Yang Chao was pressed with things in his heart, and he couldn't rest at ease, so he went out early.

Last night's dream made Yang Chao feel a sense of urgency, he couldn't wait any longer, he had to find a way to gain power.

The imperial examination is impossible, and there is no need to consider rebellion, thinking about it, Yang Chao has only one choice, that is, to buy an official.

Buying an official requires money and a way.

The relationship is not so good, even if there is a relationship, you have to have money, and with money, you can have a relationship.

In the end, it's a matter of money. Obviously, Yang Chao's fifty taels of silver can't solve the problem. Yang Chao needs more money.

So today is different from yesterday, Yang Chao did not go to the Qinhuai River, but walked east to Nanmen Street, and then went north.

This road is the Zhonghua Road of later generations, but at this time Zhonghua Road is divided into four sections, the south from Zhenhuai Bridge to Xiajiang Kaopeng is called Nanmen Street, from Xiajiang Kaopeng to Dagongfang (later Zhanyuan Road) is called Huashi Street, from Dagongfang to Shuiximen is called Sanshan Street, and then north to the inner bridge is called Fudong Street.

Like later generations, this road is still very prosperous, and it is one of the most prosperous streets in Nanjing.

In particular, Sanshan Street, because there are many wharves in the west gate of the water, you can go straight into the Yangtze River through the Qinhuai River, which is the thoroughfare of Nanjing's east-west, north-south, and even more prosperous than both sides of the Qinhuai River.

Therefore, Yang Chao's first plan was to use fifty taels of silver to run a project here, after all, something like Zhou Gongzi would never happen every day.

Even if someone wants to see Liu Ruis every day, Yang Chao can't help people every day, yesterday he helped the infatuated Zhou Gongzi, it was a timely meeting, and if he was replaced by someone else, Yang Chao has the means to reach the sky, and it is impossible for others to see these famous prostitutes if they want to.

The street from Nanmen Street to Sanshan Street, unlike the two banks of the Qinhuai River, is more common to the public, operating more restaurants, shops, as well as bookstores and printing shops.

In other words, the two banks of the Qinhuai River are dominated by the entertainment industry, while here it is dominated by the commerce and trade industry.

Yang Chao walked into a shop from time to time, chatted with the owner, and inquired about the market situation.

I have been in a coat shop, a boot and shoe shop, and even a pawnshop and a silver shop.

Yang Chao found that in the shops of the Ming Dynasty, there were not many signboards, and the more decent ones were just hanging a piece of cloth, showing in the wind, with words such as "leather goods", "boots and shoes", "gold bead exchange", etc., and even just a word such as "tea" and "wine" to indicate the scope of business.

These shopkeepers don't have a strong sense of signboards and brands.

They are doing long-term business, relying on long-term relationships, doing daily necessities, it is neighborhood business, doing leather goods and other businesses, it is buying merchants, and it is often others who come to the door.

Most of these businesses do not need to rely on signature brands to expand their popularity.

On the contrary, those Qinglou and restaurants that rely on fame to eat are hung with decent signboards, such as Meixiang Building.

Yang Chao thought that if you want to become bigger and stronger, you must set up the signboard, expand the popularity, and really make the brand up.

Yang Chao also found that the vast majority of shops are in the form of "front shop and back factory", most of which are self-produced and sold, the front façade is used to make shops, and the backyard is a processing workshop.

Obviously, this division of labor is not detailed enough.

If these resources can be combined, it can make a difference.

But how to do it, Yang Chao has not thought of it.

In this way, I turned around for most of the day, saw the prosperous market of the Ming Dynasty, and understood that the commerce of the Ming Dynasty had prospered to cover all aspects of daily life, life and transportation, but the operation was still relatively rough and not professional enough.

It was already noon, the sun was hanging in the middle, and it was time to go home for dinner.

