Chapter 279 Heavy Buildings Sell Department Stores

"What do you think?"

To the surprise of the ministers, at today's court meeting, the Son of Heaven did not take out the battle report of Xuzhou at the beginning, but first said the four strategies offered by Cui He to pacify the Central Plains. On the surface, these four strategies are just emergency techniques, but in fact, they convey a message, that is, the Central Plains after the recovery of the Central Plains is implementing a reform strategy like Xuzhou, rather than the one that the Great Song Dynasty has inherited for more than 200 years. Among the ministers, there were discerning people who were very emotional about this, but more of them sighed, and immediately began to ponder how they could take this opportunity to show their talents, or to benefit themselves and those behind them.

This is the end of the third year of Yanhuang, and it has been four and a half years since Zhao and Ju, the son of heaven, ascended the throne, and he has been in power for three and a half years. The general trend of the world has undergone tremendous changes under the flick of his hand, and the ministers are all people who understand and know that the reform policy of today's son is unstoppable, even if the son of heaven himself wants to retreat, and those people who have already obtained the benefits of the new deal and hope for the benefits of the new deal will never agree.

Therefore, after a short silence, the ministers expressed their support. Zhao and Ju and Cui glanced at each other, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

The second thing of the court meeting is about Zhen Dexiu, Zhao and Ju decreed, with Zhen Dexiu's merits in Chuzhou, especially its "expounding the way of the holy king" merits, plus for the Duanming Palace Bachelor, this is a signal that kills one stone, first of all, after the Yuanfeng reform, this Duanming Hall Bachelor is the consul, the Son of Heaven plus Zhen Dexiu Duanming Hall Bachelor, which means that the Son of Heaven has abandoned his previous suspicions, and is ready to invite this contemporary science giant back to Lin'an, and it is very likely that he will participate in politics. The second is that everyone is more or less involved in the discussion of the "Treatise on the Inner Sage and the Outer King", and the Son of Heaven and Zhen Dexiu with this position clearly support the views of Zhen Dexiu.

If Cui and his four strategies are ready to promote innovation to the Central Plains, then Zhen Dexiu's article is advocating to push innovation to every inch of land and every field in the Great Song Dynasty. This matter originally caused a fierce debate among the Confucian Scholars, because of the time, it has not been completely reflected in the newspapers, but there are already many people who are conceiving articles, ready to compete with Zhen Dexiu in the newspapers, and they can't help but be silent when they hear the decree of the Son of Heaven.

Zhao and Ju did not prohibit the voices of opposition, but he could use the guidance and financial support of the imperial court to drown out the voices of opposition.

This is far more sophisticated than silting and slaughtering to stop opposition, and although it may not seem pleasant, it also means that Zhao and Ju have set a rule for future generations: if his descendants are in the position of opponents, they will not be physically eliminated by the rulers. Zhao and Ju understood that since ancient times, there were only thousand-year-old countries, not thousand-year-old dynasties, and the Great Song Dynasty would one day be replaced by a new dynasty.

At the end of the court meeting, Zhao and Ju Cai reported on the war in Xuzhou, and Zhao Shanxiang, the secretary of the military department, had a brief discussion on the transfer of troops.

"Retired from the dynasty and came back directly?"

Yu Zhiniang untied the official robe of the court for Li Yilao, with his rank and position, he was originally not qualified to participate in today's court meeting, but after the war, Zhao and Ju in the name of "preparing consultants", he was also included in the court meeting, and all the ministers understood that the Son of Heaven was looking for the old mouth to promote the private, but what could it be, anyway, the Daqing Hall was very large, and more than ten people were not afraid.

Li Yilao nodded, but did not speak as usual, the nurse brought the child, he only symbolically hugged it, and then handed the child back to the nurse.

"Today, the Sincere Department Store Market on Royal Street is open, and the slave wants to buy a few good things for the children." Weaver Niang smiled lightly and said, "Would the official like to accompany the slave to meet him?" ”

Sincere Department Store Market is a new scenery of Lin'an City, and its predecessor can be traced back to the original exhibition of flowing goods held at the wharf. At the beginning of the year, Zhao and Ju found that Lin'an had formed a large consumer group due to the increase in the number of workers and small merchants, and the old shops began to meet the needs of the market, so he began to prepare for a large department store that would eventually become a company. To this end, he built several storefronts at an intersection of Royal Street through Hu Fulang, and began to tear them down and rebuild them. The whole renovation project is also a major event in the architectural circles of the Great Song Dynasty, because in order to maintain the architectural style of Lin'an, so as not to eliminate the unique Chinese architectural tradition due to industrialization, Lin'an Mansion has ordered that the parts within the city wall should not be easily demolished and started, and all the new high-rise new buildings are driven out of the city, and the Sincere Department Store Market is the first new building in the city after the ban is issued.

