Translator: Transn Editor: Transn After the Spring Festival of the 15th year of Zhen Guan, many merchants were quietly waiting for the latest products of Village Mo. Matches, the civilian version of gunpowder, were the most eye-catching. Everyone knew that once matches appeared on the market, it would be extremely popular. In the Tang dynasty, anyone who could get a match agent would be willing to pay a high price. However, Village Mo suddenly told them that they were no longer recruiting match agents.
At the same time, a beautiful scene suddenly appeared on the streets of Chang 'an. Little girls were peddling packs of matches on the street.
A fairy tale about a little girl selling matches quietly spread in Chang 'an, which made many kind-hearted people sigh.
"What a poor little girl. People are too indifferent."
"It's just a few packs of matches. How much can it cost to buy all of them?"
…
For a moment, people looked at the little girl selling matches with pity. In addition, matches were a necessity, so people in Chang 'an generously bought the matches in the little girl's hands.
"It's so stupid. It's said that this story was created by Mo Jiazi. It's just a story made up by Mo Jiazi to sell matches. What's truly chilling is the Mo Family's son, who even used virgin boys and girls. " A Confucian scholar sneered when he saw the story. In his opinion, Mo Jiazi was a typical profiteer. He used boys to deliver newspapers and girls to sell matches. It was simply heartless to use young boys and girls to make money for Village Mo.
"No, young boys and girls can't do anything. They rely on their families to support them. Delivering newspapers and selling matches are rare jobs in the world. Mo Jiazi let young boys and girls find a livelihood. You don't know how precious this is to poor families." A merchant defended Mo Jiazi. Most of the people who could come out to buy matches were children from poor families. These families were already struggling to survive. The profits from delivering newspapers and selling matches were enough to lighten their burden.
"A pack of matches only costs one copper coin, but it can be used for a long time. How much profit can you make? The Mohists are just fishing for fame to buy people's hearts." The Confucian scholar sneered.
"Each person buys a pack of matches, and there are millions of households in the Great Tang. Moreover, matches are consumables that have to be bought again. The annual demand for matches is astronomical, and this is a big business in and of itself. Although the little match girl won't get much money, and although a few copper coins aren't worth mentioning to us, it's a life-saving fortune for the poor," the merchant said with a sigh.
The Confucian scholar was speechless. For poor people, every penny was precious. The little girl, who was originally a burden to the family, suddenly became self-sufficient. The significance of this was self-evident. But this didn't dispel the doubts of the world.
In any era, young boys and girls were the hope of the country. The law would protect them and let them grow up healthily. Mo Jiazi openly recruited young boys and girls to sell newspapers and matches. In the eyes of the public, it was indeed suspicious of employing child labor. Naturally, it was questioned by countless people.
"Measuring the heart of a gentleman with the yardstick of a villain. These people slandered my husband and completely ignored my husband's original intention." Princess Changle was filled with righteous indignation.
Matches were a new business. All the major merchants in the country were eyeing this business. Meton chose the most difficult path. He directly asked the local Mo Jiazi's brother to give the opportunity to make money to the weakest little girls. Otherwise, how could they get the opportunity to subsidize their families?
"It's just idle gossip. I just need to have a clear conscience. But the doubts of the world made me realize that I'm not good enough." Meton pondered.
"That's not good enough?" Princess Changle couldn't help but be stunned. She looked at Meton in puzzlement.
Meton nodded and said, "First, the Mo Family should cooperate with the Red Cross Society to give priority to the children from extremely poor families. In this way, the effect of subsidizing their family's difficulties will be more obvious. "
"Good steel should be used on the blade!" Princess Changle's eyes lit up. For children from poor families, the opportunity to get a newspaper boy and a little match girl was a timely help. For children from ordinary families, it was just icing on the cake.
"Second, the Red Cross Society can use this story to appeal to the Tang dynasty to donate clothes to the newspaper boy and the little match girl to avoid the tragedy in the story. At the same time, the Mo Family will prohibit the young boys and girls from working in extreme weather. After all, newspapers and matches are afraid of rainy and snowy weather." Meton continued.
Princess Changle nodded slightly and said, "It's a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. For poor families, it's teaching to fish and teaching to fish."
Meton exhaled a long breath and said, "In addition, for the newspaper boy, who delivers newspapers all day and deals with words, he can take the opportunity to read newspapers and learn to read. In time, he may become a pillar of the country. And the little match girl can be familiar with all kinds of fire prevention and extinguishing knowledge, which may come in handy at a critical moment. "
"In this way, no one in the imperial court will question my husband's original intention." Princess Changle clapped her hands and applauded. Meton's tricks were cheap, but they were precious to those poor families. Even the newspaper boy could take the opportunity to change his fate by learning to read.
Sure enough, with the publication of the new issue of the Mo Family's magazine, when the Mo Family announced that they would cooperate with the Red Cross Society to recruit young boys and girls from poor families and donate them, it immediately caused an uproar in the imperial court.
For ordinary families, letting a ten-year-old child work was child labor. For poor families, although the pay of delivering newspapers and selling matches was meager, it could subsidize the family and relieve the poverty of life. Not to mention that Meton could take the opportunity to change the fate of the newspaper boy, which aroused the enthusiasm of the public.
Although there were still people who questioned Meton, their voices were much lower. And even if some people wanted to continue to insist, they were soon attracted by another piece of news.
"Mo Jiazi made a new poem, and it's a long one!"
With the exclamation, Chang 'an City suddenly stirred up a thousand waves. After so many years, Mo Jiazi finally made a new poem, and it was a long one.
In the Great Tang, poetry had always been the most mainstream. Back then, Master Mo had made a name for himself by composing two and a half poems at the entrance of the Imperial College. Later on, even though he had written popular poems, tearful poems, and thought-provoking fairy tales, he was still considered to be neglectful.
Now Mo Jiazi, who was the best poet in the Tang Dynasty, made a new poem. How could it not cause an uproar? In an instant, even the Confucian scholars who did not like Mo Jiazi could not wait to buy a copy of the Mo Family's magazine and turn to the poetry column.
"Huhuhu, the danger is high. The difficulty of Shudao is more difficult than ascending to the sky!"
Mo Jiazi's new poem "The Difficulty of Shudao" was amazing at the beginning.
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