Chapter 49: The Pioneer (I)

After the Huaiyang Governor's Office made a decision, it had never had the habit of delaying. Even if the Spring Festival is approaching, all departments are still running at a high speed. In just a few days, the various strategies for carrying out "economic warfare" against Mengyuan and the corresponding implementation work have quietly unfolded north of the Yellow River.

Affected by the weather, the Yellow River has not been unsealed at this moment. Most of the sections of the canal are also frozen. Therefore, the trade travelers from the south to the north could no longer use ships, and could only use mule carts or ox carts to transport goods at high prices. Occasionally, a horse dragging an ice sled whistling across the smooth surface of the river will attract a "tsk" of envy on both sides of the canal. It was a cargo transport weapon specially built for them by the Huaiyang craftsmen entrusted by the boat gang, not counting the horses, and the price of each car was more than 200 yuan. And the goods loaded on the ice skid, the "identity" is even more valuable. An ordinary needle and thread brain is not qualified to put on an ice skid at all, and it is impossible to earn back the cost of transportation!

"The Boat Gang has been really prosperous in the past two years, no matter what time it is, there is an endless business to do!" In a mule cart that traveled from south to north along the east bank of the canal, several young faces looked back from the broken lattice glass window, and talked with envy on their faces.

"Of course, their hands and eyes are open to the sky! The sailors, as well as the major legions, how many of the officials were from the boat gang. It is said that the trade is fair, but many goods, we Yangzhou people can't get them, but we can always give priority to providing them with boat help! ”

"Isn't it? The money has been made by the boat gang, but we, the native-born Yangzhou businessmen, have to follow behind them! ”

"I don't know what the Du's shopkeeper is going to do, and they don't make money by putting the business with the thickest dividends. It's winter, but you have to send us down to earn the three melons and two dates on the piglets and lambs?! ”

"It's not, this foreign monk is good"

"Alright, keep your mouth shut, no one will treat you as dumb!" In the middle of the back row of the carriage, Chang Fugui, the new second shopkeeper of the Hanyuan General Number who was reclining on the back, suddenly opened his eyes and scolded in a low voice. "What kind of money to make and what business to do, is it up to you to decide? Just work hard according to the rules, don't worry about it! The shopkeeper Du and the owner naturally have their reasons! ”

"Yes! Always shopkeeper! The boys stuck out their tongues and replied sheepishly.

Approaching the end of the year, they were suddenly sent to the north of the Yellow River to open up trade routes, and everyone felt a little uncomfortable. Although the chief shopkeeper Du had promised before departure, anyone who was willing to go to the north would receive double the salary compared to when he was in Yangzhou, and he would give his family a large amount of pension if he could not return in case of danger. But in these years, who still lacks that bit of money? As long as you can write and calculate, no matter how clever your eyes and hands and feet are, in the eyes of which business in Huaiyang, everyone is not fragrant? Wouldn't it be nice to keep your life and squat at the door of your house to earn stable money for a lifetime? Why do you have to run north when you see that a fight is about to start? Make yourself like a soldier and pin your head to your belt every day?

"The boat gang, not only do we have many acquaintances here, but the people we have made friends in the capital are all dignitaries. I took the body mirror, walking beads, and the Ice Spirit Eight Treasures Glazed Night Pot from Yangzhou, and I was not afraid of smashing it in my hands. And our Hanyuan Commercial Bank is doing business with small doors, and the biggest acquaintance is just the prefect of a state, how can it be compared with the boat gang? Knowing that everyone was unhappy, Chang Fugui thought about it again, slowed down his tone and added.

"That's, that's right!"

"If you don't say it, we almost forgot!"

"But isn't it, snakes drill holes and rats make holes, each with its own way!"

The boys nodded their heads, regardless of whether they understood or not.

Chang Fugui is the leader of their line, and in the future, everyone's performance appraisal and year-end bonus will be pinched in the hands of this person. So everyone has already gone north, so there is no need to offend him, the top boss.

"I know that everyone is not sure, is there going to be a war, who can't see it with a clear eye, the Huai'an army has pulled men and cannons to Xuzhou, can it stop after the spring opens?" After glancing at everyone a little, Chang Fugui added with a puff of white smoke.

The temperature in the carriage was a bit low, so every time he opened his mouth, a white mist would come out of his throat with his breath, swirling in mid-air. But everyone's hearts were quickly warmed by his words, and a few real smiles gradually appeared on their faces.

"But when the battle starts, what doesn't increase in price? If our owner doesn't take advantage of this opportunity to make a big profit, when will we go? Besides, we are not soldiers, so we need to carry our heads to charge. We are doing serious business, buying pigs, cattle and sheep from big families in the north, and then paying the bills with real money. No matter how fierce the fight is outside, it won't hurt us in the slightest! After all, the more chaotic the situation, the more scarce real money is. Those big local families in Lingzhou, unless their heads are kicked by a donkey, will they mix us with the Huai'an army! ”

These few words, but when they were said in everyone's hearts, they made the big and small guys blush. "Hey, hey, hey! Brother Chang, you just see it thoroughly! I'm much more down-to-earth now! ”

"Why don't Brother Chang become the shopkeeper, and we are still running errands below? This insight alone has left us don't know how many miles! ”

"Hey, hey, hey. It's true, although our Hanyuan Commercial Bank doesn't do those red goods, which one is more refined than us in the daily groceries of firewood, rice, oil and salt? ! ”

"It's not that I see it thoroughly, it's that the owner and the shopkeeper Du have a good eye!" Chang Fugui smiled and waved his hand very modestly. "At this moment, everyone else is scrambling to go to Jiangnan to open a branch, but only our Hanyuan and a few three or two companies have set their eyes on the north. The risk in the south is small, but it is easy to open a shop, and anyone can intervene. Everyone is competing to lower the price and raise the price, so can the profit be high? But in the north, when no one dared to open a semicolon, we took the lead. By the time others understand the taste, we have taken root in Lingzhou and are brothers and sisters with those local businessmen. How could they catch up with us?! With the merit of expanding the territory in hand, how can Hanyuan Commercial Bank forget us when the owner needs to employ people in the future? ”

"That's right. They can't even eat hot! ”

"Hey, listen to Brother Chang, we should really come."

"That is, let's also have more experience and experience, and after two years, the business will go north, maybe we can be like Brother Chang and go out to take charge alone!"

Everyone listened to the fire in their hearts, and shook their heads one by one. The whole journey immediately stopped being irritable. Almost everyone's eyes are shining with anticipation.

"I'm sorry brothers!" Seeing the longing on everyone's faces, Chang Fugui quietly apologized in his heart. This trip is not without any risks, but with both feet on the knife mountain, a slight mistake will be a catastrophe. But he had to take that risk. Because it involves the reputation of the Grand Governor's Office, and the millions of lives in the North. Therefore, if the war can end early, no matter how big the sacrifice is, it will be worth it!