Chapter 12 Chapter 11 Fish Shop, Pig Shop, Miscellaneous Shopping Business

After Gu Qi left, Zang Qi thought that the charcoal could only be piled in his own charcoal storehouse, and it was too late to find another hidden yard at this time.If Wu Meng finds out that the charcoal is missing tomorrow, he will naturally insist on me.When it comes to chatting, the charcoal transporters talk too much, and it is impossible to seal them all.At that time, my charcoal bank will definitely be found. Ten thousand scales of charcoal is not a small amount, and it is difficult to cover up.This matter has to be solved with the help of Zhu Deshi. So he took Zhu San, an entourage, and rode to see Zhu Deshi.Zhu Deshi welcomed him out, and kindly invited him into the main room, where he was divided into guests and hosts.Zang Qi vaguely felt that Zhu Deshi seemed to have something on his mind, wondering if it was related to Wu Meng.

"Brother Zhu, I found the charcoal hidden by Tan Li." "Oh? Where?" "There is a courtyard outside Xincao Gate. In addition, I found out from the mouth of the guard that the charcoal was hidden together by Tan Li, Wu Meng, and Feng Sai." "Huh? It doesn't make sense. The palace is desperate for charcoal. Why do they do this?" "I don't know that. So I came to ask you for advice." "This Wu Meng is really messing around. Although the charcoal in the middle of the palace should be handed over by him, the miscellaneous shopping and the internal charcoal warehouse only recognize the charcoal shop, and I always look for it first. I'm afraid it will come again later. I'm in trouble?"

"Should I send someone to call Wu Meng to ask for clarification?" "Since he wanted to hide the charcoal, he naturally refused to admit it, and it was all for nothing. There must be a reason for him to do this..." Zang Qi saw that Zhu Deshi was staring at him with suspicion hidden in his eyes, not only suspicious of Wu Meng, but also suspicious of himself.He was deeply afraid of Zhu De's scheming, so he threw the topic back: "Last month, the two of us advanced the charcoal in the palace for him, and this time he may think so again. You are the leader, what to do depends on Zhu De Brother you."

"How can there be such a reason? He only takes the light of the charcoal bank and does not bear the responsibility of the charcoal bank. He is not just embarrassing me, but embarrassing both of us. What can I do? Wait for the people from the inner charcoal store to come, Just let them ask Wu Meng." "Since he hid the charcoal, he naturally wouldn't hand it over." "Then wait for the lawsuit." "It's really a lawsuit. He has charcoal, so he just pays it. At most, he will be fined. But he trampled on the rules." "How many people guard his charcoal bank?"

"Only three people." "He must be punished, and the charcoal should be transported away!" Zang Qi finally waited for this sentence: "I have an idea with you, you can't let him act recklessly. I have already found some powerful men to wait there. Since Brother Zhu also has the same intention, I will immediately let them control that Three guards, take all the charcoal away." "Okay. But, if you really want to do this, don't let Wu Meng know." "I think so too. It's just——Brother Zhu, is it easier for those charcoal to be transported to your charcoal storehouse?"

"Your charcoal bank is nearby, so it will be shipped to you." "Okay. Zhu San, you ride my horse to the gate of Xincao immediately, and let Gu Qi do it immediately!" Zhu San followed Zang Qi's instructions, pretended to agree, and ran out quickly. "Fortunately brother Zang pays attention, otherwise we will be fooled by Wu Meng this time." "Wu Meng should have been punished. In addition, that Feng Sai joined forces with them to deceive us, so he has to get a taste of it." "Hmm! Feng Sai—" Before Zhu De could finish telling the truth, the servant Ah Jin ran in to report: "Master, the two officials from Miscellaneous Maiwu and Nei Charcoal Depot are here together!"

Zhu Deshi hurriedly got up to meet him, and Zang Qi also followed.There were four people who came, the first two were the ministers of Miscellaneous Buying and Internal Charcoal Depot.Although the two positions are not high, they are officials who are over the head of Tan Xingzheng.There were two master clerks on both sides, the first one was Wu Li, the chief keeper of the internal charcoal depot whom I met at noon, and he had strode into the court.Zang Qi followed Zhu Deshi and hurried forward to greet him with a bow. The goods needed in the palace are all undertaken by the miscellaneous shopping.Miscellaneous purchases are purchased from all walks of life.There are two kinds of purchases, one is science and equipment, and the other is and purchase.Hemai is a merchant who voluntarily sells it to Gongzhong, but Kepei cannot refuse to sell it.Unlike other goods, charcoal is used every day in the palace, so it is a scientific preparation.It doesn't sound like a compulsory levy, and the price is also assessed according to the current price of each ten-day period.But after all, it is an official purchase of science and equipment, and it cannot be rejected at all.The charcoal money in the palace has been owed for more than two years, but it can only be paid on time as usual.

