As a salted fish, I was forced to become the teacher of all ages

The merchant finally breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the situation in the afternoon, if you don't sign the contract, you will be taken down and sent to Xuanwuwei like the fat man in Wan'an Commercial Bank. Not good - Fatty's master is said to have hanged himself, after all, it's a relatively easy death...

The old man flipped through the contract casually, but his face was calm and peaceful: "I knew earlier that Huamanlou would fight back, and Na Zhenghao kicked him on the iron plate. This matter was originally a battle between two tigers, and one of them was bound to be injured." At first, I thought that if Huamanlou fell, everything would go on as usual, and Na Zhenghao would take over his territory if he fell... Now it seems that I still underestimated Huamanlou."

"What does the master mean?"

The old man sighed and said: "Can't you see? Huamanlou made it clear that he didn't cooperate and wanted to reveal the matter. In this way, even those who don't know how to praise have to swallow this breath first, and wait until they find an opportunity in the future." Break up with him. The embarrassing thing is that he was able to let go of the trade in the grassland, and even found a way of making money for us. This move... can be called the dominance of those who follow me and those who oppose me. Think about it , as an ordinary person, can he act like him?"

"That's...indeed. If you're a small person, you'd want to hold all your money in your arms, how can you just give it to others when you say it like this? But master, isn't he afraid of causing public wrath when he acts like this? Can this be considered overbearing?"

"If I were someone else, I would really be afraid of offending everyone, but Huamanlou is not in the court hall, and he has won the favor. Even the harem is said to like him, and his two father-in-laws... huh, To put it bluntly, he wants to walk sideways in the capital, and he is afraid that there will be people rushing to clear the way for him. Why are such people afraid of public outrage? To put it more clearly, what I did last time was called public outrage. He... oh!"

The old man sighed deeply, his face was full of confusion.

It is not a day or two for Jin merchants to sell salt and iron to the grasslands. For more than a hundred years... even in the previous dynasty.Moreover, even if Shanxi merchants do not do this, others will do it. In the past, there were people or soldiers in Datong Mansion who left the customs with ironware and salt and sold them to nearby tribes.

In other words, this thing is mostly unstoppable, and the people who do it, including the elderly, are gambling on luck. If they are not discovered, they will have a lot of money, but if they are discovered, they should be dealt with, and they will be dealt with. , or get rid of the person who found out about it - that's what everyone does anyway.

But Hua Manlou was the one who pointed out this matter, which made the old man feel deeply powerless.

After a sigh, the old man went on to say, "Na Zhenghao overestimated his strength. Both shots were seen through and easily resolved. It can be seen that he was pushed by the people below. I didn't get involved in his affairs back then. Huamanlou couldn't do it." Even I waited to clean up together, so I changed a path for us while intimidating. This path... If you don't take it, you don't know how to praise, and you may be taken care of by him; if you go, you will enter his door. From now on, I can only wave the flag for him, tell me, is this considered overbearing?"

The merchant was frightened for a while: "Let... let the master come under him? This... he is a military officer, his rank..."

The old man sneered and said: "Grade? Whoever has the holy favor has the rank, you don't understand this? There are seven or eight state princes who are super-ranked in the capital, but the energy of these seven or eight is very different. , why? Grace!"

"That's true. Then, master, what should we do next? Should we contact the other companies..."

"Why contact them?"

"I feel that I should find a way to express this tone, or communicate with Nashang Shu, maybe we can bring down Uncle Xishan..."

The old man shouted angrily: "Idiot! Where have you been listening to all this time? Huamanlou is domineering, but where does the anger come from? You have been in business for many years, do you know that harmony makes money? Now this situation seems to be Huamanlou only I gave you a way, but when you think about it in reverse, this matter is equivalent to being suppressed by him in the past, and he also gave you a bright and aboveboard way of making money, what kind of anger is this?"

The merchant said awkwardly, "Yes, Master is wise."

The old man glared at him, his anger still lingering: "Talk to Nazhenghao... what do you think? With Nazhenghao's wild nature, can he give you a way of making money after stabbing the matter to him? That's true." After taking down Huamanlou, after the matter is over, he will take care of me and wait, how did he covet Huamanlou to monopolize the Wala business route, have you forgotten?"

"Small... the small one just thinks that the master lives under Huamanlou..."

"Hmph, the situation is stronger than people, what can I do?" He said so, but in fact the old man's expression did not show any reluctance, but he added: "And Huamanlou is a capable person, and he is kind. What's wrong with waving the flag and shouting after him?"

