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Chapter 74: Sweet Harbor - Linzhuang
"Listening to Brother Zhanfeng's words in the tea shed, it seems that he is very familiar with Linzhuang." Chen Tianxiong went straight to the point of downloading.
"More than knowing," Xiao Zhanfeng said, "He is actually my neighbor."
It turns out that Linzhuang and Xiao Zhanfeng's family originally lived on Hai'an Street. Xiao Zhanfeng's father did some small business because the family had little land, and it became prosperous. In order to let his children succeed in their studies, they moved to the county town so that they could attend a good private school.
"Lin Zhuang has been the king of children since he was a child," Xiao Zhanfeng said with a smile. "He likes to stand out, be loyal, and makes friends easily. He turns out to be a pretty good person. It's a pity," he shook his head, "that this person was careless in making friends and was contaminated by He became a hobby. The few hard-earned money he earned from burning fires in the sugar house were either spent on private affairs or given to others in the casino."
"So that's it." Chen Tianxiong thought that this was just his personal ethics. Eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling did not necessarily mean he was incompetent, and a modest gentleman did not necessarily mean he was a great talent. If Xiao Zhanfeng only had this knowledge, he would be a little weak.
"This is still a small matter," Xiao Zhanfeng's face turned slightly red - he rarely drank distilled liquor. "Just having a hobby would be a loss of virtue. Let's just talk about this time -"
This time Lin Zhuang took the lead to complain to the county government. The sugar house workers had pooled together a sum of money - the government office was open, so no one could come in if they had a reason but no money. As long as you get a lawsuit, no matter whether you win or not, there will still be a sum of up-and-down administrative fees.
"Linzhuang took advantage of the lawsuit and collected a lot of money from the workers, and he swallowed at least half of it himself. After losing the lawsuit, he said that all the money was spent, and swallowed the rest, leaving everyone behind. It’s such a mess.”
"That's not all. Later, Mr. Zhu gave him money and asked him to maintain the workers in the sugar house, and he was ready to embarrass you. I don't know how many times I received money. But, the latest time, I I saw him lose more than a dozen taels in one go in the casino. In front of Monk Zou's temple, old and young, they drink moldy rice porridge every day - let him take the lead, these sugar lair workers can be regarded as blind. "
This statement is completely different from the "people are quite decent" that Zhou Shizhai heard from him, and it is almost as good as a "despicable villain".
"Would it be considered decent if the outside world doesn't judge others?"
"Haha, most people don't know what tricks he does. He also pretends to be presentable. He is in rags all day long and has a sad face. In fact, you only need to go to Sister Ai's house in the back street of the county to see what he is. It’s still not clear what the style is.”
"Who is Sister Ai?"
Xiao Zhanfeng was startled and said with a smile: "By the way, you have only been here a few months, so of course you don't know."
Ai Sao is a well-known local madam; she runs a large "private shop", and most of the prostitutes in the county live in her home. In addition to women, he also runs a casino, which is a gold-selling den for the lower class in Xuwen County.
"You know Ai Ai very well?" Chen Tianxiong asked coldly to see if he was an honest person. Read the full text. Chen Tianxiong thought that it was not a big deal if a person had some shortcomings, he was just afraid that he was a hypocrite. Xiao Zhanfeng said that others were very enthusiastic, but his words seemed to be very familiar with casinos and "private heads". I'm afraid he was not an upright gentleman.
"I'm not familiar with her, but I'm very familiar with one of her people." Xiao Zhanfeng didn't seem to notice Chen Tianxiong's intentions and said with great interest, "I'm a pauper, but Ai Ai's eyes are very snobbish."
It turns out that he has a distant relative who has been widowed for many years and is now helping in the kitchen as a maid. Xiao Zhanfeng often goes to see her.
As for why he often went to Ai Ai's place, he kept silent. It was obviously not a glorious thing. Chen Tianxiong thought that he probably had some unclear relationship with the widow. It is inconvenient to ask further.
At the moment, I didn’t ask any more questions, and just started chatting about the world. Xiao Zhanfeng was very interested in machine-made sugar in South China, so Chen Tianxiong listened to him and told him some basic principles. Unfortunately, the only thing he had learned since he was a child was the Thirteen Classics. I can't understand science and technology at all, and I haven't even read some ancient Chinese science and technology books, so it's very difficult to explain.
"From this point of view, we are actually the frog in the well." Although Xiao Zhanfeng could not understand eight of the ten sentences, he still listened with great interest, and finally said this sentence,
"It's just that the situation in South China is worrying now." Chen Tianxiong looked at it and brought the topic back.
Xiao Zhanfeng said enigmatically: "How can you see it?"
