Jia Baoyu boarded the carriage hesitantly, leaving the two attendants behind him at a loss. I only heard Master Bao's voice coming from the carriage, "You go back to your house first. If anyone asks, just say that I am a guest outside."
The two elders were helpless but had no other choice. They were only worried in their hearts that they would not follow in Li Gui's footsteps.
On the back street of Ningrong, some people saw this scene and discussed in low voices.
"Do you want to report back to Ningguo Mansion?"
Another person smiled softly and said: "No need, everything is within the calculation of Mr. Jing."
"Jia Xiao, this matter is no small matter. Zhang Hongchen was tortured in Jinyi Division, but now he has completely changed his temper and kidnapped Second Master Bao. Aren't they, Second Master Bao, going to be humiliated by him?"
Jia Xiao curled his lips and said: "Although we are relatives of the Lian clan of Ningguo Mansion, in terms of seniority, Second Master Bao can be considered as our great-grandfather. If Second Master Bao is unwilling to leave with Zhang Hongchen, we will naturally stop him and protect him. But just now The shy look on Mr. Bao's face makes it difficult for ghosts to believe that the two of them are innocent."
After hearing this, the man had no choice but to watch Zhang Hongchen's carriage drive away. He murmured: "Li Xianmei, the general under King Bai Zun, has been forced out of Shenjing by Zhang Hongchen. All the people deployed by King Qingzun in Shenjing have been picked up by Zhang Hongchen and his royal guards. Now it is time to deal with Zhang Hongchen. It’s time.”
Jia Xiao shrugged and said: "Old Master Jing did not give any orders, so we don't need to worry about this traitor to the Holy Religion. Although this guy has an official status in Jinyi Division, he is not very comfortable in Jinyi Division. Qingzun Tianwang's faction He hates this Hongchen Taoist to the extreme, so naturally someone will deal with him."
The man said again: "I'm afraid that Taoist Hongchen will doubt the Qingxu Guan matter on our Jia family."
Jia Xiao quickly covered his mouth and hummed in a very low voice: "It was all an accident. Uncle Rong bumped into it accidentally. Zhang Hongchen suffered this crime all because of himself. Remember, this matter has nothing to do with the Jia family and everything to do with it." Respecting the old man has nothing to do with it, and it has nothing to do with Uncle Rong."
The man nodded repeatedly and said, "It's easy, it's easy."
Jia Xiao glared at him and said: "It's Grandma Rong's birthday today, and it's close to the Mid-Autumn Festival. I've packed up the lanterns from the southern province and sent them to Ningguo Mansion. I stopped by to pay my respects to Mr. Jing, and brought Master Bao from Hongchen Taoism." Word got through.”
The man got the order and shouted into the inner room. "Daughter-in-law, hurry up and pick out some beautiful lanterns to suit the occasion and send them to Grandma Rong. Today, these ladies and grandmothers are having wine and listening to the show at Tianxiang Tower. If you send them here, you can get a lot of silver rewards."
When Jia Xiao heard this, he rolled his eyes at the guy and quickly called out to the house.
Not long after, the two wives brought lanterns to Tianxiang Tower, and they met the new steward of the outer house of Ningguo Mansion. I went to the clean room next to the ancestral hall to visit again, and I could only hear Jia Jing's voice inside.
"There is no need to worry about him, and there is no need to stop Baoyu from interacting with him. Just let nature take its course."
""
The simple carriage was driving in Shenjing, and the hot sun shone on the roof, and Baoyu in the carriage felt even hotter. Sweat gradually wetted his clothes and loosened the pockets a little, making him feel no longer so uncomfortable.
Zhang Hongchen laughed when he saw this: "Uncle Guo felt it was too hot, and his face turned red. There's no need to worry, we'll be there in a few moments."
Baoyu nodded, followed the carriage out of the inner city, and stopped in the south city.
The two of them entered a small courtyard.
The yard is not big, it can even be said to be simple.
