Chapter 336: Both

Xia Yuanzhang moved very quickly. After taking the gold bars, he personally took his men and the two guards arranged by Wang Yan and ran directly to Bingcheng, and then transferred to Shanghai. The details are not yet known, and he has not come back. .

It is said that there are advantages to opening a factory now, although it is still unavoidable to manage up and down and suffer some exploitation. But the biggest eldest brother in Northeast China, Xu Shichang, wants to be revitalized. He still has policies, so the problem is not big.

Wang Yan didn't pay attention, he was very relieved. It's not that I feel reassured about Xia Yuanzhang, but I feel reassured about his carefully trained men. The bandits' greatest ability is not their ability to fight, but their ability to run away. If trouble is really going to happen, usually one of them has to come back anyway.

He is also busy with things here. The first thing is to build a house, which he built together with Zhu Kaishan. There were not enough young and old men in the village, so the village chief looked for people from neighboring villages to help. Just take care of the food and don’t charge money. As expected, after inviting people in the village to help build a simple house, and then tearing down the original house to clear the land, Wang Yan's name once again resounded throughout the countryside. The prodigal son goes out and becomes promising and prosperous...

The entire Fangniugou is filled with the aroma of wine and food every day. It is a big pot of rice, and the whole village eats it together, and the feast is flowing every day. The happiest ones are the children. The village is big and far away. This time, because of work, the girls and boys from the two villages ran to Fangniugou. They made friends in a few short words and the whole village was filled with howls. run. From time to time, someone would get into trouble. After being beaten by his parents, he would turn around and run away again, which was very lively.

Wang Yan was not stingy, and all the expenses were his. Zhu Kaishan gave up after arguing for a while. It was good to have a rich brother. He was not so happy as a senior brother. It felt so comfortable to win without hesitation.

Lao Zhu saved trouble and after following Wang Yan to see the sketch of the designed house, he said directly that he wanted to make the same one. His family's homestead was not far away, just west of Wang Yan's house and the second home at the east end of the village. As for the third family, there is no one else, Han Laohai's family, Xiu'er's father.

Speaking of Han Laohai, his family is also very wealthy, and he is also a figure in Yuanbao Town. He was a gangster when he was young, but he has calmed down in recent years, but his reputation has also spread. No one dares to mess with him, and his life is pretty good.

As for the matter between Xiu'er and Zhu Chuanwu, Wang Yan thought it would be better to stop them and help the children when the time comes. In this way, Xiu'er is the only one who gets hurt. She will find a good husband and live with her husband for two years and have a child. She will probably feel relieved. It's better than what happened in the original drama. But if he hadn't intervened, it would have been like in the original play, delaying three people's whole lives, which would be a bit disappointing. But it’s still early to say that, it will take a few years to get serious.

Zhu Chuanwu was really close to his uncle Wang Yan. Apart from working at home, he basically grew up with Wang Yan. I came here early every day to learn boxing from Konoe, and then I endured the huge desire to shoot and built a house at home, crying and laughing. The next day, it was like this again. He would go to his father's house whenever he had something to do, and would say something about going to Laojingou. His father would either kick him, or his mother would scold him, but he didn't care. He even asked questions the next day. During the process, Xiu'er's entanglement was inevitable, like a follower, which was very annoying. Perhaps among these people, he is the most tired.

Of course, the matter of cracking down on bandits has not been left behind. In fact, the biggest difficulty in cracking down on bandits is not to fight them, but to find them. They are all hidden in the deep mountains and old forests. They are quite hidden and will not be easily encountered for a while. After the guards brought back worked hard for more than ten days to find out the specific situation, with Wang Yan's order, a company of Lao Jingou concealed themselves with supplies during the day and rushed on the road at night, traveling hundreds of miles a day, which took five days. A lot of time has passed. After resting for a night, they were easily destroyed and they occupied the original place.

This kind of adjustment is too slow and is not the way to go. Wang Yan thought of Mr. Zhang Duo, who was a caravan gangster later. He was specialized in doing this. He made money by following bandits when traveling around the world. They themselves were not as efficient as this group of people. Therefore, he sent a message back and asked them to find people from the caravan and get two well-known people to carry sweepers, which would save a lot of trouble. He had also been negligent before. Of course, there were too many different trades. Although he knew that big things were determined by small things, he thought too much and neglected them. But it’s not a big problem, it’s too late now.

Master Wang has a mature system. He opened a bandit's nest, first took away the accumulation of the bandit leader, and then killed him in front of his subordinates. Then the detailed information is registered in a book, and someone is required to act as a guarantee. The rules for killing the whole family and digging up ancestral graves are clearly explained, and what can and cannot be done is clearly stated. Then I would eat and drink to death and practice for three months, reorganize the organization, expand the team, and continue to go out to fight the bandits.

