Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 863 Early Summer (Xiao Jiu asks for a monthly pass)
Hearing Cheng Mengxing's words, Wang Lusheng's eyes lit up, but he hesitated, looking at Cao Yong with some concerns.

Cao Yong is not a temperament that loves to deal with strangers, but he didn't say anything about two more people on the same boat.After all, after starting to travel by sea, the sea is rough and the effort to get to the deck is less.Besides, he didn't hire the boat.

Wang Lusheng saw that he was not unhappy, so he sent Guo Quanyou to take the steward to invite someone on Fan's boat.

After receiving Wang Lusheng's invitation, Fan Shishen thanked him with tears of gratitude, accepted the kindness, and merged the two fleets into one, and he also brought a personal servant to live on the passenger ship.

After all, it will take more than a month to travel by sea, and it will be safer to be with the Wang family's fleet.Not to mention anything else, things like being blackmailed today can be avoided.

Although the cabin he lives in is not bigger than the cabins of Cao Yong and Cheng Mengxing, it is also quite spacious.

Although the second young master of the Fan family is not very old, he is well-connected.When I got here on the ship, I went to Wang Lusheng's cabin to say hello every day, but never disturbed Cao Cheng and the others.

It's not just the effect of peppermint oil, it's because after sitting on the boat for a long time, I got used to it, and Fan Shishen's symptoms of seasickness became lighter and lighter.

In the vast ocean, life on board is not easy.Only in the early morning and evening can I go for a stroll on the deck. At other times, the sun is scorching, so I can only stay in the cabin.

Before boarding the ship, Cao Yong brought many books that mentioned the customs and geography of Nanyang.Because of his concern for rice seeds in the past two years, Cao Yong also paid special attention to the agricultural records in it, but there were very few of them, and some of them were just mentioned a few words.

Cheng Mengxing was idle and bored, borrowed a few books from Cao Yong, read them so much that he forgot to sleep and eat, and didn't even feel tired from the journey.Every time I see Cao Yong, I would sigh two words like "the world is so big".

Along the way, the weather changed, and I almost got lost several times; another time, I encountered pirates.But because there are too many ships in the fleet here, and some of them are under the banner of the Fan family in Guangzhou, the other party didn't come forward, so they avoided it in two strokes.

Cao Yong and Cheng Mengxing were both in the cabin, and when they got the news, there was only one shadow left on the pirate ship...

At the end of March, the ship arrived in Quanzhou, stopped for a day's supplies, and then set off.

In mid-April, the royal fleet finally arrived in Guangzhou.

Although Cao Yong didn't get seasick, he was tired from the journey and lost several catties.When he stepped onto the pier, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, he really didn't want to take a boat again.

Seeing Cheng Mengxing let out a long breath, I'm afraid he was thinking about the same as Cao Yong.

Wang's family has a house in Guangzhou, Wang Lusheng asked his adopted son to take someone to unload the goods, he said goodbye to Fan Shishen himself, and took Cao Yong and Cheng Mengxing to the Wang's house.

In today's Guangzhou, because of the customs, you can sometimes see foreigners with yellow hair and blue eyes on the streets, as well as businessmen wearing costumes from various countries in Southeast Asia.

Not to mention Cheng Mengxing, even Cao Yong couldn't help but take a second look.

When they arrived at the Wang's house, Wang Lusheng arranged for Cao Cheng and the two to settle down, and ordered someone to book a banquet for them to welcome them.

When Cao Yong was in the room, finished bathing, and came out after changing into clean clothes, Wang Lusheng was already listening to the reply from the steward at home.

He knew that Cao Yong came here to find someone, and before Cao Yong could speak, he sent someone to inquire about Ai's house.

The Ai family is actually the Aiweiluo family, a Portuguese businessman from Macau with a firm in Guangzhou.If the Chinese cannot pronounce the surnames of foreigners, the first sound shall prevail.

