Chapter 3 Platform (III)
Even though he had already worked up an appetite due to hunger, Huo Chong still couldn't quite accept the food here. Especially the wine of this era, which was turbid and bland. It was particularly difficult to drink. Even so, Huo Chong still drank the whole glass when he toasted. He was very generous.
Thinking about his own affairs, he was still easy to deal with these people. Compared with the sophisticated questions and answers in modern business, the questions Huo Chong faced were so straightforward and shallow that it made people sigh at the simplicity of the people in this era.
The reason why they were able to do it so easily was largely because these guys had already focused on eating and drinking. Seeing them all staring at the wine bottle, Huo Chong suddenly had an idea that the contents of the glass should be a good deal.
There wasn't much food, and the banquet finally ended. After seeing everyone off, Huo Chong began to clean up. The dishes on the table had been eaten clean. There was not a drop in the wine bottle. Now that he was alone again, Huo Chong was thinking about what to do in the future while cleaning up.
In 1717, the days of wandering around the world were definitely unbearable. If he had to do this, Huo Chong would only starve to death. Although he became a disciple completely out of necessity, it at least provided him with a stable place to stay. In the future, he would definitely have to leave here and make a name for himself, so he had to prepare now.
Since Master Liu Shu is also engaged in P2P platform, based on Huo Chong's platform experience, the best way is not to bother to create an industry, which is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also thankless. If a place can have a new industry, many people would have started it long ago. The best way is to use the existing local industries and increase profits through operation. If it fails, the local government will bear the responsibility, and if it succeeds, the platform can naturally grab most of the extra profits.
Thinking of this, Huo Chong smiled bitterly. Thinking back to the days at the platform, the chairman's attention was probably not on the project operation from the beginning. He was only focusing on the investors' capital. If he was wrong, it was because he didn't have the ability to see through people's hearts from the beginning, and he was still deceived.
Although Huo Chong was already an official disciple of Master Liu Shu, no one paid any attention to him. Huo Chong stayed in his room, conditioning his muscles and sorting out the few supplies he brought with him.
Uncle Liu's actions were really strange. Huo Chong had everything on him. Although he left his phone in the car when he got off, Huo Chong only had a set of clothes, sneakers, a pair of sunglasses, and a sports watch on his wrist.
The watch is a real sports watch. The seller said that the watch can be powered by solar energy for at least ten years. At that time, Huo Chong thought that the seller was making false claims. At this time, Huo Chong only hoped that what the seller said was at least theoretical parameters. In such an era, a compass that can easily work at any time is very useful.
Except for eating, no one greeted Huo Chong. It was not until midnight the next day that the master finally came back. Huo Chong heard the noise and quickly got up. When he left the hut, he saw a wooden board parked in the yard with a person on it. Just looking at the posture, he felt something was wrong.
Without waiting for Huo Chong to greet him, the master said, "Huo Chong, prepare incense and candles. Set up the mourning hall!"
Huo Chong was startled and asked tentatively: "Master, who is this?"
"This is your senior brother!" Uncle Liu said this, his body swaying and almost unable to stand. The second senior brother next to him hurriedly stepped forward to support the master, and then shouted at Huo Chong: "How dare you make the master angry! Are you looking for a fight?"
Huo Chong was not afraid of his second brother and continued to ask, "Master, how should we decorate this mourning hall?"
"You don't even understand this, yet you still ask!" the second brother continued to scold.
Master Liu Shu pushed the second brother away and said angrily, "When will it be your turn to make a scene around me? What do you want to do?"
The second brother didn't expect to be scolded by the master, and immediately looked aggrieved .
After the master pushed the second brother away, his body swayed again. The second brother was angry and didn't want to move forward. Huo Chong hurriedly stepped forward to support the master. Then he heard the master Liu Shu order: "You come with me to get the key and get the incense and candles."
Huo Chong was shocked. Is he going to take him to the warehouse?
There was a heavy lock on the door of the warehouse. With a rough friction sound, the lock finally opened. When I pushed open the door, a mixture of stale smells hit me. I don't know how long it has been since anyone entered this warehouse.
There were rows of wooden shelves in the warehouse, and under the light of the fire, they looked like they were filled with supplies. There was everything, and everything looked like junk. The master took Huo Chong in, went to a shelf, took out some musty-smelling straw paper, took a stack, and put most of it back.