"What the master said is true." The merchant looked at the old man cautiously, and asked again: "Then master, do you really want to do business according to Uncle Xishan's wishes in the future?"

"From now on..." The old man squinted his eyes and muttered, "Just do what he wants."

"But master, it's not that profitable to sell things like tea and cloth in the grasslands, and Uncle Xishan also said that he would collect a business tax, so you can't lose a penny. This..."

The old man glanced at the merchant, patted the piece of paper on the table and said, "If you don't act like this, how can you justify what you have done? And with the addition of a coal mine, you can only make a lot of money. You can make money if you live." Fate is the flower, if you really don't open your eyes, this thing will appear on His Majesty's desk."

After a pause, the old man said again: "From now on... don't think about it carefully."

"Yes. My lord, Xishanbo's matter about Nashangshu..."

"You don't have to worry about this matter, but there is something you have to do yourself." The old man flicked his fingers anxiously: "Tomorrow, you can prepare a generous gift and send it to the stove shop for any reason, but you must hand it over to me." Give it to that concubine of Huamanlou."

"Dare to ask the master, how much... How generous is the gift?"

"……roll."

"Yes."

471. How about I go with you?

It doesn't matter how thick the etiquette is, after all, this matter is not a category of "expressing one's heart", but represents a certain attitude.

In short, even if you just send some delicacies from mountains and seas, it is fine, but you must make the matter of standing in line superficial, otherwise, not to mention making money, Xuanwuwei may come to raid the house every few days.

However, how could this group of Shanxi merchants with bureaucrats behind them only give away delicacies?

"Tsk tsk, these people are really rich..." Flipping through the pile of gift lists in his hand, Hua Manlou showed sarcasm: "With such an important gift, isn't it afraid that I will suddenly regret that I stole their house?"

You must know that many things in Guochao are priceless, and some rare things can be said to be priceless, such as the Qingming Riverside Picture.

Of course, there are no such paintings as Qingming Shanghe Tu in this world, but there are antiques, calligraphy and paintings of equal value, and there are such things in this gift list right now.

"Master, do you have to keep accounts for these...?" Qiaoqiao stood behind Huamanlou, her voice trembling as she looked at the gift lists.

She has spent more than a year in the capital for nothing. She knows that most officials have "yellow rice" and "white rice" booklets. Well, I understand everything.

But Hua Manlou sneered at this: It doesn't matter if you save your life or not, after breaking the taboo and leaving the circle, you will die of course not able to live, remember that this thing has some use?

So he said: "Remember, just put it in the warehouse directly, don't worry about other things."

Qiaoqiao opened her mouth, but said nothing.

"Oh, those girls who were sent here, you can watch the arrangements." Hua Manlou gritted his teeth.

So, the atmosphere these days is really not good.If you give a gift, you should give it properly. If you have nothing to do, what's the matter if you mess with a large group of women and send it to your door?

It's fine if it's an ordinary girl, but the group of girls are all shy and timid like Liu Fufeng, and suddenly throw a vague or resentful or charming or meaningless look at Huamanlou, and they are stunned. It was to make Hua Manlou, who was standing in the front hall of the Huai'an uncle's mansion, think that he had entered some brothel.

And early in the morning, Miss Qi heard the news from nowhere, and she brought people from the southeast, northwest and others to kill her. At this moment, this psychopath is leading a group of maids who look like female soldiers to perform martial arts in front of those girls in the backyard. , I frightened the group of girls who could cry for a long time with one punch, their faces turned pale with tears in their eyes...

"Uh... yes." Qiaoqiao replied with a suppressed smile, and said, "How about sending it to Miss Wancheng to help practice medicine? I heard she was too busy a few days ago."

"You can figure it out. If there is someone who wants to marry someone, let Song Jie and the others marry him and go home. It's a good place to go." Hua Manlou waved his hand in annoyance: "Anyway... Just take him away, don't put them in the house as an eyesore."

Most of the teenagers of Xishanwei have also reached the time of marriage. Many of them, including Song Jie, have been promoted this time, and those teenagers who have been following Huamanlou have also stepped into the ranks of officers, so this group Maybe a woman who would be sent around as a commodity would be regarded as high-profile if she married them, and it would also avoid that in the future, she might only be an unnamed concubine or be forced into a brothel or something.

As for Huamanlou's sweet dream of a bunch of skinny horses...

Well, it doesn't matter anymore, after all, the eldest lady of the Duke's Mansion has already lost her temper, and the youngest daughter of Ge's hometown probably won't be in a good mood when she hears about it - her father is going to take the top card home to be a concubine His mother found out that the air pressure in Ge Lao Mansion has been a little low recently, and Hua Man Lou didn't dare to come to the door...

