Songjiang Cao Gang, Degao Hall.

Ruohan, who was dressed in men's clothes, faced a group of old decayers, and talked eloquently, like a bamboo: "In the final analysis, Suzhou City belongs to those people, not me!" Ruohan clapped his hands and said very firmly: "When the mess is still cleaned up by those people, we must release the hoarded rice at a low price, or even for free!" He said with great confidence: "I am very responsible to say that if you don't want to help, you won't be able to sell even 100,000 yuan of your 200,000 stone grain by May!" ”

All the old men changed their faces, and they whispered one after another, they felt that Ruohan was right, once the people were in turmoil, the big households would definitely want to release grain, and then the price of grain would definitely fall sharply.

Feeling the change in the direction of the wind, Master Long San couldn't hold back a little on his face, coughed a few times, stopped the crowd of people who were scratching, squinted at Ruohan and said: "Madame is so sharp-toothed, even if what you say can come true, it will be in May, and we won't dispose of the grain in April?" Saying that, Gu Pan Zixiong said: "There are tens of thousands of brothers in this gang and more than 1,000 ships, and you can transport these 200,000 stone grains to various prefectures and counties in Susong at the same time, and if you distribute them at the same time, you may not be able to earn millions of taels!" ”

This is purely a pole raising, not to mention Ma Wu, even those old men who have always been the third master of Weilong are looking at the horse, they all blushed, and said in their hearts: 'Why is the third master so messing around? ’

Ruohan didn't care, only to see her raise her willow eyebrows, and said with a faint smile: "Then dare to ask the third master, why haven't you sold it until now?" ”

"Is this ......" Old Man Long San said with a red face: "I didn't want to sell it before, but now I want to sell it again, anyway, it's our grain, can you manage it?" ”

"Then let's talk about it again, and now sell grain." Ruohan said clearly: "If your gang can really outperform the price, sell the rice before the price is reduced, and earn 1.8 million taels." He said with a smile: "With so much grain on the market, how can you suppress the price of grain by two or three percent, that can be regarded as helping my master, and the little woman is here to thank the third master." ”

"Well said, well said." Master Long San smiled dryly: "Since everyone is happy, then let's do it." ”

"How can everyone be happy?" Ruohan's voice raised slightly: "If those grains enter the market according to your old method, it will be like adding a scoop of water to a pot that is about to boil, and it will only delay the boiling time - as long as there is no salary from the bottom of the kettle and the conspiracy of those bad people is foiled, the price will rise!" He said and asked with an inquiring face: "Let me ask the old man, when the rice is shipped in July, how are you going to make a difference?" ”

"Uh......" Master Long San was completely choked, the transportation cannot be delayed, but the Grand Canal has not been dredged for decades, and it is very silted, but the ships coming and going on the river are several times more than at the beginning of the country, so it naturally takes a lot of time on the road. If you wait until the new rice is collected and then shipped, the daylily will be delayed.

Therefore, the Cao Gang stored enough grain in advance and shipped it two months in advance, in other words, the grain and grass sent in each period were saved last time, and in this way, it can also be handed over.

The idea of Master Long San is to sell at a high price first, and then take advantage of the fact that the price of grain is lowered by a large number of shipments, and then buy at a low price, so that you can earn the difference, and it is also a very good idea to not delay.

But his wishful thinking must be based on the premise that grain prices will drop sharply, and if grain prices are really as Ruohan said, they will rise after a slight decline, then he will not be able to steal chickens and rice.

The third master of Long came down from time to time, and said in his heart, why was he forced into a corner by a little daughter-in-law?

He was in an embarrassment here, and Ma Wu, who had not intervened on the side, suddenly asked: "According to what Mrs. Shen said, if we sell rice to you, we can't buy low-priced rice, so won't we be able to pay the same price?" He found that the other party's 500,000 taels of silver was actually not very interesting, and he couldn't help but feel a little lost.

