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Text 706 American Gold Rush

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    News of Zhu Hezhi's return soon spread in newspapers.  Various first-person perspective travel notes have been published one after another. Zhu Hezhi's own work diary contains a large amount of "Nothing to do today", but this does not prevent it from becoming a hot commodity among booksellers, and it eventually sold for a thousand words and three thousand taels of banknotes.  The price was bought out.  The accompanying guards, medical officers, generals, and scribes also wrote a lot of travel experiences. Even sailors who were illiterate gained a lot of extra income through oral narration.  ¡°If the land can grow food, it should be said that the land is fertile; if the land cannot grow food, it should be said that there are gold mines underneath!¡± The Ministry of Rites set the tone for this propaganda.  Therefore, in the true or false narrations of the Ming Dynasty, America became a fairy land full of fertile fields and beautiful lands, and gold and silver everywhere.  "I don't know if the land is fertile or not, but if you think about it with your toes, why do you have to go so far to farm? Isn't the land in Hetao and Haixi good enough? But if you talk about gold, it is real! My uncle's house  My brother picked up a gold nugget in Dongjing Mansion. It weighs sixty pounds! "In the teahouse, an old tea customer showed the size of the gold nugget with his hands and feet solemnly.  .  The so-called dog-headed gold in the world is named after its shape resembling a dog¡¯s head.  This kind of gold is different from gold ore and alluvial gold. It is mostly meteorites rich in gold and is extremely rare.  Such a story is recorded in "Mengxi Bi Tan" by Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty.  Because it is related to the stars in the sky, nugget gold is valuable not only because of the gold itself, but also because of the "gold from the sky".  In fact, this person also heard from hearsay that he had never seen a real gold nugget anywhere.  As for the gold nugget that he drew out, which is as big as a human head and weighs fifty or sixty kilograms, it is almost a fantasy.  ¡°But teahouses are meant to be a place to brag about not paying taxes. If everyone is as serious as writing a graduation thesis, what fun is there?  Therefore, many tea drinkers covered their mouths and laughed.  Wait for someone to come out and argue.  Sure enough, another tea guest said: "Shopkeeper Zhang is going too far. If we can really pick up such a big gold in America, who will work? They will search for gold all over the mountains and plains!" The shopkeeper Zhang said before.  I own a rouge shop and purchase goods from Suzhou and other places.  Nowadays, there is another "perfume" produced in Taiwan, which is made from alcohol and floral water.  The fragrance penetrates into the body and lasts for a long time, making it very popular.  Based on this source of goods, shopkeeper Zhang has indeed made a lot of money. Although he still comes to this teahouse to drink tea often, his tone is much louder and he does not want anyone to contradict him.  "What's more, today he is not just making nonsense for fun, but actually showing off his extensive knowledge. How can he be willing to be slapped in the face?"  "There are only natives in America. They can't buy anything for gold. They can't eat it themselves, so what's the point of asking for it? It's just like a stone thrown on the roadside!" Shopkeeper Zhang pushed his neck back.  The man shrank his neck, knowing that shopkeeper Zhang was right.  Things are rare and valuable. The Ming Dynasty valued gold and silver because there was not much gold and silver in the first place.  Why is a pound of iron worth three coins of silver?  Just because there is a lot of iron!  By the same token, if America were covered with gold, it would be as cheap as Ming Dynasty's iron.  "Even in America, there is no way that a sixty-pound nugget of gold can be thrown around for people to pick up. Such a big man. He could just carry it back and press it into a pickle jar!" The man took a step back and returned to his basic position.  Questioning the existence of sixty pounds of nugget gold.  If this makes him question his success, wouldn¡¯t it be a slap in the face?  Seeing all the tea drinkers nodding their heads, the admiring glances from before gradually dissipated. Shopkeeper Zhang quickly said: "There are all kinds of wonders in the world. Have you ever been to America? Do you know that the natives eat pickles?" "No! Maybe the natives of America are disgusted.  This sixty kilograms of gold nuggets are too small, and they are all made of about a hundred kilograms of gold nuggets pressed into pickle jars!" Some good-hearted people followed suit, causing the whole house to laugh.  The serious atmosphere that shopkeeper Zhang had just created was gone.  He couldn't help but blush, and said: "It seems that some people really don't believe it! It doesn't matter, in two months, my uncle's cousin will arrive in Tianjin. Then I will tell him and ask him to bring the gold to Tianjin."  Open your eyes, old man. "That's the best thing. I'm afraid you don't have that much face."  Shopkeeper Zhang rushed to his head and said: "I, Mr. Zhang, don't have much face, but it's not difficult to borrow such a piece of gold!" "So what if I can't get it out by then?" "I, Mr. Zhang, don't even take a step into this teahouse.  !" Shopkeeper Zhang said loudly.  "Okay! If you can really show it to everyone, I, Old Tang, will never come to this teahouse to disturb your eyes again!" The man then placed a bet.  When the teahouse owner heard this, he became anxious and hurriedly came out with a smile to smooth things over: "I said you two gentlemen, you are very good, why did you make this agreement? No matter who wins or loses, isn't it just a loss of the old man's job?  ?¡± Everyone laughed.  The two people were also a little embarrassed.  Speaking of which, this teahouse is not very popular. The tables are often not wiped clean, the shop is dark, the tea is not good, and even the water is burnt and has dregs But this is the teahouse at the door of my house. I followed my grandfather when I was young.  Drinking tea and chatting here to broaden our knowledge has become a daily routine.  If you really can¡¯t come, where should you spend your time?  "In this way, all the men present can bear witness. We are all neighbors, so if you win, there is no prize. If anyone loses, treat everyone to a bowl of tea and grab a handful of peanuts, and everyone will be happy and pass away.  How about it? "The teahouse owner killed two birds with one stone. He kept the regular customers from letting go and also attracted business for himself.  After he finished speaking, he was elated and praised himself for being so talented.  "Okay! Everyone here counts, and everyone will come to have tea in two months." Shopkeeper Zhang glanced at Old Tang and said, "It's rare for Brother Tang to treat you, so don't refute his face." Old Tang chuckled: "  I don¡¯t know who knows how to pay!¡± He picked up the tea bowl and pretended to drink tea, but found that the tea bowl was empty.  Old Tang shouted: "Hey, Jin Teapot, are you lazy again? The tea here is mixed with water!" Jin Teapot was listening to it interestingly, and only then did he react after being called like this, and ran away in a hurry  He passed by, but still couldn't avoid the boss's slap. He stumbled and almost fell, causing everyone to laugh.  Boss Zhang smiled with a lot of worries.  With his current wealth, it would not be a big deal to treat these 20 or 30 people to a bowl of tea, or even a meal on a flowing table.  The key issue is face!  Boss Zhang himself also feels guilty.  When he heard his relatives talking about this cousin's family letter that day, he felt a little incredible.  But they are all relatives. Are they not going to go on the road like Old Tang?  Today Tu is so happy with what he said and said it so conclusively. If there is another misinformation, where can I put my face?  ¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s better to go to my uncle¡¯s house and ask first.  Boss Zhang left the teahouse and went straight to his uncle's house.  He met his uncle.  He started talking about this gold nugget, and wanted to ask his uncle to help him talk and see it with his own eyes.  Who knew that his uncle was a little unhappy and hesitantly said: "Wealth should not be revealed to others. How can such a large piece of gold be shown to others casually?" "Uncle, we are all members of our own family, why do we need to be so vigilant?" Shopkeeper Zhang  said displeased.  "It's okay if you want to take a look. I'm afraid you'll invite someone outside to take a look." My uncle obviously knew shopkeeper Zhang's personality very well and blocked the escape route in advance.  Shopkeeper Zhang felt cold in his heart.  He thought to himself: Not only do I want to show it to outsiders, but I also want to show it to people in the teahouse!  Thinking like this could really bring trouble.  When he came out of his uncle's house, shopkeeper Zhang was unhappy. Although he still went to the teahouse to drink tea every day, as the day of the ship's arrival approached day by day, he became more and more worried.  I expected that everyone would be tired of this topic and follow the newspapers as usual to change the limelight. Unexpectedly, today's newspapers are also repeatedly talking about the discovery of gold veins in America.  The bet between Shopkeeper Zhang and Old Tang was discussed dozens of times in the teahouse almost every day.  In October of the sixth year of Longjing, the large ship returning from America finally docked in Tianjin.  Shopkeeper Zhang has been going to the teahouse for several days, and he always runs into acquaintances who ask him: "Shopkeeper, when can I see the golden nugget with the head of a man?" "It's coming soon, wait for my cousin to come back." Shopkeeper Zhang can only hold on.  Scalp said perfunctorily.  Fortunately, Old Tang was a kind man and did not embarrass him in public again, which made shopkeeper Zhang very grateful.  Finally, at the beginning of November, shopkeeper Zhang¡¯s uncle¡¯s cousin finally returned to his home in the capital.  According to the rules, relatives also have distance.  It was inconvenient to disturb someone when they had just returned home, but shopkeeper Zhang couldn't bear it anymore. He picked up some pastries and fruits and went to pay a visit. He wanted to see the gold nugget with his own eyes first, which would reassure him.  "That piece of gold?" My cousin said, "I don't know how anyone knew about it. The ship was bought by officials from the imperial court as soon as it arrived in Japan." "Bought it?" Shopkeeper Zhang felt uneasy: This is what he said.  