Although the "Australian Hanfu" produced by No. 82 is similar to the style of the Ming Dynasty, it uses modern tailoring technology, makes it more fitting and beautiful, and uses the best materials. Plus a set of gorgeous handmade hairpins. Cai Lan looks stunning in her dress.
Jiang Qiuchan was a little surprised. Although Cai Lan's visit to Elder Xie could not be described as "cold", he was quite perfunctory. Bathing and changing clothes were quite reluctant, and dressing up and grooming was hasty. Why is there such a meaning as "to please oneself" today?
What did Mr. Hao say to her that caused such a big change in her mood?
"Mom, do these clothes look good?"
"It looks perfect on a girl." Qiu Chan praised sincerely. It is true that "people want clothes, Buddha wants gold"! Cai Lan was originally just a middle-aged girl, and even Qiu Chan couldn't understand why Australians were so interested in her. Now that I dress up with care, it’s really different!
A slight smile appeared at the corner of Cai Lan's mouth. This was the first time Qiu Chan had seen her smile like this in these days. She couldn't help but be full of suspicion and didn't dare to ask more questions.
Xie Erren came to the Third General Office in a sedan chair. Every time he came to Cai Lan, it was always dark, and there were almost no pedestrians on the streets at this time.
On weekdays, when he goes to the Third General Office, he always inspects the National Army and the naturalized civilian personnel stationed here. But when you get to Cai Lan, you won't go anywhere. The sedan goes in directly through the corner gate and gets off directly in Cai Lan's yard.
When he came here earlier, Cai Lan was very cold, let alone coming out to greet him. Recently, he found that this woman was more enthusiastic about him and seemed to be emotionally attached to her. This made Xie Erren secretly proud. Sure enough, picking up girls still depends on "soft grinding" skills.
Today when he got off the sedan chair, Cai Lan was already standing in front of the steps, leaning down and receiving a deep blessing.
"Happy sir..."
Xie Erren waved his hand and walked directly into the main room without saying anything. He unbuttoned the outer cotton cadre uniform and took off his coat. A maid quickly came up to catch it, stretched it out with a bamboo hanger and hung it on the coat rack. Another maid brought him straw slippers and put them on for him.
"The bath water has been heated up. Please change your clothes and take a bath." Cai Lan whispered.
Xie Erren sat in the enamel bathtub, lit a cigar, and admired the small yard outside the window while bathing: the bathroom was designed and renovated by himself. Under the enamel bathtub is a heating chamber, which burns fire from the outside to heat the air and then heats the entire bathroom. and a bathtub, so that it will not "boil people" and can heat the air in the entire bathroom. Although it is summer now, I guess I have to work here for a year or two. Wuzhou during the Little Ice Age probably also It won't be warm.
Opposite the bathtub is inlaid with glass shipped from Lingao, and outside the window is a "Japanese-style courtyard" of less than two square meters that he designed and supervised. It is exquisitely decorated with white sand, rocks, water bowls, and vegetation. While taking a shower, enjoying it while taking a shower can relax his mind and body and relieve him from the busy work during the day. Let him transform from a veteran, Wuzhou regional director... to an ordinary man.
After taking a shower, he put on the silk pajamas specially provided by No. 82 and came to the main room. The maids and servants had already retreated and left the main room, where a kerosene lamp was brightly lit.
The amount of food and wine on the table is not much, but it is quite exquisite. Cai Lan poured him some wine and Xie Erren took a few sips and felt comfortable all over.
It seems that it is better to work abroad. How can I have such exquisite enjoyment in Lingao! Xie Erren's originally overwhelming resentment also calmed down a little. Looking at Cai Lan who was waiting beside him, he felt that he was gentler and more charming than before. He was in a good mood and asked casually:
"A few days ago, you went to the Dragon Mother Temple to offer incense?"
"Yes, my slave has gone."
"How is the situation over there at the Dragon Mother Temple?"
"It's quite quiet," Cai Lan said.
"Oh," Xie Erren became interested, "How are the people doing?"
"It's still pretty good," Cai Lan said, "It's just..."
"Just what?" Xie Erren became interested. In the past, he and Cai Lan always talked about questions and answers, and rarely heard Cai Lan express his own opinions.
"Everyone says that food is too expensive." Cai Lan said, "Taoist Priest Wu Yuan told me that the public security outside is not good and the tenants are unwilling to pay rent. I am afraid that food will not be available this year. The rice on the market is too expensive and I will soon be unable to afford it." It’s amazing.”
"Don't they also have household registration rice to buy in their temple?"
"This slave doesn't know..."
Taoist Priest Wu Yuan did say this to her, and the purpose was simply to hope that Cai Lan could give Director Xie a pillow to see if he could get some benefits for the temple - to please the favored concubine of a high-ranking official. This is the temple Tried and tested method.
"This is nothing. After a few more months, the ground will become quiet, and the rent will naturally be paid." Xie Erren was talking enthusiastically at the moment, "Besides, it won't be long before a large amount of grain arrives in Wuzhou, and the price of grain will It's going to go down soon. Don't worry!"
