Daming Yinghua

Chapter 55 What is the reward
Zheng Haizhu and Zhang Yanke finished the survey and returned to the inn. When the sun was westward, Zhang Dai stepped in with his servant Agui.

Zhang Dai told his third brother and Zheng Haizhu that Yang Amo, a servant of the Yang family, first went to the Baishi shop to order a coffin for his master, but he seemed rather sloppy and impatient, so he threw away the money and left. Go in the direction of the river.He wandered around several docks, talked to many boatmen or fishermen, finally found a small sand boat, and turned back to the west county town.

Zhang Dai's master and servant also hired a boat, followed Yang Amo, and finally found that after he landed, he entered the Huizhou Guild Hall in Shanghai County.Ah Gui asked the people around, and the waiter of a rice paper shop said that there are quite a few guest rooms in the clubhouse, and they are full of people these days, one of whom is Mr. Yang.

"We waited for a long time but we didn't see that Yang Amo came out, so we came back to discuss with you first."

Zheng Haizhu nodded and said: "The end of autumn and early winter is the peak season for cotton cloth collection. The cotton cloth business in Songjiang is done by Huizhou merchants, so there have been a lot of Huizhou merchants in these two months."

Suddenly shook his head again: "That's not right, we were in the county government office today, and we saw well-dressed people who came to hear the lawsuit, all of whom were students or masters with local accents, and we didn't see Huizhou merchants. My family, Mr. Han, said that they were under the rule of Songjiang Mansion. The Huizhou Merchants Guild Halls have been built in the three counties, and they are so organized that they can even gather merchants to argue with the government over the amount of taxation. Logically, how could such a group of people work together to cause such a disaster in the same village? One to hear the case?"

Zhang Dai murmured: "I think the same as Miss Zheng. Could it be that Master Yang has a bad relationship with everyone?"

Zhang Yanke rolled his eyes, and suddenly slapped the table: "Oh, that's not easy, my colleagues are enemies, and other Huizhou merchants must have bribed that Yang Amo, killed Master Yang, and put the blame on Sister He."

So he told Zhang Dai the key points of what he and Zheng Haizhu found at the back door of Jiulian Nunnery.

After hearing this, Zhang Dai said sincerely to Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng has rules and regulations, and I have benefited a lot from it."

Zheng Haizhu returned the gift, twirled a piece of snacks brought in by Agui to satisfy his hunger, and discussed with the Zhang brothers: "But there are still a lot of witnesses and material evidences, so based on what we have seen and guessed, it is rash to go to the county. Master, on the one hand, I am afraid that he will not take it seriously, and on the other hand, I am afraid that I will startle the snake. It is getting late, and I will go back to the mansion first. After all, I am working for the Han family. The master and lady are open-minded, so I don’t want to lose my sense of propriety and delay outside. Besides, There are some strange things in the bloody soil I dug up, I don’t know enough to solve the puzzle, I have to ask the experts and report back to the two young masters.”

Zhang Dai hurriedly ordered Agui to hire a carriage and escort Zheng Haizhu to Han's residence.

When he returned to the courtyard, he saw Zhang Yanke smiling and looking at him, so he pretended to be cold and said, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Yanke brushed the mud off his sleeves, and said cheerfully, "Brother, even with Miss Wang, you haven't been so careful."

The Miss Wang he was talking about was exactly Wang Yuesheng, a famous courtesan from Qinhuai River in Yingtian Mansion.

How could Zhang Dai not know the meaning behind the third brother's words, and said seriously: "You hozen, you only think of sloppy things in everything."

Zhang Yanke smiled, and said: "Brother, what you said is so unreasonable. Admiring beautiful women, from emperors and generals to ordinary people, has been the most high-grade human relationship since ancient times. How can it be a dirty thing."

