Chapter 16 If you don't give up, I will live up to it
Wenshui is located in a remote area. There are so many mountains in the county, and the population scattered in the countryside is hundreds of times greater than that in the county town.
For safety reasons, Su Ren asked Huo Laosi to move his wife and children to Laojunguan, so that they would no longer have to run to the county seat and could temporarily avoid the entanglement of the salt gang boss.
Huo Laosi was so grateful that he asked his wife to pack the things at home without saying a word. This poor family had nothing to pack except the adobe house. Huo Laosi carried bedding and pots and pans on a pole.
Si's wife, Huo Qianshi, held a child in one hand, and the family followed Su Ren and left the county.
With Zhang Hu taking care of them, the movement was very convenient. In the middle of the night, they called for the city gate to be opened and the group left the city.
Su Ren took out a few coins and gave them to Zhang Hu: "Thank you Brother Zhang for taking care of me. I'm very grateful. Don't think the money is too small for Brother Zhang. I just changed my mind. I hope I can trouble Brother Zhang in the future."
Brother Zhang helped me a lot."
Although Zhang Hu was a public servant, he didn't have much money in a month. Su Ren was generous, and Zhang Hu could see clearly that there was at least twenty yuan. Zhang Hu's face lit up with joy, he patted his chest and promised to help, and he personally
Su Ren, Leng Jun and Huo Laosi's family sent them out of the city gate.
There is still a long way to go back to Laojun Temple, and traveling at night is always worrying. Fortunately, there were many people, and we talked while walking, so I didn’t feel so tired.
When Su Ren first came to the Han Dynasty, he had great admiration for the heroes in his heart, such as the general Wei Qing, the champion Hou Huo Qubing, and later the great Sima Huo Guang. They all wanted to meet and talk about life.
Huo Laosi's surname was Huo, and there were almost no people named Huo in Wenshui County. Su Ren became curious about Huo Laosi's origins.
"Brother Huo, your surname is Huo. Do you know where your ancestral home is?"
Huo Laosi was thinking about how good their life would be in the future if they followed what Su Ren said. Suddenly he heard Su Ren's question and quickly replied: "I'm really not a local. I was homeless a few years ago due to famine."
This is so difficult. If you didn’t ask me, I would have almost forgotten that the villain’s ancestral home is Pingyang, Hedong. In the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty, Hedong was hit by a disaster, and there was no harvest. There were so many people to eat, so the villain followed a group of refugees all the way south.
I have been living here for almost ten years, thinking about it."
"Pingyang, Hedong?" Su Ren's heart skipped a beat: "I wonder where Brother Huo's ancestral home is in Pingyang?"
Huo Laosi glanced at Su Ren and seemed a little reluctant to Su Ren's inquiring into his life experience. But now that he had to rely on Su Ren to make a living, he had to bite the bullet and answered: "My ancestral home is Huojiazhuang, Pingyang."
"Oh!" Su Ren looked at Huo Laosi's broad shoulders. If this man wasn't down and out, he would have been a tough soldier in the army. He asked again, "I don't know what Brother Huo's official name is. I always hear them calling you Brother Huo."
Four, this is obviously not a name."
Huo Laosi laughed: "How can a lowly person get an official name? He is the fourth in the family and is called by such a name. If there is an official name, he is called Huo Jikui. No one has called him Huo Jikui for more than ten years. I'm afraid it has disappeared a long time ago.
People remember.”
Bo Zhong Shu Ji, these are the names that the ancients ranked for their sons in order. There must be something that represents identity in both the name and the character. For example, the Bada of the Sima family during the Three Kingdoms period came down to it this way. Sima Lang's character is Boda, and Sima Yi's character is Zhong.
Da, Sima Fu's character is Shuda, Sima Kui's character is Jida, and so on. Sima Xun, Sima Jun, Sima Tong, Sima Min, each of them has Da in their character, so they are called Sima Bada.
Although Su Ren didn't know much about various things during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he still knew the ranking of his peers.
Su Rendao: "Huo Jikui has a good name. Ji is the fourth child and Kui is the first. I didn't expect that Brother Huo's ancestors were also a family of poetry and calligraphy."
Huo Laosi chuckled and said: "What kind of house of poetry and books? Having enough food and clothing is all I want in this life. The other thing is that my two children will grow up safely. I don't want anything else."
"Yes! Who doesn't want peace? A safe life is the happiest thing." Su Ren suddenly remembered the past, what kind of life he lived at that time, but what about now? He was worried all day long, and he was beaten yesterday.
Suddenly, I spent a night in the prison. This kind of thing had never happened to me in my more than 20 years of life.
"I wonder if Brother Huo knows Huo Zhongru?"
Huo Laosi thought for a while: "This name seems to have some impression. I wonder who the young master is talking about Huo Zhongru?"
Su Ren smiled and said: "I don't know either, I'm just curious. This Huo Zhongru is also from Pingyang, Hedong. Brother Huo's ancestral home is also Pingyang. So when I asked, I heard that this man is a government servant. Since Brother Huo has not returned to Hedong for ten years,
, I probably don’t know this person either.”
Su Ren kept looking at Huo Laosi again. According to his speculation, both of them were named Huo and both were from Pingyang. Maybe this Huo Laosi was related to Huo Zhongru. If that was the case, he must go to Pingyang to meet him.
