Seven things to open the door, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea.

As soon as Zhang Guangcheng accompanied Su Jueming and Yu Sangu out to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt, Xiao Wuzi arrived with two Confucian students wearing Qingbu robes. One is Wu Guangxing, the shopkeeper of the Shanghai branch of "Rishengchang", and the other is Wu Quan, the bookkeeper of Rishengchang, that is, Xiao Wuzi's cousin.

As soon as the two of them entered the door, they were about to bow down, Han Xiufeng hurriedly supported him, and while signaling Ren Yu'er to hurry up and make tea, he smiled and said: "Few people know about Xiufeng's coming here, so you don't need to be polite." ”

"Master Han, don't worry, Xiao Wuzi has already told me, and we have also received Lao Yang's letter, your business is the business of the trumpet, and we will never leak out the news of your coming here."

"It's bothersome for the two of you."

Han Xiufeng didn't want to and didn't need to go around in circles with them, took out the bill of exchange from his inner pocket, and handed it over with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wu, Mr. Wu, there is a letter from Shopkeeper Yang of Taizhou Branch, and Xiao Wuzi testifies, these 45,000 taels of silver don't need Xiufeng to wait for seven days." ”

Wu Guangxing took the bill of exchange with both hands, looked at it carefully, and then put down the bill of exchange and said, "Master Han, what are you talking about, you are busy with official business, how dare Wu let you wait." It's too late today, and it may not be able to catch up tomorrow morning, but it's cash in tomorrow afternoon, what do you think? ”

"Master Han, this is more than 40,000 taels, there are really not so many on the counter for a while, can you give the trumpet half a day?" Wood asked.

"I'm not in a hurry for a day or two, it's just that I don't want to cash in silver, but I want to exchange silver dollars, the kind of silver dollars used by foreigners."

"If it's three or five thousand taels, you can redeem it, but this is more than forty thousand taels, and the trumpet is really not that much for a while, Master Han, can you give the trumpet three days?"

"Didn't you just say it, don't rush for a day or two."

"Master Xie Han is considerate, I'll do it as soon as I get back."

"Then ...... this money order"

"You collect it first, and then send you the silver dollar in three days, and then you give the bill of exchange to Wu."

"Okay, then I'll take it first."

Wu Guangxing not only knew that the person in front of him was here to buy a gun, but also knew that the person in front of him was going back to Sichuan after buying a gun, and couldn't help asking: "Master Han, what are your plans next?" Wu has been in Shanghai for seven years, and he knows a few people more or less. ”

Han Xiufeng was waiting for this sentence, looked at him with a smile and asked, "Shopkeeper Wu, do you usually deal with foreign companies?" ”

"It's not a secret, there are a lot of customers for the trumpet, but there are not many dealings with foreign businessmen, but the compradors and generals of foreign companies know a few."

"Is there anything reliable?"

"Master Han, no matter how reliable and reliable are those people who work for foreigners? It's not that Wu is saying bad things behind people's backs, those compradors are all mercenary, and each one is more slippery than the other. ”

Han Xiufeng groaned: "The world is bustling, and it is all for profit. The world is crowded, all for profit. There is nothing to be mercenary, the key is to be proficient in foreign languages and to be able to do things. As for the money, why not let him earn some. ”

Wu Guangxing couldn't help laughing and said: "There are such people, if Master Han can trust Wu, Wu can introduce one." ”

"This is annoying to the shopkeeper Wu." Han Xiufeng looked up at Xiao Wuzi, who was standing on the side and waiting, and then said: "I just want to ask the two of you about something, Xiufeng will go back to Sichuan after finishing this matter, but I don't know how to go back to Sichuan." ”

Wu Guangxing couldn't figure out why the person in front of him wanted to resign, and subconsciously looked up at Xiao Wuzi, and said helplessly: "Master Han, Xiao Wuzi also told Wu about this, in Wu's opinion, if you want to go back to Sichuan, you can only go to Tianjin Wei by sea, and it is safest to return to Sichuan through Zhili, Shanxi, and Shaanxi." The road back to Sichuan via Guangxi and Guizhou is not only not easy, but also not very peaceful. ”

Han Xiufeng thought that going to sea was dangerous, but now whether he walked from the north or from the south, he had to take a sea boat, and couldn't help laughing: "Since the south is not very peaceful, then take the sea route to Tianjin Wei after finishing the work, just to help you two send Xiao Wuzi to the capital, and I also happen to go back to Beijing to have a look." ”

"Fourth master, what are you talking about, I'll give you almost the same." Xiao Wuzi hurriedly said.

"Yes, Master Han is really joking."

"Okay, no kidding, let's get down to business. We are new to the city, and we are not familiar with the place, and we have to work hard to hire a ship. ”

"Master Han can rest assured that the directors of the Shipping Industry Association are almost all customers."

