Qi Hongxin was taken by Su Ziji to the ox cart that had been prepared a long time ago, and the two had nothing to say on the road, and when Su Ziji said "My lord, it's here", Qi Hongxin opened his eyes and woke up from exhaustion.

"Arrived?" he lifted the curtain and glanced out, and was startled at this sight.

originally thought that Su Ziji was taking him to a private room in a restaurant, or a temporary residence, or a yamen, but it turned out to take him to the largest square in Fucheng.

And the entire square, at the moment, is densely packed with people, and a rough count of them is at least thousands.

Qi Hongxin immediately felt no tiredness, opened his eyes wide, and went to see who these people were, for fear that something would go wrong and he would be kept in the dark.

And this look surprised Qi Hongxin even more.

"These people...... Aren't they the owners of a few restaurants in Fucheng? There are a few of them, who seem to be the owners of the Silk Village?" Because these people who were recognized were all people who had come to the reception banquet when Qi Hongxin first arrived in Shun'an Mansion, Qi Hongxin had an excellent memory, and he had only seen it once, and he had already remembered it. That's why I'm so surprised when I see it at the moment.

And in addition to these acquaintances, the rest of those who don't know are also wearing silk and satin, and at first glance they are not ordinary people, at least landlords and businessmen.

"Master Su, what's going on?" Qi Hongxin was stunned for a moment, turned around sharply, and asked.

Su Ziji smiled: "Lord Qi, these landlords and businessmen are all here to participate in the lottery. ”

"Lottery?"

"Exactly. The small mines held by the lower officials will be sold in public in the form of lottery, all of which are sold for ten years, and each person who participates in the lottery needs to pay 100 taels of silver for one draw......"

"Everyone pays a hundred taels?" Qi Hongxin gasped, and he immediately understood what Su Ziji meant.

If there were thousands of people present, and each of them paid one hundred taels to participate in the lottery, it would be almost 100,000 taels of silver!

The principal of the mining right is only 30,000 taels.

How did this Su Zi grow his head?

At this moment, Qi Hongxin couldn't help but have such questions.

"My lord, why don't you get closer and watch the lottery?" Su Ziji gave Qi Hongxin a little time to calm down, and proposed again.

"Go and see!" Qi Hongxin was naturally willing, and he was also curious about whether this lottery method was feasible, and whether these people in the square now were just coming to see the excitement, and whether they were willing to really take out real money to get a chance to draw lots.

When they walked to the front, they happened to see the official in charge, and he asked the official to check the box first, and turned the opening towards the people present, so that they could all see that it was indeed an empty box, and there was no mechanism to deal with it.

Later, more than 30 old talents were invited to come forward.

This is not only to build momentum for this lottery and improve the qualifications, but at the same time, these people are all people of merit and fame, and they have lived happily all their lives, and in order to cherish their reputation, it is impossible to cheat in this kind of thing.

This is still to tell the people present that this draw is credible, winning or losing is all by luck, and there is no possibility of artificial fraud.

Sure enough, when I saw these more than 30 people, I was still a little hesitant to be present, but at this moment, my heart fell back into my stomach, and I looked forward to it.

After all, they only know about more than 30 small mines, and they need to use 100 taels of silver to buy the right to draw lots, and everyone draws lots, but how to draw is a problem.

Many of them want to break their heads, and they can't figure out how to smoke it.

This matter, in fact, when Su Ziji first thought of it before, he was thinking of using a real lottery to draw. But for the sake of fairness, I changed my mind and used a new method.

At this moment, more than 30 old talents demonstrated the method that Su Ziji later thought of.

I saw that each of them took a pen and wrote the name of a mine on a piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into a box on the spot.

The lid of the box was closed, only the lid had a hole in which to reach in, and everyone who stuffed the note into it, after pulling it out, immediately let go, opened their palms, and motioned for those present to look at it before withdrawing.

After more than 30 people stuffed the notes one by one, it was the turn of those present to hand over the silver.

Qi Hongxin suddenly held his breath and stared, a little worried, he was not conspicuous in civilian clothes, because everyone's eyes fell on the big box warmly.

But even so, as the official's voice fell, the scene was silent for a moment.

"Doesn't anyone want to be the first to stand up?" Qi Hongxin immediately understood, but the next moment, a voice sounded in the crowd: "I'll give three hundred taels!"

Three hundred taels?

With this sound, many people showed puzzled expressions, didn't they say that it only took a hundred taels?

But when a scribe wrote three hundred taels on the spot, filled in the name of the buyer, kneaded it into a ball, and stuffed it into a box on the spot, the people on the scene were not stupid, and they all understood immediately.

So that's it!

In addition to the names of more than 30 small mines, all the people who contribute will have an extra paper ball for every 100 taels, and this paper group actually represents a chance to draw lots.

If there are 1,000 people, each person pays the price once, in addition to more than 30 paper balls with mine names, there will be 1,000 paper balls of 100 taels of silver that have been drawn and useless.

Although it was useless, each ball of paper had silver and a name, and the stuffing was immediately revealed when it was forged.

This was so fair that everyone present was immediately convinced.

Moreover, through this "rising bird" out of three hundred taels, it can also be seen that this lottery, the government not only limits the lottery once, but also pays more silver and has a few more chances to draw lots!

Thinking of this, the faces of the people present suddenly flashed with excitement, and they all began to bid, some offered one hundred taels, some offered two hundred taels, some offered three hundred taels, and even one with a lot of money came up with three thousand taels.

Some people looked at him with unkindness in their eyes, what is this planning to cover all the small mines by himself?

"Ladies and gentlemen, one person can give up to five hundred taels, and five chances to draw lots. Immediately, a master Bo shouted, telling the people present that a person could only give a maximum of five hundred taels, and any more would not be allowed.

Su Ziji saw that the person who had bid three hundred taels first just now nodded lightly to his side, and also smiled.

"That's Tuo?" Qi Hongxin's sharp eyes actually saw it, and asked in a very low voice at this moment.

Su Ziji replied: "Yes." ”

Then I couldn't hear Qi Hongxin's reply, and when I looked around, I saw Qi Hongxin, who originally wanted to say something, and was turning his eyes to the back hall at the moment.

shouted the silver, it was in the hall to hand over the silver, even the squire, did not have the courage to shout the silver not to pay, at this time they all handed over the silver.

Seeing this, Su Ziji felt that Qi Hongxin valued silver more, so he had to say, "Lord Qi, let's go over and have a look." ”