poor family prodigal

A man ran over with a child in his arms, followed by two men.

As soon as the young man saw it, he turned around and ran away, cursing: "Fei, you damn girl, if you don't do good things, you deserve to have your old Feizhuang's salt well drained!"

When Erhu heard that he was a liar, Erhu was furious and wanted to chase him, but was stopped by Wang Yuan. He looked at the man and said, "How is the child? What does the doctor say?"

thump!

The man knelt down again and said, "Thank you for your concern, my dear benefactor. The child is fine. The doctor has given me some medicine and he said he will be fine after taking it for three days."

"The child is fine!"

He picked up the man and touched the child's forehead. Feeling that the fever had subsided, Wang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief: "I haven't asked you your name yet!"

"I don't dare. My surname is Fei, and my nickname is Niu Cao. Others call me Fei Niu!"

Fei Niu looked frightened and pointed at the two men beside him: "I am the boss of Lao Feizhuang, and this is my brother's manger and donkey trough!"

The two men grinned and lowered their heads in embarrassment!

Children in the countryside tend to die young and are usually given nicknames because they think it will be easier to support them!

Wang Yuan said in surprise: "I heard that all of Fei Cang's men are extremely rich. How did you end up like this!"

Hu Mengying and Wang Zhonglou also became curious, how could Jia Tou be so miserable that he couldn't even get out ten taels of silver!

"Brother Yuan, there's something I didn't have time to tell you!"

Wang Sihai said from the side: "There are actually nineteen villages in Feicang, but the salt wells in old Feicang have dried up, and the kitchen households in the village can no longer survive!"

Fei Niu smiled bitterly: "It doesn't count as harvesting. There is very little brine now, and the salt produced is not enough for the government. I am the leader and bear a lot of taxes, so I am not as good as an ordinary kitchen household!"

"Has it been harvested?"

Wang Yuan asked in surprise: "How deep is your salt well now?"

Fei Niu said honestly: "Twenty-three feet!"

Wang Yuan frowned: "Then why not dig deeper!"

Fei Niu smiled bitterly and said: "Young master, you don't know. The rocks below twenty feet are extremely hard. We, the seven brothers of the Fei family, took turns mining for three years before we mined to a depth of three feet. Our family also had to pay taxes for food and drink. We really didn't dare to put our efforts into it." , put it all on digging salt wells!”

"It took three years to dig out three feet!"

Wang Yuan frowned in thought, then changed the subject and said, "I'm more interested in salt wells. I don't mind if I go take a look. Maybe I can find a way to dig the well!"

"Dig a well!"

Hu Mengying and Wang Zhonglou were shocked.

If you want to buy some salt and spend a little more money, why don’t you go to Zaohu’s home to dig a salt well?

"Sir, I heard that you are a salt merchant from Fu County. You came here to buy salt, but you were blocked by the Yang family, so you couldn't buy salt!"

Fei Niu sighed and said, "You have done me a great favor by saving my son. If the old Feizhuang salt well is not dry, even if the Yang family blocks it, I will decide how much salt is boiled and sold to you! But now, the salt well is almost mined." It’s dry and there’s not much salt left. You’d better stop wasting time and think of other ways!”

"Yes, sir!"

Hu Mengying persuaded softly: "Drilling salt wells will not happen overnight. Let's think of other ways. If it doesn't work, we will continue to increase the price!"

"Yes, Uncle Yuan!"

Wang Zhonglou also advised earnestly: "We are just here to buy salt. We don't have to go to the village to dig a salt well. This job is really too big!"

Dahu, Wang Sihai and the others looked on, but no one tried to persuade him!

As long as Wang Yuan said to dig a well, they would dig a well immediately, without blinking an eye!

Wang Yuan raised his eyebrows: "Just take a look. If there is nothing we can do, let's come back!"

Hu Mengying smiled bitterly. She could tell that Wang Yuan had a bad temper. No one could persuade him to do what he was sure about!

Wang Zhonglou pursed his lips and gave a thumbs up: Uncle Yuan is a ruthless man. If you don’t sell me salt, I will dig a salt well!

Wang Yuan turned around and said: "Sihai, go buy some rice, noodles, wine and vegetables!"

