Chapter 17 Chapter 9 (1-1)

The helper Zhu Daqi was looking for when he returned to Hangzhou was not Sun Ziqing, but the boss of Songjiang. "Fifth Brother," he asked privately, "How do you see the situation? You are also very familiar with Jiaxing's situation. Do you have any news?" "Of course Jiaxing won't be able to hold on. I think it will be over for a month at most." "What about Hangzhou?" "I don't know the situation in Hangzhou. However, I am familiar with this waterway. Once Haining and Tongxiang were recovered, and Shuangqiao and Wuzhen were in the hands of the government and the army, the connection between Jiaxing and Hangzhou was cut off. Hangzhou's long-haired people depended on Jiaxing for support. , Once the grain road is cut off, Hangzhou will of course change.

According to my opinion, there will be good news in just a few months. " "Yes, I think so too. Fifth Brother," Zhu Daqi said, "everything is about 'taste', I think, if Hangzhou is restored, I will arrive first before anyone else arrives." "Who are you talking about?" "It's an official in Zhejiang, and they are scattered everywhere. Once Hangzhou is restored, of course everyone has to go back and report to the Zuo Zhijun for assignment of duties. I want to be the first." "That's easy too. You should leave early and wait around Hangzhou."

"Yes. I want to wait on the Qiantang River, Fifth Brother, will you accompany me there?" "Little uncle ordered, I naturally obey." You Wu asked: "Do you still want to use the sandboat?" "The canal is not open yet, so if we go by sea, we will naturally still use sand boats." "Okay. I'll borrow one from the Yu family." "One is not enough, there are always dozens of them, I have to take something with me." Zhu Daqi said, "Otherwise it would be meaningless!" Then, Zhu Daqi took out a list, listing the materials to be brought to Hangzhou.

The list is long, but the most important and most troublesome thing is that if you need to handle 10,000 shi of white rice, you need to use dozens of sand boats. "Hey, 10,000 shi white rice! Then I can only ask 'Fenmianhu' to come up with a solution." "'Flour-faced Tiger'"?Zhu Daqi asked: "Who is it? I haven't heard of it." "It's Dafeng's proprietress." This said, Zhu Daqi knew.Dafeng is the first rice store in Shanghai. The proprietress is really the boss. A widow who is almost 40 years old, with a big silver face, is very shrewd in business, so she got such a nickname.

"It turned out to be Dafeng's proprietress." Zhu Daqi said, "I'm not afraid of tigers, but at worst, I'll lose money on the price. I'll ask my grandson to ask about the price." Sun Ziqing's reply was frustrating, and Fen Mian Hu flatly refused, saying that he didn't even have a thousand shi, and he refused to ask for a price at all.But he heard another piece of news, which was quite strange, saying that Fen Mian Hu had a facial head, and that was Li Xiaomao. "Li Xiaomao?" Zhu Daqi was surprised, "Sun Xiangtai's apprentice Li Xiaomao?"

"Not bad." "Didn't he be buried alive in the Xiangtang of the Qing Gang?" "That's to deceive Sun Xiangtai." Sun Ziqing said, "In the time of war and chaos, the 'Ten Great Rules' must be discounted. Sun Xiangtai's face has been improved, that's it." "There's no need to talk about this." Aunt Zhu interrupted, "I want to talk about two things. First, is there any rice in Dafeng, and second, is Li Xiaomao willing to pay the price in front of Fenmianhu?" "Of course there is rice, and of course Li Xiaomao is eloquent. Otherwise, why should I trust him?"

"That's good! Let's think about it, who can we entrust?" "Seventh sister," Zhu Daqi asked, "Can I entrust Xiao Zhang?" "How can Xiao Zhang do it? Li Xiaomao didn't understand where the disaster started? He probably hates Xiao Zhang to death." "This is a bit of a headache. I'm afraid no one is willing to deal with Li Xiaomao on the threshold. I can't think of who to entrust to those outside the threshold. If I really can't find anyone, I have to come forward. No matter what , it’s always a business.” "It's not good for little uncle to come out on his own. In your capacity, if you hit a wall, you will lose face." Aunt Zhu thought for a while and said, "I think it's better to ask Lao Zhang to talk about it."

