Chapter 104: The Management of Maritime Merchants (V)
I didn't expect that many of these sea merchants loved to smoke so much. Among the eight people present, at least six of them were holding pipes and smoking. Huo Chong was not a total non-smoker, but the cigarettes of that era were pungent and spicy, and the taste was very different from modern cigarettes. Huo Chong was very uncomfortable with the smoke.
This was not the most important thing. The sea merchants spoke in code words, and various special terms that were only circulated among sea merchants made Huo Chong quickly understand that these people did not regard him as one of their own.
In this situation, Huo Chong could only endure it temporarily. Since he couldn't do anything to these guys, what else could he do?
The group of people talked for a long time without paying attention to the people around them. Feng Yukuan's face became more and more unpleasant. He said, "Brothers, are you looking down on Master Huo by talking like this?"
The merchants who were talking in their mouths stopped talking at the same time and looked at Feng Yukuan. The room fell silent for a moment, leaving only the sound of cigarettes and the crackling of ashes being knocked off.
Huo Chong took the opportunity to speak up and said, "You all came here today, and I want to ask you a question. The court has banned sea trade again. I wonder if you want to continue doing business, or wait for the court to lift the ban."
Hearing this, a sea merchant named Liu Tianxiang sneered and asked: "Master Huo, if you have a ship that can sail by sea, I will work with Master Huo."
Huo Chong was greatly disappointed. It seemed that the sea merchants were different from what he had thought. They had no intention or strength to break through the Qing Dynasty's maritime trade barriers and were completely subject to the Qing Dynasty's maritime policies. In this case, there was nothing much to say. After all, these people had ships to sail on the sea, while Huo Chong was just empty-handed and could not do anything.
Standing up, Huo Chong said, "Since everyone is talking happily, I'll go look at other things."
After saying that, Huo Chong stood up and left. He left the group of people in the house. They could ignore Huo Chong, and Huo Chong also had ways to ignore them. After walking out of the house and smelling the fresh air, Huo Chong felt very happy. He had a lot of things to do, so he didn't have time to accompany these self-righteous uncles.
As a platform, there are indeed many things to do. The reason why this remote house is not in the county town is that Huo Chong not only bought land here, but also worked with local farmers to develop a fodder planting area.
Anyone who has read about the development of agriculture in Europe, especially in Britain, will know that the reason why modern European agriculture has surpassed that of China is actually very simple. Regardless of their purpose, some of the European upper class began to manage land as a means of production.
Agriculture and animal husbandry are mixed. Not all agricultural products are for human consumption, but a considerable part is used for animal husbandry. The UK has an area of only a few hundred thousand square kilometers, and the land is not flat, but agriculture has developed rapidly. Its animal husbandry products provide animal power, meat, and dairy products.
Having spent a few years in the Qing Dynasty, Huo Chong deeply felt the problems of Qing Dynasty agriculture. The problem was not that the Chinese people were not hardworking, nor that the Chinese land was not fertile. The problem of Qing Dynasty agriculture was that the management model of the rural areas themselves was backward. The meat and protein in the food on the table were gradually replaced by carbohydrates. As a result, the average height of the Chinese population plummeted during the Qing Dynasty.
Although Huo Chong was very unhappy about the contempt of the merchants, he focused all his attention on the work at hand and soon forgot about the merchants' attitude. The anger in his heart also dissipated without a trace as he adjusted his body.
Now Huo Chong no longer needs to use the name of "planting blessings". Except for the government's words, Huo Chong no longer needs to say that he planted blessings. After the farmer friends gnawed on the rabbit legs and ate the freshly made cheese, they already knew who to get close to.
Farmers here are participating in the agricultural promotion on the platform. Huo Chong wanted to go and see the meeting. But he felt that if he went, he would only steal the show. After all, young people should be given enough space.
So Huo Chong rode on a strong donkey and took Yang Wangfu along the empty farmland. About a quarter of the farmland was still green. That was the field planted with alfalfa. It was also the part that Huo Chong had been promoting the most.
Huo Chong tried his best to plant cash crops and forage crops on the land owned by his partners. In addition to these perennial plants, Huo Chong also saw several plots of land planted with Chinese cabbage. This was also planned by Huo Chong.
In winter, if you don't have vegetables like Chinese cabbage to eat, life is really unbearable. In winter, stewing meat and bones in soup with some cabbage and tofu will make it more delicious.
Just as he was thinking, he heard his second disciple Yang Wangfu ask, "Sir, aren't you angry?"
"Angry? Angry at whom?" Huo Chong was puzzled.
"Those merchants treated us like this, aren't you angry?" Yang Wangfu asked tentatively.
Huo Chong thought about it and remembered that there was a group of sea merchants in the meeting. Seeing Yang Wangfu looked hurt, Huo Chong asked jokingly: "Don't you look down on sea merchants? Why are you angry for those you look down on?"
"This..." Yang Wangfu was stunned. Huo Chong's words seemed to make sense, but Yang Wangfu obviously couldn't understand Huo Chong's thoughts. After a pause, Yang Wangfu asked: "Sir, I see you are angry, and I am a little angry. But now you are not angry. But I am still angry."
"I told you the story of a monk crossing a river. The old monk carried the little girl across the river, and then put her down after crossing the river. But the little monk always remembered her."
"Yes. The gentleman told this story." Yang Wangfu replied quickly.
"What if the old monk carries an old man across the river? Will the young monk still remember it?"
Yang Wangfu seemed to understand something, but he still couldn't figure it out. Huo Chong didn't want to keep him in suspense, so he asked a further question, "Does the young monk care about the little girl, or does he care about the old monk carrying people across the river?"
"The old monk is carrying a little girl." Yang Wangfu reminded.
"This story is a parable. In my opinion, no matter who the person who can't cross the river is, a little girl, an old girl, an aunt, an uncle, an aunt, a grandfather, a grandmother. A boy or a girl. As long as the old monk sees someone who can't cross the river, he will carry them across the river. This is the old monk's idea."
Yang Wangfu frowned and thought for a long time, then finally asked, " Sir, what does this have to do with you not being angry?"
"My goal is to see if I can cooperate with the maritime merchants. There are two results for this kind of thing: cooperation or no cooperation. Since they are unwilling to cooperate now, why should I be angry?"
"But they did it on purpose. I know I shouldn't be angry, but I'm still angry!" Yang Wangfu replied unhappily and regretfully.
Huo Chong was very satisfied with Yang Wangfu's answer. This kid had learned through study that it was not advisable to get angry rashly. And he accepted this truth. In such an era, the proportion of people who know how to control themselves is not high.
For example, the sea merchants obviously did not understand . Or they understood but chose not to exercise self-control.
