When Fan Hefu was still a young man with strong blood, he did not have such a huge industry as he has now. At that time, he only had a small shop in Shucheng. Fan Hefu often took a few partners and ran on the road from Luzhou to other places. The era of Chengping is that the road is not left behind, and the night is not closed. Therefore, in his more than 20 years of business career, Fan Hefu has never had a chance to encounter bandits.

Fan Hefu has been to Chang'an many times, although it needs to travel long distances, but there are official roads, although most of them shuttle between the mountains, but the maintenance of the official roads is still good. If you are riding a horse, it only takes more than 20 days to get from Luzhou to Zhuque Street in Chang'an.

Fan Hefu's tea, wine, silk and paper are also sold to ethnic minority areas west of Yizhou. When Fan Hefu's Fan Kee business grew, his caravans traveled back and forth to these ancient trade routes for many years. The sound of horses' hooves, the villages along the way have become familiar with those men who drive horses.

As a successful businessman, Fan Hefu, like others, had many wives and concubines, who bore him nine sons and six daughters.

Now, Fan Hefu is getting older, and he has the heart to hand over the family's business to his son, so that he can enjoy leisure. According to the concept of the scholar clan, it should be passed on to the descendants, not to the young, but Fan Hefu scoffed at this. The merchant's family depends on the business acumen and diligence, otherwise how many families will be lost.

Through observation over the years, among the nine sons, Fan Hefu believed that the nine sons Changfeng had a talent for business, so he continued to cultivate him in secret.

However, Fan Changfeng has one thing that makes Fan Hefu a headache, no matter how Fan Hefu teaches, Fan Changfeng just can't make a good calculation. In Fan Hefu's opinion, Fan Changfeng's abacus with his hands is not as fast as his own feet. As a businessman, as the future successor of the Fan family's firm, he can't make a beautiful calculation, and if he spreads it, it won't make people laugh off his big teeth.

Just when he was about to lose confidence in Fan Changfeng, yesterday Fan Hefu was suddenly shocked by his son: if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that he could calculate so fast without an abacus.

Could it be that his son is a god and a demon? Under Fan Hefu's repeated questioning, Fan Changfeng finally shook Li Tao out. With his unique sense of smell in business, Fan Hefu immediately sensed that Li Tao was not simple.

So, there was Fan Changfeng's invitation.

……

"Hello Uncle Fan!"

Li Tao was the father who saw Fan Changfeng for the first time, and he didn't dare to be sloppy, so he gave Fan Hefu a junior salute as soon as they met.

"Your name is Li Tao, and you're Jiulang's best friend, am I right?" Fan Hefu said quietly.

"It's the junior!" Li Tao is also neither humble nor arrogant.

"Very good, sit, let's talk!" Fan Hefu pointed in front of him and said.

Li Tao nodded, and was about to sit down, when his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Uncle Fan, I didn't expect you to have a chair here?" Li Tao was pleasantly surprised.

Indeed, Fan Hefu asked Li Tao to sit on a chair. Li Tao carefully examined the structure of the chair, crossed the front and back legs, made the shaft at the junction point, and wore the upper beam through the rope seat, which could be folded, and a ring was installed on it.

"Li Xiaolang, that's not called a chair, that's a Hu bed!" Fan Hefu explained with a smile.

"Whatever it's called, Uncle Fan, where did you get it?"

"Don't you know? This Hu bed has been introduced to the Central Plains for hundreds of years, but it can't be elegant! The Hu bed is easy to carry, I have been out for business for a long time, and I am used to sitting, so I also have a Hu bed at home! ”

"Uncle Fan, you are a businessman, don't you see an opportunity in it?" Li Tao blinked.

"Opportunity? What are the opportunities? Fan Hefu was confused.

"If one day, this bed, no, let's call it a chair instead! If this chair enters the homes of thousands of dignitaries and ordinary people, Uncle Fan, think about it......"

When Fan Hefu heard Li Tao say this, his heart moved: If this is the case, it is indeed an opportunity.

Fan Hefu seemed to think of something again, and he smiled bitterly: "Li Xiaolang, this is not as simple as you think!" This bed, oh, no, this chair, if it had been favored by people all these years, it would have entered the homes of dignitaries and ordinary people a long time ago, so why wait until now? ”

"Why is that?" Li Tao also felt strange, why no one sat on this good chair.

"The Han people in the Central Plains have always been accustomed to sitting on the ground, kneeling, or sitting cross-legged, and there is no habit of sitting on chairs. Even the sitting method of the Seven Sages of the Ancient Bamboo Forest with their feet stretched forward is called 'Keiju', which is extremely disrespectful and rude in the eyes of everyone in the Shi clan, let alone sitting on a chair? Speaking of this, Fan Hefu laughed at himself: "That is, businessmen with low status like us will not have so many scruples!" ”

"Pedantic!" Li Tao scolded hatefully.

After pondering for a while, Li Tao smiled and said: "Uncle Fan, there is no need to worry, if the royal family, nobles, gentry and scholars all use chairs, why don't you worry that people in the world will not follow suit?" ”

"How is this possible?" Fan Hefu lost his voice.

"Why can't it be? Kemari or polo was not introduced to the people from the royal family? As long as the guidance is good, the chair can also be accepted by everyone! Uncle Fan, don't worry, I'll leave this matter to me, I can guarantee that within ten years, chairs will be all the rage! ”

Fan Hefu was so shocked by Li Tao's bold words that he couldn't speak, Fan Changfeng saw Li Tao show his face in front of his father, and his heart was also tight.

"So, Uncle Fan, you have to hurry up and work on the chair, don't wait until the day this chair becomes popular and regret it!"

"It's just that this chair is simple in workmanship, and ordinary carpenters can imitate it, or it won't be long before it will be everywhere, and I'm afraid it's not a long-term solution!" Fan Hefu still had a hint of hesitation.

"Uncle Fan, you're biased! The chair is not as simple as you think! Speaking of this category alone, there are dozens of chairs, circle chairs, armchairs, swivel chairs, folding chairs, rocking chairs, reclining chairs, etc.! ”

"Wait, Li Xiaolang, how can I never hear of these chairs you are talking about?" Fan Hefu asked anxiously.

Li Tao smiled secretly in his heart: If you want to know, won't you also become a traverser?

"The back chair with armrests, except for the circle chair and the cross chair, the rest are called armchairs; A chair that can be rocked back and forth is a rocking chair; There is a kind of hinge designed under the seat surface, and the chair that can rotate left and right at will when the seat is leaning is called a swivel chair; The back of the circle is connected to the armrest, from high to low, and the arm of the person can be leaned on the armrest of the circle when the seat is leaning, this kind of chair is called the circle chair; The chair that can lie down and sleep is called a recliner ......," Li Tao said eloquently.

Fan Hefu was dumbfounded.

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