Chapter 12 extortion in the street

When Maoxiang was besieged and ridiculed by beggars and managed to escape into the old courtyard, four well-dressed Confucian scholars walked down from the east end of the street—the Lishe Bridge.The one in the head, in his early thirties, tall and thin, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a long nose, was shrewd and capable. He was Gu Gao, the grand-nephew of the late famous leader of the Donglin Party, Gu Xiancheng.Walking beside him was a handsome, burly, proud young man named Hou Fangyu.Although he was only twenty-five years old and the youngest among the "Four Masters of Fushe", he was talented, quick-witted and cunning, and he was a role of advice among his companions.Walking behind them was a man named Mei Langzhong, who was also tall and tall, but had a cheerful and lively expression. He was usually obsessed with poetry.The other one was older than the others, and his name was Zhang Zilie.He has a shaggy beard and a stubborn, grim face.

These four people are all Fushe members and friends of Maoxiang.They initiated the party at Li Shiniang's house tonight.Now, they were talking about something while walking. "Brother Chaozong!" Mei Langzhong called Hou Fangyu from behind, "Don't you really think of a way?" "Hmph, what can I think of!" Hou Fangyu said coldly, without turning his head, "Don't you hear that 'the emperor is holy, the minister's crimes are...'" He didn't continue. "But this is clearly wronged!" Mei Langzhong seemed very anxious, he took a step forward and walked side by side with Hou Fangyu, "My lord is loyal to the country, and you have heard about Yunei, how could you bully Zuo Liangyu? "

"Ah?" Hou Fangyu turned his face, "Brother Lang said he was wronged? I dare not say that!" He sneered. "But your lord has been imprisoned for five years, brother Chaozong must try to rescue him, just like brother Pijiang..." Mei Langzhong probably wanted to cite Mao Xiang's running for his father to persuade the other party, but Hou Fangyu immediately interrupted: "Pijiang? He is a filial son, how can I compare him to him! He can be desperate for not going to war for his father. This little brother feels ashamed and can't do it. What's more—" He paused, his tone changed A bit sour, "Although my father is also an old officialdom for 20 or 30 years, but he wants me to take out tens of thousands of taels of silver from the house to run around for him. It's very funny, but I really can't afford it!"

"This... in case your lord encounters an accident in prison, how can brother Chao Zong be at ease?" Mei Langzhong was a little impatient.He obviously didn't understand that his father's life was in danger, how could a son act like this and ignore it? Hou Fangyu's father was Hou Xun, a member of the Donglin Party who first met Zuo Liangyu. He was originally a minister of war in the Ming Dynasty.Although Wen Tiren collapsed soon, the case has been shelved, neither rehabilitated nor enforced.Until now, Hou Xun is still in prison in Beijing.In this regard, quite a few friends were worried for Hou Fangyu, but he himself didn't seem to take it seriously, and he still wandered around all day long, living the happy life of his son and brother.Just now, Mei Langzhong mentioned this matter again, but Hou Fangyu's attitude remained the same, and Mei Langzhong couldn't help but get angry.

At this time, Gu Gao, who was walking side by side with them and had been silent all this time, spoke. "Lang San!" He turned his long nose around and smiled slightly, "Why are you in a hurry? In my opinion, Chaozong is right. There is no need to rush this matter, so we have to wait patiently. Besides, the court must not wait now. There will be actions that are not conducive to Lord Chao Zongzun, although he is imprisoned, he is actually as safe as Mount Tai!" "Ah, how did you see that?" Gu Gao curled his lips: "Nowadays, bandits are rampant and the world is corrupt. The only ones that the court relies on are generals. In the past ten years, the old and usable generals have withered away; only Zuo Liangyu has a strong army and stands alone. Save. Although he is arrogant and difficult to control, the imperial court can give up on him? As for Zuo Zhen's gratitude to the Emperor Zongzun, it is more than usual, and the imperial court has heard of it earlier. There will definitely be no unexpected actions. And—" He looked at Hou Fangyu, and raised his voice, "Little brother judges the situation, and it is inevitable that Chao Zongzun will come back. In a few months, there should be good news!"

