Chapter 21 overcome obstacles

Hu Xueyan was quite surprised by Chen Shilong's uninvited arrival, but to put it bluntly, it was not surprising that it was Liu Bucai who "caught the errand". The negotiation with Pang's family went smoothly, and it mainly depended on Hu Xueyan himself. Because of his two letters, Wang Youling naturally looked at Pang Er differently.He asked the famous old master to mediate the property dispute for them.The plaintiff was a distant uncle of Pang Er, and when he saw the magistrate intervening, he knew that the lawsuit would not be profitable if it went on. At that time, it was unwise to "toast and not eat fine wine", so he was willing to accept mediation.Pang Er has long said: I don't care how much money is spent, and I feel at ease if I don't go to court or go to court.Therefore, after reading Hu Xueyan's letter and listening to Liu Bucai's narration, he agreed to help.It's just that he's getting old and he's in Nanxun, so it's a bit difficult to get together a large sum of cash all at once.

"I'll figure it out! I'm sure I can figure it out. You don't have to worry about it, just play around first." Sure enough, the situation that Hu Xueyan guessed in advance appeared. Liu Bucai thought that if he resigned, he would make Pang Er unhappy, and maybe a good thing would change his mind, but sitting down to gamble first would delay Hu Xueyan's business.With an idea, I thought of a way to get the best of both worlds. "Second brother Pang, I was entrusted by someone to be loyal. I should have rushed back, but you left me to play with you, and I really didn't want to leave. Just have fun and don't make me worry about it. In this way, He pondered for a while, and then said in such a tone that everything was suspicious and had to be done, "Second brother Pang, you have made arrangements for Xueyan's entrustment to you, and I will go to Huzhou to find someone to deliver the letter back!" "

"Okay!" Pang Er readily agreed, "Sit down for a while, I'll go to the check-in room and ask." As soon as he left, Liu Bucai didn't want to waste his time, so he immediately wrote a letter asking the Pang family to send someone to Huzhou to bring Chen Shilong to stand by. "I have some cash at home. I have to keep it for gambling during the Chinese New Year. I also prevent poor friends and relatives from borrowing money. I can't give it to Lao Hu." Pang Er said, "I have hundreds of thousands of accounts in Shanghai. 250,000 to Lao Hu, but he has to collect it himself, there are two bills that may not be collected, it depends on his own ability."

"Okay, okay!" Liu Bucai felt satisfied with this result, "You have done Xueyan such a great favor, and I thank you on behalf of him. However, how do you calculate this sum of money? Do you want goods or money? How is it? Please tell me, so I can inform Xueyan to do it." "What do you want? Let me lend it to Lao Hu, and return it to me when he sells the ticket." "Yes! And what about the interest?" "Interest-free!" "I'm sorry—" Liu Bucai hesitated. "Old Liu!" Pang Er lowered his voice, "I fell in love with you. To be honest, there are two accounts, about 70,000 to 80,000 silver, which are not easy to collect. I heard that Lao Hu and You Songcao gang Lao Wu is very friendly, and I entrust Lao Wu to collect these two debts. Although I can’t get all of them back, 70% of the debt is there. I can’t thank you enough for this. Of course, I am grateful to You Lao Wu. This will all be discussed after I meet Lao Hu.”

Chen Shilong was very flattered, and immediately went to Nanxun after receiving the letter.Liu Bucai was already at the Pai Gow table, and he couldn't spare time to write a letter, so he took him aside and explained everything with Pang Er's receipt receipt. Chen Shilong immediately took the fast boat hired by Liu Bucai, Arrived in Hangzhou overnight. Hu Xueyan fell to the ground with a stone.But things are still quite troublesome, I have to go to Shanghai in person, and there are chores to take care of in Hangzhou.In particular, the accidental discovery of buying foreign guns is a big deal if it is done well, further contacts with foreigners will also help his silk business, and if it is not done well, it will offend Huang Futai and the Gong family Father and son, if their anger is transferred to Wang Youling and Ji Heling, the relationship is very serious, and they are even more worried.

