In Zhongzhou City, the mansion of Dasheng Goldman Sachs has a unique atmosphere of grandeur.

In the central hall, more than ten shopkeepers from Dashenggao and their families have gathered.

There is an incense table at the east end against the wall, and a large iron pot with boiling white soup, and a fat sheep is being cooked. There is no wine, ginger or other things to remove the smell of fish in the soup, but salt and wild onions are sprinkled in the soup to give it a strong smell of sheep.

The taste and aroma are passionately intertwined.

This is Dashengao’s annual sheep’s head feast.

This custom of Dasheng Gao originated from the time when Dasheng Gao was founded. One year, a group of brothers were in embarrassment and could not afford to eat meat for a long time. It was snowing, so the ancestors of the Sheng family came up with a way to use all their resources.

With the extra money they bought, they bought a sheep and pretended to be a wild sheep. They planned to sneak in when the brothers were having a banquet... The excuse was that God was helping them. Seeing that they couldn't eat meat, they all sent a sheep to their door when it was snowing.

The morale of those brothers who were low at that time was suddenly shaken, and Dashengao managed to survive in this way.

Therefore, Dasheng Gao's later grand banquets were held immediately after the news of the first snowfall in Shanyin Province came.

However, this year, Dashengao's Sheep's Head Banquet was not as usual and was held much earlier than in previous years. It had already started before the first snow fell in Shanyin Province.

Sheng Manying, the boss of Dashenggao, didn't explain anything, but every shopkeeper of Dashenggao who came here knew why.

As in previous years, Sheng Manying brought her whole family to see the dozen or so storekeepers who had been working hard for Da Shenggao for a year. After a lot of fun, they cut off the sheep's head with a knife and cut out a piece of hot mutton to chew.

The feast begins.

For a moment, the hall was filled with cheers and commotion, more than a dozen shopkeepers were cutting meat one after another, and stacks of hot pot dishes were placed on the table like running water.

Everything seemed to be no different from previous years, but after a few glasses of wine, the banquet gradually became silent.

All the shopkeepers, including the children who had just started learning to write, had their eyes on Sheng Manying.

Sheng Manying picked up the wine glass, then filled her own glass even more, stood up and drank it all in one gulp, then bowed deeply to all the shopkeepers and family members present: "I'm sorry, everyone...

I’m dragging you all down.”

All the shopkeepers felt a little bitter in their noses when they found out about Sheng Manying's decision.

"In the coming year, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to find another job. I'm really sorry for you... After the banquet, I prepared some silver coins for you. I value affection more than courtesy. I hope you won't dislike it."

Sheng Manying's voice trembled slightly, but there was a sincere smile on her face.

There was silence for a long time.

A sigh sounded.

Mu Zongli, the tall shopkeeper of Dasheng who looked much older than last year, stood up with a wine glass in his hand.

"Big Boss, I'd like to toast you with this drink."

He drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, "I'm already old." He breathed out the breath of alcohol and said slowly: "After working for companies like Dashengao and Da Dexiang, I don't want to go to other companies.

If you are working here, just take a rest. Thank you for your kindness. It’s just that thanks to the kindness of your boss these years, your life must be fine... If your boss still treats me as a friend, don’t talk to me anymore when you are in urgent need of money.

Raising this kind of money is considered as money to send An Lao away."

"Big boss, we also respect you..." During the dinner, there was a feeling of sadness and reluctance.

…

There is a village among the fertile fields in the south of Yunqin.

There is a stream in front of the village, and beside the stream there are large areas of farmland that have just been burned and plowed.

In the two low rooms closest to the farmland, an old woman who was bedridden and on her deathbed forcefully moved her head away and let out her embroidered cloth pillow.

Her son and daughter-in-law, who were lying in front of her bed, knew she was about to die and couldn't help crying loudly.

Her son was wearing a clean moon-white cotton robe and looked like he should be a private school teacher in the countryside.

He knew that his mother had been frugal in her life, and the straw-core cloth pillow she was sleeping on contained her life savings... This savings was not much, but it would not increase his burden anymore and was enough to bear the funeral expenses after her death.

The face of the old woman with a sallow complexion turned red inexplicably.

The old man who had been bedridden for a long time had truly reached the moment of her death when she finally regained her sight. Her eyes, which were already a little blurry and blurred, became brighter.

"Go to Shopkeeper Liu..."

She moved her head and let the pillow out, but she used her last strength to lean her face against the pillow and made such a sound.

The son and daughter-in-law who were lying in front of her were stunned.

This is the real coffin book that Yun Qin said, mother...

The son was stunned, but the old woman who was about to die became angry. She raised her hand that she had been unable to lift for a long time, as if she wanted to hit the son she loved most in her life. Her voice was as angry as silk.

, but it is particularly shocking, "I have worked hard all my life, I don't know how much hardship I have suffered... I asked you to study... Did your reading go into the dog's belly... Da Dexiang closed the shop for us

How can we not pay back the money we owe on credit... If the coffin is thinner, I can feel at ease while lying down..."

The old woman's hand froze in the air, fell down, and would never be raised again.

The son who was kneeling in front of her bed could no longer hear her scoldings or the principles of life she told her. He could only nod with tears, letting his old mother leave this world with peace of mind.

