I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Lai Fu was moved after hearing this. He lowered his voice and asked, "By building this workshop, are you going to make glass yourself?"

Before Ding Ba could speak, Lai Fu shook his head again and again: "Master, you can't do that. If you open a glass workshop in Luoyang City, there are so many wealthy and powerful people who are connected to the government. You are a foreigner, and even if you have the protection of the General Wei's Mansion, I am afraid that someone will still take risks to obtain this secret method, or secretly steal the secrets, or even frame you."

Every husband is not guilty, and he is guilty of his crime.

In any era, business is often more than just business. Wherever there are huge profits, collusion between power and money is inevitable, and people may even resort to violence, rob openly, and use any means necessary to seize property.

Lai Fu had many guesses about Ding Ba's identity, but he didn't know that Ding Ba was actually Wang Jing's subordinate. Fumanlou was not an ordinary jewelry store, but a secret intelligence agency independent of the Dark Guards. Most of its core members had just separated from the Dark Guards.

Among them are many assassins who are good at killing people!

Playing violence in front of the secret guards? Stealing secrets?

Isn't that like a birthday man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long?
Ding Ba was not afraid at all, because it was others who should be afraid. He smiled and comforted Lai Fu, saying, "Don't worry. How to make glass is a secret that even I don't know, so how can I make it? So this workshop was built to process the raw materials that were delivered to us a little bit, and turn them into finished products that can be placed on the shelves in the end."

After Ding Ba told Lai Fu about the secondary processing plan, Lai Fu breathed a sigh of relief: "If that's the case, it's still possible."

Lai Fu was finally relieved. In his opinion, if they just transported the raw glass materials over and asked jewelers to polish and process them, it would be essentially no different from importing them completely from abroad.

In this case, even if others want to cause trouble, it will be Qiqiao Pavilion's trouble and has nothing to do with Fumanlou. Even if Fumanlou is turned upside down, it will be useless. After all, glass is not produced in Fumanlou.

Ding Ba then instructed Lai Fu: "Boss Lai, remember to recruit more assistants. I heard that Chang'an has been in turmoil recently, and Xiliang has been in chaos again. There should be many unemployed assistants and craftsmen who have fled to Luoyang. You should pay attention to recruit more of them. As long as they are honest and willing to work in Fu Man Lou, we will accept all of them!"

In order to show his determination, Ding Ba clenched his five fingers into a solid and powerful fist in front of Lai Fu.

Lai Fu was hesitant after hearing this. "Boss, as the saying goes, different trades are like different mountains. Ordinary workers are fine, but there are many kinds of crafts. Why should we hire those craftsmen who we don't need?"

Ding Ba stared at Lai Fu for a few seconds and sighed: "Manager Lai, until now, do you think you will only be a small manager of Fu Man Lou in the future?"

"Ah? Owner, what do you mean by this?"

Lai Fu showed a puzzled expression. He had been the shopkeeper of a jewelry store all his life. Apart from running the business honestly, he didn't know how to do anything else. He didn't have much ambition either. He just wanted to make some money, be content with a small fortune, and live a stable life.

If it weren't for the turbulent times and the fact that his family property had not been completely robbed by bandits, he would have been enjoying family happiness in the countryside now.

But Ding Ba was different. Following a peerless hero like Wang Jing, he gradually developed his own ambitions: "Boss, have you ever seen people starving to death? I have. In today's world, if you want to survive and live a fulfilling life, it is far from enough to just do a small business. I will not be satisfied with selling a few pieces of jewelry and glassware."

Ding Ba tried his best to make himself look more "dominant" and looked at Lai Fu with burning eyes: "You will be the head shopkeeper of our Fu Man Lou in the future. As for the former shopkeeper Wang, he has other things to do. I just borrowed him from Taiyuan Wang's to help. You are our real one, don't you understand?"

Lai Fu listened to Ding Ba's bragging in a daze. Although he didn't fully understand what was going on, he understood the term "chief manager" and knew that the young boss in front of him was ambitious and wanted to do other business besides the glass business.

