While Lin Jue and others were sleeping soundly, there was a commotion in the small Bohai County town. Hearing that merchants were coming to collect dried seafood, the whole city, young and old, took action and prepared all the dried seafood at home.
Even the small fishing villages on the seaside outside the city knew about the news. People from more than a dozen small fishing villages carried baskets on their backs and brought their own seafood, scallops and other items into the city. The small Bohai County town also came from the city after winter.
It has never been so lively before, and the small streets are full of people. The level of excitement is comparable to the grand occasion when worshiping the Sea King every year when fishing in the sea.
While Lin Jue and others were still sleeping soundly in the inn, the street outside the inn was already crowded with people eager to sell goods. The old shopkeeper told these people to leave first, and the official Fang and him
The men are sleeping, and I am afraid they will not buy it at this moment. But the people are not willing to leave, and someone finally comes to collect the goods. This is something you must not miss. Besides, with so many overseas goods, the merchants are afraid that they will not take them all. If
If it is your turn to say that you have received the full amount of goods but not to accept them, then you will lose a good opportunity. This year's New Year will not be good.
Shopkeeper Peng had no choice. He didn't want to coax everyone away, so he had to let them go. However, he warned these people that Official Fang and his entourage were resting. If the crowd woke them up by making noise, they would offend Official Fang.
If you are not happy, I'm afraid things will get worse. After hearing what he said, there was a sudden silence in front of the noisy inn. Thousands of people closed their mouths and stood silently in the cold wind, for fear of waking up the wealthy businessman and annoying him.
Got him.
When Lin Jue woke up, it was already dark, and there was a light on the porch of the house. Lin Jue jumped up and startled Bai Bing and Gao Muqing, who were sitting in the house talking occasionally.
"Husband, wake up." Gao Muqing said angrily.
Lin Jue nodded, stretched and said, "Comfortable, still sleepy, but very hungry."
"The food is ready and waiting for you to wake up. Everyone is hungry." Bai Bing said with a smile.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Why didn't you call me? Let everyone starve."
Gao Muqing smiled and said: "It's not just us who are starving and waiting for you. There is also a large group of people outside this inn waiting for you to wake up. Thousands of people have come outside, eagerly waiting for you, Mr. Fang, to show mercy.
Woolen cloth."
Lin Jue was stunned and said: "What's going on?"
Bai Bing said with a smile: "You said you wanted to collect some dried seashells and so on. Thousands of people came at once, waiting to receive the goods at the door of the inn. Just now, Brother Sun said that the shopkeeper came to check several times.
Alright, waiting for you to wake up."
Lin Jue was stunned and hurriedly got up and dressed. The two girls helped arrange the hair and clothes, and they were quickly finished.
"Let's go take a look." Lin Jue quickly left the room.
Surrounded by a group of guards, Lin Jue came to the door of the inn under the guidance of the innkeeper Peng who held a lantern. As soon as the door opened, Lin Jue was stunned. He saw that the street in front of the door was densely packed with people. It was dim.
Under the light, these people stared at the inn door in silence with their necks hunched and their bodies hunched. They were like clay and wood sculptures.
Lin Jue's appearance made everyone live
When I stood up, my body, which had been numb due to the cold, was filled with vitality, and my eyes became alive.
"They are...Hey, why are they so impatient?" Lin Jue smacked his lips and shook his head.
Shopkeeper Peng smiled bitterly and said: "What Mr. Fang Daguan doesn't know is that you are the only merchant who comes to collect dry goods this winter. We don't sell anything here, only overseas goods. Only these things can be sold in winter. The situation has been bad in recent years.
There are not many merchants coming to collect the goods, and everyone is having a hard time. There are no customers this winter, and everyone is worried. If some goods cannot be sold, the New Year will be difficult. So the high officials come to collect the goods. This is for everyone.
A savior. No one wants to miss it. No, as soon as the news came out, everyone came. They have been standing here for several hours. Some of them came from the fishing villages on the seaside outside the city. "
Lin Jue nodded slightly, walked forward, and came to a dark-faced young man carrying a basket. He stretched out his hand and squeezed his dark hand. The hand was biting and cold. Standing outside in such a cold weather.
Most people really can't stand it, not just for the hope of survival.
"Is it cold, little brother?" Lin Jue asked softly.
"It's not cold. Please accept the dry goods from my family. I don't have any money to buy rice. Please!" The young man knelt down in front of Lin Jue with a thud.
Lin Jue grabbed his thin arm and said solemnly: "You are not allowed to kneel, little brother, remember my words, don't kneel down casually, even in the most difficult time. You kneel down
It's a sign of weakness. Poverty is nothing, you can always get through it, but if your ambition and backbone are gone, you will never be able to stand up. Don't kneel, stand and speak, do you understand?"
