For future generations, eating three meals a day seems to be a matter of course and has long been accustomed to it.
However, in the long history of China, for a long time, ordinary people could only have two meals a day, while the princes and nobles could have three meals a day, and the emperor had four meals.
Firstly, limited productivity resulted in relative poverty of materials. Secondly, in feudal society, rituals were used to strictly regulate all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation to reflect the strict hierarchy.
By the Song Dynasty, production levels had been greatly improved and many hierarchical systems had become more relaxed, so ordinary people quietly started the three-meal system.
In fact, officially there are still two meals a day. The lunch at noon is just an extra meal, usually called "eating snacks." Generally, only people with relatively well-off conditions or high physical exertion will eat extra meals. There are still many poor people who can only Maintain two meals, even eat the first meal but not the next one.
In cities, the three-meal system is still relatively common, not to mention that Jiangnan has always been relatively wealthy.
Since it’s an extra meal, most people don’t usually cook at home, or maybe they don’t have the time. Most people like to go out to restaurants or eat takeout.
Therefore, the catering industry in big cities in the Song Dynasty was very developed. There were restaurants, teahouses, restaurants, restaurants, night markets, food stalls, etc. everywhere.
It's the end of the day in Gusu City right now, and it's rare to see so many customers in a restaurant.
While Zhao Mengqi was eating, he was "eavesdropping" on the conversations of the guests around him with great interest, which could be regarded as checking the public sentiment.
At a table behind him, four businessmen were having a lively conversation.
"Have you heard? In the morning, at the Baiye Exchange, someone listed four hundred guan per share to acquire Donghai Trading Company's stocks. Gee, this transaction that can make three times the profit in the blink of an eye is unprecedented..."
"Well, it's all for nothing. No one is willing to sell it. Nowadays, people who have stocks in their hands treat it as a cornucopia and lock it tightly in their hands."
"Brother Zheng, you are from Pingjiang after all. If you had bought it first, you could sleep on the pile of money now. You don't have to run around like me.".z.br>
"Brother Chen, please don't make fun of us. The stock price starts with one hundred shares. How can we, a small family like us, play with it..."
"Brother Zheng, this is too modest. Zhang Dayan of the silk reeling workshop next door is probably worth about the same as you. I heard that he bought more than 500 shares."
"That guy has always been bold and a gambler, but this time he got it right... Well, to be honest, I always thought this thing was unreliable..."
"Hahaha, in my opinion, Brother Zheng is obviously too worried and missed the opportunity. Don't think about it. Although those powerful people may not be smarter than ordinary people, their ability to observe the situation is definitely first-class. This makes money If you follow them closely, you will generally not go wrong."
"Hey...that's right. It's a pity that we didn't understand it at the time. It's too late to say it now!"
Merchant Zheng beat his chest and felt remorseful.
Zhao Mengqi raised his eyebrows, thinking thoughtfully, why did he only acquire Donghai Company's shares at a high price?
These days, preparations for sending a fleet to Japan have been going on, but they have not been announced publicly, but the news may have leaked out.
It is really difficult to keep things secret these days. We will have to strengthen this aspect in the future.
Zhao Mengqi saved his thoughts and listened to the conversation of the people behind him.
"Haha, brother Zheng, don't be too disappointed. We don't have that fate. We can always make a living by doing some serious business."
"That's right. Nowadays, all businesses are prospering, and business taxes have been suppressed by His Highness King Yan. No matter what business you do, it will be good."
"That's true. We're inviting three of you here today for a collaboration. We want to see if you are interested."
"Oh? Brother Zheng, please come."
"To be honest with you three, I originally had a lot of silk produced in our weaving shop, but the day before yesterday, all of it was purchased by a Lin'an merchant. The price was 20% higher than the market price. They also agreed that no matter how much we produce in the future, as long as the quality level can be guaranteed, no matter how much silk we produce, You can pay a deposit in advance for whatever amount you want.”