During this time, Hou Fangyu listened quietly, until Gu Gao finished speaking, he raised his face, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked very proud. "Oh..." Mei Langzhong woke up like a dream.He blinked, and was about to ask something, but Zhang Zilie who was following them suddenly tugged at his sleeve: "Look, what are you doing over there?" Everyone stopped talking and looked up together, only to see two sedan chairs parked in the shop a stone's throw away from Wende Bridge, surrounded by a small group of people, and an angry voice called: "You have to pay me, pay me! Do you hear me?"

"Compensation? I told you to give way and you refused, who is to blame?" A cold voice retorted. Then, several people echoed in one voice: "Who told you to block the way?" "Yes!" "It's polite enough not to throw you somersault!" "Pay? Don't even think about—" "Fart! Why did Mr. Ben give way to you? Mr. Mr. Ben, you follow yours. Why did you bump into Mr. Mr. Ben? Why didn't you give way to Mr. Ben?" said the man angrily.He sounds like a Confucian scholar. Gu Gao and the other four exchanged suspicious glances. "It's too aggressive!" Gu Gao said decisively.He immediately quickened his pace and rushed forward.The rest followed behind like a swarm.

The men who looked like servants by the sedan chair were already screaming: "Ah, look what he said!" "Eggplant is big XingXiu, you want us to make way for him?" "Joke, never heard of it!" "Hey, hey! Don't underestimate this gentleman, maybe he is really not simple--haven't heard of 'yellow cattle in the pigsty'!" At this time, many spectators had already gathered around, and they all burst into laughter after hearing this narrow joke. The Confucian scholar ignored the laughter.He bent down anxiously, rummaging through a small pile of things.

"Hey, it's over, it's all over!" He cried out in a weeping voice, "You pay for my books, pay for my books, do you hear me?" He stamped his feet and shouted.It turned out that the pile of things were books, which were thrown on the ground for some reason. But that group of people seemed to be servants of a wealthy family, used to being arrogant, and relying on their numbers and power, they no longer paid attention to Confucian scholars.A tall, thin man wearing a corrugated hat and shiny silk clothes, who looked like a manager in charge, waved his hand, and the four bearers each lifted up two sedan chairs, intending to continue walking.The Confucian scholar was in a hurry, he jumped up suddenly, rushed to the sedan chair, and shouted loudly:

"stop!" Now, with the light of the night market, Gu Gao and the others have seen clearly that this Confucian scholar is indeed none other than their social friend Huang Zongxi.Huang Zongxi also has a part in tonight's party. "Well, it's him!" Gu Gao quickly recalled.He suddenly became excited and led everyone to squeeze forward excitedly. "How can you run rampant in the place where you stay in the capital! If you don't pay for the book, you don't even want to leave. If you have the ability, step over the body!" Huang Zongxi yelled again.His brows are now standing on end due to rage, his thin and pleasant face is distorted, two fierce wrinkles appear at the corners of his often smiling mouth, and a frightening light shines from his usually gentle and quiet eyes. , he really intends to go all out.

