Chapter 24: Don't play with people like this
With manpower, everything will be easy. The seemingly cunning boss Xue volunteered to go to the dock to contact the merchant ship. Su Luo naturally accompanied him, paid the money and inquired about Zhou Chongwen's true identity.
Boss Xue's name is Xue Hongtao. He is a fast-talking and enthusiastic person. However, he didn't get to the point after talking for a long time. He just said that he was entrusted by Master Zhong of the Kaifeng prefectural government to follow Zhou Chongwen to listen to his orders. He didn't know where those gold medal thugs came from, but since the government came, they were most likely constables. Xue Hongtao said that he had been doing business for many years and had never seen any business dare to use constables to open the way. He turned around and asked Su Luo where Zhou Chongwen came from.
Here we want to talk about the profession of "teacher". Teacher is just a common name. It should be formally called "teacher's guest". They help the officials of the curtain master to deal with daily affairs. Although the teacher himself is not an official, because the curtain master relies on the teacher, they hold a lot of real power in their hands. Businessmen like Fatty Xue naturally have to curry favor with them.
The fact that he is connected with the government shows that something is odd. That lawyer Zhong is willing to ask for help on behalf of Zhou Chongwen, so he must be friends with Zhou Si. Since they are friends, it must not be difficult for him to help find a job. But the fact is that Zhou Si has no job. If there is no other hidden story, then he is just a fool who wants to prove that he can survive without relying on anyone. Judging from Zhou Si's daily behavior, it is very likely that he has a fool in his brain.
Fatty Xue was indeed quite capable. After asking Su Luo about the process of renting a boat, he asked her to hide aside. After a while, he came back and said that he had secured the boat fare for only fifteen taels, which made Su Luo admire him greatly.
At night, Su Luo wanted to invite the gold medal thug and Fatty Xue to dinner, but the gold medal thug refused and just found a small inn to stay in, saying that he would leave early tomorrow. So Su Luo was extremely curious about Zhou Si's identity. If it was just a request from the master, why would these people not eat or drink, and look like they were saving money for Zhou Si?
"My father is the former Henan Dao Chief Censor, and Master Zhong is my father's student ." Zhou Chongwen suddenly spoke up on the way to send Su Luo home, "Is that what you want to ask?"
Su Luo smiled awkwardly and again wondered if this guy had the ability to read minds. "I was just about to ask." In fact, she had been thinking about it for the entire afternoon, but just didn't find the chance to ask.
Zhou Chongwen smiled. Seeing that he was not shy about this topic, Su Luo took the opportunity to ask, "So you are still a son of an official. Why did you go to Baolai Village?"
The smile on Zhou Chongwen's face faded a little, but his voice was still soft. He whispered that his father was framed and dismissed from his official position five years ago, and even the official title he had just obtained was revoked. His father was deeply shocked and fell ill. He died not long after. Zhou Chongwen wandered around alone and finally settled in Baolai Village, enjoying a peaceful life.
"What about your mother?"
"He died very early."
Su Luo was a little embarrassed. She didn't expect to ask about such a sad story. This was a very clichéd story. The censors seemed to be born to frame people. Who made them always act as messengers of justice? But it was no wonder that the censors with unyielding and proud character would raise such a gentlemanly son.
It can be said that the respect that the gold medal fighters have for Zhou Chongwen all comes from his father. It is truly admirable that an imperial censor who has been out of office for five years can still be so respected by later generations.
"Why do you have to come with me?"
Zhou Chongwen did not answer. That was just how he was. He would rather keep silent than make up an excuse to lie to others.
"Are you afraid that I will transport the grain over and sell it at double the price?"
Zhou Chongwen was stunned, with an unnatural look on his face, "You promised me you wouldn't."
"Obviously you're worried." Su Luo pursed her lips in dismay. She had thought about this answer for a long time before coming up with it. In fact, when she decided to go to Shen County, she was still thinking of doubling the money, two or three times, at least to get back the capital. Now it seems that this plan is a bit difficult to implement. There are a bunch of gold medal thugs following behind. Raising the price? I must beat her up for being a dead profiteer! Forget it, since she doesn't have the luck of a time traveler, she will lose money. She will accept it and use the money from selling grain to create a grand plan!
The rest of the story was simple. With the fat, smiling profiteer Xue Hongtao above her and a dozen strong and sturdy gold medal thugs below her, Su Luo had nothing to do with the entire process of transporting the 500 shi of grain from getting on the ship to getting off the ship and then to being loaded onto trucks for transportation to Shen County. She just ate, slept, and strolled around every day. In the morning and evening, she could also do some beauty yoga, which she hadn't practiced for a long time. Her life was very comfortable.
After getting off the boat and walking for two days, they arrived at the border of Shen County. The town was called Taoyuan Town, in the mountains of the western suburbs. It was isolated from the outside world and had little contact with the outside world . Just as Wang Han said, no merchants were willing to go there. Su Luo was secretly happy. She didn't need much purchasing power. With only one town and 500 shi of rice, she wouldn't have to worry about sales.
So after a short rest in Shen County, the group of grain carts set out on the road to Taoyuan Town. Su Luo had completely let go of the thought. After all, there was still some money left after completing this mission, and it was already a blessing that she did not lose everything. So she sang all the way. Zhou Chongwen had privately told her several times not to discourage everyone's enthusiasm with singing.
From morning to night, a whole day, they climbed several hills. When the guide said that they would see the valley of Taoyuan Town after turning two more corners, everyone was obviously excited, but Su Luo felt something was wrong. People say that women have a more sensitive sense of smell, and she always smelled a smell of smoke and burnt smell. She asked a few people, and everyone shook their heads, but after a while, those who shook their heads nodded.
What a situation it was. In the setting sun, a charred ruin was embedded in the valley. From time to time, there were flashes of fire in the distance. The air was filled with the smell of scorched earth, and even the temperature around was much higher than outside.
There was no doubt that this was a major fire scene. Su Luo looked at the countless people sitting at the mouth of the valley, all of whom were blackened by smoke. She regretted it.
Not to mention purchasing power, even the living conditions are gone.
This is really a case of mountains and rivers being so steep that you think there is no way out, but then you see another village with willows and flowers. After passing the village, there is still no way out. God is not taking care of us at all.
