Chapter 101
In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the city finally had some lively atmosphere.
No matter how difficult life is, the New Year must be celebrated. After the 15th, people still come out to buy things for the New Year.
The vendors are somewhat conscientious this year, perhaps because business has been bad for a long time. Things that would have increased in price at the end of previous years have only increased a little this year. They are afraid that if the price increases are too much, there will be no business.
With both sides taking care of the situation, more and more people are shopping for things in preparation for the New Year.
Compared to ordinary days, every household celebrates Chinese New Year with great fanfare.
Zhang Fangyuan looked at the thick snow being shoveled out of the city every day. He raised his head to look at the dark sky, which was a rare sign of joy among the red lanterns in the city. It will be better after the New Year. It will be cold for another month or two and then the weather will clear up. It just means that next year's spring will come a little later.
The charcoal stored in the warehouse had almost been sold out. Zhang Fangyuan transported all the charcoal at home to the city before the New Year. He discussed with Xu He that the people were preparing for the New Year, so the price of the charcoal was reduced by two cents at this time and the price would be raised again after the New Year. On the one hand, the charcoal had to be sold out before the winter of the new year, and on the other hand, it could be considered a way of giving back to the people.
As soon as the news came out, the people were really surprised. A large number of people rushed to the warehouse to buy charcoal, and business returned to its peak.
Zhang Fangyuan didn't really go over to watch. He came to the city to buy some New Year's goods to prepare for the New Year. The village could buy the best chickens, ducks, fish and meat, so there was no need to work harder. He just needed to have less cakes, fruits and some expensive meat at home.
Xu He asked him to buy some good mutton to take home. It was cold this year, and a group of women and husbands in the Zhang family discussed having a mutton hotpot.
This year is probably even more lively than last year. Both of my uncle's cousins are back, and my eldest cousin has a new daughter.
Not only that, Zhang Fangyuan's sixth uncle and his family will also return to their hometown to have New Year's Eve dinner this year. Although he doesn't like his uncle's wife very much, the family has no charcoal to burn this year, so they came to him for help.
Zhang Fangyuan neither agreed nor refused, and asked his sixth aunt to ask Xu He herself.
Previously, his sixth aunt looked down on farmers and Xu He. She even humiliated Xu He during the child's full-month banquet and asked her to beg Xu He for charcoal. This really brought shame to her face and her pride.
Xu He was a generous man. No matter how estranged they were, his father-in-law and his generation were still close brothers. Now that they had encountered a disaster, it would be unreasonable not to help them, so he gave them dozens of kilograms of charcoal.
Sixth Aunt felt that she was inferior to others. Seeing that Zhang Fangyuan was at the peak of his career, the neighbors in the city all praised Zhang Fangyuan for his kindness. Knowing that she was a cousin of the Zhang family, they became much more polite to his family. Even if she had other concerns in her heart, she knew that she had to rely on her husband's relatives.
His sixth uncle was able to move to the city because his wife's family provided him with a lot of subsidies. He had always been inferior to his wife and was often ordered around. But now that his cousin has become successful, he has become more confident and is much more attentive when he returns to his hometown.
This time during the Chinese New Year, the whole family will definitely go back to the countryside.
Xu He said nothing, but asked Zhang Fangyuan to prepare more New Year's goods so that he could show his skills during the New Year when there were many people around.
In the past, he had planned to take over banquets in the village. The man in his family would slaughter pigs, and he would be the cook. As they were all businessmen, their life would not be too bad. However, he did not expect that the business would grow bigger and bigger. In addition, he had two sons at home, so his previous plans fell through.
In addition to purchasing these matters, Zhang Fangyuan also has to check the account books of the two shops in the city. After the settlement, it will be a new beginning next year.
The toothbrush shop business has not been very good in the second half of this year. In recent years, more and more people have made their own toothbrushes, and some people have the leisure to grind their own tooth powder. Linglong Shop is no longer as rare as when it was first listed, but no matter what, it is the first shop after all and can be regarded as a time-honored brand, and there are still people who buy into it.
Although not as rich as before, there is still enough money every month to feed an ordinary family for a year.
After Zhang Fangyuan checked the accounts, he gave some tips to the two employees. The employees were grateful profusely. This year, life was not easy for both ordinary people and merchants. The old boss gave tips during the New Year, and the employees were a hundred times happier than receiving tips at other times.
The rewards Zhang Fangyuan gave out increased year by year. All of his employees were old friends who had followed him for several years. It was not easy for people in the city to find jobs, and it was not easy for merchants to find loyal friends.
Only by cherishing both ends can the relationship last long.
