It is said that after the Baietan Investment Promotion Conference ended that day, most of the guests dispersed and went home amidst the discussion. However, there were also some who were eager to stay after the conference at their own expense. These people had simple purposes and many parties to the conference.

Blending, gathering as much information as possible.

Zongben is one of them.

Zongben is an authentic native of Guangzhou City, and comes from a wealthy family. He is in his mid-thirties, neither tall nor fat, and has a plain appearance. He has a short beard on both cheeks. He wears an ordinary southern silk robe, speaks softly and politely, and has a handsome face.

He always has a professional smile on his face, and at first glance he looks very inconspicuous.

Although he is the seventh young master from a wealthy family in Nancheng, Guangzhou, Zongben can only be regarded as a younger brother among the wealthy businessmen attending this meeting. Although Zongben has some background, he is only responsible for the family store business.

The chief shopkeeper, so he cannot actually represent the family.

In fact, even coming to Baietan to attend the conference this time was Zongben's personal move. He had visited the organizer of the conference many times before, and he also asked for connections to get an invitation - the one invited by Chuanzhong this time.

The target is "powerful" local people in Guangdong. Zongben's net worth is not enough and the social resources he can mobilize are not enough, so he was not originally on the meeting list.

After the meeting, Zongben stayed at the Baietan Hotel for one more day. During this period, in addition to communicating with colleagues, he tried his best to participate in every small event organized by the organizer and did his best to collect information.

It was not until the early morning of the next day after the meeting that the shopkeeper Zong Benzong "harassed" the organizer's clerk for the last time and then walked out of the hotel with a "big plan."

Standing on the transparent and reflective marble steps that reflected human figures, Zongben first glanced at the misty and rainy Pearl River and Guangzhou City in the distance, and then looked back at the strange-looking buildings that brought him endless ambition and opportunities.

Finally letting out a long sigh, he said to Bandang, "Let's go."

After walking down the steps of the hotel, Zongben ignored the taxis parked on the side of the road. The drivers of these four-wheeled carriages all wore bright red cardigans, and the carriages were equipped with two horses. The carriages also had glass windows, which was actually what people in later generations often used.

The kind you see in British movies and TV series.

Zongben, who deliberately did not take a car, took two companions with him and soon walked on the Binjiang Road under construction.

Binjiang Road, which has been under construction for a long time, is now slowly but firmly extending towards Guangzhou. The charming road paved with machine-made blue bricks has exquisite stone-carved railings on one side and long green flower beds on the other. In addition to the buildings,

Except for the difference in materials, everything is built in a style familiar to later generations.

Zongben just walked along the Binjiang Road in the morning. Almost half an hour later, Binjiang Road came to an end. In front of him was a construction site. The ground was piled with blue bricks and stones, and many workers wearing orange vests were working.

.

Stopping, Zongben conveniently sat on the wooden benches that must be found every other section of Binjiang Road. Facing the river, he folded his hands and placed them on his lower abdomen, falling into silence.

On the Pearl River, there is an endless stream of civilian boats going up and down the river. Occasionally, a speedboat with black smoke and white sails will pass quickly from the center of the river. When the civilian boats along the way see it, they all get out of the way.

As if observing the scenery, as if contemplating, Zongben just sat silently in the warm breeze of the southern moon. The face of the shopkeeper, who was usually full of smiles, was now full of solemnity, until he was interrupted by a burst of laughter.

Suddenly alert, Zongben turned around and found that the loud laughter came from the mouth of a road construction worker not far away.

The new district was built according to the standard urban specifications of later generations. Although many places still cannot break away from the basic appearance of the seventeenth century, all the places that can be changed have been changed.

Of course, this includes road construction workers.

Dyed with vegetable pigments, not so bright orange vests, labor protection gloves, cloth shoes and trousers made of local cheap homespun cloth, these workers first of all dressed up and tried their best to reflect the era in the public's memory.

Get closer.

A dozen workers all had smiles on their faces. Each of them was holding a large porcelain bowl. Next to him was a man who looked like a cook, scooping out the bucket full of food with a big iron spoon and pouring it into the bowl one by one. This one

At that moment, someone said something else, and the crowd burst into laughter again.

Zongben's eyes fell on the food in the worker's bowl.

As a successful businessman who always pays attention to the market, Zongben is naturally no stranger to potatoes, a new ration that is related to the national economy and people's livelihood.

Legend has it that it was a new grain brought back from overseas by the Cao family. It was quickly promoted on a large scale in Fujian and Guangdong areas. The speed was staggering. The yield was high and the taste was good. Not only the rich would try it, but more importantly, the poor

People can keep their stomach full (high in calories). The image of potato is now well known to the majority of the lower class people.

The porcelain bowls Zongben saw just now were also filled with half a bowl of golden potato cubes, and then the cook topped them with a large spoonful of mixed vegetables and minced fish and shrimp.

Here in the New District, everyone who works for the Cao family has three square meals a day. Zongben knows this very well. In fact, this kind of thing is just like the potato and a lot of news about the New District. No one believed it at first.

, but the natives soon learned that this was true.

"Duandi is a good bowl of rice."

Zongben nodded secretly. Not only did he see with his own eyes the food situation of the people at the bottom of the new district today, but he also felt a vitality that had never been seen before in the Ming Dynasty from the happy faces and powerful movements of these people.

"What Master Cao said is right, if you are rich and strong, you must first get rich before you can be strong!"

Zongben thought of this, stood up, no longer hesitated, put his hands behind his back and said, "Go home."

"Ah, sir, why don't you go back to the shop first?"

"No, follow me back home first. I want to see my eldest brother."

"yes!"

In this way, Zongben took his followers on the road to Guangzhou City. Determined, he stopped dragging his feet this time. He quickly hailed a high-end taxi on the street, went all the way to the pier, and then took a shuttle boat across.

Jiang, before noon, the sect leader returned to the gate of the sect mansion in the south city of Guangzhou with a group of three people.

After getting off the slow sedan chair, Zongben felt more and more the incompatible slow pace of Guangzhou's old town and new district.

But now he has no time to think about these profound social issues - the majestic gate of the clan, painted black and matched with shiny brass door nails, is right in front of him.

After taking a deep breath, Zongben, the concubine of the Zong family, walked into the mansion that gave birth to him and brought him endless hardships without any hesitation.

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Chapter completed!