“……”

"Wait, Lord." Qin Long pointed to the rosewood-faced Bingjian, "Have you counted?" This Bingjian is indeed big, but no matter how big it is, it can't fit more than 200 stone bricks. ”

"Isn't there a beech ice book next to it? Fill each ice book with 15 bricks, and base the outermost layer of ice, and you send both ice books over. ”

"Wait, Lord. There is only one Bingjian next door, why should we send two over? ”

Ye Fuliu's clear and bright black eyes turned around, stared at Qin Long up and down for a moment, and sighed.

"Tell me, Steward. Do you think the big business of 100 taels of gold is worth it for us to buy one get one free and give back to the big customers? ”

Qin Long: "...... Worth. ”

The four deafening words of "buy one get one free" completely suppressed Qin Long. Qin Long sensed the talent gap between himself and the lady in charge of business, silently shut his mouth, turned around and walked in the direction of the cobblestone path where the bricks were buried in the backyard.

After walking more than a dozen steps, his footsteps suddenly stopped.

Wait, send ice to the big customers, why do you want to fill the ice cubes with stone bricks? What kind of profiteer method is this that he doesn't know about??

Ye Fuliu told behind him, "Remember to send the two Bingjian to the wooden building." ”

——

Wei Huan sat alone in the courtyard admiring the moon.

The small town near the river has a small population and even fewer permanent residents. Most of the people who walked by hurriedly on the road were merchants who passed by here to rest.

Heaven and earth are boundless, and people are like ants, and they can simply cut off their ties with the past by moving from one nest to one nest.

Since he came to Jiangnan and lived in seclusion in a riverside town, his mood is as calm as an ancient well without waves.

During his illness, he could not move around, and he often sat in the study for a day. No one knew him in the town, there was nothing for him to think about, he didn't have to think about anything, he didn't think about anything.

The heart is like a mirror, where to stir up dust. Living in isolation and without waves in the ancient well for a long time, the Lingtai is like a bronze mirror that has not been wiped from time to time, and the surface is dusty, and the image reflected is distorted. The bustling and noisy Jiangnan world has nothing to do with him, and the occasional flashes of light are all fragments of the past.

But lately, somehow, he sometimes wants to come out and sit in the courtyard. Light the old copper lamp next to you, sit under the bright light and shadow, enjoy the moonlight, and listen to the cicadas.

The little lady next door called him again on the wall.

For some reason, I insisted on sending Bingjian over tonight.

Wei Huan took a sip of mung bean and lily soup. He was a speculative person, and he could tell the unusual in just a few lines of dialogue.

Everything in the world has its own way, and there is always common sense that can be followed. For example, a young lady who is in the business of stealing from her family does not like many people at home, and she only has two cronies by her side.

Even if she is energetic and not afraid of trouble, she will never like to open the door of her home, throw a banquet to welcome guests, and ask for trouble.

Therefore, Wei Huan asked more. "Tomorrow your mansion will hold a feast, what kind of guests will be feasting? What a celebration is it? ”

Under the courtyard wall next door, Ye Fuliu finished eating a piece of iced melon, and wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

"It's not a happy event, and it's not me who feasts. I'm just lending a day's house to Master Shen. ”

She briefly talked about the causes and consequences of Shen Liqiang's borrowing of the Ye family's mansion to hold a banquet.

Wei Huan slowly scooped up the mung bean soup, drinking and listening.

Where is the restaurant not allowed to hold banquets?

In the name of the magistrate, the house of the little lady who was not out of the pavilion was requisitioned to hold a banquet, and the businessman surnamed Shen had other intentions. Either take the opportunity to come to the door to entangle, or look for an opportunity to make trouble in public.

This person is not allowed to stay. It's better to find an opportunity to deal with it silently......

"Speaking of which," Ye Fuliu suddenly remembered something, and asked through the wall, "The family rushed to make two Bingjian, and the wood was not enough." Last time, I heard you mention that the Wei family has extra wood, can you borrow some of it? I want four or five thin wooden sheets, how long are ......" She thought about Shen Li's height, "Eight feet." Eight-foot-long planks of wood. ”

Wei Huan paused as he scooped the sweet soup, remembered the Hu Mazi buried at the bottom of the pit in the middle of the night, and smiled. It seems that he doesn't need to do anything.

"There are a lot of planks piled up in the firewood room, and when Wei Da is empty, ask him to send them to you."

"Hey, thank you!"

Ye Fuliu bent his eyes and thanked him. Wei Sanlangjun is really a cheerful person!

