There was a Xu Ji crude medicine shop on the side of the cross street in Xincheng County, and business was always tepid. The boss, Xu Feng, was a real person. Whenever someone talked about business, he always smiled and said, "It's a good thing that my business is not good, which means that the villagers are less sick." People said that Xu Feng was a kind person.

At noon that day, Xu Feng was reading a book in the shop when he suddenly heard a "plop" sound coming from outside. He hurried out to take a look and saw a foreign man lying on the ground and fainting. Xu Feng hurriedly ordered his men to carry the man into the shop, but he saw that his face was pale, his breathing was short, and his pulse was very messy. It was obvious that he was suffering from a heat stroke.

After a while, the man let out a long sigh of relief and slowly opened his eyes. He instantly realized that it was Xu Feng who saved him, and he wanted to thank him when he got up, so Xu Feng held him down. The man temporarily stayed at Xu Feng's house, and Xu Feng fed soup and medicine every day, which was very thoughtful.

The man's name was Liu Tao, a native of the capital, and he was a bookkeeper in a shop. This time he went out to ask for money. I think he was in a hurry, and he caught up with the hot weather, so he got caught up in the heat. Luckily, he was saved by Xu Feng, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable. Liu Tao and Xu Feng had a speculative chat, and they worshipped brothers. Liu Tao is younger and younger brother; Xu Feng is older and older.

On this day, Liu Tao saw that the business in Xu Feng's store was very quiet, so he said to Xu Feng, "Brother, your business is not very good." Xu Feng took out his old saying again. Liu Tao shook his head and said, "That's not the case. When your business is well done, you can ensure that the medicinal materials are complete, and you can better treat the villagers." He turned around a few times outside the store, then pointed to an open space in front of the store and said, "Brother, you can drill a well here."

Since Liu Tao was still in a hurry, he said goodbye. Xu Feng followed Liu Tao's instructions and invited a well driller to drill a well in the open space.

Three months later, the well was finished. The well water was sweet and clear, a rare good water in Xincheng County. Xu Feng's eldest son, Xu Xiaoqing, was overjoyed and said to Xu Feng, "Hurry up and invite a few masons to build a low wall and circle this well. We don't need to open a medicine shop, we can make a fortune just by selling water." Xu Feng glared at him fiercely and said, "You are not allowed to sell a drop of water in this well!" Xu Xiaoqing asked in confusion, "We paid more than 100 taels of silver just to invite everyone to use water for nothing?" Xu Feng nodded and said nothing.

The well water was delicious, and they didn't charge for it. Half of the people in Xincheng County came here to fetch water. For the convenience of the villagers fetching water, Xu Feng also bought pulleys and other items, and placed two stools on the well platform for the people who fetched water to rest. In this regard, Xu Xiaoqing could only pout his mouth, and now Xu Feng was still in charge, and Xu Feng didn't listen to anything he said. But seeing Xu Feng throw money out in vain, he felt distressed.

Strange to say, I don't know when the business of the Xu family has gradually flourished. Not only the nearby villagers and patrons, but also people outside the city and even people from other counties came to the Xu Ji crude medicine shop to buy medicine. Xu Xiaoqing saw that there was money in the account, and he was happy, and the well water matter was temporarily put aside.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. On this day, Xu Feng suddenly received a letter from Liu Tao, saying that after parting ways, he was quite worried and wanted to talk to him.

As soon as Xu Feng left, Xu Xiaoqing got excited. He first hired masons to build a low wall to surround the well, and sent guards to guard it, and each person who fetched water received a copper plate. The villagers who fetched water shouted indiscriminately, and Xu Xiaoqing stood up and said, "My family spent more than 100 taels of silver to build this well. If I don't charge you, how can I calculate this account? Why should my family throw money in vain? If you don't pay for it and want to drink water for free, how can there be such a good thing? Only one copper plate is charged, which is the cheapest!"

The villagers looked at each other and were speechless for a while. Some of the villagers who did not bring money went back to retrieve money, while others went to the river on the edge of the city to fetch water. The villagers who brought the money put the copper plates into a basket as Xu Xiaoqing ordered. In the evening, Xu Xiaoqing hugged the basket and saw that there was half a basket of money, which was much more money than selling medicine. He couldn't help but be excited. If his father had listened to him earlier, I don't know how much money he would have received.

