Chapter 198 Betrothal to Jinlan
"I won't say any more. I'll just give you this friendship. Let's become sworn brothers today!"

As he spoke, Sun Zushou personally brought a big rooster, drew the sword at his waist and chopped off the rooster's head with one blow. Immediately, boiling hot chicken blood came out from the neck cavity and splashed into the wine bowls of Wang An and Man Gui.

Wang An looked at the wine that had been stained red by chicken blood and felt a little disgusted. However, facing Man Gui's sincerity, plus a little bit of vanity of being able to become sworn brothers with a local official, this disgust was nothing.

He imitated Man Gui's behavior and drank it all in one gulp while Xie Xin pretended to be heroic. Then he excitedly pulled Man Gui's big hand and shouted excitedly, "Brother!"

"Little brother!"

Eh?
Why is it a bit strange? A flash of awkwardness flashed through Wang An's mind, and then he shouted excitedly, "Brother!"

"Little brother!"

"Um, brother, can I discuss something with you?" Wang An's face was gloomy.

Man Gui was delighted. "Just tell me, little brother. As long as it's something I can do, there's no reason for me to refuse!"

Wang An's face became even uglier, and he said, "Big brother, can you please stop calling me little brother and just call me younger brother..."

Man Gui looked puzzled, but out of respect for Wang An's first request, he nodded solemnly and said, "No problem, little brother!"

Wang An was completely speechless, so he could only bow and say, "Brother, it's getting late, I have to leave quickly."

Man Gui looked sad and said, "We were sworn brothers and should have stayed together for three days and three nights, but I didn't expect that we would have to part ways before we even had a drink..."

Wang An was also slightly moved. As a general officer of the first rank, he could treat an ordinary businessman like him so sincerely. This was rare even in the entire Ming Dynasty. Of course, rare here was a compliment.

Wang An was also touched and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I will be traveling back and forth to Datong Prefecture frequently in the future. I will have many opportunities to drink."

Man Gui also nodded, and then he pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve as if he had suddenly realized something and handed it to Wang An, saying: "Brother, you have raised so many old brothers for me, and I can't help but give you some benefits."

"Here is the military funds that Datong Prefecture needs to purchase. Take it back and hand it over to the Honglu Temple for me. As long as the Honglu Temple verifies that there is no problem, we will let you purchase it."

Wang An took a rough look. Thanks to being chosen as the imperial merchant, Wang An also had an understanding of the prices of various materials frequently purchased at the border. He could roughly estimate the value of this batch of goods just by flipping through it.

Just a cursory glance revealed that the value of the goods was around 20,000 taels.

However, unlike the trade with the Mongols, the prices offered by the imperial court for purchasing military funds at the border were often extremely low, and sometimes even at a loss.

However, there are also many benefits. Take grain for example. Wang An can choose to take all of it in silver, or he can choose to exchange it for corresponding salt permits, or even tea permits, horse permits and other tickets to legally transport tea to the border.

Although the imperial court has now issued an order prohibiting smuggling, as long as the tea can be transported to the border, Wang An has no say over who he sells it to.

Besides, tea cannot enhance the enemy's military strength, so Wang An has no psychological burden in selling it.

Wang An was overjoyed, and bowed solemnly to Man Gui, saying, "Thank you very much, big brother, for your support. I will never forget such a kindness!"

He originally wanted to reach his hand into his sleeve and take out a few silver ingots out of habit, but when he thought about the sworn brotherhood between him and Man Gui, and Man Gui's temper, he thought that if he took out the silver, it might cause disgust to the other party.

Unexpectedly, Wang An's actions were seen by Man Gui, who nodded in appreciation and said, "Brother, I thought you would pay me. If you really did that, I would not recognize you as my younger brother!" Wang An smiled awkwardly and said with a guilty conscience, "Brother, what do you think of me? I am a patriotic businessman and I would never play this game!"

"Really?" Man Gui raised his hand and tapped the jade ring on his thumb with a meaningful look.

Fortunately, Tian Erlangzi, who had gone out to hire a carriage with money, also came back with the people from the carriage company, resolving Wang An's embarrassment.

Wang An immediately asked Tian Erlengzi to arrange for those veterans with limited mobility to get on the bus.

After working for a while, Man Guijian and Wang An were almost done. Man Guijian stepped forward again, took Wang An's hand and said, "Take care on your journey, little brother. If you have any troubles when you arrive in the capital, don't forget to write to me. I will definitely find a way to solve it for you!"

Wang An was really touched at this moment, and nodded solemnly, saying: "Brother, if you need anything, just write to me. Even if it doesn't make money, I will solve it for you!"

Man Gui laughed loudly upon hearing this, and patted Wang An on the shoulder and said, "I am indeed a businessman. I thought you would help me solve this problem even if you don't want any money..."

Wang An suddenly looked embarrassed, hesitating and trying to say something but couldn't.

Fortunately, Man Gui was also considerate and waved his hand, saying, "Brother, you all know the rules. For merchants like you, if you don't make money, you lose money!"

"You are willing to not take a penny. This is already a great loyalty to me. What else can I ask for?"

"Let's go, while the sun is still bright!"

Wang An nodded, and finally glanced at Man Gui, "Take care, big brother!"

"Take care, little brother!"

The return journey was relatively faster because there was no cargo, but it was not much faster because there were a lot of veterans.

However, after ten days or so, the group finally arrived in the capital.

As soon as they arrived outside You'anmen, these veterans were shocked by the prosperity of the settlements where ordinary people lived outside the city.

The population of Beijing city is over one million, which is no match for Datong Prefecture in the frontier. Even the prosperity of the suburbs is beyond the reach of Datong Prefecture.

Wang An looked at the old bastards' expressions and said with some amusement, "When you are all settled, I will take you to the city for a walk!"

The veterans all responded with a smile, and Wang An then took them to the chemical plant that was under construction.

From a distance, you can see a relatively tall building that has already taken shape and stands out among the low houses.

A neighbor from Doujiafang who had been working at the chemical plant for a long time recognized Wang An and hurried back to the chemical plant to call Ergou out.

Then a group of people gathered around again.

"Boss, you're finally back!" Ergou licked his face and acted as if he missed someone, and he felt sick when he saw Wang An.

(End of this chapter)