The news of Zhu Hezhi's return to China soon spread in newspapers large and small. Various first-person travelogues were published, and a large number of pages in Zhu Hezhi's own work diary were "nothing to do today", but this did not prevent it from becoming a sought-after commodity among booksellers, and was eventually bought out for 3,000 taels of 1,000 words.

The accompanying guards, medical officers, generals, and scribes also wrote a lot of travel stories, and even sailors who could not understand ink and writing were able to dictate in a way that reaped a lot of additional benefits.

"The land that can grow grain is said to be fertile; If you can't grow food, you have to say that there is a gold mine down there! "The Ministry of Rites set the tone for this big publicity.

As a result, in the true or false narration of the Ming people, the Americas became a land full of good land and beautiful land, gold and silver.

"I don't know if the land is fertile or not, but if you think about it on your toes, why go so far to farm? Aren't the lands of Hetao and Hercynian not good enough? But if you talk about gold, it really is! My uncle's cousin picked up a piece of dog's head gold in Dongjing Mansion, which weighed sixty pounds! Such a big one! ”

In the teahouse, an old tea guest gestured with a solemn face and drew the size of the dog's head gold.

The so-called dog's head gold in the world is named because it resembles a dog's head.

This kind of gold is different from gold ore and sand gold, and most of the extraterrestrial meteorites are rich in gold, which is extremely rare. In the Song Dynasty Shen Kuo's "Dream Creek Writings", such a story is recorded. Because it is related to the stars in the sky, the kotou gold is not only valuable in the gold itself, but also because the "gold from the sky" is valuable.

In fact, this person is also hearsay, where has he seen the real dog's head gold.

As for the dog's head gold that he compared to the size of a human head, it weighs fifty or sixty catties, which is almost fantastical.

But the teahouse is a place to brag about not paying taxes, so what's the fun if everyone is serious like writing a graduation thesis? It was a large number of tea customers who covered their mouths and smiled. Wait for someone to come out and raise the bar.

Sure enough, another tea guest spoke up: "Shopkeeper Zhang said too much, if America can really pick up such a big gold, who will work?" They are all looking for gold in the mountains! ”

The previous shopkeeper opened a rouge shop and purchased goods from Suzhou and other places. Nowadays, there is also a Taiwanese "perfume", which is made with alcohol and flower dew. The aroma is soaked into the body, enduring, and very sought-after. In line with this source, Shopkeeper Zhang really made a lot of money, although he still often came to this teahouse to drink tea, his tone was much bigger, and he didn't want to see people disagree with him.

What's more, today he is not just talking nonsense for fun, but showing off his knowledge, where is he willing to make people slap in the face?

"There are only natives in this land of America. They asked for gold, and they couldn't buy anything. I can't eat it myself, what's the use of asking for it? Throwing it on the side of the road is like a stone! The shopkeeper pulled his neck and pushed back.

The man's neck shrunk, knowing that the shopkeeper Zhang was right. Rare things are expensive, and Daming values gold and silver, because there is not much gold and silver. Why three coins of silver and a pound of iron? It's because of Tieduo! In the same way, if the Americas are full of gold, it will be as cheap as the iron of the Ming Dynasty.

"Even in the Americas, it is impossible to have sixty pounds of dog's head gold thrown at that for people to pick up. Such a big one. It's good to take it back and press the pickle jar! The man took a step back and returned to his basic position. Questioned the deposit of sixty catties of dog's head gold.

If this makes him question success, wouldn't he be slapped in the face? Seeing that all the tea friends nodded one after another, and the eyes of admiration before gradually dissipated, the shopkeeper Zhang hurriedly said: "There is no wonder in the world, have you ever been to America?" Do you know that the natives eat pickles? ”

"Isn't it! Maybe the natives of the Americas think that the sixty catties of dog-headed gold are too small, and they use hundred-pound dog-headed gold-pressed pickle jars! "There are good deeds that cause the whole house to laugh.

The serious atmosphere that the shopkeeper Zhang had just created was gone. couldn't help blushing, and said, "It seems that there are really people who don't believe it!" It doesn't matter, in two months, my cousin from my uncle's family should also go to Tianjin. When the time comes, I'll go and tell him to bring the gold and open the eyes of the old buddy. ”

"It couldn't be better. I'm afraid you don't have that much face. "Before, the yin and yang qi was weird.

Shopkeeper Zhang was enthusiastic for a while, and said: "My Zhang has a small face, but it is not difficult to borrow such a piece of gold!" ”

"What if you can't take it out then?"

"I, Zhang, won't enter this teahouse for half a step!" Shopkeeper Zhang said loudly.