The most important step in the whole construction process is to invite suitable drawings from skilled craftsmen from all over the world. This can be said to be a combination of new building materials such as steel bars, concrete, ceramic tiles and traditional Chinese building technology, and finally the two brothers from Jianchang County, Jiangnan West Road, won the bid in the structural drawing. After nearly a year of construction, it finally opened just in time for the New Year.

Li Yilao was a little absent-minded, and just shook his head and wanted to object, but looking at his wife's slightly eager gaze, he turned his head into a nod: "Okay, then I'll go with you." ”

His current identity and income, the family naturally has a carriage, only to get on the royal street, he "huh", greeted the weaver in the car and said: "Weaver Niang, look!" ”

Just across the street from the two, on the other side of the street, a series of people rode strange two-wheeled bicycles. Yu Zhiniang stretched out her head and looked excited: "Official, what kind of car is this?" ”

"I've never seen ...... in Liuqiu," Li Yilao muttered.

The string of people were wearing those big red suits, and a flag was planted behind their strange car, and as the car kept moving forward, the flag was unfurled, and the words "Sincere Department Store" were written on it. This is not uncommon in Lin'an City, it is nothing more than hiring people to advertise, but this kind of car is unprecedented. Seeing a person riding it freely and running faster than a horse, Li Yilao's heart moved: if this thing is used to transport troops, it is also a sharp weapon.

"Hey, this brother is invited."

As the carriage was about to pass them, Li Yilao stopped the carriage and shouted to the leader of the carriage. Seeing the guard uniform on his body, the man didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly stopped and hugged his fists to salute: "The general is invited." ”

"What kind of car are you? What is sold in the Sincere Department Store? ”

"Back to the general, this car is called a bicycle, it is the thing launched by the Sincere Department Store, the general, the body of this car is an iron structure, sturdy and durable, the saddle is equipped with a spring, very comfortable, the car power is a gear chain, light and labor-saving, the wheels are covered with rubber tires, and the shock absorption speed is ......"

The man was obviously ready to explain a long time ago, so when Li asked, his mouth was a string of benefits. Li Yilao was very interested in hearing this, and said with a smile: "Can you let me try?" ”

A trace of embarrassment flashed on the man's face, but he glanced at his epaulettes again, and then said: "Naturally, general, please try, because it is difficult to balance when you first ride, it is easy to fall...... Belch! ”

Li Yilao was in a hurry, and rode up without waiting for him to finish speaking, and sure enough, as he said, he fell to the ground with a bang, and made a fuss. When the weaver saw it, she chuckled and said, "Official, let's buy one and try it again." ”

"I don't believe it, even if it's a big explosion, I can let it go, let alone this little car?" Li Yilao refused to admit defeat, climbed up again, this time better, and when he was about to fall, he supported the ground with his feet. After more than ten minutes like this, the surrounding citizens who watched the excitement surrounded him, and he rode like that. He wanted to ride with all his might and try the speed of the bike, but the man came up and saluted, saying that he was going to continue to advertise, and asked him to let him go.

"I'm going to Sincere Department Store, how much is this car?" Li Yilao reluctantly handed over the car to the man, and finally asked.

"There are three hundred, four hundred, and five hundred." The man laughed.

After several years of construction, the income of the people of Lin'an is very different from the past, 500 is equivalent to the income of a skilled textile worker for two years, so the people around are taking a breath of cold air.

Li Yilao was also surprised, but for him, 500 guan was nothing. Guards like him do not receive money from the household department, and their salary comes from Liuqiu, and more importantly, in order to relieve them of their worries, Zhao and Ju left dividends for them in the Liuqiu industry, that is, with shares, they can collect some interest every year. Like Li Yilao, this annual income is the majority, about 5,000 yuan, which is higher than the salary of the current prime minister Cui He.

"Let's go, let's go to Sincere Department Store!" Seeing the hesitant look on Yu Zhiniang's face, it was obvious that Zhiniang liked the bicycle on the one hand, and on the other hand, she was a little distressed about money. She is accustomed to a hard life, although she does not regard copper coins as large, but she is not a lavish spender, on the contrary, if there is a famine, she refuses to be left behind when she gives alms.

Still far away from the Sincere Department Store, he heard the sound of the explosion, Li Yilao immediately perked up, and shook his head while listening: "This explosion is really a layman, if I change it, I will keep him for ten miles!" ”

Weaver Niang chuckled and watched her husband play treasure, and the doll she held in her arms saw her father shaking her head, and stretched out her hand "Ah Bu Ah Bu", thinking that she wanted her father to hug her. Li Yilao was stunned for a moment, and took out the child from the car, the child was not afraid of the cold at all, foaming in his mouth, and his dark eyes looked at the place where the explosion came from.

"Good boy, not afraid of the sound of war, worthy of being my son of Li Yilao." Li Yilao said happily.

