A knife in love

Chapter 1149

When Zhang Shi said this, he took a look at Li Qiufeng, and then said: "Brother Zhu, if these things are known by the imperial censor, and a book is written, I am afraid that many people will lose their lives. Do you know the pros and cons of it?"

Li Qiufeng pretended to be frightened, nodded repeatedly, and said in his mouth: "I know. This matter is rotten in my stomach, and I will never tell others about it."

Zhang Shi shook his head and said, "Brother Zhu, you've misunderstood. Since I've told you this matter, I don't worry that you will reveal it. I want to tell you one thing, that is, to trade with Fusang people. It was the eunuchs in charge of the Municipal Shipbuilding Department, the Yamen of the prefect of Ningbo, and even the generals of the Japanese army and the officers and soldiers of the Navy. It was definitely not done by our Zhang family secretly. It is naturally a profitable business to have these officials escort us. Most of the money went into the pockets of those officials. Even so, they eat meat and we eat soup, but the profits are not cheap. So as long as we are careful and serve these officials well, there is no risk."

Hearing this, Li Qiufeng showed a look of enlightenment on his face, and said: "It turns out that Zhang Yuanwai and I have said so much, just to tell you not to worry. This business is a partnership between the officials and us, even if there are sailors at sea If we intercept, we will turn a blind eye and let us pass."

Zhang Shi smiled slightly and said: "These things can only be felt, not explained. For us, going to sea is not difficult, but trading with Fusang people is very risky. We used to be on some deserted islands overseas. When we met the Fusang people, both parties paid the money with one hand and delivered the goods with the other. This time, we have to send the goods to the Fusang country. It is thousands of miles away, and we are not familiar with the place. Although there are guarantors who mediate, but once the Fusang people turn their faces, we I have to find a way to escape. These days Zhang has been looking for some friends who are good at martial arts and cautious to help. It’s just that such people are really hard to find. Fortunately, God opened his eyes, and Zhang met Brother Zhu today. If Brother Zhu goes with Zhang, it will be safe."

Li Qiufeng thought to himself, it really is nowhere to be found if you have broken through the iron shoes, and it doesn't take much effort to get it.I tried my best to go to Fusang country, so I entered Sifang Lane at night.When he was suffering from being unable to find Zhang Shi, he was invited into the mansion by this person, and he wanted to go to Fusang country by himself.In this way, all the methods I originally thought of were useless, which was beyond my expectation.But if you agree too quickly, I'm afraid Zhang Shi will see his flaws.This person looks honest and honest, but in fact he is full of tricks, so he must be handled with care.

Li Qiufeng thought about this, but didn't agree immediately, but rubbed his hands, thoughtful.Seeing his appearance, Zhang Shi thought that he hadn't made up his mind yet, and only wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so that Li Qiufeng would agree.So he leaned forward and said to Li Qiufeng: "Brother Zhu, you have been doing the Shu brocade business with dignity these years, and I think you are quite familiar with the business. But I'm afraid Brother Zhu doesn't know much about the situation in Jiangnan. The rich merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, officials and officials, love the silk produced in Suzhou, but they don’t like Shu brocade. As for ordinary people, they only wear common clothes, and they don’t buy Shu brocade. Therefore, even if you travel all over Nanzhili, you will not have silk and satin. The treasurer of the village bought Shu brocade."

Zhang Shi said while looking at Li Qiufeng's expression.When he saw Li Qiufeng's face getting more and more ugly, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "The business that Zhang does is a big business with huge profits. As long as Brother Zhu and Zhang make a vote, Zhang will take care of it." I will teach you that you can get at least 5000 taels of silver. Brother Zhu, how many pieces of Shu brocade do you sell to earn 5000 taels of silver? Besides, this deal is guaranteed to be profitable, why do you hesitate?!"

Li Qiufeng's face was gloomy and he was trembling slightly as he sat on the stone bench.Seeing Li Qiufeng's appearance, Zhang Shi knew that although he was tempted, it was still a big deal, so he couldn't make up his mind.When Zhang Shi was about to continue persuading Li Qiufeng, he heard footsteps, and then heard a woman say: "Master, the wine and dishes are ready, do you want to serve the master and the guests?"

Zhang Shi sat upright, and said with a dignified expression: "Bring over the wine and dishes."

The woman replied respectfully, and after a while, five servants came out from behind a bush of flowers.With food boxes in their hands, these people quietly walked up the Jiuqu wooden bridge and entered the pavilion.The five people lined up, bowed to Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng first, then opened the food box, and put the wine and vegetables on the stone table.

