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Chapter 813 East Station Street

In the blink of an eye, the fifteenth year of Jingyang came to an end. As the New Year was approaching, every household began to prepare for the New Year. Carts of charcoal, coal, vegetables, meat and poultry flowed from the southeast, northwest, and northeast to various gates of the capital.

The busiest area is not the traditional commercial center Qipan Street, nor is it outside Zhengyangmen, but Chaoyangmenwai in the east.

The most important factor causing this change was not people or policies, but the emergence of a new thing, the rail carriage.

With the completion of the railway carriage terminal, Chaoyangmen, which was originally used mainly for the import and export of grain, has transformed into a distribution center for goods from the south.

The former woods, wastelands, and even nearby villages were all occupied by all kinds of merchants within a few years. They were bought or rented, and rebuilt on a flat ground. It soon developed into a small town with a strong commercial atmosphere, which was called East Station by the people in Beijing.

Grain merchants are still the main force of the East Station, accounting for almost one-third of the market share. The second is the southern goods store, which specializes in various southern specialties, including novelties produced in Annan and Luzon.

Next are the specialties of Beijing, represented by the products of Time Workshop and Liuguangzhai, as well as the wool yarn and felt of Changping Woolen Mill, which are mainly purchased in large quantities by merchants from other places.

Merchants racked their brains to attract business. No one knew who started it, but they hired a ship from Annan to bring back an elephant, tied it up next to the store, and sat on it a trainer who was said to be from Annan, directing the elephant to do various actions.

Some people did it on the first day, and others saw that the government didn't care, so they immediately did it on the fifteenth. So at the easternmost end of the East Station Market, there appeared a group of merchants specializing in selling foreign animals, from colorful insects to strange birds to monkeys and tigers. There was nothing they dared not to sell.

"Don't miss it if you pass by, take a look, our store's special rubber bands are unique in the world! They can be pulled and dragged, made long or short, can't be washed or rinsed, and come in red, green, blue, and yellow...

What is it for? Hey, you asked the right question. Open your eyes and don't breathe, let me show you something. This thin one can be used to tie hair. Hey, it will become longer when you pull it. Guess what, it will become shorter when you let go after tying your hair!
Don't worry about it not being firm, it won't get loose no matter how you move it. If you're worried about it not being firm, just like me, tighten it once more, and as long as you don't mind it hurting your hair, tighten it three more times.

Look at this thick one, it has more uses. Dear guests, please look at my waistband. See, I don't have a belt or a string, but my pants won't fall off.

You can make it loose or tight if you want. Buy a piece and sew it into your trouser waist. Hey, guess what, it is easy and comfortable, and you don't need to tie a strip of cloth anymore. You can't feel the cold weather now, but when it gets hot, a little belt around your waist will not only look good but also keep you cool!

Hey, three feet of elastic band, half a cent is charged... What's expensive? Go and look around, who else has such good stuff except us? To tell you the truth, not to mention Beijing, even in Guangzhou, there are no more than three stores that can sell this kind of stuff!
Sir, sir, please stay! It seems that you have been out since dawn, and you must have been traveling a lot? Of course, most of your trouser legs are soaked by dew. Come, take a look at our raincoat, it won't leak a drop no matter how heavy the rain is.

Everyone, look carefully, this bucket of water is here, whoever sees the leaking raincoat will get it! What, how much is it? Don't ask the price yet, I have some good stuff here, let's talk after you've seen it.

This gentleman must have worn a straw raincoat and a straw hat, but his legs still got wet. If he only wore my raincoat, his head, upper body and thighs would definitely not get wet, but his calves and shoes would still get wet.

See? These are called rain boots. After you put them on, they won't leak even if you stand in the river, not to mention the rain. Hey, why are you pouting? Come on, take off your boots, put on my rain boots and put them in the basin of water to try. If your feet get wet, I'll give you this pair of rain boots for free! "As soon as the sky got light, many early birds appeared on East Station Street, and the shops on both sides also opened their doors early to attract customers.

The store called Xiao An Nan was the busiest. Two young shop assistants stood in the street in the cold wind, introducing the featured goods eloquently. When they were excited, they even pulled customers to show their products. Regardless of whether anyone bought them or not, they were enthusiastic enough and the atmosphere was very eye-catching.

But more and more customers gathered at the door, not because they were good at talking, but because the goods were too novel. Whether it was rubber bands, elastic bands, raincoats or rain boots, no one had ever seen them before, or even heard of them, so even if they didn't buy them, they had to take a good look.

"Brother Tan, raincoats and rain boots should be military supplies, right? They are selling them right at the city gate. Don't the Statistics Department know anything about this?"

At this time, two horse-drawn carriages with car dealership logos slowly drove out of Chaoyang Gate following the crowd. In the carriage behind sat two young men dressed in shorts, who looked like factory workers.

When passing by the gate of Xiao Annan, the carriage was blocked by the crowd and had to stop for a moment, taking in the situation outside. The taller man with darker skin was obviously unhappy and asked his companions in a low voice.

"This matter cannot be blamed on us. If you really want to blame us, I will have to hold you accountable!" Another young man curled his lips, his tone full of dissatisfaction and ridicule.

"how do I say this?"

“Do you know who is behind this store?”

“…Even if he is a royal relative, I will tell His Majesty the truth!” The tall man became even more unhappy when he heard this, and even brought the emperor out. It can be seen that he holds a high position and is a big shot who can communicate directly with the emperor.

"Then forget it. This matter was specially approved by His Majesty. It is a peripheral intelligence point developed by the Nanyang Division of the Statistics Bureau." The short officer's lips curled even more, and there was a bit more helplessness in his tone.

"…No wonder he acted so arrogantly, it turned out to be Wang Datou's doing! But why did His Majesty allow him to privately sell military supplies? Could he have been deceived? This guy has been dishonest since he was a child. If you can't report him, I, your brother, can help!"

It took the tall one several seconds to realize what was going on. A complicated look suddenly appeared in his eyes. He lowered his voice slyly and waved an olive branch to the short one.

Although these two people were not wearing uniforms or shoulder straps or armbands, their identities were very special. The tall one was called Astronaut, from the Sea Gate Division, ranked 33rd, and served as a confidential staff officer of the General Staff, second only to the Deputy Chief of General Staff, in charge of intelligence work.

The short one is called Tan Mingming, also from the Haihu Division, ranked twelfth, and also serves as a confidential staff officer of the General Staff Department, but he also has a part-time job as the Director of the Statistics Department under the General Staff Department, the head of the largest and most professional spy agency in the Ming Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)