The way of network investment is not an invention of our modern people, in fact, our predecessors understand this truth better than us, and also leave us with a lot of valuable experience in accumulating contacts for us to learn from. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, there was an "expert" named Hu Xueyan who mastered the way of network investment, and he turned from a desertion to a famous red-capped businessman.

When Hu Xueyan was twelve or thirteen years old, in order to support his family, his relatives introduced him to a money bank as an apprentice. In Qianzhuang, small things such as wiping tables, sweeping floors, and pouring night pots are daily work for Hu Xueyan. But no one could have imagined that this child, who poured the night pot every day, actually poured out countless gold ingots at once.

It turned out that when Hu Xueyan was a buddy, he met a poor scholar named Wang Youling.

Wang Youling had donated Zhejiang salt envoys during the Daoguang period, but there was no money to enter Beijing. Although Hu Xueyan is young, he has developed a pair of fiery eyes. Through communication, Hu Xueyan found that Wang Youling is an official material, and he will definitely be able to soar in the future. At that time, Wang Youling was worried about being an official, so Hu Xueyan decided to gamble, and he lent Wang Youling 500 taels of silver from the account.

With the silver, Wang Youling immediately set off, and when he passed through Tianjin, he met his old friend He Guiqing. Under the recommendation of He Guiqing, Wang Youling went to the governor of Zhejiang and became the general office of the grain station. Wang Youling's side gradually developed, but Hu Xueyan was fired for his personal use of accounts, broke the rules, had a bad reputation, and couldn't even find a job.

Wang Youling did not forget his old kindness, and immediately took out the money to fund Hu Xueyan, who lost his job, so Hu Xueyan opened a money bank called Fukang. Since then, with Wang Youling's rise step by step, Hu Xueyan's business has become bigger and bigger, and in addition to Qianzhuang, many shops have also been opened.

Of course, Hu Xueyan's rapid rise, in addition to benefiting from Wang Youling, another person also played a very important role, this person is Zuo Zongtang.

In 1862, Wang Youling hanged himself due to the loss of the city. As a result, Zuo Zongtang succeeded to the post of governor of Zhejiang. At this time, the new governor was plagued by food shortages and other problems, and Hu Xueyan, who was eager to find a new backer, appeared in time: under the tight situation of the war, he brilliantly completed the task of raising 100,000 stone of grain within three days, which was appreciated and reused by Zuo Zongtang.

Later, Hu Xueyan assisted Zuo Zongtang in the rear many times to win many battles. Zuo Zongtang reported his merits to the imperial court and protected Hu Xueyan as the political envoy. In the end, the imperial court allowed to play and gave him a yellow coat, and Hu Xueyan's mother was also named "Mrs. Yipin", and Hu Xueyan became a "red-top businessman" from the second grade.

During his tenure at Zuo Zongtang, Hu Xueyan managed the affairs of the Relief Bureau. He extensively set up porridge factories, good halls, and righteous mats, and restored famous temples and ancient temples; The ox carts, which had been terminated due to the war, were restored to provide convenience for the common people; "Solicitation" of donations to large officials and gentry to solve the post-war financial crisis and other affairs. Since then, Hu Xueyan's reputation has been greatly enhanced, and his credibility has been greatly improved.

After the Qing army captured Zhejiang, the generals and officials deposited all the looted wealth, no matter how big or small, into Hu Xueyan's bank. Hu Xueyan also used this as capital to engage in trading activities, set up businesses in various cities and towns, and made a lot of profits, and in just a few years, his family property exceeded 10 million.

This is Hu Xueyan's ability, which can be summed up in two words, that is, "investment people" - investment contacts.

Hu Qingyutang is a prestigious time-honored brand under Hu Xueyan's name, and it has also earned Hu Xueyan a good reputation as "Hu Dashan", a pharmacy related to a concubine he married.

It turned out that Hu Xueyan married a Furong girl as a concubine. The ancestor of the Furong girl opened a large pharmacy, and after her father died, the pharmacy was inherited by her uncle Liu Bucai.

As a result, Liu Bucai was used to eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling, and defeated a good pharmacy. But Liu Bucai still has a little backbone, he is not ashamed of Furong as a concubine, and he is even more reluctant to recognize Hu Xueyan as a relative.

Originally, Hu Xueyan could send this difficult relative away with a little silver, but Hu Xueyan didn't think so, but instead wanted to recognize this relative, because he wanted to use Liu Bucai's power to open his own pharmacy.

Hu Xueyan saw that the pharmacy business would be easy to do: first, in troubled times, when the army marched to fight and went to war, a large amount of medicine must be needed; Second, there will be a great epidemic after the battle, and those who flee need to save their lives after they get sick, which is also inseparable from medicine. Moreover, opening a pharmacy also has a good reputation for helping the world and doing good deeds, and it is easy to get the support of the government, so that you can earn a good reputation for yourself while making money, so why not?

But at that time, Hu Xueyan didn't know the pharmacy business, but Liu Bucai did, so as long as Liu Bucai could be subdued and help him get rid of his bad habits, then the pharmacy would be successful. This uncle is actually also a business talent, and the few ancestral secret recipes in his hand can also be fully utilized.

In this way, Hu Xueyan set up a table to recognize relatives, gave Liu Bucai enough face, and negotiated the location, scale, and funds of the pharmacy at the banquet.

Hu Qingyutang opened like this. In the following decades, Hu Qing Yu Tang became a world-famous time-honored pharmacy, known as "Tong Ren Tang in the north, Hu Qing Yu Tang in the south". Hu Qingyutang not only became a stable source of wealth for Hu Xueyan, but also earned him a good reputation as "Hu Dashan", and also brought an excellent impact on Hu Xueyan's other businesses. Hu Xueyan was able to use a relative who was profligate and gambled to accomplish a great cause, and his way of "throwing himself in" can be seen.

Hu Xueyan can use all sides and circles in the troubled times, both rigid and soft, not offending the dignitaries and nobles, not losing his trust in the common people, and not being jealous of his peers and friends. Looking at Hu Xueyan's life, the biggest secret of his success is to be good at managing people.