Jiangdong Gate is one of the 18 gates in the outer city of Nanjing. It leads to Shuixi Gate in the east and Shangxin River in the west, with a river channel flowing directly into the Yangtze River. Since Emperor Taizu established his capital in Jinling, it has been the commercial and transportation center in the southwest of Nanjing, and the main distribution center for bulk commodities such as grain and timber.

The Duke of Wei's mansion occupied Jinling for 200 years, occupying almost all the Feng Shui treasures in Nanjing except the royal gardens. This beach, which was built into a dock warehouse, is called Bailuzhou. Yes, it is exactly the "Bailuzhou divided by two waters" in Li Bai's poem "Phoenix Flying on the Phoenix Terrace", which is listed as one of the 48 scenic spots in Jinling.

There was a village called Bailu on Bailu Island, inhabited by the servants of the Xu family. Planting rice and mulberry trees in this picturesque place was already a waste of natural resources. Later, the Duke of Wei discovered this business opportunity that could help avoid taxes, and he directly ordered to fill and compact the tidal flats with cement, build a pier, and then build a long row of ugly warehouses, with more than a hundred rooms.

There were countless official ships passing by Bailu Wharf every day, but those officials who were paid by the imperial court could only lament that the ancient beauty no longer existed, which was really unfair to Li Bai. However, they turned a blind eye to the tax evasion activities that were in full swing at the wharf, and no one ever felt sorry for the Ming Dynasty or the emperor...

It’s not that the Duke of Wei is so terrible, but their own business is also enjoying the benefits brought by the Bailuzhou Wharf.

~~

Zhao Hao is now a family man and a commoner, so he doesn't have to worry about the country and the people.

He was waiting at the dock for Tang Youde to unload the goods and put them into the warehouse. By the time he got the deposit slip, the sky was already filled with sunset glow.

The deposit slip is signed by him and Tang Youde, and both of them must be present at the time to pick up the goods.

However, Zhao Hao's focus was not on this. He was shocked by the price of renting a warehouse.

"Thirty taels a month? That's stealing!"

"This is the price here. Fortunately, all losses are compensated. Just think of it as buying insurance." Tang Youde was also distressed, but the money that should be spent cannot be saved. This is the bitter lesson he learned from many years of doing business.

Zhao Hao naturally understood this truth and stopped talking.

After putting away the tickets, everyone hurried and finally entered Nanjing City before the city gates closed.

After three whole days of going back and forth, Zhao Hao and Fatty Tang were a little tired, so they stopped being polite and went back home.

Zhao Hao led his people back to Caijia Lane. It was already dark, but the lights were still on in the restaurant that was being renovated.

Hearing the clanging sounds coming from inside, Zhao Hao pushed the door open and saw Gao the blacksmith and Fang De installing the counter there.

Seeing Zhao Hao come in, the two of them hurriedly put down their work and went forward to greet him.

Zhao Hao didn't bother to exchange pleasantries. He just nodded, took the twenty taels of silver from Gao Wu, put it in Yu Peng's hand and said, "Share it with the brothers."

"This is too much..." Yu Peng felt that the silver was a little hot. The men waiting outside the door also started to talk and shove each other, not daring to take so much money.

They were full of laborers, working very hard for a month and only earned two taels of silver, which was less than one penny of silver a day on average. Zhao Hao only used them for three days, and didn't let them do any work, but he paid them twenty taels at once... There were thirteen of them in total, and even if Yu Peng took five taels from them, each person could still get more than one tael.

That’s a full half month’s salary!

"Just keep it. This is the appearance fee given by the leader of Tangshe." Zhao Hao waved his hand generously and said, "When this hotel opens in the future, everyone just help out more."

The men then expressed their gratitude and went out.

After Yu Peng and the others left, Shopkeeper Fang wanted to come forward to report, but Zhao Hao waved his hand again and said:

"I'm tired today. Let me sleep first before we talk about anything."

