Businessmen don't easily offend others or open up to anyone, so the relationship between Xu Jie and Zhao Feng is not very good. During the two years when Zhao Feng was repaying Shen Tang, they had more interactions. Zhao Feng often asked Xu Jie to take care of his family.
In the past two years, Xu Jie has been doing a good job.
Seeing that it was him, Zhao Feng's cold face warmed up a little, and he took the initiative to greet him. Noticing that Xu Jie looked unhappy, he asked with concern, "What happened?" Xu Jie turned his head, glanced at the lord's mansion with his peripheral vision, frowned and sighed.
Zhao Feng noticed his little movements.
He immediately said with a smile: "It has been a long time since I had a drink and a chat with Wen Zhu. There are still a few jars of fine wine in the mansion. Why don't you come over to my humble abode and have a drink?"
Xu Jie also needed to get drunk to relieve his sorrow at this moment.
He nodded and agreed.
Zhao’s house, main hall.
Although Qin Li, Zhao Feng and other non-Tianhai members were excluded from the workplace, it was ultimately due to personal conflicts among their subordinates. As a lord, Wu Xian never treated those who worked for him unfairly in terms of economics and material, and was very generous.
During the two years that Zhao Feng was away from Tianhai, the old and young in the mansion lived well. They received rewards at all times and festivals, and the house was renovated several times.
but-
A good living environment cannot relieve depression.
Xu Jie and the other person each had their own thoughts.
Zhao ordered his servants to go to the wine cellar and bring two jars of fine wine.
Open the red cloth wine seal and the aroma of wine will hit your nose.
Xu Jie sniffed lightly and said teasingly, "Mr. Shen is really considerate. The fine wine he gave to Dayi is actually genuine."
Zhao Feng was also amused to the point of being unable to hold back his laughter.
Later, he found out that the fine wine sold by Shen Tang to various places in Tianhai was mixed with water, and then in the hands of Xu Jie, the profiteer, it became water mixed with wine. Zhao Fengchu felt that it was not good at first, but then he thought, it is not easy to say anything if one is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten.
This time I came back and encountered workplace bullying...
Zhao Feng felt that they were only worthy of drinking water and wine.
"What a pity! Every jar you drink is one less."
He has become very picky with his mouth.
In the past, I could drink any low-quality and muddy wine, and I was not picky about food, but this time I felt that everything was not right. I thought the wine in the wine cellar was too low-quality, and the cooking skills at home were too crude, but the earthen kang at home was still somewhat familiar.
Xu Jie said casually: "I'll buy some from Mr. Shen later."
He didn't ask directly. In fact, with Shen Jun's warm and generous temperament, Zhao Feng could get wine as soon as he opened his mouth without paying.
Zhao Feng said half-truthfully, "I don't have money, I can't afford it."
He drank the whole bowl in one gulp and asked Xu Jie.
"Just now I saw that Wen Zhu seemed to be worried. Did he encounter a difficult problem?" Zhao Feng didn't want to talk about his own affairs, so he changed the topic to Xu Jie. "Although Feng is insignificant and can't help, I was born with two ears and can listen to you."
"Dayi has become much more sly in the past two years." Xu Jie laughed and shook his head. The former Zhao Feng would never have said such a teasing remark. After laughing, worry returned to his eyebrows and he said solemnly, "The matter is not difficult, but I feel uncomfortable in my heart."
Zhao Feng frowned when he heard this.
During this time since he came back, he has been actively getting familiar with Tianhai.
Naturally, I also heard about the difficulties Xu Jie encountered.
He restrained his smile and listened carefully to what Xu Jie said while drinking. His face became more serious. He analyzed: "Wen Zhu, I'm afraid that the lord deliberately condoned this matter..."
Xu Jie's face was gloomy: "I know."
Heyin was originally a poor and barren place with nothing.
But after two years of Shen Tang's investment in management, the area has regained vitality and prospered, and every household has a surplus of food for one or two years. Shen Tang also beat drums and gongs to recruit refugees, reclaim wasteland and manage it, so that the refugees have land to plant and food to eat.
