Don't make trouble, let's build infrastructure!

"Why are you here?" Tong Ran put away the manuscript.

Qiu Ming has lived in the village for a while, and is quite familiar with everyone.He lived in the village under the guise of learning how to sink a well, but Tong Ran didn't teach him.

At first, Tong Ran was just too lazy to teach, and was a little unhappy to see him flirting with the little tiger again.

Later, he discovered that Qiu Ming did not want to learn how to dig a well to irrigate the fields.

If you just learn to dig wells to irrigate the fields, there are people who know how to dig wells everywhere in Jiuxiang and a village. Although the villagers don’t know how to repair canals, it is not a new thing after all. Just find a master who knows water conservancy. With the influence of the Qiu family Easy as pie.

But Qiu Ming is not.

He has a good relationship with the people in the village, but he doesn't learn how to dig wells to irrigate the fields. He often looks for the little tiger, but he is no longer in a hurry to ask Tongran to teach him.Looking at him like that, he seems to want to hang around in Wujia Village more than to learn his skills.

As for why he insisted on not leaving, Tong Ran didn't know.

Qiu Ming came in with a smile, Tong Ran put away the manuscript and sat at the table with folded arms, he wanted to see what this kid was doing in Wu's village.

"Brother Tong." Qiu Ming said with a smile, "Can you lend me some money?"

Borrow money?

Tong Ran frowned. The Qiu family is the richest of the five noble families. How could he be short of money from the Qiu family.

Qiu Ming saw his doubts, and said with a bitter face: "Brother Tong doesn't know something, the Qiu family has rules, you must go out to practice when you reach the age of fifteen, and the family will prepare money for it, but a few years ago, my cousin was in charge. Once we got home, we made a rule that merchants should not take too much money when they go out.”

Tong Ran raised her eyebrows.

Now that he is in the officialdom, he will naturally pay attention to the affairs of the five noble families.He knows the cousin of the head of the family that Qiu Ming said is Qiu Fu, whose name is Mulian, and is the eldest daughter of the previous head of the Qiu family.

Just looking at the fact that the eldest daughter takes over the family business, the Qiu family is very different from the other four noble families.

This Qiu Fu lived up to expectations, and the business of the Qiu family grew even bigger after she took over.Unexpectedly, she was also very strict with the children of the clan.

"Even so, why should I lend you money?" Tong Ran asked.

He has no friendship with Qiu Ming, and what's more, he went out to practice and squandered all his money, so it has nothing to do with him.

Qiu Ming sneered and said, "I have made an agreement with the villagers of Wujia Village to buy all the beer they brew, but money is really tight right now. Looking at the whole Wujia Village, only Brother Tong has the strength."

When Qiu Ming said this, Tong Ran understood a little.

I heard that a grain merchant came to collect grain today, but no one in the village is willing to sell it, presumably because of the agreement with Qiu Ming.I really don't know whether everyone has too much confidence in his beer, or whether Qiu Mingtai is good at doing business, so they just believe in him.

Regarding how to sell wine, Tong Ran originally had some plans, but it would take some trouble, but now that Qiu Ming bumped into it himself, it would save him a trip.

"That's fine." Tong Ran said.

Qiu Ming's eyes lit up.The reason why he dared to come to Tong Ran to borrow money was because he could see that Tong Ran was interested in the village and would not ignore the sale of the wine, but he did not expect Tong Ran to agree so easily.

"However..." Tong Ran changed the subject, "The money is not borrowed in vain, the interest is still required."

"I want it," Qiu Ming certainly didn't expect Tong Ran to lend him the money without profit, "five cents of interest, how about three months?"

What Qiu Ming said was the usual interest rate in the market, which was considered fair.

However, Tong Ran stretched out a finger and said, "You have no collateral, [-]%."

The interest rate of [-]% is high, and it can be regarded as a high interest rate in the market, but what Tong Ran said is not wrong-there is no collateral, the risk is high, and the interest rate will naturally be high.

Qiu Ming made some calculations and gritted his teeth: "Okay."

Tong Ran smiled and frowned, calling for Qiu'er to come in.

"Brother Qiu will go out to sell beer in two days, and you will go with me, and give this manuscript to Master Xiang for me." Tong Ran handed the manuscript of "Journey to the West" he had just written to Qiu'er.

Qiu'er took it solemnly. "Journey to the West" is now popular all over the world. This manuscript seems to be just a stack of papers, but there must be many people who want to see it first. Since Tong Ran handed it to him, he must escort it to Zhuoyang Mansion, handed over to Xiang Da.

