Chapter 29: Creeping Progress (IV)
Although Zhangdian is not surrounded by mountains, it is also an area with quite a lot of ups and downs. Huo Chong took the trekking pole he made and walked along the area with more exposed rocks in the mountains.
The fourth apprentice brother walked briskly at first, carrying the trekking pole on his shoulder, but his speed slowed down after a few miles. Qian Qing, on the other hand, had been imitating Huo Chong's method of using the trekking pole.
Huo Chong looked back several times and saw that Qian Qing had already learned how to use the support of the trekking pole to reduce the pressure on the leg muscles. Compared with the stupid boy of the fourth apprentice brother, the educated ones are different. It is true that people will die if they compare themselves with others, and goods will be thrown away if they are compared with others.
After walking for more than ten miles, Huo Chong's use of the trekking pole has also improved. The fourth apprentice brother was already tired and complaining, so Huo Chong let the two younger brothers rest and continued to move forward.
When I was in college, a brother from Sanmenxia, Henan, told me a legend about how a farmer got rich there. A farmer once passed by a mountain fissure and found a layer of gold deep in the fissure. He dug out the gold privately and made a fortune.
As a native of Shandong, Huo Chong had never heard of gold in Zhangdian. However, according to legend, where there are more stones, there will be cracks, and there are often good things in the cracks. Huo Chong came here this time just to try his luck.
Simple trekking poles made of wood and iron cannot compare with modern trekking poles made of aluminum alloy and diamond-patterned tungsten steel tips, but Huo Chong already felt that this was the easiest time he had ever walked in the mountains. In the 21st century, there were high-end trekking poles at home, but Huo Chong did not appreciate the benefits of trekking poles.
Wearing homespun clothes and cloth shoes in 1717, I understand the role of trekking poles. I don't know if this should be called remembering the bitterness and thinking of the sweetness.
As we searched more attentively, we saw that the mountains on the Zhangdian side were covered with dense soil. There were no cracks or anything like a cave.
After walking for a while, Huo Chong bypassed a patch of mixed woods and saw a hill that was different from other places. The top of the hill was at least 70 degrees, and because of the wind and rain, a thing with a similar shape appeared.
Huo Chong stopped and looked carefully, and felt that it looked familiar. As a native of Shandong, Huo Chong wanted to return to his hometown to invest. In the report, the characteristic output of Zhangdian is coal and iron ore. Huo Chong also came here once, but lost interest after walking around.
Compared with the hundreds of millions of tons of high-quality iron ore imported every year, the resources here are really not comparable. Moreover, the high-quality mines have been monopolized by state-owned mines. That time, Huo Chong saw a hill similar to the one in front of him.
After looking for a while, Huo Chong couldn't be sure if his memory was correct, so he wanted to go around the top of the mountain to the other side. As he walked, he found that he had walked back to the past.
Huo Chong called the two younger brothers along, as he wanted to see the other side of the mountain as soon as possible. Seeing Huo Chong looking at the mountain, the fourth disciple asked in confusion, "Big Brother, what's there to see?"
"What does the mountain look like to you?" Huo Chong asked.
The fourth junior brother looked at it for a while and saw that it was just an ordinary hill. He could only shake his head to indicate that he didn't know.
Huo Chong continued to move forward, and indeed saw the shape he had seen before on the other side. If I had to describe it, the shape of this mountaintop was a bit like a big turtle on all fours, but the head seemed to have been cut off by a knife. This shape left a deep impression on Huo Chong.
Maybe Huo Chong's associative ability is too different, and the people who traveled with him didn't think so. But Huo Chong didn't care, because there was a vein under this mountain that produced hematite. The ground Huo Chong saw at that time was not the smooth ground in front of him. The ground was bumpy and a bit like the surface of the moon.
Huo Chong thought that this was the trace left by the barbaric mining in the legendary Dazhifu era, but he didn't expect that his brothers who were familiar with the local situation said that this was indeed the result of barbaric mining. But it was not done by the Chinese, but by the Germans who were crazy .
After Germany lost control of Shandong after the war, the Japanese came again and followed the Germans' example to continue the barbaric mining. Because of the ground excavation, that is, digging the soil layer to expose the mineral layer and then directly mining. In addition to the large amount of pollution and the irreparable damage to the ground, the only advantage of this method is the low mining cost. The invaders plundered China's resources to the maximum extent with the minimum effort.
The ground at the foot of the mountain is now smooth, with no signs of mining. In other words, there is a rich deposit of hematite not far below the ground. Huo Chong poked the ground with the tip of his trekking pole, and felt the reaction force of the solid ground on his hand.
He originally wanted to make some quick money, but he didn't expect to find a long-term treasure. Huo Chong didn't know whether he should be happy or disappointed. Because at this time, Huo Chong's brain had already come up with a project out of thin air.
The Germans and Japanese probably plundered millions of tons of resources here, and Huo Chong couldn't take away so much. If he could produce dozens of tons of iron every year, that would be a huge profit.
While Huo Chong was madly thinking about getting rich, he knew that this was just nonsense. With the resources Huo Chong had at hand, he couldn't even make iron by traditional methods. If Huo Chong had mastered the ability to make iron now, he wouldn't be unable to make glass .
