Korea, Tamna, Zhoucheng, Beigang Township, Beigang Village.
With five taels and five cents of silver, you can buy four to five fat pigs weighing more than 100 kilograms from the Korean aborigines. If you transport them back and sell them to the township government, you can get double the profit! This business is going well, but I don’t know how the eldest brother Wu Laoshi will distribute the money after he gets it. If it is divided according to the proportion of the money, a few of them have worked hard to collect pigs and transport them, so they have to More than a hundred dollars is not worth it! After all, the Korean aborigines are not very friendly to the new immigrants from Ming Dynasty who came rashly. If the pigs are not received by then, and all the money they brought is robbed, it will be a bit more gain than loss!
"Everyone, let's work together to make a fortune. As long as you behave yourself, don't cheat, and don't use any bad ideas, my brother will definitely not treat you badly! First of all, I am a small official in the township office, and I have a job. I am sure It is inconvenient to do it in person, but you still have to do the work; secondly, if we want to carry out this transaction safely in the long term, the township office has to show something! After all, we still have to rely on their help at critical times ! So, I thought about it and decided to divide the profit money into three parts! First, I paid the most and got one share; secondly, the brothers worked hard and the credit should not be buried, and they also shared one share; Third, in order to get the protection of the township government, we give one to Li Zheng, the head of the household, and the elder! What do you think, brothers, do you have any opinions on my distribution plan? If so, please feel free to do so. Let it be said. Although we are old acquaintances, as the saying goes, 'brothers, let's settle accounts clearly.' If you have any objections, it's better to speak them out as soon as possible..."
Seeing the uncertain expressions on the faces of the brothers, Wu Laoshi, the experienced leader, certainly knew what they were thinking, so he put down the dry tobacco pole in his hand and began to paint pie for everyone! At the same time, in order to show that he would not act arbitrarily based on his status as the eldest brother, he also put on a smile and asked everyone if they had any other opinions! As expected, Li Sanwa, who was accustomed to obeying orders, and Gao Ergou and others had no objections after hearing this! Just kidding, if you buy or transport a fat pig, you can get three to four hundred copper coins per person. What does a fool have to say about such a good thing? But considering that their eldest brother contributed the most money and only got one to two to five cents, everyone felt a little embarrassed! After all, without his money, this lucrative business would not have been possible! So, after thinking for a while, Li Sanwa, the oldest among them all, took the lead and spoke,
"Brother, for a business worth five taels and five cents, you alone contributed 50 taels. How can the brothers jointly take advantage of 30% of the benefits if they only contribute a little effort? Furthermore, let's make friends with the gentlemen in the township office. Seeking their protection is also a matter for the big brother, so how can the big brother suffer! Otherwise, the big brother will monopolize 50% of the profits from the pig trade, and the remaining 50% will be spent on making friends with 30%, and the remaining 20% will be used. How about sharing it equally among the brothers?”
"Hmph, what do you think of me, Mr. Wu? As the eldest brother, I should take care of my brothers. You don't need to care too much. As long as you do things sincerely in the future, it will be the best reward for my eldest brother! Right now , life is not easy for everyone, especially Sanwa and Ergou. They don’t have any money left at all, so how can I ask everyone to pay the same amount? If I really do this, then what face do I have? Be the big brother to the brothers again? Besides, it was me who came up with the idea of selling livestock to make a profit. According to the rules of Chiyang who suggested it and who implemented it, I should pay more for it! As for how much money I should get, If you don’t suffer a loss, don’t mention it again in the future! Otherwise, we won’t even be able to be brothers, do you understand?”
"Brother, what you said really puts the brothers to shame! We are all rough people, and we don't know how to say thank you! Anyway, just a little bit. From now on, the eldest brother can handle his errands in the office with peace of mind, and leave the rest to the brothers. We are taking care of it. If there is any mistake, I would like to come to see you..."
Looking at the serious look on their eldest brother's face, Li Sanwa, Gao Ergou and others couldn't help but be deeply moved! Although they have never read a book, have no education, and do not understand the principle of sharing hardships and wealth, they can still easily tell who is good to them and who is not good to them! Therefore, as soon as the former's words fell, the brothers immediately looked at each other, knelt on the ground with a thud, and began to reassure their eldest brother!
"Okay, now that the matter has been agreed, we brothers will make do with resting at my house tonight. Until tomorrow morning, after having breakfast, we will go to the township office to report and set up a business to provide services to the township office. Give birth to pigs, give birth to sheep!”
"Well, we brothers are of the same mind, we work hard to make money, do a good job in business, and strive to live in a big house as soon as possible, marry a beautiful wife, and own a large piece of land..."