This time I went back just past the corner where the blacksmith workshop and Sanfang Lane and the paint workshop intersected, the blacksmith shop of the Yang family was in this excellent location, so I simply went to the blacksmith shop to go back with my father, Yang Chao had already earned some money, and I couldn't bear to see my father still working as before.

The Yang family's blacksmith shop is ancestral, and after the death of the grandfather, it was passed on to the father.

It is not so cheap to buy such a blacksmith shop and one of the tools, not to mention thirty or fifty taels of silver, and the Yang family can even accumulate it for several generations to buy such a shop.

This is the most important capital of the Yang family.

Father was doing his work, and there was a man waiting in the blacksmith's shop, sitting at the only table.

"Dad, go back early."

Yang Chao nodded to the man first, and then shouted at his father's back.

Yang Yong turned around at this time: "Chao'er." ”

As he spoke, his father stopped what he was doing and turned his head.

Then he said to Yang Chao: "I've seen Gonggong Li soon!" ”

Yang Chao was stunned for a moment, and the person sitting next to him was a middle-aged man who looked like he was fifty or sixty years old, wearing a cyan gown, wearing a small hat, with a white face, and looking like a gentleman, but he didn't expect it to be a eunuch.

Yang Chao was curious for a moment and then bowed his hand: "I've seen Gonggong Li." ”

Yang Yong said: "This is the supervisor of the War Bureau, kneel down and kowtow." ”

At this time, Father-in-law Li said: "It's exempt." It's not in the bureau. ”

Gonggong Li's voice was very thin, but there was no hoarseness, as if he had lowered his voice, so much like talking to the eunuchs on TV in later generations. Yang Chao really accepted it, this person is really a eunuch.

Yang Yong thanked him, and then continued to do his work, no longer using a hammer, but polishing, polishing a kitchen knife.

Yang Yong has superb skills, and he is the best at fighting knives, knives for chopping wood, and knives for killing, but the most popular is kitchen knives.

Coarse grinding, fine grinding, the process is very meticulous, Yang Yong did it very seriously, it seems that he has been doing it for a long time, and finally slowly cleaned it, scrubbed it with a dry linen cloth, and wrapped it in a white cloth, and then handed over the kitchen knife to Gonggong Li.

"This is used to use, or your knife is good, it can't be broken."

Gonggong Li nodded, took Yang Yong's kitchen knife, didn't open it, and praised it in a sharp voice.

Yang Yong nodded and said, "It's good if my father-in-law likes it." ”

Gonggong Li nodded: "Hmm." I won't give you this knife money, and our family will advance the money for you. ”

Yang Yong hurriedly said: "How can you let your father-in-law break the bank." The silver is here, and it has been ready for a long time. Just bother your father-in-law to help you pay it. ”

Yang Yong had already reached out and took out a piece of broken silver from his arms, and respectfully handed it to Gonggong Li.

Gonggong Li smiled, and unceremoniously stretched out his hand to take it: "You are still sensible." ”

After saying that, he turned around, waved his hand, and left.

Yang Chao kept standing aside and watching, and didn't speak.

This Gonggong Li is the eunuch of the Supervision Bureau of the War Bureau, and Yang Yong is the craftsman of the War Bureau, and he is under the control of this Gonggong Li.

As one of the earliest eight bureaus in the Ming Dynasty, the War Bureau not only has a eunuch supervision bureau, but also a member of the eunuch who holds the seal of the seal, and a member of the eunuch who supervises the armory, and there are officials such as management, secretary, director, and supervisor.

Just like this Gonggong Li, if these officials lack utensils at home, they often ask the craftsmen in the bureau to help make them, and they will never give money.

"Father-in-law Li's family has hired a new cook, and he lacks a kitchen knife."

After Gonggong Li left, Yang Yong said.

A good chef has a knife, the kitchen knife is not made as imagined, Chinese chefs generally make a knife, cutting, chopping, cutting, this kitchen knife is also it, chopping meat is also it, cutting vegetables is also it, carving and even using it.

Therefore, Chinese kitchen knives must not be broken and cut not dull.

