In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 646 Heroes and Heroes of Da Ning

The snowstorm lasted for a day.
It didn't subside until the early morning of the following day.

The snow had just stopped, and the many nomads from the north of the city and the Ming people from the south were already dressed in their finest clothes.

They rushed out of their warm homes.
They went to various streets in Daning City to carry out snow removal work.

Snow removal is easier inside the city than outside.
The amount of money he received was also less, only fifteen coins a day.

But those fifteen coins were enough for a family to eat rice and drink.
Ever since this job came about, the people in the city have been looking forward to snow!

Anhe Street in the north of the city is cleaned by the men from six nearby families.
There were middle-aged people and teenagers.
They wore shovel gloves and carried huge shovels and brooms.
Start sweeping from the east and west sides of the street, gradually moving towards the center.

Asir is one of them.

He was in charge of cleaning the west end of Anhe Street.
As usual, he swept while looking at the archways on both sides of the street.
He muttered to himself, trying to memorize these words.

Soon, he saw the four large characters "Kang Le Trading Company".
These are the only four characters he can recognize.

Because Kang Le Lou is located in the far north of the city and is known for its high prices,

He'd heard his father say he wanted to go there for a drink so many times he was sick of it.

The words "merchant guild" are also very obvious, appearing everywhere in the city.

Just as he was diligently studying,
The door of Kang Le Trading Company, which I remembered as always being tightly closed, suddenly opened, revealing two shop assistants behind it.

"Huh, the door's open?"

Asir continued cleaning, even speeding up his movements.
If we wait until these shops open,

If the snow isn't cleared properly, wages will be deducted.

But before his thoughts could settle, a group of people suddenly appeared on the previously quiet Anhe Street.

They swarmed into the street and arrived at the entrance of Kang Le Trading Company.
Asir stared blankly at the scene before him.
what happened?
Someone is causing trouble?

"Hey, hey, everyone, don't push!"

The shop will open at Chen Shi (7-9 AM), there are still two quarters of an hour to go.

"Get in line, we have them all!"

The man's shouts reached Asir's ears.

He leaned on his broom, looking at the scene before him with a puzzled expression.
What is this doing?
In his memory, only in previous years when the granaries were opened and grain was distributed was there such a lively scene and people were so anxious.

As he listened and scanned the screen, his movements soon slowed down.

"Hey! Asir, you lazybones, hurry up and sweep!"

Not far away, yamen officials were cursing loudly.

Asir jumped in surprise and quickly began scanning.
However, he was still somewhat absent-minded.
I kept thinking back to the conversation between the people in line.

What do you mean, ten coins in one transaction?

Phrases like "three coins a month" were constantly heard.

He even overheard the two arguing about it.
One person said five coins, another said ten coins; the prices seemed to differ.

The situation was so complex that Asir was overwhelmed and couldn't figure it out.
He could only scan and look at the same time.

Finally, as the hour of Chen approached,
He completed the cleaning of the entire area he was responsible for.
Asir straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and felt hot all over.

Finally, I can take a break.

Asir ignored his friend's invitation to go out for breakfast.
Instead, he joined the long queue to the side, leaning on his broom and watching quietly.

He wanted to see what was going on here!
If there's money to be made, he doesn't mind being a shill.

Yes, Asir believed that these people were shills.
He had done this kind of work several times, all for restaurant openings.
There are also some scam stalls that sell three or five coins at a time.

"Sweeping the streets costs fifteen coins a day, and if I can queue up here, I can earn another ten coins."

Oh no, five coins are enough.
I earn much more than my father.

He knew that his father helped people grind tofu at the tofu shop.
It costs 15 coins a day, not including food and lodging, and it's very hard work.

Asir didn't have to wait long before he saw the shop assistants from Kang Le Trading Company carrying out bags of cloth.

It was placed on the long table in front of the door.

They even put up a sign with words he didn't recognize.

"Don't rush, don't grab, there are still plenty left. One bag per person."

Asir looked at the bag, lost in thought.
When the war started at the beginning of last year
This is how it is when you buy grain; each person can only buy one bag per day.

Asir's eyes grew brighter and brighter; he felt he could do this job too.

Before long, he set his sights on a man in his thirties.
He recognized the man; he was a notorious drunkard from the north of the city.

The other day, Du Sifa's piglets were stewed by him.

The authorities imprisoned him, and he was only released a few days ago.

The drunkard held the cloth bag in his hand as if it were a treasure, muttering to himself as he walked.

"The wine supply is secured for today! The more of this kind of good work, the better!"

Asir followed quietly behind, his eyes growing brighter and brighter!
Before long, he followed the drunkard into a small alley on the next street.

Several horse-drawn carriages had already been parked here.
A man who looked like a manager stood at the entrance of the alley, watching the passersby.
Once someone has a cloth bag, they can go inside.
Asir did not approach rashly, but waited for a while at a short distance.

Soon, the drunkard emerged, weighing the copper coins in his hand and grinning, his pocket nowhere to be seen.