As for Lai Fu, his most precious quality was self-awareness, so he had to be honest with Ding Ba and said, "Boss, please know that I only know how to run a jewelry business. If you want to open other businesses, you will have to hire a few more shopkeepers."

As the saying goes, "Every different trade has its own obstacles." Lai Fu doesn't think he is a genius. If he encounters a business he doesn't understand and gets cheated and loses some money, it's not a big deal. But if he ruins Ding Ba's business, he, with his weak arms and legs, will never be able to bear the consequences.

"Don't worry too much. You are the head shopkeeper. Just take care of the headquarters' affairs. As for the specific matters, the sub-shopkeepers will naturally handle them."

After several days of contact and testing, Ding Ba has completely recognized Lai Fu and feels that he is a suitable candidate for the position of head shopkeeper. It is not because of Lai Fu's ability or how much commercial benefits he can bring to Fumanlou.

Ding Ba gave Fu Man Lou to Lai Fu Lai to run and take charge of the business because he prioritized stability. As an intelligence agency that tends to collect business information, making money is never the top priority for Fu Man Lou, but stability is.

Lai Fu is cautious and prudent, and he does business in a steady manner. With him in charge, Ding Ba can focus more on gathering intelligence.

As for why it was Lai Fu and not Manager Wang who came out of Sikong Mansion, Ding Ba also had his own considerations.

The first point is that Lai Fu is easy to control and can handle things decisively. Moreover, Lai Fu's only grandson and his family members are all under the surveillance of the secret guards, so there is no need to worry about him playing any ulterior motives.

But it is different with Manager Wang. No matter how close their cooperative relationship is, he is still Wang Yun's man. In Ding Ba's eyes, he is ultimately an "outsider", so he cannot be fully trusted, and Fu Manlou, an important future intelligence agency, cannot be handed over to this person.

In fact, many civil and military officials under Wang Jing had the same mentality. They all understood that Wang Jing was Wang Jing and the Taiyuan Wang family was the Taiyuan Wang family. Even though Wang Jing was Wang Yun’s biological son, they could not be confused politically. Otherwise, if they crossed the line, they would lose their heads.

As for the second point, it is Lai Fu’s identity and work experience.

Lai Fu is a local boss in Luoyang City, and the particularity of the jewelry industry makes him very familiar with important figures in all aspects. At least he has met them and can talk to them.

In this way, it would be very convenient for Lai Fu to inquire about information or do things.

This third point is also very important. In Ding Ba's opinion, Lai Fu has worked in the jewelry industry in Luoyang City for his entire life and has such a good reputation, so there must be no problem with his professional ethics.

Even though Lai Fu is good at disguising himself and is actually full of bad intentions, he can pretend to be a good person all his life, so he is a truly good person.

So after comprehensive consideration, Ding Bacai chose Lai Fu as the head manager of Fu Man Lou, and after opening a branch in the future, he would also let him monitor and control it.

Lai Fu didn't know so much, but Ding Ba's trust and appointment in him made him feel moved, so his eyes reddened, he stood up straight, saluted seriously and said: "Thank you, Lord Dong, for your training!"

"Haha, not really. Just work hard in the future."

After everything was arranged, Ding Ba left through the back door and got into a black carriage that had been waiting there long ago.

The coachman had a stern face and was unsmiling. He whipped the horse whip and the carriage started galloping directly to General Wei's Mansion. Ding Ba got off the carriage and walked directly through the heavy guards in the mansion to Wang Jing's study.

"Old Eight, you're here? Sit down."

"Thank you, Lord."

Ding Ba sat on the sofa very naturally. With the promotion of new-style furniture, the sofa was becoming more and more popular. Moreover, among the wealthy families in the city, except for some people who could not afford it and were still "adhering" to the ancient customs, everyone else had already used the sofa to entertain guests.

After all, who likes to kneel when they can sit?
It's not like I like to abuse myself.

Ding Ba reported to Wang Jing roughly some of the things happening in Fumanlou.

After listening to him, Wang Jing nodded seriously and said, "You did a good job. I have high expectations for the future of Fu Man Lou. Don't let me down."

"My subordinate understands!"

