"Once upon a time, there was an old man who raised monkeys in the Song Dynasty in the pre-Qin Dynasty. He liked monkeys and raised them in groups. The macaques could roughly understand the old man's words. The old man might be gifted, or he might stay with the monkeys. After living for a long time, I also understand the monkeys' thoughts.
"In order to raise monkeys, this old man often saves the family's food rations to satisfy the monkeys' appetite. As time goes by, the family naturally lacks food rations.
"He had no choice but to reduce the food for the monkeys, but he was afraid that the monkeys would be angry and not obey him, so the old man first deceived the monkeys and said: 'I will give you three acorns in the morning and four in the evening. "Pieces, enough to eat?"
"The monkeys were furious when they heard this. The old man immediately changed his mind and said, 'I will give you four acorns in the morning and three more in the evening. Is that enough?' After hearing this, the monkeys were very happy. He happily lay down at the old man's feet and obeyed him...
"Your Majesty the County Magistrate, Miss Xie, you are from an academy and are well-read, so you must have heard this little story about wandering around. What do you two think of this story?
"Is this monkey farmer from the Song Dynasty both kind-hearted and wise? As for those monkeys, we can't completely laugh at them for being stupid. Because humans and monkeys are inherently different, monkeys are born like this.
"The important thing is not to forcefully reason with them and explain that there is no difference between working around the clock and working around the clock. No monkey will listen. It is about complying with their nature and resolving these small conflicts when getting along. In this way, the monkey owners and the macaques Only then can we get along harmoniously... This is the most important thing, isn't it?"
In the private room on the second floor of Yuanming Building, Liu Ziwen looked across the table of delicacies, looked at the two people opposite him with a smile, and slowly finished telling a short story with some emotion in his mouth:
"Liu saw this story when he was studying. He sighed very much. It is really not easy for monkey farmers in the Song Dynasty. There is really nothing new under the sun. Our ancestors have taught us the truth."
"Oh? Really?" A handsome young man said with a smile: "Master Liu's ancestors believe in these things, why are they a little different from my ancestors?"
Xie Lingjiang said crisply: "Maybe senior brother and he are not from the same ancestor."
Liu Ziwen's smile did not change: "Really? What's the difference between the county magistrate's ancestors and Liu?"
Ouyang Rong rested his elbows on the table and rested his chin lightly on the back of his intertwined hands.
Under the gazes of Xie Lingjiang beside him and Liu Ziwen across from him, he leaned forward slightly, smiled and nodded:
"What a coincidence. I happened to have heard the story of a monkey farmer from my ancestors. But it seems to be slightly different from what Mr. Liu told me."
"Oh? What's the difference? Sir, tell me."
"The story I heard was not from the Song Dynasty in the pre-Qin period, but from the Wei Kingdom next door.
"There used to be an old man who raised monkeys in the Kingdom of Wei, but what was different from the monkey farmers in the Song Dynasty was that he made a living by raising monkeys. The same thing is that he also understood the meaning of monkeys, and the macaques under him also Can roughly understand what he said.
"Every morning early in the morning, the old man would have the monkeys line up in the open space in front of his house and start a meeting to assign tasks. He would let the old monkey be the leader and lead the macaques to the back mountain to pick acorns and then return at nightfall. Every time the old man who raises a monkey will take one-half of it as a tax to support himself.
“If any monkey is disobedient, refuses to give or hides acorns, or does not earn enough acorns every day, the old man will beat the monkeys with an iron whip.
“The monkeys are all afraid of him and dare not disobey him.
"However, one day, a group of monkeys who went up the mountain to pick fruits encountered a wild monkey. The wild monkey saw this and curiously asked: 'Are all the fruit trees on the mountain planted by the old man?' The monkey group said: 'No, they grow naturally. of.'
"The wild monkey asked again: 'Then without the old man, we can't pick fruits?' The monkeys said: 'No, anyone can pick it!'
"The wild monkey asked again: 'Then why do you rely on him and pay tribute to him?' Before the words were finished, the monkeys immediately understood.
"That night, the monkeys waited quietly until the old monkey farmer fell asleep, climbed over the railing, took away the stored food, lit a fire in the yard, ran into the mountains happily, and never came back. In the end, the monkey farmer of Weiguo Starved to death."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and finished speaking, raised his head and asked with a smile:
"Mr. Liu, you are familiar with the story of raising monkeys. Have you heard of this story? What do you think of the story I told you?
"It seems that the monkey is not that stupid and can understand the truth. After all, the more correct the truth, the simpler and even obvious it is.
"Also, this monkey's nature seems to prefer being in the mountains. Is there any way for Master Liu to adapt to it? How does Master Liu think monkey farmers can resolve this 'little conflict' and get along harmoniously with the monkeys?"
The young magistrate paused, smiled and waited.
Xie Lingjiang saw that Liu Ziwen's face turned gloomy after listening to his elder brother's story. He was looking at his elder brother expressionlessly and did not speak.
