Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 317
In the Lijia Hutong near the south city gate in Jining City, there is a large house with four entrances, with white walls and black tiles, simple and elegant, forming a sharp contrast with the dilapidated houses around.

This is the residence of Yongji Cang Ambassador Lai Yongnian. He spent 1000 taels of silver the year before last to buy it from a cloth dealer. The merchant was in urgent need of money to pay off his debts due to a huge loss in business, so he had to sell it at a low price. I bought this house.

Officials in this era don't know what it means to hide wealth, and they don't know what it means to keep a low profile.No matter what rank the officials are, and no matter how the money comes from, as long as they have money, they will spend it on the purchase of luxury houses and maidservants, and other people talk about it with an envious look. No one has ever talked about the house. Where did the owner get so much money to buy a luxury house, all of them looked as if they should be taken for granted.

As a low-level official of the ninth rank, Lai Yongnian never thought whether his rank is worthy of such a luxurious house and life. In the minds of most officials, promotion and wealth are two inseparable things. Things, and who has gold and doesn't put it on his face?

Five years ago, he spent a lot of money to get through the door of Liu Fan, the Langzhong of Shandong Qingli Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and then a loose official from the ninth rank from the Ministry of Household Affairs was suddenly placed in the position of Ambassador of Yongjicang.

Don't underestimate that the rank has only been raised by one level. The position of the official ninth-rank ambassador is very lucrative, and there are many ways in it.Moreover, at Lai Yongnian's request, Liu Fan did not send a deputy envoy to Yongjicang, which made Lai Yongnian less of a constraint.

In just one year, Lai Yongnian had already received back the gift money of 2000 taels of silver. In the past five years, with the gradual familiarity with the corruption business, Lai Yongnian's annual income has increased substantially.With the gradual extension of his contacts, he not only tampered with grain, but even started a private salt business with local tycoons a few years ago, smuggled a large amount of Huai salt through tank boats and sold it to the surrounding areas of Yanzhou Prefecture. It became a private salt distribution center.

But since the second half of the eighth year of Chongzhen, with Jinyiwei's involvement in the salt business, this most profitable business has come to an abrupt end.

Don't forget the well digger when you drink water.Lai Yongnian's New Year's gift to Liu Fan, ice respect and carbon respect, parents' birthday birthday money, etc. are also rising.Besides Liu Fan, Lai Yongnian didn't give anyone any gifts.He knew very well in his heart that as long as the gift money to Liu Fan was heavy enough, then Liu Fan would handle the relationship on his own. He couldn't go to the kang without telling the truth and leave Liu Fan alone to manage the relationship. That would be against the rules of the officialdom .

"Master, there is a message from over there. The fleet arrived at the pier in Youshi, and asked whether it will unload the grain today, and whether there is any change in that matter. Now is the end of the day. Master, can you give me a word, villain But hurry up and reply!"

In the official office of Yongji Warehouse, Lai Yongnian, who is overweight and wearing a white coat, is sitting under the wisteria trellis in the backyard to enjoy the shade.On the stone table in front of him was a plate of sliced ​​watermelons, and a copper basin filled with ice water was placed on a shelf beside him.Lai Yongnian casually threw away the half-eaten watermelon, pointed to the cloth towel on the stone table, and Jiao Wu, the attendant who stood aside and bowed to ask the question, hurried forward to grab the cloth towel and rinse it in ice water, wringing it a few times Handing it down to Lai Yongnian, Lai Yongnian took the cloth scarf and pulled it on his neck and face for a while, the coolness finally made him feel better.

Jiao Wu took the cloth towel from Lai Yongnian's hand and rinsed it in the ice water for a while. Lai Yongnian said, "Xiao Wu, go and tell them that the grain will be unloaded and put into the warehouse tomorrow at [-] o'clock! It will be the same time at night! Tomorrow you will Stay on the pier and watch. Tell them, stop for a while after finishing this deal, and wait for news from me when you do it again! This is a slow-moving business, so don’t rush for a while!”

"Go now, little one! Do you have any other orders, master?"

Jiao Wu wrung out the cloth towel and handed it to Lai Yongnian again, asking for instructions with a smile on his face.

"Master Ben goes to Cuihonglou to play in the evening, and stays at Miss Ruyue's place at night. After you finish your errands, go find the master!"

Lai Yongnian took the cloth towel and gave instructions while wiping the sweat off his face.

"Okay! Master, you just need to be at ease! I'll go now, little one!"

Jiao Wu happily turned around and walked away.

