After sending the people away, Butler Xu returned to the side hall and asked his servants to take out a few copper basins with melted ice cubes, replace them with new ice cubes, and send them back to the side hall.
There were two temperatures inside and outside the house. After entering the house, Butler Xu felt completely relaxed.
Fatty Xu sat back on a special seat. There were several fruit plates with several seasonal fruits on his right hand. There was a tureen on his left hand, with the lid leaning on the rim of the cup.
"Master, my father-in-law looked very ugly when he left." Butler Xu put his hands in front of him and whispered.
"It doesn't matter." Fatty Xu waved his hands indifferently, and then said, "No matter who wins in the future between the Tiger Flag and the Defense Mansion, as long as they don't get involved, the Xu family will not suffer any losses. There is no need to fight with one party. Note."
Butler Xu whispered, "Master, are you optimistic about the tiger flag?"
Fatty Xu picked up a piece of cut watermelon on the table and said, "Today's Tiger Flag is no longer a copycat bandit who can be slaughtered by others. If it weren't for the deputy commander-in-chief's support behind the garrison, I don't think our garrison master can do it at all." Eat the tiger flag."
After saying that, he bit into the watermelon flesh, biting off the sweetest piece and eating it, and put the rest back on the plate.
The servant on the side used a silk cloth to wipe the watermelon juice from the corners of his mouth.
"So sir, you also think that the Tiger Flag is doomed this time, so why don't you agree to my in-laws and cooperate with the garrison." Butler Xu looked puzzled.
Fatty Xu curled his lips and said, "Things are not that simple. There should be someone behind the Tiger Flag, otherwise a deputy general would have sent troops to Lingqiu to suppress the bandits. Although the soldiers of the Tiger Flag are strong, no matter how strong they are. It is no stronger than the army in the border towns of the imperial court."
Butler Xu nodded in agreement.
In his eyes, Tiger Character Banner is a group of bandits after all, maybe stronger than ordinary bandits, but bandits are bandits after all, and there is no way they can compare with the imperial army.
Butler Xu said, "Sir, who do you think is the person behind the tiger flag?"
"Don't say it's you, even I am curious." Fatty Xu said, "No matter who it is, the Xu family cannot provoke it. When gods fight, we mortals can just stand aside and watch the fun, and don't get involved."
Butler Xu said respectfully, "I understand, I will reject all meetings of directors of the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce in the future."
"It's not good not to go even once." Fatty Xu thought for a moment and said, "If the Dongshan Chamber of Commerce has something to do, you can go on my behalf and tell the public that I'm sick."
"I understand." Butler Xu nodded.
……………………
Outside Lingqiu City, there is Li Village ten miles away from Xujiazhuang. It used to be the Zhuangzi of the Xu family, but now it also belongs to the Tiger Flag.
Lizhuang was originally managed by clan elders from Zhuangzi, but later Huzi Banner sent a steward to sit in Lizhuang.
"Is he here?" On the carriage, a young and strong man looked through the window at Li Zhuang in the distance.
The young man who was riding in the same carriage said with an ugly face, "That unfamiliar white-eyed wolf has been assigned by Tiger Flag to be the steward of Lizhuang ever since he betrayed our Xu family."
"What a pity." The strong young man said with a click of his tongue.
"Ah!" The young man was stunned, not understanding what he meant.
The young and strong man said, "It's a pity that such a good Zhuangzi got the Tiger Flag for nothing."
The young man in the car had a cold look in his eyes and said in a gloomy voice, "If it hadn't been for that Liu Heng, my Xu family would not be in the situation we are in today, and my father would not have died."
When he spoke, he clenched his hands into fists and revealed a malicious look in his eyes.
The young and strong man said, "Don't worry, as long as things are done this time, this Li Village will still belong to your Xu family."
"Thank you, Mr. Zheng." The young man looked happy and said immediately, "Then over at Xujiazhuang..."
