Once Tailor Fan talked about his craft, he faded away from his humility and spoke confidently.

"Master, over the years, every winter in the Ming Dynasty, even if it is Ying Tianfu, it is as cold as the north. We don't burn the earth in the south, we don't burn coal, and the yamen public office is high and open, and that little charcoal basin can't add a little warmth, and I heard that many officials will wear cotton robes in their official uniforms. ”

Huang Zunsu immediately understood why Tailor Fan asked if the object of his gift was an official.

"Lao Fan, my friends are indeed wearing official uniforms. But you ask them about their seniority and official position, and why? ”

Without waiting for Tailor Fan to continue to answer Huang Zunsu's second doubt, Zheng Haizhu had already preemptively said: "Is it because the officials with low seniority often bow down, so the front hem of the cotton robe is slightly shorter than the back piece." But there is an exception to one type of official position, that is, the imperial history masters of the Tianfu Metropolitan Procuratorate, no matter how young they are, their hearts are high, and they often speak with their chests up, so the front swing and the back film still have to be as long. ”

In normal times, Zheng Haizhu would never steal other people's words like this and show that he seems to "understand the king".

But today, she has become interested in Tailor Fan's father and daughter, and for the future, she must be a little deterred by the talents who are interested in joining her command.

In fact, there is no essential difference between the mind of the craftsman and the reader, the reader is easy to be proud of his talents, and the craftsman is easy to be proud of his skills.

Sure enough, a hint of admiration flashed in Tailor Fan's eyes, and he immediately arched his hand and said, "As Miss Zheng said, the girl is very knowledgeable." ”

Zheng Haizhu said, after pressing it, he also had to lift it, so he said to the Huang couple without hesitation: "Brother Fan is really careful. ”

At the moment, he made an appointment with this tailor Fan, and said that he would bring the cotton fabric from the Han family weaving workshop to discuss the style of the children's school uniforms.

……

In a blink of an eye, it was the wax moon.

The Hanjia Weaving Workshop completed the 1,000 large-size face towels blended with Songjiang cotton cloth ordered by Liu Gonggong as scheduled.

The river and Taihu Lake have not yet been frozen, and Songjiang and Suzhou are just an overnight boat trip.

Han Zhongwen personally brought a few pieces of finished products and a bill of exchange of five hundred taels of silver to Suzhou to meet with Gonggong Liu, and after preparing to send the silver ticket, he asked his father-in-law to see the quality of the face towel.

Han Mansion was worried for two days, and Han Zhongwen came back.

The good news is that Father-in-law Liu not only collected the bill of exchange, but was also very satisfied with the face towel.

The better news is that Gonggong Liu specially instructed Zheng Haizhu to pack up properly, and at the end of the month, he followed him south to Yuegang, Fujian, to see the reaction of the merchants to such goods, figure out their preferences, and then participate in the research of some things that can be exchanged for silver for the inner library.

The second grandmother Qian Shiqi said: "This father-in-law Liu, isn't it a year?" ”

Han Zhongwen didn't think it was strange: "My father-in-law only took office as the weaving governor of Suzhou last year, and it was the time to work hard for the long live master. My father-in-law said that the seaport in Fujian is not frozen, and the foreign businessmen are only our Ming Spring Festival. This year, on the Macao side, it is not too peaceful, the Hongmao Fan and the Frankie people often fight, and the foreign businessmen do not dare to go over, preferring to pay more money and go around to Yuegang to buy the goods of my Daming hawkers. Such a good opportunity, my father-in-law didn't hurry to Yuegang in person and come back with some silver for the Long Live Lord. ”

Qian Shi said happily: "Oh, that is also the creation of our Han family. If you follow Liu Gonggong, why bother to compete with Su Song's peers for the sale of Hui merchants. It's just that Xi Meng will enter Gu's house before the Dragon Boat Festival next year, and Ah Zhu will come back in the spring after a full fight, right? ”

Han Ximeng, who was on the side, had a resolute supportive attitude, looked at Zheng Haizhu who was standing beside him and said: "You go with determination, the dowry or something is almost embroidered." On the school side, there is Cao in charge, and Shoukuan is also a very capable half-sized boy, and he has been staring. Besides, who doesn't know now that the school is praised by Governor Zhuang and Master Huang, and Grandma Huang still wants to be a female gentleman in it, and no green-skinned waves dare to go for trouble. ”

Han Zhongwen thought deeply and nodded frequently.

The head of the family said directly: "Ah Zhu, you saved Xi Meng's life, and you are a member of my Han family, Miss Grandma and I have long stopped treating you as outsiders." If you go, it's like the shopkeeper of our Han family, if your father-in-law gives any new orders, you just have to accept it. ”

He turned his face to his wife Qian and said, "The way of the world today is indeed very different from before. This time I went to Suzhou, and I saw a woman who could bring a painting box or a poem manuscript to participate in the literary meeting, sell paintings and poems, and her husband took the child to see her off at the ferry. I'm a businessman who has abandoned literature and can see everything. I think that if Ximeng marries the Gu family, he may not be nested in the deep house and not go downstairs, Shou Qian is the eldest grandson of the Gu family, if the Gu family's business is given to Shou Qian, Ah Zhu will definitely assist Zuo Ximeng to take care of things, it is better to go and see more now. ”

Qian's head is like garlic: "That's natural, if a woman is too honest and has never seen the world, she will suffer in her in-law's family, regardless of whether she is inside or outside." We can't afford to suffer. ”

Zheng Haizhu stood quietly, listening to the open and honest discussion of the three masters of the Han family, which was very useful.

