Chapter 7

When they turned a corner, Zhang Jing said he had something to attend to and bid farewell for a moment, leaving only a few servants with Zhu Zilong.

He came to another street in the city. The road, the number of people, and the style and quantity of shops were clearly much better than the previous street.

The passersby were dressed more splendidly. Looking at the first shop on the left, it was a perfume shop?

Zhu Zilong walked in and took a quick look, understanding immediately. It was like a modern cosmetics store!

Walking a few more meters, there was a "No Heat Socks" shop?

Involuntarily, Zhu Zilong recalled a description from a novel he had read in the modern era.

According to Fan Lian of the Ming Dynasty in "Yun Jian Ju Mu Chao," "There used to be no 'No Heat Socks' shops in Songjiang. In the summer, many people wore felt socks. Since the Wanli era, single-layer 'No Heat Socks' made from You Dun cloth (a fine, soft cotton fabric) have been produced, which are very light and beautiful, and people from far and near come to buy them."

Clearly, this was a shop specializing in socks.

Moving forward, there were porcelain shops, general stores, fabric shops, and even shops selling some Western items. It seemed that the so-called maritime ban in the late Ming Dynasty was indeed a dead letter.

With the emperor far away, many local officials and merchants were bold and numerous.

Moreover, it was now the late Tianqi era. If history hadn't changed, Emperor Tianqi had only about a year left to live, even if he didn't drown. Even now, the so-called emperor was probably already largely controlled by the Donglin Party and eunuchs.

Most of the officials in the palace were hypocritical. Wei Zhongxian sometimes deceived the emperor to protect himself and his interests.

Furthermore, the original Emperor Tianqi was illiterate, making it impossible for him to truly manage the empire.

(Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao was the son of Emperor Guangzong Zhu Changluo and the grandson of Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun.)

Because Emperor Shenzong was only interested in his own pleasures and neglected the education of the crown prince, and Emperor Guangzong was a short-lived and fearful emperor, when Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne at the age of 16, his level of education was very low, making him a "illiterate emperor."

Due to his lack of education, Emperor Tianqi had to rely on others to read and draft documents for him to make decisions.

Now, the deceased Emperor Tianqi had become Zhu Zilong's avatar, and while Zhu Zilong understood some classical Chinese, he was not very proficient.

In essence, the original Emperor Tianqi had the education level of a primary school student, while Zhu Zilong's understanding of ancient texts was at a middle school level.

This was a match of equals!

If you were to ask Zhu Zilong if he had any grand ambitions, such as ruling the world or enjoying the company of beautiful women, he would have to say that he hadn't thought much about it.

A few days ago, he was a dying modern man from the 21st century. His family was in dire straits!

Now, he had been reborn in the Ming Dynasty. Honestly, the feeling of his soul being separated was truly uncomfortable. If not for the help of the dragon soul, he might have died already.

After much effort, his body had returned to a youthful state, and the hepatitis virus in his body had disappeared, giving him a healthy body once again.

For now, he just wanted to live well, if possible.

He wanted to earn some money here and, if possible, find some spirit stones to use the imitation Moonlight Box to return to the modern era.

After all, in the 21st century, his family was still living in hardship. No one knew if the insurance company would compensate for his disappearance.

How could he feel at ease without checking on them?

If not for the dragon clan's memory, which told him it wasn't the right time, and the fact that his soul hadn't fully stabilized, and the imitation Moonlight Box's cooldown period hadn't ended, and the spirit stones weren't sufficient, he might have impulsively returned to the modern era already!

After a while.

Zhu Zilong put aside the杂念 in his mind and looked up, finding himself in a bustling market.

"Brokerage shop?" Zhu Zilong murmured.

(Brokerage shops, first mentioned in the Ming Dynasty, were intermediaries in ancient and modern Chinese markets who facilitated transactions, evaluated the quality and price of goods, and acted as brokers.)

They mainly dealt in livestock, agricultural products, and silk and cloth. Some also handled the hiring of boats for water transport, known as "pier heads." By the late Ming Dynasty, due to special circumstances, they also sold people willing to become slaves or servants!

For example, shortly after entering the brokerage shop, Zhu Zilong saw a poorly dressed couple selling their daughter.

The little girl, about seven or eight years old, was kneeling on the ground with a dirty face. A grass tag was stuck in her hair, and her big eyes were filled with fear for the future.

When the couple saw someone stop, they quickly introduced themselves, saying they were the girl's parents. Because they had too many children and couldn't support them all, they had to sell their daughter.

They asked for five taels of silver. According to the price levels of the late Ming Dynasty, 1 tael of silver = 1 guan of copper coins ≈ 300 RMB.

Zhu Zilong quickly calculated that buying the little girl would cost about 1500 RMB, less than the price of a modern smartphone.

Zhu Zilong felt a pang of sympathy and squatted down to touch the little girl's head. In troubled times, human life was indeed cheap!

The couple, seeing Zhu Zilong's interest, quickly said, "Young master, please buy our daughter. She may be small, but she eats little and works hard. She will be even more capable when she grows up."

However, before they could finish, one of the Zhang family servants accompanying Zhu Zilong scolded them, "Stop that! Move aside! I've seen your kind before. Trying to take advantage of our young master who just returned from overseas and doesn't know the market? I tell you, for someone like your daughter, three taels of silver is more than enough!"

Zhu Zilong, however, was not paying attention to the argument. When he brushed the hair from the little girl's face, his pupils dilated.

How could she look so much like his own daughter from the 21st century, who was about the same age?

She looked so much like her.

Zhu Zilong was momentarily stunned and then quickly regained his composure, his fingers trembling.

He had to buy her, no matter what. Even if she just looked like his daughter and wasn't actually his, it didn't matter.

"Brother, I don't have any silver on me. Could you pay for her first?" Zhu Zilong quickly stood up and asked one of the Zhang family servants.

The servant, not daring to be presumptuous, quickly bowed and replied, "Since Young Master Zhu has taken a liking to this girl, it is her good fortune. I will take them to the government office to formalize the contract. From then on, she will belong to you."

Hearing this, Zhu Zilong breathed a sigh of relief and bowed slightly to the servant, saying, "Thank you for your trouble. This girl looks so much like a relative of mine."

The Zhang family servants quickly returned the bow, feeling uneasy.

Clearly, Zhu Zilong, who was half the master of the Zhang family, bowing to a servant was something the people of the Ming Dynasty, accustomed to clear social hierarchies, found unusual.