Han Xiufeng asked for a sky-high price, and Wang Yuli and Huang Zhiji wanted to sit on the ground and pay back.

Han Xiufeng insisted that Zhang Guangcheng wanted the silver, he was just a messenger, but Zhang Guangcheng put on a businesslike posture to "thank the guests behind closed doors", and did not even give a chance to bargain. Han Chen thought he was unlucky and was willing to pay 5,000 taels to buy peace, Wang Yuli and Huang Zhiji had no choice but to grit their teeth and agree.

The silver was about to be delivered before noon on the third day of the first lunar month, Wang Yuli and Huang Zhiji did not dare to delay for a moment, and rushed back overnight to raise silver. Before leaving, he persuaded Han Chen, who was also going to return to the corner slope field, and asked Han Chen to stay in Hai'an for a few more days.

As for Han Chen's five thousand taels, they will help raise them after they go back, and they will send someone to help them on the mat tomorrow, and they will return it after the matter is completed. Han Chen knew that they were worried that Zhang Guangcheng would not do anything after taking the money, so he pretended to weigh it and reluctantly agreed to stay.

I didn't sleep well on Chinese New Year's Eve, and I didn't sleep when I was busy checking smuggling salt the night before, and Han Xiufeng really couldn't bear it, and he couldn't open his eyes.

Han Chen knew that he hadn't slept well in the past few days, and proposed to talk about his hometown friendship tomorrow. Han Xiufeng was not hypocritical, he went to look at the guest room that he had just cleaned up for Han Chen, and after confirming that the bedding was still clean, he went back to the room to wash his feet and rest.

In the past few days of the Chinese New Year, the people of the town have to set off firecrackers early in the morning.

Han Xiufeng was too tired and sleepy, he was not woken up by the deafening sound of firecrackers in the morning of the third year of junior high school, but was woken up by Zhang Shiheng.

Isn't it just for this moment that Han Xiufeng was sleepy, he immediately put on his clothes and washed, and walked quickly to the signing room on the left side of the second hall, only to see that there were four more large wooden boxes with copper bars in the room, and the two family members of the salt officials respectfully guarded the wooden boxes, and bowed down when they saw Han Xiufeng.

"Master Han, it's the New Year, the money houses in the salt field are all closed, and my lord can't raise so many silver tickets for a while, so he can only scrape together two thousand three hundred taels of silver overnight." Wang Yuli's family opened the wooden box, pointed to the neatly arranged silver ingots in the box, and took out a stack of silver tickets from his arms: "This is the silver tickets of Tianbao Silver House and Yongsheng Qianzhuang, a total of 2,700 taels." You may not know it when you first arrive, but Ambassador Han must know, these two have semicolons in Taizhou and Yangzhou, and you can cash out the silver ticket to Taizhou or Yangzhou. ”

"Master Han, this is my master's."

……

It's about whether their lord will lose his official position, Han Xiufeng believes that they don't dare to use tide silver or fake silver tickets to make up the numbers, he glanced back at Han Chen, who was sitting in the corner drinking tea, and asked unhappily: "Did your lord say when he left last night that he would help Ambassador Han's share on the mat, what about Ambassador Han's share?" ”

"Master Han, my lord agreed, but I didn't expect the money village to be closed, you and Ambassador Han are fellow villagers, can you think of a way to help be accommodating."

"Master Han, my lord really didn't want to lie to you, my lord is not unable to take out the silver, all the silver money of our Fu'an Salt Division is stored in the Qianzhuang to make profits, the Qianzhuang is closed, the shopkeeper has returned to Yangzhou, and I can't find anyone for a while, I really can't help it!"

"Why are you guys doing things like this!" Han Chen was anxious, got up suddenly, and said: "I believe in your master so much, but your master misunderstands me like this, the matter is not over, why do you want to cross the river and tear down the bridge?" ”

"Ambassador Han, the conscience of heaven and earth, my lord really didn't want to harm you, but he really won't be able to raise that much for a while."

"Forget it, I'll figure it out on my own. Help me bring a letter to your master, and say that I Han Chen will do it, but after doing it, they have to give me an explanation. ”

"This is natural, Ambassador Han, my lord said that he will definitely come to your door to make amends when the matter is done."

……

Sending away the families of the two salt officials, Han Xiufeng asked Pan Er and Yu Youfu to come in and weigh one thousand taels of silver and put them aside, and asked the two to carry the remaining three thousand taels into the inner house, and then counted a stack of silver tickets and gently rested them in front of Han Chen.

"Zhixing, what are you doing?"

"Ill-gotten gains, those who see them have a share, and if you didn't help sing this double reed, they wouldn't bleed so easily."

"What's so embarrassing!"

"You and I are fellow villagers, so what's so embarrassing." Han Xiufeng forced the two thousand taels of silver ticket into Han Chen's hand, and looked at the one thousand taels of silver on the side and said with a smile: "That one belongs to Second Young Master Zhang, and under his guise to ask for silver, you can't not share it with him at all." ”

As long as Zhang Guangcheng collects the silver, it will be confirmed that all the silver is for Zhang Guangcheng's housekeeper. As for how much Zhang Guangcheng received, it doesn't matter, because this is not something that can be put on the table to confront.

Thinking that even if those two salt officials and colleagues hated each other, they would only hate Zhang Guangcheng, Han Chen couldn't help laughing and said, "Atmospheric, smart!" ”

"What's the atmosphere, it's impossible to talk about Gao Ming. I'm not afraid of Brother Yu's jokes, this is a thousand taels of white silver, and my annual official salary and incorruptible silver are only how much, if it weren't for this matter, I would really be reluctant to give him so much. ”

"It's good to give him a thousand taels, at least he is steady."