News from Lao Jingou was also constantly being sent over. Except for those who controlled the gold diggers and tied up the people on the mountain, the rest of the people were basically out fighting. There are more than 500 combatants, a total of four companies. He selected one company and two more companies to control the base camp. Basically, only about one company can be used, and they all go out to fight in rotation. Guarding the gold mine, what limits his development is not money, but manpower, and the firepower to match it.

He Laosi is really awesome. The main vein he mentioned is really valuable. Wang Yan estimated that the Qing government had not discovered it before because it simply did not dig deep enough. He ordered the 120 people to dig hard in one place, and finally golden sand came out, and its purity was no different from the other two pits. If he still doesn't understand the main veins and branch veins, he won't talk about them and will just dig them out.

Now we have started cooperation with Xia Yuanzhang. As long as we have one or two years to set up the business, it doesn't matter if we can't find gold. Although it is not enough to cover all expenses, it is completely possible to feed people and maintain a certain degree of combat effectiveness. It is not comparable to the various new armies now, and the various systems in the future.

If it is really as mysterious as He Laosi said, in the real world, there must be no gold veins in this place, and there are not even other valuable mineral deposits. The other pits are branch veins, and they have been dug for decades, but they are not mined out now. What is the extent of this main vein? Don't think too much. Too much gold is dazzling, which is not good. If there is, there is, if there is no, forget it, the impact is not great.

In fact, what needs to be solved now is people and talents. Otherwise, if there is money, it can't be spent, and it's useless to have gold underground. This is the trouble. Development always has a process, it always takes time, and it is always a problem that money can't solve.

Of course, land was also purchased. He got 100 acres of land, one mu is 15 mu, which is about 7 mu of land. According to the current area of ​​one mu of land, it is almost more than 60,000 square meters, more than half a square kilometer. Because the land is vast now, his land is connected in pieces. At a glance, this is solid money.

Zhu Kaishan is generous and directly got ten mu of land. He is really going to be a landlord.

And Wang Yan's current conditions are very good, and the matter of finding a wife has been put on the agenda. Although he had a bad reputation in the past, nothing is more real than the good conditions in front of him. Old Zhu's wife did not forget this big thing. Not only did she look for it herself, but she also leaked the news to the famous matchmaker in the town. There is money at home, so she is not panicked. For the lifelong event of her man's good brother, she directly hit the matchmaker on the head with a small yellow croaker, indicating that there is more after it is done.

For the small yellow croaker, the matchmaker also went all out and looked for people every day. Several nearby villages, including the town, contacted all the girls of marriageable age, and screened out those with bound feet. She went door to door to see the girls for the rest and compared which one was beautiful. After knowing Wang Yan's specific situation, he paid for them to go to the only photo studio in the town to take pictures. Finally, he took a bunch of photos and followed Lao Zhu's wife to find them.

At the first house on the west side of Xiaoshiqiao in Fangniugou Village, Wang Yan sat cross-legged on the kang like an old man, drinking tea.

There are many women with bound feet, but now it is relatively worse here, and there are many who don't bind their feet. Because there is a lot of land, girls are also labor, and foot binding affects farming. Combining all kinds of things, there is also a pile of photos in front of him.

Wang Yan looked at them casually one by one, and overall they are not bad. This matchmaker has good aesthetics, and they are basically quite decent.

"Uncle, I think this one is good. Take a look, take a look."

Glancing at Zhu Chuanwu who was grinning, Wang Yan took it and took a look: "Do you like it? How about I make the decision and tell you?"

"Forget it." Zhu Chuanwu shrank his neck. He dreamed of Xian'er, and he was worried if he didn't see her well.

The matchmaker on the side looked at Zhu Chuanwu, her eyes flashed, and she came up with something: "Sister, I heard that your eldest son hasn't found a wife yet, how about I help you find one?"

Old Zhu's wife smiled and waved her hands: "There's no rush for our family affairs. Now it's my top priority to find a wife for my brother."

The matchmaker, who was covered in powder, laughed for a while: "Brother Wang, you've been looking for such a long time, but you don't have anyone you like? I've worked so hard to find these good girls. Look at this one, from Yuanbao Town, his family has a warehouse, although not as good as Manager Xia, but his family conditions are not bad. This one, from Donggou, his family has six acres of land and a big house. Look at this little boy, how handsome he is, Don't like it? "

Wang Yan took a sip of tea: "It's not that I don't like it, but there are too many to see, and there is no one that can catch my eye. If you take the trouble to look for it, I will definitely not treat you badly. This bag of silver coins is for the photo, please look for it again. You can find a good matchmaker in other places. As long as it works, you will definitely not be treated badly. I will ask someone to send you two photos of me later. Take them to show the girls, and save time. "

Watching the matchmaker grinning and accepting the money bag, Wang Yan said a few words to Lao Zhu's wife, and took his follower Zhu Chuanwu, each holding a foreign cigarette, to the construction site on the east side of the village to continue watching the progress of the house.

