Chapter 2089 Taizong Chapter 36 The Great Han in the New Era (Part 1)

In Zhengsufang, on Changping Street, teenagers walked briskly, their cheerful steps conveying their good mood, and they kept saying hello to the neighbors they met on the way.

It is already evening and the sky is dark. The shops and vendors along the street are closing their doors and closing their stalls, while also lighting up lights to welcome guests. The renewed noise is like the sonata of the nightlife of Luoyang people. Even in Zhengsufang, where most of the poor people live,

It also requires overnight living.

The young man was just looking at the flowers, but he stopped in front of a building called "Hu Ji Tower". From a certain distance, the figure of the Hu Lady and the old madam soliciting customers reflected in the lamplight still made people feel.

The boy has a dry mouth.

The quality of the brothels in Zhengsu Square is naturally not high-quality, but they focus on a "Hu style" feature, which is unique in the entire brothel. There are even customers from further away in the inner square, including the ordinary rich and "novelty-seeking"

"One word can explain it. After all, in Xijing City, the truly high-quality "Hu Ji Yifeng" is not something that ordinary wealthy families can afford.

The lights in the building were brightly lit, and one could already hear the sound of changing cups and cups, but the young man did not bother to guess and explore what kind of colorful world and gentle paradise it was inside. All he could see was the old bustard's swaying secondary sexual characteristics.

He instinctively touched his arms and regained consciousness instinctively. The little money in his pocket was probably not even enough for tea. He probably stopped there for a long time and attracted the attention of the old madam.

Although Madam Hu was called "Old Madam", she was just a little older and her appearance had faded, but her mature charm was actually a fatal temptation for the young and energetic young man.

Seeing the young man lingering across the street, the old madam seemed to recognize him. Speaking in pure Mandarin, he shouted: "The young man has stayed here several times. Since he is elegant, why don't you come in and have a look?"

As she spoke, she even showed a bright smile to the young man, which made him tremble in fear, as if this Hu Madam wanted to eat people.

Not daring to stay any longer, she staggered and left in a hurry. She accidentally fell down. Her youthful expression and embarrassed figure made Madam Hu so happy that she laughed so hard.

The wanton laughter reached the young man's ears, and his still childish cheeks turned even redder. But when he reached the end of the street, he couldn't help but turn around and glanced secretly, seeing that Madam Hu was paying attention.

The force had already been transferred to other tourists, and the young man breathed a sigh of relief.

After admiring the plump figure again and imagining the singing and dancing in the building, the young man reluctantly left.

After turning several times, I arrived in front of a row of houses in the northwest of Zhengsufang. After just a quick sweep, I got into one of the lanes and settled here.

Even though Zhengsufang was regarded as a residence for the lower class by wealthy families in the capital, it was not without its foundation. For example, there was a wealthy family next to this young man's home. His surname was Su, and the head of the family was Su Jiancheng.

As a young man, he often climbed the courtyard wall and secretly peeked at the Su family's little granddaughter who was about the same age as him. Compared with Hu Niang with big breasts and fat buttocks, this was his real dream girl.

Compared with ordinary wealthy businessmen, the Su family has a great background. Their ancestor is Su Fengji, the founding prime minister of the country. Although it has been a long time ago, Su Fengji is really a strange person.

In the Qianyou year, he was deposed by Emperor Shizu for his excessive greed, and he and his family descendants were almost thrown into hell. However, he just relied on raising horses for the court in Longxi, spent more than ten years, and finally dissipated the family wealth and was forgiven by Emperor Shizu.

, the family moved back to the capital.

Not only was I fortunate enough to participate in the treasure-unveiling ceremony for Emperor Shizu to unify the world, but the official careers of his descendants were also lifted.

The contemporary head of the Su family, Su Jiancheng, is the direct grandson of Su Fengji. He once served as magistrate of Jincheng County and later resigned to go into business. He earned a large fortune by relying on various connections and excellent business acumen.

Therefore, in the eyes of people nearby, the Su family, which is both an official and a businessman, and has a profound foundation, is already unattainable and is particularly awe-inspiring.

But the young man was different. He was different from others who could only envy him. He couldn't help but imagine what kind of world it would be like if he could marry the young lady of the Su family in the future.

There is only one word difference between the boy's name and Cao Mengde, Cao Meng. When he was less than 5 years old, he moved to Luoyang with his parents and became one of many "Beijing drifters".

