Section 25 Continued Dongmen City Travel Notes
"I didn't expect that Mr. Liu of yours is not only a famous doctor, but also proficient in the art of Tao and Zhu. [Read the full text]"
"The third master is indeed a strange person," the steward praised sincerely, "Runshitang is in the situation it is today, thanks to the help of the third master."
"So Australians are quite capable."
"Who says it's not the case? They are good at farming, working, fighting, building houses, and doing business. There are many things they don't know how to do."
"Let's go, find a place to rest." Li Luo closed his fan and said.
Gu Baocheng knew that his uncle's intention was to do business with the Australians, but when he arrived at the place where the Australian goods were shipped, he was unmoved. He felt strange and quickly reminded Li Luoyou.
"It's okay." Li Luoyou shook his head, "This is a place where batches are made for small customers. Let's just take a look." Li Luoyou had other plans. He originally came here to meet with Australians to discuss business. Aussies will definitely give themselves a much bigger discount. Li Luoyou believes that the resources in his hands are enough to kill Australians ruthlessly.
Just as he was about to go out, he heard a commotion at the door and saw a female cooperative worker in a blue cloth skirt waving a small pennant and leading a dozen people in from the door.
"Come on, dear guests, this is the largest commodity wholesale market in Lingao - the main store of the cooperative. We have more than a thousand kinds of goods of all kinds. From the mirrors used by the queen to the pickles eaten by the common people... Good luck, everyone. Look, there are all kinds of Australian products. If you buy them back, you can make money. It’s not easy to go to Lingao. If you don’t buy more things, you’ll be sorry for your legs..."
The female clerk was holding a triangular paper tube and yelling while waving a pennant. Behind them were a group of decent traders. When they first came to such a splendid and majestic shop, they looked around and felt a little intimidated.
"Everyone has a cup of tea first. Don't be polite. Take your time and choose carefully. There is plenty of time." As he said this, a female waiter brought trays of cups, including hot tea, herbal tea, kombucha, and kvass. , so that the vendors who got off the boat, queued for a long time at the customs, and sat in an oxcart for a long time could relax.
These are the small traders who came to Gao to sell their goods. After rescuing Haijia's five-masted ship, the traders on the ship discovered a much closer channel for goods, so they came to Gao to sell their goods. Xiong Buyou, who was in the external liaison department at the time, was interested in promoting the light industrial products of Chuan Chuan Group, so he quickly discussed with the executive committee whether to organize a "one-day trip to Dongmen City" for these people?
So this one-day trip to Dongmen City has continued. As soon as the small traders pass the customs, they will be organized, and a dozen or so people will pull into specially prepared bullock carts and go shopping in batches.
The prosperity, cleanliness and orderliness of Dongmen City are an eye-opener for small businessmen. The dazzling array of various products makes them even more itchy. There are so many new things here that you can’t see on the mainland: there are thick “towels” that are gradually becoming popular among urban residents in Guangzhou, sewing needles with excellent steel mouths, snow-white sugar, and colorful candies. , thin, soft and breathable knitted socks, small wooden sticks that can light a fire just by scratching anywhere without a flint, snow-white and smooth paper... and many kinds of food and wine that I have never seen before...
The dazzling array of goods dazzled the small businessmen, and everyone was thinking about what items could be sold for a lot of money after being sold back. But to buy these things, neither silver nor copper coins are useful. Only "pieces of paper" - circulation coupons are accepted here.
There was a long queue in the lobby of Delong Grain Store. Small businessmen all went to Delong Grain Store. They first bought rice chips of brown rice with money according to today's grain price, and then exchanged the rice chips at the counter for circulation coupons. .
Over time, in order to facilitate customers, Delong not only set up exchange points in Dongmen City, but also set up temporary exchange points in some designated stores to facilitate customers.
There used to be only one shopping mall. After the second plenary meeting, this kind of approval was extended to many places, including the cooperatives after "nationalization", Tianchu Sauce Garden, and even Runshitang also joined this system of collecting and using circulation coupons in large quantities. Yang Shixiang is willing to collect a large number of circulating coupons mainly because he needs to pay for services such as buying machines from the Cross Travel Group.
There is also a new dedicated rattan shop. There are many new and fresh rattan styles on display that have never been seen before, including various rattan furniture, daily necessities and tools - Lingao has traditionally exported red and white rattan as the largest export. Wu Kuangming felt that it was a pity that such a good resource could only export primary products. We set up a rattan workshop specifically to produce rattan products. These products have certain special characteristics and require a large display space, so it is not suitable to sell them on behalf of merchants or cooperatives, so the Ministry of Commerce opened a special rattan store.
When small businessmen buy high-quality goods, each store packs them for them after charging freight, and then the post office collects and consigns them. By the time they get on the return ship of Gaoguang Shipping Line, the packaged goods are already loaded in the bottom hold.
The routes of Gaoguang Shipping have also expanded from Guangzhou-Lingao to regular routes such as Guangzhou-Qiongshan, Guangzhou-Xuwen, Lingao-Qiongshan. The concept of fixed liners was introduced. Expanded customer source groups.