Not sure.  "Yes, the imperial court bought it with equal parts of pure gold." The cousin said: "As far as gold is concerned, the nugget gold is impure and has many things mixed in it. It is considered kind of the imperial court to buy it with pure gold." He said  He sighed and said: "However, no matter how expensive gold is, it always has a price. Such a large gold nugget is rare in the world. If it weren't for the emperor's face, I might not refuse those officials." Cousin met.  Zhang Zhangui looked suspicious, and suddenly showed a proud look, saying: "They said it was to celebrate the emperor's birthday next year. This gold nugget is a specialty of America, so I took the initiative to donate it." When shopkeeper Zhang heard this, he  Said: "That's good, because you don't have to worry about leaving it at home. Can the court give me a voucher? Cousin, don't be deceived." "Yes, I won't give you a voucher."How could you give it to him?  His cousin said: "Not only was I given a voucher, but I was also given this invitation, inviting me to eat the emperor's longevity wine!"  ¡± Since the Tang Dynasty, the octogenarian has been the best supporting role at the emperor¡¯s birthday banquet. No matter how blessed the longevity star in the sky is, it is not as good as the old birthday star in the world to add joy. The birthdays of Zhu Cihong and Chongzhen are very close, so after the court changed the calendar,  The two characters "Tianchang" and "Tianchang" were taken from the old name of the Tang Dynasty, and the first day of February was designated as the Tianchang Festival, which means that the emperor, the Supreme Emperor, and the Ming Empire can last forever. Shopkeeper Zhang unfolded the invitation, look at this.  As expected, the fine paper had large gilded characters and a bright red official seal, and it looked completely royal. He didn't read the text, or didn't remember it in his mind. He carefully returned the invitation to his cousin as if he was drunk. "I'm afraid I'm attending."  He is the youngest among the people at the birthday banquet.  "My cousin said proudly, never thinking about why the court knew that he had brought such a large piece of nugget gold. In fact, after shopkeeper Zhang leaked his cousin's family letter, Jin, who was responsible for mixing tea and water in the teahouse,  Teapot has already written this story in a report, which goes straight to the Golden Scale Society. As a peripheral organization of the Jinyiwei, the Golden Scale Society is still in operation. It even has its own newspaper called "The News", which publishes some heresy.  He made some trivial inquiries to supplement his expenses. Therefore, Zhu Cixi found out that a lucky person had picked up such a large piece of gold, and that's why he asked someone to redeem the gold and put it in the hands of others. At best, it was just a piece of gold.  The ornaments and playthings, in the hands of Zhu Cixiang, were the clarion call of the times for the great development of America. Shopkeeper Zhang never expected that the treasure that he thought would be put into the emperor's warehouse would actually be put on public display in the grand museum. On the day of the exhibition, there was a queue at the entrance of the museum.  There were three long dragons, twisting and turning, as if the whole city of Beijing had come to see it. Shopkeeper Zhang saw the gold nugget from the picture album, and excitedly showed it off in the teahouse. When he saw Old Tang bowing his head and saying nothing, he was very surprised.  Du said: "It was Zhang who invited me for tea!  As long as all the neighbors know that I, Mr. Zhang, am not a big talker.  " No one cares about him, as long as they have free tea. The teahouse owner was quite happy at first, and asked the golden teapot to pour water for everyone, and caught peanuts to accompany the tea. Who knows that everyone finished a bowl of tea  , all wanted to go to the museum to see the actual objects, and the whole teahouse was suddenly deserted, and it was so quiet that it made him worried. This time, the museum really made a lot of effort, and specially cleared three other courtyards to display various items brought back from America.  Among these rare and exotic beasts, the most eye-catching one is the gold nugget from Venus! Nothing written on it is as convincing as the actual object. Even if the newspaper says that America is made of gold.  Most people believe it. In terms of geographical environment, the American West is indeed not the ideal settlement of the Ming Dynasty, but people's desire for gold is by no means rational. In the original historical script, the Western Gold Rush led to San Francisco and other major western towns.  The rise of gold, and now, this craze is also brewing in the Ming Dynasty. More and more big families are regretting not sending more people to America, otherwise more people may have discovered this piece of gold.  People believe that since there is such a large amount of gold to be picked up, the gold veins buried underground are probably not false rumors and can be dug out. After the entire America Exhibition, more and more people applied to purchase land in the Americas.  , but the land chosen is mainly mountainous and hilly, and the price of flat land that can really be used for farming has dropped. (To be continued, please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!
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