"Recheck the ticket stub." Ruoxue turned her head and shouted to several gentlemen who were settling accounts.

Wei Quanbao took the remaining Tai Chi ball into his arms, sat behind the long case and lit up the box of ticket stubs, and looked through them one by one very carefully.

Mei Zhiyuan and Mei Zhigao picked up the two ticket stubs, and couldn't help but gasp, they only looked at the numbers on them, one was 30,000 taels, and the other was 12,000 taels, that is, they were fraudulently claimed more than 40,000 taels of silver twice.

This is more than the dividends they shared at the end of the year, who is so bold that they actually made fake ticket stubs to cheat their money.

"Where do you see it's fake? Why can't I see it? Mei Zhigao said.

Ruohong took it and looked at it over and over again, and she didn't know how this kind of ticket had an anti-counterfeiting logo, how to see whether it was true or fake, she raised her head and looked at Ruoxue who was pacing back and forth.

Ruoxue stopped her somewhat eager steps, reached out and pulled the fake ticket stub from Ruohong's hand, and looked at it carefully.

Ruohong approached her and tilted her head, "How can you tell the real from the fake?" She said.

Ruoxue pointed out to her the pattern above, it was a monster that looked like a tiger but not a tiger, like a cat but not a cat, "Really there are nineteen beards here, and seven eyebrows, and the two tickets are not right......"

"Found another ......"

Someone on Wei Quanbao's side shouted again, and he grabbed it to take a look, "Eight thousand taels." ”

Lianxin took it and handed it to Ruoxue, it was another fake ticket.

Mei Zhiyuan took one from Ruoxue's hand, and focused on the beard and eyebrows on the pattern, and the eyebrows could be seen to be five, and the beard couldn't be seen at all.

Mei Zhigao also came over to take a look, Mei Zhiyuan simply stuffed it into his hand and asked him to take a good look at it, he walked to the side of the long case and stretched out his hand to take a real ticket, looked at it again and again, and didn't see clearly where there was a nineteen beard.

Master Mei Zhi hurriedly took it and looked at the ticket stub in a circle, "Five and a half eyebrows, twenty-one beards." He said.

"What?" Mei Zhiyuan snatched it up, and also turned the ticket stub around and looked at it two or three times, but still didn't see anything.

"There won't be another 10,000 taels, right?" Mei Zhigao said.

Sure enough, a ticket stub of 10,000 taels was found soon after, so it seems that the people who used fake silver tickets to exchange for silver were also gradual, increasing the amount of exchange again and again to exchange for silver.

I checked it again and didn't find a fifth fake ticket.

"Sixty thousand taels, twelve boxes." Ruohong said.

Ruoxue glanced at her sister who was speaking, and shouted at a few guards standing by the wall: "Qiu Lin......"

A twenty-seven or eighteen-year-old guard with a rough appearance walked out and came to Ruoxue and bowed slightly, "Miss, please command." He said.

"Send people to the city gates to check and see which direction the waves of people are pulling a dozen boxes out of the city. The finer the better. Ruoxue commanded with a solemn face.

Qiu Lin clenched his fists and bowed, "Yes." Then he turned and went out to instruct someone to investigate.

Mei Zhigao lazily tilted his chair and said, "I guess I've been out of the city a long time ago." ”

"Maybe it's still in the city."

"Maybe."

……

Li Tao accompanied his grandmother to dinner, sitting on the big kang and playing with dominoes, although his grandmother couldn't see them, she liked to touch them.

While playing, Li Tao told the old lady about the interesting things that happened outside, no matter how big or small, or things in the market or officialdom, as long as Li Tao saw and knew it, he would tell his grandmother, just as she could see it.

When the old lady heard that Mei's shop was being squeezed, she asked why.

Li Tao did not say that he borrowed the Mei family's silver, but as a result, the ship he and others went to sea to do business was robbed, so someone would go to the Mei family to exchange the silver.

Li Tao only said that someone borrowed their family's silver, and there was a problem in doing business, and somehow it spread into Jinling City, which caused a run on the people in the city.

"The world is not easy! ……”

The old lady touched the domino in her hand and rubbed her fingers against the figure on it, "Seven ropes." As he spoke, he threw his cards on a few pieces.

"Don't."

Li Tao closed his eyes and reached out to touch one, fumbled for a while, dropped it and said, "Grandmother, do you want 30,000?" ”

"I don't want ......"

