Ever since the "supermarket" in the south of the city opened, the people of Linzi had one more topic to talk about. Royal families flocked to it, and although common people could not afford it, they also liked to go and see the excitement. The teahouses and restaurants that were originally deserted were bustling again, and except for a few scholars occasionally discussing court affairs, no one paid attention to the situation in the palace.
It seemed that except for the day when Lord Chen returned to the city, this incident did not cause any ripples.
Ye Zhou didn't plan to set up a tent around the supermarket this time - it was in the wilderness before and he really had no choice.
This time when opening for business, Ye Zhou does not need to receive any guests, and the employees are capable of handling the business on their own.
It’s not that there weren’t any troublemakers, but they were mostly conflicts between the powerful and wealthy and had nothing to do with the store, so all we had to do was kick both families out together.
It is a seller's market now. There are only people holding money and property begging to buy things. There is no situation where things cannot be sold.
Ye Zhou did not sell technological products to these dignitaries, but instead sold them luxury goods that were hard to obtain in this era - sugar, salt, and wine. These three were enough, not to mention a bunch of gadgets that looked good but were useless.
For example, crystal balls, dolls and glass products.
The most popular ones are sugar and salt.
Ye Zhou knew that candy was popular. After all, even Chen Hou had cavities from eating too much candy. But he didn't expect it to cause such a nationwide craze.
In order to prevent the wealthy and powerful families from buying sugar from him and then selling it to the common people at a high price, Ye Zhou also asked Wu Yan and others to set up a stall in front of the supermarket and only buy sugar, all of which are bulk sugar. It may not be worse than the sugar with high-end packaging in the supermarket, but it does not look good, so even if the powerful and wealthy see it, they will not feel that they have made a loss.
These bulk candies were still not cheap, but at least the common people could afford them. Peddlers walking around the streets could occasionally buy one and bring it home to sweeten the mouths of their children and wives.
Ye Zhou asked Chen Shu to rent a house near the supermarket, preferably one that was bigger so that all the supermarket employees could live in it.
By then they will renovate the house and it will basically be habitable.
Chen Shu is the most suitable candidate. In a battle, even if someone is so blind as to dare to provoke her, she can break his jaw with one punch.
And although she is tall, she is a woman, and women are more approachable than men.
The most important point is that her eloquence is much better than Zou Ming and Zhou Yuanhe.
As long as Zou Ming is not in front of Ye Zhou, he will not speak unless necessary and can just stand aside and act like a tree.
Zhou Yuanhe had a miserable look on his face, as if he was abused every day. Ye Zhou was afraid of the gentlemen among the natives, so as soon as he saw Zhou Yuanhe, he wanted to "rescue" him.
Besides, the doctor was ahead of his time, so Ye Zhou was afraid that he would be knocked unconscious and taken away.
Chen Shu asked Ye Zhou in detail what kind of house he wanted and then set off.
When she went out, she changed into clothes similar to those worn by the locals, except they were made of cotton instead of the local linen. She didn't like wearing jewelry and was not used to it, so she just tied her hair into a high ponytail.
After looking in the mirror, she felt that she looked very heroic and had a bit of the demeanor of Mulan, so she went out.
The entrance to the supermarket was still full of horse-drawn carriages, but these were not for carrying people, but for transporting goods.
Many servants were waiting on the side, waiting for the people who went in to bring out the purchased goods and load them onto the cart.
Not only the servants of the wealthy and powerful families are here, but also the assistants of the merchants. The ones who come here to purchase goods in large quantities are the merchants who stayed in Linzi. They buy goods in large quantities and wish they could empty the supermarket directly to prevent other merchants from buying.
Seeing someone coming out of the supermarket, and it was obvious that they were not business people who went in to buy things, the people waiting at the door immediately rushed over and said, "Miss, are you from the supermarket? But what do you need? What do you want to ask for? Just tell me."
Things in the supermarket are expensive, so they all want to use their connections and build good relationships with the people there so that they can charge them less.
