There are more than a dozen officials at all levels in Yangzhou in addition to the Lianghuai Salt Administration Zhen Huanzhen. These people heard that as soon as Jia Lian arrived in Yangzhou, he repaired the eldest son of the Zhen family in Jiangnan who was the most favored by the Supreme Emperor.
They couldn't afford to be sick, so everyone panicked and rushed to win over him. They lined up outside Guangling Tower and begged Jia Lian to attend the banquet.
Those salt merchants who had been cut off by Jia Lian, the more they thought about it when they went back, the more they felt that their words and deeds that day were very inappropriate. For fear of offending Jia Lian, they completely ruined their business, so they racked their brains and tried their best to find out about Jia Lian's hobbies, and then arranged
The team knelt outside Guangling Tower and also begged Jia Lian to attend the banquet.
There are also smarter people who, seeing that they can't reach Jia Lian, resort to detours to save the country and find other ways to win over Lin Ruhai.
At first, Jia Lian really couldn't save face, and even went to a banquet hosted by several officials. Later, he got really annoyed and hung up a "war-free card" outside Guangling Tower with the words "Please come back for a banquet" in order to keep things quiet.
But Qingwen and Zhuyu didn't like peace and quiet, so they pulled Jia Lian to the left and the right to act coquettishly and wanted to go to the street. Jia Lian had no choice but to take them to the street and bought back a lot of useful and useless ones.
In order to protect the safety of Jia Lian and Zhu Yu, the "Four Vulgar Diamonds" sent by Mr. Shi never left, and Xing'er couldn't even get close.
When Jia Lian saw it, he simply gave Xing'er and Fu'er a few taels of silver and asked them to go to the streets to find out some information. At the same time, he also asked them to let go and have fun.
The two young men jumped up and down with joy, and kept saying: "We will be blessed if we follow the second master."
.
That day, Jia Lian was busy in the backyard kitchen. Xing'er jumped in and said to Jia Lian with a smile:
"Second Master Lian, I heard people on the street spreading rumors that Mr. Huang, one of the eight major salt merchants, didn't even eat 'one or two eggs' when he got up in the morning."
Jia Lian was busy tearing apart the chicken in his hand without even raising his head:
"'One or two eggs'? An egg weighs one or two, it's not that big."
"Second Master, it's not that it weighs only one tael. It costs one tael of silver to buy one of those eggs."
"What?" Jia Lian couldn't help but stop the condiments in his hand, "One tael of silver can buy a dozen chickens, but you can't buy two or three hundred eggs? That guy named Huang is a big fool."
Xing'er giggled and came over to help, but Jia Lian opened her door:
"Keep your dirty paws away."
Xing'er put both of his hands in front of his eyes and looked carefully:
"What's dirty? Isn't this quite clean?"
While rubbing his hands on his pants, he continued:
"Well, the Second Master doesn't know something about this. Please listen to me in detail.
The big salt merchant surnamed Huang had a bowl of eggs stewed in bird's nest and ginseng soup every morning. The two eggs he put in his bowl were each worth one tael of silver, so they were called "one or two eggs." p>
The second master just said that one tael of silver can buy two or three hundred eggs. The laying hens eat grass roots, rice bran and insects.
The big salt merchant surnamed Huang ate this egg. They raised more than a hundred old hens in their backyard. They were all white-feathered bamboo chickens. They only fed them ground ginseng, red dates and
Precious Chinese medicine. The first egg below is the best. After a hundred eggs are laid, the chicken cannot be used.
I heard that in order to collect one million taels of silver, Mr. Huang is now raising money from all over the place. He even stopped eating the 'one or two eggs' that he had eaten for decades."
"It's time for people like them to calm down. They eat and drink every day, and they are so outrageous."
"Second Master, this is really nothing.
The slave also heard that the year before last, when the cherries were just ripe, the cherries on the market were sold for five grand each.
The salt merchant Hu Bing had a favored concubine who said, "It's a pity that the water in the river is too plain." Hu Bing immediately sent people out and bought up all the cherries on the streets of Yangzhou.
Crush the cherries with a big stone roller and pour them into the river in baskets until the entire Little Qinhuai River is dyed red.
People all over the city came out to watch the fun. It was a huge crowd. It is said that some people picked up two big baskets of shoes that had been stepped on."
"Sick!"
This kind of person who is simply seeking death is sick.
Xing'er also nodded repeatedly:
"Isn't it?
These salt merchants make money so easily and have so much money that they don’t even know how to spend it to their satisfaction."
Jia Lian sneered:
"That's right, otherwise I wouldn't have the heart to force them to pay back taxes.
They are colluding with the salt administration and squeezing salt households, so they should be allowed to contribute more to military supplies, disaster relief, river construction, and public preparation."
.
While talking, Fa'er and De'er brought back a brand new bluestone mill from outside. Jia Lian personally pointed out the location and told them to place it.
Xing'er found it interesting and said with saliva:
"Why don't the Second Master send his servants to do it? How can a rich man like the Second Master do such rough work?"
Jia Lian pointed at the stone mill:
"Go, get some water and wash the stone grinder three times. Make sure it's clean."
Xing'er scratched his head and laughed, only dragging his nest:
"Is the second master going to open a tofu shop? Do you want to find a tofu beauty?"
Jia Lian went back to tossing the chicken for a while, then suddenly raised his head:
"You love to chat.
When I go home, I will leave you with Second Grandma Lian, she also loves to chat."
Xing'er was so frightened that his legs went weak and he knelt down:
"The slave is mute!"
"Go away! Just do what you have to do!"
He jumped up and ran to the well to fetch water and wash the millstone.
.
Jia Lian suddenly stopped and asked Fa'er:
"How is Mo Xiang's injury being treated?"
"It's no big deal, I'm fine now.
That day, just as the second master said, he hit the acupuncture points on her legs with a stick and she couldn't move for a while."
"Since she is willing to testify, don't embarrass her and her brother.
Just keep an eye on it, just in case someone comes to cause trouble."
"Second Master, don't worry, the little one understands."
.
February 12th is the Flower Festival, Sister Lin’s birthday.
But Sister Lin is sick again.
When Jia Lian went to visit, he found out that Sister Lin had been ill for several days.
When asked why they didn’t ask for a doctor, Sister Lin didn’t say anything yet, but Lin Ruhai answered first:
"My little girl has always been physically timid, but she was born with a deficiency. She has a poor diet and poor sleep. She has become accustomed to it."
Jia Lian saw that Daiyu looked poor and tired, so he said:
"When I was at my house, I heard an old lady tell me that my aunt was already frail and had a middle-aged daughter. My sister's frailty was brought about in the womb.
What my uncle just said, "poor diet and poor sleep" is very important. My sister must first recuperate her appetite and worry less, then her body will be fine naturally."
Just in time, Zijuan brought a small bowl of bird's nest porridge and a small plate of pickled winter bamboo shoots to Daiyu. Jia Lian looked at the small bowl and plate, which was not much bigger than a tea cup, and couldn't help but shake his head:
"How can such a diet nourish the body?"
Daiyu said softly:
"I have always been a vegetarian and can't eat more than a few mouthfuls. But if it's greasy, I'll feel sick for half a day after just one bite."
Jia Lian frowned:
"At noon, I'll ask Qingwen to bring a bowl of noodles to my sister. It's her birthday today, so she needs to have a bowl of noodles."
Daiyu has never dared to eat greasy food, but the noodles sent by Jia Lian always felt like she had to eat them even though her heart ached.