Over the years, my mother has been responsible for taking care of the children and doing some sewing and sewing work to supplement the family income. His father, Cao Yong, was originally a bricklayer, but later injured his back while working for others. Now he works as a dentist in various major markets, selling information.

It's very hard to earn some commissions from people's business and travel here and there, but at least I have a stable foothold in the capital.

But obviously, this is a family that cannot afford any more accidents. Otherwise, they will either be devoured by the prosperity of Xijing or be driven back to the countryside and be exploited in another way.

When the young Cao Meng carefully opened the door of his house and tiptoed into the simple but neat courtyard, before he could observe, he was stopped by a stern voice: "You are willing to come back!"

Noticing his mother who seemed to be hiding in the shadows under the eaves, Cao Meng couldn't help but wince and called out: "Mother!"

A single candle swayed slightly in the autumn wind, and the dim light illuminated the figures of the four people. The younger brother and sister sat at the square table, staring longingly at the two plates on the table, especially the plate of cucumber stir-fried meat.

, Cao's mother was also sitting with her back bent, but her head was buried sideways, silent.

Cao Meng stood in front of the door politely. Seeing his mother's sad look, he was a little at a loss. A pair of hands with nowhere to rest touched his arms, his eyes lit up, and he immediately took out two strings of copper coins and offered them as treasures.

He held it up to his mother: "Mom, look!"

Facing the attentive eldest son, Cao's mother came to her senses and took the copper coins from Cao Meng's hand. She only had to weigh them with her rough hand and quickly judged that there must be twenty or thirty coins.

Mother Cao's eyes immediately sharpened, especially when she noticed that there were some dark blood stains on several copper coins that had not been washed away.

He slammed the money on the table, then stood up and went out. After a while, when Cao Meng was stunned, he saw Cao Meng's mother walking in with a piece of bamboo stick. Without any explanation, she slapped Cao Meng's arm hard.

Go down.

Facing his mother's beating, Cao Meng did not dare to hide. He just knelt down and hunched his neck to resist. However, the two siblings next to him started to cry when they saw their eldest brother being beaten.

Cao's mother ignored him and slapped Cao Meng five times. Then she threw the bamboo pieces on the table and asked Cao Meng in a tearful voice, "Tell me! Where did this money come from?"

It turned out that this was the reason for being beaten. Cao Meng scratched the arm that was beaten and couldn't help but said aggrievedly: "I earned it!"

"How dare you lie!" Cao's mother was obviously irritated and picked up the bamboo pieces to hit her again.

After being whipped twice more, Cao Meng hurriedly said: "Two high-ranking officials were killed at Nanshikou during the day. Uncle Yang and I helped collect the bodies. The owner was generous and gave us wages and rewards."

After hearing this explanation, Cao's mother was stunned for a moment: "Seriously?"

"It's absolutely true!" Cao Meng nodded repeatedly.

However, another round of beatings followed, and the mother obviously did not hold back any strength. This was evident by the cries of her two younger siblings, but Cao Meng was standing next to her, and apart from shortness of breath, there was not even a sound.

But gradually, Cao's mother's strength weakened. In the end, she threw away the bamboo pieces, walked to the table, covered her face and sobbed.

Seeing this, Cao Meng couldn't bear it. He knelt down in front of Cao's mother and said with bared teeth: "My mother's attack was so cruel that I didn't even cry. Why are you crying? I know I was wrong. At most I won't earn the money for shrouding my body in the future."

"

Hearing Cao Meng say this, all kinds of feelings seemed to come to his heart at once, and Cao Meng couldn't help crying loudly. This made Cao Meng completely panicked, turned his head and glared at the two tearful people next to him who were also at a loss, and greeted

The three brothers and sisters worked together to persuade their crying mother to stop.

Cao's father, Cao Yong, came home late every day. Dragging his tired body, he noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere as soon as he entered the house.

The food was already cold, and Cao's mother went to heat it in silence. Cao Yong also noticed the two strings of money on the table, and immediately fixed his eyes on Cao Meng, who was not listening to the gas, and asked what was going on and how.

It pissed off my mother.

However, after listening to his explanation, Cao Yong was silent for a long time. He walked to the door of the hall and looked at the busy figure in front of the stove, his deep eyes particularly firm.

It was late at night. At the dinner table, a family of five was eating in silence. Cao Yong stuffed the last pancake into his mouth and said to his wife: "Prepare some dry food for me and a set of autumn and winter clothes. I want to go on a long trip."