Having said that, he still did not forget to take care of Wu Yu and his wife, saying: "These two are the helpers I invited. Manager Fang, please help them settle down for one night. Tomorrow, I will ask Gao Wu to help them find a place to stay..."

"Please stay." After saying that, he waved his hand again and went back home.

~~

The gate to the house was ajar, and only the lights in the main room were on.

When Zhao Hao pushed the door open, he heard the sound of reading coming from Zhao Shouzheng's room in the east.

Hearing this voice, the exhausted Mr. Zhao smiled with relief. For parents who work hard outside, this is a panacea to soothe their hearts.

He pushed the door open quietly, peeked into the east room, and saw Zhao Shouzheng sitting at the desk, with Zhao Jin standing behind him, staring at him quietly.

Zhao Hao quietly left and found that Fang Wen had already prepared water for him to wash his face.

He had gotten used to this kid's mysterious appearances, so he naturally wouldn't make a fuss about it.

While washing her face, she whispered to Fang Wen, "Has it been like this for the past few days?"

"Yeah." Fang Wen nodded.

"My father has actually changed his personality?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but be surprised. He knew that Zhao Shouzheng had failed in the imperial examinations for many years and had lost all his fighting spirit, making it difficult for him to persist in anything he did.

For example, how many times have I promised him to stop drinking? But he still gets drunk every other day.

I don’t know what magic medicine Zhao Jin used to cure the disease.

"At first, the master couldn't sit still..." Fang Wen said quietly, "But Mr. Zhao persuaded him, and the master gave in."

"So simple?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel secretly frustrated. His earnest advice was not as effective as Zhao Jin's few light words. It really hurt his self-esteem.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard Zhao Shouzheng in the inner room say, "My old nephew, my throat is smoking. Let me drink some water to calm down."

"Uncle, don't give up halfway." Then he heard Zhao Jin's clear and melodious voice admonishing: "Morality and writing all depend on consistency. The same is true for reading other people's model essays. It's useless to stop at one sentence."

"It's broken anyway, so just let me, your uncle, rest for a while." Zhao Shouzheng said in a naughty way.

"Okay," Zhao Jin replied, but then he changed the subject and said, "But you have to read it ten more times."

"Who is the uncle and who is the nephew?" Zhao Shouzheng was so angry that he slammed the table and said, "Is there still respect and hierarchy? Is there any justice?"

"If the emperor is wrong, a minister should speak out and advise him, let alone my uncle?" Zhao Jin said without any change in his tone, "As long as my uncle can succeed in his studies and get the first place in the list, I am willing to bear all the blame and let my uncle beat and scold me, but I will not change my original intention!"

"Uh..." Zhao Shouzheng stopped cursing. First, the other party was doing this for his own good, and second, his nephew was a dozen years older than him. Moreover, finding a Jinshi to tutor him was something that even the old man couldn't do back then. How could he let his son down?

Thinking of this, he let out a long breath and said, "Stop talking. I won't drink water anymore, okay?"

After saying that, he picked up the book and continued reading weakly.

“Reread it from the beginning!”

"Sit upright!"

"The air comes out of Dantian, with ups and downs..."

Zhao Jin's voice of correction kept ringing out from inside, but this time Zhao Shouzheng didn't dare to say a word.

~~

Zhao Hao listened with his ears perked up for a long time, and finally understood why his nephew could handle his uncle.

Damn it, Zhao Jin is one of the "Four Remonstrants of Yuezhong" who even Yan Song is not afraid of. He is here to supervise the school with the same attitude as he dared to offend the emperor. Not to mention Zhao Shouzheng, even if the old man was here, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it!

Shaking his head sympathetically, Zhao Hao went back to his room and went to sleep with peace of mind.

Zhao Shouzheng's kitchen has to be open until 11:00 PM, but the kids can't wait that late...

ps. I'm home now, exhausted. I didn't go out before the New Year. I stayed in seclusion and wrote. It will explode when it's on the shelves! It's a big explosion! Please recommend and comment!