Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 43 God of Plague
Zhang Yunxiu had no idea that his words had planted a seed in his father's heart.

He's been very busy lately.

I headed towards "Xinming Bookstore" early in the morning.

The fourth issue of the newspaper is about to be published. Before each issue is published, Zhang Yunxiu has a habit of visiting the bookstore to check on things.

The carriage clattered along the streets. Ming Dynasty officials preferred to ride in sedan chairs, but Zhang Yunxiu was not used to having four or five people carrying him outside.

Moreover, compared to a horse-drawn carriage, a sedan chair is much slower.

Leaving the inner city, the road from Chongwen Gate to Tonghui River Wharf was relatively flat during the Ming Dynasty.

Today, this road is an important passage connecting the inside and outside of Beijing, and also the main road for goods from Huihe Wharf to enter the inner city.

Even so, Zhang Yunxiu, sitting in the carriage, was still shaken and felt dizzy.

During the Ming Dynasty, horse-drawn carriages were mainly two-wheeled. Four-wheeled carriages were more stable, but formal suspension and axle systems had not yet been invented.

Four-wheeled carriages on the road would undoubtedly have problems such as being too large and not being flexible in steering, and would be completely helpless when encountering narrow bends.

Seeing that they were almost at the workshop, Zhang Yunxiu decided not to take the carriage anymore and simply got off and walked to the workshop himself.

He glanced back at the swaying carriage and vowed in his heart that he would build a national highway and a four-wheeled carriage with suspension and axles within five years!

The Tonghui River was an important waterway connecting the capital and Tongzhou. With a large number of cargo ships and merchant ships coming and going, shops naturally sprang up along the banks of the Tonghui River.

On weekdays, the area around the dock is bustling with shops, including grain stores, cloth stores, and tea shops.

But lately, the streets have become much quieter, and pedestrians are all in a hurry.

People would occasionally cast strange glances at Zhang Yunxiu.

Judging from his clothes, this young man was from a wealthy family. However, his face was covered with a white cloth, which covered his mouth and nose. In broad daylight, he looked like a notorious bandit.

It was only because of his decent attire that the patrolling constables would have stopped him and questioned him.

Zhang Yunxiu didn't care about other people's opinions. The city was currently ravaged by plague, and his special medicine was not yet finished.

Even as a time traveler, he didn't consider himself immune to all poisons; he still needed to take necessary precautions.

As for the opinions of others?

Does Zhang Yunxiu care? He doesn't care if these people gossip behind his back, as long as he doesn't hear it. But if he does hear it, he'll break their legs one by one!

When they were almost at "Xinming Bookstore", Zhang Yunxiu suddenly stopped.

He noticed that there were many neighborhoods around the bookstore, and many people had hung "peace charms" on their doors. The yellow charms were crooked and the character "敕" (imperial decree) could be faintly seen on them.

For many impoverished people, after contracting the plague, they had no means to seek medical treatment. Their only effort was to spend a few coins to buy a talisman.

As for those ten or so coins, they were also painstakingly saved up.

"Hey! The impurities of heaven and earth must be dispersed!"

Suddenly, an angry shout came from outside the gate of a grand house.

Zhang Yunxiu's gaze was drawn to the figure, which turned out to be a Taoist priest in a yellow robe, holding a peach wood sword and looking eccentric. He was circling around the paper effigy on the table, chanting incantations.

On the altar, offerings of fruits, pastries, and other items were laid out. In front of the main gate directly opposite, a dozen people dressed in fine silks knelt in devout worship.

He appears to be the person who funded the event.

It wasn't just these dozen or so people; it seemed that many local residents had also gathered around, having heard that a wealthy family was holding a ceremony.

Most of them were dressed in linen clothes and looked pale and sickly.

Compared to the wealthy landowners, these common people were much more devout, gathering together like sardines, bowing and worshipping the Taoist priest in the center.

"May all evil and filth vanish, and may the Dao's Qi endure forever! So be it!"

But then the Taoist priest let out a loud scare, and with his peach wood sword, he picked up the paper figure representing the plague demon, cut it in half at the waist, and threw it into the brazier.

"May the immortals protect you and drive away the plague god!"

Immediately afterwards, the people began to kowtow continuously, and hundreds of people gathered together, creating a truly magnificent scene.

Ironically, these people may not have known that by praying to the gods to rid themselves of the plague, they would very likely contract the plague themselves.

