Chapter 144: Fortune Comes
"Aying! Long time no see!" Hu Erlang greeted Su Ying.
The governor, Wang Yannian and others were chatting around the lime kiln, and Hu Erlang had the opportunity to chat with Su Ying.
"How is it? Which states have the vermicelli been sold to?" Su Ying asked with a smile.
More and more goods were delivered later, with significant increases each time.
As large iron pots were added one after another, production naturally increased, but at the same time, the consumption of raw materials was huge.
All the fern roots, kudzu roots, and konjac on the nearby hills have been dug up, and now we have to walk a long way to dig them up.
According to this development trend, wild fish will not be able to meet the needs of future sustained production.
Fortunately, after the villagers learned how to plant, they began to plant some in front of and behind their houses.
But growth takes time, and Su Ying was thinking about what to use to make vermicelli to fill the gap in the middle.
"There are about eleven or twelve provincial capitals. Our vermicelli is selling well. In addition to the ones from your Huanggou Village, purchasing points in various towns and villages are also buying them. There is still a big gap." Hu Erlang was full of confidence.
This is the first time I’ve enjoyed working at a shop so much after running it for so long.
He took Manager Liu to various prefectures and provinces, and visited the governors of various prefectures with Lu Zhaoshi's business card.
Shopkeeper Liu learned the homely method of making vermicelli from Huang Si, and added his own ideas. As Hu Erlang cooked for the officials from various prefectures, his vermicelli dishes became more and more delicious, and he was even qualified to be a chef in a restaurant.
"Let me introduce you, this is Mr. Fu, his ancestors were businessmen, and they have shops all over the place.
I heard that our Wuxian vermicelli is good, so I came with me to see it. I want to sell our vermicelli in Beijing, Jiangnan and other places." Hu Erlang introduced the fair and beardless middle-aged man to Su Ying.
"Mr. Fu!" Su Ying raised her hand and bowed to Fu Zhong.
"Hello, young lady!" Fu Zhong's voice was shrill, his tone was polite and distant, and his eyes were scrutinizing.
Su Ying was stunned for a moment, feeling strange and wondering in her heart.
"Aying, is it time to shake the honey? How much tea oil have you squeezed? The Fu family and the others want some!" Hu Erlang asked Su Ying.
"Ah, shaking honey? I haven't checked it out yet. I've been busy with the lime kiln, digging ponds, and attending classes these days, so I can't take care of it! I'll go back and check it out later." Su Ying was so busy that she forgot about it.
"There isn't much tea oil. Every household in the village has squeezed some. If you add it all up, there's probably about 150 kilograms."
The villagers now make money by selling vermicelli, but they are reluctant to sell the tea oil and keep it at home.
Ignoring the governor and his men, Su Ying took Hu Erlang, Fu Zhong and his party back to the village first.
Now the path leading to Qingshi Mountain has long been trampled into a highway, the thorny vines have been cut off, the fern roots and kudzu roots have been dug out, and the ramie has been threshed and harvested.
No more getting caught on thorns when going in and out.
Su Ying wanted to say something but stopped herself several times, because Mr. Fu was right next to her, so it was inconvenient for her to ask Hu Erlang.
Not to mention Su Ying, even Hu Erlang himself was confused, as if a pie had fallen from the sky and he was dizzy.
He was busy with Manager Liu when he suddenly received a letter from the governor asking him to come back as he had a big client to introduce to him.
Hu Erlang brought Manager Liu back to Wuzhou, and met a few strange guests at the governor's house.
Although he was clearly a businessman, everyone present was afraid of Mr. Fu. Fu Zhong and his son Fu Wang had strange voices.
Hu Erlang had no doubts about Wei Shutong and Li Boyan. He thought they were friends of the governor in the capital, who came to visit their old friend while passing by.
Not to mention Hu Erlang was confused, Lu Zhaoshi was even more confused.
That day, Wei Shutong and Li Boyan brought Fu Zhong and his son and asked who was doing the vermicelli business in Wuzhou?
Lu Zhaoshi said that the Hu family in Wu County was taking care of it.
Wei Shutong asked to summon Hu Erlang to discuss cooperation in the vermicelli business.
Lu Zhaoshi didn't expect that the vermicelli incident would alarm the capital so quickly, and even the special envoy would get involved.