Seeing his dilemma, Chen Shilong volunteered, "Mr. Hu!" He said, "If I can do it, let me go." Hu Xueyan thought for a while, and this was also a solution, "You can't do it alone, you need to have five!" He resolutely made a decision, "You go to Songjiang first, and you have to drag him together anyway. The rest For the matter, I will ask Lao Gu." So they talked for a whole night, giving clear instructions.Early the next morning, Chen Shilong left.On this day, there was a response to Qiu Fengyan's post. Early in the morning, a big blue sedan chair was carried to the door of Qiu's house. The attendant took a name post from the worship box and threw it on the door of Qiu's house. ".The gatekeeper had been instructed a long time ago, and when he saw the post, he replied that the master had gone out, but in fact Qiu Fengyan just got up.

The guest left, but the famous post stayed. It was Gong Zhenlin, the chief of the Artillery Bureau, who came to visit.Qiu Fengyan was very excited, and rushed all the way to the Fukang Bank. When he saw Hu Xueyan, he said, "Heling is so accurate in Yin-Yang gossip! Look, Lao Gong really came to teach him after changing his respect." "Have you seen him?" "Of course I don't see it. Once I see it, everything will be over. If he wants to ask, I don't know anything. It's really 'If you want to refute, you will give up your life'!" "It's nothing like that, don't be afraid. Let's go, let's go to He Ling."

At the end of the year, the Maritime Bureau had nothing to do, and Ji Heling was happy at home. Under the sunny window in winter, he was teaching his youngest son to recognize the name.Seeing Qiu Fengyan's face, he smiled and said, "There must be news." "Yes!" Qiu Fengyan replied, "I was muttering along the way, I've never done this kind of 'punching the empty gun' trick, I don't know if I can handle it or not." What he worried about was that there was nothing wrong with him, and there was no one there. When he asked where the foreigners were, it was difficult to answer first.However, under the planning of Hu Xueyan and Ji Heling, it was easy to deal with it, and he was taught a set of words in detail.Qiu Fengyan really smiled.

"I'm going to pay homage, so I have to borrow your sedan chair and your housekeeper." "Not good!" Ji Heling didn't say yes or no, but Hu Xueyan objected first, "Then it will show your feet." "Yes, yes! It doesn't matter, I can make do with it." Qiu Fengyan also has many friends, so he borrowed another sedan chair, used his door as a follower, and then went to the artillery bureau to pay his respects. As soon as the name card was handed in, Gong Zhenlin opened the middle door to welcome him.His family lived behind the cannon bureau, and to show kindness, he moved into the private residence, and first asked his son Gong Zhitang to come and pay him a visit, saying "Old Man" very respectfully.

"Brother Feng Yan, I have admired your 'wine fairy' for a long time. I have always been greedy for drinking, and I have a lot of good wine. Today, I drink with my bosom friend. If I don't get drunk, I won't return." "Must bother, it's too much!" "Brother, you'll be offended if you say that." Gong Zhenlin told his son, "Go and see where Uncle Qiu's housekeeper is? Get the bag." "No, no!" Qiu Fengyan said, "I originally planned to leave after sitting down for a while, and never brought plain clothes."

"That's it," Gong Zhenlin looked at the guests and then at his son, "Zhitang, your figure is similar to that of Old Man Qiu. Bring one of your leather robes. Wait for Old Man Qiu to replace it." Qiu Fengyan thought to himself, drinking in an official uniform is too restrained, so he will not pretend to be polite. When Gong Zhitang asks a girl to fetch the leather robe, he immediately puts it on. It is a new sheepskin robe commonly known as "radish shreds", which is extremely light and warm. , just fit. Before the wine is served, tea is served first. Wuyi tea from Fujian is prepared with clean utensils and cooked properly.Qiu Fengyan has an easy-going personality. Although it is the first time to meet Gong Zhenlin, who is nodding acquaintance, he is like a regular customer, drinking tea and appreciating tea sets at the same time, looking extremely comfortable and casual.And Gong Zhenlin and his son also deliberately did not talk about business, and only tried their best to form a "deep friendship" in a short time. Before the tea tasting was over, two servants of the Gong family brought in a jar of wine, and Gong Zhenlin said, "My brother is a great expert in this, please come and have a look." Seeing this scene, Qiu Fengyan guessed that it must be a rare and fine wine, so he left his seat happily, and went to the corridor with Gong Zhenlin, only to see a flower carving of twenty-five catties, the colored paintings on the jar were already very dim, and there were