In the sixth year of Chongzhen, in mid-November.

Many places in the north have been covered with snowfall.

Only when you enter the area south of the Yellow River and the Huai River basin can you not be very cold, and your body will not shiver and your hands and feet will be numb.

When the four-wheeled carriage with strong shockproof performance drove on the cement road that was more than three meters wide and could barely accommodate two carriages in parallel, the members of the visiting and purchasing group in the carriage got rid of the feeling of bumps and discomfort, their appetite for eating was much better, and their sleep quality improved a lot.

After entering the territory of Yangzhou.

The means of transportation have been upgraded again.

Everyone sat on a more comfortable and advanced electric tricycle, not to mention the noise, the speed was three times that of the four-wheeled carriage, and they traveled more than 300 miles in half a day.

Finally, on the afternoon of the 18th, we arrived at the first modern city in the late Ming Dynasty - Harbour City.

Because they are all distinguished guests, they don't have to go through the process of taking a disinfectant shower, taking pictures, and applying for a visa, and can just enter the city.

Therefore, the electric three-wheeler stopped at the entrance of the four-star hotel, the New Century Hotel, and the members of the visiting and purchasing group in the car got off one after another and stood in the interior of the Harbour City to observe this modern city.

Indescribable.

Hong Chengchou and Cao Wenzhao, who came to Harbour City for the first time, didn't know how to describe their feelings about the city.

First of all, the buildings here are very large, the roads are flat and wide, very clean and tidy, giving people a sense of grandeur.

The second is straight, which is full of various horizontal and vertical lines, such as the edges of buildings, the planning of roads, and the erection of road poles, all of which give people a sense of straight and orderly.

There is also brightness, the neon light emitted by the shop signs, the sunlight reflected by the glass, and the lights inside the building all give people the feeling of shining everywhere, as if entering a jeweled city.

In addition, it is prosperous, lively, rich and other characteristics, which can be seen very intuitively.

But these things that can only be seen from the superficial surface have already surprised and dreamed them very much, and if they understand it more deeply, then no matter how rich the vocabulary they have, it is not enough to describe it.

But they weren't too surprised.

Under the reception arrangement of the hotel staff, Hong Chengchou, Cao Wenzhao and a group of 80 people (each purchasing team member can bring four entourage) were placed in their respective suites.

Then they all took a big shower and changed into comfortable and warm casual clothes.

After soliciting their opinions, the hotel arranged the most local seafood feast for them in the evening.

"Yes, it tastes good."

"Fresh, very delicious."

"I've never had anything like it."

"Eat the sea by the sea, I didn't expect there to be so many big fish and prawns in this sea."

"You are lonely and unheard, and the many giant beasts recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" all come from the sea; Zhuangzi's "Getaway" also said that there is a fish in the North Underworld, and its name is Kun, which is the big ...... This kun is the big fish in the sea. The staff member shook his head and couldn't help but drop his book bag.

The guide introduced to them: "Xujiazhuang's marine fishing industry, but also developed in the past two years, marine fish and seafood are not easy to preserve, very perishable after landing, most people in the mainland are difficult to eat seafood, coastal people can not rely on the sea to get rich, but Xujiazhuang formulated the "marine strategy", to make every effort to obtain resources from the ocean, Chongzhen five years, our marine catch is 1.15 million stone, this year will reach 3 million stone, not only to meet the needs of Xujiazhuang 2.5 million villagers, can also be made into canned sea fish, All kinds of dried fish, and then sold to all parts of the Ming Dynasty, not only delicious, but also have a lot of benefits to the body, the price is quite close to the people. ”

"Three million stones?"

