Chapter 45 Official Status (V)
Huo Chong walked back and forth several times near a field. When he saw something that looked like a stone tablet, he walked over to take a look. After looking at it for a while, he walked to the next suspicious spot in disappointment.
After walking with Huo Chong for a while, the third apprentice brother Tie Niu couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother, what are you looking for?"
"Jixia Academy." Huo Chong replied with regret. "Ji" is the name of a gate in Linzi, the capital of Qi. "Jixia" is near Jimen in Linzi, the capital of Qi, where the monarch of Qi established an academy. Therefore, because the academy is located near Jimen, it is named "Jixia Academy".
This was all learned from the introduction of the replica building. As a Shandong native, Huo Chong was quite proud of the Jixia Academy. "Senior brother, what is it?" The younger fellow students heard it for the first time and couldn't even repeat the full name.
Huo Chong bent down and wrote "Xia Xue Gong", but he couldn't remember the word Ji, so he just wrote the character next to it. After thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out, so Qian Qing couldn't help but squat down and write the word Ji.
"Yes, that's the word." Huo Chong praised.
Hearing Huo Chong praising Qian Qing, Tie Niu said unhappily, "You know more characters than our senior brother?"
"What's wrong with knowing more words?" Huo Chong criticized Tie Niu, and then said to his fellow apprentices, "Let's go into the city."
Linzi was the capital of Qi during the Warring States Period. At that time, the small county town had only a few simple streets, and the people who came and went were dressed very ordinary. It was impossible to imagine that this place was once a large city with a population of hundreds of thousands. Not to mention that it could not be associated with the style of the largest city in China during the Warring States Period.
There weren't many shops in the city, and the goods were average. The junior brothers and sisters lost interest as they walked.
Arriving at a courtyard, Qian Qing pointed at the door with some confidence. Huo Chong asked his fellow apprentices to wait at the street corner, and he went forward and knocked on the door. The door was ajar at this time, and soon someone came in. After opening the door, Huo Chong and the people who came were stunned. The appearance of the person opposite should have been seen before. But Huo Chong couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
The man who came to open the door seemed to remember something and turned around and ran back to the yard. Not long after, there was a sound of footsteps and several guys rushed out from the inner yard. Seeing the leader, Huo Chong finally remembered. Wasn't this the Bajiquan thug that Master Zhu hired?
If the captain of the police called by Xu Youlin had not interrupted the fight, the outcome would have been decided quickly.
This Bajimen brother also recognized Huo Chong. He did not immediately rush over to continue the previous fight. Instead, he first stopped the two people who followed him to join the fight. He looked at Huo Chong and asked, "Are you trying to block the door?"
Huo Chong shook his head. "I'm not here to fight. Brother, can you come closer? I want to talk to you about something else."
When the others heard what Huo Chong said, they immediately started arguing, "Are you going to fight?"
Huo Chong thought it was impossible to communicate with the leader of Baji Sect in a voice that no one else could hear, so he could only ask, "Excuse me, is your last name Yang?"
"What's wrong?" The leader's eyes immediately became sharp.
"Brother Yang, do you have any relatives with the surname Qian?" Huo Chong continued to ask.
Brother Yang's face became completely solemn. He pointed inside and said, "Brother Huo, how are they talking inside?"
Huo Chong did not stop, but walked past several other Bajimen disciples who did not know what was going on , and followed Brother Yang inside. After letting several disciples guard the yard, Brother Yang led Huo Chong into the inner room.
Without waiting for the guy to ask, Huo Chong had already taken out the letter written by Qian Qing and handed it to Brother Yang. Brother Yang opened it suspiciously and his expression became very complicated. After hesitating for a while, Brother Yang asked, "Is the person with you?"
"It's just outside the street." Huo Chong felt a lot more relieved that he could finally hand Qian Qing over to her relatives.
"Why... did you save my niece?" Brother Yang asked in a low voice.
Huo Chong told the story of how he saw Qian Qing killing a wolf on the way back and how he couldn't help but help him. He especially praised Qian Qing for being brave and decisive.