"Good! If you can really show it to everyone, my old Tang will never come to this teahouse again to obstruct your eyes! The man followed suit and made a bet.

When the teahouse owner heard this, he was anxious, and hurriedly smiled and came out to play a round: "I said that you two masters, you said it well, how did you make this contract, no matter who wins or loses, isn't it all smashing the little old man's job?" ”

The crowd laughed. The two were also a little embarrassed.

Speaking of which, this teahouse is not very popular, the tables are not clean, the shop is dark, the tea is not good, and even the water is burned to the slag...... But this is the teahouse at the door of the house, and it has become the norm of life to follow my grandfather here to drink tea and chat when I was a child, and to broaden my horizons. If you can't come, where do you go to spend time?

In this way, the gentlemen present will be a witness. It's all neighborhoods, and if you win, you won't have to say anything. If anyone loses, please eat a bowl of tea, grab the peanuts, and the big guy will be happy. How is it? The idea of the teahouse owner can be described as killing two birds with one stone, that is, pulling the old patron and refusing to let go, and attracting business for himself. After he finished speaking, he was overjoyed and praised himself for being so talented.

"Okay! Here's one counts as one, and everyone comes to have tea two months later. Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at the old Tang and said, "It's rare for Brother Tang to have a treat, but don't refute other people's face." ”

Old Tang smiled: "I don't know who knows how to bank!" He picked up the tea bowl and pretended to drink it, but found that he didn't know when the tea bowl was empty. Old Tang shouted: "Hey, Golden Teapot, are you lazy again?" The tea here is mixed in! ”

The golden teapot was listening to it interestingly, and it was only when it was called like this that it reacted, and it hurriedly ran over, but it still didn't avoid the boss's slap, and it stumbled and almost fell, causing everyone to laugh.

Boss Zhang laughed preoccupiedly.

With his net worth today, let alone inviting these twenty or thirty people to eat a bowl of tea, even if it is a running water feast, it doesn't matter.

The key issue is face!

Boss Zhang himself is also a little weak-hearted. When he heard his relatives talk about his cousin's letter, he was a little surprised. But they are all their own relatives, are they not on the road like Old Tang? Today's picture is enjoyable, and it is so conclusive, if there is another misinformation, where will you put your face?

- Let's go to my uncle's house and ask first.

Boss Zhang walked out of the teahouse and went straight to his uncle's house. He met his uncle. As soon as he opened his mouth, he talked about this dog's head gold, and wanted to ask his uncle-in-law to help him talk and see it with his own eyes.

Who knew that his uncle-in-law was a little unhappy, and said: "People often say that wealth cannot be exposed, where can such a large piece of gold be shown to people casually?" ”

"Uncle, they are all from their own family, where do you need to be so vigilant?" Shopkeeper Zhang said unhappily.

"It's okay if you want to see it, I'm afraid that you will allow someone to come and see it outside." The uncle-in-law obviously knew the shopkeeper very well, and blocked the back road in advance.

Shopkeeper Zhang's heart was cold. Secretly said: I not only want to show outsiders, but also to people in the teahouse! Thinking about it like this can be a recipe for disaster.

Coming out of his uncle's house, Shopkeeper Zhang was depressed, although he still went to the teahouse to drink tea every day, but as the day of the arrival of the sea ship approached day by day, his heart became heavier. I was expecting everyone to get tired of this talk, and as always, follow the newspapers to change the limelight, but today's newspapers also repeatedly talk about the opening of gold veins in the Americas. Shopkeeper Zhang and Lao Tang's gambling contract has to be told dozens of times in the teahouse almost every day.

In October of the sixth year of Longjing, the big ship returning from the Americas finally docked in Tianjin.

Shopkeeper Zhang went to the teahouse for several days in a row and met acquaintances who asked him: "Shopkeeper." When will you see a dog's head with a big head? ”

"It's almost time, wait for my cousin to come back." Shopkeeper Zhang can only say perfunctorily.

Fortunately, Lao Tang is a kind person and didn't embarrass him in public, which also makes Shopkeeper Zhang quite grateful.

Finally, at the beginning of November, the cousin of Zhang's uncle's family finally returned to Jingshi's house. According to the rules, relatives also have far and near. It was inconvenient for people to disturb when they just went home, but the shopkeeper Zhang couldn't help it, so he took some pastries and fruits and went to worship the door, wanting to see the dog's head gold with his own eyes first, and he was also determined.

"The piece of gold?" The cousin said, "I don't know how to let people know." The ship has just arrived in Japan. It was bought by the officials of the imperial court. ”

"Bought it?" Shopkeeper Zhang was worried: This is indescribable.

