In the spring of March, the thirty-eighth year of Jiajing, Nanjing.
Last year, the Shanghai Anti-Japanese Corps defeated Japanese pirates in Tongzhou Prefecture. So far, South Zhili has not been invaded by Japanese pirates. It is a rare peaceful time.
In the alley next to Hubu Street, the steward of the Su family went out to do shopping as usual and met Mr. Lu at the entrance of the alley.
"Second Master Lu, didn't you come out of the stall today?"
Mr. Lu just moved here last month and opened a pork shop at the entrance of the alley. The business was very good because the pigs were fresh.
It's just that Mr. Lu is a man of character. He does business for three days and fishes for two days. Even if he sells meat every day, he sells half a piece of pig at dawn. After selling, he will definitely call it a day and go home.
However, he had no worries about food and clothing. After selling meat every day, he would hang out in the alley. Because he was generous, he often gave more meat to his neighbors, so he had a good relationship with everyone.
Mr. Lu is in his forties and does not have a wife at home. He only has two distant nephews who live with him and sell meat.
The matchmaker in the street broke through the door, but Mr. Lu didn't seem to have any intention of getting married, and even his two nephews didn't propose marriage.
In short, this Mr. Lu is a weirdo, but a weirdo that the neighbors like.
The manager of the Su family was brought by Su Ze from Changningwei. He originally had no name, but was named Su Yu by Su Ze.
Although Su Yu has never read a book, he does things well. He is now in his forties and has served as a reserve soldier in the guard station. His two sons are both elite soldiers in the guard station, so they also gain Su Ze's trust.
Second Master Lu enthusiastically stuffed Su Yu with two pieces of good meat, pulled him to sit at the entrance of the alley and said:
"The weather in Nanjing is so weird. Why is it so hot in March?"
Su Yu smiled and said, "Second Master, aren't you from Nanjing? How could you say such a thing?"
Mr. Lu immediately revealed his Nanjing accent and said, "Hey, I just came back from the north. It's different from the Nanjing in my childhood memories."
Su Yu did not continue to dwell on this issue, he just talked about the affairs in the house.
"Hey, after I came back from the capital, I closed the door and thanked guests. I didn't know what I was writing all day long."
Second Master Lu pricked up his ears, and Su Yu continued, "I heard that I want to set up a school in Nanjing."
"Run a school?"
Second Master Lu pricked up his ears, and Su Yu said, "This is not the kind of school for scholars."
"What kind of school is for people who are not scholars?"
Su Yu shook his head and said: "This is not something that a servant like me can know. Anyway, I won't say much about the master's affairs."
Mr. Lu once again stuffed a good piece of meat to Su Yu and said:
"My two useless nephews also want to learn something. If Su Xianggong really runs a school, I don't know if they can be admitted."
"Easy to say, easy to say!"
Su Yu walked out of the alley, bought some more vegetables, and then returned to the Su Mansion.
After returning, he sent the vegetables he bought and the meat Lu Er sent to the kitchen, and then went to Su Ze's study.
"gentlemen."
Su Ze didn't let his servants call him master in the house, so Fang Ruolan's dowry was called uncle, and the fellow Changning Wei fellow he brought with him was called sir.
"How is Lu Er?"
"I'm still asking questions, but this Jin Yiwei's fan is too impetuous in doing things, and he spilled the beans again today."
"It's not easy for Lu Er anymore. He still has to sell pork. This is a strenuous job."
Su Yu laughed loudly when he thought of Lu Er selling pork and sweating profusely. It seemed quite funny that Lu Er, who originally killed people, became Lu Er, who chopped pork and sold it.
On the third day after moving from Lu Er, Su Ze noticed something unusual, because when he passed by Lu Er's door, an [anti-surveillance] life skill appeared.
God's [Anti-Surveillance] is also a life skill, so why isn't it skill-based?
Su Ze really wanted to ask the system what kind of harmonious setting it was.
Su Ze could only invest the free attribute into the strength attribute. Fortunately, one strength can reduce ten strength, which is enough.
Su Ze, male, 26 years old.
Intelligence: 13
Strength: 12
Agility: 7
Charisma: 11
Later, Su Yu was asked to stare at Lu Er, and she saw something unusual about him. From Lu Er's accent and his behavior, Su Ze quickly determined that he was a Jin Yiwei sent from the capital.
The only person in the world who can mobilize the imperial guards is the emperor. This emperor, who has been in power for nearly forty years, is indeed very capable.
For the sake of being a mere civil servant, he actually had to send Jin Yiwei to monitor him.
