The couple had already gotten up before midnight the next morning. Kang Hui helped Li Guangrui get dressed and sent him to the second door. She watched her husband walk towards the main door. She waited until she could no longer see him and then turned back to the inner courtyard.
Start a day's life as a housekeeper in the inner courtyard.
Li Guangrui first wanted to visit his grandfather Li Xianming. Of course, he couldn't meet him in person. Since five years ago, Li Xianming had not allowed his children and grandchildren to pay him respects in the name of his old age, and he had also handed over all his family affairs. But everyone knows that
He is still the one who makes the most decisions on major matters, so as long as everyone is at home, they will go to say hello in the morning as usual and stand at the door before going back. The same is true for Li Guangrui.
As the eldest grandson of the eldest son, Li Guangrui's treatment was naturally different. The most useful servant around Li Xianming came out to greet Li Guangrui. The two exchanged a few words before Li Guangrui left his grandfather's yard.
Afterwards, Li Guangrui naturally went to meet his biological father. Of course his biological father, Li Jihu, met his biological son. Not only did he meet him, he also gave careful instructions to his son.
Li Jihu finally said: "It is your father-in-law Kang Yuquan who is taking people from the Kang family to Bao'an this time. He will naturally put the interests of the Kang family first, but he also cherishes his daughter extremely, and the Li family and the Kang family are also in business
My friend, although there are some disputes on weekdays, there are no major conflicts. If you ask him for a few ideas, he will not fail to give you some advice."
Li Guangrui nodded in agreement. This was the first time that he was leading a team alone and he was not very confident. It would be nice to have someone who could help with advice.
After that, Li Guangrui and the people who were going to Bao'an this time met at the gate of Li's house. The shopkeepers or clerks in the Li family's business saluted Li Guangrui one by one, and he returned the salute; but when the last person arrived, this person was about to salute.
, Li Guangrui supported him and said with a smile: "Uncle Bai, I can't bear your old courtesy."
This man was about fifty years old, had a big face, and was very handsome. After seeing Li Guangrui's attitude, he smiled and said, "Young master, this is a rule."
"Uncle Bai and I have no rules to talk about." Li Guangrui said.
The man persisted for a while. Seeing that Li Guangrui was really sincere and refused to let him salute, he said: "Young master, let's not stay here and set off quickly. If we arrive in Bao'an early, we might still be able to stay there."
The inn, if it’s late, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay at the inn, so I’ll have to set up a tent to rest.”
Li Guangrui said: "Listen to Uncle Bai, we will set off immediately." The group picked up the gifts and goods they had just put on the ground and headed to the dock.
The person who was called Uncle Bai was named Bai Jingyi. He had been doing business with Li Guangrui's grandfather since he was thirteen years old. It was the time of war and chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Sitting at home behind closed doors could cause disaster to come from the sky. Meng Yuan's
The army regarded him as a rioter and beheaded him and took credit for it, and he almost escaped death when he went out to do business in the city. But Bai Jingyi never shied away whenever he needed to go out of the city and made great contributions to the Li family. Not only Li Guangrui, but also everyone in the Li family was very polite to him.
After a while, the group arrived at the dock. Of course, there is a land route from Guangzhou to Bao'an, but the water route is more convenient. In addition, the Ming Dynasty's navy has been more diligent in patrolling in recent years. At least the safety of the Pearl River Estuary can be guaranteed.
It doesn't look far from Guangzhou to Bao'an. It only takes an hour and a half by high-speed rail now, but in ancient times it was not easy to get out of Guangzhou in the middle of the city in an hour and a half. They selected the fastest ones from the smuggling boats in the family, and
It took a day and a half to reach Bao'an thanks to the current and wind.
As soon as they landed in Bao'an, they saw a lot of people on the shore. After leaving the pier and walking inward, the closer they got to Shibosi, the busier they became. When they were only a mile or two away from Shibosi, they were already surrounded by people from all walks of life.
There are various tents, and teams of policemen in dark blue uniforms or guard soldiers in gray cloth vests are constantly patrolling with spears.
Li Guangrui looked towards Shibosi and saw a house with blue bricks and white tiles that was two to three feet high standing there. Next to it, there was a building of about the same height about ten feet away that looked like an inn.
Bai Jingyi gave some instructions to a few waiters, and they followed the instructions.
Li Guangrui's face looked a little ugly at this time. As a young man from a wealthy family, he had never seen so many people crowded together in such a small place. All kinds of unpleasant smells hit his face, making him unable to help but cover his nose.
Bai Jingyi didn't care, but looked around to see if there were any acquaintances. After asking Li Guangrui not to move around, she walked towards a group of people.
After a while, he came back, and just as the guys he sent out also came back, Bai Jingyi said a few words to them and then said to Bai Jingyi: "Young Master, this morning, Mr. Zhang from the Shibo Department announced that Shibo
The company officially opened the market, but he said that considering that many businessmen have not yet arrived in Baoan, the shop will be rented out on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year."
"Isn't this equivalent to delaying the opening of the sea for two days? Uncle Bai, according to the information about the imperial edict we have learned, the emperor requested that the sea be opened today. Zhang Yanfang's actions violated the emperor's will, right?" Li Guangrui was a little confused.
.
"Young master, why did the emperor open the sea? Isn't it just to collect more taxes! Anyway, the trade with merchants cannot be stopped. Since it is for taxes, naturally the more merchants who are willing to come, the better.
The more businessmen who come to Baoan, the higher the price at which the shops can be rented out. I estimate that by the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the number of businessmen here will increase by 50%. Baoan has designed hundreds of shops in the north and south cities, and the price at which they can be rented out can be as high as
An increase of 20 to 30%."
"You said that the emperor knows that Zhang Yanfang has allowed the treasury to get so much money, can you blame him?" Bai Jingyi lowered his voice and said.
Li Guangrui nodded and did not ask any more questions about this issue. Instead, he glanced around again and said, "Uncle Bai, where will we rest these days?"
Of course he would not be willing to rest here with so many people; but if he wanted to find a quiet place, he would have to travel more than ten miles, which was not only unsafe but also inconvenient.
Bai Jingyi said: "Young Master, the waiter has already found out that there are three upper rooms in the inn next to Shibosi."
Li Guangrui was overjoyed at first, and then said in confusion: "With so many people setting up their own tents around here, how come there are still rooms in the inn?"
"I just asked about it. It costs more than ten guan to stay in an upper room in the inn for one night. Many people are reluctant to part with it, so there are three upper rooms left. The price of the middle room and the Datong Shop prepared for the hotel are low, and there are no more
Yes." Bai Jingyi said.
"In this case, we need these three upper rooms." Li Guangrui said: "Not only me, but everyone also needs to have a good rest. Squeezing in these three rooms for these two nights is better than setting up a tent outside.
a little better."
Bai Jingyi wanted to say something, but when she saw that the waiters around her were looking forward to it, she didn't dare to say anything more and agreed to stay at the inn. The group of people walked towards the inn quite excitedly.
