Chapter 466: Being so poor is so pleasing to the eye
We were riding on big boats all the way. Apart from feeling a little unsteady at first, with no roots on our feet, and an unsteady heart, once I got used to it, I really didn’t feel tired at all. In addition, I felt a little unable to sit still due to something on my mind.
What he saw today was completely different from what he had learned throughout his life. It could be said to be the opposite. It gave him a feeling that his three views had collapsed and all his previous learning was wrong.
You know, he was ranked second in the exam back then. Although he was a little bit behind the number one scholar, he could be said to be the most outstanding person among the students in the world. It is impossible not to have some pride in his heart. Although it is not
Dare to say that his knowledge is rare in the world, but for the past ten years or so, he has been hiding in the prince's house and devoted himself to studying. In addition, he has understood the treacherous clouds in the court and the major events in the world, which can be regarded as a broad knowledge.
But why is it that this Fuzhou Prefecture, or this Fujian, is so different from what he has learned in the world, yet it can be so wealthy?
He is also a person who is motivated to assist the king, reopen the prosperous age, bring peace to the world, and leave his name in history. When encountering such strange things, if he doesn't understand them clearly, he feels like a cat scratching his heart, and his heart is itching unbearably. This is better than
The first time I walked on the road of human relations with my maid, and when I exchanged the principles of yin and yang, I felt a little more urgent.
Having made up his mind, Sun Chengzong came out of the room without changing his clothes, and found Hong Chengchou. After hearing the purpose of his visit, Hong Chengchou laughed and said, "This should be no problem, since Mr. Wuzhou specifically said that he would spend a day repairing here.
, that’s for everyone to go out and have fun, let’s go find the house steward, there should be arrangements. To be honest, I haven’t returned to Fujian for four years, and I have a lot of doubts in my heart.”
The two went to the steward of the mansion and briefly explained their purpose. The steward immediately agreed, specially sent an open carriage, and ordered people to accompany them on the road to explain.
After leaving the mansion, Sun Chengzong insisted on visiting the slums, so the coachman turned around and headed for the outskirts of the city. Along the way, there were cement roads. You could often see particularly large four-wheeled carriages pulled by four horses.
There seemed to be a lot of people sitting there.
Yi Li's "Wang Du Ji" says: "The emperor drives six, the princes drive five, the ministers four, the officials three, the scholars two, and the common people one."
It was another act of trespass. Sun Chengzong raised his eyebrows, turned around and asked the person accompanying him: "Isn't this four-horse carriage an act of trespass?"
"Trespassing? There are so many rules and so many things to pay attention to. We don't have to live like this anymore. This is called a bus. One bus can hold about 20 people. It has a fixed route. It has to go back and forth many times every day. How can it be pulled by two horses?
You have to move, there are a lot of people taking cars every day, so it’s inconvenient to go out without a car.”
"Wait a minute... who are the people riding in the car? Are all Fujian people so rich? Isn't it good to walk, which is cheaper and saves money?"
The series of questions made the escort couldn't help but laugh, "It's only a copper plate for a trip, and it's only a silver coin for a year. It doesn't cost much. Besides, going to work is quite tiring, and it takes too long to walk home."
, it’s inconvenient. If you have this time, it’s not more than a copper coin to do anything. My husband once said that time is money.”
"Wait a minute... what does it mean to only have a copper plate, and what is a silver coin?" Sun Chengzong didn't understand. Damn, he is rich, it's amazing! He can't even look down on a copper plate!?
"Well, these are silver coins and copper plates." He said, taking out a handful of money, "One tael, five cents, two cents, new copper coins."
Sun Chengzong took it and took a look and was immediately dumbfounded, "This, this pattern, this size, this..."
This is too exquisite, it’s just money. How much manpower and material resources will be wasted to make it like this?
If Wang Xuan were here, he would stroke his hair and tell him, kid, do you know what a hydraulic forging press is?
"This silver coin is good. It is absolutely impossible to forge it. Nowadays, no one uses broken silver or copper plates from the imperial court. There are too many adulterations."
In one sentence, Sun Chengzong was choked and speechless. There is really no way to fake this, but the cost? But then I thought about it, the cost must not be much, otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss of money? Then Wang Xuan is definitely not stupid, but the key is
, he couldn’t figure it out, so he shook his head and changed the subject and asked: “You said work, aren’t these people farming outside the city?”
"There is little farming. If the land rent is not cheap, it is more profitable to work. My husband's shipyard alone has more than 20,000 workers. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this city, all of whom work in various factories to provide
It’s a lot of money.”
As he talked all the way, he arrived at the so-called slum area. He looked at the soldiers standing guard at the door, the six-story buildings inside, the people coming in and out, and the large group of children playing in the recreation area. Sun Chengzong
I was speechless for a moment, but I kept shouting in my heart, "What the hell is this slum area? You've been fooled, haven't you? Damn it, I've read a book too!!"