Shen Mo and Ruohan glanced at each other, then laughed and patted Ma Wu's arm and said, "Fifth Master, from beginning to end, did you say that you were going to buy those grains?" ”

"And the 500,000 taels of silver?" Ma Wuye thought about it, it was really like this, people really didn't say that they wanted to buy rice, they proposed it to them...... However, one party pays money, and one side pays rice, is this different from buying and selling? Ma Wu couldn't help but be a little confused.

I only heard Shen Mo explain his doubts for him: "Brother, I just want to borrow the grain from our Cao Gang, and when it starts in July, I will return it as it is, and a grain of rice will be a lot of yours." You send it directly from Suzhou City to Yanjing, and you save some distance! ”

"Huh?" Ma Wuye didn't expect Shen Mo's request to be so low, and said in surprise: "How can this be done?" ”

"Why not?" Shen Mo smiled: "Later, we will draw up a contract, write this matter down in black and white, and I will sign and seal it." When the time comes, if something goes wrong, you just have to take it and explain it to Cao Du, and I will bear the responsibility, and I have nothing to do with your Cao Gang! ”

"How could I not believe it......" Ma Wuye was once again moved by silence.

But before the words fell, he was interrupted by the third master of Long San: "Oh, why didn't the adults say it earlier?" Let's spend all this spit," he said, pushing Ma Wu and said: "Xiao Wu, go to the front and draw up a contract with the adults, and then entertain Lord Shen on behalf of us old people!" ”

Ma Wu felt that he was really not a son of man like this, so he hesitated and remained silent, but said silently but boldly: "This contract is necessary, and the fifth master still has to take the Cao Gang as the most important!" "Let him say all the beautiful words.

Ma Wu felt even more panicked, glanced at the third master of Long and said, "Hey, third uncle, we will lose people today." ”

Master Long San was also panicked, waved his hand and said, "You can do the rest of the matter, you don't need to ask us old fools." ”

Hearing that the old man was a little uncontrollable on his face, if he only planned to make a hammer deal, of course he didn't have to worry about him, but Shen Mo had a long-term plan, and knew that he couldn't be quick for a while, so he hurriedly arched his hand and said: "We are one yard to one yard, how to talk about things, if the friendship is broken, it will be worth the loss." Saying that, he pretended to be stern and said to Ruohan: "Don't make amends to the third master!" ”

Ruohan stuck out his tongue, and said timidly to the third master of Longsan, "The little woman has long hair and short knowledge, and she has not yet opened the door on her mouth, so I will compensate you." ”

Master Long San cried and laughed: "You don't have long hair and short knowledge, you have long hair and longer knowledge." Said and exclaimed: "It's really a woman who doesn't let me have eyebrows, Lord Shen, only such a good couple can be worthy of you!" "He's an old man in his seventies and eighties, if he can't get along with a little girl, then it really makes people laugh and lose his big teeth.

There is a saying that 'people respect me for a foot, I respect people for a foot', and the husband and wife of the family have made amends to him, so why not respect him? Therefore, the third master of Long San was exhausted, and he also compensated the two of them, and repeatedly told Ma Wu to treat Lord Shen and his wife well, obviously he had been convinced.

The three of them said goodbye to Master Long San and the others, left the Degao Hall, and when they returned to the Cao Bang Hall, they saw that a sumptuous feast had been placed.

Ma Wuye invited Lord Shen and his wife to the table, and said silently: "Let's bookmark the appointment first." ”

"If it were someone else, it would definitely have to be signed." Ma Wuye shook his head and said, "But Lord Shen, you don't need it, unless you don't treat me as a brother!" ”

"One yard to one yard......" Before Shen Mo finished speaking, he was stopped by Ma Wuye and said: "I believe you Shen Shuyan, not a person who knows the Suzhou Mansion, in my Ma Wu's opinion, your words are more effective than the big red seal of Nalao Shizi!" ”

