Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 12: Master Cai's Focus
Wu Chengjian said to the quick-talking Wu Qi: "In addition to external enemies, there are probably internal accomplices in the tea robbery. You should walk around the rooms more often these days, keep your eyes and ears open, and see who is making any noise and who is up to something. We must first eliminate the internal traitors, and then we can deal with the external enemies."
Suddenly she thought of something and shouted, "Sanniang, Sanniang!"
Tan Sanniang opened the window and asked, "What's going on?"
Wu Chengjian asked, "Leader of the Third Squad of Nanhai County, has anyone gone to Shenxian Island to play recently?"
Tan Sanniang thought for a moment and said, "Old Zhou comes every ten days, but I heard that he lost a lot of money recently and is short of money, so he doesn't even dare to come up to the second floor."
Shenxianzhou is one of the largest intelligence exchange centers in Guangzhou. Although Sanniang's people have left, there are still spies who continue to pass on various information to her.
Wu Chengjian said to Wu Qi: "Find a free time recently and give some money to Lao Zhou."
Wu Qi laughed and said, "It's easy to win Lao Zhou's money, let alone lose to him."
Finally, Wu Chengjian asked Chuan Longci to host Wu Guoying's 60th and make sure it was grand.
After finishing these things, Wu Chengjian returned to the cabin. Tan Sanniang had already prepared a bowl of lotus seed soup for him and said, "Lotus seeds can clear your mind. You have been too worried these past two days. Have a bowl of lotus seed soup to soothe your heart."
Wu Chengjian took a sip and suddenly said, "Didn't you say you wanted to treat us? Wait a minute."
Tan Sanniang asked: "What's the matter? Is there any hindrance?"
Wu Chengjian said, "I came to you today. When my father and sister-in-law find out, they will scold and persuade me. Let the old man scold, just don't let him hurt his body. But my sister-in-law's persuasion makes me feel uncomfortable. If I help you hold a grand banquet for the closing curtain again, the old man will get up from his sickbed and peel off my skin. As for my sister-in-law, she will cry in front of me, calling Chengjun and Guang'er, and she will make my bones weak."
Tan Sanniang said, "I will host the banquet myself, so you don't have to come."
"How can that be possible!" Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "Everyone in Guangzhou knows that you, Tan Sanniang, are my groom. How can I not come to support you if you want to close the curtain? Just postpone it for a few days, and wait until my brother's condition stabilizes. You can hold the banquet, and then I can sneak over, and it won't be so conspicuous."
As he put down the bowl, he touched Tan Sanniang's hand. Tan Sanniang was born into a fishing family. When she first entered the industry, she was disliked by the madam for her rough hands. But over the years, she didn't touch women's water, and Wu Chengjian collected and prepared many hand-soothing and skin-care products for her, and she actually restored her hands.
At this time, Wu Chengjian played with the tips of her index, middle and ring fingers on her right hand. They looked as slender as green onions and felt as smooth as cream. For a moment, he couldn't stop looking at them and couldn't let go.
Tan Sanniang said, "You have spoiled me over the past few years. I used to be able to easily pull up dozens of kilograms of fishing nets from the sea, but now I have a hard time wringing out those heavy towels after they have been soaked in water."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That's not your fault, it's the towel's fault. Just ask someone to pick something light and thin. Why bother yourself with those clumsy things?"
Tan Sanniang said, "When you are enjoying happiness, you should think about the time when you are not blessed. Can I enjoy happiness like this for the rest of my life? I have to plan for the future."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Why think so much? Besides, I think our future will be better and better." Then he praised Tan Sanniang's hands, "These hands are really beautiful! Although I have contributed a lot to this, it also depends on the good foundation. There is no other pair of hands as beautiful as yours in the whole Shenxian Continent. Only Yi Jin's hands can compare with yours."
