Xu Pingyi followed Zhu Shang out, and the cold wind outside the house shocked him.
After a moment of adaptation, he slowly raised his head. He saw Zhu Shang standing under a tree, with his hands behind his back and looking up at the dry branches, unaffected by the cold wind like an ice knife.
"Mr. Beijiang, when did you and Liu Niang meet?" Xu Pingyi came over and asked.
Zhu Shang didn't look back, he still looked at the branches, and his thoughts went back to Dazhong Xiangfu for three years.
The Spring Festival has just passed, and the willow branches have not yet turned green.
He met Jing Ping at Shengtian Gambling House, and there was a child who was only as tall as his chest.
"This child has been with me since she was a child. I have some things to do now. You can take care of her for me for two years."
"good."
He remembered the scene very clearly. The child was half-huddled behind Jingping, holding Jingping's clothes with both hands, while his eyes kept staring at him, with defensiveness and hostility in his eyes. He looked like a little leopard that had just been caught in the jungle.
Although he had to take care of her, he couldn't keep her in vain. After learning that she knew Sic Bo, he let her work as a dealer in the gambling house.
There has been no special care since then.
Although he didn't pay special attention to her, he paid more attention to her. Very smart, straight-tempered, and extremely sensitive inside.
The promise he met later was much more mature and steady, and he knew how to advance and retreat. Although he speaks bluntly, he has means and purpose.
He thought at the time that Xu Nuo had changed his temper after being trained in the Xu Mansion for a year, but now that he heard Hu Ling say that Xu Nuo liked to eat pork, this detail made him doubt that he had thought simply.
If there was a problem, he couldn't explain it to Jingping.
While he was still thinking, he heard Xu Pingyi ask again.
After coming back to his senses, he said: "We met when we participated in the tea ceremony competition in Suzhou more than two years ago."
At that time, Liu Niang had already returned to Xu Mansion. Xu Pingyi counted the time, nodded, stopped asking, and said with a smile: "Mr. Beijiang, if it's snowy, you can go to Maiji Mountain to enjoy the scenery. The statues there are very exquisite, and the snow scenery is also excellent."
"Well, that's what I meant. I will go with Sanniang after two days of rest, and I will leave the horse matter to you." Zhu Shang patted Xu Pingyi on the shoulder and returned to the house briskly.
Xu Pingyi returned to the government office and ordered the guards to select fifty horses and send them to Bianjing by Dali and several people who were previously in the Xixia stables.
After receiving the mission, Dali looked at him in surprise and asked, "Why did you send the horse away, sir?"
"Longzhou can't digest so many horses. If you keep them, you won't have the energy to maintain them. Instead, these good horses will be wasted, and it will be easy for Li Deming to sniff out the clues. Just give the horses to Boss Lu after you arrive in Bianjing."
At this time, Xu Pingyi already knew Xu Nuo's dual identity.
Not long after he took up his post in Longzhou, a restaurant opened. Its specialties were Suzhou and Hangzhou cuisine. He often ate at this restaurant when he couldn't get used to the government's meals.
The store owner is a young man from Suzhou, who is from the same hometown and the same age, and we have become friends as soon as we go back and forth.
He didn't want to get drunk and pat him on the shoulder one day and say: "Dalang, our boss asked me to come to Longzhou to open a store, but I refused..."
"I'm really afraid that I will lose money if I come to this place, and then close it after a few months, and waste everything in vain..."
"I didn't expect that business would be pretty good after arriving..."
"As expected, it's the boss who has a business acumen." Xu Pingyi answered and raised his glass to salute the store owner, drinking alone regardless of whether the store owner raised the glass or not.
"That's why your Xu family is amazing. A young lady didn't feel timid after taking over Mr. Beijiang's business. Instead, she prospered." After saying that, she fell asleep and couldn't wake up no matter how hard she pushed her.
Xu Pingyi was very surprised. He suspected that he had heard wrongly and that the store was talking nonsense.
