Chapter 1796 , the immobility and two turns of marriage
"Watch shop?"
Walking, walking, Liu Jin came to a watch shop. The entire watch shop looked very high-end, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the scene inside could be seen from the outside.
The entire two-story building is lit with whale oil lamps, not kerosene lamps, various hanging clocks, and pieces of clocks on the counter, even during the day. It looks very fashionable and trendy.
There are also a lot of people in the store, and they are mainly young people, young couples, young lovers, etc., buying watches together.
Liu Jin walked in and started shopping casually.
The boss, Xie Jingliang, is over forty years old. He has developed a sharp eye over the years of doing business. He just took one look at Li Jin and immediately knew that the person in front of him was either rich or noble.
This outfit seemed to be very ordinary, but Xie Jingliang knew at a glance that it was made of fine Shu brocade, and the embroidery on it was also done by the famous Su Yang artist.
The jade pendant worn on the waist is not an ordinary item. It is an imperial green jade pendant. This jade pendant alone can be used to buy several houses in the capital.
Moreover, Liu Jin's magnanimity is also extremely extraordinary. At first glance, it is the magnanimity that only people who have been in power for a long time can develop.
So Xie Jingliang hurriedly came over in person and said with a smile: "Does this noble man need anything?"
"I'll just take a look."
Liu Jin smiled and nodded.
"My lord, all the good stuff is on the second floor. This floor is full of ordinary stuff, which may not catch your eye."
Xie Jingliang smiled and continued.
"It's okay. I just wanted to take a look while you were busy with your business."
Liu Jin smiled and said.
"Okay, if you have any instructions, please feel free to tell me."
When Xie Jingliang saw it, he nodded quickly and went about his own business.
Take a closer look at Liu Jin. He probably isn't here to buy a watch. Such a person will never be short of a watch. And even if he did, he would definitely go to the watch shop on Zhuque Street. The watches there are more expensive and of lower quality. better.
Liu Jin looked carefully and listened carefully.
It can be seen that watches are very popular now. Many people buy watches and business is very good.
The key is that watches are actually not cheap. Even though there are many cheap watches now, it still costs at least several taels of silver to buy a watch.
If it is a watch produced by Daming Watch Company, the cheapest one will cost dozens of taels of silver, while the more expensive ones will cost several thousand taels or tens of thousands of taels of silver.
For example, Liu Jin carries a pocket watch with him. Xu Waner gave it to Liu Jin. It cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, and it has already reached the ceiling of clocks.
The watches in the watch shop in front of me are all watches from the time when I started farming, and the prices are generally around ten taels of silver. They are not watches produced by Daming Watch Firm, but by some other watch firms.
The quality, workmanship and brand are naturally not as good as those of Daming Watch Company, and the prices are also very affordable.
However, for ordinary people, this watch is still a luxury product. The cheapest watch costs nearly 10 taels of silver, which is enough for an ordinary worker to work without food or water for two months.
Better watches cost dozens of taels of silver, which is enough for ordinary people to work for a year, so the most popular watches sold now are actually watches that cost about a dozen taels of silver.
"Boss, there are a lot of people buying watches here."
Liu Jin found Xie Jingliang and said.
"To be fair to you, the business of the small shop is still good, especially since the Chinese New Year is coming soon. There are many people getting married, so there are more people buying watches."
Xie Jingliang smiled and said.
"What does getting married have to do with buying a watch?"
Liu Jin thought for a while and asked.
"Of course it does matter. Now in our Beijing-Tianjin area, marriage is about one motion and two turns."
Xie Jingliang said quickly.
“One motion and two turns?”
After hearing this, Liu Jin was even more dumbfounded. Why had he never heard of this marriage?
"The so-called one move and two transfers. The move refers to real estate. You need to have your own house. The two transfers refer to bicycles and watches. Now in the Beijing-Tianjin area, it is not good to get married if you don't have these three things.
So, the little girl may not marry you, or she can only buy a European slave girl to be your wife."
Xie Jingliang looked at Liu Jin. He seemed to really not know and explained in detail.
"Haha, that's it~"
Liu Jin was suddenly enlightened after hearing this, and then he couldn't help but sigh.
This hasn't changed since ancient times.
