Businessmen may be the most self-suffering group. When the four brothers Ma Tianming came out of quarantine, it was freezing cold. It was the coldest time outside the country. And they didn't even have a fur jacket or the cashmere coat that has been fashionable in recent years.
No, I only have a thick cotton-padded jacket to protect me from the cold. The cotton-padded jackets are still old, and their thermal performance is really average.
It was better during the day. At night, if the situation was better, they could have a bonfire. If the situation was not good, they could only dig a hole in the ground and squeeze four people into a bed until dawn.
"Brother, there are several Tatar villages on this road that want our goods, why don't you sell them? There are some selling points, and we can save a little more, and we can also stay in their villages to avoid having to spend every night
We all have to suffer the cold outside the village." When his younger brother Ma Tianhai was tidying up his bed at night, he couldn't help complaining about his elder brother's style, which was a bit strange when he went out to do business this time.
"Quiet, you know what! These things are of great use. Just follow me. After you set up the quilt, quickly set up a fire to boil some hot water. I will go and drink the mule. I have to find a way to give it to you tomorrow.
The mules are looking for some dry beans." Ma Tianming had no patience to pay attention to his younger brother and began to take care of the animals.
After sleeping in the open air and walking for eight or nine days without arriving at the destination, Ma Tianming looked at his surroundings and roughly calculated that he should be able to reach the tribe with good flint in two or three days.
That night, just as the brothers were packing their things and preparing to spend the night, there was a sudden vibration under their feet. Before they could react, a dozen horses surrounded them. Apparently they had encountered horse bandits!
After the horse bandits came over, they did not take action directly. Instead, they circled around them for a few times. Then a leader shouted in half-baked Chinese: "Leave the goods and you take the mules and go."
"Grandpas, Xiao Ke's goods are all government goods, and I don't dare to leave them to you grandfathers. Can we discuss it and leave only one mule's goods for the grandfathers, so that Xiao Ke can at least keep the goods and avoid them being destroyed?
Rice bowl." Ma Tianming quickly knelt on the ground and begged the horse bandits for mercy.
"Hmph! What you Ming people said is weird. What do your Ming people's government do to us? Can they take care of the grandpas? Just put the goods down and leave. Otherwise, don't blame the grandpas for their murderous intentions, which will end up with your life.
.”
"Grandpas, please do me a favor! Can you leave a mule for Xiao Ke? If Xiao Ke loses all the goods, he won't be able to return to Guanli. I hope the grandfathers can leave a way for Xiao Ke and others to survive.
"
"You are really smart and talkative. Grandpas, as a favor today, I will leave you a mule." After the leader of the horse bandits said that, he asked his subordinates to move the goods to their horses, and then he said:
The horse bandits didn't like the mules of Ma Tianming's caravan at all, so the goods they robbed were carried away on the horses they brought with them. In less than half an hour, most of the goods Ma Tianming had on this trip were gone.
Was robbed.
There are grassland rules on the grassland. Under normal circumstances, robberies are not allowed on passing caravans. Even if they are robbed, the merchants' lives must be spared. This is why Ma Tianming and others can save their lives.
Needless to say, the horse bandits who came to rob were all from nearby tribes. There seemed to be no borders on the grassland. In fact, the boundaries between each tribe were quite clear. No outside force would dare to wander into other people's pastures. This is
This is also the reason why there cannot be robbery. Even if there is robbery, people's lives must be spared. What you do is destroying the common interests of the entire grassland. If no caravan dares to come to this area, how can everyone survive?
After the horse bandits left, Ma Tianming almost cried when he saw that there was only one mule left in the cargo.
"Brother, I told you to go with other caravans, but you didn't listen! Our team of three or four people is not easy to be bullied. If we go back now, what business will we do?" Ma Tianhai saw his family
The caravan was robbed like this, and I couldn't help but complain about my brother.
Ma Tianming and his caravan were robbed. The main reason was that their team was too small, so the tribes on the grassland dared to take advantage of them. If it were a caravan of hundreds of mules and horses, this would never happen. Occasionally there are people on the grassland.
The robbery of the small caravan was not a big event, so some tribes took action against them.
"Pack up and go to sleep, and continue on the road tomorrow!" Ma Tianming glanced at the direction of the horse bandits with hatred, scolded his brother, and returned to bed to continue sleeping. He is a character who can do big business.
He knew how to do it, and he had already figured out the huge gains and losses. He was struggling to save the cargo of a mule because he had already thought of a way to turn the tables.
Gu Zhen: "Brother, at this time, can you still sleep?"
"Sleep! If you make any noise again, get out of here."
At dawn the next day, Ma Tianming packed up his things without saying a word, led his brothers and mules and horses, and continued westward along the trade roads between the tribes on the grassland. The road they took was actually far away from the roads of each tribe.
The residential area is not far away, so it's not a no-man's land. If it were really in the wilderness, a small caravan of four people wouldn't even be enough to feed the wolves.
After walking for three days without saying anything, Ma Tianming finally found the tribe he remembered. This tribe was a small and remote tribe. The grassland they occupied was not rich in water and grass, but had a lot of rocks.
A caravan came, and the people in the tribe were very enthusiastic. However, when they saw that the caravan carried relatively few goods, their enthusiasm waned.
After meeting the people in the tribe, Ma Tianming explained the way of doing business this time. He did not collect wool or sheepskin, only stones that could be used to make fire.
"Shopkeeper, can flint and steel really be exchanged for your iron porcelain?" The tribal leader asked Ma Tianming again very doubtfully.
"Of course! As long as you can collect enough flints that my four mules can carry, I will give you all these goods. At the same time, I will also give you a mule's goods for free next time."
Can stones be exchanged for something? When the leader of the tribe heard this, he became ecstatic. There were so many stones like this in their place. Regardless of whether the businessman said that he would give away a mule for free next time, he could not fulfill it. It is just a mule.
He felt that he had made a profit from the mule's goods. He exchanged the stones for a pile of good goods for free. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As for the value of the stones, the tribal leader also knew that this was not a gold mine, a silver mine, or a jade mine. It was not even a mine.
Iron ore is not the same. Anyone who doesn't change is a fool.
The tribal leader mobilized the herdsmen to collect stones for a day. After Ma Tianming asked for self-examination, they found enough goods that four mules could carry.
Looking at the flints beside him, Ma Tianming smiled. He knew that he had made the right bet. The Mongolian people here did not know the value of the flints they owned. With the goods carried by a mule,
He still got what he wanted.
Carrying flints on his back, Ma Tianming left the tribe with his brothers on the same day and embarked on the return journey.
"Brother, let's just carry these stones back. How will we pay back the supply and marketing cooperative's payment after we go back?"
Ma Tianming kicked his younger brother hard and said, "Go on your way! Don't worry about what you shouldn't worry about! I'll buy a mule for each of you when you get back."
On the way back, when he passed the place where he was robbed before, Ma Tianming took a special look! He silently swore in his heart that he would return the humiliation he suffered before sooner or later. Next time he came over, he would see that short-sighted guy coming to rob him. He
You must find out which tribe is robbing you nearby.