Xu Guang walked very fast, as if he was competing with a group of comrades, overtaking many potential competitors one after another. Cha Yuan was also unambiguous in this regard, otherwise he would not even have a chance to talk to this guy.
But no matter how fast they walked, they couldn't surpass those guys who hitchhiked into the city. After all, human walking speed is limited, and walking at high speed in a short period of time consumes a lot of leg strength.
As the second batch of East Palace Guardsmen entering the city, these two people were already very satisfied. The hundred or so people in front of them would not cause much trouble, and the real troubles were left behind them.
"Wow~! There is actually someone pulling the car!"
Xu Guang had been in the camp for three months. Today he came to the capital and saw everything that was new. It seemed that during the period when the prince was in charge of the country, great changes had taken place in the city, and many new things had appeared.
"Be good! That's right!"
Che Yuan also expressed a strong interest in this kind of car pulled by people. Judging from the expressions of the passengers, they were quite comfortable. He didn't know how uncomfortable he would feel sitting in it, and the ticket price would probably not be low.
"Why don't we try it for two bucks?"
Xu Guang stopped on the street for a long time, watching the passing "people-pulled carts" passing in front of him one after another. The more he looked at it, the more he felt itchy and greedy, especially after having money in his pocket, what? I want to try new and novel things.
"Sure! It shouldn't be too expensive, right?"
Che Yuan also wanted to try it out. He and Xu Guang were both soldiers who entered the top 100 list. Although their results were not too outstanding, they still received thirty or forty silver coins. They were no longer poor in the usual sense. .
The question is how to greet the coachmen?
The two old men were like two fools. They wanted to open their mouths and shout, but they didn't know how to say it. After looking for a long time, they couldn't find a clue.
"You two gentlemen! Take a taxi? Want to go to Shenzi? We all know!"
It was a rickshaw driver who saw the business opportunity and took the initiative to run up to the two of them and greeted them very warmly. This kind of business sometimes requires self-recommendation, and many of the businesses that customers waved to were snatched up by their peers.
"Um... go to the prince to open... uh... a store, do you know? How much money do you need?"
Xu Guang stuttered out his request. Since this was his first contact, he was inevitably a little nervous. If the ticket price was too high, he was afraid that the other party would dislike him.
"I know! I know! Is this gentleman going to the Qianqi Department Store opened by the Prince? It's in the inner city. We run there several times every day. We are very familiar with this road. The price of our car is fair, and we can charge you just one mile away." Five cents, and the two men only charge forty cents from here to the store!"
The price of this taxi is set by the prince, and all the bosses of taxi companies in the capital have signed and fingerprinted it. If anyone increases the price without authorization, or even deliberately evades taxes and enriches his own pocket, it will not be a good idea to anger the prince. What a joke.
"Wait a minute, is it forty coins for one person, or forty coins for two people in total?"
Seeing that Cha Yuan was about to go up and sit down, Xu Guang hurriedly stopped him and asked the driver to avoid getting into trouble. During training, this kind of thing happened frequently. After being tricked by his comrades several times, Xu Guang became vigilant and would never suffer a loss again.
"Of course, the total of the two gentlemen is forty cents. If one person is forty cents, wouldn't the two of them have to pay eighty cents? Don't worry, gentlemen, our car belongs to Liu's Taxi Company, and the price is fair. Children and old men are not deceived!"
All coachmen earn hard-earned money. Anyone who dares to break the rules of the industry will no longer be able to gain a foothold in this industry once he is discovered. Therefore, no one will be stupid enough to cause trouble for themselves.
Their line of work was rewarded by the prince. Without the rickshaw invented by the prince, their life would not be as good as the livestock used by rich people to pull the carts, let alone being able to eat a fish every now and then.
The price of this car may seem quite high, but it actually includes the cost of hauling two adults. Therefore, hauling one person is the most profitable for the coachman. Pulling one adult and one child is secondly the most profitable for hauling two strong adults. The most disadvantaged.
But fortunately, the place they were going to was not too close. They could do this kind of work three times a day and earn a hundred or so penny. After excluding the part that was handed over to the company, the driver could still have dozens of penny left, right? If you are too short of money, you can call it a day.
"Forty coins! Shall we try?"
"Let's try it! We're not short of money!"
After the two strong men decided, they got up and pushed the rickshaw until it tilted up. It took the driver a long time to push it down and started slowly. It was really not easy to earn such money.
"Very good! Very good!"
"Don't tell me, it's so comfortable~!"