Lao Zhang refers to Fatty Zhang.Based on Aunt Zhu's suggestion, Zhu Daqi came to his senses and came to his senses, and decided on a way to do it. It was right to entrust Fatty Zhang, but first he had to find out, which bank did Dafeng have dealings with?Only by using the friendship of "peers" and entrusting EQ, can there be hope of success. ＊＊＊ "There are three banks that Dafeng has been with, and the one that has been with him the longest is Juyuan." Fatty Zhang reported the result of his running to Zhu Daqi, "I know Juyuan's partner Zhu Degui very well, and I have already talked to him. He Saying he can go talk, I'm afraid there is no hope."

"How does he know?" Zhu Daqi said, "Does he want some favor? If he succeeds in the negotiation, the business will be introduced by him, and I will give him a 97% rebate." "This business is not small. The total cost is 60,000 silver, and the three per cent rebate is also 1,800 taels, which is not a small amount. If this is the case, why pick Zhu Degui in vain? It's better to start with Li Xiaomao directly." "That makes sense!" Zhu Daqi saw Fatty Zhang's thoughts, and said beautifully: "Old Zhang, bridges return to bridges, and roads return to roads. You can negotiate this business for me. It has nothing to do with the bank. I have other benefits. For you, this way, it’s settled, I’ll pay another 5% more, the more you earn, the less it depends on your own ability.”

"Is this embarrassing?" Fatty Zhang said with a smile. "Friendship is friendship, business is business, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Things need to be fast, hurry up!" Fatty Zhang was naturally very enthusiastic, so he went to entrust Zhu Degui at that time.Ask him to introduce Li Xiaomao to acquaintance.Zhu Degui is also a very shrewd person. When he heard that his tone had changed, he originally entrusted himself to negotiate the deal. If it was successful, both the buyer and the seller would get a commission. Now, he introduced Li Xiaomao as a friend and let both parties directly There is no benefit in talking.

