When Zhang Mingwei saw it, he quickly asked: "What's wrong?"
Upon hearing the question, Zhu Ayao pointed to the front and said, "Look, there's a queue here!"
Zhang Mingwei looked up, and sure enough, he saw a long line of people waiting to pay the money.
Of course, those queuing up are all servants, either maids or servants. Unless there are no maids or servants, they will queue up in person.
So, Zhang Mingwei smiled and said: "If you don't want to wait, then just let them wait in line!"
He didn't think about jumping in line or anything. If he showed his identity, he didn't have to pay.
But, what kind of person is Zhang Mingwei?
After hearing this, Zhu Yuyao shook her head and said, "I find that when I bargain and pay with my own hands, I think it's better to be more frugal!"
"..." Zhang Mingwei was speechless upon hearing this.
Well, it's your fun, you decide!
Zhu Aona looked at Zhang Mingwei. She was frowning just now, but her face showed a smile again, and her dimples appeared again. It was obvious that she was in a happy mood because Zhang Mingwei was with her. I no longer resented the long queue time, and went to queue happily.
Of course Zhang Mingwei would not say anything about Zhu Yuluo's hobby. Follow Zhu Ainao there and just wait, there is no rush anyway.
When he was about to talk to Zhu Ailao, he suddenly heard a quarrel coming from the shopkeeper's side and looked over.
If we talk about quarreling, that's not it. It was a servant, a follower to be precise, a steward or something like that. He had a loud voice and was yelling at the shopkeeper: "My copper coins are no longer copper coins. Why should I charge more?"
"Sir, this is Tianqi Tongbao, and it's not the kind from the Imperial Household Department. The amount of copper is obviously insufficient." The shopkeeper explained politely, "This is a small business in our shop, please forgive me? "
The coins of the Ming Dynasty are usually mainly copper coins, and the larger ones are silver. As for gold, it is not actually circulated in the general market.
Like the kind that is often seen in later movies and TV dramas, when you enter a store, you shout: "Brother, two pounds of beef and a bottle of wine."
Then, with a "pop" sound, a piece of silver, or even gold, was smashed out. This is nonsense and impossible.
Let’s not talk about beef. In ancient times, it was impossible to have it in ordinary stores, because cows are protected animals. Anyone who dares to slaughter a cow privately will go to jail.
Let's talk about silver. One piece of silver can buy a lot of things. No matter how small it is, it's still money. For ordinary business, a meal or something, as long as you don't go to a high-end restaurant, you can't pay for it with silver.
China has always been short of copper. Therefore, the so-called copper coins are not all copper, but a mixture of copper and tin. Generally speaking, the ratio of copper to tin in copper coins printed by the imperial court was regulated.
However, when the court had no money, or when local powerful men secretly printed money, they often tampered with copper coins. Reduce the proportion of copper and increase the proportion of cheap tin, so that more copper coins can be printed.
However, this will lead to different qualities of copper coins.
The shopkeeper said that there are more than fifty versions of Tianqi Tongbao. In addition, powerful people in many places also secretly print copper coins, so there are even more versions. Therefore, this Tianqi Tongbao contains the most tricks.
Now, there was a dispute over the counter because they had different opinions on the quality of Tianqi Tongbao, or the value of Tianqi Tongbao.
This situation is actually very clear. Obviously the shop didn't want to suffer a loss, so it didn't accept the man's copper coins unless he gave a little more.
This kind of thing is commonplace for everyone and they don't take it seriously.
However, Zhang Mingwei came from a later generation. When he saw this situation and understood the reason, he immediately remembered something.
Not long after, there was another dispute ahead.
He must be a wealthy customer, and this time he paid a dime. The two sides disputed not only the fineness of the silver, but also whether the silver scale used to weigh the silver was balanced.
There may be something wrong with the copper coins, and there may also be something wrong with the silver. They also have to weigh it, estimate its fineness, etc. No wonder the payment and settlement are so slow.
If there are few customers and few sales, it is estimated that this kind of thing will not have much impact. However, once business is booming, there will probably be a lot of troubles in this area.
If these things accumulate, they will definitely affect economic development.
Thinking of this, Zhang Mingwei put the currency reform in his heart.
……………………
While Duke Xingguo was shopping with Princess Kunxing to relax, there was a person in Quanzhou, far away in southern Fujian, who was very troubled. This person was Zheng Zhilong, the pirate king in the late Ming Dynasty.
At this time, although he was pretending to be sick at home, he also understood that procrastinating like this was not an option. It's impossible for the court to forget him just because he drags on like this. The matter will eventually have to be explained.
If Xiong Wencan was the governor of Fujian, as long as he paid for it and took care of things, he could really put off the matter and forget about it.
But now, Duke Xingguo has written to him, Zheng Zhilong is not so naive that he can still deal with it with the same old methods!