"There is no way." The accompanying waiter shook his head, "The land in Fuzhou is too expensive, and people can only live in buildings. After all, the same size of land can accommodate more people. Otherwise, these hundreds of thousands of people
, it really takes up too much land. In Fuzhou, those who can live in bungalows are either rich or expensive."
"Now around the new city and within Fucheng, due to the convenient transportation, those poor people who originally owned houses, no matter how dilapidated the houses are, can sell them for a lot of money as long as they are willing to sell them. Our husband said, this is called demolition generation, don't worry
How poor I was before, but I can turn around in a short time."
Sun Chengzong opened his mouth. He wanted to slap the guy next to him to death. What you said made sense. I was speechless.
"Let's go to the factory and have a look. Why do workers pay so much money?" I still don't believe it. Did the strong wind bring all this money?
The group went to a nearby textile factory again. Looking at the license plate number, they knew it was the Wang Xuan family's carriage. Naturally, no one dared to stop it. As soon as they entered the textile workshop, they looked up and saw that they were all women. Sun Chengzong paused and thought
Going outside, this man and woman are not close to each other. He is a grown man who steps into a crowd of women. He is not a brothel. If word spreads, it will be bad for these women.
"Master Sun, what's wrong with you?" the waiter turned and asked.
"These are all women. If I go in, it will harm their reputation."
"This is all such a mess. They are doing the work openly and you didn't molest them. Why would your reputation be damaged?"
"This woman is showing her face outside..." Before Sun Chengzong could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the waiter raising his hand, "Master Sun, don't talk about this kind of rotten thought in Fujian. It's embarrassing for people to hear it. Move on.
Counting 300 years, no woman can go out. I said, "You are not your mother's child. Why do you look down on women?"
"I..." Sun Chengzong's face turned red. Of course I was born to my mother, not... How dare you, a little waiter, to scold me? He glared at the waiter, only to find that the other person's eyes all meant the same thing, 'I made a mistake.
?'
You're damn right, I'm not as knowledgeable as you. Sun Chengzong swallowed his breath, gritted his teeth and walked in. These women didn't mind. What could he, a grown man, have to shrink from!
When he got closer, he realized that this loom was completely different from the looms he had seen. It was huge and complex. Under the operation of a female worker, the piece of cloth appeared bit by bit at a speed visible to the naked eye. This, this was also
too fast.
"This one female worker can weave cloth as efficiently as a dozen people using the traditional method, and the quality is better." The waiter's voice came to my ears, "So, our Fujian cloth is cheap and good, and the cloth we made seven or eight years ago is
The days when they couldn't afford to wear clothes are long gone. The wages these female workers can get in a month can support their family's expenses. If they are not allowed to go out to work and stay at home, it would be strange if they don't rebel at home.
"
So many? Sun Chengzong was surprised, and then he also bought a dozen watches. Even if he sold them cheaply, the profits would be too much. Workers' wages must be increased. If you make so much money, are you talking to these common people?
You say women can't show their faces, haha, I can't beat you to death!
Female workers make so much money. If men can work, wouldn't they make more money? Then it is certain that the people of Fujian are rich. But, where does so much money come from? In the past dynasties, tax revenue has not changed for hundreds of years.
Just talking about the Ming Dynasty, if it were not for the increase in salary, the tax revenue would have dropped, which made Sun Chengzong's head full of mud.
The rest of the day was spent walking around, including a trip to other rural counties along the newly built cement official road. What I saw was that although the people in Fuzhou Prefecture were not as wealthy, it was obvious that they were
He is physically strong and well-dressed, and it is obvious that he lives a prosperous life.
The Sun family is from Beizhili, and their family is extremely wealthy, but he also knows what the people's life is like. Compared with here, even the tenants live better than the rich farmers in Beizhili. When he saw
Yes, even poor people can always eat meat. This is simply... I wouldn't dare to think so in my wildest dreams!
He has also heard about this. There are many fishermen on the sea. The fish is not afraid of spoiling after being pickled with large salt, and the price is cheap. It turns out that the money you spend on salt is almost enough to buy this kind of salted fish, which is perfect for cooking.
.
In addition, some fish, shrimps and crabs are also stocked in the paddy fields, and a lot of harvests can be obtained every year. Although the land rent has dropped, the income of the landlords has not dropped, and the tenants have made much more.
If you have money, your life will naturally be rich.
At a quick glance, on the morning of the third day, he once again boarded the ship and headed towards Guangdong. Along the way, Sun Chengzong was taciturn. He had too many questions in his heart but no one could answer him. He could only go to Guangdong to meet Mr. Wang Xuan from Wuzhou.
Let’s see what kind of person he is, who actually did such an unprecedented and unheard-of thing in Fujian.
After another ten days or so, the ship finally arrived in Guangzhou. After getting off the ship, Sun Chengzong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Guangzhou finally became normal. It was just like other places in the Ming Dynasty, just as poor, and it looked much more pleasing to the eye...
Immediately, he felt something was wrong. He had always wanted the people to be rich, so why did he suddenly have such a strange idea... After thinking about it, he must have thought that the changes in Fujian were too unreasonable, which made him feel a bit weird and strange.