Zheng Zuliang planned to take a trip to the northwest. Nowadays, food prices are getting worse and worse, and they are no longer as popular as they were in previous years. He is a shrewd businessman, and a shrewd businessman can smell every trace of money that can be made. Now he has set his sights on the northwest.
Ever since Emperor Taizu, there has been no peace for a single day. These party members in the northwest are very crazy. Anyone who offends them will take revenge crazily and will not stop until death. Even the Tibetans, who considered themselves tough, did not get any advantage from them.
Now his family business in Xinghua seems to be prosperous, but it has not grown in some years. In this small place, all kinds of business opportunities have been allocated by various families. If you want to get a piece of the pie, you have to work hard, and the small place will cause trouble. The gains outweigh the losses, and the profits are not worth the money.
He understands the principle of sailing against the current without advancing or retreating. He is still in the prime of life and his family's family fortune is considered decent. But his son Li Xian, no, everyone on the road calls him Shitou, he is really just like a stone, and he has not inherited any of his own strengths. I can still hold on for now, but after a while, my eyesight will fade away, and it will definitely take only a few years to destroy all these family properties, it will definitely be very fast.
Shitou has experienced some things in the past year and is much more sensible than before, but it is still not enough. Compared with several old foxes in the county, he is still greener than a rabbit. What he can do is to try his best while he can still make money, and build a mountain of gold for the stone, so that he can never defeat him even if he wants to, so that he can go there with peace of mind a hundred years later.
It is said that now that the new emperor has succeeded to the throne, the world will be peaceful and prosperous, but many people disagree. A common feeling is that it is getting harder and harder to make money. Rice was worthless, silk could not be sold, and even the porcelain business was weak.
Wealth comes from danger. If you don't take this trip, I'm afraid you won't make much money. Nowadays, people are leaving the northwest, and all kinds of resources are in short supply. Things that are inconspicuous in the southeast can be sold for a good price in the northwest. The least valuable thing is the human head.
It's still very cold in the northwest now, and it takes nearly two months to walk on the road. By the time we get to the northwest, almost all the ice and snow have melted, and the climate is pleasant. Zheng Zuliang chose an auspicious day, the 21st of the first lunar month. The almanac said it was suitable for worshiping, collecting goods, traveling, and making alliances. These were all good times for doing business. If you don't leave now, it will be worse.
Fengshan is the only place Xinghua must pass on his way to Beidi. Shitou and his father sent him to Fengshan. Zheng Zuliang first went to visit his brother-in-law Zheng Yiqian. Zheng Yiqian felt very uncomfortable looking at his brother-in-law. He had gained fame and had a more prosperous career than himself, but he still had the energy to never admit defeat.
The relationship between the two people is very delicate. It can't be considered a good relationship, but it is still because of the relationship between in-laws. After Zheng Zuliang became rich, the relationship between the two became more complicated. Zheng Zuliang is a wonderful person. He knows what his uncle thinks, so he has tried to keep as little contact as possible over the years. However, during festivals and festivals, when passing by, he still does not fail to perform the courtesy.
Zheng Zuliang came to Zheng Yiqian's house temporarily and sat for a while. He talked for a while and didn't say anything substantial. The two wives hugged each other and chatted with each other for a long time. Shitou had no intention of traveling far away with his father. He sent Zheng Zuliang to his uncle's house in Fengshan and was about to go back. He also needed someone to take care of the house.
When Zheng Zuliang walked to Fengshan, he went to Wanda specifically to visit Liang Chuan. For some reason, he always felt that this young man could help Shitou. Wanda's store now has some bamboo baskets placed in the corner. The store is so busy that I can swat flies. There is no sign of Liang Chuan. Only Ye Xiaochai is in the store.
"Where's your boss?"
Ye Xiaochai knew Zheng Zuliang. When this high-ranking official opened his business, his generosity left a deep impression on the Liang Chuan family. "Where is our boss? He is usually not in the store."
"Dad, I know where the third brother lives. Do you want to go to his house?"
"Yes, let's go."
To be honest, Zheng Zuliang had no idea about his trip to the northwest. Liang Chuan was a well-informed person and had unique insights into some worldly affairs. Before leaving, I asked him if he had any good suggestions for his trip. It will work wonders.
He had not been to the north bank of Fengshan Nanxi River for many years. Even his uncle didn't like this land, so he had no intention of spending time here. His uncle bought a large piece of land on the north coast in his name, and his status as a civil servant could exempt him from many high taxes.
But I didn't expect that this land couldn't grow rice because there was no stable water source. It took a lot of energy for the tenant farmers to fetch water from the river. Not many were willing to do it, and naturally they couldn't take care of the seedlings. The tenant farmers are not worried about having no place to farm. The current income from farming is too low. They would rather go to Qingyuan County or go north to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to do some handicrafts. They can make more money in a year than in the fields.
Today he came to the north bank of Fengshan Nanxi River. This magical land gave him a completely different scene. The land used to be bare, and people would only plant some sorghum or dry wheat. However, compared with the rice in the south, the yields of these crops were pitifully small. People may grow some vegetables to supplement their crops, but will never grow other crops.
Nowadays, a large area of land here is planted with sugar cane. The sugar cane grows almost a foot long in the ground. The sugar cane leaves are green and glossy, but the sugar cane poles are green with black. The plants grow straight and neatly in the field ridges. Growing sugar cane requires a lot of water to be irrigated continuously. Several tenant farmers carried buckets of water from the Nanxi River and walked hundreds of meters to the fields to water the fields.