…

In the north of Yunqin, which is far away from the southern provinces, there is also an ordinary village.

Apple trees are planted everywhere in this village, and the harvested apples are sold to many big cities in Yunqin.

In this village, there is the only blacksmith named Ding Tiezhu.

His name is Tie Zhu. When he grew up, he dealt with iron blocks and lumps of iron all day long and became a blacksmith.

In the eyes of other people in the village, he is an extremely stout man who looks fierce and has an extremely loud voice, but in fact he has a good temper and is gentle to his wife and the elderly at home, but sometimes he has a stubborn temper.

people.

This stubbornness is reflected in the fact that he likes to eat fat pork belly. If he can't buy pork belly, he would rather not eat it. If he is forced to taste the leg meat, he may get angry.

This kind of stubbornness is reflected in the fact that it is difficult to change what he has determined.

On this day, he cut down a lot of pine wood and prepared to burn some charcoal for winter use.

So although it was already very cold, he was still ready to take a shower as he was covered in stinky sweat.

However, when he saw the piece of soap handed to him by his wife, his dark brows furrowed deeply, and he said in a rough voice with displeasure: "Why isn't it from Da Dexiang?"

The wife was in a hurry to add firewood and heat hot water. She was afraid that her husband would catch a cold, so she casually responded, "This belongs to Tang Qingshan, it's about the same."

Ding Tiezhu's face darkened and he said nothing.

While adding firewood, some wives who were blinded by the fireworks did not pay attention.

"Snapped!"

Ding Tiezhu slapped the soap paste on the stove with great force, making a loud sound, and said angrily: "I won't wash it anymore!"

Only then did his wife see his livid face, and grabbed him as he walked out. Looking at his soaked cotton clothes, she felt distressed and wronged, and tears began to well up in her eyes, "It's okay, you are angry at me again.

If you have any anger, you should wash it off first before talking about it."

A wife's temperament is gentle, and men are the easiest to soften. However, Ding Tiezhu still straightened his neck and said angrily: "It's almost the same! Can Tang Qingshan's and Da Dexiang's be the same! The old lady just has long hair and short knowledge! This

Is it because the things are the same but different? What has Dadexiang done? What has a company like Tang Qingshan done? Dadexiang allows people of all sizes in the southern provinces to have hot porridge to drink, so I must buy Dadexiang.

Xiang’s soap! That’s why I understand this! It’s not a question of whether things are the same. Do you understand this?”

"I understand." The woman felt distressed and did not argue. She just pushed him towards the stove. "I remember that I will buy Da Dexiang's for you next time...but today it was because Aunt Chu didn't have any. And Aunt Chu also said,

Da Dexiang’s shop in the city has closed. It will be difficult to buy Da Dexiang’s soap in the future..."

Ding Tiezhu was stunned: "Dade Xiang's shop is closed? How could it be closed? It will be difficult to buy in the future...Dade Xiang's shop will not be opened after it is closed?"

The woman wiped her tears, wiped his clammy body with a dry towel, and said softly: "It was said that it was because there were too many credit accounts and too many losses, and there was really no way to turn around, so the shop was closed... It is not a store in the city.

They say everything outside is closed.”

"The deficit is so big...can't it be filled?" Ding Tiezhu asked blankly: "Isn't it just the rice and noodle business that owes money...Dadexiang's business is so big, and everyone uses his soap, so this soap can also be used

Just keep making a lot of money. If you can't sustain it, you should close down the rice and noodle shop at most. How can you close down the soap and grocery store as well?"

The most powerful blacksmith in the village could not figure out the reason.

His woman, like him, has never read a book and cannot answer his questions.

He finished the shower in a state of despair. He didn't even rub the old dirt on his body. He just went to cool off the cold in confusion, put on his clothes and went to the home of the most knowledgeable old village chief.

"Doing business is not like blacksmithing, where every hammer is a hammer."

The stooped old man sighed and slowly explained to Ding Tiezhu, "It doesn't matter if you can't pay the wages. You have to spend some silver to buy some raw materials... Even if you can get them on credit first, you may not be able to pay them back later.

I won’t always give you credit. Moreover, if you do business, others will think that you will definitely fail. They are afraid that you will not be able to pay off the debt you owed before, but they will rush you to settle the bill, which will make things worse. And for a business as big as Da Dexiang,

In many places, there are links within each other. If there is a problem in one link and there is not enough money to replace it, the whole chain will be broken. With so many mouths to eat, it is very difficult for Da Dexiang to be able to sustain it for so long.

It’s easy…these soap shops were already helping to hold it together before, but now they can’t hold on even if they are just these helpers.”

The old village chief explained in great detail, even explaining that even if a place's soap paste is made, if there is a problem with the transportation link, it will only continue to lose money... and the business will not be able to continue. Ding Tiezhu heard a lot, and after listening

Very carefully, although he still seemed to understand, but he could at least be sure that what his woman said was true. Da Dexiang was really going to close down. The man who was once talked about by many people in the streets and alleys

Shopkeeper Da Dexiang, who was happy to talk, seemed to be at the end of his rope and there was nothing he could do to save his life.

Why is a company as big and good as Da Dexiang closed down?
To be continued...