Brother Yang listened in silence. When Huo Chong finished speaking, he looked confused. Finally, he said in a muffled voice, "You have bad intentions?"
"What?" Huo Chong was confused.
"You saved people with no good intentions." Brother Yang seemed to be trying his best to express something, or to convince someone.
Huo Chong was extremely disappointed with this guy and didn't want to argue with him, so he just asked, "He's right outside at the street corner, do you want to meet him?"
"I don't trust you. Pull your ass!" Brother Yang said viciously, and at the same time started to push Huo Chong, "Pull my ass!"
Huo Chong had no interest in dealing with such a person. Without waiting for him to rush, Huo Chong turned around and left. After leaving the door, Huo Chong felt a little regretful. Qian Qing was such a good child, but he actually had such a relative. It was really pitiful.
When he saw his junior brothers and sisters, Huo Chong did not tell them what happened. He just took them to continue to wander around the county town. There was really nothing fun here. After staying here for one night, Huo Chong took everyone back home.
On the second night after arriving home, someone knocked on the door. Huo Chong carefully walked to the door with his weapon in hand, "Who is it?"
"It's me." A familiar voice whispered back. Thinking back, it was actually Brother Yang.
Huo Chong carefully opened the door and saw a man standing in the dark. Judging from his figure, it should be Brother Yang. Seeing Huo Chong looking left and right, Brother Yang, who should have good eyesight, whispered, "Don't worry, I didn't bring anyone else. Brother Huo, don't make a fuss."
This was a reasonable reminder. Huo Chong did not take Brother Yang home, but went back to call Qian Qing out. Huo Chong picked up a mining lamp, closed the door and led the two of them out of the village.
Lighting up a lamp in a secluded place, Qian Qing still looked at Brother Yang with some uneasiness. Brother Yang had already stepped forward and held Qian Qing's hand, "My son, I thought you were dead. But I am so sad!"
The scene of the family meeting was not particularly touching, and Brother Yang was not unhappy because of Qian Qing's unfamiliarity. He held Huo Chong and thanked him repeatedly. "Brother Huo, thank you for saving my niece. She passed away two years ago, and her father and I haven't been in touch much since then. I heard that her father was in trouble, and I was worried about my niece. I thought she died somewhere!"
Seeing Brother Yang come to see his niece Qian Qing in person, Huo Chong's bad feelings towards him had disappeared. He sat down with the two and listened to their conversation. Brother Yang also introduced himself. His name was Yang Youfang, and he was from Baji Sect.
Huo Chong did not expect Qian Qing to be particularly friendly to her uncle, but sat close to Huo Chong. After chatting for a while, they got to know Qian Qing's situation. Qian Qing was from Mengyin County, in Linyi.
Huo Chong's biggest impression of Mengyin County is Menglianggu. The reorganized 74th Division, one of the five main forces of the Kuomintang, was annihilated in Menglianggu. As for what Mengyin County was like at that time, Huo Chong had no idea. What is certain is that Mengyin County, located in the Yimeng Mountains, must be very poor.
Qian Qing's father passed the imperial examination and her mother was a descendant of Bajiquan. This is probably why Qian Qing studied literature and martial arts. Qian Qing's father was exterminated because of a literary inquisition, and Qian Qing escaped. Probably because of an unknown route, Qian Qing, who was supposed to escape to Linzi County, ran to Zichuan County, which was not yet called Zibo, and was accidentally rescued by Huo Chong.
After talking for a while, Yang Youfang listened to his niece's experience along the way and wiped away his tears. "Brother Huo, how about letting me talk to my niece for a while?"
Having confirmed that Yang Youfang was Qian Qing's uncle, Huo Chong blew out the candle in the miner's lamp and went to inspect the area.
The hilly area was quite cool at night, especially in September. Huo Chong felt a little cold after working for a while. Looking at the current situation, Qian Qing's previous offer to lend Huo Chong money was no longer reliable. Huo Chong could only rely on himself to solve the problem of donating for fame.
