Yunmengshan was calm as if nothing had happened. When the officials of the Yi Zaifu came to inform Wang Xu with the appointment documents and household registration book, they were messy. After asking the local people, no one knew where Wang Xu's family lived. How good is that? Lord Eizai clearly told him that this person should not be neglected. But they are the ones who are being neglected now. I can't go back to make a difference, so I can only wait patiently. But the wait is three days. When they saw the person who was looking for them, a group of small officials tearfully explained Cao Yizai's instructions and walked away. I don't want to stay for a moment. What's this called? Anyway, he is also an official. Although it is not big, it will be mixed for a few years, and when the people under the rule are enough for 1,000 households, you will be able to control the wilderness. At that time, the market in the wild was windy, rainy, and worried, and there was no money and food in the account? After working for so many years, it is the first time that I have encountered such a strange thing.

On the way back, several people kept complaining. Lower-level officials like them had the most miserable life, and the Yi Zaifu divided some public land and assigned the people of the feudal province to farm, which was the salary. Those farmers can't eat enough, so how can they do their best for them? Fortunately, I have plenty of time and some other work in my spare time to support my family. For a long time, the low-level officials, who had no hope of promotion, became versatile and hard-working. The pressure of survival is a great task for these poor scholars. Because of this, during the later Warring States Period, the scholar class maintained its vitality and rose wildly.

Although the rules of the Great Zhou have been abandoned, there is nothing left. However, the rigid fortification seems to have been deliberately retained by the princes.

"The craftsman camps the country, Fang Jiuli, the three gates next to it, the nine longitudes and nine latitudes in the country, the nine tracks of the warp Tu, the left ancestor and the right society, facing the back city, and the city is a husband."

When the craftsmen built the city, they strictly followed the ritual system of the Zhou Dynasty. The construction standard of the capital city is that the city wall is nine miles long, one side opens three gates, one large and two small, nine horizontal and nine vertical in the city, and eighteen streets. And the width of the street can be nine horse-drawn carriages in parallel. The center of the city is the palace, the left side is the temple to worship the ancestors, and the right side is the shrine to worship the gods. In front of the palace is the court, which is the place where the ministers worship, and behind the palace is the city, that is, the commercial area, which must be calculated in strict accordance with the distance of 100 steps.

Wang Xu didn't expect that being a village chief would be so troublesome. I thought that the village was just to gather the people to live together, and then fence it off. I didn't expect to build a village and build a wall with logs. The standard set by the Euphaefu was that the walls of the village were one mile long, with two gates, and the two main streets were three feet wide. A shrine was also to be built for the people to worship.

The other party only made a request, but did not give money and food, and the craftsman did not come out. Obviously, he deliberately made things difficult for Wang Xu. He can understand that in these chaotic years, building a cottage is conducive to defending against the raids of small groups of enemies in other countries. However, the construction area of more than 15,000 square meters is based on more than 100 people, including the elderly, the weak, women and children. It's a dream. How to complete the huge project on time while ensuring the payment of taxes. Isn't that a joke? Later, Wang Xu consulted Li Cang's opinion, and it seemed that only Uncle Li was the most literate among these mountain people.

"The villain means to build a wall at the mouth of Yunmeng Mountain. The village is built in the valley, and the stone needed to build the road can also be taken from the pavement. That saves you the hassle. ”

"Great idea! Get through this winter first. If the Yi Zaifu is not satisfied, everyone will think about it in the long run after the beginning of spring. ”

The most important thing right now is to get through the winter safely. Don't wait until the village is built, and everyone freezes or starves to death. So what's the point? So Wang Xu used mud to make a model of the future development of the village. The project is divided into three steps. The first step was to move the people to the valley and build houses before the onset of winter. The second step is to build a fence in winter. Anyway, there is nothing to do in winter, and idleness is idleness. As long as it doesn't snow, it's good to move rocks, cut down trees, and exercise. The third step is to complete the construction of the shrine and the repair of the town.

