Gao Chongjiu had many friends and was the most well-informed. It didn't take long for him to help Li Ziyu find a house.
"It was originally the property of an old man in the Ming Dynasty. Because it was involved in a witchcraft case, it was confiscated as an adverse property. The current owner is a city-owned company." He took out the blueprint.
The mansion is a three-entry courtyard, of good size, well-built, and equipped with basic furniture. The surrounding environment is not bad either. But Li Ziyu still shook his head: "Brother Ninth, where can I get a hundred yuan for this house? It needs at least three to five hundred yuan!"
"Although you can't buy it, you can pawn it. It lasts for seven years, which is exactly one hundred yuan. There is also a stamp tax of three yuan."
Li Ziyu told his uncle the news, and his uncle took his aunt to go there himself. Feeling quite satisfied, he went to the city capital company to sign a contract and mortgage the house.
After renting the house, Zhang Shizhong was busy moving, so Li Ziyu simply sent Agui to handle it - he couldn't help much with the investigation anyway. After more than a week of busy work, the Zhang family moved into their new home, and Agui was also extremely busy. This day, my uncle invited me to a housewarming dinner. Li Ziyu went to have a drink and said some auspicious words, and Huang He also came to say goodbye.
"Farewell? Where are you going to make a living?" Li Ziyu asked due to professional sensitivity.
"The younger one has already found a job in Lingao." Huang He took out an "appointment notice". But it was Lingao Jiangnan Leather Company who said, "I will report to Lingao soon."
"Tannery?" Li Ziyu didn't know much about this industry. "Do you know how to make leather?"
"Small tanneries don't know how to do it, but in the past I was in the leather business in Tianjin, so I'm considered an expert in the industry."
"That's good, I have a secure job and live a good life in Lingao!"
"Thank you, Mr. Cha!"
Huang He said a few more auspicious words and then left. Li Ziyu didn't take it to heart, after all, he was still busy with the things in front of him. People like Huang He from the north are like crucian carp crossing the river, and they are countless.
While Li Ziyu and Gao Chongjiu were busy investigating the case, just outside the east gate of Guangzhou, the guys were busy in a teahouse. Although this is neither a downtown area nor a dock and boat port, the geographical location of this teahouse is still quite advantageous - the two roads into the city meet at the entrance of the teahouse, forming a not-so-wide T-shaped intersection. Opposite the intersection is the Songluo Tea House where the young boy Hu Qi makes tea and water every day.
There is a stone bridge to the west of the tea house. After crossing the bridge and walking less than a mile, you can see Yongtai Temple. After Yongtai Temple and further west are the large and small east gates. Although the Songluo Tea House is inconspicuous, it is the only decent resting place in this area. Pedestrians who are tired from walking come in to have a cup of tea; people who are away from home for business gather here to say goodbye to their relatives and friends who are seeing them off.
Songluo Teahouse is a courtyard with two entrances. The first entrance is right next to the road, but it is an open three-heyuan courtyard. Entering the small courtyard at the back is a courtyard where water is boiled and firewood is piled, and where the workers live. If there are merchants who cannot enter the city in the evening, and if it is not too shabby, they can stay here and wait until dawn before entering the city.
Yesterday, someone had already greeted the teahouse owner: "Today our master wants you to receive guests here! Keep your main room open and don't let other people come in. Our master wants to entertain distinguished guests!" Before leaving, he still stayed behind. Deposit money.
So early this morning, the young boy was pulled out of his warm bed by the shopkeeper. He made a fire, boiled water, prepared tea... Finally, he got an opportunity, and was called to buy tea and food.
Hu Qi was happy to go to the Big World to buy tea and food, and he was happy to take a break from his busy schedule to go to the Big World for half a day. He immediately collected the money and set off.
The shopkeeper saw the sun slowly drifting over the treetops, and the tea guests in the east and west halls came and went. Several groups of people had passed by as they came. The "distinguished guest" in the butler's mouth never showed up.
It was not until noon, when Hu Qi came back with walnut cakes, that he saw two bearers carrying a green bamboo cloth sedan walking from a distance. Sitting on the open sedan chair was a slightly wealthy official, dressed like a scholar. The two of them were wearing newly made green cloth shirts and green soft hats... They were dressed like servants of a wealthy family. People, following the pace of the bearer, followed slowly and slowly.
While Hu Qi was still stunned, the shopkeeper had already run a few steps to greet him from a distance: "Master, you are here!"
Mr. Hao watched the butler step forward to negotiate with the shopkeeper, and waved to the bearer to put the sedan down. He put his hands behind his back and walked slowly toward the tea house next to the river.
Beside the official road, there is a big word "tea" written on the cloth cover, and a plaque of "Usnea Tea House" hangs on the main door. This teahouse has a long history. When he was a child, his mother took him here when he came to Yongtai Temple to offer incense. The shopkeeper at that time was also the grandfather of the current shopkeeper.
