Speaking of Xu Fan and his younger brother Xu Ying, the last time they appeared was at the end of the first month of the third year of Longqing.

Before that, it was Niu Chenshi Niu Mowang who deliberately allowed the people to attack Tuisi Garden, hoping to capture the Xu brothers hiding inside in the chaos, send them to Xishan Island to reunite with the second brother, and let the three brothers dig manure together.

However, the two of them had great perseverance and escaped from Songjiang City by drilling through a dog hole, climbing down a sewer, and hiding in a dung bucket. They thought that they had finally escaped from the disaster, but who knew that the bad days had just begun.

In order to wash off the yellow soup on their bodies, they went to the river to bathe, but their clothes were taken away by someone. They had no choice but to go on the road covered with black river mud, but they were caught by a group of human traffickers as Kunlun slaves.

Later, the traffickers found out that they were just two worthless beggar chickens and wanted to kill them. In order to survive, the two lied that their names were Yu Xi and Yu Bei, and that they were wealthy businessmen living in Changxing, and that they were robbed by criminals and ended up in this situation. They also promised to give them any amount of money as long as they spared their lives, but they had to follow them to Changxing County to get the money...

After the other party agreed, the two men were worried that they would kill the hostages after getting the money, so they cut off a chicken head and burned yellow paper with the human trafficker leader, becoming sworn brothers. They also agreed to recruit soldiers and horses, and take advantage of the great changes in the world to do something big!

As luck would have it, they happened to meet Zhao Hao who also came to Changxing to look for minerals. As a result, Master Zhao reported them, and they were all caught by the county. The two had something to hide, and they did not dare to confess their identities. Later, they were reported by human traffickers and sentenced to exile for treason.

In those days, the government didn’t know how to cherish the labor force, and they would first beat people with a stick and then exile them…

In the end, the two brothers were beaten half to death and sent to Niutou Mountain to dig coal.

The days and months are short in the mountains. As they were talking, the two brothers were about to complete five years in the mine.

Looking at their rough skin, hunched backs, big-jointed hands, and the coal dust that could never be washed out of their fingernails and wrinkles, you could tell that the two brothers were already qualified veteran miners.

The two brothers and the other prisoners in the same team squatted on the ground in a circle, holding a large coarse porcelain bowl filled with brown rice in one hand and chopsticks in the other, quickly scooping food from the basin.

The most important thing is to eat. If you have anything to say, eat first.

Xu Ying finished two large bowls of brown rice, and when he returned with the third bowl, there was no more vegetables in the bowl. He quickly grabbed a vegetable bowl, poured the rice directly into it, and ate it with big mouthfuls of the soup at the bottom of the bowl.

At that time, Xu Ying always had poor spleen and stomach, as well as athlete's foot. He could only eat half a bowl of rice from a palm-sized bowl.

Now I can feed ten people, but there is no other way, the workload is too heavy...

Seeing his younger brother eating the food with such relish, Xu Fan felt sad and started to cry.

Before dinner today, the commander of the labor camp announced the final list of amnesty, and his brothers were still not on it...

"Burp, why can't you eat anymore? Can I help you?" Xu Ying stretched out her hand to him.

"You heartless thing, we are not on the amnesty list, how can you still eat?" Xu Fan was guarding his rice bowl tightly, as there was a lot of trouble inside.

"That's normal." Xu Ying had no choice but to stick out her long, flexible tongue and lick the bottom of the basin clean, still not satisfied. "We are guilty of treason, which is unforgivable."

"You're talking nonsense, we didn't do that!" Xu Fan was furious and took a big bite of the fried dough. Fuck, it smells so good. "Besides, it was Yu Xi who committed the crime. What does it have to do with me, Xu Fan?"

"Shh, keep your voice down..." Xu Ying quickly covered his brother's mouth, looked around to see that no one noticed them, and then he breathed a sigh of relief: "Are you going to die? Have you forgotten that Lin Feng is still alive! I heard that Hai Gangfeng has been promoted to the Minister of the Southern Ministry of Justice!"

His murder of the imperial envoy was considered treason, which was also an unforgivable crime. How could the two opponents, who were now in power, let him go?

But Xu Fan was different. The fire had nothing to do with him. He was in this situation because of Xu Ying. If he revealed his identity now, he should be pardoned and sent back to his hometown.

"I don't care, anything is better than now!" Xu Fan ate the whole basket and threw the bowl hard. "You can continue to dig coal if you want, I'm going home anyway!"

There was a snapping sound, which alarmed the supervisor.

"Yu Xier, what are you doing?!" The supervisor came over angrily and swung the whip to hit Xu Fan.

"Let me tell you a secret! I am not Yu Xi, much less Yu Xier! I am Xu Fan, Xu Yangzhai, the former Minister of Works who was granted the rank of second-rank official and retired!" Xu Fan said proudly and fearlessly.

"What..." The supervisor was stunned.

"I'm Xu Huating's son, the former junior minister Xu Fan. How are you? Are you scared?" Xu Fan said with an arrogance that didn't match his status as a labor prisoner: "Call the battalion commander quickly, and I won't care about your past...ah!"

Before he could finish his words, he was severely whipped by the disciplinarian and fell to the ground.

"You, dare to hit me?" Xu Fan covered his face and looked at the supervisor in shock.

"Are you Xu Jie's son?" The guard held the whip in both hands and said with a fierce smile, "But I am Xu Jie's father!"

"I'll teach you a lesson, you dishonest boy!" After saying that, he whipped Xu Fan like rain, beating him until his skin was torn and he cried for his parents.

