Winter days are short, although the Shen hour is only halfway through, but the sun is in the west, and the red glow has already appeared in the clear blue sky, and the white clouds complement each other. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

However, the approaching scene of dusk did not affect the mood of the people on the street to buy New Year's goods, everyone was still in high spirits and the street stalls, or the merchants in the shops on the street to do business, and many people even took the opportunity to cut prices, hoping that they could buy their favorite things at a cheaper price, which was very lively.

Compared to the bustle of these shops, other workshops hidden in the depths of the streets and alleys seem much more deserted. According to the standards of later generations, those shops are considered to be sold in retail, but the workshops are considered wholesale, so it is impossible for ordinary people to come here to buy things, after all, no one has such a big demand.

However, the business of these workshops is still good, after all, this is the capital, and some of the wealthy and wealthy families will order enough goods from them to wait for the full people to work in March, and some will even be requisitioned by the government because of their exquisite skills, and the income is also quite considerable.

Li's Lantern Workshop is such a workshop dedicated to building all kinds of exquisite lanterns for nobles as its main business. As early as August, they had already taken over the business of building lamps for the government for the New Year's Festival, so they were not afraid that there would be no customers coming to their doors, and the door of the shop was also hidden, and no one else would know that it was a workshop unless there was a sign hanging above.

At this time, an unpretentious carriage with several carts full of goods slowly drove to the door of the Li Lantern Fang, and then a thin middle-aged man got out of the carriage, and after gesturing to the coachmen who were driving the carts, he got out of the car, came to the Lantern Fang, pushed the door and walked in.

Behind a counter that is not too high, the shopkeeper is pulling the abacus, feeling a gust of cold wind coming, he stopped the work in his hand, looked up, and at the same time the professional smile was also revealed: "What does this guest officer need, as long as it is a lamp, the small shop will make ...... when he sees the style" Although they often make money from the government's business, it is good to be able to get more income from other means.

The middle-aged man smiled: "Boss Li is really a good shopkeeper, and he still wants to do business for himself at this time." As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his bosom and slapped it on the counter.

Listening to his tone, he seemed to know his own proprietor, which made the shopkeeper slightly stunned, and then looked down at the paper, like an eye, but it was a bright red official seal, and then glanced at the words on it, and the shopkeeper was even more stunned: "This...... It turned out that the adults from the Ministry of Industry arrived, but it was a small faux pas, and I hope not to be surprised. ”

"It doesn't matter." The official waved his hand very generously: "My official's surname is Di, and he now serves in the Ministry of Industry." Do you understand what this means? What Director Zheng means is that you want to replace all the lanterns in the area of Yujie with the ones I brought today, no problem, right? "It's just that this last order has no room for negotiation, and it is very domineering.

"This ......" The shopkeeper really showed a look of embarrassment, their lantern shop has already made a large number of lanterns for the royal street, now if you listen to the other party's meaning, those things will not be done in vain?

"Huh?" This Master Di immediately turned his face: "This is not only the meaning of Zheng Zheng, but also the meaning of Yang Langzhong, who is in charge of the entire Beijing New Year Festival and Lantern Festival, do you want to disobey?" ”

"The little ones don't dare to ......," the shopkeeper said with a bitter face, and at the same time understood what these adults meant, obviously they didn't benefit from this matter.

In later generations, whenever the Chinese New Year was celebrated, the city would generally hang red lanterns on the streets, plus other festive costumes, which was a large financial expenditure. And as long as it is a factory or businessman who contracts this business, it can make a lot of money before the year. Of course, the officials who handled this matter will definitely benefit from this.

The situation of the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago was naturally average, and because it was the capital and coincided with the reign of the Son of Heaven for ten years, the expenditure in this area would only be higher, and the Li Lantern Fang also spent a lot of money to get this business.

Unexpectedly, everything was almost done, but there was such an accident, and if you calculate it carefully, there will inevitably be losses. But compared to offending the government, especially the official in charge of this lantern festival, this loss can only be admitted, who said that the other party has been bought by another guy?

Lord Nadi also saw the other party's embarrassment, so he said again: "Don't worry, this time I made you suffer, and I will make up for it for you next time." However, the lights on the royal street must not be sloppy and wrong, and must be sent by me today. ”

Seeing him so assured, the shopkeeper didn't dare to make any more noise, and hurriedly nodded and agreed: "Everything is done according to the will of the adults." "Since there is a document from the Ministry of Industry here, and the official seal of Director Zheng is pressed on it, he naturally will not have any doubts, and this document can also be kept on file.