He attached great importance to road construction. As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. In fact, the ancients attached great importance to transportation when building cities. The streets are particularly wide. Otherwise, several horse-drawn carriages in parallel can block traffic. It was extremely difficult for the carriage to turn around on the spot. If it's an ox cart or something, it's lively. It is estimated that after the road is cleared, there will be a pile of excrement left behind.

As a village chief, he is also a city planner. How could Wang Xu tolerate such unsightly things? Especially in the villages that you built yourself. Small details such as public bathhouses, toilets, and garbage collection are all taken into account. The shops on the street near the main road were secretly wiped out from the residential area in the morning. What's the market? Merchants can only set up stalls. The Zhou Dynasty has never seen the future business model. He secretly rejoiced, as if he had forgotten that if he wanted to invest in real estate, he must first have capital.

These days, Wang Xu has been wandering around the valley. I often sit alone by the stream in a daze. Thinking about it, what side business can the village develop in the future in addition to cultivating land to generate income? The life of the mountain people is too hard, and it has exceeded his imagination. When he was irritable, he threw a stone into the stream. He kept cursing at those two bastards who were pheating him.

When I first mentioned the standard of 1,400 yuan annual income, it was actually the per capita GDP of the people of Qicheng Fengyi. The economic prosperity of Qicheng is not comparable to that of a poor and remote place like Yunmeng. If it is in accordance with the Great Zhou Jingtian system, the tax standard of nine draws is implemented. The people of Yunmeng pay at most 2,000 yuan a year. There is only such a small amount of arable land here, otherwise the mountain people would not have been forced to use slash-and-burn cultivation to reclaim the land.

He now lives in the village with Aji. The houses made of earthen walls and thatched are a little smaller, but they are smaller than caves without doors. It's warmer here. The Li family has opened up a vegetable garden and eats more abundantly. The two of them lived together, and it was really much more lively than the lonely life of the cave people on the top of the mountain before. Aji is very good at living, and there are a lot of leather goods accumulated in the cave. After going to Qicheng, I stored the food for the winter. In addition to tinkering with some herbs every day, the girl will always be by the young master's side the rest of the time. She rarely took the initiative to speak, but just followed indecently.

"Aji! What do you say the people need most? ”

"Of course, it's to be well fed and warm."

Aji replied without thinking. That's the question that individuals would answer. However, Wang Xu realized it later. I never thought that the people who defended the country would be so poor. The lives of the rich and the poor... Worlds apart. The bipolarization is particularly severe. The former business wizard is helpless at the moment. High-end products cannot enter the aristocratic circle without guidance. The common people corresponding to low-end products have no purchasing power. They would rather hoard their food at home and get moldy than exchange it for currency and trade it with others. The people's idea is very simple, and the money cannot be eaten. Food is hard currency. Therefore, the common people chose to barter in the form of exchange.

Like the foot merchants of the same foot, they carry a flat shoulder and walk the streets and alleys to sell cheap small goods. It doesn't work at all at this point. Because if you sell it in a circle, you will get not copper coins, but whole grains. Imagine that officials like Gongzi Lan and Cao Yizai have to count their chips. How can a seller of goods calculate the ratio between various grains and commodities of varying quality? Wang Xu was distressed. The most lucrative trades of the moment were salt, cloth, horses, and armor. None of this seems to be able to get a foot in the coffin.

The market for salt and cloth was monopolized by the Qi state. Qidi is bordered by the Bohai Sea in the east, and saline-alkali land can be seen everywhere. Through sun exposure, the cost of firewood consumed during cooking and distillation is effectively reduced. The amount of sea salt produced is large and cheap. There is no competition between well salt and mineral salt in the mainland. Two-thirds of the country's salt is imported. The same is true of the linen cloth of the Qi country, which has already formed an industrial chain. Legend has it that Jiang Ziya ruled Qi for half a year, that is, he found that Qi land has the benefit of fish and salt, and the land is not suitable for farming. So vigorously develop the fish, salt and textile industry. Even Duke Zhou couldn't help but sigh that in the future, the Qi country will produce a hegemon, and the Lu country will produce a sage. Sure enough.

