The frightened little teapot in his heart was rudely pushed into the lobby by them before he had time to salute a group of patrol officers and soldiers and Ding Yong of the Baojia Bureau.

The old bustard Lu's mother flew out as if she was flying, pinching the silk scarf in her hand, and greeted the two leaders of the officers and soldiers with a loud voice, a group of small girls and little girls, and hurriedly served tea to welcome the guests, trembling, and no one paid attention to the small teapot that was pushed aside, which made the little teapot hang a lot more stable.

Sure enough, the two leaders took a look at it, and explained their intentions, listening to the tone, it was nothing to kill a few humble beggars outside the west city, those unemployed vagrants whose lives were as cheap as dogs, killing for various reasons is not a new thing, the serious thing is that the homicide occurred on the second day of the Lunar New Year in Tongqing, and there were four deaths, and the impact was extremely bad, the governor and the patrol officer Dao Zhou Shanpei, who carried out strict reform and strict security, were very annoyed and ordered the whole city to investigate strictly, so they led their men to check one house after another.

Where does Lu's mother not know that the two ringleaders are taking the opportunity to blackmail? This kind of thing, I don't know how many times I have experienced it for decades, she first scolded which one killed a thousand knives for the New Year to provoke such a heart-stopping thing, and then asked the two leaders for warmth, and understood the hardships and difficulties of the two leaders and the soldiers very intimately, and finally pinched the hand of the orchid finger and waved, and the second housekeeper who stood beside him immediately entered the inner hall, and soon brought a sandalwood tray, on which were two silver dollars wrapped in red paper, each of which was ten oceans.

The two leaders were also polite, then each grabbed a cylinder of silver dollars, thanked them with a smile on their faces, shouted a few times, and led a group of men away.

The little teapot followed him out, and when he saw that the officers and soldiers didn't care about the teahouse at the entrance of the alley, he continued to walk to several other Jiyuan inside, and his heart finally let go completely.

At this point, how could he not know that these patrol officers and soldiers and Ding Yong of the Armor Protection Bureau were not here to investigate the case at all, but to take the opportunity to blackmail, no wonder their reputation was so stinky.

In particular, under the determined reform of Zhou Shanpei, the police elite of this dynasty, three years ago, the Baojia Bureau has been renamed the Patrol Police Bureau, but four years have passed, the people still do not call them policemen, they still call them Ding Yong of the Baojia Bureau, every time the government recruits police officers with great fanfare, few people sign up, which shows how deep the grievances in the hearts of the people are.

Mother Lu's smiling face had turned into a helpless lament, she sat cross-legged on the Taishi chair to welcome the guests, cursing in a low voice, saying that all the yamen and bureaus were clear about what filial piety to Qian Nian, but there was still such a thing during the New Year, and it was impossible to pass the clouds.

The little teapot took the opportunity to sneak into the backyard, quietly entered her sister's room, talked to her sister who was practicing pipa for a while, made a fuss, and returned to the teahouse with a few bags of delicious pastries left by her sister.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, after the officers and soldiers tossed for a long time, there was no follow-up, and the whole city was still lively and jubilant.

In these years, there is a rare happy time, no one wants to find themselves unhappy in the New Year, the officials don't care about a few beggars who died outside the West City, there are a lot of rumors in the neighborhood, such as ** vendetta, beggar gang infighting, digging graves to dig up treasures to attract murder and other rumors are very marketable, a murder case of four people killed, seems to have become entertainment news.

In the past few days, the little teapot has not been idle, every day to spend half a day wandering around the lively places in the city, and understand the world with heart, especially the major antique shops, jewelry stores, bookstores, and foreign companies, the small teapot understands more and more things, and a few days down, there are more than 20 exquisite thread-bound books in his room.

On the evening of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Ma Pole came to the teahouse, returned the axe and kitchen knife, and told his eldest brother all kinds of news that Lian Yue had heard.

When the little teapot heard that those homeless women and children were dispersed by the patrol officers and soldiers investigating the case and Ding Yong of the Baojia Bureau, he was helpless and quietly returned to live in the purple bamboo forest, and his mood was as heavy as a hemp pole. He knew very well in his heart that in such a cold midwinter, those ragged and penniless women and children had no other place to live except to return to this murderous place where "bloody and haunted night and night", and to live was the only choice for these people who were as cheap as ants, and it was also their instinctive reaction.

The little teapot knew the meaning of what Ma Pole said, this second brother who was abandoned by his relatives since he was a child, suffered a lot, and seemed to be ruthless and deceitful, in fact, he was very kind in his heart, three months ago, he was also one of those women and children in the purple bamboo forest, his mood The little teapot could understand, but he would never dare to lend a helping hand at this time.

After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, the little teapot suggested that the hemp rod quietly send a hundred copper plates, and the others took one step at a time, and carefully sailed the ship of ten thousand years.

