Shi Hao said angrily: "Although the Pai Gang has a good reputation on the Huaidong and Huaixi roads, and sometimes even the government asks them to transport goods, they are still rough and sloppy. How can they compare to the safety and reliability of King Shangxiu's fleet? This Li Jiupo We are very close to Mr. Meng Da again, and no one can be sure that there is any foul play between the two of us. This is great. After working hard for so long to collect tea, this time I even lost my capital."
Ji Changan, who had been silent until now, said at this time: "If something really goes wrong with this batch of goods, shouldn't the Pai Gang compensate?"
Shi Hao said: "Shopkeeper Ji doesn't know something. Going out to sea is very different from shipping goods to inland lakes. The risk of going out to sea is extremely high. According to the past rules, if something happens to the goods going out to sea, the shipowner will only pay all the money they deserve at most." Thirty percent, every time you go to sea, you have to sign a contract."
Ji Changan said: "This... this is not good. Even if the Pai Gang is willing to pay compensation, I don't know if they will give us the money smoothly. Most of them will be deducted from the money given to them."
Shi Haodao: "Not only that, Mr. Meng Da is eager to catch us at this time. We have lost so much this time. He will definitely not give up and will definitely complain in front of Consort Cai."
As he spoke, he turned back to look at Fang Jinshi. Fang Jinshi calmly took a sip of tea and said, "Are you saying that I don't think things through well?"
Shi Hao was so shocked that he didn't dare to answer. Fang Jinshi said: "Li Jiupo is a businessman, and he has hundreds of brothers who rely on him to make a living. If he dares to steal a large amount of my goods, he will Do those big ships dare to openly appear at the docks? Will so many boatmen never show up in their lives? With so many people, so much goods, and so many people talking, if they want to do such a big thing, it is easy to be without ventilation for a long time. Yes, besides, what I have is tea leaves, not gold, silver, and copper coins. The imperial court is so tight on tea. How many people are watching, how can he get rid of such a large amount of tea leaves?"
Shi Hao didn't dare to say anything, so Ji Changan said: "Maybe... they can ship it overseas and sell it."
Fang Jinshi said: "Where to transport it? Going south, these tea leaves are not even as good as hay. People in the south don't drink tea from our Central Plains at all. Going north can only be shipped to Japan. Once such a large amount of goods arrives in Japan, we will immediately knew."
Ji Changan said: "Then...then where did these ships go?"
Fang Jinshi said: "Didn't Li Jiupo already say it? It's just that we are temporarily lost and can't keep up. We shouldn't always worry about it. Maybe the ship will be found in the next two days."
Ji Changan looked at Shi Hao. Shi Hao had already shut up. He had no choice but to stop talking. He just felt that Fang Jinshi said that he should be prepared to lose money at one moment, and then said that he didn't need to worry at all. He had exhausted all the words back and forth.
Fang Jinshi drank the tea in one breath and said to Shi Hao: "You can write a letter to Mr. Meng Da later and relay Li Jiupo's words to him."
Shi Hao said: "To Mr. Meng Da? Are you still... are you afraid that he won't know?"
Fang Jinshi said: "After all, Mr. Meng Da is still the boss of Sihai Company. We made such a big mistake. It's okay that nothing happened in the end. If something happened and he said he didn't tell him, wouldn't it be us?" Doesn’t make sense?”
Although Shi Hao didn't quite understand why he wanted to tell Mr. Meng Da, he didn't say much. After agreeing, Fang Jinshi turned to Ji Chang'an and said, "Shopkeeper Ji prepared tens of thousands of dollars for me. Last time I gave it to Feng Ningjun." General Chen has discussed building a military fodder farm in Lize. I will go to Beijing in a few days and will discuss it with Mr. Yuwen."
Ji Changan asked: "Why... why did you suddenly think of building a fodder farm again?"
Fang Jinshi said: "Now that King Yun has conquered the world and become the emperor, we have so much money from him. Some people must be jealous. Then someone will really ask where we spent our money. There is always a place to go. Not only I want to build a fodder farm for the army, and in the future I will also build a granary for the army. I will go out to sea to buy food and store it back, so that I can deal with wars or famines in the future."
Ji Changan said: "Okay, I will arrange it."
Fang Jinshi said meaningfully: "We need to let the official know that his money is used in a sensible way and understand everyone's hard work. Otherwise, the more money we make, the greater the official's suspicion, and we will The more dangerous it is, the struggle for power with Cai Meng is nothing compared to this."
Ji Changan said: "Young Master is far-sighted and thoughtful, which is beyond our reach."
Fang Jinshi said sternly: "If Cai Meng fights with me, even if he wins in the end, I don't think he will be proud for long. In the end, he will always be a pure businessman with only immediate interests in his eyes. If he had given up fighting early on, My desire to fight for power and profit is exactly what Brother Zhao San and Prince Consort Cai originally hoped for. If we cooperate sincerely and can do something practical for the people and the court, then... that would be great."
