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No matter what kind of ups and downs happened on the Lushun Peninsula, when it reached the city of Beijing, there would only be a trace of ripples left -- the capital of the Ming Emperor, no matter how big the turmoil outside, in the eyes of the people in the capital who thought they had seen the world, it was nothing after all.

Even recently, there has been a lot of news about Qiongzhou shorthair circulating in the Beijing Division: what shorthair is going to marry the lord Xungui, and what shorthair is going to pay tribute to the imperial court...... All kinds of rumors, except for those who are really related to it, others are nothing more than listening to the excitement, chatting in the teahouse as a gossip, and still having to face life, reality, and daily firewood, rice, oil and salt after returning home.

-- The increasingly cramped firewood, rice, oil, and salt are like this for the vast majority of ordinary people in Beijing.

Every spring, there will be a spring famine in Jingshi for a while as usual -- the rice in their own rice jars and the imperial treasury are gradually exhausted, and the grain from the south of the Yangtze River has not yet been delivered. Fortunately, the family has a solid background, and the average small family has a little difficult during this period of time -- and this is still a normal year, the transportation remains smooth, and the southern grain-producing areas have not suffered a major disaster. If it is "abnormal", such as the siege of the Beijing division in the second year of Chongzhen, or the Denglai Rebellion in the fifth year of Chongzhen, although the rebels did not reach the canal area, the "bandit" troops of the imperial court have moved all the grain and materials to use for military ...... If this kind of change occurs, the impact on the people of the capital will be even greater.

Although the Ming Dynasty in the early spring of Chongzhen's sixth year has not encountered such man-made disasters, the natural disasters reported from various places in recent years have been endless. Words such as a poor harvest, a failed harvest, and a request for relief were all over the place, and if they were not, Chongzhen would not have thought of trying to loot the silver, and finally fought for the salt tax arrears...... The local natural disasters were reflected in the capital of Beijing, which was the intensification of the spring famine, and during this difficult period, the food shortage in the city became more and more scarce.

-- This is how it should have been, and it has been true historically. It's just that in Beijing City in this time and space, the situation is slightly different, because Shorthair from Hainan opened a Qiongshifang here.

…………

"Many grain stores outside have closed, but there is still rice to sell in Qiongshifang?"

"That's right, it's still white rice! It's just a little weird, very thin and long, but it's definitely not wrong to cook it or rice...... It is said to be a rice seed produced in the southern Siam and Annam areas. ”

"I heard that the goods in Qiongshi Fang are all for the use of nobles, and some of them are tributes, I'm afraid ordinary people like us can't afford it, right?"

"I used to think so, but yesterday the third aunt next door went to buy rice, and it wasn't very expensive. Besides, in this market now, where else can rice be sold in addition to Qiongshifang? The family is about to run out of cooking, so we can't let the children go hungry. ”

"Okay, then I'll take a look tomorrow, I've heard that there are a lot of all kinds of novelty southern goods over there, even if you can't buy rice tomorrow, it's good to see the excitement."

…… Conversations like this have been happening more and more in the homes of ordinary people in Beijing in recent times, and people of their class rarely have the leisure to pay attention to things other than their own lives, because it is already too difficult to ensure the survival of themselves and their families these days, and it is difficult to have the energy to care about other aspects.

Although Qiongzhou shorthair is famous, but in their minds, after all, it has nothing to do with themselves, occasionally on the street to see a splendid four-**** carriage passing by, at most only envy the other party's wealth and luxury, but most of them will not feel that they will have any contact with those eccentric southern people in their lives - unless they are forced to have no way to do it now, they have to go to the Qiongshi Fang to try their luck.

And after I went, I found out that their luck was really good.

-- You can still buy grain in Qiongshifang, and it's all fine white rice!

-- The grain in Qiongshi Fang is not very expensive, and the price has not risen much compared to last year!

-- There are no restrictions on entering the Qiongshi Fang as the legend says, anyone can enter, except for a little trouble in exchanging broken silver into silver dollars, everything else is very relaxed. And the exchange of silver dollars itself does not make people feel at a loss, because the exquisite "Chongzhen Tongbao" silver dollar is a very regular and reliable currency at a glance, even if you need to pay some additional fire costs when exchanging, but you can also discount it when buying things with silver dollars, and when converted, many things feel cheaper - this is compared with what is outside, as for those that are not sold except inside and outside Qiongshi Fang, then there is no need to think about it.

Of course, some people are happy and some people are worried, in previous years, this kind of spring famine season was originally a good time for all the big grain merchants in Beijing to make a fortune together. A man lives on a mouth, but if he doesn't die for a day, he must always eat. In all dynasties, grain merchants have always been a business that can only be done with the support of the big backstage, why - is it for this kind of time. Even if the price of food is raised, there is no worry that no one will buy it. No matter how many dead bodies are dragged out of the city gate, they must not reduce the price, this kind of business cannot be done by ordinary merchants.

