Chapter 234 Chapter 234 Factory Inspection
Qin Run lowered her eyes, not knowing what she was thinking. After a while, she said, "He is my husband's student. He and my husband have a good relationship. It's almost Chinese New Year, and my husband asked me to bring some New Year's goods to visit him."
"What?"
"Run'er, what did you say? Did you just say that Xu Yanba was your husband's student?"
"That's impossible. Isn't Xu the mute? Aren't people with disabilities, broken limbs, and other disabilities unable to study? How can he become your husband's student?" The grandmother didn't know what was going on. She didn't know that Xu Zhifeng could speak, but she knew everything about Xu Yunfan.
The news about Dali Village spread like wildfire in the surrounding villages. Everyone knew that the Xiaoqin family was no longer the same as before. The son-in-law who married into the Xiaoqin family was even more remarkable. He was a teacher at Qingfeng Academy.
It’s incredible!
It’s incredible!
Even though the elders in the village cannot read a single word, Qingfeng Academy is so famous. Although some villagers think that studying is useless, that is only for their own children who are not good at studying, and for those families who do not want to spend money to send their children to school and make their families poor. If studying is useless, how could they praise scholars so highly?
Qin Run raised an eyebrow. "Xu Zhifeng is not only my husband's student now, he's also been recognized by the teacher at Qingfeng Academy and has already enrolled there. My husband says he's a rare talent. And since the snow hasn't been heavy these past two days, he asked me to bring some New Year's goods while I can still leave the village."
A teacher actually gave New Year’s gifts to his students?
Isn't this the opposite?
If not, it only means that Xu Zhifeng is extraordinary. The teacher saw at a glance that this person will have a bright future, so he made friends with him in advance.
It’s incredible! There’s actually a scholar hidden in their village who is valued by the teacher and the dean.
This was a big deal. All of a sudden, the old people were no longer able to chat. They packed up their things for the day and ran home.
No, if a student like Xu Zhifeng becomes successful in the future, it will be a big deal.
Recently, there have been rumors in the village that many students have been hired by the Qin family as stewards, and they earn several taels of silver a month. Even so, Xu Yunfan wants to be on good terms with Xu Zhifeng. In this case, how powerful must Xu Zhifeng be?
Even if Xu Zhifeng fails the exam in the end, just because he is valued by the dean, it will not be a problem for him to become a manager in the factory in the future. Only a fool would not make friends with such a promising person.
As Qin Run arrived at the Xu family, news about Xu Zhifeng's identity as a student spread throughout the village.
Xu Zhifeng was practicing calligraphy in his study when Qin Run called out from outside the courtyard, "Xu Zhifeng, is Xu Zhifeng home?"
"Here!" Xu Zhifeng didn't care about the half-written characters and ran out with a smile. Xu's father and mother couldn't catch up with him. Seeing their son so impatient, they hurried out to see who had come.
Their son hasn't had any friends in these years, and he only "hooked up" with Xu Yunfan just now. Could the person who came be Xu Yunfan?
That’s terrible!
Hearing that Xu Yunfan loved to eat the old hens that their family had raised for several years, Xu Zhifeng would catch one every time. They had to quickly light the fire and catch a chicken to entertain the guest.
It was only a few steps away, and Xu's mother had even thought about what dishes to cook to entertain Xu Yunfan later.
When they saw the person who came in talking and laughing with their son, the smiles on their faces couldn't help but pause.
"Run'er, why are you here?" Xu Zhifeng asked happily.
Qin Run put down the backpack and took out some wild boar meat from it. "Yun Fan was in Dashan Village the other day...but he couldn't invite you to the wild boar feast. After all, you weren't familiar with the other guys, and he was afraid you wouldn't be able to let go, so he didn't tell you. Now that Chinese New Year is almost here, he asked me to bring you a few pounds to try. Don't be disgusted."
"It's impossible for me to despise you. My family is well off. You don't have to be so polite." Xu Zhifeng accepted the wild boar meat without hesitation. When he saw Qin Run took out bacon and a few pounds of charcoal, he felt embarrassed.
"You can burn a piece of this charcoal to keep warm while writing. And here's the paper. Yunfan said you started a little slower than the others. Although you've practiced with tree branches over the years, it's still a little disappointing. He told you not to slack off and to be diligent and learn."
