After Xia Jing finished her breakfast, she took the two maids and walked out of the house.
Today she planned to go to the shop to check and see if there were any shortcomings.
Speaking of which, she had never visited these four shops from the time they were purchased to the time they were renovated.
Passing by the garden, she saw that the women who usually came out to enjoy the flowers in the morning were nowhere to be found. Xia Jing asked the maid, "What are they busy with recently?"
"Back to the princess, after the ladies in the palace got the land deed, they were busy arranging for the stewards to open up wasteland. In addition, the gentlemen were busy recruiting soldiers. They left early and came back late. Recently, no one has time to take a walk in the garden.
."
Xia Jing said lightly and stopped paying attention to the other rooms.
Hongmei took the initiative to talk about Li Chengmu's whereabouts: "Fifth Master has been busy training troops these days. He has been in the military camp for three days and has not returned."
"Young people are willing to work hard and endure hardships, and have a good character. Let them be."
Xia Jing was talking when she saw the old man at the second door and asked in surprise: "Why are you here, sir? Are you waiting for someone?"
Mr. Zhang stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I'm taking half a day off today. I'm bored in the mansion. I heard that the princess is going to go out on the street. Can you bring me with you?"
Um?
Nowadays, the government office is extremely busy, and this old man actually said that he had half a day to spare.
Why doesn't she believe this?
Mr. Zhang looked at Xia Jing and noticed the suspicion in her eyes, and immediately grinned: "Haha, please lead me."
Xia Jing gave him a meaningful look, walked past him and walked out of the house.
Hongmei and Baimei looked at each other, saluted Mr. Zhang, passed him and quickly caught up with Xia Jing in front.
Mr. Zhang fanned himself, put away his fan and followed with a smile.
Silence is acquiescence, so the princess agreed!
When she arrived at the door of the house, Xia Jing paused and noticed a green-draped carriage parked next to her carriage.
snort!
Nowadays, old men can play tricks better than young people!
There are four stores in Fucheng, two of which are located on the main street, and the other two are in the streets of the north and south cities.
Mr. Zhang has always been curious about what kind of store Xia Jing plans to open? She is so unconventional in choosing a location.
According to normal thinking, if there is sufficient funds to open a store, no one is willing to open a store in an alley with little traffic.
I couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so I came over today to have a look.
The main thing is that the other man wants to know what she is up to.
The store closest to the government office is on the main street. It is a shop with only over 100 square meters.
As soon as Xia Jing got off the carriage, Ding Daqiang came to greet her, "Ding Daqiang, a common man, has met the princess."
"You are Ding Dazhuang's brother."
The two brothers look very similar.
"It's the grassroots people."
Xia Jing passed him and walked into the shop, "Is the shop ready?"
Ding Daqiang followed behind, still looking a little bit reluctant to let go, "We are ready. We have hired two guys and can open at any time. We are just waiting for the goods to be loaded. When will our goods arrive?"
The shop has a cashier counter, display cabinets, and a rest area for customers to rest.
Due to the small area of the products, the shop seems a bit empty.
But Xia Jing was very satisfied, "Yes, you don't have to worry about the goods. I have received the news that they will arrive tomorrow, and our shop will be officially open for business the day after."
Ding Daqiang was stunned for a moment, "Why don't we choose an auspicious day?"
Are the rich and powerful so casual about opening a shop?
Xia Jing knew that he had good intentions, so she smiled and said, "Every day is auspicious, and we will open the business on any day."
Mr. Zhang held a fan in his hand, fanning himself while looking at the shop.
When he noticed the display cabinet, he asked doubtfully: "Princess, is this cabinet of yours used to store merchandise?"
Xia Jing nodded: "Yes."
"How many things can be stored in these cabinets?"
"The goods I want to sell are all the same, and the cabinet has a few compartments."
Mr. Zhang was startled and plucked his ears, thinking he heard wrongly, "Just the same product?"
"Yes! You heard that right."
hiss!
Ding Daqiang, Mr. Zhang and the two waiters all sucked in the air-conditioning. One shop only sells one product?
"What product is that?"
Xia Jing smiled evilly: "It's a secret for now!"
Mr. Zhang just pricked up his ears and looked at her speechlessly after hearing this.
When the two maids saw Mr. Zhang's speechless expression, they pursed their lips and snickered.
After inspecting several shops, Mr. Zhang really doubts that such a shop can make money?
As I thought in my heart, I asked, "Can you make money by opening these four stores?"
The two stores are in a small alley. Although the two stores are on the main street, each store only sells the same product. Can this business make money?
"Why should I open a shop if I don't make money?" Xia Jing asked.
I saw a herbal tea shop on the street to the left, "I rarely drink herbal tea when I come to Lingnan, why don't we try what this herbal tea tastes like?"