It was Xu Ying who kowtowed and bowed to explain that my brother had knocked his head while working in the mine and had recently forgotten who he was.

"Tell me, who are you?" The guard was tired of beating the boy, so he stopped whipping him and stretched his neck.

"I am your grandson..." Xu Fan hugged his head and curled up into a ball.

"Bah, you deserve a beating!" The instructor spat and warned him, "If you talk nonsense again, I'll hang you up and beat you!"

Then the guard yelled at the prisoners who were watching the show, "Are you watching a monkey show? Go back and pack up, we'll leave tomorrow!"

"Boss, where are you going?" a prisoner asked.

"It seems to be called something like Jilong Coal Mine?" The supervisor scratched his cheek uncertainly, then glared and said, "Why do you care so much? Just go wherever you are told to go!"

"Ah..." The prisoners dispersed in dismay. It didn't matter where they were digging coal. On the bright side, at least they could eat for free and not work.

Xu Ying helped Xu Fan up and said happily: "Brother, it seems that you can't abandon me. We have to be together."

"That bitch's pen..." Xu Fan cursed weakly and closed his eyes in despair.

~~

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, on Shantang Street outside Suzhou City, gongs and drums were beating and firecrackers were blasting to celebrate the convening of the fifth group conference of Jiangnan Group!

Although the group holds a group meeting every year on this day, this year's meeting is unprecedentedly grand because the group's first five-year plan has officially expired today!

More than half a year in advance, Mr. Zhao led the board of directors, the strategic decision-making committee and the supervision and inspection committee to form a "First Five-Year Plan Acceptance Team" to travel around to inspect the completion of each company's First Five-Year Plan and listened to their opinions on the Second Five-Year Plan.

It was not until ten days ago, after inspecting the Changguang Coal Mine in Changxing County, that Zhao Hao and his team rushed back to Suzhou. Based on the results of the comprehensive inspection, they came up with a report on the First Five-Year Plan and, more importantly, the Second Five-Year Plan.

Although the bosses of each group knew their own achievements, they were still very nervous because they didn't know where they would rank in the huge group. If they were to come in last, it would not only be embarrassing, but it would also affect their future...

In addition to these old faces, there were 230 employees at all levels who have won the Group's Outstanding Contribution Award in the past five years, and 70 representatives from the Nanhai Group who came from the south of the Five Ridges... A total of 711 people attended this conference of great significance.

The conference was still held in the group auditorium.

A large screen hung on the wall was playing a promotional video about the achievements of the First Five-Year Plan, but the delegates were busy going around greeting people, just like they were at a party.

Maybe it’s because a five-year plan has been completed, and everyone subconsciously wants to breathe a sigh of relief and relax…

The noisy voices gradually died down until the board members appeared on the podium.

After Master Zhao helped Hua Cha sit down, he glanced casually at the audience. The whole audience suddenly fell silent and no one dared to breathe.

After surviving the difficult years at the end of the Longqing period and entering the happy times during the Wanli period, Mr. Zhao's image in the group was further elevated.

In the eyes of the group, he is no longer a human, but an omnipotent and invincible god... This is certainly not a good thing, and Zhao Hao knows that he must demystify himself. But not now, he needs this kind of worship now to ensure that his plan is carried out step by step without compromise.

After playing music, raising the flag and singing the group's anthem, everyone observed a moment of silence for the two late gentlemen, Ma Yilong and Zheng Ruozeng, who had made outstanding contributions to the group.

Afterwards, Mr. Zhao, on behalf of the Group Strategy and Decision-making Committee, gave a report on the completion of the First Five-Year Plan to all representatives:

"Comrades, five years ago, we gathered on Xishan Island and held the first group meeting. We vowed to be the vanguard of the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty! To lead the entire nation out of crisis and towards a new life! In order to realize this great ideal, we formulated the first five-year plan. After that, the entire group worked together to overcome all difficulties. After five years of hard work -"

After a pause, he looked up at the field and raised his voice, "Now I proudly announce that the First Five-Year Plan has been fully exceeded! Our first battle was a brilliant success!"

The group representatives could not hold back and stood up and applauded. A wave of applause rang out in the hall.

Zhao Hao also clapped along, and only after everyone had vented their joy and sat back down did he continue:

"First of all, in terms of agriculture, under the scientific guidance of Kunshan Agricultural College and the unremitting efforts of Jiangnan Development Corporation, during the first five-year period, the group opened a total of 3.5 million mu of rice fields, 1.5 million mu of cotton fields, and 800,000 mu of mulberry fields, which is 3.5 times the planned area!"

"In addition, more than half of the arable land in the entire Jiangnan region has been turned into farms, and has achieved bumper harvests and increased production year after year! Without reducing the planting of cash crops, we have achieved self-sufficiency in both food and tax grain!"

Zhao Hao raised his head again and said, "The history of Jiangnan relying on Huguang for food is gone forever!"

The thunderous applause rang out again!

For this, the Group awarded Ma Yilong, the late president of Kunshan Agricultural College, the Group’s highest contribution award—and awarded him 10,000 shares of Jiangnan Group stock!

These are shares of Jiangnan Group, not shares of its subsidiaries, grandson companies, or great-grandson companies, totaling only 10 million shares!

In other words, Ma Yilong's descendants will own one thousandth of the Jiangnan Group for generations to come.

Those who relieve famine for the people should receive this honor, so that their descendants can enjoy endless benefits!

ps. This chapter is from yesterday.