Zhao Wu walked up to Liu Heng and whispered: "Master, Wang Qifu is here. He is in Xujiazhuang and is accompanied by Deputy Director Li. Do you want to meet him?"
Liu Heng nodded slightly, then looked at Huang Zhong and others, and said: "I only have two requests for the gun-making workshop. One is to complete the test of the hand gun as soon as possible, and the other is to step up the improvement of the self-generated fire gun and equip us with it one day earlier." soldiers."
Huang Zhong, who was accompanying him, said: "Don't worry, proprietor, there is no big problem with the hand gun. It will be produced in half a month. The self-generated fire gun has also made a breakthrough. Now the success rate of ignition has improved a lot."
"This matter is left to you, the director of the department, to keep an eye on. Under the premise of ensuring the quality, seize the time, and the cavalry can also make their own guns. It can also be put on the agenda." Liu Heng said, "Okay, today I will see this. .”
Huang Zhong led the craftsmen from the gun-making workshop to send Liu Heng out of the gun-making workshop.
A fast horse was prepared outside the gate. As soon as he came out, Liu Heng mounted the horse and rushed to Xujiazhuang with the escort around him.
Hutou Village leads to Zhaojiayu, then to Dongshan and Xujiazhuang. The roads between these places are paved with cinders and gravel. There are drainage ditches on both sides of the road. Many trees are planted on the roadside to protect against sediment. washed away by rain.
The roads Liu Heng had people build are easier to walk than the official roads. It is much more convenient to travel between the places. Even after heavy rain, there is no problem walking on the road even if a four-wheeled cart pulls a load of heavy objects.
Returning to Xujiazhuang, Liu Heng got off his horse outside the village gate.
The horse was taken away by the guards who came with it and sent to the stable in the backyard.
Accompanied by Zheng Chao and Zhao Wu, Liu Heng walked into the reception room in the front yard of Xujiazhuang.
"Shopkeeper Wang, I'm sorry, I'm late." As soon as he entered the room, Liu Heng took the lead in cupping his hand towards Wang Qifu who was sitting inside.
Wang Qifu didn't dare to ask for help and stood up in a hurry.
Today's Tiger Flag is not the same as Hutou Village in the early days. Liu Heng's status has also risen, and he no longer dares to treat Liu Heng as an ordinary bandit leader.
Wang Qifu said with a smile: "Dongzhu Liu, I am sending horses this time. There are a total of one hundred and twenty grassland horses. The extra twenty horses are given to Dongzhu Liu by our boss."
"Thank you, Master Fan, for me." Liu Heng said with a smile, walked towards the main seat and sat down.
"I will tell you next," Wang Qifu said, "Our boss also hopes to have a long-term cooperation with Mr. Liu, and it will be good for the two families to form an alliance forever."
Liu Heng smiled and said: "Shopkeeper Wang can tell Dongzhu Fan that even if we don't have these twenty horses, our Tiger Flag is still willing to cooperate with a big businessman like Dongzhu Fan for a long time."
"With what Dongzhu Liu said, I will be able to do business this time when I go back." Wang Qifu said with a smile.
Liu Heng said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wang is so humble. Even if I don't agree today, Boss Fan will not embarrass a big shopkeeper like Shopkeeper Wang because of this trivial matter."
"Dongzhu Liu was joking, this is no small matter." Wang Qifu waved his hands repeatedly.
Liu Heng picked up the tureen and took a sip, then put the lid on the tureen and said casually: "Shopkeeper Wang can bring 120 prairie horses to my Tiger Flag. Fan Dongzhu must have a close relationship with Beilu."
After hearing this, Wang Qifu's face straightened, and he hesitated and said: "Dr. Liu misunderstood, our boss bought these grassland horses from Beilu at the horse market. As for the relationship with Beilu, the only one who has any relationship with Beilu is the horse market." That kind of friendship is not worth mentioning."
"Shopkeeper Wang doesn't need to hide it from me." Liu Heng said, "Shopkeeper Wang must also know the origin of our tiger-character flag, so he won't have anything to do with the court. As for the relationship between Fan Dongzhu and Beilu, it has nothing to do with our tiger-character flag. The flag has nothing to do with it, the reason why I asked Shopkeeper Wang is because I hope our two families can cooperate more deeply!"