"Sir, no need!"

Fei Niu quickly stopped him: "You are the benefactor of the old Fei family. We should entertain you when you go. You don't need to buy anything! Manger, donkey trough, go back and tell your sister-in-law that there are distinguished guests coming. Kill the old hen at home." Got it!"

The two turned around and ran away. Wang Yuan winked and Dahu and Erhu caught them.

Wang Sihai took people to the street to buy things, and soon they bought half a carriage of rice, noodles, meat and vegetables.

A group of people, carriages and horses, headed straight for Lao Feizhuang, ten miles away!

The mountain road was difficult to navigate, so we walked for an hour and a half before we arrived at Lao Feizhuang.

Seeing the carriages and horses, the villagers ran away from a distance, as if they saw a tiger or a wolf!

"Sir, they are not taking pictures of you, they are treating you as members of the government!"

Fei Niu had a bitter smile on his face: "These old Feizhuang salt wells have dried up. Every time the government comes to collect salt and tax, we can't pay it. We are all afraid of being arrested!"

Wang Yuan nodded silently!

The same is true in Dawang Village. If the tax cannot be paid, the clerk will take the person directly.

However, some kitchen households came out and pretended to be brave and asked: "Jiatou, have you borrowed money to treat Mavericks?"

"I didn't borrow it!"

Fei Niu pointed at Wang Yuan: "But this young master is compassionate and gave money to help Xiao Niu get a doctor."

"Mr. Xie, our Jia Tou is a good man. The salt well in the village used to be dry. If he had left a few years ago, he would still be a wealthy family. It was he who paid for the salt wells to be dug for the village. He dug several salt wells in a row and emptied his family's wealth. We ended up in this situation because we didn't get rid of the problem. You saved the calf and you are also the benefactor of our village. I kowtow to you!"

Zaodu ran to the carriage, banged his head three times, got up and stepped aside!

The carriage keeps moving forward!

When many kitchen households heard this, they ran to the carriage and kowtowed to Wang Yuan to thank Jiatou.

Wang Yuan looked at Fei Niu and nodded:

As far as he knew, Jia Tou and Zao Hu were like landlords and tenants, basically antagonistic!

There are not many like Fei Niu and Zao Hu!

Fei Niu smiled bitterly and said: "I'm not just doing it for them, I'm doing it for the ancestral property of the old Fei family. It's a pity that I dug three salt wells in a row and took up all the family property, but none of them came out with salt!"

Wang Yuan spoke to reassure: "All your efforts will not be in vain!"

"Master, stop comforting me, you don't know our Zaohu!"

Fei Niu laughed miserably: "There are three hardships in the world: blacksmithing, boiling salt, and grinding tofu. We, a kitchen household, are from a humble background. We have to boil salt all our lives. We can't pass the imperial examination or do business. The salt wells are all dried up, and the government still charges so much. Salt, so much tax, many people in the village have fled.”

Looking at the skinny households in the distance, and then thinking about the wealth of the salt merchants and salt transport envoys, Wang Yuan felt an extremely uncomfortable feeling in his heart, and patted Fei Niu on the shoulder: "Believe me, it will get better!"

Fei Niu smiled sadly and said nothing!

The carriage arrived at Fei Niu's house, which was a nice-looking eight-room tile-roofed house.

The Fei family's wife and daughter had been waiting in front of the door. When they saw Wang Yuan, they knelt down and kowtowed!

After some polite greetings, Fei Niu led Wang Yuan and his party to look at the salt well in the village!

Lao Feizhuang is the earliest salt well in Feicang. It is as deep as a hundred meters and as shallow as more than ten meters. There is only a thin layer of brine at the bottom of the well.

Some families still make brine and cook salt, but due to limited brine, very little salt is produced, which is not even enough to hand over to the government, let alone support the family!

But Zao households are Zao households. Their destiny is determined at birth and they are not allowed to engage in other industries.

After looking at all the salt wells, Wang Yuan stopped in front of the deepest salt well. Dahu stood behind him, blocking everyone!

"Twenty-three feet!"

Looking at the mouth of the black oil well, Wang Yuan turned back and said with a smile: "Fei Niu, I want to dig this well again. Do you want to take another gamble with me?"