The young man looked confused and nodded in understanding. Lin Jue glanced at the crowd in the dark cold wind and said in a deep voice: "Fellow folks, what I said certainly counts. I just didn't expect you to be so impatient. It's my fault.
, I shouldn’t have announced the news so early and made you wait for so long in this cold weather. Don’t worry, I have collected all the dry goods, and the price is absolutely fair. It’s so late, why don’t you go home first?
How about we do things tomorrow morning? It will save you from cold and hunger, and you won’t be able to finish these things in a while."
Someone said hoarsely: "Master Fang, please be merciful. We are all from outside the city and have been waiting for several hours. If you don't accept the goods, we will have to wait until dawn."
"Yes, sir, please show mercy." Everyone shouted.
Lin Jue smiled bitterly and was speechless. Shopkeeper Peng stepped forward and shouted: "Hey, you people, why are you so impatient? The official Fang didn't even eat. There are so many people at this late night. Isn't it possible that I can't stay with you all night?
?Let's all disperse, come tomorrow, the official Fang has already spoken."
The people were silent, but no one left. Lin Jue sighed, knowing that these people were worried that he would change his mind. This might be their only chance to make a living this winter, so they all wanted to sell their goods quickly. If he didn't accept it, these people would
I'm afraid I really have to stay here all night.
"That's it, receive the goods, receive the goods. Shopkeeper Peng, hold the lantern, right here in the yard
"By the way, ask your guys to boil a few big pots of ginger soup and give everyone a bowl to drink to withstand the severe cold. Don't get sick from the cold." Lin Jue waved his hand and said loudly.
The crowd roared with joy, and everyone was extremely grateful. Shopkeeper Peng hurriedly lit up a dozen large lanterns as instructed, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime. The guards set up tables and chairs, took out large scales, and maintained order by the crowd.
People lined up one by one to weigh things like scallops, fish and shrimps and calculate their money. These dry goods were actually very cheap, with a pound of dry goods worth about three hundred cash. Lin Jue was generous and settled the accounts according to five hundred cash. Bai Bing and Gao Muqing
The two women guarded the cash box and paid. The innkeepers also brought out ginger soup for the people to drink.
There was a lot of noise inside and outside the inn, and everyone was smiling. The common people who had sold dry goods had cold money in their arms, but their hearts were warm. With this money, they could live their lives. They thanked them profusely and said they were grateful.
Then he bowed to Lin Jue and left. Some people learned that Lin Jue and the others were still hungry, and even sent them food to express their gratitude. Everyone was harmonious and happy.
Lin Jue was sitting on a chair, chewing beef jerky in his mouth and looking at the situation in front of him. He felt very comfortable. He thought that this was charity relief for the people. Although it cost a lot of money, it was nothing more than rescuing the people in distress.
It's nothing in comparison.
Lin Jue was also very emotional. In fact, the people's requirements were not high, as long as they could survive. However, even such the most basic needs were difficult to meet. This Bohai County is not the most remote place. Think about the wilderness of Lingnan.
In the land, a bitter and cold land in the northwest, the people there must also be in poverty. Not only in these places, but also in prosperous places such as the Central Plains, Jiangnan and Shu, the people's livelihood has actually been difficult in recent years. The Great Zhou Dynasty is in a kind of
Sliding into the abyss at a rapid speed, when the people have no way to survive, they will burst into anger out of tolerance, and by then, it will be too late.
It took more than two hours to purchase thousands of goods. If Lin Jue had not promised that he would continue to purchase goods tomorrow and possibly increase the price, more people would come. Then this night would have been
Don't even think about sleeping. What the people are actually worried about is that Fang Daguan is short of money. After all, there are so many dry goods in Bohai County. If Fang Daguan is short of money and the acquisition is cut off, they will be in trouble. However, when they see this
The money boxes around the two concubines of the high officials were full, and there was no worry about insufficient money at all, so they were relieved. Besides, the people couldn't bear to keep people up all night to collect the goods.
.
So at the third watch, all the people volunteered to come back tomorrow. Those who had been given priority to buy before were people from small fishing villages outside the city, and the rest were mostly people from the city, so it was very convenient to come and go.
In this way, the acquisition operation ended in the middle of the night. The yard was filled with large and small bags of seafood, and the smell filled the air, which was a bit unbearable. In just a while, tens of thousands of dry goods were purchased. The money was
It didn't cost much, but with so much dry goods piled up like a hill, Lin Jue really didn't know what to do. He had to have someone cover it with a curtain to cover up some of the smell, and then figure out how to deal with it later.
