"You brat, if you meet someone you like, you can tell me directly. I will be the matchmaker and go and propose marriage now."
When the party on the small island in the middle of the lake ended, Zhang Mao also looked at Liu Jin with a smile on his face and asked.
"Um... aren't you afraid that I will fall in love with your granddaughter?"
Liu Jin thought for a while and smiled.
"Ah, brat, do you like Zhang Ying?"
Zhang Mao was slightly stunned after hearing this, and then said overjoyed: "Great, I have wanted to marry that girl for a long time, but I have never been able to find a young and handsome man who can seduce her. Marry you
I’m very relieved. You can quickly find a matchmaker to come over in advance, and I will agree immediately.”
"..."
Liu Jin was speechless. Why was this old Zhang so anxious to marry off his granddaughter?
This grandpa is in charge, and he is not afraid of mistreating others?
"Mr. Zhang, I'm just saying this. This is our first time meeting you, and we've just met you."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
"It's enough to meet me once. You don't know that you thought I was getting married. You didn't even meet me and just married me home."
Zhang Mao said nonchalantly, in this era where parents' orders and matchmaker's words are important, it is normal to not see anyone else.
Therefore, in ancient times, matchmaking was a very fortune-telling profession. With just one mouth, a dead person could be said to be alive, and a living person could be said to be dead. Neither the man nor the woman dared to offend the matchmaker. They served him delicious food and drinks, and they also
You have to give enough money before you can ask the other party to find a good partner for you.
"Tell me honestly, which one do you like?"
Lao Zhang is still a rather gossipy person. When he said this, his voice became softer, as if he was inducing Liu Jin to speak out.
"I really can't say that I like that one. All of them are so beautiful. How can I say that I fell in love with anyone at first sight."
Liu Jin smiled and shook his head and said.
"You're quite demanding, kid."
Zhang Mao looked at Liu Jin and said, then thought about it and said, "Are you too thin-skinned to speak?"
"I tell you, you can be shameless in other things, but you must be shameless in this matter. When you meet the person you like, you have to be brave and fight for it. Otherwise, if you miss it, you will regret it for the rest of your life.
"
"...Keeping in mind Mr. Zhang's teachings, I just feel that the time we get together is a bit short. After all, we are looking for someone to live with in the future. To some extent, we also need to know whether the other person has common topics with us, so that we can slowly and leisurely spend time together in the future.
Get through it."
"If you marry someone with whom you have nothing in common, and you won't be able to talk for a few words in the future, what's the point?"
Liu Jin naturally still has some thinking habits of later generations, and in the final analysis, we still have to be able to talk.
"common topic?"
Zhang Mao was slightly startled, hearing new words from Liu Jin, but Zhang Mao said indifferently: What's the point of talking to a woman? Just get married, have children, and take care of the family."
Well, male chauvinism has naturally reached its peak in this era.
"Okay~"
Liu Jin was immediately speechless and couldn't speak more than half a sentence. He really couldn't talk about this matter with Lao Zhang anymore. It felt like he was talking to him like a chicken.
At this moment, Xu Guangzuo came over with a smile on his face and said, "Brother Liu, do you like anyone?"
"Don't mention it. This kid said he didn't know much about the first meeting. He wants to have more contact. He doesn't know. Opportunities for such contact are very rare."
Zhang Mao smiled and said first.
"Then this will be difficult to handle. It is not easy for men and women to come into contact with each other. This contact will have a great impact on the woman's reputation."
Xu Guangzuo thought for a while and said.
"Forehead…"
When Liu Jin heard this, he thought that in this era, men and women cannot easily contact each other. Let alone wealthy and noble people like them, even young men and women from ordinary families cannot move around easily to avoid gossip and the bad guys are innocent.
It would be difficult to hold a small gathering like today. If it weren't for the fact that everyone is acquainted with each other, and they are married in time, and they can all be called cousins, they really wouldn't let these young men and women do it.
Got together.
"But I think that Li Zhen seems to be interested in Brother Liu..."
Xu Guangzuo didn't tell the whole story. This was for Li Zhen's sake. As long as the meaning was conveyed, everyone would understand.
"Li Zhen?"
"Master Li's granddaughter?"
When Zhang Mao heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he seemed to be gossiping.
"Yes, I was standing by at the time and saw it clearly."
