If you were to ask about the busiest places in Liangcheng, Huamen Lou Street, which is filled with bars, restaurants, theaters and restaurants, would definitely be on the list.
Now, at the end of Huamenlou Long Street, a piece of land that was originally used as an official warehouse has been cleared.
Hundreds of craftsmen and laborers were busy on the construction site, building a new official residence.
Someone asked, and the answer was that the first money shop in Liangcheng would be built there.
On this day, Lu Ensheng from the National and Municipal Affairs Bureau was at the construction site of Huamenlou Qianhang, carefully checking the progress of the project with officials from the Ministry of Industry.
When I was half busy, I suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the other side of the long street.
Lu Ensheng stopped what he was doing and looked in the direction of the sound.
I saw hundreds of beautiful orchids in gauze skirts, dancing in the street along with melodious and melodious music; dozens of carts decorated with gold, silver and jade slowly passed by on the road;
There were also many people waving handfuls of copper coins at the people on both sides of the street.
The official from the Ministry of Industry next to Lu Ensheng asked, "Do you know who they are?"
Lu Ensheng: "Who are they?"
Official from the Ministry of Industry: "Those are all merchants from Anxi, and now they have opened their business in Liangcheng. In total, this is the sixth merchant to settle in this month."
Lu Ensheng looked carefully and saw the four characters "He Family Trading Company" written on the flag on the cart.
The official from the Ministry of Industry added: "The monthly salary for Liangcheng merchants to hire workers is about five hundred yuan. Some master craftsmen or managers can get two yuan in monthly salary. But the merchants from Anxi will pay their monthly salary as soon as they enter the city.
When it comes to Sanguan, and this is the price of hiring a small laborer, tell me how local businesses can compete."
Lu Ensheng: "Isn't there a contract between the merchant and the employee?"
Official from the Ministry of Industry: "The imperial court has long issued an order to abolish the slave status and suspend the death contract. Nowadays, most of the hired workers are living contract. Even if the contract stipulates liquidated damages, Anxi Commercial Bank is rich and robbing people at the same time.
, all of which were readily paid in advance.”
When Lu Ensheng heard this, he nodded slightly. This was indeed very similar to the behavior of merchants in Anxi.
The official from the Ministry of Industry kept talking: "Let's just talk about Huamenlou Street. There are 233 shops on the street. In August this year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs, only those run by Anxi people
There are 81 households. And looking at this situation, by the end of the year, this number will double."
Lu Ensheng was a little helpless. When he was doing business in Anxi in the early years, it coincided with the war in Hebei, and Anxi became a trading center for porcelain, silk, gems, gold and silver and other valuables.
In addition, the Anxi Protectorate at that time introduced a series of policies that favored businessmen, such as abolition of slave status, raising the status of industry and commerce, allowing private citizens to enter government offices, etc.
Therefore, in the four towns of Anxi, anyone with some business acumen can make money by going out with their eyes closed.
The Anxi people's habit of doing business slowly began to develop from that time on.
While I was thinking about it, the He family businessman from Anxi scattered all the copper coins on dozens of carts, and without stopping, they actually started playing "Guan Pu Trading" (lottery) in the street.
A businessman dressed in silk jumped out of the cart and ordered his men to carry out a wooden turntable about six feet high.
The turntable is divided into nearly a hundred compartments, each compartment is as wide as the palm of a hand, and is painted with various birds and fish utensils, representing different prizes.
Participants pick up a dart, stand seven steps away, throw it towards the turntable, and take away whatever they hit.
Seeing this scene, the craftsmen and laborers who had been busy at the construction site suddenly became interested. After getting the consent of the superior, they took a short break and gathered together.
Seeing that nothing happened for the time being, Lu Ensheng simply followed him.
After watching for a while, Lu Ensheng gradually turned his attention to the businessman surnamed He when he saw the winner rejoicing.
Looking at that person, Lu Ensheng became more and more familiar. Finally, he suddenly remembered, isn't this person the disciple of Kang Kejing named He Tan Chong?
He Tanchong obviously recognized Lu Ensheng, found an excuse, asked other stewards to take his place, and walked out of the crowd.
Arriving at a secluded place, He Tanchong first saluted Lu Ensheng and then said: "Tin Chong has met Mr. Lu. I accepted your kindness many years ago and always wanted to repay you. Today I finally met. If there is
In your spare time, how about letting someone do the hosting tonight?"
Lu Ensheng asked in confusion: "Let's not talk about drinking for now. Let me ask you, weren't you helping the Kang family manage the branch in Anxi? Why did you come to Liangcheng?"
He Tanchong: "The Kang family allowed its customers to establish their own business and provided low-interest loans. Of course, there are conditions. The Kang family must become a tenant (major shareholder) in the new business."
Lu Ensheng: "Kangjia Trading Company is already one of the best in Anxi, why do we allow our customers to set up their own business?"
He Tanchong said with a smile: "You don't know something. Although the Kang family has achieved one of the best positions among the merchants in Anxi. However, Anxi is so vast and sparsely populated that it will be difficult to grow bigger. If
If you want to develop, you must move to the Central Plains. Although the imperial court allows businessmen and miscellaneous people to participate in the imperial examination, it also has a clear order that once a businessman's son becomes an official, in order to prevent corruption, he cannot continue to do business."
When Lu Ensheng heard this, he immediately understood: "So it turns out that the young master of the Kang family is now in charge of the National and Municipal Affairs Bureau. For the sake of his future, the Kang family acted cautiously. That's why they did not settle in the Central Plains in the name of the Kang family trading firm.
Business district.”
He Tanchong nodded and said: "Not only that, for the sake of my young master and the future business of the Kang family, even the old master resigned from the position of guardian of Shicheng Town on the grounds of old age and frailty."
Hearing this, Lu Ensheng couldn't help but be a little surprised. The Kang family gave up the power of the guardian of Shicheng Town for the sake of Kang Kejing's career and the Kang family's future business in the Central Plains.
Lu Ensheng couldn't help but ask: "Shicheng Town is not under the jurisdiction of the Kang family, so who is managing it now?"
He Tanchong: "The Yanqi Council took over Shicheng Town. Regarding the daily affairs of the town, the Shicheng Town Council sent representatives to Yanqi regularly to report on the decisions and then make decisions."
Lu Ensheng nodded slightly and looked at He Tanchong again: "How many companies have the Kang family entered into as tenants this time?"
He Tanchong: "About a hundred or so, including food, ore, textiles, shipbuilding, smelting, goldware, entertainment, etc., all kinds of things, basically everything."
When Lu Ensheng heard this, he sighed: "The Kang family is really generous, and the head of the Kang family is really courageous."
He Tanchong: "Who says otherwise? In fact, these strategies were already decided by the Kang family father and son a few years ago before Young Master Kang came to Liangcheng to serve as an official. They said that although Anxi is rich,
, but development is bound to be limited, and the future of the Tang Dynasty still lies in the east. Instead of guarding the one-third acre of land in Shicheng Town, the Kang family might as well follow the court, give it a try, and earn a foundation in the Central Plains."