"Deeper cooperation!" Wang Qifu frowned, not understanding what he meant, and said, "How does Mr. Liu want to cooperate more deeply?"
Liu Heng asked with a smile: "What does Shopkeeper Wang think of our Tiger Flag Mules and Horses business?"
Wang Qifu thought for a while and said: "The business of your mule and horse shop is already very good. Most of the merchants in the surrounding provinces are willing to hire your mule and horse shop to deliver goods. Even the fine iron our Fan family bought from Dongshan is also It will be sent to Zhangjiakou by your horse and mule agency."
Liu Heng asked again: "What does Shopkeeper Wang think of the strength of the Tiger Flag Mule and Horse Shop?"
"Strength is no problem." Wang Qifu said, "Since the attack on Daliang Mountain, the bandits and horse thieves in the surrounding prefectures have all retreated when they heard that it was a convoy with the tiger flag. They are really majestic."
After hesitating for a moment, Wang Qifu added: "I wonder what this has to do with the in-depth cooperation that Dongzhu Liu mentioned?"
"Of course it does matter." Liu Heng said with a smile, "There are many horse thieves in the Beilu territory. I hope that the Fan family will have a convoy to go to the Beilu territory again, and they can use the convoy of mules and horses with the tiger flag."
Wang Qifu's expression suddenly changed and he said: "I don't understand what Liu Dongzhu means. Although we, Fan Ji, have some friendship with Beilu, it was accumulated over many years in the mule and horse market. But when it comes to the caravan going to Beilu's territory, it is from Something that has never happened before.”
Liu Heng smiled and said: "Shopkeeper Wang doesn't have to deny it in a hurry. You and I know very well whether Fan Ji has a convoy to go to the border of Beilu. I don't need shopkeeper Wang to agree immediately. I just need shopkeeper Wang to bring the message to Fan Dongzhu. Whether Dongzhu Fan agrees or not will not affect the current cooperation."
Li Shuheng, who was accompanying him in the room, saw Wang Qifu's sweat-soaked face and said, "Shopkeeper Wang is having tea."
"Oh, okay." Wang Qifu reached out to touch the teacup, but failed to grab it. The back of his hand touched the teacup directly, and the tea inside flowed to the floor. "Sorry, sorry, I'm really sorry."
He apologized profusely.
"It doesn't matter, I'll ask someone to give Shopkeeper Wang another drink." Li Shuheng said to the servant on the side, "I'll ask someone to clean up and give Shopkeeper Wang another drink."
The servant responded and retreated from the living room.
"No need to go to such trouble." Wang Qifu said to Li Shuheng, stood up immediately, looked at Liu Heng calmly and said, "I have sent all the horses to Mr. Liu. I still have some things to do when I get back, so I will take my leave first. "
But his heart was not as calm as his face showed.
Although Liu Heng said that the mule and horse store incident will not affect the future cooperation between the two companies, Fan Ji's ironware and part of the food now come from Lingqiu. If the mule and horse store incident really disrupts the two businesses, it will be a big problem. Yes, he needs to go back earlier to tell his employer about the matter and ask his employer to make a decision.
Liu Heng saw that Wang Qifu had no intention of staying, so he did not persuade him and sent him outside the living room door himself.
Li Shuheng, who had gone out to see Wang Qifu off, returned to the house, sat on his seat, took a sip of tea, and said, "Will the Fan family agree to our cooperation this time?"
"Sooner or later he will agree." As he spoke, Liu Heng held a tureen in his hand.
Li Shuheng's eyes showed disbelief and said: "The Fan family would not be so stupid as to take the initiative to leak their relationship with Beilu to us."
"It's too early to consider this now. I'm just testing the Fan family. It's best if I can succeed. If not, there's no rush." Liu Heng said in a relaxed tone.
Li Shuheng said, "Our mule and horse convoys are traveling in several nearby state capitals that are already short of manpower. Why go to the border of Beilu? It is much more dangerous than our Ming Dynasty."
Liu Heng smiled and did not answer Li Shuheng's words, but said: "Let's go to the cavalry team together. Now that we have more than a hundred horses, our cavalry team is really equipped with all the war horses."
After leaving the living room, the two people left Xujiazhuang, mounted their horses, and rushed to Hutou Village.