Zhang Hongchen said with a smile: "Uncle Guo, please don't dislike this place. Although it is not as grand as your Ningrong and Rong mansions, and there is no ice to escape the heat on hot days. But the place is located deep in the south city, and the sun won't last long. Let's take a break again. , wait until sunset before heading out of the city."
When Baoyu stepped into the hall, he felt a chill, as if he was in a different world from the outside. He said softly: "What kind of uncle am I? Just call me Baoyu, eldest brother."
Zhang Hongchen didn't reply, but laughed to himself: "It's too hot, and I'm all wet. Let's go find two sets of clean clothes to change into."
Entering the room, the atmosphere became strange for a moment.
Zhang Hongchen was stunned for a moment when he saw that Baoyu's skin was as tender as snow and even more delicate than ordinary women. I thought to myself, he is such a good person. I was also annoyed that I had suffered so much. Although I was working as a jinyi errand, I didn't have a good life inside or outside the yamen. What's more, I haven't even met a man or a woman for several days, and I feel more and more unhappy.
Baoyu exclaimed, but when he smelled the breath, he even became drunk.
"pain!"
""
"It hurts? Do you still know it hurts? Let's see if you dare next time." In Xuyi County, Fengyang Prefecture, Jia Rong grabbed the little bird's ears. He hummed: "You are so dishonest at a young age, and you don't look like a girl at all. If you want to cause trouble again, get out of here and go back to Shenjing."
Little Que'er got up from the bamboo bed with a red face, and said quibly: "Qu'er was sleepy for a while, so she fell asleep on the uncle's body."
Jia Rong wiped her face and said angrily: "I asked why I dreamed of a puppy licking my face. It turns out it was you, girl. How many times have you done it secretly?"
"No, not even once. They were all accidents."
This girl was becoming more and more lawless, and Uncle Rong glared at her. I really want to beat her to death with a stick.
He Yi left the small courtyard and asked Xiao Que'er to go back to the people outside, saying he would be there soon.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone seems to be immersed in the joy of the festival. Even his behavior became bolder, and he drank some wine and was lively all night long.
Jia Rong put her arms around Duan Lang's shoulders and said, "The people from several major clans in your county can make sense."
Duan Lang nodded uncomfortably and replied: "It took a lot of coercion and inducement to make sense. A low-lying area has been cleared along the Huaihe River, and water can be stored there to build a lake."
After hearing this, Rong Ge'er felt like his heart finally fell to the ground. "Don't worry, they suffered from disasters every year in the past. In the future, the people of Xuyi County will worship you as a Bodhisattva."
"I don't dare. As long as I can serve the imperial court and share the worries of the Holy One, Duan will be satisfied."
Jia Rong listened to these two familiar sentences. He had never cared about it before, he just thought it was a slogan for scholars. Now that I think about it, serving the imperial court and sharing the worries of the Holy One are more than just slogans. It is also the lifelong ideal and lifelong goal of many scholars.
Eat the king's salary and worry about the king.
Although this is true, Nalumi was handed over by the people of the world. As an official, you should only worry about the common people.
Duan Lang saw Brother Rong's complicated expression and thought he had said something wrong. He hurriedly knelt down and changed his words: "My kindness will be unforgettable to me. If my uncle has any errands, I will postpone them without any hesitation."
"Get up."
Sometimes the more senior people are, the more naked they are when discussing matters of interest. Jia Rong felt extremely complicated when she heard Duan Lang's words. Fortunately, what is gratifying is that this guy still understands kindness and should not be a white-eyed wolf.
Jia Rong added: "Half of the money for the construction of the river canal this time was provided by the court, and the rest usually has to be raised by your county government. In the rich land of Jiangnan, it should not be a problem to have more than 100,000 taels of silver."
Duan Lang smiled bitterly and said, "I invited you here today because I wanted to say this. Although Jiangnan is rich, most wealthy businessmen gather in Huai'an, Yangzhou, Jinling, Suzhou and other places. Xuyi is a small county under Hongze Lake. , although the Huaihe River flows through it, it suffers disasters all year round. One hundred thousand taels of silver."
