Chapter 592: You and I in the Crowd
Chapter 592: You and I in the Crowd
On the morning of August 31, the 22nd year of Hongwu,
As soon as the morning light appeared and the four gates of Yingtian City were opened, a large number of people poured in.
Among them, in addition to the merchants and workers who regularly enter and leave Yingtian City every day,
There were also some more people from various villages.
They came to Yingtian City in groups, escorted by employees of Yingtian Commercial Bank.
Prepare to attend the opening ceremony of Yingtian Commercial Bank tomorrow.
In the team, most of them are led by respected elders.
They are the ones who represent the village in the lottery.
The old man was followed by a middle-aged man and some children.
They looked at the wide streets of Yingtian City.
Walking on the bluestone road under his feet, there was a gleam in his eyes.
This is the case with some people, even if a bustling city is just a stone's throw away from the village.
But they may never be able to see or touch it in their lifetime.
Tang Boyong, the captain of Yingtian Left Guard, was on duty at Jubao Gate. Usually at this time,
He should take a nap in the city gate tower.
But today he dared not slack off at all.
He stood on the high platform, looking at the already crowded official road outside, and his expression changed slightly.
"Send people out to stop them. Divide them into groups of more than a hundred and enter the city in sections."
"Everyone must check carefully. The busier you are, the less you can be careless."
"Tell the assembled rickshaw drivers to pull as much as they can and disperse the crowd;
Don’t let the crowds crowd around the city gates.”
"Also, inform Jingzhao Prefecture,
The first group of people entering the city before Chenshi will be around 1,500 people. Let them get ready."
Orders were issued one after another, and almost all the soldiers nearby became busy.
Tang Boyong quickly found Ji Yufan, the manager of Yingtian Commercial Bank, who was responsible for escorting many villagers.
He is a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
"Now, I will hire all the carriages and horses at Jubaomen.
Tell them where to relocate the people and evacuate them as soon as possible."
Ji Yufan was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly:
"General Tang, rest assured. I will report this matter to the company. The money and other things will be delivered this afternoon."
Tang Boyong waved his hand:
"Don't talk about this. Evacuate everyone first. It only costs a few dollars to hire a carriage. It would be terrible if someone died."
"Yes"
In less than two quarters of an hour, as the people were intercepted and diverted,
The Jubao Gate and its surroundings soon became empty, and Tang Boyong promptly issued an order:
"Change the number of people in each section to 200 to speed up the entry into the city."
"Yes"
After working for nearly half an hour,
The entire Jubao Gate finally returned to its normal flow of people.
It is not crowded, but it seems lively.
At this time, the shopkeeper Li Wu, who had been active near Jubaomen, was also very busy.
He dragged the cart back, panting, his whole body soaked with sweat.
I just sent two people off and I'm now exhausted and out of breath.
But when he saw that his cart had already run away, he still smiled sincerely.
Li Wu parked the cart under the awning built by the imperial court.
He leaned against the car, took out a candy from his arms, put it in his mouth, and took a big gulp of salt water.
As his energy was replenished, Li Wu's breathing gradually became smoother and the blush on his face slowly faded.
"Hey, isn't this our shopkeeper Li?"
A driver also came back panting and drank water in big gulps while sitting on the cart.
However, he did not have the same conditions as Li Wu. He had no sugar to eat and no salt water to drink.
Li Wu rolled his eyes at him:
"If you keep yelling like that, I'll really become the shopkeeper."
"You already have three carts, but you're still the boss?"
The driver smacked his lips, a look of envy on his face.
"I still owe a lot of money."
Li Wu muttered quietly, feeling a little proud in his heart.
Within a few months, he owned three carts.
Although he said he still owed a lot of money,
But only he himself knew that he had already earned back the money he earned from the cart by transporting goods for regular customers.
The two nephews also made money.
Now I am full of energy every day and am preparing to buy the fourth cart.