Xu Guangzuo said with a smile on his face, then he thought about it and said to Liu Jin: "Brother Liu, it is not easy to marry the granddaughter of Minister Li. However, Minister Li has already said that he will not marry anyone who is not a disciple of the emperor."
The disciples of the emperor naturally refer to the talented people who can pass the Chunwei examination and take the palace examination. Because the emperor usually takes the examination in person, the students who can participate in the palace examination are also called the disciples of the emperor.
Of course, those who can reach the stage of the imperial examination have basically reached the pinnacle of the imperial examination. Such people can be regarded as truly talented, and they all mean a bright future.
"The requirements are really high. The disciples of Tianzi today are basically older people. Even some of the younger ones basically have families. Lao Li has dug a big hole for his granddaughter."
Hearing Xu Guangzuo's words, Zhang Mao couldn't help but said: "These literati are like this, mother-in-law and mother-in-law, they have all kinds of rules, which is annoying to death."
Lao Zhang is very familiar with the imperial examination that takes place every three years.
Under the ancient imperial examination system, those who were thirty years old were considered very young to be a Jinshi, and those who were fifty years old were considered very young. However, people in this era have basically married their wives and become fathers in their teens.
.
Especially those who are able to study, most of them are from well-off families, and naturally they will not be unable to start a family and start a business because of lack of money. Therefore, there are very, very few people who appear in TV dramas with talents and beauties who have won gold medals at a young age.
Each one is a truly talented person.
That's why Zhang Mao said that Li Shilang dug a big hole for his granddaughter. The emperor's disciples are usually very old, or they all have families. Is your granddaughter going to marry as a concubine? Or do you want to marry her?
Much bigger than yourself?
It is a big pit with Absolutely.
"The requirements are quite high, but this seems to be really prepared for Brother Liu. With Brother Liu's talent, it is only a piece of cake to be named to the gold list."
Xu Guangzuo looked at Liu Jin and said with a smile that he was very confident in Liu Jin.
"Brother Xu, thank you very much."
Liu Jin smiled and shook his head slightly. Liu Jin was still very clear about how much he weighed. If he hadn't discovered the cheating function of the golden finger, he would probably have just brushed his face.
"You brat, I can't help you with the imperial examination. You should work harder and pass the exam in one try. Otherwise, if you wait another three years, the day lily will be gone."
Zhang Mao looked at Liu Jin and couldn't help but smile.
"..."
Liu Jin was speechless again. Sure enough, no matter whether it is ancient people or modern people in later generations, the nature of gossip has not changed at all. This pulling and pulling has always been on his head.
"Why didn't I see it?"
Liu Jin shook his head slightly and said.
"Do you still want to see this?"
Xu Guangzuo smiled and said: "She has taken the initiative to ask you questions, and you may not have noticed that her eyes are looking at you from time to time. I can see this clearly. I am a person who has been there, so I can't be wrong.
.”
"This guy is good-looking and has an advantage!"
"Let's not talk about this anymore and let nature take its course."
Liu Jin shook his head slightly and said, I can't say how I feel about Li Zhen. I can only say that she is still very beautiful.
"You brat, do you want to buy some land?"
Zhang Mao smiled slightly when he heard Liu Jin's words. The young man was still a bit thin-skinned, so he thought about it and asked.
"Buying land?"
“What are you buying land for?”
Liu Jin was slightly stunned and said.
"Of course buying land means buying a family property. Only when you have land can you be considered a wealthy family."
Zhang Mao said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Mr. Zhang, do you want to sell the land?"
Liu Jin looked at Zhang Mao, thought for a while and asked.
"You are so smart, you guessed it with just a few clicks."
Zhang Mao smiled and nodded, then said: "I am planning to sell some of the fields I have."
“What are you selling the land for?”
"It's not like you don't have money."
When Liu Jin heard this, he was slightly stunned and said.
Zhang Mao followed behind him. They were selling briquettes, fishing, and going out to sea for business. They had made a lot of money, so why did they need to sell land?
"I just don't have any money!"
Zhang Mao replied with a wry smile.
Although these industries under Liu Jin's command are profitable, they are also very expensive. Although the British government has a lot of savings, in less than a year, after continuous investment, the money is like running water.
It flowed out loudly.
