Linxia

Chapter 145, Liangzi

After drinking with Dong Zugao, Fang Lin went back to the alley. At the door of Ou's house, he saw Master Ou teaching Mrs. Ou to write, so he stopped and watched for a while.

"These four characters are 'accumulation, virtue, conduct, and kindness', which means that if you do good things, good deeds will be rewarded to good people."

Master Ou taught and Mrs. Ou learned, but at her age, she forgets what she hears in a blink of an eye, so she can only be taught over and over again.

Compared to when Mrs. Ou taught him how to cook, Master Ou was much more patient when teaching him how to read. On the contrary, Mrs. Ou's student was like a child. After a while, she couldn't remember anything and got angry and said she didn't want to learn anymore, and she still needed Master Ou to coax her.

After listening for a while, Master Ou finally noticed Fang Lin, asked Madam Ou to take a break, and came over to greet her: "It's okay, teach her some words to kill time."

"By the way, thank you Fang Lin for the Xianglu matter... This afternoon, she went to sit and talk with your mother and the others. This was the first time since she got sick."

He smiled a little, paused, and said, "Because of the pain. The flesh on her body was rotten, there was a peculiar smell, no one talked to her, and she was all alone. Saving her was also torture. I don't know if I was wrong. Now that she is feeling better, I feel much better too."

Fang Lin listened in silence. Master Ou meant well, but for Mrs. Ou, it was hard to say which was better, living in agony or ending it all.

"Fang Lin, thank you very much." Master Ou said again: "The fragrance dew is very useful. It can cover up the smell. She won't be afraid to see people anymore."

"What are you talking about, Master? This is what I should do." Fang Lin shook his head.

"Shui-gen-zi." At this time, Mrs. Ou suddenly shouted from behind.

It turned out that she had just called out "my dear husband", but Mr. Ou didn't hear her and got a little angry, so he called out "Shui-gen-zi".

Mr. Ou turned his head subconsciously, then reacted and said a little embarrassedly: "I'll go over there."

Later, Fang Lin learned that Master Ou's nickname was "Shuigen". When his mother called him by his nickname when he was a child, she always added the word "zi" after "Shuigen". When she called him, the sound was very long, Shui-gen-zi, not hurried or impatient, but gentle and long, which sounded very comfortable.

Mr. Ou and Mrs. Ou talked about this: "When I was a child, even if I was playing far away, I could always hear my mother calling 'Shui-gen-zi'. With this voice, it was like an invisible hand holding me. I would run home obediently and never make her angry. I wanted to repay her when I grew up, but she died early before I could make any progress in my studies. Until now, the sound of my mother calling 'Shui-gen-zi' sometimes still rings in my ears."

Because of this, Mrs. Ou would sometimes call Master Ou "Shui-gen-zi". Master Ou always refused. But as she became sicker, Mrs. Ou became more and more willful. She no longer called him "that husband" or "old partner". Whenever she was unhappy or happy, she would call him "Shui-gen-zi". Master Ou gradually let her do what she wanted.

Fang Lin looked back, and under the slanting setting sun, the two people's silver hair was shining brightly in the twilight. The smiles on the old couple's faces were as genuine as those of children, just like a bunch of cold-resistant and fragrant chrysanthemums blooming in the corner of the wall at this time of year.

……

Two days later, in the evening of that day, Fang Lingang came back.

A sedan chair carried by eight people, covered with gold foil and silver thread, and embroidered with intricate and exquisite patterns, arrived at the door of the Fang family amid the discussion of the neighbors. A middle-aged man in his forties dressed in brocade clothes patted his sleeves and stepped on the servant's back to get down as if no one was around. He looked like he was used to it.

——The laws of the Great Xia Dynasty have strict regulations on the style of sedan chairs and the number of people carrying them. However, today, although the law is in place, the order no longer exists, and violating the etiquette is no longer a big deal.

Fang Lin came out and looked at the man who was neither fat nor thin, had a plump face and wore a purple jade ring on his hand. He recognized him as Fan Qingzeng, whom he had met once at the Qixi banquet. "Master Fan, your presence really brings honor to our humble home."

He had a very good memory and remembered that this man was one of the top wealthy merchants in the city, running a fur and spice business, which was very successful.

"Manager Fang, you are too polite. I am here to discuss some business matters."

"Mr. Fan, please come in, have a cup of tea and talk slowly." Fang Lin guessed in his mind and invited the other party in.

At this time, Fang's father had not returned yet. Fang's mother and Tian Xuan had already taken out the best tea and brought it to him. They then went out on their own accord, leaving the main room for the two men to talk.

Fan Qingzeng sat down, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then subconsciously frowned, put it down again, and said straight to the point: "I heard that Manager Fang made a scented dew..."