mud heads. It was covered with dust and turned gray, and there were vaguely written characters. When I looked at it with a whisk, it read: Made in Jiapingyue, the thirteenth year of Daoguang. "Yo!" Qiu Fengyan said, "It's been twenty years!" "Yes. It has been in my hands for five or six years. There are two altars in total. The year before last, my mother's 70th birthday opened an altar. This altar is 'the jar will be opened when we come'!" Qiu Fengyan was naturally moved, and bowed his hands to express his gratitude, but he was a little uneasy. Hu and Ji did not expect this kindness. Just as he was pondering, the servant of the Gong family had already uncovered the mud, took off the sealed bamboo chopsticks and said, "Master Qiu, take a look!" Looking around, there was light directly shining on the mouth of the altar, and I saw that half of the wine was left, and it was covered with white hairs, which proved that it was indeed very old wine. Qiu Fengyan was indeed an expert, nodded and said: "That's right Son." So, the servant of Gong's family took a copper spoon, carefully skimmed off the white flowers, and then poured the wine into a large green porcelain altar with great care. The porcelain altar smelled bad immediately, and Qiu Fengyan unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva in his throat. Going back to the house and taking a seat, I saw that the Fujian cuisine of Gong's family was more particular than that of Wang Youling's. The body is comfortable. When Xiao Gong wanted to persuade him to drink the fourth cup, Qiu Fengyan refused, "This wine is light and has a lot of stamina, so it's not suitable to drink too much." He said, "It's not good to be drunk!" "The old man is too modest! Let's have another drink anyway. Do it first as a respect." Gong Zhitang said "啯, 啯", drank the wine in one breath, and turned his glass to the guests. Qiu Fengyan had no choice but to follow suit.Naturally, he meant that the Gong family father and son understood that they wanted to talk about business before they got drunk.In fact, it is time to talk. "I went to the court yesterday, and I heard about Futai, and I had a comment," Gong Zhenlin casually mentioned, "Futai is very rewarding! It is said that in the officialdom, enthusiastic and capable people like my brother are really rare. " "That's Futai's absurd award." Qiu Fengyan replied calmly, "Futai is someone who is willing to do things, otherwise, I would not take the liberty." "Yeah! Futai is courageous at last. But it is also difficult to do things. Like the foreign guns bought this time, they are from the capital. I don't know how the Prussians have the power to reach the big military machine? The price? Of course it's different, it's like a lion! Futai entrusted me with this thankless job, and it was hard to get this price. I became a villain, and there were still people gossiping outside, and I became a person inside and outside. This grievance, others don't know, your brother must be considerate!" Qiu Fengyan thought to himself, he took a big hat to press it down, and he didn't know if it was true or not, so there was no need to force it at this time.Fortunately, Hu Xueyan has given a four-character formula: noncommittal! So he nodded and replied with one word: "Oh!" He didn't even ask who the big military plane was. "I want to ask my brother now, is the British businessman you mentioned in the post Hudson?" This cannot but answer: "Yes." "This is a bit strange!" Gong Zhenlin looked at his son and said, "Didn't Hudson return to China?" This was said to Qiu Fengyan, who was shocked when he heard it, thinking that a wise man must make mistakes, no matter how powerful Hu Xueyan is, he would never think that Hudson is no longer in China.Now, wouldn't it be a big headache to expose all the lies? Fortunately, first, Qiu Fengyan's face was covered with alcohol, and his shame was covered up, so it was not easy to find out; second, Qiu Fengyan had escorted foreign guns once, and had also been to Shanghai, and had dealt with foreigners, so he was not ignorant; , there is an excuse at the end. "I'm afraid it's just a crown!" He said, "There are many foreigners with the same name and surname. It is probably another foreign businessman, Hudson. As for me, I didn't meet Hudson this trip. I am a 'Combado' origin." "Kang Baidu" is a transliteration. Foreigners hire Chinese people as managers to negotiate business on their behalf. They are called "Kang Baidu". Respectfully. "Maybe so." Gong Zhitang was young after all, and he spoke honestly, "It was the Prussian who was jealous of his peers and said that on purpose." "That's right!" Gong Zhenlin turned to Qiu Fengyan and explained, "When negotiating with this foreigner, I naturally want to compare Hudson with the price I want to kill him. If he is willing to match Hudson's bid, then, I have