Chen Tianxiong immediately told Mr. Zhu what he was planning to do to make trouble for the sugar house workers.
Xiao Zhanfeng nodded and said: "I have heard about this matter. However, I thought that this matter would not cause trouble. Even if it did, it would be nothing more than a thunderstorm and a small rain."
"Why is this"
“Haven’t Shopkeeper Chen ever heard of raising bandits to respect themselves?”
These words immediately reminded Chen Tianxiong. Xiao Zhanfeng said proudly: "What kind of tough-talking guy is Linzhuang? Not to mention that the Yamen will investigate if something happens: the lightest, the lightest, he will not be able to escape if he is detained for a few days and given a meal, even if Mr. Zhu is there to take care of him." You will always have to suffer the consequences of dredging in the yamen. Besides, if he really defeated South China, wouldn't he be afraid of Zhu Sanye crossing the river and burning the bridge?"
"Not bad, not bad." Chen Tianxiong suddenly realized that this scholar's vision was indeed good. Once South China fell, Mr. Zhu no longer needed to give him money to maintain the team of sugar lair workers. On the contrary, the sugar lair workers had to be grateful to Mr. Zhu Zhu. , how can a person like him, who relies on being in the middle of traffic and reaps huge benefits from both sides, get around?
"Then, according to Mr. Xiao's opinion, how should this matter be resolved?" Chen Tianxiong was in awe.
"Just call me Zhanfeng." It was probably rare for Xiao Zhanfeng to receive such respect from others, and he couldn't help but feel that "a scholar dies for his confidant." At that moment, I poured out my thoughts on this matter one by one.
"Master Zhu also knew that Lin Zhuang was unreliable. So he organized a group of people - Zhao Jijiao's bad guys. They are desperadoes who are not afraid of anything. Unfortunately, their number is too small to make a difference. So If they want to make trouble in South China, the sugar-litter workers and the gangsters are mutually exclusive. If the sugar-liao workers don't make trouble, the gangsters can't fish in troubled waters." Xiao Zhanfeng used his chopsticks to scratch on the table, "Why doesn't Linzhuang know that Zhu San Master's abacus, Zhao Jijiao's people caused trouble, and it must be the sugar house workers who came to jack up the vat. So he kept delaying, just to get more benefits from Mr. Zhu San. But what if Linzhuang was betrayed by Mr. Zhu San? I was forced to use my hand, and things got serious."
Chen Tianxiong listened very carefully and compared it before and after. Didn't Xiao Zhanfeng's words at this time contradict the previous "Things can't get into trouble"? After thinking about it silently, this person is a scholar after all, and he is "good at making shocking remarks". Habit.
But there is no need to expose it at this time. Generally speaking, his analysis was quite reasonable, and he also mentioned many details that they did not grasp originally. After all, he is a native of his hometown and sees things more clearly.
"so--"
"So as long as Linzhuang is subdued, people like Zhao Jijiao won't be able to get ahead at all."
"I also have this intention," Chen Tianxiong said, "but I heard it was too late. They said they would burn incense and swear an oath at Monk Zou Temple in three days."
"Everyone in Xu Wen knows about this." Xiao Zhanfeng disagreed, "Shopkeeper Chen, if you really want to make trouble, the only way is to secretly connect and suddenly gather to burn incense and cause trouble. How could the matter of burning incense be known to the whole city three days ago? Besides, what Linzhuang said about burning incense and swearing was just an oath, and he didn't say that he would take action immediately."
The more he spoke, the more energetic he said: "Lin Zhuang was just forced by Third Master Zhu to make a gesture. It is worthy of the money he received. So he will definitely not take action in three days - you think the leader will be there Were you still gambling in private houses a few days before you started?"
It turns out that this is what Xiao Zhanfeng really meant when he said, "If this matter doesn't cause trouble, even if it does, it will be nothing more than thunder and rain." Chen Tianxiong nodded secretly, this man really had some abilities.
"So there is still plenty of time to conquer Linzhuang."
"So Linzhuang is not in Monk Zou's temple?" Chen Tianxiong asked.
"Why is he there?" Xiao Zhanfeng said, "Ever since Mr. Zhu recruited him, he has been living with Ai Ai. He lived a romantic and happy life. He is probably still there now."
"Then I want to meet him and make friends with him." Chen Tianxiong cupped his hands, "Brother Zhanfeng, please give me some advice," he said, "I am an outsider, and my eyesight is dark when I do this, so I have to rely on You take care of it.”
"Easy to say, easy to say," Xiao Zhanfeng returned the favor, "But if there is anything I can do, I will do my best."
Chen Tianxiong saw that he was not shying away from him, and he was obviously a man with a lot of responsibility. He took out ten taels of silver and put them on the table.
