These temples in Songjiang Prefecture that do big tobacco business, the annual big gathering, at the beginning of the time was about in Longhua Temple.

That place, in the southern suburbs of Songjiang Mansion, can be called the largest temple in the whole Songjiang, Longhua Evening Bell, is ranked among the eight views of Songjiang, the place is bright, the incense melons and fruits, and the tea used by the opera troupe are all of the highest quality.

But the prefect thought it was too noisy, even if the four doors were closed, not allowing pilgrims to enter, and there were a lot of cheesy around, so he allocated a Beppu from his own name for him to meet with these monks and Taoists every year.

According to the custom, Dongyue Temple has to get up early in the morning and rush over there.

Su Hanshan only took Fuxing and Shouquan two Taoist priests out of the house, and did not rent and buy carriages and horses, but only let Shouquan lead the way and walk.

During the Qing Dynasty, Guangfu was the only treaty port, and foreigners could only go ashore to go ashore, raising a prosperous scene of fire cooking oil and flowers brocade.

Don't say that it is the big businessmen of the Thirteen Lines, it is the food and clothing of a rich family in Foshan Town, which is comparable to the minister's office, and his vision and knowledge are even better, and he often sees foreigners renting back and forth.

At that time, if you saw a foreigner in Songjiang Mansion, most of them would think it was a demon.

In the eighteenth year of Jiaqing, the Forbidden City fell, the emperor was beheaded, and after the chaotic wars in various places, the foreigners did not take the rules of the Qing Dynasty to heart, and occupied Songjiang several times, to build this place into a large trade wharf that was not inferior to Guangfu.

After that, although the foreigners were repulsed, Guangfu was occupied by Emperor Xu, and the bulk goods such as tea and raw silk of other forces naturally refused to be transported to Emperor Xu's territory, and they changed to Songjiang Mansion one after another.

Over the years, the floating population in this place has swelled a hundredfold.

Although the road taken by Su Hanshan is a dirt road, it is also a big road, and the most spacious place can accommodate six carriages in parallel.

You can really see all kinds of people on the road, there are old men sitting in the roadside teahouses, wearing melon skin hats, dragging pigtails, and boasting with people with oily faces.

There were young men with short haircuts and tuxedos, getting off the rickshaw with suitcases.

There are foreigners wearing wigs with curly ends coming out of Western-style carriages.

There are also middle-aged men who wear square scarves and round-necked robes in restaurants, just like the scholars of the Ming Dynasty.

And the costumes of those ordinary people are even more varied, there are many who do not shave their heads but still have braids, and there are many who cut their hair short.

After more than 100 years of rule by the Manchu Qing Dynasty, it is naturally a big joke to say that the body is hairy and skinny, and the parents who receive it do not cut their hair.

After the collapse of the Manchu rule, those who had surplus wealth chose their own clothes according to their own preferences, and for the common people, it was how convenient and how to come.

Many young adults who do manual work actually shave their heads directly, and after three or four months of growth, they shave again, after all, shaving their heads also costs money.

Su Hanshan walked to the corner at the end of the road, and when a large group of men with flat barrels hurriedly ran over on the path, he could see that this group of people had such half-long hair.

"Let's go, let's go!!"

The men were not dressed much, most of them were open-chested gowns and a pair of coarse cloth trousers that did not cover their ankles, but they were steaming hot, shouting and squeezing away the pedestrians on the path.

Some poor scholars dressed up poked their heads out of the roadside shops, and when they saw this group of people, they scolded behind their backs: "It's this group of water tigers again!" Hurry to reincarnate! ”

Songjiang Prefecture is now full of business travelers, and there are many people pouring in from all over the country, not only are the houses crowded, but there are many shanty houses, and water has become a major problem.

Especially after there are more factories and dyeing mills, many rivers in the city are silted, and the water scooped up, even if it is boiled, there is a strange smell, and the body is weaker, and after eating, it will vomit and diarrhea, and toss half of its life.

Therefore, the water for drinking in the city depends on the water storage boats moored on the inland river, and the second is by a large number of water porters to carry water into the city when the Huangpu River is at high tide.

The amount of copper these people can get a day depends on how much water they can pick up and send to the cooked water shop.

The high tide time is limited, and the back and forth feet are not short, this group of people carry heavy burdens, always in a hurry, running and jogging.

