In the Huoshentai Scenic Area of Shangqiu, Henan Province, there is a statue of Wang Hai up to several meters high, perhaps many people are very unfamiliar with this name, but his position in history is not ordinary at all.
Because he is the originator of businessmen.
With the development of social economy, merchants play an increasingly important role in society, even in ancient times when agriculture was heavy and merchants were suppressed, merchants were still maintaining the burden of communication.
In the inheritance of history, the Chao merchants, the Hui merchants, and the Jin merchants together constitute the "three major merchant gangs" that are well-known in China, each writing its own glorious chapter.
Hui merchants, also known as Huizhou merchants or Xin'an merchants, brought together outstanding merchants in the Huizhou (Fu) area, and the folk called them "Hui Gang".
The origin of Huizhou merchants is deeply rooted in the ancient land of Huizhou, which is composed of six counties: She, Xiuning, Wuyuan, Qimen, Yi and Jixi, and has been the location of Xin'an County in history, and the merchants of She County and Xiuning County are famous all over the world and become the representatives of Huizhou merchants.
In fact, most of the Huizhou merchants came from poor mountainous areas, the land was barren, and it was difficult to make a living, as the "Huizhou Mansion Chronicle" said:
The terrain of Huizhou is steep, there are many mountains and few fields, and there is not much production, so the small people are more skillful, or they sell to eat other counties.
To put it bluntly, Hui businessmen all embarked on the road of doing business because they were too poor to eat.
After several generations of ups and downs, since the Song Dynasty, Hui merchants began to ride the wind and waves in the sea of commerce, and by the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, their abundant financial resources reached their heyday.
In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a heavyweight representative among the Hui merchants, he was known as the red-top businessman Hu Xueyan, he not only rode the wind and waves in the commercial sea, but also won the admiration of countless people with his deep affection and meticulous way of doing things.
Among them, he buys ham, pinching the head and removing the tail, and gives the middle part to the buddy, leaving the two ends himself, which is a typical example.
So why did Hu Xueyan do this, and what is the cleverness behind it?
Thirty years in Hedong
In the third year of Daoguang, Hu Xueyan was born in Huli Village, Jixi County, Huizhou, Anhui Province, and like countless Huizhou merchants, he was very poor when he was a child, often did not have enough to eat, and could only go to the landlord's house to herd cattle in order to satisfy his stomach.
After more than ten years of misery, life did not give him preferential treatment, but tortured him even more intensively, when he was 12 years old, his father died of illness, and he did not have even the most basic life.
To live, you have to live, Hu Xueyan had no choice but to go out alone.
Hu Xueyan successively went to Hangzhou, Jinhua and other places to make a living, during which he worked as a young man in the miscellaneous grain store, ham trading house and Hangzhou money house, during which Hu Xueyan tasted the warmth and coldness of the world.
But in that era when countless people were difficult to make a living, Hu Xueyan was just a grain of sand in the sea.
In the twenty-second year of Daoguang, Hu Xueyan's life ushered in a turning point, he was accepted as an apprentice by the shopkeeper of Hangzhou Fukang Qianzhuang because of his diligence, willingness to endure hardships, and flexibility.
After that, Hu Xueyan embarked on a road to take-off, and when the shopkeeper was dying, he inherited Fukang Qianzhuang as a "son".
This bank, worth 5,000 taels of silver, became Hu Xueyan's first gold pass to the commercial sea.
In the twenty-eighth year of Daoguang, Hu Xueyan got acquainted with Wang Youling, the alternate ambassador of Zhejiang Salt, and spent 500 taels of silver to help him fill his official position, and with the help of Wang Youling, Hu Xueyan's business empire began to show its embryonic shape.
Later, after Wang Youling was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang, he tried his best to help Hu Xueyan, and the two of them took what they needed in the official business, and no one dared to despise the poor sour boy who could not afford to eat.
Thirty years in Hexi
In the 11th year of Xianfeng, the Taiping army attacked Hangzhou, and Hu Xueyan bought arms and food from Shanghai and Ningbo to help the Qing army in order to maintain his commercial empire from being destroyed.
However, the Taiping army was strong, Hangzhou was finally breached, Wang Youling hanged himself due to the loss of the city, and Hu Xueyan also fell into a trough for a while.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich places that the Qing court attaches great importance to, and in order to resist the Taiping army, the Qing court appointed Zuo Zongtang, who can fight, to serve as the governor of Zhejiang.
At that time, the Qing court could give limited military salaries, and Hu Xueyan took the opportunity to establish a relationship with Zuo Zongtang and supported him to fight against the Taiping army with strong financial resources, so he was appointed by Zuo Zongtang as the governor.
After the siege of Hangzhou was lifted, Hu Xueyan was ordered to preside over the aftermath and the money, food, and military salaries of Zhejiang Province, and Hu Xueyan also embarked on the road of official business.
With Zuo Zongtang's appreciation, Hu Xueyan's business became bigger and bigger, and later Zuo Zongtang advocated the recovery of Xinjiang, and it was Hu Xueyan who actively raised military salaries behind the scenes.
After the recovery of Xinjiang, Hu Xueyan was awarded the political envoy of the second rank for his merits, and was even rewarded with a yellow jacket, and the official hat can also be worn with a second poinsettia top, which can be described as infinitely beautiful.
If dealing with officials is a great weapon for Hu Xueyan's success, then letting the lower-level guys work hard for him is another magic weapon.
Hu Xueyan's business is all over the country, and he alone naturally can't do everything, so he must convince his subordinates, and at the end of each year, Hu Xueyan's purchase of ham and distribution to his men is one of the most important means.
Don't bully young people into poverty
Hu Xueyan worked as a young man in the ham trading house in his early years, and later his business empire also operated ham, so he is quite clear about the doorway in ham.
At that time, Jinhua ham was famous all over the country, and it still is today.
However, Hu Xueyan knows that although the ham is delicious, not all parts are equally delicious, the ham has many bones in the head and the taste is rougher; The tail of the ham is too fat and easy to get tired, while the middle part is the essence of the ham, the meat is tender and has an excellent taste.
At the end of each year, he would give ham to the men to have a meaty New Year, and when he distributed the ham, he always asked that the ham be divided into three, with the head and tail removed, and only the best part in the middle was given to the men, while he kept the two ends of the ham for himself to eat or to share with those closest to him.
The eyes of the guys are bright, they see that Hu Xueyan always gives the high-quality part to himself, and naturally everyone is grateful, and Hu Xueyan is more and more respected by the guys.
Therefore, Hu Xueyan's approach not only won the respect and trust of the guys, but also stimulated their enthusiasm for work, they felt that their efforts were duly rewarded, and they worked harder to devote themselves to their work, and this positive working atmosphere laid a solid foundation for Hu Xueyan's business empire.
Of course, in addition to distributing ham, Hu Xueyan has many ways to reward and buy his friends, he comes from a poor background and deeply understands that whether the lower-class guys can work for themselves depends on whether they can get what they want.
When the daily needs of the low-level guys are met, and sometimes even more than expected, what reason do they have to not work hard?
In fact, everyone collects firewood and the flame is high, this principle has been common since ancient times, and now the reason why well-known large enterprises can become bigger and stronger is naturally taking the path of Hu Xueyan.
As the helm of an enterprise, you need to lead by example, share weal and sorrow with employees, and benefit employees, which is the enduring mystery.
References: "Red Top Businessman Hu Xueyan", etc.
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