Gusu City had 23 lanes and 16 streets, criss-crossing each other. There were more than 100,000 households living on the 23 lanes, and most of these lanes were built along the moat. There were more than 300 small winding rivers on the lanes to make up an authentic Jiangnan water town. Most of the 16 streets were located at the intersection of the lanes.

The restrictions on lanes and streets in the Song Dynasty were not as strict as those in the previous dynasty. Stalls could also be set up on the lanes, but they had to obtain special approval from the yamen and pay more taxes. (TN: government office in feudal China)

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If Tang Shen wanted to get approval from the yamen, all he had to do was go to his teacher and cry a few words, and he didn’t even have to wait in line. As for the extra taxes paid, Accountant Lin nearly went bald from anxiety yet still didn’t manage to dissuade Tang Shen.

“Little boss, you’re going to lose all your money!”

“No rush, we can take our time.”

Overnight, Tang’s Logistics had its own stalls on 23 lanes and 16 streets. The stalls were not big with only a wooden table to support a shelf and a wooden stick to support a banner. On the banner were black characters written on a red background: Tang’s Logistics. Behind each stall, there was a scholarly looking man sitting calmly, as steady as a mountain.

After ten days, the people of Gusu City have already become accustomed to the delivery business of the logistics employees. Finally, Tang’s Logistics was open for business again. In Zhaimen Alley, a scholar found a logistics employee and said, “Please help me deliver these two books to Suijin Street.”

The employee said: “Okay, sir, please go to the stall with us to fill in the order and the things to be delivered.”

The scholar was surprised and said: “Order? What does this mean?”

“Sir, haven’t you seen the notice that our Tang’s Logistics posted a few days ago? From now on, every customer must indicate the place to be sent and what is delivered. Sir, don’t worry, we also have a stall in Zhaimen Alley, specially set up for customers like you to fill in such orders. It’s just ten meters away, I’ll take you there.”

The same situation also occurred in various places in Gusu City.

At first, people felt that Tang’s Logistics’ approach was too cumbersome and annoying. But within a few days, they discovered that with the order form in hand, if they lost something and wanted to settle the account with Tang’s Logistics, they would have proof. This order form was more like a reassurance and guarantee. Although it was a little more troublesome than before, it was also more rigorous and reassuring than before.

Tang’s Logistics had more and more business every day, and people who like to use logistics were using it more often. After a while, they have even become familiar with several of the employees.

That day on Suijin Street, a shopkeeper of a tailor shop asked a Tang’s Logistics employee to deliver the goods to the buyer who had reserved the goods. The two of them were very familiar with each other, so the employee said: “Shopkeeper Wang, the price of our logistics will increase next month. You are also an old customer and you take care of my business every day so I wanted to let you know in advance.”

Shopkeeper Wang was stunned for a moment and asked, “A price increase? Will it become very expensive?”

“Don’t worry, our little boss said it won’t go up too much. I heard it will only go up by one copper coin. Tang’s Logistics is mainly for the convenience of the people, and also to give refugees like us from other places a place to settle down and make a living. The little boss kept us fed and clothed, and gave us a chance to survive. Making a profit comes second to saving lives.”

“Very true, your boss seems to be related to Tang juren‘s family in the west of the city, and seems to be a student of Liang daren. I use your Tang’s Logistics because I trust your boss. A copper coin increase is not expensive, but a truly good deal.”

The employee said a few more words, smiled and said goodbye to Shopkeeper Wang.

Shopkeeper Wang didn’t think two copper coins were too expensive, in fact it was too cheap.

In the entire Gusu City, apart from ordinary people, the only people who use Tang’s Logistics were merchants with small shops like them. Although Shopkeeper Wang’s tailor shop was located on Suijin Street and seemed very impressive, there was only one employee in the shop. One person was obviously not enough to deliver the goods, so Shopkeeper Wang often used Tang’s Logistics.

A copper coin paid each day to Tang’s Logistics was much less than hiring an employee.

And of course he didn’t know, how could this employee develop a good relationship with him for no reason?

Three days ago, Tang Shen personally came to the dormitory of Tang’s Logistics and talked to all the logistics employees.

