"Are there any fish?" Zhou Chennian asked with a smile.
Li Xiaonan smiled and nodded, leaned forward, and pulled up the bamboo basket soaked in the water to show Zhou Chennian.
"Oh, you really know how to fish. These crucian carps are pretty good." Zhou Chennian stretched his head and looked at the four or five fish in the fish basket and said with a smile.
"I have half a piece of tofu at home, let's make a crucian carp tofu soup, oh!" Li Xiaonan put down the fish basket, stretched out her hand to pull up the fishing rod, and swung up a seven or eight-inch long white water fish.
Li Xiaonan stretched out her hand to catch the fish, took off the hook and put it into the fish basket. She smiled brightly and said, "Thanks to Mr.!"
"Steaming is perfect!" Zhou Chennian laughed.
Li Xiaonan picked up half an earthworm from a broken pottery piece, threaded it through, and unhooked it again.
"Aren't you a local, sir? A gentleman from a government school?" Li Xiaonan looked at Zhou Chennian.
"I came from Hangzhou, I look like a gentleman from a government school?" Zhou Chennian looked at himself.
"It looks quite similar." Li Xiaonan looked at Zhou Chennian carefully.
"With my knowledge, I can't afford to be a teacher in a government school. I have to work as a bookkeeper in a family outside the city. Does the girl live near here?" Zhou Chennian looked at Li Xiaonan, who was all wearing coarse cloth.
This area is full of mansions of wealthy families. This little girl is probably a servant of some family, or she is a child from a poor family who lives far away from here and came here specially to fish.
"It's not that far. Are you here to visit your friend?" Li Xiaonan made way for Zhou Chennian to sit down.
"No, no, no, I have something to do. I'm just visiting friends, the scenery here is nice." Zhou Chennian smiled.
"Have you visited your friends, sir? Didn't you meet them?" Li Xiaonan asked with a smile.
"You little girl, you still know how to visit without meeting me." Zhou Chennian laughed, "That's right, you often come here to fish?"
"It's quite common." Li Xiaonan looked at Zhou Chennian with a smile.
"Do you know any of the people around here?" Zhou Chennian pointed to several houses hidden among the green trees.
"That family's surname is Huang, and the owner is in the jewelry business. That family's surname is Wu, and his family has a scholar. This family's surname is Li, and his family also has a scholar. I don't know about the others." Li Xiaonan pointed to her home. Introduced with a smile to the neighbors on the left and right.
"This family's surname is Li, have you met the owner? I heard they are sisters." Zhou Chennian asked quietly.
"I've seen it before. Why do you want to ask about my sister?" Li Xiaonan turned her head and looked at Zhou Chennian.
"Hey! You little girl can't talk nonsense like this!" Zhou Chennian was startled, "I'm old, it's okay for you to talk nonsense, but my family is full of little ladies, you can't talk nonsense like this !"
"Thank you sir for your teaching." Li Xiaonan hurriedly leaned over to receive the instruction, then smiled and said: "Sir, is your surname Zhou?"
"Huh?" Zhou Chennian's eyes widened.
"The prince wrote a letter and said that he should arrive in Pingjiang City today and tomorrow." Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
"You?" Zhou Chennian pointed at Li Xiaonan and looked her up and down again.
"Sir, didn't you recognize me?" Li Xiaonan also looked down at herself.
"I didn't expect the girl to be so simple." Zhou Chennian was a little embarrassed.
"Didn't Shi Gun tell you? My eldest sister is a strict housekeeper.
"Just like today, Sister Mei bought pork belly this morning, and there are still eggs at home. I wanted to eat fish, but Sister Mei said that there was meat and I couldn't spend more copper coins. I had to come over to fish by myself. Fortunately, the harvest was still there. Not bad."
As Li Xiaonan spoke, she pulled up the fishing rod, but the hook was empty and there was no fish.
"Forget it, that's enough, let's go back."
Li Xiaonan put away the fishing line and pulled up the fish basket.
Zhou Chennian wanted to reach out to catch the fish basket, but the fish in the basket kept splashing water out of the basket.
He just wore this satin gown!
"Sir, let's have dinner at our house today, steamed white water fish." Li Xiaonan carried the fishing rod and fish basket, and led Zhou Chennian into the back corner door.
