The sky is full of stars, and the stars seem high enough to be plucked.
Gu Zhengchen sat in the yard, staring at the night sky, and fanned the cattail leaf fan in his hand from time to time.
Gu Qingqing was taking a break to see if anyone was peeking around.
Mother Gu was digging a hole in the cowshed with a shovel, preparing to bury ten copper coins in it. There are certain things to pay attention to when burying money. Dig three feet deep, put nine thousand dollars in the deepest part, and then fill it with soil and compact it. Then bury another one thousand dollars one and a half feet above the ground, and fill it with soil and compact it.
The advantage of this is that if someone finds out, you will only lose the money you paid above. The bad thing is that if the money digger is familiar with the tricks, ten thousand coins will be taken away...
There is no way, there are no safes in this era.
Gu Zhengchen also couldn't figure out why the ancients liked to bury money under pig pens, cow sheds and even manure pits. This has been done for thousands of years. No matter how stupid a thief is, he should know where to dig.
But if you think about it carefully, thieves at this time usually work alone, and there are relatively few gang crimes. If a thief wants to dig up a cowshed or pigsty, he may not be able to find it even if he digs blindly all night...
Mrs. Gu buried the money, took the old scalper to stamp it down, and spread it with old soil. Then she called it a day and asked Gu Qingqing to come back.
Gu Qingqing wanted to disturb Gu Zhengchen, but was pulled into the room by Mrs. Gu.
Gu Zhengchen reflected on what he did that day. The Wang family should not cause trouble to the Gu family again in a short time. In addition, the people of Dayan Village are kind and united, so there will be no big problems for the Gu family.
The villagers of Dayan Village are very supportive of the sugar workshop. They farm all day long, but at the end of the year there is not much left. Year after year, they are always on the verge of starving to death or freezing to death, and it is difficult to find food and clothing for the whole family.
The villagers live in extreme poverty. When someone is sick, they would rather carry it than spend money on medical treatment. When someone is injured, they just use soil, grass roots, and tree bark to get rid of the problem.
This kind of thing is unimaginable to the little fresh meat whose wound healed just as soon as he walked to the hospital door.
No one would object to the opportunity to earn extra income.
What's more, the sugar making can be arranged during the off-season or in the evening, without delaying production. The villagers do not need to pay a penny, and the Sun family will prepare all the items needed for making sugar.
The villagers are only responsible for making white sugar, and the Sun family regularly purchases it by the pound.
Taking into account the confidentiality of the process, the Sun family will build a special institute in Dayan Village to specialize in white sugar. Old Man Yan also made harsh words. Anyone who spreads a word will make his whole family look good.
Of course, the white sugar business cannot be established so quickly. The Sun family needs to find more sources of brown sugar. The current brown sugar in Teng County is not enough for Dayan Village to make it in two days.
But this is not a difficult task. Teng County has a good geographical location. To the north is Jining Prefecture, Rencheng City, Jining City, and Qufu City, more than a hundred miles away. To the south, there is river transportation that can directly reach Xuzhou, about two hundred miles away.
It’s not too far from north to south, and the cost won’t be too high. In addition, you still need to find stores and establish relationships, which all take time to do slowly. It is estimated that this business can start after the summer harvest.
The next morning, Gu Zhengchen went out with ten guan of money. Gu Qingqing wanted to follow him, but unfortunately she had to do the job of young Lao Zhu, herding cattle...
As soon as he entered Teng County, he was greeted by Liang Laoliu, the housekeeper of the Liang family.
"Master Juren."
Liang Laoliu saluted with a smile.
Gu Zhengchen met Liang Laoliu yesterday and said with a smile, "Today I have Butler Lao Liang."
Liang Laoliu replied respectfully: "This is what I should do, but I don't know how many righteous men and righteous daughters the Master plans to buy?"
Gu Zhengchen said solemnly: "Just one righteous man is enough."
Liang Laoliu was a little shocked, and immediately said: "Master Juren will surely prosper in the future. I'm afraid it won't be enough if I only buy a righteous man."
Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly: "One person is enough."
Seeing Gu Zhengchen's insistence, Liang Laoliu said no more and asked instead: "What qualifications do you have for a righteous man, such as age, talent, appearance..."
Gu Zhengchen took a deep breath. Since he was in the Ming Dynasty, he could only act according to the laws and rules of the Ming Dynasty.
Here, buying a person is not illegal.
"Can you find someone who knows how to deal with people, is good at dealing with people, and has seen the world?"
"Well……"
"Just buy a butler."
"this……"
Liang Laoliu was in trouble. He originally thought that Gu Zhengchen would buy a book boy or a follower, the kind where you would carry the burden and lead the horse, but he did not expect that Gu Zhengchen actually wanted to buy a butler.
Housekeepers are not ordinary servants. They not only have to make daily purchases of food and clothing, but also need to be able to deal with the government, such as land sales, house deed sales, name changes, etc. They need to be able to do it.
In addition, you also need to do financial statistics. Not only do you know how many words you can read, you also need to be able to do arithmetic. During the holidays, which house to visit and what gifts to prepare also need to be arranged by a butler who is sophisticated...
Liang Laoliu thought for a while and said: "Master Juren, the north is not as good as the south. There are fewer sales of righteous men and righteous daughters. I can't guarantee whether I can buy such a servant. I will go find someone to find out."
"no problem."
Gu Zhengchen did not embarrass Liang Laoliu.
Liang Laoliu placed Gu Zhengchen in a private room in a restaurant. After arranging the food and drinks, he left a servant to wait on him and went to inquire about the news.
Gu Zhengchen waited for nearly half an hour. Liang Laoliu knocked on the door and came in. He said to Gu Zhengchen with a smile on his face: "Master Juren, I found it."
"Where are the people?"
Gu Zhengchen asked quickly.
"Let him in."
Liang Laoliu lowered his hands.
The servant led a middle-aged man into the private room. This man was in his mid-thirties, with a medium build, a kind face, bright eyes, and a black mole on his right cheek. He looked very haggard.
"May I have your name?"
Gu Zhengchen asked in a deep voice.
The middle-aged man knelt down and said sadly: "Master, my name is Xue Cheng, from Nanyanghe, Teng County. When I was young, I did business with my father, doing silk trading, and traveled through Dadu (Beiping). At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, my father and mother He was killed by the Yuan army, and my wife and I depended on each other. Now my wife is sick in bed, but I can't afford any money for medicine to recuperate. Therefore, I beg you to accept me, and I only ask you to save my wife. I, Xue Cheng, would like my liver and brain to be wiped out. Destiny repays you!"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Xue Cheng, who was kowtowing heavily, and frowned slightly: "What disease does your wife have?"
Xue Cheng clenched his fists tightly: "The day before yesterday, my wife worked too hard to drive a piece of cloth, resulting in miscarriage and excessive blood loss..."
Gu Zhengchen thought for a while and asked: "Once you sell yourself, you will serve the Gu family for the rest of your life. You will be beaten and punished, and you will never betray the master. Have you thought clearly?"
Xue Cheng gritted his teeth: "For fifteen dollars, I will follow you for the rest of my life!"
"Just wait here."
Gu Zhengchen glanced at Liang Laoliu, and the two of them walked out of the private room.
Liang Laoliu said with a smile: "This person is rare. It's because I am lucky."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Liang Laoliu and said with a serious face: "I would like to ask the housekeeper to investigate his past again. It is best to ask someone from the county government to ask if this person has any lawsuits or any penalties he has violated. Also, take a doctor to see if his wife really has a miscarriage. If what he says is true, I want this person!"