Tang Shen: “Next month, I will recruit fifty more employees, so there will be a hundred total in Gusu City. The snow will stop soon and if any of you want to go back to your hometown, I won’t stop you. Having known each other for a while, when each employee leaves, you can go to Accountant Lin’s accounting office to withdraw a sum of money, which will be used as travel expenses for your return home.”

One of the employees shouted loudly: “We have no way to make a living back home, so I’ll just stay in Gusu City and work for the little boss.”

Tang Shen said: “Okay, staying or going is up to you all. But I want to make it clear first that I will increase the price next month and at the same time give out dividends.”

The employees looked at each other.

Tang Shen: “Starting from next month, each logistics order will be increased to two copper coins. At the same time, depending on the distance and the size and weight of the goods transported, additional fees will be charged. Accountant Lin will explain the specific situation to you later. Once this happens, some customers will probably not ask us to send things. But at the same time, I will give you dividends. Starting next month, in addition to covering food, drink and accommodation, for every five logistics orders you send, you will get a 10% share of the profit.”

Accountant Lin explained: “In other words, if you send five orders each worth two copper coins, you can get one copper coin. The more you work, the more you get.”

So how was it that that employee simply had a good relationship with Shopkeeper Wang and told him about the price increase?

He was just trying to please Shopkeeper Wang in advance and pull their relationship closer, hoping to do more business with Shopkeeper Wang in the future!

The logistics business was going smoothly, except for the fact that Accountant Lin came to Tang Shen every day and told him how much he had lost today with a bitter look on his face.

At the end of the first lunar month, the logistics business had been in business for nearly a month.

Tang Shen: “No loss?”

Accountant Lin looked discouraged: “If we don’t count the big courtyard bought by the little boss, and we don’t count the taxes we have to pay to the yamen every month. Just the food and drink for these guys, and the monthly income of the clerk at the stalls, yes, no loss, but no profit either!”

Tang Shen sighed with emotion: “It only took less than a month to break even! The people of Gusu are wealthier than I thought. They sure are rich!”

Accountant Lin: “Huh?”

Tang Shen touched his chin: “The people of Gusu are quite rich. No, I have to think of another way to have them continue to help my finances out.”

Accountant Lin was confused. At this time, he suddenly remembered something Yao San often said to him in private.

“Our little boss’s brain sometimes… work strangely.”

Indeed this was so!

Others don’t know, but Accountant Lin knew just how rich Tang Shen was now!

Although it was not at the level of an extremely wealthy family, there was only one self-made young man of Tang Shen’s age in the entire Gusu City!

Tang Shen: “When will the soap begin selling?”

Accountant Lin gathered himself and said: “I heard from the shopkeeper that in five days, Madam Tang will invite several ladies from influential families to Zhenbao Pavilion to watch the ceremony. She says that they will hold a special product ceremony for the introduction of soap.”

Tang Shen was stunned for a while and said in amusement: “My aunt is truly something. I just said 123, and she actually connected the following 456. And a product ceremony? I didn’t even think about it.”

Talents like Madam Tang would at least be a marketing director or corporate executive in the modern world!

Five days later, Tang Shen also came to Zhenbao Pavilion, and saw several ladies and gentlemen in rich clothes.

Sun Yue followed behind Madam Sun, and when he saw Tang Shen he ran over in surprise: “So Madam Tang is really your relative? I only heard someone in the academy mention it, but I didn’t expect it to be true. Hey, when we first met, I bragged to you about how good this Golden Wisp was. Why didn’t you say that you are Madam Tang’s nephew? You are from the Tang family, how could you not have a bottle of the Golden Wisp?”

Tang Shen said naturally: “Have I ever said that Madam Tang and I don’t know each other?”

Sun Yue: “Ah, no.”

“Then have you ever asked about my relationship with Madam Tang?”

“…Also no.”

“Then what else do you want from me? My surname is clearly Tang.” 

Sun Yue: “…”

After a while, the little chubby came to his senses, grabbed Tang Shen and said, “Hey! Tang Shen, you are tricking me again. So what if your surname is Tang? Are all surnamed Tang Madam Tang’s nephews? Then if your surname is Liang, wouldn’t you be the dear nephew of Liang Bowen, Living daren?”

Tang Shen thought to himself: I am not Liang Bowen’s dear nephew, I am his dear student.