"Don't even think about Xujiazhuang." Zheng Dahu, a young and strong man, warned, "Master Huang is willing to help you get back a Lizhuang, for the sake of your dead father, don't push yourself too far."
"I understand, I understand, little one." Xu Shunqing responded hurriedly.
Ever since the iron furnace in the iron yard exploded, Xu Youcai was so angry that Xu Shunqing sold the iron yard and exchanged it for money and took it to a gambling house to gamble.
After losing all his money, he began to sell his house and land, and dismissed his family members. Not even a single shop in the city was left. In the end, all the remaining wealth accumulated by his family was lost, and he owed hundreds of taels of silver to the gambling house. .
Now he is no longer the aloof eldest son of the Xu family, but just a gambler that everyone hates.
The carriage drove along the dirt road towards Lizhuang.
Through the window of the carriage, Zheng Dahu saw several large waterwheels erected on the river bank in the distance. He sighed, "The food in other people's fields is so dry that there is not much harvest. Only a few villages in the Tiger Flag have a good harvest. It seems that it is all the result of these big water trucks.”
I was even thinking that if their Zhengjiazhuang installed a few large water trucks like this, even dry fields would be turned into high-quality irrigated fields in the future.
Xu Shunqing, who was in the same car, snorted coldly and said, "Master Zheng, these waterwheels are just a trick to fool the farmers. They are just to make the farmers in the village work hard to farm for the Tiger Flag. The more grain they produce, the Tiger Flag will The more you earn.”
Zheng Dahu glanced at him and ignored him.
Unlike Xu Shunqing, a young man who never touched the water, he was a banker of the Zheng family and later became a servant of the Zheng family. He knew very well whether these waterwheels were of any use to the banker.
"Hush!"
When they arrived at the village entrance, the driver pulled the reins and stopped the carriage.
Zheng Dahu took Xu Shunqing down from the carriage. He turned back and told the coachman, "Wait for us here."
Not far from the entrance of Lizhuang Village, several farmers were sitting in the shade of trees enjoying the cool air.
Some people held broken cattail leaf fans in their hands to fan themselves with wind, and those without cattail leaf fans shook their loose sleeves from time to time to fan themselves with some wind.
"Old guy, where does Xu Laifu in your village live?" Xu Shunqing stood in front of a villager and asked condescendingly.
The dealer raised his head and glanced at him, but ignored him.
Xu Shunqing was annoyed after being ignored.
Although he is not doing well now, it can be said that he used to be the young boss of Li Zhuang. He didn't even take a serious look at this kind of banker before.
Now, he was being ignored by the banker that he once didn't bother to pay attention to, which made his already unhappy mood even more unhappy.
Feeling cruel in his heart, he raised his hand and was about to hit the banker in front of him.
At this moment, his raised wrist was pressed down by Zheng Dahu.
Zheng Dahu said, "If you dare to mess around again, I will throw you into the river and feed you to the bastard."
Xu Shunqing knew that if she wanted to get back their Xu family's Zhuangzi, she would have to rely on Zheng Dahu, so she didn't dare to go against Zheng Dahu's wishes, so she had to retract her arm.
Zheng Dahu took out two pennies, held them in his hand, and asked, "Who told me where Xu Laifu is and whose these two pennies belong to?"
"There is a blue brick house at the east end of Zhuangzi, and Steward Xu lives there." The farmer with a cattail leaf fan in his hand said.
Zheng Dahu threw the two pennies in his hand to the other party, turned back to Xu Shunqing and said, "Follow me."
The two of them walked more than ten steps away. Xu Shunqing couldn't help but said, "Master Zheng, I just gave him two cents for free. What if he cheated us? Why don't you let me get the money back."
"There is no need for him to lie to me." Zheng Dahu glanced at him and said, "Don't worry about the two cents. When you get it back to Lizhuang, you will have as much silver as you want."
Xu Shunqing swallowed and followed Zheng Dahu's footsteps towards the east end of Zhuangzi.
