Walking through the streets of the town, watching the golden rice paved with bluestone squares, people smiling and beating rice ears; Looking at the rising smoke, feel the peace and quiet of the town; Along the way, accompanied by the eldest brother, Aqing and others, walking silently like this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness in his heart, far away from the hustle and bustle, no worldly disputes, no cases of labor, if it is really possible, it is good to walk like this for a lifetime, Chen Fan couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart.

The setting sun reminded Chen Fan that it was time to go back, it turned out that when he came to this world, he had unconsciously sent away the midsummer, spent the Mid-Autumn Festival, and ushered in the harvest season. I think the calendar of this era is different from modern times, here has always been calculated according to the lunar calendar, this time should be equivalent to the end of September of the solar calendar in modern society, almost to the time of the National Day, although the students also start school at the end of August, but in fact it is a month later than the modern one, here is just after the busy season of farming, and then start to study.

Chen Fan took a deep breath and said to everyone, "Let's go back." ”

"Okay, I'm finally willing to go back."

"Of course, it's all good, where is there a good home, I miss my mother, let's go quickly." After reading the small town, Chen Fan suddenly wanted to go home in a little anxious, although he had not been in this world for a long time, but the warmth given by his relatives, Chen Fan had always felt it, and it also made up for his regret of staying away from modern society.

"Okay, let's go."

Everyone left the town, got into the carriage, and returned to Chen's house. The reunion after the small farewell made everyone immersed in joy, Chen Fan couldn't remember who said such a sentence, "Parting is for reunion." "There is no sentimentality of parting, how can there be the joy of reunion. Mother had already prepared the meal, and his father and the second brother, who did not have much presence in Chen Fan's mind, had already returned home. After coming here for so long, Chen Fan still doesn't know what the second brother does, he only knows that he followed his father and got an errand in the county office, his name is "Jinyan", which is still due to the eldest brother's usual name for him.

During the banquet, Chen's father, who likes to speak, naturally did not idle, and asked Chen Fan about the situation in Gusu, Chen Fan picked up the matter and said urgently, the eldest brother has already told his parents about the residence, so naturally Chen Fan does not need to repeat it, as for the progress of cultivation, Chen Fan did not mention it, mainly about making poems in the Plum Garden and listening to books and debates in Cuixiang Pavilion, everyone listened to it with relish, especially Chen's father, when Chen Fan talked about the polemic part, he stopped several times, fell into contemplation, and then asked Chen Fan to continue, until Chen Fan finished speaking, and finally expressed a sigh, " My three sons have grown up. The crowd nodded.

After the meal, Chen Fan was called to the study by Chen's father.

"Wu'er, you were not smart when you were young, and you didn't expect much from your father, but I didn't expect that after tying your hair, your talent was gradually revealed, especially after participating in the chess game, if you were born, you first defeated Master Li, which surprised your father; Later, he put forward the nineteen-way theory, which made his father happy; In particular, the three things you put forward made your father look at you with admiration, which is not only a little clever, but a great talent, knowing how to plan for a rainy day, taking one step, watching five moves, and winning the magic of Go; Later, I heard your eldest brother say that you made a "Passing Water in the East" on the boat, and your father looked left and right, so I knew that I underestimated you in the past; Today, I heard you talk about the poems of the Plum Garden, as well as the debate of the Cuixiang Pavilion, worship Dean Lu as a teacher, and finally know my son's talent, and he will definitely shine one day. ”

No, this style of painting is wrong, "Father, Father is overrated, and my son is afraid." Chen Fan hurriedly interrupted his father's words, how could his father, who has always been strict with his children, suddenly praise himself, and he praised it very much, shouldn't he tell himself that he should guard against arrogance and rashness at this time, and keep a normal heart? Chen Fan, who deeply felt that the style of painting was wrong, cheered up his spirit.

"Don't be afraid, what my father said is what I think is from my heart, because my father thinks that you are talented, and I want you to spend your life in peace. Your eldest brother has little talent, but he is indecisive, and achieving the five grades is already the ultimate, and then it is a curse rather than a blessing; Your second brother is too cowardly, so he can mix with an idle official position; And you, your personality is too strong and you have no great talent, you are only suitable for being an idle man, and it is taboo to enter the officialdom. ”

That's right, this is my father, Chen Fan felt a little more down-to-earth, but he didn't expect that the words were not over.

"Fa Sheng, I didn't expect that my father would look away from you. San'er, your talent is now known for your father, and your father originally wanted to spend the rest of his life in peace and stability here, but when he saw you, he had a calm heart for his father, and suddenly made waves, if you are an ordinary Taoist in the future, it is fine, but if you want to enter the officialdom, it will inevitably turn the clouds and rain, and there will be a great achievement, and the father will have to plan for the future early. ”

Father Chen paused when he talked about this, Chen Fan didn't plan to interject, just looked at his father and listened quietly, his father would naturally say it if he wanted to, he didn't want to say it, Chen Fan didn't plan to inquire for the time being, after all, he had just started to enter the Tao, and when he was as old as himself, he should be studying in the academy, and he would not give up his studies because of his father's words or two, or any bloody family plot, and be eager to enter the society and participate in any struggle, those are not the time for Chen Fan, if his father has any plans, he can help now, Naturally, they will help, and if they can't help, they will help in the future, anyway, they are listening, not asking, and not doing.

