Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 67 Xue Tong

Jia Qiang led the white horse, and behind him was a carriage driven by Lao Shuntou himself. There were five large boxes on the carriage, which were all his luggage.

Of course, the five big boxes were more for show, as he put some important items into his inventory.

He left Beijing this time by taking a boat to Yangzhou via the canal, which was also the most convenient way to travel.

He did not leave Beijing as an imperial envoy, but went to Yangzhou in the name of studying. This was the reason for his application at the Imperial College.

The Imperial College has long been accustomed to this kind of application. If you have the ability to find a good mentor yourself, the Imperial College will only welcome it.

So Jia Qiang was wearing a Confucian shirt and holding a folding fan in her hand, looking like a scholar.

"Sir, you don't even have a servant with you. If you don't dislike Lao Shuntou, I'm willing to travel with you!" When they arrived at the dock, Lao Shuntou ordered the coolies to take the big box off the carriage and asked Jia Qiang said.

It's not that Jia Qiang doesn't want to take care of the servants, but that the current servants in the mansion are not trained by her own family, and they haven't even spent much time together.

This time he was going to do something important again. How dare he take such young men with him? It would be better to wait until he got to Yangzhou.

"You stay in the capital well. Now you are also a big housekeeper. Your most important thing is to manage the affairs of the house and all the villages!" Jia Qiang waved her hand and said.

Speaking of the big housekeeper, Lao Shuntou's eyebrows started to smile.

Jia Qiang was promoted to the rank of first-class viscount. At least among the lords in the capital, it was considered an upper-middle rank.

And a butler who is a first-class viscount can indeed be called a great butler.

That is to say, Jia Qiang has little contact with other officials in the capital, so she has no daily interactions. This is also related to the fact that Jia Qiang does not have actual duties.

"Yes, sir!" Lao Shuntou responded with a smile.

We have made an appointment with the ship a long time ago. This is a large merchant ship with three floors of wooden buildings on board.

The ship was ordered by Xia Shouzhong's connections, and the second floor of the three floors was directly booked.

The coolies sent the five big boxes to the second floor of the ship. Jia Qiang boarded the ship and stood at the bow of the ship and waved to Lao Shuntou.

"Xue Tong has met the young master!" A middle-aged man behind Jia Qiang stepped forward and saluted.

"Student Jia Qiang!" Jia Qiang didn't know the identity of the middle-aged man, but he was in the same boat, so he smiled and saluted back.

"Is Mr. Jia a member of Rong Ning's Jia Mansion?" Xue Tong asked with his eyes lit up.

"I am not that Jia!" Jia Qiang shook her head and replied.

Xue Tong looked at Jia Qiang carefully. He knew that it was the palace who booked the second floor this time. It just so happened that he was also returning to Jiangnan with the ship this time, taking this opportunity to get to know this distinguished guest.

But he didn't expect that the distinguished guest was so young. He looked like he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, but his temperament far exceeded his appearance.

In fact, he knew who Jia Qiang was when he heard Jia Qiang say her name. He still knew about Jia Qiang in Ningguo Mansion, but now that Ningguo Mansion was sealed, he didn't know much about Jia Qiang.

We can't blame Jia Qiang's lack of fame. There is a reason for this because of Jia's family.

Jia Qiang was born in Ningguo Mansion, but was expelled from Ningguo Mansion, and her name was removed from the family tree.

And Jia Qiang, who left Ningguo Mansion, has soared to great heights in just two years, and her title has caught up with the current head of Jia Mansion.

If the Jia family promotes Jia Qiang to the outside world, how should they introduce it?

The Jia family would not take the initiative to mention such embarrassing things.

Jia Mu also had thoughts and wanted to invite Jia Qiang to come to the house to discuss her return to the Jia family when Jia Lian got married. When Jia Qiang returned to the Jia family, Jia Qiang would be another important member of the Jia family. power.

The Jia Qiang whom Xue Tong knew was still the second master Qiang of Ningguo Mansion, and he did not know what happened next.

Xue Tong also wondered why Jia Qiang didn't recognize Jia's family background, but considering Jia Qiang's connection with the palace, he didn't dare to ask more questions.

"I, the Xue family of Jinling, have a close relationship with the Jia family. I misunderstood when I heard that the young master's surname is Jia!" Xue Tong explained with a smile.

"Jinling Xue family, this ship belongs to the Xue family?" Jia Qiang guessed who the owner of the ship was when she heard about Jinling Xue family.

"Exactly, Xue Tong is the head of the Xue clan, welcome Mr. Jia!" Xue Tong introduced himself.