Chen Shu knew what they were thinking, but he didn't bother to be polite with them and said directly: "I want to rent a house, preferably one that can accommodate 30 people, not too crowded, and the kitchen can't just be a shed."
"I do know of a house. The family moved away from Linzi and only left an old servant to look after the house. It should be rentable, but if you want to send a letter, it will probably take some time to get back and forth."
Chen Shu stopped looking at the person who said this. Another businessman in gorgeous clothes said, "There is a family in the east of the city. Their life is not good, so they have moved out of the rented house. But the price is too high, so no one has asked for the price so far. If the girl is interested, why don't I take the girl over to have a look?"
The merchant said, "I have seen that house before. It is very flat and the house is well built. The beams were brought from Lu. It is a pity that the ancestors of that family left it to their descendants..."
There were also common people who went "bankrupt". Although most of them had their own land outside the city and had servants and slaves to cultivate the land, they still had to pay taxes. If the inheritance left by their ancestors was not abundant, bankruptcy was just a matter of time.
However, even if most people want to sell their houses, it is difficult to do so, because most businessmen will not stay for long. Even if they buy houses, they will not sell them in these two years, and other people have no money.
Rich families also have ancestral homes, so it is impossible for them to buy other people’s houses.
Chen Shu thought about it and said to the businessman, "Then I'll ask you to take me there. You won't lose out on any benefits."
The businessman smiled happily and asked, "Girl, please get in the car."
Chen Shu shook his head: "We can just walk there. I haven't walked through Linzi City yet. Are you in a hurry?"
The businessman immediately shook his head: "No, no, no."
He waited for Chen Shu to walk towards him, then led Chen Shu to the east of the city. The merchant was talkative, so he walked up to Chen Shu and compared himself with him, and found that the girl was actually a head taller than him! He quickly asked, "Why is the girl so tall? Are your parents foreigners?"
In fact, foreigners are not tall either, but mixed-race children are common, and many of them are taller than both their parents.
Chen Shu shook his head: "None of them are foreigners."
The merchant enviously said, "If the girl were a man, she would be a rare and great man. She would definitely become a general in the military camp."
Chen Shu smiled and said, "You still have some vision."
Although she is not a general yet in her own plane, she feels that if she experiences a few more planes, fights a few more battles, and trains her strategies and tactics well, she still has a chance to become a general before the age of fifty.
Seeing that she was easy to talk to and loved to laugh, the merchant became more natural in his attitude: "Looking at the girl's appearance, she doesn't look like a servant at all."
Chen Shu: "Why? You want to poach me? How much can you afford?"
The businessman waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I can't afford such a talent as the girl."
He is not stupid. This girl is in the supermarket, she can use all the good stuff and eat all the delicious food. She lives better than the royal nobles. She must have a problem with her brain to be poached by him.
They walked and talked all the way, and soon the merchant regarded Chen Shu as his confidant. When they reached the door of the house, he even said to Chen Shu: "Young lady is so talented, why don't you start a new business? I, Wei, have traveled among countries over the years, and I have met thousands of people, if not tens of thousands, but I have never seen anyone like you."
He was generous, clear-headed, and cheerful. He was not embarrassed to talk to others, and he could say something meaningful. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not be able to say so much. How many scholars have never even left the town where they live, but they think they have knowledge and know everything about the world just by holding letters written decades or hundreds of years ago.
Although Wei Shang had never been to school, he had seen a lot and knew that there were very few talented people in the world. Whenever one appeared, monarchs from all countries would flock to him. The woman in front of him could also be called a talented person.
Chen Shu was not shy at all and accepted Wei Shang's compliment calmly. She nodded and said, "Now that you have met him, you are also the most talkative person I have ever met."
Wei Shang smiled and said, "As a businessman, everyone you meet is a guest. If you don't have a good mouth, you can't do business well."
Chen Shu nodded and sighed, "Business is not easy to do."
