Three Kingdoms

Pang Hong had just come out of Wufang Dojo, looked at the cold street, and sighed.

The surrounding shops are open, but the business has obviously dropped a lot. The excitement of the big stage on the street corner is gone, and the faces of pedestrians on the road are somewhat sad.

Pang Hong, like Zhang Fen and Zhang Bai, is a small person who is obscured by the spotlight of big people.

Outside Wufang Dojo, some laborers who could not find daily work were queuing up to receive the steamed buns distributed by Wufang Dojo.

At the corner of the street, there are patrols on duty.

The war ultimately brought harm to Chang'an.

Pang Hong clasped his hands behind his back like an adult, looked at it for a moment, then shook his head and walked towards the market with a bulky guard behind him.

Although Cao Jun was stopped at Tongguan, the people in the market could not help but be a little worried. These worries were manifested in many aspects, but they were ultimately reflected in the economy.

Originally, Chang'an Sanfu's winter was also busy. There are many people who work part-time in the winter to buy some money for their families, so that during the New Year they can cut an extra piece of meat, buy an extra dime of wine, bring two pieces of cake to their children, and pull a few feet of flowers for their mother-in-law. cloth……

But this winter, many businesses have come to a standstill, and there is little demand for day laborers.

"Find a place to eat. Pang Hong said to the guard beside him, "Where do you go to eat on weekdays?" 』

The guard hesitated for a moment, "Sir, the place I am going to is... a bit more vulgar... why not go to Tianxiang Tower?" 』

"Don't go." Pang Hong said, "Just go where you usually go." 』

The guard nodded, and then directed him to turn to the side of the road.

The two of them arrived at a restaurant next to the west gate of Maoling.

The restaurant is very small, the windows have been replaced by countertops that extend outwards, and the dark brown wooden boards look old. The shopkeeper was busy on the window sill, and greeted the guards repeatedly when he saw them.

There are only four or five tables in the restaurant, and the mats are grey-brown and shiny.

The guard looked at Pang Hong worriedly.

Pang Hong frowned slightly, but said nothing and just sat on the table.

The shopkeeper came over to greet him enthusiastically, and then became a little shrinking under the guard's eyes, and carefully asked Pang Hong what he wanted to eat.

Pang Hong smiled and said, "Can we order food here?" 』

The shopkeeper looked at the guard awkwardly.

The guard smiled and scolded: "You old donkey, hurry up and pick up some fat and thin ones and bring some cakes up!" Let’s bring some ready-made steamed vegetables and warm some fermented glutinous rice! I’ll also have two bowls of porridge and beat it cleanly! If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll blow your mind! 』

"Hey, right!" ” The shopkeeper was obviously relieved and turned back to work.

The food is actually ready-made and warmed on a small stove, so it is served quickly.

Since Feiqian promoted the water-powered mill in Sanfu, Chang'an, people's development of pasta has been like Sun Wukong doing somersaults, traveling thousands of miles in an instant. Various models have been created, although some of them are inevitably It belongs to the dark cuisine series, but there are also some classics...

Such as steamed buns.

The big bun holds everything.

Fortunately, no local certification organization has jumped out to say that Jiamo belongs to them. It’s okay to use the word Jiamo alone or the word “moon” alone, but it won’t work if they are used together, so you have to pay a usage fee and so on...

Just like the emperor's name, it needs to be avoided. Presumably these local organizations feel that they can be compared to the emperor.

The guard looked at Pang Hong with some worry, and then saw Pang Hong take the black pancake and gnaw it without changing his expression, he also smiled and ate together.

Wheat flour that has not been bleached is gray-black, and ordinary shops like this do not specifically screen out the wheat bran in the wheat flour, so it is a bit rough, but the baked dough is still It has a rich and sweet aroma of wheat.

This smell mixed with the taste of meat brings about the satisfaction of human instinct for carbohydrates and fats.