In order to increase the effect, they also adopted a "pyramid selling model" - this term was seen by Xu Jie in Shen Tang's work diary - the specific operation method was that a registered commoner would recruit an unregistered commoner to settle in Heyin, and the former would receive a bushel of new rice.
The activity is limited in time but not in quantity.
The number of registered households exceeded 80,000 in one fell swoop.
Nowadays, you can see curling smoke from cooking fires wherever you go.
Xu Jie knew that Shen Tang had governed He Yin very well, but after reading the large amount of written data left by Shen Tang's team, he realized how well he had governed. Eighty thousand households, even if the proportion of young and strong people was not high, they could still gather a considerable number of troops.
After a few years, the registered children grew up...
Xu Jie also vaguely discovered the big things Shen Tang left behind. Maybe he didn't have time to destroy the documents, or maybe he didn't even want to destroy them - Shen Tang once found an excuse to let the villagers of each village conduct offensive and defensive battles against each other in units of villages!
As Ha Yin's neighbor, Tian Hai was completely unaware of it.
Xu Jie also discovered it by accident after taking office.
A closer look -
He found that these villagers had surprisingly similar ideas.
There was even a village head who was full of bandit spirit and said confidently: We have no other place to go except Heyin. If the bad guys come, what will we do if we don’t punish his ancestors for eighteen generations? If one person can’t do it, two people can do it. If two people can’t do it, the whole village can do it!
Whoever steals our food, we will fight to the death!
Go somewhere else? There's nothing to eat.
Not just one village thinks this way!
Everyone in Heyin County thinks so!
Occasionally, you can see adults teaching children how to form a group of three, with one person attacking and two people assisting. At first glance, it seems like they are just having fun, but combined with the notes left by Shen Tang, Xu Jie's mood is as complicated as a ball of wool that cannot be sorted out.
If Shen Jun had not been transferred, according to this trend, in two years, all the counties bordering Heyin would be in trouble.
Because the soldiers and horses that He Yin can use are not only the young and strong, but also 80,000 common people who are ready to defend their fields and food at any time!
Taking advantage of the surprise attack, Tianhai was completely unprepared and was likely to be the first to bear the brunt and be made an example.
Therefore, Xu Jie was very clear.
He Yin is richer than the wealthy families in Tianhai imagined.
Zhao Feng asked him, "What are you going to do?"
Let Lord Wu Xian intervene in Ha Yin
Doing this would be unfair to Wu Xian but unfair to Shen Tang.
Wu Xian was good to Xu Jie, but this was a mutual benefit. Xu Jie provided him with food, grass, and money for his development. Wu Xian improved Xu's status in Tianhai and enjoyed various invisible benefits. Shen Tang's treatment of Xu Jie could be described as "a gift of recognition."
Because of the rule that merchants were not allowed to enter officialdom, although Xu Jie served under Wu Xian, he was still considered a commoner in the royal court.
When Shen Tang was transferred horizontally, her first reaction was to recommend Xu Jie, who came from a merchant family, to be the head of a county. This was also one of the conditions for her willingness to be transferred horizontally! Only then did Wang Ting agree.
The key is that Shen Tang didn't seek any benefits.
The grace of recognition and promotion.
For Xu Jie, who has suffered invisible discrimination since his childhood, the feeling of being touched is indescribable!
If Xu Jie indulges Wu Xian and gives up the real power of He Yin, and only serves as a He Yin prefect in name only, Shen Tang may choose to understand his difficulties, but can Xu Jie see it clearly? This is no different from stabbing Shen Tang in the back.
How is it possible
Xu Jie smiled bitterly: "... Now it is difficult to back down... I just hope to have the best of both worlds. Xu Wenzhu has always been a subordinate of the lord, this has never changed, and the rest..."
Wu Xian can ask for money and food, the Xu family is rich and powerful and can afford it, but they can't ask for He Yin, this is the bottom line!