"Ah, congratulations to Brother Zheng."
"Lin'an merchants? How many are there? There shouldn't be many people besides the imperial court who can boast of such a seaport, right? Brother Zheng, please be careful and don't be fooled."
"We can't be fooled. We've got both money and goods. Although the money the other party used was not real money, it was an exchange coupon from the Royal Bank. We went to the bank to check it and we got half of it. There was no problem."
"Oh...why doesn't Brother Zheng redeem them all?"
"Brother Chen, I don't know. This Royal Bank exchange coupon promises to maintain its value, which is much more reassuring than Huizi."
"Promise? It may not be reliable."
"Hey, you all know about snow sugar and refined salt, right? This exchange coupon is not only bound to copper coins, but also has a massive amount of gold and silver, and is backed by Tabaki snow sugar refined salt. It's not just empty talk."
"That's pretty much it. For now, His Highness Prince Yan is still worthy of trust. What's more, he has a miraculous way to make money. By the way, what is the cooperation that Brother Zheng wants to talk about?"
"It's Zhang Dayan whom I just mentioned. The reason why he was able to buy so many stocks was because he pledged his silk reeling workshop to the bank for loans. Now that he sees huge profits from the stock, he plans to simply sell the workshop. We think Now we can wind it up, or we can even build a silk industry company to cover all aspects of silk reeling, spinning, weaving, printing and dyeing, etc..."
"Hey! Brother Zheng is so courageous... Speaking of which, your family's products are ranked among the best in Suzhou. You have some confidence to start a company. You must be trapped by funds. Could it be that you are looking for us? Three joint ventures?...Actually, you can borrow money from the Royal Bank."
"We went to the bank to ask about this. It is indeed possible. It just needs to review and evaluate the project. But now the bank is too busy and we don't know when it will be arranged. Besides, although the bank's "business-support loan" It’s only a low interest rate of 15%, but it is still interest after all. If it is not necessary, save it if you can. In addition, running a company is not just a matter of funds. We are too weak alone, so we only find three people. My dear friend, if we do well, we may be able to be listed on the exchange in the future, and it may not be worse than holding stocks of the three major companies. "
When Zhao Mengqi heard this, he nodded secretly, feeling that Merchant Zheng was quite entrepreneurial.
In his view, finance only adjusts and allocates resources, while industry is the foundation of the entire social economy. And he cannot cover all industries. All he can do is guide and support. To truly develop all walks of life, it depends on big business. The efforts of all the people of Song Dynasty.
Facing Merchant Zheng's invitation, the three of them began to consider it.
"Brother Zheng, how much does it cost to build a silk reeling workshop?"
"Zhang Dayan asked for 40,000 guan, and we think we can get it at about 35,000 guan. If we want to establish a silk company, we will need a total of 150,000 to 200,000 guan."
"Thirty-five thousand... Although it is a bit high, it is acceptable. Gusu is now prosperous and land prices have risen a lot."
"Actually, not only the land price, but also the labor force has also increased a bit. Female weavers used to earn five guan a month, but starting from this month they will have to earn 6 guan. Of course, as long as the business is good, the workshop will still earn more. The reason why we want to trade One of the reasons for the silk reeling workshop is for the more than one hundred skilled craftsmen. As for the workshop, we plan to move it outside the city."
"Outside the city? Okay, why do you want to move outside the city?"
"It's like this. It is said that it is the plan of His Highness King Yan to set up an industrial park on the east bank of Jinji Lake. Many large workshops will be settled there. It is said that many waterways suitable for the use of waterwheels will be transformed. Workshop power."
Zhao Mengqi had no choice in this matter. He couldn't build a steam engine, so he had to use the flow energy of water. Fortunately, the development of waterwheels in the Song Dynasty was relatively complete. With some appropriate improvements, some simple mechanical devices could be driven and production efficiency improved. .
