After a rain, it was a hot sun again.

A merchant ship slowly approached the Dahedu Wharf in Pizhou, the merchant ship was not small, about 200 materials, could carry 200 stones, and dozens of people.

A good-looking merchant, about forty years of age, stood on the deck and looked out at the wharf at the foot of a hill, which was bustling with ships of all kinds.

Merchants have been to Pizhou, know that the local people of that mountain call Xiangshan, this wharf is also called Xiangshan ferry wharf, at this time the shore is covered with low shacks, sandwiched by some brick shops. Many pedals were set up on the merchant ships, and many porters were busy loading and unloading goods.

"This dock is more prosperous."

Looking at the flow of people on the shore, the merchant thought to himself.

The merchant's surname is Xu, he is a cloth merchant, because of the recent rise of Xin'anzhuang, the greater the demand for all kinds of commercial goods, he naturally will not let go of this opportunity, and sold another batch of goods to sell.

Soon the merchant ship came to shore, and the boatman jumped ashore with agility, pulled the cable, and put on the pedal.

However, they did not unload the merchant goods from the ship, which was the right of the local merchants, and all the loading and unloading of commercial goods had to pass through the dental shops. The dental shop also introduced the foot line, and the merchants were not allowed to carry it "privately", otherwise it would be a violation. The light one is full of old fists, and the heavy one sinks into the river, not just casually.

Seeing that there were toothed men standing on the street on the shore, the merchant sighed in his heart, and was about to bleed again.

These teeth and feet have close collusion with the government and gangs, and they are accustomed to wielding fists and weapons, and ordinary merchants are afraid of snakes and scorpions. Loading, unloading, and transportation costs are all up to them, and they have to give as much as they want, and they can't bargain, and they are not allowed to hire others, and it is strictly forbidden for merchants to carry them "privately".

Every time they come down, the fees they ask for are several times higher than what they need.

But there's no way, I can't afford to provoke it, so I'd better bear the pain and pay.

With a long retinue, the merchant dismounted from the pedal and headed for the shore tooth line.

He needs to find two dental shops to introduce foot walking, loading and unloading, and transportation. Although there is a ship dock on this side, there are few stacking warehouses, and the commercial goods must be transported to Ying'en Street in the south of the city, and then sold through the tooth store, and at the same time pay taxes and tax stamps for inspection.

Three hundred and sixty lines, the line has a tooth line, and now the tooth line is basically "full trust", that is, the merchant releases the goods to the tooth bank on credit, and the tooth bank finds the merchant to sell it wholesale, and finally the payment is settled with the releaser.

A typical no-capital transaction, a monopoly that people hate deeply.

And there is a lot of greasy inside, indiscriminately using money to calculate the good, often cheap and expensive, backlog of payments, many businessmen because they can not settle on time, or even can not receive the payment and bankrupt.

But there was no way, in this era, all the alternation of goods had to go through the tooth shop, and the only way for merchants to resist was to form guilds.

Or, you are powerful and powerful, for example, the merchant surnamed Xu is from Huai'an, he admires the big shopkeeper of Yan Mansion very much, she transports goods to Pizhou, and she goes directly into the city, and no one dares to say anything.

But think about the way the world is like this, think about those small traders and hawkers, they face their private teeth, and they suffer even worse.

Private teeth do not have a license, open and dark, or survive under the protection of official teeth, and most of the people who operate are green-skinned ground stick bullies, and the people call them "white lai", "street tyrants", "tiger teeth" and so on.

These people are all over the cities and towns, they take and plunder, small people and goods are seized, often waiting until the end of the day to get half the price, and there are often those who cry with their bare hands.

If there is a grudge, you will be beaten and bruised.

Think about these people, do the math yourself, and hope you can make a fortune this time.

……

The docks were dirty, full of all kinds of garbage, and there was an indescribable stench in the air.

Especially after the rain, and under the scorching sun, there is a kind of damp heat, which makes people uncomfortable.

The merchant surnamed Xu frowned, he quickened his pace, and soon came to a "pick-and-unloading tooth shop" at the dock.

Compared with the surrounding nest shop, this tooth shop can be regarded as luxurious, the surrounding environment is also cleaner, and there is a big tree in front of the door.

