Chapter 47: Commodity Prices

  At this time, Bian Shang's Palm Criminal Thousand House relieved: "Director, let the subordinate go to the next room to borrow a car."

  This is a good idea, Wang Chengen nodded.

  Originally, Zhong Jinwei thought that although he had never ridden a horse before, he still wanted to give it a try. In his later years, one of Zhong Jinwei's wishes was to go on a grassland tour and learn how to ride a horse as effortlessly as they did on TV, which should be quite enjoyable. Moreover, with a group of younger brothers surrounding him while riding, it would be even more impressive, so why not give it a shot?

  Now I heard that we have to borrow a car, I wanted to refuse at first, but soon thought of Archie outside the door who should be taking the ride, so I didn't ask for it. Coming to ancient times, I'm afraid there's no chance to ride a horse! He comforted himself like this.

  After a while, Wang Peng and Gu Bai-chuan had changed into casual clothes and came out. The carriage on the other side was also borrowed, which was a two-wheeled canopy cart pulled by a lame horse. Everything was ready, Zhong Jin-wei bid farewell to Wang Cheng-en, then got on the carriage with Ah Qi, driven by An Gui-yi, while Gu Bai-chuan and Wang Peng rode horses as escorts on both sides of the carriage, heading towards Dingfu Avenue.

  Zhong Jinwei sat in the car, feeling a bit shaken, and not sitting very comfortably, couldn't help but sigh: "It turns out that BMWs are nothing special after all!"

  "Does the young master think that is a precious horse?" Archie asked in surprise.

  "This treasure is not that treasure." Zhong Jinwei didn't want to explain in detail either, and just glossed over it.

  Aqi was also clever and didn't ask any more questions, just sat in the car like this, shaking and swaying for a while, when suddenly, he heard a "gurgling" sound.

  Zhong Jinwei looked up towards Archie's belly following the source of the sound. Archie, feeling embarrassed, used his hand to cover his belly, trying to block Zhong Jinwei's line of sight. But then there was another "gurgling" sound. This time, however, it came from Zhong Jinwei's own belly.

  Zhong Jinwei hehe smiled, only then did he realize that it was already past noon, and his stomach was very hungry.

  Then, he lifted the car curtain, and the two guards, Gu Bai-chuan and Wang Peng, came over with their horses. Zhong Jin-wei said apologetically: "It's already past mealtime, isn't it? I didn't notice, sorry about that! Everyone must be hungry, let's find a restaurant to eat first."

  An Guiyi had already turned around when he heard the sound of the curtain being lifted, and after listening to Zhong Jingwei's words, he asked: "What kind of wine house does Mr. Zhong want to go to?"

  "We're outside, not in a formal setting, no need to call me Zhong Bo, it sounds awkward. I'm probably older than all of you, just call me Brother Zhong. The wine house is up to you guys, I'm not familiar with it either, just handle it yourselves." Zhong Jinwei used to have his subordinates call him "Brother Zhong" when he was working on projects. In fact, if one were to seriously calculate, every single person here is hundreds of years older than him.

  The difference in status was too great after all, and the ideological differences between ancient and modern people were relatively large. No matter what, they didn't dare to call Zhong Jinwei "Zhong Ge", so they just addressed each other as "Gongzi" (young master).

  Although they didn't call him Brother Zhong, An Guiyi and the two bodyguards were delighted to see Zhong Jinwei speaking in such a manner. Gu Baiquan recommended: "There's a great wine house up ahead called Zhuangyuan Building, why don't we go there to eat? Today we met you, young master, it's our good fortune, let me treat you as a small token of respect."

  "This is how it is, of course I'm treating you, don't mention who's the oldest, today you're all here to help me out. Of course I'll be the host. Let's get going." Without waiting for them to argue, he directly retreated back into the car.

  Since Zhong Jinwei has said so, Gu Baihe will no longer rush to be the host. He sped up and hurried forward.

  They soon arrived at the Shuangyuan Building, as mentioned by Gu Baichuan. Zhong Jinwei and A Qi got off the carriage, and two shop assistants came to greet them. One led them into the store, while the other helped move the carriage to a side and parked it properly. Wang Peng took Gu Baichuan's horse and tied it up at one side.

  The second floor of the building is a large hall with seven or eight tables, although there are not many diners eating, but almost every table is chatting while eating, and the sound gathered together is not small.

  Zhong Jinwei thought it wouldn't be very convenient to bring Aqi here to eat, so he asked if there were any private rooms.

  Although Xiao Er saw that Gong Zhong and Wei were wearing ordinary clothes, the people around them were dressed in a manner that was not common among ordinary people, and they even had swords at their sides. Not daring to be slow, he led them to a luxurious room on the second floor.