The sedan chair that had already started was forced to stop again.The group of servants looked at me and I looked at you, as if they were confused by this desperate nerd and didn't know what to do. "Hey, what's going on?" The person sitting in the sedan chair in front finally asked angrily.Then the curtain was lifted, revealing the face of a middle-aged nobleman. It was a big, white face.The facial features are correct, you can even say delicate, but each of them is too small and exquisite, which doesn't quite match the whole face.There are a few sparse yellow beards hanging on his chin. When Hou Fangyu saw this face, he couldn't help smiling.He knew this man, named Xu Qingjun, who was a descendant of Xu Da, the founding father of the dynasty.After Xu Da's death, he was crowned King of Zhongshan, and his descendants all lived in the palace next to the Dagongfang in Jubaomen, Nanjing. Now it is Xu Qingjun's elder brother Xu Hongji's turn to succeed him as Duke of Wei, and concurrently serve as Nanjing's garrison.Xu Qingjun has nothing to do, relying on his family's wealth and power, he spends his days drinking and drinking, horses and cockfights, and enjoyment and squandering.His family already had a large east garden, which was located next to the teaching workshop.He didn't think it was ostentatious enough, so he built a more magnificent West Garden near Zhongshan Mansion, where he kept a large number of concubines and lived a life of extravagance.In Hou Fangyu's words, this man's money is simply "annoying".So, now that he found out that the master who quarreled with Huang Zongxi turned out to be this rich man, Hou Fangyu immediately made up his mind.He glanced back at Gu Gao, and found that Gu Gao's eyes were flickering, and he was also looking at himself.So he closed his eyes and nodded.After Gu Gao did the same, they smiled at each other knowingly. At this moment, the manager in charge had already walked to the side of the sedan chair, bowed to Xu Qingjun and said, "I would like to report to Second Master, this man is really unreasonable! Just now he was walking ahead, and the younger ones almost broke their throats in the back. He insisted on not giving way. It was the little one who was afraid of knocking him over, so he frightened the second master, and kindly stretched out his hand to pull him. Who would have thought that he would falsely accuse the villain of damaging some of his books, and he would have to compensate him for pestering him. , so there was a commotion." Xu Qingjun glanced at Huang Zongxi and the pile of books on the ground that were obviously fished out of a stinky ditch, and said impatiently: "What a big deal! How much money are these broken books worth? If you just throw them away, it's over. What are you doing with him!" "Yes!" The manager agreed, scratched his head, walked back and said, "Okay, our second master..." But Huang Zongxi immediately interrupted him angrily: "Who wants your money! What I want is a book, a book! Do you understand?" "Oh, the book... so, what kind of book is that?" "What kind of book!" Huang Zongxi imitated the other party's tone resentfully.Because Xu Qingjun called his treasures contemptuously "a few broken books" just now, Huang Zongxi was obviously not convinced.He walked back, pointed to the book on the floor, and said loudly angrily and intentionally for Xu Qingjun to hear: "Listen! This is the Song version of "Latent Virtuality"! Song version! Do you understand? I have been waiting in the bookstore for three years, and I finally bought it today, only to be thrown into the stinky ditch by you dog. You have to pay me, pay me!" Because he was so distressed, he even changed his voice after speaking. up. The manager in charge blinked his eyes half-understood, walked back to the sedan chair helplessly, and said, "Second Master, he said..." "Bastard! Leave him alone, let's go!" There was a loud shout in the sedan chair.Obviously, Xu Qingjun's son-in-law had also lost his temper. Several servants were eager to have this sentence, and hurriedly instructed the bearers to lift the sedan chair. Standing outside the arena, Hou Fangyu saw that the opportunity was not lost, so he immediately stabbed Gu Gao, and after Gu Gao jumped out suddenly, he also jumped out.Seeing this, Mei Langzhong and Zhang Zilie hesitated for a moment, then walked out. Huang Zongxi, who was in a critical and desperate situation, was overjoyed when he suddenly saw rescuers coming. He forgot to say hello, nodded repeatedly, and said in a nervous and trembling voice: "It's a good time for you to come... They bully, bully people!" "Ah? Who is so bold to bully me, Fushe?" Gu Gao shouted loudly first.He was alert and saw that those evil servants of the Xu Mansion were rushing towards him. If they were not frightened and stopped