Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 23: Long time no see
Seeing Cai Qinghua calling out Liu Quan's nickname and being so alert, Cai Shiwen's heart moved, and he temporarily changed the words he was about to say, saying: "He came and left again. This time, the money was prepared by the little thief Wu Chengjian, and Liu Quan took it north."
Cai Qinghua was a little surprised that Liu Quan came to Guangzhou, but he soon felt that it was reasonable. For such a big thing, it was only natural for Heshen to send a confidant to supervise. But from what Cai Shiwen said, Wu Chengjian had obviously colluded with Liu Quan, and he personally took the money away. Liu Quan stayed in Guangzhou for at least a month. He was unaware of it for such a long time, and the outside world did not receive any news. This confidentiality was really done to the extreme.
Cai Shiwen also said: "Before Liu Quan left, he held a small banquet and invited only Jishan and Wu Chengjian - both of them were at the table."
Cai Shiwen didn't say anything more, but Cai Qinghua already understood - in the past, where would the insurance merchants have seats at Jishan's table? Liu Quan held a banquet and the two of them sat at the table, which meant that in Liu Quan's eyes, Wu Chengjian could be compared with Jishan in a certain sense.
Although Wu Chengjian was just a merchant, while Jishan was the supervisor of the Guangdong Customs, and the difference between the officials and the merchants was like heaven and earth, under the Qing system, a person's status was not necessarily determined by the rank of his official position or the amount of his financial resources, but by how close he was to his master and his position in his master's heart. If Wu Chengjian could bypass Jishan and directly establish a relationship with Liu Quan, then he would no longer be someone Jishan could take away from him.
Hearing this, Cai Qinghua sneered: "I see, that's how it is! I was wondering why this Hao official had such a bad temper, it turns out he has clung to Heshen's thighs!"
Cai Shiwen was secretly delighted when he heard the sarcasm in these words.
Then Cai Qinghua said coldly: "Did you come here just to say these few words?"
Cai Shiwen hurriedly said, "No, no, I came here this time not only to ask Master Cai for help, but also to abandon the dark and join the light."
Cai Qinghua said with a smile, "Abandon the dark and join the light? You should have come two months ago. You didn't come to pray when you were in power, and now you are about to lose power, you come to pray for help. The door of the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office, haha, is not open to anyone who wants to come in."
"That was my fault. I was blinded by greed! I know I came here abruptly, but I am willing to serve you and make amends for my crime."
Cai Shiwen said as he took something out of his sleeve and said, "I am willing to entrust my life and property to Master Cai from now on. I only ask Master Cai to give our Wanbao Bank a way out."
Cai Qinghua took the thing and looked at it, and said in astonishment: "This... this is..."
"This is a handle." Cai Shiwen said, "As long as we use it well, I believe that Master Cai will know the trick with his wisdom. If it is used properly, even He Zhongtang... will be dragged into the water!"
Cai Qinghua's meeting with Cai Shiwen this time was originally dispensable, but he was slightly moved after hearing this. He looked at the things in his hands with a serious expression.
Wu Chengjian stayed on the Huachai for two nights and returned home on the third day. When Guang'er heard that his third uncle had returned, he jumped out, and when they saw each other, he pulled his hand and clothes, crying and calling for his third uncle, as if he had survived a calamity and met his uncle again after a long separation.
Guang'er had traveled far before, and on several occasions he went with Wu Chengjian.
But this trip to Macau was different—it was an outing before, but this time it was an escape. Especially the scene of hiding in the box and peeking at the outside world through the keyhole during the birthday banquet, Guang'er still remembers it vividly. After this disaster, Guang'er also became more cautious. The way to Macau was miserable and terrified, but the experience on the way back was very different. Wherever he went, there were arrangements and care everywhere. Wu Chengjian didn't come, but the heroes in the rivers and lakes guarded them so that even night owls couldn't get close. Guang'er saw it with his eyes and remembered it in his heart. Before, he only knew that his family was rich in Xiguan, but this time when he went out, he realized that his family was powerful.
Wu Chengjian pinched his nephew's face and smiled: "How old are you? "
Guang'er cried, "Uncle San, I thought I wouldn't be able to see you again this time when I came back."
Wu Chengjian wiped his face and said, "No tears at all. You need to practice more when acting in front of your uncle in the future."
Wu Chengjun was a serious and dull person, and he also shouldered the heavy responsibility of Yihehang, so Guang'er spent more time playing with Wu Chengjian than with his father. The two were very close to begin with, and when his uncle exposed this, Guang'er smiled and pulled him to the backyard: "Grandpa is waiting for us to eat."
Wu Chengjian said, "Wait a minute." He looked at Wu Liu who came with Guang'er and said, "Thank you for your hard work along the way."
"It wasn't hard, it wasn't hard at all." Wu Liu said, "On the way there and on the way back, there were people to take care of me, and I didn't encounter any problems at all."
Wu Chengjian said, "Things outside can be dealt with by spending money and relying on power, but if someone else were to protect Guang'er, my sister-in-law and I would not be at ease. It was Mazu's blessing that you came and went safely this time, but you didn't know you would be safe when you left. The risk you took is not worthless just because the ending was safe." He turned to Guang'er and said, "Guang'er, you must remember this favor for the rest of your life."