He went in, and the person in charge was an obese agent named Yang Hongan.

At this time, the tooth people are commonly known as "Xingji", and the folk are also known as "brokers", Yang Hongan's agent because of someone in the yamen, he obtained the tooth sticker, and he can get a huge income of 10,000 yuan per year by paying only a small amount of dental tax, so Yang Agent appears to be wide and fat, and his life is very leisurely and moisturized.

When the businessman surnamed Xu entered, he was having a cup of tea, comfortably leaning on the recliner to read the newspaper, and when he saw the highlights, he still sighed from time to time.

Some Xiao Ji waited respectfully, and there were many foot-walking "standing streets" probing their brains outside the tooth shop.

The merchants find the tooth shop, and the tooth shop will send the business to the foot shop, and if you want to eat at the dock, the tooth people's faces can't help but look.

Fortunately, many years have passed, and the rules have also been formed on the dock side, unloading is unloading, and turning feet is turning feet, but it will not mess up the order and vicious competition with each other.

The eyebrows are slightly raised, the eyes are slightly narrowed, and the price of unloading is determined in a few words. Another foot shop was selected to unload the goods, and Yang Hongan's agent waved his hand, and impatiently let the businessman surnamed Xu go out.

For this kind of small businessman who has no background, Agent Yang has never paid attention to it, and he has no heart to wait at all.

The merchant surnamed Xu sighed and returned to the scorching sun.

The price of loading and unloading goods is simply not up to him. In fact, footwalking is equally ineffective in this regard. The rules of the tooth industry, the merchant and the porter are not allowed to negotiate the price in person, the price, the amount of the split, all by the tooth man, the buyer and the seller are seriously isolated and cut.

From this point of view, not to mention businessmen, foot walking is considered a vulnerable group.

The businessman surnamed Xu had no choice but to go out of the "Lifting and Unloading Tooth Walk", and then went to the "Turning Teeth Walk" not far away, not to mention the bleeding, and he had to suffer another white eye.

Here, Yang Hongan sent a Xiao Ji to inform the foot shop that the business had come to the door.

He instructed Xiao Ji to unload the money this time, and split the account in 37, and each package of silver for each load and unloading was 2 and 5 cents, and the teeth were 1 and 5 cents of silver, and the feet were worth 1 cent.

Xiao Ji showed a clear smile, they were sitting at home, the wealth came from the sky, and the income was so natural, it made them feel righteous.

As a tooth person, I am so confident!

……

The chosen footwalk is called "New Shunyi" footwalk.

Accompanied by the foot line on the street, Xiao Ji found the foot line with his head held high, informed the business of the door, and said the payment.

The foot walkers scolded secretly in their hearts, and when they heard this number, they knew that the big head had been eaten by the traitorous teeth, but they couldn't help but thank them on their faces. Xiao Ji couldn't help but drink a cup of herbal tea and eat a few pastries in the foot shop, and brought back the benefits of a penny of silver.

Then the foot line ordered the head to go down, recently there has been a lot of work, the foot line is a little unusable, let the "little head" in the line go to the "people market" to hire some people, each shoulder of a bag of goods, give money five wen.

The little head understood, and took some people with him.

The big river ferry wharf is actually next to the embankment, and between it and the remote embankment is Elephant Mountain. Roads, nest shops, various warehouses and shops, etc., are actually at the foot of Elephant Mountain.

And along the inner side of the Yellow River embankment, there are all kinds of nests here, which continue for several miles. This is the famous "human market" of Pizhou Wharf, where a large number of homeless people gather, most of whom rely on working as coolies at the wharf to make a living, of course, gray and darkness are inevitable.

In particular, the foreigners are miscellaneous beggars and make trouble. There are even bandits entrenched, and they can kill people for a few pennies.

At this time, some ragged men wearing hats and scarves around their necks were squatting on the embankment, looking blankly at the Yellow River and looking at the dock with hopeful eyes.

At their feet, most of them have a flat pole with a rope wrapped around it, a typical porter image, and many places call them bangbang.

The scorching sun was shining, and these people were smelling rancid, and compared to the dock, the human market was even more dirty.

But they can only squat here, and without permission to walk on their feet, how can they casually go to the dock to forage for food? There is nowhere to say that he was killed.