Sun Yue just scolded Tang Shen briefly, but he was not really angry. The two gathered together to watch the product ceremony. Unexpectedly, after a high shelf covered with red cloth was moved to the lobby of Zhenbao Pavilion, Madam Tang looked around and waved over Tang Shen. Tang Shen walked over in confusion, but Sun Yue had a bad feeling in his heart and muttered: “What else did Tang Shen hide from me?”

Madam Tang said: “Shen’er, today we will reveal the true appearance of this soap together.”

Tang Shen was stunned. But he quickly recovered and understood that Madam Tang was admitting to the entire Gusu City that Tang Shen was from the Tang family, giving him another Tang family as a backer. At the same time, it was also to inform the entire Gusu City that Tang Shen’s status in the Tang family was not simple.

Tang Shen and Madam Tang unveiled the red cloth together. Everyone thought it was an object as rare as the Golden Wisp, but unexpectedly it was something similar to scented soap, and not even as delicate and fragrant as scented soap.

Madam Tang said: “This item is soap. It has the same function as scented soaps. It sells for five copper coins and lasts an ordinary person for more than half a month.”

As soon as these words were spoken, several wealthy ladies widened their eyes and stared at the soap in disbelief.

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It only sold for five copper coins!

Only then did they understand why Madam Tang would specially design a product ceremony. If the Golden Wisp was the treasure of the Tang family’s Zhenbao Pavilion on the surface, this soap was the true treasure of the Zhenbao Pavilion!

In Gusu City, the Tang family’s Zhenbao Pavilion had truly become unparalleled this time!

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One day later, Yao San came to report to Tang Shen dejectedly.

“Little boss, as you said, no one asked us to deliver anything or send a message. Some people asked out of curiosity, but they just asked and left after saying a few words.”

Tang Shen was practicing calligraphy.

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Writing two eight-legged essays and one test poem every day was his basic homework. In addition, he also had to practice writing fifty characters and write them neatly and in aligned rows and columns. After writing another character, Tang Shen carefully dried the ink, put the rice paper aside, raised his head and said, “Someone actually asked?”

Yao San: “…”

He was afraid the little boss’s head was kicked by a donkey!

“Shouldn’t someone ask?”

“That’s true, everyone has curiosity which is understandable. Just asking some questions won’t be any meat off your bones.”

“…”

Yao San: “Little boss, what should we do?”

Tang Shen continued to lower his head and write: “No rush, you go back to the courtyard today and tell them to continue tomorrow. But in the future, the commission will be one coin for delivering goods once, and it will no longer be free. By the way, did you inform them of the rules they must follow every day? I said before, this must be treated seriously, and everyone must even memorize the rules.”

Yao San: “I told them, don’t worry. I’ll go to the courtyard right away.”

Yao San and Accountant Lin were not very optimistic about the logistics business. They had never seen anything like it before.

When a wealthy family wants to do something, they always have servants to do it for them. There were also several armed escort agencies in Gusu City, which were very famous in Jiangnan. If you want to have something delivered, you could hire an armed escort agency. But from what Tang Shen said, it seemed that he did not intend to do long-distance business, but only within the scope of Gusu City.

Could this really be done?

After writing the characters, Tang Shen went directly to the Liang Manor. Holding the eight-legged essay and the characters he had written, he said upon seeing the other: “Sir, save me!”

Liang Song: “…”

After understanding the cause and effect, Liang Song laughed and scolded in amusement: “How did I ask you that day? If you need anything, just ask the steward to prepare it for you. But you said that all you needed was ten clever bailiffs and a promise. Now you want me to be your first customer, to attract more customers for your Tang’s Logistics?”

Tang Shen explained seriously: “Sir, how could this be regarded as a need? I am your student, your direct student. I am sir’s only student and it is my first time doing business by myself. Isn’t it only natural that you take care of me? If I opened a restaurant, I would invite you as the first person to taste the food, and you would definitely come.”

Liang Song: “You little rascal, you’ve said everything, what else do you want me to say?”

“Sir, all you need is to say a word to your servant so that he would loudly call out to a Tang’s Logistics employee on the street tomorrow and ask him to help deliver the things. It would be even better if he needs to run all over Gusu City with the things.”

