Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 227 Shopkeeper Shen

The cold wind from Guandong Mountain blew with snow particles, hitting the window paper again and again, making a sound like ghosts howling and wolves howling.

The wind and snow didn't stop until dawn, and by then it was even colder outside.

The young man at the coach inn, wrapped in a big fur coat, was feeding hay to the animals in the stable and cleaning the frost and snow off the horses' bellies.

Qu Shaoyang and his companions had worked hard for days, and now that they had arrived in Andong, they were in no rush to continue their journey. No one got up early the next day, and they slept until noon.

When they woke up, the waiter immediately brought hot water for everyone to wash their faces.

"Manager Chen, Manager Qu, the food is hot in the pot and will be served soon.

Just now, our shopkeeper has arranged for people to take our horses away, put new shoes on them, and feed them with hay. Don't worry, shopkeeper."

Next to the coach shop, there are usually several saddle shops, blacksmith shops, veterinary shops, etc.

The guys in the shop were not only responsible for feeding the animals, but sometimes when they saw that the horseshoes were severely worn, they would take the horseshoe directly to the blacksmith to repair and re-shoe.

You have to know that if a cart driver travels all over the winter and the horseshoes are badly worn, it will not only affect the horse's walking speed, but sometimes it will also cause injury.

Therefore, good carriage shops all provide one-stop service.

Once the coach owner comes into the store, he doesn't have to worry about anything, as the shop's employees will take care of everything.

Qu Shaoyang was very happy and grabbed a handful of copper coins to reward the young man.

The waiter was so happy that he wanted to kneel on the ground and kowtow twice. He hurriedly collected the copper coins and ran to serve the meal.

After breakfast, Liu Dongshan led his men to rest in the inn, while Qu Shaoyang and the Chen brothers went out to the granary in the city.

The Chen brothers had acquaintances here, so they went straight to the other party and explained their purpose.

When he heard that there were nearly 10,000 kilograms of soybeans, he was very happy and immediately sent people to follow Chen Yunzhe and the others to the inn.

We went to the local area to check the quality of the soybeans and the two sides negotiated the price.

Then Qu Shaoyang sent his men to hitch up a sled and deliver five sleds of soybeans to the granary.

As the Chinese New Year approached, prices rose, and the price of soybeans also increased a lot. Soybeans alone were sold for more than 600 taels.

After selling the soybeans, everyone stayed in Andong for another night. On the 29th of the winter month, they set off for Yingkou.

A few days later, the group arrived in Yingkou.

At the beginning, the Chen family bought several shops and houses in Yingkou. Two of the shops were given to Chen Xiuyun as a dowry and were rented out by an agency.

The other two shops, a restaurant and a silk shop, are now run by Shen Lizhen, and the house is also entrusted to them to help manage.

Since you have your own place to live, there is no need to stay in an inn.

So the Chen brothers took people to the restaurant first, found Shen Lizhen, and got the key to the house.

When we met again after more than half a year, Shen Lizhen was no longer the same as she was in Tianxiang Tower.

Of course, her appearance has not changed much, but her makeup is no longer so seductive, and her every move is less deliberate and charming.

She was dressed conservatively and looked gentle and elegant, with no trace of the former courtesan who was the most beautiful woman in the city.

Qu Shaoyang learned the details of Shen Lizhen and her fellow sisters from his two uncles.

The Yan family is not a simple one. The girls in the family have to undergo various training from a young age, including reading and writing, playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and knowing rules and etiquette.

It can be said that he is proficient in everything and can adapt to any identity without anyone noticing any flaws.

If they didn't have these skills, how could the Yan Clan have set up a trap to deceive Huo Dian?

In this business, it can be said that if you don't open for three years, you can make a profit for three years after opening. It is definitely not easy. "Old shopkeeper, Shopkeeper Qu, thank you for coming from afar and for your hard work.

So, everyone, go and settle down first. I will treat you all tonight and set up a banquet to welcome you all."

Shen Lizhen has a generous and free-spirited nature, and has a bit of the heroic spirit of a woman of the world.

When she learned that Qu Shaoyang and others came to Yingkou to sell goods, she immediately said that she would host a banquet to entertain everyone.

"Thank you for your kindness, Manager Shen. You don't have to treat me. I'd like to ask the chef to cook a few delicious dishes to reward my employees tonight."

Qu Shaoyang bowed towards Shen Lizhen and said with a smile.

"No, no, the evening banquet will be charged to my account. I'll treat you tonight." Chen Yunhan said immediately after hearing this.

"Okay, let's not argue about this for now. We are all family, so it doesn't matter who invites us.
Well, let's settle down first, and we also need to find out the market situation."

Chen Yunzhe waved his hands. Why fight over this? It's all our business. It's not worth fighting over a few tables of food.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lizhen hurriedly handed the key to the house to Chen Yunzhe, and then everyone went straight to Chen's house.

This house was originally rented out, but later the Chen brothers often came to Yingkou for business and had no place to stay.

When leaving home in early spring, Chen Yunzhe asked his parents for the house deed and the documents from the real estate agency, then took back the house and hired someone to look after it and do the daily cleaning.

Later, Shen Lizhen and others came to Yingkou to do business and took over the job of looking after the house.

So even though no one lives in this house, it is well maintained and someone comes to light the fire and clean the house every other day.

There are two courtyards and plenty of rooms, enough for all these people to live in.

Everyone came in, tied up the horses, unloaded the goods, and lit a fire to warm the kang. After a busy period, they finally settled down.

It was still early, so Qu Shaoyang asked everyone to rest first, and he and his two uncles went out to inquire about the market.

The Chen Yunzhe brothers had been running the pig bristle business for quite some time and had already established relationships with the compradors of several foreign companies, so they went to each one to inquire.

The price of pig bristles had been rising. The three compared the quotations given by several foreign companies and finally chose a German company.

"Brother, when you come over tomorrow, remember to ask them if you can buy the latest rifle produced in their country."

After coming out of the foreign company, Qu Shaoyang suddenly remembered something.

It seems that by this time, Germany's M1888 commission rifle had already been mass-produced.

This rifle uses smokeless gunpowder, a rotating bolt, a five-round single-row box magazine, and a jacketed bullet. It can be said to be the most advanced rifle in the world.

As a man, how many people don't love guns? This thing is more addictive than collecting antiques.

Although there are already quite a few guns at home, those are still powered by black powder primers, which are not on the same level as this smokeless gunpowder.

Qu Shaoyang is also a gun enthusiast. Since he knew there was a good one, how could he miss it?

Chen Yunzhe was stunned when he heard this, "Brother-in-law, do you still want to buy a gun?" There are more than a dozen guns at home, why buy another one?
"Buy it, you have to buy it, big brother. The world will become more and more chaotic in the future. It's better to have a gun in your hand.

Before I came here, I had already thought about buying some guns and bullets.

When you travel around doing business in the future, who knows what situations you might encounter? Guns are the best when they are available.”

My neighbor hoards food and I hoard guns. My neighbor is my granary.

In troubled times, even if you don't rob others, you have to be on guard against others robbing you.

Keep more manpower at home and buy more guns and ammunition, and see who dares to make plans against you?

(End of this chapter)