After Ma Gai left, Zhao Yu discussed privately with Chen Zu and Chen Cai.

During the discussion, Zhao Yu said to the two: "The cottage has restored its control over the official road, and the Luye Freemasons will inevitably put pressure on Kunyang County again. …… The matter of this righteous house, first hand over to Chen Cai, Chen Zu, you go to implement the mansion as soon as possible, whether it is to buy a manor outside the city, or to get a mansion in the county, it is up to you, servants, guards, hire if there is a shortage of people, as soon as possible to support the image of 'Chen Da Rich Man', in the future, Kunyang here, mainly by you and the local family, businessmen negotiate. ”

Chen Zu frowned when he heard this and said, "I'm afraid I can't do everything alone, Zhang Feng or Ma Hong, it's best to let one of them help me." ”

"Hmm."

Zhao Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Well, in that case, I will go back and inform one of the two of them, one will follow you, and the other will follow Chen Cai." ”

On the same day, Zhao Yu asked Chen Cai to send someone to Fengcun and summoned Zhang Feng and Ma Hong to the county seat.

It may be that in the relationship of being idle in Luyang in recent months, Zhang Feng and Ma Hong have more or less raised some meat, but this is not enough to distinguish it from Kunyang's wanted warrant, if someone compares the appearance of the two, it is still not difficult to see some clues.

But there is no way, after all, Chen Zu really needs to have some of his own people around him, otherwise it is easy to get bad.

Taking advantage of the fact that the 'news of the comeback of the Black Tiger Thief' had not yet spread, and Kunyang County had not yet entered a state of martial law, in the early morning of the next day, Zhang Feng and Ma Hong, who had been summoned, rushed from Fengcun to the county seat and went to the Black Tiger Yishe to meet Chen Cai and others.

In the empty house next to the righteous house, Zhao Yu once again convened Chen Zu, Chen Cai, Zhang Feng, and Ma Hong to discuss.

During this period, Zhao Yu explained two tasks to Zhang Feng and Ma Hong, one was to follow Chen Zu, and in the future, he would mainly mix in the upper class of Kunyang County and deal with the celebrity class in Kunyang County; The other is to follow Chen Cai for the time being, and in the future replace Chen Cai to take charge of the Black Tiger Yishe, mainly specializing in the middle and lower classes in Kunyang County.

As for who is in charge of which, Zhao Yu doesn't care, let Zhang Feng and Ma Hong decide for themselves.

After a brief consultation, Zhang Feng and Ma Hong made a choice, with Zhang Feng following Chen Zu and Ma Hong following Chen Cai.

Compared with the appearance of the two, this is also a more secure choice, after all, Zhang Feng's current image is actually more like a pampered rich man, and it is more suitable for him to act as the housekeeper by Chen Zu's side; In contrast, Ma Hong is still lean, and he is even more fierce when he stares at him, not to mention acting as a housekeeper, even if he takes over the Yishe in the future, he will have to take some time to learn to improve and become a little kinder.

In this regard, Zhao Yu taught the two of them the easiest way, which is to eat fat.

After the discussion was completed, Zhao Yu took Jingnu and Niu Heng back to Feng Village, and asked Chen Zu, Chen Cai, Zhang Feng, and Ma Hong to perform their duties.

Chen Zu and Zhang Feng's current task is very simple, that is, to spend money, spend money to buy a mansion, spend money to hire servants and guards, and build a Chen Mansion where the rich man Chen lives.

And Chen Cai and Ma Hong ...... Well, Chen Cai is still in charge of Yishe, and Ma Hong is in charge of eating fat.

It is not an easy task to eat fat in a short period of time, in order to meet the standard as soon as possible, Zhao Yu set a standard for Ma Hong, that is, to eat meat as a meal.

When he heard this order, Ma Hong didn't care at all, eat meat, what's so difficult about this? How many people in this world can't eat if they want to!

It turned out that he was thinking too simply, and after just five or six days, Ma Hong was completely tired of it, and he wanted to vomit whenever he saw meat.

But you can't vomit, and you have to stuff it hard.

As a result, every few days after the New Year, the former owner of the village fell ill, ate meat raw, and lay on the couch for several days.