"Master Cao, just now I sent people to Ai's House to ask at the wharf. The boat of their eldest daughter and uncle has not returned yet." Wang Lusheng said to Cao Yong.

Cao Yong listened, not surprised.

Because the long-distance sailing at this time has something to do with the monsoon.

In winter, the wind blows from north to south; in summer, the wind blows from the south.Ships coming from the west only arrive at Guangzhou Port one after another after May, when the summer monsoon blows.

Wei Xin and his wife Ada were supposed to return to Guangzhou last summer.Although I don't know what happened on the road, but as long as there is a ship returning from Europa this year, we should be able to find out some news.

While the two were talking, a housekeeper came in and replied, "Master, there is a steward Zhang from Ai's House outside asking to see the master."

"Guard Zhang?" Wang Lusheng heard this, and said, "The manager of Ai's House has changed? Isn't the original manager surnamed Bai?"

The butler replied: "Master, this is the deputy steward. He arrived in Guangzhou in March. I heard he came from Macau."

Cao Yong was listening, his heart moved, and he said: "Is it the accent of the capital?"

The butler nodded and said: "If you go back to Master Cao, this butler is a real Beijing movie."

"Master Cao knows this person?" Wang Lusheng asked.

"Qi Ye, this may be my family's Zhang Yi, who came here with Wei Xin a few years ago." Cao Yong replied.

After hearing this, Wang Lusheng hurriedly asked the housekeeper to invite him in.

The person who came was dressed in blue silk and had a short beard, and followed the butler in. It wasn't Zhang Yi, who was it?

"My little one has seen the uncle, the prince." Zhang Yi saw Cao Yong, his face was a little excited, and he bowed down.

"Haha, it's really Manager Zhang, get up quickly." Wang Lusheng hurriedly helped him and said.

Back then, Zhang Yi was Cao Yong's long-term follower, and he followed him to Shandong, so Wang Lusheng also knew him.After a few pleasantries, Wang Lusheng saw their master and servant reunited and had something to say, so he found an excuse to go out, leaving them to talk by themselves.

"Why did you call Guangzhou? Is it the meaning of the Patriarch of the Ai family?" Cao Yong looked at Zhang Yi and asked.

Zhang Yi shook his head, and said: "It was the little one who begged Mr. Ai to come to the Guangzhou Commercial Bank. Before, the old man sent letters to the young one every month, but this time there has been no letter for several months. The young one is thinking, the old man Xu is worried about Mr. Wei, maybe he will come over to have a look, but he guessed it unexpectedly."

The Cao family's previous business in Guangzhou also involved hundreds of thousands of silver.The last time Wei Xin went to Beijing, he wanted Cao Yong to send someone over to take over.

Cao Yong let Wei Xindu deal with it and became a shareholder of the Ai family fleet.Zhang Yi was ordered to go south, that is, in Macau, to serve as a defense for the foreign Wei Xin.

Cao Yong went south this time, although he didn't come for the few 10 taels of silver, but he didn't want to let the Ai family take advantage of the fire.

"How does the Ai family say?" Cao Yong asked.

"The Ai family is playing tricks. They want to use the boat that Mr. Wei was on to buy the shares, and get rid of Mr. Wei. The second girl of the Ai family will not do it, and delay the matter." Zhang Yi replied.

"Second girl?" Cao Yong pondered for a moment, then asked: "Is that Ada's sister from the same mother? Can she talk in Ai's house?"

"Returning to the uncle, although Mr. Ai married several wives, they all gave birth to daughters. Those brothers of his are not good. He really had no choice but to push the second girl out. This time it is thanks to Second girl, otherwise, even if Master Wei doesn't lose his money, he will definitely suffer some hidden losses." Zhang Yi said.

When Cao Yong heard this, he couldn't help frowning, and said to Zhang Yi: "Foreigners are used to profit-seeking, and his family is a pirate, so there is no morality at all. Xiyun mother and son, have you come to Guangzhou with you this time? People first received Guangzhou."

