Chapter 107 Chapter 107 In the Second Aunt’s room, she smiled...
In the second concubine's room, she looked at the fifth brother with a smile and said, "You are young and look likable. I see that Chen brother has a good impression of you, even better than the fourth brother, and he talked to you a lot today."
The fifth brother then said to the second aunt: "Little lady, I also think that Chen brother is a very good person. He has a gentle personality and looks good. I like him very much."
"Then do you want to marry into the Xue family and serve Lord Xue together with him?" The second aunt asked hurriedly.
When Fifth Brother heard this, he quickly shook his head and said, "No, no. If I marry Master Xue, then Brother Chen will definitely hate me. I can't do such a thing!"
Second Aunt never thought that Fifth Brother would have such an idea. She said with a feeling of disappointment, "If you don't fight for it, Fourth Brother will! If he marries into the Xue family, you won't have a chance!"
"Then let him marry her. I don't want to make Chen'er angry. He has such a good temper." Fifth Brother said, "No wonder you let me get close to Chen'er. It turns out you want me to marry Lord Xue as a concubine. Chen'er treats me so well. If I do this, wouldn't it be a stab in the back? He will definitely ignore me. It's better not to do it."
"You idiot! You're really pissing me off to death!" The Second Aunt was so angry that she slapped the Fifth Brother hard, wishing she had never given birth to this stupid brother.
On the contrary, in the Third Aunt's room, the Fourth Brother couldn't help but ask, "Little Aunt, why do I feel that Brother Chen seems to like the Fifth Brother more today? What should I do?"
"What are you afraid of? No matter how much he likes Fifth Brother, can he take the initiative to let Fifth Brother go to be his concubine? No matter who marries him, he will not like her anyway, what are you worried about?" Third Aunt said nonchalantly: "Look at Second Aunt, she tries to please Madam every day, but what good has she gained? Isn't she still inferior to First Aunt and Fourth Aunt who gave birth to sons?"
"Then why do you want me to please him?" the fourth brother asked again.
"If you marry him, he is the head of the Xue family after all, so you can't offend him." The third concubine said, "But whether you marry him or not is still up to Master Xue. We have to work hard on your father and ask him to raise this matter more in front of Master Xue."
On the way back, Shen Xuan talked to Xue Fenglin about what happened at the Tang family today. Xue Fenglin was a little disdainful of Lord Tang, saying that Lord Tang had a bad family tradition and was mediocre at work. Although he had never made any mistakes, he had not made any achievements in the position of prefect over the years.
Because of Lord Xue, Xue Fenglin naturally didn't have a very good impression of Lord Tang, a man with three wives and four concubines. However, Lord Tang was his superior after all, so Xue Fenglin would not show it for the sake of saving face, and was polite to him and the young master of the Tang family.
"I'll have someone send the things I bought back home tomorrow. I want to go directly to Southeast Asia again." Xue Fenglin said to Shen Xuan.
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Shen Xuan smiled when he heard that. He and Xue Fenglin were thinking the same thing again.
Xue Fenglin had long said that he wanted to learn from the development of Southeast Asia, but it was better to go and see it in person than to talk about it on paper for a long time. It is better to do it now than to wait for a day. Now that I am out, I might as well strike while the iron is hot and go directly to Nanyang for an investigation.
After resting for a night in Pengzhou, they went to the government office early the next morning to get a customs clearance document and boarded a passenger ship to Southeast Asia.
However, the Pengzhou wharf was too busy. They boarded the ship at noon, and it took another half a day for the passenger ship to queue up to leave the port. It was not until the evening that we sailed out of Pengzhou Wharf and headed towards Nanyang.
There is an ocean current between Pengzhou and Nanyang. If the ship goes against the current, the speed will be very slow. The only way is to follow the ocean current and dock at the islands west of Nanyang, which takes half a day longer than the distance from Sarawak to Nanyang.
They stayed on the passenger ship and did not arrive in Southeast Asia until noon of the next day.
This passenger ship was a daily passenger ship that emerged after the trade between Dajin and Nanyang began, and most of the people on board were merchants and common people from both sides of the strait.
The place where the passenger ship docked is one of the famous trading ports in Southeast Asia. Before getting off the boat, Shen Xuan heard the noisy hawking sounds on the shore.
The people of Nanyang and Dajin share the same origins and speak a similar language, but because of their accents, they speak differently and are difficult to understand. After getting off the boat, Shen Xuan listened carefully, and found that he could actually understand it!
