Chapter 188: Acquaintances

The suburbs in Zhang Zhao's mouth are indeed far away. Ah Xing and the Chen sisters drove in a carriage for most of the day, and the road has not yet arrived.

Because the road on the outskirts of the city is not easy to walk, the four-wheeled carriage is inconvenient, so you can only change to a two-wheeled carriage, and the two-way carriage is notoriously bumpy, and the three people who have long been accustomed to the smooth four-wheeled carriage are bumped to the bones as if they are about to fall apart.

Ah Xing couldn't help but lift the curtain, looked at Zhang Zhao who was riding a horse outside, and asked, "Lord Zhang, how long is the journey?" ”

Zhang Zhao took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust on his face, and his round face was also a little tired, "It's almost there, it's almost there!" You want a large area of land, but you don't have it in the suburbs, only in the suburbs! ”

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that the group reached their destination, the door of a large manor.

There were already people waiting at the gate of the manor, welcoming them into the village.

Before coming, Zhang Zhao had already told Ah Xing about the situation of this Zhuangzi, the owner of the Zhuangzi, who was originally a nobleman and occupied a large area of land in the early Tang Dynasty. But then the family gradually declined, and a lot of land was sold, and it came to this generation. Only this Zhuangzi remains. But because the previous master of Zhuangzi died early, the son who was left behind was a gentleman, who could eat, drink, prostitute and gamble, and it didn't take long for the family fortune to be ruined, and he still owed a lot of debts, so he had no choice but to sell Zhuangzi.

This manor has more than 400 acres of fertile land, more than 10 houses, and many servants sold together, with a total price of 15,000 taels of silver. Zhang Zhao said that this price is fair, after all, so much land, such a big Zhuangzi is placed there, and it is really difficult to buy such a large land now, if it weren't for his many inquiries, and after the investigation, he sealed the landlord's mouth in time to prevent him from leaking the news, I am afraid that there are already many people staring at this land!

Ah Xing was naturally very grateful to Zhang Zhao for his help, and pondered how to thank him afterwards. For this land, she is very satisfied, fifteen thousand taels only, for her now, it is a small meaning!

Today, the net income of five theaters across the country can reach tens of thousands of taels a month. According to what A Xing said, Wang Ji car stores have opened branches in large and medium-sized cities across the country, popularizing four-wheeled carriages all over the world, although there have been pirated cars, but Wang Ji carriages have seized the vast majority of the market, and continue to improve technology. After all, it is still the leader in the carriage industry, and no one can match it. And the monthly dividends of the four-wheeled carriage are also several thousand taels of silver. Ah Xing already has more than 100,000 taels of silver in the silver building in Tiandu, and she is a very rich woman!

Now she can let her family live in a big house, have servants to serve, go out with a carriage, wear silk and satin, eat delicacies from the mountains and seas, and live a life like an old lady and a young lady.

Because it was late when the four of them arrived, they were not in a hurry to talk about business that night, and after a full meal, they rested for one night, and only then did they follow the owner to inspect the farm the next day.

The farm is bigger than A-Xing imagined, with endless land, but most of the land has been abandoned, and the owner of the farm said embarrassedly: "Because I have not been in charge for a long time, many of the tenants in the village have left, so a lot of fields have been abandoned, but it doesn't matter, as long as the conditions given by Miss take over are good enough, those tenants will definitely come back!" My land is good. In the past, when my father was alive, as long as the sky was beautiful, there would be a bumper harvest, and the grain produced could not be put in the barn! His face showed some nostalgia for his old life, as well as deep regret.

Zhang Zhao seemed to be familiar with him: "What are Brother Guo's plans in the future?" ”

The man took a breath of talk, with a lonely look on his face: "What else can I do, the silver obtained from selling Zhuangzi will not have much left after paying off the debt, so I can only go to my relatives, hoping to eat!" ”

Zhang Zhao patted him on the shoulder: "Brother Guo, take care, don't gamble in the future!" ”

The man shook his head, "Do you still dare to bet?" I have nothing left, what to gamble on? ”

In the afternoon of the same day, Ah Xing signed a land transfer contract with the owner, and Ah Xing paid the other party 15,000 taels of silver tickets. From this moment on, Ah Xing is a veritable landlord's wife. Imagining the dense rice growing in the land, and the golden scene when the harvest came, Ah Xing couldn't help but smile.