“Ha, then is it the more conspicuous the thing I asked him to deliver, the better? Would it be even best if he could carry a big flag with the name “Liang Bowen” written on it and have him parade ostentatiously about the town?”

“Hehe, sir, you understand me well.”

“Begone!”

“Okay! Sir, don’t forget to find the employee from Tang’s Logistics tomorrow.”

Begone, from “Zhuangzi: Lie Yu-kou”, translated as: Get out of here!

Liang Song was amused and vexed: “Come back here, I haven’t looked at the essay and characters you brought.”

Tang Shen came back with a bitter face and listened to his teacher’s comments on his homework.

Though Liang Song scolded, he still asked the manservant to take a box of books early the next morning, and find a Tang’s Logistics employee to take to the governmental office. From Liang Manor to the governmental office, one had to pass through half of Gusu City, which was considered to be in line with Tang Shen’s requirements.

Along the way, some people saw the Tang’s Logistics employee holding a box of books and asked curiously: “You are a Tang’s Logistics employee. What are you sending and where are you going?”

Normally, Tang’s Logistics employees were not allowed to name their customers. This was strictly prohibited by Tang Shen. But this time it was different. This employee had been personally reminded by Tang Shen the night before to reveal his customer’s name.

“I’m going to the governmental office. This thing is from Mr. Liang Bowen, Liang daren.”

After parading ostentatiously across town all morning, this employee slowly came to the governmental office. When he arrived, half of the people in Gusu City knew that he was delivering something to Liang daren.

At noon, Madam Tang in the west of the city also hired a Tang’s Logistics employee to deliver something.

Instantly, more and more people became curious about Tang’s Logistics. In the evening, a xiucai who lived in the east of the city finally came over and hired someone from Tang’s Logistics to deliver a letter: “I have something to do at the moment, and I can’t leave. I need someone who can deliver it for me instead. How much does it cost to send a letter to Zhaimen Alley?”

“One copper coin. Regardless of distance, it is still a copper coin.”

“It’s very cheap. You must deliver it, otherwise I will find your boss for an explanation!”

“Okay!”

At the end of the day, this was the only true order that Tang’s Logistics really got. The xiucai was desperate, and when he heard that Liang daru had hired a delivery man from Tang’s Logistics, he gave it a try. In the end, the xiucai‘s letter was indeed delivered, and the delivery man was very agile and did not delay on the road.

The name “Liang Bowen” was as important as the word “trust” in Gusu City and even in the entire Song Dynasty.

Gradually, Tang’s Logistics also gained some business in Gusu City.

Customers were never wealthy people, but ordinary people.

After getting his first business border, Tang Shen ordered people to post several rules of Tang’¢ Logistics on the walls of major streets. First, never reveal the name of the customer or the items being delivered; second, ensure delivery as quickly as possible without any delays on the way; third, if items are damaged or lost, we will compensate you ten times the cost of the item.

Gusu Prefecture was the largest in Jiangnan, with a population of one million and there were hundreds of thousands of people in Gusu City alone.

At first, the people hired the logistics employees to deliver only small things. Later, when they saw that the logistics employees had no problems and the deliveries were always very safe, the things they hired them to deliver became more and more expensive. Either because of the cold weather or because they were too busy, the business of Tang’s Logistics was not too bad, but not too good either. As the business continued in a lukewarm manner, the people gradually didn’t think it was such a strange thing.

Accountant Lin was balding with worry: “What a loss, such a big loss! Little boss, you said before that the people in Gusu are very wealthy, and you said that there were predecessors who have done this business. But after these ten days, do you know how much we have lost? We can’t make ends meet, spending twenty taels just to support those delivery men, and you even bought a big courtyard! You also let them eat well and drink well, not allowing them to be treated badly!”

Tang Shen was still practicing calligraphy: “Why are you so anxious? The dividends we earned from selling scented soap and essential oils in ten days are far more than twenty taels.”

“But this is a bottomless pit!”

Tang Shen stopped writing and looked over what he had written.

“If the people have no trust in their rulers, there is no standing for the state.”

From “The Analects of Confucius·Yan Yuan”.