Therefore, a good kitchen knife often has to be tempered, which is almost equivalent to a steel knife.

However, this is made for officials, and the kitchen knives of ordinary people are much simpler, and the kitchen knives that Yang Yong usually makes are not so troublesome.

"If you don't have a knife, you'll be looking for us."

Yang Chao said, his tone was a little low, this was an obvious request for a bribe.

Yang Yong said: "This Gonggong Li is a good person." Plainly rarely bothered us craftsmen. ”

Yang Chao lamented in his heart, this kind of finding someone to fight a knife is not bad, other officials of the War Bureau, but they must have filial piety, and the Yang family will wrap them with some silver during the New Year's Festival, not much, a few cents of silver for each family, at most only one penny of silver.

But craftsmen like the Yang family, large and small, hundreds or thousands, gathered together is a huge amount of money.

No one thinks there is anything wrong with this money, the ** of the Ming Dynasty has reached the root, which is good.

"Dad, let's go back together."

Yang Chao can only lament that the people are very grateful if they don't look for trouble when they are officials, so no people like to be officials, and they all hope that they or their children can be officials, and this mentality is also helpless.

"No, you can go back first."

Yang Yong said: "Then I'll wait for you!" ”

Yang Chao is very persistent.

Yang Yong thought for a while and said, "Okay. I've been busy playing this kitchen knife for the past few days. I'm done today, so I'll go back early. In the morning, I heard your sister say that Hu Quan sent two taels of meat, and your mother made dumplings to eat today. ”

Hearing the dumplings, Yang Chao was secretly proud in his heart, not because he wanted to eat dumplings, but because Hu Quan sent meat, which Yang Chao explained.

When they broke up yesterday, Yang Chao gave Hu Quan a piece of silver, a full ten taels, of which five taels Yang Chao gave to Hu Quan, which was regarded as a dividend to help him earn money yesterday, and the other five taels, Yang Chao asked Hu Quan to send back meat every three days.

Of course, the family doesn't know, because Yang Chao really can't say that he earns money, if it's earned by other methods, then it's okay to say, but it's such a thing as helping Gongzi and brother see a famous prostitute, no matter how you look at it, it's like pimping.

Yang Yong didn't let Yang Chao help, packed up the tools by himself, put out the fire, and then carefully locked the wooden door of the blacksmith shop, and then went home with Yang Chao.

Yang Chao thought to himself, he went out in the morning, there are usually two meals at home, and he has preferential treatment with his father, his father does manual work and reads by himself, so the two of them can have one more breakfast.

I went out without breakfast today, and my mother must have been very worried.

Thinking that I would go by myself for a while, my mother would definitely nag and shout for my sister to help me make dumplings immediately.

As a result, when I went home, I found that the atmosphere at home was very depressing.

In the main hall, a person has been waiting for a long time.

The man was dressed decently, dressed in fine cloth and wearing a very elaborate hat, sitting upright in a chair, not at all interested in the tea beside him.

Mother Zhao and sister Yang Yue stood aside stiffly, their faces full of melancholy.

When his father Yang Yong saw this person, his face also changed, and he walked forward quickly.

As he spoke, he was about to kneel: "Yang Yong, a grass man, greets the Lord of the Hundred Households." ”

Yang Chao also knew this person, this person's surname was Xu, and he lived in Xujia Lane, northeast of the iron workshop.

The Xu family made contributions in the early Ming Dynasty, it was a hereditary brocade and a hundred households, and they lived together, they were local clans, and even the alley where they lived was called Xujia Lane.

In addition, the Xu family is not only a hereditary eunuch, but also operates a pawnshop and a silver shop.

"Excuse me, excuse me!"

Xu Baihu was a little impatient and did not let Yang Yong salute.

Instead, he took out a piece of paper from his bosom: "This is your IOU, the official is a little tight today, and he is here to collect the debt." ”

The Xu family ran a pawnshop and a silver shop, and also had a money lending business.