"Whether it's true or not, I will never cooperate with the Xu family." Fatty Xu said firmly.
Li Lidong, who was standing next to him, was holding a bowl with the lid in one hand and the bottom in the other. He said, "Dr. Xu, I heard that people from Hutou Village bought a lot of iron ingots and various ores from you. Is this the case?" thing?"
"What do you mean?" Fatty Xu looked at Li Lidong warily.
Li Lidong smiled and said: "It's not interesting, I just think that Xu Dongzhu has a close relationship with the bandits in Hutou Village..."
Fatty Xu shook his head and said, "I don't know any of the bandits on Hutou Village."
Li Lidong, who was sitting beside him, said with a half-smile but not a smile: "Dr. Xu, our three families have always been advancing and retreating together. There is no need to hide this from me and Dongzhu Yang until now."
"Fat Xu, you are really colluding with the Hutou Village bandits!" Dongzhu Yang opened his mouth in shock.
The study suddenly became quiet. Fatty Xu turned the tureen with his thick fingers and said nothing for a while.
"Dr. Xu, if you don't tell the truth, I think there is no need for us to continue talking. We should go back to our respective homes. I will go to Xu Youcai and promise to help him form a rural army." With that, Li Lidong stood up from his seat.
Dongzhu Yang, who was sitting opposite, stood up in a hurry and advised: "Donzhu Li, please be patient. If Dongzhu Xu really wants to be involved with the bandits in Hutou Village, he will naturally tell us, don't worry."
Having said this, he turned to look at Fatty Xu and said, "Dr. Xu, don't hide what's going on from everyone. Do you really want Dongzhu Li to go find Xu Youcai?"
The two of them looked at Fatty Xu, waiting for his explanation.
"Actually, it's not collusion." Fatty Xu raised his head and said, "Three months ago, someone came to my iron yard and bought some saltpeter and sulfur. As you know, our iron yard doesn't use much of these two things, but we don't accumulate them much. Shao, if someone buys it, I will naturally be willing to sell it, but I really didn’t know at the time that they were bandits from Hutou Village.”
Dongzhu Yang was shocked: "Do you really know the bandits from Hutou Village?"
"More than just acquaintance, Dongzhu Xu often goes to Hutou Village to sell his own iron ingots, right?" Li Lidong said with a sarcastic expression, "With such a big customer, Dongzhu Xu is naturally unwilling to form a rural army, otherwise in the future his iron ingots will be sold to Who goes."
Fatty Xu showed embarrassment on his fat face and said, "I really didn't know they were bandits from Hutou Village at first, and I later learned their identities accidentally."
"Dongzhu Xu, are you colluding with the bandits from Hutou Village?" Dongzhu Yang looked grim.
The iron farm owners of Dongshan were often oppressed by Hutou Village. Except for the Xu family, every caravan was robbed by Hutou Village, and the Yang family's caravan was no exception.
Fatty Xu smiled bitterly and said: "You two, I really did not collude with the bandits in Hutou Village. I swear to God on this, Fatty Xu, but you are not curious why the Xu family caravan was robbed. The bandits in Hutou Village used to be I never touch the Xu family’s caravan.”
"Humph!" Li Lidong snorted coldly.
"Dongzhu Li, sit down, calm down, and have a cup of tea. The three companies have cooperated for so many years, let's give Dongzhu Xu a chance to explain." Dongzhu Yang came over and helped Li Lidong sit down, and then said to Fatty Xu, "Dr. Xu, if you have anything to say, just say it in one breath. Done, if you keep doing this, Dongzhu Li and I will be really angry."
Li Lidong, who was pushed to his seat by Yang Dongzhu, said with an ugly expression: "Dragon Master Yang, I don't believe that you don't know anything about Dongzhu Xu and Hutou Village."
"I know a little bit, but not much." Boss Yang said, "You also know that our Yang Family Iron Factory is currently renovating the iron furnace. We want to further increase the temperature of the furnace, so we don't care much about other things."
Explained to Li Lidong.
"A big event happened in Hutou Village a few months ago." Fatty Xu said: "Hutou Village used to be occupied by a group of short-legged tigers. Now that short-footed tigers are dead, the big boss on the mountain of Hutou Village has been replaced by someone else. No longer recognize the Xu family."