This Huo Zhongru. Su Ren knew very well that Huo Qubing and Huo Guang were both Huo Zhongru's sons. These two brothers were deeply favored by the emperors in the three dynasties of Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao, and Emperor Xuan, and they were all powerful officials. If they could climb into the Huo family, even if they could not be officials, they would at least
It can also make you rich.
However, seeing that Huo Laosi's expression did not change at all, Su Ren felt a chill in his heart.
Huo Laosi chuckled and said: "When I was in Pingyang, I had a playmate named Huo Zhongru, but we are not the same family as theirs, we are just two Huos. I didn't expect the young master to know about Brother Zhongru."
Su Ren smiled bitterly. He was getting a little impatient. He had only been in Han Dynasty for more than a month, and he already wanted to curry favor with powerful officials. He didn't even think about whether Huo Qubing was born at this time, or whether Huo Guang's mother married Huo Zhongru. According to historical records,
Huo Qubing died in the sixth year of Yuanshou at the age of twenty-three. This year has not yet reached the first year of Jianyuan, so Huo Qubing should not have been born yet. That Huo Guang was ten years younger than Huo Qubing. Maybe Huo Guang would be alive at this time
Her mother is still a little girl.
Su Ren laughed strangely twice to cover up his embarrassment: "I heard from hearsay that as long as you follow me and work hard, you will have enough food and clothing before long, and maybe you will be able to return home in fine clothes in the future."
Huo Laosi nodded repeatedly: "The villain will do his best."
After giving up the idea of questioning Huo Qubing and Huo Guang, two powerful men who were not yet born, the conversation between Su Ren and Huo Laosi turned to salt again. When it comes to selling salt, Huo Laosi is also an expert. In the Salt Gang
At that time, the area that Huo Laosi was responsible for was in the east of the city. There were ten villages in total. Each village could sell about one or two kilograms of salt per month. Because they were private salt collectors, they did not dare to do it openly, so they could only go there secretly at night.
Huo Laosi sighed: "We are risking beheading just to be hungry and full. Although salt is necessary, we consume very little. Many people have no spare money, and there are only a few companies that can sell salt."
"Then what do they usually eat? No salt?"
"The poor have their own ways. Shu County produces salt and boils it with brine. There are also brine springs in the mountains occasionally. The common people get it as if they are treasures. The local big family sells brine. Ten stones of brine only costs a penny. Poor families
Buy more brine instead.”
"There are too many impurities in the brine. If you eat too much, you will get sick and die!" Su Ren immediately became nervous.
Huo Laosi nodded: "Who says it's not the case! But people have no choice but to do this if they don't have money. They have to eat salt, right? If you don't eat salt, you won't have the strength, and you won't be able to farm."
Su Ren was silent for a while: "You mean, if we want to sell salt, we have to control all the brine springs?"
Huo Laosi shook his head: "Young Master is wrong. There are many brine springs in the local area. I guess the ones you use to make salt are also brine springs, right? Those brine springs are in the hands of big households. It is not easy to control them. Villains are selling salt.
In the process, I discovered something. Although the people have no money, they do have a lot of sundries, such as game, firewood, and even extra rations. If the master is willing to exchange these things, the people will be more willing to eat salt than brine."
"Wenshui County is located in high mountains. The local people are mostly good at hunting, and a lot of things have been ruined!" Huo Laosi turned out to be a caring person with good business skills: "When I was fleeing, I was a child in Luoyang and Yingchuan areas.
People discovered that local wealthy officials are very fond of furs and game. If the young master can form a caravan to sell these things, the profits will be huge."
"Hahaha!" Su Ren laughed: "I didn't expect that Brother Huo is still good at doing business. What you said is all right, but we can't take too big a step. Take it step by step. The main task now is how to
Can sell our salt."
Su Ren is by no means the first to hear these words from Huo Laosi. Su Ren knows this very well. Others may think that Huo Laosi's words are pure nonsense. Selling salt can already allow him to walk sideways in Wenshui. What are you doing?
What kind of business is this? Su Ren is different. He comes from a later generation and his understanding of business is far better than anyone else, so he thinks Huo Laosi's plan is very good. However, their current start-up capital is limited and they have not yet reached that level.
The extent of expansion can only be achieved step by step.
Su Ren patted Huo Laosi on the shoulder: "Brother Huo, believe it or not, I put my words here today. One day, not to mention Luoyang, Yingchuan, even Chang'an will have our business, and then you will be the shopkeeper.
.”
Huo Laosi's eyes were so bright that they shone brightly at night. He threw down his pole and knelt in front of Su Ren: "Sir, no, master, Huo Jikui will follow the master from now on. He will never have second thoughts. If he betrays you, heaven and earth will not tolerate it."
Su Ren quickly helped Huo Laosi up, patted the dust on his body, and said with a smile: "No need to swear, as long as you don't abandon me, I will definitely live up to you."
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Leng Jun, who had been watching coldly from the side, frowned. He could not understand more and more about this Su Ren. How could all the tricks of being clever, smooth, and affectionate be reflected in this person. The young man in front of him only
But he is only a little older than me. Do you think all young masters from rich families are like this? No wonder every high-ranking official has to ride a horse. It seems that he has the capital to enjoy happiness. (To be continued)