Linxia

Chapter 146, Oolong

For the next two days, Fang Lin stayed at home to sort out the secret recipe of the fragrant dew and made some modifications to it.

He was not in a hurry to find Prefect Pu to inquire about the background of the Fan family. He asked himself, if he were in the other person's shoes, no matter how good his words were, he would still keep some reservations and be cautious.

Therefore, it is not appropriate to take any actions at this moment that will cause unnecessary trouble.

It was not until I met Dong Zugao at dinner that day that I asked about the background of the Fan family.

"The Fan family is truly a family with deep and complex roots. Their main family is in Jin, and our city is just a branch... The Fan family has established connections in the north and runs businesses in furs, spices, and medicinal materials, etc." Dong Zugao said.

"Is the Fan family a Shanxi merchant?"

"Yes."

"But aren't there Tartars in the north? The imperial court has ordered a blockade. Can the Fan family still cross the blockade and run a fur, spice, and medicinal material business?"

"Brother Fang is very perceptive." Dong Zugao lowered his voice and said, "There are also people in these cities who speculate, but who really knows? I think there may be some problems."

Fang Lin nodded slightly, understanding, and thought of something in his mind: 'In the previous life, some Shanxi merchants were the blood transfusion merchants of the Tartars, secretly transporting grain to the outside of the pass and exchanging it for furs, spices, and medicinal herbs... In this time and space, the main family of the Fan family may also have something to say.'

"Many of the Fan family have entered the imperial court, and the combination of officials and businessmen, even if there may be some problems, ordinary people cannot touch them."

Dong Zugao didn't say much about it, and kept it a secret. He asked, "Why, Brother Fang has a feud with the Fan family? This is a bit troublesome, but with Prefect Pu here, we don't have to worry for the time being. We can move our family to another place, and when I pass the imperial examination, become a Jinshi, and become an official, I can barely protect myself."

"Of course not. How could I, with my small body, have any feud with the Fan family? It's just that the Fan family bought something from me, so I asked about their background." Fang Lin shook his head.

It’s not that he didn’t trust Dong Zugao, but in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, some things should be kept private and not known to anyone else, not even family or friends.

……

Two days later, Fang Lin sorted out the secret recipe of the fragrant dew and went to Fan Mansion.

I stated my purpose at the gatehouse and was allowed in. I then discovered that the mansion was extremely large. I turned left and right for a while before finally arriving at the reception room.

In the reception room, two little boys stood solemnly by, fanning themselves and burning incense. After a while, Fan Qingzeng came out wearing a purple brocade robe.

When Fang Lin saw him, he stood up and said, "Master Fan, I have written the secret recipe of the fragrant dew in the past two days, and I came to hand it over. Otherwise, I would not feel at ease holding the three thousand taels of silver."

As mentioned before, after this secret recipe was cut down and castrated, the part that could purify alcohol with a strength of 80 or 90 degrees was naturally gone. In other words, it used alcohol with a maximum of 60 or 70 degrees. The quality was naturally affected, but by doing everything else to the extreme, it could make up for a lot. It was just that in comparison, the cost was much higher, so it could only be used for top luxury business, but there was also a lot of profit, at least worth the price of three thousand taels of silver.

Of course, compared to the uncastrated version, the cost is controlled at a lower range, and it can cover the entire high-end and mid-range market, which is a big difference.

"Okay, okay, Manager Fang is indeed a trustworthy man, let it go!" Fan Qingzeng sent people to keep an eye on Fang Lin these days. Knowing that Fang Lin had not gone to look for Prefect Pu, he really didn't care if Dong Zugao had a meal with him.

He thought he had been judging others by his own standards, and he felt a sense of compensation in his heart. He also felt that Fang Lin was a trustworthy person who could be befriended, so his attitude was quite enthusiastic.

Fang Lin sat down and saw the clothes the other person was wearing. He was also surprised for a moment: "Is this also a tacit understanding? The style and color of the clothes worn by Mr. Fan and I today match."