Qingzhu, the maid next to the old lady, took a card and put it in her hand, and the old lady touched it and lost it, "Flatbread." She said.

"Eat."

Li Tao reached out to catch the card before it landed on a few pieces.

"Thirty thousand."

"Bump."

"Why didn't you touch the 30,000 just now? Are you at odds? Li Tao said.

"Not with. This is the last 30,000 tickets, and if you don't touch it, it's gone. ”

The old lady picked up one on the side of the kang and threw it out, "A cake." She said.

"What's the matter with another piece of bread?"

As if he didn't believe it, Li Tao leaned over and looked at it, retracted his body and sat down, and reached out to touch the cards on the kang table.

So Li Tao gossiped and played with the old lady for nearly an hour, watching the maid serve her to sleep before withdrawing.

Back in the study, "Is there any news?" Li Tao asked hurriedly.

Wan Yun bowed and replied: "Half an hour ago, a carrier pigeon came back, and my subordinates took a look first, and there was a crew member on the sixth master's side who was rescued by the ship that went out to look for pirates."

It is said that he already knows where the bandits are hiding, but it is just that the bandits are hiding, and there are many small islands and reefs that block the movement of ships, and it is difficult to attack. ”

Wan Yun said as he took out a roll of paper from his sleeve pocket, took a step forward and presented it to Li Tao with both hands, bowed back and stood two steps back.

Li Tao looked at it and gave it to Wan Yun again, and with a snort, he punched the long case, and after a ping pong sound, the book case was broken in half, and the pen, ink, paper, inkstone and other items on it were scattered all over the ground.

"Damn!"

He walked back and forth in the house a few times before he stopped, "Send a message to the sixth child and ask him to snatch the boat back, no matter what method is used." He said.

Wan Yun solemnly clenched his fists and bowed, and said in a sonorous voice: "Yes, my subordinates will write a letter." Then he turned and went out.

Li Tao paced around the room twice, sat down on a mahogany chair under the window, and patted the coffee table next to him, he didn't care about the ships and the goods on board, what he cared about was the piece of paper in Mei Ruoxue's hand, the deed.

Li Tao didn't want to go to the Mei family to be a slave, that was to discredit the Jin Zhang Palace, he must not go to the Mei family to be a servant, and this matter could not be spread, let alone spread to the capital.

"Lord Shizi."

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and a maid in a pea-green dress came in, bowed down and said, "Master, the hot water is ready, please go to the private room to bathe." ”

Li Tao got up and walked outside, and the maid took two steps back to the side, waiting for Li Tao to go out before following out.

After two teas, Wan Yun went to the window of Li Tao's bedroom and coughed lightly, "Master, Mr. Jin, please go and have a look." He said.

The door opened, and two beautiful maids stood on both sides of the door, and Li Tao walked out in a moon-white bedclothes, with a ribbon to tie his hair, describing laziness and looking like he had fallen asleep.

"He knows what those things are for."

"Yes, go check it out."

"Let's go."

Li Tao strode out with his long legs, and Wan Yun followed him slowly, heading in the direction of the guest house.

A maid saw that people were walking away, and knew that they couldn't hear it anymore, so she said, "I don't know what's the big deal, I don't even let the prince sleep when he sleeps." ”

"Toshiba, you're talking too much, be careful of being heard." The other maid stared at her and lectured her a lesson.

Toshiba rolled his eyes and said disdainfully: "As long as the prince doesn't hear it, who dares to say anything about us." He looked at her again, "Manjuan, it's you, hurry back to the kang, be careful that you're sick again." ”

Manjuan stretched out his hand and patted her, "You can't say anything nice in your little mouth, curse me every day, and you'll be fine if I die." ”

"Don't be careful, I'm willing to curse you, go back quickly." Toshiba pushed her into the house, and she stood in the doorway waiting for Li Tao to return.

When he entered the house, Li Tao saw the house on the round table in the house.

"It's ......"

"It's good-looking, what kind of person thought of such an exquisite house, I must meet ......"

The man who spoke was an old man of about fifty years of age, sitting on the edge of the table, wearing a gray-brown cotton robe, his gray and sparse hair tied to the top of his head with a wooden hairpin, his face was slightly yellow, and his eyes were bright, shrewd and cunning.

Mr. Jin came here for less than a month, and when he saw the two drawings and a few pieces of wood, the size of the drawings was a little wrong because the size was not stated on the drawings, and they were very loosely put together.

