Strolling through the streets of the town, you can see the golden rice paddy covering the square with bluestones, and people happily tapping the ears of rice; looking at the rising smoke, feeling the peace and tranquility of the town; along the way, there are elder brothers, Accompanied by A Qing and others, they walked silently like this. Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness in his heart. He was far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, without the worldly disputes and the toil of filing documents. If he could, he could just walk like this for the rest of his life. Chen Fan I couldn't help but sigh silently in my heart.
The setting sun suddenly reminded Chen Fan that it was time to go back. It turned out that when he came to this world, he had already unknowingly bid farewell to the midsummer, spent the Mid-Autumn Festival, and ushered in the harvest season. I think the calendar of this era is different from modern times. It has always been calculated based on the lunar calendar. This time should be equivalent to the end of September in the solar calendar in modern society. It is almost the National Day. Although students also start school at the end of August, it is actually later than in modern times. One month, the busy farming season happens to be over here, and then school starts.
Chen Fan took a deep breath and said to everyone: "Let's go back."
"Okay, I'm finally willing to go back."
"Of course, there's nothing better than home. I miss my mother. Let's go quickly." After seeing the small town, Chen Fan suddenly felt a little anxious to go home, even though he had only been in this world for a short time. , but Chen Fan has always felt the warmth given by his relatives, which makes up for his regret of being far away from modern society.
"Okay, let's go."
Everyone left the town, got on the carriage, and returned to Chen's house. The reunion after a short farewell made everyone immersed in joy. Chen Fan couldn't remember who said such a sentence, "Parting is for the purpose of reunion." Without the sadness of parting, there would be no joy of reunion. The mother had already prepared the meal, and the father and the second brother, who had little presence in Chen Fan's mind, had returned home long ago. After coming here for so long, Chen Fan still doesn't know what the second brother does. He only knows that he followed his father and got a job in the county government. His name is "Jinyan". This is due to the name his eldest brother usually calls him. .
During the dinner, Chen's father, who liked to talk, was naturally not idle. He asked Chen Fan some about his situation in Gusu. Chen Fan picked up the important points and said that the eldest brother had already informed his parents about the residence, so there was no need for Chen Fan to elaborate. As for cultivation. Chen Fan didn't mention the progress of the project. He mainly talked about writing poems in Meiyuan and listening to books and debating in Cuixiang Pavilion. Everyone listened with interest, especially Chen's father. When Chen Fan talked about the debate, he also talked about it. He stopped several times, fell into deep thought, and then asked Chen Fan to continue. Until Chen Fan finished speaking, he finally expressed his emotion, "My third son has grown up." Everyone nodded.
After dinner, Chen Fan was called to the study by Chen's father.
"My son, your intelligence was not obvious when you were young, and your father did not expect much from you. Unexpectedly, after you tied your hair, your talents gradually emerged, especially after you participated in the chess match. You suddenly appeared out of nowhere. First, you defeated Master Li, and then let My father was very surprised. Later, he proposed the Nineteen Way Theory, which made my father very happy. Especially the three things you proposed made my father look at you with admiration. This is not just a little cleverness, but a great talent. You know how to prepare for a rainy day. , take one move, see five moves, and master the wonders of Go; later, I heard from your eldest brother that you composed the song "East Passing Water" on the boat. My father looked left and right, and I realized that he had underestimated you in the past; Today I heard you talk about Meiyuan's poems and the debate at Cuixiang Pavilion. I worshiped Dean Lu as my teacher. As a father, I finally know my son's talent, and he will definitely shine brightly in the future."
That's not right, this style of painting is wrong, "Father, Dad has praised me too much, I'm scared." Chen Fan quickly interrupted his father. How could a father who had always been strict with his children suddenly praise him, and praise him so much? Special praise, shouldn't I warn myself that I should guard against arrogance and impatience at this time, and keep a normal mind? Chen Fan, who felt that the style of painting was not right, cheered up.
"Don't be alarmed. I am speaking from my heart. Originally, I thought that your talents were average, and I just wanted you to spend your life safely. Your eldest brother has some talents, but he is very indecisive and has reached the fifth level. It's the ultimate, and anything more is a disaster rather than a blessing. Your second brother is too weak in character, so he can just hold an idle official position. But you, with a strong character and no great talent, are only suitable to be an idler. If you want to enter the officialdom, It’s a big taboo.”
Yes, this is my father. Chen Fan felt a little more at ease, but he didn't expect that he hadn't finished speaking yet.
"Fasheng, I didn't expect that my father took a wrong look at you. Now my father knows about your talents, San'er. My father originally wanted to spend the rest of his life peacefully in Hudu, but after seeing you, he Father's calm heart suddenly became troubled. It would be fine if you become an ordinary Taoist in the future, but if you want to enter the officialdom, it will inevitably turn upside down and make great achievements. As a father, you have to prepare for the future. Make plans.”
When Father Chen said this, he paused. Chen Fan had no intention of interrupting. He just looked at his father and listened quietly. If his father wanted to say something, he would naturally say it. If he didn't want to say it, Chen Fan had no intention of asking for the time being. After all, he had just started to enter Taoism. , at his age, when he was studying in the academy, he would not give up his studies because of a few words from his father or some bloody family drama. He would be eager to enter the society and participate in any battles. For Chen Fan, Now is not the time. If my father has any plans, he will naturally help if he can help now. If he cannot help, he will help in the future. Anyway, the time is to listen first, not to ask, and not to do.