Li Lidong said in a deep voice: "You know that's not what I want to hear. Dwarf Tiger's death has not been a secret for a long time. Our Dongshan iron farm owner has known about it for a long time. I want to know what secrets you have between the bandits of Hutou Village and Dongzhu Xu." Promise, don’t say no, I don’t believe it.”
Fatty Xu hesitated for a moment and said: "Hutou Village did give me a guarantee. As long as they pass by the caravan at the foot of Hutou Village, they will only charge Ping An silver at a rate of 1 in 30, and there will be no robbery of the caravan. I guess However, the Ping'an money given to Hutou Village is more cost-effective than setting up a rural army with the Xu family. If a rural army is established, with the Xu family's connections in the government, it is very likely that it will fall into the hands of the Xu family in the future."
After saying so many words in one breath, Fatty Xu felt thirsty and grabbed a tureen and took a big sip of tea.
Dongzhu Yang and Li Lidong looked at each other, neither of them saying anything.
Fatty Xu continued: "The current situation is very good, it is good for us. If the Xu family is really allowed to master the power of the rural soldiers, Lingqiu will really have the final say."
Li Lidong said in a deep voice: "What do you want to do?"
"I don't want to do anything." Fatty Xu said, "As long as the Xu family wants to do something, I am opposed to it. Isn't it just to pay some peace money to Hutou Village? I, Fatty Xu, can afford this small amount of money. It is better than paying a small amount of money." It’s cheaper for the Xu family.”
Now the Xu family is the largest gentry in Lingqiu. When the Xu family rose, it usurped the interests of other families in Lingqiu. The Xu family had the most business taken away by the Xu family. There used to be ten stoves, but now there are only five left. The five stoves and the iron field were taken away by the Xu family through various means, so Fatty Xu hated the Xu family more than others.
"Are you sure the bandits from Hutou Village won't rob each family's caravan?" Li Lidong asked again worriedly.
Even if he could cooperate with the Xu family, he was unwilling to cooperate with the Xu family. After all, the Xu family's official power was too strong and it was easy for them to turn against customers.
"Compared with the Xu family, I trust the bandits in Hutou Village more." Fatty Xu said: "You can also feel that in the past few months, there has been no robbery of caravans in Hutou Village for a long time. Not long ago, Hutou Village Touzhai used money to buy grain from several surrounding villages, this can’t be a lie!”
Dongzhu Yang on the other side said: "What Dongzhu Xu said makes sense. The Xu family is a ferocious tiger. He asked the Xu family to form rural soldiers. After cleaning up Hutou Village, our three families will be the next ones to be dealt with."
Li Lidong rubbed the lid of the bowl with his fingers, looking thoughtful.
Neither Dongzhu Yang nor Fatty Xu bothered him.
After thinking for a long time, Li Lidong said: "I will believe you just once. If the bandits in Hutou Village are not what you said, then don't blame me for agreeing to Xu Youcai's side."
Hearing his words, Fatty Xu on the side breathed a sigh of relief.
"After talking for so long, you two must be hungry. Although my place is not as good as the chefs in the Yanbin Building, it is still different." Dongzhu Yang stood up, "I have asked people to prepare the food and wine. You two moved on. , let’s have a drink together.”
Fatty Xu chuckled and said, "Don't mention it, I'm really hungry."
"Then I'll bother Dongzhu Yang." Li Lidong stood up and cupped his hands.
"You're welcome, you two will move to the side hall with me." Dongzhu Yang raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation.
Several people left the study.
………………
As soon as Xu Youcai came back, he went directly back to the study, and Butler Xu followed him in cautiously.
"A bunch of short-sighted idiots." Xu Youcai cursed loudly.
"Master, calm down, we don't need to be on the same level as these people." Butler Xu comforted him, and at the same time asked his servants to bring some tea and cakes.
Xu Youcai stared at Butler Xu fiercely and said, "If you weren't useless and couldn't handle the tasks assigned to you, I wouldn't be ridiculed by Fatty Xu in public today."
"Yes, yes, yes, it's all my fault, old slave." Butler Xu raised his hand and slapped his face lightly.
Xu Youcai frowned and said, "Okay, don't pretend here, take my famous thorn and follow me to the garrison."
