Thinking of the situation of Uncle Xu and the eldest young master in prison, Shopkeeper Yu wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "Old lady, it is inconvenient to visit Dali Temple. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoI've been there once in the New Year. The cell was damp, and the uncle's legs were already a little bad, but now they are often in pain. He was often worried about his family, worried that the eldest lady and the children would not have a good time. I'm afraid that he will be worried, but I haven't given the uncle the news of the death of the eldest lady. The eldest young master is younger, with good body and bones, but he is a little mentally sluggish. ”

Mrs. Xu knew in her heart that she would not have a good time in prison. But when I heard Shopkeeper Yu talk about it, I was still worried. Xu Wan was really afraid that she would be tired, so she hurriedly said, "Grandmother, don't worry, we have arrived." Will find a chance to meet Daddy and Brother as soon as possible. ”

Mrs. Xu settled down and asked, "What was the situation that day?" Take your time. Although the course of the incident has long been made clear in the correspondence, the details still need to be dictated in person.

Shopkeeper Yu replied: "This matter has to start with the cloth for the palace." ”

Qinglong five years, midsummer.

The competition among the imperial merchants has always been the most intense. At the beginning of each year, the palace will determine the merchants to be supplied this year, and only one supplier of a category will be provided. The one who supplies charcoal only supplies charcoal, and the one that supplies vegetables and fruits is another. In this way, if there is a problem with the fruit, just find that one to avoid passing the buck to each other.

Give the palace ** goods, in fact, the profit is extremely thin. Just to win the imperial merchant qualification every year, it costs a lot of silver to pay up and down. There are so many nobles in the palace, and there are nobles behind any royal businessman, depending on which nobleman has the most effective words.

As for the goods, not only is the inspection strict, but the guards and eunuchs in the palace often need to pay a fine for money, otherwise they will ask the merchant to pay a fine on the grounds of unqualified. As the saying goes, "Hades is easy to see, but the little ghosts are difficult", if the merchant is reluctant to give up these few silvers, there will be endless troubles. The nobles will not open their mouths for such a trivial matter, cutting off the financial route of the palace attendants.

If it is a supply of goods to the palace, if there is any problem, it will be fined silver at the light and beheaded at the worst. Therefore, no matter who won the qualification of the imperial merchants, there will be a tacit understanding that the supply to the palace is the safest goods, but not the best goods. For example, the best-tasting but perishable fruit, the top-quality tea that only produces a few taels a year, requires five embroiderers to complete a few horses of clothing in a year.

These top-notch goods are either of unstable quality and prone to problems. If the emperor eats the bad fruit, do you still want to have a head? Either the production is very small, if a concubine is particularly fond of it, and the emperor makes a decree and orders a tribute of fifty horses, then where to provide it? The emperor doesn't care about these details.

Therefore, the goods supplied to the palace by each family are not the best in taste, but they must be the most secure; The fabric is not the most beautiful, but it must be available for many years.

However, with such thin profits and such strict requirements, there are still people who rush to the business of killing heads at every turn. The reason for this is that as long as the imperial merchant of the year is elected, the palace will reward a "royal pass card" to the merchant. This allows merchants to be exempted from taxes at all checkpoints on the road for caravans. Although it was stated in the reward, only the goods of the palace were exempted. But in practice, it is equivalent to exempting this merchant, and only a small part of the checkpoint tax for most of the goods in this year is paid to save face.

But all those who apply for the qualification of imperial merchants are wealthy businessmen, and the goods circulate throughout Gaomang. The accumulation of this year is a huge amount of money, far exceeding the amount of money invested in striving for the qualification of the imperial businessman, and the corresponding risks. What's more, over the years, there have been only a handful of imperial merchants who have been convicted of problems with the supply of goods. With such a large benefit, merchants ignore the risks and compete for it. And as long as you are selected as a royal businessman, you can play the banner of an imperial businessman in the people, gain word of mouth, and your business will be better. The families of the powerful were also more inclined to buy the goods of the imperial merchants, feeling more secure.

The palace acquiesced in this situation, and always gave them some sweetness, otherwise wouldn't it be embarrassing if there was no one in the palace to supply?

In the fifth year of Qinglong, the family of the capital Dajia succeeded in the relationship of the empress dowager and became the imperial merchant who supplied clothes.

And all this had nothing to do with "Splendid Notes", until midsummer, when the palace Shangyi Bureau handed over the purchase list of clothes to the Zhen family. The palace is customary to purchase clothing twice a year. At the beginning of the year, spring and summer are procured, and autumn and winter are purchased in midsummer.

The Zhen family got a new purchase list, and there was a kind of "interwoven silk machine" that made it difficult for them.

Silk machine silk is a new type of fabric spun out of Suzhou in recent years, which has both the smooth and soft texture of "silk", the texture is light and thin, and the tight texture of "silk", gorgeous luster, stable output and moderate price, and is very popular among the people. But in the palace, this fabric is not sought after. The palace concubines preferred those luxurious fabrics that could show off their status.

And the Shangyi Bureau opened this kind of fabric, entirely because of the new Liu Zhaoyuan. Liu Zhaoyuan was originally from the Jiangnan clan, and he entered the palace in the year of the general election after Emperor Yonglong ascended the throne. It has been obscure for the past two years, and it was not until this year that he won the emperor's favor and was in the limelight for a while. When she entered the palace, "Ayaji Silk" had only come out for a short time, and she had always missed this fabric and pinned her thoughts on her hometown. Now that she has won the emperor's favor, there are people who have gone to curry favor, and the Shangyi Bureau is no exception.

Aunt Chen from the Shangyi Bureau, holding a booklet for buying clothes, went to ask Liu Zhaoyuan's opinion. Liu Zhaoyuan held her cheeks and looked back and forth twice, but stopped talking.

Aunt Chen observed her words and asked, "Zhaoyuan Niangniang, but what kind of clothes do you want, is there anything on this list?" ”

Liu Zhaoyuan sighed lightly and said, "I remember that in Suzhou, there is a material called 'silk machine'. When I didn't enter the palace, I loved it, but now I haven't seen it for a long time. ”

Aunt Chen has been in the Shangyi Bureau for many years and knows all kinds of fabrics well. smiled: "This little thing, where do you need to worry about it." The 'silk machine silk' produced in Suzhou is very good for making intimate clothes and bedwear. In the past two years, a new 'interwoven silk machine' has been produced, which is woven with twill, looking like the principle of ice cream, and the light is like a mirror. Look, do you want to try this new fabric? ”

Liu Zhaoyuan has been in the palace for six years and does not know much about the changes in "silk machine". Hearing Aunt Chen's introduction, knowing that on the basis of "silk machine", there was a new style, so she readily agreed.

Therefore, on this purchase list, there is a "interwoven silk machine".

The retort family has been an imperial merchant for many years, and they usually prepare the clothes commonly used in the palace in advance. If you can't use up in the palace, you will sell it. However, this kind of "interwoven silk machine" is a new type of clothing, and the palace has never purchased it, and the retort family has not prepared this fabric themselves. Knowing that "Splendid Record" was the leader of the silk industry in Jiangnan Province, he found Xu Changzong to discuss the business of buying "interwoven silk machine".

Xu Changzong's personality is very similar to that of Mrs. Xu, adhering to the belief of "generosity, integrity, and stability" in business. Therefore, over the years, "Splendid Record" has taken one step at a time, and it has been extremely steadfast. Although some opportunities for rapid expansion were abandoned, it was better and the business was booming.

Therefore, when the retort family came to the door and said that they would buy clothes for the palace, Xu Changzong refused and did not agree.

(To be continued.) )