Immediately afterwards, the owner of Guo Zhuang brought the chief steward of Zhuangzi and all the people in charge to see A Xing. The servants in Zhuangzi, including the stewards, have all signed contracts of sale, and now these contracts have been transferred to Ah Xing's name.

When Ah Xing first came here, she didn't know much about the manor, and she had to rely on these stewards for many things. She knew that she was young and a woman, and she was afraid that these people would not accept her, so she always put on a serious look on her face. These stewards were slightly surprised to see that the new master turned out to be a young woman, but they saw that she had a noble temperament and was very sophisticated in speaking and doing things. I thought it was a young lady from a big family, but I didn't dare to despise her.

After the land was transferred, Zhang Zhao returned to Beijing alone because there was still something to do in Beijing, and Ah Xing and the Chen sisters stayed for the time being to familiarize themselves with the affairs of the village. They stayed in the village for ten days, and got a general understanding of the situation in the village, and she found that the servants in the village were a little lazy and unable to lift their spirits because of the long-term neglect of discipline, and some of the servants would even steal the things in the village and sell them, and the stewards also turned a blind eye. This can't go on like this!

Ah Xing first asked Chen Jing to go back, and transferred a group of nurses from the theater, all of whom were strong and strong. Then the servants were gathered together, and first they were promised words of encouragement, promising them to add silver if they worked hard, and after five years they were allowed to redeem themselves. For these subordinates, there is nothing to redeem, after all, these people have lived here for so long and have long been accustomed to life here, and they don't know how to make a living when they go out. But Jia Yueyin gave them a lot of motivation. Let their spirits be shaken.

Then, Ah Xing punished the subordinates with unclean hands and feet in front of so many people, and let the nursing home beat them with ten boards. Although Ah Xing doesn't want to hit people, if she wants to make them feel awe of herself in a short period of time, even if she is not here, she will not dare to have any bad intentions, these means are necessary. After a meal, the beaten person cried and called his mother, and the rest of the people were afraid and no longer dared to bluff Ah Xing.

In the end, Ah Xing sealed a red envelope for all the servants, and roughly ordered the subordinates to pay five taels of silver, generally one or two silver, and the steward level was three taels of silver. And the chief steward is five taels of silver, so that they understand that as long as they do things well, she will never treat them badly!

Such a combination of soft and hard and grace made everyone recognize the fact that she is their master in the shortest possible time! Ah Xing also told the stewards to start to release the news, attracting some tenants to come to the door, Ah Xing learned some about the situation of renting land, and the steward who specialized in managing tenants replied to her: "The general market is three or seven cents, we account for seven, and the tenants account for three, and we provide tools, ploughing cattle and seeds, and accommodation, and pay field taxes." ”

Ah Xing asked: "So how much grain can be produced by one acre of land?" ”

"There can be three stones in the harvest, and there are usually two stones."

Ah Xing nodded and said: "Okay, you release the news, whoever can achieve three stones per mu of land will have a forty percent profit, and those who exceed three stones will be able to get a maximum of fifty percent of the profit!" "The wisdom of the peasants cannot be underestimated, in order to obtain more profits, they will actively find ways to increase production, maybe they can cultivate an ancient Yuan Longping! And in this way, it will definitely attract a lot of experienced farmers to the estate. It will be of great help to restore the manor as soon as possible. To be honest, she doesn't point to the manor to make a fortune, and it doesn't matter if she earns a little less.

The stewards laughed in their hearts when they heard this, the landlords are trying their best to take more profits, their masters are good, and they = spit out the profits of their hands, in the end they are young and inexperienced. There was more or less contempt in my heart, but I didn't dare to show it on the surface. But it wasn't until later, when the farm became the most famous in the country, that they realized that they had been short-sighted all along.

She made it mandatory for the steward to report to her once a month with the account books. And she will also go back to inspect from time to time, and if she finds any problems with personal fraud, no matter who it is, she will be kicked out of the manor. When she said this, her expression was unusually serious. The eyes swept coldly over the stewards, making these stewards feel afraid, and they didn't dare to think about it for a while.

After explaining everything, Ah Xingcai and the Chen sisters returned to Kyoto.

After A-Xing's carriage entered Kyoto, when she crossed Yongchang Street, the curtain of the car was blown open by a gust of wind, and she glanced casually out of the window, only to see a carriage parked not far away, and a handsome man was getting out of the car. The dark green brocade robe, the pearl belt, the green jade jade pendant, and the red Yingluo tassel.

