"Brother Xu! You are finally back!"
Not long after Xu Ling arrived at the door of the back kitchen of Deyue Building, Wang Shuanbao ran over while he was helping the workers unload the vegetables.
He came to hold Xu Ling's hand with a smile on his face, "Let's go, let's go, it's cold. Let's drink tea in the house. Just let them do the work."
Xu Ling did not refuse and followed Wang Shuanbao to the second floor again.
Knowing that Xu Ling had not had breakfast, Wang Shuanbao asked someone to bring some exquisite meals.
Crab meat porridge, lotus paste and osmanthus cake, and crystal meat buns, the hot breakfast whetted Xu Ling's appetite.
The two chatted while eating.
Wang Shuanbao told Xu Ling that the idea he gave was a good one and that the restaurant was doing very well these days.
Even though watercress is just an ordinary green vegetable, sometimes things are rare and expensive. No one else can eat such good watercress. Only Deyuelou has it. If you can eat it in Deyuelou, it is a great experience. a symbol of identity and status.
Wang Shuanbao talked eloquently about his business experience, and Xu Ling responded from time to time.
Wang Shuanbao asked him: "Brother Xu, how is your porcelain business doing?"
"It's going well. I've shipped back a batch of double-sided brocade handkerchiefs from Quanzhou. They will be sold in the city in the next few days. Shopkeeper Wang, do you need them? I'll give you two."
Xu Ling ate all the snacks on the table, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and wiped the debris from the corner of his mouth with gentle movements.
Wang Shuanbao crossed his legs and looked at Xu Ling, observing him secretly.
"Double-sided brocade handkerchiefs are indeed very fashionable in the town these days. There are many young daughters' families who want to buy them. However, I only have two sons in my family and no daughters, so it is of no use even if I want them."
"I wish Brother Xu a prosperous business and great wealth, but please don't delay my business!"
Xu Ling laughed loudly, "Shopkeeper Wang, if you call me my wise brother, how can I disappoint you? Don't worry. I will be in the town these days. As long as the water spinach at home is ripe, I will definitely come first." Send it to Deyue Tower immediately."
Wang Shuanbao was relieved after getting his promise.
Xu Ling waited for the kitchen to finish unloading the cabbage. Without wasting time, he said goodbye to Wang Shuanbao and went to the dental shop to find someone to help sell handkerchiefs.
"Shopkeeper, please do me a favor and give me some!"
"Go, go! There's no swilling yet! Leave quickly! Don't hang around here!"
Xu Ling walked to the back kitchen and heard the impatient drive from the cook.
As I walked over, I saw seven or eight beggars in ragged and dirty clothes outside the door, each holding a broken bowl with two or three pennies in it, and kept begging.
Seeing Xu Ling coming, the assistant cook explained: "These are stinky beggars. The shopkeeper is kind-hearted and asked us to give them the food that the guests can't finish. Who knew they would take advantage of it! They come begging regardless of time! It's really annoying!"
Xu Ling echoed: "Shopkeeper Wang is really kind-hearted."
"That's not the case, Mr. Xu. Please wait until I drive these beggars away."
The beggars had surrounded the back door so tightly that he couldn't leave even if he wanted to.
The assistant cook went to the front hall and called some waiters, holding sticks in his hands to drive them away.
Xu Ling said: "Are there usually many beggars?"
"Hey, Mr. Xu, you don't know. It's like this every winter. These people are not necessarily real beggars. Some of them are just poor families who come out to beg before the New Year to make ends meet."
In other words, do you regard begging as a profession?
Xu Ling is no longer as ignorant of world affairs as he was at the beginning. He knows that taxes are very serious at this time, and some places have reached the point where the people can't bear it.
This autumn, the imperial court will collect autumn taxes of three out of ten. If one acre of land harvests one hundred kilograms of grain, a tax of thirty kilograms must be paid to the court.
This is a very high tax rate.
However, if a farm family owns a lot of land, it can barely survive.
But as far as Xu Ling knew, if the tax-collecting grain officials were greedy, exchanged big buckets for small buckets, or used other tricks, it would be possible to tax four out of ten.
If an adult man wants to fill his stomach, he needs at least a pound and a half of food. If it is less, he will not even have the strength to do physical work. If it continues, it will be a vicious cycle.
The grain harvested from one acre of land is not enough to feed an adult for two months.
Xu Ling still doesn't know what the tax situation is in Lianhuawanzi. The Xu family has no land, but he is also worried about his father-in-law's family.
I can only sigh with emotion: "It's not easy."
The assistant cook also said: "Yes, who has an easy life these days?"
The beggars were finally driven away with sticks, and Xu Ling was able to push the cart out of the back street. Just after he turned the corner, he saw an old beggar lying on the ground, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.
He was wearing summer clothes that didn't fit him well, and his exposed skin was covered in dirt. He was skinny and skinny, like a skeleton that was still alive.
Still alive?
When Xu Ling pushed the cart past him, he thought of the unclaimed corpses in Yizhuang.
After taking two steps out, he still stopped.
He knelt down and picked up the beggar's hair with a wooden stick, "Hey, are you still alive?"
Xu Ling saw the beggar's side face rising and falling slightly, and it seemed that he was still alive.
"Do you want to eat or drink water?" Xu Ling asked patiently.
The muscles around the old beggar's eyes trembled weakly. It took him a long while before he opened his eyes, rolled his eyes, and turned half of his face to look at Xu Ling.
Only then did Xu Ling realize that the old beggar in front of him was actually Fan Shiqing who he had dragged to escape from death row!
"Old man! Why is it you?" Xu Ling quickly lifted him up from the ground and leaned against him.
Fan Shiqing also recognized Xu Ling, but he didn't have the strength to speak at all, and he made a twitching sound of "uh huh" in his throat.
When Xu Ling touched his forehead and limbs, they were as cold as a corpse.
He immediately picked him up and put him on the cart, pushing him to the medicine hall.
"Doctor! Come and save him!" Xu Ling ran into the medicine hall with Fan Shiqing in his arms and shouted hurriedly.
Soon a man came over and said, "Where is this beggar coming from? Get out quickly!"
Xu Ling's expression was sullen. He awkwardly took out his wallet from his clothes, "I'm rich, so I'll ask the doctor to help him treat him!"
The doctor said nothing and asked Xu Ling to take him to the back room and place Fan Shiqing on a narrow wooden bed that was wide enough for one person.
"These beddings are all clean. If you can't save him, you have to spend money to buy them all."
This doctor is about forty years old, tall, thin, and has a somewhat immortal look. He makes people want to get angry whenever he speaks.
Without saying anything, Xu Ling took out the payment he had just received and placed it on the table.
"Doctor, please save people as soon as possible!" Xu Ling's expression was gloomy. Seeing that Fan Shiqing could only take in air but not out, his heart almost sank.
But although the doctor was a philistine, his medical skills were superb. When he saw that Xu Ling was really rich, he immediately started treating Fan Shiqing.
"The Qi is weak, the body is weak, and the Yin is weak. If you are like this and you are still alive, you are really lucky, Hetong! Make a cup of Four Immortals Soup!"
While talking, the doctor took out the cloth bag, took out the silver needles, and stuck a dozen silver needles into Fan Shiqing's dirt-covered body.
Xu Ling was dazzled. After half a cup of tea and a bowl of Sixian Soup, within a few breaths, Fan Shiqing's breath seemed to be stronger.
Even the yellow and black face gradually became rosy.