"How much money have you raised so far?"
Duan Lang stretched out three fingers.
"Thirty thousand taels?"
"Could it be three thousand taels?"
Duan Lang smiled bitterly and said: "To be precise, it is three thousand two hundred and fifty taels. The county magistrate has been looking for me one by one this month, and all the clans are crying for poverty. It is extremely difficult to get these more than three thousand two hundred taels of silver."
"Bullshit." Jia Rong stood up and cursed. If you don't raise money quickly, who will sell Ningguo Mansion's cement? How can we solve the Huaihe River flood disaster quickly and go to Jinling? "These damn rich locals should let the floods wash away all their wealth."
Duan Lang sighed, he had not been feeling well for the past month. The magistrates of the surrounding counties were all waiting to see the joke. The local tyrants and squires in the county were unwilling to pay. There is really no way out, otherwise I wouldn't be embarrassed to find Uncle Rong.
Jia Rong thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea, and said: "After all, I have read so many classics and history, but I don't know how to adapt to this matter. Tomorrow, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, we will invite all the gentry and land masters from all the towns in the county. Come and have fun with the people.”
""
Today is the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Everywhere was buzzing with activity.
Only the Xue family in Jinling is peaceful today. Brother and sister Xue Biao and Xue Baoqin are mourning at home, and the Xue family's aunt also needs to keep vigil. Xue Baochai didn't want to join in the fun with them, so he took Ying'er to Wang Xifeng's courtyard to celebrate the festival.
"Sister, you usually like drinking so much, why don't you drink a little today?"
Ping'er smiled and said: "It's a festival today, so it's time to drink. But grandma is not in good health these days, so Ping'er can only drink with the girl."
Baochai glanced at Feng Yatou doubtfully. Since Wang Xifeng didn't want to drink, she wouldn't force it. He drank two cups with Ping'er and said, "Brother Qiang didn't come to the house today?"
"What is he doing here? I heard from Brother Rong that the cement cubes have been sent to the palace, and the cement kiln of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be built next year. A lot of them were transferred from the kiln factory in Ping'an Prefecture in the past few days. The craftsmen came here and planned to build the Jinling Kiln before the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Wang Xifeng said politely.
When Baochai heard this, his face showed a strange color. He said softly: "He is a good person. He gave the recipe to Brother Qiang and changed it to the director of the Ministry of Industry. The family's business has become an open business."
Wang Xifeng obviously didn't care about this, and said: "We are all from the same family, and it is good to change the official position. You can't just ask others to contribute without giving benefits to Brother Qiang. If there is a prescription in the palace, it will take at least half a year. It takes time to test, otherwise we won’t be able to create a suitable natural object at all.”
Baochai smiled and said: "Of course my sister also knows this method of winning people's hearts, and she is not afraid that the Ministry of Internal Affairs will create heavenly things to compete with the Ningguo Mansion."
Sister Feng glanced at Baochai, was it because she saw that your Xue family would not benefit? She said calmly: "The eldest brother of the Wang family has not been able to go to the Jinling cement kiln to ask for a job. It is the same for everyone. I heard from the eldest brother that your Xue family is recruiting embroidery workers and tailors recently, and it seems that you want to start a garment business."
Xue Baochai smiled and said, "I'll try the method Rong brother came up with, but I don't know if it will work."
"Haha." Wang Xifeng chuckled softly, and even Ping'er next to him couldn't help but look at Baochai.
Baochai said: "Sister, do you want to come over and join us?"
"No." Sister Feng shook her head slowly.
"It's indeed not very convenient. Brother Rong came up with the idea. Purchasing and weaving are all handled by the Xue family. Although Brother Rong holds 60% of the shares, there are girls holding them all on his behalf." Xue Baochai smiled softly. A sound.
Sister Feng and Ping'er had strange looks on their faces again.
Wang Xifeng sighed softly and said, "I'll have to trouble the girl a lot from now on. He always remembers that every time he comes out, he comes out again. When the clothing store opens, I must ask him to send a big red envelope to the girl."
