Chapter 4 fourth quarter

When stepping out of the wing room on the second floor of "Wannianchun", Qi Chu's footsteps were a little unsteady.The four subordinates guarding the door immediately supported him, but they all struggled away violently. "Don't touch me!" Qi Chu blushed, but it wasn't because she was drunk. A subordinate glanced into the door curiously.The luxuriously furnished wing room was in a mess, the cups and dishes were scattered all over the floor, and women's skirts and obscene clothes were scattered around.On the big bed at the end, three naked girls were lying down vertically, without any movement, their white jade-like backs, buttocks and legs were covered with bruises.

Qi Chu held on to the railing and stepped down the wooden steps step by step.The other eight people who were waiting in the hall below also walked down the stairs, lest Fourth Master Qi would accidentally fall down. There were no guests in the hall. "Wannianchun" closed for half a day especially to greet Qi Chu alone, and lost at least four to five thousand taels of business. The madam who was waiting in the hall did not dare to complain because Qi Chu was her boss. "Wannianchun" has become the property of "Dashutang" nine months ago. Qi Chu coughed while walking the rest of the stairs.The subordinates immediately brought him a chair with cushions in the hall, and Qi Chu sat down heavily, weakly.

The madam, who was smeared with thick makeup, hurried forward, and was about to speak with a smile on her face, but Qi Chu's cold eyes made her suffocate. "You lied to me." Qi Chu's voice lost the gentleness of the past, and appeared hoarse and devoid of emotion. "How dare I lie to Fourth Master——" "None of them are like her." "I've tried my best to find—" The bawd's words and body trembled slightly. He slapped her hard, leaving four finger marks on her face. Qi Chu frowned, stroking his sore wrist. "If you're not lying to me, then there is something wrong with your eyes. Next time you can't find them, I'll dig out your eyeballs and feed them to the dogs."

Qi Chu dropped this sentence expressionlessly, then stood up and left.The members followed suit and surrounded him completely. The big carriage with vermilion wood and lacquered gold has long been waiting on Andong Avenue, with two guards at the front and back.At the end there is a car for the guards on foot.Including the coachman's subordinates, Qi Chu used nearly 20 people just to walk around the city. He definitely didn't want to repeat the embarrassment he had when he dealt with Jinya Puchuan last time. He was even more tired of relying on his righteous brothers for protection like before. To protect himself, he needed to have his own strength.During this year, Qi Chu sprinkled a lot of money and recruited a group of personal guards—including the old troops left by the former "slaughterhouse" corner bosses, as well as the troops transferred from various units in the "Dashutang" , the total number is close to two hundred.The salary was almost three times that of the past, and he didn't have to work much, and he often walked through the streets and alleys in Piaocheng with dignity. They all regarded it as a dream job, and Qi Chu was very respectful and obedient.

But in this way, the other subordinates of the "Dashutang" couldn't help being secretly dissatisfied.Long Bai noticed that there was something strange in the atmosphere in the gang, and he had talked with Qi Chu a few months ago. "Fourth, there's no need to do this. We have no rivals in Piaocheng. Is it worth spending so much money? Besides..." "Boss ordered, in Piaocheng you take care of yourself, and I take care of mine." Qi Chu replied coldly. "I don't need you to mention how I do things." ——After that, Long Bai and Qi Chu never spoke a word.

Horses and chariots galloped northward on Anton Avenue.Pedestrians and vendors saw Fourth Master Qi's convoy from a distance, and had already hurriedly avoided it.Last month, Qi Chu's horse guards ran over and killed a pair of young siblings playing in the street.Qi Chu spent five hundred taels in Piaocheng Yamen to settle the matter: the child's father was sent to the prison for six full days, and when he came out he limped on his left leg. The convoy passed through the North City Gate and the North Bridge, accelerated on the suburban avenue, and arrived at the new port before sunset.

Since the completion of the new port three months ago, Qi Chu's office has been transferred from the "old nest" warehouse in Poshili to here. The area of ​​the warehouse in the new port is nearly twelve times that of the "Old Nest", and its height is equivalent to a three-story building. It can accommodate eight cargo ships to berth and unload at the same time. More than 700 workers work in shifts day and night. Piaocheng's new power landmark controls all the goods that are transshipped and distributed through Piaocheng - including "Feng Yilong"'s private salt, materials and materials secretly transported to Nanfan, and other private goods.

Except for the salt goods of "Fengyilong", which is still in charge of Wen Sixi, the shopkeeper of "Piaocheng Branch", all other goods are not allowed to be sold, even if they are a piece of wood or a tile, if they are not affixed with a seal signed by Qi Siye himself. Get out of this warehouse. Of course, there were also thefts at the beginning of the operation of the new port.Qi Chu's solution is very simple: One day, the floating corpses of fourteen internal thieves appeared in the lower reaches of the floating river, and the operation of the port has been smooth since then.

Waiting for the guards to stand outside the car, Qi Chu slowly walked out of the car door. Outside the warehouse is a large open space for parking trucks. Four hay pavilions for feeding horses have been built beside it, and there is also a restaurant for coachmen and coolies to rest and eat.Lanterns are hung everywhere, and the whole car park is as bright as a temple fair market on a festival night. The three "bookkeepers" of the warehouse were already standing beside the car, waiting anxiously, with thick account books in their hands.Qi Chu walked towards the warehouse while listening to them read out the day's account settlement.

"Fourth Lord." It was Link who spoke, the "Xiangtou" of the warehouse in the port.Link was very careful in his work, so he was specially promoted by Qi Chu. Whenever he was away, he would be in charge of scheduling in the warehouse.Normally, Link must wait in the account room, and Qi Chu knew that something special must have happened. "There's a person over there who wants to have a private word with fourth master." Link pointed to the door of the restaurant. A man stands under a lantern in front of the door.Although they were far away, Qi Chu judged from his figure and clothes that he didn't know this person.

"Who is it?" "He came by cargo ship. He brought a batch of cotton, not much." Link spoke very succinctly—this was one of the reasons why Qi Chu admired him. "I don't think he's really in business." Qi Chu looked at the man from afar, with hesitation on his face.The man seemed to be grinning under the lamp. "He didn't confide anything, he just said: 'I won't waste Si Ye's time.'" Link paused, seeing Qi Chu's hesitant expression, and added: "I sent someone to search him, there is no problem." Qi Chu thought for a while, then led his subordinates towards the man.He waved his hand only a dozen steps away, signaling his subordinates to wait there. "Hi Fourth Master Qi." The man said with a smile. Qi Chu looked at him, neither fat nor thin, a little shorter than Qi Chu; the clothes were neat, but cheap, without any accessories; a slightly round face and small eyes, a respectful but not particularly enthusiastic smile.A face so common that you forget it when you see it on the street. "You don't know me," the man said again. "I came to introduce someone to Fourth Master. He didn't want others to know that he came to Piaocheng, so he sent me to find Fourth Master." "So he's around?" "It's a long way to go, but it's not far." "What do you want me for?" The man's smile widened a little. "Looking for Fourth Master, of course it's about business." He glanced at the other side of the warehouse and said, "But it's a little different from the business here." Qi Chu looked suspicious.The man's words did not seem to be joking or pretending to be mysterious. Seeing Qi Chu's expression, the man said again: "Please rest assured, Fourth Master, just as I told your subordinates: 'I will not waste Fourth Master's time.' That person believes that Fourth Master will definitely be interested in this business." "Who is he?" The man's smile remained unchanged.It's like a mask that doesn't reveal any real emotions.Qi Chu thought: Even if this person was arrested and tortured, he might have the same expression. "You know that person, fourth master."