A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 127: Selling Life (Part )
To put it nicely, I'm giving you the opportunity to make money because you three families are having a hard time.

If you try to stab me in the back, his methods will be no different from those used by the imperial court to control the soldiers of the wing army, and even more radical than those used by the imperial court.

With Song Xuan's words as a foundation, the three of them held their breath and listened to Song Xuan's lecture:
"If anyone wants to quit now, I won't stop you. Take this money. There are many people in the Guide Army who are worse off than you."

"We are all willing to work with Shi Er Lang."

He San and the other two all said that they were willing to follow Shi Erlang to do this job.

As long as it's not murder or arson, it's fine.

Song Xuan spat at He San.

If they really wanted to commit murder and arson, Song Xuan would look down on these malnourished people.

The skinny old man acted as a thug and had to work himself to the point of gasping for breath after beating someone up.

Even with this condition, he still goes to the dock to work. He really is wasting his life.

They think living to over thirty years old is a long life.

Under the current living conditions, most people in the Song Dynasty will not live long.

Song Xuan stood up and looked at these people:
"Alright, I won't say anything else. Shopkeeper Tao will give you some training."

"If you can adapt and sign the contract, this one guan is a bonus for signing. It's for your family to eat well for a few days and to help you gain strength. It's not included in this month's salary."

When He San heard this, he immediately knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face:

"I thank Twelve Lang for the reward. From now on, I will serve you wholeheartedly. If you have any second thoughts, I will strike you down."

Song Xuan responded:
"I hope you will remember what I said today."

When Tao Hong saw the young master leave, he smiled and asked the three of them to go over and take a bath first to avoid infecting everyone with lice.

Jiao Ming and others were using movable type printing to copy the first few chapters of Journey to the West, all printed on hemp paper.

At the beginning, Song Xuan wanted to spend a lot of money on copperplate printing, but it was too expensive and it was better to use clay tablets.

If the movable type is damaged, it can be replaced as soon as possible without delaying production.

Moreover, novels are not the main selling products, so there is no need for strict quality control.

It is really a case of buying the box and returning the pearl.

"Master, prepare 10,000 copies in the past few days. Once those three have finished washing, have them all glued together."

Song Xuan glanced at the first few chapters of the photocopied Journey to the West. It was fine as long as it was readable. Anyway, those gamblers would not really want to read the story.

After opening up the market with some excellent stories, we can also commission some students to write articles. In the end, it will provide others with some opportunities to make money.

"Just sell it out within three days. If it doesn't sell out, sell it in the second phase."

Song Xuan didn't care about sales: "The first few issues are just promotions at best, to let everyone know how to play this new game. We'll increase the intensity later on."

The job of movable type printing is actually not tiring, all you need to do is recognize the characters.

Even some of the craftsmen employed in the royal mausoleums were illiterate.

But they can perfectly reproduce it for you by comparing the words in the book.

Song Xuan guessed that perhaps there was such a capable person in the Imperial City Bureau, the secret service agency of the Song Dynasty.

"clear."

Tao Hong, He San and others spent the whole day gluing book pages together.

There are plenty of meat buns at noon and at night.

You can also let each of them take six buns for their families.

As for Song Xuan and the others, Jiao Ming still cooks the stir-fried dishes for them.

As the shopkeeper, Tao Hong also told them about the three-month probation period.

If the probation period is over, you will be responsible for cooking.

If he fails, our employment relationship will end and he will look for someone else to fill the position.

He San had never eaten so much in his life, and he felt that the meat bun was already stuck in his throat.

I was afraid that I would vomit it out accidentally.

His sleeves were heavy with one string of coins, and his pockets had at most six strings, but he didn't let him hold it for a moment before giving it to his mother.

Almost ten years have passed in a flash.

Holding six hot meat buns in his hands.

The black shop run by Sun Erniang in the Water Margin sells human meat buns, but meat buns are not cheap.

He San entered his house in the dark and closed the door carefully.

The three of them had already agreed that such good treatment must not be leaked to anyone.

Otherwise, who knows how many people would want to fight for it.

So when he entered the house in the dark, he first called out to his wife, "Light the lamp quickly."

His eyes have not yet fully adapted to the darkness, mainly because he is a little night blind.

popping.

When two pieces of flint collided, the sparks jumped smoothly onto the wick.

The black-glazed lampstand was lit, and He San could see the people in the room. The three children had gone to bed early, their mother was still sitting on the bed, and their daughter-in-law was sitting on a wooden stool fanning the three sleeping children.

