Jiujiang Township has monopolized the fish and flower fishing rights in Xijiang River since the Hongzhi period, thus forming a quite prosperous freshwater fish breeding industry chain. The inspection task arranged by Zhang Xiao for Chen Wuren was to gain an in-depth understanding of Jiujiang’s local fish fry breeding industry. Before dawn, Chen Wuren and the cadres from the Agriculture Bureau put on wigs and civilian clothes, and under the leadership of Mo Yu, took a boat to the surrounding fish farms. Flower Market - The market days of different markets are different.
Due to the market licensing system of the Ming Dynasty, there were many markets in various places that are not listed in local chronicles. As for the reason, because many markets are not legal.
Only by applying for a license to manage the market can the market owner be legally recognized by the local government, either explicitly or covertly, and included in the local annals. This was the tax farming system that many in the Senate opposed. Naturally, there are many market owners who have not obtained licenses from the government at all, but still collect rent and taxes. These people are people with strong backgrounds, and local officials often dare not offend them.
The Yuewan Ruins, Longyong Ruins, and Liangcun Ruins that existed during the Wanli Period did not appear in Wanli's "Nanhai County Chronicle" or even the later Chongzhen County Chronicle, and the founders of the ruins, Chen Dacan and Huang Xianfu, were both from the Wanli Period. High official.
In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, Xiang Qiao, the Chief Envoy of Guangdong Province who was in charge of Lingnan Road and participated in the political affairs of the left, promulgated the decree "forbidding market owners for the convenience of the citizens". He believed that the imperial court had established a customs system. The customs levy tariffs on incoming goods and should no longer encroach on the profits of small markets. However, governments at all levels issue licenses to market owners and charge a certain fee, allowing the market owners to charge rent for the market space or draw points from the incoming goods.
Judging from his proposition, the intention is naturally excellent, and the starting point is to reduce the burden on the people. To put it bluntly, whether it is called points, land rent, sanitation fees, or stall fees, the resulting costs will eventually be passed on to consumers.
But the prosperity of the market is, to put it bluntly, the needs of the market economy. This cannot be changed by a simple ban from the government. The local government still acquiesces to its existence in order to prosper the local economy and increase income. Xiang Qiao's decree obviously had no effect. At least in the Xiqiao area, the market leader system spread on a large scale.
The Finance and Taxation Bureau is very interested in the market system. To be honest, the market is a handle for tax collection. With a market, taxes on various sporadic economic activities can be collected. Therefore, Wang Qiyi and his wife have been thinking about how to "regulate" the market owners.
Zhang Xiao was also very interested, because the income from the market was an important supplement to local finance in the Ming Dynasty. Only by straightening out this income could local officials have money to do something.
Mo Yu used to be a gangster, and he joined Shi Shishi in order to make a living. He robbed homes and houses under the banner of Zhu Cai, living a life of licking blood. Later, he followed Lin Baiguang and joined Lingao. Because he had some mechanical savvy, he became a technical soldier in the navy. However, during a routine exercise, he became careless and caused an accident. His left hand was slightly disabled and he retired. He was assigned to the police system as a casualty. Until the Senate went north and lacked manpower, disabled people like him who were old and wanted to do something practical were reactivated.
"Chief Chen, you may not believe it. Believe it or not, my underwater skills are quite first-rate. I once held my breath for one minute while diving with bare hands and no equipment to catch a ten-pound dace... "
Mo Yu looked like an ugly version of Su Bingtian, but he liked blowing water very much. He talked non-stop along the way. Chen Wuren couldn't stand it, but he also learned a lot of useful information from him in advance.
"Every March, the water rises in the upper reaches of the Xijiang River, and large fish produce seeds that flow down the river and turn into fish flowers in the wide bends where the water is gentle. Households along the river have to join dozens of families to form a team to raise enough money to travel to Jiujiang. Buy a fish license to catch and sell it to the "Zhuangjia". Jiujiang traders put fish species first, counting fish with their left hand and money with their right hand. They all say, "When the clouds come out in April, Mr. Dan will drown to death." When the fish flowers come, It is also a time when the situation is unpredictable. The winds and waves on the Xijiang River are strong and the water is strong. If you are not careful, everyone and the boat will be destroyed. You don't know how miserable our life was when we were villagers..." Mo Yu Thinking of the hard days in the past, I couldn't help but feel miserable.
Chen Wuren said: "We are both fallen people from the end of the world. If you follow the leader, you are following the right person!"
Mo Yu said: "Isn't that right? I am now a serious court official. In the previous court, I would be on an equal footing with the Jiangpu Inspection Department. I am a ninth-rank official!"
The group continued to blow water for a while.
Jiujiang's fish fry industry has a very fine division of labor. Households who catch fish from the fish port are called "Zhuangjia" and those who get the fish in the pond are called "Zhuangjia". Those who buy fish from "Zhuangjia" and put them in flower ponds are called "Zhuangjia" and those who wait for the fish to grow and sell them are called "Zhuangjia". , those who buy fish from "Zuojia", raise them in large fish ponds, drain the pond water to catch fish and sell them in the market after reaching full size or at the end of the year are called "cultivators". Zhuangjia is responsible for the primary raising and classification of fry. After the fry are put into the pond, they can be raised out of the pond for 20 to 30 days before being sold. Since it is summer, they are called summer flowers, and Zaojia specializes in breeding larger-sized summer flower fingerlings. . Farmers buy summer flowers from Zaojia, raise fish and sell them.