It turned out that there were many local merchants from Dajin, and many of the vendors on the dock had been to Dajin. When they hawked their wares, they spoke Dajin Mandarin, which was not very standard, and they wore silk produced in Dajin.
Moreover, many of the vendors near the dock use Dajin’s currency. Dajin vendors can buy everything here without exchanging currency!
It can be seen that the business exchanges between Dajin and Nanyang have reached the point of being deeply integrated into daily life.
"Are you two tourists from Da Jin? You look unfamiliar. I'm afraid this is your first time in Nanyang? I wonder if you are here for sightseeing or for business? Would you like me to help you as a guide?" A dark-faced young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes came forward and asked in the Da Jin Mandarin, which he was not very fluent in.
Shen Xuan saw that he was wearing traditional Nanyang costumes and was not very old, probably only thirteen or fourteen years old. There were many people at the dock who were similar to him. Some were young children like him, and some were older adults.
These young men targeted the people getting off the passenger ship, and would approach and ask questions of anyone who was well-dressed and looked wealthy.
If someone agrees, the teenager will take the initiative to lead the way, taking these tourists to eat, drink and stay in Nanyang. They will also introduce the local customs of Nanyang along the way and collect some tips from the guests.
"Okay, then you can be our guide. What's your name? How old are you? What does your family do?" Shen Xuan asked one by one.
When the young man heard that he could make money, he immediately became excited and said in a very sunny tone: "My name is Ah Hai, I am thirteen years old. My family runs a tea stall in Nanyang. When there is nothing to do at home, I came to the dock to try my luck and see if anyone wants me to be a guide."
When Shen Xuan heard this, he realized that Ah Hai's family had a tea stall. Although they were not rich in the local area, they had enough food and clothing. But Ah Hai was a hard-working person. Even at a young age, he knew how to come to the dock to be a guide and earn some extra money. He was a very good kid, so I praised him a few words.
Xue Fenglin raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and began to inquire about Ah Hai's family's income in Nanyang, and also asked about what ordinary people in Nanyang generally did for a living.
Ah Hai is a smart child. Although he is young, he is quite familiar with the situation of the people around him. Then he explained everything to Xue Fenglin in detail.
For example, the South Seas is not a large area, but it has abundant seafood. Most of the people in Southeast Asia are either fishermen who make a living by fishing, or have fields where they grow some food and vegetables to sell.
Of course, there are also people like Ah Hai's family who neither have land nor fish, so they do some small business to support their family. But whether they are fishermen or farmers, in addition to fishing and farming, they will also do some side jobs when they have free time at home.
For example, someone like Ah Hai, who works as a guide at the dock, can earn a few taels of silver a month and live a pretty good life.
"I've heard from my father that before the Great Jin and Nanyang trade was opened, Nanyang was very poor. The people on the island could barely get enough food and clothing, and their lives were far from being as good as they are now." Ah Hai said: "After the new emperor of the Great Jin ascended the throne, maritime trade with Nanyang was opened. Many people from the Great Jin came here, and our lives became much better."
Xue Fenglin felt complicated when he heard this. After registering, Emperor Wu of Jin liberalized trade with neighboring countries in order to benefit the people of Jin.
Unexpectedly, Sarawak, which was close to the water, did not get any benefit from it, but instead made the people of Nanyang rich.
Of course, this is also closely related to the chaotic management in Sarawak in recent years.
Ah Hai called a rickshaw for Shen Xuan and the others, and he trotted along beside them until he reached a seaside area quite close to the pier.
Shen Xuan saw that the beach was very beautiful, and there was a row of small buildings standing on the shore. These small buildings form a natural commercial street, which is very lively. There are teahouses, pubs, inns, shops, etc., which attract tourists from Southeast Asia and foreign businessmen to live here.
Ah Hai pointed to the commercial street and said to Shen Xuan and the others, "This is the commercial street closest to the pier. The beach in front has the best scenery. There are also pearl traders selling pearls nearby. The prices are much cheaper than yours in Dajin."
"Many merchants from Dajin like to live here. There is a complete range of food, drink and entertainment here, and they can also bring back some Southeast Asian specialties such as pearls and rubber when they leave."
Shen Xuan took a look and found that the row of small buildings were indeed Nanyang-style buildings, and the tallest one was actually three stories high.
Each house is decorated with colorful shells or conchs, which looks colorful, and there are neatly planted palm trees at the door.
"Which inn is the best here?" Xue Fenglin asked. Then Ah Hai took them to the largest inn.
Shen Xuan went in and saw that the inn had three floors and a large area of beach behind his house was fenced off. The cost of accommodation in an ordinary room was three taels of silver per night, which was considered quite expensive in Southeast Asia.