However, a month later, Xu Xiaoqing found that something was wrong. Fewer people came to fetch water, and fewer people came to catch medicine, and it was gradually decreasing. Later, the door was empty. If it continued like this, the crude medicine shop would close. He couldn't figure out why, he was as anxious as ants in a hot pan.

One day, a child went to the raw medicine shop to grab medicine. The man was weighing him when a woman suddenly ran over, slapped the child, and scolded: "Didn't I ask you to go to Guangji Hall to catch medicine? I knew you were lazy and playing tricks. Luckily I came with you. Go!" Xu Xiaoqing hurriedly went up to stop her: "Sister-in-law, you are also our regular customer. Just tell me the truth, why didn't you come to my shop to catch medicine? Guangji Hall is far from us."

The woman said, "Your medicine doesn't work."

Xu Xiaoqing was so shocked that he almost jumped up: "My medicine doesn't work? My medicine was still purchased the year before, why did it work the year before, but it won't work this year?"

The mother-in-law rolled her eyes at him and said, "Why don't you use it, you know best in your heart, don't ask me. Get out of the way, don't delay me from getting the medicine!" The mother-in-law took the child and left, leaving Xu Xiaoqing there in a daze.

What Xu Xiaoqing said was also true. The medicines sold by Xu Ji's crude medicine shop were all brought in by Xu in the autumn of last year. This year's new medicines have not come down and have not been brought in. Why was the same medicine used last year, but not this year? Xu Xiaoqing couldn't figure it out, so he found Sui Langzhong, who had a good relationship with his father, to ask why. When Sui Langzhong heard this, he shook his head like a rattle and kept saying it was impossible. The Xu family has opened a medicine shop for so many years and has a set of herbs, so there will be no problem.

Xu Xiaoqing did not give up and asked a few old customers. Everyone said that the medicine in his house was not used in the past, so he changed to another pharmacy to buy medicine. Xu Xiaoqing went to the warehouse again to check, and the medicinal materials were well kept without any problems. But why is it not used? After thinking about it for a few days, he still didn't understand the reason. Fewer people came to the store to buy medicine, and sometimes there was no business all day. In desperation, he quickly wrote a letter to his father and sent it.

Xu Feng received the letter, traveled day and night, and rushed back.

As soon as he got home, Xu Feng ordered the guys to tear down the low wall surrounding the well, and asked the guys to tell the villagers that the well was still a public well, and whoever liked to draw water would take nothing. After arranging this, he called Xu Xiaoqing to the front and said, "If this well is a public well, it is our family's financial source; if it is a private well, it is our family's nemesis."

Xu Xiaoqing's eyes widened in surprise and asked in confusion, "Why?"

Xu Feng said that after receiving Xu Xiaoqing's letter, he was also very anxious and immediately said goodbye to Liu Tao. Liu Tao asked him what happened, and Xu Feng showed him the letter written by Xu Xiaoqing. Liu Tao smiled slightly after reading it, saying that if he guessed correctly, it must be Xu Xiaoqing who was confused by money and turned the public well into a private well, cutting off the Xu family's financial path. Xu Feng also didn't understand what the explanation was, so he quickly asked for advice. Only then did Liu Tao say that as the saying goes, if one side of water and soil supports one side of people, if the nearby villagers are used to drinking the water from his well, they will not be able to accept the water from other places. Drinking the water from his house and then eating the medicine from his house's water is naturally very appropriate, there is no discomfort, and it is also conducive to treatment. But after his house sells water, the villagers go to other places to fetch water, and then eat the medicine from other places, there will be problems with the soil and water, not to mention the treatment, but other discomforts will occur. Therefore, the villagers will think that the medicine in his house is not good, but they will not think that it is the reason for the water.

Xu Xiaoqing was stunned and speechless.

Xu Feng said that after listening to Liu Tao talk about this, he understood why Liu Tao had asked him to spend money to dig this well, just to let the villagers drink his water and get used to his medicine. It was hard to have so many old customers, but I didn't expect to be driven away by Xu Xiaoqing. Xu Xiaoqing said guiltily: "I really didn't expect that there was such a big knowledge in doing business."

Xu Feng patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have a lot of knowledge in business, and you have a lot of knowledge in life. Son, be good and learn. Sometimes, if you should suffer, you have to eat." Xu Xiaoqing nodded vigorously.

The Xu family's well was once again free for the villagers to fetch water, and his family's business slowly flourished again. After a long time, the well was called "good well" by the villagers. The Xu family said that it was his family's money-making well.