The atmosphere at the table fell silent.
Ouyang Rong suddenly smiled and said:
"It seems that Mr. Liu's ancestors didn't teach this...
"It's okay. In the Zhou Dynasty, there are many people who have never heard of the story of the monkey farmer of the Wei Kingdom. The most widely circulated story is the story of Mr. Liu, the monkey farmer of the Song Dynasty. There is no need for Mr. Liu to belittle himself. I also heard about it through hearsay. .”
He also showed some sentimental expression:
"It's also very surprising that the monkey farmer in Weiguo is living a very good life. He does nothing every day and can get half of the tax.
"But the ending is quite interesting. It seems that there is something new under the sun. Our ancestors raised a group of monkeys and they can tell so many stories. Monkeys are difficult to maintain. You have to be careful. Maybe there will be some new tricks in the future. Come out, Mr. Liu, do you think so?"
The young county magistrate asked with a smile, raised his glass, offered a toast to Liu Ziwen, who was silent across from him, and raised his head to drink.
The noble lady Xie next to her smiled, picked up the thin-mouthed wine jug, and filled another small cup for him.
"Okay, that's a good story. Thank you to the county magistrate for your generous advice. Liu gained some knowledge today."
Liu Ziwen suddenly nodded and clapped with both hands.
He reached out, grabbed the wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and took a long breath and said:
"Okay, as a token of my gratitude, the porridge shed can be closed."
Xie Lingjiang nodded lightly: "This should have been the case a long time ago."
Liu Ziwen did not look at her, but stared at Ouyang Rong, nodded and said: "Liu showed sincerity, I wonder if the clear path given by the county magistrate is broad enough."
"Actually, I can do either. It mainly depends on how big Mr. Liu's appetite is. You can give me a thumbs up."
"Okay, let's not hide it anymore, Liu. We will build a Dickong Gate, plus close the porridge shed and the nursery, hoping to get admission tickets to Zheyi Canal. Our Liu family wants to invest in this number."
Liu Ziwen stretched out a finger towards Ouyang Rong.
The latter glanced at it and nodded: "One million strings?"
"..."
"It's 10,000 guan." Liu Ziwen frowned and said, "Don't joke, magistrate. With 1 million guan, is this going to build the Grand Canal?"
"It turns out it's only 10,000 guan, so that's okay."
Ouyang Rong smiled lightly.
But in fact, he was quite surprised. The ten thousand dollars was already larger than what Wang Caozhi, shopkeeper Li, and shopkeeper Ma had invested. Although it could not shake the Longcheng County Government's commitment to the new construction of Zheyi Canal. Although it has the leading power, it is also the party with the largest investment besides the county government.
So, are the Liu family so optimistic about Zheyi Canal? Or do you really want to shake hands with him and make peace with him, full of sincerity?
While Ouyang Rong was looking away, Liu Ziwen nodded and said, "However, the Liu family has a small condition for Zheyi Canal."
"Let me tell you what the conditions are." After a pause, Ouyang Rong added: "The county government already has enough manpower, and there are even some left. Mr. Liu may not be able to get anyone in."
"That's not the condition."
Liu Ziwen looked as usual and said:
"Liu thinks that if we want to build a river, we should build the biggest and best one! After looking at the miniature sand table of the county magistrate, Liu felt that it was still a bit petty. I suggested deepening and widening the river, so I used Liu's sand table. This ten thousand dollars!"
Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but take a second look at the young head of the Liu family.
It sounds like there's nothing wrong with it. Anyway, there's money from the enemy, so no one wants to give it away for free, but...
Xie Ling Jianghu said:
"If we add more specifications, we have to improve the previous preparations and stop and make changes... The completion time of Zheyi Canal may be delayed again. Are you businessmen willing to wait?"
Liu Ziwen glanced at Ouyang Rong, who was silent, shook his head, and said calmly:
"Nothing, Zheyi Canal is of great importance to Longcheng, so it must be repaired as best as possible. Our Liu family is willing to pay for it. Anyway, it is a good thing for everyone. Time is not urgent. The county magistrate and Miss Xie can go back to the county office, and then Discuss it, it doesn't matter if the repair is slower, quality is the most important thing.
"Liu Mou heard before that the county magistrate wants to build the Zheyi Canal in two phases. Is it because we are short of money, food and manpower? Do we need to build it first? I don't think this is appropriate. If it is built in two phases, we will now have to expand it. Wouldn’t it be troublesome to have a wide river?
"It's better to build it all at once. Do the preliminary work well and don't rush. If there is a shortage of money, food and manpower, our Liu family is willing to support you and the county government. Ten thousand yuan is not enough, and we can add more."
Liu Ziwen looked at Ouyang Rong with a smile: "What do you think, sir?"
The young county magistrate glanced at him and said nothing for a while.
(There is another chapter at twelve o'clock)
(End of chapter)