Mengjin Port, Pier 21.

As soon as a cargo ship docked, five servants armed with weapons jumped off the deck, then stood on the pier in a semicircle, observing the surroundings vigilantly.

Then two young men in gorgeous clothes, with long hair tied up in crowns, slowly walked down.

Both of these men have a dignified bearing and you can tell at first glance that they are not from ordinary families but have strong backgrounds, and are either rich or noble.

"Wenxiong, do you think our trip to Luoyang will be smooth?" Huangfu Jianshou looked far to the south. At the end of his sight, a majestic city stood between heaven and earth, with an overbearing aura that overwhelmed the world.

She Yuan sighed: "It's really hard to say who has the final say in the court in the capital right now."

As the trend of warlords' separatism became more and more obvious, the situation in Chang'an City was getting worse and worse. Although Huangfu Song was loyal to the imperial dynasty, he did not completely side with Wang Jing. Therefore, the relationship between him and Luoyang was subtle and a little awkward. To put it simply, he was not loved by either of his grandparents.

Without the support from the imperial center, without the sufficient supply of materials and the support of the army in the past, even though Huangfu Song still had tens of thousands of troops and superb martial arts, and was defending the old imperial capital of Chang'an City, he was already showing signs of fatigue and felt that he could not hold on alone.

The biggest problem is food!
Chang'an is located in Guanzhong, with a vast area and countless fertile fields. However, the population of the Western Han Dynasty had been growing rapidly for hundreds of years and it was difficult to sustain it. Since Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty established the capital here, Chang'an, as the political, economic and cultural center of the country, began to rely on grain imports from Guandong to maintain its large population.

This is also the reason why the capital was later moved to Luoyang. The journey was long and there was no convenient water transportation, making grain transportation very inconvenient.

Nowadays, wars broke out all over the country, and the original grain imports have been cut off for two years. The price of grain has skyrocketed. Not to mention that the common people can hardly afford it, even Huangfu Song, who intercepted the taxes in Chang'an, felt that he could not make ends meet and could not continue to support the army.

Huangfu Song, one of the three heroes of the Eastern Han Dynasty who fought in many battles and defeated the Yellow Turban Army, is now troubled by the economic accounts.

The current Chang'an City is full of crises. Ma Teng and Han Sui of Liang Province are dissatisfied with the imperial court. They have established their own separatist regimes and dominated one side. They also force their troops into Guanzhong from time to time, threatening the safety of Chang'an City.

In addition, the Qiang rebellion in Xiliang occurred one after another, and was difficult to extinguish.

Therefore, Huangfu Song not only wanted to disband the army, he even wanted to recruit more troops to quell the rebellion.

In order to raise food and fodder, Huangfu Song sent his son Huangfu Jianshou and son-in-law Sheyuan to secretly enter Luoyang to purchase a batch of food.

At Mengjin Port, people were coming and going on the dock, and hundreds of boats were racing in the river. Huangfu Jianshou was stunned by the bustling scene. "I didn't expect that Mengjin Port, which is just outside the capital, could be so prosperous?"

Walking out of the port is the market area, where vendors are hawking their wares everywhere. From time to time, you can see dock workers with bare chests, revealing their dark muscles, walking by with hearty laughter.

Everyone's face was full of vigor, as if they were full of hope for the future.

In this situation, even in the richest neighborhood of Chang'an City, Huangfu Jianshou had never seen such an expression on the faces of the wealthy residents.

In his memories, all he had seen were numb and desperate faces. There was no light in their eyes, only fear and anxiety.

Sheyuan also looked around with amazement, and couldn't help but sigh and admire: "The capital Luoyang has changed so much, it feels like a different world."

The two men, accompanied by their guards, walked through the streets. Before they had gone far, they were attracted by even louder shouting.

Outside the market area, many vendors were trying to sell their goods, and some vendors carrying loads on their shoulders were offering food to passers-by: "These are the best river fish, come and have a taste."

Sheyuan saw two dark-skinned men who took off their shirts and put them on their shoulders. They walked directly to the stall owner and asked, "Hey, do you have river shrimp?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Then a whole plate, a whole pot of wine, and two grilled fishes."

