The Ming Dynasty’s Prodigal Son - Chapter 69

[69. Chapter 69 Why not eat minced meat]

From the Mid-Autumn Festival to the early winter, Xishan has attracted thousands of refugees. Wang Jinyuan is not in a hurry to mass-produce. Instead, he follows Fang Jifan’s instructions and slowly lets a group of originally unorganized refugees begin to understand the process. Of course, a large number of mining tools also need to be purchased.

However, most of the pickaxes used for mining were not readily available, and in this era, most of the tools manufactured by the manufacturing bureau were crudely made. The craftsmen in ordinary blacksmith shops were also uneven, and the output was low, so they could not be supplied on a large scale. Fang Jifan also wanted to make a coal stove. It would be best to make a pot together with it. The right way to do one thing and make some money.

Fang Jifan then encouraged Zhu Houzhao to go and ask Emperor Hongzhi for permission to build an ironworks at Xishan Coal Mine.

Emperor Hongzhi did not immediately agree to this matter. In fact, he wanted to forge production tools on a large scale. The court had always been cautious about this.

In this era of salt and iron monopoly, iron ore was almost monopolized by local governments, and private large-scale iron smelting was not allowed. After all, this thing could be used to make both tools and weapons.

Since the attitude of the palace was unclear, Fang Jifan had no choice but to wait patiently.

Zhu Houzhao, on the other hand, was busy working for him, but he started complaining and sighing, like an abused little daughter-in-law. After asking the root cause, she still had no money and no motivation.

For this reason, Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan sneaked to Xishan Mountain again. In this snowy weather, there were only a few people walking along the way. However, at the foot of Xishan Mountain, simple work sheds had been set up, forming a simple In the small village, smoke is rising from the work sheds, and the women have begun to pick up rice and put it into the pot.

The men have already gone to the mines, so there are only a few ragged little kids in the ‘village’ who are making snow piles with runny noses.

The scene in front of him greatly disappointed Zhu Houzhao. He originally thought that what he and Fang Jifan were doing was a big deal, and it shouldn’t be so dilapidated and dirty. Although it shouldn’t be as magnificent as the Forbidden City, it should also be prosperous. scene.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to go up to the mine, but Fang Jifan stopped him, saying bad things and just wandering at the foot of the mountain.

Before leaving, I encountered miners carrying pickaxes to work. The miners were all wearing tight-fitting clothes and their bodies were completely dark. However, these strong men were full of masculinity. On top of their heads, they were sweating due to heat. And melted the snow catkins.

“Benefactor…” Someone with sharp eyes actually saw Fang Jifan and Zhu Houzhao.

One of them, holding a pickaxe, rushed towards Fang Jifan and Zhu Houzhao, frightening the guards behind Zhu Houzhao to hold down the handle of the knife.

The man prostrated himself without hesitation, and with tears in his eyes said to Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan: “I have seen these two benefactors…”

In fact, Fang Jifan was shocked, because this guy actually rushed over with a pickaxe, and According to his rich life experience, most of the people who come towards him are here to seek revenge. After all…he is a prodigal son. God knows how many enemies Fang Jifan made in the past. Fang Jifan had no doubt that one day, he would be beaten while walking on the street.

So his first reaction was to run away.

It wasn’t until the other party called him his benefactor and bowed down on the snow that he let out a sigh of relief.

The miners were excited and came up one after another. Many people whispered: “These are the two benefactors. Shopkeeper Wang said it himself. Our boss is two young men. Both of them have handsome features. They can’t be wrong. Let’s pay homage.” Thanks to our benefactor, we have a job in this mine.”

In a moment, the snowy ground was full of people kneeling, which made Fang Jifan start to doubt his life.

Zhu Houzhao was even more stunned when he saw these dark-faced people looking at him with tears in their eyes.

Hmm…

I actually feel a little bit of a sense of accomplishment.

But…did I really do something good? No, didn’t Lao Fang just let them dig coal? Hey, hey, hey, this is obviously just asking you to do hard work. What are you grateful for?