Thinking of this, Li Wu's eyes were filled with joy and he was secretly happy in his heart.
"Fortunately, I listened to Lord Lu and didn't rashly invest all my wealth in it."
Thinking of this, Li Wu's eyes were filled with mixed feelings.
The recent appearance of tricycles has given the new horse trading companies in the city a great scare.
As a result, many car dealerships stopped purchasing new cars.
This caused the price of flatbed trucks to drop significantly.
He also took the opportunity to buy a third car.
The price is 20% cheaper than usual, and two car repair services are provided for free.
Even though I bought a car,
But Li Wu had also seen that tricycle, and it was indeed a good thing.
With so much cargo, you can just pedal away.
It's much better than their hand-pulled carts.
Unfortunately, he searched all over Yingtian City.
I couldn't find anywhere that sold it.
After some inquiries, I found out that this was a military item and was now being used by Yingtian Trading Company.
"If I could get one of these great things, how much cargo would I be able to carry every day?"
"This company is really something. With such a big business, they don't hire outsiders.
If we can deliver goods to the company, we won’t have to worry about this year.”
As my thoughts were drifting, two brand new carts stopped.
Two burly young men came over and sat down in front of Li Wu.
They are nephew Bi Yun and nephew Hong Chengyun.
"Uncle, it's very lively at Yingtian Commercial Bank. There are many people there, including many high-ranking officials.
The entire nearby inn was booked by Yingtian Commercial Bank.
When I sent someone there, the inn was so magnificent! "
Bi Yun couldn't wait to speak and dance.
Hong Seung-yoon on the side also nodded repeatedly.
He just seems a little dull and not good at speaking.
As he spoke, Bi Yun pulled out a thick document from his waist and handed it over:
"Uncle, come and take a look."
"what is this?"
Li Wu took it with some doubts, then opened it and took a look.
Ok?
He didn't recognize some of the words on it, but he recognized the pictures on it.
There are fruits and vegetables. These roots should be sprouts.
The meat should be the one with distinct layers.
There are also round eggs, larger duck eggs, and larger goose eggs.
"Uncle, the business will open tomorrow.
The above items are all on sale, very cheap, ten eggs only cost five cents.
Vegetables are even cheaper, five cents can buy three catties, and meat is ten cents per catty."
"So cheap?" Li Wu was a little surprised.
Bi Yun nodded repeatedly:
"Uncle, let's go tomorrow.
One penny can be used to enter the lottery, and if we win the grand prize, we will become rich."
“They are all scams, how can they let you win the grand prize?
But if the stuff is really that cheap, I can buy some.
You two guys are such big eaters, you're going to make me broke."
Bi Yun shook his head, not caring at all.
However, the newcomer Hong Seung-yoon felt a little embarrassed.
Bi Yun patted his shoulder and comforted him:
"Second uncle has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He nags all the time. Don't listen to his nonsense."
Hong Seung-yoon nodded in agreement.
"Thank you, uncle."
He was very grateful to his uncle for giving him this opportunity.
Not only can we go to the city, but we can also go to the community to learn to read.
This is much more useful than the hundred or so words I learned in the village.
Li Wu ignored them and focused on the pattern above.
Although I don’t understand it, I just find it interesting.
After a while, he made a decision:
"Okay, let's go check it out this afternoon.
They are all regular customers in the morning, and we cannot neglect them no matter how big the matter is. They are our bread and butter.
In the afternoon, there are only individual passengers, so it doesn’t matter whether we accept them or not.”
The two children's eyes suddenly lit up and they held their breath with excitement.
“Bi Yun, you have wages, but you can’t buy random things, buy practical things.
Chengyun had little money when he first arrived.
If you want to buy something, your uncle will pay for it and deduct it from this month’s salary.
As I said before, you have just arrived in Beijing, save up some money and get a firm foothold first."
"Yes"
The two children nodded repeatedly.
