Chapter Fifteen Interview Opportunity

  The so-called "prefectural city" in the local dialect included two administrative teams, Songjiang Prefecture and Huating County. The city wall was 9 li (about 4.5 km) long and 137 steps wide. Despite its width, it still could not meet the increasing economic needs, so there were suburbs outside the city, and further away were towns and markets.

  Strictly speaking, Zhuri is actually only a city and cannot be considered a town.

  Xu Yuansuo heard the noise on the shore and hurriedly came out of the cabin, only to find that they had already passed the water gate, which made him quite annoyed. He turned his head back, seeing the high city wall wrapped in green bricks, quite magnificent, slowly moving backwards at this moment. Scanning the riverbank again, he found that although there were many people in the city, there were not many shops.

  Is Songjiang not as economically prosperous as imagined?

  Was Longqing really the sprout of capitalism? Do we have to wait until the Wanli period to see a prosperous and thriving economy?

  Xu Yuansuo was momentarily stunned and suddenly felt uncertain about his life.

  Xu He thought Xu Yuansuo had never seen such a scene before and was already frightened out of his wits, so he couldn't help but feel pleased with himself. "Songjiang is not even one of the top places in the world," he said. "The truly prosperous and bustling cities are Hangzhou and Suzhou in Zhejiang Province, and Linqing in Shandong Province."

  Xu Yuansuo slightly regained some confidence, after all, Songjiang is just a commodity production place and cannot represent the entire business environment of Da Ming. Now everyone says "Su style", it can be seen that Suzhou leads in commerce and fashion, absolutely not losing to later generations' New York and Milan.

  "It's much worse than I thought." Xu Yuanshuo shook his head and said, "With so many houses, there are hardly any shops."

  Isn't it said in history books that shops line up and merchants gather?

  Xu He snorted with his nose: "This is a city, where did so many shops come from?"

  Xu Yuansuo's ears perked up, and he carefully observed that there were not many residential buildings in the city either.

  It seems to be due to the city's layout.

  Xu He docked at the inner pier, stopped and wiped his sweat. Someone came to tie up the boat and secure it. These people had a kind face, as if they knew Xu He, but in fact they were just dockworkers with no relation to him. Xu He gave them money and took his son ashore, apparently very trusting.

  Xu Yuansuo couldn't help but look back at the small boat with some unease, and seeing that other boat owners were also doing the same, he finally felt at ease.

  The Great Ming is indeed a society with an extremely high degree of commercialization.

  Xu Yuansuo couldn't help but admire as he walked with his father in Songjiang City, his eyes were not enough to take in the sights, even the green bricks on the ground fascinated him.

  Xu He didn't mind his son looking like a country bumpkin, it was just right to set off his own broad-mindedness.

  "This is the county yamen, and to the east is the prefectural yamen. Over there is a building called Xi Yun Lou, it's a place of ill repute... Cough cough, it's not somewhere you can go yet." Xu He acted like a tour guide, pointing out each location for his son: "Over there is the Shrine of Local Worthies, the City God Temple... Further on is the Drum Tower... The Prefectural School... The County School... The Grain Warehouse..."

  Xu Yuansuo followed his father all the way, and it can be said that he had a perceptual understanding of Songjiang Prefecture. As soon as his father went to the pawnshop to do business, he ran wildly to the Drum Tower. Unfortunately, there were soldiers guarding here, and his ambition to climb high and look far was instantly destroyed. However, with his intelligence, he also summed up the function of "city".

  This is not a place for folk life and trade, but an administrative and educational base. Basically, they are all public facilities, and even the Qīngyún Building is also a teaching institute, which belongs to state-owned enterprises. Therefore, there are only a few commercial places in the city, especially large-scale business premises will not be placed in the city.

  It seems like I still have to go out of town to take a look.

  Xu Yuansuo thought to himself, slowly returning to the pawnshop where he had parted ways with his father earlier. His father had not yet come out, and he did not dare enter, so he squatted on the base of the eaves, observing the passersby, guessing their social status from their clothing and attire. From their gait and demeanor, he analyzed their personal circumstances.

  Xu Yuansuo looked for a while, and suddenly a pair of extremely clean, starched and ironed soap-colored cloth shoes caught his eye. He slowly raised his head, but saw a blue straight...

  "What are you doing here?"

  Xu Yuansuo finally saw the man's face and hastily stood up, bowing his body to reply: "Sir, my father is inside attending to business, I am waiting for him to come out."

  The newcomer was indeed Lu Fu Zi.

  Lu's expression remained unchanged as he said, "It just so happens that I ran into you. Go inside and greet your father, then tell him that I'm taking you to meet Xu Cheng, the manager of the Xu family business."

  I finally found a job!

  Xu Yuansuo's heart was stirred. Just thinking about how to solve the difficulties at home, he finally found a job, although he didn't know how much the pay would be, but looking at Lu Fuzi's complacent face, it shouldn't be too bad.

  He hastily thanked Mr. Fu and rushed into the dental clinic, just in time to see his father coming out with a gloomy face.

