Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 71 Going to the Banquet (5K)

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"No matter how they get their money, if you have money, everyone can earn it!" Cai Laoer said meaningfully.

Taisheng He sneered:
"I'm afraid they don't want to."

"That means you don't know how to appreciate others. You must be taught a lesson."

"Let's talk first!"

They decided the future of Zhu Chuanren and Xia Yuanzhang in a few words, and they seemed not to have considered the consequences of the backlash at all!

Zhu Chuanren was naturally unclear about all this. He took the invitation back to Fangniugou, took a look in the fields, chatted with Zhang Boutou, and learned about the thoughts of the man below.

"Third Young Master, don't worry. The guys are all working for the Zhu family wholeheartedly. After all, there is no other generous boss like you in Yuanbao Town."

Hearing Zhang Baotou's flattery, Zhu Chuanren was noncommittal. He sat in the pavilion wrapped in a big cotton-padded jacket, took a sip of hot tea, and said softly:

"Well, as long as everyone can work with peace of mind, Lao Zhu's family will never treat everyone badly."

"Yes, yes, definitely!"

"By the way, whose channel did we use to transport food in the past?"

"Back to Third Young Master, it's all Caobang's channel. If we want to transport things from Yuanbao Town, Caobang is the only way. There is no other choice."

Zhu Chuanren frowned slightly:
"Then don't they have the final say on the price?"

"That's true, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's been like this for so many years."

Zhu Chuanren must be dissatisfied, but now he has not broken up with the Cao Gang, and it is not good for him to be the first to lift the table.

"What's the price now?"

"It doesn't depend on the type, just the weight. 1000 kilograms of grain will be charged 20 silver dollars."

Zhu Chuanren said in his heart:
"It's still a monopoly business."

The Zhu family transports grain once every three months, starting with 5000 kilograms each time. This is used to make money by selling the grain after removing it for self-retention.

In other words, each time just for channel and shipping costs, you have to spend at least 3 gold bars, right?

It’s so dark, it’s more expensive than food. No wonder people can’t afford food.

You must know that these 5000 kilograms of grain can be sold by Lao Zhu's family for more than 300 to less than 400 silver dollars.

In the hands of ordinary people in the south, one stone of rice costs about 10-12 silver dollars.

This is a simple math problem. For one stone of rice, the manufacturer can only get about 40% of the gross profit, and the rest is earned by the channel.

40% gross profit is very high?
Don’t you have to pay to hire farm guys?Or is the seed cost free?

By this calculation, the net profit can be reduced to less than 10%.

It sounds good, but don't forget how much land Lao Zhu's family has, and how much land ordinary farmers have.

And this is only under ideal conditions. If there are natural disasters or man-made disasters such as war and plague, there will be basically no profit.

All in all, Zhu Chuanren was very dissatisfied with this. It is no wonder that in the past few years, all the Cao Gang bosses in Shanghai were like emperors, living extremely extravagant lives, and they had made away with all the people's money.

But it's useless to be dissatisfied. Even if he can use force to knock down the water transport terminal in Yuanbao Town, what's next?

If you don’t have a boat, you can’t transport food. Even if you have a boat, how will you get to the next dock?
The reason why Caobang has such great influence has never been due to the number of people in one place, but to the vast network of channels across the country.

In other words, unless you can make the Cao Gang change its dynasty or become a leader of the Cao Gang yourself, you will not be able to take advantage of them.

To put it bluntly, you have to recognize this price. This is the legendary road money!
Thinking of this, Zhu Chuanren sighed, there was still a long way to go.

Waving his hand to Zhang Futou, Zhu Chuanren sat alone in the pavilion in a daze, thinking about what to do next. He sat there for a long time, until he felt like he was freezing, then he got up, stamped his feet, and walked slowly towards Go back.

...

On the evening of the next day, Zhu Chuanren and Xia Yuanzhang appeared at the entrance of Zuixian Tower on time.

This Zuixian Tower is a famous entertainment venue in Yuanbao Town. It is equivalent to a high-end business club in later generations. All the services you can think of and unexpected are available here.

Of course, there is no such thing as a club now. You can call it a restaurant, or you can call it a name that everyone knows - brothel!
Many people have misunderstandings, thinking that brothels are very low-end and tacky places.

On the contrary, brothels meant high-end in feudal society, and were the places where upper-class girls lived. Those prostitute girls in the back alleys who only sold their bodies could not be called brothel girls.