bought the face of the superiors, and I have explained it in business. The only concern is that Hu Xueweng has put in so much effort to introduce a Hudson. According to the rules, he should be given priority. Now the opportunity is given to others. No. However, the background on the military plane had to buy it, and the incident was helpless, so I mentioned it to Fu Tai. I'm sorry for him, but there will be other opportunities to make up the report in the future. When the army was in full swing, there were many cases of buying arms, and I will definitely adjust him next time. He also said: Mr. Hu has a lot of business, maybe other cases can also make his business, All in all, there is no need to fight for a while.” Gong Zhenlin narrated in a long, calm and detailed manner, while Qiu Fengyan listened to every word with the wine in his mouth and the matter in his heart. While listening, he thought at the same time that he originally wanted to bargain with foreign merchants, but it turned out to be Hu Xueyan.This article is way off topic!Whether Huang Futai said those words is beyond question, but the intention is to appease Hu Xueyan, and the meaning is very clear.It is inconvenient for me to express myself, but I still can only stick to the purpose of "non-committal" and only say yes! "So I want to ask again now, is this Hudson that I know, the same person as the seller Hu Xueyan bought the gun last time?" This sentence is unavoidable, Qiu Fengyan felt that admitting it was better than not admitting it, so he nodded and said, "Yes!" "Then last time it was sold for thirty taels of silver, why has the price dropped again?" "We bought it from him last time, but this time he came to do business on his own. Of course it can't be surprising." Qiu Fengyan felt that he answered this question very well, so he simply set him on fire, "To be honest, I You can also kill him for three or five taels of silver!" "Oh, oh!" Gong Zhenlin had always looked very calm, but when he heard this sentence, he looked a little helpless. Gong Zhenlin probably also realized that his demeanor fell into Qiu Fengyan's eyes, which is not a good thing, so he tried his best to cheer up, regained his original composure, took a sip of wine and said, "I have something that doesn't please you, so I have to say it to my brother. Hudson’s goods are not necessarily good. The gun bureau once tried to let the foreign guns that the old man escorted back last time, and the accuracy was not good. I don’t know if the goods that Hudson came to sell this time are the same as last time. Same?" Qiu Fengyan couldn't tell whether it was true or he said it on purpose, but the second half of the sentence was not difficult to answer. "It's very clear in my post," he said, "Same as that Prussian." "It's not a big deal." Gong Zhenlin said, "No one else can buy that batch of goods except him." Not good!Qiu Fengyan thought to himself, if the conversation continues like this, the show will be exposed, and no matter how good the show is, it will be impossible to sing. So he didn't answer this question, and asked straightforwardly: "I want to ask Xian Qiaozi, is that Prussian here? Can I talk to him face to face?" This is Qiu Fengyan's plan to delay the attack. The intention is not to talk too much with the Gong family and his son, but Gong Zhenlin thinks that he really wants to meet and interrogate foreigners, and he is a little panicked, because there are many tricks in it. up. So he replied: "The foreigner is in Shanghai at the moment. Brother, if you have any advice, you might as well tell me, and I will pass it on." Qiu Fengyan drank a few more glasses of wine and said loudly: "I want to ask him, why is the price so high!" The tone and voice were so aggressive that Gong Zhenlin's expression changed slightly, "I told you just now that it's very difficult to do things here because of the big background in Beijing." He said in an emotional tone, "I always ask my brother and Hu Xueweng Forgive me." Having said that, there is nothing more to talk about.Qiu Fengyan was neither inconvenient to agree nor to refuse, so he just nodded and said, "I understand what you mean, brother." The situation became a little stiff, and Gong Zhenlin was of course inconvenient to force him. He insisted on getting Qiu Fengyan back from his original intention and taking back the post. He could only do his master's favor and persuade him earnestly, hoping that Qiu Fengyan would return home with a drink. After four hours of drinking, Qiu Fengyan arrived at Ji's house full of alcohol.Hu Xueyan happened to be there, and listening to him talk about the process in detail, I couldn't help feeling surprised. "It turned out to be the origin of the large military plane in Beijing, no wonder you dare to do it so blatantly! Brother," Hu Xueyan asked Ji Heling, "What do you think about this