On the street that Chen Zui brought them to, the shops on both sides were dominated by singing and drinking wines, and the singing and piano sounds wafting from them were completely different from the shops selling gold, silver, copper, and iron utensils that they saw in the daytime.

Qu Xiaobai has already understood in Du Niang, there is a gold mine here, the gold content is extremely high, is one of the main metallurgical mines of the imperial court, and in the gold mine, a big river runs through, and the sediment brought out also contains gold, many people go to the river to pan for gold, the imperial court only cares about the main gold mines in the mountains, for those river sand and small mines with low gold content, do not care, yes, many people in the local area, have relied on gold panning to make a fortune, operating a variety of gold trading, after the formation of a scale, Merchants of all kinds of silverware, bronze and iron also moved closer to this area, and over time, it became the base of the foundry industry.

When there are more merchants coming and going, the city will naturally prosper.

Xin Qingjun looked at the wine shops on both sides, and his face was slightly dark, "Chen Zui, what kind of place did you bring your mistress here?" ”

Chen Zui said: "The most lively street at night is this street." Isn't the housewife here to see all the scenery of Kamikawaguchi? Only after reading them all, can you choose the investment direction, right? ”

Qu Xiaobai showed an approving smile, and looked at Xin Qingjun again, obviously a little deflated, even if he was unhappy in his heart, he didn't have anything to say to get drunk.

Qu Xiaobai smiled and said, "Just take a look, let's not go in, Qingjun, you don't have to be too restrained." ”

What else can Xin Qingjun say?

Actually, Qu Xiaobai really wanted to go in and take a look, but because of Xin Qingjun's presence, he really didn't dare. If Xin Qingjun wrote a letter to inform Yang Ling that his daughter-in-law had gone to visit the kiln, Yang Ling couldn't spare her after she went back, but she could be coaxed by a few sweet words, mainly because she was afraid that Yang Ling would be distracted.

Life and death on the battlefield are unpredictable, if he is distracted by her, how can he concentrate on the battle?

After shopping for a while, I turned to another street, which still sells jewelry, all kinds of gold and silver jewelry, Chen Zui introduced: "These are also processed by private workshops, because the gold content is low, so the price is lower, but it is to earn some subsistence, and there is still a difference between the big traders in the shops." ”

Qu Xiaobai asked: "Is the low gold content because of low craftsmanship?" Or is it deliberate? ”

Chen Zui replied: "No, in fact, their craftsmanship is very high. The main reason is that some small mines with higher gold content in the vicinity have been contracted by large households, so they can only dig for some gold in the loose sand on the river beach, which is very hard, and there is not much to find, and the taxes on the processing workshops are also heavy, so they can barely make ends meet. However, life is much better than that of people elsewhere. ”

Looking at the clothes of the people here, you can see that the life of the people here is still okay.

As for the heavy taxation and servitude, that is the cruel status quo that all the people of the entire Great Liang Dynasty have to face.

"Gold and silver are the most important weapons of the country, and it is really undesirable to manage such chaos." Yang Chun muttered.

Everyone looked at him, and he got angry, but let go, and continued: "The status quo is like a double-edged sword. If it weren't for the chaotic management, the people of Kamikawaguchi-gun would have lived in the same hardship as the people in other places. But it is precisely because of the inaction of the imperial court and the corruption of the government that it has led to chaotic management, so that the people are living in dire straits, and in such a vicious circle, the people will never turn over. ”

Xin Qingjun glanced at him, frowned, and said, "The way you look will bring you and even her the disaster of killing." ”

Yang Chun didn't agree with his statement, he turned to glance at Qu Xiaobai, with an unclear smile on the corner of his mouth, "Are you afraid?" ”

Qu Xiaobai shook his head: "It's not a question of whether you're afraid or not, it's just that it's useless to talk about it, what's the point of talking about it?" It's better to look at the present and do what you can. "She's a pragmatist and doesn't like to say useless things.

Xin Qingjun said: "What the master mother said is right. ”

Chen Zui also said: "I also think the housewife said it well. ”

Yang Chun smiled: "It's my bookish business that is angry." Humanitarian, useless is a scholar, sometimes think about it, not in vain to bear this infamy. ”

Qu Xiaobai saw that he smiled a little bitterly, and said, "This is a bad word. Books are like medicine, and they can cure foolishness. You've read so many books, and if you can't find any use for you, it only means that you're stupid enough to have no cure. ”

Yang Chun: "......" I just said, are you so serious? Don't save face at all?

"You're right, so I'm going to come out this time to see if I'm still cured." Yang Chun glanced at her, his face was not red, and his heart was not beating and he laughed at himself.

Chen Zui couldn't help but glance at Yang Chun. This powerless scholar is really lucky, he can win the blue eyes of the main mother and follow her to travel all over the world, but the tone of his speech is really bad.

