Today's noon is suitable for going to sea at about six o'clock in the afternoon, that is, around half past twelve o'clock in the noon when Zhu Yuan is accustomed to the timekeeping method, Zhu Yuan came to the outside of the city, and together with the naval governor Hua Gao, sent away this batch of grain ships escorted by Zhang Yi, the commander of the battalion Haiwei, and the time was already past one o'clock in the afternoon.

He Xuan sent lunch to the dock and invited Hua Gao to have a simple lunch together, and Zhu Yuan took a sedan chair back to the city.

As soon as he arrived home, another chamberlain reminded him that the ancient rich man from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province had been waiting for a long time, and remembered that he had promised last night, so he ordered to take people to the Mingxin Hall in the garden.

When He Xuan entered the door with a thin face and a short beard in his forties, Zhu Yuan was looking through the map in the tea room on the west side of Mingxin Hall.

Zhangzhou, whether it is now or later, does not seem to have such a strong sense of existence, and what is more interesting may be its two neighbors, Quanzhou to the north, where the current Fujian Yinghai Branch and Quanzhou Bosi Yamen are located, and to the south, is the famous Chaozhou.

"Gu Zhongren, Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou, meet the envoy of the camp."

Obviously with a local accent and a strange tone that people can understand.

"Get up."

Zhu Yuan, who was sitting at the table, glanced at the map again and found the location of Zhangpu County, which was a county in Linhai, Zhangzhou, and was about to say something, He Xuan held a gift list and gave it to him.

Zhu Yuan rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "You are smart." ”

This gift list is not only some local specialties, such as preserved tea and the like, but also the quantity is not much, each of which is within 10 catties.

Gu Zhongren, who had already gotten up, stood respectfully beside him, and said with his head bowed: "The little one knows that the adult is honest, but he comes to the door empty-handed, it is not always a way to be a guest, some local products, and I hope the adults will not dislike it." ”

"Then I'll take it, try it tonight," Zhu Yuan handed the gift list back to He Xuan, and motioned: "You can sit down too." ”

He Xuan accepted the gift list, noticed Gu Zhongren's embarrassed expression, and knew that he didn't dare to step forward and sit at a table with his own adults, moved a stool over, and then held tea, and then exited the house.

Only then did Zhu Yuan realize that it was not right to meet guests in the side hall, but he didn't mean to get up and go outside, he looked at the map on the table again, and asked directly: "What does your Gu family do?" ”

Gu Zhongren just brought the tea to his mouth and took a sip, and when he heard the words, he hurriedly put away the cup and replied: "The villain's ancestral home was originally in Zhending Mansion, Hebei, when the Song Dynasty crossed to the south, and the family followed all the way south to Zhangzhou, and the descendants of farming and reading for a living, until now." ”

Zhu Yuan keenly grasped the word 'cultivation and reading'.

In the feudal era, those who could say that they were not ordinary people. Just like the most famous Zhuge Liang, what does he say'Chenben cloth, ploughing in Nanyang', in fact, even before Zhuge Liang, the Zhuge family is a big family that has been inherited for hundreds of years, even if it is not prominent, it is not 'cloth' at all.

If Zhu Yuan was a scholar in this era, he would definitely follow Gu Zhongren's words and ask in detail what deeds the ancestors of the Gu family had and what officials they had been, and then remember the unbearable history of that year.

It's a pity that Zhu Yuan is not.

So he then asked: "If you plough and read, how much land does the Gu family have?" ”

This......

Gu Zhongren was obviously stunned, paused, and said truthfully: "Roughly...... More than 3,700 hectares. ”

When Zhu Yuan heard this, a little conversion, 37,000 acres of land, is indeed very 'ploughing', with a smile, and asked: "There should be other industries, right?" ”

Gu Zhongren hesitated even more.

However, thinking of his father's confession before leaving Zhangzhou in a hurry, this change of dynasty is the most dangerous, and there is Chen Youding in Fujian, although it has been liquidated once, but who knows if there will be a next time, just happened to encounter such an opportunity to make friends with the new emperor and close ministers, no matter what, we must seize it.

Gu Zhongren also inquired in advance, this young envoy of the camp, not to mention the rumors of 'sending five hundred years of national ancestry', but what he has done in Mingzhou for most of the past six months, is ...... It's really hard to understand.

Just confirm one thing.,It's a capable minister.。

Even, he is fully worthy of the fame that he has spread.

Such a person, compared to the deputy envoy of Yinghai who arrived in Quanzhou a few days ago and was easily seen through, is obviously more worthy of the Gu family's dependence.