When Zhao Yu went to visit him after learning about this, Ma Hong said almost pleadingly: "Great leader, I really can't eat this meat, and I don't want to take over Yishe, so I'll give Chen Cai a hand." ”

Although it is said that taking over the Black Tiger Yishe is equivalent to the status of the owner of the village with real power, it is not worth it if you want to exchange your life.

In the face of Ma Hong's plea, Zhao Yu could only give up pulling out the seedlings to help them grow, and give up the plan to let Ma Hong replace Chen Cai as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Chen Zu and Zhang Feng are still running for the choice of the mansion.

Buying a mansion is different from buying a storefront, like the Black Tiger House, it is not uncommon for the storefront shops along the street to change hands back and forth, but it is difficult to meet the right one like the kind of mansion in the deep mansion, after all, the family background of this kind of mansion is almost not bad, and it may not be willing to sell.

So, Chen Zu simply asked Ma Gai for help - anyway, it's all his own people.

In the face of Chen Zu, who was cheeky and came to him for help, Ma Gai could not refuse, so he could only report to Liu Bi, and finally, through the relationship of the county government, Chen Zu found an old mansion that had been established for more than 40 years in an alley street near the main street in the north of the city.

Dilapidation is a little dilapidated, but the advantage is that the location is good, and the buildings and decorations in the mansion are also well distributed.

After the mansion was being renovated, Chen Zu returned to the Black Tiger Righteous House and found Chen Zu: "The mansion has been renovated by hiring people, you can choose some servants and guards for me." ”

"No problem." Chen Cai swore to come down.

You must know that at this time, the reputation of the Black Tiger Shelter has become bigger and bigger, not only the neighboring streets and alleys have learned about this free food house, almost the entire south of the city, and even the north of the city have heard of it, so that a large number of people come to eat every day, at first it was mostly civilians and unemployed people in the vicinity, but later, there were also rangers with weapons.

The ranger industry is the most mixed, some are chivalrous and courageous, they will not cut the line, honestly wait in line for their turn, and even help the Black Tiger Yishe to maintain the order of the team and prevent someone from bullying the weak; But there are also rangers whose conduct is almost no different from that of the ruffians, and they will fight when they are slightly unsatisfied.

Because of these rangers, in the first month alone, there were four armed fights in front of the Black Tiger Righteous House, and both sides of the armed fights were rangers, and even the thieves in the Black Tiger Righteous House could not be prohibited, and finally because someone reported to the official, the county government specially sent a team of county guards to patrol the alleys and streets in front of the Black Tiger Righteous House to prevent another fight on the street.

Therefore, Chen Zu found Chen Cai, and he found the right person.

No, on the day he received Chen Zu's commission, Chen Cai drew up a list of some well-behaved rangers he had seen recently.

For example, there is a person named Yan Kuan, Chen Cai thinks it is good.

Chen Cai once saw Yan Kuan and his companions clash with several rangers who cut in line for the sake of a civilian family, and finally forced the latter to obediently go to the queue.

And when eating, Yan Kuan and his companions are not noisy, every time they come to eat, they are quick to eat, they thank them and leave immediately after filling their stomachs, and give up their seats to those who are still queuing outside, unlike individual people, who still occupy their seats after eating to rest, talk and laugh, and finally have to let Chen Cai and others urge.

However, what Chen Cai cares about the most is because of this Yan Kuan's details, this is a ranger who has participated in the crusade against Black Tiger Village twice.

The Black Tiger Village and the Kunyang officers and soldiers fought three times, during which it was dangerous, Chen Cai, as a member of the Black Tiger Thief, naturally knew best, just like saying that almost all of the people who survived his Black Tiger Thief were fierce robbers, and the officers and soldiers could survive, and they were naturally strong people, if they could recruit such characters, it would naturally be the best.

That night, Yan Kuan and his two companions came to the Black Tiger House again for dinner.

Speaking of which, the Black Tiger Yishe has a rule that outsiders can't understand, that is, it is not allowed to take out wine and meat, when individual rangers will secretly bring some wine with wine bags and drink the vegetarian dishes in the Yishe, Yan Kuan and his two companions abide by the rules in the Yishe, eat honestly, and then say thank you before leaving.