"Brother Tong, don't worry." Qiu'er said.

Although Qiu Ming promised to collect all the beer in the village, it would not be possible to brew so much barley into beer in a short time, so this time he only collected the first batch of brewed beer, and for this reason he borrowed a beer from Tong Ran. 100 taels of silver.

Because of the printing workshop and "Journey to the West", Tong Ran has a lot of gold and silver in his hands. He is only one person and one tiger, and there is really not much room to spend money. It is useless to pile up the money. Qiu Ming borrowed it for Tong Ran. Ran Tim made progress.Not only that, but the outlet for the barley in the village was also solved, killing two birds with one stone, and Tong Ran was able to borrow the money comfortably.

On the second day, Qiu Ming found a group of porters, rented a few carts, and set out on the road with the first batch of beer brewed in the village.Qiu'er also took the latest "Journey to the West" manuscript on the road.

Tong Ran was bored, so he made barley tea at home and brewed it for the little tiger to taste.

It's a pity that the little tiger didn't give face very much, so he stopped drinking after taking a sip.

Tong Ran drank some for himself and distributed it to the villagers. Everyone liked it very much and went back to fry it.

The birth of barley tea brought Tong Ran some righteousness. This time, there was not as much as beer, and he was promoted to the ninth rank of the top grade of the yellow rank.

After a few more days, Qiu Er and Qiu Ming returned to Wujia Village.

Qiu'er returned to the yard first, and said excitedly: "Brother Tong, the beer you invented is very popular in Zhuoyang Mansion. Not to mention all the beer we brought is sold out, and we have received a lot of orders and deposits! Right now! Mr. Qiu distributes the orders outside, not only our village, but also wheat growers in other townships can get a piece of the pie, the barley in our Xiaoguo County will not be unsold!"

There was still sweat on Qiu'er's forehead, and it seemed that he was running all the way. He took a few sips of water and talked about selling beer again.

Qiu Ming set off with him that day and headed directly to Zhuoyang Mansion.

Originally, after entering the mansion, Qiu'er wanted to go back to Donglai Washe on his own, but Qiu Ming insisted on sending him off.

Qiu'er: "I was surprised at the beginning, he should be in a hurry to do business, so why did he send me off. I found out later that he wanted to use Brother Tong's reputation to sell wine!"

"Journey to the West" became popular in Zhuoyang Mansion, and even many people from other places came here admiringly. Tong Ran's reputation in Zhuoyang Mansion naturally became bigger and bigger.

Qiu Ming led a mighty beer team to deliver the ball to the door of Donglai Washe, and it was easy to confirm that he and Tong Ran had a close relationship.Afterwards, he released the news that the beer was brewed by Tong Ran, naturally many people believed it.

There are not a few people in Zhuoyang Mansion who are fascinated by "Journey to the West". They suddenly heard that the wine that Qiu Ming brought was brewed by the author of "Journey to the West". Everyone's curiosity about this wine was aroused, and many people came to buy it admiringly. .

Beer was highly praised by the villagers in Wujia Village, and it was no exception in Zhuoyang Mansion, and soon became popular in the city.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Qiu Ming recommended beer to all the restaurants and inns in the city. At the beginning, he didn't ask people to buy it. He only said it was for consignment, and he only collected money after it was sold.That said, most of those restaurants are willing to give it a try.

Overnight, the beer was put on shelves in all the restaurants in Zhuoyang Mansion, and the reputation increased again.Afterwards, all major restaurants and inns no longer stick to consignment sales, but want to buy some in bulk and sell them in stores.

In this way, Qiu Ming received a large number of orders and deposits, and returned to Wujia Village to distribute them.

Tong Ran smiled: "It's an empty-handed white wolf." Qiu Ming didn't have anything at first, and even asked him to borrow the money to buy wine. After doing this, he not only had the order deposit in his hand, but also the business was on the rise. track.

"Yeah, brother Qiu Ming is amazing." Qiu'er echoed, with endless envy in his eyes.

"He is good, and you are no worse than others." Tong Ran said.

Qiu'er didn't expect him to say that, and rubbed the back of his head, not knowing how to answer.

Tong Ran clenched a fist in one hand and spread it out in front of his eyes. Inside were two small ingots of gold, about two taels in total.Tong Ran said: "It's thanks to you for taking care of me and the little tiger's daily food these days, and it was also thanks to your help when Deng County Magistrate happened last time. The people in this village have a good harvest, so we can't just owe it to you."

