Yutai Bi

Chapter 149 Calculations 1
"Let's go back, Hei Qi will come to us when he finds them. Sitting here is nothing wrong." Cen Sanniang said to Du Yanwan.

Seeing that the two were about to leave, the maid in charge of the auction hurried forward and saluted Cen Sanniang: "Master wants to thank Madam in person. I wonder if Madam can move?"

Cen Sanniang smiled like a fox: "After seeing your master, it is estimated that my guards have also found the lost maid. Well, let's lead the way."

The servant girl glanced at Du Yanwan and said: "How about inviting the second girl to the flower hall to meet each other? The master rarely sees outsiders."

Du Yanwan looked at Cen Sanniang worriedly.

Cen Sanniang said: "Go, go, go and rest for a while. I'll have a sip of tea and I'll be back."

Two other maidservants stepped forward to lure Du Yanwan away.

Cen Sanniang smiled and said, "Let's go, I also want to meet your master."

The maid led Cen Sanniang out of the West Garden, and went north through the corridor path.When they arrived at a moon cave gate, they stopped: "Mrs. Du, the master is inside, and the slaves are waiting for you here."

She bowed to Cen Sanniang, and stood by the door with a smile.

Cen Sanniang smiled and walked in.

It's colorful.

There are purple in the pink, gold thread stamens wrapped in the white jade.The one as green as emerald jade is bean flour, and the one that grows half purple and half red together is Er Qiao.Some flowers are as round as hydrangea balls, and some buds are swollen and ready to bloom after blowing.Half of the flower field is covered in a tall shed, and the other half grows calmly in the sun.There are countless plants, how many flowers are blooming, and the colorful flowers are sending out bursts of fragrance in the wind.

Cen Sanniang took a deep breath and looked happily at the flower field in front of her.

A narrow wooden corridor leads to two thatched huts in the center of the flower field.She hesitated and walked over.

Half of the thatched cottage is a house, and the other half is a platform.The platform is built directly on the flower field, and there are two brocade mats, each with several plans.There is a bamboo tea set on the table.There is a small copper kettle on the small charcoal stove next to it.Water vapor is slowly coming out of the mouth of the pot.On one side is the Cui family's pot of eighteen bachelors.

Cen Sanniang praised the master for her elegance, and sat down on the brocade mat generously.

While she was admiring the pot of eighteen bachelors, a person stood up among the flowers not far away.

Cen Sanniang was startled unconsciously.

"Mrs. Du will be later." The man smiled at her and walked over along the ditch.

When he got closer, Cen Sanniang could see his appearance clearly.He was in his early fifties, with gray hair, a slightly curved back, extremely high browbones, and an extremely thin face.

He was wearing a gray kudzu coat with a cloth belt around his waist and a blue cloth purse.There is a bun on the head, and only a wooden hairpin is used to hold it together.If you stand at the gate of the city with a donkey, you will definitely be regarded as a porter who drives the donkey to help people deliver goods.

He put the handful of weeds he picked up in his hand in a bamboo basket under the eaves of the thatched cottage, and then Shi Shiran walked over.

Cen Sanniang looked at his appearance and had seen the freehand portrait of Mr. Zou Jiadalang beforehand, so she had a solid idea and stood up to greet him: "But Yuanwai Zou?"

"My lord, Zou Fengchi." Zou Fengchi bowed his head in return, and invited Cen Sanniang to his seat.

At this time, hot steam came out of the mouth of the copper pot.Zou Fengchi picked up the tea pot and opened it, and shook some tea on the tea lotus.He smiled and said, "I've heard that Madam Du Shao likes to eat loose tea. I just happened to get some Huzhou purple bamboo shoots. Please have a taste, Madam."

The tea lotus is half open, the tea color is purple and the shape is like a bamboo shoot, which is the Huzhou purple bamboo shoot.

He picked up a bamboo spoon to scoop a spoonful from the tea lotus, shaking his hand, and shaking again.

Cen Sanniang became a little curious.Because Mrs. Cen San was fond of tea, she did not say she was proficient in tea ceremony, but she also put in a lot of hard work.Seeing Zou Fengchi's hands shaking again and again, until there were only a few tea leaves in the bamboo spoon, he didn't understand.

I saw Zou Fengchi put those tea leaves into the teacup, then scooped up the same few tea leaves and put them away.Carry water to make tea, clean and neat.

"Zou believes in Buddhism, and the Buddha said that all four things are empty. I think it is best to taste tea with four tea leaves! I named it Siqing Tea. Young Madam, please." Zou Fengchi said.

Cen Sanniang watched the four tea leaves sinking and floating in the water angrily and amusedly, and then looked at the creases beside Zou Fengchi's laughing eyes, and immediately reacted.This Zou Yuanwai is as stingy as the legend says.It's just that I can't bear to put more tea leaves, but I have to bring out the Buddha's teaching that all four things are empty.

She sniffed the tea, and asked casually: "Just now I met the staff and personally pulled out the weeds in the tea room and put them in the bamboo basket. Is the grass still useful?"

"Why is it useless?" Zou Fengchi replied with a smile, "There are live rabbits in the kitchen, just feed them."

Well, rich people save money and save money.Cen Sanniang understood.

"The young lady is probably curious, why did I spend 1 taels of gold to buy this pot of eighteen bachelors?" Zou Fengchi's eyes were slender, and there was a gleam of light in them at this moment.

Just this look made Cen Sanniang subconsciously straighten her waist.

The stingy Zou Fengchi paid a high price to let himself know that he is the owner of Suiyuan.Next, of course, is to negotiate the price.

Zou Fengchi changed the subject: "Madam, do you think my garden is elegant? How about the peonies here?"

