Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 33: Crying All the Way
"Nonsense!" Cai Qiaozhu heard the figures of 10 million and 8 million and scolded, "If it's that much, we can't make up the number by copying more Yang families."
"I don't know if it's this number, but that's what they say." Wu Liu said, "I heard that even if the Yang family ransacked their property, it wouldn't be enough. The merchants who supply goods to Maoshenghang and collect money from the Yang family are all very anxious now, because the Yang family hasn't settled the money they got from the foreign merchants yet. The servants of the Yang family are now looking for a way out. The old doorman of his family secretly told me that our family should quickly find someone to smooth things over, because there is still one family that hasn't been settled. If we settle with the Wu family, our fate will be the same as the Yang family!"
When Cai Qiaozhu heard this, she recalled her parents' abnormal behavior on the day of the return visit, and she felt anxious. Before, she only knew that there might be a disaster, but she didn't know where it would come from. After hearing this, she thought to herself, "Could it be that the disaster that my parents talked about will happen to this incident?"
Suddenly, there were several cries coming from far away. Although this place was not far from the Yang family, how could we hear crying in the inner courtyard of the house? Listening carefully, it was not just one person crying, but it seemed like many people were crying together.
Wu Liu said: "When I arrived, soldiers had already rushed to block the gate of the Yang family, saying that they were ordered to protect the Yang family. Many merchants who supplied goods to the Yang family gathered outside the gate of the Yang family and could not get in. I think most of them felt that they could not get the money back from the Yang family, so they all started crying."
Cai Qiaozhu thought to herself: "How can this be considered protecting the Yang family? It's clearly because they are afraid that the Yang family will take risks. What they are protecting is not the people of the Yang family, but their money!"
Just as he was getting annoyed, Wu Guoying sent someone to invite him: "Master, please ask the eldest young lady to move to the backyard."
Cai Qiaozhu had guessed what it was about, so she tidied her hair a little and went to the backyard.
When they arrived at the backyard, they found that Aunt Yang had been sent out, and only Wu Guoying, Lao Gu and Wu Erliang were left in the room. Cai Qiaozhu gave a look and Lian Qiao left.
Wu Guoying greeted the two first, and Lao Gu also stood up and called out "Eldest Young Lady" - this is the current head of the Wu family, not an ordinary daughter-in-law.
Wu Guoying had been hearing bad news continuously, and her health had actually deteriorated again, but she still forced herself to cheer up and said, "Sit down. There's no need to be polite at this time. Do you know about the meeting to protect the business?"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "The bride came back from praying at Liurong Temple. When she passed by Yang's house, she heard crying. She asked Ah Liu to find out. She has learned something, but I don't know if it is correct."
Wu Guoying sighed and said, "I don't know what's going on with the higher-ups. They're asking for money so badly this time! The Yang family is doomed. Not only the Yang family, but all the merchants who supplied the Yang family will not get their money back. Your uncle...he was so ruthless. He took advantage of the moment when the Yang family had already received the money from the foreign merchants and had not yet had time to return it to the suppliers. This time, it's not just one family crying, but everyone is crying."
Cai Qiaozhu was depressed, and then she heard her father-in-law say, "We can't take care of other people's affairs now, let's talk about our own affairs first. Old Gu, please talk about Huizhou's affairs first."
Cai Qiaozhu's heartstrings were tense - the Huizhou incident was the fuse that caused Wu Chengjun to fall ill! Although Wu Chengjun had accumulated a lot of old troubles, if he hadn't gone to Huizhou, perhaps this wouldn't have happened.
Lao Gu and Cai Qiaozhu had dealt with each other before, so they were not strangers to each other. They did not hide anything and told each other everything.
A day or two ago, Cai Qiaozhu would have been so excited that she would have scolded Duan Longjiang, but now she had more important things on her mind, so she just frowned and said, "Duan Longjiang is a person that everyone in the Wu family has misjudged! Master, how should we deal with this matter?"
"Let's put this matter aside for now," Wu Guoying said, "Regarding the business protection meeting, you can tell me about it."
After coming out of the meeting room, Wu Chengjian told Wu Qi the summary of the matter and asked Wu Qi to go home and report first. Wu Erliang was also present at the time, so he repeated it again.
Although Cai Qiaozhu was deep in the inner house, she was also well aware of external affairs. What happened in the commercial council office seemed to be just like the surface of the Pearl River, with only slight ripples on the water. However, the dangerous undercurrents lurking within made her feel thrilling.
Cai Qiaozhu asked, "Where's Third Uncle? With such a big thing happening, why didn't he come back himself? Why did he send Wu Qi to tell us?"
Wu Erliang said, "The Third Young Master has told Xiao Qi that he has to rush to Shenxianzhou."
Cai Qiaozhu raised her eyebrows: "What!" Are we going to Shenxianzhou at this time?
Fortunately, Wu Erliang immediately said, "Xiao Qi said that the Third Young Master also sent someone to invite a Mr. Cai to a gathering in Shenxianzhou. According to Xiao Qi, this Mr. Cai is the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi's trusted advisor."
Cai Qiaozhu's eyebrows smoothed out immediately, and she said, "I see. After all, Third Uncle still cares about his family. Alas, he is a man who is used to being free, but now he has to run around for family matters. It's hard for him."
After hearing this, Old Gu thought to himself, "I often hear people say that the relationship between uncle and sister-in-law is like that between siblings. Today I see that it is indeed true. I feel sorry for my brother-in-law now."