"Jia Qiang is rude, I have met Mr. Xue!" Jia Qiang looked squarely at Xue Tong in front of him and said politely again.

He checked Xue Tong's complexion, and sure enough, his complexion was slightly yellow, indicating that he was probably ill. With Xue Tong's wealth, he was still working hard outside. No wonder he couldn't support it and died after a few years.

How did he know that the Xue family was an imperial merchant, and this procurement matter looked glamorous, but in fact it was quite risky.

As long as it involves royal matters, everything must be done personally, otherwise if something goes wrong, it will be a major matter of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan.

It was Xue Tong's hard work that made it possible for Xue Pan to have a rich family fortune no matter how prodigal he was. It was all the old brothers left behind by Xue Tong who worked hard to support it.

"Master Jia, I have some new West Lake Longjing here this year. How about we sit down and have tea together?" Xue Tong invited with a smile.

Jia Qiang would not refuse. Taking a boat from Beijing to Yangzhou would take more than 20 days even with such a big boat.

Having someone to talk to can make the journey less lonely.

The two went upstairs and came to the platform on the third floor facing the bow of the ship. A maid had prepared tea and snacks, and they sat down.

"Good tea!" Jia Qiang took a sip of tea. Although he didn't have much research on tea, he was very energetic nowadays and his five senses were particularly sharp, so his taste buds could sense more subtleties.

When they were in the Imperial College, most of the students got along with each other by drinking tea.

He was sure that the Longjing tea he drank before was far inferior to the tea in the cup, and everything Xue Tong served him was such a treasure.

"This was collected from the eighteen tea trees in front of Hu Gong Temple at the foot of Shifeng Mountain. Most of them were sent to the palace, but the rest were very few!" Xue Tong explained proudly.

Jia Qiang sighed in her heart. Although he had reached the rank of Zhengyi, he was still far from the real wealth.

If it weren't for what Xue Tong said, he wouldn't even know this knowledge about Longjing.

However, he had experience in his previous life, and he also read a lot of poetry and books in this life. Although he was not as knowledgeable as Xue Tong, in terms of the breadth of knowledge, he far surpassed Xue Tong.

"The boat is sailing!" came the boatman's shout.

The ship raised its sail and slowly left the port.

The ship's departure did not affect the chat between Jia Qiang and Xue Tong, and Xue Tong did not expect to meet someone who could chat like this.

You must know that Xue Tong travels around as a businessman all year round, and his knowledge is considered to be the richest in this world.

But no matter what he talked about, Jia Qiang could pick up the conversation, and from time to time she could even add a finishing touch, showing that Jia Qiang was not responding randomly.

"Brother Jia Xian, why are you going to Yangzhou this time?" After a period of conversation and the two parties became friends, Xue Tong asked about Jia Qiang.

Unknowingly, the two people, who were more than twenty years apart, became like brothers.

"I went to Yangzhou to study!" Jia Qiang didn't hide anything and replied with a smile.

"I also know two great scholars in Yangzhou. If you need anything, just ask, don't be polite to me!" Xue Tong said confidently.

In the Jiangnan area, the Xue family has a wide range of connections, so it is not a problem to find a great Confucian as a teacher for Jia Qiang.

"Brother Xue doesn't need to worry, I have found a teacher, and this time I will study with the teacher!" Jia Qiang thanked Xue Tong for his kindness.

"Who is Master He, who can cultivate such a talented person as Jia Xiandi?" Xue Tong asked curiously.

Although he has not tested Jia Qiang's poems and books, through the exchange just now, he knows that Jia Qiang has a wide range of knowledge. With such a breadth of knowledge, his teacher will not be simple.

"My teacher's surname is Lin Minghai, and his nickname is Ruhai!" It's hard to say that Jia Qiang hasn't become a teacher yet, but it's already been decided, so he just said it.

"Master Lin Ruhailin, the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor?" Xue Tong took a breath and asked in disbelief.

Lin Ruhai's official rank was only seventh grade, but he really held great power in the Jiangnan area. He controlled the salt affairs in Jiangnan, and the money in his hands was like a sea.

"Exactly!" Jia Qiang nodded.

"Don't say that friendship between brothers is shallow and profound. You must be more careful during this trip. Mr. Lin's current situation is very bad!" Xue Tong hesitated for a while and then reminded him.

This is the best he can do, no matter how much he dares to say more.

Although the Xue family was influential in Jiangnan, it was still incomparable to the eight major salt merchants.

(End of this chapter)