Such is the absurdity of things in this world.

Zhang Yunxiu frowned. He really wanted to go up and kick over the altar to tell these people that doing so would be pointless.

But in the end, I held back.

Zhang Yunxiu let out a breath and saw the bright red sign of "Xinming Bookstore" in the distance. He walked quickly toward it. Xinming Bookstore was unusually lively today.

Even amidst the rampant plague, the bookstore was still packed with people, waving silver notes and surrounding Yu Xiangdou so tightly that he couldn't move.

"Master Yu, why is it that only Zhao Rui gets business, and we get none? What, do you have some kind of connection with Ruijin Silk Shop?"

"Master Yu, you wouldn't have accepted bribes from Zhao Rui, would you? Such audacity! If Lord Zhang finds out, you'll be in deep trouble."

"Master Yu, we at Xiangmingju are going to buy the next issue of the newspaper. It's only two thousand taels of silver, right? I'll pay it!"

Slanderous, abusive, pleading, crying.

Yu Xiangdou has a clear understanding of the diverse faces of businessmen.

Although he used to be a businessman, he had never seen anything so shameless.

Yu Xiangdou crossed his arms and said with a cold smile.

“Everyone says that I, Yu Xiangdou, am biased towards Zhao Rui, but when Xinming Bookstore summoned you all, you didn’t have this attitude.”

When the price of this 'advertisement' was first announced, everyone complained about being broke and thought it was too expensive.

"What, you have money again now?"

As soon as Yu Xiangdou said this, the merchants were in an uproar and started making a fuss.

"Master Yu, how can you speak like that?"

"These words are truly hurtful. Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about behind your back, Master Yu?"

Yu Xiangdou remained unfazed, surveying the group of portly merchants.

"If you all think that I, Yu, am speaking unpleasantly, the doors of Xinming Bookstore are not closed, and you may leave now if you wish!"

Times have changed! Yu Xiangdou is not afraid of the merchants' threats.

For a moment, the dozen or so merchants fell silent. They looked at each other, none of them showing any intention of leaving.

"All right!"

An elderly man with white hair stepped out from the crowd and glared at the merchants.

"How dare you speak to Master Yu like that? This Xinming Bookstore is a business approved by the imperial court. How dare you mock it?"

As soon as he spoke, the merchants fell silent, clearly indicating that the old man was their leader.

Yu Xiangdou recognized the person immediately, narrowed his eyes and said, "Master Wang, how have you been?"

Last time, the Chamber of Commerce organized by Zhang Yunxiu was opposed by this Wang Dongjia, which led to the merchants being unwilling to contribute money.

Fortunately, Zhao Rui of Ruijin Silk Shop was willing to generously donate money; otherwise, Zhang Yunxiu and the others would not have been able to cover their losses.

He's completely different this time?
But then they saw that the landlord, Wang, bowed deeply to Yu Xiangdou with great respect.

"I apologize for my rudeness. My name is Wang Shishun, and I am the owner of the Huizhou Merchants Guild in the capital. Today, many of my subordinates have been disrespectful. Please forgive me, Master Yu."

"Hmph!" Yu Xiangdou turned his head away and said. "There are plenty of guild halls in the capital, why would I care about one of yours?"

But Wang Shishun wasn't annoyed at all and continued, "I know the shop owner is still angry, but we're in business after all. We're all out here to make money, how can we act impulsively? Even if Lord Zhang comes, I doubt he'll think the shop owner did the right thing."

Yu Xiangdou disapproved of these people's behavior. Zhang Yunxiu had previously instructed them not to give them a friendly look if they came.

Yu Xiangdou sneered, "Even if Lord Zhang comes, you will have no chance."

But at that moment, a voice came from behind.

“Master Yu, if they want to contribute funds, then let them contribute funds.”

Zhang Yunxiu had been listening outside for a long time before finally coming out with his hands behind his back.

In an instant, all eyes were on him.

Yu Xiangdou asked, puzzled, "Mr. Zhang, what about them?"

He wanted to explain further, but Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and gave a completely different answer.

"We open our doors to do business; how can we turn our customers away?"

　Thank you so much to "Qingjiangyuya" for the 500 Qidian Coins! And thank you to everyone for your monthly tickets and recommendations!

　　Experts, please remember to read on!
　　I have an exam this morning, wish me luck!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)