"Then I have a friend who has just made up for the Confucian teachings of Jiading County School, and I don't know if he has arrived, nor do I know if things will go smoothly here, and I don't know how many days he will stay in Shanghai. If things go smoothly here, naturally they won't stay here for long, and when the time comes, they can only entrust the family of that friend to the two of them. ”

At the mention of Jiading, Wu Guangxing was stunned, and Xiao Wuzi's cousin Wu Dequan also flashed a look of surprise, Han Xiufeng realized that they had something to say, so he turned back quietly and said: "Yu'er, when Jueming and the third aunt went out, they didn't know that Shopkeeper Wu and Mr. Wu would come, you go out with the big head to look for them, see if they are nearby, if they are, let them buy some wine and food." ”

When a visitor comes, you can't leave someone to eat.

Ren Yu'er reacted and hurriedly said a blessing: "Okay, I'll go now." ”

Watching her walk out of the flower hall, Han Xiufeng asked in a low voice: "Shopkeeper Wu, Mr. Wu, what's wrong with Jiading, is it not peaceful?" ”

Shopkeeper Wu didn't answer the question, but asked solemnly: "Master Han, this young lady just now is the family of your friend?" ”

"My friend's surname is Ren, and this young lady just now is the daughter-in-law of Ren's family."

"Why did your friend go to Jiading at this time?" Shopkeeper Wu put down the teacup and said with a bitter face: "I guess you also saw it when you entered the city, there are many sea fishing notices posted at the gate of the city, and the fugitives on those notices are all thieves from Jiading. ”

"If it's a thief, where is it?"

"Master Han doesn't know that these thieves in Jiading are different from thieves in other places, so let's put it this way, they are similar to committing chaos."

"Committing a mess?" Han Xiufeng asked in surprise.

Shopkeeper Wu nodded and explained: "It is said that three months ago, there was a Jiading man from Chen Mujin and Xu Yao from Nanxiang, who gathered more than 200 idle people to go to the Nanxiang Immortal Master Temple, worship brothers with the monks, and set up more than 20 tables. Because there were more than 500 members of his party, they formed an alliance called the Arhat Party according to the saying of '500 Arhats', and ran rampant in Nanxiang Town, fighting and killing people with weapons, and doing all kinds of evil. ”

"Does Jiading Zhengtang know?" Han Xiufeng asked with a frown.

"Chen Mujin gathered a group of henchmen to rob the house of Wang Zhi, and Xu Yao gathered another group of henchmen to rob Nanxiang's Dade Temple, and beat the host of Dade Temple in public, can the government know? As soon as Feng Han of the Jiading Zhengtang received the report, he sent someone to lock the two people and bring them to justice, seized the original stolen goods, and banned Chen Mujin, Xu Yao and the monks of the Xianshi Temple, locked them in a wooden cage and displayed them in front of the county government. ”

"And then?"

"Cutting the grass does not remove the roots, and the results can be imagined. Chen Mujin and Xu Yao were captured, and they also confessed to the crime, but their henchmen were still there. On the third day of the first month of last month, hundreds of villagers gathered and armed into the county seat, not only robbing Chen, Xu and other prisoners, but also releasing the prisoners in the county jail, smashing the county government office, and robbing the money in the county treasury. It wasn't until Qiao Songnian, the prefect of Songjiang, who had just arrived a few days ago, that he ordered Zheng Yangjing to act as the governor of Jiading County. ”

Han Xiufeng thought that he dared to rob prisoners and rob the county government, this was a rebellion, and asked: "Has that Zheng Yangjing arrived, what is the situation in Jiading now?" ”

"It seems that he has arrived, and it is said that those leaders of the Luohan Party were also scared at first, rescued Chen Mujin and Xu Yao, and ran away after smashing and looting the county government. Later, Feng Han did not return to Jiading for a long time, and the imperial court did not send Xinzhi County, so on the 14th, he gathered six or seven hundred henchmen to enter the city and asked for some money from the pawnshops in the city. ”

Shopkeeper Wu thought for a while, and then said: "They didn't dare to stay in the city for a long time, they left the city after the extortion, and after two days they saw that it was still fine. It wasn't until the capture hall showed that they retreated. ”

Han Xiufeng muttered: "So they don't have the courage to make trouble, they are just a bunch of bandits." ”

"Almost." Shopkeeper Wu and Wu Quanquan glanced at each other, and said with a wry smile: "It is said that Chen Mujin and Xu Yao knew that they had committed a serious crime, and fled back to Nanxiang to tell those villagers who took advantage of the fire to rob that if they took advantage of the fire, there would be officers and soldiers to lock and get it, and if they didn't think of a way, they would have no way to live." colluded with the ruffians of Nanxiang and entangled more than 1,000 people everywhere.

Someone saw that Chen Mujin had come to Shanghai a few days ago and was looking for Li Xianyun and Li Shaoxi to join the club. Li Xianyun and Li Shaoxi not only agreed to let them join the association, but also went to Nanxiang Temple with them, slaughtered pigs and sheep, sacrificed flags and feasted and drank, and made an alliance of blood, called Qixin, known as the Three Knife Society, and even clamored to rob large households, from Jiading to Taicang, and robbed all the way to Jiangning to join Changmao! ”

"Who are Li Xianyun and Li Shaoxi, and what kind of meeting did Chen Mujin come to Shanghai to find the two of them?"