Horses were monopolized by the Jin state. Northland Tara Koma, it has always been. Otherwise, during the Warring States Period, it would not be the turn of Zhao Wuling King Hu Fu to ride and shoot. Other countries also want to ride horses, but war horses are too expensive to ride. As for Fan Li's special channel to sell horses, it seems that only Xi Shi knows.

Not to mention armor. The products of Chu must be high-quality. The armor made of rhinoceros leather is not on the same level as the armor similar to artificial leather in the Central Plains. There are many rules in the Central Plains, and cattle are not allowed to be killed without reason. As the state of Chu in the Southern Barbarians, you can do whatever you want. Anyway, it's not the first day to compete with the Great Zhou Dynasty? They not only monopolize the high-end leather market. He was also the first to popularize the use of ironware. Technology is decades ahead of other countries.

Ding dong! The pebbles make a splash in the stream.

"What do you say? Say it again. ”

"Eat and clothe yourself."

I saw the sun and suddenly realized. It's like suddenly discovering a blue ocean market. Wang Xu reconfirmed:

"Aji is well fed and clothed?"

"The slave said... Eat one's fill... Dress warmly. ”

"That's right! Aji is well fed and clothed. That's right! ”

The girl Mumu didn't understand why the young master wanted to put his name on it. She is very satisfied with her current life. At this time, Wang Xu couldn't stop smirking, and some incomprehensible words popped out of his mouth. The whole person seems to be stunned.

"Hahaha... Salt.. Preservative... Who said that linen can only be used to make clothes? I'm so stupid... Hahaha. ”

He finally understood that what the people wanted was too simple. The previous thinking was completely limited to how to produce. Never considered not going to production. Commodity competition is about developing strengths and avoiding weaknesses. Blindly using one's own shortcomings to compete with others' strengths, or catching up with others' pace, it is difficult to break through in a short period of time. It's better to find another way and let your opponent chase you. Wang Xu restrained his smile and hooked his hand at Ah Ji. The eyes are extremely determined.

"Tomorrow, go to Qicheng."

Yunmeng Mountain is 200 miles away from Qicheng, and it takes four days to walk back and forth. Two short swords were carefully selected, and the two of them traveled lightly. The economic and political center of the country was in the north. For hundreds of years, either fighting with the Beidi tribe or with the Jin people, they always lost more and won less. In the cracks, it is difficult to squeeze into the country of a thousand times. It is difficult to expand outward due to strong neighbors.

Historically, this time was the middle and late Eastern Zhou Dynasty, which was also considered the late Spring and Autumn Period. Among the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Yue State is the current hegemon. Jin Qi's strength is second, and Qin Chu is in the third echelon. The rest of the princes are not worth mentioning. Decades ago, Wu Zixu fought for Wu with his friend Sun Wu in order to avenge his father, but the Chu State was defeated and almost destroyed the country. King Chuping was dug up by Wu Zixu from the tomb and whipped 300 corpses, shocking all countries. Since then, the state of Chu has made great efforts, immersed itself in development, and tried to rise again to compete in the Central Plains as in the past.

Qicheng is the hub of the country, not only for business prosperity, but also for meetings between countries. On the one hand, the country has maintained its neutrality for a long time and does not participate in the conquest of all parties. On the other hand, the country is weaker, located in the Central Plains, and it is convenient for countries to travel to and fro. Less than a mile outside the east gate of Qicheng, there is a platform for the alliance. From time to time, some monarchs of various countries would come to worship the heavens and swear an oath. The truce will come and swear and tell the world that they believe in peace. If there is a war, they will come to swear, and they will pull some foreign aid to make an alliance. Brotherly nations with one another, and invade other nations together. In short, there is no shortage of popularity here.

When Wang Xu showed Wei Lan's jade pendant to Menyin, the city gate official arranged two soldiers and led them into the city together. The soldier enthusiastically introduced the situation in Qicheng. Originally, Wang Xu was still puzzled, thinking that Cao Yizai was deceiving him. It's strange why such a large city has only one gate on one side. Only then did I know that Qicheng had already been expanded once. Because it is located in the northern border of the country, it is a border city. In order to strengthen the defense of the city, three gates were not opened on one side according to the regulations.