There was nothing to say all night, and the time soon came to the next morning! As the roosters continued to crow outside the house, Wu Laoshi and his four brothers soon woke up from their deep sleep. They got up, put on thick cotton jackets, and cleaned their teeth with fine salt and wicker branches! Today they were going to the township office to meet with the village head, household head, and elders. They didn't want to leave a bad impression on the latter because of the smell in their mouths! So, a few people used the fine salt that they always regarded as a treasure, and it cost tens of pennies per pound! Of course, this thing was also provided by the rich man Wu Laoshi. Otherwise, a few people would be so poor and have no spare money to buy such luxuries!
Next, after a while of busy work, after washing their faces, brushing their teeth, and eating some millet cornstarch for breakfast, a few people walked along the gravel road to North Street where the township office is located! It was a three-entry courtyard renovated from the house of a Goryeo landowner. The first courtyard was for office use by scribes, archers, and minzhuang. The second courtyard was for office use by the head of the neighborhood, household head, elder, and others. The third courtyard was designed as There are dormitories, small warehouses, and canteens! Except for the three chief officers, everyone else lives here according to the standard of ten people per room. Whenever something happens, the officer on duty will yell loudly, and in an instant, dozens or even dozens of people will rush out to help! Today, Wu Laoshi and others are coming to visit and go through the formalities in the second courtyard where the head of the village, household, elder and others are! After checking his badge at the gate, Wu Laoshi said hello to the doorman, and took his brothers through the hanging flower gate to the east wing. At this time, there was a shortage of officials under Chiyang, so in order to save money, , three township-level officials with real power crowded into the east wing to work. As for the main room and the west wing, they were temporarily vacant and would be used after the number of people expanded!
"Scrivee Wu, why are you here so early today? The village chief, the household chief, and the elders haven't come over yet. Why don't you go to the front yard to warm yourself up by the fire? I'll call you when the gentlemen come over. how?"
He stretched out his hand and tightened his old cotton-padded jacket, and entered the courtyard to take charge of the archers on guard duty. The white servants saw Wu Laoshi wearing a round-neck robe and a black square scarf walking in with a spring breeze on his face. He smiled and greeted him first! As the saying goes, officials are as clean as water and officials are as slippery as oil. Among the small officials in the yamen, the servants are the best at undermining and flattering them. Although Wu Laoshi was born in a mud-legged family and has not been in the township office for a long time, he is very good at doing things when he can't stand them. His tactics, coupled with his tact and ability to flatter others, are all perfect! Therefore, this guy quickly gained the appreciation of Yuan Dagui, a local official in Beigang Township who was a disabled soldier. He was promoted to an official clerk in the township office with three months of service! Moreover, there is news from an insider that the secretary Yuan, who smiles all day long and seems to have no temper, has secretly been fawning over Yang Jiu, the leader of Lord Zhizhou's personal soldiers, and is expected to be transferred to the state soon. The government office serves as an official! Therefore, most of the scribes and archers in the township office greeted this guy with smiles! I am afraid that my inappropriate words will offend this capable colleague! And the latter responded very politely to the deliberate flattery of his colleagues! This guy has been the logistics leader in the rebel army for several years. He is very knowledgeable in the world of people. He knows the truth that the King of Hell is easy to mess with and the kid is difficult to deal with! Therefore, among a group of scribes and archers, he chose to live a low-key life and do things in a high-profile manner. Not only did he win the appreciation of Li Zheng, the head of the household, and the elders, he also had a reputation among the scribes, archers, white servants, and Minzhuang. Nice connections! Everyone is willing to ask him for help when they have something, and when he has something, many people will come forward and choose to help him! No, as soon as the three township officials arrived at the signing room, a white servant trotted into the official room where the scribes worked and informed Wu Laoshi that Mr. Li Zheng was inviting!
"Villain Wu has actually met Master Li Zheng!"
"The villain, Gao Ergou, Li Sanwa, Liu Sanji, and Ai Xiaodou have met Mr. Li Zheng!"
Wu Laoshi, who heard that his Shangguan had been summoned and was chatting with a group of scribes and boasting about the archers, immediately stood up and gave his colleagues an apologetic look, and then quickly rushed to the signing room in Li Zheng with his four brothers! After entering the house, this guy immediately tidied up his already clean and tidy robes. Without saying a word, he lifted up the hem of his robe and made a big salute to Yuan Dagui, the local Zheng of Beigang Township. The man behind him When several people saw their eldest brother kneeling down and kowtowing to the man dressed as an official, they didn't dare to neglect them and immediately knelt down on the ground!
"Scrivee Wu, and these brothers, don't be so polite, please get up and talk..."
To the surprise of Gao Ergou, Li Sanwa and others, although Yuan Dagui, who was sitting behind the public case, looked like a rough and rough man, he was very gentle and polite when he saw them. As soon as he knelt down to salute, he stretched out his hands and asked them to get up and reply!