Li Xianyun is a director of the Quanzhang Association in Xing'an, and Li Shaoxi is a director of the Jiaying Prefecture Office in Guangdong. Master Han, you can't believe it, 'Selling Chicken Shuang' clearly knew that these two people were in collusion with the Heaven and Earth Society, and they also entangled a group of homeless people who came here from Fujian and Guangdong to escort opium and tobacco for a living! ”

"Isn't this a family of officials and bandits, and there is no distinction between officials and bandits?"

"Master Han, if you don't believe it, you will know if you go into the city to take a look, and Shanghai is so chaotic now."

Before coming, Han Xiufeng couldn't have imagined that Songjiang Mansion would be in chaos like this, so he was silent for a moment and looked up and asked: "Shopkeeper Wu, you just said that the new Songjiang prefect's surname is Qiao, and his name is Qiao Songnian, is he a fellow villager with you?" ”

"Master Han, how do you know?" Shopkeeper Wu was surprised.

Han Xiufeng thought about it, and couldn't help laughing: "This name sounds familiar, if I remember correctly, he should be a Jinshi in the fifteenth year of Daoguang, but unfortunately he was not selected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, but directly taught the director of the Ministry of Engineering. I met a few times when I was in the capital, but I didn't expect him to be released to Jiangsu and become the prefect of Songjiang. ”

"Master Han, you really know Futai!"

"Not only do I know Qiao Futai, but I also know Qiao Futai's father," thinking of those things when he was the head of the guild hall in the capital, Han Xiufeng said like a few treasures: "Qiao Futai was born in a family of eunuchs, and his grandfather was a man in the Qianlong period, and the official went to Hubei to be an envoy. The current father is actually the heir father, the name Bangxian, and one of my fellow villagers happens to be the same year as the Daoguang 13th year exam, not only the same room examiner, but also the same science and road, my fellow villager is now the Huguang Dao superintendent of the imperial history, and Qiao Futai's heir father is now in the criminal department, you say it is not a coincidence. ”

"So you've seen Futai?"

"I've seen it a few times," Han Xiufeng thought about it and sighed: "The father and son are two jinshi, and the title of the gold list is only three years apart, which is a beautiful talk in the capital." By the way, Qiao Futai's biological father is also amazing, it seems that he once served as a governor, and he can't remember where he did it for a while. ”

If you want to talk about Jinshi, there are many Jinshi in the capital.

The Qiao Futai who is talking about it, the title of the nineteen-year-old gold list, was indeed beautiful at that time, but after being distributed to the Ministry of Industry, his reputation gradually became insignificant. "Rishengchang" in the capital is full of princes and ministers, how can he go to a minister of the Ministry of Industry who has no power and no one even sends Bing Jing Tanjing, so although he is a fellow villager, he has no friendship.

Thinking of the person in front of him who actually recognized Qiao Songnian, Shopkeeper Wu asked eagerly: "Master Han, you and Qiao Futai are also old acquaintances in a foreign country, do you plan to visit Songjiang, do you plan to go to Qiao Futai to catch up with the old days?" ”

Han Xiufeng sighed lightly: "I didn't plan to alarm him, but Jiading is not peaceful now, and my friend is going to Jiading to be a school official again, so it seems that I have to write a letter to Qiao Futai to see if Qiao Futai can help and change my friend on an errand." ”

"Master Han, Songjiang is not far from here, I think you should go there in person for such a big event."

"I should go for help, but I have my own errand. Otherwise, I'll write a letter first, and I'll ask you to send someone to deliver it for me. When this side is done, I'll go to Songjiang to pay a visit. ”

"That's fine."

"Rishengchang" is not those pawnshops and money dealers, they like to do yamen business, how can Han Xiufeng not know what the shopkeeper Wu thinks, and help people to the end, Ren Yaen's affairs can't just be ignored, otherwise if something really happens, there will be no way to explain to Ren Yu'er and Yu Sangu at that time, so simply let the shopkeeper Wu and Wu Quan wait, get up to get a pen and paper, and write a letter to Qiao Songnian, the new prefect of Songjiang, in front of the two.

Just wrote it and stamped it with a private seal, dried the ink, folded it and stuffed it into an envelope, and handed it to them along with the letter that Ren Yu'er had helped to Guo Peilin before. Then take out a blank military department survey and fill it in, and ask them to take it to the city by the way, and hand it over to the post shop with a letter to Guo Peilin, Su Jueming and Datou They came back.

"What about Guangsheng, why are you alone?" Han Xiufeng asked subconsciously.

"Fourth Master, he went to look for Master Pan outside the Xiaodong Gate, otherwise Master Pan wouldn't know that we live here."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Han Xiufeng motioned for them to hurry up and cook rice, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Wu, Mr. Wu, the wine and food have been bought, let's have a light meal together." ”

Shopkeeper Wu was in a hurry to get the new prefect of Songjiang, and Wood was going back to raise silver dollars, so how could he have the time to eat and drink here, so he hurriedly bowed down and declined. Han Xiufeng knew that they were busy, and he didn't force them to stay, so he sent the two out of the flower hall.

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