Xu Zhifeng must have known how expensive charcoal and other things were, so he didn't dare to accept them. But thinking of his friendship with Xu Yunfan, he finally accepted the charcoal.
Never mind, these things are precious in his eyes, but they are nothing in Xu Yunfan's eyes. He has taken them now, and will work harder in the future to live up to Xu Yunfan's expectations. He will repay them a hundredfold when he becomes successful.
"Xiaofeng, who is this?" Mother Xu watched Qin Run take out so many things from the backpack. Every time she saw something, she became more uneasy.
These things are too valuable. Other people might be happy about it, but Xu's mother only feels uneasy. If her son accepts these things, he will have to return things of equal value in the future. This is always the case in human relationships. If others give you expensive gifts and you give you cheap ones, you will be suspected of taking advantage.
Xu Zhifeng introduced: "Mom, this is Run Ge'er, Yun Fan's husband."
"It's Run'er. Come in and sit down. It's cold outside." Xu's mother was happy. She took out a stool, wiped it a few times and then put it in front of Qin Run.
The stools at home were not that dirty, but the villagers were poor and could not sit in the kitchen to warm themselves by the fire all the time. When they were afraid of being cold while eating, they would take a basin and fill it half with ashes.
The villagers usually use large wood to cook, so the charcoal produced is naturally large and will not go out so quickly. Although it is not as burn-resistant as specially burned charcoal, it is better than nothing. Therefore, these stools that are rarely sat on will have some dust on them.
Qin Run was a villager after all, so he didn't feel slighted. He sat down and said, "It's not that cold today. It will probably be even colder in a couple of days when it snows heavily."
Xu's mother smiled and said, "That's right. You chat with Xiaofeng while I boil some water for you. You should sit down and have a good rest. It's a rare visit for you, so you should at least have a meal before you go back."
Qin Run quickly refused, "No, Auntie, I have to go back soon, so I really don't need to cook."
"No, that won't work. It won't be rushed in a short while. Don't worry, it will be quick." Father Xu saw people coming and caught the chickens. Farmers can boil water quickly with firewood and chickens are easy to pluck, so they can prepare a lunch in half an hour.
Xu Zhifeng: "My mother is right. You don't know. My parents always wanted to visit Yunfan, but I persuaded them not to. It's a rare occasion for you to come here today. If you don't stay for dinner, they will definitely feel bad."
Xu Yunfan cured his muteness and also bought back eggs from his own family. His father had been making a lot of money buying eggs from everywhere recently. The two elders were very grateful and they went to thank Xu Yunfan in person many times before they felt at ease.
Qin Run had no choice but to have a meal at Xu's house. When he left, he couldn't refuse and finally took an old hen back with him.
When leaving the village, Qin Run unexpectedly discovered that the village entrance seemed very lively. Many villagers were standing there. When they saw him coming, some looked curious, some looked envious, and some were full of disbelief. In short, each of their expressions was wonderful.
A girl said sourly, "Is he Run'er from Dali Village? He looks like a man. He looks like this, but he can still find a husband. He is really lucky."
"I heard from grandma that Xu the Mute caught the eye of Master Xu and was admitted to Qingfeng Academy. That's amazing. Even if he doesn't pass the imperial examination, he's favored by Master Xu. Maybe he can get a job as a manager in the factory and earn eight taels a month. Wow, that's incredible."
"Hey, Xu Yanba is eighteen years old this year, right? At this age, it's time to get married."
"I told you that Xu Yanba would be a promising person in the future, but you still didn't believe me. Actually, this kid has been different from others since he was young."
The other villagers were ashamed after hearing what the woman said. They talked about it in a flurry, and several young men had unhappy expressions. They had bullied Xu Zhifeng a lot in the past. If Xu Zhifeng really became successful, who knew if the other party would retaliate?
When Qin Run came home with a chicken on his back, Xu Yunfan was delighted. "I told you that I had a plan. I figured you'd have to bring a chicken back. I've already soaked the mushrooms I brought back from Dashan Village in hot water. Let's stew a chicken tonight."
"Yes, you are awesome. The hens Aunt Xu caught for me are so fat." Qin Run sighed. He didn't know whether the hens in Xu Zhifeng's house were enough for Xu Yunfan to eat.
