Apart from the Qi Palace, the most luxurious place in Jinling City probably belongs to the Su family. Looking from the outside of the courtyard, it is surrounded by red walls and green willows hanging all around. The cobblestone roads in the courtyard are well-proportioned, but connected to each other, and are dotted with rocks. The center leads directly to the meeting hall in the center.
The meeting hall of the Su family is splendid and elegant; the entire hall is covered with a red carpet of rich flowers. The six Taishi chairs in the two rows on the left and right are all made of fine rosewood, and the backs of the chairs are wrapped with silver, which is extremely luxurious; The only strange thing is that the middle of the main hall is empty and there is no main seat.
"Brother, why did the old man call everyone here in such a hurry? There are many things to do in my shop." A bald man sitting on the front seat on the right kept turning two jade balls with white background and black stripes in his right hand.
"Yes, brother, I'm confused too." The red-faced man in the second seat on the right sat lazily on his back, holding a glazed chicken blood snuff bottle to his nose and sniffing.
"The old man summoned me, so of course there is something important." The man in the first seat on the left looked majestic: "Second brother, third brother! Don't make random guesses, and don't complain. You will know when the old man comes later. .”
"Everyone is here." From behind the curtain in the main hall, a girl in palace clothes came out pushing a wheelchair; sitting on the chair was an old man in his seventies with white hair and a pale face.
"My son pays homage to his father." The three men, who had different postures just now, stood together and bowed respectfully to the old man.
"No, you don't have to be polite, just sit down and talk." The seventy-year-old man waved his hands downwards and signaled to them: "Today, Mr. Salba, the Minister of Household Affairs of the Imperial Court, came to visit. I hope that my Su family can set an example."
"Father, I wonder what role model the Su family needs to set for the court?" The man on the left had a gloomy look on his face, as if he had a bad feeling.
"Increase taxes." When the old man said these two words, he deliberately made his voice very long.
"Our business has become more and more difficult in the past few years, but the court does not care about our life and death and wants to raise taxes. It is simply delusional." The man in the second seat on the right was filled with indignation. He held the snuff bottle tightly in his right hand and held the snuff bottle tightly in his left hand. He punched the back of the chair.
"Father, what the third brother said makes sense." After listening to the old man's words, the man in the first seat on the right turned the jade ball in his hand faster than before: "These people in the court are all greedy. We are celebrating the holidays. Isn’t the filial piety silver given enough? There is a problem here. Not only is no one speaking up for our Su family, but they are squeezing us even harder."
"Father, how much does the court want to increase taxes this time?" The man on the left held his chin with two fingers and stared directly at the old man.
"It's better for you to hold your breath at this critical moment." The old man nodded in approval, then turned to the girl in palace clothes and smiled: "Rufeng, you tell me."
"Father, the court wants to add 20%." The girl in palace attire bowed to the man and bowed. Just as she was about to continue saying something, she was interrupted by the irritable voice of the man taking snuff on the right: "What, I want to add 20%." Cheng? Are you kidding me? Our Su family has to pay 30% of the tax to the court every year. If we add this 20% to the tax, doesn’t it mean that we have to pay half of it? "
"We can't agree, otherwise we really think that our Su family can be slaughtered by others." The jade ball in the man's hand on the first seat on the right suddenly stopped, and he asked the old man: "Father, do you have any authority over the tax increase? Clear purpose?"
"It's just something that the Minister of Household Affairs conveyed privately, and there is no clear purpose." The old man coughed twice: "Even so, you can't take this matter lightly."
"Rufeng, you always have many ideas; I want to hear your opinions as a father." The man on the left mentioned his future daughter-in-law, and his gloomy face softened a lot.
"Rufeng thinks that we cannot refuse the request of the imperial court." The girl in palace clothes walked slowly in the lobby. At this time, she did not look like a woman waiting to be married in a boudoir, but more like a battle-hardened planner. With the style of a great master: "Although the Su family is one of the four major families, its disadvantage is that no one is an official in the court, so it is necessary to maintain a harmonious relationship with the Ministry of Households to gain a foothold. This is one. Furthermore, these two We can completely absorb the tax revenue internally.”
"Oh? Rufeng, tell me how we should digest it internally?"
"Yes, I also want to hear Rufeng's opinion."
Everyone suddenly became interested after hearing the analysis of the girl in palace attire.
On a wasteland in the west of Jinling City, two thatched houses were repaired alone. They were surrounded by short bamboo fences to form a small circular courtyard. Only a small wooden door was opened on the east side. At this time, it was just dusk, and the chimneys on the thatched houses were The smoke was curling up from the kitchen, and the old woman in the house was diligently preparing dinner on the stove. The food that had not yet been taken out of the pot was already fragrant and floated outside the house in the wind.
"Little Potato, come on, come and catch us." Three little girls aged seven or eight were hiding behind Liu Ningshi in the small courtyard, happily dodging the pursuit of the little boy opposite.
I saw Liu Ningshi opening her arms and moving her steps slightly in the direction of the little boy, trying hard to prevent the little boy from getting behind her.
"I don't believe it. My eagle can't leap over Sister Ningshi?" The little boy ran with an angry look on his face, but no matter how he moved, he couldn't get around Liu Ningshi; there were several little girls behind him. From time to time bursts of naughty laughter erupted.
