The old woman Wang is not Lu Gu's biological mother, but her mother-in-law. To be precise, she is not even her mother-in-law, because Lu Gu has never been married to Wang's son Liu Chao.
Lu Gu and Liu Chao were childhood sweethearts and had been engaged since childhood. When he was eighteen years old, war broke out in Xiliang. The Liu family had two sons. According to Daliang law, one of them must be recruited to join the army. At that time, his younger brother Liu Wei was only fifteen years old. , so the eldest brother Liu Chao went to the battlefield for his younger brother. It has been five years since he left, and there has been no news yet.
Although Lu Gu has not stepped into the Liu family, she has worked hard and supported her mother-in-law for the past five years. However, her uncle is uneducated and has become addicted to the bad habit of gambling. Originally, the Liu family had some business, but in recent years, the whole family has Got ruined by this gambler.
In the world of life, loyalty and filial piety are fundamental. Lu Gu is an out-and-out good daughter-in-law, but it is a pity that she only stays in an empty house, looking forward to your return every year, but unable to wait for it every year.
The most unbearable thing is that the world can't keep it. How many more five years can a beautiful woman say goodbye to a beautiful girl like a beautiful girl like water?
The loyalty and fidelity of women in ancient times are truly admirable. Looking back at modern times thousands of years later, the three matchmakers and six certificates are still there, and it is difficult to see the palace guard sand in those days.
…
After sending Lu Gu and his daughter back to the north of the city and settling in, Song Che and Shen Wenjun returned to Yunshuifang.
As soon as they arrived at the door of the shop, customers came out in groups, muttering: "The Chen family only costs 350 yuan for a horse, but it costs 600 yuan for a horse here. It's almost twice as expensive. I think it’s better to walk a few more steps and go to Chen’s to buy it!”
Qin Ruo chased after the guests and said, "Madams, please go slowly. Although our price is 600 yuan, there are many activities and we can get a lot of discounts..."
"No matter how much you reduce, it's still not as good as the fixed price!"
"That's right, let's go to Chen's."
"Hey, sisters, you are already here, why bother going to the west of the city? We also sell three hundred and fifty coins." Song Che stopped the guests with a smile.
"Really?" The guest's eyes lit up.
"How can there be any lies once the golden mouth is opened?" Song Che winked at Qinruo: "Shopkeeper, from now on, all kinds of activities will be temporarily canceled, and we will follow the market price."
Qin Ruo sighed and welcomed the guest back.
Shen Wenjun pulled Song Che aside, frowned and asked, "Are you sure you want to follow the market price? Three hundred and fifty yuan, after deducting costs and taxes, we have basically made no profit."
Song Che smiled bitterly and said: "You have to sell even if you lose money, otherwise how will such a big family eat?"
"What is Mr. Chen's intention? He took the lead in lowering the price so low. He himself will also suffer losses. How can anyone do this kind of business!"
There is indeed something strange. It stands to reason that due to inflation in various industries, cloth prices should be getting more and more expensive - there must be something wrong when something goes wrong!
"Let's preserve our capital first and wait and see what happens. I believe it won't be long before some people's fox tails will show themselves."
…
In the next few days, Chen became more and more aggressive, using his influence in Suzhou's cloth industry to monopolize cloth prices and suppress them again and again. Now the cloth in circulation on the market has almost doubled!
Various cloth shops in the city complained one after another, and joint denunciation was of no avail. They had no choice but to sell off the current cloth and one after another save their capital and withdraw from the market.
Shen Wenjun was anxious, but Song Che was unfazed. Looking at ancient and modern times, no matter whether it is politics or business, dictatorship and monopoly will not end well.
After racking his brains for five consecutive days and nights, Song Che finally drew two musket designs, one for a long gun and one for a short gun;
That morning, he took the design drawing to the Baiyu Tower, the largest silver building in Suzhou.
The White Jade Building has three floors. The higher you go upstairs, the more elaborate it becomes. Everyone who comes in and out is very dignified. After all, even if you don’t have a little money in your pocket, you don’t dare to buy luxury goods.
Song Che went directly to the third floor.
There are special counters on the third floor, filled with jade and gold. Behind each counter sits a skilled craftsman, carefully carving them in front of customers.
Song Che walked around on the third floor and was very satisfied with the craftsmanship of the craftsmen.
"Ah! You have neglected a rare guest. What do you want to buy, sir?" A plump young woman in her early thirties came to greet her with a smile.
Song Che said: "I need a pair of gold bracelets, gold necklaces, and gold rings. They are divided into two categories for men and women. One for me and one for my wife. The male is carved with a dragon, the female with a phoenix. The male version is embroidered with the word 'Song'. The women's model has the word '深' tattooed on it...well, that's it."
The materials for this set would probably cost a lot of money, so the young woman smiled even more cheerfully, "As soon as I saw the young master, I knew that we just got married, so I just came to our Baiyu Building to buy some jewelry. What's the size? How's the weight? Is there any?" Gold material? How long will it take?"
Song Che took out a fifty-tael gold ingot from his sleeve and threw it to the young woman: "According to this weight, naturally the faster the better, the craftsman's fee will be deducted from it."
"Okay, okay... It's rare for the young master to be so cheerful. I will arrange craftsmen for you when you get down!"
"By the way, boss lady, in addition to jewelry, does your store also accept other handicrafts?" Song Che suddenly asked.
The young woman smiled and said: "It's not an exaggeration. All the craftsmen in our White Jade Building are experienced hands who can carve patterns on egg shells. They can engrave characters, tablets, seals, gold, silver, copper, iron, jade, stone... they are not afraid of it." We can’t make it because you don’t have enough ideas.”
Good guy, craftsman, eternal god!
Song Che took out the design drawing of the musket and handed it over: "Then take a look at this thing. Is it feasible?"
The young woman took the drawing and looked it up and down. Naturally she was confused if she hadn't seen it before. But in business, you don't need to ask if you can do it. She said happily: "Yes, yes, but looking at this thing involves drilling. It will take a long time." It may take a while, sir, are you in a hurry?"
"Work slowly and carefully. I'm not in a hurry, but it would be best if I could go faster." Song Che took another silver ingot and put it on the counter: "I also ask the lady boss to supervise me. If you are satisfied with the delivery in the future, there will be rewards." , I usually build it in Yunshuifang in the north of the city. Please send me there when you have finished it."
"Ah! Yunshuifang is opened by you, Master!"
The young woman suddenly shouted like this, which startled Song Che.
"I love the private house that your family sells so much! Since I put it on, the devil in our house who wouldn't even touch me now has to do it three times a night!"
"Well……"
Song Che was speechless for a moment... Sister, are you too direct? What about the morality and reserve of ancient women?
However, judging from public reputation, private houses are indeed helpful to the harmony of husband and wife.
The young woman put the money back into Song Che's hand, "How about you send me two more sets of 'Ice Silk Blowing Snow' and the labor cost will be waived for you?"
If you come to the bank and do some business, why not do it?
Song Che readily agreed.
