Jia Le stood at the door of the back room, taking a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. She remembered that Hao Yuan had told her that Xihua's attitude might be very complicated, and he might also know that he was the person sent to lobby her.
"Don't be afraid at any time. Remember what I told you: whatever she asks you, just say it."
Is this really okay? Jia Le was secretly puzzled. However, she completely trusted "Uncle Hao". His mood calmed down a little, and he raised the door curtain and said loudly:
"Servant Jia Le is here."
"come in."
"Yes." She quickly lifted the curtain and walked in.
The back room is not big and the layout is simple. Xihua was sitting on a kang bed, holding a ledger in his hand. The kang table was piled with various books.
"Sit down." Xihua's hair was wet, as if he had just taken a shower, but his clothes were still the same as during the day, not messy at all.
"I dare not." Jia Le said cautiously.
"Oh." Xihua's eyelids raised and passed over Jia Le's body, making her shiver involuntarily.
Although she is young, she has always been Zhao Yingong's "employee". From the establishment of the villa to the present, she has been a "housekeeper" level person, holding the power of rewards and punishments, and is meticulous in her conduct, which naturally develops a coercive force. , even the maids who were decades older than her would have their calves cramped by her glance.
Xihua put down his account book, picked up the tureen, and took a sip of tea: "Where are you from?"
"I'm a local, and my family lives in Nanxiawa. It's not far from here." Jia Le said cautiously.
"What does your family do?"
"Selling snacks."
"How do you know how to read? Have you ever studied?"
Jia Le was extra careful: "I don't think I'm the person in the name of the brand. How dare I say I've studied in school? There are children in private schools in the neighborhood, and I followed them and learned from them."
"There are still children studying in Nanxiawa? Do you think I'm from outside?" Xihua sneered. "Which private school is it? Who is the teacher? How many exercises are done every year?"
These questions, one after another, are all merciless refutations: Nanxiawa is a place where the extremely poor people of Hangzhou live. It is impossible to have private schools - the children in Nanxiawa have never been to school. It is impossible for people who are struggling with hunger to have such thoughts.
"Replying to my sister, there is a scholar living in Nanxiawa now. He has set up a private school to teach children to read and not to be constrained. I don't dare to lie about this."
"How could there be such a righteous person in this world?!" Xihua sneered.
"Report to my sister. My sister also suffered a lot in the past. She was rescued by Mr. Zhao and got out of trouble. Why can't this gentleman be a righteous person? Could it be that only rich and powerful people can be righteous people?"
Xihua was startled. There was no one else in the villa except Zhao Yingong. No one spoke so "rushly" in front of her. Even if Fenghua is "under one person", he still talks to her politely. Moreover, these words are so precise that there are no loopholes in them. It is difficult to refute them.
She put down the tea cup, looked at Jia Le up and down silently several times, and said, "You are quite sharp-tongued."
"I don't dare." Jia Le took a step back and said, "Please forgive me, sister."
"It doesn't matter if you can speak well." Xihua said lightly. "Don't think that I don't know who Wang Rong'er is. She is a pickpocket. Her bones are so soft that a whip will tell..."
Jia Le was secretly frightened. Although Hao Yuan had told her that the other party had probably known her identity for a long time, but being revealed in front of her was still like a thunder blow, almost making her unable to stand.
There are frequent gang fights and murders near Nanxiawa. If you catch a traitor, beat him half to death, put him in a sack, and throw him into the river. Jia Le had heard of it more than once.
Although Mr. Zhao is not a city fox or a social rat, with his power, secretly killing a little girl like her is as easy as crushing an ant.
"You should tell me honestly, who asked you to come and why did you come here?" Xihua said slowly, "I can tell you everything here. As long as you tell the truth, I will keep you safe. If you are not honest, I will You hand it over to the steward's room, the board and finger-twisting are not something a kid like you can handle."
These words were so frightening that if Hao Yuan hadn't done the homework for her, Jia Le would have been so frightened that she knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
What's more, she now has a new kind of courage: she is doing things for the poor, in order to avenge the poor. So I didn't feel panic at all. Instead, he calmed down.
"She is bluffing," she thought. "Uncle Hao is right: dogs that bite don't bark. She really wants to torture herself. Why would she say such nonsense to herself?" Thinking of this, she calmed down.
"Everyone outside knows that Mr. Zhao of Phoenix Villa has done great good deeds, but he didn't expect that he would set up a private court inside." She said mockingly, "The slaves in the steward's room are naturally too much to bear. Although the slaves were born in a poor family, Growing up, I was also beaten by my parents. But I haven’t been beaten by bamboo boards yet..."
