Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 49 2.26 The Xue family will never have any problems within a hundred years
Volume Two

2.26 The Xue family will never have any problems within a hundred years
"Father, you have worked hard all the way!" The sailing speed was a bit worse than Zhou Yang expected. In the early morning of May 26, the fleet finally docked at a somewhat crude pier. After everyone got off the boat, a man who looked young... The young man with a rather mature attitude came forward and saluted Xue Xun respectfully.

"Oh, brother, can't you be more lively, you look like an old man." Before anyone else could say anything, Xue Pan rushed over and hugged him, and then said something amidst the speechless expressions around him, "Oh, This whole journey has really frustrated me, but isn’t this place a bit deserted? There isn’t even a decent house.”

"Wenlong!" Are you here to enjoy it? Do you want me to help you find some boards so that you can have a good time?"

"Second Uncle, Second Uncle, I was wrong!" But there is also a lot to be learned about the renewal of everything.”

"Okay!" He glanced at Zhou Yang again with a complicated expression. Xue Xun was really too lazy to get along with this useless nephew, "Tiao'er, have you prepared everything I asked you to prepare? You brought a lot of people here this time. , they are all the masters of various workshops in the family, so we must not wrong them."

"Don't worry, father, there are plenty of trees on the island. The boy chose a flat land on the beach. After leveling it, he created enough accommodation. Although it is still a little crowded, it is still no problem to accommodate everyone." The boy immediately replied.

"Not bad." Xue Xun nodded with satisfaction, turned around and motioned for Zhou Yang to come over, "Just in time to get to know each other, this is Mr. Zhou, this spring's Wu Xiucai. After August, you may have to call me 'Master Zhou'. Mr. Zhou, this is the puppy Xue Biao, from now on you young brothers will get closer to you."

"I've met Brother Zhou!" Xue Biao immediately took a step forward and politely saluted with clasped fists.

"Okay, we are all our own people, why are you so polite?" Zhou Yang smiled and returned the greeting. Of course he knew this Xue Biao. He rarely appeared in the original work, but he also showed good abilities. "Just like Mr. Xue said Yes, we are all brothers from now on, so we naturally want to get closer to each other."

"Hahaha!"

"Second Master Xue (Second Uncle) has a heart!" It was the first time in two lives that the ship went out to sea. The voyage was indeed very expensive. After Zhou Yang and Xue Pan saluted Xue Xun and said goodbye, they followed the servants who led the way back to their rooms to rest. , but on the dock, Xue Xun, Xue Biao and his son did not go back directly, but found a quiet place to discuss, but only they knew the specific content.

Returning to the slightly cramped and humid room, Zhou Yang ignored the conditions and just had a good sleep. After waking up, he ate dinner directly, moved for a while to digest food and then went to sleep. When he finally woke up again, it was already the morning of the next day. Through the windows on the east wall, you can see the bright sky before sunrise.

Get up, wash up, and go out to exercise with his usual two-handed long sword. After half an hour, Zhou Yang put the sword into its sheath and let out a long sigh of relief. The fatigue of nearly six days and six nights at sea was finally washed away, and then he returned. room, picked up the chopsticks and destroyed the breakfast prepared by the servant.

"Silly girl, I don't know what you've been thinking about all day, why am I so uneasy?" The servant here packed up the dishes and went out. Zhou Yang returned to the bedroom, took out a sachet from his pocket and opened it gently. There is a small strand of green silk tied into a small knot inside, just as elegant as a graceful girl. There is also a line of small words on the inside of the sachet, "'Kind hair for this life', why don't I not want to?"

This was when he felt his pockets bulging when he put on the clothes given by Xue Baochai. After flipping through them, he found the sachet that had been packed in advance. Thinking about the pear blossoms on his face when he said goodbye, Zhou Yang almost couldn't help but go back; But he touched his chest again. There was a sachet there, and Li Wan's gentle face naturally appeared in his mind.

"Hahaha, Mr. Zhou, have you rested?" Just as he was thinking about what he had and what he didn't have, and having a headache because he had too many peach blossom debts to repay, Xue Xun's familiar laughter came from outside, "It's a pity that the conditions are still a bit poor. , but this place will definitely become a golden place in the future!”

"Good morning, Mr. Xue!" He quickly took back the sachet, rubbed his face, smiled and went out to bow his hands. Zhou Yang always felt that this man was hiding something, "As long as there is sufficient supply, I believe this place will take off one day, but it's just I don’t know, what do you have now?”

"This is also the purpose of my coming here." Xue Xun agreed with a smile, "Let's go, Wenlong and Zhu'er have already gone there, just in time to show you what I have been busy with in the past two months."