Having made up his mind, Gu Zhongren quickly confirmed that he had to be completely honest with this person, so he said: "Lord Hui, in addition to the fields, the Gu family is also engaged in the business of medicinal materials, tea, and iron smelting, and the latter has stopped because of the imperial decree. In addition, the Gu family has more than 20 large and small vessels, either fishing or business, but unfortunately missed the opportunity to obtain a maritime trade license, and is about to change all of them into fishing boats. ”

Zhu Yuan listened to Gu Zhongren's words, and said with a smile: "It seems that you are not well-informed enough, you are afraid that you will not be able to do this fishing business, I just asked them to write a ban in the morning, and in the future, the people will not be allowed to engage in sea fishing without authorization." ”

Gu Zhongren, who was originally steady, obviously didn't expect it, and couldn't help but let out a 'ah-'.

The imperial court forbade the people to open mines without authorization, and the lucrative iron-smelting business of the Gu family had been forced to stop.

Originally, I learned about the details of sea fishing in Mingzhou, and planned to use the boats owned by my family to start a fishing business, but I didn't expect it...... This, gone again!

Zhu Yuan glanced at Gu Zhongren's expression, and could probably imagine that at the moment, not only along the coast, but also all over the Ming Dynasty, I don't know how many big families have lost their financial resources because of their various proposals.

Picking up the charcoal on the table, Zhu Yuan traced outward along Zhangzhou, one line extended to the big island in the east, and the other line went south, while taking the initiative to speak again, asking: "In this imperial examination that the imperial court is about to conduct, did the Gu family pick their children to go to Jinling to take the exam?" ”

Gu Zhongren was in a trance, and when he heard this, he quickly cheered up, shook his head and said, "My lord, the Gu family...... Never. ”

This is also the father of the patriarch, who thinks that the new dynasty is at the beginning of the year, and the ancient family is not suitable for the future.

Zhu Yuan said: "The specific date has not yet been decided, but the imperial examination must be held this month, if your ancient family is really cultivating and studying for generations, you can pick some young descendants and send them to Jinling as soon as possible." ”

Gu Zhongren pondered for a while, and suddenly realized something, and couldn't hide his excitement: "My lord, what ...... Can the Gu family get a few letters of recommendation from you? ”

I inquired in advance.

In this imperial examination, the threshold seems to be very low, and only the local magistrate needs to issue a recommendation document.

Zhu Yuan shook his head: "I'm not suitable." ”

Gu Zhongren's newly raised expectations suddenly cooled.

Zhu Yuan glanced at him again and said, "No accident, I may be the chief examiner, at least one of them, if I come to recommend, in order to avoid suspicion, no matter how good your Gu family disciples, I can't accept it." ”

Gu Zhongren was suddenly a little stunned.

The young man in front of him...... Even if he has a great reputation, how can he be the main examination of the imperial examination at this age when he has a lot of hair?

However, Gu Zhongren quickly came back to his senses.

The future examiner asked the Gu family to send their children to the exam...... This implies ...... No, it's all explicit!

Thinking about this, Gu Zhongren's hand holding the teacup trembled a little, and he didn't know if he should get up immediately and bow again.

】

Zhu Yuan had already waved his hand: "Don't think about it so much, I'm telling you this, because the imperial court is really on the occasion of employing people, not only your ancient family, but also other clans in Zhangzhou, you can also help talk about it." ”

Gu Zhongren immediately nodded.

It's just, how can you not want to think so much?!

Zhu Yuan thought for a while, and then said: "Frankly tell you, many of the Gu family's businesses were cut off because of my proposal, and you will definitely know about these after a long time." However, the new dynasty has just begun, and there will definitely be more opportunities in the future. The ancient family background is here, if you can be loyal to the court and do your best, it is not impossible to be prominent in the future. ”

After listening to this, Gu Zhongren couldn't hold back any longer, carefully put the tea bowl on the side, and leaned down to bow: "Zhongren listens to the teachings of adults." ”

Instinctively dropped a chess piece in his hand, Zhu Yuan didn't think too much about it for the time being, and motioned to Gu Zhongren again, thought about it, and said, "Just now, you mentioned that your family also has a medicinal herb business?" ”

Gu Zhongren nodded.

Zhu Yuan said: "In this regard, you can pay more attention to it. ”

Gu Zhongren didn't understand why Zhu Yuan said this, but he hurriedly agreed, and kept it firmly in his heart.

The two talked a little more, and when they were tired, Zhu Yuan sent Gu Zhongren away.

He Xuan shouted to the servant woman to come over with her shoulder, and Zhu Yuan explained, and turned to the courtyard where Minglun Hall was located again.

Waiting for the shoulder to be put down, a few freehand are already waiting.

There was no one in the yard, but by the windows in front of the doors and windows around them, they were probing their brains one by one, looking at the appearance of wanting to wear it.

Zhu Yuan swept around and pointed to two of them: "Come." ”

Li Qingzhao's "Slow Voice" was split into more than 20 names by Zhu Yuan, and the first two were pointed out at the moment, 'Xun' and 'Seek', which were the two female slaves sent by Yin Bu Thornawuluo, a Kurumus merchant whom he had met a few days ago.

I have to say that although the meeting between the businessman and Zhu Yuan was unpleasant, he was really able to bend and stretch, and when he heard that Hu Nu was being searched here, he still took the initiative to send someone over.

