After a few days, the sky was just slightly bright, and Feng Laosan carried the burden of the merchant who supported his family, and went out from his small courtyard.

A family of six, with an old mother and children, the main source of income is Feng Laosan's daily street load, plus his wife and mother for some large families to wash clothes, sew and mend and other small jobs. In this riverside city, it is also quite prosperous, less than the above, more than the bottom.

It won't be long before the three children should get up, and the government-run school almost does not charge any tuition, but it also needs to buy pen, ink, paper and inkstone by itself, which is actually a lot of expenditure in a year. It also made Feng Laosan have to get up earlier every day, and when the other goods men who walked the streets and alleys had not gone out, Feng Laosan was already selling in the streets and alleys.

At first, Feng Laosan didn't need to do this, because he only sent one son to school. Later, the government education department came to the house, that is, the other two daughters had to go to the school, which made Feng Laosan unwilling.

After the people at the education department persuaded him a few times, and then intimidated him a few times, if he didn't send his daughter to school, he would be arrested and put in prison and punished. Feng Laosan scolded and scolded for many days, but after all, he still didn't dare to disobey, so he had to send his daughter to the school as well. Fortunately, Feng Laosan is not a lazy person, and if he is hard-headed, he can only get up earlier than others.

The six-year free government-run school law has already begun to be spread throughout the country, and all major cities and towns have begun to implement it, but as for those remote villages, the work needs to be further developed.

The expenditure on education in the new dynasty has become an important expenditure in the financial expenditure of the imperial court. This is something that has never happened in all dynasties.

Although the new dynasty has a lot of income, it has more and more expenditure items, and the amount of money spent has also increased exponentially. Whether it's military spending, infrastructure such as roads, or spending on education, or investment in scientific research, all of them cost money.

It is the subdivision and increase of the yamen, and it is also a lot of expenditure, just like the establishment of Dali Temple in the whole country, and the reform of the system and procedure of the law of litigation, all of which are money.

When Zheng Zhi arrived at this time, he understood why the previous dynasties would concentrate most of their powers on one yamen and one chief official. Most of the management at the grassroots level depends on grassroots autonomy.

It is not that the system has to be like this, and the unwillingness to govern it carefully is also an administrative cost problem. It is true that every authority is subdivided into countless institutions, not to mention the problem of the salaries of public servants, but also the cost of official papers, which is a large expense.

The governance of public affairs has moved from general governance to detailed governance of functions and powers, which is progress. In addition, because of the development of science and technology, the development of the Internet, and the progress of data processing capabilities, it will also begin to move from the refinement of functions and powers to the centralization of official processing, which is also progress.

money, at the end of each quarter, will bother Zheng Zhi once. There is only one solution, which is to open up sources and reduce expenditure. Open source is to try all means to make money, and throttling is to spend money where it should be spent, and also spend all the country's money in places. Under force, it is possible to rob or grab. It is also possible for the yamen in various places to be related to money, constantly patrolling back and forth, constantly investigating, and plugging loopholes. The introduction of the concept of fiscal budgeting and the careful planning of expenditures are also methods.

Of course, economic development is still the main thing. That's the way to make money.

Feng Laosan walked the streets and alleys with the goods, don't look at the goods are not big, there are all kinds of miscellaneous things, general household needles and threads, and even a few horses of different textures of fabric, firewood knives, kitchen knives, scissors, hairpins, combs, small bronze mirrors, etc.

There will also be some small snacks such as melon seeds and dim sum, folding fans, group fans, general pen, ink, paper, inkstone, maps of the river, maps of the whole country, and maps of all countries. And the newspapers, which are the best sellers every day.

Feng Laosan is in a good mood today, because Feng Laosan bought a little new goods yesterday, that is, he knows that this new goods must be easy to sell, that is, the "Pingyang Atlas" from the post office, a small booklet, in which the ocean's charts are drawn in great detail, and it is accompanied by text explanations, where are there islands, where can you find fresh water on the islands, where are there savages, etc. There is also a map of the New World, which is also extremely detailed.

Feng Laosan also knew about this booklet, and everyone had been waiting for a long time. So Feng Laosan's first stop today was to go to the dock, and the people in the dock were also waiting for this booklet. The people on the dock have always gotten up early, and the cargo man arrives at the dock first, so how many "Pingyang Charts" can be sold out.