She likes their style, putting all kinds of plans on the table, analyzing them openly, and they are all self-interested and not harming others, which is not only a rational plan, but also an open-mindedness ahead of the times.

At the same time, Zheng Haizhu is even more pleased with the early arrival of opportunities.

Although from some details of her previous dealings with Liu Shimin, she had a hunch that this father-in-law seemed to be a little impressed by her.

Judging by her as a mature modern woman in her previous life, Liu Shimin's eyes are a recognition that has nothing to do with male oppression and possession.

Otherwise, Liu Gonggong would not have taken her advice on widening the Huangpu River and establishing a public traders' customs in Songjiang second only to Yuegang.

But Zheng Haizhu never expected that he would get the opportunity to go on a business trip so soon.

Speaking of which, Yuegang on the seaside of Fujian is not far from Longxi County, Zhangzhou, where she woke up after crossing.

But if there is no guidance from a powerful figure like a weaving eunuch, how can she have the opportunity to see the maritime public trade activities of the Ming Dynasty since the Longqing switch.

……

On the 8th day of the lunar month, on the west bank of Fanjiabang at the end of the Wusong River in Shanghai County, on the construction site of widening the river, the first captains received a silver reward of one tael per person from the hands of Mr. Huang, the governor of Songjiang Prefecture who personally supervised the work, and distributed it to the laborers.

In the past, during the slack season, the government ordered all men to come out for conscription, and the treatment was extremely poor.

This time I came back to play Kuanda Huangpu, not only to eat a full meal, but also to eat a meal of meat every few days, and to reward money when the month of Layue was finished.

One or two silver, but it's a lot, I heard that the military households on Jinshanwei's side blow the sea breeze all day long, and the monthly salary is just like that.

Everyone picked up the silver, laughed and laughed, put the tools on the cart, gathered at the open stove, feasted on meat buns with laba porridge, and scattered home.

The slow imperial wheel of the Ming Dynasty has gone through another year.

Zheng Haizhu finished drinking a bowl of ginger soup to keep out the cold, stood by the stove, and looked at the backs of the farmers in Shanghai County who had gone away, thoughtfully.

"What is Miss Zheng thinking?"

Huang Zunsu took the official to inspect the completion site, paced over, and Wen Yan asked.

"Master, I'm thinking, one or two pieces of silver can make one of my people in the Ming Dynasty so happy, so that a farmer's family can have a decent New Year."

Huang Zunsu smiled: "Yes, what the people want, there is not much." Hmm, but Miss Zheng, this time to repair the water, thank Han Erye for taking the lead in setting an example, donating silver and contributing, and the gentlemen in Songjiang followed suit. Otherwise, don't talk about today's reward, just say that these hundreds of people are holding a gang by the river every day, and the yamen may not be able to get the money for food. ”

Zheng Haizhu didn't smile, but squinted his eyes and said softly: "But at this moment, in Liaodong, where the weather is freezing cold, in General Mao's tunbao, and the brothers of Tailor Fan, I'm afraid that I can't find these many rich gentry, so let's give the sergeants to eat and drink." ”

The people around him did not respond immediately.

Zheng Haizhu turned his face and looked at Huang Zunsu calmly: "We women also have a share in national affairs, family affairs, world affairs, and everything that we women care about." I often went to Tailor Fan's side for a while, and saw that Fan Poyu had sewn at least twenty small cotton jackets, and she said that they were all sent to Liaodong, not only to the two uncles, but also to other sergeants, if they froze to death, what would their wives and daughters do? ”

Huang Zunsu muttered: "This girl is really kind-hearted. ”

Zheng Haizhu pursed the corners of her mouth and teased: "Dignified and Ming, it is indeed a joke to rely on a teenage girl to be kind to support the border army." ”

Huang Zunsu did not change color.

In fact, similar meanings have long been expressed by their classmates of the Donglin School, like-minded people among the Jinshi of the same year, and even his friends who are strong in the imperial history.

Since the girl in front of her is not inferior to the man, why is she not allowed to ridicule the evils of the times?

After all, the Ming Dynasty, these women, are also supporting, aren't they?

However, when Lord Huang was about to calmly listen to Miss Zheng's continued discussion, Zheng Haizhu changed his words and said: "Master, I was free that day, I found a sand boat, launched from this Fan Jiabang, crossed the Baoshan boundary in the north, watched the mouth of the Yangtze River and rowed south for more than half an hour, and after looking at Chuansha and the island in the east, I returned and came back, and it took most of the day to take most of the time. ”

When Zheng Haizhu said this, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and he turned his eyes, as if reviewing the map in his mind, and continued to say in a clear and coherent manner: "Whether the cargo ships come from the Yangtze River, Taihu Lake, canal or the East China Sea, they can gather near Huangpu Port. This Shanghai County is really a good port for sea trade where God appreciates food and eats. ”

Zheng Haizhu is expounding this passage from the heart.