Cen Sanniang replied sincerely: "The Sui Garden is beautiful, and the peonies here are no less overwhelming than what you see in the Peony Club today."

Zou Fengchi laughed and said, "Madam thinks that I am a peony lover?"

Free lunches and dinners are provided every year, the garden is opened to hold peony fairs, and this large area of ​​peonies is planted again.Everyone in Chang'an City knows that the owner of Sui Garden loves peonies.

Except Cen Sanniang.

She took a sip of weak tea and said softly: "Outsiders don't know that the owner of Suiyuan is Yuanwai you. You make friends with flowers, and you make friends with flowers. No wonder the Zou family is so rich. Yuanwai's business methods are really clever."

"Hahahaha!" Zou Fengchi laughed heartily, blinking his small eyes, quite proudly, "Sure enough, Mrs. Du hit it off!"

After he laughed, he sighed softly: "Zou has been in business for many years, but he is a scholar, farmer, businessman and businessman, and a businessman can't be a businessman. Zou asked the young lady to explain it, and he said it directly if he had something to say."

"Wait." Cen Sanniang looked at him, a little surprised, "Why do you think you can say these things to my concubine?"

Zou Fengchi said seriously: "The Du family sold a batch of golden nanmu floors a few days ago, right? The Du family also caught thousands of fat fish and sold them secretly, right? The pot of jade building Diancui sent by the Du family also came from a wasteland. Dig it out in your garden?"

Cen Sanniang choked for a while, unable to speak, and her face turned serious: "What is the purpose of Zou Yuanwai's investigation of our country's government? Do you want to use this as a threat?"

"No, no, Zou has no such intention!" Zou Fengchi repeatedly denied, "After the old Duke Du passed away, Zou has heard about the situation in the Duke's mansion. To tell you the truth, Mrs. Zou has also received a lot of Dukes. The property pawned in the mansion. Zou has great admiration for the old Duke, and he probably knows a thing or two about the situation in the mansion. The young lady has only been married for a few days, and she can find a way to make money from the mansion. Zou praises it!"

Cen Sanniang couldn't laugh or cry.It turned out that Zou Fengchi praised himself for being able to dig three feet to make money.Only then did I feel like I could have a conversation with her.

"Let me just say it straight. My Dalang has been in love with the second girl of your mansion for a long time. The Zou family also wants to ask the girl from the Duke's mansion to be the eldest daughter-in-law. Therefore, today Zou is willing to spend a lot of money to help your mansion to show Sincerity." Zou Fengchi said.

Cen Sanniang's eyes fell on the pot of eighteen bachelors: "Mr. Zou went out to spend a lot of money, so naturally he knows what's going on today. The Zou family, aren't you afraid of the Cui family?"

Zou Fengchi sighed and said: "The Qinghe Cui family is a century-old family, and every generation has someone who has become an official. There is also a queen. So I don't let people know that I am the owner of Suiyuan. My Dalang didn't show up at the auction today. .”

Cen Sanniang said with a smile: "Mr. Zou knew that the Cui family was not easy to mess with, so he made a loss-making business today. It was a cheap concubine's life. I earned 5000 taels of silver for a first-class jade building and Diancui. Thank you very much."

She would rather thank her in the open than take up the conversation about the Zou family's marriage proposal.Zou Fengchi's eyes became brighter, like an old gourmet meeting delicious food, or a hedgehog meeting a natural enemy, and he put all his energy into coping.

Are you kidding me, he spent 1 taels of silver in real money.If you don't ask for a letter, it will be in vain to do business for many years.

"The Cui family broke the contract and broke promises first, and then used force to force people. I think the Du family is definitely not willing to marry the Cui family. My Dalang is a business genius, and he has been in love with the second girl of your mansion for a long time. The Zou family is rich, and the Du family is rich. If the family is famous, isn’t it a match made in heaven?”

Cen Sanniang blinked: "Since Mr. Zou knows that the Cui family is strong, and has the support of the empress, he wants to marry my family. Aren't you afraid of angering the Cui family?"

She kicked the ball back again.He just refused to make a promise, if the Zou family can solve this situation, they will promise Zou Xiongjie and Du Yanwan's marriage.

Without the forced marriage by Dalang Cui, the Zou family had no idea whether the Du family should marry.Now that the Cui family is forcing a marriage, the Du family might choose to marry the Zou family rather than marry their daughter into the Cui family.

For the Zou family, what happened today is an opportunity.

Businessmen are after profits, Zou Fengchi saw an opportunity, and refused to let it go.Therefore, he was willing to spend a lot of money to buy the eighteen bachelors, hoping to impress Cen Sanniang.

Zou Fengchi has been in business for many years, and it has become a habit not to scatter eagles when he sees no rabbits.Without Cen Sanniang's promise of marriage, she was naturally unwilling to make great efforts to help the Du family deal with the Cui family's forced marriage.

Zou Fengchi pondered and did not answer.

Cen Sanniang was not in a hurry.

First of all, this marriage depends on whether Du Yanwan is willing or not.

Second, Cen Sanniang held Wu Zhaoyi's hole card in her hand.

Even if there is no Wu Zhaoyi, the Du family can just play a sad card.The old lady changed into imperial clothes and went to beat Jing Zhaoyin's big drum, telling the queen's natal family of treachery first, and forcing the family members of 24 meritorious officials in Lingxiao Pavilion to follow behind.Then I went to the Chongwen Museum to find some passionate talents, and copied a few sad poems from later generations.It is estimated that Mr. Cui Jia, so what, the handsome man named Yuguan will be spewed out of Chang'an City by spit.

Hahahaha.

Cen Sanniang couldn't help but want to laugh three times when she thought of this.

(End of this chapter)