"My father was born in Wuxing Chen, and your mother is in the same place, our branch is in the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, following Sima Rui to the south, moving from Yingchuan to Wuxing, and settled in a blink of an eye for nearly two hundred years, your grandfather Chen Daoju has twelve children, the third for the father, for the son-in-law of the family, but unfortunately your grandmother died early, for the father and the family were not in harmony, fortunately, when your grandmother was alive, she helped your father and your mother to set a family affair, and then for your father to be an official outside, he broke off contact with the family, and your grandfather also died eight years ago, However, my father heard that your uncle has been appointed as an official in Jiangzhou, and if you want to be an official in the future, your father can contact your uncle. ”

"Father, can you listen to me?"

"Naturally, you also have an opinion now, and I say this for my father just to hear your plans for the future."

"The son hopes that his father will be happy, and don't compromise himself because of his son, and the son will not be happy even if he becomes a big official in the future. As for contacting the uncle, if the father misses the uncle, then he can naturally contact him, but if it is for the son, he doesn't have to. If the son is really as good as the father said, the uncle will naturally take the initiative to contact him, and the father will have a light on his face, if the son is not as good as the father said, even if the father contacts the uncle, the uncle may not help. Taoism pays attention to non-action, pays attention to fate, and lets everything follow fate. ”

"My son has really grown up, he is considerate, he is very kind to his father, and he will watch it." Father Chen nodded and said with relief.

"Father, if you are counting on your uncle, you might as well count on yourself." Chen Fan thought about it and felt that there were some things that he still had to say clearly to his father, "Father thinks of planning for the future, of course, it is good, but there are some things that cannot be rushed, I think Father is very good to be the protector now, not because of his high official position, but because he is now leading this army of thousands of people stationed in Hudu." ”

"What's so good about that? What can a thousand people do, and the desecration is still relatively barren. ”

Barren now does not mean that the future is barren, the future is a metropolis with a population of more than 20 million, to look at the problem from the perspective of development, Chen Fan looked at his father, pulled back his thoughts and said: "It is barren, but also its advantage, my father's position as a protector can sit for a long time, no one is worried about coming here to be an official, the important thing is that it is located in the easternmost part of the Liang Kingdom, with the Yangtze River in the north and the sea in the east, and our two nearest cities, Gusu and Jiaxing, are also separated by more than 100 kilometers, which is a good place to recuperate. In the future, a dockyard can be built here, and agriculture, salt industry, and water army can be developed, and the strength can be slowly accumulated. ”

"Fa Sheng has a point, but how to develop?"

"Now the key is to find a way to make money and accumulate wealth, and I suggest that my father can think of a way to make salt first." Chen Fan said inspiringly. Before thinking about what to do to make money, Chen Fan's first thought was to make salt, and then he didn't do it, but he felt that his current strength was too weak, and it was best to contact people with a certain background to run it together.

"How is this salt made? Fa Sheng, are you talking about boiling salt? ”

"Yes, my Liang Dynasty implemented a tax system, allowing the people to boil salt, but to pay taxes, now the price of a pound of salt is thirty Wen, I desecrate the sea, if I can cook salt by myself, and control the cost within ten Wen, or even lower, the profit is still considerable." Chen Fan told the situation of the salt industry that he had heard in advance.

"Happened, do you know that I am blasphemy by the sea, but no one boils salt, why?"

"Naturally, I know, first of all, the problem of the road, although I am close to the sea, but there are still dozens of miles from the sea, from the land, it is not easy to walk; Secondly, because of the cost of boiling salt, a large amount of wood must be cut down every day, and salt should be boiled in pots and stoves to ensure the supply of firewood, a pot can produce one hundred catties of salt a month, and at least two people in a pot should be responsible for cutting wood, and one person is responsible for adding firewood, of course, this person can take care of five or six pots, even if it is six, it can produce six hundred catties of salt a month, with thirteen people, each person's food and wages are considered four hundred Wen, and the cost of one pound of salt is close to nine Wen, and personnel accommodation, The transportation and drying of firewood, the wind and rain, the payment of taxes and fees, and the sale of firewood are very difficult for ordinary people to engage in boiling salt. ”

"Then you still have to find a way to make salt for your father?"

"Father, I calculated this as a rough account, and I also learned from the mouths of the people, how is this, but also my father has to plan, if the cost is controlled at 20 wen per catty, then there are still 10 wen to earn, if you sell 3,000 catties of salt a month, you can also earn 30 yuan, father, think about it first." Chen Fan is not afraid that he will not make money by making salt, because Chen Fan has been to the salt field before, and he just knows a method of "exposure to salt", which does not require boiling salt, which appeared in the Song and Yuan dynasties, was promoted in the Ming Dynasty, and basically followed by modern society. However, Chen Fan didn't plan to take it out and tell his father now, he always had to find a suitable time and a reasonable reason to find the source of the method before he could say it.