"Brother Yun Jing, you haven't found a job for a few days, have you?" The one who spoke was a slightly oily porter man, not very old, in his twenties, dressed in a short shirt, with an open chest, and spoke with a bit of a Suzhou accent, but he was called Brother Wei.

A porter next to him lowered his head when he heard this, and let out a long sigh.

He is in his thirties, with some honesty and duty in his expression, his name is Gao Yunjing, and he is also from Suzhou.

People in this city come from all over the world, such as Wei Bange, Gao Yunjing, and many people from Suzhou who fled due to famine and war.

"You're just too honest. These days, honest people can't eat it. Brother Wei said sympathetically, but his expression was faintly proud, "When it's time to fight, let's fight, no, some time ago, the foot line deducted our money." said that a bag of negative rice would be given to Wuwen, but only three wen was given, and my mother-in-law took people to fight hard. No, the money was recovered. This is hard-earned money, which can be used to buy bread for mother-in-law and children. ”

He said even more proudly: "Since that day, there have been a lot more jobs for people with my surname Wei. ”

Gao Yunjing sighed again, looked at the Yellow River and said blankly: "In this world, is it really not good to be honest and willing to work?" ”

He was anxious in his heart, and he didn't have a foot to recruit him to work for a few days, and when he saw that the family was about to run out of cooking, his wife and children were all hungry, and it was really not okay to go on like this.

"Actually, sometimes you can't be too stubborn, there are some things to ......" Brother Wei was talking with no head and no brain, and suddenly he stood up, nodded and said, "Master Teng, Brother Gao'er......"

The porters beside him also stood up respectfully, nodding their heads and greeting each other.

Gao Yunjing looked, but it was the "little head" Teng Zhi'an Teng Ye who was walking on the feet of "New Shunyi" arrived, followed by several elite thugs, all holding iron-clad rods.

Inside, a young man in his teens, wearing a turban and a black belt, was strong, his face was quite angry, and he looked brave and ruthless.

This young man's name is Gao Yan, and he was also a member of the porter homeless, and he mixed with Gao Yunjing, Wei Bange and others. But because he dared to fight, he was recruited by the "New Shunyi" foot line to be a thug, and he thought that his identity and status were different, and he was arrogant when he looked at these porters in front of him.

When he greeted Brother Wei and the others, he just snorted in his nostrils.

Teng Zhi'an's eyes swept over these porters, and when he saw Gao Yunjing, his expression was a little playful, so he said: "Okay, the bank has to recruit some people to shoulder the goods, five cents per bag, and those who are willing to go will come out." ”

All the footmen rushed out, Teng Zhi'an ordered some people and gave them "signatures" one by one, and when he saw Brother Wei Ban, he hesitated a little and also gave them a signature.

Brother Wei glanced at Gao Yunjing proudly, and hurriedly stood behind Teng Zhi'an.

Gao Yunjing looked forward to it, looking at Teng Zhi'an little by one, and slowly his expression turned bitter, and he had no share of his own.

Thinking about his wife and children at home, he gritted his teeth and begged Teng Zhi'an: "Master Teng, give me a job." If you don't live, the big and small in the family will starve to death. ”

Teng Zhi'an smiled and walked away, he was joking, and he didn't rush people, so Gao Yunjing followed and begged all the way.

The porters followed Teng Zhi'an's side, looking at Gao Yunjing's unspeakable suffering, some were silent, some were laughing, some were sympathetic, and Brother Wei was silent.

Soon arrived at the dock, Gao Yunjing still pleaded hard, Teng Zhi'an made a look, a thug grinned, and whispered something to Gao Yunjing.

Gao Yunjing listened, first stunned for a moment, and then the green tendons on his neck burst out, and the flesh on his cheeks was shaking violently.

He trembled, his red eyes and anger: "Desire *** girl, is this still a person?" ”

His voice was loud and desolate, and for a moment many people on the dock looked at him.

Teng Zhi'an originally squinted at each other, wanting to listen to what Gao Yunjing said, and couldn't help but be furious at this time.

He has this hobby, and even Brother Wei has played with Brother Wei's five big and three rough mother-in-law, but what he likes is that although you are reluctant, you have to follow the tune.