A book earns four or five copper coins, or four or five cents. Feng Laosan's more than 100 copies, if you calculate it casually, you can also earn seven or eight hundred copper coins, or seven or eight big bills. This income is really not small, more than ten years ago, a man only earned five or six a month, which was already good. Now Feng Laosan has caught up with this kind of opportunity, and he can earn half a month's income from the first half of the decade by taking a trip to the dock.

If the business is good today, it is possible to make a consistent amount of money, or ten dollars. The opportunity is rare, and the load of goods is heavy, but Feng Laosan can't afford to procrastinate, so he can only speed up his pace, and sweat is like rain in the winter.

As long as you are diligent, life will naturally get better and better.

Feng Laosan, who was panting while rushing to the road, still thought sweetly in his heart, if he made ten yuan today, then the child would buy a picture book of "Science Enlightenment" that they had talked about many times, and the price would be two yuan, which would not be expensive. Although Feng Laosan didn't know what "Science Enlightenment" was, since the children were clamoring for it, it was still necessary to be satisfied.

In the present Great Xia Dynasty, the banknotes issued by the Central Bank have only been around for more than two years. Although paper money is also in excellent circulation, there are still many metal currencies in the private sector, and not all of them have been exchanged for paper money. It is not that the people do not trust the paper money issued by the imperial court, because as long as they hold the paper money, they can immediately exchange it for metal currency wherever they go to the money bank or office.

It's just that ordinary people don't have an urgent need for exchange, and they usually can't take much money out, so they don't have an urgent need to use paper money. Those who really use a lot of paper money are still those big merchants, and the money of a few thousand taels of silver can be taken away in their breast pockets, which makes it much more convenient to do business, and the security is much better. No more chests to load, mules and horses to carry them. You don't need to keep your eyes on it all the time.

A penny for a copper coin, has always been equal to ten yuan, can be exchanged at any time, Tong Su is not deceived.

Feng Laosan initially received the banknotes from large families, and immediately went to the money bank or office to exchange them for copper coins on the same day. Now Feng Laosan is too lazy to spend these hands and feet, and now Feng Laosan also has a lot of banknotes in his arms for change.

In an elegant place like Fan Lou, if someone takes out a few ingots of silver from their pockets, they will really make people laugh at them, and they say that they are from the countryside and have entered the capital.

Such an atmosphere is also conducive to the promotion of banknotes. Fan Lou, an industry under the Royal Business Group, really spared no effort to promote paper money.

Feng Laosan, who was in a hurry, was still a little nervous as soon as he arrived at the Tongbei Wharf on the west side of the river, and the people who could see the coming and going shouted: "The Pingyang Atlas is out, the first-hand atlas is very detailed, and the new world is really full of gold... ”

Selling goods is naturally to shout, and the content of the shouting will be slightly exaggerated. The saying that the land is full of gold, although the essence is to say it, is that there are some places in the New World that are rich in gold, and the reserves are extremely high. But it is also an exaggeration, it is not enough to be full of gold, and at this time, I have just figured out the sea route, and I don't know where the gold is.

After Feng Laosan shouted a few words, sure enough, the crowd gathered, whether it was the shopkeeper, the shipowner, or the sailors and ordinary laborers, they all surrounded them.

At this time, Feng Laosan's nervous mood was gone, his face was full of smiles, and if it was really as he thought in his heart, this more than 100 nautical charts would not be sold.

"Hurry up, how much is it, get me a copy."

"I want a copy too, hurry up."

"Take one to my family official first."

Feng Laosan laughed on his face, and said in his mouth: "There are all of them, buy a nautical chart, and it is best to buy a copy of the Beijing Times, the newspaper said, but anyone who goes out of the ocean can mortgage the property, take out a loan to buy a ship, the shipyard and money village of the imperial court have discounts, the loan interest is very low, and the ship price can also be discounted, you must buy a newspaper to read in detail." ”

Feng Laosan has some business acumen, so he also knows how to bundle sales and maximize benefits.

"Don't grind, buy, buy, how much."

"Hurry up, find money, give Tuzhi."