The city wall is three feet high, four miles long, and is built of brick and stone. It looks spectacular. The city is full of pavilions from various countries. The imaginary old city should be full of shops, vendors selling along the streets, and crowds of people. At this time, it was like coming to the logistics dissolution place. The area around the pavilion is full of horse-drawn carriages waiting to be loaded and unloaded. Most of the goods consisted of boxes of cloth and sack, bundled with grain and salt. There are not many pedestrians on the wide streets.

"This big brother! Why can't I see the inhabitants of the city? ”

"Little brother doesn't know, there are many restaurants and restaurants in the east of the city. Minfang is mostly in the west and south of the city. ”

Only then did I remember that the fang market was separated. The business district should be in the north of the city. Merchants don't seem to have a very high status in the Spring and Autumn Period. Most of them have become vassals of the powerful, and have not yet formed an independent individual. It seems that this has something to do with the current environment. Without an armed escort, the caravan could not move an inch.

After a while, the soldiers brought Wang Xu's brother and sister to their destination. After informing the guards guarding the door, they briefly said a few words to Wang Xu and left in a hurry. This house is very strange, the wall is at least a foot high. The guards are all wearing helmets and armor, and from time to time you can see soldiers holding Changge. A team of five people mechanically patrolled around the outside of the house. When I looked up, I saw that there were bells and drums and soldiers carrying longbows on several high platforms made of bricks and stones. For a while, I felt like I was outside the prison.

In the high wall and deep courtyard, the subordinates reported to Ji Lan. He hurried back to his room, changed into plain clothes, and began to thrush in front of the bronze mirror. Returning to the house with him was a cute little girl. The girl has curved eyebrows, big eyes, and is wearing a light blue dress. The small hand supported the chin, and the sleeve robe hung down, revealing the white arms. Bronze carved armbands are fastened around the arms. Looks nondescript, like a rebellious girl. She pouted and murmured:

"Can you bring Yuan'er? Yuan'er also wants to meet the weird person her sister said. ”

After a simple whitewash, Ji Lan's beautiful face underwent an astonishing change under the cover of a wide forehead and thick eyebrows. She put down her eyebrow pencil and whispered softly to her sister with a doting face:

"Obedient! Don't mess around. ”

The little girl complained aggrievedly.

"My brother is on business, and he doesn't play with Yuan'er. Is my sister going to leave Yuan'er too? I don't care! If you don't take me with you, Yuan'er won't need you to go out. ”

Her sister is her weakness, and Ji Lan has nothing to do with her. Although she is the girl's sister, the three brothers and sisters have been dependent on each other since childhood. The eldest sister is like a mother, she always has nothing to say to her sister, and she spoils her in every way. The girl's ability to be coquettish is spoiled by her and her brother.

"Okay. I promised you. ”

"Really?"

"But... Yuan'er has to promise not to reveal the identity of her sister and woman. ”

Ji Yuan was overjoyed and dangled his sister's waist around.

"Sister, don't worry! Yuan'er only watched from the sidelines and never spoke. ”

"You..."

Immediately, Ji Lan instructed his subordinates to invite the guests to wait in the side hall. thought that Ji Yuan, who would be able to watch the excitement soon, suddenly became puzzled. Without waiting for her to ask, her sister explained:

"When this man comes, he will have something to ask for. If I take you out now, something is wrong. Let's wait. ”

She didn't seem to want to take the initiative. Or maybe it's because I'm afraid that my sister's anxious appearance will be seen by the other party. In her opinion, Wang Xu came just to ask for something. Yunmeng's standards for controlling contempt were all put forward by her. Cao Yizai is just executing. She wanted to try Wang Xu's depth. Let's see if the other party is really capable. After all, how can a Gentile really contribute to the defense of the country? Most of the time it was just spending some money to satisfy the sympathy of the rich young master. If you make friends with them like this, it's not interesting.

