In June, it had just rained, the plants and trees were quiet, and there was a vast white mist by the canal.

It is plum rainy season now, sometimes the sun is strong, and sometimes it suddenly rains heavily.

The canal is covered with dense boats and boats, along the perimeter of the pier, there are rows of houses. Early in the morning, along the line of the canal, it became very lively. A carriage came out from the west gate of Huai'an New City, "Lanyun Gate", stepped through the water stains on the ground, and drove to Hexia Town at the gate.

This is a famous town in Huai'an. Because salt merchants live in and supply a lot of shipbuilding raw materials, this new city is west of Liancheng and northwest of Liancheng, which is part of the ancient Beichen town. As early as the middle of the Ming Dynasty, merchant ships were swept away and sails gathered. Like Banzha Town and Qingjiang Town, it is ranked as one of the three major towns in Huai'an.

The streets are winding, and the streets paved with bluestones are wet and fresh. Although the sky is just dawn, the "Huzui Street" in Hexia Town is already crowded with people. Because it has rained, many travelers are wearing clogs or boots, which are waterproof and non-slip, and have a crackling sound.

"Wow——" The carriage was walking on the wheels, passing a pool of water, splashing a large splash of water. The town is located on the edge of the canal, and the terrain is low. Although there are many rivers and canals, there are Guanjia Lake and Xiaohu Lake and other lakes, but every time there is rain, water accumulation is still inevitable.

The bamboo curtain is half rolled, the vehicle is low-key and luxurious, and there are long followers carrying bows, arrows, and long swords next to the car, and managers riding horses follow.

Wang Qiong'e glanced at the outside, then turned her eyes to the account book in her hand. At this time, she tied her hair bun and left the jade hairpin. Her head flower was as jade as the earrings, and her arms were elegant and elegant, with wisdom and a hint of charm.

In terms of figure, Wang Qiong'e's height of 1.65 meters is tall in later generations, and her temperament is more representative of elite women. At this time, she leaned comfortably and had a delicate curve, so she could not hide the turbulent waves on her chest.

She slowly looked through the account book, with a hint of cleverness in her eyes. From time to time, she felt unspeakable charm.

After a long time, Wang Qiong'e put down her account book and frowned at the outside world, saying, "Uncle Huang, is this the only one Su Gang who provides Yang Xianggong?"

Hearing her pleasant and magnetic sound, Huang Wenyuan, who was riding a horse by the carriage, replied: "Miss, the world is not good at the moment. The Suzhou Chamber of Commerce has provided us with goods several times for the sake of our Wang family and Yan family. If it were other families, if you want to buy this kind of good steel, you can't buy it."

Wang Qiong'e sighed lightly. It is not easy to produce Sugang. The finished product needs to be constantly forged and refinished repeatedly to finally obtain some excellent steel bars and ingots.

This steel is called "Sugang", but its origin is actually in Wuhu. It was named after Suzhou craftsmen. It belongs to a kind of cast steel, which is considered to be of high-carbon steel of good quality in this era.

After Su Gang became a prosperous country, the control was still in the hands of Suzhou people. This is not surprising. Even in later generations, the production area did not have the right to price goods, which was very common.

Wang Qiong'e received news that the roads on both sides of the Yangtze River have been unstable recently due to the large number of bandits on both sides of the Yangtze River. In addition, Su Hui is willing to be reluctant to sell, so it may become more and more difficult to transfer Sugang in the future.

It's just that...

When Wang Qiong'e was meditating on her work, her personal maid Wang Dian'er was always obedient and silent. At this time, she stole the free time and poured Wang Qiong'e a cup of scary fragrance.

Wang Qiong'e took a sip, and the refreshing fragrance made her feel refreshed. Seeing the tea leaves in the cup curled like snails and the tea water was light green, she whispered: "You can't miss Yang Xianggong's affairs, you have to think of a way."

The wheels were wheeled, and the carriage continued to move forward.

The direction Wang Qiong'e was heading to was her in-laws Yan Mansion, a large mansion located in Zhuxiang Street.

Although Hexia Town is a small place, the Huaibei Branch Office, which managed the salt industry in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, was stationed there since then. This town was the only place where Salt Jin in Huaibei was passed. Merchants lived around the village, and Hexia Town quickly became a famous town. There were more than 100 streets and alleys, more than 40 bridges, more than 100 large gardens, and many famous people appeared. For example, Wu Chengen was born here, and Shen Kun, the top scholar in the anti-Japanese war during the Jiajing period, was also born here. There were more than 100 people including Jinshi, Juren, No. 1, Tanhua, etc.

Due to the salt transportation, a large number of rich merchants gathered, and the local market was very prosperous. From a distance, this town with a width of about five or six miles from east to west and about two or three miles from north to south can only be seen with countless rich merchants' mansions and salt merchants' gardens.

