Salt courtyard yamen, vestibule.

Jia Qiang held a stack of drawings in her hand and talked to three honest men with dark and rough skins.

I don't know what I said, but I exchanged for two or three hours.

At first, they were summoned by the Yanyuan Yamen, and the three men were still frightened and did not dare to speak.

But when he saw that the nobles only blindly asked them about their blacksmith skills, and nothing else, they gradually let go of their vigilance and began to discuss.

It is also interesting to say, if Jia Qiang's plan is a big heavy industry, then most of the craftsmen in Yangzhou will not be able to do it.

But what he asked for was crude and simple, and the only thing he paid attention to was that he put some ingenuity into the fine joints.

This is not a difficult task for Yangzhou blacksmiths, who have always done fine work for the rich salt merchants.

At the end of the breath, Jia Qiang said softly: "In terms of craftsmanship, it shouldn't be too difficult. The key work must be done carefully, and it must be done according to my drawings, and there is no difference. ”

Even if there is a problem with the pressure of a civilian boiler, it will explode.

But as long as you pay attention to a few details, don't boil the water dry, it's basically foolproof.

In her previous life, Jia Qiang even transformed it with her own hands, and used it when drying fabrics by soil method, so she remembered it in detail.

The three veteran blacksmiths nodded again and again: "I don't dare to delay the uncle's business!" ”

Jia Qiang nodded and said, "Withdraw fifty taels of silver first, and then take it if it's not enough." No matter what you need, if you have any troubles, you can come to the door to find it. There will be a lot of places where you will be used in the future, so you don't have to be polite. Steward Wang......"

Steward Wang is an old man from the Yanzheng Yamen, who followed the Lin family twenty years ago, but the Lin family is upright, so it is not as rampant as the Lai family in Jiafu.

Moreover, I have also seen the appearance of Jia Qiang when she turned her face and didn't recognize people, so she hurriedly smiled: "Since my brother has ordered it, it is naturally no problem." ”

The three old blacksmiths were naturally overjoyed when they heard this, and hugged the thighs of the Yanyuan Yamen, and the days ahead would be better.

After the three of them left, Jia Qiang was about to go back to the small study, when she saw Li Jing entering from the side door, with two Jinsha Gang members behind her.

However, seeing that Jia Qiang was actually in the vestibule, the solemn and cold expression on Li Jing's face immediately melted, and she stepped forward in three or two steps and said with a smile: "Why is Ye here?" ”

Jia Qiang smiled: "I just negotiated some small things...... and patted some dust off her shoulders for her, and said with pity: "You have been working hard for days these days, why bother like this?" I'm not in a hurry. ”

The two of them talked as they walked inside.

Li Jing laughed softly: "We are new to Yangzhou, if we are only stubborn, we are naturally not in a hurry. But the master has big ambitions in his heart, and I can't help anything, not like Miss Lin. I just want to take more reliable people, and be some eyes and ears for the lord. ”

Jia Qiang smiled: "That's all, it's already a great help." But what didn't work? ”

Speaking of business, Li Jing smiled and said: "I have visited many of my father's old friends in the past few days, but unfortunately some of them are no longer as willing to be poor and righteous as my father said, and have become thugs raised by other families." Some have died of old age, and some have retired from work...... Fortunately, I finally met two. They are all friends that my father made when he was running darts in Jiangnan twelve years ago, a Jianghu nickname Langli Baitiao Zhang Shun, and a Jianghu nickname Yangzhou Drum Flea Sun Yan ......"

"Wait!"

Jia Qiang had a black line and said: "I will admit the white stripes in this wave, and the other one is called the flea on the drum, when they are fascinated by the water margin, how can they still call the flea on the drum in Yangzhou?" ”

Li Jing chuckled: "If they weren't so lonely, they would have been coaxed away by the salt merchants." Now Uncle Zhang is begging for a living in the big river with two apprentices in a boat, and he doesn't care if anyone comes to invite him. When he encountered a black household robbing merchants on the waterway, he also took action. If it weren't for his high skills and experience, he would have been harmed these years. It's only because my father inadvertently saved his mother that he became a brother who never changed his head. In the early years, his father invited him to Beijing to join the Jinsha Gang, but he couldn't rest assured that his mother would not be able to adapt to the water and soil, so he delayed. Later, he sent his mother to the end, but he had no shame to go to Beijing to bother my father again. Now that I heard that my father came to Jiangnan and wanted him to help, how could he be unreasonable? ”

Jia Qiang listened to the righteousness of the rivers and lakes, and asked with a smile: "What about the white people in the waves?" ”

Li Jing's face changed slightly, and she sighed and said: "This Jianghu person is still reluctant to enter the official family. He said that when my father lived alone in the courtyard, he immediately came to visit him. ”

Seeing Li Jing looking at him cautiously, Jia Qiang was not annoyed, and said with a smile: "It's really a dead brain...... If you go and tell him, you will say that your father is too badly injured to move for a while. Second, the imperial court is about to abolish this salt government yamen. No, the will of the Son of Heaven has been issued, and although the salt decree is temporarily here, it is no longer a yamen. If he still refuses to come, then forget it. As long as you are willing to do what you are told, it doesn't matter if you come or not. What about the fleas on the drum in Yangzhou? ”

At the mention of this person, Li Jing couldn't help but laugh and said: "Ye definitely can't guess that this Yangzhou drum flea is actually a woman." ”

"Women?"

Jia Qiang was really taken aback, because the flea on the drum was a thief!

Li Jing smiled happily, but pulled the corners of her mouth again, lowered her head and said softly: "She is the old bustard in a green building in Nancheng, Yangzhou, and my father was ...... with her back then."

