Since the twelfth lunar month, it has snowed several times, each one getting heavier than the last, and the weather is getting colder day by day, with thick icicles forming under the eaves.
It's cold, there's heavy snow, and red plum blossoms are blooming.
The nobles of Chang'an City were enjoying the snow, and the scholars were also reciting poems and composing poems.
But for the people at the bottom, all they feel is the majesty and ruthlessness of God. The north wind blows one night, and at dawn there are many poor people, and beggars freeze to death.
Many people were shivering at home due to the cold and could not even go out. Their clothes were too thin to protect them from the cold, and only their dilapidated houses could protect them from the wind, snow and cold.
When I got up, I still slept soundly last night.
The heated kang is really a treasure for winter, no one wants to get up when lying on it.
Fan Xuanfu was really pregnant. After Wu Huaiyu confirmed her pregnancy by taking out the joyful pulse, Fan Xuanfu now isolated herself in a small courtyard and served her with her own maid. No one else could enter the courtyard and eat.
Not to mention diet.
Regarding this caution, Huaiyu had nothing to say, and the smart Runniang and the others would never go even half a step closer to the courtyard, let alone give them any food at this time, lest anything happen to get involved.
Although Huaiyu felt that Xuanfu was a bit petty, but after all, it was his first child, so it was reasonable to be cautious.
Now he can only see Xuan Fu once or twice a day at the courtyard gate, or chat with her across the courtyard gate when she goes for a walk.
The tabby dog and the golden retriever chow suddenly ran over from the snow and pounced directly on Huaiyu. These two dogs liked the snow very much. The harder it fell, the more excited they became. They ran and rolled in the snow.
I've been very busy recently and haven't had time to hunt. These two were good hunting dogs, but now they can only keep fat in this yard every day. Fortunately, this yard is big enough.
Three sisters, Fan Wuniang's monk and maidservant, came over, each wearing a fur cloak.
"Alang is not afraid of the cold either."
Since the eldest lady Xuan Fu raised her child with peace of mind, the three concubines and four concubines were able to get the rain and dew. For ten days, there were seven of them, two days for each concubine, and one day for each concubine. The schedule was just full, which was a hardship for Wu Huaiyu.
I can only find excuses to take a break from time to time.
The arrangements were full and there was no room left at all. This was all done by the county monarch Wu Liu.
Only when the concubines happened to have trouble, they could still take a breather, but now Wu Liu Shi actually told the seven of them that if they encountered any inconvenience, they would arrange for their personal maids to have intercourse.
Huaiyu firmly opposed it.
"Are you coming to have a snowball fight?"
"We're not having a snowball fight, it's too cold."
Huaiyu, however, still had a childish heart, so he grabbed a handful of snow, kneaded it into a snowball, and threw it at the monk Fan Wuniang. Wu Niang was caught off guard, and the snowball fell on her shoulders, scattered, and sprinkled on her face and neck.
, with a cold shock, he screamed.
Fan Jiuniang Jingang immediately grabbed the snow ball and fought back to avenge his cousin. Huaiyu relied on his good skills and flexibly moved around to fight back while walking. Several concubines were beaten until they screamed.
"Thirteen, come and help."
If they couldn't defeat him, they quickly called their sword maids to come in for reinforcements. These maids also knew that Huai Yu was easy-tempered, so they all joined the battle one after another.
Huaiyu was outnumbered for a while and was besieged by a group of women. Snowballs flew everywhere, snow powder flew everywhere, and there were snow powder marks all over his body.
The two dogs also joined the fight to reinforce Huaiyu, knocking them down one after another.
After playing for a long time, it finally ended. Everyone's heads were smoking and their faces were red.
It's not cold at all now, it's even a little hot.
"Go back to the house quickly, don't get cold."
I went back home and changed my clothes, and breakfast was ready.
Lamb offal soup, millet porridge, some pickled radish and sour kelp side dishes, some molded tofu, and steamed dumplings, it's hearty and nutritious.
