For Guan Zhuofan, this was an unexpected surprise, thinking of Hu Qingqing's glutinous Jiangnan accent, his heart felt a little crispy and itchy.

But it's not strange to think about it, Hu Qingqing is from Hangzhou, and as Hu Xueyan, inviting her to take charge of the spoon is the proper meaning of the question.

"This cook, called Hu Qingqing, is my fellow countryman......" Hu Xueyan inevitably told Guan Zhuofan the allusion of "beautiful chef".

"Yes, I've heard a little bit about it." Guan Zhuofan listened patiently, nodded and said, "I want to come to her uncle, who is also a famous artist, otherwise I wouldn't have learned such a skill." ”

"It's rare for her to be able to innovate and go to the next level. Originally, there was such an excellent niece who inherited the craft, and she should be satisfied, but unfortunately her uncle's life was not good, and in Hangzhou, he was killed by Tan Shaoguang's long hair in August. ”

Guan Zhuofan was taken aback, remembering that Hu Xueyan's family members were also trapped in Hangzhou, and if he asked, he was afraid of asking him sad things, so he was silent for a while. Tan Shaoguang is a fierce general under Li Xiucheng, and together with eight sworn brothers, he is known as the "Nine Tai Sui". Their soldiers were the main force in breaking Hangzhou, and after entering the city, they attacked the most ruthlessly, and the uncle who wanted to come to Hu Qingqing was killed at that time.

"Someone brought news out for me, saying that my home is fine." Hu Xueyan is the best at observing words and feelings, and when he saw Guan Zhuofan silent, he guessed his thoughts, "It's just that the old lady was frightened and had a minor illness, and now she is healthy." ”

"That's good," Guan Zhuofan breathed a sigh of relief, "Although it is difficult to survive, as long as you hold on until the official army recovers Hangzhou, it will naturally be light and rainy." ”

"That's right. Therefore, as businessmen, no matter what, we must help the officials and soldiers. ”

"Brother Xueyan," Guan Zhuofan owed his body and said solemnly, "The military salary you donated for Xuanjun shows high righteousness, Yixuan has thanked you here." ”

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be, this bit of money is not a tribute." Hu Xueyan shook his hand and said, "In the southeast, only Shanghai is left, and now it is all supported by the Xuan army. I invited you to come today, and I also have one thing to discuss with you. ”

So, it seems that there is still something to ask yourself for help with? Guan Zhuofan nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"I have dozens of grain boats, and I've been on the docks. There are 50,000 stone of grain on it, and I want to repay it together for military use. ”

Fifty thousand stones? Guan Zhuofan was taken aback. One stone of grain is one hundred and twenty catties, which means that there are a total of six million catties of grain, and now rice is expensive, if it is converted into silver, I am afraid that it will not be more than 100,000 taels? Such a huge amount, if you say that you will repay it, this Hu Xueyan is really a big deal!

"Brother Xueyan, but I don't know how to have so much food?"

This question made Hu Xueyan's face darken, and he said with embarrassment: "This is the food I bought for Wang Xuexuan, and now he doesn't need ......" The pain was overflowing, and even the circles under his eyes were red, and he couldn't continue.

Wang Xuexuan is Wang Youling, the governor of Zhejiang. Hangzhou was trapped, he sent Hu Xueyan to Shanghai to buy grain, and when Hu Xueyan came back, the Taiping army had already besieged, and the people in the city and the grain ships were far away, but they couldn't transport a grain of rice. In order to open a grain road, the chief soldier Zhang Yuliang led the dead soldiers to kill a bloody road, and finally died in the hands of the Taiping army only a few zhang away from the river.

Hangzhou people are stubborn and are known as "Hangzhou Iron Head", and Hu Xueyan is also a man of temperament. After the city was broken, he did not give up, and led the fleet on the river to deal with the Taiping army for seven days, until the flag camp stationed in the "Mancheng" set fire to suicide, only to know that the matter was irreparable, knelt on the bow of the ship, kowtowed to Wang Youling three times, cried loudly, and returned to Shanghai with the fleet.