After successfully taking revenge and obtaining a large number of antiques and silver, Ma Pole was completely convinced of the little teapot's cunning and strategy, and without saying a word, he agreed to come down completely, and before leaving, he persuaded the little teapot again to quit his work in the teahouse, move to the rented courtyard, and live together, and then the four brothers lived together and did business together.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the teahouse finally resumed business, but the kind-hearted shopkeeper Deng was embarrassed, his mother-in-law brought two little nephews from his hometown this time, and said that he would follow him to learn to do business, but in fact, he wanted him to feed, and the shopkeeper Deng could only stuff the two boys into the teahouse, but the teahouse did not need so many people.

What made the shopkeeper Deng feel even more annoyed was that in the days when he went home for the New Year, the small teapot cleaned the inside and outside of the teahouse and arranged it in an orderly manner, and the two square tables with missing legs and more than a dozen broken chairs in the utility room were all repaired and sturdy, and they were moved back to the lobby on the first floor, but the small teapot did not say a word of praise.

In the face of such a diligent and sensible guy, Shopkeeper Deng really couldn't bear to dismiss, after all, the little teapot has been working in the teahouse for almost four years, and people have feelings! However, if he wanted to quit one of the other five young and experienced tea doctors and one of the two master chefs in charge of refreshments in the kitchen, Shopkeeper Deng would not be able to make up his mind.

Seeing that the Lantern Festival was approaching, just when the shopkeeper Deng was distressed, the little teapot who was as careful as a hair and had already seen the clues from it took the initiative to resign, with a very humble attitude, and the words were full of gratitude, which made the shopkeeper Deng's eyes red, guilty, and gritted his teeth to compensate the little teapot for three months' wages.

The little teapot respectfully accepted it, but did not leave immediately, but dutifully worked until the teahouse closed, and then took his own little baggage and quietly left through the back door.

When Shopkeeper Deng walked to the utility room in the backyard and wanted to say a few last words to the little teapot, the little teapot was gone.

Shopkeeper Deng looked at the spacious and neat room after vacating the old things, and looked at the large pile of old newspapers and brushes and inkstones neatly stacked on the repaired square table, and his heart was sad, and his nose was sour

On the night of the Lantern Festival, in an ordinary courtyard in the east of the schoolyard in the north of the city, it was full of joy and lively.

Twenty or so children ran over with homemade lanterns in their hands, laughing and laughing, and seven women between thirty and fifty years old with vegetables on their faces changed into new clothes, and suddenly happiness filled their hearts, although they were restrained and cowering when they cooked and served, but at this moment their eyes were shining with hope.

The little teapot that returned from sending a gift to Sister Yi, as soon as he walked into the yard, he was infected by a group of crazy children, although he and the hemp pole brought all the suffering women and children in the purple bamboo forest to live together, taking a huge risk, but he did not regret it at all, he longed for equality and freedom more than anyone else, and he was more persistent in pursuing the right to survive than anyone else, and he never thought that he was doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, and he was giving alms.

Two months ago, he, like everyone in this courtyard, did not have the slightest superior capital, and now he enjoys a relatively wealthy life, which is completely based on blood, so he thinks that he is equal in personality like everyone in the courtyard.

"Little brother, have a cup of tea first, and then start the banquet when the third and fourth children arrive."

Ma Pole took two large bags of dim sum with a spring breeze on his face: "You buy osmanthus cake again, don't spoil this group of boys...... Fourth sister, you can take these two packs of osmanthus cake and divide it. ”

The little teapot took the tea from the hands of the fourth sister who was in her thirties and had a slight appearance, nodded, and turned to the hemp pole: "The place to live has been arranged?" ”

"Okay, the east and west wings of the back are all built into bunks, the men live in the east, and the women live in the west, so that there are two utility rooms vacant, which are spacious enough. There are three beds in the west side room, the fourth sister and a few of them live, I live in the east side room with the third child, there is a small study room in the main room, which is left to you, the fourth child comes over from time to time, let him live with you, you two Xiucai live in a room is just right. ”

Ma Zhu was in a very good mood, and he spoke more neatly than usual, and the whole person seemed much more cheerful.

Thinking about the little teapot, there was no problem, the two chatted for a while, Wu San and Luo Fat arrived one after another, and the sumptuous Lantern Festival dinner officially began.

The woman and the children were reluctant to move the table to the main hall no matter how much they persuaded them, and insisted on eating in the back room, but the small teapot was really unbearable, so they had to give up, and the four brothers sat down, ate and drank, and began to discuss business only after they were half full of wine and food.

The little teapot first explained the fact that he and Ma Gong reported their household registration and rented a shop near the Wenshu Monastery Market to drive a car after the New Year, and then asked the three brothers to discuss how to set the rules of the car dealership.

