A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 201 Wu Family Big Melon
At the end of the year,

Snow falls in Chang'an.

Li Yi returned to Chang'an, and the carriage rolled through the streets of Chang'an.

The carriage jolted, causing the copper bells on the shaft to jingle, startling a few crows that were foraging in the snow under the wall.

In the carriage, wicker baskets were filled with cured meat. The fat that oozed out of the cured meat gave off the unique burnt, salty and fresh aroma of the cured meat, which drifted in the wind.

Years ago, Li Yi returned to Beijing and gave gifts to every relative and friend.

A bag of Yushukawa osmanthus ball crystal rice, a bag of Heshui water chestnuts, a bag of Wuji bean curd sheets, some preserved meats, two jars of persimmon cakes, and a box of soap, all homemade.

The residence of Wu Shiling, the Junior Minister of Agriculture, is located in Liquanfang in the north of the city.
The old servant pushed open the door and invited him in. From behind the screen wall came the unique aroma of roasted mugwort. The old servant of the Wu family said that this was the ancestral method of the Wu family in Taiyuan to drive away epidemics. Atractylodes and dried ginger were simmered in the bronze incense burner, and mugwort was often roasted.

"Mr. Qianshui is here," the warrior Leng came out in wooden clogs.

Lao Wu was very happy that Li Yi came to give him gifts. It was not because he liked the gifts, but because he liked Li Yi as a young man.

"Come on, just have a couple of drinks with me."

Li Yi visited Lao Wu, and he had something to ask for.
"My nephew originally opened a school in Yushukawa Township. The local people donated money to form a society and bought some land to collect rent to support the school's expenses."

Li Yi said to the business, "Although Yusu Township is only forty miles away from Chang'an, it is inconvenient for villagers to seek medical treatment when they have a headache or fever. I have discussed with the villagers and decided to use the money from the society to build a pharmacy in the township and hire a few doctors to sit in the clinic.

Selling medicines in the front and preparing them in the back not only helps the villagers to see doctors more conveniently, but also allows the school to earn more money. I heard that the Wu family also has a medicine shop in the West Market, and they also sell raw medicines.

When Lao Wu heard this, he said, "This is a good thing, but it's also a small matter."

Ancient medicine also has several major links. The first is some relatively famous medicinal material distribution centers. Most of the medicinal materials are raw herbs, which have not been processed. Raw herbs from all over the country that have not been processed are gathered in these medicinal material distribution centers.

Then specialized drug dealers purchase and process it and sell it to pharmacies across the country.

Pharmacies are terminal stores, but there are also shops selling raw medicines and cooked medicines. Some pharmacies even use the front-shop-back-workshop model, selling medicines in the front and processing them in the back, and have doctors on duty.

In the East and West Markets of Chang'an, there are many pharmacies and even specialized pharmacies, such as children's medicine, obstetric medicine, eye drops, facial cleansing medicine, oral and throat medicine, etc. There are also pharmacies that treat special diseases, such as wind medicine, malnutrition medicine, hernia medicine, etc. There are even stores selling specialized medicines, such as cinnabar medicine and black plum medicine.

Chang'an has a large population, a large market, and a more detailed division of labor. There are skilled sellers, people responsible for making medicine, and people responsible for treating patients and prescribing medicines. Some large pharmacies, such as Song Aqing's pharmacy, have many doctors sitting in the clinic to see patients. They sell a full range of medicines with excellent quality. There are also large pharmaceutical workshops and even several branch shops, with the main shop producing medicines to supply each branch shop.

The Wu family was once a powerful family in Bingzhou. Wu Shigui also made a fortune in the timber business. The Wu family also had a pharmacy business, selling both raw and cooked medicines.
When they arrived in Chang'an, there were naturally still pharmacies operating.

Even in several major medicinal materials distribution centers such as Guanzhong, Hedong, and Shannan, they have their own special purchasing teams and familiar relationship networks.

Li Yi's pharmacy had the help of Dong Xiucai, who introduced several doctors and pharmacists. Regardless of their abilities, they were sufficient for the time being, but they still had no channels for the medicinal materials.
Purchasing directly from Chang'an Pharmacy is definitely not a long-term solution.

If we can use the Wu family's channels, take a ride and purchase some medicinal materials, and then come back to process them, or get the prepared medicines from the Wu family first, it will definitely be more stable and the cost will be lower.