Thinking about marriage in later generations, it seems that it is almost the same. It started with a sewing machine and a watch, then gradually moved to a bicycle and a TV, and later to a motorcycle and a refrigerator. After the 21st century, it is a house and a car. In many places
There are even extremely generous betrothal gifts and hardware.
Things like six pounds and six taels, eight pounds and eight taels, colorful reds and greens, etc. were also extremely popular in later generations. Due to special historical reasons, there were few girls, and the pressure for marriage competition was high, so all kinds of weird things happened one after another.
"No wonder the people who come here to buy watches are all young people. It turns out they are all for getting married."
Liu Jin laughed and shook his head.
"Isn't that right? Today's young people are very demanding. Without a bicycle, it is definitely impossible. It is inconvenient to commute to and from get off work. Watches are a matter of face, and real estate is for the life of a young couple."
Xie Jingliang smiled and nodded.
"Then how much do we need for betrothal gifts and betrothal gifts now?"
After thinking for a while, Liu Jin asked again.
"In terms of betrothal gifts and betrothal gifts, in our region, the price is usually at least 100 taels of silver. Come on, people in the Beijing and Tianjin areas are losing money when marrying their daughters. The betrothal gifts and betrothal gifts of 100 taels of silver are at least 100 taels of silver.
Return twice as much."
"If a wealthy family marries a daughter, it will be a big deal. All kinds of gold, silver, and jewelry will cost at least several large cars."
"And they often have to dowry cars, real estate, shops, etc. As for the wealthy and aristocratic, it is even more incomparable. They have stocks, manors, plantations, farms, factories, firms, etc., and they all have it.
A rich lady is really married with a thousand pounds of gold."
When Xie Jingliang heard this, he quickly said.
The young and old men in Beijing and Tianjin are very generous. In fact, it is all for the sake of face. Even if they are ordinary people, they want betrothal gifts, betrothal gifts, etc., all because they want to look good, have more things, and have a long queue.
Then it was returned in double the form of dowry.
If this wealthy family marries their daughter, it will be a big deal.
"I see."
Liu Jin understood immediately after listening.
Think about when I married Xu Waner and Li Zhen, their dowry was also very huge, with a lot of dazzling things, gold and silver jewelry, jade, jade, coral, agate, pearl agate, etc., all in boxes.
come over.
Recently, when a wealthy family marries their daughter, it is a waste of money.
There is no way, people in Beijing and Tianjin are like this. In order for a daughter to have a status with her mother-in-law, this dowry must not be missing. If it is less, people will laugh at it, and face must be maintained.
"This is actually quite good."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said.
Think about future generations, because the bride price is too high and the requirements are too high, how many people cannot afford to marry a wife even if they have stripped their parents' money bags. And in the city, there are millions of older women who are single.
Their own requirements are relatively high, and due to the prevalence of poisonous chicken soup, very few people get married, even fewer have children, and the divorce rate is also high.
After all, this kind of society is actually a deformed society. Why do you have to buy a house and a car when you get married?
Can't the couple rely on their own hands to fight and work hard?
Also, this wedding requires so much betrothal gift. Is this selling my daughter or making a business?
The pressure on young people is too great. They cannot afford to get married or have children. In addition, the prevalence of poisonous chicken soup, emphasis on enjoyment and instant gratification, and the divorce rate are extremely high.
Such a society will definitely gradually decline and eventually lose hope and future.
If you don’t even want to have children, what future and hope do you have?
Today's Ming Dynasty is still very traditional in this regard. You can ask for betrothal gifts, but if you have to pay back double the amount, it will be difficult to maintain your dignity.
Of course, the ratio of men to women in the Ming Dynasty is relatively balanced now. It can even be said that there are more women than men, because there are a large number of female slaves from Europe, West Asia, and the Middle East. The number is very large, and it is estimated that there are millions of female slaves.
Living in the land of Ming Dynasty.
There are also many women from Korea and Japan. Because they are vassal states of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty is still very attractive to them. There are many Korean women as concubines in Liaodong, and in Nanyang and Ryukyu.
There are many Japanese women on the side.
They became the concubines, maids, servants, etc. of the people of the Ming Dynasty, which to a certain extent made the situation of more boys and girls more serious in the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, concubines were allowed in the Ming Dynasty, so generally speaking, the ratio of men to women was balanced.
But balance is balance. The requirements for marriage are still keeping up with the changes of the times. There is also a house, a bicycle and a watch, so the pressure is still a bit high.
