Chapter 390 Hu Zhengyang Returns
Hu Zhengyang finally came back that day.
"Second uncle, I'm back." Hu Zhengyang hired a carriage to return to the village. This time he used his own private money.
He earned a lot of money this year. He helped the Wan family harvest potatoes as a manager and also helped Wan Laoer manage the workshop. Wan Laoer paid him a salary, but when harvesting potatoes, Hu Zhengyang knew that the Wan family must be helping them secretly because they saw that they were living a pitiful life.
Originally, he was hired as a manager to help the Wan family harvest potatoes, but as for managing the workshop, they were in a cooperative relationship and he should do his part. It was his job, but the Wan family still offered him a high price of one or two taels of silver a month.
When Hu Zhengyang received the silver, he secretly vowed to return it to the Wan family double in the future.
This time, Hu Zhengyang stayed outside for more than 20 days. He visited all the counties under the jurisdiction of the prefecture and stayed in each county for two days. He checked the local prices of goods and housing, the distance between counties, and the routes to each county town. He took notes.
Wan Laoer welcomed Hu Zhengyang in with surprise.
"Zhengyang, why did you take so long this time? If you don't come back, I will go look for you. I am so worried about you."
Wan Laoer's face was full of surprise. He put his arm around Hu Zhengyang's shoulders and walked into the upper room.
The border area is vast, and if you want to communicate with each other, you have to rely on oxen and horses. However, oxen and horses are not fast, and it often takes half a month to send a letter. Moreover, once people go out, they can't be contacted. I want to send a piece of colored paper and a letter, but who knows where they are across the mountains and rivers?
"Uncle, I didn't just go to look for a workshop this time. I also visited all the counties under the jurisdiction of the entire prefecture. I wasted a lot of time and made you worry. I really deserve to be beaten."
Hu Zhengyang quickly bowed with a respectful smile on his face.
Wan Lao Er smiled and patted Hu Zhengyang on the shoulder. "How could uncle hit you? I can't wait to hurt you. You are very thoughtful. I am sorry for your hard work. You have been running around so many places by yourself for so many days. You must be exhausted, right? I will welcome you tonight and ask your second aunt to cook you a table of delicious food as a reward."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Second Aunt. I'm craving the braised pork you made."
Wan Lao Er laughed, "Okay, I'll tell your second aunt in a minute. We just cut some meat today, and it's just the right amount of fat and lean. Ask your second aunt to make more, so we can have as much braised pork as we want tonight."
"Okay."
The two of them went into the house and sat down, chatting and laughing.
When Wan Shuang heard that Hu Zhengyang had returned, he immediately ran back from the workshop.
"Brother Zhengyang? You're finally back. We were talking about you this morning. If you don't come back, your uncle will go looking for you."
"Wan Shuang, how is the workshop lately?" Hu Zhengyang stood up and greeted Wan Shuang. The two exchanged greetings and then sat down again.
"Your brother Zhengyang said that he has visited all the counties in our prefecture this time. Let's listen to his experiences and broaden our horizons." Wan Laoer felt that in the future he would open branches in various places in the prefecture, and it was better to go to various counties to investigate sooner rather than later. It happened that Hu Zhengyang had done it, so they felt more confident.
"Okay, I'll tell you about what I saw and heard this time. This trip really broadened my horizons. People say that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. That's probably what they mean. I always hear people in our village talk about how great the places outside are. I just envy them and never thought that one day I would go to so many places."
"After I visited all the counties this time, I found that the closer the county is to the capital, the richer it is. For example, the counties far from the capital are remote and poorer. However, because we have opened border trade, we are expected to surpass those counties in the coming years. However, there is one thing that is indeed a great joy. The news of our large-scale potato planting has spread to all the counties, and everyone is asking about it now."
When Wan Laoer heard the news brought back by Hu Zhengyang, he couldn't help but smile widely on his face, with the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears. He himself didn't know that the large-scale potato planting in their town had such a big impact. As the leader, he must be very proud of it.
After all, it is not easy to go from a farmer with nothing to where he is now. Wan Laoer is also a human being, and his mentality has definitely changed. However, he only talks about it with Wan Er's wife in bed, and he is still a humble country man in public.
In fact, it was precisely because of the simplicity that Wan Laoer always exuded from the bottom of his heart that everyone did not feel jealous.
"Brother Zhengyang, what if everyone grows potatoes next year? Our family can't harvest so many?" Wan Shuang asked worriedly.
"You don't have to worry about this. Isn't it the government that decides what the people plant? Before the government offices in the counties give orders, they should focus on growing grain and won't rashly plant potatoes. When it comes to grain, the government won't let the people do whatever they want."
Wan Shuang was relieved and continued to listen to Hu Zhengyang.
"After visiting so many places, I took note of several slightly larger counties. The prices there are also higher than ours. If we open branches there, our selling prices may be higher than those in other counties, because the rent there is also 10% higher than here, so I did not choose to open workshops in those places."
"I chose the central Qinping County. This county is located in the center, and is about the same distance from the provincial capital and the surrounding counties. If it is used to transport potato flour, it will be the most cost-effective, and renting a yard is not expensive. I asked about the price of a two-yard house, which is one or two taels of silver a month. It's just that the location is relatively remote. The most important thing is that there is a well in the yard. Our workshop does not need to be located in a very prosperous area, but it must have a well. After calculating it this way, I think this yard is the most cost-effective." Hu Zhengyang handed the simplified map he made to Wan Laoer for a look.
"Well, it's good. This location is a good choice. You have made good considerations. But have you found out the origin of this courtyard?"
Wan Laoer was worried that they had just gotten on the right track, and if the landlord suddenly raised the rent for them, they would have to find a house temporarily. That would not be worth it. Not only would it waste time, but most importantly, production would be delayed, which would cost money.
"Uncle, don't worry. I've already found out. The owner of this house has gone to the inner city and rented out the house to an agent. He said he won't be back for ten years, but there is only one requirement, which is that you take good care of the house and must pay a year's rent at a time."
Wan Laoer was overjoyed. Doesn’t this exactly meet their requirements?
"That's great. I was afraid they wouldn't give me a long-term lease. In that case, let's sign the contract this morning and start the workshop. We've also rented your fourth uncle's house and are renovating it now. It will be ready in a few days."
Hu Zhengyang nodded, "Second Uncle, I will go sign the contract tomorrow, and we will be ready to start work."
Everything is on the right track. As long as production and sales are on track, the goods can be turned into money and there will be money to invest in opening branches. However, it is easy to open a store but it is hard to find talent!
Wan Laoer started thinking about finding someone again.
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