Send a clerk to the post office every afternoon - the Australians ask the post office to deliver the goods. Some of the shopkeeper's notes had the words "Pu", "Dian" and "Quick" written on them. Lin Ming also wrote them on the envelope one by one according to Wang Xinglong's instructions.
He guessed that these might be some kind of business secret words, and he never asked in line with the principle of not being too fussy, but Wang Xinglong quickly told him that this was just a marked way of sending letters.
"The so-called 'Pull' means the general mail route, which uses cars and ships, and is shipped on a normal schedule; if it is 'Quick', it means expedited, and it will be shipped on the same day and will be shipped the same day, which is twice as fast as 'Public'..."
"Like a normal official document from the imperial court and an eight-hundred-mile expedited one?"
"Exactly. That's what Brother Lin is comparing. How can the official post be used by ordinary people? Only the high officials and gentry can benefit from it. We merchants usually use 'flying feet', which is very fast, but unfortunately the price is not as good." It’s cheap. For people like me who live in a remote rural area, there’s nowhere to find a flying foot. The only way to get important news is to send a clerk to deliver the letter. It’s the Australians who are considerate of us. "" .s. Merchants..."
"Can this Australian inn be used by merchants?"
"Why not? Not to mention our merchants, we are just ordinary people digging in the soil. We only need to pay a few cents to send letters by post. Unfortunately, it is only limited to this place. The postal roads in the Ming Dynasty can reach There are very few places, and we have to send 'quick' letters." Lin Ming knew that this post station was a huge burden for the imperial court, so the imperial court also deliberately abolished the post station all over the world. The post workers were unemployed and living in the city, and they were exiled and became bandits. In Guangdong, Happened a few times. But after all, Guangdong is a peaceful and prosperous land, and small troubles cannot cause big troubles. It soon subsided.
I didn't expect that Kun Thief would not only run Yi Chuan, but also be used by ordinary people - it was really incredible. In his opinion, doing so is meaningless except to "win people's hearts."
But he couldn't say this clearly, although Wang Xinglong refused to shave his head. But he is a "kun fan". Normally, he would not allow others to say anything bad about Kun Thief. Lin Ming watched with cold eyes, knowing that he had always had evil intentions towards his cousin. In the Ming Dynasty, it was probably due to the etiquette and law that he did not dare to act rashly. When it came to Lingao, a place where "rituals break music". In the "outer land" where bad things happen, no one cares about this kind of thing. Lin Ming only spent a few days here. We know that it is easy to make a living here and there are many opportunities to make a fortune. There are stories everywhere about people who have become rich in just a year or two after arriving here. Therefore, etiquette and rules are taken very lightly.
"I wonder if the prefix 'electricity' is appropriate?"
"'Electricity' is a telegram." Wang Xinglong said with great interest, "Speaking of this telegram, it is really strange! The post office here delivers a letter, even if it is thousands of miles away. It will be delivered to the receiving post office in a moment. No. You know how Australians use it!" He said that Haixing's business is now so prosperous. To a large extent, it relies on this telegram. The head office in Guangzhou exchanges the market information of various local products here through the post office in Hong Kong. What prices in Guangzhou are rising and the demand is strong, and what stocks are too much and the prices are falling, can be done within a day or two. Know. Shopkeeper Qian can arrange for the shopkeepers of each branch to buy or stop collecting.
"You can also use this telegraph to deliver money. It's much more convenient than banknotes and money orders."
Lin Ming shook his head repeatedly. No matter what, I can't believe that such a thing exists in the world.
"Brother Lin, if you don't believe it, let's go and have a look next time when we send a telegram." Wang Xinglong said with a smile. "It's good to open your eyes."
Lin Ming was dubious. After arriving at Lingao, there were so many new things, far beyond his imagination.
While we were chatting, another clerk delivered a box of mail. This is Wang Xinglong's job.
Every day, Haixing has to write and send many letters, and a large number of letters are also delivered. Wang Xinglong was specifically responsible for this, unpacking and reading various letters, and then writing "abridgements" based on the criticality of the letters - Shopkeeper Qian was busy with his affairs, and it was impossible to adopt this method one by one. Some letters are related to price changes, so you don't even need to write abbreviations. You just need to fill in a special "bill" with full lines - Wang Xinglong calls it a "form" - and that's it.
The two stopped talking and started busy with each other's duties. There were only two of them in the copywriting and accounting room, and the whole room was silent for a while. They were busy until noon, and as usual, an apprentice brought wash water for them to wash their faces and hands. Then dinner was delivered, with meat and vegetables, not many dishes, and plenty of rice. Lin Ming had always been well-fed and well-fed, but he hadn't had a good meal these days. Not to mention eating well, there are not even many opportunities to eat enough. I suddenly felt like I had a great appetite, and I was so full that I had a full meal.
Wang Xinglong didn't eat much. He only ate all the dishes and only one bowl of rice. Seeing that Lin Ming had a good appetite, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Looking at Brother Lin's appetite, he doesn't look like a scholar, but like a martial artist."
Lin Ming was shocked when he heard this and said quickly: "To be honest, I haven't had a few full meals in these years..."