After checking Linglong's shop, Zhang Fangyuan went to his own poultry shop. There were some daily grocery stores on the other side. The market was busy today, and their shop was even busier, which surprised him a little.
In the second half of this year, many businesses have tightened their belts, people have tightened their belts, fewer families can afford to eat meat and fish, and the business of meat and poultry markets is visibly declining.
The poultry raised in the village originally relied on Zhang Fangyuan to deliver to their poultry shop. Business was not good this year, the shop sold less goods, and merchants from the city went to the countryside less frequently. The villagers were sad, but no one complained. It was a bad year for everyone, so they could only be considerate of each other.
Previously, Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He had devoted their whole attention to the charcoal business. After all, most of their assets were tied up in it, so they had no time to care about the business which was in a downturn. Today, when he had some free time to come and check the accounts, he even thought he had come to the wrong place.
It should have been a deserted place, but now it is bustling with people, buying chickens and ducks, and carrying fresh fish everywhere.
"Move aside, move aside, there are fresh fish in the pond!"
Hearing the sound, Zhang Fangyuan subconsciously avoided some of the oncoming ox carts. The poultry shop was not big, and there were many people and the workers were busy, so they had not yet noticed Zhang Fangyuan. When they heard that the fresh fish was coming, several people jumped onto the cart and skillfully moved a large tank of fresh fish down and placed it at the door.
People who came to buy New Year's goods swarmed around.
During the Chinese New Year, the only things on the tables of ordinary families are these few dishes from the poultry shop. Zhang Fangyuan expected that the business would be better than the previous two months, but he did not expect so many people to come to buy and line up. Along the way, he did not see such business at other poultry shops.
Zhang Fangyuan wanted to hide at the side to see what was going on, but unfortunately he was too big to hide, and soon the idle people who were queuing saw him.
"Boss Zhang! You're here today too!"
The woman shouted loudly, and everyone in the queue immediately looked at Zhang Fangyuan. Because he had worked in the charcoal shop selling charcoal for nearly half a month, many people who had bought charcoal there recognized him.
When he met people in the morning, he greeted them warmly.
Zhang Fangyuan smiled and nodded: "Come and take a look. Has everyone come out to buy New Year's goods?"
"That's right. We still have to celebrate the New Year. Celebrating it with sorrow and worry is a New Year, and celebrating it with joy is also a New Year. Maybe next year will be better."
Zhang Fangyuan responded: "That's a very good attitude."
"We came to this poultry store specially to buy. Boss Zhang is very kind and has not raised the price of charcoal. In fact, he even lowered the price during the Chinese New Year. We are all grateful and want to buy things from Boss Zhang's poultry store."
The woman was talkative and started talking cheerfully, and the people in the queue followed suit.
"Yes, the chickens and ducks at Zhang's Poultry Shop are fat and the fish are fresh. Even though it's the New Year, they haven't raised the prices yet. They are very conscientious."
Zhang Fangyuan laughed. The reason why the price didn't increase was because he didn't have time to come here to announce the price increase. The people's words made him feel embarrassed to increase the price. "This year, the drought has ended and there is a snowstorm. It's not easy for everyone. Just buy with confidence. Zhang's Poultry Store will not increase the price during the New Year this year."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people gathered at the poultry market cheered.
Zhang Fangyuan chatted with everyone for a few minutes before going in. The manager had heard the boss's arrangements long ago, so he brought the account books, made tea, and tidied up the inner room early for Zhang Fangyuan to check the accounts.
“Are you really not going to raise prices this year?”
Zhang Fangyuan flipped through the account book and saw the records on it. Their poultry business started to go uphill in the twelfth month. "I've heard everything. How can I regret it?"
The steward smiled and said, "The boss is kind-hearted. No wonder everyone who comes to buy things here recently is full of praise for you. They all say that you are leaving a way for the common people to survive and doing good deeds."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "Other shops haven't raised their prices by a few cents either. Our shop has sufficient supply. Instead of raising the price to make a few more cents, it's better to sell more goods at a lower profit and at a lower volume. For the current business, we can make no less than if we raise the price."
"Master, I will see you."
In fact, Zhang Fangyuan did not expect that the stability of charcoal prices would make the people so grateful and concerned, which led to the improvement of Zhang's business elsewhere. This is an effect that cannot be bought with money.
He closed the account book and suddenly an idea dawned on him. As for the two words fame and fortune, no wonder fame came first and fortune came second. He could be said to have tasted the sweetness deeply.
It is no wonder that those officials and businessmen, no matter how dirty they are behind the scenes, still try to preserve their reputation very well. It is not for the sake of temporary face, but for fame.