The fish and flower market is right next to the river, and it is convenient for the fish and flower boats to load fish. Since the harvesting time for natural fish flowers starts in March, there are currently no fish flowers sold in the fish flower market, but many people have already come to place reservations.
A fish flower boat docked on the shore, and two indigenous men stood on the shore talking, one tall and one short, complementing each other.
The tall man took out a pack of Shengchuan brand cigarettes from his arms, took out one and handed it to the short man, and asked: "Are you still raising fish flowers now?"
The short man looked dark and had a bad complexion. He took out a match and lit the cigarette he took. He lit another one for the tall man and said, "I don't want to do this. I'm too tired! I'm not in good health." , I’m so tired that Uncle Ghost will take care of you.”
The tall man said: "That's right. Your son can support himself at home. Fortunately, after a lifetime of hard work, all the hard work has finally come to an end."
The short man didn't look very happy and said: "This is my fate, and it will be like this for the rest of my life."
"I heard something strange recently..." the tall man said slightly mysteriously.
"Oh? What's so mysterious?"
"I heard from fishmongers who traveled to Leizhou and Gaozhou that business was so bad last year that they lost their pants."
"What's so strange about this?" The short man disagreed. "The Australians came in and the war was in chaos. What kind of business can we do without losing money?"
"Leizhou Mansion is very close to the home base of the Australians. It has been penetrated by the Australians like a sieve. As soon as the army arrives, it will be decided by word of mouth. There will be no chaos."
"Oh? What's going on?"
"The farmers over there bought fish fry from Lingao."
"What!" The short man's face changed drastically. Although the Jiujiang villagers monopolized the fishing rights of Xijiang River, they also shouldered thousands of taels of fish wages. Jiujiang's fish flower sales network extends to Qingyuan and Shaozhou in the north, Huizhou and Chaoshan in the east, and Fengchuan and Gaolei in the west. In later generations, large ships even came from Luzon and Nanyang to buy fish flowers. Now, if someone no longer needs Jiujiang's fish flowers and their income decreases, the salary hanging on their heads is not a penny.
The short man asked: "There is neither a big river nor a big lake in Lingao, so where can the freshwater fish and flowers come from?"
"Who can say clearly about the Australians? Some people say that the Australians created it with the power of water and fire."
"Guan Youde! Guan Youde!" Mo Yu, who came by boat, saw the short man from a distance and shouted.
The short man heard the sound and saw that it was Mo Yu. He immediately changed his expression to a smiling face. He obviously knew Mo Yu and responded from a distance: "Master Mo, why do you have time to come to the fish and flower market today?"
After the boat docked, Mo Yu threw a cigarette to each of Guan Youde and Guan Youde, pointed to his companions and introduced them: "I have a few distant relatives who want to do the fish business. Let's bring them here for a tour."
The several naturalized cadres who were traveling with him all had Fujian and Cantonese accents. After putting on wigs, they looked no different from the natives. Guan Youde believed it was true and said: "I am very familiar with this fish and flower market. There is nothing I don't know." Since they are Mr. Mo’s relatives, their affairs are my business, so just speak up if you can use me."
The tall man said: "Master Mo found the right person today."
Mo Yu didn't recognize the tall man and asked, "Who is your Excellency?"
Guan Youde introduced: "This is my good friend, Zhong Ji, who is a local builder."
"Then it's hard work!"
In this way, the inspection team, led by Guan Youde, started shopping in the fish and flower market. Guan Youde is a member of the Guan clan in Jiujiang. It is said that his ancestors can be traced back to Guan Yu, who migrated here during the Southern Song Dynasty. The Jiujiang Guan family has Shude, Shimei, Dianxun, Shide, Qiyi, and Sicheng Liutang. In the rural areas of the old time and space, if a family had three sons, their words were more effective than the village police station, so the clan was numerous. The Guan family of Qian is definitely a first-rate wealthy family in the local area.
Chen Wuren used to be the director of the Lingao Popsicle Factory. He had supervised dozens of people and was mature and steady in his speech and behavior. Apart from Mo Yu, he was the oldest in the team. Guan Youde believed in his heart that he was the leader of these people. Then he asked him: "I wonder what your surname is, old gentleman? Where did you live?"
"My surname is Chen, from Xiangshan." Chen Wuren replied.
"Xiangshan, are you planning to sell fish or raise fish?"
"fish culture."
"Then I want to be a farmer. The old gentleman will come to Zhong Ji to buy summer flowers. He will definitely not cheat you." Guan Youde blew out a puff of smoke, "Is there a ready-made fish pond?"
With the information he learned from Mo Yuchuishui along the way, Chen Wuren did not panic and said: "There are dozens of acres of family farmland in the clan. Because it is low-lying and close to water, the grain yield is not high. The elders in the clan have discussed changing it to fish ponds. However, there are few fish ponds in our Xiangshan Mountains, and no one in our clan has such experience, so we were sent to visit the Precious Treasure Land to learn from it."
"Then you have come to the right place." Guan Youde said: "It's just that the cost of selecting a foundation to build a pond is not cheap. Mr. Chen's family is really generous."
"Since ancient times, fish and mulberry trees have been the most profitable. If it succeeds, it will be a century-old foundation for the whole family."
"Mr. Chen is really far-sighted!" Guan Youde raised his thumbs.