When it was less than You hour in the afternoon of the same day, a fleet of more than [-] ships arrived at the wharf of Jining Prefecture. The ship was full of grain that was sent from the west of Zhejiang Province and transported to Yongji Warehouse.

Because there was no need to unload for the time being, Cao Ding boatmen disembarked in groups of three and four, and went straight to the simple tavern and secret door next to the pier to have fun.

The next day just after Mao, there were hundreds of wheelbarrows and more than ten bullock carts parked on the pier, and hundreds of strong young men in bunts were sitting or standing beside the cars. The Yongji Warehouse routinely hired people to carry the grain, and this amount of money was also included in the normal expenditure of the household department.

This group of young and strong farmers are all farmers in the nearby villages. Except for the busy farming season, they are looking for a living on the wharf all year round.In the hot summer, most people sleep on the side of the pier. When the weather is cold, the number of cargo ships decreases, and most people will go home. Only a small number of people live in the big car shop, so as not to travel back and forth.

There is a thatched shed near the wharf to the tank boats. Several officials from the Yongji Warehouse are sitting behind a table under the thatched shed. On the table are pens, ink and account books, and ten mahogany weighing scales are placed in sequence. In front of the table, twenty young and strong men with big arms and round waists stood in front of the weighing scales. After the arrival of the grain was weighed, it would be transported by the porters to several large warehouses several miles away for storage.

At ten o'clock at noon, Jiao Wu was talking with a dark-skinned middle-aged man in a small cabin on a ship that had already unloaded grain. And two small wine bowls.

"Zhou Shuiya, the grain this time is all new rice? The summer grain is about to be harvested, so you won't replace it with old grain halfway through?"

Before Zhou Shuiya could reply, Jiao Wu picked up a pair of chopsticks to steam the canal saury and stuffed it into his mouth, and couldn't help but praise: "Old Zhou, you have the skills to handle fresh fish! If I have this skill, go early Open a tavern, and you are guaranteed to make a lot of money!"

"Jiao Wuye was joking, you are a celebrity around Mr. Lai, and you have made a lot of money every day, but after a year, ten taverns don't make as much money as you, Jiao Wuye! Those who come back will be all It's Xinmi, if you don't believe Mr. Jiao Wu, go and check it out, we've been dealing with each other for several years, you still don't trust me, Zhou Shuiya's character?"

Zhou Shuiya is the management team of this fleet. His ancestors have been hanging around in the Cao army. He has dealt with ambassadors in warehouses all over the canal, and he is very proficient in the ways of water transportation.

Jiao Wu chuckled, lowered his head and concentrated on dealing with the canal saury.

The [-] shi grains were not unloaded until You o'clock in the afternoon. Jiao Wu and Zhou Shuiya went back to the pier after finishing their drinks. They walked around a few times and found no faces, so they hid on Zhou Shuiya's boat He fell into a sound sleep and didn't wake up until Shen Shixu.Zhou Shuiya told him that everything was ready, most of the ships had returned and were waiting at Linqing Wharf, and the remaining dozens of tank ships were people who were used to this.

Under Zhou Shuiya's kind invitation, the two found a tavern near the pier and had a few drinks. They didn't separate until it was dark, and Jiao Wu went straight to the warehouse a few miles away. Zhou Shuiya returned to the boat.

Around Xu time, there was no sound in the wilderness, and suddenly there was a messy sound in the distance. A long queue of lanterns came rushing towards the Yongji warehouse. The convoy of more than fifty mules and horses , Walked out of the darkness under the guidance of the lantern, and came to the gate of a warehouse in Yongji warehouse.

Jiao Wu, who had been waiting for a long time, came out from the corner gate, and after a brief exchange of greetings with the people in the convoy, Jiao Wu returned to the courtyard of the warehouse. Immediately afterwards, the heavy door was slowly opened from the inside, and the long convoy Drive into the spacious yard one after another.

About half an hour later, when the convoy finished loading the first batch of more than [-] shi of grain and arrived at the pier, Zhou Shuiya greeted the people on the boat to get on the pier and start loading and unloading, a loud bang of firecrackers was transmitted in the silent night sky. Go, startled the people who were nervously loading and unloading, and the surroundings suddenly became extremely bright. Then, under the light of hundreds of lit torches, a group of warriors with swords and guns rushed out from the darkness and wiped out the people on the field. People all surrounded them.A samurai climbed onto a large cart in the field, brought a strange-shaped object to his mouth, and shouted loudly: "Jinyiwei is on business! Kneel down to avoid death! Those who resist will be cut!"

(End of this chapter)