"Drink, a small country pharmacy, how much medicine can it use? Send someone over later and I'll have the manager connect us. Drink."

It may be a difficult task for Li Yi, but for Lao Wu, it is indeed not worth mentioning.

Lao Wu was too disdainful to talk about the specific details, so Li Yi just smiled and accompanied Lao Wu to drink and chat. Lao Wu was also the kind of person who didn't care much about his official career. He was old and had resigned a long time ago, but the emperor did not agree.

"Your society, count me in, I'll donate 100,000 yuan worth of medicine to you."

Lao Wu was very interested in Li Yi's school, so he generously offered to donate 100 strings of cash.

"Thank you very much, Lord Wu,"

"It's a small matter. You have many children in Wuji School. I can lend you two pediatricians."

Although Li Yi and Lao Wu have not been together for a long time, it must be said that they are quite compatible. Lao Wu is a humble person, just like an old man in the countryside, and he is also straightforward and generous.

"The golden potatoes in the greenhouse are growing well. I've already cleared a plot of land in my garden. After the golden potatoes are harvested, I'll plant another plot in my garden. The yield is 2,000 to 3,000 kilograms per mu, which means at least two harvests a year. They're not picky about the soil and are drought-resistant. It's truly an incredible auspicious sign."

His four brothers, three of whom were dukes, were only given two golden potatoes. His fourth brother, Wu Shigui, was among the meritorious officials of Taiyuan Yuanmou and was given one. He was close to the water and got the moon first, as he was in the palace when the golden potatoes were distributed and also received one.

As they were chatting, the steward said that Shilang and his wife had arrived.

Wu Shigui was a little thin, and his wife Xiangli was even thinner.

Xiangli was his first wife and gave birth to four sons for Wu Shigui.

"Brother, do you have guests?"

"Uncle Qianshui, you know him too, he's my friend regardless of age difference," Lao Wu said to his brother with a smile.

Lao Wu looked haggard and looked very bad.

Originally, Wu Shigui's career was going smoothly and he should not be so haggard. As a timber merchant, he only managed to get a captain of Yingyang Mansion with his own money at the end of the dynasty. But after meeting Li Yuan and getting angel investment, in just two years, he got a founding duke of Yiyuan County, a minister of the imperial court, and was also in charge of the treasury department.

He even received an iron certificate of immunity from death, which could save him from death.

Although the Wu brothers said that their ancestors were descendants of the youngest son of King Ping of Zhou, and that their ancestors were officials from generation to generation, their seventh-generation ancestor was Marquis Guiyi, their sixth-generation ancestor was Duke Jinyang, their fifth-generation ancestor was Duke Shouyang, and their fourth-generation and third-generation ancestors all inherited the title of Duke Shouyang.
It was not until the fall of Northern Qi that the family's hereditary title was lost under the reign of his grandfather Wu Jian. Wu Jian entered the Later Zhou Dynasty and served as a military advisor to Prince Yongchang. Later, Wu Hua, the father of Wu Shigui, served as the chancellor of Luoyang. Of course, this is what the Wu family said themselves.

However, rumors circulated that the Wu family was not a prominent family at all, but rather a Shanrong clan that had surrendered to the Northern Wei. Their hometown, Wenshui County, was formerly Shouyang County, established by Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty to settle the Shanrong. Shouyang was also established south of Daliang City. At the end of the Xiaochang reign, Shuozhou fell and the capital was temporarily settled in Shouyang.

In particular, Wu Nian, the seventh-generation ancestor of Wu Shigui, was named Marquis of Guiyi at that time precisely because he was the leader of the Shanrong who surrendered to the inner court.

Of course, the Wu family refused to admit it.

It's like some people say that Wuhua was originally a timber businessman. Emperor Yang of Sui wanted to build the eastern capital Luoyang and needed a large amount of timber. Wuhua presented a lot of timber to Emperor Yang Guang, who specially appointed Wuhua as the Luoyang magistrate. Wuhua and his son Wu Shigui provided timber for the construction of Luoyang and made great efforts.

Later, Wu Shigui offended Yang Su, and was able to escape disaster thanks to the protection of Yang Xiong and Niu Hong, but the father and son had to return to their hometown.

Whether these things are true or false, outsiders cannot tell.

But Wu Shigui and his father were indeed wealthy people from Hedong who were engaged in the timber business. If the Wu family was really a wealthy family, he would not have needed to sell timber at all.