Generally speaking, a place that can be called a brothel must first of all be a mansion and compound. In the past, it referred to the pavilions in the homes of wealthy families. Later, it was a women's brothel where dignitaries and dignitaries patronized, and non-ordinary people could spend money.

For example, the Zuixian Tower is located next to a tributary of the Sui River and is five stories high.

There is a garden house on the left and right sides of the main building. As long as you enter the Zuixian Building and take out enough money, you can not only climb up and enjoy the beautiful scenery of green mountains and green waters, but also spend more money to build a courtyard in the garden. , enjoy the comfort of Jiangnan gardens.

Walking into the Zuixian Tower, it is very clean and tidy, with many flowers placed, very elegant and especially fragrant.

The door has a bead curtain that falls vertically. If you open the curtain and go in, you will see two animals. One is a pet dog, which looks at you cutely and calls to you;

There is also a parrot that shouts: "Tea, tea." When the madam hears the sound, she knows that someone is coming and immediately gets ready to receive the guest.

Walk further inside and you will enter the hall. An older but still charming woman is greeting you respectfully. She is the fake mother, commonly known as the "Old Madam", the big boss in the brothel.

Not everyone is qualified to be a madam. Some of the female slaves are old and have no chance to be good, so they simply become fake mothers. They buy young female slaves for training and then go out to pick up customers to make money;
On the one hand, he summoned his existing daughters and sons and made money with both hands.

After explaining the purpose of your visit, the maids will bring out the maids who have finished dressing up for you to choose from. All of them are gorgeous and skilled.

If you like it, the two sides can get down to the topic. At this time, delicious food and exquisite musical instruments are also served. A talented and beautiful girl feeds you and sings to you until the dead of night. Good night.

Not many men in the world can resist such temptation!
Of course, consumption is also indispensable. After all, the richer the game, the higher the fees.

This Zuixian Tower is a bit interesting. It seems that Zhu Chuanren had already known that Zhu Chuanren was coming, and the madam came out to greet him. He opened the bead curtain, said a blessing, and then approached him eagerly, as if he were his own husband, and greeted Zhu Chuanren. arms around him:
"The third young master is here. Please come in quickly. Mr. Cai and Mr. He are already waiting in the private room."

Xia Yuanzhang on the other side was also being served. He was also a veteran in love. He was not timid about the scene in front of him. Instead, he generously held the young lady in his arms and whispered something, making the young lady laugh. Crying and laughing.

"Do you know me?" Zhu Chuanren looked at the old bustard playfully.

"The third young master's name is unknown to everyone in Yuanbao Town. The slave family has admired it for a long time, but it's a pity that we didn't get to see it until today..."

Zhu Chuanren laughed:
"You're really good at talking. Judging from this, I'll have to come here more often in the future."

The old bustard immediately hit the snake with a stick and said coquettishly:

"Then it's agreed, the third young master can't deceive the slave family."

"Okay, that's it."

"Then I'll be waiting for you~"

While they were talking, they had already gone to the second floor.

The stairs covered with red carpet do not creak when you step on them.

The old bustard was the most discerning and would not let his words fall to the ground. Seeing that Zhu Chuanren remained silent, he took the opportunity to introduce the situation of Zuixian Tower to him.

"This is the first time for the Third Young Master to come here, so he probably doesn't know any girls, right? Do you want me to introduce one to you?"

Zhu Chuanren raised his eyebrows:
"Then you have to be careful. I am a person with high vision and a big mouth. Most people will look down on me."

The old bustard slapped him angrily:
"The girls in our Zuixian Tower are the most beautiful!"

"Haha, it doesn't matter whether you are beautiful or not."

Zhu Chuanren deliberately teased her with words, wanting to see what the madam's character was like.

However, those who can sit in this position do not have too low emotional intelligence. Even if they are arrogant and domineering on weekdays, they still have a partner. She would not dare to deal with Zhu Chuanren!
The man in front of him was like a living King of Hell. A few years ago, he killed the bandits until their blood flowed into rivers. This incident had already become a legend and spread throughout Suihe County, and even other state capitals were aware of it.

This is a master who will get angry at the slightest disagreement, and even the madam would not dare to argue with him even if she had the guts to do so.

Soon, they arrived at the top floor. There were only four private rooms on the entire top floor, named after "Spring Flowers", "Autumn Moon", "Xia Mei" and "Dong Snow".

