When he arrived at the border of Yunzhou, Wen Qingzhu fully felt the desolation of Yunzhou.
At this time, it was time to prepare winter wheat, but due to the sparse population, large areas of land were abandoned.
Don Wen Qingzhu looked a little distressed.
They had been walking for half a day, and when they saw a roadside tea shack ahead of them, they stopped to rest.
I called the boss over and ordered three bowls of Yangchun noodles and a portion of hand-cut donkey meat.
Wen Qingzhu glanced at the shed. There were many customers, mostly merchants from the southeast, talking about business.
There are accents from all over the country, and there happens to be a merchant from Yangzhou.
Mainly because his voice was so loud that it was difficult for Wen Qingzhu not to notice.
"Old Chen, this business is definitely profitable. If you invest with me, I guarantee you will make back your money in three months!"
The middle-aged man sitting opposite the Yangzhou merchant had thinning hair and was wearing a hat, but unlike other merchants, his hat was very shabby.
Wen Qingzhu has been in contact with the Jia family and the Shen family, and knows that the most important thing for those doing business is dressing up.
At least we can't give outsiders a feeling of poverty, otherwise it will be difficult to do business.
But the merchant who had been silent all this time, on the contrary, smelled of poverty and sourness all over his body, but had the calm temperament of a scholar.
The Yangzhou businessman said that he had dried his mouth and drank cup after cup of tea. The middle-aged man remained unmoved.
In the end, the merchant from Yangzhou finally couldn't talk anymore and said: "Old Chen! You and I have been acquaintances for many years. Although I am not a good person, I still have a good reputation in business. As long as you nod and agree, I can share it with you." If Wen doesn’t invest, I’ll share half of the money I make with you!”
The man who had been silent suddenly raised his head, looked at the person opposite and said: "Old Wu, I know you have good intentions, but this thing is not a good thing, and I advise you not to get involved."
When Wen Qingzhu heard his voice, he also had a Yangzhou accent.
The merchant who was called Lao Wu stood up angrily, pointed at Lao Chen's nose and cursed: "Look at you, what are you like now! After all, people can teach after passing the scholar examination, but you can do business with us, but you can't I can’t let go of buying face! Why did my sister-in-law run away! Don’t you know?”
These words seemed to touch the pain in Lao Chen's heart, and his face turned two points white.
When Lao Wu was about to speak, Lao Chen suddenly picked up his baggage and turned around to leave.
This scene made Lao Wu extremely embarrassed.
Apparently many of the people who had been watching the show knew them.
Soon two people from the next table came over and comforted Old Wu: "Boss Wu, don't worry about it. Boss Chen is different from us. He turned out to be an official young master. He just put down his figure. How can money be so easy to earn?" Just relax and think of other ways. Isn’t this the case with the Chen family?"
After being persuaded by his friend, Old Wu looked much better and sat down again.
Soon, they were talking about other things.
Wen Qingzhu began to eat noodles with his head down, while thinking, no matter how bad a scholar is, he shouldn't be reduced to doing business, right
Even if you are doing business, you should not separate your wife and children.
After quickly finishing their meal, Wen Qingzhu, Jasmine and the others continued to rush to Yunzhou.
In less than an hour, they arrived at the gate of Yunzhou City.
Only when we arrived here did Wen Qingzhu feel a bit of fireworks.
When entering the city, Jasmine paid the entry fee as usual.
Unexpectedly, the yamen officer frowned and said, "Have you not come to Yunzhou? This amount of money was paid last month. The price has increased this year. Three people need three taels of silver to enter!"
It's not like Jasmine has never seen someone with a black heart, but she has never seen someone with such a black heart!
She had never been in any particular mood, so she couldn't help but ask: "Does everyone have to hand over a tael of silver when entering the city?"
"No! If you don't have money, just live outside the city!" The yamen servant pointed impatiently behind them.
Wen Qingzhu looked back and saw two small inns outside the city.
