Chapter 38: Prosperous Ming Dynasty
Chapter 38: Prosperous Ming Dynasty
The reason why Zhu Zaigui invested so much money was actually very simple, which was to create a sense of scarcity and luxury for the white sugar he had in his hands.
When all the gifts were delivered, Zhu Zaigui would have people tell everyone how good "Yiran Sugar" was and how it was the best choice for honoring elders and visiting relatives and friends.
Zhu Zaigui was not stingy with the remaining "Yiran Candy" and sent people to deliver some to Lan Daoxing of Chaotian Temple, Li Shizhen of the Imperial Hospital, and Gao Gong of the Hanlin Academy.
Even his adopted brother, Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen, sent one. As for whether he liked it or not, it was not important at all. What was important was Zhu Zaigui's actions.
After giving away all the "Yiran Candies", Meng Chong looked at Zhu Zaigui eagerly, "Your Highness has given away all the candies, should we sell these treasures now?"
Zhu Zaigui said, "No hurry, wait until tomorrow when I go to the East Market to have a look around."
Meng Chong didn't know why Zhu Zaigui wanted to go to the East Market, but since his own prince wanted to go, Meng Chong certainly couldn't stop him.
After this period of adjustment, Meng Chong also accepted Zhu Zai's personality changes, and gradually learned to obey Zhu Zai's wishes.
So now Meng Chong thinks about things much more simply. As long as his prince is happy, he can do anything.
The next morning, Zhu Zaigui asked Meng Chong to find a piece of casual clothes.
After putting on his casual clothes, Zhu Zaigui finally realized what it meant to be romantic and dashing.
Although this set of casual clothes is ordinary, the satin used is the finest Jiangnan tribute cloth. There are also two slightly yellowish mutton-fat white jade rings hanging around the waist, one is a round-shaped Chilong, and the other is a round-shaped Chongming bird. These two mythical beasts in legends are both for exorcising evil spirits and ensuring safety, so the ancients also liked to use these mythical beasts with beautiful meanings as cultural materials and integrate them into all aspects of life.
Of course, people who can enjoy such a standard of living, regardless of ancient or modern times, are either rich or noble. It is not a life that ordinary people can even dream of.
But this does not prevent ordinary people from yearning for such a beautiful life. After all, hasn’t the culture from ancient times to the present taught people to be superior to others?
Since you want to be a superior person, you naturally cannot miss out on the enjoyment of a superior person.
After several days of practicing Xiantian Gong, Zhu Zaigui finally showed some youthful vigor between his brows, which was many times stronger than the sickly look he had when he just traveled through time.
Zhu Zaigui's straight waist holds out this new dress, which was made just during the New Year, perfectly. There is not a single slanted feeling about it being worn. At first glance, he really does look like a peerless gentleman and a beauty like jade.
The only pity is that the originally reserved hem length is now a bit tight, but fortunately everything is fine and still within a reasonable range.
So this outfit is quite appropriate to wear outside, and it won’t be embarrassing like an adult wearing children’s clothes.
But even so, after putting on this casual dress, Zhu Zaigui still said to Meng Chong: "Recently, I have gained some weight and my body is stronger than before. You should find a tailor to buy me a few more casual clothes. Remember to keep them low-key and not as extravagant as the one I have now."
Meng Chong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Making clothes doesn't cost any money.
Because the royal palace would receive the finest tribute cloth as a reward from the palace every year, whether it was Yunjin from Jiangnan or Shujin from Sichuan, etc., there would be a fixed amount and quantity of each kind of fine cloth supplied every year.
Moreover, making clothes for the prince is not something that an ordinary tailor can do. It has to be handed over to the masters in the palace. These masters do not charge any money, after all, their food and drinks are also supplied by the palace.
Unlike the custom-made embroidery works that had to be made by an embroiderer before, which required some labor and material costs, Meng Chong was very happy when he heard his prince say that he had grown up and wanted to make new clothes, because it meant that his prince was really in good health now.
What a great and joyful thing this is!
Meng Chong said happily: "Okay, my lord, I will find a skilled craftsman to help you make new clothes."
Zhu Zaiqi hummed, "Let's go. Mr. Gao will come to give me a lesson this afternoon. Don't delay us."
Meng Chong hurriedly said yes and led the way with Zhu Zaigui and left Prince Yu's Mansion.
Dongshi is one of the largest and most prosperous neighborhoods in the capital, with shops lined up next to each other and very bustling.
Any businessman who can open a store here is either really capable or has a very powerful backstage.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to open a decent store in the East Market where every inch of land is valuable.
Walking on the streets of East Market and watching the bustling people coming and going, Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but sigh at the prosperity of the capital.
Except for the porters who were rushing back and forth to deliver goods or help others move things and were wearing not very decent short clothes, the rest of the people were all dressed in silk and satin, wearing jade crowns on their heads. Some of the show-offs were fanning themselves with folding fans in their hands, not knowing whether they were really hot or not.
Anyway, Zhu Zaigui was a little uncomfortable with it, but he also respected biological diversity. After all, this was someone else's life. As long as it did not hinder others, there was no need for Zhu Zaigui to preach to others from an old scholar's perspective.
There were also some pretty young ladies who walked boldly on the streets, happily shuttling between jewelry stores and rouge shops with a few friends or their maids, picking and choosing the products they liked.
Looking at their brisk steps and the smiles on their faces, Zhu Zaigui felt as if he were an ancient person.
Because in his previous subconscious cognition, Zhu Zaigui always believed that women in ancient times never went out of the house, as if they were ladies from wealthy families who embroidered and bound their feet at home.
But after taking a look at the reality, Zhu Zaigui found that not only did they not bind their feet, but they also lived very freely.
It doesn't look like it has been persecuted by the cannibalistic ethics at all.
So at this moment Zhu Zaigui also discovered the narrowness of his own thinking. Originally, Zhu Zaigui thought that he was an "omniscient and omnipotent" time traveler with a God's perspective. Now, after seeing the real historical scenes, Zhu Zaigui found that he seemed to have been swept away by his inherent narrow cognition.
However, it is not too late to wake up now, because I cannot have a substantial impact on this era now, so it is a good thing to discover my own cognitive misunderstandings in time at this time.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, don't block my young master's way!"
Just when Zhu Zaigui was marveling at the prosperity and freedom of the Ming Dynasty, a sound of environmental destruction instantly brought Zhu Zaigui back to reality. It turned out that there were still barbarians in this world who did not take their rights and freedoms seriously and thought they were superior to others.
(End of this chapter)