Mr. Zhang frowned and glanced at the herbal tea shop next to him. Knowing that he couldn't ask anything for the time being, he nodded helplessly: "Okay, it just so happens that Wei Chen hasn't tasted it either."
Ding Daqiang followed behind and introduced in a low voice: "Most of the shops on this street belong to the three major Lingnan families. Now this herbal tea shop belongs to the Tong family."
After his introduction, Xia Jing noticed that there was actually Tong Ji's emblem hanging on the counter.
"Since most of the shops on this street are owned by the three major aristocratic families, how did you buy my two shops?"
Ding Daqiang laughed, "Small businesses were squeezed out of business and couldn't continue to operate, and the small ones took advantage of them."
The herbal tea shop is divided into two floors, Xia Jing and others were led to the private room on the second floor.
The wooden stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor creaked when you stepped on them due to their age.
Mr. Zhang was dissatisfied with the staircase, "The Tong family has a big business, how can they do business without even repairing the reception area! Will business be good under such conditions?"
The waiter who was leading the way turned back and smiled: "Don't worry, sir, our shop is doing pretty well."
After that, he pointed to the many individual tourists sitting in the lobby on the first floor.
Mr. Zhang looked back and said unconvinced: "It's still early for the guest to arrive."
Waiter: "."
This is the first time I have encountered an aggressive customer.
"Thank you, old man, for reminding us. We, Tong Ji, will continue to work hard."
The sound coming from the second floor made several people turn around and found that it was the eldest young master of the Tong family.
"Oh! It's such a fate that I can meet Tong Ji's young master's family here. I have admired them for a long time."
Mr. Zhang's sinister tone attracted the attention of Xia Jing and others.
Tong Song laughed at his words.
His eyes fell on Xia Jing, who was wearing a sky-blue skirt and her hair was gently pulled back. She looked natural.
From the appearance, it is hard to tell that she is already the ancestor of the palace, and her son is almost grown up.
"The princess's visit to the shop will make our Tong Ji Pengli shine. Can we let Xiaosheng treat us today?"
Xia Jing pursed her lips and nodded slightly.
She has never really had contact with anyone from the three major aristocratic families outside. This opportunity is rare, and it would be unjustifiable if it doesn't go his way.
"Princess, please!" Tong Song made a gesture of invitation.
Tong Song heard that they came here specially to drink herbal tea, so he asked the waiter to give them a bowl each, and also made a pot of black tea.
When Mr. Zhang saw the waiter exiting, he came out again to make trouble, "Master Tong, don't you even drink the herbal tea in his shop?"
Master Tong smiled: "Sir, I misunderstood. Herbal tea clears away heat and detoxifies, and is cold in nature. It's okay to drink it once or twice occasionally. It's impossible to drink it every day just because it's homemade, right?"
As he said this, he looked at Xia Jing and said, "However, for those of you who have just arrived in Lingnan, because you have not yet adapted to the climate in Lingnan, you can drink more to relieve the heat, so as not to get burned and burn out."
"Oh, no wonder I've been feeling a little hot these past few days. It turns out the weather is too hot." Xia Jing is not averse to drinking herbal tea, but she just doesn't know how it tastes?
Tong Song said warmly: "It will get better after you get used to it for a while."
While we were chatting, the waiter came in with herbal tea.
Xia Jing looked at the herbal tea in front of her that was like Chinese medicinal juice, "Isn't the herbal tea in your shop just Chinese medicinal soup?"
Mr. Zhang nodded: "Aren't you trying to sell pork on sheep's heads?"
Tong Song took a deep breath and said, "Yes, it is brewed by mixing herbs into herbal tea bags. People in Lingnan like this. Those with a little bit of conditions can drink it at any time when they need it outside. The poor like to brew it themselves."
Mr. Zhang: "."
He suspected that this kid was criticizing Sang and Huai, but he was not referring to him!
In my heart, I wanted to go back and endure it by myself, but as soon as this kid's words came out, he would endure it or not. If he endured it, he would admit that he was poor.
Tong Song looked at Xia Jing, "Princess, I heard that you are busy opening up wasteland recently?"
"right."
Xia Jing looked at the herbal tea on the table and took a sip. "It doesn't taste very good. Why would anyone like to drink this?"
"Princess, just get used to it." Tong Song poured a cup of black tea and pushed it in front of her.
Xia Jing picked up the black tea and took two sips. The bitter taste in her mouth was relieved a lot.
Tong Song brought the topic back again, "If the princess encounters any difficulties in opening up wasteland, she can come to me and I will help if I can."
Xia Jing put down the tea cup and exhaled, "Don't mention it, I really have something to ask Master Tong for help."
"Oh?" How rude!
