Who knows an ancient rags-to-riches story?

In Chinese history, there have been many world-class tycoons. They either got rich due to greed, such as He Shen and Liu Jin, or relied on imperial power, such as Deng Tong and Liang Ji; or they got rich through robbery, such as Shi Chong, Genghis Khan; some abandoned their official positions and became rich by doing business, like Tao Zhugong; or they got rich because of the huge inheritance left by their ancestors, like Bajun Widow Qing. In a short period of time, they have accumulated millions or even hundreds of billions of wealth. Their rapid accumulation of wealth and the amount of wealth they have achieved are rare in China and other countries. Among these shining stars in the world of rich people, those who were born in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are rare. Yidun was unique in that he had no background and made his fortune completely from scratch. His short time and the amount of wealth he accumulated were no less than those of other rich men. At that time, he was as famous as Tao Zhugong, the richest man in the country.

Yidun's surname was Wang. He was called Yidun by future generations because he made his fortune in "Yidi Dingzhu", but his real name was forgotten by people. He was originally a poor scholar from the State of Lu. History records that he was "always hungry when farming, and constantly cold when mulberry trees are planted." He was not good at farming and raising silkworms, so he was not suitable for farming. It's like a college student from a rural area who finally got into college and graduated, but had no connections, no connections, and couldn't find a job. He went to college for half a day, and then you sent him back home to farm and raise silkworms like his father's generation. If you have no strength and no mood, firstly, you won’t be able to do it, and secondly, you won’t be able to do it well. But Yidun did not complain about everything, and many of his experiences in getting rich from scratch are worth learning from.

If you are poor, you will want to change and seek advice from a teacher. As the saying goes: If you learn martial arts, you can sell your goods to the emperor's family. After graduating from university, becoming a civil servant is of course the first choice. But due to the wrong timing, if he could not become a national cadre, would he be resigned to failure? Of course not for an ambitious young man, so starting his own business became his first choice. Yidun is a promising young man who is knowledgeable, educated, and highly motivated. He understands the principle of "if you are poor, you will want to change." It is easy to start a business to get rid of poverty and become rich, but it is difficult to actually do it. Which career to choose is the first big problem. Yidun has been thinking hard, looking for a way to get rich. Farming the land and raising silkworms like other farmers? Practice has proved that it is not possible. We are not as strong as them and not as experienced as them. What should we do?

By chance, Yidun heard about Tao Zhu, the richest man in the country. Mr. Tao Zhugong moved to live near his hometown. He was overjoyed and hurriedly "went to ask about the art." What kind of art was asked? Of course, he wanted to ask for the secret of getting rich! Tao Zhugong is the contemporary God of Wealth, how can it be so easy to see. It's not that he is wealthy, but he lives here in seclusion, is a low-key person, and doesn't want to see guests. Yidun took the trouble to visit Duke Tao and Zhu just like Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms who visited the thatched cottage three times. Finally, he was moved by "God". Duke Tao and Zhu received him and taught him the secret of the eight characters: "If a son wants to get rich quickly, he should be a beast."

The original meaning of 牸 is cow, which is extended to mean livestock. "五牸" is the female livestock of cows, horses, pigs, sheep and donkeys. Tao Zhugong was worthy of being the originator of business. He could see at a glance the industry suitable for Yidun's business: animal husbandry. Yidun comes from a poor family and is not suitable for high-cost industries. Since animal husbandry is a small business with big profits, let him start by raising a few cattle and sheep, and gradually multiply and grow according to the snowball principle of "chickens lay eggs, eggs lay chickens", and he will surely become rich in the long run. For Yidun, this is indeed a practical way to get rich. With a word to wake up the dreamer, Yidun followed Tao Zhugong's instructions and moved to Xihe. He started his breeding plan in the southern part of Shanxi Yishi where the soil is moist, the grassland is vast, the water and grass are abundant, and the scenery is pleasant.

Yidun was a man of culture after all. Unlike other herdsmen, he quickly figured out the secrets of herding and figured out the law of "cows stamp their feet, horses satiated at night, and sheep satiated themselves" and created The breeding methods of "drinking animals with salt water", "raising a thousand chickens with rice" and the method of removing the testicles of male animals were developed. For the first time, the hybrid breeding method of mating local and foreign breeds was used to breed improved offspring. As the saying goes, "Ewes give birth to ewes, and they are crowded to the pen wall in three years." "Cows give birth to cows, and five cows take three years." Yidun led his three sons Wang Jing, Wang Liao, and Wang Jian Dagan. Quickly, in a short period of time, there were chickens and pigs in the pen, mules and horses in groups, and he became a major local farmer.

Overcome the idea that "little wealth means peace" and bravely become a "champion of wealth". The master leads you in. Cultivation is personal. Yidun did not stagnate in the animal husbandry industry guided by Tao Zhugong, and settled down to become a wealthy professional farmer. The strong original capital made him even more powerful, and he set his sights on a broader field - salt production. He sells salt, and the livestock he raises are the best means of transportation for selling salt.

No matter what you do, Yidun also invented the method of cultivating and drying salt in the salt industry, which greatly shortened the time to produce salt. Not only that, in order to operate the pool salt more effectively and speed up the trafficking, Yidun also tried to change the donkey cart. In order to use the backward transportation mode to transport by boat, the first artificial canal in Shanxi was dug.

Yidun transported salt to the Western Regions and exchanged batches of pearls, agates, jewelry and jade from the Western Regions. His vision suddenly brightened: It turns out that the jewelry industry is more profitable! So he started to get involved in the jewelry industry again. Delve into the jewelry industry. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Hard work paid off, and soon Yidun became an expert in the jewelry industry. "Huainanzi·Si Lunxun" records: "The jade workman's dazzling jade is like the blue dew, but Yidun does not lose its emotion." "Baopuzi·Promoting Talents" records: "The green and Xuanli are not the same. Tao Yi cannot be marketed." At this time, Yidun's career reached its peak. "In ten years, he has made countless gains. Prince Zambi has become famous all over the world." His family property "reaches Sangquan in the west, across the salt pond in the east, and Mei in the south and north." It covers a radius of hundreds of miles. All of them. The territory is so large and the scope is so wide, rarely seen in the world. The Han Dynasty's "Salt and Iron Theory" contains: "In the building, the sparrow does not know the height of the sky and the earth; the frog in the well does not know the size of the river; the poor man who is not a wife does not know the care of the country; the merchant who carries the burden does not know the wealth of Yidun... …”

Now, thousands of years have passed, and Yidun’s story has become a legend, but it should not be just a legend. We should learn from his many qualities.