In winter in northern Shaanxi, the sun shines at noon and makes people feel warm and they are too lazy to move.

In the past, it was almost the end of October. Most of the families in Hekou Fort had no farm work, but were just preparing to survive the following winter and started planting wheat after the first month.

But now the young and strong people in Hekou Fort are either clearing the river in Huilongwan or repairing the official road leading to Shenmu Fort. The men who used to bask in the sun are working enthusiastically, no longer as lazy as before.

At the gate of the fortress, Gao Jin left the horse army to guard the house in the fortress. When he went to Shenmu Fort, he brought all his friends, including Chen Sheng and Wang Dou. Everyone wore leather armor and chain mail on the outside. The quiver that was good at bows and arrows was filled with arrows. Even the other two teams of servants followed them.

Gao Jin was very alert to Xu Tong. Although the two of them have now solved the misunderstanding and Fan Xiu'an is a middle-aged man, they are also at stake. However, the tragic deaths of his father and uncles reminded him all the time that they must not trust outsiders like Xu Tong, so he brought the strongest force in his hands, enough for him to kill back and forth in Shenmu Fort.

After packing his bags and rushing to the entrance of the Fortress to meet Gao Jin, what he saw was a team of complete infantry and cavalry, which made Fan Xiu'an feel shocked. Gao Jin's black-clothed servants were solemn and killed, and the horse-riding companions behind him were even more powerful.

For a moment, Fan Xiu'an suspected that Gao Jin was going to Shenmubao to kill Xu Tong, Shangguan Qianhu, instead of sending the car to the head and collecting his official waist card.

"Brother Gao, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Fan Xiu'an stepped forward and said hello, Gao Jin bowed back and replied with a smile, "Brother Fan is just here. We are setting off now and we can arrive at Shenmu Fort before dark."

Shenmu Fort is a military fort, much larger than Hekou Fort. It is about the same as a small county town. The Qianhusou Yamen is located in a military camp and is also the inner city of Shenmu Fort. Qianhusou like Xu Tong, like the county magistrates in the county town, live in the yamen.

After a few polite words, Gao Jin and Fan Xiu'an took the team to set off. In addition to the big cart equipped with the Tartar heads, there were four more cars out. Gao Jin's two teams of servants got into the car in four groups. If they were rushing to the road, they would be able to arrive at Shenmu Fort before the evening, which would save the trouble of calling the door.

Fan Xiu'an took away the coal stove in the wing room, so he naturally couldn't hide it from Gao Jin. However, Gao Jin had no time to talk to Fan Xiu'an. Anyway, he was happy to see coal stoves and honeycomb coal being promoted. The climate in northern Shaanxi was particularly cold in winter. According to Gao Jin's memory, he might be able to reach minus twenty-five degrees Celsius at the coldest time.

The group left the Hekou Fort. On the already repaired official road, Gao Jin and Fan Xiu'an rode their horses and walked side by side.

"The coal stove made by Brother Gao is a good thing. I wonder if I can let me manage it on my behalf?"

"What are you talking about Brother Fan? Since Brother Fan looks down on the coal stove, just sell it!"

It is similar to Fan Xiu'an's guess. Gao Jin doesn't like to owe everyone favors, so this coal stove is the benefit he gives to Fan Xiu'an. If Fan Xiu'an doesn't mention it himself, he will take the initiative to talk to Fan Xiu'an.

"Does Brother Gao know that the coal stove business looks inconspicuous, but it is actually..."

Fan Xiu'an was still tentative, wanting to see what Gao Jin's vision was. If it was as he guessed, then Gao Jin would really deserve his careful treatment.

"I understand what Brother Fan meant. Although this coal stove is small, if it is sold to thousands of households, the daily consumption of honeycomb coal in the future will be the big part of making money, and it will also drive the output of coal mines in the Shaanxi boundary. The benefits are...

Although Fan Xiu'an's face was quiet, his heart was like a storm. Gao Jin knew that after the business of this coal stove and honeycomb coal became bigger, it would impress the great men who were mining in Shaanxi and connect it together.

"Brother Fan, to be honest, this business is only possible for the Guizhou Business Group. If you change to me, it will never be possible."

Gao Jin had thought that he had taken the coal stove to sell it, but now there is no intellectual property protection, so coal stoves and honeycomb coal are not anything with much technical content. As long as it is dismantled, it can be understood. It is not difficult to imitate it.

Only by relying on the financial resources and connections of the Suide Merchants Group, Fan Xiu'an might be able to monopolize this business so that he can get the most benefits.

Since that's the case, why don't Gao Jin do a favor and give this "great benefit" to Fan Xiu'an, otherwise he would not make much money by selling coal stoves himself, but instead he would have lost the opportunity to show goodwill to Fan Xiu'an.

"Since that's the case, I'm not polite in this business."

Seeing that Gao Jin was speaking honestly, Fan Xiu'an thanked in a low voice, whether it was a coal stove or a honeycomb coal, the greatest value in his eyes was not how much money he could earn in the future, but how to use these two things to give him the opportunity to connect the powerful people in the northwest to the Suide Merchants Gang, and everyone formed a joint interest, and then manipulating the coal price would be a wealth of gold and silver.