However, Su Ze quickly understood that the level of surveillance he was under was probably not high. There were only Lu Er and his two subordinates posing as nephews, a total of three people monitoring him.
Being watched can also increase your experience, so Su Ze felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
And last month, he secretly bought the house next door and carefully created a secret passage. As long as he bypassed the main entrance, he could escape Lu Er's surveillance.
Lu Er's method of surveillance was to establish a good relationship with the people in Su Ze's house and ask if Su Ze had any new books coming out.
From Su Ze's point of view, Emperor Jiajing didn't seem to have sent someone to monitor him, but rather to urge him to update.
I heard that Lu Er had no interest at all in the two newspapers run by Su Ze, the "Alert". He always collected "Tong Yan Shuo" and had people send it to the capital. From this, it seems that the emperor is really his own Book lover?
Of course, this is just Su Ze's self-deprecation. He should be treated similarly to Wang Yangming. He is considered a thought prisoner and is under residential surveillance?
But Su Ze wasn't worried. Anyway, his current theory didn't have any rebellious content. Although the scholar-bureaucrats didn't like the idea of reestablishing the morality of the four people, the emperor might not dislike it.
If moral prostitution can be used to give soldiers a greater sense of honor and businessmen a greater sense of social responsibility, then the emperor will actually be happier.
Only scholars are unhappy. Scholars, peasants, workers, merchants, and soldiers. Others are also engaged in morality. Doesn't this lower the sense of superiority of scholar-bureaucrats?
But no one can refute Su Ze. After all, Mencius's remarks are here, the people are valued, why do you, a scholar, still put yourself above the people? Then I don’t dare to think about what I will do next.
If you want to monitor, just monitor. Su Ze is not afraid anyway. If he really wants to do something, just avoid Lu Er's eyes and ears.
Now his [Anti-Surveillance] has reached Lv4, 277/400. As long as Su Ze is under surveillance in a place with few people, he can find it. Lu Er's professional level is not Lv5 at best. As long as Su Ze upgrades to Lv5, he will be able to detect it. I am no longer afraid of his surveillance.
Helping him improve his skills, and even giving away his own good pork to eat every now and then, this Lu Er is really a kind person.
"How are things going at school?"
Su Yu said: "It was originally an abandoned academy. Sir, just buy it and spend some money to renovate it. According to your instructions, as long as there are places for lectures and accommodation, other places can be slowly expanded."
Su Ze nodded. After returning to Nanjing, he looked for a place in Nanjing, and finally found an abandoned academy near Yanziji.
This is an abandoned academy from the Song Dynasty, but it has been abandoned because of the legend of being haunted.
There is no owner of this academy, it belongs to the public land.
Su Ze used Fang Wanghai's connections to buy the academy from Yingtian Mansion.
Su Ze invited craftsmen again, and also paid officials from the Nanjing Ministry of Industry to help draw out the drawings. Together with thirty disciples brought from Nanchan Temple who were proficient in carpentry skills, the academy was quickly renovated.
Su Ze nodded and said to Su Yu: "This matter was done well. You will be the deputy manager of the mansion tomorrow. When Fang Aizhu comes back, ask him to see me."
Su Yu was a little happy. He had a good salary in the Su family, and neither Su Ze nor Fang Ruolan regarded him as a servant, but as a relative.
He has been taking care of everything outside these days, and everything has been done well. Now Su Yu is the second person in the Su family after Fang Aizhu.
Su Yu was even more happy that by selling his strength, his son would be more important.
After a while, Fang Aizhu, who was in a hurry, stepped into Su Ze's study.
"Uncle, the matter in Suzhou has been resolved."
Fang Aizhu was Su Ze's accustomed subordinate, and now he was even more trusted. Fang Aizhu was responsible for Su Ze's properties in Suzhou and Shanghai.
Su Ze also gave Fang Aizhu a high-quality Western Region horse. He came back from Suzhou today and hurriedly came to see Su Ze.
"Has Suzhou been pacified?"
"I used Mr. Xu Shixing's post to save the dock Lifus. It's just that these bad guys are difficult to deal with. I have asked the dock Lifus to form a guild to protect themselves."
After Su Ze took control of the Shanghai Terminal, although the food shortage in Jiangnan had eased, the low-priced Nanyang grain transshipped from Fujian was still welcomed by the big families in Jiangnan.
The reason is simple. As long as food prices are low, converting more rice fields into mulberry fields is a good deal.
More large households in Suzhou are choosing to transplant mulberry trees this year.