In future generations, these names would have been simply vulgar, but now, they represent elegance and poetry.

Among them, Xia Mei and Dong Xue are the two private rooms with the largest area, located on the east and west sides of the top floor respectively.

Today, He Taisheng and Cai Laoer's banquet was held in the winter snow.Before entering, I heard a melodious tune coming from the private room. The sound was as clear and alluring as an oriole.

"Third young master, please!"

Opening the door, the madam let Zhu Chuanren in.

As soon as you enter the door, you will see an open restaurant. The huge Eight Immortals table is filled with wine and food, which makes people dazzled and they don't know where to take their chopsticks.

There is a small high platform at the window of the private room, and the Oriole tune is coming from there. The owner of the voice is dressed in blue gauze, playing the pipa, and singing with low eyebrows. His eyes are filled with a touch of melancholy, which makes Love and compassion arise in people's hearts.

Although her tune is melodious, every turn of the tune reveals endless sadness and confusion about life.

After Zhu Chuanren opened the door, he didn't look at Taisheng He or Cai Laoer. Instead, his eyes were caught by the girl on the high platform.

At this time, the madam behind him said:
"Second Masters, the Third Young Master is here."

Zhu Chuanren quickly came back to his senses and focused his attention on the two middle-aged men at the table. One was ordinary and the other was ugly. His playful smile and joking eyes were full of arrogance.

Take a deep breath, cup your fists and cup your hands:
"Sorry for keeping you two waiting for so long, I'm Zhu Chuanren."

"Haha~ Mr. Zhu San, there is no need to apologize. You are not late. Shopkeeper Xia is also here. Please come and be okay. Please take a seat. Madam, go and invite Xin'er out. Third Young Master is here, so you must not Call your most proud daughter to come out to accompany you?" He Taisheng said.

"Third Young Master, please sit down for a moment. Xin'er is dressing up and will be out soon." The madam apologized.

"Oh, our Chuanren brothers are still proud of themselves. You don't know something. This Xin'er is the most proud daughter of this mother-in-law. Most people can't even meet her, let alone come out to accompany guests. Today we can count on your favor. I can see Miss Xin'er's charming face again."

Cai Laoer spoke rudely and did not take the madam seriously. This was his character.

There are probably not many people in Suihe County who can treat him politely.

The Madam's dignity was provoked, but she seemed to be used to it and was not moved at all. Instead, she lay on Cai Laoer's shoulder and breathed out like a blue:
"Mr. Cai, please don't accuse me wrongly. I can't be Xiner's master. Whoever she wants to see and who she doesn't want to see doesn't matter."

Cai Laoer's big hands groped the old bustard's body for a long time and smacked his tongue:

"Xin'er is as skinny as a chicken. I don't like it. I like you more, Madam, because you have so much meat!"

After saying that, I didn't know if it hit my own funny point, but I laughed out loud for no reason.

Zhu Chuanren and Xia Yuanzhang took their seats one after another, looking at Cai Laoer opposite, and then at He Taisheng on the right, and he said:
"You two asked me to come here today, shouldn't it just be for food and drink?"

"Haha, brother Chuanren is quick to talk, but don't think too much. I called you here just to get acquainted and have a casual chat. If there are any business opportunities, we can cooperate together and make a fortune together."

He Taisheng was talking about the scene, but Zhu Chuanren didn't believe a single punctuation mark.

These two people are not idle people, so how can they do useless work.

"Is that so? Then I'm relieved. You two don't know that I'm a timid person. After receiving the invitation, I didn't sleep all night. I was afraid. I was afraid that this was a Hongmen Banquet."

Zhu Chuanren said he was afraid, but his expression showed no fear at all. His eyes were rolling back and forth between the two of them, and no one could guess what he was thinking.

"Hey~Brother Chuanren, filter it out, what a Hongmen Banquet, today is just a family banquet, don't think too much about it!"

Cai Laoer was not as patient as Mrs. He, so he said impatiently:

"Brother He, you are being hypocritical. We have agreed to learn from Brother Chuanren."

Zhu Chuanren was stunned:
"Take a scripture?"

Cai Laoer chuckled:
"Stop pretending. Who in Yuanbao Town doesn't know that you and Shopkeeper Xia have made a fortune? Tell me, where did you get your fortune from? If you have money, everyone can make it."

Zhu Chuanren sneered in his heart, it turned out that he was being targeted, no wonder it happened like this, but it didn't surprise him.