But now this is just his idea, but after all, Gao Jin gave him this opportunity, so Fan Xiu'an was very satisfied with Gao Jin. Even if Gao Jin was very scheming and a hero, his generousness to be willing to give up interests means that cooperation with Gao Jin is definitely not a loss.

"Brother Fan, I have some ideas about this business. I wonder if you are willing to listen to it?"

"Brother Gao said it's right."

Fan Xiu'an dared not underestimate Gao Jin's vision now. When he heard that Gao Jin had some ideas about the coal stove and honeycomb coal business, he was even more unexpected surprise. He didn't know what other benefits he could have been able to imagine.

"Brother Fan should know that Mr. Guan from the Sihai Warehouse has kindness to me. If it weren't for Mr. Guan, I wouldn't be able to take over this Gubei Village."

"Now Mr. Guan has returned to Camel City. Although he will support his hometown in the future and get Sun Yi to take care of his grandchildren, Mr. Guan is an old man from the General's Mansion after all, and has a close relationship with the eldest son. The business of this coal stove and honeycomb coal seems inconspicuous, but it is a long-lasting benefit."

"I mean, if Brother Fan is free, you might as well go to Camel City to see Mr. Xiaguan again."

After Gao Jin said something, Fan Xiu'an also thought about it. The Suide Merchant Gang wanted to make a relationship with the General's Office because of the pressure from the Shanxi merchants in Datong Prefecture. It is certainly good to do this, but it is not a big deal if it cannot be done. It's just that the opportunity is in front of him. If he doesn't try it, he will never be willing to do it.

"Thank you, Brother Gao, for your advice. I will go to Camel City to visit Mr. Xiaguan in a few days."

Fan Xiu'an looked up and said, if you want to make a profit by controlling coal prices, you really need to have a backer like the General Mansion behind it. Which of the great men who can mine coal in the northwest territory is easy to use? He can be more confident when he goes to lobby.

When Gao Jin saw Fan Xiu'an responding, he laughed. Mr. Guan was kind to him and he should repay him. What's more, if Mr. Guan can maintain a certain position in the General Office because of this, it will be beneficial for him.

Riding on the horse, the two of them laughed tacitly, and Fan Xiu'an couldn't help but say, "Brother Gao, if you are doing business, you must be a powerful person."

"Brother Fan has been awarded, but Brother Fan should not forget it. I am actually a merchant."

When he heard Gao Jin call himself a disciple of a merchant and did not treat him as a lowly at all, Fan Xiu'an couldn't help but laugh, "Well said, I'm wrong."

The Gao family caravan has been doing business outside the wall for more than ten years. It is reasonable to say that Gao Jin is a disciple of a merchant, but his attitude of not treating merchants as a cheap business is what Fan Xiu'an admires the most. Even though Fan Xiu'an is already the boss of the Suide Business Gang who can chat and laugh with the commander of the ward, he knows that those Qiu Ba and the masters in the yamen still look down on merchants like him who are full of money.

As he walked along the way, Gao Jin and Fan Xiu'an had a happy chat. Fan Xiu'an traveled around the world and had a lot of experiences. Usually, he was too lazy to talk about what he saw and heard, but at Gao Jin, he spoke flirtedly, because the obedient people were different, and the spirit of the people he spoke was also different.

Fan Xiu'an obviously feels that there are not many opportunities like this, because most of the time, Gao Jin looks sophisticated and calm, and knows a lot of things. There are very few things he says but Gao Jin doesn't know.

After leaving the ground of Hekou Fort, the road was suddenly extremely desolate and dilapidated, not as vibrant as in Hekou Fort. Gao Jin and his group were riding horses, and even the two teams of servants were riding cars. In less than half a day, they walked more than twenty miles until a rush shop was in a hurry before getting off the horse and resting.

The servants jumped out of the car, and their faces turned pale. Although they didn't have to walk in the car, they couldn't feel much more comfortable when they were all over the way.

"Do you have forage here?"

The old shopkeeper under Fan Xiu'an went to the emergency delivery shop, threw some broken silver and asked the shop manager.

"There are some forages, but there are more horses on your side, so I'm afraid it's not enough!"

The shop owner weighed the amount after buying the silver and immediately smiled on his face. Although the size of the shop was not as big as the post station, they also raised a few horses, so there was no shortage of the forage. However, Gao Jin and his group had about forty horses, which was not enough.

"It doesn't matter if it's not enough, just feed those horses that are pulling the cart."

The old shopkeeper was not picky either. The emergency delivery shop usually only raised two or three horses to pass on documents. No matter how much food is prepared, it would not be possible to meet their needs.

"Okay, don't worry, we will definitely feed you the horses."

The shop manager responded and shouted the men under the shop who were leaning against the table basking in the sun, "I can't get up and feed my horses, a bunch of lazy people!"

As the shop owner scolded, several shop soldiers got up lazily and went out to feed the horses. They were the second sons of military households in nearby fortresses. The family was unwilling to support them anymore, and they were exempted from some corvee service, so they were sent to the pawn shop soldiers.
Chapter completed!