Chapter 66: Public Humiliation
"Brother Liu, why is this?"
Zheng Yueru was startled.
According to the brothel business, the queen's arrival meant that the standard of service would be greatly improved, and the subsidy would be indispensable. At least 10,000 taels would be required! When the news came out, several brothels were secretly complaining and feeling dissatisfied.
Not only is Liu Zheng not dissatisfied, he also wants to take care of everything?
Liu Zheng smiled slyly: "Let's take a break today, I'll go talk to them tomorrow!"
Zheng Yueru wanted to say something but stopped herself. Thinking about how today had been a busy day and how Liu Zheng looked sad, she didn't say anything else.
When I got up the next day, it was snowing again in Liangzhou. The cold wind was blowing in the east wind, making people wrap themselves in cotton clothes tightly.
Early in the morning, Liu Zheng called Zheng Yueru over. The latter smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Liu, what are you doing? The working hours of that brothel business are similar to those of other brothels. They all open at noon."
"ah?"
Liu Zheng made a big mistake and said, "How about Liu Zheng invite Miss Zheng to visit Liangzhou today? After all, I was once the most prodigal son in Liangzhou!"
When Zheng Yueru heard this, she burst out laughing, thinking to herself, how could someone say that about her. But at this moment, an old man in brocade clothes next to her saw Liu Zheng, his face changed instantly, and he shouted, "Young Master Liu, evil man Liu, don't hurt me again!" Then he rolled and crawled in the snow and fled.
Liu Zheng was dumbfounded by this scene, not to mention Zheng Yueru, who was already laughing. It seemed that Liu Zheng's self-deprecating remarks were not exaggerated at all.
"Who is this guy? I don't recognize him at all!"
Liu Zheng felt very aggrieved.
Zheng Yueru glanced at him and thought that this was Brother Liu's initiative to invite her out. She was very happy and started strolling with Liu Zheng regardless of the cold weather.
Returning to Liangzhou, Liu Zheng was filled with emotion. He was born and raised here, but because of his time travel, he had no sense of belonging to Liangzhou. As time went by and his career developed, he felt more attached to Yinzhou.
When I met a house on the road, there happened to be a child who went out to play and was scolded by his parents.
"Don't run away, Erwa! Come back here!"
"Hey , it's freezing cold, put on some cold cream before going out!"
When the child heard that there would be a play outside, he obediently let his mother apply the vanishing cream, and kept saying, "It smells so good!"
Hearing this conversation, Liu Zheng couldn't help but look at Zheng Yueru with a smile on his face. It seems that this vanishing cream is still very popular in Liangzhou, and ordinary people can afford it. This is the promotion effect that Liu Zheng wants.
"Brother Liu, don't you want to go back to the Liu residence?"
Zheng Yueru turned her head sideways and looked at Liu Zheng with a smile.
When Liu's father and son left Liangzhou, they did not sell their house, hoping to return to Liangzhou one day. At this time, it was probably overgrown with weeds and extremely desolate. Thinking of this, Liu Zheng smiled and said, "We are guests this time, so we won't go back."
Zheng Yueru was slightly stunned, and then she looked at Liu Zheng with admiration again.
If it were someone else, with Liu Zheng's current achievements, they would definitely return home with great fanfare, fearing that others would not know. But Liu Zheng was as calm as an old man at this time. Zheng Yueru realized that this young master Liu had extraordinary ambitions. She suddenly remembered the folk song that was widely circulated among the people and seemed ridiculous when she first heard it.
"Liu Jiaweng, riding a donkey upside down."
"Leaving Liangzhou would disrupt the will of heaven."
"Feng Sanniang, don't stop."
"Yinzhou Beach, look east and west!"
At first glance, it sounded like a child's colloquialism, but Zheng Yueru felt that it had a profound meaning. Considering Liu Zheng's current state of mind and the prospects of his industries, it was hard to say what Yinzhou would be like in the future...
As the landlord, Liu Zheng was not stingy and took Zheng Yueru for a whole morning of shopping. It was not until noon that they found a restaurant to eat.
Who knew he had just taken his seat.
I heard the restaurant was bustling with activity. A blind old man playing the erhu and a young girl in simple clothes were sitting in the middle. They seemed to be the singers and storytellers in this ancient restaurant.
"Have a piece!"
"Let's see the segment of 'Chen Batian vs. the King of the Xiongnu'!"
"Haha, sir, the border situation has been tense recently. I heard that the imperial court is negotiating peace with the Xiongnu. I dare not talk about this!"
The shopkeeper came out to apologize.
"Spoof!"
The old man played the erhu, and the little girl next to him was responsible for striking the chimes. They sang and responded, and the music had already begun.
"Today, we are going to talk about the Liu family father and son who entered Yinzhou and met bandits on the road and fought off the enemy with wisdom! In March, we took over the unruly land and made public the income and expenditure without collecting taxes!"
"good!"
“This is a good segment!”
Everyone shouted.
Zheng Yueru looked at Liu Zheng playfully and smiled faintly.
Liu Zheng sat and drank, not making any comment. But at this moment, his heart was filled with ripples. Because these things were not intentional by him, but they had been compiled into a book. Sure enough, the eyes of the masses were still so sharp... Although the old man's storytelling was a little exaggerated and more artistic, people listened with relish and applauded. Some people even asked, is there a county magistrate's office that does not collect agricultural taxes?
It would be fine if this county government did not extort money from the people, but it actually made public its financial revenue and expenditure?
So some people started to curse in anger.
County Marquis Liu was wholeheartedly serving the people, but was assassinated on the road. The world is unfair, and that's it.