"Old Zhu, where's the charcoal?" Lou Hui, the miscellaneous maid, was born chubby, but his voice was loud and fast, "The dinner in the palace is waiting for the fire, and I can't wait until now. Except for the officials, the queen and a few Concubine, everyone will continue to eat cold food. Do you want ice water and cold cakes to be served in the imperial meal tomorrow morning?" "Sin, sin!" Zhu Deshi hastily bowed, "Master Wu knew that it was Wu Meng who was supposed to get the charcoal in the middle of the day, and it had already been arranged, and Wu Meng also said that the charcoal was ready, and I am afraid it is being transported to the internal charcoal storehouse. "

"Nonsense!" Lu Chen, the inner charcoal storekeeper, shouted. He is tall and has a thick voice. He is easy-going when Zhu Deshi hosts banquets on weekdays, but now he has a cold face. "We came here along the river. Where are we?" Is there a charcoal boat?" "My lords, please sit down in our hut for a while, before ordering someone to call Wu Meng." "I don't care who you send charcoal to, I only want charcoal!" "Yes, yes! I'll go ask you now!" "We'll be waiting in the inner charcoal depot! If you don't see the charcoal before Haishi tonight, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

The two prime ministers walked away together as they spoke, the two masters followed closely behind, and Zhu Deshi and Zang Qi hurriedly escorted them out.The four of them got on their horses without looking back, and Lou Hui, the miscellaneous buyer, complained: "What happened today? There are ghosts everywhere, brother Lu Chen, you go to the charcoal store and wait. If they don't send it tonight, there is no need Long-winded. I have to go to Xingguo Lane to ask about Yuhang!" The two prime ministers bid farewell and drove away separately. "Brother Zhu, what should we do?" Zang Qi was a little frightened.