Wang Xinglong said: "When I came to Gao, I was like a starving ghost reincarnated. When I saw this white rice, I didn't even ask for food - I think in Laizhou, my family couldn't eat rice every time." He said Shaking his head, he seemed to be filled with emotion, "In Australia, even the peddlers and lackeys, the long-term and short-term workers, can still make enough rice, vermicelli and noodles. I haven't thought that there is such a place in the world..."
Lin Ming also felt this problem. On the day he stayed at the Weimin Inn, he ate in the public canteen outside. The long counter covered with glass was filled with large porcelain plates and piled with food. There were many varieties: vegetables. , bean curds, vermicelli, meat, pickles, seafood, rice, steamed buns... The diners take a plate themselves, take as many dishes as they like, and pay when they get to the end. It doesn’t cost much, but they eat a lot. When I was full, I was given a bowl of soup stock with a few vegetable leaves and some oily flowers at the end.
Although he didn't understand exchange rate conversion, he could probably estimate in his mind how much similar meals would cost in Foshan under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. The conclusion drawn is that in Ming Dynasty, guests of similar class could not afford to eat.
The price of grain and vegetables here in Kunthi is so low, which only shows that their output is very high. However, the thieves have always encouraged industry and commerce and allowed farmers to move to the cities to work and do business. They have never had a sense of worry about farmers moving to the cities and leaving their land uncultivated and uncultivated.
It seems that Kun Thief must have some secret method for farming. If we could obtain this secret technique and present it to the imperial court, wouldn't it be a great achievement?
While Lin Ming was thinking wildly, Wang Xinglong had already stood up and left - he was going out with his cousin - "shopping".
"Shopping?" Lin Ming was surprised. In most towns in the Ming Dynasty, not only the city gates were closed at night, but the gates on the streets were also closed, and there were usually curfews. Because there are no street lights on the streets, it is unsafe to walk at night. Therefore, except for festivals such as the Lantern Festival, very few people go out after lighting lanterns on weekdays. He quickly advised:
"It's already time to turn on the lights, it's pitch dark outside, and you still have your female dependents with you..."
Wang Xinglong smiled and said: "Brother Lin, you don't know something. This place is very prosperous at night, and there is no danger in walking at night - you will know it when you follow me to the street."
Lin Ming was doubtful and followed him out. It was not completely dark yet, and on the street in front of the store, the iron pillars whose purpose he could not guess at first were already lit with lights. The bright flame danced behind the glass cover. Not only was it much brighter than the flame of a lamp oil candle, but even the best "Australian foreign wax" light could not compare with it.
One after another, the lights stretched out along the street until he couldn't see them. Looking around, the streets are bright. It’s okay to read and write in the street, let alone walk.
Lin Ming suddenly grabbed Wang Xinglong's arm as if he was in despair: "Is this a street lamp?"
"Exactly." Wang Xinglong said proudly, "My little brother is right."
"This street... there are street lights?!" Lin Ming was quite knowledgeable and knew that in the capital's palace and the mansions of some wealthy families, there were stone lanterns on both sides of the long road, which were lit at night. This is already an extremely luxurious thing. He had originally suspected that these iron pillars with glass covers were street lamps, but he still couldn't believe that Kun Thief had such financial resources and could afford so much oil and wax lighting - besides, what's the point of lighting the streets at night? What to use?
"It's not just this street. The entire Dongmen City, as well as Bopu and various cities and towns in the county, have street lights that stay on all night long. There are many businesses that have to do business in the middle of the night or even all night long. .”
Because the street where Haixinghao is located is not a busy city, most of the shops have been demolished and there are not many pedestrians on the street. But looking at the relaxed expressions of the passers-by, it doesn’t look like there is a curfew. Lin Ming composed himself and was about to open his mouth to say something when he saw Wang Jinchun already coming out of the side door of the shop. Her dress was different from yesterday. There were pink silk strips on her hair, and she was wearing a blue one-piece dress like that worn by women with prosthetics. She was covered with an embroidered silk armor, and the skirt below only reached her knees. She exposed her calves wearing white socks and a pair of black cloth shoes. There was also a straw bag in his hand.
Lin Ming secretly shouted: "Fancy clothes!" Wang Xinglong, however, had already greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Cousin, do you want Mr. Lin to go too?".
"No, no, Brother Lin won't go. He just went to the street to see the night view." Wang Xinglong was not polite and directly denied it. Lin Ming cursed secretly: "You are a frivolous and lecherous person!" But he said: "I have heard for a long time that Lingao's night scene is picturesque. Come out and have a look. You can do it yourself, do it yourself..."
Wang Xinglong no longer wanted to be perfunctory and was about to leave with his cousin, but Wang Jinchun was enthusiastic: "If Mr. Lin is so busy, why not go for a walk on Dongmen Street - go east here and turn left at the second intersection. There. It’s the most prosperous and has many shops, so even if you don’t want to buy anything, just go and have a look.”
Lin Ming only thanked him, but Wang Xinglong had already pulled his cousin away. When he saw the two of them holding hands, he couldn't help but secretly shouted: "It's immoral! It's immoral!"
Section 316 - Street lights.
Section 316??Street lights,