Gao Yunjing's mother-in-law is actually ordinary, but she is better than a thin tablet, shaped like a thin horse, Teng Zhi'an became interested when she saw it and wanted to play.

He originally planned to use banter, wanting to see what Gao Yunjing looked like after he gave in, so that he would be more interested.

At this time, my mind was broken, and everyone was still watching, and I couldn't help but be annoyed and angry.

When he put his face down, he was twisted with hideousness, his eyes were more like poisonous snakes, and he said gloomily: "Toast and don't eat and drink!" ”

Several thugs also changed their faces for a while, and their faces were full of anger and tyranny, Gao Yan was even more glared, and the iron-clad stick spine swung, and with a snort, he hit Gao Yunjing's chest ribs, and the move was extremely vicious and ferocious.

If he is hit, Gao Yunjing is afraid that he will be the fate of the second third brother Lu, and he will have to die in pain and wailing on the bed for several months.

At this point, it can also be seen that Gao Yan is vicious, when he was a porter and a wanderer, he had mixed with Gao Yunjing and others, "Brother Yun Jing, Brother Yun Jing", but at this time, he was so ruthless and ruthless, he was about to cause people to be disabled and die.

At this moment, with a "dang" sound, the stick vertebrae were struck, Gao Yan's footing was unstable, and they all stumbled.

Everyone looked at it in shock, but saw several big men with big shoulders and round waists in front of them, all wrapped in folded scarves, dressed in strong suits, not to mention, each with a long knife pinned to their waists.

Looking at the style, it is still the kind of military Qi family knife and long knife, ordinary people can't pull it out.

A fierce aura was revealed from these people, and the thugs were also called fierce, but they were nothing compared to these people.

The smell was like the difference between a chicken and an eagle.

Then a young man in his teenage years in the middle of the big man, dressed in a cyan robe and slightly thin, was looking at this side.

A man beside him who had a rat whisker and looked like a master also looked at this side.

"Good dogs don't get in the way!" It was a big man in front of the young man who spoke, full of beard and beard, with a rough demeanor, and he held a long knife in his hand with a sheath, and it was he who struck through Gao Yan's club.

He shouted to Teng Zhi'an and the others: "You stand on the road, don't let others pass?" Get out of here! ”

Gao Yan woke up at this time, his face was pale and distorted, and he still wanted to make a move on Gao Yunjing.

"Huh?"

The big man stared, his right foot shrank back, and his posture squatted slightly, which was the starting hand of the Chinese two-handed knife technique "waist strike".

Then there was a choking sound, and several big men in the back faced each other in pairs, and pulled out the long knives on each other's waists.

The long knife is cold and shining, and the blade is extremely long, which was done by Qi Jiguang to improve the Japanese knife back then, and has always been used in military formations.

The long knife hand in the Qi family's army has always been very sharp.

Moreover, after these big men drew their long knives, they faintly formed a knife formation, and the bloody evil qi spread.

At that moment, an incomparably chill surged into the hearts of Teng Zhi'an and the others, and Gao Yan's cruel expression froze.

He had a feeling that if he moved, he would definitely be cut in two with a knife.

He stiffened with his stick, his face was blue and white, hideous and unwilling. From a "lowly" porter to a "noble" thug, how high-spirited he was at that time, it seemed that I had the country and everything in my hands.

But now the harsh reality tells him that he is just a gangster.

Before he could figure out what to do, there was a "snap" and a heavy slap hit him in the face, causing blood to come out from the corners of his mouth.

Gao Yan jumped up, turned around angrily, and it was Teng Ye who slapped him.

Then Teng Ye Teng Zhi'an didn't look at him, and nodded to the young man: "It turned out to be Liu Ye, the little Meng Lang, Meng Lang, the little ones will give way, give way." ”

The young man was Liu Dayou, and he smiled kindly: "It's okay, it's just a trivial matter." ”

He glanced at Gao Yunjing curiously: "What's wrong, why is it fighting in the street?" ”

Teng Zhi'an said repeatedly: "It's nothing, it's nothing." ”

Liu Dayou had a warm smile on his face: "It's okay to have nothing to do." ”

He said to Gao Yun, "Are you a porter?" I happened to come from the other side of the river, and I had some suitcases, so I hired you to pick them out. ”

Gao Yunjing woke up at this time, his heart was full of anger and fear, but he knew that he was powerless to deal with Teng Zhi'an and the others, so he would leave here first.