Taking a few servants with them, they walked around the "gable" on the south side of the pier that extended to not far from the coast. The scene in front of them suddenly became clear. On a rather wide coastal plain, various construction projects have made considerable progress. The most obvious progress is the continuous salt ponds not far from the coast, and there are still workers continuing to work, it seems that there is still a lot of room for expansion. "Second Master Xue is so brave!" He looked at the entire coastal plain at a glance, covering a huge area of ​​[-] to [-] square kilometers. Seeing what Xue Xun meant, he really wanted to spread it all out, "If this place is completely built, the Xue family will be able to survive for a hundred years." There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, it’s just..."

"Don't worry, Xianggong Zhou. After running a ship all his life, Xue dare not forget the principle of 'carrying business with a sword'." Xue Xun smiled faintly and understood Zhou Yang's meaning immediately, "This island is six hundred miles northeast of On the left and right is the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom; if you want to go back to Matsue, it is more than [-] miles away, and the trip will take at least five days and five nights, so there won’t be much problem.”

"Oh?" Zhou Yang's heart moved. After some calculations, he guessed that this should be Miyako Island in later generations. It was a large island of more than 150 square kilometers. It was really no small matter. "As far as this junior knows, the Ryukyu Kingdom has always been With the intrusion from Japanese pirates, Mr. Xue may be in some trouble if he wants to establish himself here."

"When I first brought people here, there were indeed Japanese pirates here, but now they are gone." Xue Xun's cold tone was filled with undisguised murderous intent, "There will never be again in the future, not to mention the real treasure of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It's the Ryukyu Island in the north. There's nothing I can do about it for now, I'll talk about it later.

At present, I have arranged a salt farm, an iron factory and an iron workshop on this island. There will be other arrangements in the future, such as a shipyard. But it will take a lot of time to complete them, especially the iron factory. The 'blast furnace' that our husband mentioned to us at the beginning has just been revealed, and we don't know when it will be ready. "

"It doesn't matter. Once we have a foothold, the Xue family's resources in Jiangnan will have a place to stay. It's just a matter of time before they can develop." Zhou Yang smiled and didn't care too much. He didn't even have an official status now. Naturally, Don't be in a hurry, "Although Mr. Xue has already prepared, I still want to remind you that if you want to keep your money, you must have a gun in your hand."

"Did you both hear it?" With a century-old foundation, the business at sea is not as good as doing business in the Zhou Dynasty. If you are not careful, you may be eaten clean with your skin and flesh."

"Yes, father!" Xue Pan bowed and replied solemnly. Just looking at Xue Pan's posture, I am afraid that he is here and his mind has gone somewhere.

"The main reason I came here this time is to load the first batch of salt cargo and transport it to the south of the Yangtze River to test the water." Glancing at Xue Pan, Xue Xun shook his head helplessly, but did not say much, but changed the topic. "The quantity is not large, but the quality is far better than those shady things in Yangzhou. This time I will try to distribute the goods myself."

"It's easy to save trouble, not to mention it's related to such a big business." Zhou Yang smiled and nodded. He could be a "wholesale supplier" and grab the business of the "small shop" when he was bored. Anyway, he was more interested. To make money, "As for the trading target, I heard that the Zhen family is the first family in Jiangnan, and we can't compare to it in terms of strength or connections."

"The strength of the Zhen family mainly depends on the old lady at home." Xue Xun sighed quietly, as if thinking of something, "Her old man is the emperor's nurse, and the head of the Zhen family, Zhen Yingjia, is the emperor's brother. When the emperor went to the south of the Yangtze River six times, The Zhen family picked her up four times, and Mrs. Zhen was specially received each time. The Supreme Emperor personally called her "my old lady" and the emperor named her "Mrs. Saint."

The other one is Concubine Zhen Gui in the palace. In the 45th year of Longwu, after the Supreme Emperor was honored and raised in Zen, most of the original concubines stayed in the harem to take care of them. In addition, since the death of the Supreme Emperor and the Yuan Dynasty, the post has been vacant. Today, the imperial palace is actually headed by this empress. "

"So that's it." Zhou Yang suddenly realized that many of the contents of the "original work" he knew were correct. "I wonder what about the younger generation of the Zhen family?"

"The head of the family is Mr. Zhen Yingjia, the hereditary president of the Zhen family." Xue Xun only mentioned a name but didn't bother to introduce it, obviously he didn't like it. "There is also the second master Zhen Yinggui, who is now the commander of the Chuzhou Guard. After several interactions - okay, let's not talk about them anymore. Since eldest brother treats you as one of his own, I can't see you outside. I just happen to meet you too, Qin'er, don't hide, why don't you come over and say hello!"

"Dad!" A little carrot head who looked about ten years old with a childish face ran out of the salt pond construction site. His expensive-looking clothes were actually stained with a lot of mud and even cement spots, " My daughter also came out to take a look - is this the Zhou brother you often mention? Meet me, little sister!"

"I've met my sister!" Zhou Yang's heart moved, and he smiled and said hello to Doudin in front of him.

(End of this chapter)