matter?" Naturally, Ji Heling knows much more about the situation in the officialdom than Hu Xueyan, "It doesn't necessarily mean that he is a big boss, but a big hat." He said, "Don't let him overwhelm you!" "Yes!" Qiu Fengyan also said, "I don't quite believe that the dignified minister of military aircraft will introduce sales for foreign merchants." "Let's take a step back, even if he has a big backing, he can't act like this! He has a big backing, and we have ways to deal with it, but it's a real attack!" "What's the matter? Brother, what can you do?" "The most straightforward thing is to ask the censor to read him a book, and see if he dares to say anything about his background?" This was an extremely ruthless move, as long as the speaker had such a promise, even if Huang Zonghan had Jingli's support, nothing would happen, at least the transaction could definitely be dismissed.But in this way, an indissoluble enemy has been formed. As long as Huang Zonghan is in Zhejiang for one day, he will be in trouble for one day, and Wang Youling will definitely be unable to get along in Zhejiang. Of course, Ji Heling was just talking like this, just chatting happily.On the contrary, Qiu Fengyan was triggered by this and came up with a wonderful "idea". "I think we can do this, 'only draw the bow, don't release the arrow', ask someone to ask, just say that there is such a thing, I don't know the details, can you tell me? Let's see what Gong Zhenlin has to say." Ji Heling was a little puzzled: "Who do you entrust to ask?" "Naturally, a 'Master Dou' is entrusted." Both Ji and Hu understood this point. The so-called "only draw the bow and never release the arrow" is to make a gesture of preparing to investigate the matter, which makes Gong Zhenlin and Huang Zonghan feel afraid, so naturally they have a definite expression. "That's good! Where can I find such a master? It's not urgent to write a letter from Beijing to ask." Of course, Qiu Fengyan had such a person around to say that. There was a supervisory censor surnamed Xie who asked for leave to return to his hometown to bury his relatives. A friend of wine and wine, the relationship is very good, and there is no reason why there is nothing wrong with a trust. "What do you think?" Ji Heling said to Hu Xueyan, "I am dissatisfied with the father and son of the Gong family, and I am unscrupulous. I seem to be sure that no one will dare to speak." "I don't want to be lazy, and I don't want to make a fortune from it. It's just that I'm dealing with foreigners now, and face has something to do with it." Ji Heling understood what Hu Xueyan meant, and he was thinking in his heart that if the news of being able to overthrow the agreed-upon deal in Futai and find another foreign businessman, it would be enough to greatly increase Hu Xueyan's reputation if it spread to Yichang.But on the other hand, there is no doubt that Huang Zonghan and the Gong family will be unhappy.So if you don't do this, it's fine, and if you do it, you will definitely end up with enemies. "I think so," Hu Xueyan made up his mind at this moment, "I still do this thing, and the benefits go to Lao Qiu. First, he will contribute a lot; second, he will also get some money for his retirement. Or donate a "big trick" that is really lacking, and you will have a taste of being an official. It's just that things should be done peacefully in the future." "No more peace!" Ji Heling said, "How can you not complain if you take food from people's mouths!" "Of course I thought of this," Hu Xueyan said, "Single people are constantly making money, if our business can be successful, apart from Lao Qiu, the benefits of the Gong family, father and son, and Huang Futai must also be taken care of for them. " "That's about the same!" That's the end of the matter.In fact, it was Qiu Fengyan's business, so he was allowed to run around, and Hu Xueyan was just busy with his own business.Thanks to You Wu's help and Gu Yingchun's skills, the situation in Shanghai went smoothly, and everything in Hangzhou was "settled". By the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, everything was almost ready, and I could spare time to work on the New Year. On the day when the stove was delivered, Qiu Fengyan excitedly came to Fukang to see Hu Xueyan, and brought good news that Gong Zhenlin had already had an open and honest discussion with him about the foreign gun business and was ready to cooperate. The method proposed by Gong Zhenlin was to divide this batch of foreign guns into two contracts, and set aside 5,000 guns to be sold by Hudson, which was handled by Qiu Fengyan; The benefits of Qiu Fengyan. Hu Xueyan did some calculations, and it turned out that each gun was worth twelve taels of silver, but now only a fraction was taken. In other words, giving up 5,000 guns was a loss of 50,000 taels of silver.This is