Qian Qing had said before that the advantage of being an official was that "you have a place to reason." The more Huo Chong thought about it, the more he felt that made sense.
I managed to stabilize the situation, but I was only able to stabilize the situation in such a small mountain village. When I was in the county town two days ago, I felt that the county town was outrageously small. Any town in the 21st century would be much better than this broken county town.
But when Huo Chong really returned to Liujia Village, he immediately felt that the county town also had its merits. At least it gave Huo Chong a sense of popularity. He knew what he was thinking. Huo Chong was sure that he didn't want to spend his whole life in such a mountain village. Even if he didn't know what the future would be like, it was still far from the time for him to enjoy his old age. In this case, the significance of an official position was too great.
But Xu Youlin was by no means an easy person to deal with, and Huo Chong felt that he must be planning some conspiracy.
After walking for a while, Huo Chong felt colder and colder. He walked back to where they were talking. Yang Youfang saw Huo Chong coming back and pulled Huo Chong to the side, "Brother Huo, forget about the past. If you have any problems in the future, come to the county town to find me. I will definitely help you."
"Okay. Okay." Huo Chong said with a smile. It was a good choice to turn an enemy into a friend. Huo Chong himself did not want to remain hostile to this Baji Sect member.
"Brother Huo, there are so many people talking, I can't take my niece back. She has to stay with you." Although hesitant, Yang Youfang still expressed his dilemma.
"Okay." Huo Chong didn't care.
Yang Youfang moved closer to Huo Chong and whispered, "Brother Huo, officials came to my place and asked about my niece's whereabouts. You saved my niece, and I don't know how to thank you. Brother Huo, please be careful."
Huo Chong was not afraid of the government's investigation, but he did not expect that the government would not even let such a child go. He replied angrily: "Those people in the government did not even let a child go. How can they be so ruthless!"
Yang Youfang shook his head. "Alas... they said the literary inquisition was ordered by the imperial court. I also think they are too cruel."
After seeing Yang Youfang off, Huo Chong felt a lot more relaxed. Although he had never doubted Qian Qing before, knowing more information about Qian Qing made him feel much better.
Huo Chong continued his work, which made Qian Qing feel more at ease when taking responsibility. Just when the potatoes were about to be harvested, Xu Youlin came back.
Seeing Huo Chong, Xu Youlin said directly: "Brother Huo, what do you think about the last time I talked about donating your honor?"
"I want to donate my fame, but I don't know how to do it. I hope Brother Xu can teach me step by step."
"Four hundred taels, give it to County Magistrate Xu first." Xu Youlin answered decisively.
Huo Chong felt that Xu Youlin was clearly trying to take advantage of this opportunity to make money. Wouldn't the profits from his sale of solid alcohol be enough to make up for the money he and the late Senior Brother Li Xiunian had been defrauded of?
I couldn't help but taunt him, "Brother Xu, when you and my senior brother were deceived, did someone also deceive you like this?"
Xu Youlin blushed and said bitterly: "Brother Huo, I will definitely not let the person who cheated us go. But this time I am not taking the opportunity to make money from you. Brother Huo, I see that you have a good family background. You should also understand the things in the government office."
"The entrance to the government office faces south. If you don't have money, don't come in." Huo Chong said sarcastically.
"That's right. My family is quite honest, but his honesty is useless. If there is no promotion from the higher-ups, what can he do? If he wants to be promoted by the higher-ups, he must work hard for them and have money."
"Well. I know this. But can this really be done?" Huo Chong expressed his doubts.
Xu Youlin sighed and told the story of how to repair the river. It turned out that the Qing Dynasty did not carry out projects such as river repair by corvée. It was to directly order the local people to gather together and repair the river under the order of the government. Instead, it paid to hire laborers.
This is indeed a good method, but it faces a problem. Where does the money come from? If the workers are not paid, they will certainly not work. They may even walk away.
Huo Chong certainly knew the industrial level of the time. Even in the 21st century, every urban river improvement project was not a small amount of money. Funds were often calculated in billions. The Qing court did not have so much money, so it could only get money from the local areas. One of the ways to get money was naturally "donating fame".