"Is the boss satisfied with you?"

"Satisfied, mother, Shi Erlang is very satisfied with me."

He San hurriedly took out the meat buns from the package and said, "Mom, try these fresh meat buns. Shi Erlang specially allowed me to bring them home."

"Mom has already eaten, so let's leave it for the children tomorrow."

"Yes, we have them all. There are six of them in total. If you each get one, there's still one extra."

He San said happily, "I ate a total of 23 large meat buns for two meals today. I choked so hard that the food got stuck in my throat."

"The shopkeeper said you can eat as much as you want in the store, but if you're going out to give it to your family to try, he'll only give you six at most. Otherwise, I'll really save my own bite and give it all to you guys."

"How can you be so short-sighted? How can you work hard for your boss when you eat so much of his food?"

He San was scolded by his mother. How can it be the same to be full at one meal or to be full at every meal?

"Mom, I'm just bragging. I really can't eat any more. Try this meat bun. It won't taste good if it gets cold."

He San kept apologizing with a smile as he handed the buns to his mother and then stuffed a big meat bun into his wife's mouth, letting them eat first.

Otherwise, when the child wakes up, neither of them will have anything to eat.

In fact, the little girl had already woken up. She had never eaten meat buns in her life, but when she smelled them, she thought they were delicious and couldn't help swallowing her saliva.

When Grandma He saw that her eldest granddaughter had woken up, she broke off most of the meat bun and handed it to her, telling her to stop pretending to be asleep and eat it while it was hot.

Don’t eat too much late at night. The two children should each eat half, and my wife has to eat one since she works hard.

Save the remaining three for tomorrow morning.

For families like them, it is normal to survive by eating two meals of porridge a day.

The two little guys didn't know what meat buns were.

I just think it tastes good and smells good.

Still want to eat.

"Dad, can I have some more?"

"Sleep well and be obedient, so you can eat when you wake up tomorrow." "I am the most obedient."

"Dad, I am also the most obedient."

With their grandmother's patting, the two soon fell asleep.

He San knew that her mother must not have eaten dinner.

She is old and can't do much work, and she doesn't want to be a burden.

But He San felt really miserable.

He wanted to work hard to earn money to support his family, but he really couldn't compete with others by just carrying bags at the dock.

Last night he said he was going to help out at Song Twelve's bookstore, but he couldn't read a single word and didn't know what he could do.

In addition, Song Xuan paid him one string of coins at that time, which made He San subconsciously think that he was asked to risk his life to kill people.

There are rumors that the leg of Dou Chou's son was broken by someone hired by Song Xuan!

But when he saw his family eating meat buns, his heart was deeply touched.

Even if Song Shier asked him to kill someone, so what?
Anyway, no matter who I sell it to, I can’t get the high price of one guan of coins a month!
With Song Twelve being so generous, he would certainly not be stingy if he hired me to kill someone.

"Did the shopkeeper tell me the monthly salary?"

He San quickly took off his clothes and took out a string of coins from his arm pocket.

It was not safe for the ancients to put money in their sleeves, as it could easily fall out, especially for poor people wearing short, double-breasted jackets.

"One tael of silver?"

Old Mrs. He opened her eyes wide, and even his wife covered her mouth in surprise.

"Why so many?"

He San then told Song Xuan all of his requirements, including cleaning and other matters.

"We are scholars, and the people who go to the bookstore to buy books are also scholars, so it is necessary to keep it clean."

Old Mrs. He immediately cut the rope, counted out a hundred coins from it and gave them to her daughter-in-law, asking her to buy some bath beans and soap beans the next day.

No matter what, the whole family has to wash it clean, even the bedding has to be taken apart and washed.

Lice can crawl from one person to another, so the whole family must keep clean and hygienic. Otherwise, just relying on your own son to be clean will not meet other people's expectations.

This job is very important to the whole family and must be taken seriously.

As long as we save enough money, we can rent a good place to live, and the whole family won’t have to live together. My grandson will also have the opportunity to go to school in the future and change the fate of our family.

Finally, Old Mrs. He gave her son careful instructions for a long time.

Twelve Lang treats you so well, if you are not grateful, you will allow others to stab our family in the back, and even ruin your son's future.

Also, if your daughter wants to marry into a good family, she needs to prepare a dowry. From tonight on, the whole family will cooperate with you to keep this job.