"Then please wait a moment, girl. I'll go ask them to open the door." Wei Shang walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
Instead of going directly to the house the family was selling, they went to where they currently lived.
Linzi City is divided into the city center, south city, east city, north city and west city. The city center is where the royal palace and royal family live. It is the political center of Linzi and even the entire Chen State. The city south is home to many merchants and is considered a commercial center.
Most of the people living in the north of the city are from aristocratic families or people whose families have officials.
The west of the city is the poorest place, which is the slums of Linzi City. Of course, they are still much better off than the common people outside Linzi City.
But there are also divisions in the west of the city: the closer to the city, the richer the people are, and the further out, the poorer the people are.
Chen Shu watched the streets become worse and worse, the roadside scenery become more and more desolate, and the number of dilapidated houses increased. Only then did she realize how poor this place was. She looked at the door in front of her, which actually had a hole in it and had not been repaired to this day.
The merchant quickly opened the door, but the person who opened it was not a servant, but a young man wearing a patched linen suit with patches clearly visible. It was estimated that he was still reading and had not put down the scroll in his hand.
"My dear, you are polite." The merchant still had some respect for the scholar. After bowing, he said, "This girl wants to see your ancestral home. If it is suitable, I will buy it."
The student didn't show any emotion. He bowed and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. I'll go ask my mother."
After saying that, he went into the house.
This house has no yard. Chen Shu knew the layout inside at a glance. It was a long rectangular house, just like a modern one-bedroom apartment. The living room and bedroom were separated by curtains or screens, making there two spaces.
"Their family must have sold their servants." The merchant sighed, "If they can sell their servants, I guess they can't make a living anymore."
Chen Shu: "But there is a scholar in his family, maybe he can rise again in the future?"
The merchant shook his head and said, "His family has no money, so they can't support you as a disciple. If he can't be a disciple, no one will recommend him. If no one recommends him, how will the king know about him?"
Chen Shu: "That's a pity. Judging from his appearance, he should be well-educated."
The businessman laughed and said, "I don't know about that, but there are so few people with real skills nowadays. If you throw them into the fields, many of them can't even tell the difference between wheat and millet!"
Soon the scholar came out. This time he put down the bamboo slips. Perhaps because he saw that Chen Shu was a young woman, he put his hands behind his back in embarrassment - although he had many patches on his body, the one on his sleeve was the largest.
Seeing him hiding, Chen Shu said nonchalantly, "My dear, there is no need to hide. Ambition is not limited by age, and you are still so young."
"Besides, you are naturally elegant because you have learned a lot. You already have the best decoration in the world. Why do you care about external things?"
The businessman and the scholar were both stunned. Chen Shu immediately said, "Neither of these two sentences came from my mind. I just copied what others have said."
The student quickly bowed and said, "I wonder who the girl is..."
Chen Shu waved his hand: "I'm just a shop assistant, working for others. Let's go and look at the house first."
The scholar nodded blankly, and he immediately took the two of them to his family's ancestral home.
The merchant originally did not like dealing with scholars, but seeing that the scholar did not look down on merchants, he asked, "Sir, do you have any income at home now?"
The scholar said with some shame: "I have read poetry and books in vain. I can't lift anything with my hands or shoulders. I can only earn some money by carving books to supplement the family income."
Chen Shu asked curiously, "If that's the case, why don't you open a class to teach? Poor children don't have the money to study under aristocratic teachers, but if you open a class and only teach reading and writing, you can still make some money, much more than engraving books."
Now the scholar and the businessman were shocked again.
But this time, neither of them agreed with her idea.
The merchant was only shocked, but the scholar was furious. He immediately said, "Girl, don't say that! How can common people read and learn calligraphy? They are not worthy of reading the books of the sages!"
Chen Shu was also surprised. She looked at the student and asked, "Are you not a commoner?"
The student looked humiliated and was so angry that he couldn't speak clearly: "I, I, I am a descendant of the Yang family! I come from an aristocratic family!"