But even so, almost all the rooms here are full, and most of the people staying here are tourists and businessmen from Dajin.
After Xue Fenglin asked around, he booked the best guest room, which cost ten taels of silver for one night.
Ah Hai heard this and was also surprised. I didn't expect that the two distinguished guests I received were so rich!
At this time, Chen Xuan smiled at Ah Hai and said, "Your Nanyang is so rich, there must be a lot of rich people, right? What do they do on a daily basis?"
Ah Hai thought for a moment before saying, "Many of our wealthy merchants in Nanyang made their fortunes by doing business with Dajin. On weekdays, they also eat, drink and have fun. When they get tired of playing in Nanyang, they will go to Dajin and other surrounding island countries."
Only then did Xue Fenglin let Ah Hai take himself and Shen Xuan to a famous local specialty restaurant for dinner. After asking Ah Hai to introduce them to some special dishes, he gave him five taels of silver and asked him to come again tomorrow.
After he left, Xue Fenglin and Shen Xuan returned to the guest room, and then he said to Shen Xuan: "My trip to Nanyang today did give me a lot of ideas."
"Although Nanyang is small, it has a population of more than 500,000. And after our trip today, we found that Nanyang is very prosperous. Ordinary people like Ah Hai's family have long been well fed and clothed."
"Pengzhou has already taken the lead in the trade between Nanyang and Dajin, and it is not easy for Sarawak to repeat it. But Sarawak is closer to Nanyang. If we take a boat from under Nanyang and bypass the ocean current, it will only take less than two hours. We can go back and forth in one day."
“Sarawak has such a good geographical location. If we develop a recreational area like Nanyang, where people from Nanyang can come to play and shop, and earn money from Nanyang people, I wonder if it will be possible?”
Xue Fenglin naturally trusted Shen Xuan's business decisions, so he told Shen Xuan his ideas, hoping to get some advice from him.
After listening to Xue Fenglin's idea, Shen Xuan thought it was very good. After thinking it over carefully, he said to Xue Fenglin, "We left Pengzhou for Nanyang, and it took us half a day longer just to leave the dock. It's really inconvenient."
“If you can leave Sarawak, it’s very cheap. Sarawak is not big, so it’s enough for tourism. But if you only consider tourism, it’s a bit stingy.”
"Above Sarawak is Pengzhou, and below is Jianzhou. As far as I know, Jianzhou is very famous for its coconut oil and seafood, and it is also a prosperous place on the southeast coast. It would be better to connect Pengzhou, Sarawak and Jianzhou and build a special economic zone on the southeast coast. In addition to Southeast Asia, it can also attract more trade with other countries, and the people here can truly live a prosperous life."
The inspiration for the Shenxuan Special Economic Zone naturally comes from the modern world. However, in the era of Dajin, it is a refreshing concept that is like the creation of the world.
Xue Fenglin's eyes lit up when he heard this. He excitedly held Shen Xuan and turned him around, saying, "Good Xuan'er! You are really smart! How can you come up with such an unexpected idea?"
Shen Xuan blushed when Xue Fenglin praised him, but he couldn't say that he got the inspiration after traveling to another world. I could only say a little embarrassedly: "I'm just talking about it casually. How to implement it and whether it can be implemented depends on your own research."
"This has already helped me a lot!" Xue Fenglin couldn't help but kiss Shen Xuan, and said with sparkling eyes: "If people knew that my husband is so smart, I don't know how jealous they would be of me!"
"If I'm a fool, then you won't like me anymore?" Shen Xuan couldn't help but ask after hearing this.
"If you are a fool, there are also cute aspects of being a fool." Xue Fenglin smiled when he heard this, and suddenly hugged Shen Xuan's waist, leaning close to his ear and said, "If you are a fool, then I will trick you into doing something I have wanted you to do for a long time, which is better than me begging you every day these days, but you are unwilling to give in!"
As soon as Shen Xuan heard what Xue Fenglin was talking about, he said with a red face: "That's because your request is too outrageous. I don't have the face to do that."
Xue Fenglin said with regret: "So, Xuan'er, being too smart is not a good thing. You are actually worried that if you are not smart enough, I will not like you as much."
Shen Xuan heard the hidden meaning in his words, and said in shame and annoyance: "You are right! Then I should be smarter!"
Before he finished speaking, his eyes went dark again… Shen Xuan was pressed down on the colorful Nanyang folk bed sheets of the inn…
It’s my first night on the Nanyang Island. I don’t know when I can fall asleep...
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