Respectfully

In the past few days, Marshal Lou's temper has not been very good. The servants in the Marshal's mansion walked on tiptoes, for fear of being affected by the Marshal's anger and losing their lives.

Mrs. Lou took the prepared betrothal gift list and just walked up the stairs when she saw several division commanders under Marshal Lou's command come out of the study one after another, their expressions were not very good.

"lady."

These people have followed Marshal Lou to the north and south since the Qing Dynasty, and those with the lowest qualifications have also worked under the Marshal Lou for five years.Mrs. Lou was very polite every time she saw them.

Compared with the southern government, the northern government is considered better, but it is not monolithic.

In the past two years, some people in the northern government have always slandered the president, saying that Marshal Lou is self-respecting and has other ideas.President Sima had heard a lot, and he also became suspicious.Although on the surface it still looks the same as before, but how is it actually?The military expenses are in arrears every year, and they are finally paid out, and they have to be discounted.

The current world is not peaceful, Marshal Lou has to guard against his own people, and at the same time he has to guard against the old men in the north. Fill the hole with your own money.

Fortunately, President Sima still had some scruples, and he acquiesced to Marshal Lou withholding part of the tax revenue from the six northern provinces, so Marshal Lou has been holding back.If it really breaks out, there must be chaos in the north, and the group in the south will take advantage of the loopholes.

Mrs. Lou watched the officers leave and knocked on the door. Marshal Lou's voice came from the door, and she opened the door and walked in.

"Master."

"Ma'am, it's you."

Marshal Lou was sitting on a red sandalwood armchair, the room was in a mess, teacups were broken, documents were scattered all over the place, tables were overturned, it can be seen that the group of people in the room just now did not have a good temper.Mrs. Lou stepped forward to pick up a document that had been torn in two, put it together, glanced at it twice, and suddenly raised her eyebrows with anger.

"Ridiculous! What the hell is the president thinking? How can he let his subordinates be so nonsense!"

Marshal Lou rubbed his face with two big palm-like hands, his face was full of exhaustion, "I don't understand what he thinks anymore, if he says that he is not of my race, his heart must be different, even if those Mongolians Tartars are not a good thing, but the land is just given to Lao Maozi, and it is useless to exchange three melons and two dates!"

Mrs. Lou frowned, and asked the servant girl to sweep up the broken porcelain pieces on the floor. She cleaned up the documents that Marshal Lou had swept up on the floor, and waited until the door was closed before walking to Marshal Lou. Is it settled?"

"It's settled, it's all sent out without reading the documents? It's stamped with the president's seal!" Marshal Lou opened his military uniform, his face full of evil spirits: "These old men are not a thing! They took the opportunity to send 10,000+ troops to occupy the northern territory. The railway that was built decades ago, what kind of heart is there? Who knows? How many of us died for the northeast territory? Brother? In the end, my good brother, but... yes, the south is good, he wanted to get out his hand to get the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area first, but if he did this, wouldn't he be afraid of chilling the hearts of the brothers?!"

Marshal Lou couldn't continue, and Mrs. Lou also bit her lips. She is not a woman in a deep house who knows everything. Outer Mongolia is independent. To put it nicely, isn't it actually taken by the old man?

Why did President Sima agree?Even if you can't win, you can't just let your waist down like this!She knows the truth as a woman, but why people in the government don't know it?If the group of people in the south made a fuss about this matter, the northern government should not be disgraced?

"The South? Those people in the South are not good people either!" Marshal Lou snorted and patted the top of his head: "Zheng Dapao and his new Finance Minister secretly signed a treaty with the Japanese, promising to Japan I borrowed a sum of money because of the benefits of a lot of people. But no one knows, this is a matter of living without money. If the money is thrown down, there is not even a splash. Just Zheng Dapao, that crumpled kid, is still in that silly Woolen cloth!"

The room was quiet for a while, and Mrs. Lou didn't know how to persuade Marshal Lou, so she simply took out the dowry list she had prepared earlier, anyway, she came to Marshal Lou for this reason.The president's work is frustrating, but they can't just live.

