Lu Ming

Chapter 232: The Completion of the Talents ([-])

Du Dewei left Yuegang soon after having a secret talk with Xu Xinsu.

After returning to Haimen Island, Du Dewei and Hu Ba quickly closed the door and started a secret discussion. During this period, a fierce dispute occurred.Of course, as usual, it was Du Dewei who won in the end.

So the two parted ways the next day.Du Dewei went north and disappeared, while Hu Ba went straight back to the center and left to vote for Li Kuiqi.

Not to mention how Li Kuiqi cleaned up the mess in Xiamen, but only said that Du Dewei and his party of 20 miscellaneous boats, after breaking up with Hu Ba that day, went north to Fuzhou without any delay.

It's the southerly season right now, so the 20 or so boats of the Du family are still traveling northward very quickly.Although dragged down by some dilapidated fishing boats, they still rushed to the Luoshan Islands, the northernmost part of the Haitan Islands, on the evening of the third day.

After anchoring in a bay in Dongluo Island, which is only 30 kilometers away from the mouth of the Minjiang River, Du Dewei changed into a fisherman's bunt early the next morning, and then picked an unremarkable broken fishing boat from the team. Then head towards the direction of Fuzhou City.

All the way to the north along the coastline, after reaching the mouth of the Minjiang River, it turned to the west, with twists and turns. It was not until the afternoon that the fishing boat found a place to dock at the Jingloumen Wharf in the north of Fuzhou City.

Du Dewei casually took out copper coins and sent away the sharp-mouthed monkey-cheeked tax collector. Du Dewei stood on the pier and looked around, then lowered the bamboo hat on his head a little, and then said: "Let's go." So the three of them went to the well in silence. Go to the door.

Outside the gate of Jinglou is the government-run Minjiang shipyard and private shipyards of all sizes.This place is like a forest of masts and sculls. There are countless timbers and boats piled up along the river, and private docks of all sizes are densely arranged. The flow of people is like weaving, and craftsmen are like clouds.

The three of Du Dewei saw a western scene at the pier today.

After walking a few steps to the shore, a strange procession appeared in front of them: two yamen servants in official uniforms walked behind their backs, and seven or eight white servants walked in front with sticks and chains in their hands; The ones waiting were about 10 prisoners with their hands tied and their foreheads marked with black paint.

Not long after the team walked, they turned into a large bluestone wharf.

At first glance, this wharf is owned by a wealthy businessman: the whole body is made of long strips of large bluestones, and some thin plaster is caulked between the bluestones, making it smooth and solid.

At the moment, there are three brand new Dafu boats parked on the pier.And under the boat, there was a group of tattered and disheveled beggars who were being driven onto the boat by some sailors in short robes.And the last thing Du Dewei saw as he was drifting away was the yamen servants handing over the prisoners to the sailors on the pier, talking and laughing.

The three ordinary fishermen passed through the Jinglou gate easily. Of course, a few copper coins were still required to pay the toll.After entering Fuzhou City, the three of them first ate a bowl of pork blood rice noodles at a roadside shop, and then walked all the way to Chuanxing Street as planned.

Chuanhang Street is near the Jinglou Gate. It is a traditional pattern of front street and back river: the street is in front of the store, and the Wuhui River is behind the store. It is very convenient for boats and unloading.Since most of the merchants on the street are set up to support the shipyards outside the city, there are many shipyard owners' offices on this street, including some raw material wholesale stores such as rope, sail and nail wood, and ship guild halls.

Du Dewei had been here many times because he ran a boat when he was young.And just two years ago, he bought a second-hand bird boat here, so he didn't feel strange when he revisited the old place today.

The only thing that surprised him was the ground beneath his feet.

The mud floor in my memory has been replaced by bluestone slabs at some point, and like the pier outside, the gaps between the slabs are also caulked with a kind of gray fine mud. The bluestone slabs are paved densely and evenly, like Flat mirror in general.

What surprised Du Dewei about this street is not only the ground, but also other aspects: there are latrines on the street, and old men in short coats are constantly sweeping the street.The whole street is clean and tidy, even the beggars who are necessary in the streets and alleys are gone here.

The three of them came to the end along the familiar yet unfamiliar street, and then Du Dewei saw the destination of the trip: a shop named "Haidong Commercial Bank".

The situation here is not consistent with the scene in Du Dewei's memory: the row of shops that used to be scattered in height and height have now disappeared.Instead, there is a row of seven gates with the same shape.

These 7 large pavements are all made of water-filled red bricks, and the outer walls are whitewashed with lime, which is extraordinary.Except for the door plaque of the first one that says "Haidong Commercial Company" in gold letters, there are lacquer plaques on the doorways of the other shops, with the words "sea transportation", "wholesale", "labor" and other business types.

At the moment, a large number of carriages and sedan chairs were parked in front of the shops, and many people dressed in silk with the appearance of merchants and housekeepers were shuttling back and forth between several shops.