Finally, Huo Chong turned around and left. His fellow students did not expect Huo Chong to leave so resolutely, and they were stunned. After Huo Chong walked a long way, they shouted, "Brother, wait for me." They chased him all the way.
When he got home, it was already late. The idlers who were blocking the door had gone home. Huo Chong lay on the bed, his mind was full of thoughts, but he didn't know what to focus on.
Even if we return to the current project, the production of colored glaze is already a dead end. We have not yet mastered the art of making wine from potatoes. Even if we master it, how to get enough potatoes is still a problem. At this time, the sprouting potatoes have indeed sprouted. If we want to plant them, we need to find a piece of land. Where does this land come from?
The next day, after finishing all teaching work, Huo Chong went to Li Tongshan again.
Li Tongshan's face became even colder after seeing Huo Chong. Huo Chong knew that Li Tongshan's trust in him had greatly decreased. But he felt that it was easier to talk now. The two sat down and Huo Chong got straight to the point, "Brother Li, I want to ask you, have I offended you to the point that you don't want to talk to me?"
"What do you mean?" Li Tongshan was a little confused.
"I want to ask, not what others have said to Brother Li. I just want to ask if I am a person that Brother Li feels he cannot make friends with."
Li Tongshan frowned, probably because he understood what he heard. But he didn't say anything.
Seeing that the communication was effective, Huo Chong quickly took advantage of the situation and said, "Brother Li, I know that many people want to mess with me. If Brother Li is still willing to make friends with me, how many people do I have to deal with before I can make Brother Li feel that he can make friends with me without worrying about anything?"
Hearing what Huo Chong said, Li Tongshan couldn't help but sneer.
"Brother Li, what are you laughing at?" Huo Chong continued to try to communicate. Seeing that Li Tongshan didn't say anything, Huo Chong continued to try, "Brother Li, tell me what you have to say. I want to hear what you have to say now."
"Brother Huo, you are trying to trick me." Li Tongshan replied unhappily.
After hearing what Huo Chong said, he realized that Li Tongshan was a little biased, but he was not sure, so he could only say: "Brother Li, in Zhujia Village, those five people jumped out to make trouble for me and smashed Zhu Erniu's workshop. I invited the county constables to come, and they didn't dare to do it. I know they hate me even more. But Liujia Village and Zhujia Village can't do anything to Brother Li. I don't have any grudges with Lijia Village. Even if someone wants to take over the position I took over from my master, there are not many in Lijia Village. I just want to know, what do I have to do to ask Brother Li to agree to make the ingredients."
Li Tongshan didn't answer immediately. He thought for a while before speaking, "Brother Huo, I don't really want to care about what the people over there do. But I heard that Brother Huo owes money."
"If Brother Li provides me with the ingredients, I will pay him in cash." Huo Chong answered decisively.
"This is not my money. Brother Huo is a decent person, so I am not worried. I just think that Brother Huo owes people money for planting blessings, which is not nice to say."
Huo Chong thought this was bullshit. When did Li Tongshan become the one who stood up for the villagers? It must be that Li Tongshan wanted to cooperate, but he didn't dare to say who was not agreeing behind the scenes. Thinking of this, Huo Chong simply said it clearly, "Brother Li. I don't know who forced you, and I won't ask if you don't tell me. I'm not talking about buying ingredients now, I want to buy the fine ingredients that Brother Li uses to make the seasoning."
Now Li Tongshan could no longer pretend to be calm, his face was full of shock and anger, "What do you want to do!" Because of shock and anger, his voice was almost an octave higher.
Huo Chong answered decisively: "I'll go back and try to cook the ingredients myself."
Li Tongshan stood up and shouted, " Pull my ass!"
Huo Chong also stood up, but did not leave. "Brother Li, I understand that you are angry. Let me say one more thing. If I can make the materials, I will definitely sell them to the people from last time. Those people don't sell the materials in Shandong. They don't steal Brother Li's business. There are a lot of materials being bought over there, and then I will have to ask Brother Li to make the materials and sell them to me. Brother Li, you have made a lot of money! You can make even more!"
Li Tongshan was so angry that he pushed Huo Chong and chased him out. If he hadn't heard that Huo Chong was good at fighting, he would have probably beaten Huo Chong directly. Huo Chong slowly retreated to the door as he was pushed, but he continued to remind Li Tongshan, "Brother Li, don't be stingy with money. Don't be stingy with money. After I leave, think about it again. Has dealing with me made you earn less money? If I burn the ingredients myself, you really can earn more."
At this time, Li Tongshan had already pushed Huo Chong to the door, and with another push, he pushed Huo Chong out. Huo Chong almost tripped over the threshold, but fortunately he jumped lightly and landed steadily. The door closed heavily in front of him, and Li Tongshan's voice of cursing came from inside.
Huo Chong was used to being scolded recently, so he was not annoyed. He just prayed in his heart that Li Tongshan, who had always shown that he didn't like to cause extra trouble, was a rational person.
I have said everything I can say. As long as Li Tongshan does some economic calculations, he can clearly get the correct result. Li Tongshan's cooperation with Huo Chong is really lossless.
However, it is difficult for humans to be rational, so Huo Chong can only hope that he is not wrong. Since the last cooperation, Li Tongshan's workshop has not been open.
