"Sir, the Zhu family and his son asked to see you, and they also brought money to buy the land."
"Ask them to go to the side hall."
"yes."
The main hall is for receiving distinguished guests. The father and son are not qualified enough to enter the side hall, which is considered a special concern for Lao Bai.
Ju Ming followed the servants along the way, observing the buildings and decorations along the way, and said quickly in a low voice in Mandarin: "The wealthy rich people in the Song Dynasty seemed to be shabby. From the outside, they occupied a large area, but once inside, it was very simple.
It’s not as good as the houses in the TV series.”
Zhu Guoxiang said: "Maybe it's because we are too poor here to afford good repairs."
Both father and son were carrying a basket with iron money in it, which added up to more than seventy kilograms.
Ten acres of mountainous land, depending on the condition and distance from the stream, ranges from 800 to 1,300 yuan per mu. Ten acres of mountain forest is calculated as 200 yuan per mu. Total price: 12 yuan, 600 yuan.
"You two, please."
"Thanks for the guidance."
Old Bai had already sat down in the side hall. Because his legs were inconvenient, he asked a servant to carry him over.
In this situation, as a son, Zhu Ming could not talk too much. He had to let Zhu Guoxiang be responsible for the whole process, so as to be more convincing and credible.
Zhu Guoxiang bowed his hands and said: "I, Zhu Guoxiang, have met the old man Wai. Thanks to the old man Wai's kindness, I have sold twenty acres of firewood forest in the mountain. I will send you the money to buy the land today."
"I can't move this leg. It's really rude," said Mr. Bai, who was sitting outside and cupped his hands. "Please sit down quickly and put your money down."
The father and son raised their hands in thanks and then put down their backpacks.
"Look at the tea!"
The old man called his servants, didn't even count the money, and just carried it away.
The tea is loose tea, which is convenient, while the group tea has to be ground slowly.
Of course, in order to show hospitality, this loose tea is not low-grade, at least it is better than what the villagers drink.
Ju Ming took a sip. It was still bitter, but the astringency was lighter.
He suddenly discovered a new market for roasted tea, which is "tea for entertaining guests." There are always guests who come and go in a hurry and can't wait to order tea slowly. In this case, loose tea must be brewed directly, and the roasted loose tea tastes better.
, far superior to steamed loose tea.
Two members, Zhu Guoxiang and Lao Bai, were chatting and observing each other.
They can vaguely smell each other's scent!
In Zhu Guoxiang's eyes, the old white officer gave him the impression that he was the kind of veteran with real power in the department. He had met many such people, but he had no close friendship with them.
In the eyes of Lao Bai, Zhu Guoxiang's demeanor and conversation were a bit like a certain county magistrate he had served.
The county magistrate was a Jinshi. He liked to do things by himself and was polite to his subordinates. However, it took him two years to make the county government officials obedient. The old white official was forced to resign and return to the countryside. If he didn't get out of here,
It's time to go to jail.
Can you detect this in a short period of time?
It may sound mysterious, but it is actually very simple. I have experienced many people or things. Unless the other person deliberately disguises, you can tell the clues at a glance, mainly by observing the expression, eyes, tone and body movements.
Of course, many people have been around all their lives and don't know how to observe words and emotions.
Zhu Guoxiang didn't know how to do it when he was young. He only knew how to work hard. Later, he suffered too much and was forced to live a life that he hated in order to get projects. As a result, he accumulated a lot of money and started to rise step by step after the age of forty.
Old Bai Yuanwai asked: "I heard that Mr. Zhu went to sea and led a fleet to fight against pirates?"
His son had already blown his reputation, and Zhu Guoxiang could only wipe his butt: "Old things need not be mentioned again. Eight ships were hit by hurricanes and all sank to the bottom of the sea. Hundreds of crew members were buried in the belly of the fish. I
I had a chance to escape by holding on to a mast. Alas, even the ship and its cargo, hundreds of thousands of dollars, were all wasted, leaving it like this."
Hundreds of thousands of dollars...
Old Bai Yuanwai couldn't help but be dumbfounded. His family's savings from several generations, including the house, property and shops, could barely make a fortune of ten thousand yuan.
No wonder this man behaves calmly and has an extraordinary bearing. He is actually a bankrupt sea merchant. The official aura he carries can be understood. It cannot be said to be official aura, but an aura of power. After all, he once managed hundreds of crew members.
, and even fought with pirates with real swords and guns.
Mr. Lao Bai didn't completely believe it, so he continued to inquire: "I know that there are maritime merchants in Hangzhou. Your Majesty also went to sea in Hangzhou?"
The father and son had a serious discussion about this matter last night, and the farther away the destination was, the better.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "I am originally from Liuzhou, and have been doing business in Guangzhou since my great-grandfather's generation. In two or three generations, we gradually accumulated some wealth. At first, we traded in Cochin. Cochin bandits raided Guangnan, and my family's ship was also robbed twice.
Later, I simply sailed to the South Seas and sailed to Borneo and Java. These two places are rich in spices. Once shipped back to Guangzhou, the profit will be ten times."
"Ten times the profit?" The old white man couldn't imagine it.
The ethnic minorities in Hehuang like to drink the famous mountain tea from Yazhou. But if you transport it all the way from Sichuan, the profit is only three or four times. Is there actually a business in the world that can make ten times the profit?
Zhu Guoxiang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Although there is huge profit, it is earned through hard work. The old man lives in the mainland, so he may not know the power of the sea. If there is a storm, the waves will rise several feet high and can smash the big ship on the spot.