At Yingtian Commercial Bank on Fudong Street, everything is ready.
The various engineering teams have been withdrawing one after another.
Only the last hundred people were left to make minor repairs and perfect the details. After three days of hard work, all the fruits, vegetables and other products were ready in the store.
The entire front-line scout unit's soldiers felt as if their bodies were falling apart, and it was even more tiring than normal training.
But the curtains surrounding the business haven't been removed yet.
Even though there were crowds of people outside at this moment, people could only see a large curtain.
But it doesn't matter. The curtain covering half of the street is already eye-catching enough.
In addition to the promotion of small cards and the distribution of discount books these days,
Almost everyone in Yingtian City knew about it.
Near the government office, the largest trading company in the Ming Dynasty opened.
The human-to-human transmission effect is significant, and many people rushed from the west and north of the city just to find out what's going on.
Now there is only one day left before the business opens.
Fudong Street has been completely blocked, and Yingtian Prefecture has already issued a notice in advance!
With Fudong Street as the center, there are four nearby streets within three hundred feet.
No carriages are allowed to enter to prevent congestion.
At this moment, Lu Yunyi was standing on the roof of the inn opposite Yingtian Commercial Bank with a map in his hand.
Looking at the dense black spots on the street in front of me, I felt dizzy.
Too many, too many people!
Even though Fudong Street and Shengping Bridge were extremely spacious and could accommodate nearly twenty carriages passing side by side,
It seemed very crowded at this moment, and the flow of people was much slower than usual.
Next to him was the chancellor Feng Kezhao.
He was similar to Lu Yunyi, and his whole body was filled with fatigue.
I don't have time to take care of my hair, it's a mess like a chicken coop.
I didn't have time to wash my face, so it was covered in dust and oil.
He was worried at the moment.
"Lord Lu, aren't there too many people? If a riot breaks out, it will be difficult to handle."
Lu Yunyi nodded solemnly:
"Lord Feng's concerns are very reasonable.
We haven’t even opened yet, but there are already so many people here. I don’t know how many people will come tomorrow.”
Sighing, Lu Yunyi pinched his brows.
Having too few people in business is a worry, but having too many people is also a worry.
"How about this, we set up isolation lanes to guide the flow of people.
The entire flow of people is restricted in an orderly manner within the isolation zone. "
As he spoke, Lu Yunyi took the document and wrote the word "bow" on it.
"Arrange it in this shape.
On the one hand, it shortens the time it takes for people to enter the business.
On the other hand, the isolation belt can reduce contact between people, so even if there is trouble, it can be solved in time. "
Feng Kezhao understood it at a glance and his eyes lit up.
"Lord Lu, this is a good idea.
In this way, if ordinary people want to enter the business, they have to walk a distance as long as several Fudong Streets. "
"This is the only solution. The business has already been built in the most spacious place in Yingtian.
This situation still occurs. We can’t build a business on the parade ground.”
Lu Yunyi scratched his itchy scalp and kept muttering.
Feng Kezhao didn't say anything, but just rubbed his eyes tiredly.
He finally saw how energetic young people are.
If I remember correctly, Mr. Lu in front of me has been working for three consecutive days.
He almost never left the business, and I never saw him sleep.
At this time, Lu Yunyi shook his head:
"It still won't work. Limiting the flow of people won't reduce the total number of people. It will still be crowded.
The safety of the business cannot be guaranteed.
Once someone starts to make a fuss, it becomes a looting spree.”
Lu Yunyi didn't give Feng Kezhao any time to think and immediately gave a solution:
"In this way, the government office will issue a document as soon as possible.
It says on it, 'Those who are cunning, dishonest, or cause trouble will be exiled.'
Feng Kezhao's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of disbelief.
But Lu Yunyi hadn’t finished speaking yet, and continued:
“In short, it’s something like this, it must be short and easy to understand.
In addition, officials were arranged to shout constantly at the entrances and exits of the four surrounding streets.