Feng Laosan looked satisfied, and while holding the picture and newspaper in his own load, he said: "One piece of picture and eight points of newspaper." ”

Feng Laosan subconsciously raised the price by a dime, and earned a dime and a half cent, and the profit was already maximized.

As soon as the words came out, all the money that rose in the air was money, with the most paper money and a lot of copper coins. Just wait for Feng Laosan to pick them up one by one. The crowd waited to see how the place full of gold would go, and whether it was worth the risk. How long will it take to go and how long will it take to come back.

Feng Laosan already had a smile on his face, but he couldn't help it, but more than 100 copies of the illustrated journal had been sold out, and there was still countless money in the air.

It's just that Feng Laosan's previous net worth was only more than 100 yuan, and he entered more than 100 books.

"Everyone, everyone, it's gone, it's sold out... This time it was Feng Laosan's turn to be distressed.

"You guy, just bring these few books, what kind of business are you doing?"

"The shouting is so loud, you don't just entertain me for nothing."

Those who bought the picture and could read it would look at it themselves, and if they couldn't read a few words, they would first see what the picture looked like, and then go around looking for someone to read it to themselves. One dollar, although it is a lot, a coolie can only earn more than a dollar a day, but this dollar is nothing compared to the gold all over the ground.

Feng Laosan faced the anger of everyone, but he could only apologize, but he shouted again: "It's still early, I'll go back to the city and pick up hundreds of illustrated books, just an hour, you don't have to be impatient." Wait an hour, and it's still here. ”

"Hurry up, hurry, hurry."

"I won't see you here in an hour, and I'll see if you dare to come to this dock in the future. You can't get off the ground for half a year. ”

Urging, coercing. Feng Laosan hurriedly picked up the load of goods and turned around to leave, but he also wanted to find a place to store his load first, so that he could run back quickly. From the wharf to the city, there are ten miles of land, and I am afraid that I will not be able to catch up with the goods back and forth, not to mention that I have to bring two hundred books.

However, Feng Laosan also had a plan in his heart, and after running back to the city, he would rent a carriage in Yahang first, and he would not rely on the two or three yuan for carriage and horses. I just want to rush back as soon as possible, and other goods bearers are also on the way here.

Feng Laosan has made a lot of money today, and when he goes home, he will probably buy some gifts for a few people in his family, and buy some good wine and meat for himself, so as to treat himself.

In two days, it will be Chinese New Year's Eve, and Feng Laosan's family will really have a good year.

If the time is pushed back by another five or six years, Feng Laosan would never have dreamed that his three children would have been admitted to the Beijing University Hall that had just been established by the imperial court because of their good academic performance.

If the time is pushed back by 12 years, Feng Laosan will not dare to imagine that he can also have an official master in his family.

The world is impermanent, and the son of the cargo man is no longer the cargo man. You can also marry a lady from a big family. The daughter of the cargo man can also marry an official of the imperial court.

At that time, thinking about it, Feng Laosan would probably regret scolding the tolerance who forced him to send his daughter to school with a board, and at that time, even the eighteenth generation of his ancestors also scolded behind his back.

At the beginning of spring, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has not yet passed, and there are already sea ships in Cangzhou with the "Pingyang Atlas" to go to sea, with fresh water, with supplies, with knives and guns, and go straight to the place full of gold.

I was thinking of going here, returning with a ship full of gold, and coming back to buy a property, a land, and a store. Returning home, that's just the case.

Whether it was a shipyard in the imperial court or a private shipyard, it suddenly received countless orders. Looking at this year-long row of orders, it really makes these shipyards anxious.

In the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, some people have already taken money to the villages to recruit shipbuilding workers, and the wages have been rising steadily, but there is still not enough manpower.

The chain of economic development, that is, from top to bottom, everyone can profit. Even ordinary workers can rise to the top.

But there is also a contradiction, the shipyards in the south, ushered in competitors. Under the South Seas, countless private shipyards kept slaves to work, and the price of ships was 30% cheaper than that of domestic shipyards.

The salesmen of these shipyards have begun to rush around, collecting orders at low prices.

Even shipyards, which were already larger and more skilled, began to think of relocating to the South Seas, replacing workers with slaves and reducing costs.