Thick noodles and thin noodles are actually carbohydrates in the end. Pork, beef, or some rare meat. When eaten, they are turned into fat and protein in the stomach, at least 90% of which are similar. In order to pursue that For a 10% difference, some people paid more than 10%.

You get what you pay for, and you get two cents for ten cents. If you want three cents, you have to pay a hundred cents, but you may not be able to get it.

Greed always costs more.

Pang Hong can restrain his greed, so he can still eat rough food.

The shopkeeper was a little nervous and scared at first, but seeing Pang Hong and the guards eating well, the wrinkles on their faces relaxed. He chuckled, rubbed his rough hands, and leaned aside with satisfaction.

For those who open a restaurant, the beautiful scenery they most want to see is naturally the way the diners eat.

However, the shopkeeper soon became bitter because the guard patted the table while paying.

It’s not that the guard wants to eat the King’s meal, it’s that the guard feels that the shopkeeper’s price calculation is wrong because he raised the price on the ground, “You old ass!” Why are prices today more than three times what they were in the past? ! You have to be ignorant of your conscience and I'll see if I don't skin you! 』

The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "My lord, my lord, it's not that this old man has a bad heart, he's not a bad guy!" After Cao Jun came, the price of food increased, and even the pigs were hard to find! Damn Cao Jun did it all! Well, this is all done at a loss! 』

The guard had been living with Pang in the public house for a while, and he didn't know much about the price changes in the market. However, after listening to the shopkeeper's explanation, he thought it made sense, but he still cursed and settled the matter. , but instead of scolding the shopkeeper for being evil, I scolded the shopkeeper for his craftsmanship that had deteriorated and the food was not as delicious as last time.

The shopkeeper was scolded, but he smiled happily. He bent down behind him and apologized all the way, saying that he would do a better job next time. Then he sent Pang Hong and the guards out of the door, and then went back bumpily.

"You've already paid, why are you still scolding him?" Pang Hong asked.

The guard smiled and said: "This is the rule... scolding him for his poor craftsmanship when giving money means that he will come again next time... If he leaves without saying anything, it means he will not come again..."

"Is there such a rule? Pang Hong was doubtful.

The guard said: "That's right, but only old customers understand." 』

Pang Hong nodded.

After another round, Pang Hong re-entered Pang Mansion through the corner door, walked from the side courtyard to the front hall, and saw Pang Tong sitting at the table reading a book.

"Father is well. Pang Hong stepped forward to say hello.

"install. Pang Tong turned over a page of the book and asked, "Is the market fun?" 』

"Not very fun." Pang Hong said, "There are many more people queuing up to receive cooking cakes at Wufang Dojo, but business in the shops in the city is deserted, and the prices in restaurants are three times more expensive than usual..."

"Well..." Pang Tong nodded, his eyes still on the book, "Is there anything else?" 』

Pang Hong's eyes were clear, "I remember... we still have a lot of food stored..."

"Well..." Pang Tong still nodded, his voice calm, "What do you think?" 』

"I think we should take out some food, stabilize the sales in the market, and let the price of food come down..." Pang Hong said, "This way the people can afford to eat... Also, the number of cakes given by Wufang Dojo is also There are too few, so we might as well add some porridge shacks outside the city..."

"It might as well?" "Unknowingly, Pang Tong had put down the book, stared at Pang Hong and asked, "Did anyone teach you these words? 』

Pang Hong shook his head.

"Really not?" Pang Tong asked.

"Not really. Pang Hong replied.

Pang Tong stared at Pang Hong and remained silent for a while.

Pang Hong was a little strange and looked at Pang Tong blankly.

"Hey..." Pang Tong suddenly sighed, "What should I do?" Why are you so stupid? What should we do in the future? 』

"..." Pang Hong was confused.

Seeing Pang Hong's confused expression, Pang Tong closed his eyes and said, "Go, go, go!" Uh-huh...what can I do, what can I do..."