Xu Zhifeng's eldest sister married in Dali Village. Every time Xu Zhifeng came, Qin Run would listen to Sun Xu say that his family didn't have a hen, but only a basket of eggs. Fortunately, the Sun family were all honest people and did not have any opinions about the Xu family because of this.
"Yunfan, you said last night that you would take me with you to make the three letters on red paper today. Do you remember?" Qin Run rushed back just for this matter.
Xu Yunfan nodded. "I haven't forgotten. Let's go to the backyard. I've prepared the charcoal fire and the wooden brush. I'll teach you later."
It is actually very simple to make the three-book red paper.
Xu Yunfan used the water-flying method to prepare cinnabar. Before brushing cinnabar water on bamboo paper, he first used cockscomb water as a base, and then brushed on cinnabar water after it was completely dry.
Coloring with cinnabar water is nothing more than coloring, drying, coloring again, drying, and repeating this process several times. This is a very time-consuming process. When the weather is cold, it is difficult for the paper to dry out. Therefore, Xu Yunfan prepared several pots of charcoal.
When the paper turns pure red, the so-called three-book red paper of the Dayan Dynasty, which is as precious as gold, is ready.
After Xu Yunfan carefully tore the three red books from the wooden board, Qin Run exaggeratedly found a box and said, "Yunfan, put these papers in there. Be careful not to tear them."
"Run'er, go to the woodshed and cut off a piece for me from the bundle I put in the corner. It should be this big." Xu Yunfan gestured and said.
Qin Run quickly brought the things over. "Yun Fan, what is this? What are you going to use it for?"
Xu Yunfan broke the gold foil into pieces. "This is gold foil. Do you think it looks better this way?"
As he spoke, Xu Yunfan spread out a piece of red paper with three characters written on it, and then sprinkled fine gold foil fragments on it. Suddenly, the paper looked shiny and very beautiful.
Qin Run exclaimed, picked up the red paper with three letters sprinkled with gold foil, and looked at it from left to right, as if he couldn't let it go. "It looks good. It looks very good like this. It looks even more beautiful. I guess it can sell for a good price."
"Then I'll make a few more, and you can continue coloring the other papers. Dad and those little brats will probably be back in an hour."
When Qin Feiyu heard that Qin Run had opened several factories, he couldn't help but become curious and asked Qin An and Qin Mu to take him to see them one by one.
Before going out, Qin Feiyu did not want to reveal his identity. Xu Yunfan had no choice but to transform Qin Feiyu into a vicissitudes of life old man and tell others that he was the steward of the Qi family who came to inspect.
After visiting several factories in succession, Qin Feiyu touched his chin. If he had not come here once, he would probably not have known that Qin Run and Xu Yunfan could make their business so big.
At present, Xiao Qin's factory has recruited dozens of students. Some of these people stay in the factory and are responsible for the receipt and delivery of goods. Under them are managers of several regions, such as the manager of the southwest region. These managers are responsible for the delivery and purchase of goods in the southwest region. In the southwest region, each prefecture, county and town has several managers.
With the group general manager, regional manager, provincial manager, and branch manager being divided into such a hierarchy, Xu Yunfan naturally needs a lot of talents.
These managers not only need to promote the reputation of the factory's products, but Qin Run also assigns them tasks such as product sales, pricing, and location selection for stores in other prefectures.
In addition, in order to prevent some managers from feeling that they were too high and too far away from the emperor and had ulterior motives, Qin Run set up an inspection team. The so-called inspection team is not only responsible for inspecting the development of the store, whether the price setting is reasonable, and the income and expenditure, but they will not let go of even small matters such as store hygiene.
Because some stores sell imported food, Qin Run followed Xu Yunfan's advice, which is that hygiene and safety must be put first.
As the number of workers in the factory increased, Qin Run spent more money to buy the so-called work permits. And the managers of the Qin family, whether they were from other places or in Qinghe Town, would each wear a unique identity certificate that could prove that they were the managers of the Qin family store.
Recently, there has been a trend of dropouts being hired in Yiping Prefecture, and many people have learned about this.
Qin Run spent a lot of money to follow the Qi family's way and bought sixteen horses from the Qi family as a means of transportation and gave them to Xu and his group.
Xu and his group took the student's registered address that Qin Run gave them and asked them to make the arrangements. So these warriors who were originally responsible for protecting their master had to temporarily take on the job of errand boys, riding their horses and galloping through various villages.