This day was no exception, after finishing the meal, Yan Kuan and his two companions walked to the counter, hugged their fists towards Chen Cai, who was leaning on the inside of the counter, and said, "I am grateful for your hospitality this time." ”

After that, Yan Kuan and the three were about to turn around and leave, but they saw Chen Cai suddenly shouting to him: "Three of you are slow." ”

Looking at Yan Kuan's puzzled faces, Chen Cai waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand, the three of you just see that the three of you seem to be shy, and you want to introduce the three of you to an errand......"

Hearing this, not only Yan Kuan and the others showed surprise on their faces, but everyone who was eating in the hall also stopped their chopsticks and looked up at Chen Cai, after all, this Chen steward was the first time to introduce an errand to them.

Glancing at his companion, Yan Kuan asked cautiously, "Steward Chen is not strange, I don't know what kind of errand it is?" ”

Glancing at the hall that suddenly became quiet, Chen Cai said with a smile: "The three of you might as well negotiate with Zai to go upstairs, don't disturb everyone's meal." ”

"Okay."

In the surprised and envious eyes of everyone in the hall, Yan Kuan and his two companions followed Chen Cai to the second floor.

After beckoning Yan Kuan and the others to sit down, Chen Cai asked with a smile, "Do you know my master three of you?" ”

Yan Kuan shook his head and said cautiously: "I only know that your master has the same surname as Steward Chen......

"Hmm."

Chen Cai nodded, and immediately said nonsense: "The old master of my family, he was originally from Kunyang County, and when he was young, he was dissatisfied with the status quo, so he sold his ancestral house after the death of his parents, went out to wander, and traveled south and north for decades, so he saved a family business. Later, when the old man was old, he repeatedly told the young master when he was dying, asking him to return to Kunyang and benefit the neighbors...... This righteous house is also the instructions of the old master. ”

"I see."

Yan Kuan and the three nodded solemnly, clasped their fists and said, "The old man is high-minded." ”

Chen Cai secretly laughed to himself, and then continued: "In view of the old master's deathbed entrustment, now my master has purchased a mansion in the county seat, ready to return to his roots, but now the huge mansion lacks some servants and guards, so I asked me to secretly choose some reliable people, I have carefully observed in recent days, and I feel that the three are of good character and intend to introduce them to my master, I wonder if the three are willing to be my master's guardians and guards?" ”

To be the guardian of the rich man Chen?

Yan Kuan and his two companions were very happy when they heard this, and hurriedly said: "To be able to be the guardian of the rich man Chen, we are naturally willing, but we are just ......."

Seeing Yan Kuan's look of being ashamed to speak, Chen Cai immediately understood, and said in a low voice: "If there are no special circumstances, the tentative monthly salary is 200 yuan, another 100 yuan for drinks, and besides, it will increase by 100 yuan a year." ”

Hearing this, Yan Kuan and his two companions made eye contact.

A monthly salary of 300 yuan per month is really a good errand for ordinary families, but for rangers, even if it is food and lodging, it may not be a high salary, after all, the escort industry sometimes needs to risk their lives.

However, considering the monthly salary of 100 yuan a year, this kind of attractive condition, Yan Kuan and his companions were really a little moved.

After exchanging glances with each other, Yan Kuan nodded happily and said, "We are willing to do it!" ”

Hearing this, Chen Cai stroked his palms and smiled: "Okay, without further ado, please let the three of you go to see my master immediately." ”

"Good!"

On the same day, Chen Cai took Yan Kuan and the three of them to the mansion newly bought by Chen Zu.

Seeing that there were craftsmen renovating the mansion, Yan Kuan and the three of them believed Chen Cai's words even more, and at the same time, the Chen family father and son were impressed.

Later, in the main house hall in the mansion, Chen Cai introduced Yan Kuan and the three to Chen Zu.

Chen Zu was the owner of a village before, of course his eyesight will not be bad, as soon as he saw Yan Kuan and the three of them, Chen Zu concluded that these three people have a lot of skills, and he was very satisfied.

He immediately officially hired Yan Kuan and the others.