Of course, Zhu Yuan did not ask for it in vain as usual.

In fact, I also understand that buying and selling at the market price here is likely to be less, and there are some ...... Maybe it's a lot less, but as long as it's nominally blameless, the details don't matter.

Zhu Yuan didn't want to be a blank sheet of paper again.

Two petite girls with brown hair and brown eyes but high noses and deep eyes quickly walked over, followed Zhu Yuan to the east bedroom of Minglun Hall, and no one spoke, waiting for Zhu Yuan to sit down on the edge of the bed, he took the initiative to kneel on the ground and help his master take off his shoes.

Freehand glared at the blank space on the other side who wanted to pout, and said to Zhu Yuan: "Little official, let the person who picked it up arrive in the morning, do you want to take a look?" ”

Remembering that it was Caisang's sister, Zhu Yuan nodded.

Waiting to call people freely, Zhu Yuan grabbed the chin of a girl at his feet, raised it to admire, and asked blank space: "Are Wutong's clothes ready?" ”

Sister Freehand was not there, and she opened her mouth in the blank space, but she still said, "I'm doing it, boots...... Find a craftsman outside. ”

"Hurry up, I'm looking forward to it," said and remembered one thing again, Zhu Yuan said: "Their identity brands can be combined with Chinese and Western, you two, well, what's the name?" ”

The two little girls who were as big as Caisang arrived a few days earlier than Wutong and them, but they still couldn't understand Chinese, and they felt as if they were talking about themselves, so they just looked up and winked at Zhu Yuan flatteringly.

Seeing that his petty officials were stuck, he didn't want to answer, but he still said, "Du Liya and Sara." ”

"That's right," Zhu Yuan nodded, and said, "It's Duria Xun and Sara Micha. ”

It's the other way around......

Blank didn't speak again this time.

Anyway, these two bearded girls, if they are not familiar, they can't tell which one is looking for and the other is looking for it.

Waiting for the two little girls to help their little officials take off their shoes, Blank took the initiative to step forward and help take off Zhu Yuan's robe, and they all muttered: "Little officials, do you want them to take a nap with them?" ”

Zhu Yuan raised his hand and gently gave the girl in front of him a sour taste, but unfortunately the clothes were thicker in the autumn and had no feeling, so he could only say: "Don't let them, you can come." ”

Liubai was happy in his heart, but when he thought of the two bed-warming girls last night, he couldn't help but speak venomously: "The slave can't stand this grace." ”

"Dare to talk to me like this, it seems that you have to watch it later."

While he was talking, Freehand brought a big, two, and three women over.

One of them is mulberry picking.

The other two......

Well.

Two?

Zhu Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, watching a woman in her twenties and a girl in her teens kneel down to greet herself, and when they looked up, compared Cai Sang standing next to them, and then looked at the two beautiful faces in front of them that were obviously somewhat similar, and felt that something was wrong.

Didn't you say one?

However, after thinking about it a little, Zhu Yuan also understood.

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The people below...... It's not good to be too competent!

Speaking of the big one, he gestured: "What's your name?" ”

The woman lowered her head a little shyly and said, "Slave ......" said this, as if she had thought of something, and hesitated a little before saying: "...... The third in the family, called Wu Sanniang. ”

Zhu Yuan glanced at Nizi next to him.

This should be Siniang.

Mulberry ...... I don't know if it's Wu Niang?

Moreover, this should be the result of the ranking of brothers and sisters together, if only sisters are counted, Zhu Yuan knows that the small one next to him should be the second sister that Caisang said, and the big one is the eldest sister.

Well.

That's not the point.

Zhu Yuan glanced at Freehand, and then glanced at Cai Sang, who was obviously beginning to reveal weakness in his small expression, and finally turned to Wu Sanniang again: "Mistake, Cai Sang only said one sister, why are you both here?" ”

When Wu Sanniang heard this, her expression flashed with surprise, she turned her head to look at her sister, realized that the occasion seemed inappropriate, turned back to her, and said, "This ...... This ......"

Zhu Yuan motioned to Nizi next to Wu Sanniang: "You say, what's the matter?" ”

Wu Siniang was also weak-hearted, and hesitated for a moment before whispering: "The official is here, and he said that he wanted to take ...... Pick up Caisang's sister to come to the adult's house, just ...... It just so happened that my sister was there. ”

Look.

Mistaken.

And......

Look at the two Nizi on the ground and next to them, this is really, even his sister is sold.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuan smiled, waved his hand and said, "Since you made a mistake, let's send it back," and pointed at Wu Siniang as he spoke: "You just stay." ”

It's just that after Zhu Yuan finished speaking, Wu Sanniang on the ground did not move.

The atmosphere was a little deadlocked, and Zhu Yuan was about to speak again, when Wu Sanniang suddenly murmured: "My lord, slave, slave, I don't have to go back." ”