Chapter 55: Intelligence Network (VI)
Sitting opposite him was the Fourteenth Master, who looked eager, and next to him was the Fourth Master, who looked indifferent. Huo Chong didn't understand whether the Fourteenth Master had taken the wrong medicine or had been stimulated. He no longer mentioned the matter of , and didn't care that the Fourth Master was next to him. Instead, he directly asked what new low price Huo Chong could offer.
Since the Fourteenth Master was so straightforward, Huo Chong also wanted to be straightforward, "Fourteenth Master, I definitely can't pay the court for nothing. If I mention a number, I'm afraid that the Fourteenth Master will think that my price is too high. Why don't you just tell me the number directly? I'll see if I can bear it."
Just as the Fourteenth Master was about to speak, Huo Chong quickly added, "Fourteenth Master, please allow me to say one more word. The price you mentioned is the price you sent someone to get from me. The best I can do is to deliver the Glazed Fire to the banks of the Daqing River. If I were to deliver the goods to the capital, the cost of the journey would be too high."
"One tael of silver for fifteen jin, delivered to the Daqing River." Perhaps because he had never bargained like this before, the Fourteenth Master looked a little shy.
Huo Chong had such a shy experience before, and thought that the Fourteenth Master was really cute. However, as a businessman, Huo Chong decisively replied: "Fifteen pounds, I will wait for the Fourteenth Master in Zibo County at most. If you send it to the Daqing River, I can only give you thirteen pounds."
Looking at the Fourteenth Master's appearance, he seemed to really not understand the difference between thirteen catties and fifteen catties. However, the Fourteenth Master thought for a moment, then turned to ask the Fourth Master who was watching coldly, "Fourth Brother, do you think this price is okay?"
"Haha. Fourteenth brother, Huo Chong offered me one tael of silver and seven catties. If you think it's okay, what can I say?"
Huo Chong felt that the Fourth Master was really ruthless. The so-called one tael of silver and seven catties was the price for delivery to the capital. He had to worry about the food and feed for the people and horses along the way. Huo Chong would rather sell the goods in Zibo County for one tael of silver and fifteen catties. Whoever wants to make money along the way can make it.
But he definitely couldn't say this at this time, because saying it would be considered "resentment". Huo Chong could only wait for the Fourteenth Master to speak.
The Fourteenth Master thought for a while, and suddenly he seemed to understand something. Throwing down a heavy burden, the Fourteenth Master said cheerfully, "Just fifteen catties, get it in Zibo. Huo Chong, how long will it take you to make thirty thousand catties?"
Huo Chong was frightened by this. Thirty thousand catties! Thirty thousand catties is fifteen tons. Is this gentleman planning to set Beijing on fire?
But it was not appropriate to ask about a client's secrets, especially the prince's secrets. The prince had said it himself, so Huo Chong had to pretend he hadn't heard it.
After thinking for a while, Huo Chong replied: "It will take nine months."
"Give me five months!"
Huo Chong sighed in his heart. If possible, he really didn't want to let the people on the coast pick fish in such weather. But in the current situation, he had no choice but to do so.
After reaching an agreement with Huo Chong, the Fourteenth Master said, "Huo Chong, I'll send someone to pick you up later." Then he walked out leisurely.
The Fourth Master quickly chased after him and asked in the yard, "Fourteenth Brother, why are you so anxious?"
"Fourth brother, of course we have to do what our father has told us to do. Since Huo Chong is already in Fourth Brother's house, I won't take him back. I'll send my Geshaha to pick him up later."
The Fourth Master felt that the Fourteenth Brother had changed too quickly. Could it be that his father had used some strange trick? He wanted to send someone to escort Huo Chong, but he thought that was too hypocritical. So he said, "Then let the Fourteenth Brother's men do the hard work."
The Fourteenth Master's men came very quickly. After they took Huo Chong away, the Fourth Master called the counselors to discuss today's affairs. After listening for a while, the counselors all thought this matter was very strange. Whether it was the emperor or the two princes, no one really cared about Huo Chong. But Huo Chong seemed to have played some role in this.
The counselors pondered over it, and one of them suddenly asked, "Fourth Master, I heard what you said. The emperor asked, what Huo Chong meant was that even if the price of the royal workshop in the capital is high, Fourteenth Master should rely on the royal workshop in the capital, not Huo Chong."
The Fourth Master thought this was correct, so he replied, "That's right."
"It's obvious that the Fourteenth Master has listened to you. According to what you said, what he did later was just to use Huo Chong. As long as Huo Chong can make these 30,000 kilograms of colored glaze fire..."
Hearing this, the Fourth Master suddenly understood. After he understood, he felt disappointed. The Fourth Master already knew who his staff were. He didn't want to say anything to them at this time, so he got up and went to the Buddhist temple.
Turning the rosary and chanting the Diamond Sutra, the Fourth Master felt that it was difficult to calm down. His father was a hero, and he always valued people who could let go. The Fourteenth Master was ten years younger than the Fourth Master, and he was only thirty this year. It was inevitable that he wanted to take on everything. If the Fourteenth Master could really understand the limits this time, then he would most likely be able to let go.
Recite the scriptures silently...
"Subhuti, what do you think? Can I see the Tathagata in person?"