A miner choked and said: “Thank you so much for taking us in and giving us a chance to sell our strength in this mine. Otherwise… I’m afraid I won’t be able to survive this cold winter. I have a son. If not, When he came to the mine, he was about to starve to death. The villain kept teaching him that when he grew up, he must remember the kindness of his two benefactors. Now the villain had a mouthful of food in this mine. Not only that, I still have some salary every month, which is all thanks to my two benefactors. My benefactor, please pay me your respects.”

“…” These words were enough to shock Zhu Houzhao in his heart.

Could it be that… asking them to do hard work is enough to gain their gratitude?

And their request is just to have a full meal. This is such a humble thought, but even this humble thought seems to be hard-won for them.

Zhu Houzhao had never experienced suffering in the world, but when he met these miners today, he was at a loss. He could not understand that there were such a group of people in this world who would receive such gratitude because of these things.

Zhu Houzhao suppressed his blush and was at a loss.

But Fang Jifan already said: “Okay, no need to be polite, just work hard.”

The miners’ eyes were red, some were crying, some put down their pickaxes, and just kowtowed to Zhu Houzhao and Fang Jifan.

Zhu Houzhao, however, was still stunned. He had too many things to digest. It was not until Fang Jifan pulled him out of the crowd that Zhu Houzhao’s eyes suddenly turned red: “Are they lying to us?”

“What?” Fang Jifan was stunned.

Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath: “What I mean is, do they want to curry favor with me, so…”

It is easy to understand Zhu Houzhao’s thoughts. After all, he is always surrounded by a group of people who please him, so in In his mind, these people must also be taking the opportunity to curry favor with him.

Fang Jifan was silent for a moment: “They don’t know His Highness’s identity, so I think they may be truly grateful to His Highness. Of course, they are mainly grateful to the humble ministers. After all, for many people, as long as they can have a full meal, they will be satisfied.” It’s a gift from God.”

Zhu Houzhao suddenly thought deeply.

In the wind and snow, the young crown prince felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Fang Jifan despised Zhu Houzhao in his heart. Why didn’t this guy eat minced meat?

When he returned to Zhan Shifu, Zhu Houzhao seemed to have something on his mind. He held his chin and looked at the snow in the distance. There was less cunning in his eyes, but more melancholy.

“Sometimes, I am thinking…” Zhu Houzhao said: “It would be great if the snow stopped.”

“…” Fang Jifan glared at him, Prince, if you don’t get a share of the profits, just smash the pot of my coal mine. ? Are you still human?

Zhu Houzhao sighed again: “Think about it, many people are barely clothed and their faces are cracked by the cold. They are really pitiful.”

These words directly hit a weak spot in Fang Jifan’s heart. He felt strangely He glanced at Zhu Houzhao and looked up at the sky. On the sky, snow catkins were still flying, so he let out a breath of white breath: “For many people, it is not just a snow that makes them freeze. Many people are missing something.” It’s not just clothes to keep out the cold, it’s very difficult for people to live…” Looking up, the corners of his eyes were a little moist, perhaps because a rare long-lost emotion hit his heart, Fang Jifan took a breath and sighed.

From a distance, Liu Jin waved to this side: “Your Highness, Your Highness, come quickly. Zhenla Kingdom has paid tribute to three monkeys without tails. Oh, it’s so rare.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao rushed towards Liu Jin’s direction with a swish. : “Where, where, let me take a look…”

“Your uncle!” Fang Jifan glared fiercely at Liu Jin in the distance.

………

Originally, some people said that the character of the Zhang brothers was too stupid, but historically, these brothers were indeed stupid, otherwise they would not have even seen the direction of the wind after Jiajing ascended the throne, and ended up in a miserable state. end.

Some people say that it is unreasonable for the two of them to be stingy. Alas, I really don’t know what to say. Balzac’s Grandet is also so stingy. As a result, this great French writer has won numerous praises for his stingy image of Grandet. , and no one said that the character he wrote was so rich that he would rather abuse himself for a few coins. Instead, this character became popular and became one of the most classic images in French literature. How come when it comes to Tiger, the same character becomes unreasonable.

After all, Tiger is not a literary giant. He just writes books to earn a living. Forget it, let others laugh and scold him. He is used to it.

(End of chapter)