Guan Zhuofan is very clear about this historical story, and now he sees the protagonist of the story sitting in front of him alive, and that feeling is naturally very profound, and his opinion of Hu Xueyan has also changed.

*

*

Hu Xueyan went from an apprentice of a money village to become known as the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River, of course, he has his advantages. Especially in later generations, it is known as the "god of management", which can be said to be famous all over the world. But Guan Zhuofan has his own opinion of him, thinking that under his fame, it is actually difficult to deserve.

In Guan Zhuofan's view, Hu Xueyan is a well-versed person, familiar with people, and has a lively mind and is good at dancing with long sleeves, which is a factor in his success. But there are also shortcomings, that is, when I see the hunting heart, I want to intervene and try it if there is anything new, so I spread the stall very large, which is the side of the mind that is not haode - to put it bluntly, it is not practical enough.

Hu Xueyan's funds come from his Fukang bank, and because he is very close to the government, all kinds of official funds are exchanged through Fukang, so he has created his golden signboard, which has attracted more private funds. As for the use of these funds, it is lackluster, Guan Zhuofan believes that this is more like the so-called "illegal absorption" of later generations, and the money earned is actually not enough to pay the interest on those deposits, as well as the huge expenses for his social and personal enjoyment.

But fortunately, there is the support of the government. Hu Xueyan has been tightly tied to Wang Youling from the moment he made his career, Zhejiang's official funds can be used by him free of charge, plus the rich rebates he got in the process of procuring military funds for Zhejiang, the game of ten cups and nine covers, can still be played, and once one day, no one can cover him, his business empire will inevitably collapse.

Therefore, when Yang Fang proposed that Hu Xueyan would invite him to dinner, Guan Zhuofan was wary of fear in his heart - in fact, he didn't want to get too close to this person. However, Hu Xueyan opened his mouth to repay 50,000 stone of military rations, which made Guan Zhuofan suddenly realize that Hu Xueyan still had a benefit.

Not for those dozens of boatloads of grain. What Guan Zhuofan thought of was that it can be seen from the fall of Hangzhou that Hu Xueyan is a person who is affectionate and re-committed, which is a quality that many people do not have, so speaking of which, regardless of the length of the business, Hu Xueyan is actually a "good person".

Since he is a good person, Guan Zhuofan refuses to accept these grains - the so-called thinking about himself in the first half of the night and others in the second half of the night, he can't help but make plans for Hu Xueyan. These grains were purchased with public funds from Zhejiang, and Shanghai belongs to Jiangsu, and today he is in charge of serving Shanghai, and in the future, when Zhejiang recovers, what kind of reputation will he have in the local area? This must not be done that way!

"Brother Xueyan, I understand your kindness. It's just ......" Guan Zhuofan carefully considered the words, "At present, Xuanjun is in Shanghai, if the situation improves in the future, it will probably be to Su Chang, and he will never enter Zhejiang to recover the lost territory, so your intentions, Xuanjun can't repay it, how can you accept such a big gift?" ”

"Yixuan, why be polite? After all, it's all about the state. Hu Xueyan was very strange - 50,000 stone of grain, if it was replaced by someone else, I am afraid that it would have already broken the head, why did Guan Zhuofan repeatedly thank him, as if he was unwilling to ask for it?

That being said, but in the end the situation is different. The Xuan army has Shanghai as the backing, and the life is quite passable, and the officers and soldiers in other places have no shortage of food and salary, as the saying goes, good steel should be used on the blade......" Guan Zhuofan was afraid that Hu Xueyan still didn't understand, so he simply made it clear to him: "Brother Xueyan, your foundation is all in Hangzhou, if this grain can be used in the future to recover the officials and soldiers in Hangzhou, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?" ”

Only then did Hu Xueyan understand that Guan Zhuofan was planning for himself! glanced at him gratefully, and said with a wry smile: "Yixuan, I won't tell you, as soon as Wang Xuegong goes, my heart is completely messed up, and I have no ideas." Now that the southeast is erosive, I don't even know which other officers and troops are worthy of trust. ”

"Hmm......" Guan Zhuofan said in a deep voice, "There is a person, I don't know if you have heard of it." ”

"Which one?"

"Zuo Zongtang."