"Thanks?"

Hong Dashou's head was swollen after experiencing too much in one day, and he couldn't understand that the fishermen and boatmen of Ungjin actually thanked the Beijing business group who didn't even pay in cash.

"Of course I want to thank you. Without the Beijing business group, more than half of the fishermen in Xiongjin would have died by swallowing brine!"

The old man was furious. This was the first time he met a fool like Hong Dashou, and he wished he could slap him in the face.

"Why? What good things has the Beijing business group done for Xiongjin to deserve this from you?"

"He is a businessman from Beijing!"

The word "Jingshang" sounded so solemnly in the old man's mouth, with a hint of admiration in his tone.

Seeing that Hong Dashou was still dissatisfied, the good old man stayed true to his word and lit up his dry pipe again.

The origin of this incident also stems from the establishment of the Li Dynasty. In addition to paying land taxes, rice, and military and political cloth in accordance with national laws, Xiongjin also has an inherent "tax" of the feudal dynasty, which is called rent payment in China.

of tune.

This is the so-called "hue". According to the local production, special product tributes are paid to the government.

As Woongjin is a place close to the sea, the tributes handed in are naturally seafood. From the simplest yellow croaker, mackerel, abalone, octopus, sea cucumber, prawn, to the most terrifying whale!

During the period of the deposed Lord Yanshanjun, because Yanshanjun liked banquets, singing and dancing, banquets in the palace continued day and night. In order to meet the expenses of banquets, the demand for local tributes was increased.

Moreover, Mr. Yanshan repeatedly asked for novel delicacies, and some idiot told him that whale meat in the sea was not only tenderer than beef, but also sweeter.

Then disaster befell the fishermen of Ungjin. Officials from the Xuanhye Office and the Department of Domestic Supplies forced these small fishing boats to hunt whales in the Pacific Ocean, and if they failed to deliver, they would be beheaded.

In the fifteenth century, small wooden offshore fishing boats of dozens of tons or even ten to eight tons were used to hunt whales in the Pacific Ocean! No need to say more about the results!

Originally, because of the feudal bureaucracy's demands for bribes, the Xiongjin fishermen who had to pay tribute several times or dozens of times suddenly died overseas, father and son, and countless families were ruined.

The plight of the fishermen has reached an extremely miserable level, and fishermen have even committed suicide by drinking brine in order to keep their wives and children alive.

At this time, the great savior of Ungjin fishermen, the Kyungshang Group, appeared!

Relying on their financial friendship with the palace purchasing officials and the ruling ministers of the imperial court, the Beijing merchant group kept asking people to tell Lord Yanshan that it was very difficult to hunt whales, so please stop eating them in the future.

On the other hand, they took over the tribute submission of Xiongjin. Since they had already fed the procurement officials in the palace, the share that the fishermen had to submit was suddenly reduced to one-fifth or even one-tenth of the original amount.

How much money can the officials make by squeezing the fishermen? How can it compare with the monthly silver and copper coins sent by the Beijing business group?

The fishermen of Ungjin escaped and made a rule that all fresh fish in Ungjin would be sold to the Beijing business group at two-thirds of the normal selling price. At the same time, they could pay for the goods first and wait for the Beijing businessmen to make profits.

Get the money and come back to pay.

Similarly, Beijing merchants took over the tributes that the fishermen of Ungjin needed to pay, and completely helped the fishermen to send the imperial court away. Moreover, whales only had to be caught once a year when whales entered the Yellow Sea during the tidal flood period and brought to Beijing as tribute.

To the fishermen of Ungjin, the Beijing Merchant Group was like having thousands of families become Buddhas, and saved thousands of lives.

Do you think the fishermen in Ungjin are grateful to the Beijing business group?

Although from that day on, the price of fish has been reduced to two-thirds, and payment has been deferred. But it is stable. There will no longer be scary-looking tax collectors coming to demand people, and there will no longer be people who eat whales every day.

The stupid order was passed down.

Moreover, the Beijing Merchant Group is a large business group, so the payment is deferred, but when you come next time, they will really come with money. The amount is what you need, and every penny is yours.

It has not changed in four hundred years, and we have formed a "biological chain" that everyone abides by.

After the old man finished telling this story full of heartache and tears, what else could Hong Dashou say?

Talking about free trade with the old man? Talking about economic monopoly?

Come on!

Stop being embarrassed!

Hong Dashou's mind went blank. He always thought that it was easy to be a human being with his foresight and mental ability.

What about feudal society? What about the iron fist of feudalism?

Not so!

That is to say, they will press you down on the ground like a noob and rub you vigorously. After the rubbing, they will step on you and probably spit out another mouthful of phlegm.

At this time, Hong Dashou had nothing to say. He didn't even dare to think about the first pot of gold in his life. He returned to the hotel in a state of confusion, like a zombie.

Numbly he crawled into the house, numbly covered himself with the quilt, and numbly closed his eyes.

It would be great to not wake up, and no longer have to face such a cruel society firmly controlled by the feudal order.

…

"The man inside has been sleeping all day and night, right? Have you seen him come out?"

"No, mother, nothing will happen to that person."

"Ah, I saw him alive and kicking before. I went to Jinkou. How could this happen?"

The store owner, mother and daughter, poked their heads outside Hong Dashou's house, but couldn't hear anything moving inside.

With a "bang", the wooden door was pushed open violently. The mother and daughter were startled, and the daughter almost screamed.

Hong Dashou in the room had actually woken up a long time ago, but he just didn't want to move. He let himself go and stared at the wooden beam for a long time. His originally empty mind was now in chaos.

All kinds of thoughts came to me, and I couldn't sort them out. In addition, after hearing the words of the mother and daughter from the shop outside the house, I forced myself to open the door and go out.

Looking at the darkening sky, he secretly sighed that he had actually been lying there all day and night. Hong Dashou looked at the mother and daughter of the store with surprised expressions, and rubbed his face violently with his hands.

"Is there hot water? Bring a basin for me to wash up. And the store will give me a piece of grilled fish and rice soup." Hong Dashou forced a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes..." the shop owner's daughter agreed and ran away, leaving his mother where she was.

"Are you okay?" The store owner looked left and right at Hong DaShou, fearing that something might happen to Hong DaShou.

"It's okay! I'm still waiting to eat grilled fish."

"Okay, okay, come right away."

As he said this, the store's daughter brought a basin of hot water. Hong Dashou tried it and found that it was not boiling hot. So he first rinsed his mouth with a handful of water, then wiped his head, face and hands with a kapok cloth.

Not long after, soup, rice and grilled fish were also served. Hong Dashou, who hadn't eaten for a day, devoured them hungrily. Even the grilled mackerel with some salt on it was delicious.

After a while, Hong Dashou swept away the entire table of food and ate it cleanly.

After thanking the shopkeeper, Hong Dashou walked around the hotel with his hands behind his back.
Chapter completed!