immediately, the situation would be out of control.So when he opened his mouth, he first revealed the name of "Fushe". Even though Fushe is just a literary society that meets friends through literature and learns from each other, most of its members are scholars without fame, but it has a large number of people, and behind it is a group of bureaucrats who advocate enlightened politics; , more and more Fushe members have passed the imperial examinations to enter official careers and joined the yamen at all levels, and they have secretly formed a force that cannot be ignored in the court and localities.This group of people boldly discussed government affairs, praised and criticized people, emphasized the difference between gentlemen and villains, and had a great influence on public opinion.However, ordinary officials and eunuchs believed that as long as their children joined the Fushe, they would get a guarantee ticket to become an official, and they did their best to support and curry favor.So in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in the city of Nanjing, almost everyone knows about Fushe.Now that Gu Gao first showed his sign when he came on stage, he relied on such a background. This trick really worked, the manager in charge stopped in astonishment, and the other servants stopped hesitantly when they saw this. "Oh, it turned out to be the husband of the Fushe, the villain is disrespectful!" The manager looked at them blankly for a while, and finally coughed unnaturally and smiled, "I don't know what orders the ministers have?" He arched Start asking. "Who is your master? Ask him to come out!" Gu Gao shouted again.Seeing that the other party was frightened, he was secretly relieved.He didn't want to spend too much time talking with these people.It was very clear that in order to realize his tacit plan with Hou Fangyu, he had to negotiate directly with Xu Qingjun himself. "Oh, yes, yes, er... But, if the husbands have orders, tell the villains—well, it's the same." The attitude of the manager is more respectful.However, it can be seen that he guessed that the other party's intentions were not good, and was afraid of accidents, so he planned to stand in the way. Gu Gao was furious, "Nonsense!" He snapped, "Stop talking, go!" "Hee hee, forgive me how much weight you have, can you replace your second master Xu?" Hou Fangyu laughed and chimed in, "Come on, let's go, let's talk about Gu Gao, Huang Zongxi, Zhang Zilie, and Mei Langzhong from Fushe." , and mere——Hou Fangyu is here, respectfully invite Second Young Master Xu to come out and have something to say!" When Hou Fangyu uttered these words softly and skillfully, the people watching the excitement around him immediately became commotion.These names are all well-known characters in the Fushe—in the 11th year of Chongzhen, the students of the Fushe published the "Liudu Anti-Chaos Public Exposure", denouncing Ruan Dacheng, and a total of 140 people signed it.The first one is Gu Gao, and the second one is Huang Zongxi.Zhang Zilie and Mei Langzhong were also among them. This incident caused a sensation in Nanjing at that time, and many people still remember it vividly.Now, when I heard that the Confucian scholars in front of me were those famous people back then, they couldn't help pointing and discussing in a low voice. The person in charge seemed to understand that the other party had a lot of background, so he didn't dare to neglect and procrastinate.He hurried back to the sedan chair and told Xu Qingjun the truth.Then, he took a step back, bowed his head and lowered his hands, waiting for the master to come out. Today, there are more and more people watching.Everyone knew that there must be a good show to watch tonight, so they all stared at Xu Qingjun's sedan chair with great interest, and waited with bated breath for the appearance of this flowery Tai Sui. Unexpectedly, everyone stretched their necks and waited for a long time, but the curtain of the sedan chair was still hanging quietly, motionless.Not to mention not seeing Xu Qingjun's appearance, he couldn't even hear his voice. The manager in charge was baffled.He looked at Gu Gao with a sullen face, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go forward to report again in a low voice. "No, I won't go out! I don't want to see them!" The sedan chair screamed suddenly. People were startled and stunned.When he understood that it was Xu Qingjun's fearful and short-tempered voice, he burst into laughter. Gu Gao exchanged glances with Hou Fangyu.When the surrounding eyes began to focus on them, he sneered from his long nose, folded his hands on his chest, looked up at the sky, and said unhurriedly: "Okay, since Second Master Xu refuses to show respect , we will wait until the end. Anyway, if the truth of this matter is not clear