Qiu'er had a lively and excited look on his face just now, but suddenly he was speechless.

He and Tong Ran had been together for a while, and when he came to join him, he was driven by himself, and the two of them had not agreed on a salary.Tong Ran ate and lived with him these days, and he never treated him poorly in terms of expenses, nor restricted his freedom. Qiu'er has always been very satisfied. After following Tong Ran, what he saw and heard compared to the one in Donglaiwashe The world is much wider, not to mention the increase in righteousness.

Now Tong Ran suddenly has to take out two taels of gold, but he dare not catch the ball.

"Brother Tong, aren't you driving me away?" Qiu'er said, what Tong Ran said just now made him a little uneasy.

Tong Ran laughed, and tapped him on the head: "What are you thinking, this is what you should take, and you can't let you do white work with me."

"But, that's too much." He still didn't dare to catch the ball. He could get more than 3000 yuan a month in Washe, which is about three taels of silver, sometimes less than that.Tong Ran's two gold ingots are worth 20 taels of silver, and he has only been with Tong Ran for four months, which is really a lot.

"Hold it carefully." Tong Ran stuffed the gold ingot into his hand.

Qiu'er held the gold ingots in both hands. The two ingots were not heavy, but he was careful not to drop them: "Thank you, Brother Tong."

Tong Ran said sternly again: "We haven't talked about the salary. I was negligent. I used these two taels of gold to pay for it a few months ago. After that, I will give you five taels of silver every month."

The county magistrate of Xiaoguo County is only more than 100 taels of silver a year, Tian Yan’s salary is less than 60 taels, and he has [-] taels with Tong Ran. "Brother Tong, don't worry, I will take care of the housework properly in the future! If you want me to do other things, I will do it for you!" Qiu'er said.

Tong Ran nodded.

He originally thought that the ball would only last for 3 minutes, and thought that it would be all right to give him some money when he left. Unexpectedly, before he knew it, he had followed him for half a year.In the future, I will be more and more busy, and I will definitely need someone to take care of the house. Although Qiu'er is young, she is more cautious and simple-minded, and speaks straightforwardly, which makes Tong Ran feel at ease.

Since he intends to keep someone, Tong Ran is not a person who cares about money, so he might as well give it all at once, so that he can let go of his other thoughts.

Qiu'er hid the newly acquired gold ingot, told Tong Ran, and ran out to work.He met Qiu Ming when he went to the village mill to grind flour. Qiu Mingzhi was full of pride, and said to Qiu'er with a smile: "How much does your Brother Tong give you a month? I think you are very smart. I will pay double, and follow me from now on." How about going? I'll teach you how to do business."

Qiu'er glanced at him: "Brother Tong lent you the money for your business, it's shameless to poach someone from him right away."

"Hey," Qiu Ming didn't think it was a nuisance, "Master, I love you so much, Brother Tong will understand."

"I don't understand, don't even think about it, Brother Tong is so good to me, I won't leave." Qiu'er said.

"Really not leaving? Or should I pay three times?" Qiu Ming said.

He told Qiu'er this to tease him even more, but Qiu'er refused so directly, which aroused his competitive spirit instead.Tong Ran's little tiger refused to eat his meat, and Tong Ran's servant refused to ask for his money, so he still didn't believe it. Is this Tong Ran a god?He wanted to dig him!

Qiu'er didn't even lift his eyelids: "No."

He poured the newly bought wheat into the grinding eye, pushed the mill and began to grind wheat flour.If Qiu Ming had told him this earlier, he might have been tempted, but after what happened just now, he knew that his heart and deeds were all seen by Brother Tong, and he would definitely not suffer a loss if he followed him. Ming's conditions are not attractive at all.

Qiu Ming didn't believe in evil, and took money to lure him many times, Qiu'er still ignored him, and even said: "Master Qiu, why don't you help me push the mill when you're so free?"

Qiu Ming looked forward to it: "I'll grind it for you, so you consider coming with me?"

Qiu'er was expressionless: "Then I'll push it myself."

Qiu Ming: ...

Tong Ran's little tiger despises him, and Tong Ran's servant also ignores him. He is really miserable.With a bitter face, Qiu Ming returned the money Tong Ran lent him.

According to the previous agreement, Qiu Ming gave Tong Ran ten taels of interest in addition to the principal of 100 taels.

Tong Ran took his money and said, "I heard from Qiu'er that you made a lot of money this time, why are you so sad?"

Qiu Ming didn't dare to say that his delusional attempt to poach Tong Ran's servant failed, it not only offended him, but also made him lose face.