"No, World-honored One! One cannot see the Tathagata by physical form. Why? The physical form that the Tathagata speaks of is not the physical form."
The Buddha told Subhuti: "All appearances are false. If you see all appearances as non-appearances, then you see the Tathagata."
…
The Fourth Master himself did not ask himself when he suddenly became enlightened. It was a gradual process. It was just that at a certain moment, all the accumulations suddenly connected, as if the window paper was broken, and the dark world suddenly became bright. Maybe the Fourteenth Master just stumbled upon it by accident? The Fourth Master made a judgment.
Huo Chong had already set out on his journey home. With Old Fourteen's Goshha as his escort, the journey was extremely smooth.
Huo Chong got busy the day he got home. Zhu Erniu had no objection to expanding production, but when he heard Huo Chong said he wanted to open a workshop in Liujia Village, Zhu Erniu was unhappy, "Brother Huo, can't I do it here? You still don't trust me?"
Huo Chong wanted to persuade Zhu Erniu, "It would be best if everyone works together."
Zhu Erniu was obviously unhappy. "I have been making wine in the village. If you let me go, how can I go back to the village?"
Seeing that Zhu Erniu was unwilling, Huo Chong had no choice. It was not yet time to suppress Zhu Erniu, so he could only let him start making new wine vats right now.
When he asked about wood, something went wrong again. Families in the village who had wood said they were willing to sell it, but they were always hesitant and unwilling to do anything. Huo Chong really couldn't afford to waste time, so he could only let them talk about what they wanted. After hearing what Huo Chong said, the one who had the most wood at home said, "Brother Huo, you are an official now. If you buy wood at the price others offer, you will lose your status."
Fuck you! Huo Chong cursed in his heart. Why do other officials act so bossy and even force people to buy and sell things? I just got an official position, but I have to pay more than others. I still care about face, but is face as realistic as money?
Thinking of this, Huo Chong sighed: "Ladies and gentlemen, are you going to eat the rich?"
After hearing what Huo Chong said, these people became angry and said, "We won't sell it anymore! We won't sell it anymore!" and left immediately.
Oh my god! Huo Chong didn't know what to say. What was happening before his eyes was different from what was said in the legend.
Huo Chong felt that he had no idea how to solve the problem. While he was hesitating, Yang Youfang came with the moneylenders from Linzi County. Seeing these two, Huo Chong felt much more relaxed. After all, paying back a debt is a simple and quick process.
This was indeed the case. The lender calculated the interest, collected the money, and returned the IOU to Huo Chong. Finally, Huo Chong's matter was settled. A few people started drinking. When Huo Chong said he wanted to buy some wood, Yang Youfang asked about the price and felt that the villagers didn't ask for much.
Huo Chong sighed, "I know what they want is not expensive. But I feel like these people are saying that since I'm an official, I have to pay them more. Isn't this bullying me?"
"This shows that everyone respects you. How can it be considered bullying you?" Yang Youfang said with a smile.
Huo Chong felt that this was not unreasonable. But this kind of contempt really made people uncomfortable.
The lender did not participate in this discussion. When the discussion was paused, he said, "Master Huo, it would be great if you could move to the county town. If you want to buy something, there will be many people to ask. Master Huo's business is so big that it can only be developed in the county town."
It was obviously good in the county, but it was inevitable that a tree that was tall would attract the wind in the county. Although he was unhappy in the village, at least Huo Chong could understand the rules of the village. Huo Chong was still not clear about the various official rules, and God knew what would happen in the future.
While he was thinking, Yang Youfang said, "Brother Huo, if you don't want to go to Zichuan County, then come to our Linzi County. We will help you."
Huo Chong recalled that none of the township enterprises in the past had factories in the county town. No matter how he looked at it, the county town was not a suitable place. As he was hesitating, the lender continued, "Brother Huo, there is no house in the county town. No one would believe you if you said you were an official."
"What are you talking about!?" Yang Youfang said unhappily.
Huo Chong suddenly realized. This is true. No matter what kind of group it is, no matter how high-end the office building looks, if the office building is rented, it is not as strong as a group with its own office building . Needless to say, Huo Chong decided to buy a house in Zibo County.
After the meal, Huo Chong invited the wood sellers. They looked unhappy, but Huo Chong didn't smile at them, "I want all your wood."
"What's the price?"
"Just go with the price everyone agreed on." Huo Chong was not going to argue with everyone anymore.
"When do you want it?"
"Right now. If you guys are free, I'll let Brother Zhu go and pull the wood."
Several people looked at each other, and the one who said that if Huo Chong didn't give more money, he would lose his identity as Huo Chong spoke again, "Brother Huo, I know someone who can be a carpenter. How about sending it to him and letting him do it?"
Five days later, the new wine vat was finally ready. Huo Chong said to Zhu Erniu, who was very happy, "Brother, I'm not saying anything unpleasant. This new vat is definitely different from the old one."
"I know, I know. I will be careful." Zhu Erniu answered very modestly and cautiously.
After leaving Zhu Erniu's house, he saw several familiar people standing on the roadside. Huo Chong instinctively touched the thing on his waist. These guys were all Mr. Zhu's men. Maybe they were here to cause trouble again.
One of them came forward to greet Huo Chong, who responded. Just as he was about to leave, he heard this person say, "Master Huo, my Master Zhu wants to visit you, is that okay?"