When the words were all spoken, Shen Mo nodded solemnly and said: "If I am silent and break my promise a little, people and gods will abandon it, and five thunders will hit the top!" ”

"Isn't that the end of it?" Ma Wuye laughed loudly and pulled Shen Mo into the seat, and also beckoned Ruohan and said, "Brother and sister, sit down quickly." Saying that, he introduced the two of them: "There is really nothing to entertain, but they are all our own dishes, and they can't be eaten elsewhere, so let's make it fresh." ”

The two of them looked at the dazzling array of large round tables, in addition to the cold dishes of the countryside, there were more dishes unique to the Cao Gang, such as oysters are baked with eggs, large meat slices are stewed in jars, Ma Jiao is mixed with parsley, and the most distinctive thing is the fat intestines of the man, he has never seen that kind of cutting, when he first saw it, he thought it was bamboo shoots. Eat a chopstick to feel the smooth taste of fat intestines.

The deal is negotiated, the mood is comfortable and tight, the couple has a big appetite, eating in the gang has this benefit, the more you eat, the more happy the owner, and you will definitely not feel that you are not enough Sven or anything.

However, what surprised Shen Mo was that Ruohan's favorite was the specially fried stinky tofu made by the Cao Gang, but it was called 'Bean Ren Piaoxiang', although he was still grateful and insensitive, but seeing Ruohan seemed to pick up a chopstick every once in a while, he obviously liked it very much.

Seeing that the guests were eating very happily, Ma Wuye was very happy and asked, "The taste is still good?" ”

"It's so delicious!" Shen Mo and his wife nodded together in praise, and said with a silent smile: "I will definitely bother the fifth master a lot in the future." ”

"If adults often come to enjoy the light, what do we can't ask for?" Ma Wu laughed and said, "Maybe you can also beat the reputation of Caobang cuisine!" "Later, because Ruohan likes to eat the 'bean kernel fragrance', Shen Mo took her to visit often, as his fame grew, imitating his food, clothing, housing and transportation has become a fashion in high society, and it really made this Cao Bang dish that was originally only circulated in the gang famous, and the people all flocked to it!

With the footprints of the children of the Cao Gang all over the country, the Cao Bang restaurants have also opened all over the two capitals and 13 provinces, and even the Ben, Nanyang, and New World...... Of course, that's an afterthought.

Because Shen Mo still had important things to do, Ma Wu didn't persuade him to drink, just let him have fun, but ate happily. After the wine and food were full, the dining table was removed, the next person served fragrant tea, and after sitting down for a while, the two of them were just about to say goodbye, but they heard Ma Wuye say: "There is one more matter." ”

The two had to sit down again, and saw him take out the cowhide bag from his arms, point out ten silver tickets, and then put the remaining forty back into the bag, handed it to Shen Mo and said: "This 100,000 taels of silver is borrowed by my brother, and I will definitely repay you with interest in the future, even if I can't finish it in this life, in the next life, in the next life, it will be paid off in a hundred years." ”

What is this for? Don't want to play with me anymore? Wouldn't my pretentiousness be in vain? Then he pushed the bag back and said: "If you say it's for you, it's for you, unless you don't recognize my brother, Hugh will say the word 'return'!" ”

Hearing him say this, Ma Wuye felt even more that he had not seen the wrong person, and hurriedly explained: "Brother, you don't know, the iron rules of my Cao gang are not allowed to take advantage of others, and you must not be greedy for people's property. If the 500,000 taels of silver were obtained from buying rice, of course I would be able to bear it with peace of mind, but now I will only lend it to you for a few days. Even if it's rent, you don't need to pay 10,000 taels of silver, right? ”

I saw him laugh with a self-deprecating smile: "If it weren't for the fact that the contemptible gang really needed money to save their lives, I would never have accepted this money with a clear conscience!" Saying that, he said resolutely: "If it is borrowed, I can still make it cheeky, but if you give it for nothing, our Cao Gang will starve to death, and we will not be able to eat this white food." ”

"Anyway, I don't want to," I have to admit that Silence's ability to adapt to the environment is very amazing, and after only coming to the Cao Gang for a long time, he began to speak with a gangster: "If you don't want to, help me light the fire." ”

"I can't ask for it." Ma Wu also stubbornly struck.