All the people and goods are gone. There are many hurricanes in summer. Does anyone know what hurricanes are?"
"I've heard a little about it." Old Bai, a member of the Communist Party of China, has actually never heard of it.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "The hurricane blows from the sea and blows all the way to the land. Coastal residents all say that the hurricane is the anger of the Dragon King. When the hurricane blows, accompanied by heavy rain, it can uproot the trees that hug each other."
The old man said in surprise: "It's hard to imagine."
Zhu Guoxiang said with emotion: "In this maritime business, many people become rich in one day, and many lose their families overnight. Our Zhu family was ruined because of a hurricane. The elders in the family warned that the descendants can do anything in the future, but they are not allowed to do anything.
Go out to sea and fight for your life again.”
Member Lao Bai asked again: "Are all those overseas stories told by Zhu Dalang true?"
Zhu Guoxiang smiled and said: "Half true and half false. It is true to meet the barbarians, but it is false to meet the daughter country. Where in the world can the daughter country come from?"
Member Lao Bai continued to ask: "I heard that if you set sail on the sea, you can reach Zhu and Persia?"
Zhu Guoxiang suddenly stood up with a tea cup in hand, dragged his chair and walked to the old man.
He dipped his fingers in tea, drew a few curves on the wooden board of the chair, and said: "Old man, look outside, this is Guangzhou, and sailing to the southwest is Jiaozhi. Then cross this strait and continue west to reach Tianzhu. As for Persia,
That's further away. I also wanted to trade with Tianzhu, but there are a lot of pirates entrenched near the strait. If you have many ships and are powerful, you have to pay for passage. If you have few ships and are weak, the pirates will kill people and steal goods."
Officer Lao Bai was shocked, not because of the pirates, but because Zhu Guoxiang could draw the sea chart easily.
I just don’t know if this chart is true.
After talking about this, Mr. Bai was already somewhat convinced that Zhu Guoxiang had indeed been a maritime merchant before. Pretending to be calm, he nodded and said, "Just like the water bandits on the Han River."
Zhu Guoxiang shook his head: "If you encounter water bandits in the Han River, you can escape by diving and swim to the shore. If you encounter pirates in the sea, you can't escape. If you jump into the sea and narrowly escape death, you can only pick up a knife and gun to fight the pirates for your life."
Old Bai started imagining that scene and suddenly felt so horrified that he was unwilling to take the risk even if it would be a hundred times more beneficial.
Zhu Ming suddenly interjected: "As I know, there is a gangster in Bai Market. His name is Bai Sheng, and his nickname is Bai Erhu."
"I've heard a little bit about it," said the old white man.
Ju Ming sneered disdainfully: "We, father and son, picked up a horse downstream. Seeing the wealth, the two white tigers came to rob it at night. But what kind of person is my father? My father sailed on the sea and encountered pirates no less than five times.
He killed at least twenty pirates with his own hands, and a few rural ruffians were not enough, so he defeated them all in just a few strokes."
The old man's pupils shrank and he looked at Zhu Guoxiang again, but Zhu Guoxiang just smiled, which made him feel even more incomprehensible.
These two foreigners have human lives on their hands!
Zhu Guoxiang said at the right time: "Old man, don't worry. Fighting with pirates is a desperate attempt to survive. Once we get ashore, we are all good people and will not use knives or guns easily."
I believe you as a ghost!
The old man regretted selling the land. The squire was afraid of such desperadoes, so he immediately smiled and said, "Young little bandits should be killed."
This set of rhetoric was discussed repeatedly by father and son.
Because Zhang Guangdao once said, neither the old white member nor the new white member is a kind person, it's just which one is more shameless.
Once sweet potatoes and corn show amazing yields, the value of those useless slopes in the mountains will increase rapidly.
When the time comes, the Bai family will inevitably have the desire to annex and seize more barren mountainous land.
He had to pull off a tiger skin and pretend to be a desperado, so that the old white people would be afraid of others.
Of course, this is just one of the ways.
At the same time, more villagers must be allowed to plant corn and sweet potatoes to enhance the rural prestige of the father and son.
This prestige may also make old white members timid.
In addition, he made good friends with Li Hanzhang and Zheng Hong and used all means to build connections.
Just protesting will not last long, and you need to be softer, and the right way is to use both kindness and force.
So Zhu Guoxiang added: "Others may not believe it, but I have a method that can increase rice production and reduce the labor required during planting rotation."
"Really?" Old Bai said with doubts.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "If you are an old man who dares to take the risk, you can pick out a paddy field and let me direct the tenants to cultivate it. I will not take any grain of rice for the increased income, nor will I take a penny. I will only repay the kindness of the old man for selling the land."
"
Mr. Bai thought about it carefully and thought he could give it a try.
Pick a small field for testing. Even if you don't harvest the grains, you won't lose much money.
"Then choose a paddy field." Old Bai said.
The smile on Zhu Guoxiang's face remained the same, and he smiled even brighter in his heart. Isn't this a free experimental field?
When the villagers see the Bai family making a profit, they will definitely follow suit next year.
When the whole village adopts Zhu Guoxiang's farming methods, he, Director Zhu, will become a farming expert that everyone trusts, and he can be an expert in agricultural farming.
If extended to other villages, it might even alarm the county magistrate!
By that time, even without Ganoderma lucidum as big as a millstone, the father and son will be able to establish a firm foothold in Xixiang County.
There will be many big landowners one after another who sincerely invite him to guide farming and take the opportunity to establish contacts with the gentry and powerful people in the county.