"Yes, the court bought it with an equal amount of pure gold." The cousin said: "From the point of view of gold, the texture of the dog's head gold is not pure, and there are many things mixed in it, and it is kind for the court to buy it with pure gold." He sighed and said, "But no matter how expensive gold is, there is always a price, but such a big dog's head gold is rare in the world, if it weren't for the emperor's face, I might not have rejected those officials." ”

Seeing the suspicious look on the display case, the cousin suddenly showed a smug look, and said: "They said that it is to congratulate the emperor on his birthday next year, and this dog's head gold is a specialty of the Americas, and I took the initiative to offer it." ”

When the shopkeeper heard this, he said, "It's okay to do this, but it's not safe to put it at home." Can the imperial court give a certificate? Don't be fooled, cousin. ”

"Yes, how can I give him a certificate if I don't give it?" His cousin said: "Not only did I give the voucher, but also this invitation, which invited me to eat the emperor's birthday wine!" ”

Since the Tang Dynasty, the old man has been the best supporting role in the birthday banquet of the Son of Heaven. No matter how blessed the birthday star in the sky is, it is not as good as the old birthday star in the world to add joy. Zhu Cihong and Chongzhen's birthdays were very close, so after the imperial court changed the yuan and calendar, the holy life and thousands of autumns were together, and the old name of the Tang Dynasty was "Tianchang", and the beginning of February must be the Tianchang Festival, which means that the emperor, the Taishang Emperor, and the Ming Empire can last forever.

The shopkeeper unfolded the invitation card and saw that the good paper was indeed gilded with large characters and bright red official seals, which was completely royal and magnificent. He didn't read the text, or he didn't remember it, and carefully returned the invitation to his cousin as if he was drunk.

"I'm afraid I'm the youngest of the people who attended the birthday party." The cousin said proudly, not thinking about why the court would know that he had brought such a large piece of dog's head gold.

In fact, after the shopkeeper Zhang leaked his cousin's family letter, the golden teapot in charge of mixing tea and pouring water in the teahouse had already written this story in the report, and went straight to the Golden Scale Society.

As a peripheral organization of the Jinyi Guard, the Golden Scale Society is still in operation, and even runs its own newspaper called "News", which specializes in publishing some trivial things from the side of the door to supplement expenses. Therefore, Zhu Cihong knew that there was really a lucky person who picked up such a large piece of gold, and therefore let people redeem the gold back.

In the hands of others, this dog's head gold is at most just an ornamental plaything, but in Zhu Cihong's hands, it is the clarion call of the times for the great wave of development in the Americas.

Shopkeeper Zhang never expected that the treasure that he thought would be included in the emperor's treasury would be publicly exhibited in the big museum.

On the day of the exhibition, there were three long queues lined up at the entrance of the museum, zigzag and meandering, as if the people of the whole city of Beijing had come to see it. Shopkeeper Zhang saw the piece of dog's head gold from the album, and excitedly showed off in the teahouse, seeing that Old Tang was silent, he said generously: "Tea is still invited by Zhang!" As long as you know that I, Zhang, am not a big talker. ”

Where do the people care about him so much, as long as there is tea that does not cost money.

The owner of the teahouse was quite happy, and asked the golden teapot to pour tea and water for everyone, and catch peanuts to accompany the tea. Who knew that after everyone finished eating a bowl of tea, they all wanted to go to the museum to see the real thing, and the whole teahouse was suddenly crowded, so quiet that it made him worry.

This time, the museum has also made a lot of efforts, and has emptied three annexes to display all kinds of exotic beasts brought back from the Americas, and the most eye-catching is the detritus of Venus - Dog's Head Gold!

Nothing in words is as convincing as the real thing.

When this piece of dog's head gold is put in the museum, even if the newspaper says that the Americas are made of gold, most people believe it.

Geographically, the western part of the Americas was indeed not an ideal settlement for the Ming Dynasty, but people's desire for gold was by no means rational. In the original historical script, the Western Gold Rush contributed to the rise of San Francisco and other important western towns, and now, this craze is also brewing in the Ming Dynasty.

More and more large families regretted not sending more people to the Americas, otherwise they might have found this piece of gold by their own family.

There are also more people who believe that since there is such a large amount of gold that can be picked up, most of the gold veins buried in the ground are not false rumors, and they can be dug and dug to see.

After the whole exhibition of the Americas, more and more people applied to buy land in the Americas, but the land chosen was mainly mountainous and hilly, and the price of flat land that can really be farmed has fallen.

No one wants to give up the opportunity to become a financier. (To be continued......)