not a small number, how could Gong Zhenlin be willing to hand it over to others?It's just that he was forced by the situation and had to bear the pain to sacrifice. Of course, he had hatred in his heart. It would be too uneconomical for him to take revenge for Qiu Fengyan in the future. Of course, since this post was posted, Gong Zhenlin had to be perfunctory. He shouldn't mind if he eats meat while others drink soup. As it is now, it would be too much to goug out his heart.But as I said at the beginning, all benefits belong to Qiu Fengyan, so now thinking of Gong Zhenlin's interests is to gouge Qiu Fengyan's heart, fearing that he will be unhappy.Thinking this way, I was in a dilemma, and felt that this matter was done too lightly. "What's going on?" Qiu Fengyan asked in confusion when he saw that his expression was different. "Old Qiu," Hu Xueyan said tentatively, "Congratulations on making a fortune!" "You picked me for that." Qiu Fengyan replied, "Of course everyone has a share of this benefit, and it will be distributed by you in the future." This expression comforted Hu Xueyan, as long as Qiu Fengyan had no intention of "eating alone", things would be easy. "Heling and I never want it! But, Lao Qiu, the money must be held comfortably, and hot money cannot be used. Hudson's contract requires a lot of research." Hu Xueyan thought for a while and asked, "To be honest, Lao Qiu How much do you want to spend, Joe?" This question made it difficult for people to answer. Qiu Fengyan was puzzled, and he didn't know how much money could be spent, so he could only answer like this: "I said, it's your distribution, as much as you give me, that's how much." "That's it, I have to start from the beginning." Hu Xueyan said, "They will lose 50,000 silver if they give up 5,000 sticks, but they can't get this amount from Hudson. Why? I count Here you go-" According to the post, according to the same goods, each piece only costs twenty-five taels of silver, but in fact, each piece is twenty-five taels of silver, only five taels of silver, so there is only a total benefit of twenty-five thousand silver. There are 10,000 yuan in the Tai Yamen, and there are 15,000 silver left. "Fifteen thousand silver and three shares," said Hu Xueyan, and Qiu Fengyan automatically said, "Five thousand per person." The expectation was not extravagant, but Hu Xueyan felt sorry for it. "You have been busy, and five thousand is too little. You can take ten thousand." He said, "I don't want it with Heling." "Then, there are still five thousand. Could it be given to Gong Zhenlin?" "That's right, not only give him the five thousand, but also ask him how many 'caps' he is willing to wear? If you do this, your money will not be hot." Qiu Fengyan was not convinced at first, but after Hu Xueyan's repeated explanations, he finally figured it out, and agreed to talk with Gong Zhenlin as he wanted. Of course, there is a saying that Hudson is willing to deduct one tael for each gun, plus another two taels, for a total of three taels, which means that each gun is calculated at twenty-two taels of silver.The actual income is this amount, if "there are other expenses on top, it's okay to add a hat". Upon hearing this statement, Gong Zhenlin's perception changed.He knew that Hu Xueyan was behind Qiu Fengyan. He thought Hu Xueyan was too tricky, but now he realized that he was a "very beautiful" person. In addition to friendship, of course, what is more important is to assess the stakes.Gong Zhenlin is quite familiar with the influence of Hu Xueyan's faction. Wang Youling is already known as a capable member, and he is very popular in front of Futai. Ji Heling is also a very famous brand in Zhejiang official circles. People are flexible and resourceful, and what is especially unattainable is that everyone is happy to use them.It would be a pity to miss a chance to make friends with a character like this. After making up his mind, Gong Zhenlin said to Qiu Fengyan: "I'll tell you the truth, my situation is really embarrassing. I don't need to elaborate on the grievances. With the eyesight of my brother and Hu Xueweng, I can understand it clearly. But in a word, if you favor more, you will be rewarded." After hearing these few words, Qiu Fengyan felt very comfortable, so he also said generously: "Let's make friends! It doesn't matter." "Yes, yes! As the saying goes, 'Rely on your parents at home, and rely on your friends when you go out'. If you can make friends, you must make them." Gong Zhenlin said, "After the matter is over, I have something else to thank. As for Hu Xueweng There, of course I also want to pay tribute, and I want to ask my brother, what do you think I should do?" "If you have a gift, he will definitely not accept it." Qiu Fengyan had an idea when he said this, "I imagined for my brother, there is a way to benefit without