Let's make up a few more examples. For example, Zhang San was caught stealing and exiled to the border.
Wang Wu was arrested for causing trouble and exiled to the border. We should call him out together to minimize the possibility of man-made chaos. "
"Sir, there is no such severe punishment in Ming Dynasty law."
"The Great Ming Code is a means, not an end.
As long as the goal of stability can be achieved, no matter what means are used.
There are so many people tomorrow, if there is chaos, the Ming Dynasty Law will fall on you and me."
"Okay. I understand."
"Also, the officials from the six ministries will not come to cause trouble tomorrow.
But there are many dignitaries in the city, including some royal relatives.
Give advance notice and set up barriers.
Anyone who wants to enter the business can only bring one guard with him.
Don't invite a bunch of people to come here and cause trouble."
Feng Kezhao showed a mournful expression:
"Sir, how dare the capital city provoke these people?
If we are not careful, the future of the capital will be difficult."
Lu Yunyi's eyes were full of bloodshot, and he said:
"Don't worry about this matter. The capital city only needs to send officials to shout and remind people.
I will ask the imperial guards to maintain order, and Marquis Wuding will come in person, so don't worry.
As for the royal family,
I will ask the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Jin to come to the scene to maintain order.
Now I have dealt with the two tough bosses for you, and the remaining ones are the wealthy people in the city.
If you, the capital, can't solve the problem, then it's not my fault."
"Yes, the Jingfu will definitely handle this matter!"
Feng Kezhao took two cautious steps and crouched down beside the eaves.
He gave instructions to the clerks below.
After a while, he walked back carefully.
Feeling the breeze that is usually so pleasant, I feel scared at this moment.
He looked at Lu Yunyi who was standing proudly beside him.
Suddenly I felt that it was good to have such a superior.
Although he was extremely tired, he was really capable of taking on the responsibility.
The two stayed on the roof for another half an hour, making some other arrangements before hurried down.
It was almost noon.
More and more people started to gather in the inn.
These people were not tenants living here, but busy officials and clerks from various departments.
This inn has now become a resting place and canteen.
The trading company was generous and booked the entire inn, and the innkeeper was grinning from ear to ear.
Lu Yunyi came to the door of the inn with a sesame cake in his hand.
Looking at the vigilant guards and employees on the street trying to maintain order, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Tell the accountant that you brothers have worked hard these past few days.
As long as you can successfully overcome this difficulty, you will be rewarded. "
The clerk ran away and went to the third floor of the inn to find the accountant.
Due to the congestion around the business, the accounting office was temporarily placed here.
At the door, Lu Yunyi finished his sesame cake neatly, took a big sip of water, and walked through the crowd towards the bank.
He was still a little worried and wanted to check it again!
But as soon as he walked to the side door of the store, he saw Liu Heiying coming out of the store with more than 30 people.
The two looked at each other.
"What are you doing?" Lu Yunyi asked.
"Brother Yun'er, I checked inside again."
"Did you find any problems?"
"Of course."
Liu Heiying took the document from Hu Xiaowu and handed it to Lu Yunyi:
"Brother Yun'er, all the places written here are places where there may be safety hazards."
Lu Yunyi glanced from top to bottom and breathed a sigh of relief.
They are just minor repairs, not a big deal.
"Okay, take a rest. The brothers haven't had a rest in the past few days, and you are exhausted."
Lu Yunyi slapped the document back and brushed the dust off his shoulders.
Liu Heiying took the document, then moved closer and spoke mysteriously:
"Brother Yun'er, I want to tell you something."
"What's the matter? Is it important?" Lu Yunyi asked in surprise.
“It’s not important, but it’s important to me!”
Liu Heiying raised his eyebrows, looking very proud.
Lu Yunyi looked him up and down and looked around.
"Okay, let's find a quiet place to talk. I just need a break."
"okay."
(End of this chapter)