"Marshal, I asked someone to calculate. The 26th of this month and the [-]th day of the next month are both good days to hire."

Marshal Lou glanced at Mrs. Lou's list, and then decided, "Then give the betrothal gift on the 26th, and bring them back on the eighth day."

Mrs. Lou's eyes widened in astonishment, "Aren't you in a hurry?" Even though the Republic of China has passed, people like them still have to pay attention to three media, six employment, three books and six courtesy. How can it be so simple? Just carry people in the door?

Marshal Lou said, "These days are full of random things. It's rare to have a happy event that makes everyone happy." Then, he opened the drawer and took out a Browning pistol, "Our son Didn’t you give the gun to your daughter-in-law? As a father-in-law, I can’t be stingy, this is also included in the betrothal gift, just a couple.”

Speaking of a pair, Mrs. Lou remembered the dagger that Marshal Lou gave her back then. She only found out after they got married that it was a pair of mandarin duck daggers. Bring a handful of bigger ones.

"Old and unrepaired!"

Mrs. Lou spat at Marshal Lou. A few years ago, Marshal Lou carried him in from room to room for his son. In the past two years, Marshal Lou has gotten older and has a lot of troubles, so these feelings have faded away. Well, the relationship between the couple has actually gotten better.

"I haven't heard of any dowry that gives guns." Mrs. Lou said angrily, "Isn't it a joke?"

"What's the matter?" Lou Dashuai remembered that his son was finally going to marry a wife, even if it was a man, he was less worried, "If you want me to say, why bother to ask our son to bring his group with him?" , just go directly to Li's house and bring him back?"

Mrs. Lou was really angry, "Marshal, who are you Xiao'er? A bandit who takes over the mountain as king?!"

Marshal Lou chuckled, "My father almost took over the mountain and became king back then. If this little bastard can really snatch Mrs. Yazhai over here, he can be regarded as inheriting his father's career."

Mrs. Lou was confused by Marshal Lou's scoundrels, she punched her down, but Marshal Lou hugged her waist, she couldn't hold on, and she was happy.

Li Jinyan didn't know that he was almost robbed by Lou Shaoshuai as a Mrs. Yazhai.He is busy these two days meeting the shopkeepers of the dyeing workshop and the cloth shop, the silver house, the tea house and the pawn shop are all behind.Those talkative people in Li's mansion are discussing in private, the third young master lost the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds, the cloth village is losing money every year, the dyeing workshop is not much better, the pawn shop and the silver building given by the old lady It's a golden hen, why did the third young master compete with those money-losing businesses?

Mrs. Li looked at Li Jinyan with admiration this time.One must not forget one's roots. The Li family started out selling raw silk. The cloth shop is the foundation of the Li family. Although the business was getting worse and worse due to the impact of foreign cloth after the opening of the port, Qinglong's business has improved somewhat in the past few years, but it can be handed over to Qingchang. After getting it in his hands, he was devastated.If Jinyan can really reopen the cloth shop and dyeing workshop, the old man will be happy.

There is no doubt that Mrs. Li is eccentric, but he thinks that the eccentricity is also for the Li family.Seeing the old man's appearance these days, the old lady just sneered, and ordered the big girl beside her to find some yellowed booklets and send them to the second room.

Li Jinyan received the booklet, opened it, and found that it recorded every detailed income and expenditure of the cloth village and the dyeing workshop in the past few years, which was more complete than the account books sent by the shopkeepers. There are still a few people who are clearly recorded whether they work in the Li family.

Li Jinyan was a little shocked, the old lady is not engaged in intelligence work, is she?Does Mrs. Li know that the old lady has this thing in her hand?

However, the item sent by the old lady did help Li Jinyan a lot.