It is said to be an inn, but in fact it is more like a temporary board house.
Wen Qingzhu turned around and asked Jasmine to pay.
The yamen officer then let them in with a smile on his face.
After entering the city, Jasmine couldn't help but ask: "The population of Yunzhou is so small, and they still don't let people into the city, doesn't it mean that there are not many people in Yunzhou?"
Wen Qingzhu looked up at the cold street, nodded and said, "It seems there is really no one there."
Jasmine carefully observed her surroundings and arrived at the largest inn in Yunzhou, Yunzhou Inn.
When we came here, there were more and more people.
Most of them are still merchants, but they are more luxuriously dressed than the merchants in the tea shed just now.
There were either servants or maids in front of him and behind him.
Wen Qingzhu and the three of them stepped forward. The waiter who greeted them at the door couldn't tell for a while who among them was the master or servant.
"Stay in the hotel." Jasmine took out the money and handed it directly to the waiter who was looking at her in front of her.
Seeing that the money was unusually rich, the waiter immediately welcomed them in and gave them the best upper room, which was also a suite.
When they entered the house, they didn't have much.
Just clean it up and that's it.
Jasmine went out to get pen, ink, paper and inkstone and came back. Wen Qingzhu thought about it and wrote a letter for Jasmine to send.
Wen Qingzhu himself took Beidou out for a walk.
There are not many shops on the street, but the people who go in and out of the shops are either businessmen or servants of wealthy families.
Wen Qingzhu thought for a moment and realized that the people who could stay in Yunzhou were all from wealthy families.
So now Yunzhou City can still operate.
Tao Xin said that Tao Wanwan had a drugstore in Yunzhou, which was blatantly selling tobacco leaves.
After searching all the way, she finally saw an extremely popular medicine shop in the south of the city.
Unlike other pharmacies, the people coming in and out of this pharmacy look excited and a little haggard.
Wen Qingzhu stood on the street corner, looked at the drug store, and murmured: "It seems that this is Tao Wanwan's headquarters."
After observing for a while, Wen Qingzhu turned around and left, going back to the inn.
When the sky darkened, Jasmine came back.
She came back with a letter from Lu Tao.
Wen Qingzhu looked at it and frowned slightly: "Did someone find out his identity?"
Thinking of the situation in Lutao, it is not optimistic, but Tao Wanwan's promotion of tobacco leaf has been blocked, and Texas has not yet spread it on a large scale.
Things might be able to slow down a bit here.
After thinking for a long time, Wen Qingzhu decided to contact the Jia family.
About half an hour later, Jasmine brought over the general manager of Jia's Trading Company in Yunzhou.
The person who came was an old man who looked to be in his forties or fifties.
His hair is a little gray, but he looks in good spirits.
He saluted, and Wen Qingzhu didn't waste any time and asked him directly: "Do you know about the problem of Tao Wanwan Pharmacy?"
Shopkeeper Jia thought for a moment, nodded slowly and said, "I know, I know, what do you want to do?"
"I don't plan to do anything at the moment, I just want to know which people have been buying tobacco leaves on time at Tao's Pharmacy."
Shopkeeper Jia thought for a while and said: "Half of the households in Yunzhou City have already ordered his tobacco leaves, but recently they seem to have limited the quantity, so they have not covered all households. Among them, the Yan family was the first to become their customers. of."
"Is it Yan Yongzhang or his son?" Wen Qingzhu asked again.
Shopkeeper Jia's breath stopped, and he said more respectfully: "It's his son Yan Hui."
"Does Yan Yongzhang himself get contaminated with this tobacco leaf?"
Shopkeeper Jia shook his head uncertainly: "According to the information I have, there should be no, and since Yan Hui was contaminated with tobacco leaves, Yan Hui has never appeared again."
Wen Qingzhu asked in detail about the other people who were addicted to smoking.
Seeing her so sad, Shopkeeper Jia simply wrote it down.
