Chapter 6

Tao Hui's heart had been hanging ever since Song Zhehao left. After seeing him helping Grandma Tao into the house, her heart finally settled down.

Tao Hui watched her mother come in and tears instantly flowed out. The guilt she felt towards her mother was indescribable in her heart.

When Wen Xiaoqiu saw the two of them, a smile appeared on her lips. Grandma Tao saved her life, and now she had the opportunity to repay her.

When Song Zhehao took out the three silver ingots, Tao Hui couldn't believe it was real after seeing them!

Tao Hui naturally knew that there were indeed seven ingots of gold in the house, but he had never expected that he could get them from Uncle Tao's family.

Grandma Tao couldn't wait to recount Song Zhehao's performance at Uncle Tao's house. Of course, out of her love for Song Zhehao, her words were naturally full of vivid colors.

After hearing this, Tao Hui showed a look of relief on her face. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time, hoping that Song Zhehao would grow up quickly, take on responsibilities, and start a family.

At that time, the burden on her shoulders would be lighter, and she would have done her part in repaying her deceased husband.

Wen Xiaoqiu's eyes lit up when she heard this. She knew very well how difficult it was for a group of women to set up a household and make a living in a mountain village like this.

I am worried and afraid every day. I am afraid of people with bad intentions and I am afraid of rumors spreading outside.

Although she is still young, her unfortunate childhood experiences have given her a more insightful perspective early on.

For some reason, in her eyes, ever since Tao Dazhu came to cause trouble and was slapped in the face, Song Zhehao always gave Wen Xiaoqiu a feeling of sudden maturity.

In the past, Song Zhehao gave her a feeling of being gloomy, depressed, and carrying too much inner baggage.

But yesterday's Song Zhehao was confident, decisive, calm, and even had an aura of contempt for everything.

This sudden change made Wen Xiaoqiu feel a little puzzled. She also comforted herself by saying that maybe Tao Dazhu's coercion made Song Zhehao mature instantly!

No matter what, her little husband finally grew up.

After Song Zhehao woke up the next day, he did not go into the study as usual, but went out for a walk early.

Villages like the one where Song Zhehao lived were everywhere in the northern land of that dynasty.

Ordinary people worked from sunrise to sunset, repeating boring and heavy work every day, but most of the grain they harvested had to be handed over to the landlords and the court, so their lives were very hard, and not having enough food was a common occurrence.

Song Zhehao walked around the village and saw villagers coming and going on the road and children laughing and playing. They were all wearing clothes full of patches, and their faces were pale and thin, without any life at all.

Song Zhehao knew that Grandma Tao had been brought back home and the family had just settled down. The most important thing to do now was to fill the family's stomachs.

Song Zhehao walked around the village and saw that the village was surrounded by fields. The fields were all thin fields with low annual grain production. It was really a fantasy to expect to rely on the land to make a living.

After looking at the land in the village, Song Zhehao immediately gave up the idea of ​​relying on the land for a living.

In this dynasty of the ancient world, social classes were strictly divided into different levels, and were roughly divided into four levels according to the different occupations they engaged in.

Farmers are considered to be relatively well-received, while businessmen are generally not well-received because they are not considered to be engaged in production.

However, as a time traveler, Song Zhehao would not be bound by this concept. He thought that in this world, the only way to make a living was to do business.

After making up his mind, Song Zhehao went home to have dinner, and then went to several nearby towns and markets. After seeing the quiet and cool markets, he got up and went to the market in the state capital.

The market in the state capital was much larger, with a constant stream of people on the streets, rows of shops on both sides, and countless vendors.

Thirteen-year-old Song Zhehao raised his childish face, his eyes fixed on a stall with little business, and a satisfied smile gradually appeared on his face.

Song Zhehao asserted in his heart that once this stall came into his hands, he would be able to use it to earn a shop within a year.

Then, Song Zhehao weighed the three silver ingots in his pocket and slowly walked towards the stall.

######

Five years later.

Although wars have broken out and the country has been in turmoil in recent years, the city of Huozhou, not far from Kyoto, is a prosperous scene with singing and dancing.

Although Huozhou City is not the capital, it is the throat connecting the capital and other places. The flow of people coming and going is very large, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people.

Anyone who has just arrived in Huozhou City and stayed there for two or three days will be sure to find the locals telling you something strange.

In Huozhou City, there was a peculiar businessman. When he first arrived in Huozhou City, he was only thirteen years old. He spent a silver ingot to rent a stall selling shuttlecocks, and then remodeled the stall to specialize in selling some particularly rare items, such as gloves, masks, slippers, woven bags, etc.

These are rare but commonly used things in life.

When the stall was first opened, it attracted a lot of attention. Later, people bought some products to try and found that they were convenient and easy to use, so the business became booming.

In just half a year, the stall owner used the money he earned to buy a shop in a busy area and opened a store called "Supermarket".

There, a wide variety of goods are displayed. Anything that ordinary people need for eating, drinking, defecating and urinating can be found in his supermarket. Later, a "fast food restaurant" was opened next to the supermarket. As the name suggests, the food is prepared and you can eat it right away. You don't have to order the dishes and wait for them to be cooked, which saves a lot of time.