"Here we come together. I'm afraid the Ai family is eager to let the younger ones leave Macau, but it's a long-winded sentence." Zhang Yi replied: "But they don't know the house deed, land deed, note, and several shopkeepers of Guangzhou Foreign Bank. The work deeds of the accountant are kept here. Even if they want to get rid of Master Wei, it will not be so easy."

After hearing this, Cao Yong said, "Guangzhou Foreign Firm... Is it Ada's dowry?"

Zhang Yi nodded and replied with a smile: "Yes, I heard that Master Wei asked for it. He used tens of thousands of taels of silver as a dowry gift, and used tens of thousands of taels of silver to join the Ai family's fleet. This made the Ai family revive. Let alone a shop, even if he asked Mr. Ai to ask for two concubines, Mr. Ai would obediently send them over."

When Cao Yong heard the words, he also laughed.

I knew that Wei Xin was unwilling to suffer losses. Although the Ai family's main money was on the fleet, this Guangzhou foreign company was also an old brand for decades.Wei Xin is concerned with this, and he is concerned with the contacts in the Ai family's business.

Whether you want to swallow up the Ai family, or want to set up another branch, with this foreign firm in your hand, you can get twice the result with half the effort, making it easier to advance and retreat...

*
Capital, Cao Mansion.

The weather this year is cold, and there were two heavy snowfalls in the capital at the end of February, and it started to get warmer in March.Now, half of April is over, and it is still a little cold in the morning and evening, so I have to wear thick armor.

All the courtyards of the inner house have been replaced with window screens, light green, pink and blue, it looks refreshing.However, the old and the young in the family only dare to open the windows for a while when the sun is full at noon.

Although they had a leisurely life in Changping Zhuangzi last year, this year because Cao Yong was not at home, Li's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law did not plan to go out of the city to live.

Cao Ying's mother and son returned to Beijing in late March. Because there were few people in the family, Mrs. Li told Zhao Jia that they had Cao Ying's mother and son come to stay for a short stay, which added to the excitement.

During this period, Chu Yu went back to her mother's house several times, Fang Fujin was more open-minded, and gradually recovered from her illness, and began to marry Zhang Luo Hongxin.

On this day, in time for the funeral of Mrs. Tai of the uncle's mansion, Mrs. Li and Chu Yu went to see each other off.

This old lady is the late wife of Tong Guowei, the minister who led the internal guards, and the mother of Empress Xiaoyi and the nine-door admiral Longkodo. She has an extraordinary status.

For his aunt and mother-in-law, although Kangxi did not go to pay homage to her in person, she also attached great importance to it. He ordered De, the second concubine Yi, and the princes to pay homage;

It can be said to be extremely mournful, Li Shi and Chuyu's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stayed with the female relatives for half a day before the funeral was over and they returned to the mansion.

Speaking of Mrs. Tong Jiatai, she is also a long-lived person.

Today's funeral is also considered a happy funeral.

Although the Cao family also has a title, but the Tong family is the founder of the country, and has produced queens for two consecutive dynasties, which is far from comparable to the Cao family who was born in Baoyi.Therefore, there is little contact between the two families in normal times.

The passing of Li's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law today is just a courtesy, and there is nothing to mourn.

After all Changsheng studied with his nephews, Li was afraid that he would not be able to sit still and would feel bored, so he told Xiangcao that Wei Yaohui would study with him.

Because she got up early in the morning, she was a little tired, so Li changed out of her big clothes and swayed for a while.

When Mrs. Zhao Jia heard that she was back, she brought her daughter-in-law over to play cards with Mrs. Li.

After only two rounds here, a servant girl came to report, saying that it was Brother Sixteen.

When Cao Yong was there, the sixteenth elder brother often came, and he often came to Lan Yuan to pay his respects to Mrs. Li.Although he is a noble prince, he has been in contact with him a lot, and Li Shi also regards him as a nephew in his heart.

