Wei Ni

Lu Fan, Wei Shu and his party still spent the whole night freezing in the wild.

The heavy snowfall that lasted for several days made the journey difficult, and they were delayed in Luoyang City for too long.

But, not bad.

The two of them were still young, and the disciples of the Lu family who were selected as followers were all physically strong, so even though the night was long and difficult, they did not freeze to death.

It was inevitable that when they finally found Yangquwu Fort the next day, everyone looked deeply tired and exhausted.

no way.

In the wilderness and the cold wind, no one of them could sleep at night.

Xia Houhui, who learned the news, came from Shiquan Pine Forest and was very upset when he saw it.

The reason why he didn't let Sun Lou wait in the small house outside the city was because he felt that Lu Fan and others would not arrive a year ago.

After all, if you calculate the time, Lu Fan, who goes out to serve as a knight, will not return home until late winter in December, right? According to the messages in his letters, contacting and inviting friends, etc., the time has almost passed until the end of the year, right? According to common sense, the New Year is coming soon. You are not allowed to stay at home to accompany your parents and elders. You should not come here until the spring of the following year~
Who would have thought that Lu Fan would come so quickly and arrive in Luoyang three days before New Year's Eve!

Of course, now is not the time to worry about this.

He quickly asked Sun Lou to prepare a place to live, and asked Zhang Li to lead people to kill pigs and sheep. He also sent people to beat gongs to summon all the tenant farmers in Yangqu to come and collect the meat - alas, they all caught up. , just think of celebrating New Year’s Eve in advance.

Lu Fan first asked his followers to cheer up and try to make a good impression before introducing Wei Shu to Xia Houhui.

"General, this is my friend. His surname is Wei, his given name is Shu, and his subtitle is Yangyuan. He is from Fan County, Rencheng County. He is good at bow and horse, has a pure nature, does not cherish fame, and values ​​friendship." This is how he introduced. After saying that, he bowed and added, "I dare to risk my life as a guarantee. Brother Yangyuan is a good scholar, and he will definitely be of benefit to the general!"

Wei Shu, on the other hand, was much more calm.

Although I was a little moved by Lu Fan's words of "guarantee with my life".

But he just bowed to Xia Houhui and said calmly, "Wei Shu, the commoner, pays homage to the general."

According to the current world trend, it is easy for people to like Wei Shu because he is eight feet two inches tall and has a very beautiful appearance.

But what Xia Houhui valued more was his reticence and calm attitude.

This kind of temperament can easily make his subordinates and subordinates happy whether he is in the military or governing the people. If he encounters difficulties, the effect of this calm demeanor will be even more obvious.

"Whoever is friends with Junsheng is a mediocre person?"

Before Xiahou Hui stepped forward, he first helped Lu Fan up and joked with him, then he helped Wei Shu and said with a smile on his face, "Chen Liu's family and mine are family friends, and Jun Sheng is also my nephew. Yang Yuan is Jun Sheng's friend." , I will not treat Yang Yuan as an outsider even though I have come thousands of miles away, but I hope that Yang Yuan will not find my home a humble place to live in. If you need anything else, just ask, and don't be polite."

After a pause, he didn't wait for Wei Shu to reply, then pointed to Lu Fan's mount not far away and said, "Jun Sheng's mount was found outside the fortress of Bingzhou by someone I sent. Since Yang Yuan is good at bow and horse, then I will take it again." Ask someone to come back and give it to you. Well, Yang Yuan, please don’t refuse. I can’t express the friendship you have come from so far away. If you refuse, I won’t dare to keep you.”

Wei Shu opened his mouth, but thought about it and closed it again.

He really just wanted to refuse.

No reward for no merit.

And now he is just a commoner.

Even Sang Zi and his father thought he was a person with no future. Now that Xia Houhui claimed that he would treat him like a son and nephew, they were deeply impressed. How could he dare to accept the gift of a good horse?