Cao Wenzhao's eyes widened, and he said: "If one stone of seafood is worth one stone of grain, wouldn't Xujiazhuang not have to work hard to plant hundreds of thousands of acres of land to get three million grains, as long as he goes to the sea to fish?" ”

Cao Bianjiao said bitterly: "With such a good thing, why do you have to do so much?" We should have started the "Ocean Strategy" sooner and fished for fish in the sea earlier, otherwise we would not have starved to death so many people. ”

"It's all the fault of those civil officials with big turbans, the Ming Dynasty has banned the sea for nearly two hundred years, if the sea is not forbidden, but the sea is vigorously developed, the Ming Dynasty is by no means the current situation." Someone else immediately found the culprit.

"Ahem~"

As a member of the civil officials, Hong Chengchou had to explain loudly: "Although the civil officials are at fault, the seafood is not easy to preserve, and the people on the seaside have not been rich for thousands of years, so it can be seen that if you want to make good use of the ocean, you must have the same strength as Xujiazhuang." ”

"Okay, don't fight, eat, I'm tired of traveling these days, don't talk too much." Someone played a round game.

This seafood feast is over.

Everyone touched their round bellies and prepared to go back to their suites, take a good rest, and then visit Harbour City tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow they can start group buying to buy all kinds of goods they need.

But this established plan was quickly disrupted by a small one.

The street lights of Harbour City are lit up, and it has entered the state of the city that never sleeps.

At night, after most of the factories in the industrial areas of large electricity consumers are shut down, sometimes in order to consume the excess electricity generated by the wind turbines and avoid damage to the power grid, they will put up lamps and light strips on the surface of the buildings to boil more water and consume extra electricity.

Tonight, the wind turbines on the embankment sent out an obvious surplus of electricity, which not only caused the electric boiler rooms and bathhouses in many places in the harbor city to enter the mode of boiling a large amount of water, but also the 138 high-rise buildings in the harbor city with a large number of tubes and light strips installed on the surface were lit up one after another.

Suddenly the colorful light shines on the whole city.

A more splendid and shocking scene was formed.

A city that never sleeps even more than ever.

It deeply attracted the attention of the visiting purchasing delegations.

They had to put aside their plans to rest for a while, walk out of the hotel, and go outside, looking at the glowing street lamps and buildings in a daze.

"It's nothing more than a fairyland on earth."

"Is this a spell or a fairy, or a trick?"

"Shengshi, is this a prosperous scene that can only be seen after the world is peaceful? Can the old body be seen in the land of the Ming Dynasty? Qin Liangyu said secretly.

"When the night is so bright, it violates the law of day and night, can people still sleep?"

"In such an environment, if a large army wants to launch a night attack on Harbour City, I am afraid that it will be as difficult as the sky." Someone thought of the military aspect.

"Night attack on Harbour City? Is this possible, I'm afraid that even the surrounding manor fortresses can't be entered, and it is impossible to attack from the sea, Xu Jiazhuang didn't think about seizing the Ming Dynasty, it was already tolerant and benevolent. The man shook his head.

"If Xujiazhuang can bring the situation of Harbour City to all parts of Daming, it doesn't hurt that Xujiazhuang will sit in this world."

"How can you talk like this, no matter what, we are also ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and we must be loyal to the Ming Dynasty! How can you see these vain scenes and move your heart without permission? How weak. ”

"How can a certain person be easily confused by vanity, a certain just knows that behind this scene of vanity is the real strength of Xu Jiazhuang."

Silent.

These words silenced the crowd.

The dazzling scenery of the city that never sleeps was enough to shock everyone, and the next news broadcast seemed mediocre, just to make them feel quite novel.

……

The next day.

The Harbour City tour begins.

Originally, according to the guide's arrangement, he used an electric four-wheeled sightseeing car to pull everyone around the city for a few laps to visit the barrage embankment, salt factory, business area, high-end residential area, department store, Xu Jiajun barracks and other places.

It's just that for this arrangement, the purchasing team members have their own ideas.

Some people want to be free to visit, to see wherever they go, or to go wherever they see.

Some people want to go to the business area to see the market situation in advance to avoid being slaughtered in the next group buying.

