Chapter 1781 Employment Increase Boosts Commodity Prices

In the afternoon of summer, when there is no rain or wind, every breath is filled with intense heat.

There are obviously fewer people on the street than in the morning and evening, and the number of people carrying loads to sell vegetables in various districts has increased.

The population of Jingzhao Prefecture has increased, and after the canal was built, the labor force has turned to other industries.

Some people went to help tend the land, especially farmers who raised bean worms, who were too busy to do it themselves and hired people to do it.

In addition, the number of basic service positions in the city has doubled, such as people who now drive horse-drawn carriages to transport water and sprinkle water on the streets to cool down.

There are also people who are recruited into workshops and become a part of the labor-intensive industry.

According to what the newspapers said, the rich bought a large number of textile machines from the Gongmeng to weave hemp thread, fine linen, silk and satin.

Then they sold them to other places according to demand. Merchants even used ships to transport hemp and silk from other places, sold the workshops, and bought finished products from the workshops.

The population increased, and material consumption increased.

People in other counties picked vegetables and fruits and transported them to Chang'an by land or water.

The production of the land around Chang'an could not meet the demand of Chang'an City.

People from Jingzhao Prefecture and further away brought things to sell and saved the money.

The prices of daily necessities in Chang'an have been very stable, because goods from more distant surrounding areas are transported to Chang'an.

The prices in Chang'an are higher than other places, and Chang'an's income is also higher than other places.

Standing on the streets of Chang'an for the first time, Chidai Zhudan ignored the hot weather and looked around curiously.

Especially the sprinkler truck, it turned out that there were still people in Chang'an watering the road.

Looking at it, he saw two horses pulling the bus, and suddenly said to Li Yi: "Doctor Li, the horse on the left should be fed with water."

"Oh?" Li Yi looked through the gap in the crowd.

The carriage just stopped at the bus stop, and the driver took a bucket from the car and put it in front of the horse.

"It turns out to be an old hand." Chidai Zhudan was relieved. He might not be very good in other aspects, but he was very familiar with horses.

Li Yi smiled. Sure enough, everyone has their own specialties. He didn't find anything wrong with the horse.

"It sweats too much, its eyes are narrowed, and it relies on the movements of another horse to follow it while running. It occasionally looks at the canal next to it and tilts its head there..."

Chidai Zhudan introduced the situation of the horse and why he knew that the horse wanted to drink water.

Li Yi listened and learned at the same time. If he didn't know, he had to learn from the masters.

One horse drank water, and the other horse followed. The team stopped to watch.

The people sitting on the bus were not in a hurry. They couldn't tire the horse to death.

"It's better to flush the horse with water and run to the resting place to change." Chidai Zhudan saw that the horse had almost finished drinking water, and spoke again.

As if to cooperate with him, the driver went to the canal to fetch water and poured it on the horse.

The state of the horse was completely different from before, and it became energetic.

Without waiting for the second bus to arrive, this bus started.

The Tibetans who came with Chidai Zhudan looked at Chang'an with envy. The road was flat and so wide.

Compared with the place where they lived in the Red and White Palace, it was much better.

They looked at the hands and faces of the people in Chang'an, and then looked at their own hands, and they seemed very embarrassed.

There were special marks left by the plateau environment on their hands, which were rough and black in color.

The team strolled to Zhuque Street, and when they got there, they turned back and probably had dinner.

Some shops would put a shelf at the door, and there were pottery basins with lids on the shelf.

"Zanpu." Seeing Chidai Zhudan's curiosity, Bo'e introduced: "Originally, there was a fixed place in each block to give away free soup, and later the shops opened on the neighboring streets also put it outside.

Some people were thirsty, stopped to drink a sip of water, and went into the store to take a look. If they happened to see something they wanted to buy, they would buy it."

"What kind of soup is this?" Chidai Zhudan pointed to a shop selling woven things such as mats and brooms and asked.

"His shop is water, and only those who sell food make soup." Bo'e gave a direct answer, obviously he had observed it.

"Can you drink it?" Chidai Zhudan was a little thirsty, probably because of psychological effects.

"Yes." Li Yi spoke, and he walked over first.

The people in the shop were sitting inside the doorway looking out, and the sun couldn't shine on them.

When they saw Li Yi's team coming, they rushed to the door: "Hello, Mr. Li."

"Have a drink of water." Li Yi said as he picked up a small bamboo tube that was turned upside down beside him, opened the lid of the pottery basin, and scooped some water into the bamboo tube with a ladle.

After pouring it, he handed it to Chidai Zhudan, picked up another one and poured it for himself, and drank it first after pouring it.

"Mr. Li, I just boiled the water that was left to dry, but didn't add salt." The shop owner said with a smile beside him.

"Water is fine, how is the business?" Li Yi nodded and asked about the business.

"Not bad, it's hot, many people buy mats, some people feel too hot to sleep in the house, so they run outside to spread a mat to sleep.

Bamboo is good and expensive, and most people prefer to buy pillows.

Not many people buy curtains, but many buy window screens. The window screens I buy here are small, and the price is a little more expensive."

The shopkeeper talked about the situation of his family, and seemed very satisfied.

Li Yi nodded as he listened. After finishing the water, he put the bamboo tube to the other side: "We need to prepare more large mats for the kang. We are building a new house now and need them."

"Thank you, Mr. Li." The shopkeeper smiled even more brightly.

The Chidai Zhudan over there was also finished. It was found that there was no other taste, not even salt.

The team continued to move forward, and Bo E acted as a tour guide, explaining the situation of each store.

From time to time, people came out of the market with their loads on their shoulders and spent some money to take a bus to the next market.

"Doctor Li, they travel back and forth to sell things, the fare is not a small amount, right?" Chidai Zhudan felt that the money was not spent properly and should be saved.

"They sell vegetables, and the vegetables are not fresh after a long time, and they can't be sold by dark, so they can only sell them at a lower price." Li Yi said with a smile.

"Who do they sell them to?" Chidai Zhudan asked.

"The sauce shop, the sauce shop makes them into pickles. If it rains at noon, the people in the pickle shop will be very happy."

Li Yi pointed to a shop next to him, which sold all kinds of pickles.

"People who pick vegetables to sell make less money, and they come from far away." Chidai Zhudan actually thought of this problem.

"There is a bottom family, like cucumbers, picked at dawn in the morning, delivered to the place at noon, one penny can buy three pounds.

When it's night, they are ready to go back, usually sell it to the pickle shop at the price of one penny and five pounds.

If the pickle shop disagrees, the maximum price is one penny and six pounds. If it's lower than this price, others will sell it to Li's manor at one penny and six pounds."

When Li Yi said this, he felt a sense of accomplishment. He controlled the price of general consumer goods in Chang'an.

In this way, the people can afford to eat, and the sellers will not make a wasted trip.

There is no absolute market economy. If others unite, there is no anti-monopoly law, and the people will suffer.

The result of the pickle shop uniting is not only a low purchase price, but also a high selling price.