The two Gao Hui'an sisters are now almost developing double chins. They are chubby and have some baby fat. Although they are not yet 120 pounds, they are still within a few pounds.
Fortunately, Huaiyu lets them exercise every day, and their bodies are just plump but not obese. Although Wu Liu thinks that it would be better to be fatter and fatter, Huaiyu feels that they are fine now.
"There have been a lot of guests coming to give gifts these days. In addition, the tenants of our village are also coming to give gifts one after another," Run Niang was responsible for managing the accounts of Huaiyu's house and took advantage of breakfast time to report to Huaiyu.
"Isn't it difficult for everyone this year? Why do tenants still come to give gifts?"
"This year is difficult for everyone, but at the end of the year, you have to express something. This is not only a custom, but also a courtesy. It is indispensable. If you can't pay the rent this year, you can give some local products at home, chickens and ducks, or some dried mushrooms, firewood, etc.
It’s also an expression of meaning.”
"Many of our neighbors in Yongxingfang also come to give gifts."
Yongxingfang is close to the East Palace of the Imperial City. Most of the residents here are aristocratic officials, some are officials and miscellaneous officials from various governmental offices in Chang'an, plus a small number of craftsmen, and some are rented scholars, students, etc.
Relatively speaking, they are still a group of people with better conditions.
But this year the situation is not very good. Many people have come to Wu Huaiyu in the shop to borrow money and food before. Some people have repaid it, some have repaid part of it, and some have not repaid it yet. It is about to celebrate the New Year.
You have to come and sit at your door. Those who have money to pay back the money, and those who have no money to pay back have to come and say hello. No matter how high or low they are, they have to give some New Year gifts to show their appreciation.
The Wu family is considered a new aristocrat in Yongxing Square, and their official status is not the highest. The highest one is Qin Qiong, and there are several relatives of the emperor, but Wu Huaiyu is the best to everyone in the square. Not only does he lend food and money, but there is even one
If any neighborhood disputes or family conflicts arise, Wu Huaiyu and his son are willing to help mediate.
As an upstart, the Wu family is very willing to make good neighbors in order to enhance the reputation of the Wu family.
When the Wu family got married before, they even invited the neighbors to have a banquet and distributed noodles to each family. Even the leftover food from the banquet was given to the poor families in the neighborhood.
Nowadays, many ordinary residents in Yongxingfang send their children to Huaiyu's shop to be apprentices, or directly to Wufu to work as servants. Therefore, Huaiyu is not only their neighbor, but also their boss.
Regardless of the fact that Duke Qin Qiong of Qi is the fourth official official, his wife is still the head of the county, and several other relatives of the emperor are also of high status, but in Yongxingfang today, the Wu family has the best reputation.
"By the way, the Wei family next door also sent some gifts, including a set of books and two jars of Wei Gong's wine. Madam Pei personally delivered it to Erlang. She said she was very grateful to Erlang for what happened earlier."
"Oh, did you give me a gift in return?"
"The slave took it upon himself to return a set of soap, two Longyou salt bricks and two Jiannan tea bricks. Lady Pei accepted them."
Huaiyu took a sip of the mutton soup. It tasted delicious.
After the emperor paid back the thousand coins for Wei Zheng last time, Huaiyu naturally settled the account and returned the house deed and book collection to Wei Zheng.
After the matter was settled, Wei Zheng seemed to have changed his attitude towards Huaiyu. At least he would now say hello when he met her at the door.
Mrs. Pei often visited Wu Liu at home from time to time.
"Alang, Shopkeeper Zhao from Qianjin Hall, Shopkeeper Fan from Changsheng Hall, Shopkeeper Liu from Baoyu Hall, and Shopkeeper Yang from Meiyu Hall all came to the house. It's the end of the year. Do you want to spend some of the profits on the account?
Everyone?"
