Chapter 53 – Humble Servant (2)
The carriage stopped in a remote street. A rouge shop was well within touch. Hua Chun felt brave enough to buy many things there.
There were just things like rouge, eyebrow powder and something like rice flour, though it was not the same as modern cosmetics. However, this would be enough. Hua Chun gestured for Yu Wenjie to sit still and started to make-up for him. She bleached the shadowed part of his face, made his eyebrow look softer, put rouge under his eyes, and used shadows to turn up the corners of his mouth.
He Chang’an felt stunned as he watched the whole process.
The evidence of cosmetics could be found nowhere. However, the deadpanned expression of the emperor had turned tender. The sternness of his face had gone, and he seemed to look like nothing else other than a gentleman.
It was still a heroic face which made others feel distant no more and instead closeness, driving them to hand him a handkerchief or something along the lines.
“What do you think?” Hua Chun looked at He Chang’an triumphantly.
He didn’t hesitate to comment. “It’s gorgeous.”
Yu Wenjie said grimly, “Give me a mirror.”
Hua Chun graciously handed him a mirror at once.
The emperor was not pleased to see his present appearance. However, he didn’t come out of the palace only to serve as a bait, but also to see how the life of ordinary people was in the imperial city. So, overall, it was okay.
Noticing that the emperor hadn’t said anything, He Chang’an spoke up. “That’s it. We’re done here. Let’s go.”
Hua Chun jumped out of the carriage with exhilaration running through her veins. Seeing the old-fashioned street, she intended to find evidence of the modern Nanjing City.
However, there was no such familiar street.
They walked towards the bustling streets. Yu Wenjie was in the middle, and Hua Chun and He Chang’an continued to follow him as sidekicks.
The imperial city was both crowded and prosperous. It seemed as if it was not the first time that the emperor went out of the palace. The route was familiar to him as he went straight to a shaobing shop at the end of the block. He then bought three shaobings.
Hua Chun felt a little surprised at the fact that the emperor was fond of shaobing. Yu Wenjie acted naturally and handed her one. In return, she took it over with gratitude, took a bite and said, “This is the natural and healthy food.”
“What?” He Chang’an raised his eyebrows.
“I said that it cost our master much,” she faltered. Hua Chun now wanted to strangle herself to death. Why couldn’t she just keep quiet? Their master, who had been walking in front of them and had just spent three coins, turned around and shot her a disgusted look. Hua Chun let out a short laugh and just kept walking.
“There are so many people ahead,” He Chang’an raised his eyebrows. “Rubberneckers.”
Yu Wenjie had also noticed that there were several human chains around a shop down the street and took them straight across the crowd to figure out what had just happened.
“It’s not price gouging. The rice was sold 60 cents per kilo in other places. How could you sell the rice for 100 cents per kilo?”
“How dare you?”
That was a food shop. Hua Chun managed to poke her way to the front of the crowd relying on the solid body of Yu Wenjie. She looked up at the sign which read, “100 cents per kilo, treating both the young and the old honestly.”
“How could I?” The shopkeeper, who was standing right in the doorway, snorted and spoke whilst staring at the crowd, “You are free to go if you couldn’t afford it. It’s our merchants’ business to command the price. How on earth could you possibly meddle?”
The government of this dynasty hadn’t managed to coerce the price control. Hua Chun blinked. In that case, it would be a piece of cake to achieve monopoly and profiteer.
An old man with a basket now came out of the crowd and said, “As there is only one food shop around, how could we stop complaining and just go away?”
“I can’t agree more.” Others chorused their agreement.
Yu Wenjie frowned and soon brought them away from the crowd.
“Master,” He Chang’an knew what he was thinking from his expression. “The government has long restrained business but such phenomenon still exist. These merchants are deceitful and couldn’t be restricted easily.”
“I know that.” Yu Wenjie frowned.
However, if they were not controlled, it was the ordinary people that would suffer most. Hua Chun thought about this and said at her discretion, “The government could achieve price control.”
Yu Wenjie stopped and turned around to look at him. “You know something?”
“This is possible, only if we set up a price bureau and demand a price range for every commodity on the market. The limit on the maximum price or the minimum price would prevent the merchants from vicious competition to push down prices or monopoly to raise prices.”
In modern times, people were aware that it was the solution to reduce inflation, but the ancient people were not. The intelligent ones like Yu Wenjie was unable to understand it for some time as he looked round at him, frowning.
“Don’t worry about it anymore, master. I will draft a memorial when we go back,” said Hua Chun. “I’m sure that it will be detailed, but there may be some problems to put it into practice.”
It would take a long time for her to reform.
Pursing his lips, the emperor signified his consent with a nod and kept moving. However, he was still contemplating what Hua Chun had said.
He Chang’an put his hand on Hua Chun’s shoulders with respect and said, “You are really the talented one that is said to know everything.”
“It’s really kind of you to say so,” said Hua Chun, “but this is just a half-baked idea that is needed to be carried out by our master.”
He sounded so modest, and didn’t even try to take any credit. He Chang’an instantly liked him more.