"I have iced melons here, sweet and crunchy. When Qin Long sends Bingjian, he will also send a melon by the way. You can taste it, and see if you can taste the sweetness. ”

Chapter 25

The next day coincided with one of the 24 solar terms, the great heat.

Before dawn, someone shouted at the door, Su Qiu answered the door with sleepy eyes, it turned out that the Shen family had set up ten tables in the restaurant, and the store sent the tables, chairs, dishes, chopsticks and other things early.

In the spacious front yard, more than a dozen shopkeepers poured in, and after more than half an hour, they set up the pergola, set up all kinds of drinks, and prepared the ten tables of noodles and utensils, and left.

The genius was bright, and he left here, and Shen Li led seven or eight cronies into the door.

He didn't say anything when he entered the door, and led people around.

The people brought by the Shen family today are all veterans of the caravan for many years, and they have been instructed by the lord to pay special attention to the areas under the fence and corridors, the corners and corners, these areas that are easy to hide, and one of them squatting on the ground, carefully checking which piece of land has been newly turned over.

"The earth all over the courtyard has been turned over." The cronies who squatted on the ground and inspected for a long time whispered, "There are a few traces that are wrong, obviously digging a deep pit!" There's something buried under the courtyard! ”

Shen Li smiled firmly.

There are all kinds of relief patterns of people, flowers and birds on the Han bricks, and the characteristics are obvious, and people who know how to do it can recognize it at a glance, but it is impossible to put it on the bright side, and it must be hidden in the depths.

As long as the things are still in the boundary of the Ye family's mansion, or, in the mezzanine. Or, bury it underground.

Recently, the Ye family has hired a lot of part-time workers in the name of renovation, and the work they do is to plough the ground and weed, and there is no new house. He is nine times out of ten, and the Han bricks are buried deep in the ground somewhere at the moment. Keep an eye on the traces of turning over the earth, as long as you dig three feet into the ground and put in a little effort, you will definitely be able to find something.

Of course, his purpose today was not to find out the Han bricks in public, he just wanted to cure Ye Fuliu, tell her to give in, and obediently beg a lady to go home.

The heads of more than a dozen or twenty large and small local commercial houses, ranging in age from twenty or thirty to fifty or sixty, began to enter the door one after another from the beginning of the hour, and even the heads of the family brought their men and cronies, and at the end of the morning, they gathered ten tables, and when the morning sun rose above the treetops, the front yard of the Ye family was full.

It's not that they like to rush early, it's too hot. When I came at noon, I was afraid that people would dry under the scorching sun.

After everyone was lively and chattering for the whole round, everyone looked at me, I looked at you, and finally someone raised a question:

"Today's banquet is set at the Ye family. The head of the Ye family, Ye Siniang...... Why not? ”

Not only is the little lady in charge of the Ye family not there, but neither of the Ye family's Qin Da Steward and Su Qiu's lady are there. The three of them closed the two gates leading from the front courtyard to the inner courtyard, brought the morning food as usual, and sat in the second courtyard without hurrying and finishing the meal.

There was another noisy noise outside the door, and more than 20 short-term workers hired by the Ye family came.

The young and sturdy women poured into the second gate, all of whom had been hired by the Ye family several times and were capable of using their hands and feet. Su Qiu used to arrange for today's short-term errands, and more than a dozen ladies guarded the courtyard walls and narrow gates in various places, and each of them was given a wooden stick.

"Today, the front yard gathered the heads of various commercial houses to discuss matters. Each family brought a long-term companion, and the yard was full of men who didn't know each other, and we couldn't tell whether they were good or bad. ”

Su Qiu whispered, "The Ye family is small and big, and the ladies are guarding the courtyard walls and doors everywhere, don't let the men leave the banquet venue in the front yard." If you don't look like a good person when you are sneaky in your actions, you don't need to say anything, just beat you with a stick and beat you up. ”

The short-term workers responded in unison. Guarding the door for the little lady of the Ye family, with a lot of money and little trouble, is a good errand!

"I heard someone in the front yard shouting and crying that I was poor." When Su Qiu returned, Ye Fuliu had just finished his morning meal and put down the newly made account book.