But this group of people didn't dare to go on the road, because the old man and young master on the road, the foreign goods shop, a little bit crowded, would be a disaster.

They went around all kinds of paths, squeezed pedestrians, and in the countryside, they got the name of "water tigers".

Those cooked water shops, boiling water to make tea and selling bath soup, are also known as tiger stoves, it is said that half of them are because of the stove type like a tiger, and the firewood is burned fiercely, and the other half is because of the bad reputation of these water pickers.

Someone ran in a hurry, the water in the bucket shook out, the soles of the feet were slippery, and they were about to fall if they stumbled.

Daoist Shouquan snatched it out in one step, stretched out one hand, and lifted his flat shoulder to help him stand firmly.

The man was taken aback, and saw that Daoist Shouquan was wearing a Taoist robe made of good satin material, and he was still carrying a big knife behind his back.

The group of men next to them were all shocked by this scene, and only after the Shouquan Taoist retreated did they continue on their way.

When the old man of Fuxing saw it, he felt a little strange in his heart, and when he caught a glimpse of Su Hanshan next to him, he suddenly woke up.

Shouquan, this kid, is really clever!

During these days, Su Hanshan gave them orders in the Dongyue Temple, doing this and that, and also letting them see a little bit of the temperament of this new host.

Ruthless is really ruthless, and the ambition is not small, and some of the news inquired about made Fuxing Lao Dao dare not make a sound.

But I don't know if it's stupid to listen to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and learn from Master Guan's arrogance but not overpowering.

This new host can be described as a bodhisattva to those who are in debt in the temple and are sold, and to those small people.

"Hahahaha, what kind of happy event did Brother Shouquan Dao encounter today, and he is in the mood to give these coolies a hand?"

A carriage ran on the road behind, and a middle-aged Taoist priest in the car opened the curtain and said with a smile, "Fuxing senior, it's been a long time, and this one, I don't know where it came from?" ”

Su Hanshan turned his head and chuckled: "I am a distant relative of Fuxing Daoist. ”

Taoist Shouquan introduced: "This is the enlightened Taoist of Huatuo Temple, and at the Buddhist and Taoist Conference in Songjiang Mansion last year, his family did the best business, and he was commended by the prefect. ”

"Oh."

Su Hanshan took a good look at this prime-aged Taoist priest.

The people of Huatuo Temple won a commendation for selling big cigarettes, and they really learned quickly from their Western counterparts.

A few years ago, Westerners seemed to be still claiming that the smoke was a gift from God to mankind, and that without it, medicine would be lame.

It is precisely the abuse of big cigarettes by those half-witches and half-doctors in the West, who has broken their feet and twisted their wrists, as long as they have money, they will directly come to a tube of big cigarettes, so quickly discovered by Western businessmen.

"It's all up to the people of the same way, and the prefect is wise."

The enlightened Taoist elder clenched his fists and said with a smile, "The prefect counts the various temples, which is a few percent higher than his performance in the previous year, not how many goods are sold, if I just count the amount of goods, I may not be able to mix in the top five." ”

"Come on, come on, my carriage is quite spacious, if you don't dislike it, why don't you share the car with me?"

Fuxing and Shouquan both looked at Su Hanshan, and when they saw him nodding, they thanked him and got into the car.

When the enlightened Taoist saw this scene, he paid attention.

The carriage was indeed spacious, and after three more people entered, it did not feel crowded.

A few Taoist priests chatted about some nothing, and Su Hanshan just picked up the curtains and looked at the scenery outside.

"How many apprentices do I have, who love to gossip, and I heard from a few mothers-in-law in the tooth shop that Brother Shou Quan led people to buy back all the wives, sons and daughters that those smokers sold recently?"

The enlightened Taoist elder stroked his beard and said, "Some of them have been raised for half a year, and they can be sold to large families and become decent maids, and you have to buy them back at the original price, those mothers-in-law didn't dare to say it at the time, but there were a lot of rumors afterwards." ”

"It is said that Dongyue Temple took advantage of them, and when they are well educated, they will buy it back by themselves, and they will also do this business, which makes those mothers-in-law very bitter."

Daoist Shouquan and Daoist Fuxing glanced at each other, and could only put on a smiling face.

Those who can complain about hardship are considered to be fateful, those who don't have serious posts for their teeth are dens of teeth, but they don't even have the head of the leader, so they can only complain to Lord Yama.