When Yan Kuan and his companions happily returned to their residence to pack their bags, Chen Zu asked Chen Cai, "These three people are not bad, but have you inquired about their details?" ”

Chen Cai nodded with a smile and said, "These three people participated in the crusade against my Black Tiger Village twice last year, and they were able to survive, which shows that their skills are not small. ”

Rao is Chen Zu, he was shocked by Chen Cai's words, and he said with a smile: "Kunyang County Ya crusade against the cottage, there are only three times in total, and you dare to accept people who have participated in two crusades but can survive?" ”

Chen Cai said with a smile: "Didn't the leader say that the fourth expedition of the Kunyang County Ya is about to conquer the cottage, I thought, instead of letting these people follow Ma Gai, it is better to follow us." ”

Chen Zu glanced at Chen Cai in surprise when he heard this, then nodded and said suddenly: "Clever! No wonder Zhou Hu is optimistic about you, heh, but I'm a little troublesome here...... I have to be a little more careful. ”

About an hour later, Yan Kuan and the three of them packed up their belongings and returned to Chen Zu's mansion to surrender to the latter.

Glancing at Chen Cai, Chen Zu deliberately asked: "When the three of you were not there, Manager Chen praised me many times, I also believe that I will not look at the wrong person, I don't know if you still have good friends, you may as well recommend it to me, of course, it is best to be of good character." ”

Yan Kuan hurriedly said: "There are indeed some acquaintances, although they don't move around too much on weekdays, but Yan can guarantee that they are all good people, which are completely different from some guys who ruined my reputation as a ranger." ”

Chen Zu smiled and said, "Okay, then please ask Brother Yan to introduce you." ”

"The old man is serious, you can call me Yan Kuan."

That night, the wealthy rich man Chen simply took Yan Kuan and the three of them to the tavern on the street for a meal, which was used as a celebration, which flattered Yan Kuan and the three of them, and after a short meal, the four masters and servants became closer and closer.

In the next few days, under the recommendation of Yan Kuan, the guards in Chen Zu's mansion gradually increased, most of these people survived the fight against the Black Tiger Village, and they all had good skills.

Seeing these people, Zhang Feng, who was the housekeeper of Chen Zu's mansion, was a little weak-hearted, and said to Chen Zu in private: "You are playing with fire, if they learn your identity, you and I will both lose our lives!" ”

"What's the identity?"

Chen Zu smiled and said, "Do you think you can still go back to the village?" …… Don't think about it, I'm just telling you, Zhou Hu spent so much energy asking you and Ma Hong to change their image, and I didn't think about letting you two go back, Guo Da and Chu Jiao are in the village, and it's not your turn to worry about me, you and I just need to take care of the county. …… Isn't it more comfortable to live in a deep house compound in the county seat than in the village? ”

"That's just as well."

Zhang Feng smiled and nodded.

Living in a deep mansion compound in the county seat, once upon a time, this was something that their group of thieves could not think of.

In the past, even if they came to the county seat to inquire about the news, they were sneaky and cautious, for fear of being caught by officers and soldiers, but now, they can even greet the county officials of Kunyang County on the street.

Such a huge change really made Zhang Feng feel incredible, and it also made him admire their current big leader even more, after all, the latter had done something they couldn't even think of.

Going back to the Black Tiger Lodge, in view of the fact that Yan Kuan and other well-behaved rangers were hired by Chen Zu and had a stable source of income and food, these rangers naturally would no longer frequent in and out with the Black Tiger Lodge, at most, when they passed by the Black Tiger Lodge, they would say hello to Chen Cai and thank Chen Cai for introducing them to Chen Zu.

The 'disappearance' of these rangers naturally attracted the attention of the rest.

In the next few days, even the rangers who had caused trouble many times in the past were much more honest near the Black Tiger House, and in addition to being honest, they also licked their faces to please Chen Zu, obviously hoping that Chen Cai would find a good job for them.

It's a pity that Chen Cai ignored them.

The reason is very simple, because most of these people were 'picked' by Chen Cai, not that these people have no use value, but these people Chen Cai plans to arrange them to another place.

For example, the main village of Black Tiger Village.

For this reason, Chen Cai and Ma Hong discussed privately how to lure these people to the main village.

During this period, Chen Cai said to Ma Hong: "I can't come forward in this matter, otherwise it will affect Chen Zu and make Chen Zu suspicious, do you have anyone available......

In all fairness, in terms of the level in the village, Chen Cai is obviously inferior to Chen Zu and Ma Hong, he can call the names of the two but Chen Zu and Ma Hong are not annoyed, only Chen Cai is also Zhao Yu's henchman, although it is not yet the 'big boss' level, but everyone is only temporary, so Ma Hong naturally does not care about Chen Cai's name for him.

