I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 384 People’s Livelihood
Qianmen Street is full of people and department stores.

"Here comes the soup!"

Zhu Youxiao sat at the stall and watched quietly as the waiter brought up a bowl of steaming fish soup with a cheerful smile. At the same time, a freshly cooked pancake was also placed in front of him.

"Pancakes in fish soup ~ Please use it slowly, sir."

"Shopkeeper, I think your fish soup seems to be made from sea fish. In this part of the capital, river fish are common, but sea fish are not."

Zhang Chang on the side saw this and was about to step forward to help Zhu Youxiao break the pancakes. Zhu Youxiao simply winked and waved his hand to indicate that he was coming.While breaking the cake and putting it into the fish soup, he watched the busy stall owner in the store take out the dried fish, wash it in water and put it into a brand new pot to cook, and asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, you have good taste. Most people can't tell the difference between river fish and sea fish. However, sea fish is fresher and more tender than river fish, and the soup tastes more mellow and rich."

While listening, Zhu Youxiao picked up the bowl and took a sip of the soup. It was indeed delicious.

“It tastes really good, very delicious.”

Zhu Youxiao looked around and found that apart from himself, Cao Bianjiao, Zuo Liangyu and others, other places in the stall were also filled with people in twos and threes.

In ancient times, there was no MSG. The most important thing to obtain the umami flavor was to boil broth or fish soup.Therefore, the taste can be said to be relatively high-end. The fish soup made by this vendor is so delicious, no wonder the business is so good.

"Seller, I think it's not easy to make fish soup. Especially sea fish, which are difficult to preserve."

The shopkeeper had a towel draped over his shoulders, beads of sweat hanging on his forehead, and he carefully controlled the heat.When he heard the young man in Jinyi asking at the stall, he shook his arm with firewood and turned around and said:
"Sir, it is indeed difficult to preserve marine fish. Only some high-ranking officials will use special water trucks to fill up seawater and transport it from Tianjin to the capital. For this, we have to consider the time required to travel day and night, no more than two days at most, otherwise The fish becomes lifeless.

Therefore, live fish are now rare in the capital and are extremely expensive.But we don’t need such expensive things to make fish soup.Since the opening of the sea, people have gathered in Tianjin Wei, and many people have made their own fishing boats to go to sea, catching a lot of fish every day.

Many people are afraid of waste, so they hollow out the belly of the fish, apply it with salt and dry it in the sun, so that it can be stored for a long time and transported to the capital for sale.This is the case with my dried fish. Although the taste is worse than that of live fish, at least it is very cheap, not that expensive, affordable and delicious. Guests are very happy to eat it~"

After saying that, the store owner started to do his own business again.

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, he looked at the rows of dried fish on the wall behind the stall, feeling a little relieved in his heart.He at least saw the changes he had brought about. After the imperial court opened the sea, the people along the coast at least had a way to make a living, and the people in Shuntian Prefecture at least had the opportunity to eat fish.

No matter how it tastes, the protein content of fish, shrimp and other aquatic foods is twice as high as other meats, which also gives them a relatively cheap way to obtain protein.

"It seems that opening up the sea is a good policy."

Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but brag about himself for a moment.While ladling the fish soup, the stall owner ordered the waiter to bring it to a scholar. He turned around and rubbed his hands while chatting with Zhu Youxiao.

"That's not true. Since Tianjin Prefecture set up a government and opened the sea, many people have gone to Tianjin Prefecture to make a living. They may go to sea to trade, fish, or do business there. Even if they have no skills, they can go there as long as they have the strength. Being a porter. Although it’s hard work, it’s still a way to survive, isn’t it?”

"Haha, it seems that the shopkeeper must have relatives there, otherwise he would not be so familiar with it."

Zhu Youxiao heard this and chatted with the stall owner without saying a word while tearing the pancakes.But as soon as he finished speaking, a voice sounded next to him.

"No, his life is much more leisurely. Both sons are very trouble-free. The eldest son went to Tongzhou, and the younger son is focused on the imperial examination and has to go to the library to copy books every day."

Zhu Youxiao looked around and saw an old man with gray hair breaking a piece of cake like him and looking at Zhu Youxiao with a smile. "Uncle Zhang is making fun of me again. I'm so busy these days, how can I have any leisure time? The main thing is that both children have things to do, which makes me worry a lot."

When Zhu Youxiao saw this, he bowed to the old man and asked curiously:
"I have long heard that there are many people going to the library every day. If you want to go in, you probably have to get up very early."

"That's right, I went there at five o'clock every day (from three o'clock to five o'clock), otherwise I wouldn't be able to get in at all. Now many people have heard that the library contains "Yongle Dadian", so they come here to copy the book. The library has it every day. The crowds are so busy that people who want to read can't get in."

When the old man saw the young man in brocade clothes asking, he immediately explained.However, the stall owner shook his head when he heard this and retorted:

"You can't say that. Your Majesty's new library is a sign of good governance.

My youngest son often talks about the benefits. Although queuing up every day is troublesome, at least he can read books for free, which makes many people applaud.Isn't it because you can't get in line when you say such harsh words now? "

When the old man saw the stall owner moving past him like this, he immediately became anxious.

"You, I say good things to you, but you slap me in the face."

"Haha, it seems that this library was built correctly, but I'm afraid it will need to be expanded in the future, otherwise it won't work at all. But I heard that your eldest son, the stall owner, is in Tongzhou, but at the canal dock? Or in a firearms workshop?"

When the stall owner saw that the old man was angry, he wanted to explain. However, when the old man saw Zhu Youxiao asking, he ignored the stall owner and deliberately rushed to explain.

"Of course, go to the firearms workshop, where the wages are high. Who doesn't know about Shuntian Prefecture now? Tianjin Wei, Xishan Coal Field, and Tongzhou Prefecture are all places of livelihood. As long as you go there, you can find a job, and you will definitely not starve to death."

The stall owner also laughed when he saw Uncle Zhang patiently explaining.

"Haha, what Uncle Zhang is saying is that my eldest son can endure hardship. He works in the firearms workshop of the Tongzhou imperial court to make a living. Although he works hard every day, the wages are not bad.

It's just that he wrote to me last time and said that he wanted to quit this job and study blacksmithing skills.After being scolded by me, it was so hard to do this public job, how could I just throw it away? Besides, it is not that easy to learn a craft. "

Zhu Youxiao was speechless when he heard this, but what's the use of working in a firearms workshop? Learning a craft is better than anything else.

What's more, according to Xu Guangqi's previous proposal, the imperial court will definitely let Zunhua Iron Factory participate in the production of firearms, and blacksmiths will definitely make a good living in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao stood up slowly. Cao Bianjiao and others also stood up when they saw this.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Chang quickly took out his money to pay the bill. Zhu Youxiao looked at the stall owner and said:

"Your fish is delicious, but I still recommend that your eldest son learn the blacksmith trade. It will be of great use in the future."

The shopkeeper reached out to take the silver coins handed over by Zhang Chang and asked curiously:
"Why is this?"

Zhu Youxiao smiled and said goodbye to them.

"Because the three major livelihood areas of Shuntian Mansion will soon become four."

(End of this chapter)