After hearing this, Fan Qingzeng seemed to have hit on something. He laughed and explained, "In my bedroom, there are eight large wardrobes, arranged around the bedroom. When guests come, I will ask the servants to pay attention to what kind of clothes the guests are wearing, what style and color, and then choose clothes from the wardrobe that match the guests' clothes. This way, they will naturally match each other."

"Shopkeeper Fang only wears a blue shirt, which is best matched... Sometimes, some customers wear clothes of strange colors and novel styles, and I can't find a single piece of clothing that matches them among hundreds of thousands of clothes, which is very distressing."

For a moment, Fang Lin didn't know how to respond to this. Thinking about himself, he only had no more than ten sets of clothes. He should be ashamed!
Invite you to sit down and order tea - yes, that's right, order tea.

Fang Lin followed Fan Qingzeng's instructions and looked around. There was a whole cabinet, like a medicine shop, displaying all kinds of fine tea: Lanxue, Longjing, Maojian... Whichever one you wanted to drink, you could just order it and have it brewed.

Today, he felt a little shocked again. He could only say that he had really wronged him the last time he went to his house.

After drinking tea, Fan Qingzeng kindly invited him to stay and have lunch with him at noon. Fang Lin wanted to broaden his horizons, so he agreed.

Sure enough, at lunch time, I felt shocked again.

The maid in the mansion held a golden plate, and inside the plate was a crystal clear jade dish. The dish had a green leaf and a red flower carved on it. Although the carved flower and leaf were not big, they were like a touch of color on a large piece of white space. The green was like emerald smoke, and the red was like painted clouds. It was obvious that they were extraordinary. The dishes on the jade dish were all rare delicacies, bear paws from the north, oysters from the south, roasted fish from the East China Sea, and horse milk from the West. They were served one by one, and no two were the same.

Before dinner, Fan Qingzeng went to the inner room and changed his clothes.

Not only Fan Qingzeng, but also the eldest son Fan Qiguang was not at home today, so the second son Fan Qihui was called to keep him company. There were also servants combing their hair from time to time, because if the hair on the temples was messy, it would affect the appearance!
As a guest, Fang Lin naturally deserved such treatment, but he declined it on the grounds that he was not used to it.

Fan Qingzeng invited us to eat and was warm and easy-going, without any airs.

I can only say that, under the premise of no interests involved, or in other words, if it is useful to them and they want to make friends, it really makes you feel at home.

Fan Qihui also said: "I have read Brother Fang's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and I like it very much. The treacherous heroes like Cao Cao and the loyal and righteous Liu Bei... every character is vivid..."

The children brought up in such a big family, apart from other things, are really welcoming in their attitude towards people, very pleasant to talk to, and people can't help but have a good impression of them.

Fang Lin would naturally not be fooled by the sugar-coated bullets. Based on the principle of "eat the sugar coating and shoot back the bullets", he kept his original intention and only regarded today as a new experience to broaden his horizons, and spoke differently to different people.

One party wanted to make friends, and the other party was willing to accept the offer, and for a while they had a very pleasant conversation.

Fan Qingzeng became interested and took this opportunity to educate his son, saying: "Qihui, do you still want to do overseas business?"

"Of course, Dad." Although Fan Qihui didn't know why his father would say this in front of outsiders, he still put down his chopsticks and said seriously: "Nowadays, the big families in the city are opening factories, building fleets, and doing business overseas. My Fan family can't fall behind!" "If it were a few days ago, I would probably agree, but now I have a better choice. Your eldest brother went to Qinghuan Xiaoju two days ago, and after being recommended by the two girls Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun, he learned about a perfume... After I inspected it, it is indeed a good product, so I went to buy the secret recipe from Shopkeeper Fang."

Fan Qingzeng said, looking at Fang Lin: "Manager Fang, thanks to you for sending the secret recipe today, my Fan family can start doing this business soon."