There are also people who have never seen the sea before, and they want to go to the beach to see more, and it would be better if they could experience it by boat.

In short, each has its own ideas, and the tour arranged by the guide obviously cannot meet their needs.

"Wouldn't it be better if we divided into multiple routes, and if we visited each other, we could discuss our own harvest in the evening, as if everyone had visited all corners of the city?"

At this time, Hong Chengchou's heart moved and he proposed a square.

Everyone's eyes lit up and they all expressed their approval.

The guide had no choice but to ask for instructions, and after getting an agreed reply, he tried to temporarily recruit more than a dozen civilian guides, and then divided into sixteen roads and began their own visits.

But it's not like everyone else.

Hong Chengchou wanted to go to three places the most: a medium-sized people's home, a plate armor manufacturing factory, and a prison.

When his requests were submitted, unexpectedly, they were approved, and Xu Jiazhuang seemed to be completely unafraid of revealing some details.

"Liu Sanbao, take this governor, uh, take me to a medium-sized people's house, no, go to the poorer people's house and have a look, do you know where there is such a family?"

Hong Chengchou asked Liu Sanbao, the guide in front of him.

"Yes, there are many in the south of the city, and my family is also considered a poor household, why don't you go to my house to have a look?" Liu Sanbao said.

"Find someone worse than yours." Hong Chengchou didn't believe that this dressed Liu Sanbao would belong to a poor household.

"No problem!"

……

The slum south of the city, a place that sounds like poverty.

But the buildings inside are still scattered and orderly, the layout is neat, the street pavement is very clean, there is no stinking, sewage crossflow, very dilapidated scene, each house is not less than two floors, and the care is neat and elegant, there are even small vegetable patches, chicken pens, fruit trees and small flower flats.

"How can this be considered a slum?"

Hong Chengchou had the urge to be deceived and wanted to leave, and the configuration of some rich people's homes in Daming was nothing more than that.

"It's really a slum, and there's nothing worse in Harbour City."

The guide, Liu Sanbao, tried his best to explain, swearing to assure, saying that even if he ran all over the city, it would be a little worse in the slums.

Hong Chengchou reluctantly believed his words and stepped into this so-called slum.

And soon found a typical poor household, Hong Chengchou couldn't find any problems with the poor household.

This is a middle-aged couple.

They had six children, all of whom were younger, all of whom were of age 16 to work.

The wife had to take care of the children at home and become a full-time housewife.

Only the husband has a formal job, but he is a sanitation worker who sweeps the road and collects garbage and excrement, earning only 10 silver dollars a month, which is definitely a low-income class.

In Daming, such a family must be hungry for four or five meals in three days, and no matter how hard they work, they can't turn over.

"Brother, are you okay?" Hong Chengchou asked.

"It's okay, it's okay." The middle-aged sanitation worker replied.

"Is the food and clothing for a family of eight enough to cover the family's expenses?" Hong Chengchou asked again.

"It's okay, it's enough to eat for more than 200 yuan a day, buy clothes twice a year, spend forty silver dollars, and other expenses add up, as long as thirty silver dollars, it's enough." Middle-aged sanitation workers.

"This is not enough, my brother has a deficit of at least more than 20 silver dollars every year, how to fill this shortfall?" The staff behind Hong Chengchou calculated a little and immediately found the problem.

"Well-wishers, it's not easy to live in Harbour City...... middle-aged sanitation worker wiped away his tears and began to complain.

"Enough, Zheng is not hungry, these are the distinguished guests of Xujiazhuang, don't recruit black for Harbour City."

Liu Sanbao had to interject and debunk this Zheng Buxing, who wanted to deceive sympathy.

Then in front of Hong Chengchou, he introduced the actual situation of Zheng Buxing's family.

That's right, as a sanitation worker, his monthly income is indeed only ten silver dollars, which belongs to the low-income class.

But for poor households like this, there is also a living allowance of 5 silver yuan per month.