Tan Sanniang saw Wu Qi looking at the two of them through the window, smiling. She pouted and slapped Wu Chengjian lightly: "You are the head of Yihehang, but you are still so rude!"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I have never been a serious person. But you, you have done good things in the flower shop and are almost a bodhisattva. And you always act like a good wife to me. It's not bad to be a good wife, but it's a bit boring. After all, it's been so many years, you can't keep me hanging all the time, when will you give me..."
"Stop making trouble!" Tan Sanniang lowered her head and ran out.
Wu Chengjian shouted, "Hey, hey! Are you really planning to become a Bodhisattva?"
Cai Qinghua got off the Huachai and returned to the Guangzhou Inn. As soon as he entered the room, he found that the bed had been replaced with a new one and there were more things on the table. It was obviously not the same as before he left. He hurriedly called the waiter to ask, and the waiter said, "Yesterday afternoon, just after you left the inn, a gentleman came in and said that it was something you ordered, and asked us to move it into the room. Why, it wasn't ordered by you?"
If the store owner was asked to take something from the guest room, he would definitely be suspicious and refuse, but if he put something in the guest room, the store owner's suspicion would be reduced a lot. And the waiter had something else to say - he couldn't refuse the person who came to do this, but the other party had explained it, so he didn't dare to say this to the guest.
Cai Qinghua knew something was wrong, but being such a smart man, he neither said anything nor asked any further questions.
Entering the guest room again, he looked at the things on the table. They were all exquisite daily necessities. There were clothes to wear, such as changes of clothes made of high-quality materials, and food, all of which were local old-fashioned cakes and snacks. There were also some toys for Cai Qinghua to play with. As for the bed covers and quilts, they were brand new and top-quality goods. There were no particularly valuable items, nor any gold or silver jewelry, so Cai Qinghua would not refuse them for the sake of abiding by the rules. However, each item had been carefully considered, and one could imagine how meticulous the person who sent these things was.
Under the other things on the table, there was a visiting card. There was no word on it, only a mark. Upon closer inspection, it was recognized to be a variation of the character "Pan".
Cai Qinghua smiled and thought, "I came to Guangdong quietly this time with a small group of people. Judging from Yi Jin's surprise when he saw me, the Wu family must really not know anything about me. No one in Guangdong has expressed anything to me, and the other families in the Thirteen Hongs have not made any move. This is the only family that came to show goodwill to me. The Pan family, the Pan family, after all, is not comparable to other families."
Before I could finish my thought, I heard the waiter outside the door come to report that a guest had come to visit, and presented a visiting card. The visitor did not go upstairs directly, but waited in the living room, showing a very humble attitude.
Cai Qinghua opened the visiting card, but it was from a stranger named Duan Hongyi, who claimed to be a junior. In his self-introduction, he vaguely mentioned that he was working in the Guangdong Governor's office. Cai Qinghua guessed that the visitor was the Guangdong Governor's legal advisor. He smiled lightly, knowing that his whereabouts had been revealed.
However, the Pan family's people arrived earlier and faster than the Guangdong Governor's people, which further proved the strength of the Pan family's intelligence network in the capital.
There was only a shoulder gap between the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Governor of Guangdong, so Cai Qinghua did not dare to neglect it. He went down personally to invite Mr. Duan to come up for a meeting. Since they were both from Shaoxing, the topic first revolved around their fellow-townsmen friendship, and they soon became familiar with each other.
Once this started, visitors came in an endless stream. First, the Han officials in Guangdong, such as the Guangzhou prefect, sent their advisers to show their goodwill. Then the Manchu officials also came to pay their respects. The Guangzhou general, the Guangdong Customs Supervisor, and others all sent their household servants to visit.
The first few came in the order in which they received the news. Later, the news probably spread in the officialdom of Guangzhou, and the next few people came in order of the rank of the owner. Later, even people from Panyu County and Nanhai County heard the news and rushed over. These two did not dare to send their advisors, but came in person.
Cai Qinghua received them one by one, without any words of offense or revelation, and refused to accept any gifts from the legal advisors, servants, or the two county magistrates. Everyone left with a sigh, and since Zhu Gui had a good reputation, they did not dare to force him to give them anything.