"Brother Huo, you are a smart man. We have done so much business, have you ever seen any officials come to collect taxes from you?"
Huo Chong shook his head.
"Do you think the officer doesn't know you and I are doing this together?"
Huo Chong thought about it and shook his head again.
"My relatives are here, and the police dare not touch you. But as soon as my relatives leave, the police will come to you immediately. If the new county magistrate knows that you have made a lot of money, and the county magistrate personally kills you, do you still want to live?"
Huo Chong knew that Xu Youlin was right, so he could only sigh and say, "Now that I am an official, I am afraid I will have to pay taxes."
"Once you have an official position, you can get things done with money. Without an official position, your money becomes the county magistrate's money. These county magistrates only serve one term in one place, and since they will never come back, why should they leave the money for the next one? Haha." Xu Youlin could not help sneering as he described the future situation.
Huo Chong felt a chill on his back. These words were cruel, but they were normal human thinking. It was 1717, not New China. In New China, even if it was a political achievement, a profitable industry had to be maintained. This was impossible in the Qing Dynasty. If they really valued the industry so much, they would not have been invaded by foreign countries.
Huo Chong, who had no official status, was a fat sheep. As Xu Youlin said, it was much more satisfying for one person to eat the fat sheep than for several people to eat the fat sheep. Could Huo Chong, who had no official status, still immigrate and sue the officials?
The TV series about Yang Naiwu and Xiao Baicai clearly states that even if you win a lawsuit against an official, you will still be exiled three thousand miles away. In this era, if you are not an official, you have no place to seek justice.
After confirming this, Huo Chong decisively asked: "Brother Xu, I can only rely on you! Right?"
Xu Youlin was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Brother Huo, I see that you are a man, and we have had some dealings. That's why I want to help you. If you trust me, I will naturally do my best."
Huo Chong didn't waste any words. "I used several dozen taels out of the three hundred taels to pay off my debts. Only over two hundred taels are left. Can we earn the remaining seven hundred taels in the next few months?"
"The capital can't buy much for now. I estimate that I can still sell more than 200 taels. With other things, I can sell at most 300 taels. I won't be back for another two months. You have to figure out a way to get the remaining 400 taels."
"I'll try my best." Huo Chong sighed.
When Xu Youlin left with a bunch of stuff, Huo Chong felt heartbroken. This was a big investment, and even if it was successful, it might not bring much benefit. If it failed... would he run away?
After much deliberation, Huo Chong finally went to Linzi by himself. This time, Yang Youfang received Huo Chong warmly. Hearing that Huo Chong came to borrow money, Yang Youfang did not refuse immediately. Instead, he asked, "Brother Huo, donating your fame is a good thing. But what do you want to pledge?"
Huo Chong did not say much, but directly took out the wine, glass, glasses, and solid alcohol. After letting Yang Youfang look at them one by one and trying them, Huo Chong said, "These things can't turn into much money, but they can make money. If I can donate my fame, these things can also be a way to make money. Even if I pay it back slowly, I can still pay it back."
Yang Youfang was obviously very interested in solid alcohol. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Brother Huo, do you dare to go and meet your friends at sea?"
Huo Chong was surprised and delighted when he heard this. Zhangdian was only 200 miles away from the nearest sea. Although the Qing Dynasty definitely banned sea travel, there were definitely people who made a living from the sea. If he could sell his products to Korea and Japan, he would definitely make money.
"If Brother Yang accompanies me, of course I dare to go." Huo Chong answered decisively.
Yang Youfang was probably frightened by Huo Chong's straightforwardness, so he tried to comfort him, "Brother Huo, I'm not asking you to go out to sea. As long as the brothers on the sea are willing to buy your goods, I can ask the brothers on this road to borrow money. Do you understand?"
"Of course I understand." Huo Chong was amused by Yang Youfang's nervous expression. In such an era, a girl like Qian Qing who could run hundreds of miles alone probably had more knowledge than 90% of her contemporaries.