Therefore, he promised on the surface, but he did not actually carry it out.When Lao Zhang came to inquire about the news, he said that Li Xiaomao was too busy to find him.After three days like this, Zhu Daqi knew that there must be something wrong, Fatty Zhang was probably out of energy, so he had better find another way. This time I was looking for Liu Bucai to find a solution. It happened that Xiao Zhang also arrived in Shanghai. The two of them got together to talk. He said, "However, he doesn't dare to eat flower wine openly, for fear that Dafeng's proprietress will be jealous. From my point of view, there must be an account outside; it's best to find out first." "I heard about it. If there is something wrong, I will pinch Li Xiaomao's handle. Aren't you afraid that you won't be obedient?" After Liu Bucai finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Zhang and smiled, with no refusal in his heart.At that time, they went together to Changyuan in Pentang Lane to "Hatch Huntang", and found a "little character" under Songjiang's boss, surnamed Bao, nicknamed "Bao inquiring". Liu Bucai asked him to knock his back, wipe his feet, " After finishing the "full set of tricks", he was invited to Hongyun Building, drunk and full of food, before he spoke, and asked him to find out if Li Xiaomao had any affairs outside. "There's no need to inquire, I can tell you right now; Li Xiaomao is inseparable from Zhu Sulan, a female storyteller, and is about to 'borrow a small house'." "What a coincidence!" Xiao Zhang laughed, "As soon as I ask, I keep asking." "Otherwise, why is it called 'Bao inquiring'?" Liu Bucai asked, "Where does Zhu Sulan live? I need someone to ask." "Why ask someone?" Although Xiao Zhang has not been to Shanghai many times, he is already very proficient in the way of looking for flowers and willows. "I invite you to drink flower wine. The note called Zhu Sulan, just ask her aunt face to face." "It makes sense." Liu Bucai stood up happily: "Xiaobao, let's go!" So Xiao Zhang invited guests to Tongyue Tower in Xihua Jinli, invited three more friends, set up a table of wine, and of course they all called Tiaozi, and Liu Bucai called Zhu Sulan. At about one o'clock, when the door curtain was lifted, a big-footed lady entered the door with a handful of sanxians. This was the harbinger of Zhu Sulan's arrival.Liu Bucai and Xiao Zhang watched at the same time, and saw Zhu Sulan who was following behind her aunt, with a long body and a jade face, thinly applied makeup, and a serious look, not like a man in the world. "Which Master Liu?" Auntie asked. "Here!" Xiao Zhang pointed. "Master Liu!" Zhu Sulan gave a faint greeting, and took two steps back, and the "Xiangbang" of Tongyuelou gave her a chair to sit on - this is the rule for female storytellers who are called, no accompanying seats, no respect for cigarettes, and no drinking, known as "" Sell ​​your mouth but not your body", all the entertainment is done by the aunt. Although the aunt had big feet, she was born with a delicate and charming appearance.She handed the sanxian to Zhu Sulan, freed her hand to explore her bosom, took out a "book fold", handed it to the table, and said with a smile: "Masters, please order!" "Su Lan's specialty is 'Three Smiles', let's have a 'Chasing Boat'!" A guest said. Zhu Sulan kept silent, tuned the strings, played and sang by herself.She learned "Yu Tune", soft and quiet, and she sang very well.But the face is too reserved and solemn, and the charm cannot be combined, let alone depict Qiuxiang's lively color, fragrance, sweetness and joy, which sounds boring. After singing this section, Auntie asked for another song, but no one spoke again. Liu Bucai felt that he should join in, so he ordered another opening song.After Zhu Sulan finished singing, she handed the sanxian to her aunt, then stood up and said, "Show ugly!" Then she turned her face away, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed twice. "Where do you 'Mr.' live?" Liu Bucai asked—"Mr." is a special title for female storytellers. "I live in Maojia Lane, Nanshi City, the fifth house facing south." "I want to invite a table at your place tomorrow. Is that okay?" "How can I say it? I can't even invite you." The aunt asked, "How many guests are there in total?" "Here, it's all here." Liu Bucai said this while pointing to the table, and then asked, "What's your name?" "My name is Miss Shun." "Sister Shun, are the cooks there good at cooking?" "There is a well-known restaurant, and the guests who have eaten say that the dishes are quite exquisite." "It's good to be exquisite. Come, come, Miss Shun, let's discuss the menu." Liu Bucai apologized, left the table, and took the dressing table of Xiao Zhang's best friend Tongyue's fourth child as a desk.However, having a pen in hand has other uses, and he has already planned to use this opportunity to attack Li Xiaomao. "Sister Shun," he said, "I still have a guest to invite, surnamed Li, Dafeng rice dealer." "It turns out that Master Liu and Young Master Li are also friends!" Hearing this tone, and using the address "Young Master", one can tell that Li Xiaomao is at least a regular customer of Zhu Sulan, so he ignored her words and asked himself: "It is said outside: Xiao Li from Dafeng is very close to your 'Mr. It’s difficult to separate. Is there such a thing?” "Nonsense! Who cares? Young Master Li likes to listen to our husband's tunes. He often comes to sit in the second half of the day. What else is there? Clean, well-behaved, and innocent!" Liu Bucai was a little funny.Now that the background is clear, there is no need to argue with her, just talk about the business: "Sister Shun, I want to trouble you. I will write an invitation, please go to Dafeng and invite me." "Unsuccessful!" Sister Shun shook her hand and said, "I have never been to Dafeng." This confirmed Xiao Zhang's judgment that Li Xiaomao and Zhu Sulan were dating without telling Dafeng's wife, so sister Shun was not allowed to come to the door.However, of course there is a way to communicate with each other, but Sister Shun refuses to talk about it. After thinking about it for a while, I got worried, took out two silver coins from my pocket, and stuffed them into Sister Shun's hand: "Don't be afraid of running too fast; if you have money for your feet, as long as you get it for me, it doesn't matter where you go Please." "You don't get paid for nothing." Sister Shun pretended to think about it: "I heard that Young Master Li eats morning tea in Qingquan Building every day, why don't I go for Master Liu?" "By the way, if you invite him no matter what, I will reward you." Liu Bucai said again, "You tell him that I know the land, and he may not know me. I invite you to drink because there is a rice business. Talk to him." After Liu Bucai finished writing an invitation card, Sister Shun put it away and said, "Master Liu, please open the menu!" "No need. As long as it is exquisite and the price is not afraid of being expensive, you need something good." After speaking, he took out a stack of Zhuang notes, picked up a thirty-two piece and handed it to Sister Shun. Sister Shun has a very sharp eye, and she sees that Liu Bucai has a qualified account, so she refuses to collect the banker's ticket first anyway.Forget about Liu Bucai.Back at the table, someone wanted to "turn the stage".So I went to two more houses and drank until midnight.Liu Bucai made a reservation in earnest, and Fang accompanied Xiao Zhang back to the inn. The two sat in the carriage and talked about Li Xiaomao and Zhu Sulan. "I don't think Bao Inquiry's words are reliable." Xiao Zhang said, "Zhu Sulan seems to have a chastity memorial archway on her forehead, so she doesn't necessarily sell her mouth and body." "Cats that steal meat don't bark. The more this kind of person, the easier it is to catch up with them." Liu Bucai replied, "It's true. Li Xiaomao will come to drink tomorrow." Then he will ask Miss Shun What happened, I told it again. "Wonderful!" Xiao Zhang asked, "So, shall I go tomorrow?" "look?" "I see it this way. If your talk goes well, I don't have to show up, and it will hurt your relationship. If Li Xiaomao hesitates and doesn't know much about people, then I will show Hua Rongdao." "What do you mean by 'putting on Huarong Tao?'" Liu Bucai was stunned, "This is the first time I've heard such words." "I just learned it too." Xiao Zhang explained this foreign slang: "You have always seen the play of Huarong Road. Master Guan was ordered by the military adviser to set up a formation on Huarong Road and wait for Cao Cao. Wait for Cao Cao to lead I fled there with the "Eighteen Cavalry Remnants and Defeated Generals" and saw Master Guan waiting there, I was stunned! Master Guan, with a fierce mouth, let Cao Cao's "Second Lord" be long, and "Second General" be short, After weeping, Hu La begged for mercy, but let him go. If Li Xiaomao refuses to obey, I will learn from Master Guan and scare him." "Well, you are ready to show Huarong." Liu Bucai said, "Baotiao has already stated that he and Li Xiaomao will not meet face to face, and will not come tomorrow. The rest are just your three friends. Please choose the one with the deepest friendship. Yes, let me take care of you privately, and leave early so that I can negotiate with Li Xiaomao. Come over at ten o'clock, and I will send someone to wait for you at the gate of Zhu's house. I will take care of you." "Okay!" Xiao Zhang readily agreed, "We must decide what to do. Let's meet again tomorrow afternoon." The next afternoon we met at Sun Ziqing's place, and Xiao Zhang told Liu Bucai that he had made another arrangement, and that he was still entertaining guests at Tongyue's fourth place at ten o'clock, and invited his three friends to come to the appointment on time.Liu Bucai admired his approach very much, because it was not easy to say that he had invited guests and asked them to leave early.With Xiao Zhang's arrangement in this way, without leaving any traces, the matter will be perfect. The time for the banquet was seven o'clock, and Liu went there just after six o'clock.When I found Maojia Lane in Nanshi City, I saw that it was a very wide alley, and there were several remittance banks in it.Zhu Sulan lives here, and the scene looks quite decent. She and her sister Zhu Pinlan each occupy the first floor of the Shikumen house on the second floor and the second floor; Zhu Sulan lives upstairs, and the living room is decorated with mahogany furniture, famous calligraphy and paintings, and it is not bad.Just as she was sitting down, she heard a bang on the stairs, and then the door curtain was lifted, and Sister Shun appeared. She wiped her hands on her apron and greeted her with a smile.His goose-coloured face from the cold was clearly red and white, making him look younger.Liu Bucai was emotional for a moment, and reached out to touch her face.Sister Shun has big feet and moves quickly. She immediately took a step back and glared intentionally, but the smile on the corner of her mouth did not disappear. Liu Bucai also smiled and asked: "I entrusted you with the matter, how is it going?" "Successful!" She said, "I will definitely come." "It's still your face." "It's not my face, it's our husband's face." This sentence gave away another flaw, but Liu Bucai would