This made Asir even more convinced.
Those people queuing in front of the door are all shills.

Without hesitation, Asir swaggered up to the steward and stood in front of him.

"Go away, kid, don't cause trouble here." The steward waved his hand repeatedly when he saw that he didn't have a cloth bag.

“I can do this job too!” Asir said calmly and steadily.

The manager gave him a suspicious look.
"Which family are you from?"

Asir's neck stiffened:
“I live in the north of the city, and I shovel snow on Anhe Street in the morning.”

The foreman's eyes lit up; most of those who could shovel snow were honest, hardworking people from Daning City.

Their reputation is undoubtedly excellent.

"What's your name?"

"Asir, my father grinds soybeans at the tofu shop in the north of the city."

"Oh, it's you."

The manager's eyes flashed with understanding, and he chuckled happily.
He turned around and took out five ten-coin notes from his pocket and handed them over.

"Kid, go to Kang Le Sugar Shop and buy a bag of sugar."

"I'll give you ten more coins when you get back, are you in?"

"Do it! Do it! Do it!!"

Asir nodded repeatedly, reaching for the money.
But the manager put the money aside and glanced at him:
"Let me tell you, don't even think about being greedy for money."

If you run away, Mr. Mi will find you.

A hint of apprehension flashed in Asir's eyes.
He knew this was one of the largest trading companies in the city, with connections to all levels of society.

"Don't worry, my home is in Daning City!"

"Okay, go ahead, but come back quickly, there's more tomorrow."

"There's more?" Asir took the money and stood there stunned!
"Okay, from now on you can come here every morning to get money to buy a bag of candy, ten coins a day."

The manager, with an arrogant expression, waved his hand:
"Hurry up and go, don't delay your work."

"Okay, okay, I'm off!"

Asir clutched the precious banknotes tightly in his hand and quickly returned to the entrance of Kang Le Trading Company.
He was so shocked by the scene before him that he couldn't speak.
The long queue in front of us had already made several turns, and the number of people was more than double what it had been before.

The scene was very noisy. After a quick glance around, I recognized quite a few people there.
We're all brothers struggling to make a living together.

It's simply impossible for him to pull out fifty coins to buy white sugar.

Clearly, they did the same work as me.

This made Asir even more excited; this was great work!
It's even better than shoveling snow!

On the second floor of Kang Le Trading Company, Liu Heiying stood quietly behind the window.
Looking down at the ever-growing crowd, his expression turned grave.

He turned around and looked at Hu Xiaowu behind him, then waved:

"come over."

"My lord," Hu Xiaowu said, leaning closer.

"Do you see that child down there? The one at the very back, looking around."

Hu Xiaowu quickly found Asir and nodded:
"I saw it."

“Send someone to make contact with him. This kid has a talent for being a spy. Let’s see if he’s willing to work for us.”

"Yes!" After saying that, Hu Xiaowu turned and left.
Ya Rong leaned closer, took Liu Hei Ying's arm, and said softly:

"Sir, is there anything special about this child?"

"Being observant and daring to try are the keys to success."

Liu Heiying's eyes darted around, and he said calmly:
"On the list of scavengers on Anhe Street, only one is under the age of eighteen."
"It must be him, Mongko Asr."

Ya Rong glanced at the person beside her with slight surprise:
"General, is your memory that good?"

Liu Heiying put his hands on his hips and smiled slightly.
"Even if you have a powerful backer, you still need to have some real skills."

"General, you are truly amazing."

Ya Rong smiled gently, looking down at the long queue below, her bright eyes filled with excitement.

"General, even if we sell them like this, we can still earn a lot of silver a day."

Liu Heiying smiled:

"According to my calculations, we can only sell 3,000 jin a day at the beginning."
If too much sugar is sold, the sugar mill will not be able to keep up with the demand.

If you can earn twenty coins per pound, that's sixty taels a day.

One thousand eight hundred taels a month, twenty-one thousand six hundred taels a year, that's quite a lot of money.

Moreover, once the heavy snow passes,
The road from Beiping to here is now open; selling six thousand taels of sugar a day should be achievable.

Ya Rong's beautiful eyes flickered repeatedly, and she held her breath:
"Sir, that can earn forty thousand taels of silver a year."

"As long as grassland trade continues, we should earn even more."

"As long as you, General, don't investigate, how could such a lucrative business ever be shut down?"

Ya Rong's voice was soft and gentle, full of virtuousness.

It felt like I was soaking in a honey pot.

Liu Heiying shook his head:
"It's hard to say. Right now, even the powerful and influential people on the frontier are selling out."

We sold the land relatively late.

When a massive amount of white sugar enters the grasslands, it will inevitably impact prices.

But you don't need to worry.
Price fluctuations are irrelevant to you; sell as you normally would. This is a long-term business.

Ya Rong nodded.

"What you say is true, sir. Fifty coins a pound of sugar is indeed a good business."

But we can earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a year.
Those powerful and wealthy people in the city must be making a fortune, which is truly enviable.