"This is the end of the matter, let's get over it."
Jiang Yutou rode a donkey into Xingguo Lane, and saw many people clamoring in the twilight, gathered in front of Yu Xingxing Shouzhangci's house.When I got closer, I saw that they were all fish merchants and fishmongers.One of them turned his head and saw him, and immediately shouted: "Jiang Yutou is here!" When the other fish merchants heard it, they all surrounded him. "Boss Jiang, is there any fish?" "The business has been in vain for a day. If this continues, we will have to jump into the river to feed the fish!" "Don't play tricks on us like this!" "Say something, what's going on? ?” Jiang Yutou was usually embraced by these fish merchants and fishmongers. At this time, everyone's eyes were burning and their words were burning. How could he cope with it?I had no choice but to get off the donkey and drag it, lowering my head and trying my best to hide.While they were huddling and clamoring, a voice suddenly sounded from behind: "Get out of the way! Don't get in the way!" Everyone looked back and saw that there was a horse and a donkey, and the green brocade official uniform immediately belonged to the miscellaneous buyer Lou Hui, and on the donkey was the miscellaneous buyer Lu Huizhi.The fish merchants quickly moved out of the way, the two drove past, and Jiang Yutou hurriedly took the opportunity to follow.Seeing that the door of the house was closed, he hurriedly dropped his donkey, rushed to the door, and knocked hard on the door: "Achi! It's me! Open the door quickly, and hurry to tell the old man that Mr. Lou, the general manager, is here!" The door opened a crack, and a head protruded from the inside. It was A Chi, the door servant. When he saw it was Jiang Yutou, he opened the door.At this moment, Lou Hui had already dismounted, and Jiang Yutou hurried over to take the reins, and said respectfully, "Please come in, my lord!" Lou Hui didn't look at him, and walked in angrily.Another servant ran out to tie the horse and donkey, and Jiang Yutou hurriedly handed it over to him. He hurried after Lou Hui and Hui Zhi, and entered the yard.A few people in the court have rushed out to meet them, the head is Yu Xingxing's first gift, and the four people behind are the four major fish merchants in the capital. "Master Labor, come here in person, it's a crime of incompetence." Zhang Ci bowed and asked. "It's good to know! Today you brought less than 200 fish to the palace, not even enough to feed the imperial cats. I'm about to be scolded like a loach..." "It's really wrong to let the adults bear it, and you will die! But this happened suddenly, and the few of us are discussing urgently..." "I don't care whether you discuss it or not, I just ask you, can you make enough for tomorrow?!" "Yes, yes!" "Okay! Don't play tricks on me again!" "Don't dare! Don't dare!" Lou Hui snorted, turned around and left with the director, Zhang Ci and the four major fish merchants hurriedly sent them out together, Jiang Yutou followed closely behind.Before Lou Hui left, the fish merchants outside the door came around and shouted, "Leader! You have to tell us the truth!" "Don't worry, everyone, go back first. We are also anxious and are discussing..." Zhang Ci explained loudly. "It's been a whole day, when will this be discussed?" "That's right! You are all rich men, if you can afford it, we'll be hungry every day!" Seeing that he couldn't make sense, Zhang Ci hurriedly hid in the door with the four major fish merchants. After Jiang Yutou was late, someone grabbed his back, he hurriedly broke free and got in the door, but the doorman hurriedly closed the door. "Where have you been hiding all day?" Zhang Ci turned around and asked angrily, his eyes slashing at Jiang Yutou. "I……"
Wei Swineherd hurriedly went to see Wei Zheng, the leader of the group. After dark, he led his servants to escort the hundreds of pigs to Pig Killing Lane.The number of pigs today is less than one-tenth of the usual number, so he can only reduce them and distribute them to the butchers.The butchers all paid the money in advance, so naturally they were very unhappy because the quantity was so small, and they quarreled for more than half an hour.Wei Swineherd explained that his throat was on fire, and no one could listen to him, so he had to take advantage of the loophole and escape quickly on his donkey. Wei Zhuwan is forty-seven years old this year. He used to be a miner in the salt mines of Sichuan Province. Because he is the distant nephew of Wei Zheng, the leader of the line, he was brought to Bianjing because of some relatives.Back then in the salt mine, I earned up to forty or fifty pennies a year.At that time, he thought that if he could earn a hundred guan a year, he would be living in heaven.But when I got to the capital, I saw that there was a hundred years in a year, and here I was just a poor man who couldn't die of hunger.Like his uncle Wei Zheng, he prepared a coffin for his uncle and it cost a hundred guan, and he bought a horse for a hundred guan.As for him, collecting pigs for his uncle, he earns eight pennies a month and nearly one hundred pennies a year, but what is it worth?For a family of five, apart from the rent, they can only eat meat every meal.This is still the glory of being in the pig industry.Like mutton, it is more expensive, and you can't eat a few meals a year. At this age, he doesn't have extra thoughts, he just wants to do this job safely and steadily.A couple of sons and daughters are about to get married, but fortunately, they have already engaged with two brokers of the fruit shop and the shoe shop respectively. They all have similar backgrounds. Regarding the dowry and salary, they have agreed in private, and there is no embarrassment for each other.But even so, one needs at least fifty guan to be considered a human being.After coming to the capital for more than 20 years, he has only accumulated 80 guan in total, 20 guan less, and he has been worrying about this all the time. At this time, such a thing happens.He was filled with dread at the thought of seeing his uncle.Although my uncle is the leader of the pig line, he was born dry and thin, and he is cold and mean, and he will not tolerate any mistakes.And the older he got, the more fierce his temper became, and even his aunt didn't dare to say a word in front of him.How should I explain this matter? He came to his uncle's house, got off his donkey, tied it to the door, hesitated for a while, and then walked in. The servant who guarded the door saw him and greeted him in a low voice.In this house, no one dared to speak loudly.He nodded and walked in carefully.The house is not wide, but very deep, with seven courtyards.At this time, it was completely dark, the vestibule was pitch black