We had a hearty meal at the small farmhouse restaurant in Laohuling, and also filled up the gas at the gas station here.
Car refueling in the Ming Dynasty was similar to that in later generations. The Daming Petroleum Trading Company founded by Liu Jin established a large number of gas stations throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Some of these gas stations were established by Daming Petroleum Company with their own money, while others were established in partnership with businessmen, gentry and the like from various places.
The number of gas stations is spread across the main roads and towns throughout Daming, which greatly facilitates transportation. Of course, it also brings a steady stream of huge profits to Daming Petroleum Company.
Relying on the large amount of resources and monopoly position advantages at hand, almost all the profits in the oil field went into the pockets of Daming Petroleum Trading Company.
However, unlike the monopoly of only three barrels of oil in later generations, there were still many people engaged in oil trading in the Ming Dynasty during this period, especially in big cities. Competition is also quite fierce now, and there are many gas stations opened by others.
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The reason why Daming Petroleum Company is able to take the lead is mainly due to its huge capital and excellent quality and service. Daming Petroleum Company's oil refining technology is the most powerful, and the price of oil is also the cheapest and the quality is the best.
Other oil companies simply cannot compete with Daming Oil Company, because Daming Oil Company is involved in all aspects of mining, transportation, smelting, and sales. The entire industrial chain is in its own hands, which can reduce costs to a minimum.
The biggest profit and the widest coverage.
People in Daming like to go to the gas station of Daming Petroleum Company to refuel.
Eat a full meal, fill up the tank with gas, get in the car and continue setting off.
There was a howling cold wind outside, but it was very warm inside the car. Five adults were crowded inside the car. Even though the car did not have heating at this time, it still did not feel cold inside.
You can see reminders in red fonts everywhere on the road, reminding motorists to slow down when driving in rain or snow, and put safety first.
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Wang Erzhu finally returned to his hometown of Wangjia Village in Shanxi. From a distance, he could see rows of small buildings side by side, and he could also see many children playing in the concrete open space despite the cold.
, whenever they see someone walking towards the village, these children will get excited, thinking that their parents are back, and rush to greet them.
"The village actually has electricity?"
Wang Erzhu looked at the telephone poles beside the road and couldn't help but said in surprise.
Electric lights are no longer a rare thing in the Beijing-Tianjin area. Almost every household has begun to use electric lights, and families with conditions have even begun to install telephones.
But for the majority of rural areas, electric lights are already a very luxury item.
This is because the major electrical firms in the Ming Dynasty are reluctant to build lines in rural areas. The population in rural areas is small, and the cost of setting up wires is very high. It is not known whether they will be able to earn back the money in the Year of the Monkey and the Horse.
Moreover, installing electricity into the home requires a lot of money, and rural people are simply not willing to do so. Even if they want to set up wires, I am afraid not many families are willing to spend money to install lights.
If we have this energy, we might as well invest more money in the city and compete for the city's market.
So Wang Erzhu really didn't expect that his Wangjiacun would be connected with electric wires. This meant that Wangjiacun would be able to bid farewell to the era and days without lights in the future.
"As expected, it belongs to Daming Electric Company. Only Daming Electric Company is willing to invest in rural areas."
Wang Erwa looked at the logo imprinted on the telephone pole. This was the logo of Daming Electrical Company, which was also the property of Liu Jin and Liu Gong.
Many industries under Liu Jin's command are often not for making money, but some are for taking into account people's livelihood. Like this electricity, other electrical companies will definitely not spend a lot of money to lay lines in rural areas, because it is destined to
It's a losing business.
But Daming Electrical Company is different. They are still laying lines to bring electricity to more remote places so that more people can use electricity.
Wang Erzhu parked his car steadily in front of his home, which immediately attracted a large number of people from the village to besiege him.
"Er Zhu, are you back?"
"I'm back, third uncle, are you feeling well?"
"It's okay, we have something to eat and drink."
"Er Zhu, have you bought a car?"
"Yes, I just bought it this year."
"How much money did it cost?"
"There are more than 500 silver dollars."
"Hey, my dear, Erzhu has made a fortune. Not only does he have a house worth several thousand taels of silver in the city, he also bought a car."
"Your second child hasn't gotten married yet, right? My cousin has a child who's grown up to be very watery. Do you want to help you connect the dots?"
"Thank you. He has his own ideas. I can't be his master. He has the final say."