not expose it. He only complimented her and said, "Although it is your husband's face, it depends on your ability. How can I thank you?" Before finishing a sentence, the curtain of the room was raised, and Zhu Sulan came out.In her own place, with no outsiders, her attitude is quite different, with a smile on her face, not the kind of chastity archway on her forehead. "Master Liu," she greeted, "Little place, don't laugh at me." "You're too polite." Liu Bucai said, "It's my honor to invite you to treat me here." "Master Liu is right." Zhu Sulan smiled even wider, "I don't know how many guests there are today." "It's the ones from yesterday. Another one was invited. I guess Sister Shun told you?" "Yes." Zhu Sulan's smile suddenly faded, "Master Li is a regular customer, but—" "How about it?" "Nothing." She asked cautiously, "Master Liu is not familiar with Young Master Li?" "Yes, I don't know him well. But I have known him for a long time." Liu Bucai took the opportunity to say, "I have a business to discuss with him, and if the negotiation is successful, everyone will benefit. Su Lan, I want you to replace me Beat the side drum, thank you in the future, " "I don't dare to be Xie. Since we are all guests, of course I have to contribute. I don't know what business to talk about?" "I want to buy rice from Dafeng." Liu Bucai said, "The business is huge and the commission is quite high. If the negotiation is successful, I think—” he continued with a smile, “it will be good for you too. " "What does it have to do with me?" "Of course it's relevant. Think about it, he has one or two thousand silver in his hand, so what's not easy to do?" These words hit Zhu Sulan's heart.As "Bao Inquiry" said, they were like glue, and they fought fiercely, to the point of "borrowing a small house". However, Zhu Sulan's biological mother is very powerful, and she really treats her two daughters as cash cows. Help her for three years, otherwise, without two or three thousand silver, there is no need to talk about anything.She had also discussed with Li Xiaomao several times, but he couldn't come up with such a small amount of money—the proprietress of Dafeng had plenty of money; if Li Xiaomao had a serious purpose, if he talked to her, he would surely get what he wanted. It is for this purpose and cannot be exported. Therefore, she was naturally very excited when she heard Liu Bucai's words, but she had to be reserved on the surface, and asked slowly: "Dafeng has rice, and Liu Caiye wants to buy rice. Why bother to pay for it and deliver it with one hand?" Others playing side drums?" "Because I paid the money with one hand, he can't deliver the goods with one hand, so I need your help." Liu Bucai said, "I want to buy a lot of rice, and I'm afraid that Dafeng won't be able to get it together for a while. I can't wait for this. I can only ask him to help, take the goods that should be handed over to others, and give me emergency first." "Oh, so it is like this. Excuse me, Mr. Liu, how much rice do you want to buy?" "Ten thousand stones." "Ten thousand stones!" Zhu Sulan looked at it intently, with some disbelief, "How many tens of thousands of silver?" "Yes. It needs fifty or sixty thousand silver. I've prepared it." Liu Bucai said, "As long as he says a word, I can immediately pay a deposit of ten thousand silver." Then he said, "Please lend me the abacus Use it." When Zhu Sulan took the abacus, Liu Bucai was fumbling for the banknotes, with one left and one right, from the leather of his boots to the pocket of his jacket, and pushed them all on the table in a mess, as if they should be sent to the incinerator Zhu Sulan couldn't help but look dumbfounded. This is Liu Bucai's method. "Wealth touches people's hearts" must first show off. The neatly arranged white money is indeed shocking, but the messy pile of silver bills is even more arousing to covet people's hearts. At this time, Zhu Sulan had such an idea: seeing him in a mess, I am afraid that he will take money. He might not even know how many cards were lost to him! "Come on, come on, Su Lan is helping me, count a few, you tell me to call." So Zhu Sulan helped him arrange the bank notes one by one.Sorting a piece of paper, typing a number, and checking it at the same time—this is Liu Bucai's method again, and she witnessed it with her own eyes. After counting 10,000 taels, Liu Bucai stopped, put the stacks of banknotes aside, and counted another 1,000 taels.There were still a dozen or so sheets left, so he didn't bother to order them, so he randomly rolled them up and stuffed them into his pocket. "Su Lan, look, I have brought all of my Dingyang, we will discuss it today and pay the Dingyang right away. In addition, I will pay a commission of one thousand silver, of course it is more than that, and it will be calculated in the future. " "In the future?" Zhu Sulan asked casually, "How much is there in the future?" "There are always two or three thousand silver. We need to discuss the commission discount. If the regular price is self-denial, it doesn't matter if the commission is a little more." "I understand." Zhu Sulan said, "Anyway, it's just this bowl of water, if there's more of this side, there will be less of that side." "Yes, yes!" Liu Bucai said happily, "Su Lan, you also know the threshold of doing business very well. It really depends on you to knock on the side drum. The matter is successful, and I will send you a new-looking diamond hairpin. On the head, the crystal light is shining randomly, allowing you to show off." As she said that, she turned her head a few times, her attitude was charming, which made the serious Zhu Sulan laugh out loud.