After listening to Chen Cai's words, Ma Hong thought deeply, Ma Hong frowned and said, "What if I come forward?" ”

Chen Cai waved his hand and said, "It's better not to." …… In the future, you will take over from me in charge of this righteous house, and it will be terrible to be recognized at that time, everyone knows that this righteous house was built by Chen Zu, and Chen Zu must not be allowed to have anything to do with the cottage. …… Of course, if it's just someone under you who 'mixes' with a few Black Tiger Village, then it doesn't matter, you just need to pretend that you don't know about it when the time comes. ”

"I see."

Ma Hong nodded, and after thinking about it, he summoned one of his thieves, patted the latter's shoulder and said to Chen Cai: "This kid is called Ding Chong, he has been with me for many years, he is loyal and clever, you see ......"

Chen Cai looked Ding Chong up and down a few times, and saw that this kid really revealed a bit of cleverness, so he nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Ma Hong put away the smile on his face, pressed Na Ding Chong's head, and said in a low voice: "Boy, I ordered you a big thing, and if you do it well, I will be rewarded." ”

As he spoke, he told Ding Chong about the decision he had discussed with Chen Cai, who nodded and agreed.

In the next few days, the people who came to eat in the Black Tiger House found that the steward Chen was gradually no longer sitting at the counter in the house, and most of the time he was either out or on the second floor, and he didn't know what he was busy with.

In view of the fact that it is becoming more and more difficult to encounter, as long as they see Chen Cai, the people who happen to be eating in the Yisha will seize the opportunity to ask Chen Cai to see if Chen Cai can help them find a stable job.

But Chen Cai shook his head every time, which made everyone gradually lose hope.

Anyway, there was no hope, and the original rangers and ruffians who pretended to be honest gradually revealed their true form, and even when they went too far, they scolded the cook for refusing to add more oil and water while eating the food of the Black Tiger Righteous House.

This kind of bastard who scolded the cook after eating naturally aroused the indignation of others, but Chen Cai's subordinates who managed the Yishe turned a blind eye to this, and only asked that people should not cause trouble in the Yishe, this strange connivance made it difficult for those indignant diners to understand.

No one can figure out why the Black Tiger Yishe would condone these bastards who don't know what to do.

On this night, several rangers who had eaten their stomachs left as usual.

However, just as they walked out of the door, a chuckle came from the side: "Wine and meat are not served in the Yishe in the first place, but if you want to eat wine and meat, it is not impossible." ”

The rangers turned their heads and found a man who appeared to be one of the officials of the House standing with his arms crossed.

This person is Ding Chong.

"Follow me."

Dropping a sentence, Ding Chong walked to an alley not far away.

Several rangers glanced at each other, and even if they followed, they relied on the strength of the crowd, and they were not afraid of what tricks this one would play.

However, it turned out that they were too worried, and after taking the rangers to the deserted alley, Ding Chong turned around, looked at the people and asked, "Are you afraid of death?" ”

"Hey, hey."

The rangers laughed, as if they were laughing at Ding Chong for asking a stupid question.

However, Ding Chong didn't care, and continued to ask, "Do you dare to kill someone?" ”

“……”

The laughter stopped abruptly, and the rangers all looked at Ding Chong with shocked faces.

I saw that Ding Chong took out a flat bamboo skewer with the thickness of chopsticks from his waist, pinched it between his two fingers and looked at a few people, and said in a low voice: "Take this token to Yingshan Mountain, there will be someone there who will answer you, as long as you join them, whether it is wine or meat, it will not be a problem." ”

One of the rangers hesitated to take the bamboo stick, but saw that the bamboo slip was engraved with the word 'tiger' in the middle, filled with black ink.

Black...... Tiger?

In the mountains?

Yingshan Black Tiger Thief?!

After they came to their senses, the rangers looked at each other, looked at Ding Chong and asked in disbelief, "You, ...... you?"

"Shh

Ding Chong made a silent gesture and said with a chuckle: "What, scared?" ”

Several rangers looked at each other and licked their lips.

Immediately, the man who took the bamboo stick put the token into his waist.