Xihua knew that her words were thorny and that she was deliberately trying to anger him, so he remained unmoved and said calmly: "The master is not ashamed to beat the slave. He is unhappy and deserves to take it out on me."
"Sister is right." Jia Le was young after all. Seeing that she was not agitated, he felt a little at a loss. But she kept Hao Yuan's words in mind: It's better to be still than to move. When you don't know what to do, just wait for others to move first.
"So, you don't want to say who asked you to come?" Xihua stretched his legs and said leisurely.
An idea came to Jia Le, and he quickly knelt down and beat her legs. He smiled and said, "What did sister say? I want to ask, do you dare not say anything? I just said that sister wants to report to the master to get someone." ?”
"Is it your turn to ask this?"
"Yes, this slave is too talkative." Jia Le lowered his head and said, "Speaking of the person who sent me, I also want to see my sister."
The corner of Xihua's mouth raised slightly: "What do I have to say?"
"That person said: My sister is a strange woman."
"Hey." Xihua couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Hitting this strange woman with a wooden board is worth the beating!"
"What did sister say?" Jia Le knew that she had made some move. He followed Hao Yuan's instructions and said slowly and calmly, "Sister suffered this time out of righteousness - not Xiaoren Xiaoyi, but Great benevolence and righteousness..."
Xihua was startled: "Did he really say that?" This was so strange, it was exactly the same as what the master said!
Jia Le knew that the words had been spoken, so he nodded and affirmed: "Exactly!"
Xihua's mind was a little confused. She was stunned for a while and then said, "Go back first."
"Yes." Jia Le knew that the matter was already half done, so he whispered, "Sister, don't ask anyone to take me. I am weak and cannot bear the torture of family law..."
"Talk too much." Xihua leaned back and said, "Just go on your own."
"Thank you sister for your kindness." She stood up, silently blessed her again, and left.
Zhao Yingong listened to Xihua's report in a small room and was silent for a long time. He was somewhat surprised that the other party sent such a little girl, which made his original simple plan go wrong.
In his original plan, the other party would definitely send a heavyweight to sneak into the villa to persuade Xihua to act as an inside agent - and maybe even promise huge profits. So as long as Xihuaxu keeps in contact with the snake, and then sends people to keep an eye on this person, it will be easy to find out the mastermind behind the scenes.
Zhao Yingong believes that the black hand who wants to deal with him this time is by no means a small force. From the rice commotion to various nursery rhymes and unveiling posts, it shows that the other party has strong financial resources and execution ability. If we can't take this opportunity to eliminate them, there will be endless troubles in the future - God knows how many years it will take for the Senate's troops to land in Shanghai.
However, the other party only sent a twelve-year-old girl. Of course, in this time and space, a twelve-year-old girl is not considered young, but after all, this is just a child, and she will never be an important person.
Does the other party have other plans? Or do you think Xihua is of little value and not worth sending important figures to instigate rebellion? Zhao Yingong was originally confident, but now he felt confused.
If we tortured Jia Le now, we would naturally be able to find out something, but the value would not be too great.
"You just have to agree to meet her first." Zhao Yingong said, "Let's see how she arranges it."
"Yes, this slave knows."
"I think it's not that simple." Zhao Yingong was a little worried. "The enemy seems to have smelled something. Don't agree too readily. These people are old foxes and will definitely test whether you sincerely surrender. You go first and have a good rest. .I will send someone to keep an eye on Jia Le."
After Xihua withdrew, Zhao Yingong called Zhao Tong again.
"How is Jia Le's background check going?"
"I didn't expect it would be so difficult to check!" Zhao Tong frowned slightly, "She reported that her home was in Nanxiawa. That damn place is the famously poor local Xiajiao. No outsiders came in at all! Everyone inside was interested in each other. You know, outsiders can't hide it from anyone, no matter if they disguise themselves as hawkers, beggars, or doctors. I sent several people there, but they didn't even have a chance to talk to anyone!
"Later I found out that her father was selling lotus root rice dumplings by the West Lake, so I sent people to watch outside. When they saw someone selling lotus root rice dumplings coming out, they kept an eye on her, and then I found her father. Then I sent people to the vendors by the West Lake. After asking around, I finally found out that Jia Le is indeed his daughter - she is called Xiao Sanniang, and their family does live in Nanxiawa. The situation at home is exactly the same as what she wrote in her resume."
"So, she is indeed an ordinary child from a poor family."
"Yes, that's right."
"Then who asked her to study? Where did she get this scientific name?"
"It is said that he is a teacher from Nanxiawa."
"Teacher?" Zhao Yingong frowned. (To be continued...)