Of course, Wu Shigui's most successful business was not participating in the construction of Luoyang. He contributed money and effort, but in the end, both he and his father almost lost everything and were basically slaughtered like pigs.

Their most successful business was investing in Li Yuan and founding the country.

With his current status and position, he should be very happy. There is no reason for him to look so haggard.

"Don't be sad, your child's death is destined by fate. This is the end of your relationship as father and son," Lao Wu comforted his brother.

It turned out that Wu Shigui had been following the emperor in founding the country for the past two years and his official career had soared, but two of the four sons born to him by his first wife Xiangli died one after another.

One of them died last year, and another one died this year, leaving only the two brothers Yuanqing and Yuanshuang.

Xiangli cried all day long.
Wu Shigui also felt deeply sorry for his wife, and actually came here today to ask his eldest brother for help.

Since coming to Chang'an, Xiangli had lost two of her four sons. She felt that Chang'an was unlucky, so she wanted to return to her hometown of Wenshui and even bring the bodies of her two children back to her hometown for reburial.

Wu Shigui wanted his wife to stay in Chang'an.
There is no reason for a couple to live apart, and Yuan Qingyuanshuang is naughty and needs discipline.

"Sister-in-law, try this ginseng and antler fermented glutinous rice wine." Wu Shiling gestured for the maid to present a celadon bowl. "The recipe in Master Sun's Thousand Golden Prescriptions is the most soothing."

The porcelain spoon made a crisp sound when it hit the bowl, and Xiangli suddenly laughed sadly: "Can your soul be at peace? Can your life be at peace?" She poked her husband's heart with a skinny finger. "The night the child fell ill, you were having a great time drinking and listening to music in Yang's villa, but did you remember that there was a seriously ill child at home?"

The room was dead silent.

Wu Shigui said somewhat embarrassedly, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm talking nonsense, how could I be talking nonsense? Back then, when you were in Luoyang, you were in love with Yang. I was redundant. I know that my family is from a poor family, and we were a good match for your Wu family.

But later, your family's business grew bigger, your father became the chancellor of Dongdu, and you also fell in love with the daughter of Hongnong Yang family, so you disliked me. Now you are a meritorious official of Taiyuan Yuanmou, an important official in the court, and a county duke, so I am even less worthy of you.
Back then, you offended Yang Su, and it was that Yang who came forward to ask her uncle, Prince Guan, to protect you. For this, she had to agree to her father, Yang Da, to sever ties with you. You left Luoyang sadly. Yes, I have to thank Yang that time too. If she hadn't helped me, I might have become a widow, or even a criminal, with my children and my father and my home all gone.

Now that you are powerful and influential, if you want to rekindle your old relationship with her, I will be in the way, and even the child will be unnecessary."

Xiangli family has also been suppressed for a long time,
In front of my uncle, I poured out all the grievances in my heart.

This gave Li Yi, an outsider, a big surprise.

I didn’t expect that Wu Shigui had such a romantic past. He had an affair with Prince Guan’s daughter?
Prince Guan Yang Xiong, isn't that the father of Yang Gongren, who was previously brought back to Chang'an by Xiao Shisan, and then named Duke Guan and Yellow Gate Minister by Li Yuan, and was also appointed as the Governor-General of Liangzhou?

Yang Da was Yang Xiong's younger brother and once served as prime minister and minister of state.

Yang, is that Yang Gongren’s cousin?

It is said that Yang Gongren's younger brother Yang Shidao also followed him back to Chang'an, and then Li Yuan promised the newly widowed Princess Guiyang to Yang Shidao, becoming a relative of his old friend.

Yang,

Li Yi remembered that the mother of the historical Empress Wu Zetian was Yang. It was said that she was in her forties when she married the widowed Wu Shihuo. The most amazing thing was that she got married in her forties and gave birth to three daughters in one go.

Could it be this Yang?

Yang Guang built Luoyang at the beginning of Daye, which was more than ten years ago. It can be estimated that Yang was probably only about twenty years old when he met Wu Shigui.

Big melon,

What a big melon.

Wu Shi Leng coughed several times, interrupting his sister-in-law's accusations.

Wu Shigui also smiled helplessly at Li Yi, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Lord Qianshui."

Li Yi smiled back, indicating that all men understand.

(End of this chapter)