Besides, if today's big event is really done, it will not only be those people who will complain in the future.

Daoist Shouquan felt uncomfortable thinking about it.

Although he was afraid of Su Hanshan, he also had great awe for the prefect.

Su Hanshan obviously wants to do something to the prefect, if it is done, it will be enough, in case it doesn't work, the people in Dongyue Temple really can't survive, they can't die.

It would be nice if the prefect didn't go to this rally if he had something urgent today.

Drag on day by day.

The two Taoist priests were apprehensive, and their mouths were inevitably perfunctory.

Seeing that they were absent-minded, the enlightened Taoist thought that they really wanted to get involved in other industries, and did not want to reveal it in advance, so he smiled mysteriously.

"Brother Shouquan Dao cultivated the middle dantian at this age, and there is a great hope to break through the upper dantian in the future, and the prefect also gave him a treasure knife, looking at it differently."

"Such a talent, only in charge of the industry of Dongyue Temple, is indeed a talent."

The enlightened Taoist said, "I know that Brother Quandao is reluctant to join the prefect, because he is afraid of losing his free body, and it is better to be the master himself." ”

"Recently, there is an opportunity, you and I are a partner, everyone is the master, and the industry and silver can also be promoted, I don't know if you are interested?"

Su Hanshan was curious: "What chance?" ”

"Hmph."

The enlightened Taoist chief was quite complacent, "This is the news I got secretly, and soon after that, Songjiang Mansion will be ready to grow its own big tobacco." ”

"It's not a small seed, it's a big seed, the prefect already has a plan, first take seven towns to control them, plant them for a year, see the results of income and expenditure, and if they are planted well, they will expand again in the next year."

"This year is very important, it determines who can stand at the forefront of the tide in the future, you and I are partners, you are martial arts, I am money, it should be enough to contract a town, suppress those mud legs, and let them work for us obediently......"

As he spoke, he didn't see any surprise on Daoist Shouquan's face, and he couldn't help but be a little puzzled.

Such a big good thing, why are these people in Dongyue Temple not moving at all?

Fortunately, at this time, Su Hanshan picked up the conversation again.

"The big tobacco business in Songjiang Mansion has not been a day or two, why didn't the prefect's yamen plant it before, but now it wants to plant it?"

The matter of growing tobacco in the mainland has existed since the Qianlong period, but even emperors like the Manchu Qing Dynasty hated this matter and explicitly forbade it.

In recent decades, no one can care whether to grow tobacco or not, but since the situation has stabilized a little, this ban has been put on the agenda by all parties.

Buying and selling big cigarettes and smoking big cigarettes are all blind to one eye, but the intensity of the ban on growing tobacco is not at the same level as the previous ones.

Not for anything else, but for food.

After all localities follow suit, there will be less food, and how can we fight without food?

The small warlords' territory is staggered, your side is a little weak, and there is not enough food and grass, and there are immediately three, five, seven or eight families next to it, waiting to annex you.

The big warlords really have the hope of being unified as emperors, and they are more eager for troops and food, and they can't wait for grains to fall from the sky, give birth to ten children a day, push the world, and achieve great things.

Since the mainland is not allowed, what is the attitude of foreigners?

Foreigners don't want to see that kind of thing either.

The profit from growing tobacco from overseas and transporting it for sale is not only in the sale of tobacco, but also in all aspects of business, such as freight transportation, shipbuilding, sailors, navy, slaves on plantations, and so on.

If you grow tobacco on a large scale yourself, you are competing for business with them.

Considering that Songjiang Mansion is not considered the territory of other warlords, the prefect Yamen himself wants to grow tobacco here on a large scale, and the biggest resistance may really be from the foreigners' side.

So, who has recently given the prefect yamen enough confidence to resist the pressure from the foreigners?

Su Hanshan had not been here for a few days, and after understanding the situation in this world, he was able to think of these things.

The enlightened Taoist priest, who was born and raised in the bureau, had gotten into the money eye before, and he hadn't thought about this at all, and of course he hadn't thought about it to inquire about it.

Su Hanshan asked a few more words, and he was a little stunned.

"This ......"