"Children, all come inside to eat." The old woman inside the house, leaning on a cane, slowly walked outside and waved to the children who were playing happily.
"Oh! Oh! Let's eat!" As soon as the three little girls heard that they were eating, they no longer cared about whether the little boy was trying to catch them. They dispersed from behind Liu Ningshi like the wind and ran back to the house; The little boy stayed where he was, with his hands on his hips filled with anger.
"Why are you so angry, little Tudou?" Liu Ningshi smiled and touched the little boy's head: "A manly man, you can't be so stingy."
"Hmph! Sister Ningshi is so good. Every time she plays, she helps the three of them but doesn't help me." The little boy pushed Liu Ningshi's hand away, pouting and making a long face.
"Good boy, little potato, let's go eat first." Liu Ningshi looked at the stubborn little boy and felt amused, and then touched his head: "Next time, sister Ningshi will teach you a set of movements, so I can catch them. "
"Sister Ningshi, are you telling the truth?" The little boy, who was still angry just now, heard that he was going to teach him body skills, and immediately shook Liu Ningshi's arm happily: "Don't lie to others!"
"Xiao Tudou, don't pester Miss Liu and go inside to eat." The old woman's voice came from afar.
"Sister Ningshi, you must teach me body movements next time you come here." The little boy walked towards the house and looked back reluctantly.
"Go, go!" Liu Ningshi waved to the little boy until his figure disappeared from sight.
On the small mound ten feet away, Tong Bo watched Liu Ningshi playing with several children from a distance, feeling mixed emotions in his heart. This was a scene he wanted to experience but had never experienced before.
Liu Ningshi walked out of the bamboo fence door, looked at Tong Bo blankly looking this way, and smiled softly; she stepped lightly, unfolded that wonderful movement, and after a few ups and downs, she reached Tong Bo: "Brother Xiangyun , since you like these children so much, why don’t you go in and play with them?”
"It may not be a good thing to be too close to me. It's enough for these children to have you and Wang Ma accompanying them." Tong Bo turned to look at Liu Ningshi: "Besides, I'm afraid there will be too much concern. .”
"When you proposed using the money you won to build houses and roads for these children, Ning Shi couldn't believe her ears." Liu Ningshi chuckled: "I always thought Brother Xiangyun was a stingy person. .”
"What do you mean by being stingy? I'm just more frugal." Tong Bo rolled his eyes at Liu Ningshi and then calmed down: "I don't want these children to let others influence their life's destiny just because they are orphans."
"Ning Shi would like to know, what is Brother Xiangyun's past like?" Liu Ningshi looked at Tong Bo quietly with her wonderful eyes.
"My past?" Tong Bo looked into the distance with his deep eyes: "It's been so long, so long that even I have forgotten that part of my past."
"Hmph! If you don't say it, don't say it. You don't have to make so many excuses. Who cares?" Liu Ningshi turned her head and started to sneer.
"Huh?" Tong Bo was just about to coax Liu Ning to write a few poems when he saw the snow-white homing pigeon flying down on his shoulder: "Miss Liu, compared with my boring past, the defense is more important now."
"What, is there news from Brother Ren?" Liu Ningshi was very fond of the snow-white carrier pigeon and kept stroking its forehead.
"This lawsuit is true, but we still have to go back to Juyoulou." Tong Bo looked at the flying pigeon in his hand and sneered in his heart: "Is it so easy to get my money?"
The Qinhuai River has been a prosperous place in Jinling City since ancient times. The lake surface is as level as a mirror under the night sky, but the shops on both sides are extremely lively, selling snacks and antiques. The most famous among them is Wujian Music Studio. The singers there are excellent in color and art. Every year, it attracts many dignitaries and young princes. It is also one of the most profitable industries of the Su family. It can be said that it is Rijin It's not an exaggeration to fight for gold.
In an inconspicuous small private room in the corner of the second floor of Wujian Lefang, a middle-aged fat man in rich clothes was holding an exquisite small box and counting a stack of banknotes inside: "Miss Misu is really the best in our store." She is a living sign. Since she came, the business has been getting better and better. Haha, it seems that it won’t be long before I, Lu, can become the richest man in Jinling City.”
"Really? Mr. Lu, I didn't expect that you are very talented in business." An eerie voice echoed in Mr. Lu's ears.
The fat middle-aged man in fine clothes was startled and hugged the small box tightly: "Who is pretending to be a ghost here?"
Suddenly, a strong internal energy slapped Yuan Lu's face, and his fat body fell more than ten feet away, and the banknotes were scattered on the ground.
In front of the desk, a pair of sharp eyes stared at Mr. Lu, as if he wanted to eat him: "Lu Wei, now you know who I am?"
Lu Wei covered half of his pig liver face in fear, crawled over and said with a smile: "It turns out to be the special envoy. I am blind and don't know Mount Tai. I don't know that when you arrive, you don't meet me from a distance. You should be beaten."
"Lu Wei, it seems that you have finally remembered that you are a member of the Lord. I thought you had turned into a complete businessman after working for the Su family for a long time." The man in black said in a deep voice with a hint of sullenness. .
"Your Majesty the Special Envoy has learned that Lu will never forget the fact of serving your lord." Lu Wei nodded and bowed, with a servile look on his face.
"In that case, come with me. I have something to tell you." The man in black softened.