He studied for five or six days, re-made a few pieces by himself, and after putting them together, he couldn't see what they were, and he felt that he might have done less.

It took a few days of work, another twenty or thirty yuan, and two days to put the house together.

Li Tao circled around the table, on which were several houses of different lengths, unpainted small wooden planks were put together, and they looked tightly together, but I didn't know what the use of such a small house was, "What's the use of such a house?" and no one can live. He spoke his mind.

"I know you don't know!"

Mr. Jin looked at him with a look of why you are so stupid, "If you think of it as a big house, think about it, a few pre-made planks can be built into a house, so there are many benefits, alas...... Don't move......"

With a bang, a house more than a foot long was touched by the curious Li Tao and collapsed loosely.

"This is what you call a good house? If you dare to live in it, I will give you a hundred taels of silver. Li Tao said jokingly, sat down in the chair, and looked at Mr. Jin narrowly.

"One hundred taels?!"

Mr. Jin blew the beard on his mouth, which means that you are a prince, how can you take a hundred taels.

The corners of Li Tao's mouth hooked, and he smiled cleverly: "One hundred taels is a lot, when you are stoned to death by such a house, one hundred taels is enough to buy you a coffin." ”

"You ......" Mr. Jin blew his beard and glared at him, when it came to bickering, he was really not the opponent of the prince, only dry staring.

Wan Yun took two steps forward and said, "Master, my subordinates think that such a house can be built at any time by finding a place, which is incomparable to other houses." ”

Li Tao thoughtfully raised his right hand, stroked his forehead, wiped his eyebrows at the corners of his eyes with his index finger, and after a while he said, "Then you say, what does the eldest lady of the Mei family want such a house for?" ”

Wan Yun was at a loss and didn't know how to answer, how did he know what Miss Mei wanted this kind of house to do, could it be that it was convenient to move, and the house could be moved.

No, no, if it's moving, isn't it much more convenient to bring money with you than to bring a house?!

"Not only is it easier to build, but it can also be moved and used for the army camp......," he said.

"She's going to rebel against ......"

Li Tao stood up suddenly, and slowly sat back in the chair, how dare she rebel? He turned his head to look at the small house on the table again.

Mr. Jin was so frightened by his actions that he jumped up, "Rebellion, which one wants to rebel?" He turned his head to look at Wan Yun and asked him with his eyes what kind of person was going to rebel.

"Miss Mei."

The next day, when Ruoxue got up, she felt a little unwell, so she asked Lianxin to cook her a medicinal tea to explain the table, and drink it when she went out later, and Ruohong went to Tian's to say goodbye.

Tian also knew that there was a run on the money village, and asked Ruoxue worriedly, Ruoxue only said that she could rest assured that the Mei family had a huge family business, and this little wind and waves could not overturn the big ship of the Mei family.

Tian Shi let go of what she said and didn't ask, she has been busy taking care of Aunt Zhou's diet recently, and she has to ask about meals and refreshments every day, which carefully makes Ruoxue jealous.

Aunt Zhou has passed the dangerous period of the first three months, that is, some time ago, morning sickness was more severe, although it was dark all day long, but she was still very happy in her heart.

Now it is much better, every day my wife will come to see her, and the maids and servants of the family are very respectful when they see her.

Even when the eldest lady saw her, she would shout "auntie", and she used to call her when she met, but she was called with her surname, which was not a little respectful.

When she was three months pregnant, Tian told Mrs. Cao and the family about it, but she concealed the doctor's diagnosis that it was a boy.

This is also to protect the child in her womb, Aunt Zhou has no objection to this approach, she knows that the child in her womb is the future head of the Mei family, and everything must be cautious.

This is like the crown prince of the royal family, although noble, he is also the one who is most likely to be murdered.

Aunt Zhou's pregnancy is tantamount to a thunderbolt in Mei's house, some people are happy and some are worried, the happy people are naturally Sister Ruoxue, and Miss Sixth Ruolan, she is also very much looking forward to the baby in Aunt Zhou's belly, hoping to see the child as soon as possible.

Mei's family has not had children for many years, and her older brothers and sisters have seen children, but she has never seen children.

Although Mrs. Cao is also very happy, she is not very looking forward to this being a boy, a concubine born to an aunt, no matter how much she can't compare to her eldest grandson Mei Zhiyuan, although Mei Zhiyuan is not from the long house, but he is the first male in the new generation of the Mei family.

The expectations of the family for Mei Zhiyuan are far greater than those of other children.

ps：

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