Compared to Zuo Mengeng, the wealthy families in Linqing were more anxious.
After seeing the power of off-season vegetables, no one can sit still.
However, Zuo Mengeng was away on an expedition, so they had to wait.
On the day Zuo Mengeng came back, they couldn't wait to send out invitations. Until now, everyone is finally sitting together.
But Zuo Mengeng was really surprised when he saw Lu Xun's appearance.
"Old man, what's going on?"
When he was in the field years ago, Lu Xun was still strong and energetic. But when we meet again, it is like a candle in the wind, crumbling.
It's okay that he didn't ask, but when he asked, Lu Xun burst into tears and burst into tears.
Accompanying Lu Xun was Lu Hao, the third-generation eldest grandson of the Lu family.
Lu Hao's eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke, filled with resentment.
But after hearing him tell the reason, everyone's expressions were not much better.
It turns out that when Emperor Tianqi decided to build three major halls, the Lu family was one of the brick and stone suppliers. But not long after the three main halls were repaired, Tianqi died.
After Chongzhen came to the throne, the government was still in chaos.
The Lu family is always owed wages.
But if the Lu family can't get wages, the workers below will have no income and will start to cause trouble.
In desperation, the Lu family had to pay from their own pockets.
If Zuo Mengeng hadn't ordered a batch of bricks and tiles from the Lu family at that time, the Lu family's brick kiln would have gone bankrupt.
But this was not an option. Lu Kuang, Lu Xun's son and Lu Hao's father, went to the capital to find Gong Yonggu, the prince-in-law, hoping to make a report on his behalf so that the internal officials could make up the debt.
But just in time for the Jisi Revolution, the capital was in a mess. Gong Yonggu used this as an excuse and kept delaying it.
Lu Kuang was helpless, running around everywhere, but couldn't find a way in.
Seeing that there was no other way, Lu Kuang became anxious and went straight to the door of Hui'an Bo Zhang Qingzhen to kneel down and beg.
When the three main halls were first built, Zhang Qingzhen was the person in charge of the bricks and tiles.
Lu Kuang couldn't find an internal official to ask for money, so he naturally asked Zhang Qingzhen.
He had no idea that it was impossible to get back the money owed by the imperial court.
It was all divided up by the internal officials, Zhang Qingzhen and other powerful people.
He came to ask for money and immediately angered Zhang Qingzhen, who was beaten until he vomited blood by the servants of Hui'an's house.
Lu Kuang was inexplicably sad and angry, and prepared to file a complaint.
But before setting off, I got a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue.
Hui'an Bo Zhang Qingzhen, together with the Prince Consort Gong Yonggu, Hou Gongchen and Liu Yongfu, donated all the coal kilns and brick kilns under his name to Chongzhen in the name of sharing the emperor's worries.
Chongzhen was in need of money to heal the trauma of his own revolution, so he immediately issued an order to commend him, and Zhang Qingzhen and others became good people.
If Lu Kuang complained again at this time, he would become a profiteer without a king or a father, greedy for money and profit.
Lu Kuang was frightened and furious. He was seriously ill and gave up completely.
When he was carried home by his servants, he was half dead and could not get out of bed.
When Lu Hao talked about this, he was full of hatred, but Zuo Mengeng was very happy.
Among the Linqing families, only the Zhang family and the Liu family were Zuo Mengeng's die-hard allies, while the Lu family and the Geng family could only be regarded as interested parties.
But now these two families are obviously alienated from the imperial court.
The top priority is to use greater interests to tie the Lu family and the Geng family into their own chariot.
"Last winter, Zuozhuang tried to grow off-season vegetables, and the harvest was good, and the benefits were also very good. However, our own efforts in Zuozhuang are ultimately limited. Linqing is a big city with millions of people, and countless people are eagerly waiting for it but they can't get it. The younger generation has always felt that , Win-win is the long-term solution. It happened that every family had this intention, so the juniors made a plan."
Everyone was excited to hear that he readily agreed to cooperate.
"My father often talks about Brother Zhongheng's heroic spirit and righteousness, which is unparalleled in the world. If we take care of Brother Zhongheng, why should our family be unhappy?"
Geng Zhangguang spoke eloquently and there was something in his words.
While talking, he looked at Lu Xun.