Just like Zhu Erniu was so excited when he got five taels of silver. In this era, many people have never even used silver, let alone handled hundreds of taels of silver. As for borrowing so much silver, it was beyond their imagination.
Huo Chong was born into this business, and if the money he handled was converted into silver, it would be at least several million taels. It might even be over ten million taels. What scared Huo Chong so much was not the amount of money, but the risk of the project. At least so far, the risk has not exceeded the danger line.
It can even be said that the only thing Huo Chong has to worry about now is his personal safety, not money.
Since he had decided to give it a try, Huo Chong asked, "Brother Yang, when can we leave?"
On the third day, Huo Chong prepared his things and set out with Yang Youfang. However, their destination was not to go directly to the seaside, but to go east, towards Jinan.
Huo Chong felt that things were completely beyond his imagination. If he wanted to find his brothers who wanted to travel by sea, why would he go directly to Jinan, which is more inland?
Yang Youfang gave Huo Chong a reason, "The brother I know lives in Jinan."
Such a reason really surprised Huo Chong. But Yang Youfang looked so frank that Huo Chong couldn't say anything. Thinking about it again, it made sense. If it were the 21st century, people who eat at sea would gather in coastal cities. Even if he didn't know what was available there, Huo Chong could still go there first, ask around, and take a look. He could always make a few more phone calls and contact some reliable or unreliable industry insiders.
Of course, such a situation would not have occurred in the Qing Dynasty. If the brothers who made a living on the sea had their home in Jinan, Huo Chong could only go to Jinan. As for how to transport in the future, it was completely up to them to arrange it. Convenient logistics and smooth destination were not the top priorities.
Pushing his things in a cart, Huo Chong followed Yang Youfang to Jinan. Along the way, he could only comfort himself that the Spring City of Jinan in this era must be much better than the Jinan of the 21st century. Apart from anything else, the richness of the groundwater alone was enough for Huo Chong to see the appearance of the Spring City of Jinan with his own eyes.
The straight-line distance from Linyi to Jinan is also 200 miles, which means it would take about 300 miles to walk. The two of them traveled all the way, sleeping in the open air. When it got dark, they found a place to rest, or even slept in the car. When it got light, they set off.
After three days of walking out, Huo Chong felt that he had let Yang Youfang down. The hardships along the way alone were painful enough.
On the fourth day, Huo Chong felt that it was okay, but Yang Youfang himself was a little depressed. Neither of them had animals to ride, and it was really hard to travel on these two roads. Fortunately, they were close to Jinan, and they finally got to the main road. There were many mule and horse shops on both sides of the main road.
Seeing Yang Youfang's expression, Huo Chong said nothing more and went directly to the nearest mule and horse shop. When he got close, he could already smell the urine of livestock. At this time, this smell meant that he could move by mules and horses. Huo Chong thought this smell was even a little cute.
"Boss!" Huo Chong shouted standing at the door.
"Hello! Is there a doctor here?" someone shouted almost at the same time.
Huo Chong turned around and saw a man sitting on a horse on the road behind him shouting anxiously. Seeing no one answering, the man continued to shout in Beijing dialect: "Is there a doctor? Someone broke his leg! Is there a doctor?"
Huo Chong looked at him again. The man on horseback saw that Huo Chong was staring at him, so he urged his horse over and shouted condescendingly, "What are you looking at?"
Huo Chong saw that this guy was wearing clothes that looked like those of a guard in a movie, and he looked at it because he thought it was interesting. He lowered his head immediately. Unexpectedly, this action made this guy very unhappy, and he shouted, "Are you a doctor?"
"I'm not a doctor." Huo Chong could only answer.
"You're not a doctor, what are you looking at? Are you looking for a fight?" the man on the horse cursed.
Huo Chong could only walk into the store, trying to avoid the subordinate of an unknown high-ranking official. He heard the man shouting a few more times, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard on the road behind. A group of people came along the road, and one of them shouted, "Have you found a doctor?"