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading." Chen Tianxiong said, "Brother Zhanfeng lives a poor life. Please use this little money to supplement your income. I will express my gratitude in the future."
"I don't deserve it." Xiao Zhanfeng refused flatly, "I absolutely don't want the money. Please take it back. I said this because I thought you were a friend, shopkeeper. If you don't mean what you said, I wouldn't bother to say this even if you gave me ten thousand taels. .”
This is a man with a bit of character, although what he said later may sound like bragging to Chen Tianxiong. He immediately took the money back. "In this case, when I come back tomorrow, I will ask Brother Zhanfeng to lead the way to conquer Linzhuang."
"It's so difficult to go today."
"No, no need," Chen Tianxiong said, "There are still a few things to deal with at hand. Since things haven't reached that point yet, there's still time to go tomorrow."
Chen Tianxiong took Zhou Shizhai back to the candy store. Although I didn't see Lin Zhuang today, I gained a lot from making friends with someone like Xiao Zhanfeng. Chen Tianxiong is a person who pays attention to being cool and cool when doing things. After thinking for a moment, he invited Zhou Shizhai to come in.
"Master Zhou," he said straight to the point, "Do you think Xiao Zhanfeng can be trusted today?"
Zhou Shizhai has been a prostitute for a long time and has a lot of experience in the world. He has a good way of recognizing people.
"It's trustworthy." Zhou Shizhai was unambiguous.
"Well, I also think this person can be used." Chen Tianxiong said, "But you must be on guard against others. This is a critical moment. Please bring some local brothers to find out Xiao Zhanfeng's background."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Zhou Shizhai went out immediately.
In the evening, the sugar factory workers who went to lobby the sugar factory workers also came back one after another. Naturally, there was no big effect in one day, but the news they brought back was very clear. Many unemployed workers were depressed and felt hopeless about their future. Although Linzhuang supplies brown rice on a daily basis to make ends meet, but everyone feels that this kind of relief is not a long-term solution.
There is indeed something about burning incense and swearing an oath. And recently, some people have been inciting them to attack the South China Sugar Factory, saying that as long as the South China Factory is destroyed, the sugar factories in Leizhou will be restored. The sugar cooks are the most enthusiastic about this - after all, they benefit the most from using the old method, so they are willing to take risks. However, ordinary workers felt that attacking the sugar factory, destroying weapons, and fighting with weapons was tantamount to "violating the king's law." Even if the old method of sugar production is restored, it will only be a mouthful, so the enthusiasm is not high. In addition, Lin Zhuang, the leader, had an ambiguous attitude and never expressed his position. No one took the lead, and no one wanted to take the lead, so the stalemate continued.
From this point of view, Xiao Zhanfeng's judgment that "burning incense" is just a "swear" and not a "riot" is completely accurate. Chen Tianxiong immediately asked these people to continue activities tomorrow, hinting to the unemployed workers that Huanan is willing to recruit workers. Not only can they create a wage, but they are also willing to provide relief to their entire family.
No matter how many unemployed workers will be pulled over by them, at least people's hearts will be in chaos - but it seems that Linzhuang has never really united people - this ancient worker leader still had too many selfish thoughts, so he could not become a leader.
From this point of view, things are already certain to be successful. It probably won't take much effort to buy Linzhuang tomorrow.
The next day, still accompanied by Zhou Shizhai, the two disguised themselves as out-of-town merchants and domestic servants, and first took a sedan chair to secretly arrive at the "Dachang Rice Shop" in the county town - this was the place where Liao Daxing worked as a waiter. , so the relationship between the two places is unusual. All the rice in South China comes from him. Boss Zhu from Mihang is naturally very attentive to such a big customer.
Because they wanted to avoid possible informants, after the two arrived, they sent a waiter to invite Xiao Zhanfeng. After Xiao Zhanfeng arrived, Chen Tianxiong and his party accompanied him and led the way to Ai's wife's house.
Enter through the front door and exit through the back door. Behind Mi Xing is an alley. After walking a few dozen meters, you turn onto a long street, paved with extremely smooth bluestones. Looking around, you can see that the rows of buildings are quite neat. The clothes of pedestrians on the street are also much neater than those in Lingao - thanks to the prosperity of the sugar industry, Xuwen is still a fairly prosperous place.
However, the head of the private family was never in a lively place, so Xiao Zhanfeng led him all the way from the front of the county government office to a remote place behind the county. Most of the roads here are lined with the back walls of wealthy families. The wind and fire walls are towering, with only small doors open. There are few pedestrians.
After turning a few more turns, I came to a small double door. Xiao Zhanfeng stopped and said, "This is it."