Xia Jing thought about the supplies she lacked, "Nowadays, we are really short of a lot of supplies for land reclamation, such as cattle, horses, farm tools, seeds, building materials, etc. It would be better if we could borrow a few more craftsmen."
The corner of Tong Song's mouth twitched, he had a really big appetite, and the Tong family felt a little distressed to take out so many supplies.
As long as he is not in the government office, the eldest young master of the Tong family has regained his confidence. After hearing these words, his momentum instantly weakened.
"Princess, are you kidding me? These supplies you mentioned are in short supply no matter where they are placed."
Mr. Zhang didn't wait for Xia Jing to speak, he said disgustedly: "Young master of the Tong family, do you want to break your promise and get fat?"
Tong Song took a deep breath and looked calm, "Princess, I will provide some of the supplies you want from our Tong family. Among them, there are only twenty cattle, ten horses, and a few other supplies, but they will not be too much.
Because the Tong family doesn’t have much."
Mr. Zhang was so angry that he glared, "We have tens of thousands of hectares of wasteland, and you actually said that we only have twenty heads and ten horses. How can you handle this? Are you sending beggars? What do you think of our palace? Where are the beggars?"
Tong Song wanted to take back his words of help at the beginning. These are not beggars, they are simply a group of robbers!
Earlier, tens of thousands taels were robbed, and then more than 200,000 taels were robbed. Now that they are short of supplies, they have started robbing again.
Is there any justice?
Xia Jing didn't waste any time and told him directly: "We are buying them with silver, three thousand oxen, two thousand mules and horses, and a few others. You can give them to me. I want to rely on Master Tong's influence in Lingnan. This is
You should be able to help us solve some difficulties!"
So don’t misunderstand that she is fighting the autumn breeze.
hiss!
Several people around took a breath. The princess had eaten garlic for breakfast, and her breath was really bad.
Even Tong Song, who has always been good-tempered, wanted to sneer.
Perhaps due to the habit of businessmen, he immediately started bargaining and haggling, directly halving the amount quoted by Xia Jing and then halving it.
"We can only get together seven or eight hundred cattle at most, and it's even harder to get mules and horses. There are only five hundred at most. I'll try to get some for you. Princess, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's really that the situation in Lingnan is special.
, the property of the people at the border cannot be protected, so people naturally dare not raise more livestock."
Mr. Zhang endured the bitterness in his mouth and put down the herbal tea bowl, "Young master of the Tong family is really good at doing business. He is not as ruthless in bargaining as you. He cut him off in half and then cut him off in half. Do you like to act like this? Do your business partners know?
?The princess has thousands of hectares of wasteland, and your few hundred cattle are simply not enough!"
As soon as these sarcastic words came out of his mouth, Tong Song's face darkened.
"Sir, since you think it's so easy to do, why don't you try some other places?"
Mr. Zhang: "Young Master Tong, don't be upset. I am telling the truth. With tens of thousands of hectares of land, the cattle you mentioned are really not enough."
"The construction of Lingnan starts with land reclamation. The Tong family has taken root in Lingnan for generations. I believe that Young Master Tong doesn't want Lingnan to lag behind other state capitals, right?"
Tong Song waved his hand and frowned: "Don't talk to me about righteousness. Talking about righteousness is like being a hooligan."
Xia Jing raised her eyebrows and asked with a chuckle: "Master Tong, just give me a real number, but the number just now is definitely not enough."
Tong Song thought about it for a while, "The limit is the amount you quoted, cut in half."
At this moment, Xia Jing also realized the horror of the aristocratic family. A large amount of supplies were occupied by them and they lived a luxurious and luxurious life, while the people at the bottom lived in hardship.
It had been such a long time since she had been in Fucheng. She sent people to the livestock market and only bought less than thirty cattle in so many days.
And the aristocratic family can gather hundreds or even thousands of them at random, the gap is really huge.
"Okay, I'll leave this to you." Xia Jing agreed.
"I'm really sorry that I couldn't help the princess solve all her troubles."
Xia Jing shook her head, "You have tried your best."
Waiting to leave from the herbal tea shop.
Sitting in the carriage, Hongmei asked in confusion: "How come the princess is so easy to talk to in the end and doesn't let the Tong family do more?"
Hearing this, Xia Jing laughed loudly: "I originally thought that if he helped me solve the problem of five hundred cattle, everything would be fine, but I didn't expect that it exceeded twice the estimate. What is there to be dissatisfied about?"
In fact, I never thought that I would meet Tong Song at the beginning, let alone that he would be willing to help.
The most surprising thing was that he helped her gather fifteen hundred heads and one thousand mules and horses.
How could such a pie-in-the-sky thing be let go?
It's just that purchasing this batch of supplies requires a lot of money, and the little money I have for myself is simply not enough.
You have to find a way to get enough money!
Do you want to take advantage of these few days to go out and rob the bandits' den?
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