Qu Xiaobai has long been accustomed to Yang Chun's tone of speaking, from a serious attitude at the beginning to a lively conversation and laughter now, his change is pleasing to her.

She really doesn't like people who are too rigid.

Of course, it's not people's fault, but she also has the right to like it or not.

Qu Xiaobai was not very interested in these jewelry, so he took a look around and asked Chen Zui: "Your Chen family seems to be very powerful here, and the profiteer who has relatives in the county government is afraid of you." Didn't you contract a few small mines? ”

Speaking of this, Chen Zui couldn't help but smile a little shyly, "My brother is doing this, but my brother and I are both concubines, so we didn't participate in the business, and we all went out to do our own things." ”

Ordinary big families will not be separated, and it will be easier to get things done when they are together, Qu Xiaobai said: "Why didn't you follow the eldest brother to do things together?" Seeing that Chen Zui's face darkened, she hurriedly said: "I have no intention of exploring your family affairs, if you don't answer well, you don't need to answer." ”

In fact, she really wanted to find out how he was doing with his eldest brother. For some reason, her instincts told her that she should do it.

Chen Zui sighed, "Hey, there's nothing bad to say, the big family, it's all such an idea." My eldest brother is a descendant, and he has a jealous mother, who saw that my brother and I were both capable of something, so she tried to get us out of the family business. Actually, it didn't mean to chase me, it just chased my brother, I couldn't get angry, so I came out with my brother. ”

"Yang Ling picked up a bargain because of this."

Qu Xiaobai smiled.

"Well, it should be said that the Lord has given us a way to live."

Qu Xiaobai said: "If you don't have enough ability, you won't be able to go on if he gives you a way out." ”

"I'm a little embarrassed to be told by my mother."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about. So, your brothers are all proficient in gold mining metallurgy? ”

"Well, I'm proficient. The Tao in this is learned from the very beginning. ”

Qu Xiaobai nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Is the Mistress planning to dabble in this field?"

Yang Chun and Xin Qingjun also looked at Qu Xiaobai. They all heard that Qu Xiaobai was interested in this matter.

Indeed, this is a lucrative industry.

Qu Xiaobai shook his head, "I don't have any plans to do this for the time being." I don't really want to do something I'm not good at, so I just ask. ”

Xin Qingjun said: "It's okay if you don't have it." This is not an easy thing to do, the mineral deposits in this place have basically been contracted and occupied, if you want to take meat from their rice bowl, I am afraid that you will have to go through a fierce battle. ”

Qu Xiaobai nodded. She's not really afraid of fighting. There is no shortage of strife in business, just like the battle in politics, what is needed is intrigue step by step, and she is mentally prepared to be involved in it. She just really has no interest in metallurgy and the industry.

"By the way, Chen Zui, do you have a gold store at home?"

After Qu Xiaobai finished speaking, he was embarrassed, saying that he would not inquire about his family's family affairs, but he still kept inquiring.

Chen Zui said truthfully: "Yes, it's on the street not far ahead." Seeing that Qu Xiaobai still had the intention of continuing to inquire, he simply said directly: "The strength of the eldest brother is still quite strong, and the goldsmith shop is also one of the best in Shenchuanguchi County." ”

"Can you take me to his goldsmith's shop, then?"

Yang Chun and Xin Qingjun looked at her again, isn't this still intentional? Or is it that you have taken a fancy to the wealth of the Chen family?

Qu Xiaobai naturally saw their thoughts, but he didn't bother to deal with them, so he still looked at Chen Zui with a smile: "Is it convenient?" ”

Chen Zui said: "There is nothing inconvenient, we just split up, and we didn't fall out." ”

The group turned the corner from this street and followed Chen Zui straight to his goldsmithing shop.

The Chen family's goldsmith shop is located on a very wide bluestone street, the street is very smooth, and it is also very clean, different from the noise on other streets, although this street also has bright lights, but there are relatively few people, and the people who come and go are all some people who are gorgeously dressed, and there are relatively more women.

The shops on both sides of the street are also more generous, and the façade is clean and gorgeous, which seems to be a high-end commercial street.

In addition to various gold and silver stores, there are also some other shops, all of which are very high-end stores.

Qu Xiaobai went in to see a few by the way, and also saw that there were ready-to-wear shops on this street, but although the workmanship and materials of the clothes were good, the style was old-fashioned.

Yang Chun watched her go to the ready-to-wear store, and he had some numbers in his heart. I also paid close attention to the situation on the street.

Soon arrived at the Chen family's gold shop, and the Chen family's shop did not have any special name, so it was called Chen Ji Gold Shop, which is a simple and direct name, in fact, more on behalf of a family's strength and brand.

The store is very large, after entering, there are about 200 square meters on the first floor, and most of the business is gold and silver heavy equipment, and there are also things like gold ingots, Qu Xiaobai asked Chen Zui: "No jewelry?" ”