However, he would not be willing to hand over the Fujian Navy obediently and go to the capital.
The sea empire that was finally conquered was just gone when we could really enjoy it?
In short, he was angry.
In the study room, a calligraphy and painting of flying dragons and phoenixes hung in the middle. Zheng Zhilong just looked at the calligraphy and painting without moving.
There is only one word on this calligraphy and painting: endure!
All along, every time Zheng Zhilong encountered a big problem, he would look at this word, restrain his impulses, and endure it until he was sure to do something, then he would take action decisively.
It was also this that made him stand out from many pirates and finally achieve everything in front of him.
This time, he was looking at the word "endure" again. However, he found that his mood did not slowly calm down as before, but instead became inexplicably irritable.
After a long while, Zheng Zhilong suddenly sighed.
He actually figured it out himself.
In the past, he had to deal with a certain pirate, and as long as he endured it, he would eventually find a way. But now, it’s the imperial court! And it wasn't the chaotic imperial court. For a moment, there was a sense of powerlessness facing the overwhelming pressure of Mount Tai.
While Zheng Zhilong was thinking, suddenly, there was a noise outside, which made him frown.
I was already in a bad mood, but I was so ignorant outside that I actually started to make a lot of noise, forgetting all the rules in the house?
But before he could get angry, he faintly heard that the noise was full of surprise.
"Is there something good?" Zheng Zhilong was a little surprised when he heard this.
So, he stood up and prepared to check the situation. As a result, as soon as he opened the door of the study room, he saw a person rushing into the yard in a hurry.
Wearing a military uniform, very eye-catching!
Zheng Zhilong took a closer look and saw that it was his son Zheng Fusong!
"Dad, you are really pretending to be sick!" Zheng Fusong also saw Zheng Zhilong and shouted immediately.
"..." When Zheng Zhilong heard this, his face suddenly darkened, and he had the urge to hit someone.
I originally thought that he would be able to calm down after he went to lead an army alone and achieved a great victory for the court. But now that I look at it, it turns out to be so unreliable!
Thinking like this, he was a little annoyed with his son, so he turned around and returned to the study.
Zheng Fusong didn't seem to have any consciousness at all. He strode directly to the study and said loudly: "Dad, don't go. The child has something to say!"
At this moment, there were hurried footsteps again. Before anyone arrived, the voice came first: "Song'er, Song'er..."
As soon as Zheng Fusong heard this, he knew it was his mother who was coming. He stopped, turned around and shouted: "Mom, let me talk to my father about business first, and then go see my mother later."
"roll!"
A loud shout came from the study room.
Obviously, Zheng Fusong's words have offended his father again.
At the same time, Zheng Fusong's mother also appeared in the yard. Her face was originally full of joy, but she suddenly turned to worry when she heard Zheng Zhilong's loud shout.
But when she saw Zheng Fusong's appearance, she felt that her son was much more handsome, and she immediately became happy again. But when she said the words, she said: "Song'er, you have lost weight and become darker!"
"Mom, this kid is so energetic!" Upon hearing this, Zheng Fusong quickly corrected him, then turned his head and glanced at the study room, then turned back to his mother and said, "Mom, let me talk to dad about business first!"
After saying that, he was ready to turn around.
Zheng Fusong's mother was a little worried when she saw it. She quickly held her son's hand and whispered: "Your father is angry, please wait for a while!"
When Zheng Fusong heard this, he whispered to his mother: "It's okay. My son is now the commander-in-chief, even more senior than dad!"
"..." Zheng Fusong's mother was speechless after hearing this.
She looked at her son, feeling relieved and worried at the same time.
Just when she was stunned, Zheng Fusong turned around and strode into the study. Sure enough, he saw his father sitting on the chair, his face gloomy as if it was about to rain!
In fact, Zheng Fusong was not surprised at all. He didn't use his official position to suppress his father, and he didn't even speak. He just took out a letter from his arms, placed it in front of Zheng Zhilong, and then said: "This is the letter from my fourth uncle to my father!"
Zheng Zhilong was originally holding back his anger and was preparing to teach his son a lesson, but he didn't expect his son to take out Zheng Hongkui's letter as soon as they met. He held back his anger, took the letter, and started reading.
Because he knew that Zheng Hongkui acted steadily and must have something to tell him. If it was serious business, he would naturally not delay.
Looking at it, Zheng Zhilong's face still looked ugly.
Zheng Fusong, who was standing next to him, estimated that his father had finished reading, and then he said seriously: "When the child went to Shandong, the Kong family in Qufu was in full swing. But when the child came back from Pi Island, the Kong family in Qufu disappeared. This matter , before last year, who could believe it? Who in the world can stand up to the imperial court? Dad, think twice!"