Although Wang Qiong'e's wife's house has a large mansion in Zhuxiang Street, which can be found in and out of the house, it is nothing in Hexia Town, where wealthy people gather.

Through the streets and alleys, crossing the bridge, soon after, the carriage turned from Huzui Street to Zhuxiang Street.

This street is very grand. On both sides of the bluestone streets and alleys are painted pavilions and gardens, facing each other, and all the rich and wealthy merchants live in. There is only one poor family, with a humble thatched hut and a poor living in the poor. The rich businessmen think it is unsightly. After failing to buy it, the merchants took out money and helped him build a high-gate building on the street. The exquisiteness is exquisite, but it is nicknamed "fake gate" by the locals, which also makes the street show the atmosphere of a nouveau riche.

Literati who consider themselves to have identities are actually unwilling to live here. The real literati gardens in Hexia Town are mostly concentrated in Huzui Street, Xiaohu, and Luojiaqiao to the west.

Wang Qiong'e came back from her parents' home. Her hometown was next to Wenqu, the old city of Shanyang County, Huai'an. The house was not as rich as her in-laws, but in terms of level, it was higher.

Soon, the carriage was parked in front of a large mansion, with brick-carved screen walls, tall gate towers, stone lion door pier with drum stones, seven-level blue stone steps, horse-mounted stones and horse-mounted stones, blue bricks and black tiles, and the surrounding ancient alleys were winding.

The house built on the stage is magnificent. In fact, this pattern has been overwhelming, but it doesn't matter in the late Ming Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, merchants were not allowed to wear silk, yarn, or prostitutes, but now they all dress like officials.

Looking at the familiar house in front of me, the word "Yan Mansion" on the plaque, for some reason, Wang Qiong'e always felt very depressed.

She sighed softly and got off the carriage. She had already come to meet her and flattered her.

When I entered the house, I was full of maids and servants with lowered eyebrows and bowed their heads, and I respectfully called her the eldest young lady.

Seeing all this, Wang Qiong'e was always unhappy. Whenever she entered this courtyard, her heart was always heavy.

She also knew that although these servants were respectful in front of her, she didn't know how to chew her tongue behind her back.

There are often rumors that she is a woman, but she is running around outside, which is unconventional.

Some people even like to talk about her figure.

For example, two sisters-in-law.

She even heard a maid whispering behind her back more than once, saying that she was a "nanny".

Wang Qiong'e couldn't even care about the cold words.

She was surprised, what's wrong with her big breasts? Do you have to have a flat tablet?

In this era, the wealthy families regard thinness as a beauty. Because they have the profession of wet nurses, they don’t worry about nurturing their children, so they are better off breasts. But Wang Qiong'e felt that there was nothing wrong with her like this, and she knew that they were jealous.

However, despite this mentality, it is inevitable to suppress it after returning to my in-laws' house.

In this mansion, only her close and able to rely on were her personal maid Wang Dian'er, and Uncle Huang who watched her grow up.

I went all the way to the mansion and the courtyard several times, with gorgeous decorations, and the words "I have money" were revealed everywhere.

Huai'an has a high land price, and Hexia Town is even more valuable in every inch of land. The main halls with "one-stop" here are considered wealthy, and the houses with three-heads and four-heads are considered wealthy. However, the large courtyards that have been almost inched and entered are only standard among salt merchants, and there are too many rich people in Hexia Town.

Soon there was a drooping flower door in front. When you entered the drooping flower door, you would be the inner courtyard. The so-called "the door does not go out, and the two doors do not step out" refers to the drooping flower door.

Uncle Huang followed the masters here, no matter how much Wang Qiong'e's mother's house, she could be arranged into an accounting room. Yan's mansion had more rules, and some commercial accounting rooms could only be set up in the front yard.

Wang Qiong'e always felt inconvenient. She wondered whether to build a general account outside the room. After the two families got married, they had a lot of business. They could not take into account many matters by relying on the shopkeepers of each branch and inspecting themselves.

I heard that there is a so-called "company" in Fujian and Guangdong, which is called "the public is the wealth of several people, and the officials are the meaning of operation". The red and wild people also have the "public yamen" structure. Wang Qiong'e thought that she could consider this form, and she had already thought of the name, so she called Huai'an Xinglong Company.

Her father had agreed to this matter, but he had to ask her father-in-law what he meant.

Uncle Huang was instructed to check the accounts and supplies for Yang Xianggong again, and the gifts prepared for him must be kept in vain. Wang Qiong'e took Wang Dian'er into the inner courtyard, preparing to pay tribute to her mother-in-law and rest for a while.

She is already preparing to go north soon and stay in Huai'an for a few days, but as a wife, she is always greetings every day.

Although I feel depressed and uncomfortable every time I see my mother-in-law, what can I do as a daughter-in-law?