He went inside and opened a box. After rummaging around for a while, he found a pair of candles and a pack of incense from under a pile of wooden sticks that he didn't know what they were used for.
Huo Chong took them one by one, and felt that everything except the candles smelled rotten. The teacher immediately left the warehouse after taking the things and locked the door tightly.
"Master, who harmed our eldest brother?" Huo Chong asked when he had time.
Master Liu Shu's already deeply wrinkled face showed even more sorrow. He said bitterly, "Your senior brother was murdered by the Cao Gang! We must take revenge!"
Zhangzhuang is a place under Zibo, and it is quite far from the Grand Canal. Master went out for two days and brought back the body of the eldest brother. It is very likely that the eldest brother had a conflict with the Cao Gang, and died halfway after being injured. If the Cao Gang was chasing the eldest brother, it would be even more terrifying. Running hundreds of miles just to hunt down one person, Master Liu Shu must have a big grudge.
The funeral hall was simply decorated, with the body resting on a bed. A piece of linen was placed on the face of the body, and a broken clay basin was placed in front of the head. A lot of wood ash was put into it, and then two pieces of paper were burned. The paper ash covered the wood ash, which looked quite substantial.
The incense was damp and difficult to light. Huo Chong could only put the incense next to the stove and roast it after lighting the fire.
The smell in Master Liu Shu's warehouse was really unacceptable to Huo Chong. As the flames rose and he felt the warmth, Huo Chong recalled the things in the warehouse. He thought about it and felt that something was missing. When the incense was roasted and a little warm, Huo Chong suddenly realized what was missing. There was no metallic luster in the warehouse.
Uncle Liu is a well-known leader of the Tianli Sect in Zhangdian. He also lends money on weekdays. Gold and silver cannot be leaked, so of course they are not displayed outside. But there is not even a metal product, which is really a bit strange. But after thinking about it, I feel that I am overthinking. I think the teacher must have other warehouses. This warehouse is just for storing some sundries.
The incense was lit, and the smell in the main hall became a little unpleasant. At dawn, the master sent people to deliver messages everywhere. There were really many people coming to pay homage, and everyone had to pay homage. As a family member of the deceased, Huo Chong had to bow his head in return.
After all, he was a newcomer, so Huo Chong followed orders completely. If someone came to pay respect, Huo Chong would return the favor. If there were no newcomers, Huo Chong would welcome the guests and arrange meals for them. Master Liu Shu looked as if he had aged several years in an instant, and he rarely left the house. He tried to teach Huo Chong everything.
Master Liu Shu would only come out when he met important guests. Every time he came out, he would first introduce Huo Chong to the guests, and only after they met would he go into the house to talk with the guests.
Master Liu Shu's people were also busy at first, but as time went by, they became more and more tired, and some people even disappeared. Huo Chong was under more pressure, but he didn't dare to give them a stalemate. Although Huo Chong was not young among these people, any of the children had followed Master Liu Shu for longer than Huo Chong.
After finally getting through the first seven days, the eldest brother was buried. Suddenly, Master Liu's place became lively again, and the important guests who had met before came in one after another. At this time, the mourning hall had been restored to its original state. There were too many people, and these guests could not sit down, so some were directly settled in the yard.
Seeing that most people had arrived, Uncle Liu, supported by his second senior brother Zhu Youquan, walked to the entrance of the main hall and said to everyone with a sad face, "My eldest disciple had a bad fate. He fell ill on the way and died of the illness. I said before that I was going to pass my position to my eldest disciple. Unexpectedly, this happened..."
At this point, Uncle Liu burst into tears again. He reached out to wipe away his tears, but could not speak. The people in the yard waited for a while, and seeing that Uncle Liu was still in sorrow, they said polite words such as "The dead cannot be resurrected" and "Don't be too sad".
Uncle Liu listened to everyone's words of comfort and cheered himself up again. "My health has been failing for a long time. My boss is dead, and I don't think I will live for many days. Someone has to take responsibility for these things. I decided to hand over this position to my apprentices and let them do it."
After hearing this, no one dared to speak. The second brother who was supporting his master Uncle Liu had straightened his back, and the smile on his face could not be concealed.
Huo Chong was thinking about how to deal with this second brother in the future, or just find a way to leave. But the local boss and the eldest brother died on the road, and he was unfamiliar with the place, so where should he go even if he left?