Tang Shen: “Some things I really don’t want to happen, but it is destined to happen, and it must happen. Misfortune lies where blessing lies, and blessing lies where misfortune lies. Just wait!”

Three days later, a butcher came to Tang Shen’s door angrily. Seeing Tang Shen, he said, “Are you the owner of Tang’s Logistics? You have such a strong tone, daring to do such a deceptive thing! Today your worker took my item, but six hours have passed and it still hasn’t been delivered. Your Tang’s Logistics is a scam, and I will smash your sign today!”

Tang Shen was calm: “Tell me, when and where did you hire my worker to deliver your things?”

The butcher saw that Tang Shen was so calm and confident, and also looked like a scholar. He was worried that Tang Shen possessed a scholar rank, so he restrained his temper and said, “The monk may run away, but the temple can not. It doesn’t matter if I tell you, I found him at the pork stall in Linglong Lane in the south of the city at sishi (TN: 9-11am, in the system of two hour subdivisions used in ancient times) today. The item is the new dowry jewelry I ordered for my daughter!”

Tang Shen said to Yao San: “From Linglong Lane, go find Bailiff Liu.”

Yao San nodded.

The butcher was confused as he listened to the conversation between Tang Shen and Yao San. Not long after, he saw a young bailiff dragging an unkempt man into the yard. When the butcher saw the man, he said angrily: “It’s you, you little thief took my things and didn’t deliver them!”

The smiling bailiff Liu Qi kicked the man on the knee, causing the man to kneel to the ground.

Liu Qi: “Tang Gongzi, I caught him for you. He did indeed try to take a set of silver jewelry out of the city. But how could he know that my eyes have been paying attention to the logistics employees wearing a red short coat in the city! Before he could even leave Linglong Lane, he was stopped by my people. Bah, this kind of little thief should be jailed according to the laws of the Song Dynasty. But I sent him over to you first, how do you want to deal with him?”

Tang Shen: “Thank you so much, Bailiff Liu. Brother Yao, go check that set of jewelry and see how much it’s worth.”

Yao San brought over the jewelry set made of silver. Accountant Lin looked at it carefully and said, “It’s not pure silver, but it can still be sold for ten taels. It’s just that this guy was too hasty when he stole the things. He may have bumped into something somewhere and dirtied a spot, but it’s no problem after washing it. If you pay a jewelry shop to make this set, eight taels of silver will be enough.”

Tang Shen said to Yao San: “Brother Yao, give him one hundred taels of silver.”

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone was stunned.

Tang Shen: “The rules of Tang’s Logistics are that if the items are damaged or lost, it will be compensated ten times the price.”

Accountant Lin: “But little boss, we’ve found the item!”

Tang Shen: “Isn’t it dirtied?”

Accountant Lin: “It’s the same after washing, it’s just a bit of dirt on the surface.”

Tang Shen: “Brother Yao, give this customer one hundred taels of silver. My Tang’s Logistics is an honest business. If one isn’t trustworthy, how could others trust you?”

The butcher got a hundred taels of silver for nothing. He held the set of silver jewelry and looked at Tang Shen dazedly. Overjoyed, he loudly said: “Boss Tang is sincere and honest, your logistics business will definitely last for a long time!”

In just one afternoon, the story of Tang Shen spending one hundred taels of silver compensation money spread throughout Gusu City. Among the teahouses and restaurants, the news spread faster than “Liang Bowen hired Tang’s Logistics to deliver something”, and he soon became a household name.

“Did Boss Tang really just take out one hundred taels of silver?”

“That’s right! One hundred taels of pure white silver taels, the butcher’s mouth is still crooked from smile even now!”

But as soon as this happened, before the people of Gusu could even muse over this matter further, all the Tang Logistics employees on the street left. Someone cleverly noticed that the Tang’s Logistics employees left one after another. He grabbed one and asked, “What’s going on? Why are you all leaving?”

The employee said: “I also don’t know what happened. The boss said that he will close the business for reorganization. Maybe it has something to do with the theft in the morning.”

The gossipmonger hearts of the people in Gusu were instantly ignited.

On the second day, Tang Shen had people post public notices in various streets, and everyone hurriedly gathered around.

“Tang’s Logistics will reopen in three days… That’s right, if something like that happens, you definitely have to teach that unruly worker a lesson.”