A big man took it, and under the eyes of all the porters, Gao Yunjing went to pick up Liu Dayou and others' bags.

This matter is undone and does not conform to the rules of the dock, but obviously no one dares to say anything to Liu Dayou.

Soon they left, and everyone greeted them respectfully all the way, and even Yang Hongan's agent walked out of the tooth shop and greeted Liu Dayou.

Seeing Liu Dayou, Gao Yunjing and others gone, Gao Yan hated and gritted his teeth.

The smile on Teng Zhi'an's face retracted, he squinted at Gao Yan, and a breath of anger fell on his head: "What do you see, what do you hate?" Did you offend Shopkeeper Liu? He is the shopkeeper of Pizhou Chaotian Pot. Who is the owner of Chaotian Pot, Hu Ye? That's the person who can talk to Mr. Yang. You want to die, don't bother us! You mother, the chick is not good. ”

He said hatefully, and the slap that covered his face slapped Gao Yan's face, and there was a crackling sound.

Gao Yunjing is an ant in Gao Yan's heart, and in Teng Zhi'an's heart, this little stick Gao Yan is not an ant?

They have raised a lot of thugs on their feet, and for people like Gao Yan, they are like raising vicious dogs, and they will bite people when they let them bite.

No need, he has 10,000 ways to kill him.

Regardless of Gao Yan's hideous look, he was tired from the fight, and Gao Yan's mouth and nose were bleeding until he stopped.

Looking at that side, Teng Zhi'an said with some worry: "This Gao Yunjing, don't get involved with Shopkeeper Liu." ”

……

Gao Yunjing and others went all the way north, crossed Yangshan, crossed the Surabaya Bridge, and entered the boundary of Guanxiang in the south of the city.

That side is Ying'en Street, from Surabaya Bridge to "Wanghuai Gate" more than two miles are bluestone streets, in addition to the shops and houses row upon row, Xia Pi Station, Township Covenant Office, Guan Xiang Cang, Tax Bureau, Martial Arts Field, etc. are all here, which is the essence of Pizhou City.

In the south of the city, there are many stacked warehouses in the tooth line, many of which are very large-scale, such as the merchants of various lines of rice to this side, they have to release the goods to the tooth bank in advance, and the tooth line is then approved to the rice merchants in the city, the warehouse is small, and it can not be piled up.

In addition, there is also a market here, which is also controlled by the Yaren.

The development of the Ming Dynasty to the present, the tooth people have nothing to do, in the city, in the Guanxiang, local towns, "all trade, must go through the tooth line, non-yes, the city shall not be sold, people shall not be sold." For example, all flowers, cloth, firewood, rice, yarn, and dung fields all have tooth rows, and all classes are collared and opened. ”

Even in the mountain market, there is a tooth collection, regardless of the melon pardon fish and vegetables, the value of the number of Wen and dozens of Wen, there are brokers with zero money, called a small scale.

In fact, the official teeth are still slightly better, and the most feared ones are the private teeth known as "black teeth" and "wild teeth", and the people really have no way to survive when they encounter these people.

And the market in the south of Pizhou City, many of them are controlled by private teeth.

Gao Yunjing followed Liu Dayou and others to the north, and Gao Yunjing was grateful to this young shopkeeper.

Shopkeeper Liu is a kind person, on the way he curiously asked about the docks and places in the city, Gao Yunjing naturally knew everything, and said everything.

He has been in Pizhou for a few years, he has been in the city and the suburbs, and he knows a little about Pizhou.

Walking and talking all the way, when they walked to the side of the Horse Temple, there was still a mile away from the "Wanghuai Gate", and everyone was already sweating.

The sun is too big, the sun is scorching, it is really hard to hurry, it happens that there are many tea shops here, Liu Dayou ordered to rest for a while, drink a bowl of mung bean soup, and eat a few well-known local pancakes.

Liu Dayou also beckoned Gao Yunjing to eat together, even if he invited these snacks.

Gao Yunjing was even more grateful, thinking that he had met a nobleman.