"Okay, no problem!"

The stall owner skillfully opened the basket behind him, took out the river shrimps and fresh fish just caught from the river, and began to cook them. In another basket, there was a pottery jar filled with honeycomb coal shipped from Bingzhou, which could be ignited and used to heat food at any time, which was very convenient.

All the river fish are caught locally. Because they are close to the Yellow River, they are caught and sold freshly, and the prices are affordable. Therefore, they are very popular among the grassroots people, especially those refugees from the Guanzhong area of ​​Chang'an. After they fled here, if they do not have families with them, they often have money to come here for a bite to eat after work.

Huangfu Jianshou and Sheyuan were very surprised when they saw it, and even found it unbelievable.

The two of them followed Huangfu Song to travel around the country and often interacted with soldiers in the army, so they were not completely ignorant of the sufferings of the people. But it was precisely because they knew that they were shocked.

How can the poor people these days eat meat every day?
Some people may have never eaten meat in their entire life, and they are lucky enough to have some coarse grains mixed with wild vegetables to barely get enough to eat and wear!

But these dock workers in front of them were obviously very experienced and it was definitely not their first time to eat here. Moreover, when the stall owner greeted them, there was nothing strange on their faces, as if what they were seeing was already commonplace and nothing special.

After the workers finished eating and left, Sheyuan approached the stall owner and asked, "They must be porters, how come they are so rich?"

The stall owner looked up and took a look at Sheyuan's scholar's clothing. He could tell that he was either rich or noble, so he immediately became more respectful: "Sir, are you from out of town?"

Sheyuan nodded: "Yes, I am from Chang'an and want to do some business in Luoyang."

The stall owner was already used to this. Luoyang was the imperial capital, and countless people came and went every day. He just smiled and said, "Let me know, sir. Those guys just now were indeed porters making a living at the dock. From their accents, we knew they were bachelors who had fled from Liangzhou. One person can feed the whole family. As long as they work hard at the dock, it's not a big deal for them to come to my place for a bite to eat occasionally."

The stall owner is an elderly fisherman, his face is dry and wrinkled from the sun, but his smile is genuine and there seems to be light in his eyes.

She Yuan was surprised by this answer and couldn't help asking, "Are the people in Luoyang so prosperous now? Can you tell me the price of grain in this place?"

When talking about grain prices, the stall owner's face was even more joyful: "Hey, since Marquis Qi came, the lives of the people in Luoyang City have been getting better and better. I heard that the military and government settlements have had a bumper harvest this year, and the grain price is 20% lower than in previous years. As long as you have hands and feet and are willing to work, no one will starve to death. These days are just like a dream."

The stall owner became so excited that he started dancing, with a happy expression on his face that he didn't seem fake at all.

But Sheyuan and Huangfu Jianshou were confused when they heard it. Isn't it a time of chaos now?
What happened to the people’s miserable lives?

This Luoyang city is not normal!

Fumanlou, the accounting office in the backyard.

Dodo~ Dodo~
There was a knock on the door. Ding Ba, who was checking the accounts in the room, heard it and said calmly, "Come in."

The person who walked into the room was not very old, and it was Wang Lin.

Wang Lin stepped forward and whispered in Ding Ba's ear: "Boss, there are two strange grain merchants in the city."

"Grain merchants? What's so strange about them?"

Ding Ba frowned. Wang Jing asked him to create Fumanlou, of course, not just for business.

Although business layout is also important, the more important thing is to lurk in the dark and collect information and intelligence from the public.

In this regard, the secret guards are not very suitable for this job, after all, there is too much murderous aura, and the intelligence department should not have too much power, otherwise it is easy to raise monsters that will turn against the master.

And this Fumanlou had just been established, and had just gained a foothold thanks to the connections of Manager Wang and Zhao Fu, when a very important piece of information came.

After Wang Lin got the news, he immediately came back to report to Ding Ba: "Boss, one of these two people is surnamed Huang and the other surnamed Xie, but I suspect they are both using fake names." (End of this chapter)