Wu Guoying said, "Sister-in-law, the events in Huizhou, the meeting to protect the merchants, and what you saw and heard the other day, all together, we have already understood about 70% of the situation. There is no doubt that someone is trying to stop our Wu family. This wave of attacks has not only been planned for a long time, but also has a fierce momentum. However, we still don't know who the real enemy is until today. They are strong and we are weak, and the enemy is in secret while we are in the open. The situation can be said to be extremely dangerous."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "We still have a few days to go. If it's not the last minute, there's still a chance."
Old Gu said, "Let's make some plans here. As for the Third Young Master, since he has managed to get close to the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, maybe there will be a turnaround."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Yes, a glimmer of hope may depend on this. But when did Third Uncle quietly establish a relationship with the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor's Office?"
Wu Erliang said, "We don't know the details yet, so we have to ask the Third Young Master later. But Xiao Qi said that Master Cai once stayed overnight at the Huachahao."
Cai Qiaozhu was overjoyed and said, "Great, great! If we can get through this advisor this time and rely on the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office to overcome the current difficulties, then no matter how high the cost of the Huachahao is, it will be worth it."
The people in this room are all smart people and naturally know the key to this difficulty.
We have to choose one of the “next five families”, and judging from the reaction of the Yang family, Maosheng will definitely be the one.
One more family from the "Top Six" families, Cai and Xie are one, so they can't take the blame for what they have proposed. The Pan family has a strong background, so they can probably avoid disaster. The remaining ones are Lu, Wu, and Xie. If the Wu family can get the protection of the Guangdong-Guangxi Governor's Office, then even if the Guangdong Customs Supervisor deliberately makes things difficult, they can probably turn the bad situation into a good one.
Wu Chengjian's various actions in Baietan implied Wu Chengjun's secret plan. Although Wu Guoying and Cai Qiaozhu didn't say it, they didn't agree with it in their hearts. Sometimes they even thought that it was an excuse for the eldest brother to pamper his younger brother. However, now their inner thoughts have completely changed.
The father-in-law and daughter-in-law have never been more looking forward to good news from Baietan than they are now.
After Wu Chengjian came out of the Baoshang meeting room, he sent Wu Qi to his home to report the news. At the same time, he sent Chuan Longci to invite Cai Qinghua to Shenxianzhou for a talk.
He went to Huachahao first and told Zhou Yijin and Tan Sanniang the results of the meeting.
Although Tan Sanniang didn't care much about Wu Chengjian's external affairs, she still guessed a lot from various details and said, "The situation of the Wu family is very critical this time, right?"
Wu Chengjian said: "It's more than a critical situation. It's probably on the verge of life and death. Otherwise, why would I think of sailing overseas?"
Tan Sanniang was a little anxious: "Well... I will also go to Shenxianzhou tonight, and I will personally entertain Master Cai."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Everyone in Guangzhou knows that you are mine. You usually only sell your art but not your body. What's more, you are already married. If you continue to serve others, what's the difference between that and being cuckolded by me? Do I, Wu Chengjian, look like someone who needs to dye my hair green to get through the difficult times?"
"But……"
"That's enough!" Wu Chengjian interrupted her: "Just stay on this boat. I have my own ideas about the Immortal Island. Besides, Cai Qinghua is different now. He should have spread his spies around. He has probably received the news about the meeting of the merchants, so they may not come."
Unexpectedly, not long after, Wu Qi and Chuan Longci Ye boarded the ship one after another.
Wu Qi arrived earlier and reported the news brought back by Lao Gu.
Wu Chengjian said, "Old Gu is getting more vicious with age. I might not have seen so much news if I had gone there. Duan Longjiang, hehe, it's really him! Although he broke the rules of the officialdom and the underworld, he was in the hustle and bustle of life and interacted with people for profit. He paid the price for betrayal. I don't blame him. At most, I will return the favor. But half of my brother's life is attributed to him. This revenge must be returned with a knife."
Tietou Junba said: "I'm going to Huizhou!"
"What are you going to do? Assassinate?" Wu Chengjian said, "He must be hiding in the Acropolis now, surrounded by the army. Do you want to go and die? Besides, if the Wu family can get through this, I have plenty of ways to deal with him. If not... let's talk about it later."
Just then, Master Chuan Longci came back, and the news he brought was beyond the expectations of Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin.
"Master Cai said that he will go to the third floor of Shenxianzhou after sunset tonight."
Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin looked at each other and read the message in each other's eyes: "You miscalculated."
They are afraid that Cai Qinghua will not come. If Cai Qinghua comes, they are not afraid of any price he offers.
As for climbing the third floor of Shenxian Island, that was a public appearance. Once the news spread, the Wu family would not have to do anything, and everyone would think that the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was supporting the Wu family!
Tan Sanniang became happy: "If Master Cai is willing to come, then we have a chance?"
Zhou Yijin said: "If Master can really help us and get us the care of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, then even if this disaster cannot be completely resolved , at least it can be turned around."
Wu Chengjian said: "I have already made the worst plan, but if Master Cai is willing to come tonight, then maybe we don't have to take such risks. Let's go to Shenxianzhou. They have given us face, so we must prepare well."
He was actually quite happy, and even spoke in an operatic tone: "Young men, welcome Master Cai (third tone) (second tone) - Master (third tone) go (fourth tone)!"
