Chapter 7 Salt Road (Part 1)
"Today, you may drink as much wine as you like and eat as much meat as you like! Don't leave until you are drunk!" When the sign of "Su Jia Lou" was put up, Master Su said with a beaming face, and immediately, all the gang members cheered in unison.
"Master Su, please, Master Su, please." That's what he said, but except for Zhang Xuanning and his forty brothers who didn't want to count the money, who else didn't give some face? Present a gift.
Although such a small matter cannot be reported to the gang leader, there are also few brothers of Master Su from those days who come to celebrate for such a small matter. After all, most of them are now in high positions and have great power.
However, all the shop owners in the vicinity of Yangzhou city, some official servants, and the persons in charge of small Taoist temples nearby came to celebrate.
"Lu Family Dojo, present twenty taels of silver as a gift."
"Sha's shop, I'd like to pay you two taels of silver as interest."
Xing Rong sang the names and gift money of the visitors, while Zhang Xuanning acted as the accountant, writing quickly and recording the affiliations and gift money of the visitors one by one. His handwriting was neat and meticulous. Of course, the gift money was higher for other small temples, but lower for shops in the controlled areas.
No more, no less, there were about 200 guests coming today. The restaurant could not be filled at once and had to be divided into two groups.
"I've heard of Master Su's great name for a long time, but never had the chance to visit him. Today, Master Su is opening his restaurant, and I, Wanzhong, have come to pay him a special visit!" The first batch of guests were led to sit upstairs by the brothers, and then they heard a voice coming from outside the door. Although the voice was not loud, everyone inside and outside the restaurant heard it clearly.
Master Su was slightly shocked, and he stood up and said, "Xuan Ning, come with me to welcome the guests!"
Zhang Xuanning put down his pen and stood up. He didn't say much, just responded, "Yes!"
At the entrance of the restaurant, among several men with the mark of the Shi family's Taoist temple, there was a man in his thirties. His eyes were sharp, like a sword, pointing directly at Master Su.
The crowd nearby immediately dispersed, leaving a space on the field.
Kou Zhong nudged Xu Ziling and whispered, "How do you think this will be resolved? Wan Zhong is Shi Long's third disciple. He controls a quarter of the Shi Family's power in Yangzhou City."
Just as he said this, before Xu Ziling had time to reply, he saw the two parties talking to each other politely for a few words. The other party presented four-colored gifts and then left. Although they did not come up to participate in the banquet, there was no fighting as imagined.
" Are we just going to let it go like this?" Kou Zhong looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Hmph, little brother, there are rules in the underworld too. How can you just start fighting when you meet? You'd better learn more from Master Su. Master Su was an expert in the underworld back then." A man saw that both of them had a wind bamboo and were brothers in the gang, so he said.
Zhang Xuanning turned around and said softly, "What are you talking about? Many people here can hear you. Don't embarrass yourself. Now, get back to work. When the next group comes to the table, eat more and keep your stupid words to yourself."
Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling nodded their heads in agreement, Zhang Xuanning did not take it seriously until they went inside. The Fengzhu Gang was well-known in the underworld, so even though it was a small gang and in Yangzhou, the Shimen Gang was the largest, there were still many people coming to celebrate.
Under such a generous invitation, no one could refuse. For this banquet, although there were no delicacies from land and sea, chefs from nearby Yangzhou were invited to prepare the dishes. Many people applauded the food, and the aroma of wine and meat was accompanied by noise and laughter that lasted for hours. This was also a heavy burden for Zhang Xuanning.
It was not until the afternoon that the guests gradually dispersed. As half the host, Zhang Xuanning had to see the guests off to the door, perform formalities, and express thanks profusely, without any negligence. One has to know that most of these people may not meet each other often, so their impression is just the impression of this short period of time.
Zhang Xuanning knew this very well. By the time he had seen off all the guests, it was already at least three o'clock in the afternoon. Of course, according to the time in this world, it was already past the Wei hour and early Shen hour.
He entered a small room reserved for him. Although he felt his whole body was sore and weak, he could not rest yet. He quickly washed up, changed into a new set of clothes, and then heaved a long sigh: "I have been working on this since the hour of Si, and it is not over yet. I am really exhausted..."
Jiang Feng, the attendant, smiled and said, "Master Xiang, the other matters will naturally be handled by the brothers, but Master Xiang must go to Master Su's place once!"
Zhang Xuanning stood up, opened the door and said, "I know this. Today is Master Su's wedding day, and he specially invited someone to meet me. How can I not appreciate the honor?"
After leaving the room, Zhang Xuanning closed and walked into a room. He calmed down and knocked on the door: "Father!"
"Come in!" It was Master Su's voice.
There were not many guests inside. Apart from Master Su, there were only two people. One was standing with two bamboo sticks hanging on his clothes. He seemed to be a guard. The other one was a middle-aged man in his forties with a thin face but a pair of bright eyes that flashed cold light from time to time. He had five bamboo sticks hanging on his body.
Zhang Xuanning stepped forward and said respectfully, "Greetings to father, greetings to Captain Yan ."
This person is Yan Zhao from the Bamboo Flower Gang, a helmsman with 500 men under him. He is a powerful man and can be considered an old friend that Master Su can truly consider a close friend of.
Yan Zhao supported himself with one hand, nodded and said, "No need to be so polite, just call me Uncle Yan. I just saw him at the banquet, and now he looks even more heroic. Brother Su, you are so lucky to have such a son."
Master Su nodded and smiled, while Zhang Xuanning bowed and said, "It is my blessing to be appreciated by my father. This favor is like a rebirth. I have always wanted to know how to honor my father!"
"Okay, well said."
Yan Zhao laughed heartily, and then said: "Learn more from your father and brother. Your father doesn't need to be mentioned, but your brother is really a brave man. I remember five years ago, when he was besieged by many people in Lan River, he was covered in blood, wounded, and had a leg broken, but he still gritted his teeth and fought to the death, refusing to admit defeat and surrender. Thinking about it now, it is still vivid in my mind!"
Speaking of this, Master Su's face darkened, and Zhang Xuanning said respectfully: "My father and brother's loyalty are all in my heart. Even if I can't learn even a fraction of theirs, I won't lose my reputation."
Master Su waved his hand and said, "No need to say these polite words. I came to you this time for my son's future. My son, tell Uncle Yan about your current situation."
"Yes, father." Zhang Xuanning said respectfully and solemnly. He knew that the superior had no time to listen to nonsense, so he briefly explained the current situation.
"To sum up, we have very few people in Xiangkou, and the brothers have not seen the world. Moreover, although Shimen is nothing compared to our Zhuhua Gang, it also has 2,000 people and is deeply rooted in Yangzhou City. This time Shimen came to celebrate, but also meant to warn. Therefore, I think we should open a salt road first, so that the brothers can see the world and gain some experience. What do you think?"