As soon as the conversation began, it was lively, and the four brothers waited until the second half of the night to have a score, and at this time the little teapot was so tired that his eyelids were fighting.

The next morning, Wu San and Luo Fat went to the area of Wenshu Monastery to find a shop as planned, changed into the best clothes and shoes for small teapots and hemp sticks, and went to the Yueben Foreign Store on Gulou North Street to find out the price of rickshaws.

The intersection of Gulou North Street and Martyrs' Shrine Street, belongs to the relatively prosperous commercial area of Chengdu City at this time, "Tsukasa Yuan Co., Ltd." is located in the northeast of the crossroads, the two-storey Chinese-style brick building is quite imposing, the façade is wide, there are fifteen or sixteen meters, here was originally owned by the local Zhou surname rich gentry, but the Zhou family failed to invest in the mine, and the Zhou family father and son were addicted to opium, and finally had to sell the real estate, moved to the south of the city and steal a living, the building changed hands several times, fell into the hands of the Oriental businessman Tsukasa Genjiro.

Three years ago, Tsukasa Yuan with his mother-in-law, 17-year-old son and three male and female employees, left Shanghai, came to Chengdu to open up the market, his family business is very different from the locals and other foreigners, polite, industrious and humble, very attentive to familiar guests, often anxious to sell goods on credit, so in Chengdu and the surrounding areas have a good reputation, and now has become Chengdu and even the whole Sichuan famous businessmen.

At this time, just after the Lantern Festival, the merchants were not willing to leave the warm home, and the Tsukasa Yuan family sold hardware accessories, machinery and equipment, and the business bank that undertook bulk import and export business had no guests, and the pedestrians passing by the door of the business house were endless.

The little teapot and hemp pole raised their legs inside, and immediately a guy in a black kimono stepped forward to greet him, nodding his head, which made the little teapot feel a little proud of the uncle.

When Xiao Er, who came from the shop, heard the little teapot say that he wanted to buy ten rickshaws, his face changed, and he immediately respectfully invited the little teapot and the two of them to sit down and drink tea at the reception place on the left, bowed and apologized again, and trotted to the paper-paste wooden lattice wall on the north side, knelt on the mat respectfully, and said a series of words.

The hemp pole was very surprised, pulled the sleeve of the small teapot, and asked, "This guy is crazy and talking to the wall?" ”

"Don't talk nonsense, this is the custom of the Orientals, it's not a wall, it's a movable sliding door, it is estimated that the boss is inside, the number of Oriental cars we want is not small, and the guy doesn't dare to call the shots." The little teapot explained in a low voice.

As soon as the little teapot finished speaking, the wide sliding door slowly opened, and a short middle-aged man wearing a plain black kimono and a pair of gold-wire glasses walked out, skillfully put on the clogs next to the mat, walked quickly to the two of them, and bowed respectfully to the small teapot that stood up politely.

"If you are disappointed, please bear with me! I, Genjiro Tsukasa, am very happy to serve these two gentlemen. ”

The little teapot hurriedly returned the salute: "Don't dare to be, Mr. Tsukasa Gen is polite!" No matter how old or strong, you are the gentleman, and we are just two young people who have just learned to do business. My surname is Xiao, this is my good brother, surnamed Ma, please take care of Mr. Tsukasa in the future! ”

Tsukagen Tsukagen's eyes behind the lenses sparkled, and the little teapot was young and talked extraordinary, which surprised him, and he guessed that the young man in front of him must have received a good education, so he was more polite in tone, and after inviting the two of them to sit down, he personally poured tea for them, and after the little teapot took a sip, he politely asked:

"Mr. Xiao, do you want to buy ten rickshaws at a time?"

"It's ten, and if the price is right, we can afford it, maybe we will buy more." The teapot replied unequivocally.

Tsukasa Yuan said with a smile: "Although Mr. Xiao is young, but his vision and ambition make me extremely admired, Chengdu currently only has a family rickshaw shop opened by Mr. Chen in the south of the city, and only eight cars are in operation, far from meeting the travel needs of the local people, Mr. Xiao keenly sees the business opportunities, very remarkable!"

"It is estimated that Mr. Xiao has already learned in detail about the selling price of our rickshaw before, I wonder if Mr. Xiao thinks our products and prices are appropriate?"

"It's not quite right."

The little teapot did not beat around the bush, and directly expressed his opinion: "Let's not talk about the quality, just say the current price of rickshaws in Shanghai, I saw a few advertisements in the Shanghai "Times" half a month ago, saying that the price of the native rickshaw is 135 yuan, and the price of the rickshaw produced by Shanghai 'Shenhong Machinery Factory' is 115 yuan, and the price difference is not small.

"I admit that the quality of the native rickshaw is better, but the price is too high, and Mr. Tsukasa Yuan's price is higher, 170 yuan, even if the freight is added, it shouldn't be so high!"