  Zhong Jinwei thought it looked good, so he learned from the TV and took out a silver ingot from his pocket, threw it to the waiter, and said: "Bring up the good wine and dishes quickly."

  The shopkeeper weighed the silver and was stunned, this silver is estimated to be around 10 taels, so much, is it showing off or an ignorant second-generation rich?

  Gu Bai Chuan spotted him and glared at him, saying: "What are you waiting for? Go quickly."

  The shopkeeper didn't know why, but he was a little afraid of this talkative person, so he hastily nodded and retreated to tidy up.

  After the shopkeeper left, Gu Bai Chuan smiled and said to Zhong Jin Wei: "Young master, you don't have to give so much silver. Eating a meal here, even if it's the best dish, won't cost that much silver."

  Zhong Jinwei blinked his eyes, and was misled by movies and TV dramas again? He asked: "What's going on?"

  "Currently, if calculated in silver, the best pork is about 0.4 yuan per catty, mutton is about 0.3 yuan per catty, and live carp is also around 0.4 yuan per catty. A live old hen costs about 0.8 yuan. So even if we eat meat freely, it would only cost around 7-8 cents."

  This, the weight of silver is divided in what way, it seems not very clear, Gu Bai Chuan has explained so clearly already, oneself still is relatively vague, can't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

  "A Qi looked at Zhong Jinwei's expression and basically knew what the reason was. He walked to Zhong Jinwei's side, leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Young master, one or two silver coins are worth ten cents, and one cent of silver is worth a hundred points.""

  Aqi's gentle breathing was like a fragrant orchid, making Zhong Jinwei feel very comfortable. However, what warmed his heart even more was Aqi's thoughtfulness, which prevented him from losing face.

  An Guiyi and two others pretended not to see each other, smiling at one another.

  Zhong Jinwei understood the current prices and felt that he had been foolish. He immediately shifted his attention and invited everyone to sit down.

  Aqi habitually stood behind Zhong Jinwei. After Zhong Jinwei sat down, he looked around for Aqi but couldn't find him, and only discovered him a while later behind his back. He quickly pulled Aqi over to sit beside him. Thus, Zhong Jinwei took the top seat, with Aqi on one side, An Guiyi on the left, Gu Baiquan on the right, and Wang Peng at the bottom.

  An Guiyi knew that Qi would be for the Earl's wife, but Gu Baihe and Wang Peng did not know, secretly surprised in their hearts.

  Just as they sat down, the waiter came in quickly and served tea first. Then, with a smile, he asked: "Gentlemen, our store currently has signature wine, thirty-year-old champion wine, of course, there is also Daughter Red, but it's twenty-five years old, I don't know if you want to have a pot?"

  Gu Baihe and Wang Peng both looked at Zhong Jinwei, who was definitely in charge now.

  The waiter, seeing that no one was speaking, feared that the guest would not order and lose a chance to make money, so he hastily recommended: "Sir, on this cold day, come have a pot of hot wine to warm your belly, it's a heavenly pleasure."

  Zhong Jinwei saw that the two servants wanted to drink, and he himself had come to taste the ancient wine, so he nodded and said: "Bring a pot of Zhuangyuan wine and a pot of Nuerhong first, then just pick the good dishes and serve them quickly."

  The shopkeeper knew he was a big spender and repeatedly agreed. After Zhong Jinwei finished speaking, Gu Baihe shouted at the shopkeeper: "We are all old drinkers, if you dare to add a little water to the wine, be careful that I will smash your signboard."

  The shopkeeper hastily said "I don't dare" and then busied himself with a flourish.

  Everyone watched as the shopkeeper walked away, and for a moment no one said anything, the atmosphere cooled down.

  An Guiyi spoke up as soon as he saw Zhong Jingwei, "The mansion bestowed upon you by the Emperor is worth at least 800 taels. Congratulations, Duke of Zhongxing!"

  He also knew that Zhong Jinwei was not very clear about the price, so he gave an example: "At present, a house with five rooms in a slightly worse location is only worth around 33 taels of silver. The mansion of Duke Zhongxing is not only large but also has a good location, on Dingfu Street, where the residence of Xu Guogong was also located."

  Zhong Jinwei listened, chuckled and didn't say a word. In his heart, he was calculating the housing prices on the edge of the country's political circle in later generations, fearing that it would cost several tens of millions, and maybe not even be able to buy one.

  Two servants also followed and cheered together, congratulating Zhong Jinwei.

  At this time, a commotion was heard outside the door: "Go, go faster, don't dawdle, take care of your skin!"

  Everyone in the room lost interest and looked down at the place where the voice came from with disappointment.

  The prices above come from Wanli's "Miscellaneous Notes", now in Chongzhen's time, they have doubled.