"Hmm." Master Di nodded with satisfaction, then remembered something, looked at the shopkeeper and said: "There is another point, you can do this as instructed, don't think about going to the Ministry of Industry to dredge up the relationship, if it is bad, you will have to bear the result." ”

"The little one understands. My lantern shop will definitely not be troublesome! "The shopkeeper has been in this line for decades, and he is naturally clear about the truth, obviously this is a business done by the Ministry of Industry in collusion from that Yang Langzhong, they will definitely be able to get a lot of benefits from it, but they don't want to be known by the officials at the top, so they will order it like this.

Master Di's face showed a satisfied smile: "It's best to understand, this official likes to interact with people who understand." And don't forget, in the end, the price of the lanterns in that area was deducted from the general ledger, and after the Lantern Festival, we will give you an account. ”

"Yes!" Such a matter of aftermath, the shopkeeper will naturally not disobey.

After the matter was settled, Master Di went out again, and then let several carts full of goods enter through the side door of the lantern shop, so that these lamps and lanterns were also made by Li's lamp shop.

Seeing that Master Di was staring at the car entering the workshop with some concern, and reminded people from time to time not to break the lamp, the shopkeeper knew that the other party still attached great importance to this matter. And the style of those lanterns is not bad, but it can be made with the craftsmanship of its own lantern workshop, which is really a pity.

As we approached, it was already dark, the shops were closed, and the pedestrians were in a hurry. Although it is a small year, the curfew in Beijing has not been lifted, so it is better to go home early.

In these hurried crowds, Ji Ling was also in a hurry, but he was not in a hurry to go home, but to find someone.

Director Zheng still didn't come to the yamen today, which made Yang Chen very dissatisfied, so he let his relatives rush to his house to ask. If you are really sick, it is fine, otherwise you will always have to beat and punish.

After turning around, Ji Ling finally came to a decent house, and after confirming the place, he stepped forward and knocked on the knocker.

After a while, the courtyard door was opened, revealing an old man's head: "Dare to ask the officials what are you doing?" ”

"Is this the house of Zheng Heng Zheng of the Ministry of Industry? In the next is Yang Langzhong sent by the Ministry of Industry to inquire, why haven't I seen Director Zheng go to the yamen on an errand for the past two days, but is he sick and recuperating at home? Ji Ling said politely, and at the same time glanced at the courtyard, if this disciple really gave a yes answer, then he would have to find an excuse to go in and see if he understood.

I don't want the old man to be stunned when he heard this: "My lord has not turned back since he went to the Yamen on an errand the day before yesterday." My wife has always been only a master, so she stayed there because she was entangled in official business in the yamen, how could this be? ”

"Huh?" This answer made Ji Ling stunned, and he couldn't come back to his senses for a while. How could there be such a thing, so did Director Zheng disappear in vain?

Although he is Yang Chen's personal entourage, he is not an official after all, and in the face of such changes, he doesn't know what to do, so he has to say: "When I go back and report to the adults, you should also try to find Director Zheng, this matter is a little strange." As he spoke, he turned away without waiting for the old man to respond.

Because this matter was too sudden and strange, it disturbed Ji Ling's mind, so he didn't take a careful look at the old man and this house, let alone go in to see what was going on. If he really did this, he would definitely be surprised when he went in, and at the same time, the murderous intent in the old man's eyes was completely ignored by him.

But that wasn't a bad thing for him, at least he wasn't in any danger.

Wotou and Qing Shui are indeed difficult to eat, especially for Zhang Luo's second daughter, who has already lived a good life, this kind of food is even more unpalatable. But in order to conserve their strength, the two of them still barely ate these things.

Just looking at the gradually darkening sky outside, the uneasiness in the hearts of the two women became stronger and stronger. Is what that guy said really true? Erlang, is he really in trouble? Extreme uneasiness spread between the two of them.

"Sister, do you think Erlang will really be in big trouble? What should we do? The corners of Zhang Jingyun's eyes turned a little red.

Luo Yueying was much calmer than her: "It depends on the situation, what the person said is very likely to be true, and the two of us may also be their bargaining chips against Erlang." ”

"Huh? So what to do? ”

"Now, we can't just wait for Erlang to save us, we have to save ourselves, and even find a way to help Erlang. He's done so much for us, it's time for us to help him this time! Speaking of this, Luo Yueying's eyes showed a look of determination.