"Oh?" Fan Qihui looked surprised. He originally thought that his father invited Fang Lin to dinner today just because of the fame brought by "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but he didn't expect that there was also business cooperation.

"This thank you sounds really unpleasant... It has a murderous connotation."

Fang Lin thought to himself, but he smiled and said humbly, "Master Fan has already left the full payment. I have been working hard these past two days and finally wrote the secret recipe of the fragrant dew and sent it to you. To be honest, it is me who delayed Master Fan's business."

"What are you talking about?"

Fan Qingzeng waved his hand and asked, "Manager Fang, you are also a businessman, why don't you teach me, which one is more suitable for our Fan family, overseas business or perfume business?"

Fang Lin was moved when he heard this, but he looked embarrassed: "I am just doing some small business, not worth mentioning. How to make choices and choices on such a big matter is up to Mr. Fan to decide. I dare not mislead you."

"It's okay, Manager Fang, please go ahead and say it. This is private. I can also judge what Manager Fang says." Fan Qingzeng said with a smile.

Fang Lin seemed unable to shirk his responsibility, so he finally spoke helplessly: "Overseas business requires the establishment of a fleet. In my opinion, it is a big investment, big return, and big risk. You may make a lot of money in one round trip, but if you are unlucky, you may encounter storms and lose everything... The fragrance business is costly and requires a lot of investment at the beginning, but this kind of good thing should not be difficult to sell. It is a big investment, big return, and low risk. However, if you want to promote this fragrance and expand this business, you need a strong network of people."

What he said was very objective, but only he himself knew that although he seemed to be clearly stating the pros and cons, without expressing an opinion or showing any inclination, he was actually guiding others secretly.

Fan Qingzeng felt refreshed when he heard the descriptions of "big investment, big return, big risk" and "big investment, big return, low risk". He savored the descriptions carefully and felt that the language was concise and penetrating. He thought highly of Fang Lin and asked Fan Qihui, "Did you hear that? Now tell me, which business is more suitable for our Fan family?"

"If the perfumed dew that dad talked about is really of that quality, then naturally the perfumed dew business is more suitable. After all, overseas business has huge risks that are uncontrollable. On the contrary, the risks of the perfumed dew business are controllable. As for connections, my Fan family has no shortage of them." Fan Qihui received an elite education since childhood and was extremely rational. He did not oppose for the sake of opposing.

Fang Lin listened to this, lowered his head, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

What he just said was, of course, true, except for one thing he didn't mention: doing overseas business could open up a way out.

However, people of this era all believed that overseas was a barren land, and it was difficult for them to think of this point.

'The Fan family chose the perfume business and gave up the overseas business. When the Tartars marched south, the sky would collapse and the earth would sink, and China would sink. They would have one less way out. Oh, the head of the Fan family was a traitorous Shanxi merchant. Maybe the Tartars could take over and make further progress. But that's not necessarily true. The Tartars are so rude that they can kill pigs, sheep, or even their own dogs and eat their meat after they've fattened them up.'

What Fang Lin didn't know was that in another time and space, the Fan family chose overseas business. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Fan family suffered political rebellion and only one branch fled overseas. But in this time and space, under the secret guidance just now, the Fan family firmly chose the perfume business. In fact, after dozens or hundreds of years, their hope of escape was cut off.

It can be said that this is a blow that transcends time and space and comes from the downstream of history.

During the short time of the meal, Fan Qingzeng and his son changed four sets of clothes. It must be said that these wealthy businessmen were really too extravagant, almost to the point of having mysophobia.

After dinner, Fang Lin asked where the toilet was. Ordinary people in the city did not have toilets at home, but big families like the Fan family naturally had one.

Fan Qingzeng went to change clothes and took the maid with him. Fan Qihui showed him the way and told him to turn left and let Fang Lin go by himself.