Although Wei Shutong and Li Boyan were lower in rank than Lu Zhao, they were special envoys of the imperial court, carrying out inspections in Lingnan. They had the power to control him and he did not dare to offend them.
The reason why he supports Hu Erlang is that he thinks he is reliable. Supporting him can provide a stable sales channel for these specialties of Wuzhou.
Wuzhou's vermicelli is mainly sold through the shop opened by Hu Erlang.
He also had his own shop. His wife, Cui, was from Qinghe. She had a generous dowry and owned many shops.
He also purchased some vermicelli and sold it to other places. Because of his status, Lu Zhaoshi did not want to monopolize the vermicelli market.
He also wanted to use Hu Erlang to make Wuxian and Wuzhou truly turn vermicelli, tea oil, honey and other products into specialties and make them his own political achievements.
If they monopolize the market, the situation will change. It will no longer be about political achievements, but about exploiting the local people and squeezing the land.
Maybe when he leaves in the future, the people will give him a plaque that reads: "The sky is three feet high!"
The special envoy brought people and said they wanted to cooperate. Lu Zhaoshi couldn't refuse, so he had to summon Hu Erlang.
Unexpectedly, they really cooperated, injected capital, and formed a partnership.
Instead of interfering with Hu Erlang's Lingnan market, he aimed directly at wealthy places such as Jiangnan and Beijing.
Selling these things in advance was a mutually beneficial deal, and Lu Zhaoshi finally felt relieved.
Everyone present only gets a portion of the content.
Fu Zhong and Fu Wang's mission was to go to Lingnan Road with a large sum of money and a secret decree to find Wei Shutong, obtain the sales rights of Wuzhou's specialties, and start selling them in Jiangnan and other places as soon as possible.
The money earned was used to buy old rice locally and secretly transported to Henan and Hebei Provinces, where he opened grain shops to suppress local grain prices.
Wei Shutong and Li Boyan assisted Fu Zhong and his son to gain the export rights for Wuzhou's specialties.
By the time it reached the level of Lu Zhaoshi and Hu Erlang, it had become a simple business with the beginning and the end cut off.
No one knew the reason, but no one asked. This was not a business matter, but involved officialdom.
The ones under the greatest pressure here were Fu Zhong and his son. They were just insignificant eunuchs working under the Shaofu. How could they suddenly receive an imperial decree and leave the capital simply to do business?
Fu Zhong and Fu Wang were eunuchs in the previous dynasty's imperial palace. Li Tang captured Chang'an and seized the Sui Dynasty regime.
Most of these eunuchs who depended on the palace for their survival stayed and continued to serve the new dynasty.
The only change was in their status. The former managers became workers, and Li Tang promoted many new people from among them.
Fu Zhong used to be the chief steward of the inner treasury of the palace, but as the world changed, he was assigned to the palace to do hard labor.
The palace has always been very snobbish, praising the powerful and looking down on the weak.
What good would it be for Fuzhong to become a eunuch doing menial and hard work?
In the cold winter, Fu Zhong, who had caught typhoid fever, was working in a sick state. He fell to the ground and was beaten to death by his manager.
Princess Changsun of Qin, who was passing by, saw him and felt pity for him. She rescued him and called the imperial physician to treat him.
Later, Fu Zhong deliberately waited by the roadside and kowtowed to Changsun to express his gratitude.
Changsun asked him about his past and learned that he was a capable eunuch. She said that her inner court was in need of a literate manager and asked him if he was willing to go.
Fu Zhong thanked her profusely, expressed his willingness, and pleaded with Empress Zhangsun to take Fu Wang away with her.
He entered the Prince of Qin's Palace and assisted Changsun in managing it.
Fuwang was a small eunuch who was bullied. When Fuzhong was sick, he was the only one who secretly fed food to Fuzhong.
Both of them were miserable people, but they kept each other warm in the palace, recognized each other as father and son, and took care of each other.
Unexpectedly, the King of Qin became the Heavenly Khan, and Fu Zhong rose in status and became the Manager of the Shaofu.
Fu Zhong, who was in a high position again, was no longer high-profile and arrogant, but restrained and low-key. He stayed in the Shaofu, quietly taking care of affairs and sharing the worries of the queen.
Therefore, not many people paid attention to this steward Fu.
When the Khan wanted to send someone out of the capital this time, Empress Changsun thought of him first. He was capable, reliable, low-key and steady.
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