The two of them were sighing that the family of the ambassador of the salt department of the tea field had arrived, and all the tickets sent this time were silver tickets, Han Xiufeng accepted them unceremoniously, and vowed that his master would not have to worry about it anymore.

10,000 taels of silver arrived, and the happiest were Pan Er and Yu Youfu.

Looking at the two large wooden boxes of white silver, Pan Er muttered: "Uncle Yu, although my family runs a pawnshop, I have never seen so much cash until today!" ”

"Now I know the ability of the four children, the surname Fang did the inspection for three days and two birthdays, which made the heavens angry and resentful, but he didn't make a few dollars. Since the fourth baby took office, he has not had a birthday, but he has not made less money, so being an official is also a science. ”

"Really, I'll do the same when I become a Shangguan in the future!"

Thinking that Xu Lequn was locked in the class room outside, and calculating the time, Second Young Master Zhang should also come to the yamen from the post shop, Yu Youfu slammed the wooden box: "There are still a lot of things outside, hurry up and lock the box." ”

"Uncle Yu, is it appropriate to put so much silver here?"

"If you don't put it here and there, even if you want to dig a pit and hide it, it's too late, lock the box first, then lock the door, and then ask the four children what to do when they finish their business."

"That's all there is to it."

The two locked the box, walked out, locked the door, and confirmed that the doors and windows were very tight, and then returned to the front yard, but instead of waiting for Second Young Master Zhang, they waited for Wang Ruhai.

"What's this?" Pan Er looked at the package in Wang Ruhai's arms and asked.

"Mr. Su asked Pu Ding to bring a book from Taizhou to Master Han, and there is a letter."

"I'll send it in, you go back and serve Second Young Master Zhang."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you."

Pan Er didn't say that he wanted Su Jueming to do some useless things, first brought a bad stomach from Fu'an Field Xu Lequn, and now spent money to buy a bunch of useless books.

Han Xiufeng opened the package and glanced at the book, and then opened the letter in front of him and Han Chen, and after reading it, he couldn't help laughing: "This book is well bought, this silver is not in vain." ”

"Young master, why don't you have a white flower?"

"What do you know, this "New Edition of the History of the Yuan Dynasty" was researched and compiled by Master Wei Yuan Wei of Gaoyou Zhizhou, that is, it was just published a year ago, and this set of "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom" is also a masterpiece of Master Wei. As far as I know, Master Wei is not only from Jinshi, but also a friend of the late Lord Lin Zexu Lin. Everyone else buys Master Wei's masterpiece, how can we not buy it? ”

Han Xiufeng put down the letter and picked up a book, and sighed while flipping through it: "I have heard of "Atlas of the Sea Kingdom", and it is all written by foreigners. When I was in the capital, I heard Master Ji say that this is a strange book, it turns out that the world is not Kyushu and eight wildernesses, nor is it a round place, my Qing Dynasty is not even the center of the Celestial Empire, this world is actually five continents, four oceans. ”

Han Chen took it and looked at it for a while, then raised his head and said, "Yizhi's long technique three: one battleship, two firearms, and three methods of raising soldiers and training soldiers...... This is a book of soldiers. ”

"No matter what book you look back on, you have to take a closer look, foreigners are fierce, not those thieves who commit rebellion. It is said that there are many foreigners in Shanghai County, and people must have near-term worries if they have no long-term concerns, and we can't afford not to guard against it. ”

"Zhixing, I didn't expect you to have such ambition!"

"What's the ambition, I just don't think I can be a frog at the bottom of the well. If a foreigner calls one day, if we know ourselves and the other, we will know what to do. ”

"Foreigners won't fight us here, foreigners are ghostly, they will definitely go to the capital to find the emperor if they want silver."

"That's right, what's the use of looking for us, even if they put their foreign guns and foreign guns in front of us, they can't look down on our little silver."

While the two were chatting, Zhang Shiheng hurriedly walked in, bowed down and said, "Uncle Han, Ambassador Han, Li Xiucai is here, and as soon as he comes, he will go to the class room to find Xu Lequn." Closed door, sneaky, I don't know what I'm talking to Xu Lequn. ”

"Regardless of Xu Lequn and the people behind Xu Lequn asking for silver, what else can he say besides these, no matter what he is, let him go, don't inquire."

"Yes."

Han Chen asked curiously, "Zhixing, did you say that those chambers of commerce in Fu'an are in order?" ”

"The wicked still need the wicked to grind, and those businessmen who are rich and secure for others will not easily pay for money, but when they meet Li Xiucai, they can only bleed honestly, which is related to the lives of hundreds of people in several families, they dare not gamble, let alone gamble." Han Xiufeng thought for a while, and then said: "What's more, this is not just a matter of those businessmen, but also a matter of Huang Zhiji, if the Bao family doesn't agree to Zhang Guangcheng's conditions, wouldn't his five thousand taels be spent in vain?" ”

Han Chen reacted suddenly: "Yes, yes, yes, I almost forgot about this stubble, even if those merchants in Fu'an dare to bet, they don't dare to offend Huang Zhiji, if Huang Zhiji didn't guess wrong, even if he didn't go to Bao's house at this time, he would send someone to pass Bao Daijie to the Yamen of the Salt Division for questioning." ”