Qingwen coughed twice, relieved the embarrassment and put the hot milk into Fu Hui's hand, "Madam knows how to make jokes, I didn't mean what I said..."
"Do you still remember? At the beginning of spring last year, the shopkeeper of the Fan family named Fan Jin brought us a batch of gifts from the second wife, which were some specialties of Fuso..."
"Nishijin weaving, Kaga silk, fans, iron pots, tortoiseshell, matcha, etc..."
"My wife was worshiping Buddha in the Buddhist hall that day. I chatted with shopkeeper Fan Jin for a while, and we talked about the current luxury style in this capital!"
"After all, he is a businessman. He travels all over the country and even overseas. The stories he tells me are beyond my imagination!"
"It is said that among the royal nobles in the capital, no one goes to banquets that cost less than one thousand taels of silver. It's all trivial. Since the glass factory in our special zone began to be put into operation, many buildings have been built around the capital. A winter conservatory!”
"You can eat the freshest watermelon in the cold winter, and those princes only eat a spoonful of watermelon in the center. Sometimes a watermelon platter at a banquet will consume hundreds of watermelons..."
"It goes without saying that there are delicacies from all over the world, but now there is an added problem and they all prefer to use imported products from the West! Nowadays, new foreign goods shops are opening in the capital one after another, and each one is doing a prosperous business!"
"They have taken advantage of our Chinese people's convenient maritime transportation to enjoy the world's good things! Who has ever eaten king crabs from the deep sea before! Now they can fish them from the north of Fuso and Vladivostok, and then travel thousands of miles All the land was packed with ice and sent to the capital!"
"Red wine from Europe, game from Africa, coffee from South America... I heard that there is an American merchant ship that sells bison from North America to the Qing Dynasty!"
"The living bison were driven onto ships, sailed across the entire Pacific Ocean, and then sent to Sijiu City for the enjoyment of these princes and ministers!"
"What other caviar, ham, cheese, etc. the master gave us... are not uncommon in the capital now, and the nobles in the palace have them in abundance!"
"This is all shipped from overseas, and the shipping cost is more than ten times more expensive than the ingredients themselves!"
"Not only do they pay attention to food, they also pay attention to clothing...I heard that the Russians are making a good deal right now. There are countless white bears and white seals and sea lions in the polar north..."
"The leather goods are definitely top-notch, even better than the leather goods outside the customs... The supply in the capital is really in short supply, you can buy as much as you can bring!"
"Prince Gong's family once spent 160,000 taels of silver to buy ten white bear skins! The money was spent like water in the sea, without even blinking an eye..."
"The size of the eight alleys has doubled compared to the early years of Xianfeng, and the number of promiscuous women has at least tripled. They play almost every night, and the officials are going crazy!"
"I never tire of fine food, and I never tire of fine food. Extravagance has become common in the entire Forty-Nine City, and it's several times worse than before I started growing hair!"
Fu Hui had never heard of these stories. She even forgot to drink the milk as she held it in her hands. "You...what do you mean by saying this? What does this have to do with me?"
"After listening for a long time, it seems that because the Chinese have expanded the scale of maritime trade, it is easier for overseas luxury goods to enter Beijing, and it is more convenient for them to buy..."
"You can't blame the master!" Ping'er was unhappy when he heard this.
Qingwen smiled and said, "I haven't finished talking yet. The master's sea transportation to import more expensive luxury goods is just a small reason for this extravagant trend. Fan Jin said the root cause... It’s still in silver!”
"Shopkeeper Fan Jin said... It seems that this is what he said... In fact, the production of silver on the earth is very high, and it is not rare at all compared with gold!"
"And there are many mountains of pure silver in South and North America... They are really silver mountains. I am not kidding, but the entire mountain is filled with silver!"
"Silver is not expensive in the international market, so why is it so expensive in the Qing Dynasty? The reason is because China produces very little silver, and China uses silver as currency, so it seems more expensive!"
"My master has engaged in global trade over the years and has taken the initiative to do business. Through various means, he has been able to directly purchase the cheapest silver ore, and then we can refine it ourselves!"
"Has the cost of silver been reduced? The minted silver coins are sent to the Qing Dynasty for spending. Is the total amount of silver increasing?"
"This seems to be...inflation! There are still so many goods on the market, but the money is getting more and more. Doesn't that make the money less valuable? Things are getting more and more expensive... "
"Fan Jin said that silver has been an absolute import to the Qing Dynasty in recent years, and too much has flowed in all year round... It is precisely because the entire country has given away money, and there is too much silver in the society, plus there are paper currency assistance, the result The imperial court suddenly became rich!"
"Especially those officials and princes and ministers, there are already many channels for money, but with this silver flood... there is more money, so why not be extravagant?"
After saying this, Fu Hui and Heping'er suddenly realized, "It makes sense, it does make some sense. If it seems like this, it's really Xiao Letian's fault, because he got so much silver!"
Ping'er asked in confusion, "But... but look at the people in the market, their lives are still so miserable. Even with so much money, their lives are not getting better!"
Qingwen shrugged, "Is it going to be okay? I also asked shopkeeper Fan... Fan Jin said, this is a problem of distribution. The flood of silver is coming, inflation is coming, but there is no channel to distribute wealth. Change!”
"The entire imperial court, only the nobles and officials in the palace, can enjoy the benefits of this silver inflation. The common people cannot benefit from it at all, and their income is still so much..."
"Not only does the income not rise, but we also have to share the inflationary pressure of the entire society... To put it bluntly, this is to let the people of the country share the consequences of those fat-headed people..."
Fu Hui sighed and closed her eyes, "You two are singing along and you think I'm a fool! Do you still want to intercede for Zhu Bao? Just put his sin of corruption on the darkness of the entire officialdom?"
"Yes... everyone is extravagant. It's rare for him, Zhu Bao, to be alone..."
Finally persuaded, Ping'er and Qingwen looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Qingwen whispered, "We are not asking for mercy from Mr. Zhu Bao. In fact, we just want to say that all the officialdom is full of black people. Zhu Bao." It’s already considered gray inside!”
"The river worker misappropriated some money and can make up for it later! What if Mr. Zhu Bao takes advantage of the lawsuit and plays an unjust case, drinks the blood of the soldiers and even deliberately creates an unjust case, forcing the death of several rich locals to make dirty money... If that is the case, madam, Why don't you kill him with one knife?"
"He doesn't dare to do any of this. He just embezzles some project funds. He is already considered a good official in the official circles of the Qing Dynasty!"