As the saying goes, a tall tree attracts the wind. If the benefits are so great, it needs a name to cover them up, otherwise no matter how much benefits there are, they will be blown away by the wind.
Zhang Fangyuan felt that he had got the point and was in a very good mood. He gave tips to the clerks in the poultry shop and ordered that if anyone spent more than 200 coins in the shop, he would give 10 eggs for free. Everyone was even happier.
Driving a large cart of New Year's goods back to the village, it was already late. As it approached the hour of You, snowflakes began to slowly fall down again.
Zhang Fangyuan drove an ox cart to the city and returned home covered in snow.
The door of the side hall was wide open. Zhang Fangyuan jumped off the cart and carried the licorice and astragalus into the house. He looked up and saw that the two children were wrapped up very tightly, with their furry little hair covering their heads, making their faces look even rounder.
At this moment, two guys were sitting in a row in front of the charcoal brazier, warming themselves by the fire, their little hands stretching and retracting, just like adults warming themselves by the fire.
"Daddy, come and roast the chestnuts!"
When Xiaoli heard footsteps, he raised his head and saw his father standing at the door. He quickly got off the stool. His thick clothes made his steps a little clumsy. He took Zhang Fang's hand and walked away. Xiaoli pointed at the charcoal brazier and said, "Daddy, quickly pick it up."
Zhang Fangyuan squatted down and poked the chestnut with a small hole in the brazier with a small wooden stick: "I was wondering why you were so obedient while warming yourself by the fire, but you were actually thinking about food. You are too greedy."
He pinched Xiaoli'er's face. The two children have had good appetites since they were young and have always been chubby and fair.
He will be three years old next spring. Although little Li has grown a lot taller than when I held him in my arms before, he is still round. His brother is growing much faster. Although they are the same age, it is obvious that the older brother is taller when the two children stand together. Maybe it is because he is taller, and he looks thinner than little Li.
Zhang Fangyuan used to joke that one was only concerned with growing taller while the other was only concerned with gaining weight.
Xu He cursed: "Little boys are different from boys. It's hard to tell them apart when they are just born. How can we not tell the difference when they grow up?"
Zhang Fangyuan agreed. His elder brother's frame was much bigger than Xiaoli's. It was true that boys and girls were essentially different. His elder brother had inherited some of his physique and grew fast. If Ruijin was placed among a group of children, no one would disbelieve him if he said he was four years old.
Ruijin is smart and not as playful as other children. Zhang Fangyuan plans to find a teacher to start his education after he turns three next year. He has been quite interested in counting lessons from his father recently and has shown no sign of getting tired of studying after studying for so long.
Now, there is no one in the Zhang family who is well educated, except his mother, who was a woman who could read poetry and write. When his mother was alive, she urged him to study, hoping that he could make achievements in the imperial examinations. It was a pity that although he had some brains, he was unwilling to delve into writing and was happy to go up mountains and down rivers.
No matter what his mother said, it was useless, so in the end she had no choice but to follow his will. Now he did not ask Ruijin to pass the imperial examination and become an official, but as long as he could read and write, and pass the examination to become a scholar in his twenties, then their Zhang family would be complete, and it would also have fulfilled Ruijin's grandmother's wish.
Xu He was originally a studious person, and Zhang Fangyuan wanted to send his child to start elementary school, so he was very happy to do so. The couple agreed to send Rui Jin to start elementary school in the spring of next year when the weather got warmer.
"Should they be sent to the city for initiation or something?"
Zhang Fangyuan knew what Xu He meant by asking this question: "There is no village school near our village. I don't plan to send my child there, not because of past grudges."
It's really that Fei Lian has bad character and is not fit to be a teacher.
Ever since the little child in the family was born, Fei Lian had been depressed for a long time. After the wound healed and the pain was forgotten, he spent all day with the little child again, and neglected Xu Shaochun a lot.
However, Xu Shaochun was very open-minded. He brought his only son with him. For the sake of the child and because the little one was in a very bad shape, Fei's mother treated Xu Shaochun well, and they were able to live a normal life.
"When the time comes, let's send him to the city to study. I'll go around and ask around. Whether it's a college or a private school, I'll make sure to choose a good teacher."
Xu He thought the same thing: "I will go with you then, but I have thought of one thing. If the child is to be sent to the city for education, it will be inconvenient to go back and forth."
He pointed at Zhang Fangyuan with one sentence: "Do you mean to buy a house in the city?"
"That depends on your opinion." Xu He laughed, "I can't make the decision on my own."
