The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 408 Who will you save first?

When Jia Huan and others left the camp, they saw Qin Hongyu waiting there with dozens of her men. These men had just received brand new standard weapons, and they were all very excited, using them generously, as if they had just married a new bride.

It is said that Qin Hongyu and his group were originally pirates, but now they have been recruited by the imperial court and are considered civil servants who are paid by the emperor. Naturally, all their previous miscellaneous weapons had to be handed in, and they were equipped with weapons according to the standards of the Inspection Office. However, firearms and the like could no longer be used.

When Qin Hongyu saw Jia Huan and the others coming out, she immediately strode forward and said generously, "Master Huan, please come in!"

Jia Huan glanced at the plum blossom pinned in Qin Hong's hair and thought that this must be the one picked by Tiehu. Maybe this boy pinned it on her personally. It seems that he has indeed got it. It's amazing. I wonder how Tiehu managed to seduce this tigress in such a short time.

"Inspector Qin, please come in!" Jia Huan dismounted from his horse, and bowed in return with a smile.

Qin Hongyu turned around and shouted to the brothers behind her: "Why are you all standing there? Pay your respects to Master Huan San. It's up to Master Huan San to decide whether you bastards will drink thin or thick food in the future."

Qin Hongyu's brothers immediately surrounded him, some bowed, some kowtowed, and some even knelt down and kowtowed. Some said "Greetings to Master Huan San", another said "Long live Master Huan San", "Good luck to Master Huan San", and it was so chaotic that it was overwhelming.

"Okay, everyone, retreat. Master Huan San has received your kindness. Don't get in the way here." Qin Hongyu waved her hand, and these guys retreated again.

Jia Huan looked at Tiehu calmly, then smiled and said, "What is Inspector Qin making a fuss about?"

Qin Hongyu said angrily, "I have nearly 30 people under my command, including women and children. I thought the government would take care of them, but they only gave us quotas, which is less than %. I can't go back to my old job and do that business with no capital. How can I support so many people?"

The original inspection office of Dajin usually had about 10 to 30 people, which is equivalent to the current police station. In other words, the government has already maximized the personnel quota of the Dulong Island Inspection Office, but Qin Hongyu has more than 30 people under his command, which means that except for the formal staff members, the others have no food and salary and can only support themselves.

It is no wonder that Qin Hongyu was in such a hurry to find Jia Huan. Now she is in charge of the food, drink, defecation and urination of more than 300 people. She cannot go back to her old job and spends money like water every day. How can the little savings she has in her hands withstand such consumption? It can only last for one or two months at most.

Unfortunately, winter has arrived. Even if we return to Dulong Island to cultivate the land, we cannot grow any food. We have to wait until the beginning of next spring to plant seeds, and then it will take about half a year for the harvest to come. How can we feed these hundreds of people in this half year? Fishing alone is obviously not enough.

After listening to Qin Hongyu's story, Jia Huan could not help but frown and said to himself, "This is indeed difficult..."

Qin Hongyu secretly gave Tiehu a look for help, and the latter perked up, knowing that it was time for him to show his ability. He coughed lightly and said, "Isn't Third Master planning to build a shipyard on Dulong Island? Why don't we advance Honger a few months' wages for emergency use? When next spring comes, we can plant crops on the island and slowly get through this."

Jia Huan said with difficulty: "The matter of the shipyard has not even started. I have to buy the Xue family's shipyard in Jinling and revitalize it, open up sales channels, and then I can build a new shipyard in Dulong Island. It will take at least a year and a half."

Qin Hongyu was anxious when she heard this. She was afraid that many of her men would starve to death before the New Year, let alone a year or two. She pleaded, "The shipyard will be built sooner or later anyway. How about Master Huan advance the wages for a few months and then use them as a deduction when the shipyard is built?"

Jia Huan smiled and shook his head, saying, "I'm afraid that Mr. Qin has never done business before? How can we ask the boss to pay the wages first when the work hasn't started yet, let alone several months' wages first? This doesn't make sense. Doing business is not like running a charity."

Qin Hongyu said with a little embarrassment: "I have indeed never done business, but as the saying goes, brothers are everywhere. Master Huan San can't just talk about profit without any loyalty, right?"

Tiehu's face darkened and he scolded, "Shut up, how can you talk to the Third Master?"