Tong Ran has always been unhappy that Qiu Ming always went to find his little tiger, but this time the big beer purchase in the village was really thanks to Qiu Ming, and this dissatisfaction was somewhat eliminated.He didn't know why Qiu Ming was depressed, so he could only comfort him casually: "Thanks to you, you shipped it out for sale, and now the price of grain merchants coming to collect wheat has also increased. I heard that the villagers are very grateful to you."

What's the use of being grateful, the tiger dislikes him, the servant ignores him, he's such a failure.

Qiu Ming forced a smile and said, "That's why Brother Tong's beer is different, and it's very easy to sell."

Qiu Ming said a few words to Tong Ran, and asked to see the little tiger sleeping on the bed, but Tong Ran politely invited him out.

In the following days, Qiu Ming continued his beer business as usual, and he also sold some of Tong Ran's newly developed barley tea along the way, and the business was good.After the barley in Xiaoguo County has these two new digestion channels, the price has risen a lot. Even if the farmers directly sell the barley, they will no longer have the problem of making ends meet.

When the farming work came to an end, Tong Ran remembered that, as a farmer in the county, he should often go to the county government office to clock in and report to his immediate superior, but he never went there once.

Deng Qi had something in his hands, so naturally he didn't dare to blame a single word, but if there was a chance, Tong Ran didn't mind giving him some face, otherwise, he would be so "defiant", and no boss would dare to ask for it in the future.

On this day, Tong Ran went to the county while the little tiger was sleeping, intending to show his face to the county government, but when he got to the neighborhood of Deng's house, he saw groups of people whispering there.

"What's going on inside?" Tong Ran asked a random old man who was watching.

The other party was from the county town and didn't know Tong Ran, so he simply said: "The official who came from nowhere brought people directly into the mansion of County Magistrate Deng, and I don't know what happened."

Someone next to him was a little excited and said: "God must have opened his eyes. Deng Qi's sinful things were known to the higher-ups, and he will be punished!"

The other person shook his head, apparently not believing that Deng Qi, an old fox, could be caught so easily.

Deng Qi did not expect that he would be arrested like this.

After the matter between him and Tong Ran passed for a while, the fear in his heart faded away, and his gambling nature gradually emerged again.He didn't dare to call his colleagues in the officialdom, but called a few wealthy households nearby to go to the gambling room to satisfy his greed.

Unexpectedly, just after eating the hors d'oeuvres, a group of officers and soldiers actually broke into his gambling room, and everyone got stolen.

When Deng Qi was sent to the prison van, he still couldn't figure out how his gambling room was built so secretively, how could it be discovered?

Ruan Zheng ordered people to put Deng Qi in the prison cart, and searched his house according to Chu Jun's order, and found the jar of Dahongpao, a tribute that Chu Jun asked for by name.

Coming out of Deng's mansion with tea leaves, he ordered his officers and soldiers to fend off the people, and was about to leave for Beijing, but he saw a familiar face.

"Tong Ran, you're here too!" Ruan Zhengdao greeted him affectionately.

Tong Ran had seen him a long time ago, and said, "Brother Ruan, I saw a crowd of people here, so I was worried that something might happen, so come and have a look."

Ruan Zheng blinked and said: "It's nothing serious, I was ordered to take Deng Qi back to ask some questions."

Tong Ran glanced at Deng Qi who was sluggish in the prison car. It was not so simple to ask some questions. Deng Qi's old background was probably known by the higher-ups.

"Brother Ruan, can you tell me a little bit, after all, my younger brother works in the county government, and the county magistrate was suddenly arrested, so I can't help being a little panicked." Tong Ran said.

Ruan Zheng thought for a while and said: "I can't say more about other things, but there is nothing to hide about this point. Deng Qi likes to gamble. There is a gambling room in the house. Today we brought him personal stolen goods in the gambling room." get."

"Here," Ruan Zheng showed the tea pot in his hand again, "This tribute tea is also from his family, I don't know where it came from."

Tong Ran's heart skipped a beat when he saw the can of tea leaves.

For the sake of the livelihood of the villagers in Wujia Village, he used Deng Qi's favor to design for him. Although what he did was a good deed, whether it was sending tea or gambling, if someone really wanted to investigate, it would be enough for him to drink a pot.

Ruan Zheng saw his nervousness and said: "Don't worry, you just came here, Deng Qi's crimes will not be your fault, just keep a low profile recently."

Of course Tong Ran was not nervous about this, but he still smiled gratefully: "Thank you, brother Ruan, for your reminder."