!”

Upon hearing this, Mother Cao's face changed slightly and asked, "Where are you going?"

Cao Yong did not hide anything and explained: "I have been thinking about it for a long time. I can't make money just by soliciting customers at Yahang. I have discussed it with a few old brothers and will set off in three days to go to Jiangnan to purchase goods and do cotton business!

In the past few years, the price of cotton cloth has been rising year by year, and the supply in the market has exceeded demand. I have already reached an agreement with several cloth shops and dyeing houses. As long as the cloth is brought to Beijing, I can sell it and make money!"

Hearing what Cao Yong said, Cao's mother couldn't help but said: "There's no need to go so far away. Isn't there no cloth selling in Gyeonggi and Henan?"

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "The cloth in the north is expensive, but the cloth from the south of the Yangtze River is large in quantity, good in quality, and cheap in price. I have been looking for it for a long time, and this time I will go to Xiuzhou first!"

"After all, we are in a foreign land. If something happens," Cao's mother couldn't hide her worry.

Cao Yong interrupted his wife: "We are not powerful people. We can't make money lying down. We can only win wealth and honor, even if we risk our lives, we will not hesitate!"

Although Cao Meng lowered his head, his ears kept erect and he listened carefully to his parents' conversation. He was somewhat vague about other things, but Cao's father's words were deeply remembered in his heart.

Seeing that her husband was so determined, Cao's mother also knew that she could no longer persuade her, so she asked: "How to solve the problem of capital?"

Cao Yong said: "Brothers, let's collect 30 guan together, and then borrow 50 guan from Yaxing."

As for the interest rate on borrowing money, Cao Yong did not say anything, but it is obvious that it will not be low. Although the court has added a new loan bill to strictly control private loans with high interest rates and severely punish many lenders, it is undeniable that

The cases investigated and dealt with are only a drop in the ocean compared to the overall scale of private lending.

Listening to his words, Cao's mother's eyes became more and more worried. However, seeing her husband's resolute attitude, she could not say anything to dissuade her. She could only say be careful. After all, Cao Yong is the one who makes the decision in this family.

.

He could understand his wife's uneasiness, but Cao Yong didn't want to explain too much. The more he said, it would only aggravate her worries.

He reached out and pressed his wife's hand to express comfort, then looked at his eldest son Cao Meng and said, "I will arrange Dalang's affairs before departure!"

When he mentioned himself, Cao Meng immediately raised his eyes and looked at his father in confusion: "Dad, what can I do?"

Cao Yongdao: "You are thirteen years old. You can no longer wander around all day doing nothing. I will find you a shop and become an apprentice!"

Hearing this, Cao Meng looked unhappy and immediately refused: "What's the future of an apprentice? If my father wants to go on a long journey, my son will go with him so that he can take care of me and save my mother from worrying!"

"If you follow me out, your mother will be worried!" Cao Yong heard this and immediately scolded: "Besides, if you follow me, can you carry a bag or can you walk on a boat?"

"You already know how to do abacus. I will arrange for your Zhangjiami shop to learn bookkeeping, accounting, inventory of goods coming in and out, and learn more words! Study hard. If dad can support the cotton business during this trip, in a few years, you will

Then you can go home and help!" Seeing the eldest son's unconvinced expression, Cao Yong persuaded him earnestly.

As he spoke, he put his hand on Cao Meng's shoulder, as if entrusting him, and said very solemnly: "Dad is away from home, and there is only one supporter in the house. You still need to take care of your mother, brothers and sisters!"

After hearing what his father said, Cao Meng's stubborn expression really calmed down. He met his father's gaze and nodded seriously.

That night, both Cao Yong and his wife tossed and turned and couldn't sleep all night long, but they didn't say anything more. Early the next morning, they had to get busy with the whole family with heavy dark circles under their eyes.

Cao Yong took Cao Meng to the Zhangjia Rice Shop for an "interview". With their familiarity, it was basically just a formality. Cao's mother took her youngest son and daughter to pack her husband's luggage.

Until three days later, in front of the house, the four of them, mother and son, cuddled together and silently bid farewell to Cao Yong. Cao's mother still didn't say much, and all her words turned into a word of "treasure".

Young Cao Meng stood aside. This was the first time in his life that he looked at his father's back so seriously. He looked slightly stooped, but as solid as a mountain. His father's words before leaving came to mind again. At this moment, the young man
To be continued...