Moreover, Zhang Mao is a very smart person and is willing to invest. Whether it is fishing or overseas business, it is very profitable. The same is true for the cement factory, so he is also thinking about expanding his industry and making money.
more money.
Although this British prince belongs to a wealthy family, he actually doesn’t have much cash in his hands. Most of his family property exists in the form of properties, shops, and various businesses. He doesn’t have too much money. Basically,
All the previous investments have been exhausted.
"I'm thinking about buying a few more ships from you, and I'm going to form a caravan to go to the Japanese country. I'm going to have to invest hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in this process."
"In addition, I am also planning to buy a few more whaling ships, which will cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. In addition to hiring crew members and other expenses, I need to prepare a small hundred thousand."
"Everyone at the cement factory is discussing expanding its scale. Each company must invest tens of thousands of taels of silver."
"After all, a few hundred thousand taels of silver is simply not enough."
Zhang Mao counted on his fingers with Liu Jin and Xu Guangzuo.
Zhang Mao has really tasted the benefits now. Fishing boats going out to sea are very profitable, merchant ships going to North Korea are even more profitable, and cement factories are also very profitable.
Each of these industries is a profitable business. Taking advantage of the good time to mine gold, he is also preparing to decisively expand the number of employees. He is also thinking about forming a fleet to go to Japan for business, and he is also thinking about expanding the scale of fishing boats and cement plants.
Scale, etc., these all require money.
"Mr. Zhang, are we taking a step too far?"
When Xu Guangzuo heard this, he thought for a while and said, "Dingguo Duke's Palace, Yingguo Palace, and Chengguo Palace, these three Dukes almost all wear the same pair of trousers, and all the business is done by the three families in partnership."
"Too big?"
"It's too slow for me."
Zhang Mao shook his head and said: "Don't you know that the Zhang brothers are already preparing to form a fleet to go to the Japanese country to do business. I heard that the gold and silver exchange here in the Japanese country is one to five. If nothing else, just to make this gold and silver
The business will be very profitable, not to mention, you don’t know the profits of this sea trade unless you tell me.”
"In the future, I am still thinking about organizing a fleet to go to Siam and Southeast Asia. If I have the chance, I will also go to Tianzhu, Persia, and Europe. The price of silk and porcelain in Europe is as good as gold."
"Now is the time for sea trade to begin. If we don't seize the opportunity, others will get there first."
After hearing Zhang Mao's words, Xu Guangzuo thought for a while and nodded solemnly. Although he also saw great prospects, he did not have the courage like Lao Zhang.
"Lao Zhang is transitioning from a feudal aristocrat to an emerging capitalist."
Liu Jin couldn't help but label Zhang Mao like this in his heart, but Liu Jin was still happy to see such changes. The feudal dynasty of the Ming Dynasty wanted to truly go global and expand its recruitment around the world.
We must slowly transform from a feudal society to a capital society.
This is also the direction that Liu Jin has been working hard. Otherwise, why would he bring Zhu Houzhao with him in everything he does? In the final analysis, it is to make Zhu Houzhao, the future Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the biggest capitalist.
Coupled with the transformation of wealthy nobles like Zhang Mao and Xu Guangzuo, this power will naturally increase and eventually promote the transformation of the entire Ming Dynasty.
"You brat, do you want to buy land?"
"Don't tell me that you have no money. The richest people in the Ming Dynasty now belong to you and His Highness the Crown Prince."
After Zhang Mao finished speaking, he also looked at Liu Jin. The reason why he looked for Liu Jin was because he knew that Liu Jin had money in his hands. He had a lot of silver. Of course, he didn't care if he didn't have any money. Liu Jin had a shipyard and could also use ships.
Come and exchange.
"Mr. Zhang, where is the land in your hand?"
Liu Jin thought for a while and asked, buying land has been a good investment since ancient times.
"They are all near the capital. They are the most fertile and best land in the capital. If I were not in a hurry to use money, I would not sell them."
Zhang Mao replied.
"Fields near the capital?"
When Liu Jin heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, he thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Zhang, if you sell these lands to me now, you will definitely regret it in the future."
Now here in Tianjin, the landlords who sold large-scale land to Liu Jin are already regretting it. The land near the capital will definitely be priceless in the future.
"regret?"
"I won't regret it, let alone regret it. I'll just buy it back from you when the time comes."