Baochai said: "Don't bother Brother Rong with these trivial matters. I heard from outsiders that there are a lot of things going on in the River Governor's Mansion recently. It seems that a big river will be opened in the Huaidong area. There are also plans to build a gate around the lake in the Xuyi section of the Huaihe River. When the work is finished For all this, I don’t know if he has time to come to Aurous Hill.”
Sister Feng gently touched her belly and said to Ping'er, "Get some sour plum soup. The weather is hot here, so you always need to eat something sour."
When Xue Baochai heard this, the smile on his face suddenly faded. He said softly: "Sister, it's not just the flatulence that's going to cure you, but have you asked a doctor?"
Ping'er, who had taken some sour plum soup, came over and said with a smile, "It's okay. I heard from the imperial doctor that grandma is pregnant."
This news was like a bolt from the blue, and Baochai couldn't recover for a long time. He stared blankly at the smiling Wang Xifeng, his eyes couldn't help but look towards her belly. He forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, sister."
Wang Xifeng complained against her will: "This bastard has no sense of propriety. At this point, I can only accept it. From now on, I can only rely on my sister to take care of Jinling's affairs."
Now that Jia Qiang and others are in Jinling, the Xue and Wang families no longer need to worry about the cement kiln. But Baochai always felt uncomfortable when Wang Xifeng's words reached her ears.
I thought she and Sister Feng were the same, but now Sister Feng secretly made love. On this Mid-Autumn Festival night, Xue Baochai did not have a happy life.
Xuyi County.
Jia Rong looked at the squire in the hall with a strange smile on his face.
"I have just arrived here, and I don't know the etiquette of Xuyi. It is really rude to invite all the gentlemen from all the towns here on the Mid-Autumn Festival. I would also like to thank all the gentlemen for their compliments. Mr. Jia is punishing himself with a drink here, and also invites Don’t be offended, everyone.”
In the corner of the hall, people around Duan Yutong asked: "What trouble is this kid going to make?"
One person said: "Who knows?"
Another person said: "It's time for a good show."
Like Duan Yu and others, everyone in the hall was also confused.
Generally speaking, the county magistrate only levied taxes, so the squires paid little attention to Duan Lang, the magistrate. If they hadn't heard about Jia Rong's identity, they would never have come here. There are not many people in the family who can be local squires. It's just that Ning Guogong's name is too famous. It was once one of the four great families in Jinling.
But someone saw through Jia Rong's thoughts. Now everything is ready, all that is left is the money to build water conservancy dams and gates.
One person laughed softly: "I think it's because of the water conservancy and silver collection. The newly appointed magistrate is not doing well, and the imperial envoy from Kyoto is worried."
"That's right. No family's money is free. They want to manage the Huaihe River, so what do they care about us? Even if there is a big disaster, it won't be our family that will starve to death."
"No. If he really wants our family to provide this money, it will cost him a thousand taels at most. No matter how much he wants, the landlord will not have enough food left."
Jia Rong looked at the people with different expressions, and the smile on his face was quite playful. He said: "Don't think too much, we invite you here just because we want to take advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival night to meet the elders of each clan. In the future, the affairs of the Huaihe River will require more help from the elders of each clan."
When the people below heard this, most of them had expressions on their faces as if it was true.
Everyone said they must be vigorous, but in their hearts they had evil intentions.
Jia Rong had known what they were thinking, but when he saw the dark corners of Xuyi County Cheng's mouth, he shook his head helplessly. Most of the confrontations between local lords were done in a submissive manner, but in the end they were protecting the interests of the major families in the county.
Brother Rong slowly glanced at everyone, secretly smiling to see how ugly these guys would look when the time came to grab their money.
He said: "Everyone eats and drinks well. You are absolutely welcome. But it is the same as in your own home."
The clan chiefs of the various clans in Xuyi did not move their chopsticks in a hurry after hearing this, and looked at each other suspiciously. After someone started eating and drinking at the table next to them, these people started to move around.