Ah Xing's eyes widened all of a sudden, staring at the man, how could he be here? Is he here for Li Yin and the children? But then I thought, no, no, they no longer have Li Yin's household registration, it is impossible to do anything to Li Yin, don't be nervous, don't be nervous.

If it weren't for his sisters, what would Hu Lingxuan do when he came to the capital? Trade? Ah Xing was puzzled.

For the Hu family, Ah Xing has a deep disgust, that family, there is no good thing, Hu Lingxuan almost ** himself, Miss Hu and Mrs. Hu persecuted Li Yin, almost killed the dough, and made the wind like this, she has never forgotten these, but in the past two years in the capital, busy with the affairs of the theater, she can't care about making trouble with them, now that Hu Lingxuan has come to the capital, she can't let him come for nothing!

However, we must first figure out the purpose of his visit to Tiandu.

Back at the theater, Ah Xing found Jiang Hai.

Jiang Hai was in the theater in Jincheng, and was instructed by Zhang Qingshan, the owner of the Qingyun Theater, to listen to the people who released snakes in the Song Theater. He stayed in prison for two years, and after he came out, he really went to Tingsong Theater to find A Xing to work, and later heard Ling Zifeng say that A Xing came to the capital, so he borrowed a road fee from Ling Zifeng and came all the way to Tiandu to join A Xing.

When Jiang Hai found Ah Xing, Ah Xing had almost forgotten about this person, and only after his reminder did he remember that there was such a thing. Ah Xing is naturally not a person who breaks his word, she arranges for him to work under the steward in charge of the tour. When I met Hu Lingxuan today and wanted to know his information, I remembered Jiang Hai's ability.

Isn't he the best spy?

Jiang Hai came to Ah Xing's office and asked, "What is the matter with Ah Xing's girl looking for Jiang Hai?" ”

Ah Xing sat behind the desk, raised her head, and said with a smile, "Master Jiang, please take a seat first." She gestured to the chair across from her.

Jiang Hai sat down in a chair.

Ah Xing continued: "Ah Xing remembers that Master Jiang mentioned that Master Jiang is good at concealing and probing techniques, I wonder if Ah Xing remembers wrongly? ”

Master Jiang stood up on the chair one by one, patted his chest, and proudly said with his chin high: "Ah Xing girl, Jiang Hai is not lying, my hidden probing skills, when I was in Jincheng, I recognized the second, but no one dared to admit the first!" After speaking, he lowered his head, propped up the table with both hands, and looked at Ah Xing with bright eyes: "Ah Xing girl, but what is there to explain to Jiang Hai?" ”

Since coming to Tiandu, he has been living a peaceful and comfortable life in the theater, which is a day he has never lived when he is so old. It's just that it's too comfortable, so it's a little boring, so I heard that I have the opportunity to do my old job again, and I'm a little excited. He had now made eye contact with a maid in the theater, and when it came to talking about marriage, it was naturally impossible to do that thing of stealing chickens and dogs. But now Ah Xing asked him to do something to investigate, with his skills, he will never be discovered, not only is he happy, but he can also repay Ah Xing's kindness, why not?

A-Xing stood up and walked to the door, looked around to see that there was no one, and then closed the office door. Then he turned to Jiang Hai and said, "Ah Xing does have something to ask Master Jiang for help!" ”

Jiang Hai said arrogantly: "Miss Axing has something to do, even if she is instructed, Jiang Hai will not give up when she goes to the soup!" ”

Ah Xing chuckled, "It's not that serious, Ah Xing just wants to ask Master Jiang to help investigate someone, I want to know what happened to him in Tiandu?" Immediately, he said Hu Lingxuan's dress and appearance, as well as the inn where he lived. Just now Ah Xing watched him enter the Yongchang Inn, the largest inn in Tiandu, he should have lived there.

Jiang Hai smiled after listening to Ah Xing's description and said: "Ah Xing girl is talking about Hu Lingxuan, the eldest young master of the Hu family, I know him, Ah Xing girl rest assured, this matter will be wrapped up in Jiang Hai's body, within ten days, I will definitely bring the girl the most accurate information about him!" ”

Seven days later, Jiang Hai appeared in front of A Xing with a smug face.