Pang Hong pursed his lips, bowed silently, and retreated outside the hall. After walking for a short while, he stopped, turned around, and ran to the front hall again. After entering the door, he fell down with a bang and said, "My child can't understand!" 』

Pang Hong made a clang and kowtowed on the floor, "Father, please give me some advice!" 』

"Hey..." Pang Tong's expression became more and more disgusted, and his fat face almost wrinkled together, "It's not that you really think you can't understand, but that you feel unconvinced, right?" 』

"The child is not unconvinced. Pang Hong replied.

Pang Tong sighed, "It's all written on his face!" not yet? ! 』

Pang Hong touched his face subconsciously.

"Sigh... If you are like this, what will you do in the future?" Pang Tong covered his head, "I'm so worried... If you hadn't come back just now, you might not be able to survive in Anping for the rest of your life... But you have to come back... Tsk... It's really worrying..."

Pang Hong was confused and couldn't understand what Pang Tong was talking about.

"Come. Sit down. Pang Tong pointed to the seat next to him.

Pang Hong stood up and sat down.

Pang Tong looked at Pang Hong, his eyes showing some care for the mentally retarded, "Hong'er, remember, in the future, you should talk as little as possible and do more, so that you can live longer..."

"Father, you mean...that I am stupid?" Pang Hong frowned.

"You know this now?" Pang Tong sighed, "And the key is that you don't think you're stupid?" 』

"..." Pang Hong was silent, but he was obviously unconvinced. His eyes were bulging and his face was twisted to the side.

"Look..." Pang Tong sighed again, "You are the right one... If you just left directly, it means you have a cowardly character... With the name of the industry left by your father, you don't want to talk to others about it." Even if you argue, others won't offend you easily... Maybe you can still have a reputation of being humble and kind, so it shouldn't be a problem to live your life peacefully... But you just came back! 』

"Come back..." Pang Hong was stunned, "Come back...what's wrong?" 』

“If you don’t understand, ask on the spot instead of coming back and asking after you leave. Pang Tong said slowly, "This is the mistake." 』

Pang Hong argued: "Why is this wrong?" Confucius said that knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, this is knowing. I don’t understand, so I ask, what’s wrong? 』

Pang Tong nodded, "The Master also said, "Learning without thinking will lead to indifference, and thinking without learning will lead to peril. How much have you learned, and how much have you thought about?" Why not use this sentence as a reason? 』

"I..." Pang Hong was stunned.

"On the top shelf of the bookshelf to the left of your desk in your study, there is "Discussing Food Policy" written by my father. How many times have you read it? How many times have you studied? How many times have you thought about it again? Pang Tong sighed and shook his head, "Now that I say this, do you want to move your butt and take a quick look?" Can't you think about it first? See how many more you can remember? 』

"..." Pang Hong's eyes widened and he was speechless.

He remembered that the "Discussing Food Policy" didn't seem to contain anything particularly interesting, at least not as good as "The Young Guards Hussar", "The Travels of the Miraculous Doctor", "Nanshan Jun", "Banding Yuanping in the Western Regions", etc. …

"I like to read some idle books on weekdays..." Pang Tong slowly shook his head and said, "Did you know that all those idle books are... well, they are all made up by others?" Have you ever thought about why there are these idle books, and why are they compiled? 』

"..." Pang Hong remained silent.

He really didn't even think about it.

After a moment of silence, Pang Hong still looked up unconvinced and asked, "What does this have to do with what I said before about stabilizing food prices?" Is it possible that it is wrong to make people's lives more affluent? 』

Pang Tong did not answer immediately, but looked at Pang Hong and said seriously: "Your father is in a high position now, as if he is surrounded by wolves. If you relax a little, your reputation will be ruined... You can either choose to be smart or You can save your life by choosing to be stupid, but if you are not smart enough when you should be smart and show off when you should be stupid... you will harm yourself and the whole family..."

Pang Hong subconsciously wanted to refute, saying who would target him when he had nothing to do, or who would dare to plot against Pang Zi, but when the words came to his lips, he always noticed something was wrong, and swallowed with difficulty. Go down and just nodded.