“I heard that guy was sent to the governmental office, beaten ten times with sticks, and expelled from Gusu City. Liang daren personally ordered that no soup kitchens will provide relief to that guy. That guy is done for!”

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“Eh, what is this? Tang’s Logistics will set up some stalls in the alleys and lanes to record the items delivered by the workers. Each time, the specific appearance of the items to be delivered and the location where they are to be delivered will be recorded clearly on the delivery form. Tang’s Logistics and the customer each will have a copy of the delivery form?”

“If you don’t want to write down the appearance of the In item, you must put the item into Tang’s Logistics’ wooden box and affix a seal.”

“This Tang’s Logistics wants to do something strange again!”

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The end of the first lunar month, cold snap during the spring.

There was rarely such severe cold weather in the south. The cold wind blew cruelly on the face, like cutting the skin with a knife. The air was so cold that everything looked deathly pale. The sky became overcast, and soon snowflakes began to fall. The snow was not heavy, and it quickly melted when it fell on the ground. Disappearing with each step from pedestrians.

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It happened to begin snowing as soon as Tang Shen and Yao San went out. Aunt Yao handed umbrellas to the two of them.

Yao San: “Little boss, I heard that there are many refugees in the west of the city, and they are all surrounding the city gate so how about we go through the north gate.”

Tang Shen said: “Okay, my teacher just happened to be coming back from the north.”

Yes, Tang Shen was going out of the city to pick up Liang Song today.

Since leaving Gusu City in the twelfth lunar month, Liang Bowen had not been back for a whole month. He even spent the New Year outside. Yesterday, the steward of the Liang Manor came to Tang Shen and said that Liang daru would be back today. Tang Shen hadn’t seen his teacher for many days. It happened that the weather was too cold so Ziyang Academy canceled classes, allowing him to come to pick up his teacher.

Tang Shen wore two thick cotton coats and waited in the cold wind with an umbrella, but he was still freezing.

After waiting for an hour, he saw Liang Song’s carriage in the distance. Tang Shen and Yao San walked over. Liang Song raised the curtain and asked in surprise: “Why are you here?”

Tang Shen: “To pick up sir. Teacher hasn’t been back for a month, so of course this student has to come to greet you.”

Liang Song: “Come in first.”

Tang Shen bent at the waist as got into the carriage. Inside the carriage it was much warmer, and Liang Song put the small hand held heater he had been holding into Tang Shen’s hands. Tang Shen held the heater for a long time and finally warmed his hands. “Why has sir been away for so long and only returned to Gusu City after a month?”

Liang Song: “Deal with some personal things. Why didn’t you go to the academy to study today?”

“The weather is too bad so the academy canceled classes.”

Liang Song was silent then said, “I came back for this reason.” As he said that, he lifted the curtain of the carriage and said, “Go to the west gate to have a look.”

They did not enter the city, but made a detour to the west gate.

Before he even saw the city gate, Tang Shen saw many refugees walking along the road. They took the official road, which was muddy because of the snow. Normally no one would be walking around in such bad weather, but there were too many refugees. They were dressed in rags, covered in purple-red frostbites, walking along the official road towards the west gate of Gusu City.

Tang Shen lifted the curtains to take a look, then couldn’t bear to see any longer.

Liang Song had been looking at these refugees quietly. He said: “I heard that these people came from Chuzhou and Wuzhou. The snow has fallen too heavy this year, and the four southern provinces are in dire straits. The imperial court has also allocated money to provide disaster relief, but it has little effect.”

It didn’t take long before they saw several soup kitchens.

Liang Song was not in Gusu City, but it was not that there was no one to manage the affairs of Gusu City. Three days ago, the officials set up a soup kitchen outside the city to provide relief to the victims every day. In addition, wealthy merchants in the city also donated generously and opened some private soup kitchens. Madam Tang was one of them.

However, these were far from enough.

The weather was freezing and these refugees were barely clothed. The food stock in the soup kitchen was getting less and less, but more and more refugees were coming to Gusu from all directions.

Tang Shen asked, “What do you want to do, sir?”