All six children are in school, and meals and accommodation at school are free, and those who study well are subsidized by honor students.

In addition, Xujiazhuang encourages childbearing, and families with more than three children can get a birth subsidy of three silver dollars per child, that is, 18 silver dollars per month.

There is also a neighborhood office that sends some oil, rice, and meat to such families almost every month.

In addition, occasionally some well-wishers from other places will be fooled into donating.

And although the slum sounds unpleasant, the housing price is the lowest in Harbour City, and the house in the high-end residential community costs at least 1,000 silver dollars a set, but the house here can be bought and built for 200 or 300 silver dollars.

"There are so many benefits here in the slums that even some rich people are vying to live here!" Liu Sanbao revealed a secret way.

"This ......"

Hong Chengchou was stunned, his eyes flashed to Zheng Buxing's sly gaze, and he immediately believed that what Liu Sanbao said was true.

Obviously a poor household, but actually a rich man?

Even a sweeper can make such a good living? The average monthly income adds up to more than thirty silver dollars, which is equivalent to the income of the Ming Qipinzhi County?

This......

Hong Chengchou took his staff and walked out of the slum in a daze.

In the afternoon, I went to the industrial zone and visited the plate armor manufacturing factory, only to know that under the production mode of standardization and assembly line assembly, the production cost of a set of 22.5 kg half-body plate armor has been reduced to 6 silver dollars, and it can produce up to 500 sets per day, which is more than 100,000 sets a year.

The production cost of alloy goose feather knife and horse chopping knife is lower, and the output is more exaggerated!

Compare the military production system of the Ming Dynasty...... Forget it, there is no comparison at all.

In the evening, he went to a certain street detention center (there is no prison in Xujiazhuang, and the criminals are usually punished with hard labor or exiled to Shandong as miners), and happened to witness the handling of a civil dispute.

A plea for mercy was heard.

I saw a big man with a strong body, kowtowing to a thin man.

"Big brother, I was wrong, I was wrong, I'll kowtow to you!"

"Don't go to the court to sue me, I admit punishment, you can do whatever I want, as long as you don't sue me, you can pay less!"

"Either you beat me once, no, you can beat me ten! As long as I don't have to leave the eucalyptus behind. ”

See this scene.

Hong Chengchou asked strangely: "Why does this strong man admit his mistake, I see that the thin man has not suffered much damage, why is he kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy?" ”

Liu Sanbao explained: "Xujiazhuang's legal provisions are very simple, as long as you leave three times the bottom of the eucalyptus, you will directly veto, expel Xujiazhuang, and send it to Shandong to mine. ”

Hong Chengchou asked: "Three times at the bottom, one veto?" ”

Liu Sanbao said: "Xu Jiazhuang for those who have repeatedly taught and are unrelenting, no matter what they do is a small evil or a big evil, as long as they reach three times, they will be sent to Shandong to mine, and they will never be pardoned, and there will be no chance to change the evil and return to the right, so in Harbour City, now there is no one who fights and fights, only after the quarrel and fights to lie on the ground, begging the other party to come and beat himself, and the beaten will never fight back, so no one dares to do it, this Wang Dashan is too naïve, maybe he was provoked to do it, and he fell into the handle." ”

Hong Chengchou immediately saw that the thin man reluctantly accepted Wang Dashan's apology, but he took out his pockets and paid a full 100 silver yuan in compensation, and only then did he successfully reconcile.

And after this lesson, I believe that no matter how strong this Wang Dashan is, he will not dare to beat anyone again.

This made Hong Chengchou feel thoughtful.

……

At night.

Return to the New Century Hotel.

I don't know what's going on, just visited for a day, just saw the tip of the iceberg in the whole picture of Xujiazhuang Harbor City, Hong Chengchou had a feeling in his heart.

"The First Minister of the Ming Dynasty"

That is the feeling that the Ming Dynasty is no longer fragrant and not very worthy of his follow-up and service.