When Tsukagen heard the criticism of the little teapot, he didn't care, and still had an amiable smile:

"Mr. Xiao is reasonable, it is our fault, we did not announce the price reduction of the rickshaw in time, and please bear with Mr. Xiao, if Mr. Xiao wants to buy the high-quality rickshaw we produce at a price of 135 yuan, I am afraid it is also difficult to do, in addition to freight, we as a dealer also need a certain profit, and also need to pay taxes on your political axe, I am talking about the additional tax levied by the local political axe, can Mr. Xiao understand?"

The little teapot nodded: "I understand this, although I also know that there is a difference in purchase price between dealers and retailers, but I believe Mr. Tsukayuan's statement, after all, it is the first contact, and I also want to leave a good impression on Mr. Tsukayuan, maybe there will be many opportunities for us to cooperate in the future."

"Mr. Tsukamoto, I know that I am young, I have little experience in business, and I don't have such a good demeanor and cultivation as you, but I am telling the truth."

Tsukasa Yuan's old face flushed: "Mr. Xiao's words make me quite embarrassed, so please Mr. Xiao say an acceptable price, as long as I can afford it, I will definitely do my best." ”

"One hundred and forty-five yuan a car, is that okay?" The small teapot directly said the reserve price in his heart.

"This price is too low, I need to think about it......" Tsukagen hesitated, frowned and thought for a while, and saw that the teacup in front of the small teapot and hemp stem was empty, and hurriedly picked up the teapot and poured tea for them again.

Seeing this, the little teapot shook his head slightly, stood up and politely said goodbye:

"Then don't bother Mr. Tsukasa Yuan, Mr. is a senior in the business world, and has a very high reputation in Chengdu, I am just an unknown little character, I shouldn't have said anything, but only from the rickshaw point of view, this product is too profitable, which is incompatible with the slogan of 'goodwill in a strip of water' posted at the door of Mr.

"I'm not afraid to tell Mr. Roberting that I have ordered five rickshaws from Mr. Roberton's British comptoir a few years ago, at a price of one hundred and fifty yuan, and the rickshaws assembled in Shanghai with British parts are of very good quality, and they are twenty centimeters wider than those produced in Shanghai, and the diameter of the horizontal axis is two millimeters more. Sorry, farewell! ”

Tsukagen stared blankly at the small teapot and the two walked out of the store, feeling very unbelievable in his heart, and he was also worried when he thought about it, and he didn't see that the two friends inside had come to him.

"Tsukasa Gen-kun, what's wrong with you?"

The middle-aged man, who also wore glasses and looked polite, asked with a smile.

On the other side, a tall middle-aged man in a suit smiled and said, "Is it because of that young man just now?" The young man was a little knowledgeable, and I could vaguely hear some shopping mall strategies from his words, which was good! ”

"Xiong Jun, Dan Jun, let you see the smile, but I don't think the young man's words are just a ploy, my intuition tells me that what he said is likely to be true, after all, the British have great ambitions for the commodity market in Chengdu and even the whole of Sichuan, and they have been eager to try it a few years ago, and it is bound to win, so I am very worried that what the young man said is true."

Tsukagen sighed, shook his head, and invited the two Chinese friends back to the inner hall to sit down again.

The middle-aged man surnamed Dan looked at his friend surnamed Xiong on the other side of the low table: "Brother Kewu, I think that young man just now is quite interesting, the development of our Sichuan Alliance is too slow, we should recruit such a knowledgeable young man." ”

Xiong Kewu smiled: "Nugang, do you know who that young man was just now?" Where do you live? Is there a revolutionary consciousness? It's too child's fun for you to want to recruit him with just a few words, what if that person is an official son who hates the revolution and our alliance? ”

But Nu Gang scratched his head embarrassedly: "That's right, it seems that I'm too eager." ”

Genjiro Tsukasa raised his eyebrows and smiled: "But Jun and Xiong-kun, caution should be deserved, after all, the two of you shoulder the heavy trust of Mr. Nakayama!" However, the young man just now should not be the son of an official eunuch, from his demeanor, words and other aspects, he will not be born in a family of eunuchs, he is likely to have received an advanced education, and I believe that he said that his cooperation with the Englishman Luo Baiting is not a lie, because I heard some rumors half a month ago, if I guessed correctly, this young man is the person who successfully sold a Han Dynasty jade pendant to Luo Baiting, further analysis, this young man has money in his hands, and he also has his own unique ideas, maybe he will succeed soon. ”

Xiong Kewu and Dan Nugang were both stunned, but they didn't expect Genjiro Tsukasa, who had been in the business world for more than 20 years and was highly respected by Mr. Nakayama, to have such a high opinion of the young man who had just left, and the curiosity in his heart became stronger and stronger.

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