In Xiangcheng County, Quan Erlang snorted and drank a bowl of wontons, saw the sun rise, patted his stomach, and returned to the inn.

I knocked on the door in front of Gao Ji'an's room, entered the room, and saw that he was still lying on the bed, and said, "Brother, are you getting better these days?" ”

Gao Ji'an stood up and said, "I took another pair of medicine last night and sweated profusely, so I am a little more relaxed today." I thought to myself, take a few more medicines, stay for three or five days, and then I can leave. ”

Quan Erlang sighed: "Brother, when I came, I only had ten rewards for money, and if I delay like this, I will soon run out." I heard that the iron mine I found was not small, and the imperial court wanted to set up an iron prison there, and hundreds of thousands of yuan were allocated in the inner treasury. If we had known this earlier, we would have waited in Fangcheng County for a few days, and the reward would have been much more, so that we would not be so embarrassed. ”

After speaking, he said goodbye to Gao Ji'an, went out of the door, and stood in the courtyard for a while.

I was really unlucky, I thought I had received a reward, escorted the prince into Beijing with Gao Ji'an, recognized the imperial family, and since then I have been prosperous and rich. didn't want to go to Xiangcheng County, Gao Ji'an got a cold and had to live here. How can Quan Erlang afford all kinds of expenses such as the money for staying in the hotel, the money for the doctor and the medicine? Within a few days, he thought about it, left Gao Ji'an alone, and entered Beijing with the little prince, and then talked about the benefits first. I don't want that little prince to be very dead-eyed, without Gao Ji'an's company, he refuses to move, and he hates Quan Erlang's itchy teeth.

When Quan Erlang was in a trance, a member came out of the next room, with a big waist and a round waist, dressed in a new silk dress, holding two big walnuts in his hands, and holding his head up. Seeing Quan Erlang standing in the courtyard, the member said, "Erlang got up so early!" ”

Quan Erlang hurriedly saluted: "It turned out to be Qian Yuanwai, have you had breakfast?" ”

Qian Yuanwai nodded: "Well, I had breakfast and was about to go out for a walk." As the old saying goes, if you walk a hundred steps after a meal, you can live ninety-nine, and the wine and meat enter the stomach. ”

Quan Erlang complimented him a few words, and he wanted to leave. I didn't want to Qian Yuanwai but said: "Erlang, if it's okay, go out and drink two teas." ”

Quan Erlang was bored living here, and when he heard this, he couldn't ask for it, so he hurriedly agreed.

Xiangcheng is adjacent to Ziyun Mountain, the city is located in the north of the Ru River, the water transportation is developed, and there are countless shops by the wharf. Qian Yuanwai and Quan Erlang arrived at the dock, looked for a tea shop, went in to find the deputy seatman and sat down.

After drinking tea for a while, Qian Yuan said: "I heard from people from my family that the court has recently ordered that a new iron prison will be set up in that area, which is called Baiting Supervisor." Does Jiro know about this? ”

Quan Erlang said: "This is indeed the case. In the mountains of Yuanwai's hometown, there used to be a large iron mine, and in ancient times, people often smelted iron there, but later it was abandoned for some reason. That area was originally the Baiting in the Qin period, so the iron prison built was called the Baiting Prison. ”

Qian Yuanwai said: "I have lived there for decades, but I don't know that there are treasures buried underground, and I have to leave my hometown to find food here. I heard that Erlang once went there with someone to look for mines, but I don't know where the mine I found is? ”

Quan Erlang said: "I did go to the mountains with a blacksmith to look for iron ore in the mountains. It is precisely because we have found the mine that the imperial court wants to set up an iron prison today. The mine cave found at that time was in the mountain, not far from Qingliang Temple. However, I heard that later the imperial court found craftsmen from Xiangzhou, and found a few ore veins in other places, and the imperial court mining was not necessarily in the place I found. ”