Sincere Department Store is a five-story pavilion, although it is made of new materials, but the reinforced concrete pillars supporting it and the reinforced beams erected on the dome are all built into a round shape, and then painted with vermilion lacquer, if you don't touch it, it is almost no different from the giant wooden columns. It's located at a crossroads, surrounded by restaurants, but the tallest is only three storeys, so it stands out from the crowd. When the business city was built, it covers an area of nearly 15 acres, the space is very vast, there is still a vacant land left in front of it, and now it is the rockery clear spring red pavilion green bamboo, a glance will feel fresh and pleasant. Horse-drawn carriage spaces are reserved on both sides of the open space, and if there is not enough, there are half-buried basements that can be used. As soon as Li Lao's carriage arrived, someone came forward to guide him, and after he and Zhiniang got off the car with the child in their arms, there were immediately waiters who came out to greet them.

"Welcome, inside, please!" The attendant wore a uniform that mimicked the style of the Guards, but the style was somewhat different from the Guards because it was strictly forbidden by the Imperial Court to imitate them completely. Li Yilao was about to open his mouth to ask him, but he looked at a person at the gate of the commercial market, hurriedly walked forward, and respectfully gave a military salute: "Hu Daguan!" ”

That person was Hu Fulang, seeing Li Yilao, he smiled and nodded, and when he saw the weaver girl holding the child behind him, he greeted him and said, "Give me a hug of the little explosion." ”

Weaver Niang naturally knew Hu Fulang, and she also saluted respectfully, she knew that Hu Fulang was her husband's benefactor, and he was the matchmaker when the two got married, so she did not dodge. Hu Fulang teased the child with a smile for a while, and then handed him to Zhiniang again: "You guys go in, there are many people today, be careful, don't squeeze a small explosion!" ”

The little explosion is the nickname given by Hu Fulang to Li Yilao's son, and it has also become the name of this little baby's milk, Li Yilao nodded, and then saluted again before leading the weaver into the door.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw two lucky trees full of copper coins in front of the lobby of the commercial market, and under each lucky tree, there was a guy in that purple uniform standing, and a piece of cardboard was hung on the man's chest, on which was written the word "shopping guide".

The floor of the market is all tiled, and every ten paces or so, a huge painted pillar props up, and although this pillar destroys the momentum of the hall to some extent, it gives people a sense of solidity and solidity, so as not to worry that the dome overhead may collapse.

These pillars are square and round, and the square pillars are embedded with glass mirrors, and people can look at themselves when they walk in them. And these glass mirrors also have a wonderful use, that is, reflective, the light of the horse lantern is scattered in every corner of the market, so that the market does not look dark because of the high walls of the building.

On the first floor, there are more than a dozen shop counters, and between each counter are a dazzling array of goods, most of which are some food, and many of them are treasures from Liuqiu.

"Welcome, the first floor is food, the second floor is clothing, the third floor is daily necessities, the fourth floor is gold, silver and jade, and the top floor is a restaurant." The guy with the "shopping guide" sign saw that the two of them stopped and hurriedly introduced: "What do you want to buy?" ”

"Look, look." Rao is Li Yilao has seen the world in Liuqiu, and he can't help but say at this time.

In the first three days of the opening of the Sincere Department Store, the transaction volume was as high as a staggering 220,000 yuan, because of the opening discount, the number of people who came to shop almost squeezed through the gate of the market, and the number of customers entering it was 100,000. For Lin'an, which has a population of more than 2 million, this is not too good data, but for a commercial market, it is a remarkable achievement. On the following weekend and rest day, Sincere Department Store set an astonishing data of 150,000 yuan in daily transaction volume and 100,000 in daily merchant flow.

The emergence of the department store market is a pioneering move for the Great Song Dynasty, and its huge passenger flow has also made some shops around the Royal Street have to choose to join it, renting a counter shop in the Sincere Department Store Market, which is about half the price cheaper than renting a shop on the Royal Street, and the customer flow is more.

When Li Yilao returned home, there was already a loaded bicycle in the carriage, and as a discount for buying the first batch of self-selected cars, he also got an inflatable bag to pump the tires, but when he returned home, he lost interest in the street, and after putting the car and the inflatable bag in the warehouse, he returned to his study.

He was not very fond of reading, and his "study" was more used as decoration. Sitting lazily in the Taishi's chair, his gaze stayed on a trinket, which was a fort with a cannon, and he looked at it for a long time, not even knowing that Yu Zhiniang came to him.

"Do you want to return to the battlefield?" Yu Zhiniang gently stroked his shoulder and asked with a smile.

"Huh?" Li Yilao looked back at her, his expression a little dazed.

Note 1: Sincere Department Store is the earliest department store in old China, and it is also one of the four major companies in Shanghai Shiliyangchang in the twenties and thirties.

Note 2: The Lei family in the Ming and Qing dynasties very much appeared Xu architects, from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century, their family eight generations of 12 people built a series of royal palaces, the history of architecture is commonly known as the style of Lei is. Laugh, this is the author's fellow countryman, and he can easily come to it. Laugh again, Cui He once served as a county magistrate in Jianchang County.