Su Ze controlled the trade of Nanyang grain transshipped from Fujian, and also organized Suzhou merchants to sell goods to Shanghai and sell silk to the Fuzhou Shipping Department.
Although Tao Gonggong suppressed prices very hard, the world is like this today. The domestic silk trade is sluggish, and exports are an explosive growth point. The demand is not only large but also stable.
So Su Ze also bought a wharf in Suzhou Prefecture to transport silk to the Shanghai port.
But last month the dock ran into trouble. The Lifu hired by the dock to load and unload cargo got into conflict with the gang of bad guys in Suzhou City.
Su Ze asked: "What are the origins of these evil young men?"
Fang Aizhu said: "Some children of wealthy families in Suzhou Prefecture do not go to school or do business. They hang out in the market and are followed by ruffians on the streets. They make blood alliances and call themselves 'heroes'."
"Last year the government called for group training, and these evil young men also claimed to have organized group training, and hired gangsters as helpers. Now they are bullying the market in Suzhou, and even the officials of Suzhou Prefecture do not dare to offend them at will."
So, Su Ze understood.
In fact, economically developed areas such as Jiangnan and Suzhou are already very prosperous. Large urban workshops also provide a large number of jobs, and the urban economy is developing rapidly.
Just like London during the Industrial Revolution, after the urban economy developed, a large number of urban gray areas also formed.
The London gangsters and the current gangsters in Suzhou are actually the result of the development of the times and the emergence of some professions that can break away from the land economy and make a living in the city. This is also the result of the development of productivity and the development of cities to produce more professions.
This is the case with the development of productivity. As society develops, new gray and black areas will be born, and the lag of government management, which develops more slowly, will further amplify these gray areas.
Su Ze didn't believe that "officials couldn't govern" in Suzhou Prefecture. He could only say that some officials had also integrated into this gray area.
Su Ze said to Fang Aizhu: "Send a letter to Shanghai. The next time the clipper ship comes, take the letter back to Nanping and ask Xiong Wu to go to Suzhou and hand over the dock to him. He will handle this matter."
"Understood."
Su Ze put down his pen and said: "And Yao Chun, let him come to Nanjing on a clipper ship, and let him do the typesetting and printing of this book."
Fang Aizhu looked at the drawings and texts on the table and couldn't help but said: "Uncle, do you really want this book to be published publicly? Many of them contain secret recipes that are hard to exchange for a million dollars."
Su Ze said nonchalantly: "Can I get involved in all of these industries? It's impossible. Moreover, the more products and goods on the market, the more you can make if you master the channels. Moreover, if these methods are promoted, it will also A great thing that benefits the country and the people.”
Fang Aizhu has some admiration for Su Ze. He also knows that the book written by Su Ze contains the production methods of various commodities, as well as the planting and cultivation of many crops. It also contains Su Ze’s secret recipes for making white sugar ( The salt method is more important and has not been written).
These are all ways to make money. It can be said to be a more comprehensive business encyclopedia than the popular "Neng Duo Shi Shi" on the market.
Su Ze actually wanted to write all this in a book and publish it. Fang Aizhu could imagine how much money some of these industries could earn.
There are even detailed drawings for the production of more advanced cotton looms. You must know that this loom is more advanced than the loom used by the Xu family in Huating. Su Ze actually wrote it in the book and published it.
Fang Aizhu admired Su Ze's courage. This book can be said to be a treasure book that can make thousands of families rich!
"What's the matter? In order to write the "Compendium of Materia Medica", Li Shizhen even donated family prescriptions. By the way, how is Li Shizhen's book?"
Fang Aizhu replied: "Miracle Doctor Li has finished writing the first volume."
Su Ze nodded and said: "It can be published slowly. The first volume is about commonly used prescriptions and identification of herbal medicines. It only needs to be convenient and practical for the people. There is no need for too complicated medicinal materials."
Fang Aizhu nodded. He helped Su Ze pack up the manuscript. After Su Ze finished writing a chapter, he began to draw the design drawing again.
[Complete drawing, drawing skill +10, Lv4, 200/400]
This is a design drawing of a water conservancy irrigation wheel. This kind of thing is not uncommon in Jiangnan, but Su Ze still wrote down the manufacturing methods and principles in detail, which is for people in some backward areas.
"Uncle, what's the name of this book?"
Su Ze said with a smile: "Heaven creates things."
Ten days later, Tiangong Academy was built in Nanjing, and Su Ze began to recruit the first batch of students.
(End of chapter)