One-day shopping trips to Dongmen City have gradually become popular due to the vigorous promotion of the Cross Travel Group. Small traders welcome such thoughtful arrangements. Since then, there have been more and more merchants smuggling goods in Laigao. In addition to simply bringing cash to purchase, many people have begun to bring goods for trading. Many goods are now transported directly by merchants from the mainland without purchasing from Guangzhou, which not only meets the needs of the traveling public, but also meets the daily necessities needs of the general public. This is also beneficial to the entire Lingao social supply - the Cross-Travel Group cannot manufacture everything by itself.
Li Luoyou watched with great interest as this group of small businessmen loudly commented on the quality of the goods in the store and speculated on how much money they could make. It was the first time they came here and they didn't understand the rules and had to bargain. He just pointed at the "No counteroffer" sign with his finger and smiled without saying a word.
Australians not only welcome big deals, but also spare no effort for such small customers. I fear that the care will be inadequate. What is the purpose of doing this? And judging from the steward's introduction and my own perception, Australians don't like silver, they want goods - not the most popular foreign goods such as silk and porcelain, but ordinary goods: iron , coal, cloth, grain, wood...
He was suddenly startled - the idea that Australians wanted everything for national and people's livelihood suddenly broke into his mind. He thought that when the slaves were trading with him, what they valued most was food and ironware, and they were often willing to pay big prices to buy them - this was similar to the Australians.
After coming out of the cooperative, the manager saw that they were a little tired, so he opened a private room in the cooperative restaurant. Li Mei was checking the accounts in the cooperative restaurant. When she heard that a distinguished guest was coming, she came out to socialize in person.
Li Luoyu saw that this Australian woman who was "doing big business" was only wearing a very simple green cloth skirt and jacket, with ear-length bobs, no ornaments on her body, and not an inch of silk. This outfit was from Guangzhou. Even the most respectable maids from wealthy families cannot compare with her.
Li Luoyou admired the fact that the business was so big and the enjoyment was so simple - at least he couldn't do it.
Li Mei had already known about the arrival of shopkeeper Li, and she was even more attentive to him now. We specially sent the highest-grade bird's nest, coconut milk and mixed fructose syrup, which was smooth, fragrant and cool, and contained many unknown fruits, which made even Li Luoyou, who is not a fan of desserts, very satisfied. As for the quark, it was even more eye-catching.
Li Luoyou then looked for an opportunity to inquire about the internal affairs of the Australians. However, although the female Australian was very attentive, she would either look away from him or just smile at his questioning.
He is still a ruthless character, Li Luoyou thought to himself. According to the manager's introduction, this Li Mei should be a powerful figure among Australians, and seems to be some kind of "minister". Now that we have a one-time relationship, we still need to deal with it properly, because we may not be sure she will be of any use in the future.
As soon as he thought about it, the conversation changed, his words became very sincere, and he even praised the cooperative's management. Sure enough, Li Mei's face showed a proud look.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Li Luoyou winked. Saoye was already prepared and took out a brocade box from his bag:
"It's just a small gift from Liaodong local products, I hope you'll accept it." He cupped his hands, "There will be many places that Minister Li will take care of in the future."
"Where do we start talking about this? Your old lady is out of touch -" Li Mei smiled like a flower. I took the box and opened it. It was a ginseng with all the beards and leaves. Even according to the value of this time and space, it is still a considerable gift.
This made her hesitate. Recently, she really wanted to buy a few ginseng sticks for herself and the old man to use as a winter tonic. But according to the regulations, expensive gifts must be handed over. If you want to keep them, you have to pay them according to the market price. It's not that she was stingy with the money - the ginseng was of such good quality that it was cost-effective to buy it herself. But the relationship between shopkeeper Li and me is not clear. Will accepting the gift hastily cause any sequelae? She is someone who has suffered a loss once, so she has to be cautious about this.
After careful consideration, I returned the ginseng.
"This gift is too heavy," she said. "It is well deserved."
I sent him my message repeatedly, but the other party still declined politely. Li Luoyou used ginseng as a stepping stone, and it always worked wherever he went, but now the other party refused. Quite unexpected.
Li Mei had some perfunctory dealings with them before she left. After a while, someone sent four cotton bags. The bags were extremely exquisitely made, and their positions were dense and neat. There is a font embroidered with colorful silk thread on the pocket: "Present from the Cooperative Federation".
"This is Minister Li's intention."
Instead of accepting a gift from myself, I gave a gift to myself. When I opened it in surprise, I found that inside was the most popular and popular product among Australians, two towels, one large and one small. The blue and white patterns are dyed very carefully.
Although it is a very popular Australian product, it is also quite practical in Lingao. After all, it is of very low value. I made a special trip to deliver it, what’s the point?
This Australian has a really different mindset. Li Luoyou had a strange feeling: he and Jian Nu had more in common. At least he could understand the barbarian's thoughts. But I feel completely lost in this group of people.
"Let's go shopping again." Li Luoyou waved his fan.
When he reached the crossroads, he saw a building made of the best red bricks. After asking, he learned that this was the place where market trade was managed. There was someone standing guard at the door, probably a government office or something like that. But on the steps, people were coming in and out of the gate, and the people standing on duty did not stop them from questioning, so Li Luoyou became interested and wanted to go in and take a look.