During the past two months when Cao Yong was away, Elder Sixteen would often send someone over to say hello and bring over some fresh fruits that are not available outside.Needless to say, this was all done by him from the Ministry of Internal Affairs by "fake public affairs for personal gain".

It's just that, now that Cao Yong is not here, it would be inappropriate to invite Brother Sixteen to enter the inner house.Mrs. Li talked to Mrs. Zhaojia, changed into big clothes, and took Chuyu to the living room in the front courtyard.

Zhao Jia put down the cards in his hand and complained to his daughter: "It's a rare good luck. If there is a break in the middle, I'm afraid the good luck will fly away."

Cao Ying said with a smile: "My daughter read the imperial calendar this morning, and today the God of Wealth is in the north, which is exactly where mother is. It can be seen that mother is destined to ask for money today."

"Really?" Zhao Jia said with a bit of joy: "I can't blame it for being so smooth, what do you want?"

Thinking about the fact that Mrs. Li has sealed his wife's orders, and his daughter-in-law is very gentle, and the people who socialize and socialize are all relatives and dignitaries, what is he?Zhao Jiashi suddenly felt dull.

She is also a widow, who would dare to be negligent when others see Mrs. Li; how many people know who she is Mrs. Zhao Jia?
"Brother Sixteen is also very attentive, right? Brother Yong is not here, and there are fourth and fifth children, and it is not his turn to worry about the mansion here." Zhao Jia said with a little resentment.

After Cao Ying heard this, she hurriedly said: "Who doesn't know that Master Shiliu and Brother Yong have been in love for many years, and they are also Auntie's nephew. It's strange that they are so far away."

"What nephew? It's just a name. It's true that Wang Concubine is Uncle Li's cousin, but she has no blood relationship with your aunt." At this point, she curled her lips: "What kind of world is this? Speaking of it, your uncle's family is the direct descendant of the Li family, and Uncle Li's family in Suzhou is just a fake son of the Li family, and now they are also raised. Like the Sun family, they are all snobs who can't stand on the stage, what the hell? "

She spoke happily, but Cao Ying couldn't say anything, and there was a maid watching beside her.

Seeing that her daughter didn't answer, Zhao Jia also felt bored, licked her temples, and said: "It's not easy to be bored at home all day long today, let's go to your sister's house for a visit some other day... "

*
Front yard, living room.

Brother Sixteen probably came from Tong's house, wearing plain clothes.These days, he has been thinking about coming over to take a look, but he has been busy with all kinds of trivial matters about Sheng Jia's departure from Beijing, and has never had the time to leave the palace.

Today, he still went to Mrs. Tong Tai's funeral. He was ordered to accompany the princes to send this nominal "grandmother", so he was able to let go of his errands.

The list of entourages for this year has been set, and brother sixteen is among them.

Thinking of Cao Yong's entrustment before leaving Beijing, he was a little worried, so after returning from the funeral today, he went to Cao's mansion to have a look.

The host and guest met, served tea, and sat down to talk.

Hearing that Elder Sixteen was going to be a retinue, Wang Concubine also went out of Beijing, Li Shi said: "Last month, my eldest daughter came back from Hangzhou and brought a lot of peppermint oil and rose water. There are many mosquitoes outside the Great Wall, so this is just right. A few days ago, I was thinking about when to show my respect to the empress, but it happened that the Sixteenth Lord came today, and it was just right to take it back..."

*
Inside the Anding Gate, Prince Yong's Mansion, Study Room.

The fourth elder brother's complexion is a bit ugly.

Because he is the adopted son of Empress Xiaoyi, he really has a kind of grandfather-grandson relationship with Mrs. Tong Tai.However, his mood was not sad about the funeral, but thinking of his uncle Longkodo.

After three years of Dingyou, will the imperial father seize love...

(End of this chapter)