He didn't lie. There are free love these days, but too few. Until the 1970s and 1980s, most places still arranged marriages, let alone now. He is a man, a man with a wealthy family. Except for his age, his other conditions are very good, so he will not worry about not being able to find a wife. Then he must find someone who is strong, at least a flower in a radius of 500 miles.

"Brother Chuanwu, where have you been? I haven't found you for a long time."

When Wang Yan and Zhu Chuanwu were sitting on the ground to rest, there was a shout from a distance. It was Xiu'er.

Zhu Chuanwu was startled: "Oh, this living ancestor, uncle, you stay, I have to hide quickly." After saying that, he got up and ran away.

"Brother Chuanwu, where are you going? Brother Chuanwu? Wait for me, wait for me..."

Looking at the silly girl of the landlord's family, chasing after him, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled. If there is any benefit to these two people fighting now, it is probably that Xiu'er chases her brother Chuanwu every day, exercises her body, and has good leg strength...

The house was built for a month, and it was already February. It was already spring, but the soil was still very hard, and it would take a month to start spring ploughing. By that time, the big frame of the house would be almost built, and there would be no delay. All that was left was for him to do was to hire someone to make furniture, doors and windows, etc., which would take several months.

Another half month passed, but no news came from the matchmaker. Instead, he saw the men who were escorting Xia Yuanzhang out and sent word that he should go to town.

It was the best Zuixianlou. Wang Yan saw Xia Yuanzhang who was still dusty but refreshed.

"Seeing how energetic Brother Yuanzhang is, he has gained a lot from this trip?"

"It's hard to say I'm rich, but I've gained a lot of knowledge." Xia Yuanzhang picked up the cup and drank happily: "There are too many factories over there. I even looked at those machines. That guy, just So with this click, it saves a lot of work that needs to be done by hiring people, and the workers there are also very efficient, and it’s all about money.”

"That's true. Nowadays, when we talk about industry and science, the big trend is machine production." Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Then we bought the machine?"

"I bought it. These foreign devils are so evil. You spent all the thirty gold bars and bought two sets of machines, one for making shoes and one for making clothes. They still had to be shipped from the United States and traveled across the ocean. When the time comes, it will take us half a year to transport it to Bingcheng. Brother Wang, I can see that making shoes and making clothes is a small way to make money. It’s about building machines.”

Xia Yuanzhang was so shocked after seeing some sweatshops in China. Thinking about those schoolchildren who studied abroad and those Qing court officials on the Westernization expedition, seeing the high-rise buildings, seeing the cars filling the streets, and seeing the life of the people there, it was so weak...

"That's why I asked you to search for talents, and we will create them ourselves in the future."

"It's difficult." Xia Yuanzhang said in a low tone: "We started to engage in Westernization during the Tongzhi period. What happened? We spent a lot of money and even built a Beiyang fleet. As a result, the entire army was wiped out in the Sino-Japanese War. Where are our machines? Where are our guns? We haven’t seen anything yet. I don’t know if we will be able to build them in our lifetime.”

Wang Yan did not comment, but comforted: "Is there anything difficult in the world? As long as we work hard, we can always make it happen."

"I hope so. The machine hasn't arrived yet, so what should we do? Can't we just wait?"

"Of course, I will ask someone to send some gold bars later, build the factory first, and recruit some people first. In addition, we will find a piece of land near Bingcheng and open the grain and oil factory first. After the autumn harvest this year, we will Collect food. Then go to Hecheng to build a factory to produce soap, soap, and toothpaste. This machine should be easy to buy. There is a waterway terminal there and there are many people. Then it will be more convenient to transport and sell. Also, find a place not too far away from Bingcheng. , but don’t build a steel mill too close to it. There is no order of priority. Let’s do it first.”

"By the way, Brother Yuanzhang, my men train hard and consume a lot of money, so they have to eat meat. It's not an option to go out and buy it at a high price. No matter how rich you are, you can't support it, so you have to raise it yourself. You still have to find someone. Get more breeding pigs, piglets, chickens, ducks, geese, etc., and then sign up with them to send them to the people around you. We will give them to them for free at no cost. When they are grown, we will deduct the previous piglets according to the market price. Let’s buy it from their hands. If there are any babies or anything else in the process, we don’t want it, we’ll give it all to them.”