The enlightened Taoist priest's face changed slightly, "So, we really shouldn't be in a hurry to get involved in this matter." If we jump in a hurry now, if there is a disturbance in the future, we are likely to be sacrificed! ”

Su Hanshan comforted: "Don't panic, don't panic, fellow Daoist, you have figured it out now, it's not too late, come, drink a cup of tea to suppress the shock." ”

The enlightened Taoist priest took the ice-jade cup, drank it in one gulp, and came back to his senses: "What kind of tea is this, so fresh?" ”

"It's just a little dew brewed by yourself."

Su Hanshan took the cup and received it in his sleeve, but in fact, the moment he entered the cuff, it had already vaporized and disappeared.

The cups were pinched by him, and the tea was condensed directly by him with water in the air.

Originally, this was not a problem, but he also added a set of Xuanyin Sword Plague spells to it.

When this set of kung fu was first created, it had to be printed several times, and the afterimage that flew out could be seen by ordinary people, and it would temporarily form an obvious sword-shaped mark on the forehead.

After these days of speculation, Su Hanshan has been able to use this set of spells invisibly, condensed in the tea, once others drink it, it is equivalent to a middle spell.

The way of Xuanyin, the evil way exercises, is to be unpredictable, so that you can be regarded as one of the samadhi.

Today's big gathering is crowded, and if we don't prepare some means in advance to act silently, and some people will be able to flee at that time, it will not be a complete success.

The bumpy carriage, after a period of uphill climbing, suddenly became extraordinarily stable.

Su Hanshan lifted the curtain and took a look, and found that the carriage had driven onto a cement path that was several miles long.

At the end of the path, there is a beautiful scenery of green trees, rose vines wrapped around a white pointed wooden fence, inside the fence is a garden, and on the north side of the garden, several two- and three-storey western-style buildings stand side by side.

At this time, cement was still called ash, and the most fashionable type of residence in Songjiang Mansion was to plaster the brick wall and paste tiles on the outside of the ash.

There are also the kinds of pillars, arches, and sculptures in the garden that imitate the British royal style, which are collectively called garden houses.

The prefect of Songjiang usually does not live at all, and Beppu, which is specially allocated for these monks and Taoists to gather once a year, is such a large garden worth 10,000 gold.

The carriage was parked on a large flat concrete floor outside the garden, and dozens of carriages had already arrived first, with their own servants bringing fodder and waiting for the horses.

Su Hanshan walked through the fence gate, and the first thing he saw was a pool, but there was a bronze horse standing in the pool, which seemed to be cast in imitation of King Wu's eight horses, deliberately made some patina, and there were small seal inscriptions.

In the garden of the Western-style bungalow, there are more things with such oriental classical charm, which are not abrupt at all, but complement each other, which can be seen to be the master's handwriting.

On both sides of the pool, there are large grassy pavilions and corridors, as well as long tables for pastries, wine and fruits.

There are already hundreds of people in the garden, wearing robes, singing "Amitabha Buddha" and "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable" holding glass wine glasses, tasting cakes from time to time, staggering, walking around and chatting.

The enlightened Taoist priest is a person who has a wide range of friends, and as soon as he comes in, he laughs, greets people, and goes to fetch a wine glass and drink together.

There were also people who greeted the Taoist priest Shouquan.

Su Hanshan let the two of them leave, walked around alone, walked slowly along the long table, his index finger and middle finger on the edge of the table, little by little, striding forward.

Masters and Taoist masters, it's really very fashionable, it's fashionable, otherwise it's not so convenient to spell you.

Where he walked, among the drinks on the table, small bubbles were stirred, fleeting, but there were already more spell marks that were invisible to ordinary people.

When Su Hanshan walked around the people who had taken the wine before, he also pinched a glass of wine, leaned on the pillar of the pavilion, and tasted it slowly.

These people talk about what they talk about, but they can also help him supplement what he has seen, but he is more looking forward to the arrival of the Songjiang prefect.

He didn't have to wait too long, when the Western-style floor clock in the building rang the bell at nine o'clock, and on the road in the distance, eight carriages came one after another.

A group of people got out of the car, surrounded the prefect, and walked into the manor.

However, it is different from what Fuxing Taoist priests and others have described, in the past, the prefect took the lead and was absolutely centered.

The group of people who entered the manor today also had a green-robed Taoist wearing a purple gold lotus crown and five locks of long beard floating on his chest, parallel to the prefect.

Between the oblique collar moire of the Taoist priest, there is another unique pattern, specially embroidered with gold thread, carefully identified, it turned out to be the word "congenital" in cursive writing.

(End of chapter)