At this time, the imperial court will definitely have some restrictive measures, such as limiting a maximum grain price that cannot be broken. But this kind of official restriction can only deceive children - the simplest method: I strictly abide by the instructions of the imperial court, and the grain I sell is absolutely cheap. But my small profit is limited, and I sell a hundred catties a day and then close. This is still polite, and if the door panel is closed, what should I do if others can't buy food? -- That's my business, the imperial court can limit the price of grain, but it can't force our merchants to open their doors to do business.

Of course, for the "real" customers, the guy will quietly introduce himself to the back, and buy as much food as you want from a broker - as long as you are willing to pay a high price. And if someone really tracks it down, it must be a temporary hired guy who is trading privately behind the master's back, and it has nothing to do with my grain store.

-- For many years, this has been the case, and the grain companies in the capital are also familiar with each other, and they cooperate with each other to make money together, which is called a relaxed and happy business.

But this time, they met a master who played cards out of common sense.

…………

Carefully maintain a straight-seated position, moving your body slightly from time to time - the soft and slippery leather sofa under your ass is actually very comfortable to sit on, and it would be better if you could lean on or simply lie down. It's a pity here, in this environment, but no matter what, I don't dare to show a lax and rude posture, and I have to be careful to maintain my balance, so it is uncomfortable to sit like this, I really don't know if the owner of this place is deliberately doing this, or just because he is too restrained and asking for hardship.

Anyway, for the few grain merchants sitting here, no matter which one it is, they don't dare to be rude in the slightest, after all, they are asking for each other right now.

It wasn't the first time these grain merchants had returned to the reception in Qiongshifang, but they were still quietly looking around like hillbillies—a great change from the last time they came. Qiongshifang itself is a new complex of buildings that has been built up in a very short period of time, and the houses here are more or less in a certain hurry. The same was true of the previous hospitality room. But this time, although the exterior has not changed much, the inside has completely changed.

The standard configuration of the office of the Qiong Navy: large glass floor-to-ceiling windows, leather sofas, and glass coffee tables, needless to say, the teacups they are holding in their hands are different: the last time they came, they were greeted with glass teacups, with green tea, which was crystal clear in their hands, which was already very envious of them. And this time, the waiter brought back the traditional porcelain cup, but its subtleties are completely different from the local Ming Dynasty.

First of all, the walls of the cup are extremely thin, as if they are only the thickness of a sheet of paper, which is almost impossible to keep intact during kiln firing, and it is too easy to break, and even if it does not break, it will definitely be deformed. But the cups taken out here are all of general thickness and shape, and the shape is also extremely standard, and it is obvious that Shorthair has mastered some secret method to ensure that such a thin porcelain tire can also be fired at high temperature without being afraid of breaking.

The second is that the color is extremely pure, this cup is decorated with cyan patterns on the white porcelain base, its white is like snow, cyan is like jade, and there is no trace of impurities at all. What's even better is that the cup is faintly transparent - when the black tea inside tilts slightly, the shadow can also be seen outside, and even when a grain merchant raises the cup and looks at the lamp, he can faintly see the shadow of the flame shaking through the porcelain cup.

-- This porcelain can transmit light like glass!

Chinese, but anyone with a little cultural level and family assets is also worthy, more or less will have some hobbies for tea ceremony and tea utensils. These grain merchants are all knowledgeable, even if they didn't care at first, they must have found it after picking up the cup - this cup is terrifying!

If it is said that with the wide area of the Ming Dynasty and the number of folk craftsmen, it is not impossible to occasionally appear one or two porcelain cups similar to this delicate, but those must be tributes, and they must be paid tribute to the royal family as auspicious. Even if it is rare for a thousand years to have a piece into the people, it must be treasured and collected, and occasionally take it out to enjoy it must be cautious and very careful, lest there be a slight bump, how can it really be used to make tea and pour water?

These short-haired people are really not afraid of spoiling things, this kind of good thing that can be used as an heirloom in the princes and nobles' homes is actually used casually to entertain guests? You're not afraid of falling, we're still afraid!

Half of the reason why several grain merchants sat so hard was also because of this cup - they were afraid that one would not sit steadily, causing the thin porcelain teacup in their hands to slip off, even if there was a thick wool carpet on the ground, it was difficult to keep a knock on the edge, even if the short hair did not care, their own family would be distressed to death. What's more, looking at the snow-white and fluffy appearance of the carpet, I'm afraid it's not a bargain, if it gets wet, it will probably be wasted, at least it can't be put here as a welcome person.

- In short, everything here makes them feel very constrained. These grain merchants have the courage and courage to control the grain market in Beijing, and they must be middle- and upper-class figures in the business circles of Beijing. But here, they clearly feel a feeling of being suppressed, as if they often use luxury to deter those low-level dirt buns. (To be continued.) )