"This year, the Ye family's cloth business is not very profitable, so I went to the front yard to listen to their discussion on how much to raise donations. If someone doubts, I will cry and cry poor. ”

Qin Long stood up and said solemnly, "Master, I'll escort you there." ”

Ye Fuliu sneered, "Why are the swords hanging on your body?" The gathering of businessmen in one place is nothing more than a matter of paying more and paying less. ”

Qin Long insisted on refusing to unload his sword, and said angrily, "The Ye family's cloth business is not profitable, and they forced us to raise donations, isn't it a Hongmen banquet." ”

Ye Fuliu couldn't persuade him, so he had to follow him, and turned around and told Su Qiu, "If we go out, you will lock the second door." Don't let strangers break through the door. ”

The second door opened quietly, drowning in the noisy shouting of the front yard.

"Little Lady Ye is finally here?" Shen Li sat in the main seat, his fox eyes narrowed slightly, and with three points of politeness and seven points of calculation, he raised his hand to greet the vacant seat beside him, "Please take a seat." ”

Ye Fuliu sat down unceremoniously, opened his mouth and said, "The Ye family has no money." ”

——

"There is an ice book on the wooden building, which is much cooler." Wei Da escorted his master slowly up to the wooden building, and raised his hand to the corners of both sides of the wooden building with the sound of the stairs creaking.

"Lang Jun, I saw that two big ice jians were sent last night, and they were just right left and right. The Ye family is doing business, not only 'buy one get one free', the ice book is also full of ice, I opened the secret door in the morning to take a look, oh, the boxy ice cubes are piled up. ”

Wei Huan only listened, didn't pay much attention to Bingjian, and still sat on the only sandalwood chair in the wooden building, looking down.

Today, the Ye family really feasted guests. Hundreds of merchant men from young to pot-bellied were drinking and feasting in the front yard, shouting loudly and noisily, and Wei Huan frowned slightly.

There was a bright pomegranate red in the many long robes and green robes, and the little lady of the Ye family was actually sitting beside the Shen businessman.

The two sat close to each other, and the Shen merchant shook the folding fan, and he didn't know what he was talking to her in private, so he took out a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, flashed it in front of Ye Fuliu and took it back, and a determined smile immediately hung on his lips.

Wei Huan saw it in his eyes and frowned again.

"The yellow paper that the Shen merchant took out...... Looks like an official document? ”

Wei Da also saw it on his side.

"It's the official document system." He affirmed, "At the top, the words 'arrest warrant' are written on the top, and a portrait is drawn in the middle, and there are a few lines of small print below, which should indicate the details of the reward." It's the arrest document that is correct. ”

Wei Huan stared at Shen Li's subtle expression. Proud? Coerce? Hold the cards in one hand?

"Is the portrait a man or a woman?"

Wei Da was stunned, "Lang Jun forgive me, I didn't pay attention to ......"

While he was talking, Ye Fuliu curled the corners of his lips over there, and he didn't know what to say, Shen Li's face sank slightly, and he took out the yellow paper in his sleeve again, this time spreading it out in front of everyone.

"Recently, I heard a strange incident in Jiangning Mansion." Shen Li's movements attracted a lot of attention around him, and he spoke in public unhurriedly.

"Have you heard of the fact that a nobleman from a certain government was unfortunately deceived, his house was empty, and a reward of 500 taels of silver was offered for the arrest of the fugitive?"

Although he said vaguely, the matter was so bizarre that a well-informed merchant immediately laughed and responded with the same vagueness, "Isn't it the one who was jumped by the immortals and the house was demolished overnight?" What's the matter, Brother Shen's hands and eyes are all over the sky, and he has got an arrest warrant from the government? ”

A few merchants who sat close to each other got up and leaned over to look at the portrait.

The merchant who saw the portrait clearly smacked his tongue in amazement, "This fugitive really looks like a symbol!" Hey, wait......"

The other one who saw clearly also wondered, "Oh, wait...... How do you look a little familiar......"

"The portrait is a little familiar, and it looks like Ye Xiaoniang, right?" Shen Li took over the conversation, and Cheng Zhu smiled in his chest, "It can be seen that the little lady who looks like a symbol in the world has some similarities in the outline of her facial features." ”

A businessman who had done business with the Ye family suddenly said, "It's not! The silhouette is a bit like it at first glance! But if you look closely, you don't look like it. The fugitive on the arrest warrant is Dan Fengyan. It's not like the Ye family's lady at all. ”

Everyone laughed at the same time, and the feast, which had been cold for a while, finally resumed its previous liveliness.

Ye Fuliu supported his chin with one hand, his slender hands were plain white, lined with pink nails and newly painted Kodan vermilion, and a pair of black eyes as clear as glass looked at the farce of the banquet lukewarmly.