In the past few days before the New Year, dozens of students who had dropped out of Qingfeng Academy signed contracts with the Xiao Qin family one after another.
Xu Yi and others have been running around outside. This time, the students' training is no longer concentrated in Dali Village, but in one place. After the students are trained, they will go to work in the areas they are responsible for.
The villagers of Dali Village don’t know what Qin Run does every day. They only know that the workers in these factories work non-stop every day, and even so, the products they make are still in short supply.
So the question is, they only know that Qin Run opened shops in the town and the county town. Can two shops consume so much?
This is definitely not possible, but every day they see with their own eyes ox carts and horse carts transporting the products produced in the factory. With so much goods, how much money can they make?
Everyone was jealous to death, and they were almost boiling with jealousy, but they could do nothing about Qin Run. After all, they couldn't afford to offend the Qin family now.
Led by Qin An's children, Qin Feiyu went to the farthest factory, which was a cattle farm and a pig farm.
My goodness! Seeing the dozens of cows in the cattle farm, Qin Feiyu was shocked and sweat almost flew. "Anger, your brother-in-law raises so many cows. Has he followed the procedures?"
Cows were rare in the Dayan Dynasty, and private slaughter was not allowed. If a strong adult cow, even if it was one's own, was slaughtered privately, the victim would be beaten with a stick. Of course, if the cow was old or could not be raised for some reason, it was still understandable.
Qin An: "Brother Gefu said he's not afraid because all the cattle belong to him. Someone reported Brother Gefu before, but the county magistrate ignored it. The county magistrate also told Brother Gefu to raise as many cattle as possible."
Xu Yunfan was a man who could make promises. When County Magistrate Zhou heard him paint a big picture, he could not help but envision the beautiful vision of every household having a working ox. So he waved his hand and let Xu Yunfan raise one, and encouraged Xu Yunfan to do it boldly.
Qin Feiyu was very good at judging people. After hearing what Qin An said, he knew that Xu Yunfan had probably fooled County Magistrate Zhou.
No, County Magistrate Zhou is a good official who is dedicated to serving the people. Xu Yunfan made him happy, but later he made County Magistrate Zhou very disappointed. This incident is a black spot for Xu Yunfan's future career.
Qin Feiyu planned to go back and have a good talk with Xu Yun. Then he looked at the pig farm and asked the villager in charge of the pigs, "Big Brother, how many pigs are there in this farm?"
The villagers replied respectfully, "One hundred and sixteen."
Everyone had heard about the visitor to the Qin family. The villager in charge of feeding the pigs saw Qin An and Qin Mu following Qin Feiyu on his left and right, and he was holding the young master of the Qin family in his arms. He knew the identity of this person without asking.
Qin An exclaimed, "Uncle, did you remember it wrong? The last time I came here, you said there were seventy-nine. How come there are more than a hundred now?"
The man smiled gently at Qin An and said, "That's because the sows in the pigpen have given birth to piglets during this period, so there are more pigs in the pig farm."
There are more than a dozen sows and dozens of meat pigs in the pig farm. These meat pigs are fed with sweet potato residue and cooked dried sweet potato vines every meal. Now they weigh more than 100 kilograms.
Qin Feiyu: "Can I go in and take a look?"
"certainly."
The pigpen is cleaned regularly every day. In winter, the weather is cold, there are not many mosquitoes, and the smell is not too strong.
Qin Feiyu was very curious. With so many pigs, where could they find pig feed in such a cold weather? He looked at the feed in the pig trough, squatted down to take a look out of curiosity, and then chatted with the pig farmer for a few words before leaving.
Qin Feiyu learned from the persons in charge of the cattle farm and the pig farm that both the hay for the cattle and the food for the pigs were prepared in advance by Xu Yunfan.
Since Xu Yunfan can raise cattle, can he raise horses?
You know, horses are not only used for transportation, but in ancient times they also had a more important role, that is, they were strategic resources.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, cattle were valuable, and horses were even more so. If these livestock were so expensive, why did so few people raise them?
The main reason is that the cost of raising these livestock is too high. Unlike horses and cows, which only need to be fed two meals a day, these guys eat almost day and night.
So, where does the grass come from? Even if we hire people to feed the animals, it's easy to hire people, but where does the grass come from?
Now, seeing the hay Xu Yunfan used to feed the cows, Qin Feiyu couldn't help but feel excited.
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