Chen Shu said with a "tsk", "That was the time when you were an ancestor. Now you are just a commoner."
"I have another saying, also said by someone else, that suits you very well."
"Everyone has moments of glory, but don't take them forever."
The scholar was so angry that his face turned red. His upbringing prevented him from pointing at Chen Shu. He held back for a long time before saying, "Miss, please go back. We are not selling this house! Yang is down and out now, but we are definitely not common people. We cannot bear such humiliation from you!"
The merchant quickly tried to smooth things over: "Sir, why are you doing this? The girl just said it unintentionally..."
Chen Shu said, "Don't try to persuade him. The more people are obsessed with something, the less they can see through it. Do you think reading and calligraphy are noble? No, it is because reading and calligraphy are monopolized by aristocratic families that they appear noble."
"What's the difference between aristocratic families and merchants?" Chen Shu looked at the merchants, "You hoard goods and hope to gain greater profits through monopoly."
"Isn't it the same with aristocratic families? Aristocratic families monopolize knowledge and writing, so officials can only come from aristocratic families."
"So the scholars who practice calligraphy will admire the aristocratic families even more."
"They are all businessmen, but the businessmen are open and honest. They dare to say that businessmen are only running around for profit."
"The noble families are hiding in secret. They are clearly doing the work of businessmen, but they still want to cover themselves up as saints."
Chen Shu said seriously: "If one day everyone can read and write, and there are no more uneducated people on the streets, then that will be a good day for the country to be prosperous and the people to live and work in peace and contentment."
The scholar turned pale, but he didn't listen to Chen Shu's words at all, and said again: "Miss, please go back!"
Chen Shu raised his eyebrows, his tone even tinged with sarcasm: "Are you sure? Can you really make the decision? Go ask your mother."
The student couldn't stand it any longer and glared at him: "I'm a man! Can't I make the decision?!"
Chen Shu smiled and said, "You really can't make this decision. Let me tell you, your mother will never let you drive me away. Without me, no one will rent your house, and you will have no money to become a disciple, and you will never be able to become an official, and you will live here forever."
"So what if you can read and write?"
Chen Shu: "Will someone give you money just because you can read and write?"
"Whether to sell it or not is not up to you." Chen Shu crossed his arms over his chest, "Go ahead and ask your mother."
The scholar's face changed several times. Finally, his shoulders slumped, his spirit was gone, his pale lips trembled, and without saying the last word, he took Chen Shu and the merchant towards the ancestral home.
The merchants' faces were flushed - this girl actually compared them, the merchants, to the aristocratic families!
But he also felt that the girl was right. They were all hoarding goods, so why were the merchants being scolded and the aristocratic families being praised?
The scholar did not speak a word during the whole journey. He was dejected, as if he had been beaten by someone. He was extremely ashamed and angry, as if he had been forced into prostitution.
After walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the scholar's ancestral home.
They had certainly been wealthy once, with a large house and a covered bridge and a pond, though the pond had dried up and was now filled with mud.
The house had been uninhabited for a long time, and a layer of dust had accumulated on the floor.
However, the house was covered with wooden boards, and not a single board was damaged, which showed that this family had taken special care of their home.
The scholar asked them to go in and look by themselves, so he did not accompany them, for he was afraid that seeing the things would remind them of their past.
As the merchant accompanied Chen Shu to stroll inside, he couldn't help but ask, "Miss, do you hate aristocratic families?"
Chen Shu shook his head, not knowing where the businessman got this answer from: "It's not annoying. Aristocratic families are beneficial to this place. They pass on from generation to generation and can pass on the ideas of the smart people in the family. This is not something that scholars from ordinary families can get."
“Without them, a lot of things would be lost over time.”
"They devote all their efforts to educate their children and let their children contribute to the country. Why should I hate them?"
The businessman was dumbfounded: "But you said that the aristocratic families have a monopoly..."
Chen Shu: "I'm not wrong. There are two sides to a matter. You have to look at both sides, not just one side."