"Fragrant dew?" Fang Lin thought to himself, "As expected," but pretended to be slightly surprised: "How did Master Fan know?"

"Didn't Manager Fang give a bottle to the two girls at Qing Huan Xiao Ju? When I went there, the two girls praised this scent very much and came back to tell me... I have also seen it. The scent is indeed very good, as clear as frost, elegant and fragrant..."

"I said so. Mother, Sister Xuan, and the people in the alley could not have attracted so much attention. Only Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun could have attracted the attention of people of high enough level..."

Fang Lin had also thought about this problem, but he knew that the two girls had used osmanthus scented oil and lily scented oil before, and it would not attract attention. However, he did not expect that they liked him so much that they would think of ways to help and actively promote it, which disrupted his plan.

He had originally planned to put the perfume on hold, but now that the situation had changed, he could no longer keep it as a reserve trump card. He immediately decided to go with the flow and leverage the other party's power to develop the product together, and was thinking about how to gain a market share.

But at this time, Fan Qingzeng said, "I want to buy this prescription from Shopkeeper Fang. How about one thousand taels of silver?"

Fang Lin was shocked.

One thousand and two taels of silver is indeed a lot of money, but it depends on what you put in it. He is not a fool who knows nothing and does not know the true value of the secret recipe of the fragrant dew.

"It seems that they are not looking for cooperation with me at all, but they don't take me seriously at all, and want to monopolize the perfume business and eat up this big piece of fat meat in one bite." He thought to himself.

"This secret recipe is valuable, but it depends on who holds it. In the hands of Shopkeeper Fang, it is only worth one thousand and two taels of silver. But it is different in the hands of my Fan family..." Fan Qingzeng said, habitually picking up the teacup and taking a sip, but after it reached his mouth, he realized that it was not his own tea, and turned around and spit it on the ground.

Fang Lin almost laughed out of anger after hearing this. He planned to investigate the Fan family's background in detail later, but he had already trained himself to not show his emotions, and kept a smile on his face: "This secret recipe of perfume is not easy to sell..."

"Two thousand taels of silver!"

"This is not about money..."

"Two thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. Manager Fang, please don't be too greedy. Prefect Pu can't protect you. Think about your family and friends..." Unlike the politeness at the beginning, at this moment, Fan Qingzeng was full of condescending oppression. Obviously, he had lost some patience.

——The politeness at the beginning was just dining etiquette, but the oppression at this moment, the cruelty and greed in the face of huge profits, is the true nature.

He had investigated and found out that Prefect Pu and Fang Lin had only known each other for a short time and their relationship might not be very deep. As for other relationships, the Dong family had long fallen into decline and Dong Zugao was only a scholar. Xu Kuo Lao was okay with ordinary people but was not up to standard with them.

To be honest, it was only because Fang Lin had some background and was not a piece of fish waiting to be slaughtered on the chopping board that he came in person and offered a high price of two thousand taels of silver. If you change to an ordinary person, you try, he won't even offer the price, and he will even negotiate with you? It's just robbing you by force!
When Fang Lin heard Fan Qingzeng's threats against himself and his family, he felt more than just disgust. At this moment, he had already regarded the other party as an enemy in his heart and truly adopted the attitude of treating an enemy.

'This person dared to threaten directly, saying that Prefect Pu could not protect me. Either he was just bragging, but he was stupid to use this to show off; or he was really serious... However, since his business was so big, I think it was the latter. ' He thought, keeping a smile on his face, and sighed: "Master Fan doesn't know that the original intention of my making perfume is because..."

After hearing this, Fan Qingzeng learned that Fang Lin made the scented dew only because Madam Ou was ill and wanted to cover up the smell. Such a kind act made him feel less oppressed. "I didn't expect the reason behind this to be so complicated. Manager Fang is not only talented, but also has good character! Three thousand taels of silver, Manager Fang, please consider it carefully."

As I said, although he is not a good person, he hopes that the people around him are good people - of course, even if Fang Lin is a good person, he will not give up the secret recipe of Xianglu for this, and the Fan family will definitely get this piece of fat meat.

"Master Fan, you misunderstood me. I said all this just to express that this perfume was hastily made in ten days. I haven't fully mastered the skills, so the quality is extremely unstable. The few bottles I took out are already the best. I don't know if they can be replicated... In this case, let alone three thousand taels, even one thousand taels, I would not feel at ease if I took the money!"

That’s right, Fang Lin planned to sell the secret recipe to Fan Qingzeng.

In the short time just now, he had thought about it carefully, and also thought about pretending to be nice, dealing with this person first, and then looking for Pu Zhifu to make connections, pull in a group of interests, and compete with the Fan family. But let's not talk about whether Pu Zhifu would support it, whether there is time, and whether other big families in the city are willing. Just say that it would be a direct confrontation with the Fan family, and the other party would bear a grudge. If it implicates Fang's father, Fang's mother, and Tian Xuan, and causes them to suffer, then it would be more trouble than gain.