Qin Hongyu was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Tiehu to scold her so harshly. She turned around and walked away angrily. Jia Huan was even more surprised to see this and couldn't help but give Tiehu a thumbs up. It seemed that Qin Hongyu, the tigress, was really tamed by this kid. She didn't even get angry when being scolded in public. In the past, she would have been ready to fight.

Tiehu chuckled and whispered, "Don't worry, Third Master, I'll coax her into submission. What do you think about the advance payment...?"

Jia Huan patted Tiehu on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Of course there is no problem. I will go to the mansion to get the silver later. But I have to make it clear in advance that you must control this tiger mother and don't let her cause any trouble. The shipyard of Dulong Island is very important to us."

Tiehu said solemnly: "Don't worry, Third Master, Hong'er listens to me very much. Of course, I am serious about Hong'er."

Jia Huan nodded and said, "That would be great. Otherwise, it would seem a bit despicable for us two brothers to act this out together. Hey, Huzi, let me ask you a question. If Qin Hongyu and I fell into the sea at the same time, who would you save first?"

Tiehu said righteously: "Of course I will save you first, Third Master. Brothers are like limbs, and women are like clothes. If clothes are gone, you can buy them again, but if brothers are gone, they are gone forever."

"Good brother!" Jia Huan patted Tiehu's shoulder with emotion. The latter grinned and said, "Third Master, I'll go and coax her!" "Go!" Jia Huan waved his hand, jumped on the horse, and galloped away with Shitou and others.

Tiehu watched Jia Huan and the others walk away, then walked behind Qin Hongyu, coughed lightly and said, "Hong'er!"

Qin Hongyu raised her hand and plucked the plum blossom off her bun, threw it on the ground and stomped on it hard, then walked away angrily.

Tiehu quickly chased after her, and when he was out of sight of others, he hugged Qin Hongyu from behind and said softly, "Hong'er, are you still angry with me?"

"Let go!" Qin Hongyu said angrily.

"I will let go only when you are not angry anymore!" Tiehu said shamelessly.

Qin Hongyu let out a delicate cry and exerted sudden force to throw Tiehu over her head. However, the latter was obviously prepared. He flipped in the air and not only did he not fall hard, but he landed steadily and even held Qin Hongyu in his arms.

Qin Hongyu struggled for a long time but couldn't get away. She could only cry with red eyes, "You just bully me."

Tiehu cried out, "How did I bully you?"

"You're still saying no, but you just treated me harshly in front of so many people and embarrassed me."

Tiehu apologized, "I was wrong just now. I apologize to you, but Hong'er, think about it, Third Master has been kind to me, and I am in my current position because of Third Master. If I were disrespectful to your adoptive father, would you be angry?"

Qin Hongyu immediately lowered her head and remained silent, and her momentum obviously weakened.

Tiehu struck while the iron was hot and said, "What's more, you are now asking for help from the Third Master. How can you ask for help from others like this?"

Qin Hongyu snorted coldly, "If I had known that Jia Huan was so stingy, I wouldn't have bothered to ask him. I thought he was okay before, and he even lent a helping hand to Xiao Yuanyuan, whom I didn't even know. I guess I was wrong before."

Tiehu shook his head and said, "Who said that Third Master is stingy? I had known Third Master for a short time when I asked him for a loan, and he gave me all his savings without even asking."

"Really? Why didn't he help me? He even said a lot of things that were fussy!"

"Third Master is not being fussy, but he doesn't have that much money on hand. Do you know how much silver it costs to buy the Xue family's shipyard? Twenty thousand taels. Third Master has to borrow ten thousand taels from Miss Lin to pay it. How can he afford to pay thousands of taels of silver in advance?"

Qin Hongyu blushed and said with a cry, "I must have misunderstood him. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Tiehu said helplessly: "I didn't have time to tell you, who knew you would be so angry!"

Qin Hongyu said embarrassedly: "What should I do? How about I go and apologize to him now?"

Tiehu puffed out his chest and said, "No need. Third Master is not as petty as you think. Besides, I have already apologized for you. Third Master also promised to advance you three months' salary."

Qin Hongyu was surprised and delighted when she heard this, and blurted out: "Really, um, Brother Hu, thank you!"

"Why thank you? You are my woman. Who else should I help if not you?"

Qin Hong was both shy and happy. She quickly kissed Tiehu on the face and asked, "Brother Hu, if Master Huan San and I fell into the sea at the same time, who would you save first?"

(End of this chapter)