Seeing that the two sides did not give in to each other for this kind of thing, Ruohan was secretly funny, and when his heart turned, he thought of a good idea, and said crisply: "The little girl has an idea, can the two masters listen to it." ”

"Speak!" Said silently.

"Brother and sister, please speak." Ma Wu also said.

"What about the money? My father-in-law will definitely not take it back. Ruohan said to Ma Wudao, and then to Shen Mo: "But the fifth master doesn't want it either, and he can't argue with him." Let's count this money as an investment to the Cao Gang for the future opening of the city in Suzhou - when the two sides join forces, you will contribute, we will contribute money and help contact the market, the shares will be counted as fifty-five points, and the profits will be divided into fifty-fifty shares, how about it? ”

"Okay!" Ma Wu immediately applauded: "This idea is so good! He knows very well that if there is no help from the Shen Mo couple, even if the future car and horse shop is opened, it is still a big question whether he can make money, so that the two sides will form a common interest, and he will not worry that Shen Mo, the boss of the city, will not help, and will not worry that Mrs. Shen, a business genius, will not be satisfied, and will be rich in the future!

Seeing that he was overjoyed, he nodded silently and said, "Then let's do it?" Said with a smile: "Don't you need to discuss this with the back?" ”

"You don't need to ask about this," Ma Wu also shook his head and smiled: "The third uncle has already said that I will look at the rest of the matter, so there will be no more objections." He said with some hesitation: "It's just 500,000 taels of silver, enough to drive ten or eight big carts and horses, and you only account for half of the shares, which is really unreasonable...... Otherwise, three or seven points. ”

"Five-five is five-five." Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: "I actually make a lot of money, don't believe you and see, as long as this thing can be done, I will be able to return to my capital in a few years, dare to bet with me?" He knew that Wuwubo was the most suitable, because if his proportion was too large, it would make the Cao Gang feel that he was a vassal, which was like eating a fly for a super big gang, even if he reluctantly accepted it.

"That'...... That's it? Ma Wuye was reluctant to be hypocritical with Shen Mo, if the share was less, he would really not be able to explain, so he no longer objected: "I have to take care of the virtuous couple more." ”

"Your own business," said with a smile in silence, "Do you still need to be instructed?" ”

Seeing that it was not early, the two of them got up and said goodbye, Ma Wuqiang wanted to stay overnight, and said with a silent smile: "Next time, I'm in a race against time now, and I can't stop for a moment, don't look at it now, I still have to visit your prefect." ”

"Then I can only do it next time...... Ma Wu said regretfully, "I still want to ask the adults for advice." ”

"There's going to be a chance." Shen Mo smiled: "When the fifth master is not busy, go to Suzhou to talk about it for a while, let's talk slowly, just talk carefully." ”

Ma Wu said happily: "Zhong, I will go as soon as possible." He sent the two of them out to the door, and said: "The grain will start to be loaded tonight, let's help our own dock, don't worry about safety, when the adults say when they will be sent, they will be sent." ”

After saying goodbye to Ma Wuye, the silence after getting into the car obviously felt relieved, with the 200,000 stone grain, the noose around his neck could finally be loosened.

At sunset, on the carriage, he lay on his wife's lap with great relaxation, and laughed softly: "In order to clean up those bastards, I am actually ready to suffer today." He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to turn an abandoned son into a wonderful chess, and you are indeed a genius who turns decay into magic." ”

Ruohan gently rubbed his temples for him and whispered, "Don't you blame me for making my own decisions and not consulting you?" ”

"How so?" He closed his eyes silently and comfortably, and muttered, "It's good to have you......"

(To be continued)