Especially after the two families get married, the bigger the business, even if they don’t consider it for the Yan family, they have to consider it for their parents and take care of their parents.

As soon as I entered the Chuhuamen, I saw a middle-aged man with a cold expression, wearing a unified hat, wearing a big green robe, an exaggerated expression and a blue-faced expression, but it was Guan Yan and his brother-in-law Yan Shangbin.

Seeing Wang Qiong'e, Manager Yan looked cold. Although he worked under Wang Qiong'e and was like the assistant chairman, he was sent by the master, saying that it was to assist and more to monitor.

He just plainly said that the eldest young lady was back? He said that the master had given instructions that if he saw the eldest young lady, he would invite her to the hall to discuss matters.

Yan Shangbin's eyes lit up and he bowed with a smile: "Have you met my sister-in-law, has my sister-in-law worked hard all the way?"

Wang Qiong'e gave a blessing, but when she saw Yan Shangbin's evil eyes, she felt disgusted.

Her brother-in-law, a typical playboy, doesn't do anything, only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, and is particularly unwilling to do it, and seems to have a covetous heart towards her sister-in-law.

He even proudly declared that he would not let the outsiders go to the fields of wealth, and that it would be nothing wrong for brothers to do.

Another uncle, Yan Shangyu, is a person with great ambition and talent. He is not successful enough and has more than enough failures. He is self-righteous and has ruined the long-term business, which is blamed on her.

Everything about this house is tiring. Fortunately, she is in charge of the business plan and can go out from time to time, so she is not driven crazy.

and.

Thinking about going north soon, Wang Qiong'e was inexplicably excited.

...

With his personal maid Wang Dian'er, Wang Qiong'e turned the long corridor and walked through a screen door to another courtyard.

The court is deep, and her parents-in-law's residence is the third place to enter the mansion. There are courtyards where two people rest, halls, study rooms, and Buddhist temples that were built.

Here, mother-in-law Cheng Zhonghui recites the sutra of rebirth for her dead eldest son every day, and has been chanting it for seven years.

When you enter here, the trees are lush and quite shaded, but they give people a more gloomy feeling. In addition, the servant who stood in the dark and expressionless face, the whole house was lifeless. Wang Dian'er has always been active in Wang Qiong'e's mother's house, and when she enters Yan's mansion, she is much silent, and she is even more silent at this time.

Soon, the two of them came to the hall. Before they could enter, they heard shouting and scolding inside, and the whispering voice of their uncle Yan Shangyu, with a strong dissatisfaction: "...How can I blame me? It's all the fault of the bandits. What does the robbers have to do with their son?"

Then his father-in-law Yan Jiannian roared angrily: "I dare to argue, look at you, look at your sister-in-law, you disappoint me so much... I really hope you don't go to this family... Get out of here... Cough cough cough..."

Amid the coughing, Yan Shangyu rushed out of the hall angrily.

When he saw Wang Qiong'e, he was stunned, his face changed with a blue and white face, and then he snorted coldly: "The hen crows!"

With a swaying sleeve, he passed by Wang Qiong'e angrily.

Seeing him leaving, Wang Qiong'e said nothing. Wang Dian'er had already lowered her eyebrows and looked down, but when no one was paying attention, she grimaced at Yan Shangyu's back. In Wang Qiong'e's eyes, she stuck out her tongue and returned to her obedient appearance.

In the hall, Wang Qiong'e met her father-in-law Yan Jiannian.

This is a short and thin businessman in his fifties, wearing a silk shirt, a Dongpo scarf, a ravine on his face, and his eyes are full of vicissitudes and depth.

Like Wang Qiong'e's father Wang Changlong, Yan Jiannian started from scratch, especially since he was a shop apprentice, and he has his current foundation step by step. It goes without saying that he is smart in business.

However, like Wang Changlong, he may have worked hard since childhood, and he went from wind to rain. As he got older, his body was not very good.

Also, because the Yan family has no talent, after all, Yan Jiannian and Wang Changlong chose the same, and they all handed over the family's livelihood to Wang Qiong'e.

Two mothers and a housekeeper stood in the distance with expressionless faces, Wang Dian'er stood beside him, and Wang Qiong'e and Yan Jiannian sat and talked.

Yan Jiannian first asked about his in-laws, but he also felt that he was not very healthy in recent years and he rarely walked with his in-laws.

He spoke with emotion and was quite gentle to Wang Qiong'e.

However, he may not realize it himself. No matter how gentle he is, the tone of his speech will always be filled with a hint of gloom.

Then Yan Jiannian changed his words and mentioned the matter of Pizhou, especially the commercial trade with Yang He, the general manager of Lian.

"...You are doing something very well with Xianggong Yang. This is a big merchant, so you have to win over it with your heart."
To be continued...