"Sir, you are the benefactor of the Fei family, and whatever you say will be yours!"

Fei Niu smiled bitterly and turned his head: "Manger, donkey trough, hurry up and call the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh boys. Prepare ropes, awls, and hammers. Let's go down and dig the well!"

The two of them turned around to run away, knowing that the eldest brother was repaying his kindness!

If the young master wants to play, they will accompany him!

"stop!"

Wang Yuan stopped the two of them: "Your way of digging a well is too slow. Follow my drawings to build a well-drilling tool, and I will teach you how to dig a well quickly!"

The three brothers looked suspicious: "Sir, have you ever dug a well?"

"no!"

Wang Yuan smiled slightly: "But I know how to chisel!"

Wang Haitian was about to cry: "Uncle Yuan, don't be kidding me. Drilling wells is really not child's play!"

"Sir, it took seven brothers three years to dig out a depth of three feet!"

Hu Mengying also advised: "We can stay here for four days at most, and we can't dig very deep!"

Although Dahu, Erhu and the others were surprised, no one had any doubts.

Wang Yuan raised his eyebrows: "If it takes three days, they can dig deeper than they did in three years!"

Hu Mengying said sternly: "If you can do it, sir, then whatever you say will be yours from now on!"

"it is good!"

Wang Yuan blinked: "When the time comes, I want you to agree to a very embarrassing condition for me!"

Thinking about the meaning of the words, Hu Mengying's pretty face turned red: "If the young master can really do it, Mengying will definitely obey your orders. But if the young master can't do it, he must agree to a condition for Mengying, which will also make the young master very embarrassed!"

"it is good!"

Wang Yuan's eyes lit up!

Hu Mengying also has beautiful eyes!

If the young master loses in three days, she will put forward her conditions and let him prepare for the imperial examination!

Although businessmen make money, it is actually a lowly industry with no social status at all!

A strange man like the Young Master, whose final destination is the temple, how can he be a merchant and a humble man?

……

Jiushan County, Wang Family!

"Teacher, isn't this nonsense? You are actually digging a salt well in Feicang."

Yan Fuzhu frowned and said: "You didn't even try to persuade him, but you actually let Chonglou accompany him to fool around. The salt wells in Lao Feizhuang have dried up, how can we dig out brine again!"

"You also know that the salt well in Lao Feizhuang has dried up!"

Putting down the wine pot, Wang Haitian wiped his lips and glared: "Then have you ever thought about how those kitchen households can survive since the salt collected by the government has not been reduced at all."

"Teacher, I was wrong!"

Yan Fuzhu was startled and smiled bitterly: "Although this is a matter for the salt transport envoy, I will go to Mr. Futai and ask him to reduce the salt tax on Lao Feizhuang!"

"no need!"

Wang Haitian took a sip of wine: "Brother Mingtan has gone, he will definitely be able to solve their problems, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed there for so long!"

Yan Fushi smiled bitterly: "Teacher, you really believe that he can dig a salt well with brine."

Wang Haitian rolled his eyes: "He can make it even if he spreads it out, so what does a salt well mean?"

"Teacher, these are two different things! Anyway, I don't believe that he can dig a salt well with brine."

Yan Fuzhu shook his head and stood up: "Teacher, please let him come back quickly. I will talk to Mr. Futai and give Fu Xianyun [-] catties of military salt!"

Wang Haitian pressed his disciple down and said, "No need, I believe in Brother Mingtan!"

……

Jiushan County, Yang Family!

Yang Shuo took a sip from the tea cup and said, "The boy named Wang is still digging wells in Lao Feizhuang!"

"Not bad!"

Liu Zhiping chuckled and nodded: "But don't worry, he still hasn't dug out the brine!"

“It’s already here”

Yang Shuo said confidently: "Old Feizhuang has been working on brine for three years. Those kitchen farmers have been chiseling for three years and they can't chisel it out. What can the boy named Wang chise out in three days?"

"Ok!"

Liu Zhiping responded and suddenly said cautiously: "But in the past three days, in addition to digging wells, that boy also dug a big hole for the Yang family!"