This is how reputation spreads.
It seems that his efforts have added a lot of points to his father, and Liu Zheng is very satisfied.
"good!"
"Well said, let me give you a reward!"
At this moment, a loud shout was heard from the second floor of the restaurant, and a gold ingot was thrown out. Everyone was very jealous. The girl quickly picked it up, but it took two hands to hold the gold ingot.
"Thank you for your reward, sir!"
"Hahahaha, well said, this Liu family father and son are really interesting!"
A man in brocade clothes came out of the second-floor private room and said with a smile: "Today, I will tell you the story thirty more times!"
The storyteller was delighted and agreed.
The man in brocade clothes left the restaurant surrounded by several people. When Zheng Yueru saw the man's appearance, she trembled: "Du Biao!"
"who?"
Liu Zheng also kept looking at the man curiously. He claimed that he knew countless people in Liangzhou, but he had never seen this person, and he was very curious.
Zheng Yueru whispered, "The third leader of the Baiya Army!"
"What?"
Liu Zheng took a breath and felt his scalp tingling again. Thinking of Jiang Xuan's guess last night, he believed it a little more. He originally thought that the Yinzhou Chamber of Commerce was not yet fully developed and would not get the attention of the Baiya Army for the time being. Now it seems that his idea is still too conservative... The Baiya Army is simply happy to do anything to attack the prefect Chen Ping, and they don't mind taking advantage of him in various ways.
Just looking at this person, it is clear that he is not someone who can be easily dealt with. Liu Zheng thought to himself that no matter what, he must stay away from this person.
However, he still thought too simply.
After lunch, the two of them rushed to the brothel business. This so-called brothel business was a place in Liangzhou that was specifically used to manage the brothels. It was equivalent to an organization similar to a business association. All brothels in Liangzhou had to obey the management and dispatch of the brothel business to avoid malicious competition and fighting.
When we got here, there were already quite a few people inside, probably about fifty or sixty.
This means that there are fifty or sixty brothels in Liangzhou. It can be seen that the prosperity of Liangzhou is indeed not comparable to that of Yinzhou.
"Hey, isn't this our Master Liu?"
As soon as the two of them stepped into the business, several sarcastic voices were heard. Liu Zheng looked over and saw several young men in brocade clothes gathered together, looking at him mockingly with unfriendly eyes.
"haven't seen you for a long time!"
Liu Zheng chuckled.
These young masters were quite familiar with him before, and it can even be said that they were his lackeys in the past, doing all kinds of evil in Liangzhou every day, just to get close to Liu Dahao, the richest man in Liangzhou. Who would have thought that after Liu Dahao fell into trouble, the sons of these prominent families changed their attitudes directly. They used to call him Brother Liu, but after he fell into trouble, they wanted to step on him a few times.
"Humph, you stray dog, who wants to meet you? I heard that Mr. Liu is living in the post house when he returns to Liangzhou? Is the Liu residence deserted?"
"Master Liu, how is your injury? Master Liu used to live a life of luxury. He would stay in bed for a month if he caught a cold! Now, are you so poor that you can't even afford to eat? You were injured yesterday, but you're out doing business today?"
Everyone laughed.
The people of Liangzhou have their own pride, and naturally look down on Liu Zheng, who has fallen to a place as barren as Yinzhou. The more you flatter Liu Zheng in the past, the more you want to step on him today.
Zheng Yueru's face changed and she was about to retort but was stopped by Liu Zheng.
He chuckled and said, "We are all doing business, so be friendly."
As soon as these words were spoken, the others laughed sarcastically again.
"Do business? Mr. Liu, who are you qualified to do business with now?"
"Just you?"
"Go back and be a good county lord and end your life!"
Liu Zheng shook his head slightly. When Liu Dahao was in Liangzhou, he was undoubtedly the richest man, and then Qian Buqun. At this time, Qian Buqun was also deceived, and all these monsters and demons emerged. Among these people, the leader, Guo Yu, had a family behind him that was already the richest man in Liangzhou. As for how long he could be the richest man, Liu Zheng didn't dare to say. Chen Ping's ability to "slaughter the fat sheep" was still quite strong.
"This lady is..."
Guo Yu was about to make some sarcastic remark, but when he saw Zheng Yueru, his eyes suddenly lit up and he asked in a flattering manner.
"What's it got to do with you?"
Zheng Yueru treated him coldly.
Some of the other lackeys got angry and said angrily, "Miss, you probably don't know who Mr. Guo is, right?"
“In this Liangzhou, Mr. Guo is this!”
One person gave a thumbs up.
Zheng Yueru chuckled in her heart and couldn't help but glance at Liu Zheng. Are these ignorant guys the same as Liu Zheng in the past? I just don't know how he suddenly matured.
"Everyone, please take a seat first!"
Someone from the trading company came out to smooth things over.
Guo Yu snorted coldly and deliberately winked . It seemed that the lackey was working in this flower house company. He arranged people to sit down one by one, but when it came to Liu Zheng and Zheng Yueru, the prepared chairs were gone.
The whole place suddenly fell silent.
Guo Yu shouted angrily, "How can this be justified? Is this how you treat our Master Liu?"
"Are there no seats ready?"
"Quick, bring me some haystacks!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience burst into laughter.
"Miss, look, why are you following this useless guy? Why don't you come over here..."
Guo Yu looked at Zheng Yueru with a smile and was about to take action.
Liu Zheng's eyes turned cold and he slapped him in the face.
Snapped!
Guo Yu was beaten so hard that he took three steps back, covering his face and angrily pointing at Liu Zheng.
"presumptuous!"
"you wanna die!"