Xia Yuanzhang frowned and pondered the purpose of Wang Yan's operations. After thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "How much does it cost? If you want to spread it out, you can't get enough even if you take three hundred more."

"It's done step by step. It can't be promoted on a large scale. Just go to one village or two villages first. You don't have to worry about money. As long as the steps are not too big, you will lose your money easily."

"Then have I really started? If you can't keep up with the subsequent money, then you will lose everything. We will have nothing left. You have to think about it." Seeing Wang Yan nod confidently, Xia Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask: " Brother Wang, let me ask you, how much gold does your old Jingou produce in a day?"

Wang Yan didn't hide anything, giving his partners confidence: "Now it's about 20 cigarettes a day, and when you're lucky, it can reach 30."

Taking a breath of air conditioning, Xia Yuanzhang drank silently. He felt that building machines was no longer good, and it was better to have a mine. He didn't know what Wang Yan was going to do, but guarding such a large gold mine and spending money while he was still alive must be a beheading deal. After all, people themselves don't shy away from it, they just say that they are bandit leaders. But thinking of the day when Chun Hesheng's name would be heard throughout China, he felt it was worth the gamble to gain wealth through danger.

Now it was no longer interesting for him to compete with shopkeeper Liu across from him. When he went out and came back this time, he felt that his whole person had been sublimated, his ambitions had risen, and his level was different. Now he is going to do something big, so that his name as Xia Yuanzhang and Chun Hesheng's name will be left in the history of Chinese business and passed down to future generations. How can the light of an insect compete with that of the bright moon, that Fatty Liu who has a fat head and a scheming mind? Is he worthy? A little piece of trash.

After getting down to business, the two of them ate, drank, and chatted. Of course, Wang Yan did not forget to continue feeding him the ecstasy soup and injecting chicken blood, so he worked hard for him...

Although Wang Yan's money is not easy to earn, who can give him more money? The matchmaker is really willing to go out of his way. She really managed to hook up with matchmakers in other places through various connections, and the ones as far away as Crane City. I have to say, people's potential is really endless. She came to Fangniu Valley again, bringing a sack with her.

The big frames of Wang Yan and Lao Zhu's houses have been built, leaving only the messy decoration work. People from every household have gone back to start spring plowing. Both of them have a lot of land, and they definitely can't grow it themselves. They just spend money to find people to do it, which is considered to provide employment. After all, although there is a lot of land in this place, not everyone can do well.

The scene of spring plowing is good. The originally desolate black land is now very lively. At a glance, it is full of people busy farming. Of course, the little ones running and playing in the fields are indispensable. If you ignore the turbulent current situation, it will be the most beautiful scene.

The sad thing is that the farmers who are immersed in their farm work and the children who are running and playing have no idea of ​​the general situation and what they will face in the future. The smiles on their faces were so painful that it hurt. Even Wang Yan's character was somewhat uncomfortable. Although he knew there was hope, he was still helpless about what was about to happen. No matter how awesome he is, how many can he kill?

Wang Yan shook his head and took out a photo from the sack and looked at it out of boredom. The matchmaker is very professional. There is a portrait on the front and general family information on the back, which is clear at a glance.

In the matchmaker's dying eyes, the full sack visibly flattened, and he saw that it would be empty soon. If that doesn't work, just pay for the photoshoot and forget about it. It's not easy to make money, so whoever can do it will do it, she thought.

Wang Yan took out the last two photos from the sack and looked at them casually, his tired eyes finally brightening. The best doesn't necessarily come last, but for him, it clearly does.

One of them has an oval face, big bright eyes, a small cherry mouth, and a straight nose, which does not ruin the beauty and adds to the heroic spirit. The information on the back says that her name is Liu Fanglan, she is nineteen this year, and she lives in Kaoshan Village, thirty miles outside Hecheng City. She has a younger brother. Her mother died young, and her father remarried and gave birth to two more sons. The family's conditions are average, and she should not want to live here. Great.

The other one has a round face, eyes that are neither too big nor too small when looking at the camera, with a gentle and playful look, thin lips, and a small and pointed jade nose. He can’t be called fat but not skinny either. It’s just right. These fit perfectly. Together, they are no worse than the other. The information on the back says that her name is Liu Zhi, she is twenty this year, lives in Bingcheng, and is a serious city dweller. I have an eldest brother and a younger brother. My father works as an accountant in a bank, and my mother does whatever she can at home to supplement the family income. Although the conditions are not that good, they are not too bad and can be tolerated.