Everyone sat on the tea shop to rest, and there was a market here, and the villagers nearby were trading, all here.

In fact, it doesn't work if it's not here.

When commercial goods enter Pizhou City, they have to go through the hands of the tooth people, regardless of chickens, ducks, fish, meat and eggs.

It is against the law to pick and sell on the street, and it is not okay to do the same.

There are even villagers who just pick vegetables and pass through the market, and do not intend to buy and sell, but suddenly rush out of the market A group of people, fierce and vicious, without saying anything, will pick the vegetables and take them away, saying that they will go to the store to collect the price.

The villager said a few words, but received a few old punches, and his nose was blue and his face was swollen, and he had no choice but to cry and mourn, so he could only follow.

Gao Yunjing looked at it and couldn't help gritting his teeth: "These white ......"

He naturally saw that these were private teeth, and they were the most ingenious and robbed, and it was really difficult to say how much money the villagers could get in the end.

And even if the villagers voluntarily hold their belongings into the market, because they are not allowed to trade with each other, the value must be determined by the tooth people, and most of the profits are still taken away by the tooth people.

And these private teeth are protected by official teeth, and even collude with each other, and no one cares about them.

Suddenly, there was another commotion, attracting crowds from the street. But it was a middle-aged woman who picked up a load of shoes, probably unwilling to be blackmailed by Bai Lai Yeya, so she walked on a snake crawl, intending to sneak into the bazaar, sell it and leave, but was caught.

I saw some tooth man Xiao Ji surrounding the woman, pushing and scolding, and foul language.

A man with a bulging chest and belly shouted: "Gong Qigu, it's you again, it's really Diaomin." I can't figure it out, it's a good thing for the neighbors to have us here. Ah, there are many profiteers in this world, often shoddy, and even fake money and silver, without our brokers, do you dare to buy and sell with confidence? ”

"Besides, we still have the duty of assessing prices and collecting taxes for the imperial court, you always think about tax evasion, you are not a good person!"

His tone was heavy, hating iron and not steel, and Xiao Ji, the tooth man next to him, was grinning and laughing.

The woman, Gong Qigu, said with a smile: "Agent Qi, you also know, the man in my family is sick, the child is small, and the family relies on the little woman to tie and weave shoes for food and drink, don't you want to sell it for more money......

"Ahh The agent of Naqi showed an angry face, "What do you mean, do you mean that we are pumping money ruthlessly, or are you saying that we buy low and sell high to deceive your Pu shoe money?" ”

His tone changed to gloomy: "Anyone who buys and sells for merchants can draw a small scale of tooth money, which is stipulated by the imperial court." We work hard and draw a little money, why don't you understand? Alas, shrews Diaomin, that's what you're talking about. ”

He sighed and said, slapping Gong Qigu's face lightly, left and right, with a snapping sound.

Gong Qigu accompanied the smiling face, for the sake of life, she had long lost any dignity, and even this kind of insult was numb.

She only begged and said, "Agent Qi, you are doing well, but the family needs money." Every time I enter the market, whether it is shoes or other commercial goods, they are all taken away from the market, and I don't know how to sell them, and the money I get in the end is ...... I inquired, and the money I got each time was much less than the market price. ”

Agent Qi just sighed: "Vixen, you are really a shrew." ”

In the end, in Gong Qigu's expression of wanting to cry without tears, her shoes were still taken away, saying that she would give her money after selling.

It's hard to say how much she will be given in the end, especially in today's situation.

Seeing that the shoes she had woven day and night were taken away, Gong Qigu's waist bent deeply.

Finally she crouched on the ground, her eyes full of confusion.

Slowly, she buried her head in her arm, as if whimpering.

Looking at her appearance, looking at the frightened expressions of the people around her, Agent Qi was triumphant, and he was pacing safely inside and outside the set with many Xiao Ji beside him. His demeanor was relaxed and majestic, like a tiger patrolling his territory.

Liu Dayou looked at him, his eyes were gloomy.

Gao Yunjing looked at Gong Qigu who was squatting over there.

He empathized with Gong Qigu's experience, and listening to the whimpering sound over there, he had a feeling of wanting to cry.

How difficult the people's livelihood is, the little people are really hard.

Life is not easy.

I wish there weren't any of these flies.