But Xia Houhui had reached this point, and he couldn't say the words he wanted to refuse. He had to take a step back with gratitude and bowed again, "Thank you, General, for the horse. Shu, I will not be indebted to you."

"Hey, I told you not to be polite."

Xia Houhui, who quickly helped him up, smiled and patted his back to show his closeness.

Immediately, after leading them to the table, he turned around and went to urge Zhang Li and others in person.

"Isn't the mutton cooked yet? Add some firewood!"

"Also, where's the wine? Get it quickly and warm it up first."

"Is the millet rice ready to be steamed?"

"You, and you, go get a few more braziers and bring them to the hall."

In the eyes of Lu Fan, Wei Shu, and more than ten disciples, this kind of behavior of busying around regardless of status is not vulgar at all. On the contrary, everyone feels warm in their hearts, feeling that even if they are being raped again They are willing to stay frozen all night.

Eat meat in big gulps, drink in big gulps, swallow rice in big gulps
After some drinking and laughing, Lu Fan and others went to have a rest after being full of wine and food.

It left a mess on the ground.

Xia Houhui waved and asked Sun Lou, the steward, to take care of things. He also asked Zhang Li to stay at Wubao today, waiting for Lu Fan and others to wake up and introduce the situation and rules of Wubao and Shiquan Pine Forest, as well as the Lu family. The apprentice asked him to be admitted as soon as possible, and then he and Ding Mi walked to the Shiquan Pine Forest and returned.

On the third day since the end of the second year of Qinglong, the heavy snow finally stopped.

However, there is no change in the cold wind and the tiredness of all things. As far as the eye can see, the sky and the earth are covered in silver and the trees and pear flowers are in bloom.

Walking in complete silence, looking up from time to time to look at Xia Houhui's gray sky, his mood slowly became unpleasant.

Because he suddenly felt that his numerology indicated that the five elements were short of money.

Otherwise, it cannot be explained. Whenever you just start a new business to earn money, money-consuming matters will follow one after another!

Just like today, there are two more confidants who are trained according to the standard of generals, and the food and clothing of sixteen strong fighting men are not enough, and the paper and ink profits that have not yet been pocketed have been advanced in advance.

Alas, it's too difficult.

"Zhi Quan, are you regretting now that you set the price of the paper and ink too low?"

He must have realized something. Ding Mi, who was walking beside him, suddenly said this, his voice full of joking.

During the time he came to Luoyang, Xia Houhui gradually revealed to him all the details except for raising his child in secret, and also let him know that Xia Houhui had been suffering from lack of money.

Therefore, he strongly opposed Xia Houhui's pricing of paper and pine smoke ink. In front of Xia Houhui, as his maternal brother, he persuaded Wang Yuanji to write a letter to Wang Su, asking him to raise the price to eight cents of the current price if he did not reply to the Lu Cui family.

But Wang Yuanji didn't do what he wanted.

She just tactfully claimed that she, a woman, didn't understand this kind of thing, so she could just let Ding Mi discuss it with Xia Houhui.

Therefore, Ding Mi, whose opinion was not accepted, felt a little unhappy.

Now, seeing Lu Fan and others arriving and knowing that his family was about to have a big expense, he couldn't help but tease Xia Houhui.

Anyway, the two are now very familiar with each other, and there is no shortage of teasing each other.

"Ha, no."

Hearing this, Xia Houhui turned his head and smiled narrowly, "Brother Yanjing is disappointed."

hmm~
To this, Ding Mi did not answer.

He just glanced at him angrily, disdainful of his tough-tongued behavior.

"Haha~"

It also made Xia Houhui feel better suddenly.

Because except for military affairs, he was inferior to Ding Mi in terms of official career and calculation of people's hearts, but now he found a sense of superiority from Ding Mi in terms of making a living.

Yes, although Ding Mi is very scheming, he doesn't know much about managing life. Therefore, he could not see through Xia Houhui's advantage in making paper and ink at low prices.