Liang Song: “What to do? Although Gusu City is rich, it can’t help so many refugees. The weather won’t be cold for long. Spring will start in a month, and everything should be much better as long as they survive this month. It is said that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest, but it is a pity that the snow is so heavy that the soil has become frozen. I don’t know if these refugees will have a good harvest in the coming year after they return home, otherwise the court will have another bad debt.”

Tang Shen: “Can they survive a month? Sir, I’m just afraid they will freeze to death outside the city before then.”

How could Liang Song not know that it was already a blessing if even half of these refugees survived? Not starving to death, but literally freezing to death instead. Even if the officials set up tents and provided them with a place to stay warm, there were too many refugees, and there was a limit to what Gusu City could do. And even if they survive, they may have to experience a famine when they return to their hometown next year.

Liang Song let out a long sigh.

“Natural disasters are more cruel than man-made disasters. Let’s get out of the carriage and take a look.”

The two got out of the carriage together.

The number of refugees was far greater than Tang Shen thought. They huddled under the city wall, trying hard to cover their bodies with anything they could find. Not for shame, but for survival. Covering themselves with grass roots, tree bark, and even soil as much as possible.

There was no need to worry about a plague when the weather was cold, as it was difficult to spread. But for such cold weather, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

People who came to the soup kitchen to receive porridge one day may not be seen again the next day. After all, it was only treating the symptoms but not the root cause.

Tang Shen followed Liang Song, and witnessing this shocking scene, his heart was severely shaken.

Born in modern society, although his family was not wealthy, he was still considered well-off and had never suffered from hunger or cold since he was a child. He had never seen so many wailing people, nor so many emaciated people. Even if he traveled through time, he arrived directly to the prosperous Gusu Prefecture. He had never seen such a hellish scene.

Gusu Prefecture was rich, but Gusu Prefecture could not support thousands of refugees. No matter how kind-hearted the merchants were, there were still only a limited number of refugees they could help.

Liang Song: “Let’s go!” After a while, he found that his student didn’t move. “Tang Shen?”

The handsome boy turned around with a thoughtful expression on his face. After a while, Tang Shen said: “Sir, I have an idea, I don’t know if it will work or not. But this method may be able to save a lot of refugees, and I need your help, sir.”

Liang Song: “Tell me about it.”

Tang Shen said seriously: “I want to hire them!”

In the Zhenbao Pavilion of the Tang family, scented soaps and essential oils were sold very well. Even if they hadn’t started selling regular soap yet, Tang Shen still had a huge amount of dividends in his hands. He had been inspecting some of the most prosperous commercial streets in Gusu City for several days before, but he still couldn’t find anything suitable to sell.

In the current era, the most profitable businesses were salt and wine, but these two items were firmly controlled by the imperial court. So what else could he do?

Tang Shen: “Logistics!”

Yao San was stunned and didn’t understand: “Little boss, I have never heard of what logistics is.”

Tang Shen: “Brother Yao, let me ask you, which is the best restaurant in Gusu City?”

“Of course it’s Qianqiu Restaurant on Suijin Street.”

“Yes, Qianqiu Restaurant is the best restaurant in Gusu City. You should have also heard that Qianqiu Restaurant can provide home cooking. Sun Yue’s family, a classmate of mine, invited Qianqiu Restaurant to make their New Year’s Eve banquet last month. The chef came over specially and cooked a banquet of delicious dishes.”

Yao San: “There is actually such a thing.”

Tang Shen: “Of course. People in Gusu City are very rich. Why do you think Gusu City is richer than Jinling? The richest man in Jiangnan is from Jinling, but Gusu City is richer than Jinling because everyone in Gusu City is better off! It’s never one person or a few people who are rich in Gusu City. Yes, there may not be as many wealthy merchants in Gusu City as there are in Jinling, and they are not as rich as Jinling merchants, but the people in Gusu City are all happy and well-off with more than enough to spend every year. So for them…”

Yao San: “What?”

Tang Shen smiled slightly: “For them, it’s really too expensive to invite the chef from Qianqiu Restaurant to cook at home. They can’t afford it. But they can ask people to run errands for them and send and receive express delivery. Towards this bit of money, all the people of Gusu City can afford it!”