"Everyone has seen all of my disciples. From now on, Huo Chong is my eldest disciple!" After Uncle Liu finished speaking, he covered his mouth and started coughing violently. Everyone around him was silent. Everyone stared at Uncle Liu, then at Huo Chong. Huo Chong was completely confused. He had been in Qingchao for nearly a month. How could he suddenly become the person in charge of the Qingchao P2P platform?
An ominous feeling rose from behind, and the experience of the 21st century made such an unexpected move seem extremely dangerous.
Finally, the second brother with a livid face broke the silence, "Master, did you make a mistake?"
Uncle Liu gently pushed the second brother away and said, "You have a bad temper. Taking my position will only harm you."
Second Brother's face began to turn red, and after a moment it took on the color of a cooked crab. Huo Chong had never seen someone's face change so quickly, but compared to the speed of change implied by what was happening now, Second Brother's change was not particularly outrageous.
"Master, what did I do wrong?" The second brother continued to ask with a grim face, his lips trembling as he spoke.
Master Liu Shu replied unhappily: "Why didn't you understand? When did I ever tell you that you did something wrong?"
The second senior brother stretched his neck and shouted, "Then why don't you pass the throne to me!" Because he was too excited, droplets from the second senior brother's mouth were flying in the air, and a lot of droplets sprayed directly on Master Uncle Liu's face.
Uncle Liu's face became even more unhappy. "Second brother, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just that I've met so many people. You really can't take my position. If you take it, it will only hurt you. I feel sorry for you, but I don't want to punish you!"
It was obvious that the second senior brother did not understand what the teacher was talking about. He lowered his head in confusion, and after a moment he suddenly raised his head and looked at Huo Chong, his eyes full of angry flames.
Huo Chong felt the surging anger and his body instinctively became alert. While on guard, he also felt a little sympathy for his second brother. No one could stand being publicly announced to lose the power that seemed to be within reach. If anyone could stand it, they would have to be someone who could understand the twists and turns. The second brother in front of him had no other emotions except instinctive anger.
Should he reject Master Liu Shu? Huo Chong thought back to what his master had done during this period...
"Ah!" Second senior brother Zhu Youquan roared, took two steps forward and punched towards Huo Chong.
Huo Chong no longer had time to think about it and blocked his second brother's fist with his hand.
Seeing that the surprise attack was useless, the second brother, who was about the same size as Huo Chong, retracted his fist and rushed towards Huo Chong. Huo Chong had received a lot of training in fighting, and easily dodged the second brother who had no lower body skills. With just a push, the second brother rushed into the crowd, knocking everyone to the ground.
Amid the exclamations of the crowd, the second brother pushed away the people around him, got up and rushed towards Huo Chong again. This time Huo Chong used the same method, relying on the strength of his legs to quickly move his body, and pushed the second brother to the other side of the crowd with a push.
After several attempts, the onlookers started to yell and retreat, leaving a large space. The second brother calmed down and took a stance, ready to fight Huo Chong to the death.
Before the two could fight, Uncle Liu said coldly, "Second Brother, I'm telling you, if you win, I won't give you my position. If you lose, you're no longer my disciple."
The second brother was shocked and turned to look at Uncle Liu. He was shaking all over, and it seemed that he was very angry about what he said. After a while, the second brother shouted loudly: "Master, since you are so biased, I will beat him to death for you to see."
After saying that, the second brother turned around and rushed towards Huo Chong with a fearless attitude. Huo Chong sighed in his heart. It seemed that this matter could not end peacefully. If the second brother took over the master Liu Shu's job at this time, Huo Chong would definitely not be able to stay. In this case, there is no need to stop.
Seeing the second senior brother's middle door open, Huo Chong did not retreat but rushed forward, rushed into the second senior brother's arms, and hit the second senior brother's chest and abdomen with a hook punch. The second senior brother's body shook and continued to rush forward. Huo Chong stepped aside, and the second senior brother rushed forward a few steps and fell to the ground like a wooden stake.
Although he tried hard to stand up, he couldn't do it. After a few bounces, the second brother fainted.
The crowd of onlookers stared excitedly at the second brother who was knocked down by a punch, but they saw that the second brother was motionless like a dead pig, and many people showed disappointment on their faces. At this time, someone suddenly shouted in the crowd, "Beat... beat someone to death!"