Zhang Dai was at a loss for words, melancholy gradually appeared on his face, he was silent for a while, and finally sighed: "You are right, you are narrow-minded. However, Miss Zheng and I met by chance, but there was really no ripple of love between men and women. Wei Wei thinks that she acts decisively, calmly and benevolently, so she really loves to deal with her. Yuesheng is very different from her, don't compare them together, Yuesheng is the person in my heart, but, after all, I have to let Yuesheng down gave birth."

Zhang Yanke said with even more contempt: "Brother, you were still praising Miss Zheng for her determination in the first sentence, but the latter sentence revealed your cowardice and cowardice. Look at you, a man is not even as good as a girl. For example, I mean For example, if I love Miss Zheng like you love Yuesheng, I don't care which family's daughter my parents marry me into, I will definitely bring Miss Zheng back to Shanyin."

Zhang Dai spat at him: "Ms. Zheng is so good-looking and capable, but she combs herself at such a young age, and she swears not to follow others. It seems that she is going to help the master manage a big business. She will rarely be your concubine. Are you jealous with your big and small female relatives?"

Zhang Yanke scratched his head and said with a smile: "You can't write two characters in one stroke, how can you bury your brother? It's okay, it's okay, Miss Zheng is doing us a favour, it's really unfair for me to make jokes about her behind my back. Brother, didn't you say that the master of the Han family mentioned that this aunt and nephew of the Zheng family was originally from a scholarly family. Miss Zheng didn't want to kiss her nephew and just keep serving as a servant. He has an estate under his name? I have always been well-informed, and I am optimistic about Miss Zheng. Or, we brothers, invest money in her aunt and nephew, so we can make it more decent. It’s like building a small Shaoxing in Songjiang As for the guild hall, the merchants, Qi family, and Wang family that Shanyin has good relations with our Zhang family, if they come to Songjiang Prefecture for a tour, they can also have a place to contact."

This time, Zhang Dai looked at the third brother with admiration, and said sincerely: "Yan Ke, your thanks for the gift really show your sincerity."

……

When Zheng Haizhu returned to Han's residence, he saw his nephew Zheng Shoukuan was gathering with other servants and counting the bags, boxes and bags.

"Is there a distinguished guest in the house?" Zheng Haizhu stepped forward and asked his nephew.

Zheng Shoukuan said: "It's the uncle from the third grandma's side, Master Hu. The second master and the second grandma are talking together, and the dinner will start soon."

Zheng Haizhu understood.

It didn't take long for her to enter the Han family, and she figured out the approximate scale of the Han family's business and the main contacts.

Master Han San, that is, Han Ximeng's younger uncle, was originally charged with the important task of getting into an official position, but he was inspired by God and devoted himself to preaching with foreigners, leaving behind the third grandmother Yang and the third lady Han Xiying who was jealous of Han Ximeng.But the resentful woman Yang spends all day looking for faults in the house, but the second elder and second grandmother in charge of the house especially let her in and hugged her because her natal family, surnamed Hu, is a big merchant in Huizhou, and buys more than half of the money from the Han family every year. cotton.

Master Hu who came today is Yang's eldest cousin and the head of the Hu family's business.

Zheng Haizhu thoughtfully tightened the bag containing the bloody soil in his hand.

Regarding some doubts about the blood mud, Zheng Haizhu originally wanted to ask Lao Peng, the housekeeper of the Han family.Lao Peng has taken care of the cotton cloth industry of the Han family for many years, and is proficient in printing and dyeing. Now that he is old, the second master asked Lao Peng to hand over the drudgery of watching the dyeing workshop and looms to his apprentices, and entered the Han family to do some welcoming, sending, and distribution. The work of servants.

At this moment, Lao Peng directed the maids and women to hold a family banquet, and they were in a hurry, so Zheng Haizhu was going to ask again tomorrow morning.

I don't want to, the next day when the time passed, the prefect of Songjiang sent someone to the Han's house, and asked Mr. Han to go to his weaving workshop to wait. Eunuch Liu, the admiral of Suzhou weaving, was going to the Han's weaving workshop at this time today.

He also specially told Zheng Haizhu to be there too, if the father-in-law had something to ask.

(End of this chapter)