Is the choice a two-way street? Although his conditions are good, basically everyone in this sack has relatively average family conditions. He was able to remit a sack, but he didn’t know how many people gave him away.

Seeing Wang Yan staring at the last two photos, the matchmaker exclaimed: "Thank God, brother Wang, your happy event is too difficult to handle. This means that I have a lot of connections, otherwise, it would be Yuelao There's nothing I can do about it. No, I have to drink some water to moisten my mouth. I've been busy with your affairs these days. It's not easy for me. "

"Uncle, are you really optimistic? Let me take a look, let me take a look." Zhu Chuanwu, who was about to fall asleep on the side, sat up with excitement, took the two photos on the table, looked at them, and said in a loud voice: "Don't say it. Uncle, you really have no vision."

"Give me a look." Lao Zhu's wife reached out and took it, took a look at it, and then handed it to the matchmaker: "Uncle, these two girls are indeed very good. Which one do you like?"

There were only four of them in the room. The others were either in town or working in the fields. Zhu Chuanwu came back because he was lazy. Although he has no intention of getting married, it doesn't stop him from seeing the girl and getting involved with his good uncle.

"Well, these two girls are both good. I asked my friends over there to help pick them." The matchmaker didn't know which one was which, so she could only boast casually: "Brother Wang, which one of these two do you like?" Huh? Just pick one. I’ll send you a message when I get back. You’re not young anymore, and your house will be built soon. You’ll have to get it done right then, so why don’t you give birth to a big fat boy as soon as possible?

"Choose one?" Wang Yan shook his head with a smile and said calmly: "I want them all."

"You want them all?" The three of them looked at Wang Yan.

The matchmaker said: "Brother Wang, this isn't appropriate. I'm an innocent girl from this family, so it doesn't make sense to ask her to be your concubine."

"Yes, his uncle, I'm not telling you, why are you so big-hearted, huh? You can just choose someone to live a down-to-earth life, but you can't change your troubles?"

Lao Zhu's wife is a real person. She really regards Wang Yan as a brother, otherwise she wouldn't talk to people like this.

"Help me." Wang Yan took out a one-tael gold bar and said, "This is the money for this bag of photos. I will send the photos back to others as if I invited these girls to take photos."

"This is your wedding coin." A five-tael gold bar was slapped on the table.

"This one is a gift from your friend in Hecheng." Another fifty tael.

"This is the wedding money from your friend in Bingcheng." Pushing the four gold bars to the side of the table, Wang Yan looked at the matchmaker: "My betrothal gift is three large yellow croakers per family. I don't need their dowry. Although the law The law doesn't allow it, but in my case, they are all wives, and there is no such thing as plagiarism. I can guarantee that I will treat them fairly and will not recruit anyone else to my family in the future. Take it, you must give this wedding money to your two friends in full. If it succeeds, I will come to propose marriage in person. If I know that you are obstructing it, you can see the more than ten guns. arrive?"

The matchmaker smiled and stretched out her hand, then her face froze: "Look at what you said, Brother Wang, how could I do that kind of thing? Don't worry, this gold bar is good, I guarantee that not a single bit of gold will fall off." If it’s delivered to them, then... I’ll accept it?”

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows and motioned for her to take it.

She picked up the four gold bars and put them directly into her arms. Feeling the weight on her chest, the matchmaker patted her chest: "Brother Wang, don't worry, I will definitely get this done."

"Thank you." Wang Yan smiled and nodded: "Chuanwu, help her load these photos into the car."

To be honest, he had thought about marrying one before, but the two girls were really close-eyed, so what else could he say? It was naturally an adult's choice to take them all.

Regarding the marriage rules dictated by their parents and the matchmaker, they were unwilling to do so and did not have much leeway. And the most important thing, since they are willing to come all the way to get the photos for him, it means that the girl herself is quite satisfied. So if three gold bars are smashed down, for the two girls' families, it will take off directly. What problems could there be? As for whether he was emotional or not, he didn't say that.

After sending the matchmaker away, Wang Yan returned to his unfinished house in the east of the village and wandered around, thinking about how to change it. After all, there were two women. Of course it's nice to sleep together under the quilt, but occasionally they still have to separate to chat. In this case, he can't keep the study room in the main room. One for the east and one for the west, one for each family?

After looking at it for a long time, I finally found that there was no good way. After all, the original pattern had been formed and could not be moved. Finally, we decided to use the first room in the east wing next to the main room as a study room. It is quite spacious, not smaller than the main room, but there is no connection in the middle. It can be rained in summer, snowed in winter, and weathered by the winds of the four seasons. .

It doesn't matter, just make do with it, you can't tear down the house and rebuild it...

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