cost." "Excellent! Advice please." "Fukang Bank, you always know that it is a well-known name among the big banks in Hangzhou. You can make contacts with Fukang, and it can be regarded as a place to praise him." "It's so easy, it's so easy!" Gong Zhenlin said repeatedly, "Besides, I want to submit to Hu Xueweng Xiaoxu, please introduce me." "Okay, okay! Hu Xueyan loves friends very much, and will definitely bother her." "That's the way it is." Gong Zhenlin returned to his official business, "I will handle Hudson's affairs in accordance with Taiwan's orders. I will not be able to tell you until the upper court requests any expenses from above." Having said that, he He lowered his voice again, pretending to be his own person telling his heart, "I can't think about it for Huang Futai! After a year, from the capital to the province, the general, and Xuezheng's place, there is no more than 300,000 silver. Can't pass the test. It's really 'I saw the monk eating porridge, but I didn't see the monk receiving the precepts'!" Hearing this tone, one knew that Jia's hat would not be small.Qiu Fengyan didn't say much, and went back to Fukang Bank to talk with Hu Xueyan in detail. Before the conversation was finished, Liu Qingsheng walked in with a smile, obviously he had something to say. "Mr. Hu, I have an unexpected position, so I will not worry about the Chinese New Year anyway." He said, "Master Gong, the artillery bureau, wants to set up a bank account to save 80,000 silver!" This time Qiu Fengyan was also proud, and asked with a smile: "How?" "You're not happy." Hu Xueyan said to Liu Qingsheng with a sense of vigilance and fear, "This position is not an accident. You can withdraw it at any time, and you can have it at any time. It is useless." "No! As I said, save for three months, and the interest is free." "That's all right!" Hu Xueyan thought for a while and said, "The interest rate is naturally preferential. In this way, you first send a receipt to the visitor, and say: I will pay a visit to Master Gong immediately, and I will bring the passbook myself." Liu Qingsheng promised to take care of himself to cook.At this time, Hu Xueyan was happy, and said to Qiu Fengyan confidently that this matter must end like this, and it was unexpectedly successful.Because it turned out that what he was most worried about was "rectifying the classics and destroying the classics". He was afraid that because of this incident, the relationship between Wang Youling and Huang Futai would be ruined. Looking at it now, the relationship has not only not been broken, but has added a layer of origin. happiness? "However, don't get too excited." Hu Xueyan said again, "Now we can't even talk about 'buying short and selling short', we can only say 'short selling', and Hudson has agreed to it. Hudson still doesn't know how to say it. Woolen cloth!" "It doesn't matter! Didn't you say that Hudson agreed to twenty-two ones? Now there is a surplus of two-twos. At worst, I will be a errand for nothing. Twenty-two twos one can always be knocked down." Qiu Fengyan's confession was very tasteful, Hu Xueyan smiled and patted him on the shoulder.Then, take the passbook to the artillery bureau to visit Gong Zhenlin. As soon as they met, they all admired each other, and they were very speculative. After sitting down for tea, Hu Xueyan first handed over his bankbook and expressed his gratitude, and then talked about Wang Youling's recent situation. "Brother Qiu Fengweng's post this time was mediated by brother Meng Xueyan, who was considerate and sympathetic." Gong Zhenlin said, "I have already reported to Futai face-to-face, and Futai is also very pleased, and asked me to pay my respects." He didn't say how to pay tribute, which means that Huang Zonghan is also very affectionate.Hu Xueyan smiled reservedly and didn't say much. "Although I'm lacking in artillery bureaus, I don't know much about Westernization. I will ask Brother Xueyan for advice in the future!" "Don't dare." Hu Xueyan asked in a hurry, "I want to ask, where is the contract with the Prussians to deliver the goods?" "It will be in Hangzhou." Gong Zhenlin replied, "He promised to arrange the shipment." "Brother Zhenlin! Coming from Shanghai, have you assessed the situation on the way?" "I also know it's not going to be peaceful, so I've already told Futai face to face, and I'm going to send troops to the border to pick him up in the future." "It doesn't matter if you can enter the Zhejiang realm." "Oh!" Gong Zhenlin asked very attentively, "You mean that part of the waterway in Jiangsu is not smooth?" "Yes. Xiaodao will definitely be jealous after seeing this batch of guns." Hu Xueyan said, "It's not that I'm alarmist. Foreigners are unreliable." Gong Zhenlin took a breath, obviously suspicious, looked at Hu Xueyan, and was speechless for a while. "Brother Zhenlin," Hu Xueyan