Ji Changan and Shi Hao were very surprised when they saw him suddenly change his usual way of talking without knowing the boundaries, and express such a simple and righteous truth about caring about the country and the people. The longer they spent time with him, the more they became able to You feel that he is slowly transforming all the time, and the more you feel that he is unfathomable. Sometimes you really can't be sure whether he is a wise man with great wisdom and foolishness, or a very lucky man who is very good at taking advantage of loopholes and coming up with some things. A stupid young man with special methods.
Seeing that the two of them were speechless, Fang Jinshi walked to the stairs and said, "Ignore him for the time being about the Pai Gang ship. Follow my instructions and send a letter of notification to Cai Meng. I'll go see Xiu Wangyi tomorrow." Let’s go.” After saying that, he walked downstairs with heavy steps.
Ji Changan and Shi Hao saw him leaving and looked at each other, speechless for a moment. After a while, Shi Hao said: "Shopkeeper Ji, what should we do?"
Ji Changan said: "What else can we do? He is our young master, so we can only do as he says for the time being."
Shi Hao sighed: "Well, it's always... In short, I can't understand him more and more. Some of his behavior, words, deeds, and ways of doing things, it's like... it's like... no one in the world can guess it. To the same."
Ji Changan said: "You and I have the same idea."
On the bank of the green river embankment, there is a small restaurant with a wine flag. Most of this restaurant is made of bamboo. Drink on the bamboo building by the river, facing the gentle breeze and watching the scenery of the river embankment. The beautiful scenery has its own unique kind of comfort.
Xiu'an Xi Wang Zhao Ziyan was holding a glass of wine, standing in front of the window of the bamboo house, and said to a young man in blue next to him: "You said... you are going to be a father soon?"
The young man spread his hands and asked, "Don't I look like a father?"
Zhao Zicheng laughed and said: "Of course not, I was just thinking, why is your wife not pregnant yet, how come this girl Jin Mian got married first? She really shows off the prince's face to me."
The young master said: "Doesn't this mean that I treated her well and lived up to King Xiu's expectations of me? After all, I still want to thank you for your help."
Zhao Zichen said: "You don't need to thank me. I didn't want to let such a talented girl give you a baby. She asked for it. Now it seems that she made the right choice."
The young master smiled and said: "Then when my child is born, I must give him a big gift, otherwise I will definitely have a bad conscience."
Zhao Zichen said: "Fang Jinshi, Fang Jinshi, ever since I met you, you have asked for my money, for the women in my house, for my ships to transport goods for you, and for me to sell tea to you in Japanese tea shops. , take advantage of me, when will you let me take advantage of you again?"
Fang Jinshi laughed and said, "Do you think I called you Young Master for nothing?"
Zhao Zicheng patted him hard on the shoulder and said, "You're really angry enough to kill me." Of course this was a joke, and after saying that, he drank the glass of wine in one gulp.
Uncle Shao Yunshao, Zhao Zixuan's attendant downstairs, went upstairs, saluted Zhao Zixuan and said, "Master, Lu Xiao wants to see you, do you want to see me?"
Zhao Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "Oh? How long has he been out?"
Shao Yundao: "It should be two months ago."
Zhao Zichen said: "Then...let him come up."
Shao Yun led the order downstairs. Zhao Zikai said to Fang Jinshi: "This Lu Xiao is the boatman I brought to the Liao Dynasty in Tokyo a few years ago. This man is extremely skillful and can repair large ships and do a lot of work." The wooden bird can fly across the river embankment from here. He committed a crime the year before last and was caught in a government prison and lived in a government prison for more than a year. I felt sorry for his talent, so I tried to find a way to reduce his crime."
Fang Jinshi nodded and said, "What crime did he commit?"
Zhao Zicheng shook his head and sighed, looking like he didn't want to say anything. While the two were talking, Shao Yun came up from downstairs with someone. Fang Jinshi looked at the person behind Shao Yun. He looked like he was in his thirties or forties. , of medium build, with a full beard and thick lips, his upper body was naked, and he actually carried a few thorns on his back. He was wearing dirty and torn trousers underneath, and a pair of shoes full of mud.
This man saw Zhao Zichen from a distance, and hurriedly came over and knelt down at Zhao Zichen's feet and shouted: "Master, Lu Xiao has sinned heavily, and I have come to you today to plead guilty."
Zhao Zicheng put down his wine glass and extended his hand to support each other: "There is no need to give this big gift. Knowing your mistakes can greatly improve things. If you really know that you are wrong, just correct it in the future."
Lu Xiao was helped up by Zhao Zichen, and he said with a look of remorse: "After more than a year in prison, Lu Xiao always thought of the young master's teachings in prison, and he really regretted it. Thinking about the time when the young master paid off my gambling debt, He avoided having my hand cut off, and took me to Huaidong to make me the foreman of a boatman. The young master was a great man, and Lu Xiao will never forget it. However, I was worse than a pig and did something like this that ruined the young master’s family reputation. , please give me a severe punishment today." After saying that, he pulled out the thorn sticks from his back and put his hands in front of Zhao Zicheng, and then bowed to the end.