Under the lobbying of Merchant Zheng, the three of them were quite emotional. As for the specific details, it was difficult to discuss them in public.
So Zhao Mengqi turned his attention to other places. With his extraordinary ear, he roughly listened to everyone in the surrounding area. Most of them were discussing business cooperation.
From the current point of view, Zhao Mengqi's initial economic layout is beginning to show results.
Maybe Zhao Mengqi can't let him
The Song Dynasty entered the real industrial era, but as long as the creativity and productivity of the Chinese nation at this time can be truly released, even handicrafts alone will be enough to defeat the world.
Afterwards, the four people behind him probably reached a basic consensus, then put down their business and started chatting.
"By the way, today's Flower List Conference, would you three of us be willing to go together?"
"Haha, don't miss such a grand event, let's go together!"
"Speaking of which, the Flower Appraisal has always been held in Lin'an. In previous years, Chen had gone to pay homage. I thought I would miss it if I wasn't in Lin'an this year, but I didn't expect that it would be held in Pingjiang Prefecture..."
"Oh, this is actually not surprising. Nowadays, most of the rich people in the Song Dynasty gather in Gusu. If there are no rich people to support them, the selected courtesans will be greatly inferior."
"In this way, it is actually thanks to His Highness "King Huan"..."
Leave it to your sister.
Zhao Mengqi curled his lips and looked speechless.
The so-called flower appraisal list is actually a brothel beauty pageant. Some use various famous flowers to evaluate the famous prostitutes and select the "oiran". Others simply imitate the titles of the imperial examinations to rank the famous prostitutes, and they are also divided into first, second, and second. Top three, top three are naturally the "number one", "second place" and "third overall".
Around the Xining period, flower ranking activities had already begun in Bianliang, Tokyo. By this time, it had a history of almost two hundred years.
Generally speaking, it is held in the capital during the imperial examination year. Most of them will be after the palace examination results are released. This year is quite special. Not only has it been moved to Gusu City, but the government examination has just been completed. It will take nearly half a month before the results are released, but it is in a hurry. was held.
"It is said that one of Lin'an's most outstanding businesses has arrived. Even Tang An'an is not exempt from the banquet. Today you and I are in for a treat."
"Is this true? Many people say that Tang An'an is the number one in the Song Dynasty. It is not easy to see. Today we are going to judge the flower list, so he should show up."
"Haha, there are rumors that Tang Anan came here not to win the championship, but to challenge someone."
"Who are you challenging? Although the beauty of Gusu is also stunning, there is no one who can compare with Tang Anan..."
"If it's not limited to brothels, there would be at least one and a half people in Lin'an who could beat her before."
"One and a half? One of them should be the legitimate daughter of the Qian family, and the other half?"
"Tea Lady Wanwan! Because she only shows herself with a veil and is mysterious, she can only be counted as half. Although the two girls are different, one has a good background and the other has a happy background, but some good people often compared the two girls. He even encouraged the two girls to have a showdown, but both girls ignored him."
"I'm afraid Brother Wei only knows one thing but not the other. You should have heard of His Highness Prince Yan's poem about Mulan. There is a legend that the poem was written to Wanwan, and Wanwan's maiden name was Jiang Ruochu. I was at the side of His Highness King Yan..."
"Huh? I heard that Tang An'an once said that if someone wrote a poem for her that could compare to Mulan's poem, he would be a concubine. That's why it was rumored that she came to Suzhou just to challenge Lady Jiang."
"This thing sounds unreliable. How could His Highness, Prince Yan, allow someone to compare his beloved with a prostitute!?"
"Hehe, I don't know about that, but that's what the rumors say."
When Zhao Mengqi heard this, he frowned deeply and realized something was wrong.
There are actually very few people who know Wanwan's real name, but now everyone knows it, and they forcefully drag her into the ranks of romantic women, which is obviously a bad intention.
There was also the name Tang Anan, which he always felt had some impression...