That’s right, Tang Shen wanted to be the first person to eat crabs in Gusu City. (TN: expression meaning to try something others have never done before, usually with a profitable result)

From the beginning, he had been caught in a vicious cycle: Gusu City had no shortage of anything! Merchants from all over the world gathered here through the Grand Canal. Jewelry, brocade and silk, treasures and delicacies… every industry that could be imagined could be found in Gusu City. Since it was difficult to have a slice of the pie in these industries, why not just serve these industries directly?

Tang Shen: “Brother Yao, go to the western part of the city and buy a courtyard. It doesn’t have to be very nice, but it should be big enough to house at least a hundred people. Then go outside the city and pick out fifty refugees first. You be the judge and choose those who look honest, both men and women.”

Yao San had unconditional trust in Tang Shen: “Okay!”

Tang Shen quickly went to Liang Manor again.

He had already told Liang Song about his idea of doing logistics. Liang Song thought about it for a long time, and when Tang Shen came over again, he asked straight to the point: “Do you know that you may not get any benefit at all from doing this, with such a large upfront investment, it’s very likely that you’ll lose everything!”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “Sir, it’s not like you don’t know that the most popular scented soaps and Golden Wisp in Gusu City are sold by the Tang family. Even if I suffer a loss now, I won’t starve to death on the streets.” What was more, the regular soap had not yet been released on the market.

Liang Song: “Fine, if you want to do it, then do it. It is better to teach people to fish than to directly give them fish. It will be difficult for those refugees to survive after they go back. It will be a good thing if they can use this new job to settle down in Gusu City. Whatever you need, just let the steward know.”

“No need to go to so much trouble. I just need ten smart bailiffs and a word from sir.”

“Oh, what word?”

“If a refugee commits any crime in Gusu City, no matter how big or small the case is, they will be expelled from the city and no soup kitchen will be allowed to provide them with food!”

Yao San settled the refugees in a large courtyard that had been empty for a long time. Most of these refugees were strong men, only their physique was a little weak at the moment. Yao San didn’t know Tang Shen’s intention, but he thought that since his boss wanted to hire people, the stronger the better, so he specially selected those who looked stronger.

Tang Shen came to the yard to see these fifty people, and then gave them food, hot water and clothes.

These refugees were immediately dumbfounded and called Tang Shen the reincarnation of the living Bodhisattva. They devoured the food, took hot baths, put on new clothes, and finally looked like decent individuals. Tang Shen did not have them work directly, but asked Yao San to familiarize them with the streets of Gusu City.

Three days later, these refugees were already familiar with the streets of Gusu City.

Tang Shen asked Yao San to post notices on several streets with the most people in Gusu City, and asked Accountant Lin to post notices in several neighborhoods where civilians lived in the city. After a while, many people gathered to look at what was on the notice, and the literate people read out the words written on it.

“Tang’s Logistics… eh, what is logistics?”

After the man finished reading the words above, someone asked: “Brother, what does this mean?”

“It says that from the 28th of the first lunar month, which is tomorrow, Tang’s Logistics will deliver goods for free for one day. All the people wearing red linen jackets on the street are employees of Tang’s Logistics. Just call them and they will come over. You can ask them to help deliver things, help buy things, or ask them to carry letters. As long as it is in Gusu City, they can deliver anywhere.”

“There is such a thing?”

“That’s right, what a strange thing.”

In the courtyard of the Tang family, Accountant Lin calculated the recent accounts and said with a frown: “Little boss, we have spent a lot of money to feed and clothe those fifty refugees. Your logistics are actually free of charge. Will we be able to recover the cost?”

Yao San: “I believe in the little boss.”

Tang Shen said, “I don’t even believe in myself this time.”

“Ah? Could it be that no one will use our employees tomorrow?”

Tang Shen: “You said tomorrow?”

Yao San: “Yes, tomorrow.”

“Definitely no customers tomorrow.”

“…”

Yao San panicked: “Little boss, this…”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Tang Shen narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: “There will definitely be no customers tomorrow, but whether there will be customers in the future depends on how rich the people in Gusu are and how stable their lives are. How can you do business without taking risks? There is no guaranteed profit, but several certain seniors of the industry, Mr. Shun, Mr. Yuan, and Mr. Shen told me that this business… is feasible!”

AN: Little Tang Lang: Today I am going to start eating crabs!

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