"My father was born in the Chen family of Wuxing, in the same place as your mother. Our branch followed Sima Rui southward in the late Western Jin Dynasty and moved from Yingchuan to Wuxing. In the blink of an eye, it has been settled for nearly two hundred years. Your grandfather Chen Dao Ju has twelve children, his father is the third in the family, and he is his legitimate son. Unfortunately, your grandmother passed away early. In his early years, your father was at odds with the family. Fortunately, your grandmother helped your father arrange a marriage with your mother when she was still alive. Later, My father was away as an official, so he lost contact with his family. Your grandfather also passed away eight years ago. However, my father found out that your uncle has been appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou. From the third rank, if you want to be an official in the future, my father will do it. You can contact your uncle."
"Father, can you listen to me?"
"Of course, you have your own mind now. I'm just telling you this because I want to hear your plans for the future."
"As long as the son wants his father to be happy, don't harm yourself because of his son. The son will not be happy even if he becomes a high-ranking official in the future. As for contacting the uncle, if the father misses the uncle, then of course he can contact him, but If it is for the son, it is not necessary. If the son is really as good as his father says, the uncle will naturally take the initiative to contact him, and the father will be proud. If the son is not as good as his father says, even if the father contacts the uncle, the uncle may not Will help. Taoism emphasizes doing nothing, letting things happen, and just letting everything happen."
"My son has indeed grown up and is considerate. He is a very considerate father and will take care of things." Father Chen nodded and said happily.
"Father, if you are counting on your uncle, you might as well count on yourself." Chen Fan thought for a while and felt that he still needed to make some things clear to his father. "Father, it is good to think about future plans, but there are some things that cannot be rushed. I It’s great that my father is now serving as a military guard, not because of his high official position, but because he is now in charge of the 1,000 navy troops stationed in Hudu.”
"What's so good about this? What can a thousand people do, and Hudu is relatively barren."
Poverty now does not mean poverty in the future. In the future, Hudu will be a metropolis with a population of more than 20 million. We need to look at the problem from a development perspective. Chen Fan looked at his father, pulled back his thoughts and said, "Even if it is barren, it is also its fault." The advantage is that my father can only sit in the position of guarding the army for a long time. No one cares about becoming an official here. The important thing is that it is located in the easternmost part of the Liang Kingdom, with the Yangtze River in the north and the sea in the east. The two closest cities to us are... Su and Jiaxing are also more than 100 kilometers apart, which is a good place for self-cultivation. In the future, we can build a shipyard here to develop agriculture, salt industry, navy, and slowly accumulate strength."
"What Fa Sheng said makes sense, but how can we develop it?"
"The key now is to find a way to make money and accumulate wealth. I suggest that my father should think of ways to make salt first." Chen Fan said inspiringly. When Chen Fan was thinking about which business to make money in, the first thing that came to mind was salt production. Later, he didn’t quit, but felt that his current strength was too weak. It was best to contact people with a certain background to jointly operate the business. Now his father proposed how to develop. , Chen Fan took out the plan for future development in advance.
"How do you make this salt? Fasheng, are you talking about boiling salt?"
"Yes, our Liang Dynasty implemented a taxation system and allowed people to cook salt, but they had to pay taxes. Now the price of a pound of salt is thirty cents. I, Hudu Linhai, can cook salt by myself and control the cost to ten cents. If the price is within 100,000 yuan, or even lower, the profit will still be considerable." Chen Fan told the story of the salt industry that he had learned about in advance.
"It happened. Do you know why I live near the sea but no one boils salt?"
"Of course I know. First of all, it's the road problem. Although my Hudu is close to the sea, it's still dozens of miles away from the sea. It's not easy to go there by land. Secondly, because of the cost of boiling salt, a lot of wood needs to be cut down every day. , use pots and stoves to cook salt and ensure the supply of firewood. One pot can produce one hundred kilograms of salt a month. At least two people are responsible for cutting wood for one pot, and one person is responsible for adding firewood. Of course, this person can take care of five, Six pots, even if it is six pots, can produce 600 kilograms of salt in a month. It uses 13 people. The food and wages for each person are 400 yuan. When calculated, the cost of a kilogram of salt is close to 9 yuan. In addition, there are It requires personnel accommodation, transportation and drying of firewood, wind and rain problems, payment of taxes and fees, and sales problems. It is difficult for ordinary people to engage in the work of cooking salt."
"Then you still want to find a way to make salt for your father?"
"Father, I calculated this rough account, and I also learned from the people's mouths that I still need to plan it. If the cost is controlled at twenty cash per pound, there will still be ten cash to be earned. If it's a month You can make thirty guan by selling three thousand kilograms of salt, father, think about it first." Chen Fan was not afraid of not making money from making salt, because Chen Fan had visited the salt field before and knew about a "salt made by exposure to the sun" This method does not require boiling salt. It appeared in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, was popularized in the Ming Dynasty, and is basically used in modern society. However, Chen Fan did not intend to tell his father right now. He had to find a suitable time and a reasonable reason for the source of the method before he could tell his father.