"I don't know how to respond to what Boss Cai said. Who doesn't want to get rich? As long as I have a way to get rich, I won't go to fight against the bandits. Just now that I have said this, I would like to ask you two if you are willing to take it with you. I make some pocket money."

Zhu Chuanren gave them a kick and wanted to make money for him. Okay, you guys come first.

He Taisheng was stunned for a moment, glanced at Cai Laoer, who had an unclear expression, and said with a smile:

"Brother, you are joking. We in the Cao Gang all earn hard-earned money, so we can't compare to you."

"Boss He, who is not making hard-earned money these days?"

Just as he was talking, a sweet voice came from outside the door:

"Auntie, can Xin'er come in?"

The madam, who had been in Cai Laoer's arms, was stunned for a moment and said quickly:
"Come in~"

Then he said with a smile on his face:

"Third Young Master, Xin'er is here~"

Zhu Chuanren turned around when he heard the sound and saw a thin girl wearing a long white fringed skirt walking into the private room.

This girl has a round face, a bit cutesy, stubby eyebrows, and energetic eyes, adding a touch of spirited fairy aura.

However, her appearance does not belong to the kind of good fortune that benefits the country and the people. She is somewhat petty. It can only be said that she is a very exquisite beauty, not to the level of a famous oiran.

But in this three-acre area of ​​Yuanbao Town, she is considered a rare beauty.

Xin'er walked in, looked at everyone briefly, and then determined her goal. She came to Zhu Chuanren and said a blessing, greeting in a sweet voice:
"Third Young Master, I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long, my slave Zhao Xiner."

Zhu Chuanren nodded with a smile, stretched out his hand to pull her to sit next to him, and asked:
"Miss Xin'er, what do you want to eat?"

He Taisheng on the side smiled and said:
"Brother Chuanren still cherishes the fragrance and cherishes the beauty. He didn't even eat it. He thought about the beauty first."

Zhu Chuanren waved his hand:
"Beauties are meant to be treated with pity. Besides, I'm not hungry either."

He wasn't hungry, he was afraid that the two grandsons were playing dirty tricks and adding drugs to the food and wine, so he didn't even touch the table from the beginning to the end.

Xiner happened to be here, so he asked her to try the dishes for him.

Don't blame him for being cautious, there are really too many bad guys and we have to guard against them.

But how dare Xin'er use the chopsticks first? She has learned how to serve men since she was a child.

After hearing Zhu Chuanren's words, he quickly picked up his chopsticks and served Zhu Chuanren with dishes. His big watery eyes seemed to be able to seduce people, and his soul could be lured away just by looking at him.

"Third Young Master, eat first. This belly-wrapped chicken is our signature dish at Zuixianlou. You can try it..."

Zhu Chuanren was quite helpless, why was it so difficult for people to try a dish.

Just as he was thinking about how to avoid it, Xia Yuanzhang spoke:

"Chuanren, didn't you say before that you wanted to ask Gang Leader He for advice on something?"

Zhu Chuanren said quickly:

"Yes, Boss He, your shipping fee is too expensive. 1000 kilograms costs 20 silver dollars. Can you give me a discount? The amount of grain our Zhu family will transport in the future is by no means a small amount."

He Taisheng was stunned for a moment and said in deep thought:
"Let's do this, brother Chuanren. Let your steward go to Caobang to sign a new contract. The price will be 18 silver dollars. It can't be any less. Our Caobang earns hard-earned money."

Zhu Chuanren raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect that there would be an unexpected surprise. He just found a reason to avoid Xin'er feeding food.

"Then thank you, Boss He."

"Hey~ we are all brothers, you are welcome."

Of course, He Taisheng is not a philanthropist, and the discounts are not given in vain. No, he followed up and asked:

"Brother Chuanren, what kind of business do you and Shopkeeper Xia do? Can you please tell me?"

Zhu Chuanren rolled his eyes:
"To tell you the truth, Boss He, this is a business. It's just robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Those bandits are extremely rich. Of course, it's me who is poor who is being helped!"

Taisheng He was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said:

"What a man who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, that's how it is."

Cai Laoer's eyes were rolling around. He obviously didn't believe Zhu Chuanren's words and said:

"No matter how much money the bandits have, how much money can they have? I think brother Chuanren still doesn't trust us and has something to hide..."

(End of this chapter)