today, Second Master Xu will never leave this place." "If Second Master Xu dares to send someone back to move troops, we Fushe colleagues will have our own way to deal with it—Brother Zifang, do you think so?" Hou Fangyu said to Gu Gao with a smile.In fact, he was worried that the other party would come to this move, so he gave a warning in advance so that he would not dare to act rashly. "Hey, what if Second Master Xu escapes home and cannot come out after closing the door?" Mei Langzhong, who had been signaled by Hou Fangyu in advance, asked with an innocent look. Zhang Zilie said in an old-fashioned and deep voice, "Hmph, unless he never goes out for the rest of his life, we will always have a way to find him." Listening to the friends in the club singing together, Huang Zongxi, who was caught among them, seemed to have forgotten his precious book "Hidden Virtuality and Meaning".He opened his eyes wide and looked at this and that, with a mixture of wonder and amusement. "Nonsense! Tell them to go! I don't see them, why should I see them?" Xu Qingjun, who was in the sedan chair, suddenly lost his temper and yelled again—this was the chief manager who once again persuaded the master when he saw that this was not going to end. come out.But he didn't know, Xu Qingjun knew very well that this group of scholars were powerful, and he was terrified to death, how could he dare to meet them? However, in this way, several people in Fushe lost their minds.Everyone focused their attention on Hou Fangyu in unison. Hou Fangyu still stood motionless, with a smile on his lips, looking confident.Seeing him like this, everyone had no choice but to turn around and continue to stalemate. Time passed little by little, and the spectators around began to get impatient.Someone yawned loudly, and some started to get separated.Finally, Hou Fangyu seemed to lose his composure.He took a step forward, cleared his throat, and was about to speak. At this moment, a person suddenly stepped out of another sedan chair that had been silent since the incident happened.He is about sixty years old, of medium build, wearing a square scarf, has a simple face, and his hair and beard are grizzled.He hurried forward to take the sedan chair, talked to Xu Qingjun inside through the curtain in a low voice for a while, and then walked forward quickly. "Gentlemen," he said, arching his hands, "it's considered polite!" As he spoke, he bowed deeply. Gu Gao and the others were already disheartened and disappointed, and they didn't know how to end it. Suddenly there was a turning point, and they couldn't help being overjoyed, so they all gave way and returned the gift. "Just now, all gentlemen wanted to see brother Qingjun, but because brother Qingjun was in poor health, he couldn't get off the sedan chair to see each other. I am extremely ashamed and sorry. I hope you gentlemen will forgive me." Ji Cheng said, and made another bow. This time, Gu Gao and the others exchanged glances, but none of them made a sound. Ji Cheng went on to say: "Brother Qingjun's servant offended Mr. Huang and even damaged Mr. Huang's treasure book. Brother Qingjun was very disturbed, so I asked my younger brother to apologize to Mr. Huang on his behalf!" After finishing speaking, he turned to Huang Zongxi Another bow. Seeing him bowing to the left and bowing to the right endlessly, Gu Gao felt impatient again.Before Huang Zongxi could make a statement, he sneered and said, "Hey, is Mr. Xu planning to end it like this?" "Oh, no, no!" Ji Cheng smiled hastily, "Brother Qingjun is willing to compensate Mr. Huang's treasure book. It's just that the treasure book is damaged, and returning the original is imminent. I'm afraid it will be difficult to do so. Brother Qingjun wants to double Repay the value, please give me the amount, Mr. Qingjun, brother Qingjun will be happy to do so." Gu and Hou played tricks for a long time, just to wait for this sentence.They didn't care whether Xu Qingjun himself said this sentence or his representative said it.What's more, Ji Cheng had discussed it with Xu Qingjun beforehand, and this sentence undoubtedly meant the surname Xu.As soon as Gu Gao heard this, his face softened.But Hou Fangyu frowned, showing a embarrassed look.He turned his head and asked in a hesitant tone: "Tai Chong, did you hear it all? Ordinarily, this book is really hard to come by, and I still feel pain when I see it! It is difficult to agree to this proposal. However, it seems that the matter was unintentional. There is indeed a dilemma, and this Mr. Ji has good intentions... well, just figure it out!" As he spoke, he secretly tugged on Gu Gao's sleeve.Gu Gao was in a daze when he heard that.He came back to his senses abruptly, and hurriedly said: "Exactly, that's the way I see it. It's just—too aggressive, so we can't