Seeing such a noisy scene, Du Dewei couldn't help frowning slightly.He is now dressed as a fisherman, if he went in rashly to find someone, he might cause some trouble.So he didn't go forward, but continued to stroll towards the end of the street with his entourage - no matter how good the business was, there was always a time to get off work.

Unexpectedly, the three of them didn't go far, and saw another western scene.

The original locations of the seven large shops were at the end of Chuanxing Street, next to the Ganye Temple and a stele field.

Now the Ganye Temple, which covers an area of ​​tens of mu, has long since disappeared, and even the bald donkey in the temple has disappeared.

The same is true for the site full of half-finished steles.Originally, there was a fat engraver here who impressed Du Dewei deeply. This person was in the same family as him, and his surname was also Du.What makes Du Dewei unforgettable is that Fatty Du always has a sad face, saying to everyone: "Oh, this year, the masters are all living healthy, and this business can't be done."

Instead of the above two places, there are large open-air warehouses along the river.What surprised the three country buns the most was the barbed wire fence outside the warehouse.

The two-meter-high barbed wire, fixed on thick wooden piles smashed into the ground at regular intervals, stretched out along the side of Chuanxing Street, isolating the planned freight yard along the Wuhui River from the outside world.

When Du Dewei came to the barbed wire fence in amazement and stretched out his hand to grab it, the idle man watching the excitement showed a contemptuous smile: three more country bumpkins came.Not long after, the guards of the cargo yard patrolling along the barbed wire also came over, and without saying a word, they gave Du Dewei two sticks through the wire: "Get out, if you break it, I will arrest you to work and pay for it!"

The three country bumpkins dressed as fishermen were driven away amidst laughter.

Of course, Du Dewei didn't go far.He just walked forward for a short distance, then stopped, and then observed the freight yard through the wire mesh.

The land that was originally the location of the main hall of Ganye Temple had already been flattened and compacted, and a layer of fine gravel was paved.Stacks of cement bags were piled up on large planks padded with ashlar; in addition, bamboo sheds were built on some plots piled with lime and sand.Further away, there are neat piles of red bricks.

And at the gate of the warehouse separated by barbed wire, a large number of craftsmen and housekeepers were bargaining with the accountants at a row of wooden tables.Teams of coolies are pushing small carts to transport the cement, red bricks, and lime from the freight yard to Hebutou, where a string of small boats are lined up for work.

Du Dewei soon saw an acquaintance through the barbed wire: that Fatty Du who carved the stele.

At this moment, Fatty Du was completely different from Du Dewei in his impression.I saw this guy with an arrogant face, wearing a Songjiang fine cloth robe, and sitting behind a lime line with a row of craftsmen.In addition, there is a small table in front of this product with tea and snacks on the table.

And behind this guy, there are two high-spirited apprentices standing on the left and right.

The second general Hengha had one hand on his hip, and the other was holding a cover. The two covers were embroidered with the words "Professional flooring with first-class qualification" and "Silky touch of a century-old stele".

Du Dewei stood behind the barbed wire until 5:[-] p.m. before he had a good look at the western scene.Except for the bag of cement that he didn't understand, it was probably all there. He already understood seven or eight points of the operation mode of this place.

Then it's time to get down to business.

In the Middle Ages, there was no electricity, so ordinary shops closed earlier.Generally speaking, from You hour (17:[-]), people will close the doors one after another.

After Du Dewei wandered outside the freight yard until after 5 o'clock, he estimated that the time was about the same, so he came to the door of Haidong warehouse with his entourage.

Seeing a row of big shops that were much deserted, he didn't hesitate this time. He picked one at random and walked in. He went straight to a counter with red and yellow straw mats of various colors, and asked the clerk inside: "Xiao Sorry to bother you, may I ask Stephen Chow if shopkeeper Zhou is here?"

The guy at the counter was stunned for a moment, and then immediately reacted, and then said with a smile on his face: "Yes, yes. Come with me, honored guest."

The guy who spoke came out from the counter, and then took them out courteously, turned left, and entered the last room of this row of shops. Along the way, the guy didn't care about the fishermen's attire of the three of them at all.

This shop sells boards, and the lobby is filled with machine-made wood boards of various thicknesses.The next moment, Du Dewei and his party walked through the lobby and were led to a study in the backyard to sit down and drink tea.

After half a cup of tea, the door curtain was lifted, and a tall, fair-skinned middle-aged man walked in.

As soon as this person entered the door, he cupped his fists and said, "Next is Zhou Xingchi, I don't know the guest's name?"

Du Dewei hurriedly stood up at this moment, and also clasped his fists in return, and then said according to the secret signal Xu Xinsu taught him: "Don't dare, it's not expensive, and get rich next week."

After the middle-aged man heard the words Chow Yun-fat, he chuckled, first he stretched out his hand to signal Du Dewei to sit down, and then he said cordially: "It must be Du Dewei, shopkeeper Du, in person? I'm Xue Haiyuan."

(End of this chapter)