"But even if they have a good side." Chen Shu didn't finish his words.
Even if they have good sides, they will eventually disappear in the long river of time.
In her dimension, there had been the Warring States Period and aristocratic families, but after two dynasties, the last force of the aristocratic families was eliminated by the emperor and the empress. The disappearance of the aristocratic families was an inevitable result of the progress of the times, but it did not mean that they had not brought any benefits.
The merchant looked at Chen Shu and finally couldn't help but sigh again: "The girl really doesn't look like a clerk. Is she a descendant of a noble family, or does she have a famous teacher?"
Chen Shu smiled and said, "No, I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants."
"I think we'll take this house. I'll go and negotiate the price with him."
The scholar standing at the door lowered his head so that the neighbors passing by would not see his face, but he could not avoid it. If someone greeted him, he would return the greeting. If others asked him where he moved to, he did not dare to say it was the west of the city, but just hesitated and refused to speak.
Seeing how embarrassed he was, the neighbor stopped asking questions and just said, "It's pitiful," as he walked away.
Once you fall out of this class, it will be difficult to get back in the future.
In two generations, they might become real commoners.
The scholar's mind was in a mess. He was sad and angry, but he kept thinking of what Chen Shu said unconsciously.
He felt that what she said was fallacy, but he couldn't refute it.
When he saw Chen Shu coming out, he immediately took two steps back, as if he had seen a ghost.
Chen Shu waved at him, and the scholar walked over reluctantly, but still kept a long distance.
Chen Shu: "I like this house. Can I pay the rent monthly?"
The student remembered his mother's instructions and immediately shook his head: "Pay annually."
Chen Shu thought about what Ye Zhou said to her, and she nodded readily: "Annual payment is fine, just name a price."
Reader: "Five hundred gold! No less."
The merchant was shocked: "Five hundred gold!"
Chen Shu knew what their gold was. The gold cakes they used were actually cakes made of brass. Although they were said to be golden, in fact, most of them had been oxidized and their original appearance could not be seen at all.
A bag of sugar in the supermarket now costs fifty gold, so this price is not only not expensive to them, but also a bit ridiculously cheap.
The merchant immediately said, "Girl, five hundred gold is not a small amount!"
How many people can’t earn a hundred gold in their entire life!
The annual rent is so much? Why not grab it!
The merchant glared at the scholar: "You are a scholar, but you bully a weak woman like this!"
Chen Shu: “…”
It was the first time for her to be a weak woman, and she felt it was very novel and quite interesting.
Merchant: "Fifty gold a year!"
Chen Shu almost choked on his own saliva.
This was the first time I saw someone bargaining with a zero.
The scholar seemed to have known that the other party would talk, so he said: "Two hundred gold, my house can accommodate a hundred people, the corridor bridge is good, the pond can be used as long as it is filled with water, and there is also a well."
Merchant: "That's not worth two hundred gold, sixty gold!"
The two bargained for a long time, and the merchant finally helped Chen Shu negotiate a price of seventy-eight gold.
Chen Shu's head sank after hearing this, and she thought that she might not be able to do this job. If it weren't for this businessman, she would probably have just taken out the 500 gold.
Chen Shu: "Okay, then come with me to the supermarket to get the money."
The scholar had never been to the supermarket. Although the whole city was in an uproar because of this supermarket, the supermarket had long said that the goods would only be sold to noble families. Although he was from a noble family, he had no money, so he did not go there to humiliate himself.
If he meets an acquaintance and invites him to go to the supermarket, will he come out empty-handed?
But this time he is going to get money, not to spend it, so he should be able to go, right?
After getting the rent, he should be able to find a teacher, right?
As long as the teacher is willing to ask the emperor for an official position for him, he can become an official, and maybe even move back to his ancestral home, so that his children can still be children of aristocratic families in the future.
As for what this girl said...
The scholar pursed his lips, "These are all lies! Don't listen to them!"
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