"There's nothing to see in there." The manager said, "It's just a place to do business."
"It's okay, I just want to see how to do something." He said and walked up the steps.
There is really nothing to see in this Yamen. Australian houses have a large number of windows with glass, so the room is always bright. This makes Li Luoyou, who is used to the dim light in the room, not very accustomed to it. He cannot imagine himself in such a house. Things can be done here.
There is a large table on display in the middle, with three objects placed on it, one of which is a huge balance scale. There are many weights placed nearby. One is a ruler that seems to be made of steel, and the last one is a small bucket made of iron sheets.
There is a sign in front of the big table that says "Weighing Scale Office". According to the manager, this place is specially designed to store standard weighing instruments. Anyone who buys or sells items on the street and has doubts about the size and weight can come here to check. If you don't know how to use it, there are dedicated book offices to help.
Li Luoyou nodded and took a closer look. The size seemed to be different from Daming's. If you look closely, the scale of the ruler is called "meters", the scale of the weight is called "kilograms", there is another unit called "tons of stones", and the volume of the small bucket is called "liters".
"These weights and measures should have been brought from Australia."
"It should be." The steward said, "It is different from the scale of this dynasty." He pointed to the "meter ruler" and said, "This ruler is about three feet or more in line with the construction ruler of this dynasty."
"That's it?"
"These three scales have been installed since the opening of Dongmen City," the manager said. "Originally, whether a foot is long or short, and a pound is more or less, everyone said they were the most accurate. With these three Once the scales are accurate, there will be no dispute about the length when doing business - those who are not convinced can just come here to weigh and measure. Everyone finds it convenient, so they all use it."
Private weights and measures. Li Luoyou added another crime to the Australians. He turned around and saw a large room on the left side of the atrium separated from the atrium by a half-person-high wooden fence. There was a door on the fence, which was now locked. Inside is a long table arranged in a horseshoe shape. The middle table is elevated. There is a huge wooden sculpture hanging on the wall behind the middle table, which looks a bit like a European coat of arms. Above is a red sun, in the middle is a scale, and below is a wavy pattern.
"It's more like a court." Quark suddenly said.
This reminded Li Luoyou that it was indeed very much like a European court. After asking, it turns out that it is a "place where cases are tried," and its official name is "Dongmen City Summary Court."
According to the steward, this court specializes in all kinds of trivial cases, including littering, fighting, shortfalls, and theft. It is also responsible for hearing small trade disputes and filling out legal documents such as notarial certificates. The trial is very simple, in a few words, the facts are clear and the judgment is made in court, and more than a dozen cases can be tried in half a day.
Generally, if there is no plaintiff or defendant in the Sheriff's Department, the case will be closed directly by the court. For example, if someone is caught stealing by the police, going to court is just a formality. After the verdict is read out, he is immediately sent to the labor camp to work as a free coolie. As for the plaintiff and defendant, both parties have to spend money to buy standard official paper to fill out the complaint. This kind of official paper is in a unified format and printed uniformly, and all legal documents are written on this paper.
"Is there any office certificate document here?" Li Luoyou suddenly asked.
"Yes, there are, but few people do it. Everyone doesn't understand it very well..." The steward pointed to a row of picture frames hanging on the wall, "It's all written on it."
"Let's go take a look." Li Luoyou greeted Quark.
Luoyou Li looked at it carefully and exchanged words with Quark from time to time. Quark can speak Chinese but not read it, so he can only judge based on what Li Luoyou said.
"...According to what you said, these Australians use the European legal system." Li Luoyou said, "At least this notarial certificate does not exist in the Ming Dynasty."
"Yes, there are these laws. If this was made by Australians, then the people who made the law must be familiar with "Roman Law" and various continental codes." Quark said, "I know little about the law, but according to you From what he said, the Australian judicial system is obviously related to Europe, but it is different." He shook his head, "I have a feeling that they should be smarter than us."
"Better than your motherland?" Li Luoyou joked.
"Haha, my motherland can't compare." Quark made no secret, "An overseas colony can do this. I don't know what the mother country is like. I really want to see it."
When we came out of the management office, the sun was gradually setting in the west, and the pedestrians on the street had dispersed. The streets would become empty and quiet. Quark bought some small things on the street and said he was going to ask someone to take them back as gifts.
At this time, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the air, approaching from far away, as if some monsters were screaming one after another. Gu Baocheng's face turned pale. Li Luoyou was also shocked and was about to check where the sound came from. The manager quickly comforted me: "It's okay, it's the whistle that signals the end of the morning shift."
The whistling sound was one long and one short, and it sounded seventeen times in a row. Soon after the sound, there were more and more groups of people wearing greasy blue coarse cloth on the road. Like a tide, they crowded the entire Dongmen City.
The craftsmen were talking and laughing loudly while flocking to the cheap hotels and restaurants. The food stalls on the roadside also became energetic and started shouting vigorously.
Dongmen Market was suddenly filled with a strange smell of sweat, oil and food. The street market, which had become somewhat deserted, suddenly became vibrant again. m! ~!