What the hell is going on!

Thinking of this, Hua Manlou hates Gu Xinghuai even more, why the hell is he?What are the conditions? Just play in the clubhouse?

The only good thing is that after Qiaoqiao heard about Huamanlou's settlement, she suddenly became in a good mood, and Su Jiuer, who had been sitting in the corner, looked at Huamanlou with a much more kind gaze—even though this girl's His expression remained indifferent.

Hua Manlou mourned her dream that was getting farther and farther away, and settled down: "You go to work, and by the way, ask someone to send a letter to Ge Lao Mansion..."

"Are you going to tell Ms. Wen that the young master has settled all the women he sent outside? Ah..." Qiaoqiao, who was quicker than her brain, turned her eyes away when she realized she had made a slip of the tongue. Looks like it's going up...

"...What do you think?" Hua Manlou was speechless for a long while: "Go and tell her that the bureau has been set up, and the net will be closed in a few days!"

"Oh, hee hee." Qiaoqiao smiled and ran away.

"God is settled outside..." Hua Manlou muttered, and when he was about to call back Miss Qi who was frightening people in the backyard, Su Jiuer got up and stood in front of the table: "I want to go out for a while." .”

Hua Manlou blinked: "You usually don't say hello to me when you go out, how should I answer such a sudden sentence? Please?"

Su Jiu'er was silent for a while before replying, "Traveling away."

Hua Manlou asked in astonishment, "Where are you going? Going home?"

Su Jiuer nodded.

"Then what," Hua Manlou scratched his head and said, "What's the matter? You have been with me for a year. You have been out of the sea, and you have been together day and night. I have never asked about your family. Can you tell me about the situation now?"

Seeing Su Jiu'er's cold expression, Hua Manlou couldn't help adding: "Of course, if you want to tell me, I won't ask any more questions, but you know what kind of person I am, and... what, if there is If you can help, just speak up."

What Hua Manlou said was the truth.

Su Jiu'er had been inseparable from Hua Manlou since Zhao Ren found him last year, and only when she was looking for someone in Ningbo Mansion did she leave him for a while.Other than that, she followed Huamanlou quietly every day, without asking or saying anything.

If we talk about communication...

Generally speaking, it was only the time in Shengshan, where she comforted Huamanlou for the first time, and said in a tone that seemed to be swearing: "I will protect you."

Mysterious girl.

After Hua Manlou finished speaking, Su Jiu'er didn't show any expression for a while, just when the former thought he was being abrupt or offending others, Su Jiu'er suddenly said, "I... will recruit soldiers for you."

"... Huh?" Hua Manlou was stunned: "Recruitment... oh, you mean the young soldiers of Xishanwei?"

Su Jiuer nodded.

Xishan Thousand Households was expanded to Xishan Guard, with a full staff of 600 people.

Expansion of the army is a must. Huamanlou's requirement this time is that the age of enlistment is between 19 and [-] years old. Honorary and gold-plated soldiers are still not allowed to join the army, but the physical fitness must meet the standard—or meet the conditions. In theory, this The requirements are higher than last time, so we really didn't call all the people for a while.

But the question is, how could Su Jiuer care about this matter?

"Can I ask why... or where do you want to recruit?"

"... Datong."

"How about... I'll go with you in a few days?" Hua Manlou said by chance.

472. Exhalation is important

Huamanlou's enthusiasm has not received feedback.

Maybe it's because Jiu'er thinks that Huamanlou is simply being polite, or maybe it's because Jiu'er thinks that Huamanlou has too many things to do-not to mention, the affairs of Shanxi merchants are not over yet, and the marriage is coming soon , he couldn't walk.

So the girl set off alone, one horse and one sword, she was extremely chic, she didn't even ask for the money Huamanlou gave her and the waist badge of Xuanwuwei.

Regarding this, Miss Qi who came to see off with Hua Manlou said with a complicated expression: "I'm not a jealous woman."

Hua Manlou: "... Huh?"

Qi Wanrong said: "I don't allow fox spirits to enter the house, but she is not a fox spirit..."

Hua Manlou thought for a while before she understood what she wanted to express, and couldn't help being speechless: Co-author, do you think that Jiu'er's departure at this juncture is because you frightened people in the backyard?

And, she's not a vixen... how would you describe it?Complimentary or derogatory?

But having said that, Su Jiu'er suddenly chose to leave before her big wedding. Could it be that she really didn't want to see her get married?The purpose of avoiding the guards and entrapments I gave myself is to prove my innocence... right?