I didn’t expect that there would still be people willing to take care of crops like this. If it weren’t for the fields with open ridges that could divert water, who among the tenant farmers in this place would be so hard-working and work hard to farm for the landlords. Not only those who grow sugar cane, but also the farmers who grow other crops here seem to have a spirit that farmers in other places don't have, making people feel hopeful and energetic.
Is it possible that these changes are all related to this Saburo? At least he knew that these sugar cane fields were planted after Liang Chuan's suggestion.
Shitou led his father to the He family's ancestral hall. The house of He Baozheng's family here was relatively spacious. As for the ancestral hall, in his opinion, it was in disrepair. He knew that Liang Chuan's family was building a new house, and he also knew that he was temporarily living under someone else's fence, but he did not expect that Liang Chuan lived in such a dilapidated house. I was still sighing in my heart. Sure enough, the prime minister was born in Zhoumo, and the general was born in the army. Only such outstanding people can achieve great achievements by growing up in the wilderness, enduring hardships and remaining unmoved.
Liang Chuan was chopping firewood in the yard. When he looked up, he saw Zheng Zuliang!
"Master Zheng, why are you here! There is nothing to entertain you in this humble house."
Zheng Zuliang likes Liang Chuan's temperament, which is neither humble nor arrogant. Men should be like this and never bully young people into poverty.
"I may have to go on a long trip, and I passed by Fengshan. I thought you were here, so I came here to see you. Your home was auspicious a few days ago. I originally planned to come to help you in person, but I have to go out today. , I still need to arrange many trivial matters in the store, so I asked Li Xian to do it for me, don’t be surprised."
"Master Zheng's words are out of context. It's just that at the last Lantern Festival Lantern Festival, I couldn't resist Yuzhi's request to bring her to the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival. Fortunately, nothing happened. Master Zheng, don't blame me. "
"That girl Yuzhi is used to being wild. It was my inability to discipline her that caused you trouble. After I came back this time, I gave her a good scolding and locked her up at home. After I came back from this trip, I gave her She finds a good home and lets others discipline him well."
When Liang Chuan heard this, he thought, stinky girl, you can't blame me for this. It was you who begged me to take you to the lantern festival, but your father found out. It's none of my business.
Liang Chuan took Zheng Zuliang to sit in the inner hall, and Yi Niang made some herbal tea. These herbal teas were also picked by Liang Chuan outside. After being exposed to the sun for a few days, they were thrown into a hot pot and cooked. Not to mention, they tasted good and cooled down the heat. In particular, several Luocheng masters did heavy work. After drinking the tea, they were full of praises and kept asking Liang Chuan where he picked this herb. They would also get some and brew it in water in the future.
"Is Mr. Zheng going to the northwest during this trip?"
Zheng Zuliang tasted Liang Chuan's herbal tea, which had a unique flavor. He had never drunk this kind of tea. Liang Chuan spoke first, and went straight to the topic as soon as he opened his mouth.
"I wonder if Sanlang has any advice, please give me some advice." Zheng Zuliang seemed to say it intentionally or unintentionally, and it felt like he was passing it by in one stroke.
Liang Chuan frowned and said, "Mr. Zheng, if you want to make war fortune, it would be best to go to the northwest now. But if you want to do some stable business during this trip, I advise you not to go. .”
Liang Chuan's words were not surprising, but Zheng Zuliang was so shocked that he broke into a cold sweat as soon as he opened his mouth. Zheng Zuliang asked in shock: "Sanlang, why did you say this? Could it be that the Li family in the northwest is preparing to stir up trouble and start a war with me, the Song Dynasty?"
Liang Chuan would definitely not tell him that not only was there going to be a war, but the Li family also wanted to establish its own dynasty and stand in a three-legged relationship with the Song Dynasty. If these words were heard by those who were interested, it would be very simple to accuse Liang Chuan of being a monstrous person. But the wheel of history is like this, and Liang Chuan cannot change it.
Liang Chuan could only say tactfully: "I have been analyzing the current situation for a long time. In addition, there are more and more refugees coming from the northwest. Did you see some tenant farmers planting sugar cane on the way here?"
"Have you seen it? Could it be that these tenant farmers are all refugees from the northwest and south? No wonder I saw them working so hard, and I still thought that they must not be our local tenants, otherwise they would never work so hard."
"Yes, Mr. Zheng, you guessed it right. They are all tenant farmers from the northwest."
Zheng Zuliang was a little shaken, "Sanlang, do you conclude that the northwest is not at peace based on this?"
Liang Chuan had no other reason. If he said too much, others would become suspicious, so he could only shake his head helplessly.
Zheng Zuliang thought about it and realized that what Liang Chuan said was reasonable, but based on this alone, he concluded that the war in the northwest would happen again, and Zheng Zuliang did not agree. The Song Dynasty and the Northern Liao Dynasty had been at a truce for a long time, and decades of prosperity had passed. Now the country was strong and the people were prosperous, and the northwest was a small area. I understand that they did not dare to go wild under the eyes of the Song Dynasty.
Liang Chuan took a sip of tea and glanced at Zheng Zuliang, who was thinking deeply. He probably wouldn't believe his words, so he could only say: "Mr. Zheng, when you go north this time, if you meet a man named Xin Wubing on the way, Young man, just go with him, he has extraordinary skills, I believe he can take care of you if you run into trouble!"
"But the one who danced the sword with you on stage that day!"
"Yes, Master Zheng has a good memory!"
"Okay! Sanlang, I also have something to ask of you. After I leave, if Shitou encounters any trouble in Xinghua, if you can handle it, help him take care of it more..."