Cai Qinghua would use the excuse of being tired to stop meeting with minor officials and wealthy businessmen.
After half a day's work, Cai Qinghua felt very tired. It was not because he lacked ability, but because he did not have enough information about the officialdom in Guangdong and Guangxi and the local situation in South Guangdong. He had just arrived and had no one he trusted. He wanted to understand the situation, but was afraid of being seen through. So he was exhausted after half a day.
Therefore, he was even more determined to recruit Zhou Yijin, thinking, "In Guangdong, the rich are treacherous, and in the imperial court, there is Heshen who is ready to stab us in the back at any time. The boss is going south alone, and he must subdue the soldiers and civilians of these two provinces, and not be taken advantage of by Heshen. How to grasp the right balance and how to open up the situation, it really requires someone who knows the local situation well and is trustworthy."
The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was in charge of the military and political power of the two provinces. The military and political affairs involved were wider than those of a medium-sized country. Among the myriad of issues , the Thirteen Hongs were just one of them. No one took the initiative to mention it during the visit, but since Cai Qinghua was thinking about Zhou Yijin, he quietly hinted at the affairs of the Thirteen Hongs.
The magistrate of Nanhai County occasionally tells an anecdote. Recently, the two concubines of the supervisor of Guangdong Customs became jealous of each other, and two servants fanned the flames, which led to a not-so-small house fight.
This was originally a trivial matter in the rear house of a Manchu official, but two merchants from the Thirteen Hongs were involved. They were directed by the two servants to run in and out, using all kinds of means to win favor for the two concubines.
"Master Cai, you came a few days late, so you didn't see it with your own eyes. This matter has become a laughing stock in Guangzhou. The wealthy merchant who was so powerful and powerful outside, but because of the jealousy of two concubines and the hints of two servants, he ran around the city. Confucius said: The rich are not kind. Merchants are rich but do not know courtesy, without any dignity, and are ultimately lowly and inferior."
The people in Nanhai County were just making something to talk about, treating this matter as a joke to illustrate the nobility of officials and the lowliness of merchants.
Cai Qinghua secretly took note, thinking: "There may be more connections behind this turmoil in the backyard of the Guangdong Customs Supervisor. Can I take advantage of the situation and use it to my advantage? Well, I need to learn more about it."
On the Fairy Island, Dan Sanniang told the Hua Xing sisters that the curtain-sealing banquet would be postponed for the time being, and everyone understood the reason immediately.
It is now rumored that Tan Sanniang is going to be a concubine, and this concubine is no ordinary one: first, the Third Young Master is very rich; second, the Third Young Master is very infatuated. Many people say that the Third Young Master has not married at such an old age just for Tan Sanniang, and their friendship is really deep; what's more, today's Third Young Master Wu is not the dandy boy of the past, and now the Third Young Master is the new head of Yihe Bank.
Therefore, although Sanniang did not hold a banquet, all the small boats and speedboats from Shenxian Island went to Huachai, either to send gifts to express their feelings or to visit and ask about her well-being.
Only Shen Xiaoying did not say anything about this, and even pretended that the three thousand taels of silver she promised that day had never happened.
After Qiu Ling found out, she came to her room and said, "Sister, why didn't you send anyone to check on the Huachai? Are you worried about the three thousand taels of silver?"
Shen Xiaoying was playing with a snuff bottle given to her by Young Master Cai, and said, "Three thousand taels of silver is not too little, but it's not too much either. But what's the point of doing this?"
Qiu Ling asked, "Sister, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'beating a dog with a meat bun'?"
Among the four courtesans, Shen Xiaoying had the most arrogant temper. She rolled her eyes, sneered, and said nothing.
Qiu Ling was the one with the best temper among the four courtesans. When Shen Xiaoying didn't say anything, she came up and said, "Could it be that you think that since Third Sister has left Shenxianzhou, she has nothing to do with us? But even though Third Sister is gone, her influence is still there."
Shen Xiaoying laughed out loud, as if she had heard a huge joke.