Looking back on the past, it was more than forty years ago. At that time, the world was peaceful and the people were happy. There is neither Donglu nor Nankun, and merchants like him live happily.
He himself never thought that one day he would witness the "change of dynasty" with his own eyes - of course, the Kun thief has not yet proclaimed himself emperor, let alone entered the capital, but it is obvious that Guangdong has "changed."
He looked at the Usnea Tea House, and now he also followed the "Australian style" and inlaid the windows with expensive glass. There are many potted flowers in the open courtyard - many varieties were brought by Australians. The weather in Guangzhou has turned warm in February, and all kinds of flowers are blooming.
"Second Master! Everything is ready inside," Hao Ping whispered.
Second Master Hao whispered: "Go and tell Hao An to wait by the roadside." After saying that, he walked up the steps and entered the spacious and bright main hall. There are more than 20 sets of tables and chairs in the main hall, which are neatly arranged; on the curved counter, there are more than a dozen transparent "Australian-style" glass tea boxes, and you can see at a glance that they contain this year's new tea leaves. Usually this place is always filled with passing merchants and tourists, making it very lively. Today, because he reserved the place, it seemed empty.
There is a wing room in the east and west of the main hall. The west wing is where the accounting room is located, while the east wing is a private room. Mr. Hao said it was a private dining room, but in fact the guests who came could only fill up one wing.
The shopkeeper personally led the way and led him into the ear room. This wing is not big, but it is more than enough to seat a dozen people. Facing south is a small patio, where a magnolia has been planted for decades. Because of this patio, the penthouse has plenty of light even though it has walls on three sides.
It is a quiet place amidst the hustle and bustle, making it a good place for hidden conversations. It is more ideal than Yongtai Temple.
The wing room was so clean that there was nothing else except a tea table and a long desk with plenty of paper and inkstones placed in the middle. Eight-color fine porcelain dried and fresh fruit cakes have been placed on the table.
"I heard that you also have special Australian refreshments here? Remember to prepare them." Hao Ping ordered.
With a smile on his face, the shopkeeper said, "Yes, yes! I told the clerk to go into town early in the morning to buy some!" After saying that, he went out to prepare, but saw Hu Qi still carrying bags of tea and looking around, and went straight up to eat. It was a mouthful, cursing, "Where did you die?! I'm going to buy some snacks for a long time! Why don't you go and put them on the plate!"
It was common for apprentices to get slapped in the mouth. Hu Qi covered his face and went to the counter. He took a plate and started to put the various refreshments bought from Zhang Ji. A large plate was filled to the brim. Carefully carried it over.
Hu Qi served the tea, and within a few minutes of returning to the counter, she was busy again, taking things, washing them, and asking for boiling water. Very busy.
And the guests of Mr. Hao also came one after another. Every guest is led to the penthouse by the Hao family's servants. Hu Qi has been working in the teahouse for more than two years, and has developed some skills in checking people out.
The guests that Mr. Hao invited were really rare, even though they were all dressed up and respectable. But looking at their appearance and behavior, most of them are rough people. When I poured tea and water for them, it was obvious that one of them smelled of soot, the other had calluses on his hands, and the nails of the third were filled with dust and dirt... These people At first glance, he doesn't look like a decent person.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Mr. Hao gave a wink, and Hao Ping drove the waiters and shopkeepers out, saying, "Don't come in if you don't greet me." After that, he still stood guard at the door of the penthouse.
Mr. Hao first picked up the tea cup and said a few polite words. Then we got to the point.
Most of the people who came were participants of the "Yongtai Temple Meeting". Some of them were too old to come and were replaced by younger nephews and nephews. Another person attended the meeting for the first time. This person's surname is He, and he is a person in the world. He was active outside Guangzhou many years ago. It’s a business without capital. Later, I saved some family property and started other activities. He and Mr. Hao are old acquaintances and business partners.
"...Right now, Kun Thief's silver coins and treasure banknotes are widely circulated in the market. We used to plan to take advantage of Kun Thief's unstable footing to make a batch of fake silver coins and fake treasure banknotes to make money and disrupt the market. Now it seems that it is It won’t work! The banknotes are okay, even if the price is different, they can still fool the country people. Those silver cakes are really impossible to make..."
Boss He is also a hero who has made his way in the world, and he did a lot of illegal things in the early years. Most of the various counterfeit coins created by Mr. Hao were also distributed through his channels. Now when he heard Mr. Hao's words, he felt like he was trying to destroy his own prestige due to his ambition. The most important thing was that he took such a big risk in this matter and got the promotion and wealth he promised, which made him feel unhappy. He took a sip of tea and coughed, "Ahem! Hao Renyuan, you were a well-known man in the world back then. How come you have become so timid after not seeing each other for several years? Isn't it just printing counterfeit money and minting money? Fake money? You think you are printing real money? It’s not like that. You think you are in charge of the Baoquan Bureau for the Kun thief!" Boss He looked at the few dignified strangers present and said no more. explain.