Half an hour passed, and Wang Xu's legs were sore. He couldn't understand why these ancients always liked to kneel. This problem seems to be deep-rooted, no wonder Ah Ji knows how to kneel when he doesn't agree with him. Kneeling seems to be something that is not a shame in this day and age. The long wait didn't make him feel that the other party was deliberately slacking. On the contrary, he was worried about Ji Lan. It's really pitiful to think that the well-mannered son lives in a prison-like place. Maybe it's interrogating a prisoner.

Another half an hour passed, and Ji Lan finally came out. There is also a lovely maid by his side. He thought, it was really a big family, and even the maids were dressed so luxuriously. In the future, Aji will also dress up like this. Take it out and have more face.

"I don't know if Mr. Xu is coming, forgive me for being lazy."

"Where... Where. ”

Ji Lan bowed to the king, and then sat down in the main seat of the hall. Wang Xu endured the soreness in his thighs and stood up. I also returned the favor. It's just a chat, sitting so far away that at least five meters apart. You have to pull your throat when you speak. I'm afraid that the other party won't hear clearly.

"Mr. Xu is quite relieved to be here. He is indeed a gentleman. ”

As soon as these words came out, Wang Xu took out the jade pendant from his sleeve robe. Motioned for Ji Lan to retrieve it. Seeing that the other party smiled slightly, the maid beside him moved the lotus step lightly and walked slowly towards Wang Xu. A crackling sound echoed through the spacious hall. The sound was eerie, like a shoe touching the floor. Wang Xu looked at the leather boots on the maid's feet suspiciously. Isn't that exactly what he did?

On that day, he took leather boots as the quality, and said that the gentleman and villain can know it at a glance. At this time, Ji Lan did not shy away from giving leather boots to his subordinates, and showed it so deliberately. I don't know what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd? Wang Xu was confused for a while. I didn't want to fall on the other side, so I had to pretend not to notice. Instantly, the atmosphere became awkward.

"I took the liberty to come here today because I wanted Mr. Lan to fulfill his words that day."

Two bronze short swords, which were placed in several cases by Wang Xu. He carefully unwrapped the deerskin. Then he held up the sword and held it in his hand, looking extremely cherished. Then he motioned to the maid and presented the thing to Ji Lan for a look. Who knew that after the maid took the short sword, she drew her sword and danced. Ah Ji was very nervous, put his hand on the hilt of the sword, and leaned closer to Wang Xu's side. Wang Xu frowned and looked at Ji Lan, who was high above. I wonder why the descendants of big families don't understand the rules at all? I only heard the maid who danced the sword boast:

"Good sword!"

At this time, Ji Lan coughed dryly twice. The maid brought the sword up. I don't know where she doesn't look. Asked:

"What do you mean, sir? Do you want to sell this sword? ”

"Sort of. I don't know if Lan Gongzi can estimate the price. ”

"4200 money."

I didn't expect Ji Lan to be so happy, so she gave an offer. It's just that this number is a bit strange. Without waiting for Wang Xu to continue to ask questions, he spoke first.

"Sir, is it necessary to sell the sword to pay off the taxes owed by the people of Yunmeng?"

It seemed exactly what she expected. The other party is planning to do something hastily.

"Lan Gongzi misunderstood. I want to exchange something. ”

"Oh? What is it? ”

"Wool, kapok."

The two of them in the hall were dumbfounded. What he wanted wasn't a rare thing. It's just that the kapok can only be picked when it is in flowering. But no one sells wool. At this time, there are no scissors, not to mention, if all the hair on the sheep's body is shaved. Then the fur is worthless. And who will sell wool?

"If you can, you want to borrow two craftsmen."

The craftsmen at this time are called entertainers. In addition to craftsmen, there are also witch doctors, priests in charge of sacrifices, prayers, divination, blessings, divination, etc. There are many types and industries involved. Ji Lan was even more puzzled, not understanding why Wang Xu always wanted something strange.

"I don't know what Mr. wants?"

"Blacksmith, carpenter."

"Hahaha. Is the gentleman joking? ”