said bluntly, "in case something goes wrong, the foreigner can evade it, or ask the government to arrest him, how will the lawsuit be fought?" "Ah!" Gong Zhenlin was sweating profusely, stood up, and gave a deep bow, "Duomeng pointed out that he almost made a big mistake. The contract must be amended, and foreigners cannot be hired, and he can't." "Yes! Brother Zhenlin understands." "I understand, I understand. Brother Xueyan needs to point out how to do it." Gong Zhenlin said again, "I'm afraid I need to ask Qiu Fengweng about this matter. He has been escorted once, and he is more familiar with the situation on the road." "No need to ask him. I can help you with that." "That's great!" Gong Zhenlin bowed again. Hu Xueyan quickly returned the gift.At this point, there is no need to make any more detours, he directly stated his friendship with You Wu, and said that if Gong Zhenlin is useful, he can help. "Of course we have to rely on it!" Gong Zhenlin was overjoyed, and his gratitude was beyond words, "Thanks to brother Xueyan, otherwise it would be nothing!" Next, Gong Zhenlin wanted someone.Talking about friendship in the officialdom, talking about this point is the most practical expression, but Hu Xueyan himself is also short of manpower, so I can only thank you for not being sensitive. However, he still came up with an idea for Gong Zhenlin. The guns from the two sides might as well be transported together. He still asked Huang Fu to appoint Qiu Fengyan as an "escort committee member". Easy to drive, safe and worry-free. This method saves both time and shipping costs, so Gong Zhenlin naturally followed suit.The two talked more and more speculatively until late at night.The next day Gong Zhenlin went to pay homage to Hu's house again, and insisted on inviting Mrs. Hu out of the hall to kowtow for her. In the afternoon, Mrs. Gong came to see her again with gifts.The two quickly became good friends. However, Hu Xueyan has "different eyes" to Gong Zhenlin, and this "different eye" is not blue eyes. He observes Gong Zhenlin's temperament and sees that his interests are more important than his feelings. They cannot be considered on the same level as Wang Youling, You Wu, Yu Si, and Ji Heling.Because of this, he told his wife to be very careful when interacting with the Gong family, etiquette is indispensable, and if there is any relationship, don't say too much, so as not to give birth to right and wrong. Sure enough, a dispute arose from the Gong family! On the evening of New Year's Eve, worship the ancestors and have a "reunion dinner".Mrs. Hu wore a newly made big fur coat, sat up high, looked at her daughter-in-law, and said with joy and emotion: "I never imagined that today! Although the ancestors have accumulated virtues, they rely on 'family and everything to prosper', Xueyan, You always have to remember an old saying: 'A wife of dross should never be forgotten', conscience is in it." Hu Xueyan felt uncomfortable when he said this on New Year's Eve, but he had no choice but to agree: "I know!" Mrs. Hu didn't speak, and after taking care of the old family's snacks, she asked her husband: "Do you want to go out?" "Don't go out!" Hu Xueyan said, "Naturally stay at home to watch the New Year's Eve tonight." Hearing this, Mrs. Hu prepared several delicate plates for Hu Xueyan to have a midnight snack.The couple had a drink around the stove, and seeing that there was no one in the room, the wife said a word, which surprised Hu Xueyan. "You always heard what mother said. Xueyan, your conscience must be put in the middle!" "Strange!" Hu Xueyan said, "Where did I do something wrong to you?" "Okay! You said that yourself." Mrs. Hu said, "As soon as the Chinese New Year is over, that person from Huzhou, tell her to leave!" This sentence made Hu Xueyan's heart skip a beat, and he calmly pretended to be stupid: "Which one are you talking about?" "Hmph! You still want to 'pretend'? It's obvious that you want to deceive me to the end." Mrs. Hu said, "Do you want me to tell you my name?" "What do you say!" "Hibiscus!" "Oh——" Hu Xueyan pretended to have forgotten the matter for a long time, until she brought up the expression that she had just thought of, "It's always a joke. It's in the past, why mention her? Let me ask you, who told you this? " "Of course there is someone!" Mrs. Hu followed up and asked, "What are you talking about, what happened in the past? Did you mean that this person is no longer in Huzhou?" "Whether I'm in Huzhou or not, how do I know?" As Hu Xueyan said this, he counted in his heart one by one, counting the relatives and friends his wife visited on weekdays. Who would know Fu Rong? After much deliberation, only one person knows, Wang Youling's wife.但是，王太太能干而稳重，说什么也不会多嘴去告诉胡太太，除非—— 胡雪岩蓦然醒悟，王龚两家同乡，内眷常有往来，一定是王太太在闲谈中泄漏了秘密，而胡太太是从龚太太那里听来。 由于做丈夫的坚决不认，做妻子的也只得暂且抛开。但夫妇俩就此有了心病，这个年也过得不如想象中那么痛快。