Jia Qiang heard the words and said, "Then her ability, shouldn't she steal peaches in the Qinglou?" ”

Li Jing heard Jia Qiang's contempt and dislike, and hurriedly said: "Don't get me wrong, if she is really a harmful bustard in an ordinary Qinglou, how dare I mention that she has polluted her ears?" ”

Jia Qiang said curiously: "In addition to beating and scolding women to pick up guests, this old bustard has other skills?" ”

Li Jing said with a smile: "Others run the Qinglou, and there are mostly good-looking girls in the building." But the Qinglou she runs is forty years old, and it is extremely ugly. If there is really a good bite, Sun Yan will admit it. However, as far as I inquired, since the opening of the green building, there has not been a single sale. ”

Jia Qiang said with a strange face: "Then, how do they live?" ”

Li Jing chuckled: "This Yangzhou Mansion is a strange place, holding an Oiran beauty pageant elsewhere, Yangzhou Mansion is tired of beauty pageants, and it has been holding ugly contests since a few years ago, and those who win the championship can win a hundred taels of gold." Sun Yan's people win the top three every year! But ......" said, the smile on her face gradually faded, revealing a touch of sadness, which made Jia Qiang curious, so she heard her say slowly: "These two hundred taels of gold are frugal, and it is not enough for so many of them to eat and take medicine." ”

Jia Qiang frowned and said, "So many people, eating and taking medicine?" ”

Li Jing said: "I thought that my father was not like talking back then, but after learning about Sun Yan, I understood why my father still thought about her...... Master, don't you know, that Sun Yan runs a green house, and the girls she can collect are either crippled or abandoned babies, or some extremely ugly and homeless ugly women. Where is the gold that is enough to choose ugliness from that little bit? Therefore, Sun Yan picked some clever girls to raise as children and taught them theft. But there is also a rule, that is, never steal from the poor, and the number of thefts must not exceed one hundred taels at a time, so as not to cause a great disaster. They are just here to survive, not to get rich. With this rule, they have lived in peace for so many years. But I can't live anymore......"

When Jia Qiang heard this, she raised the look of emotion on her face and said, "Why is this? Don't you often walk by the river, and finally meet a water ghost? ”

Li Jing smiled bitterly and nodded, "Sun Yan...... Now I call her Aunt Sun, and when she heard that my father was coming, she recognized this family...... Aunt Sun has a proud disciple, named Sun Qin, who was broken by the eldest son of the Qi family in Yangzhou Mansion during theft, and was taken down on the spot by the good hand next to him. Originally, she was going to send it to the official, but she didn't want the eldest son of the Qi family to recognize her makeup. After washing, I fell in love with her at a glance, and I had to force her to be a roomman. Aunt Sun couldn't ask for the Chrysostom of the eldest son of the Qi family no matter how many ways she entrusted, and now she learned that my father and I were in the Yanzheng Yamen, and we recognized our relatives on the spot. She also said that as long as we don't dislike it, she will be our eyes and ears in Yangzhou Mansion, keep any news, and ask us to rescue people from the eldest son of the Qi family. ”

Jia Qiang asked, "What's your name?" ”

Li Jing hurriedly said: "It's called Sun Qin!" Look, ......."

Jia Qiang nodded and said, "I know about this matter, you go to see your father first and talk to him about these two people." I'm going to a banquet tonight, and there seems to be someone from the Bai family in the host. When the time comes, I'll ask. ”

Li Jing was overjoyed, but before she could say anything, she saw Xue Yan panting and striding over, and said to Jia Qiang: "Second Master Qiang, our girl called you to talk!" ”

……

"Zhong Luan, Ziming, Zixun and Yuan Cheng, don't bring out the Oiran you invited. Since you want to give the guests in the capital a little dignity, let's go to Mingyuefang. I've sent someone to charter this boat, and we'll go over together in half an hour. I have invited some other celebrities to come, and I always have to make enough scenes. ”

In the Pingshan Hall, the young man who was sitting in the main seat, who was also a few years older than Xu Zhen and the others, suddenly spoke.

Xu Zhen raised his eyebrows lightly when he heard this, and said, "Brother Qi, that Jia Qiang is a noble son from the capital, and like me, he has no reputation. Liu Mingyue, the flower of Mingyuefang, has always only interacted with poets and celebrities like you, Brother Qi, such as me and Ziming, even if she gives 10,000 taels of ** silver, she may not be willing to deal with it. If she is to accompany her tonight, in case Na Jia Qiang sees her beauty and touches her and kisses her, wouldn't it be a bad thing for Miss Mingyue to smack him in the face again? ”

The "Big Brother Qi" mentioned by Xu Zhen is the eldest son of Qi Wanmin, the head of the Qi family of the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou, Qi Yun. His cousin Qi Yan is Xu Zhen's friend "Ziming".

Hearing Xu Zhen's words, Qi Yun said unhappily: "Zhongluan, although this host is for Na Jia Qiang to wash the dust, but who does Miss Mingyue want to sit with, of course, she will order poetry." Moreover, Miss Mingyue is a Qing person, so you don't use that set of dirty words to set her up. Could it be that such a character as me still has to do the sin of forcing a woman? ”

When Xu Zhen heard this, his expression was faintly playful, he blinked, and said with a smile: "Since Brother Qi has spoken, how dare the little brother disobey?" Today, it will be dominated by Brother Qi. Ziming and I, just fight in the back. ”

When Qi Yun heard this, he glanced at his unsuccessful cousin with contempt, and shouted: "Don't you disperse all the Laoshzi ghosts you invited!" ”

……