It feels good to be an uncle with money in your pocket, especially after three months of being a grandson in the camp, you can finally feel proud.
You can become an uncle for forty cents, which is a very worthwhile deal. Even though you can only be an uncle for a short time, you can feel comfortable for a while.
"If only we could be this comfortable in the camp!"
Cha Yuan was leaning on the backrest happily, looking at the scenery on the passing street, enjoying the wonderful time of being an uncle.
"Haha! You are so beautiful! You can think about this again when you become the company commander!"
Xu Guang and he were both ordinary soldiers who had just become regular soldiers, and all the officers in the East Palace Guard, even the squad leader-level non-commissioned officers, were transferred from the Yongwei Battalion.
There is nothing you can do about coming here to be superior to them. Who has been enlisting in the army for several years, and he went south to suppress the bandits before, with extraordinary results.
For these new recruits, they haven't even killed an enemy soldier, so how can they talk about getting promoted and making a fortune? Isn't that just daydreaming?
"I heard that our company commander only earns thirty silver dollars in salary! This is incredible!"
Life in the military camp was well-fed and well-fed, but it was a bit too depressing. The East Palace Guards also explicitly ordered that no spinach be allowed. Once discovered, all those involved would be locked up in a small dark room. Therefore, Cha Yuan, like everyone else, just listened to gossip. .
"Don't talk about our company commander, even our platoon commander gets fifteen silver dollars a month!"
Xu Guang set a relatively reasonable small goal for himself, that is, first become the squad leader, and then see if he can have a chance to climb to the position of platoon leader.
The squad leader is a non-commissioned officer, and the platoon leader is an officer. There is an essential difference. Although both have to lead troops in battle and be on the front line, the platoon leader's salary is more than double that of the squad leader, and in terms of food, It's the same as a company-level officer.
Every time they eat, the squad leader and deputy squad leader can only make do with the squad members, while the platoon leader and deputy platoon leader eat with the company commander, which is a small stove where you can pick up the meat with just one chopstick.
For ordinary soldiers, the most meaty dish they eat is fish, and there are very few pigs and sheep. Cattle, mules, and donkeys are used as strategic transportation and farming livestock. After the prince took over the country, they were rarely slaughtered. .
"That's right! I heard that our platoon leader used to be the deputy commander of the Yongwei Battalion. He had Brother No. 20 under him. After being transferred here, he became the platoon leader, which is regarded as a promotion by half a level. But I heard from our platoon leader that we The treatment here, especially the salary, is better than that at Yongwei Camp."
Che Yuan also had a deep understanding of this. When he had nothing to do, a group of people gathered around the platoon leader and deputy platoon leader, listening to these two veteran guys brag about their previous combat experiences, including the various things in the Yongwei Battalion. Big things and small feelings.
"Of course, we are the prince's men, and we are not called 'the second best in the world' for nothing!"
Before entering here, Xu Guang, like the other guys who came to apply for the job, was also afraid of being deceived. Joining the East Palace Guards had to pass various assessments.
He must have a clean life, must not have any major illnesses, must have a strong body and strong bones, and must not have low intelligence. And if you were originally illiterate and couldn't learn enough after you came in, and if you couldn't recognize a few words, you would have to be a soldier for the rest of your life.
However, as long as you pass the initial threshold and work hard to improve after entering, it will be easy to earn wages, and as long as you can kill the enemy bravely on the battlefield, even if you are not an officer, you will receive super high rewards.
The most important point is that because they are the prince's men, the East Palace Guards will never default on their military pay, and they will pay it as soon as it is due. In the past, they were paid in silver, but they had to be cut into small pieces with scissors. Now they are paid in silver dollars. and copper yuan, this is much more convenient.
"You two gentlemen! Here we are, this is Qianqi Department Store! The fare is 40 yuan!"
Although it was already afternoon, it was the height of summer and it was still very early before sunset. The coachman was sweating profusely. While wiping the sweat from his face, he introduced the two passengers in a flattering manner and mentioned the fare.
"Save it! Save it!"
Xu Guang looked at the plaque on the door. He still recognized the words written on it. After joining the army for three months, he finally did not waste his brain.
"Is it enough?"
Che Yuan leaned into Xu Guang, opened the bundles in their respective bags, and took out a pile of copper coins. The two of them muttered for a long time, and after doing a round of addition and subtraction, they finally figured out the fare.
"That's enough! Here, here you go!"
Xu Guang re-counted the copper coins in his hand and felt that the amount was correct. Then he turned around and paid the fare to the other party.