The wife of the Xu family? Mr. Beijiang’s business?
He stared blankly at the shopkeeper lying on the counter, his hand holding the wine glass suspended in mid-air.
After a while, he put down his wine glass, stood up and walked quickly to the government office.
He wants to write a letter to Liu Niang!
When he received the reply, it was the busiest time of the day. He put the letter at the bottom of the file and waited until all official duties were over before taking it out from under the pile of files.
The slender fingers held up a thin letter and looked at it like this.
The main reason why he became an official was to protect his family. If Liu Niang really...
His thoughts ran far away and he was a little confused.
The candlelight on the side danced and crackled twice before pulling him back from his thoughts.
Slowly opening the letter, his question was answered in the affirmative.
It turns out that his sister is so powerful.
He thought wholeheartedly about becoming an official and becoming strong enough to protect her, but he didn't want her to protect him.
In this case, he must work harder. Protecting a big businessman is more difficult than protecting a boudoir lady.
…
The northwest wind is howling, and so is Bianjing. The clouds and mist cast a layer of gray in the sky.
In early November, the horses arrived outside Bianjing City.
Promise to come with the shopkeeper to receive it in person.
This matter was entrusted by her brother, and she had to see it with her own eyes before she could rest assured.
They stood on the hillside and saw dust rising from a distance.
These fifty horses are like a picture scroll unfolding in front of you from a distance.
In the yellow mist, you can vaguely see the strong horses. Although they are hidden in the dust, their tight muscles and jumping hoofs seem to be right in front of you and in your ears.
The horses stopped at the bottom of the slope, and Dali urged the horses up the hillside. He turned over and dismounted, clasped his hands in his fists and said, "Boss Lu, the horses you requested have been delivered on time."
Xu Nuo was wearing men's clothing and was a little taller than half a year ago. He looked like a young man.
She withdrew her gaze from the horse and turned to the weather-beaten Dali. She nodded with a smile, "Okay! Thank you for your hard work. Let's go back to Zhuangzi first."
A group of people and a group of horses chose a path to move forward.
After arriving at Zhuangzi, Xu Nuo looked at the shopkeeper and said, "Please count the horses and hand over to Dali first. I'll wait for you in the main room."
The counting and handover went quickly, and within an hour they came to see Xu Nuo.
Xu Pingyi didn't dare to keep all of these Xixia horses, and neither did Xu Pingyi.
In the fourth year of Jingde's reign in the Song Dynasty, Li Deming showed his sincerity to the Song Dynasty and donated 500 horses and 300 camels.
She asked Lu Jiuniang that the nobles in Bianjing were proud to have a Xixia horse.
Now this is fifty horses, not five. She must divert them, and no one can detect the abnormality of the source. As for Li Deming, although he suffered heavy losses, he was caught by Zhu Shang and would not specifically inform the emperor about the matter.
"Dali, send ten horses to each of our two Zhuangzis, and the remaining thirty will be taken care of by shopkeeper Liu." After saying this, Xu Nuo looked at shopkeeper Liu, waiting for his response.
After hearing the promise, Shopkeeper Liu had arranged for twenty of the fifty horses, and there were thirty more for him to operate. He said with satisfaction: "Boss Lu's arrangement is very safe. The horses will be sold according to the market conditions. But after selling these horses, our newly opened horse racing business will be targeted by dignitaries."
"Shopkeeper, isn't it a good thing that we, the horse sellers, are being targeted?" Dali asked in confusion.
"Although it's a good thing, these are Xixia horses. After selling these thirty horses, what can we do if there are no more horses? This business will not last long."
Shopkeeper Liu guessed that Xu Nuo did not have a stable source of Xixia horses and could not always sell horses. It is also speculated that the promise is to use these Xixia horses to further develop the racecourse business. If you want to develop further, you must find other ways to create your own new industry.
But this is just his guess, so he doesn't make any rash ideas.
