boyutpedia Chapter 117: All About Business
Chapter 117: All About Business
"Luo Tong, what did you write?"
Xiong Feng asked as Luo Tong just sat down.
Luo Tong remained silent.
He was obviously in a very bad mood.
"What about the poem? Tell us about it!"
Xiong Feng looked very drunk.
"No need!" Luo Tong picked up the wine jug, filled himself a glass of wine and drank it.
"Is there really no one willing to come up?"
The old man asked again.
"I come!"
At once, five people stood up and walked forward.
Mr. Deng nodded and said, "Everyone, please tell me your name, place of origin, and age first!"
"Chen You, from Yangdi, twenty-four this year!"
"Du Tang, from Luhun, nineteen years old."
Several people reported their information one after another. The only thing they had in common was that they were all under 25 years old.
It seems that he not only wants to be an official, but also wants to get married.
Or maybe he could cling to the high branch of Master Deng.
It took them about half an incense stick to finish writing, and the three elders judged it.
"Three down, one down, one up, and one down!"
Master Deng read it out loud.
When Luo Tong heard the result, he knew that the best was only in the middle and lower level like himself, and his expression immediately improved a lot.
"Would you like to write a poem?"
Mr. Deng's face didn't look very good. He thought that these people's level was too low and he didn't hold any hope.
However, the five of them were not modest at all and said in unison: "Miss, please give us a question!"
Deng Yi stood up gently and said, "I will continue to use the pipa as the theme. Please write a poem!"
Or is the theme still about pipa?
While everyone was discussing, Deng Yi continued, "I am a humble girl with limited knowledge and talent. From now on, I will write poems on the theme of the pipa. Please do not ask any more questions!"
"it is good!"
Some people started clapping.
Since I knew the question a long time ago, it was obviously much easier.
Xiong Feng and his companions burst into laughter.
"Oh, this girl is really interesting. Everyone writes about pipa, so what can she do?
Xiong Feng is over 25 years old and does not meet the requirements, so of course there is no need to think about it.
"Brother Xiong, you don't need to write a poem, why not give us some good ideas! If anyone is chosen, they must remember Brother Xiong's advice!"
"Come on! I can write fu, but I can't write poetry!"
Xiong Feng smiled and said, even if he knew a good sentence, he couldn't say it out loud!
Why should you let others get what you can’t get yourself?
Liu Zhao almost spat out a mouthful of mutton if he went up.
Then change the two words "Jinse" to "Pipa", but the Pipa has fewer strings, so just change it casually!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Brother Dehua, have you thought of a good sentence?" Luo Tong felt that he was at a disadvantage for being the first to go up.
If I had known that the topic was about pipa, wouldn’t I have gained an advantage by going on stage later?
"No, I'm not good at poetry!"
Liu Zhao didn't expect that Luo Tong could see through his thoughts.
"That's right, Brother Dehua. So, when you're not reading or writing poetry, what do you do?"
Now that it had nothing to do with them, Luo Tong and Liu Zhao became close.
At this time, Ma Zhuang and Xiong Feng were also there, and the other four were all thinking hard.
She said that she was afraid that the other person was ugly, but when she thought about being able to get close to Master Deng, all the appearance issues disappeared into the sky.
“I usually do business!”
Liu Zhao could only talk nonsense.
"Doing business? I didn't expect that brother could do business? It doesn't seem like it!" Luo Tong was obviously very interested.
"Can you tell that in business?"
Liu Zhao smiled.
"Brother Liu is so delicate and tender, he doesn't look like someone who works hard for business all day. He looks more like a scholar. And with his looks, he's a good candidate for an official position!"
"Haha, you're too kind! Does appearance matter when becoming an official?"
"Of course. Looking at your face, you have a full forehead. If you study hard, your future is limitless!"
"Thank you for your kind words. I'd better go back and study hard!"
"Come on! There's no chance to study now!"
Xiong Feng interrupted from the side.
"none of your business?"
Before Liu Zhao could say anything, Luo Tong retorted.
"Okay! Forget it!"
Seeing that Luo Tong was also hostile to him at this time, Xiong Feng could only shut up.
"Brother Liu, actually my family is also in business!" Luo Tong said.
"What business is Brother Luo in?" Liu Zhao was not surprised. Those who could spend one hundred taels of gold as an admission ticket were most likely sons of businessmen.
It is not ruled out that there are also some children of officials.
Someone like Xiong Feng who has been coming here for five consecutive years must come from a very wealthy family.
"My family is in the silk business! Where's Brother Dehua?"
"My family! We opened an inn!"
"Oh!" Luo Tong nodded. "Now that the world is stable, the country is able to exchange what it needs with others, and there are countless merchants coming and going, so there must be a lot of people staying at the hotel, and business must be booming!"
"It's just average! There are so many people and so many inns, so I can only make a living! But Brother Luo, your business is very good!"
Anyway, the two of them had nothing to do, so they chatted nonsense.
"Alas! The silk business is indeed good, but the officialdom is shady these days. On the surface, you may make a lot of money, but in fact, it all ends up in the pockets of those corrupt officials!"
"Why do you say that?"
"Brother Dehua, you run an inn, so you should know that if there's a dispute between guests, do you need to go to the government?"
"Of course we have to seek help from the government!"
"Yes! If I go to the government, do I need money?"
"Yes!" Liu Zhao nodded. It seemed that the administration of officials in this era was indeed a big problem.
"At the end of every year, my family's silk shop, without me having to come to the door, the county magistrate would send someone to pick up fifty rolls of the finest Shu silk. He would also give no less than fifty rolls to the petty officials and gentry on his own!"
"So many? Even the gentry and petty officials gave them as gifts?" Liu Zhao was a little surprised, but he really had no idea how much these silks were worth.
"The King of Hell has taken good care of things, so how can we let the little ghosts bother us? We have to take care of everything from top to bottom, so that there will be good weather and good harvests all year round!"
"It's really not easy! I don't pay much attention to the family business, so I don't seem to know anything about it!"
"The inn's business isn't very good, or maybe you've met an honest official, otherwise it'll be hard for you to do business!" Luo Tong picked up the wine glass, "Come, let's have a drink first!"
"Okay!" Liu Zhao also raised his glass and toasted with him.
Luo Tong finished his drink and continued, "During festivals, my father has to come personally to the county magistrate's house and give him a hundred taels of gold each time! If the county magistrate wants a concubine, a son, etc., the starting price is two hundred taels!"
"So many? There were so many gifts to give out that year, it's not a small amount!"
"That's right, he is still a good county magistrate!" Luo Tong chewed something and spat out a bone.
"Some county magistrates, upon taking office, become jealous of business and impose high taxes on the city's wealthy merchants, plundering them by trickery. As a result, many of them go bankrupt!"
"Then no one will report it to the authorities?"
"Sue the authorities? That would be disastrous! Not only would my business be ruined, but I'm afraid my life would be in danger!"
"So dangerous?"
"Officials protect each other, and all crows are black!"
"No wonder Brother Luo wants to be an official so much!"
"Actually, I don't want to be one. Being an official has its own difficulties. However, my father has been determined to get me into the government and has spent half his life on this. I can't bear to go against his wishes!"
"That's right! Being an official also has its difficulties!" Liu Zhao sighed and didn't want to look back on the past.
too tired!
Haven’t you experienced enough?
As we were talking, another group of people started to compose poetry, but I couldn't hear clearly what they were composing.