Not only that, the fast food restaurant is affordable, has a wide variety of food, and has unique flavors. Once you go there, you will definitely come back again.

Not only do people in Huozhou City love to eat it, but people from outside also like to eat it for the novelty, especially those who are in a hurry, who are frequent customers of fast food restaurants.

Because the supermarket and fast food restaurant were so popular and business was booming, the owner opened many branches, including two in Xicheng alone, to ensure that every household could enjoy the benefits.

Later, pharmacies, theaters, health clubs, storage stores and other novel and rare stores were opened.

All newly opened stores have something new and unique, and their business is booming.

In five years, the stall owner became the richest businessman in Huozhou City.

It is said that a tall tree attracts the wind. Once the stall owner's fame spread, troubles naturally came knocking on his door.

Our dynasty has issued a decree to focus on field production. Merchants have been engaged in transportation since ancient times and have not engaged in production, so it has never been considered a right path. Moreover, if a merchant like this becomes famous, the governor of the state capital will immediately cause trouble for him.

The prefect detained the wealthy businessman, saying that he was only making strange and illicit things, not doing anything productive, disrupting the farming system, and intending to commit illegal acts, so he wanted to confiscate all his property.

Although the reason sounded reasonable, the people in Huozhou City all knew what the governor was planning.

The prefect looked at the huge fortune and was determined to get it. However, within three days, the prefect personally escorted him out of the prison with great respect.

It turned out that over the years, after the wealthy businessman's business grew, he had met and interacted with quite a few people, many of whom were high-ranking officials in the capital. The wealthy businessman had always been generous with money, so naturally he had found many reliable backers.

The prefect had ill intentions, but it was just a fool's dream.

But the prefect still refused to give up. When he failed to seize the property by force, he tried to take it by trickery.

The governor's real name was Gu, and he had an only daughter named Gu Qianyan, who was only ten years old and of marriageable age.

Governor Gu wanted to marry his daughter to the wealthy businessman in order to collect money under the pretext of marrying off his daughter.

When Governor Gu saw the money, he was so greedy that he didn't care about his face anymore. He took the initiative to ask a matchmaker to mediate, as if his daughter couldn't get married.

But unexpectedly, when the matchmaker arrived at the rich merchant's door, the rich businessman didn't even let her in. The servant said that the master was closing the door to visitors, and no matter how powerful he was, he should wait three days before coming back!

There was no other way, the anxious Governor Gu could only wait for three days.

But three days later, instead of the rich businessman opening the door to welcome them, the rich businessman's house was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and a huge wedding procession startled half of the people in Huozhou City. The groom sitting on a tall horse in front of the procession was the rich businessman.

Governor Gu was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

On the day of the wedding, there was an endless stream of guests coming from wealthy merchants, most of whom were high-ranking officials, either rich or noble.

Although Governor Gu was the lord of a city, he did not dare to attack rashly.

The rich businessman's new wife was a child bride who grew up with him in the countryside.

The wealthy businessman often appeared in the city. Many people had seen him and said that he was tall and extremely handsome, and always wore gorgeous clothes. Wherever he went, both men and women would stop to watch.

No wonder the prefect insisted on marrying his daughter to him!

When the rich businessman was eighteen years old, he married a child bride who was seven years older than him. The guests at the wedding banquet said that the rich businessman's wife was originally a lady from a wealthy family, but later her family fell into poverty and moved to the rich businessman's hometown in the countryside, which planted the seeds of this beautiful marriage.

The rich businessman's wife was also beautiful and virtuous, and they had shared the joys and sorrows together, so she was simply the perfect candidate.

It's just ridiculous that the prefect Gu was not satisfied with the marriage after seeing the other party get married. He even gave up his face and went to the rich businessman's house to mediate, saying that as long as the rich businessman agreed, he would marry his daughter and be his concubine.

Gu Qianyan, the only daughter of Governor Gu, was spoiled since childhood. It is said that her personality is like her mother's, and she is an out-and-out jealous woman.

The rich businessman's wife far surpasses Gu Qianyan in terms of character, appearance, talent and knowledge, so how could the rich businessman be confused?

Besides, if anyone marries that jealous woman, it would be a misfortune for the family!

Although the prefect Gu was so shameless, the rich businessman did not buy his story and only said that he had never planned to take a concubine. The prefect was so persistent because there was a vacant cook in his home.

The prefect was humiliated and walked out, swearing that he would never visit the rich businessman's house again.

Less than a month later, the prefect came to visit again and said that banditry was rampant recently and the court's funding had not yet arrived, so he had to trouble the wealthy businessmen for help.

For a time, the high-ranking Governor Gu became a laughing stock for the people of Huocheng.

The name of that wealthy businessman was well-known to the people of Huocheng.

His real name was Song Zhehao. Because he was kind-hearted and often helped the poor and needy, provided porridge and food, and had an extraordinary appearance, the people of Huocheng called him "Song Bodhisattva."