Pang Tong smiled and said, "We do have grain and grass, but raising the price of grain is the best way to calculate it over a period of time." The common people are actually a group that is difficult to think rationally... This is what the Lord said, it is a "rabble"... The more people there are, the harder it is to unify their thoughts and communicate... The only way is Food and grass...because everyone needs to eat, regardless of men, women, old or young..."

Do people in this world think there is much difference between Cao Cao and Fei Qian?

Do you think a certain ruler is better?

Do you think the emperor is more important, or is it more important to have a bowl of rice in front of you and a warm bed to laugh at?

Of course, people are not "born" to be a mob, but people cannot be equal from birth, cannot have the same living environment, learning environment, and have the same personality. Under such circumstances, due to the asymmetry of information, Inconsistent education levels and different living environments make it impossible to have a unified understanding. More often, misunderstandings will occur due to certain issues, or people will blindly follow the trend, which will lead to behavior that deviates from rationality.

This kind of thing naturally does not mean that after one or two sentences, shouting a few slogans, or expressing what has been strengthened, improved, or promoted, the people can suddenly get rid of the trap of the mob. You become smarter...

Just like Pang Tong also hopes that Pang Hong can be smarter, but what?

More often than not, it still depends on whether Pang Hong is willing to be smarter, because it means more pain.

Learning and growth are painful, and happy education will only bring happy fools.

"When food prices increase, people will suffer, but who brings this suffering?" Pang Tong stared at Pang Hong with sharp eyes, "What happened to Chang'an before and what happened to the Third Assistant now? The people themselves will see, think and ponder... The premise is that they have to feel the pain... The pain is what makes them go." The only way to think..."

Pang Tong looked at Pang Hong and said meaningfully.

Pang Hong recalled what the shopkeeper said when he was in the restaurant, and then nodded, "I understand... they will resent Cao Jun for this... Triple the price can make the people resentful, but in a short time There will not be a large-scale famine in the country... because the price of food itself fluctuates. During the lean period, the price is twice that of the autumn harvest... Now three times the price is just a little more... Moreover, the people also We all know that we need to reserve grain during the lean period, so most farmers should actually still have grain on hand..."

"Well, that's right, ah... not bad, not bad..." Pang Tong nodded and added, "Chang'an people, in the past few years, have become richer than people in other places... so they can be better than other people." The localities have endured longer... In fact, food prices have also increased in Hanzhong, Sichuan, Sichuan and other places, but not by much..."

Pang Tong did not say what would happen if he opened warehouses to release grain, or if he distributed grain in large quantities, nor did he say what would happen if the price of grain was raised. As the second generation of Pang, Pang Hong needs more growth, and this growth requires more growth. Pang Hong had to do it voluntarily, otherwise the cow wouldn't drink water and was forced to press its head, which would be half the result with half the effort.

If Ponzi wants to grow, it must take on more things. If you want to take on these things, you must not be smart enough.

Pang Hong is not stupid, he is just not smart enough, or in other words, he does not have a strong desire to become smarter...

Pang Tong was silent for a while, looked at Pang Hong, slightly disappointed, "Don't you have anything else to say?" 』

"I..." Pang Hong was at a loss.

“For example, how did we derive this price? What method is used and how is the price of grain determined? Pang Tong said slowly, "Are there any problems with this method, what are the remedies, or how to ensure that no mistakes are made during the implementation... and other related things, these... you don't know." Have you thought about it? 』

"I..." Pang Hong lowered his head, "I, I... am still young..."

"Well, indeed. Pang Tong nodded, "But I don't ask you to think of everything. I just hope you can think more and be less stubborn... That's all... It's not a bad thing to have a strong personality... But the spirit of fighting for strength is there." Going in the wrong direction will only bring more mistakes... Just think about it carefully. In two days, I will take you to Tongguan..."

"Only..." Pang Hong responded subconsciously, and was about to leave when he suddenly paused, raised his head and asked, "Uh... Father, why are you going to Tongguan?" 』

Pang Tong nodded slightly and smiled, "Go and gain experience." 』

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