Wen Qingzhu watched from the side and found that he wrote extremely smoothly. It seemed that Shopkeeper Jia was familiar with these people.
After finishing writing, Shopkeeper Jia briefly introduced a few special families.
One of the Tang family caught Wen Qingzhu's attention.
"Wait a minute! You said that the eldest son of the Tang family was also addicted to smoking at first, but later gave up?"
Shopkeeper Jia nodded and said: "Yes, Young Master Tang, he and Young Master Yan became addicted to smoking at the same time. In the middle of last month, Young Master Tang completely gave up smoking."
Wen Qingzhu asked: "Are you sure you really quit? This addiction to smoking is not that easy to quit?"
Shopkeeper Jia said with certainty: "I'm sure! The Tang family is the second largest landowner in Yunzhou, with a lot of property. Mr. Tang has been unwell in recent years, and it has been managed by Mr. Tang.
They have quite a lot of dealings with our business. People who are addicted to smoking are very different from ordinary people, so I can be sure that Young Master Tang has quit. "
Wen Qingzhu was silent for a while, nodded and said: "I understand, you go down first. If you need anything, I will send someone to find you."
"The villain has resigned." Shopkeeper Jia retired respectfully.
When leaving the inn, I met the owner of the inn, Boss Yi.
He and Shopkeeper Jia are old acquaintances, so he knows that ordinary things will not make the boss of the Jia family come forward.
"Brother Jia, why are you here? Why didn't you tell me?"
Shopkeeper Jia smiled and said: "It's just a small matter, how can I bother Brother Yi?"
Boss Yi knew that something must be wrong with him, and he had to come in person.
Now in Yunzhou, the situation is getting worse and worse.
Over at the Yamen, there is serious collusion between government and businessmen, and his industry depends on his population.
If it weren't for the peace in Dingyuan, even the merchants would not come at the beginning and end of the year.
Therefore, Boss Yi has always paid close attention to the big shopkeepers of major business houses in Yunzhou.
He is a small local boss with limited connections and limited horizons.
He was still smart enough to know how to follow the big bosses above.
Now that Shopkeeper Jia suddenly appears here, how can Boss Yi let him go so easily.
Shopkeeper Jia was invited to sit in the private room with push and pull.
"Brother Jia, look at you. Although it's a small matter, you finally came here. There is nothing else in my small shop. There is still good wine and food. Why don't you go up and have a drink before leaving?"
There are few people here in Yunzhou, so business is very average, and many small merchants have gone bankrupt.
Only large merchants like them, who rely on chain stores, can barely support themselves.
Normally, Shopkeeper Jia is really quite leisurely.
Originally he didn't want to stay, but when he thought about the nobleman living here, he felt it was necessary to remind Boss Yi.
In Yunzhou, Boss Yi is one of the few people he can barely tolerate.
When they arrived at the private room, Boss Yi kept urging him to drink, served him with all kinds of delicious food and drinks, and served him with kind words. He also invited the best waiter from Feiyun Tower to play and sing songs for Shopkeeper Jia.
After three rounds of drinking, Shopkeeper Jia felt comfortable. He knew he couldn't drink anymore, so he blocked Boss Yi's glass.
"Brother Yi, I've finished listening to this little song, let Mi'er go down."
Boss Yi smiled and waved his hand, asked his servant to give him a reward, and led Mi'er from Feiyun Tower down.
There was no one else in the room, so Shopkeeper Jia said seriously: "Brother, you and I have always had a very good relationship. It has not been easy for us to survive the past two years, so I would like to remind you that there is a noble person in your inn, and it will be wonderful." Waiting for you, when the world changes in Yunzhou, maybe it will be the time for you to stand up."
"Seriously?" Boss Yi was very excited. In fact, he really couldn't hold on any longer.
In the middle of the year, he was considering selling the inn and developing in Dingyuan or Linzhou, Texas.