Qian Yuanwai said: "Anyway, it's near my hometown. If a money prison is built there, there will inevitably be a large number of craftsmen, and there will be a lot of people who make money. Moreover, the imperial court will not occupy all the money and mines, and will not let the people min. I thought that if I hired some craftsmen and went back to the mines, I might be able to make some money. Erlang is the one who found the mine, if he doesn't dislike it, he will go back to his hometown with me, how about opening a smelting furnace? ”

Quan Erlang was a little embarrassed: "It's important to be outside the staff, and it's not good to shirk." It's just that I made an appointment with Master Gao to go to the capital together to do a big thing. If you leave him, things are not beautiful. ”

Qian Yuanwai said with a smile: "The monk surnamed Gao, since he arrived in Xiangcheng, he has been ill. Although these days are better, but his complexion is extremely poor, and he can't go far. Why don't you go back to Ye County with me, and it's not too late to go in a few days. If the furnace is opened, I will give you some winding, and you will not have to suffer on the road. ”

Hearing this, Quan Erlang weighed in his heart. This Qian man is a native of Ye County, and his home is at the foot of the mountain with iron mines. He had shops in Yexian and Xiangcheng, specializing in selling lacquerware from Xiangzhou. Xiangzhou lacquerware is a famous product in the world, and I don't know how many of them are transported to the north along the line of Tangzhou Fangcheng every year. Xiangcheng is just this main road, and it is adjacent to the Ru River, which is a distribution center. Qian Yuanwai transported lacquerware here, found merchants down the Ru River, and sold them to the Chenzhou area.

Recently, I heard that iron ore was discovered in my hometown, and I noticed a business opportunity, so I started to open my own mine. Now the iron supervisors of the imperial court are not necessarily official camps, and many places, such as the Laiwu prison on Jingdong Road and the Zhutie supervisor in Xuzhou, are all privately owned, and the official collects iron classes. All of them are prosperous, and the smelters there are rich and wealthy.

There are many disadvantages in the official Xingye. One is harassment of the locality, and the other is poor management, which often leads to deficits. This is the reason why Laiwu Jian changed from a government-run to a private-owned enterprise, and collected a lot of iron taxes a year, and also made several large local families rich. The iron mines in Yexian County are all sparsely populated places, and the conditions are unfavorable, so it is estimated that it is even more difficult to run. When the government tastes the bitterness, maybe it will be let go of the private sector, and they will sit on the iron collection class. I am the pride of the place, and if I seize the opportunity, I may become rich.

With this in mind, Qian Yuanwai has been particularly concerned about the news of Yexian Iron Mine recently. I heard that Quan Erlang, who lived in the store with him, was the first person to dig out the iron mine, so he was particularly wooed. If you can get his help, occupy an iron mine first, and then hire some craftsmen to open a furnace and smelt, and seize the opportunity, it will be an opportunity to make a fortune in the future.

As long as the cost is abandoned, it is not difficult to hire a craftsman. Not to mention far, there are many small smelting furnaces in Longxing County next to it, although the scale is not large, there are still many skilled craftsmen. This is a profitable business, how can you let it go?

Seeing that Qian Yuan looked at him with blank eyes, Quan Erlang said: "Don't hide it from the staff, it turned out to be a box army pulling fiber on the Bianhe River, because the river used a car and boat, and came to Tuntian in western Beijing." I am not familiar with iron ore, all thanks to a Yang Dalang, the ancestor of iron, passed down the recipe for prospecting, only to enter the mountain to find the vein. If I am asked to go into the mountains to look for minerals again, I am afraid that it will not work. ”

Qian Yuanwai smiled: "The Sprinkle family just likes Erlang's straightforward temperament!" As long as I know that there is a mine there, I will hire someone to find it, hire a skilled craftsman to smelt iron, and ask Erlang to do these rough work. All you have to do is find out where the veins you are looking for that day are going. This is the way for the immortals, and one sentence will save countless travels. This matter will not take much time, and it will not delay Erlang's trip. ”

Quan Erlang listened, did not hesitate anymore, and arched his hand: "Since the staff said so, it would be unkind to resign in the future." ”

Qian Yuanwai heard the great joy, and the two large walnuts in his hand creaked.