It took a few days for Li Jinyan to compare the account books sent by the shopkeepers of the cloth shop and the dyeing workshop with the booklets given to him by the old lady, and found that the cloth shop did not actually lose money as he thought.Homemade cloth is indeed more expensive than foreign cloth, but the Li family's time-honored brand that has been in operation for decades and hundreds of years also has a fixed source of customers. Coupled with the name of the Li family's patriotic businessman, there is still business to be done.Before his death, Li Qinglong, the second master of the Li family, had tried to reduce the cost of homemade cloth. It was rare for the cloth shop to have a surplus, but it was a temporary solution, not a root cause.After Li Qinglong's death, as soon as Li Qingchang took over, the business of the cloth village took a sharp turn for the worse, losing money every month.The business under the hands of the Li family still uses the old patriarchal management and operation passed down from their ancestors. Even if they don't lose money, it is difficult for them to develop further.Li Jinyan believes that if things go on like this, within a few years, even the original capital will have to be folded.But he just took over, and it is not easy to make drastic changes. If some people are "laid off" now, there will be trouble.

Closing the account book, Li Jinyan rubbed his temples. This is also a hot potato, but if he wants to come, he has to find a way to manage it, and he must manage it well. At least people can't say that Li Qinglong and him are old heroes.

The tea in the teacup was already cold, and when I drank it in my mouth, it felt astringent and bitter.Li Jinyan was refreshed, picked up a pen, and started to write.

Zhi'er walked in carrying the soup that had been specially ordered by the cook to cook, and saw Li Jinyan writing furiously.He quickly signaled the little girl behind him to wait outside the door, walked to the table, put down the tray, lifted the lid of the soup pot, and scooped out a bowl of soup.

Li Jinyan sniffled, raised his head, parted his mouth, and showed a wry smile, "Zhi'er, can you stop making soup for me? If you make it up again, I'm going to have a nosebleed."

Zhi'er hastily spat: "Master, what nonsense are you talking about. Madam ordered the cook to cook the soup. If you dare to pour it secretly again, I will invite Madam to come."

Li Jinyan had no choice but to put down his pen, pick up the bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.Fortunately, the soup bowl is not big, and the taste of traditional Chinese medicine in the soup is not as strong as before.

Ignoring Li Jinyan's mournful eyes, Zhi'er filled another bowl for him, glanced at Li Jinyan's writing on the paper, and then at the pen on the table, amazed: "Master, I don't even know, you When did you find the master’s pen? Madam asked before, saying that your handwriting is different from before. Is this the pen used by foreigners? Such a stick can also write.”

Li Jinyan was drinking soup, when he heard Zhier's words, he choked up, Zhier patted him on the back quickly, Li Jinyan waved his hand to indicate that he was fine.Zhi'er also asked casually just now, but with this interruption, Zhi'er also forgot what he just said.

Li Jinyan was in a cold sweat. Thanks to the fountain pen he found in the study, he could barely get away with the handwriting, and it was also thanks to the second wife who believed him.

Seeing that Li Jinyan had finished the soup, Zhi'er left the study satisfied.Li Jinyan touched his swollen stomach, stood up and walked a few steps, and felt that the swell was not so high, so he sat down and started writing again on the paper.

The next day, all the shopkeepers of the dyeing workshops received a strange order to collect all the red dyes on the market, especially those imported from abroad, and find a way to buy them.

The shopkeepers were surprised at first, but then they slapped their thighs and said, so that's what happened!

"Isn't Third Young Master going to marry Young Master Lou? It is said that the Marshal's Mansion is preparing a dowry. At this time, Third Young Master is looking for red dye. Could it be that he is preparing for the wedding and dyeing some bright fabrics?"

Although it is a bit far-fetched, it only makes sense in this way.As a result, all the Li family dyeing workshops and cloth houses in the six northern provinces began to take action.The Li family's cloth shop does not sell foreign cloth, but it does not say that it does not use foreign dyes. Guanbei City is one of the most prosperous commercial cities in the six northern provinces. There are many foreign firms in the city. When the Li family released the news, there were many foreign firms immediately. The comprador took the initiative to come to the door.The shopkeepers of the Li family are veterans in business after all. Li Jinyan only asked them to look for red dyes, but they were not only looking at one kind, but also to prevent these foreign compradors from deliberately raising prices.By accident, this kind of behavior helped Li Jinyan cover up. Until the advent of sulfonamide, outsiders still didn't know that this drug was actually synthesized with a red dye.