Various industries in Huaiyu are either self-operated or partnership, but they all use the owner-operator model, which is mainly managed and operated by the shopkeeper. The owner is only responsible for selecting the shopkeeper, investing money, auditing accounts, etc., and is not involved in daily affairs.
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The dividend payment period is agreed upon every five years, but an appropriate portion can be withdrawn each year.
Huaiyu is naturally not short of money, but the shopkeeper and senior clerks still want to share some for a festive and prosperous new year.
"How much profit is there?"
"Several shops have made a lot of money this year. After excluding the expenses of opening branches, purchasing raw materials, etc., there is still a lot of surplus. It is useless to put it in the account for the time being. It is idle."
There is money in the account that is idle, and the best use is of course to expand the scale and open a semicolon. However, Huaiyu also understands that everyone is actually very concerned about the immediate benefits.
Especially those shopkeepers and clerks who are qualified to take stock, all want to spend money as soon as possible to improve the situation.
"There is an accounting period every five years. The accounting period has not yet come, but everyone has worked really hard. So, let's take half of the bonus and divide it first."
For half of the dividend, the owner gets nine percent of his silver shares, and one of the shopkeepers' personal shares, of which the big shopkeeper gets half of it.
"In addition to hard work, the homeless men and apprentices, as well as the doctors, pharmacists, and craftsmen, will also be given some welfare rewards during the New Year. Run Niang, please work hard and sort out these accounts."
"By the way, don't forget about our family too,"
The Wu family is now also a big house, with many masters and servants. Although the Wu Liu family is in charge of the public areas of the house, Huaiyu still insists on paying for it from the courtyard and giving everyone monthly money.
There are four elders, Lao Wu, Huaiyu, Huaiyi and Huailiang. Each of them has 3,000 yuan per month.
The Wu Liu family, the elder sister-in-law Cheng family, the wife Xuan Fu, and the younger sister also each received three thousand yuan.
The three sisters of the Fan family and the old Wu concubines who served the Wang family were given 2,000 yuan each. As for Runniang, the Gao sisters, Irina, the three concubines of Huaiyi, and the two concubines of the old Wu Xina,
Each person is fifteen hundred dollars.
Further down, there are the servants and servants of the family. The swordsmen and maids each receive five hundred coins per month, and the others receive three hundred, two hundred and one hundred coins.
This money is monthly money, which is pocket money, and is not considered salary.
Especially those slaves. Normally, they do not receive wages, including food, housing, clothing, etc., but Huaiyu still gives them a little every month, which is equivalent to a reward, so they can buy what they want.
Although there are not many people per person, but now there are many people in the family, it costs tens of thousands of dollars a month. Although Lao Wu and his wife think it is not necessary, Huaiyu still insists on distributing it. He has a lot of property now, so this expense is not considered.
burden.
As long as this money is distributed, the effect will be good.
Runniang, the monks and maids who were in charge of the money and food accounts, and Huaiyu even got an extra allowance. For example, Runniang was originally given a thousand and a half yuan a month, but Huaiyu paid an extra thousand.
I would often buy her some jewelry, and even give her some money and silk. After all, she was my concubine and a great accountant, so it was very hard to manage the accounts.
The eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Cheng, would also give a monthly salary to the servants in her courtyard. Huaiyu did not interfere in this matter. The eldest sister-in-law was also a rich woman. She was the eldest daughter of Cheng Yaojin.
Thousands of acres, private housing is rich in wealth.
Yesterday, Huaiyi took his sister-in-law to Cheng Yaojin's house to deliver New Year's gifts. Huaiyu also went with him. Cheng Yaojin told Huaiyu that after the new year, he would go to Jiannan Luzhou to be the governor. He would be the military governor of the four states. The emperor sent him there.
In Shu, the main reason is that the barbarians in Jiannan have been causing chaos.
