The Xiuchun Brothel was located in the center of Fushun, close to the government office. It was the same street where Gu Yuanwei had brought Zhou Qingfeng to seek medical treatment. Although the Xiuchun Brothel was closed, the street was still lively. After Zhou Qingfeng dealt with the brothel keeper, he led the people back to the street and slowly wandered around.
The loot from the Xiuchun Brothel was not bad. There was nothing else here, but there were many different kinds of furniture, beds, and clothes. Zhou Qingfeng happened to need them, so he had already sent people to move them. These things could be dried under the sun or boiled in water, so they could continue to be used.
Three prostitutes infected with typhoid were also rescued from the Xiuchun Brothel. Zhou Qingfeng ordered people to send them back to the west of the city for treatment. These were all women in their early twenties. After transformation, they would be very good labor force, so he would not easily give them up.
The status of women in ancient times was low, so much so that they had a bad habit of drowning female babies when it was difficult to raise them. However, Zhou Qingfeng did not discriminate against women. He even wanted to recruit a large number of women. Compared to men, women were more oppressed. This would make it so that the women who had received his favor would not easily leave the group he founded, so the group would be more cohesive.
Now, Zhou Qingfeng was waiting for the typhoid epidemic to break out, so that he could come out and take advantage of it.
"I still need to educate my subordinates. If I don't educate them, they will be like pigs. If I educate them, they will be useful talents. "Zhou Qingfeng was usually in the west of the city, so it was rare for him to come out today. Looking at the red-light streets and willow alleys, he casually pulled a passerby and asked, "Where can I buy ink, paper, and inkstone?"
Teaching could not be done without stationery.
Zhou Qingfeng could only use wooden boards and charcoal to educate the slaves in Herkulun. Every time he taught a class, he had to make a mess, so he could not do that now. Moreover, as he gradually began to establish an administrative system, all kinds of documents and official documents required a large amount of paper and ink, which could only be provided by the cities of the Daming Dynasty.
"Our Daming Dynasty is still the best. This beautiful country cannot be occupied by a group of barbarians." Zhou Qingfeng followed the directions of the passerby and walked into a stationery shop. When the waiter in the shop saw a young man in clean clothes walk in, he hurriedly stepped forward and greeted him with a smile, "What would this young master like to order?"
Inside the shop, there was a row of brushes hanging on the wall. There were papers of various colors on the counter. There were also books of classics and history for sale on several shelves. The shop assistant spoke auspicious words while promoting various books for the imperial examinations to Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng pointed at the paper on the counter and asked, "How much is this?"
"Good quality white notice paper, only one silver tael for ten sheets," the shop assistant said.
Only one coin for ten? Wouldn't a hundred pieces cost one tael? This was too expensive.
Paper was a huge consumable for Zhou Qingfeng. He didn't expect that paper would be so expensive in ancient times, so he asked, "What's the cheapest one? How much? "
Seeing that Zhou Qingfeng's clothes were not bad, but he asked for the cheapest, the shop assistant couldn't help but show some disdain. The shop assistant thought that he had met a rich young master, but now he felt that he had met a pretentious poor boy. His tone changed a lot, "Cheap? The mulberry paper is the cheapest, only three silver taels for a hundred sheets. "
Zhou Qingfeng walked to the mulberry paper and touched it. The paper was very rough, yellow, and dark. He could see the obvious fiber structure. This paper was really cheap, but it was not suitable for writing. He gently shook his head.
The shop assistant saw that Zhou Qingfeng shook his head and sneered, "If you don't like this, you can also choose the yellow notice paper, one silver tael for a hundred sheets."
The yellow notice paper was much better than the mulberry paper. Although the paper was yellow, there were no obvious fibers. Although the paper was not fine, it was quite tough and could be used for writing. The price was moderate, so it was affordable.
Zhou Qingfeng picked up a few sheets of yellow notice paper and asked, "How much yellow notice paper do you have?"
The shop assistant was happy, "We have as much as you want."
"Is that so? Then give me fifty thousand sheets. "Zhou Qingfeng opened his mouth.
Clang! There was a crisp sound in the shop. Zhou Qingfeng looked up and saw that the sound came from the counter. The shopkeeper was drinking tea, but when he heard the number of fifty thousand sheets, he accidentally covered the tea on the table. The shop assistant in the shop blinked and asked to confirm, "You want fifty thousand sheets?"
"Fifty thousand sheets is not a lot." Zhou Qingfeng calculated in his mind and answered, "One silver tael for a hundred sheets. Fifty thousand sheets is only fifty taels of silver. Did I calculate wrongly? "
The shop assistant nodded. The shopkeeper behind the counter had already rushed over. With a smile on his face, he cupped his hands and said, "Forgive me for not being able to recognize you. May I know your name, young master?"
"My surname is Zhou."
"Childe Zhou really wants fifty thousand sheets of yellow notice paper?"
"Do you have any stock?"
The shop assistant could not help but say, "Childe, you have to understand that five thousand sheets is enough to write for a long time. Fifty thousand sheets is enough to write for a lifetime …"
Before the shop assistant finished, the shopkeeper shouted, "You blind fool, why don't you make tea for Childe Zhou?" He turned back and smiled, "Childe Zhou, please sit here. As long as you need it, fifty thousand sheets of yellow notice paper is not a problem. "
Daming's education in the north was not popular, and the imperial examinations were different from those in the south. In this barren land of Fushun, there were even fewer people who could study. Fifty taels of silver was not a lot to Zhou Qingfeng, but the shop he entered could not sell fifty thousand sheets of yellow notice paper in a year. In the shopkeeper's opinion, if the young man in front of him was not a scammer, he was a sucker.