spare him too lightly!" Mei Langzhong was originally an easy-going person. Seeing that Gu and Hou had changed their tone, he casually chimed in and said: "Tai Chong, now that things have happened, all I have to do is admit that I am unlucky and try to get a good rest. Never mind." Zhang Zilie did not make a sound.He obviously already knew it in his mind, and was waiting to read the following with his stubborn eyes wide open. Hearing the friends in the club trying to persuade him one after another, Huang Zongxi's thin and delicate face suddenly turned red.He lowered his head, frowned and thought for a long time, finally, he nodded helplessly. As soon as Hou Fangyu saw that Huang Zongxi agreed, he immediately winked at Gu Gao, and the two walked away together, chatting with each other. Huang Zongxi raised his head and glanced at the backs of the two friends in bewilderment, as if wondering what the hell they were going to do.It seemed that he had figured it out now, and his face gradually calmed down.He looked at Ji Cheng hesitantly, and finally walked forward, cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Duo Chengji is careful about this matter. I didn't mean to do this on purpose. It's really hard to get this book. Once I lose it, I'm really sad. I just offended you." Car driver, I'm sorry." Ji Cheng smiled respectfully, and said earnestly: "Mr. Huang is serious! Both of us are scholars, and no one knows that rare books are rare! I can only blame my subordinates for being too aggressive, which makes people feel sad!" Huang Zongxi was aroused by the other party's words again, he sighed a long sigh: "To tell you the truth, I have been waiting for this book for three years. The price is not too expensive, sixteen taels of silver..." Before he finished speaking, Hou Fangyu had already walked over.Gu Gao shouted from a distance: "Tai Chong, come here!" Huang Zongxi nodded hastily towards Ji Cheng, turned around and walked towards Gu Gao. Hou Fangyu didn't know if he heard Huang Zongxi's words just now, he said to Ji Cheng nonchalantly: "Mr. It is an extremely rare and rare book. Brother Taichong spent three years working hard on it, and it was ruined by the expensive price. I really can’t be reconciled! This book was planned to ask for the original book back, but now Mr. Ji’s golden face is hindered. Books. However, it shouldn’t be too hasty.” At this point, he stopped, stretched out a finger in a calm manner, squinted at Ji Cheng and said, “I’m afraid the amount of a hundred gold is more appropriate.” Ji Cost had been listening with a smile, but at this moment his face suddenly changed.He raised his head in astonishment: "Ah, why—why do you want so much?" "Why is it 'many'?" Hou Fangyu's face suddenly darkened, "As far as we know, this set of "Hidden Fiction and Meaning", as far as we know, is very likely to be the one that was confiscated from Yan Donglou's mansion in the 41st year of Jiajing. I'm afraid it's the only copy in the country. The value of a hundred gold is still low!" "But just now Mr. Huang said that he only spent 16 taels of silver when he bought it!" Ji Cheng couldn't help arguing. Hou Fangyu said coldly: "When you bought it, it was when you bought it, and now it is now. If Second Master Xu thinks it's not worth the price of a hundred gold, it's fine, please find another set of the same one to compensate Mr. Huang; or—— He smiled sarcastically, "Mr. Ji has this book in his family, and he is willing to take it out to compensate Mr. Xu, and I welcome it!" Ji Cheng gasped.Based on his decades of experience in the rivers and lakes, he understands that this time he has encountered a "hard-headed boat" - this person in front of him is definitely not something that can be moved by words.He pondered for a while, and finally said with a wry smile: "I can't make a decision on this matter. Please wait a moment, Mr. Mingqing. I will come back and make a reply next time." After speaking, he turned around dejectedly and walked towards the sedan chair. At this time, Huang Zongxi and Gu Gao hurried over.Huang Zongxi had probably heard about the price they offered from Gu Gao, and there was an argument between the two of them, so his face looked very ugly at the moment.When Huang Zongxi asked Ming Hou Chaozong that he had reported the asking price to the other party, he immediately became angry. "No, no! The book is mine, you can't do that!" he said loudly. Hou Fangyu was taken aback.He quickly glanced at the audience around him, and then he showed a familiar relaxed and happy smile: "Brother Taichong..." "Forget it!" Huang Zongxi interrupted him roughly, "You guys, you are trying to make me unrighteous!" He gritted his teeth and said. Hou Fangyu's handsome, fair face flushed red.His eyebrows were raised upright, and his eyes were round.A fierce