The Geng family has decided to join Zuo Mengeng's camp from now on.
Geng Zhangguang had already expressed his intention to surrender, and Geng Ruxi would come out after recovering from his illness.
The only person present here who is not far away from the Lu family is not close.
But does the Lu family have any choice?
Lu Hao stood up and held his hands in a sincere manner.
"Brother Zhong Heng of the Lu family has always taken care of me a lot. He is a great kindness and virtue, and I will remember him deeply. From now on, I will look after him as my brother Zhong Heng."
Qu Shishu and Zhang Jimeng were watching the ceremony, and they couldn't help but be shocked when they saw that Zuo Menggeng had taken the heart of the Linqing clan.
From now on, this Linqing innocence will be covered up by Zuo Mengeng.
The Lu family also expressed their loyalty, which made Zuo Mengeng quite satisfied. Many plans can finally be put into action.
"Then let's talk about out-of-season vegetables first."
Seeing that he went straight to the point without beating around the bush, everyone felt quite at ease and listened carefully.
"Off-season vegetables are very popular no matter where they are sold due to monopoly benefits. If we want to do this, we can't be petty and only focus on this three-acre land in Linqing. My vision is that within one to two years, , to occupy the entire Dongchang Mansion."
He looked at Zhang Zonghuan.
"It is said that Uncle Zhang has an old friend in Texas?"
Zhang Zonghuan nodded and said with a smile: "You are all familiar with my old friend. Cheng Xucheng Wenze is the son of Gongye Gong."
When he said this, everyone was stunned.
Cheng Gongye, also known as Cheng Shao, once served as governor of Henan and was also a member of the Donglin Party.
Now that there is this relationship, Zuo Mengeng's layout becomes more convenient.
"Uncle Zhang can invite Cheng Wenze to be a dealer in Texas and set up a store there. After our off-season vegetables are shipped to Texas, he will sell them on his behalf. In this way, I will own the entire Texas market."
When everyone heard this, they all thought this method was very good.
In this era, commercial expansion is very restricted by transportation, and transportation of out-of-season vegetables is even more troublesome. Especially in winter, if the goods are not well taken care of during transportation, they will be broken halfway.
If it is only within the territory of Dongchang Prefecture, then it is not a big problem. There are official roads connecting each place, and it only takes a day or two to keep the vegetables fresh.
The reason why they want to win over the Dezhou Cheng family is because they have little relationship with the local officials in Dezhou, and they need to start with the local wealthy families.
As for Dongchang Mansion, it is not that troublesome. Huang Daozhou is the prefect and can provide support.
It is worth mentioning that Dezhou is not under the jurisdiction of Dongchang Prefecture, but belongs to Jinan Prefecture. But it's so close to Linqing and it's a big city, so it's certainly worth exploring.
As for Dongchang Prefecture, except for Linqing and Dongchang, the development value of the other prefectures and counties is not very great and does not need to be included in the plan for the time being.
After discussion at the wine table, everyone decided to establish Linqing Vegetable Company.
Each family still becomes a shareholder of the vegetable company by investing land and capital, participating in the operation and receiving dividends at the same time.
In the previous Fuyao Group, these families were only shareholders and did not directly participate in operations and management.
At that time, Zuo Mengeng could not fully trust them, but he only needed to rely on the financial resources and land of these families.
Now that these people have stepped onto his chariot, they naturally have to give full play to their energy.
The underlying purpose behind this is to transform these rural and commercial landlords into a new bourgeoisie.
Zuo Menggeng believes that this transformation does not necessarily require the landlord class to completely give up the means of production. It should be possible if the commercial operation of land is completed.
This was also his second purpose after establishing the vegetable company.
"Seniors, I wonder how everyone got from this summer's harvest? I have some experience here, and I hope to share it with you."
Without waiting for anyone to answer, he said directly: "Since sowing last autumn, our Zuozhuang has adopted brand-new breeding and reclamation techniques. During the wheat harvest this summer, the yield per acre is equivalent to seven per kilo, which is much higher than in previous years. "
"Bangdang..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Ji's wine glass spilled.
"Brother Zhongheng, is this serious?"
Although the others did not speak, the rapid breathing seemed to create a vacuum around the wine table.
The yield of one acre of land is one stone and seven. These landowners know what it means very well.