He San listened to his mother's detailed instructions, and his eyes became a little sour.

In fact, he knew in his heart that this kind of opportunity was hard to come by. If many people in the Guide Army knew this, they would definitely go to beg for mercy with red eyes.

He San also told the other two about the agreement he had made. The matter of wages had to be kept a secret. Not even half of the wages could be told to anyone else. It had to be kept secret.

He San was lying on the broken wooden bed, actually unable to sleep.

It is easy to feel dizzy after eating too much, as the brain is deprived of blood and oxygen, and gastrointestinal digestion requires a lot of energy. But it is different if you eat too much. You will feel uncomfortable and unable to sleep, but you don't want to vomit.

He San was both excited and worried.

The excitement is that your family’s life will get visibly better.

The worry is that if I fail the three-month probation period, the good days will be over.

The other two families were in similar situations. Even the mother and daughter of the Jiang family burst into tears while eating meat buns. Who would be willing to put on makeup and go begging?

Moreover, considering the malnourished appearance of both mother and daughter, how much money could anyone who likes them have?
After He San and the other two went to the bookstore, they were full of energy.

Such good treatment is unavailable anywhere else in the entire Song City, especially when hiring these thieves as soldiers.

Who can look up to them?
Tao Hong just smiled, as if he saw his former self, who also wanted so desperately to change his fate.

But this soon poured cold water on He San and others. It was okay to work quickly, but at least they couldn't redo the work.

Tao Hong naturally scolded them, but considering that it was their first offense, they were exempted from fines. If they worked quickly and well in the future, they would be rewarded.

Song Xuan watched Jiao Ming and others overprinting lottery tickets. They took so much trouble to avoid counterfeiting. If they were copied directly, it would be too easy to replicate.

He unfolded a large octavo sheet of paper, looked at it carefully in the sun, and then picked up the cut sheet to compare carefully.

Song Xuan picked up the government-issued Jiaozi from the table again. Their copies were a whole printing plate, which was too easy to imitate.

Back then, the harm caused by private imitation was not that great, the real harm was the government's excessive issuance.

Song Xuan doesn't care about the indiscriminate distribution. He is not afraid of selling too many products.

Anyway, it doesn't need to be linked to credit currency. You just need to exchange the winnings for others and establish this credit in the hearts of the people.

He is not afraid of many people winning the lottery, he is just afraid that no one will buy it.

No matter how you win, this business will always make money.

Song Xuan was busy here, and Yan Shu felt a little anxious.

How come these days have passed and there is still no news about the opening of his bookstore? Then Yan Shu went to urge Yang Zijin and asked if there was any channel to purchase mulberry paper in large quantities?
Although the government also purchased a large amount, Yan Shu could never rely on his own connections to transfer it to Song Xuan.

That would be collusion between officials and businessmen.

Yan Shu would never do such a thing that would give people a chance to talk, as it was not in line with his usual code of conduct.

After Yan Shu received Yang Zijin's definite reply, he went to Song Xuan's house immediately after he finally received the letter today.

Then Yan Shu looked at the lobby and found that there were not many bookshelves. Instead, there was a semicircular counter with bookshelves behind it.

Probably not to let people choose, but to let people directly point out which books to buy?

"Twelve Lang."

Yan Shu called out, and saw his housekeeper coming out. He quickly said that Shi Er Lang was busy with the welfare three-star lottery in the room.

"Lead the way."

Yan Shu met three unfamiliar faces. They were collecting some papers in the shade of the yard. The papers looked crudely made, they were hemp paper!
When I entered the house, even though there was ice in the room, it was still hot.

Song Xuan was standing there shirtless, looking at the finished product.

"Master, Mr. Yan is here." Tao Hong reminded.

Song Xuan then turned around and put down the object in his hand:

"As soon as Mr. Yan arrived, I knew something good was going to happen."

"You really think I'm a magpie!"

Although Yan Shu complained, he was still happy in his heart.

Ever since Song Xuan met me, every time was a happy event.
That's not wrong.

Yan Shu was a person who liked to promote young talents. Seeing that Song Xuan was so busy, he took the initiative to speak:
"Master Yang has already found a channel. Here are the contact details. Have your people contact one or two of them and see if they are good enough."

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Yan." Song Xuan quickly called Tao Hong over.

Yan Shu picked up the finished product and looked at it carefully:

"Song Twelve, can this little piece of paper really make a lot of money?"

(End of this chapter)