"It's hard for us brothers, but it's hard for you, Mr. Marquis, to go out early in the morning to patrol the city."
"Young men are still following the old rules you set in the Military and Horse Department. No matter it is windy or rainy during the holidays, you must not be lazy when on duty."
"That's not true. Yesterday was my daughter's wedding ceremony, and I didn't even care about it. I was only thinking about official matters!"
The two officers chatted in confusion, nodded and bowed, and respectfully sent Zhao Sili off in the carriage.
When the three carriages went out and disappeared, the two men straightened up.
"Hey, look at Mr. Zhao. He was the head of the Military and Horse Division at the beginning, but now he is in charge of the city defense of Quanying Tianfu. Tsk, tsk, he has no airs at all and drives the carriage by himself!" A guard sighed.
"I'm lucky, I have a good daughter who will be the queen!" Another officer smiled and said to his companion, "Brother, your family is also a daughter, maybe one day you will get lucky and you can marry a relative of the emperor!
"
"Ha, I can lend you some good words!"
~~
Zhao Sili's carriage went straight along Qianmen Street to the downstairs of Jubaomen Gate and stopped in front of a teahouse.
Then he jumped out of the car while holding on to the shaft, and whispered to the inside, "You two gentlemen, we're here!"
"Um!"
The car curtain was lifted from the inside, revealing two faces, which were Zhu Yunxi and the old man.
"Grandpa Huang, please slow down!" Zhu Yunxi came down first and reached out to help him.
"Let's go, can you help me?" The old man got out of the car stubbornly, then looked around and muttered with some dissatisfaction, "Why did you pull us out so early in the morning? And keep it secret like this?"
"My grandson will show you something new!" Zhu Yunxi said, waving to the inside of the teahouse.
The commander of the Jin Yiwei, He Guangyi, had already led people to book the teahouse and not welcome guests. When the emperor waved his hand, he quickly asked the plainclothes Jinyiwei in the teahouse to disperse.
"What have we never seen before in our lives?" The old man snorted and slowly entered the teahouse with Zhu Yunxi's support. Then he glanced at the empty counter and the guards pretending to be guests, and said dissatisfiedly, "Come out as soon as you come out.
, can’t you find a small stall to sit at? It’s going to be such a big fight!”
At this point, Diandian He Guangyi said, "You're such a scumbag, remember to take over someone else's space and give them enough money!"
"I understand!" He Guangyi said hurriedly, "It's all based on the market price..." Junqu Pavilion
"Double it!" the old man said as he walked to the second floor, "It will delay other people's business!"
The window seat on the second floor has already been arranged.
There were hot tea and snacks on the table, and the windows were open. When the wind blew, the hot air from the snacks drifted away.
"Grandpa Huang, please sit down!" Zhu Yunxi personally pulled out the stool for the old man.
Pu Bucheng followed behind and placed a folded fox fur mattress on the stool.
"What are you doing?" The old man sat down and looked at the various snacks and dried fruits on the table and said, "Are you going to act in a show later?"
"Look over there!" Zhu Yunxi smiled and pointed to a row of three-story door curtains facing the street opposite the teahouse.
The old man followed his finger and looked over. The door curtain shop over there had obviously been recently renovated and looked like new. Not only was it new, but it also looked extremely grand and solid.
There are couplets posted on both sides of the main door, and the old man recited smoothly, "Give the world a thousand gold promises, and prosper the world and revitalize the country!"
"Look up!" Zhu Yunxi bent down and said with a smile.
The old man looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a huge plaque on the top of the three-story shop.
"The Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty?" The old man wondered, "The bank? A government-run bank?"
"Exactly, my grandson asked the Ministry of Household Affairs to run the bank." Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
"Then why does it include the word "royal"?" the old man asked puzzledly.
This chapter has been completed!