To be honest, when girls see someone accidentally hitting a telephone pole on the road, they might think that that person is peeking at them, and the men are no exception, so Hua Manlou's thinking began to diverge: get along day and night for a year... ...Could it be that this girl fell in love with me too?

Seeing that Hua Manlou didn't answer, Qi Wanrong continued to say awkwardly: "Those merchants sent...all of them are not girls from good families. If you enter the house, you can make the chickens and dogs restless. Isn't that what my father brought back back then? Well, in the end it was my mother who drove Zhidu out of the house..."

Hua Manlou withdrew her wandering thoughts, and looked at Qi Wanrong with a cheerful face: "Huh? You mean that my father-in-law was quite romantic in the past?"

Qi Wanrong curled her lips: "In the past... hmph, isn't it also romantic now? Men don't have a good thing."

As he spoke, Hua Manlou glanced blankly.

"No, I didn't see you like this a few days ago. Why did you play like this a few days after you returned home?" Hua Manlou looked at Qi Wanrong in surprise, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Understood, it must be given to you by your mother-in-law." Did you say something?"

Qi Wanrong turned her head and did not dare to look directly at Hua Manlou: "No!"

Well, it's a real hammer.

These days... It's better to say that no matter what year it is, capable men generally eat more and occupy more-this is a fact that exists and is irrefutable, but it's more straightforward these days, after all, there is no pressure from public opinion .

Therefore, no matter whether it is the white-haired lady of the Holy Maiden of the White Lotus or the two eldest ladies in the elite circle of the capital, they don't care too much about how many more Huamanlou marries, and even when he is playing around outside, no one says he is wrong—— — Don't you see, has a certain Zhang Xiaoguo been playing for more than half a year?

But playing around and taking concubines are two different things. If there are too many people in the backyard, there will be more right and wrong. Naturally, things like fighting for favor are not uncommon and have even become traditional crafts. It's not easy to go out, but I still want to teach her something consciously or unconsciously, so as to prevent her from being bullied in the Xishanbo Mansion in the future, or being kicked out of the house and even losing her children's inheritance rights.

After all...

The Hua family has two titles, and it has been said earlier that Ying Guogong will occupy one - the first wife does not occupy it, so the title must not be lost, otherwise where will the face be put?

As a result, after only a few days of teaching, Qi Wanrong became impatient with the teacher, and immediately after meeting Huamanlou, she showed timidity, and then she began to remedy urgently under Huamanlou's dumbfounded expression: "If you want to charge more A few concubines are not out of the question, my mother said that they are all my dowry girls in the southeast and northwest, and you can take whatever you want at that time, anyway... Anyway, you can't mess around outside..."

Hua ManLou couldn't bear to look at this tragic situation: "Crazy! Let's go back to Xishan!"

……

When Hua Manlou bid farewell to Su Jiu'er, the bureau he set up in Jingzhong also started to operate, and the counterattack began.

"Taiji, do we really want to do things according to the orders of the southern barbarian?" Er Situmu, who was ready to go out in Honglu Temple, asked hesitantly before going out.

"Is there any choice?" Er Situm smacked his mouth, and said with a wry smile: "There are times when the eagle on the grassland can't fly, but fortunately, we are not begging for mercy, but riding a gust of wind at most. "

He said so, but in fact Erstum smiled wryly in his heart: it is not considered begging but also a street performer. This situation...why does it feel worse than last time?

Shaking his head, Erstum continued: "Perhaps the Tatars have committed too many crimes, so the Longevity Genius doesn't protect the grasslands. Now, he only wants to protect himself. After the Longevity God calms down, he will have a good life. That's all." , stop talking, let's go."

Erstum’s argument is the argument of Wala today. They believe that last year’s snowstorm and this year’s plague are the anger of the immortals, which originated from the Tatars’ sons killing their fathers and killing each other. This...

Hua Manlou probably laughed out loud when he heard this.

But in fact, even if Huamanlou smiled in front of Erstumu, he had to laugh with him, because a few days ago after Huamanlou subcontracted the Wala business to Shanxi Merchants, this group of people planned to work in Hamiwei. It is a good thing that Da Zhao will "comprehensively" start trade with Wala with the establishment of mutual market places in the area.

In order for this matter to be accomplished smoothly, Huamanlou's condition for Erstumu was to help him deceive people, and the reason was also very refreshing: "Brother Er, this time, my little brother is under pressure to implement the mutual market for you. Yes, but the problem is that there are always people who don’t like the mutual market... have you heard the saying that colleagues are enemies? Less, right?"