"Lord Qianhu, this is the account book for this time, please check it out."

Huo Bingxiang, a Xi'an businessman who had been rescued by Zhang Mengcheng before, had already recovered from his injuries. Although he is still wearing that old leather jacket, it can be seen from his happy expression that his business should be good recently.

“…… Well, Lao Huo, you did a good job. But I need money right now, so I'm going to take out all the money I put in your place at once. ”

After reading it, Zhang Mengcheng found that it was similar to what he expected. So he didn't continue to scrutinize it anymore, but directly said what he thought.

"This ......, dare to ask the lord of a thousand households, I don't know where the villain is at fault, and he offended the adult for a while. Why do you suddenly have to take away the capital, could it be that those bastards who keep saying that I am not are chewing their tongues in adulthood again? ”

Huo Bingxiang heard that Zhang Mengcheng planned to withdraw his shares, and he suddenly felt bad in his heart. Although the security guard of Jinding Mountain's Thousand Households does not occupy any real power positions, he is a local tyrant. And not only does he have extraordinary influence in the security realm, but even the military forts on Yansui West Road have to give this person some face.

Now Huo Bingxiang's business has expanded several times because of Zhang Mengcheng, and there are even more than 1,000 taels of silver invested by this Qianhu lord in the caravan.

More importantly, this lord of a thousand households was in charge of a large number of local products such as furs, grain, salt, livestock, tobacco, paper, and shochu, plus the trade channels he controlled.

These aspects have affected together, and Huo Bingxiang now has a total of sixty percent of the source of wealth. Now that the thousands of households are going to withdraw their shares, will they be excluded from this circle in the future?

Thinking that in addition to himself, there were several businessmen who often appeared by this adult's side, Huo Bingxiang wondered if he was being calculated by others.

"Don't think about it, this time I just took out my personal shares invested in you, and the capital invested in you by our village will not change. And my eldest brother thinks that you are doing a good job, and intends to add some investment, this one in and out, in fact, your silver there has not decreased, but a little more. ”

Zhang Mengcheng naturally knew that Huo Bingxiang was thinking too much, but in fact, the ambiguous statement just now was deliberately made by Zhang Mengcheng himself. He just wanted to see how the other party would react when he heard it, but Zhang Mengcheng was a little disappointed, because Huo Bingxiang didn't seem to know about the fundraising of his previous convener.

It is really strange to say that the news of this Xi'an businessman is still a little lagging behind as always. When we first met, I didn't know that the West Road Bingbei Road had been replaced, but now I don't even know the partner's previous activities in security.

But even so, the merchant's business is getting bigger and bigger, and the caravan formed by his own cottage is ....... Alas, it seems that it's time to rectify it, the person named Zhao Ran has been doing well recently, and he can be promoted.

"Oh, that's the villain Meng Lang, please forgive me. It's just that I don't know what the adults are for, and suddenly want to withdraw your private shares. ”

After getting Zhang Mengcheng's explanation, Huo Bingxiang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the lord had invested in several merchants, but now he seemed to be the most favored by the lord.

But then again, Huo Bingxiang was very curious about why Zhang Mengcheng wanted to take shares from himself. Because the principal of the thousand households accounts for half of the investment in Jindingshan, after all, it is a matter of more than five hundred taels of silver, which is not a small amount.

"Lao Huo, you are also my acquaintance, so it doesn't hurt to tell you. In fact, the official army had won a battle outside the side wall of the West Road before, and drove away Dazi who was close to the side wall. During that expedition, I thought that Tatsuko's grazing land was good, so I wanted to take some people out of the border wall to cultivate it, so I'm trying to raise money now. ”

Although Zhang Mengcheng seems to be arrogant and arrogant to say his thoughts, in fact, this naked hint is something that even a fool can see.