The next day after Xie Erren's visit, it was Qiu Chan's day to rest. Jiang Qiuchan's natal family is located in Wuzhou City. They run a silk and satin shop called "Ruijintang". It is not a big business, but it is a time-honored brand that has been passed down for hundreds of years, and the family is quite wealthy.
Qiu Chan's father is no longer here, only her mother is here, and it is her eldest brother Jiang Rongxian who is in charge of the family business.
At this moment, the head of the Jiang family was sitting in the accounting room behind the shop, frowning.
Hearing from his family that the girl was back, he nodded slightly, threw the account books he had looked through countless times on the table, and felt secretly worried.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and everyone's debts must be settled one by one. During the Dragon Boat Festival, after a war broke out, shops were damaged and people fled. Therefore, no one has cleared their accounts. It will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in two months. This time, the debt must be settled.
The account books were brought to him by the accountant. He flipped through them countless times and flipped them on the abacus countless times. It’s not the losses you’re worried about—profits and losses are common in business. It's the current situation where there is no way forward.
"Ruijintang" was also robbed during the Battle of Wuzhou three months ago. Almost all the funds in the store were robbed by the government under various pretexts, and the losses were quite heavy. Finally, the store and goods were saved and the family was not ruined.
It's just that although the market in Wuzhou has recovered, silk and satin can only be easily traded when the world is at peace. With the current situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, it is still difficult for ordinary people to make a living, and rich people are unwilling to spend money because they have suffered many disasters. One can imagine the deserted business.
Business is not good, but expenses are high. According to Xie Yuanlao's instructions, the shop must be opened even if there is no business. Workers are not allowed to be laid off. They must be maintained. Although they are not paid, it is still an expense to support these people. The Jiang family had many relatives in Wuzhou. After the battle in Wuzhou, many relatives and friends went bankrupt and came to sue for help. Out of kindness, the Jiang family had to help him out to some extent. In addition, after the recovery of Wuzhou, the "New Deal" implemented by Yuan Lao Jie was all distributed to various businesses by the aftermath bureau. The Jiang family only paid out accounts but did not receive accounts, so one can imagine Jiang Rongxian's troubles.
It happened that at this time, his own sister was killed by the rebel soldiers. She did not dare to go back to her husband's house during the war, so she stayed at home with her children. As an elder brother, he has a duty, but his wife at home is not so virtuous. Seeing this sister-in-law living at home for three months, he started to complain. Fortunately, the sister recently got a job and can earn one or two pieces of silver every month. , my ears finally felt a lot more relaxed.
Excluding the shortfall in the accounts, he still had a secret account in his heart. He had to calculate it, and found that it was less than two thousand taels, and a thousand taels was more.
His eyes returned to the account book, searching carefully to see which ones could be "handled" and which ones had to be paid.
Fortunately, his biggest headache, the payment for the goods, can be relieved. The suppliers of silk and satin are all in Guangzhou. In the past, people were sent to Wuzhou. After collecting the accounts, they used the money to purchase goods in Wuzhou and then transported them back to Guangzhou to sell them. This way they could make twice as much money. The roads are currently rough, and it is unlikely that the family will send someone to collect the debt at the risk of their property being robbed.
In this way, nearly a thousand taels of effort can be saved. Of the remaining seven or eight hundred taels, some must be paid, and some can be postponed for a while. After calculation, some of them require almost five hundred taels of silver to pass.
Of course he still has money. There are still more than three hundred taels of silver stored in the store and the accounting room at home. My mother and my wives and concubines had some private houses in their hands. It's not difficult to come up with five hundred taels to pay for it. But as a result, there was no cash at home in the shop - the goods in the shop couldn't be sold, so we couldn't exchange the satin for rice - and the rice shop wouldn't do it either.
When I think of rice stores, I also think of how many index fingers there are in my family, and eating every month is a huge expense. "Rui Jin Tang" employs six clerks and three apprentices. There are five male and female servants in the family. Just buying rice every month is a huge amount - but food prices are soaring again! Even the "hukou rice" sold in Australian government offices was two or three times more expensive than before the war.
When will these days of war and chaos end!
Jiang Rongxian thought over and over again in his mind, and after calculation, he found that the amount he needed to pay was still one tael of silver. He couldn't help but feel agitated - it would be best if he could make a fortune of several hundred taels!
Thinking of this, he smiled bitterly: I didn't expect that I would have such a ridiculous idea!
He suddenly remembered something. His sister was now working as a "concubine" for the Australian senator. This concubine is said to be very favored by the "True Kun" - it would be great if I could find some way from this woman to give him some business...
But he thought with frustration that his family's business was silk and satin, something that Australians had no use for at the moment and were not interested in.
As for what is the most profitable thing to do now, it goes without saying that it is the grain business. There is a food shortage in Wuzhou city, and the price of non-Hukou rice has doubled from the normal price. If anyone can get food at this time, the profit will be doubled immediately!