  "Father," Xu Yuansuo also didn't bother to ask what setbacks his father had encountered, "the son met Lu Fuzi outside the door, he wants to take the son to meet the manager of the Xu family business."

  Xu He was obviously struck hard, and after listening to his son's words, he didn't have much of a reaction, only humming in response twice.

  Xu Yuansuo suspected that he hadn't heard clearly, but at this time, there was no need to ask carefully, and he turned around and ran out.

  Xu He saw his son run out and finally reacted, chasing after him while shouting: "Where are you going?"

  Xu Yuansuo had no choice but to stop in his tracks and repeat what he had just said.

  Xu He's eyes, which had been as dull as dead ashes, suddenly shone with a hint of light: "Lu Fu Zi? Xu family business? In charge!"

  Xu Yuansuo is now certain that Lu Fuzi has absolutely found a very good job for himself, at least providing a very enviable interview opportunity.

  "Dad... your eyes are bloodshot." Xu Yuansu carefully reminded Xu He.

  Xu He rubbed his eyes and smiled: "Autumn is easy to get angry, go home and drink some mung bean soup."

  If I don't find a good job, our family will have the chance to drink mung bean soup in the future.

  Xu Yuansuo thought to himself, his feet didn't stop either, and he hastily walked out.

  Lu Fu Zi was relieved that Xu Yuan Zuo came and went quickly, just as he was about to take him over, but then heard someone behind him calling out in a sweet and sticky voice: "Master ~ Student Xu He, has seen Master!"

  Lu Fu Zi shivered and slowly turned around: "Hmph, you go ahead with your business, I'll just take your son to see someone, and we'll be right back."

  Xu Yuansuo was frightened by that "social tone" just now, and he almost became stupid, without even having the courage to turn around.

  "Ah, Master ~" Xu He smiled and stepped forward: "My son is still young, how can he be rude to a noble? If there's anything, I'll go instead."

  Lu Fu Zi didn't mince words and said, "Your son may not be very old, but he's a chip off the old block. The Xu family business is currently short of an accountant, so I'll recommend him to give it a try."

  Xu He didn't think about what Lu Fu Zi meant by "qing chu yu lan" and continued to flatter: "Master, my admiration for Xu Guan Shi is like the Yangtze River flowing endlessly. Why not take me with you?"

  Lu Fuzi coughed and said: "I'm just recommending a colleague's errand runner, what are you following to join in the fun?"

  Xu He's face fell, and he said, "The student has to accompany his son, right? He's young and inexperienced, afraid of being nervous in front of people."

  "Absolutely not."

  Xu He originally had a love-hate relationship with this son, but now he can't even muster up half of that love.

  "Father and husband have both said so, it's just a trivial matter of finding someone to run errands for you. Why are you being so particular about this?" Xu Yuansuo also advised.

  "Others have said so, as long as you're under sixteen." Lu Fu Zi also said: "You might still be okay if you were twenty years younger."

  Xu He retreated a step and muttered: "With a status like that of the Xu family's steward, it's always good to have some connections."

  "As the saying goes, 'half a catty is no match for eight taels.' If you don't even have half a catty of weight, how can you expect someone with eight taels to take you seriously?" Xu Yuansu unconsciously revealed his habits from his past life, speaking in a sharp and piercing tone that was both old-fashioned and cutting. His logic, however, was flawless.

  Even Lu Fuzi couldn't help but look at Xu Yuansu with new eyes, thinking to himself: The ancients said that the eloquent are few in words, it seems that Xu Yuansu is indeed one of them. He may not be good at reading books, but he has a clear understanding of worldly affairs.

  Xu He was stabbed in the heart by his son's words, but he still forced himself to say: "How can you understand the meaning of a noble helping!"

  Xu Yuansuo didn't want to continue arguing with his father, lest outsiders think he was "unfilial". Turning to Lu Fuzi, Xu Yuansuo said: "Master, let's hurry up, I don't dare keep Xu Guanshi waiting."

  Lu Fu-zi looked at Xu Yuan-zuo with profound meaning, his hands behind his back, and walked ahead to lead the way.

  Xu Yuansuo saw that his father was still following him and fell back two steps, asking in a low voice: "Father, why do you think so highly of Xu Guan Shi?"

  Xu He secretly thought: So this kid is ignorant of the heights and depths! From this, he slightly improved his mood and said: "This Songjiang Prefecture, can't there be a second Xu family business?"

  "So......" Xu Yuansuo's mind was racing: "Is it the Xu family's old house?"

  "Nonsense!" Xu He gritted his teeth: "A seventh-rank official in front of the Prime Minister's gate! The steward of their household is probably even more powerful than County Magistrate Lord!"

  "Hmm... So it's still a wealthy family!" Xu Yuansuo weighed the weight of the three words "Xu Ge Lao" in his heart.

  Also: The cover has been uploaded, thank you to reader Mr. Certain (the name is too long and won't be mentioned) for taking the trouble to create it. Everyone logs in to "Da Ming Jin Zhu" every morning and sees the smiling face of the God of Wealth, will your whole day be filled with good fortune? If so, please leave a recommendation vote!