"This is a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people, although the villain does not read much, he also knows how to contribute to the court. This time, the villain can fund the adult with one hundred taels, and if it is not enough, the villain can also go home and turn around again. ”

Although Huo Bingxiang is a little ill-informed, he is a businessman who is used to seeing the world after all, how can he not see such a simple hint from Lord Qianhu. But he is also happy to do so, because Zhang Mengcheng has always given him the impression of being more reserved. This time, the other party unexpectedly took the initiative to reach out, and he will naturally be more willing to cooperate with him in the future.

"Don't bother, one hundred taels is already very heartfelt. Some of the livestock we captured before have not yet decided what to do with them, so it is better to leave them all to you, Lao Huo. ”

Zhang Mengcheng was quite surprised, he was cheeky to ask for silver this time, thinking that it would be very good to have twenty or thirty taels. For he had done this to several other merchants, and they had buckled the ropes, and together they had more than thirty taels of silver.

Now Huo Bingxiang alone sponsored one hundred taels of silver, which really surprised Zhang Mengcheng, so he directly decided to add some sweetness to the other party.

"Thank you for your love, now that Shaanxi has returned to peace, there are more businessmen, and they come out from time to time to grab business with me. Thanks to the support of adults, the business of villains can become bigger and bigger. Since the adults have troubles now, it is appropriate for the villain to offer a little heart. ”

Huo Bingxiang's mood has become happier now, and he didn't expect that after donating one hundred taels of silver, he would immediately have a new harvest. He didn't know exactly how many animals he was talking about, but he had seen a flock of sheep grazing outside before he arrived. If that's one of them, you'll soon be able to earn back all the 100 taels of silver.

"Now that we're done talking about these things, let's move on to business. The people at Artemisia Peak have already talked to me before, and the wound medicine they produce there ....... ”

After Zhang Mengcheng finished taking care of his personal affairs, he continued to discuss business matters with Huo Bingxiang. While the two of them were concentrating on talking, another conversation was taking place in another cave in the cottage.

……

"Aunt Nine, Uncle Five, we're back."

Cai Shanyuan gasped and ran back to the cave, and the one who ran in with him was Zhang Zhaoliang, a stinky boy who was getting worse and worse by him.

Cai Qixian was still talking to her fifth brother, but when she saw her nephew running back out of breath, she directly asked about what she cared about. "How's it going, have you figured it out?"

Cai Shanyuan was busy drinking water as soon as he came in, and in response to his ninth aunt's question, his eyes gestured to his companion Zhang Zhaoliang.

As a boy, Zhang Zhaoliang, who is becoming more and more beautiful, said: "The one who came to the cottage this time is indeed the caravan of the Xi'an merchant. The fifteenth uncle is busy receiving him now, but he learned from their buddies that the business of the shopkeeper Huo should be doing well recently, and it seems that he has now done business in Sichuan and Henan. ”

"Is that guy's words true or false, how did you get the news from him?"

It was not Cai Qixian who spoke, but Cai Zhongquan at the top of Artemisia. For Jin Dingshan, a Xi'an businessman who has cooperated with a lot of business, Artemisia has also heard of it. Previously, the surnamed Huo was interested in mugwort's injury medicine, and Xiucai took a line from it, so mugwort also had the idea of broadening his trade network.

"Actually, the news was asked by Brother Xizi on the side, because when Uncle Xizi led the troops to rescue this Xi'an businessman, Brother Xizi happened to save the guy's life in time. That guy had been with the caravan for several years, and was one of their shopkeepers' henchmen. ”

Zhang Zhaoliang was not timid about the question of the leader of Artemisia Peak, but explained the matter very smoothly.

"Fifth uncle, don't worry, that businessman is really good. Every time Uncle Nine came to him, he would become smiling, and it seemed that he had made a lot of money doing business with him. This time, the caravan brought back a lot of good things, and the dozen or so Yanqi horses alone looked very good, and the group of horses managed by Uncle Nine was about to add a lot of tall horses. ”

Cai Shanyuan has been studying in Jindingshan for such a long time, and he has naturally been pulled through labor in various names on the way. So on this occasion, he found that Uncle Nine seemed to have been deliberately collecting tall horses. Listening to Uncle Nine, it seems that he wants to breed a new kind of horse, and his idea is really bold.