"Compared to the safety of my family, what is a secret recipe for perfume? It is totally worth it to take out the secret recipe for perfume and let the other party relax their vigilance, ignore the existence of myself and my family, and go into the dark." Fang Lin thought to himself.

He learned a lesson from Sister Guihua: you can't tear your face off against your enemy, you have to let him relax his vigilance, hide, and be patient, wait for the critical moment, take advantage of the situation, and deliver a fatal blow. If you don't strike, it's fine, but once you strike, the opponent will be finished. It's even better to let the opponent die without knowing who killed him, so that there will be no such thing as a desperate dog jumping over the wall.

Of course, if they say they are selling you a secret recipe, they won’t be so honest. What they give you will be a high-cost, low-quality abridged version.

"I see." Fan Qingzeng didn't expect that Fang Lin didn't agree because he was too honest and worried that the money was not worth it. He felt ridiculous and sighed that he was talking at cross purposes and was actually fighting wits with the air.

After he understood the whole story, he relaxed a little and no longer thought that Fang Lin had made these things up to deceive him. This kind of thing could be easily understood and would be clear once checked.

"It doesn't matter. I'll just take a loss. I'll buy it for three thousand taels of silver!"

Fan Qingzeng was moved by Fang Lin's character and was willing to pay a higher price. After all, compared with the true value of the secret recipe of Xianglu, what was this money?

Furthermore, Fang Lin is not without any background. If this price gets out, people will not say that his Fan family is cheating people and is just trying to gain a good reputation.

"Then... this... ah!" Fang Lin refused for a while, then he accepted it embarrassedly: "I really want to thank Master Fan."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I was in a hurry before and didn't think of writing down any secret recipes. I will sort it out in detail in the next two days and then hand it over to Master Fan."

It is indeed necessary to sort out and come up with a revised version. The part that distills to obtain a high alcohol content must be deleted and revised. The other parts must also reduce product quality and increase product costs. After all, it is reasonable that the secret recipe is not mature after being developed so quickly!

"Okay, there's no rush. Shopkeeper Fang, take your time." Fan Qingzeng said, and left three thousand taels of silver for the secret recipe.

He was not afraid that Fang Lin would embezzle the money. No one in the city dared to embezzle the Fan family's money. Besides, if they left the money, if something really happened, the other party would be in the wrong. If he was in the right, no one could stop him in Huai'an City, he said.

Afterwards, the two chatted for a while, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Fan Qingzeng was also happy to make friends with this pure and kind person, and he had a very good impression.

After a while, Fan Qingzeng stood up and Fang Lin sent him away.

……

Leave Xixiang Hutong.

"The biting dog doesn't bark. It stares at Fang Lin until he hands over the secret recipe."

Fan Qingzeng believed in Fang Lin's performance today, but he was also habitually cautious. He didn't want to spend all day hunting geese and be pecked in the eye by a wild goose one day.

Wan Fanglin says one thing to your face and another behind your back. His words today are just to delay, and he is contacting various parties behind your back to trick you. It would be a bit difficult to deal with him.

Yes, just a little bit. He was not bragging. Prefect Pu really couldn't protect Fang Lin. Not now, but in the future. After all, Prefect Pu had to move and couldn't stay in Huai'an forever.

"Master, don't worry."

……

After seeing Fan Qingzeng off, Fang turned back and Master Ou asked another question.

"It's nothing, I just came to buy the secret recipe of perfume." Fang Lin said it without hiding anything.

"If the other party abuses his power to bully others and robs others, Fang Lin, tell me."

"That's not the case. The price this person offered is not low."

"I'm serious. I still have some connections, old man." Mr. Ou said seriously.

After hearing this, Fang Lin looked at Master Ou thoughtfully.

He suddenly remembered that after Liu Hongwen was cheated, he came back and told Master Ou about it. Master Ou once mentioned a trick of cheating and mentioned that "there is a classmate from Fengyang Prefecture, and most of the candidates who go to Beijing for the examination every year are his students."

'Or maybe it's not him. Master Ou has been teaching for so many years, so he must have a successful student... In short, I underestimated Master Ou before.'

Fang Lin thought about it for a while, and said, "It's really not necessary this time."

Confronted with the Fan family head-on, the relationship was broken. As long as they failed to kill the other party in one go, they would be remembered regardless of whether they won or lost.

"No matter what, Fang Lin, I will remember your favor. As long as you are right, just come to me... Even if an old man like me loses face, it may still work once or twice."

"Thank you, Master."

……

(End of this chapter)