"Okay! It's exactly forty cents! Thank you two for the honor!"
The driver put on a smile, took the copper coins, nodded and bowed to the two bumpkins who had just entered the city, and then drove away. He would do one or two more jobs before sunset, and then he could go back and rest for the day. Finally it was not in vain.
"Oh my God~! Is there no money here?"
After watching the coachman leave, Che Yuan turned his attention to the store and found that there was already a sea of people outside. They had thought about the scene of customers here before, but they obviously underestimated the prince's appeal.
In front of them, there were at least hundreds of men, women, and children gathered in front of the door. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be not poor people, but mostly from wealthy families. But here, not just anyone with money can get in.
"...who knows?"
Xu Guang muttered and then stopped. Looking at this posture, it would be difficult for them to even get close to the door, let alone take a look inside.
"I heard that those with a certificate of officers and soldiers will be given priority, and those with a certificate of VIP will also be given priority!"
"We have seen this officer's and soldier's ID card. Is this VIP ID card a frivolous thing?"
"It's the certificate issued by the prince to some rich people!"
"Can rich people also have documents?"
"Isn't it?"
The conversation next to them was clearly heard by the two people. If this was the case, then they should be able to go in and find out, so they tried their best to squeeze to the front.
"What are you doing? Do you have ID?"
There was a group of middle-aged and strong men standing guard at the door of the store. They were holding sticks in their hands. It was impossible for anyone to force their way in. The leader of the stewards had a serious look on his face. He was not angry but showed his momentum. , seemed to have been a soldier before.
"Brother, we are from the East Palace Guards. We have certificates. Look!"
Xu Guang did not dare to be arrogant towards people with status, especially those who could look after the prince's home and hospital. He spoke politely and took out his soldier's ID card and handed it over.
"...Well! Go in!"
The steward lowered his head and glanced briefly, then handed it back to the other person, and then took the other person's ID. It was indeed genuine and found no problems, so he signaled to his subordinates to let him go.
"Ahem? How did these two guys get in? How can we not be allowed in?"
Some of the gentry were immediately unhappy when they saw this. It was obvious that the steward was treating them differently. It was so inhumane to let them work here in the scorching sun.
"These two have officer and soldier certificates, do you have one?"
The steward responded calmly. This was a rule passed down by the Crown Prince. No one was allowed to be accommodating secretly, otherwise he would have broken the rules set by the Crown Prince. Then he would enjoy the Crown Prince punishing disobedient servants. "Rules".
"Two stinky soldiers arrived last! How could they surpass us gentlemen? We were the first ones!"
The gentleman knew that he had no documents and was dissatisfied, so he started to talk nonsense to the two people who came in. He also deliberately dragged others along to emphasize that they had come first.
"Yes! Yes! Such treatment is extremely disrespectful! We must also enter!"
This move immediately received strong support from the people around them. For both reasons and reasons, they should go in first. Can two poor idiots go in and buy something? Forget it if you are addicted to it.
"These two are soldiers of the East Palace Guards. Are you dissatisfied with the Crown Prince?"
The steward was well prepared for this kind of scene, so he was unambiguous and put an end to everyone's anger with just one sentence.
"..."
No one dared to challenge me now. If I kept talking, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get into the store, and that I would be imprisoned by the factory guard.
Now the prince has made harsh words through the "Jingshi Daily". Except for the officials of the imperial court, no one can criticize the government. It is okay to say good things, but if he says bad things, he will be arrested and charged according to the pretext of deceiving Min Xin.
On this basis, the fate of those who speak ill of the Crown Prince will not be much better. Ordinary people can just complain a few words. But if it were a gentry or merchant who said this, and the spies of the factory guard heard it, then Big hair.
Once you are asked to produce tax receipts for the past 50 years, and if you cannot produce them or make up for them, you will either have your home confiscated and your head stolen, or you will be sent to a mountain to mine. The end can be described as extremely miserable.
The merchants who had tasted the sweetness naturally supported the prince unconditionally, because with the support of the prince, they could reasonably and legally divide the market and conduct monopoly operations.
This is true for every industry in the Kifu area, so those who are lucky enough to participate in it will not be stupid enough to make money while scolding the prince for being greedy and ruthless.
Today is the third day of opening of Qianqi Department Store. Since the store sells many novel items, it is natural that it is still crowded with customers.
In the view of a certain prince, at the beginning of the business, it is very reasonable to give priority to the losers who can make money for themselves or who can work hard for themselves.
The rest of you, please wait in line...