Even if you multiply the price tenfold, you'd still earn 400,000 taels!

Liu Heiying sneered, looking down at the people below who were frantically rushing towards the next street with cloth bags, and let out a cold laugh:
"Xiao Rong, Brother Yun'er is right."

With power comes money; they earned 400,000.
Most of it will go to the Commander-in-Chief; it won't end up in their hands.

"Is that so?" Ya Rong asked, somewhat surprised.
"Mi Chen will pay 70%, and Hu Chongyi and others will pay 80%."
Some were even willing to pay 90% of the price to open up trade routes.

"Oh my god."

Ya Rong's red lips parted wide; she could hardly believe it.

The commander, who was penniless last year, will have hundreds of thousands of taels of silver coming in next year.

Liu Heiying wrapped his arms around her slender waist and gently stroked the downy fur on her clothes:

"I want to make money."
Brother Yun has countless methods, he's just too lazy to do them.
We wouldn't have done this with the white sugar if others hadn't gone too far.

Although I understand the principle that running water never stagnates,

But the people now have money.
I don't quite see how it will benefit the government yet; I'll have to observe further.

"Does Lord Lu know?"

"Brother Yun'er naturally knows, he even told me..."
All those malicious bids,

Anyone offered less than ten coins should be arrested.

They even said we shouldn't participate, that it's vicious competition, and in the end, nobody benefits.

"Lord Lu is dedicated to the country and its people; a hero has emerged from Daning."

After saying that, Ya Rong hugged Liu Hei Ying's arm tightly, holding him close:

"I too have my own heroes and valiant warriors."
However, I have some concerns.

If such things come to light...
With so much silver, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it.

Life has finally settled down, and I don't want to lose it.

Liu Heiying's eyes were icy cold as he patted Ya Rong's head, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Don't worry, the wealthy families in the city all use the Baisong tribe's channels."

"If Bai Song's troops are gone and everyone in the city is arrested, who will be able to find evidence?"

Ya Rong was taken aback, her pupils dilated slightly.

Once again, a look of surprise crossed his face, and he understood what that person wanted to do.

They're profiting from both ends, but also getting blocked from both.

Once the smuggling operation is over, no one involved in the entire process can escape.

She slowly turned her head to look at the many people queuing downstairs.
By then, only the commander and the common people among them will benefit.

Ya Rong's lips were dry, and a hint of fear flashed in her eyes.
Such a ruthless and heartless act left her feeling icy cold.

In the afternoon, the area in front of the Kang Le Trading Company in the north of the city became even more lively.
The long queue stretched to the end of the street.
Fortunately, the sun came out today, and it was somewhat warm.

"Five coins a trip wasn't enough to buy it."

People on the side street had already started openly hawking their wares.
Many people gathered together, scrambling and pushing to get to the front.

Yang Shiqi and Xie Jin, carrying bamboo baskets and glue jars, stopped to examine the scene, their brows furrowed and their eyes filled with deep doubt.

Especially Xie Jin,
He was extremely intelligent, but he had no idea what was going on in the city:

"Brother Shiqi, what are they doing?"

Yang Shiqi's expression turned slightly grave, and he said in a deep voice:
"Perhaps someone is hoarding sugar."

Xie Jin thought for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

"That makes sense. With sugar this cheap, it's a waste not to buy it; we should stock up."
"In this freezing weather, it's perfect for making sugar water."

Upon hearing this, Yang Shiqi turned to look at Xie Jin, his eyes filled with a strange expression.
"Brother Dashen, do you think they're hoarding sugar to make sugar water?"

Xie Jin was also stunned, and blinked:

"What else can we do? We can't just ship them to the mainland and resell them, can we?"
The commander has already dispatched men to guard the main road to Shanhaiguan; no one will be so foolish as to ignore it.

"hehe."

Yang Shiqi finally understood.
The brilliant genius before me truly knows nothing of the darkness in this world.

"Brother Dashen, how much money can you make selling it inside the pass?"

Selling to the grasslands is where the real money is made; at least ten times the profit.

Xie Jin abruptly stopped moving.
His gaze was fixed on the manager shouting "Five coins!"

His brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Are they smuggling?"

Yang Shiqi spoke calmly:
"People are driven by profit. If it weren't for the potential to make a lot of money, why would they go to such lengths to find people to buy candy?"

Xie Jin stood there stunned, looking at the long queue, and suddenly understood.
He pulled Yang Shiqi up and hurriedly walked back:

“Let’s go, Brother Shiqi.”

"Where?"

"Report back to the commander and tell the lord!"

Xie Jin's face was filled with a murderous aura, and he pulled even harder.

Yang Shiqi was pulled so hard he stumbled, but quickly broke free:

"Stop right there, don't rush."

"Not in a hurry? Smuggling so openly is utterly disrespectful to the imperial court!!" Xie Jin cursed.
"The Yuan people! They are barbarians!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't rush."

Seeing him about to leave aggressively, Yang Shiqi quickly grabbed him.

"Brother Dashen, listen to me!"

"say what!"