Dou Gui, the governor of Yizhou, had previously announced that he wanted to send troops to guard the rebels. Li Shimin did not allow it and only allowed him to appease the rebels, but the effect was obviously not good.
Now that Cheng Yaojin, a confidant, is sent to be the governor of Luzhou, with the killing god gone, it is estimated that many unruly and barbaric tribes of tribes will be wiped out, and Chang'an may have tens of thousands more tribesmen slaves.
Anyway, before Cheng Yaojin even left Chang'an, he had already asked Huaiyi and Huaiyu brothers how many beasts they wanted, and he would buy them for them. It was absolutely cheap, and he would give priority to the strongest Dingkou.
Purchasing slaves at first-hand prices in the place of origin. It is said that this is not the first time Cheng Yaojin has negotiated this deal with others. He has accepted reservations for many animals that he has a good relationship with the Cheng family.
It is said that the Cui family of Qinghe had a huge appetite and wanted to find Lao Cheng to get thousands of eight hundred barbarian slaves to farm the land.
The polite Sister-in-law Cheng was not polite to her father and slapped her directly in the face, "Aye, leave me five hundred. I want a young man."
"No more than five hundred, no problem," Lao Cheng agreed happily.
But the sister-in-law continued, "It's not five hundred, it's five hundred rooms."
Five hundred rooms means five hundred families of slaves. At least it must be a young couple with two or three children, or one or two parents who are not very old. Even if one room is counted as five people, isn't this wrong?
Two thousand five hundred people?
Huaiyu was surprised.
"One house of slaves is worth fifty thousand dollars. These five hundred houses are not worth twenty-five thousand guan?" Even though the sister-in-law has a very thick dowry, she can't afford that much, right?
"Young and strong ox slaves are still sold by the house. They will be very popular in Chang'an. When the time comes, we sell 400 houses and keep 100 rooms. The ox slaves will almost spend no money on the 100 houses." The sister-in-law said very plainly.
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Huaiyu cried out: "F*ck!"
I can’t tell that my sister-in-law still has the talent, so this is a good plan.
Get the first-hand source of goods from her father, the first-hand price from the place of origin, there is no middleman to make her the difference, and it is still the best quality slave, and it will be delivered to Chang'an. She can find the buyer in advance, and then directly ask the buyer to pay for the loan.
She didn't need to worry about it. The profits she earned could really go to waste for hundreds of households of slaves.
That's worth up to five thousand guan.
The origin of this animal slave must be cheap, especially if it is a prisoner of war, but Chang'an is not cheap, so based on the Chang'an price, it is worth at least 5,000 guan.
"How about Erlang also book 500 rooms?" Sister-in-law said to Huaiyu.
"Uncle Cheng, how can there be so many prisoners?"
Lao Cheng laughed and said, "Since I have personally taken action, I can still spare a lot of rebels. When Duan Lun, Dou Gui, Guo Xingfang, Wei Yunqi and others conquered the rebels, they had to capture tens of thousands. I
How can we be worse than them? Not to mention 100,000 prisoners, but 300,000 to 50,000 will be taken."
Huaiyu didn't doubt Cheng Yaojin's words at all. This guy was really capable. Anyway, in the eyes of the Tang people, the natives such as the Tibetan, Barbarian, Qiang, etc. in the southwest were not considered human beings at all.
It doesn’t matter how many people you rebel against, if you cause trouble and lead to a large army to conquer, the generals and managers will not check it out so clearly. By then, all the places where the army has passed will be razed to the ground, and everyone will be captured and sold into slavery. This is normal.
But it works.
"Then I also book 500 rooms?"
"No problem." Lao Cheng laughed loudly, and as he spoke, he and the others had already made a thousand households of the Xiu tribe in the southwest to be slaves.
Huaiyu also knew that if he could make five thousand guan from it, he would definitely give one or two thousand to Cheng Yaojin and his men later.
This is the right,
Dou Gui, Duan Lun, Guo Xingfang and others have done this before.