There are four reasons.

One is to consider the senses of Emperor Cao Rui.

It is impossible to hide the loss of paper and pine smoke and ink to a wealthy family from others, and the emperor Cao Rui will definitely find out one day.

In this way, Xia Houhui was not sure whether the emperor would be angry.

After all, he had clearly given the instructions himself.

But Xia Houhui still didn't take it seriously. Isn't this a challenge to his authority?

But if he knew that the price was so low, the always smart emperor Cao Rui would be relieved - Xia Houhui would not make much profit with this kind of pricing, and it could not be called a pursuit of wealth. Naturally, Xia Houhui would not have any intention of being obedient to him.

The second is to reduce expenditure and increase revenue.

The land that Xiahou Hui now owns has very little gentle land that can be developed for growing food. Most of it is short hills and steep slopes, and there are even a lot of rocky land where even mulberry and hemp are difficult to grow.

In this way, the previously recruited craftsmen and handymen will inevitably have a surplus of labor.

Nowadays, the family only makes paper and ink to make a living, and in order to continue to study woodblock printing in the future, these craftsmen cannot be dismissed, so as long as the profit from the sale of paper and ink can cover the expenses of the craftsmen and handymen, it is considered to be profitable.

Thirdly, just because the price is low, it does not mean there is no profit!
Consumables such as paper and pine smoke ink are self-sufficient at home, and Xia Houhui just transported the finished products to Sun Lou's small house outside the city and asked the Lu Cui family to pick them up themselves. Both the production and transportation costs were extremely low.

Mo Kan only sold it at 6 cents of the current price, but he still made half the profit!

Finally, it is the consideration of small profits but quick turnover and long-term operation.

To make a living by buying and selling, if you cannot create a monopoly, you must learn to make small profits but quick turnover; first use the price to beat the opponent to death, so that one company can dominate the market share.

for example.

When the profit from a piece of pine smoke ink is 100 yuan, the ink can be sold for 100 yuan a year; but when the profit drops to 50 yuan, the ink can be sold for 500 yuan a year.

Which way of doing business is more cost-effective?
Forget about making paper, there is no profit, just to make up for losses.

And pine smoke ink is considered a luxury product nowadays.

The price is so high that wealthy people such as aristocratic families are reluctant to use it casually.

But if the price drops to a level they can afford, and they can spend as much as they want, Xiahou Hui's profits will naturally come rolling in.

Pay according to quantity!
Moreover, with the purchase of the Lu Cui family, other aristocratic families will gradually learn the news, and then spontaneously come to purchase.

In this way, on the premise of not getting the smell of copper, why not make money secretly?

Of course, Xia Houhui did not explain these concerns to Ding Mi.

Everyone has his strong and weak points.

There is no need for Ding Mi's talents to be wasted on health care that he is not good at.

Looking at his confused look, he can also make his battered self find confidence and feel spiritual satisfaction~
However, Xia Houhui, who was so satisfied, soon frowned.

He suddenly remembered that his uncle Wang Su had helped him to connect the dots.

Did Wang Su, who was obsessed with academics, also find this sense of superiority from him when he helped contact the Lu Cui family?
Males are inherently competitive species.

Being able to find a sense of superiority in the other person, even if winning this sense of superiority has no meaning and no specific benefits, it can still make people feel happy and comfortable.

Therefore, should I be appropriate in the future and let others find a sense of superiority from me?

For example, today we still need Liu Fang, Sun Zi and others who are conceited and submissive; there are also veterans such as Jiang Ji who strive not to attract hatred.

Of course, the most important thing is Emperor Cao Rui.

He cannot and cannot do the things that are flattering and flattering.

But in order to make the emperor see me more favorably in the future and be more willing to accept my advice, it seems that there is no need for me to always offend Yan Zhijian.
What is the sense of superiority that Emperor Cao Rui wants and can find in himself? (End of chapter)