My British Empire

ps: Ask for a monthly pass, ask for a collection, there is another chapter around twelve o'clock! For the sake of my hard work, let me order some monthly tickets!

On May 1st, 1549, the temperature in London in summer had reached a rare high temperature - about 25 degrees, which was really tormenting weather for the London residents who have always been cool.

Some civilians walking on the road were sweating profusely and kept wiping the sweat from their foreheads. Some even kept opening their mouths and sticking out their tongues on the street, hoping to radiate some heat.

England, which is deeply influenced by the ocean, generally maintains a normal temperature of around 20 degrees every year, and even in winter, the temperature is as low as seven or eight degrees.

The civilians in short and brown clothes can only endure such harsh weather, running around London, busy with daily meals, their trivial wish is to have enough food for themselves and their families every day.

The pampered nobles would not worry about a little food, but the hot weather in London forced them to do everything possible to relieve their heat.

For example, the high-ranking nobles of the kingdom like Edward, they have used their rich money to build underground storage warehouses, and bought a large number of ice cubes from Northern Europe, which have been stored for a long time, and it is cool enough for a summer.

But the lower nobles and ordinary businessmen don't have such a big hand to do this.

As a result, shrewd businessmen would not let go of this business opportunity, and a large number of ice cubes from Northern Europe appeared in the streets and alleys of London. The merchants sold small ice cubes that had been cut at five pence per pound, and people with a little money competed for them. phase purchase.

Comfortable and cool ice has become a good medicine for Londoners to spend summer.

"Boss, here's a pound of ice!" The busy little businessman heard a sale, looked up, and found that it was a man wearing a cloak outside, a white shirt inside, short flaxen hair, fingers An agate ring could be vaguely seen, and a middle-aged man with a dark red and gold thread came over, his tone neither serious nor serious.

"Sir, wait for a while, it will be ready soon!" Although he was a little depressed why such a gentleman-looking gentleman would buy ice cubes from himself, it was still a pleasure to make a deal.

The nimble businessman ordered his assistant to cut the ice tightly protected under the sheepskin jacket, and he accepted the gentleman's one shilling, and then gave him fourteen pence.

Adler carefully kicked the recovered fourteen pence back into his pocket, and then reached out to take the one-pound ice cube wrapped in linen, walking faster and faster.

The ice cubes left the protected area and melted very fast. He had to rush back quickly, otherwise his family might not be able to enjoy this rare luxury.

As a well-known banker in London, since he came to London, he purchases a large amount of ice cubes from specialized suppliers every summer to meet the needs of himself and his family.

However, this year is different. All his family property was confiscated by the king of England, and he survived by using the opportunity of serving the king to save his family from the death penalty.

Now, with nothing left, he, and his family, can only survive on five pounds a month from the king.

If you spend five pounds, you can live happily in the countryside, but in this expensive London, you can barely maintain a decent life for your family.

Pushing open the door, Adler saw his eldest daughter reading a book of poems with relish, while the naughty second and youngest sons were running around in the yard, their clothes soaked in sweat.

Seeing her father came back, her daughter and two naughty sons surrounded him, blinking and blinking at him curiously.

And the lady in an apron also came out, and her curious eyes focused on him.

"Hey, Angela, kids, come here and see what I brought you!"

With a smile on his face, Adler opened his hands and said to his wife and children.

In no time, the ice cube, wrapped in worn linen, had done its job, making his and his family's day enjoyable.

The next day, with the help of his wife, Adler looked in good spirits.

Sitting in a rented carriage, Adler came to the banks of the Thames River in the north of London, which is the most commercially developed place in London.

Coming here, looking around, there are many textile factories of various colors, and the ships coming and going set up their sails, and then a gust of wind slowly sailed to the exit of the Thames River, leaving England for the Netherlands or Germany.

These merchant ships loaded with textiles out of England sailed slowly on the spacious Thames, and collisions occurred from time to time.

After stopping the carriage, Adler smiled, and smiled at the middle-aged man who went out to greet him.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Adler!" A middle-aged man with dark red hair and a high nose bridge said with joy.

"Me too, may God bless you!" Adler also bowed down to express his gratitude.

"Come with me, sir. After reading it, I think you will think that lending me a loan is a right choice!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man led the way, and at the same time talked with Adler about the bright future of his factory.

"Sir, our factory now has more than one hundred workers and fifty machines, which can produce ten hundredweight (equivalent to ten tons) of woolen cloth every month, and the monthly profit is nearly fifty pounds. This is the most conservative estimate!"

"And if you lend me 1,000 pounds, I can expand another 50 machines, so that the monthly profit will be more than 100 pounds!"

"In less than a year, my sir, I'll be able to repay the loan in full with interest!"

Following behind the middle-aged man, Adler carefully observed the condition of the textile factory's machines and checked its account books.

Regardless of the wool scattered all over the ground and the sultry air environment, Adler couldn't stop thinking about the prospects of the textile factory and his own repayment ability.

Then Adler came to his office and sat in a chair with a serious expression on his face.

"Mr. Humphrey, according to my investigation, your textile factory still owes a debt of five hundred pounds, which is not a small amount!"

A smile appeared on Adler's face, his tone was full of ridicule, and his sharp eyes looked straight at the eyes of the textile factory owner sitting opposite him, not letting go of his movements.

"How can I trust you? Who knows if you want to take my money and slip away after paying off that debt!"

"I'm not God, I can't know where you will flee to, and I can't catch you!"

A trace of cold sweat broke out on the forehead of Humphrey, who had been sitting calmly across from him, but his eyes were still so determined, unhurried.