Zhang Fangyuan pondered for a moment. In fact, this house in the village was quite comfortable to live in. Moreover, the money used to build the house in the village could not buy a decent house in the city. His previous business was tied to this. Considering the money and convenience, he did not consider the house in the city.
Now that Xu He mentioned it, he felt that having a house to stay in the city was also crucial. On the one hand, there were quite a lot of businesses in the city now, and he had to run there frequently. Now that his children had grown up and were going to school in the city, it would be more convenient to have a place to live.
Another reason is that most families like to have a house in the city, which makes it sound good when they tell others about it and makes it easier to find a wife.
Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run, and Zhang Fangyuan has experienced this.
There is no need to think too much. Just a quick look at the long term and you will feel that it is time to buy a house in the city. In the past, I was worried about money, but now it is not a problem to buy a house in the city, it’s just a matter of size.
The two of them discussed it and decided to wait until after the New Year to do the math. If they had a lot of extra money, they would buy a big and good one. If they were short of money, they would buy a small one for emergencies.
At the end of the month, all the charcoal that Zhang Fangyuan had stockpiled was sold out, more than half a month earlier than expected, and he went to return the warehouse.
It was still snowing after the beginning of the new year, and people were already worried, but Zhang Fangyuan knew that this was the end of this severe cold weather. It was just like the autumn tiger, which would pass by and then the weather would change.
Many people were affected by the disaster this year. Only those who could afford charcoal could get through it, but there were many poor families who could not afford charcoal or rice. Some froze to death, and some starved to death.
Those who were lucky enough to survive were also suffering from illness. When passing through Qingshui Alley, one could hear mournful coughing sounds everywhere.
The county government did a good deed and raised donations after New Year's Eve to help the victims.
Originally, there were thousands of kilograms of charcoal in the Zhang family's warehouse. Out of pity for the victims, he simply donated it all to the government office as disaster relief supplies.
The county government took the lead in fundraising, and the wealthy families in Siyang City were very supportive. It not only gave the county government a good impression, but also won the hearts of the people. This was a way to gain both fame and fortune, and all the discerning merchants were willing to do it.
Many people donated rice, cloth, silver, money, candles and medicine for this purpose, and the amount of donations was not small. Zhang Fangyuan seemed a little unknown among them.
But he didn't originally intend to do anything with just a little bit of his mind.
After finishing this business, Zhang Fangyuan had no plan to continue running the charcoal business. He wanted to make some money while the time was right, but he didn't want to do it for a long term.
After the couple settled the accounts, they found that they had invested more than 500 taels of silver in buying charcoal. Now that they had sold all of it, the profit they made had tripled.
At the end of the year, the poultry business was good and the income was quite good. After years of hard work, the family had saved several thousand taels.
Zhang Fangyuan did not dare to slack off. After the snow melted and spring came, the hundred acres of land that had been vacant for a year had to be cultivated. Otherwise, it would be a loss to just leave the land there and waste money.
The outside business needed money to run, so the two men made careful calculations and prepared to spend one thousand taels to buy a house in the city.
In the village, one or two hundred taels can build a house on several acres of land, and in the city, one thousand taels can still buy a two-story house. The specific size depends on the location.
Although they already had a house, the couple were still very excited about buying a new house, or a house in the city, just like when they built their first house.
The couple went to the city together and had a budget in mind, but they had not found a teacher to teach little Ruijin, so they had no idea where to buy a house, and their search was like a headless fly.
Fortunately, due to the disaster, the house agents in the city had little business, so they were extra patient with the two of them, and took them to see the houses in the city in detail.
After looking for a few days and checking out all the houses available in the city, the couple picked and chose three.
One is a house close to the largest Baixiang Academy in the city. It is quite large and just a few steps across the street from the academy. If you live here, you can hear scholars reciting poems every day. The reading atmosphere is very strong and your children can go to school quickly.
The disadvantages are that the place is small, the price is expensive, the scholars get up early and go to bed late, the sound of reading can be heard frequently, and the teacher's lectures can somewhat disturb people's rest.
The second is a two-story house in the east of the city. The house is very large, the surroundings are very peaceful, and the environment is very quiet. Many teachers and officials live here, but it is a little remote. If you want to go into the city to have fun or do something, it is very inconvenient without a carriage.
Third, in the downtown area, the prices are relatively reasonable, you can eat, drink and have fun just by going out, and it is very convenient to go anywhere, but it is bound to be noisy. However, there is a curfew in Siyang, so it is quiet after people go to bed, but it is noisy during the day.
For a moment, the couple was very hesitant and didn't know which one to choose.
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