Li Xiaonan handed the fish basket and rod to Sister Mei, washed her hands, carried a copper pot of water that had just been boiled, and went to the corridor of the main courtyard, where she sat Zhou Chennian down and made tea.
"I heard from the Crown Prince that the girl recruited weavers from the weaving mill. I heard that the girl has already recruited four to five hundred weavers. I didn't expect that the girl prides herself on being so simple." Zhou Chennian looked around and was very moved.< /p>
"Oh, there's nothing I can do about it. As of now, in my business, more money goes out than comes in, and the hole is getting bigger and bigger. The money earned from the preserved egg shop has all been supplemented by the money coming in, and I still owe more than two thousand silver in foreign debt. If If I have money, I also want to have good food and clothing." Li Xiaonan lamented.
Zhou Chennian was stunned and laughed out loud. "Does that girl know what I'm here to discuss with you?"
"I know, the prince said in his letter that it was sir's wish. It would be more appropriate for me to do the harvesting of autumn silkworm cocoons than for the prince to ask someone to come forward." Li Xiaonan sighed again.
"Are you talking too much?" Zhou Chennian looked at Li Xiaonan's expression carefully and asked.
"I think so too. There are a few things I need to ask you, sir. One is the sea tax paid by the Silk Maritime Taxation Department. How is the discussion going now?" Li Xiaonan looked at Zhou Chennian and asked.
"The most important thing in my hands is to look at the changes in labor prices, grain prices, land prices, mulberry prices, cocoon prices, etc. in Jiangnan from the beginning of the founding of the country to the present. I have written two letters to report to the prince. Yes." Zhou Chennian answered very cautiously.
"In Mr. Zhao's opinion, can the sea tax be reduced? How much can it be reduced?" Li Xiaonan then asked.
"Well," Zhou Chennian said with a dry smile, "I have been serving the prince for less than a month, so I really don't dare to talk nonsense."
"Well. The second thing is, how much does Sir know about our silk shop in Jiangnan?" Li Xiaonan then asked the second thing.
"You know what the girl said, where can you find out?" Zhou Chennian said with a smile.
"In a weaving workshop where silk is well-known, is it a piece of iron plate with almost no gaps, or is it a lot of gaps?"
"How come there are no gaps! It's not gaps, it's huge cracks. Some of them have feuds. But now, these skilled weavers are probably monolithic in dealing with what the Master wants to do." Zhou Shen Nian looked at Li Xiaonan.
"According to what I heard, the silk industry is too tightly controlled. The number of looms in each weaving mill and the quantity of each category and grade of silk produced each year are fixed once a year. If you are good at it, there will be no room for it. It makes no difference whether the weaver has the ability or not. Is that so?"
"Yes! What are your plans, girl?"
"I asked Uncle Datang about the autumn silkworm cocoons. Uncle Datang said that the amount of money required is huge. He said that the money is not a problem. Once the cocoons are harvested, they must be cooked and reeled immediately. This is all handicraft work in Jiangnan. Silk reeling and dyeing workshops have always relied on the spirit of the silk industry.
"In addition, there are next year's spring silkworms. If the silk shops are released, all silkworm farmers will have to reduce or even stop raising silkworms."
Li Xiaonan looked at Zhou Chennian. Zhou Chennian met Li Xiaonan's gaze, leaned over and said with a smile: "What do you mean by that girl?"
"There was an old man named Yu in the Pingjiang Silk Shop. He followed me and started a fine cloth business just a few days after I started doing the fine cloth business. I heard that the old man in this shop was a shrewd man and managed the weaving shop very well. , very good at doing business.
"Tell me, if we go to ask this boss in the industry, what will he do?"
"It's best for a girl to do this. Let's go quietly first." Zhou Chennian said with a smile.
"Then sir, think about it for me, how should I tell this to Mr. Yu?" Li Xiaonan smiled.
"I'll go and have a sneak peek at Yu Xinglao first, and then ask someone to inquire about Yu Xinglao's family history. If you're quick, I'll give the girl an answer tomorrow afternoon." Zhou Chennian leaned over and said with a smile.
"Thank you sir." Li Xiaonan smiled and thanked you.
"I don't want to take it seriously. I'll go and do this mission immediately." Zhou Chennian stood up and said goodbye.
Li Xiaonan stood up and sent Zhou Chennian out of the back corner door.