and no lights were lit, and only some lights were seen in the main house on the second floor courtyard.He walked lightly, walked through the front hall, and came to the courtyard on the second floor. He smelled a scent first, the smell of meat, oil, and vegetables. I didn't bother to eat. Several pairs of tall candles were burning in the main room, which was very bright. There were more than a dozen dishes on the big black lacquered table. Wei Zheng sat alone at the table, and two concubines stood beside him quietly serving him. Wei Zheng was putting a piece of candied deer with chopsticks into his mouth. He always liked to eat slowly by himself. Although he was over sixty years old, his teeth were firm and his teeth were crunchy. Wei Swineherd knew that his uncle hated making noise when eating, so he stood in the yard and dared not go in. "Da Xin?" Uncle suddenly asked loudly. "Uncle...it's me." He was startled, how did uncle see it in the dark?He hurried to the door. "Such a big matter, if you don't report it quickly, did you die outside the city?" "Uncle," he was taken aback, "you already know?" "Find two people and tie up that bastard surnamed Feng for me!" "Feng Bao?" "Not yet!" "yes!"
Qiu Qian rushed to the side alley of Wengshizi Street again, and Chu Sanguan hid under the big willow tree by the street and waited for him.Seeing his smooth look, Qiu Qian was a little worried: "Wait a minute, I'll go to my brother-in-law and tell me." He rode a donkey into the alley and came to his sister's house. Xiao Ming was still the only one in the house, and no one else came back, and there was no news.He sighed, it was important to find someone, so he had to trust Chu Sanguan once.He returned to the alley and asked Chu Sanguan to go into a nearby tea shop. The owner of the tea shop was close to Feng Sai, and Qiu Qian often greeted him. The written contract: "Uncle Cui, I have a deal with this third official of Chu, can you please be an intermediary witness?" Shopkeeper Cui looked at the three officials of Chu, and immediately showed hesitation, and passed a message to Qiu Qian: "What deal? Nowadays, people's hearts are in turmoil, and it's not easy to do business. Be careful." "Well, thank you Uncle Cui for reminding me, but this matter has been settled." Qiu Qian handed over the deed. "Looking for Feng Sanlang? That's right, I haven't seen him for a few days. What's wrong with him? But, do you need 20 strings to find someone?" Shopkeeper Cui asked repeatedly. "Old Cui, what are you talking about so much?" Chu Sanguan became impatient, "You can do it if you want to, and if you don't want to do it, let's find someone else!" "Uncle Cui, I have an urgent matter to find my third brother, I can't wait." Qiu Qian hurriedly explained. "Have you really thought about it?" "Ok." "Then I don't have much to say." Qiu Qian and the three officials of Chu signed respectively, and the shopkeeper Cui finally signed with a frown.After Qiu Qian collected the deed, he took two large bags of copper coins from the donkey, a total of sixteen coins.Among them, Liuguan was borrowed from his uncle. His uncle Wang Baixiang knew that he had always been calm and disciplined, and he would not misuse money.Qiu Qian went home again and lied that he had found love, and moved out the ten pennies. "There is no fake money, right?" Chu Sanguan put the money bag on the ground, happily opened it to check the number. "Don't worry. It's all my own money." "You wait here, I will put the money back first, and then I will accompany you to find Feng Bao." A bag of money weighed thirty to forty catties, and Chu Sanguan struggled to pick it up, and staggered into his own pharmacy on the opposite corner of the street.After a while, he took a piece of wheat cake and shook it out while biting it: "Let's go to Sang's Wazi first, he hangs around there all day."
Feng Sai has been waiting opposite Wu Meng's other house. He and Cui Hao are sometimes together, sometimes separated, but they are all hiding in the shadows.When you get tired from standing, sit against the wall for a while.No one came until midnight.Cui Hao looked fine, but he was extremely tired and almost fell asleep several times.These years, he has dealt with wealthy businessmen and big businessmen, relying only on words to make a living, where has he suffered from this kind of tiredness?But besides staying here, he couldn't think of any other way to find his wife and daughter. Could it be that we were discovered here?probably not.Could it be that it was sent to Wu Meng's home?In order to guard against this, he had already asked Liu Ba and Geng Wu to guard over there.But Wu Meng should not be so futile that he dared to send Bifu directly to his own house, not to mention Qiu Han's mother and daughter.In other words, Tan Li didn't intend to send Qiu Han's mother and daughter to Wu Meng?But he has no grievances with me, and he is much richer than me. If he didn't want to frame Wu Meng, why would he kidnap my wife and daughter?Isn't the kidnapper Tan Li?Besides, who else? The more he thought about it, the more confused he became, and he became more and more clueless.
The lid of the box was suddenly opened, and the gorilla-like black man stood outside, leaned over and grabbed Qiu Han's arm, and grabbed her.Then Ling'er and Long'er were also taken out of the rattan box, and they untied the cloth strips around their mouths and the ropes that bound their hands for their mother and daughter.Liu Bifu was already in the room, the rope was untied, and she was sitting by the bed. Qiu Han hurriedly asked and begged: "What do you want to do? If you want to arrest, arrest me and put my two daughters back!" The big black man didn't seem to hear it, he just glanced at it indifferently, picked up the big rattan box and went out, and locked the door from the outside.The two daughters hurriedly threw themselves into Qiu Han's arms. Qiu Han hugged her tightly and looked around. He was in a hut with white paper on the walls and a big wooden bed inside.In addition, there is only one round table and four embroidered piers in the room.On the table was a set of red porcelain tea sets, and an oil lamp was lit.The utensils and mattresses look expensive, but the room is a bit stuffy and suffocating. Just now, their mother and daughter failed to escape in that yard, and were tied up and thrown into a big rattan box, loaded into a car, and wandered all the way here.Not knowing what those people were going to do, she panicked for a while, and glanced at Liu Bifu again, Liu Bifu still had that cold look of completely obeying orders.Qiu Han felt uncomfortable when he thought of leaving her alone in the charcoal yard just now. Liu Bifu met her gaze, stood up lightly, and said softly, "Sister, sit down."