"Miss A-Xing, fortunately, I followed Hu Lingxuan's side day and night, and heard a lot of information, I hope it will help Miss A-Xing!"

Ah Xing hurriedly asked Jiang Hai to sit down and poured him a cup of tea in person, "Master Jiang, why did Master Hu come to Tiandu?" ”

Jiang Hai took a sip of tea and said carefully

"I have already heard that Hu Gongzi rented the largest shop on Yongchang Street as early as last month, and it is now being repaired. And these days, Hu Gongzi has been meeting with some merchants and listening to their conversations, these merchants include silk merchants, jewelers, four treasure merchants, rouge pollen merchants, and even wood merchants, grocers, wine merchants, etc., and many more I can't remember, almost those producers of things that we can usually use, Hu Gongzi has met with them one by one, as if he wants to buy their goods, ask them to reduce the price of goods, and he will guarantee how much sales will be sold every month......" Jiang Hai showed a puzzled expression, " I don't understand, why did Hu Gongzi buy so much? Even if he was in business, he wouldn't be able to buy so many varieties of things! ”

Ah Xing walked back and forth in the office, frowning and thinking for a while, indeed, here, the operation of shops is very simple, and generally a shop will only operate one category of things. The liquor shop will never sell silk, the rouge gouache will never sell the four treasures of the study, there is no modern supermarket or department store here, and it will not sell all kinds of things in one place, so what is he going to do with so many kinds of goods?

Suddenly, a flash of light flashed in Ah Xing's mind, she stopped, looked at Jiang Hai, and asked, "Master Jiang, have you been to see the shop he rented just now?" ”

Master Jiang nodded and said, "Master Hu has to go to the store almost every day, so I also went to see it once!" ”

"How big is the store!" Ah Xing asked eagerly

Jiang Hai thought about it for a while, estimated it, and then said, "The store is very big, and it is estimated to be the size of our theater." With such a big store, the rent can be scared to death! I don't know what business Mr. Hu is! ”

A Xing faintly has an answer in her heart, this is like a department store! But it's impossible, she has never seen a form of business in this world for so long, this seems to be something that only a traverser does, but she is sure that Hu Lingxuan will never be a traverser!

Could it be that something has happened in the past two years that she doesn't know?

She had to figure it out.

Ah Xing asked the location of the Jianghai shop, and went to the shop with the Chen sisters that afternoon.

When I arrived, the gate was open, and there seemed to be someone inside.

Ah Xing walked in and saw quite a few carpenters and painters working there. What the carpenter is doing is a shelf. When he saw someone come in, one of them raised his head and shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" ”

Ah Xing walked over, smiled at the man, and said, "I'm the person from Tingsong Theater in front of me, and I was a little curious when I saw that the shops here were finally rented out, so I came over to have a look." ”

Maybe it was because the man saw Ah Xing's natural appearance clearly, the expression on his face softened, and his voice softened a lot: "This place hasn't opened yet, we are in a hurry, and the boss said that people can't come in casually." ”

Ah Xing smiled and said, "Master, you are busy with yours, I will take a look casually and leave immediately." She looked around, and sure enough, as Jiang Hai said, this place is very big, only bigger than the theater, not small. The floor is paved with flat bluestone slabs, the walls are painted snow-white, and the finished shelves are painted red, neatly placed. Combined with Hu Lingxuan's entry into so many kinds of goods, Ah Xing became more and more sure that he was going to be a department store.

The advantage of department stores is that there are a wide variety of products, where customers can buy everything they want, stimulate customers' desire to shop, and if the price can be slightly cheaper, they can almost sweep the small shops nearby. Hu Lingxuan's idea to lower the price of suppliers is naturally hit.

Ah Xing can be sure that this department store will be successful, this way of shopping is both novel and convenient, if it is cheap, and it is in this kind of crowded Yongchang Street, it will definitely attract a lot of people to patronize. As long as this one is successful, it will be promoted to the whole country......

At that time, the Hu family will not only be the richest man in Jincheng, but it is possible to become the richest man in the country!

Did Hu Lingxuan really come up with this idea?

Just as he was thinking about it, a familiar voice came from behind him, but it disgusted Ah Xing to the bone marrow.

"A-Xing, is that you?"

Ah Xing turned her head and looked at the person with a puzzled look.

P.S. Down with Hu insidious!