Zhou Qingfeng did not plan to drink tea. After all, there was a plague in the city. If he casually ate and drank outside, he would be looking for trouble. He asked directly, "If there is stock, I will ask someone to send the money over tomorrow. You can deliver the goods to my door."
Zhou Qingfeng pursued efficiency, but the shopkeeper did not expect him to be so nimble. The shopkeeper said awkwardly, "My shop has less than five thousand sheets now. I still need to go to the warehouse to get the rest."
"Oh, no problem. Where is your warehouse?"
"It's … it's in Shenyang."
Zhou Qingfeng's face immediately darkened. He thought to himself, "It's not easy for me to come out and buy in person. You, the shopkeeper, are teasing me." He asked again, "How many sheets do you have in stock?"
The shopkeeper's face was conflicted. He thought to himself, "My shop usually receives customers who buy tens of sheets. Buying a hundred sheets at once is already a big deal. I have never seen someone like you who wants fifty thousand sheets. " He was worried that he would spoil the deal. He could only tell the truth that his shop only had about two thousand sheets of yellow notice paper.
"Master Zhou Shao, this yellow notice paper is cheap and the quality of the paper is good. Usually, there are many people who buy it. Today, my shop does not have much stock. If young master is willing to pay a deposit, I will immediately send someone to Shenyang to get the goods. "The shopkeeper seemed to want to close the deal.
Zhou Qingfeng changed the topic and said, "Give me a hundred thousand sheets for fifty taels of silver. I will give you a deposit of five taels."
Ah …, he cut my price in half in one breath!
Not only was the shopkeeper not angry, he was very happy. However, he put on a troubled expression. "Master Zhou Shao, my shop is small in size. Fifty taels of silver for a hundred thousand sheets is really a loss."
"I want a hundred more rabbit hair brushes. I also want some ink and inkstones." Zhou Qingfeng said again.
A rabbit hair brush was five taels of silver. A hundred of them would be five taels of silver. Although a mosquito was small, it was still meat. The shopkeeper was secretly happy. However, he still gritted his teeth and did not let go. He continued to put on a troubled expression.
"Oh right, can you help me print books? Or help me find a printing workshop in Shenyang. I don't think I have seen anyone in this line of work in Fushun. " Zhou Qingfeng wanted to print a large number of textbooks and reading materials. After all, he had a lot of books in his hands. However, the number of each book was very small. Moreover, he was in the education industry. Students needed textbooks.
When the shopkeeper heard this, he was even more happy. His family had a printing workshop in Shenyang. "Master Zhou Shao, what books do you want to print? How many words? How many volumes? "
"I want to print three books. They are 'Language', 'Mathematics', and 'Nature'. I want a thousand volumes for each book. Each volume should be about ten thousand words. "Zhou Qingfeng estimated and said. He planned to refine the elementary school textbooks and combine the first to third grade knowledge into one book for teaching.
A thousand volumes for each book was not a lot. However, ten thousand words for each book was too much. One had to know that the famous' Analects of Confucius' only had ten thousand words in total. Later generations could easily print two to three hundred thousand words in one book. However, the printing technology in ancient times was limited. If the words were small, it would be troublesome to engrave them. If there were many pages, it would be difficult to bind them. Therefore, the number of words in each book was limited.
When the shopkeeper explained the details, Zhou Qingfeng just waved his hand and said, "I will give you a deposit. Find someone to talk to me in Fushun."
To be able to meet such a straightforward customer, the shopkeeper was really excited. The money he earned from printing books was much more than fifty thousand sheets of paper. He gritted his teeth and said, "If Master Zhou really wants to print books, I can give you a hundred thousand sheets of yellow notice paper for free. However, you will have to give me a deposit of fifty taels first. "
In ancient times, printing books was not cheap. Engraving and printing required hard labor. The engravers needed to be specially trained all year round. This was a business where capital and technology were intensive. Only aristocratic families could set up a printing house.
Zhou Qingfeng did not understand these things. However, he saw that the shopkeeper was rather bold and could not help but ask, "Does your literary shop have some background?"
The shopkeeper immediately laughed and said, "My shop's surname is Ye. It is a large family in Liaodong. My Ye family has lived in Liaoyang for a long time. During the Hongwu era, we moved here. Now, two hundred years later, we have branches and leaves. My Ye family's properties are everywhere in Liaodong. We also have a lot of help in the officialdom. It is not just 'some background'. "
"Oh, then how do you compare to the Fushun Wang family?"
"Are you talking about that Wang Kai Wong Yuanwai?"
"That's right."
"He is just a nouveau riche with no background. He just curried favor with the governor of Liaodong, Lord Li. This person is vulgar, greedy, and untrustworthy. He is not worth mentioning. My Ye family is not willing to be associated with him. "
Zhou Qingfeng nodded. Cai Zhiwei had talked about the Ye family of Liaodong before. It was indeed a powerful family. In the future, he would carry out a large number of purchases and sales in the business, so he would definitely not be able to avoid these local families.
"Sorry for disturbing you tonight. Tomorrow, I will send someone to discuss in detail. At the same time, send over a deposit of fifty taels." Zhou Qingfeng set the general framework, and the follow-up details were naturally discussed by his subordinates. His behavior was very similar to that of a disciple of a large family, and it scared the shopkeeper.
However, when Zhou Qingfeng left, he pointed at the cheapest mulberry paper and said, "Give me a thousand of these papers first. I am in a hurry to use them."
At this moment, the shop assistant's impression of Zhou Qingfeng had undergone a 180-degree change. He smiled and said fawningly, "If Young Master is in a hurry to write, why don't you buy some white paper? This mulberry paper is really inferior and is not worthy of Young Master's great talent. "
Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand and said, "Hey … What great talent do I have? This is to buy it to wipe my butt in the latrine pit. "
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