Following the directions, Fang Lin walked to the toilet door, pushed the door open and entered, and was a little surprised. He prided himself on being well-informed, and he had seen toilets in five-star hotels in his previous life. Although there was a fragrance, it was only the fragrance of the toilet, not the real fragrance, just to cover up the odor of the toilet. If you spray some perfume in the toilet, or light a stick of sandalwood, you can still distinguish the toilet, but the toilet of Fan's house is really fragrant, and a faint fragrance hits you when you push the door open.

When he looked again, his face changed. It turned out that the room was decorated more gorgeously than the monastery. There was a big red bed, covered with crimson gauze, so it was difficult to see the inside of the bed. On both sides of the bed stood two maids, one on the left and one on the right. The two girls were very beautiful, one holding a sachet and the other holding perfume. They stood upright and politely, as if they were standing there in a ceremonial manner.

Two beautiful women were standing there waiting to be served. Seeing this scene, Fang Lin thought to himself, "Oh no! Could it be that they have found the women's room? If I were to be disrespectful and become enemies because of this, wouldn't that be unfair?"

He closed the door and retreated, still thinking: "Is this a trick by the Fan family to trick me into entering the White Tiger Hall by mistake? No, I haven't revealed any flaws. If the Fan family wants to deal with me, they won't do this."

Fang Lin resisted the urge to run away, and soon calmed down. He went back to the living room and did not hide it, because he knew he could not hide it. He apologized and said, "Brother Fan, I couldn't find the toilet. I only saw two women. I'm afraid it's the place for the women in the mansion. Please forgive me."

Fan Qihui was puzzled. He had clearly pointed to the toilet, so it didn't make sense for Fang Lin to go to the inner room. After Fang Lin explained in detail, he finally understood. How could he describe his gaze at that moment? It was as if he saw Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. He laughed and said, "Brother Fang, you are not wrong. That is my toilet."

At this time, Fan Qingzeng came out after changing his clothes. After hearing the whole story, he also laughed: "Those two women are indeed not my concubines, but my maids, who are specially responsible for serving when going to the toilet. Manager Fang, just go in, don't be embarrassed."

"I see." Fang Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because he was too surprised by what he had seen and actually caused such a misunderstanding.

However, this cannot be blamed on him. Whose toilet is decorated more gorgeously than the temple? And there is a big bed? And two beautiful maids? Really, I have never seen such a thing in my two lives!

I went back and asked, and it turned out to be the toilet.

With the help of two maids, Fang Lin climbed onto the big bed and squatted on the special pit of the bed. He didn't feel good because two beautiful women were standing next to him. Although he knew they would not peek, he still felt awkward, especially in case he farted, which would be embarrassing. So he could only deal with it hastily.

After the problem is solved, it is not over yet. There is also serving, stirring up trouble, and... even harder to describe. In Rong Cailin's story of foolish filial piety, the father had hemorrhoids, and the son licked it with his mouth. When he farted, he tasted it and said, "This is the fragrance of grains." I thought it was an extreme exaggeration and nonsense, but I didn't expect that art actually comes from life!
"This matter... Alas!" Fang Lin didn't know what to say. Some people look righteous on the outside, but behind the scenes they are actually... beasts in human clothing!

He refused the follow-up service, and sure enough, there was a replacement. For the first time in his life, he wiped his butt with a brocade cloth and returned. He did not stay any longer, but said goodbye to the father and son of the Fan family and left.

On the way back, I was still thinking about this, especially when I passed the dock and saw the porters sweating profusely, busying themselves just for three meals a day.

"Many places in Daxia have suffered disasters for years, including drought and floods... When my family fled here, the journey was so difficult. For a little food, the villagers and the whole family were scheming against each other."

Fang Lin thought about the past, and then recalled what he saw and heard in the Fan Mansion today: "However, a wealthy merchant like the Fan family is so extravagant and extravagant. The imbalance between the rich and the poor in the entire Daxia society is so shocking!"

……

(End of this chapter)