Guang'er was quite well-behaved and nodded in agreement.
Wu Chengjian added: "From now on, you must call Wu Liu "Uncle Liu" in public and in private.
Guang'er agreed and said, "I've been calling you Uncle Six all the way."
Wu Chengjian said: "Good boy!"
Then he pulled him to the backyard. Along the way, Guang'er talked about what he saw and heard along the way. They arrived without saying much. Tonight, they were going to have a rice dumpling at home.
At this time, Wu Chengjun was still lying on his sickbed. Although they were called a family, there were actually only four people, namely Wu Guoying, Wu Chengjian and his son, and Cai Qiaozhu and her son. Although Wu Guoying was used to being frugal, the Wu family was now more prosperous than ever before, and today was a good day for Guang'er to come back, so Chunrui asked the kitchen to prepare a large table of dishes, thirty-six bowls and plates, with a dazzling array of abalone, shark's fin and shark's fin. In comparison, the seats seemed empty.
Wu Chengjian glanced at Wu Guoying. He knew that old people like to be lively. Although his father refrained from saying anything, he also understood the old man's deep thoughts, so he said to Wu Erliang: "Uncle Erliang, call my second brother over. I know he is at home. If Aunt Yang is here, call her over too, to join in the fun."
Wu Guoying snorted, "What do you want this unfilial son to do? Do you want him to piss me off?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "We are all family. Even if the flesh is severed, the tendons are still connected. The lessons of the past two months are enough for Second Brother to remember for a while. If he relapses into his old ways in the future, it won't be too late for Dad to teach him a lesson then. Sister-in-law, don't you agree?"
Cai Qiaozhu glanced at Wu Guoying and said, "Third uncle is right. Second uncle's behavior of deserting the battlefield that day was certainly... not very good, but after all, we are all family. Can father and son and brothers really not recognize each other like this? Besides, the master can't be left without someone to take care of him."
Wu Guoying was not like Ye Dalin, who only had two concubines, and only Aunt Yang gave birth to a son. Although Aunt Yang was a bit rough, she had indeed taken good care of Wu Guoying in the past few years after Wu Guoying fell ill. Only two months had passed, and although there were a lot of servants at home and his son and daughter-in-law were all around, Wu Guoying was still not used to it. However, he was worried that Wu Chenggou would cause trouble again if he came back , so he said, "They wanted to separate the family by themselves. Since they have already separated, and they escaped alone when the Wu family was wiped out, their friendship has ended, so what's the point of talking about father, son, and brothers!"
"The second brother is just useless and a little selfish, but he is my biological second brother after all." Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Besides, it is better to use it than to use it."
He ignored Wu Guoying's objection and said to Wu Qi, "Go and call my second brother. You should know where he is."
Over the past half month, Wu Chenggou has come to the Wu family mansion so many times that he has no idea how many times he has come. Every time, he has not seen Wu Guoying, let alone Wu Chengjian. This time, when he heard that Guang'er had returned home, he came again yesterday, but was stopped outside the door. As a result, he came to bother them again today.
Although he had moved out of the family, he was Wu Guoying's biological son after all. This time he cried and shouted that he wanted to see his nephew who had returned from a long journey. Wu Dacheng couldn't stop him, so he allowed the mother and son to break into the backyard. After a struggle, he was kicked out by Wu Guoying. He was still shameless and refused to leave. He stayed in the house where he used to live, saying that he would have a meal with his nephew even if he died.
Before Wu Chengjian got home, someone told Wu Qi about these things, and then Wu Qi told Wu Chengjian. Wu Chengjian naturally understood what Wu Chenggou was planning, and he also had his own plans, so regardless of Wu Guoying's verbal objection, he still let Wu Chenggou and his son in.
At this time, Wu Chenggou and Yang Yi Niang were called by Wu Qi, and neither of them had the same arrogance as before. Wu Chenggou was thick-skinned but shy, and Yang Yi Niang was even more timid.
Although Wu Chenggou was born out of wedlock before, Wu Guoying never allowed others to mention the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children in front of others or in private - they were a family of merchants, and were not as particular as officials - so Wu Chenggou always regarded himself as the second brother to Wu Chengjian. But now, when he stood in front of Wu Chengjian, he didn't even dare to breathe, and stood there uncomfortably.
It was Wu Chengjian who spoke first, calling out, "Hello, second brother. Hello, auntie. Long time no see."
He still had that smiling face, as if no different from before, but everyone present saw him smiling as he tricked the big sharks in Guangzhou's business circle, so when they looked at his smile at this time, it felt like there were knives beneath his smiling face.
Aunt Yang let out a cry, and if she hadn't been concerned about her status as a half-elder, she would have almost knelt down and kowtowed to Wu Chengjian.
Wu Chenggou was trembling even more . Before he saw Wu Chengjian, he tried desperately to come in to see him. But when he finally saw him, he heard his smile and his call, and he trembled with fear for no reason.