What she praised was clearly the memory of the prosperous Huangpu River Bund, Pudong Waigaoqiao Container Terminal, Baoshan Port and other places in later generations.

At the end, with a sincere smile, she said to Huang Zunsu: "Master, there is nothing wrong with the disadvantages of acupuncture, but you can't talk about it." It's more useful, or thinking about how to open up the source for the imperial court. The Francis, the red-haired fan, and the Japanese have a lot of white silver in their hands now, why don't I go and earn it? ”

After all, Huang Zunsu was the top intellectual of this era, and after thinking about it for a long time, and reading the newspapers of the imperial court over the years, and understanding the rules of public vendors in Yuegang after the opening of Longqing, and the control of the Franky people in Macao by the imperial court since the beginning of the Wanli period, he gradually accepted the idea of developing Shanghai County into a third sea trade gateway.

At this time, he pondered for a moment, and finally said to Zheng Haizhu: "There are pros and cons to the switch, you must think about how to pursue the advantages and avoid the disadvantages." I heard Neiko say that the girl will meet with Gonggong Liu in a few days and go to Yuegang. If you have the opportunity, please be sure to tell Liu Gonggong Chen that Songjiang Mansion can be switched, but it cannot become the second Guangdong, and Shanghai County cannot become the second Macao. ”

Zheng Haizhu said: "I can't! Foreigners use ships with silver to buy goods, yes. Ship with firearms to ask for land, don't think. ”

She turned around and looked across the bank of the land that would later become Pudong's Lujiazui financial district.

The hidden dangers that Huang Zunsu said, she has also been considering.

The rule of the late Ming Dynasty was too muddy.

Far away in the Cantonese region of Lingnan, the imperial power was even more beyond the reach of the whip, and the Portuguese took advantage of this to steal Macao by bribing the magistrates of Guangdong after bombarding the Ming Dynasty with cannons.

Although the Portuguese also contributed a little rent to the Ming Dynasty government, they did not do less than evade commercial taxes, traffick people, harass the people, and even raised Japanese slaves.

As a descendant, Zheng Haizhu knew too well what the European powers of the 17th and early 20th centuries were.

Whether it is the Portuguese, the Spaniards, the Dutch, or the British, the need for foreign aggression and plundering colonies is engraved in their bones, and it is also the primitive impulse of Western capital.

It is precisely for this reason that in the Age of Discovery, the Ming Empire should take the lead in opening the sea as a sovereign state and participating in the formulation of maritime order as a sovereign state.

And the seemingly dull imperial officialdom is actually not short of people of insight to stop the aggression and encroachment of foreigners in the cloak of trade.

"Master," Zheng Haizhu stared at Huang Zunsu and said, "You mentioned Haojing Macau, as far as I know, just two years ago, Zhang Minggang, the governor of Liangguang, Zhang Butang, seems to have made a stricter covenant against the Francis. The Cantonese businessmen who came to Songjiang to buy cloth said that when the boat arrived in Haojing, it must enter the port and wait for the Zhang's pumping, and if it stays in the ocean of Haiphong, our Daming sailor can directly detain the cargo and burn the ship. In addition, in the next few years, Macao will only be allowed to repair existing houses, and the Franky people are not allowed to build new high-rise buildings, otherwise the two Guangphong Roads will be directly burned down. ”

The more Huang Zunsu listened, the more focused he became, and then raised his eyebrows and applauded: "That's how it should be!" Miss Zheng, I'll go back and think about it again, write down the joints I am worried about one by one, and ask you to show it to Gonggong Liu, okay? ”

Zheng Haizhu understood that Huang Zunsu's easing attitude towards the admiral eunuch Liu Shimin was not because he was persuaded by his quarrel, but mostly because he knew that Liu Gonggong was a princeling, which was in line with the political position of their Donglin School.

She nodded happily: "It will definitely be presented to Gonggong Liu, and even if people are soft-spoken, I will tell him in detail." ”

The two stood in the north wind for a while, looking at the cold winter river with water and sky.

Standing side by side with young women who are not family scrolls, falling into silence but without ambiguity or crampedness, Huang Zunsu seems to have never had such a strange experience.

He only felt that this kind of silence, like a free flower blooming quietly, made his spiritual house clear.

At the end, he turned his head and said, "I heard that General Ma also went with him this time to protect Admiral Liu and Fu Chuan." The official wished General Ma and Miss Zheng a smooth journey. ”

(End of Volume 2)

Note: The wife earns money by writing or participating in literary meetings, and the husband takes care of the children at home and supports her. You can refer to the part about Huang Yuanjie, a talented woman in Jiangnan, in the academic work "Boudoir Teacher" by American scholar ** Yi.