word obviously rushed to his lips, but for some reason, he didn't say it.Finally, he sneered and turned away. "Tai Chong," an old-fashioned voice suddenly sounded. It was Zhang Zilie. He hadn't spoken for a long time, "Don't worry, Chaozong just bargained for you, and I don't know how the other party will bargain. How about you? If you are willing, you can change it later!" This sentence made sense, and everyone fell silent after saying it, and looked at the opposite side together. At this moment, Ji Cheng had obviously reached an agreement with Xu Qingjun.I saw him walking back unhurriedly, smiling and bowing his hands to everyone, and said: "Sirs, Brother Qingjun has already approved the number of one hundred taels and has no objection. Please work together to solve the problem." Brother Qingjun ordered me to express my gratitude to all gentlemen on his behalf! Brother Qingjun also said that since the treasure book is a rare book, the number of hundred taels is probably Mr. Qu Huang, and brother Qingjun would like to add another fifty taels , a real compensation of one hundred and fifty taels!" As soon as Ji Cheng said this, the audience immediately became a sensation, some people cheered loudly, some people wondered if they had heard it wrong, and there was a lot of discussion for a while, saying that Xu Ergong is really rich, and this hand is really beautiful. Generous and face-saving.Naturally, some people were worried for Huang Zongxi and the others: Hey, how can they step down now! Several people in Fushe couldn't help being stunned when they looked at me and you.They didn't expect that the other party would agree so readily, and they were still ready to bargain.However, the opponent in front of them is much more powerful than they estimated!Not only can he afford to pay, but he can also afford to throw it away-don't you want to knock him a hundred taels?He dumped you one hundred and fifty taels!That's right, I got the money this time, and it's half more, but I'm going to lose all my face!Hou Chaozong, oh Hou Chaozong, you are so clever and clumsy!If it spreads around tomorrow, what face do we Fushe have to face people? "Oh, this is one hundred and fifty taels of silver, please accept Mr. Huang with a smile!" Ji Cheng's respectful voice rang out amidst the commotion.It turned out that the manager in charge had already written the bank note immediately and sent it over. Several people in Fushe suddenly became a little at a loss.Huang Zongxi looked even more embarrassed, he glared at Hou Fangyu resentfully, and turned his face away angrily. The people around fell silent again.Everyone watched with great interest, wanting to see if the Fushe people would dare to accept such a hot silver ticket. At this time, Hou Fangyu, who had been rolling his eyes, suddenly burst out laughing.He took a step forward and took the bank note with one hand. "Thank you, thank you!" He cupped his hands and said to Ji Cheng, "I don't think Mr. Xu Er is really a good man, Hou Mou admires it very much! But—" He turned to the crowd and raised his voice, "If there is any Some people think that what I and others are doing here tonight is to covet Mr. Xu's money, and that would be too small to underestimate my return to society! Now, Hou solemnly declares here: This one hundred and fifty taels of silver Except for the 16 taels still deducting the value of the books to repay Mr. Huang Taichong, we don’t take a single penny of the remaining 134 taels, and use them all to help the hungry people! The Ming Dynasty first class will be exchanged into cash and immediately handed over to the porridge factory for distribution!" Hou Fangyu was good at eloquence, and his voice was resonant. These upright words, uttered through his mouth in a steady and rhythmic manner, not only clearly sent everyone's eardrums, but also pulled their heartstrings.The audience was silent for a while, and suddenly applauded loudly: "OK!" "It surprised me that!" "Wonderful!" "Fushe is a good thing!" ... People cheered sincerely with words of surprise, admiration and praise.The cheers far surpassed the commotion caused when Ji Cheng announced Xu Qingjun's answer just now.It rises and falls one after another, unending for a long time, rising from the market, hovering and reverberating over the Qinhuai River, and then drifting away far away... Gu Gao, Mei Langzhong, and Zhang Zilie breathed a sigh of relief, and secretly called out "Shame!".As for Huang Zongxi, although his remaining anger was still there, he couldn't help but secretly nodded at Hou Fangyu's resilience.Suddenly, he thought of Xu Qingjun, and quickly rolled his eyes, trying to find the two sedan chairs and the group of servants just now.But he couldn't find it anymore - at some point, Xu Qingjun and his party had already slipped away quietly...