In a blink of an eye, eight plates of exquisite dishes were placed on the stone table, as well as a plate of bean paste buns and a jug of wine.After filling the cups of Zhang Shi and Li Qiufeng with wine, an elderly servant woman bowed slightly and stepped aside.The other four servants backed up behind her in small steps, standing with their hands down, not even daring to speak out.With a wave of Zhang Shi's right hand, the five servants exited the pavilion together, then turned around and walked out of the garden.

Li Qiufeng saw Zhang Shi's majesty and majesty, and these servants saw him like a mouse seeing a cat, thinking to himself, this guy really has a lot of airs.When I was in the capital, I went to the homes of princes and ministers on business, but there were no such strict rules.This old boy is really two faces of the front and the back, behind closed doors to do his best.This kind of person is deeply scheming, and one must be careful and guard against it.

After all the servants had retreated, Zhang Shi picked up the wine glass and said, "Brother Zhu, I have said everything I need to say. It is not good for Brother Zhu to agree, or not to agree, your friend Zhang is committed. Come on , let's drink this cup!"

After he finished speaking, he raised the wine glass in front of him.Li Qiufeng did not raise his glass, but looked at Zhang Shi and said, "Mr. Zhang, I am very grateful for you treating me like this. I hope that you can help me with what Zhang Yuanwai said just now."

Hearing what Li Qiufeng said, Zhang Shi was overjoyed, and was about to speak, but Li Qiufeng continued: "However, Zhu has two things, and he needs to agree with Zhang Yuanwai in advance."

Zhang Shi said with a smile: "Brother Zhu, if you have something to say, just say it, and I will listen attentively."

Li Qiufeng pondered for a while, and then said: "I came to Jiangnan from the middle of Shu, and went to the provinces of Southern Zhili with my father and several uncles. We made an appointment for a month and then gathered in an inn in Nanjing. If the entourage With this transaction, I wonder if we can return to the Central Plains in a month's time?"

Zhang Shi was startled, thought for a while, then stroked his beard, and said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid I won't come back in a month. But Brother Zhu can write a letter in advance and stay at my house. If we don't come back by then In the Central Plains, the servants in the lower mansion handed over this letter to Zunyan, asking them to return to Shuzhong first. In this way, Brother Zhu’s elders will not worry about what happened, and they can return to Shuzhong with peace of mind."

Li Qiufeng thought for a moment, nodded, and said: "This is a good idea. But there is no need to bother Mr. Zhang, I will write a letter by myself, and ask someone to send it to the inn where I have an appointment with my father, and hand it over to the shopkeeper. It can be transferred."

When he said this, he paused for a while, and then said: "The second thing, it's a little embarrassing to say it. But let's talk about it first, so as not to be difficult to talk about when we get it. I would like to ask the staff, if everything goes well on this trip, I will How many taels of silver can you earn?"

Zhang Shi just heard Li Qiufeng speak solemnly, and he didn't know what he wanted to say, so he felt a little uneasy.At this moment, Li Qiufeng was only worried about how much silver taels he could earn, so he immediately felt relieved.Zhang Shi laughed and said, "Brother Zhu, I can guarantee you. As long as we finish the deal smoothly, Brother Zhu can get at least 5000 taels of silver."

After Zhang Shi finished speaking, he put down his wine glass with his right hand, then took out a silver ticket from his arms, handed it to Li Qiufeng and said, "If Brother Zhu is still worried, this silver ticket is a deposit. After we come back, Zhang will give it to Li Qiufeng again." Pay the rest of the money to Brother Zhu."

Li Qiufeng made an embarrassing expression on purpose, but finally took the bank note and glanced at it from the corner of his eye.When he saw the amount of 1000 taels written on the bank note, he couldn't help being startled, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, he held the bank note in front of his eyes, and looked at it carefully.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Shi was amused, but he also believed that Li Qiufeng was a man with an eye for money.He only heard him laughing, and said: "This is the ticket issued by the Shanxi Ruixiang Bank. It can be used in 63 provinces in the south, seven, and north of Ming Dynasty. It can also be exchanged in the other six Yinzhuangs in Shanxi. If Brother Zhu doesn't believe it, you can come to us tomorrow morning." Let’s go to several silver houses in Ningbo Prefecture to try and see if they can be exchanged.”

(End of this chapter)