"We can't delay this important matter of marriage. Your second son is almost nineteen years old, and the nineteen-year-old kid in the same village is already almost nineteen years old. You are taking advantage of the Chinese New Year to find him a wife as soon as possible.
"
"Haha, if he is willing, of course it will be no problem."
Wang Erzhu smiled and chatted with the old people in the village.
Life has changed now, and there are more elderly people in the village.
Thinking about when I was a child, there were not many old people in the village, because once you get older and can no longer work, your life is basically over. Even if your son, daughter-in-law don't dislike you, you will dislike yourself, fearing that you will be a drag.
If you leave your family, you can choose a day and leave by yourself.
Therefore, when Wang Erzhu was young, there were very few elderly people in the village, and although most of them looked very old, they were actually in their forties or fifties.
If it were the past, Wang Erzhu himself would be considered an old man.
But Wang Erzhu has been working in the factory for many years and has plenty to eat and drink, so he doesn't look as old as before. He is in his prime.
With Wang Erzhu's return, the news of Wang Erzhu's car quickly spread in the village. Many young people and peers came to Wang Erzhu's house to take a look at Wang Erzhu's car.
"Er Zhu, it's okay. I've already driven the car. I have a house in the capital, and now I'm buying a car. I can live a pretty good life."
"Haha, it's okay, it's okay. Come on, come on, everyone, come in, drink tea and warm up."
"Sangouzi also bought a car, and it was a BMW. He spent several thousand taels of silver."
"Sangouzi has made a fortune. What business is he doing outside?"
"Sangouzi has made a fortune. Didn't he open a small factory? He has made a lot of money in the past few years. I heard that he has bought many houses in the city and also bought several European slave girls as concubines.
"
"These three dogs are really powerful."
"Isn't that right? I'm so arrogant now. It's different when I go home to celebrate the New Year. But I don't like to sit at his house. I always feel bad about it. I still like to come to Erzhuzi's house."
"There's no comparison. I'm just a part-time worker, and he's the boss."
"The native dog family in the village immigrated overseas, saying they immigrated to South Africa."
"Immigrated to South Africa?"
“Why would a good immigrant go to South Africa?”
"I heard that a relative of Tugouzi's family was living a very good life in South Africa. After I wrote back the letter, Tugouzi's family decided to emigrate and try overseas."
"What's so good about overseas? Besides, this golden nest and silver nest are not as good as the doghouse at home. I'm not going anywhere. I'll just stay in our Wangjia Village."
"There's actually nothing wrong with immigrating overseas. It's also good to have common sense when going overseas,"
"There are fewer and fewer people in our village. Over the years, half of the people have immigrated overseas, settled outside the customs or settled in the city."
"Isn't that right? When we were young, everyone was vying to plant the land owned by the landlord. But now, look at how much land has been left uncultivated. There are so many fields on the hillside opposite our village.
Good fields, everyone used to rush to plant them, but now they are all deserted."
"Who is still farming? How much money can we make from farming now? Those who farm will starve to death."
"That's true. Going to the city to work casually is much better than farming. Besides, food is very cheap now, so you don't have to worry about food and drink at all."
"So, this era is better. Farmers like us who farmed the land are now living a good life, and the next generation is full of talented people."
"Yes, yes, Erzhu, the second child of your family is about to graduate from college. It's almost time to get married. Do you want your help with a matchmaker? The introduction you make is more reliable, and you don't need to pay the matchmaker.
"
"Okay, he has indeed reached the age to get married. It's just this guy who says he doesn't want to marry yet, he just wants to study and do research."
"These scholars are different. The Imperial College is very powerful. I heard that the people who come out of it can earn a few hundred taels of silver a year. Even if they work for a few years, even a thousand taels of silver is nothing."
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"Don't you know, Wang Erwa has been signed up by a big commercial bank before she graduated, earning more than 500 taels of silver a year."
"My dear, this is really amazing."
"That's right, the imperial college entrance examination is very difficult. It's similar to the imperial examination. Although you can't become an official, the people who come out are all talented people."
"It's still Erzhu that your son is great. My sons are not that good. None of them can study. They are not up to date at all. They don't work hard when they come to work. They are so ambitious. They always want to make big money and quick money.
.”
"It's the same with my sons. They have never experienced hardship and don't know how hard it is. Thinking about when we were young, it was good to have enough to eat at that time. But they are picky and picky, and they don't always go well.
Learn technology but refuse to delve into it."
"So, we still need to let these children suffer some hardships and suffer some fatigue, so that they know how to cherish it."