"There were also some strange things that I couldn't name, among which was a box that kept ticking and ticking, and Uncle Fifteen was happy when he saw it. There is also a copper pipe that seems to be elongated, with a crystal piece on both sides, and Uncle Fifteen keeps playing with it as soon as he holds it in his hand. I heard that it was bought from the southern provinces, and it cost a lot of money to the fifteenth uncle. ”

Although Zhang Zhaoliang didn't know the specific functions of those two things, it was rare for him to see Uncle Fifteen have such an excited expression, so he knew that those things must be very powerful.

"Oh, what the hell is that thing, it makes Xiucai, who has always been saved, care so much."

After getting along for several years, Cai Zhongquan has a deep impression of Zhang Mengcheng's brother-in-law. That is, Xiucai is a little stingy in many places, and he will not spend money at will. Even if he really wanted it, he would find a way to find someone to make it. Now that Zhang Mengcheng is willing to spend money to buy playthings, Cai Zhongquan is indeed more interested.

"I've only heard the show mention it, and the ticking box seems to be called a chiming bell, which is only used to tell the hour. As for the copper tube with crystal pieces on both sides, it should be called a speculum tube, also known as a telescope. It's a good thing to be able to read the size of a fly hundreds of paces away. ”

Regarding the fifth brother's question, Cai Qixian immediately had an answer. Although she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Xiucai had said these two objects when she told herself about the world. Especially the clairvoyant, now Xiucai has been working with the craftsmen of the cottage to study how to burn the glass, so as to make the clairvoyant mirror used in the war.

"After the ninth sister married Xiucai, her knowledge really increased a lot. Listening to what you say, Xiucai got two good treasures this time. ”

After all, Cai Zhongquan was born on the battlefield, so he naturally knows the role of the clairvoyant mirror very well. As for the chiming bell, when marching and fighting, does the importance of time need to be explained?

Although Cai Zhongquan was very envious of this, Cai Qixian suddenly changed to a painful expression at this time, and her voice began to tremble and complained to her fifth brother.

"The things are good, but do you know how much Xiucai spent on these two items, there are nearly two hundred taels of silver in total." (Note 1)

"What!?"

Hearing the ninth sister's crying voice, Cai Zhongquan suddenly realized that compared to the very stingy Xiucai in his impression, he was a real turtle.

PS: Note 1: During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was a lot of information on the price of chiming bells. Because the grades are different, the price is also different. The most reference price set by the novel is recorded in the first volume of Xu Guangqi's "New Law Calculation Book", "There are three self-striking bells, and the price of each frame is fifty taels of silver, and the large ones and the small ones are worth a lot, so they don't need to be used now." ”

The telescope only mentions the spectacle frames at the back, "There are three pairs of telescope frames, each of which is about six taels of silver, and the mirrors are not counted." "There is no price for a telescope, so I can't refer to it. Considering that Shaanxi is inland, the things bought must change hands several times, so the cost of the author is set at nearly two hundred taels of silver.

Incidentally, chiming bells became a high-end luxury item in ancient China, with Kangxi even ordering between 30,000 and 60,000 taels of silver (£12,000 to £25,000) a year. In 1794~1795, because the Chinese market was flooded with too many chiming bells, many products had to be sold at a low price. A gold watch worth 120 silver coins can only be sold for a fraction of 22 taels of silver.

After the introduction of Western clocks and watches, Chinese craftsmen also began to imitate their own. After many Westerners saw it, they said that its workmanship was not inferior to that of Western European products. But after all, these were produced by craftsmen in the form of pure handicraft workshops, and after the Opium War was forced to open the market, these workshops had to face dissipation under the competition of Western industrial products.