Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 62 Small Business
Beijing and Guangzhou are thousands of miles apart, and in this era, news is severely delayed.
Wu Chengjian had been a beggar for a long time and was about to escape from the sea of suffering, but Guangzhou had just received the news that he had been expelled from the Guangdong Guild Hall. Because of the distance, the news was distorted in various ways during the transmission process, and Xiguan Street heard all kinds of news.
Some said that Wu Chengjian had been arrested, some said that Wu Chengjian had been beheaded, and some even said that the imperial edict to confiscate the Wu family's property was on the way.
For a while, the people of Xiguan were in unrest.
The guys at Yihehang and the servants at Wujiayuan all asked whether this was true, "Has Haoguan really been arrested?" Even some relatives and friends cast the same look.
Fortunately, Cai Qiaozhu had cleared out the servants of Wujiayuan in advance, so the rumors were under control. Yihehang had also communicated with several big shopkeepers in advance, and spread the word in the bank, so that the shop assistants could work without worry and everything would remain the same. As for relatives, friends, and partners, Pan Youjie supported them, and Lu Guanhuan also responded and supported them, which temporarily suppressed the suspicion of many people.
This difficulty has been overcome temporarily, but what about the next time?
Both Cai Qiaozhu and Ye Youyu were unsure.
Wu Qi suddenly found that he could enter the city.
He brought the Wu family and others and finally found Wu Chengjian. When he saw Wu Chengjian in rags, Wu Qi choked up instantly: "Hao Guan, Hao Guan...you have suffered!"
After he was driven away, he was very worried that no one would serve the young master and he didn't know what to do. He also vaguely heard some rumors outside the city, but he didn't expect that Hao Guan would be so miserable.
Unexpectedly, although Wu Chengjian looked thinner, he still looked energetic. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't be so useless! Let's go back to the guild hall."
When they saw Wu Chengjian again, even though he hadn't changed his ragged clothes or washed his face, the managers of the Guangdong Guild Hall were all in awe - the whole city knew that Wu Chengjian was framed by Heshen, and now Heshen hasn't fallen yet, but Haoguan has returned as if nothing happened. Did Hezhongtang's words start to lose their effect? Or did the backer behind Haoguan have connections that could actually confront Heshen?
So they welcomed Wu Chengjian in with great enthusiasm, and served him even more carefully and meticulously than before.
Wu Chengjian had deeply experienced the changes in human feelings a few years ago, and he didn't take it to heart at this time. He just regarded other people's avoidance and flattery as normal. Over there, Wu Qi recruited the maids and servants again, and Wu Xiaojiu served Wu Chengjian to wash and dress. Then the guild hall reported: "A master Gao came to visit."
"He is anxious." Wu Chengjian smiled and asked Wu Qi to go and welcome him, while Wu Xiaojiu prepared tea for the guests.
When Wu Chengjian was driven out that day, all the good things he brought with him were just sealed. At this time, Wu Xiaojiu had already laid out the tea sets and tea leaves. Spring water was difficult to prepare, so he used well water temporarily.
When Guangxing came in, he saw another luxurious style: handsome boys boiled water, utensils were made from famous kilns, and tea worth hundreds of gold was served to guests. Wu Chengjian took a sip and disliked the bitter taste of the well water, so he asked the guild hall to quickly fetch spring water from Xishan for future use.
Guangxing said, "Okay, this isn't the first time I've met you, why are you showing off?"
Wu Chengjian smiled but said nothing. Wu Qi rolled his eyes secretly, thinking that this is how our family lives its daily life, without showing off.
Most of the officials in the capital were poor, and Guangxing was not very well off either. If it were any other time, he would have been jealous and resentful of Wu Chengjian showing off his wealth. However, he had just taken out the 80,000 taels of silver last night, and it was real money in his pocket. He was in a very good mood and did not care about the little irritation at all. This was the power of money.
After three rounds of tea, Wu Qi excused himself and went outside to continue training the new maid. Guangxing said to Wu Chengjian, "Very good." He made an "eight" gesture with his hand, "The money has been received, it's okay. I never thought that such a huge sum of money could be hidden in that shabby alley. When did you hide it there?"
Wu Chengjian smiled but said nothing.
Guangxing did not dwell on this question and continued, "The higher-ups asked when the remaining criminal debts will be paid."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "What crime have I committed? Do I need to pay for my crime?"
Guangxing was stunned. His face changed slightly, "What? You just got out of the sea of suffering, and you're going to break your promise? Humph, the person who allowed you to live in the Guangdong Guild Hall again can turn around and make you unable to live in even a dilapidated temple!"
Wu Chengjian laughed out loud: "That's not what I meant. I won't give you the money. But the negotiation of the silver is just an excuse. I, Wu Chengjian, have never violated the law, and I have no crime. It's good for everyone to know this."
He clapped his hands. Wu Xiaojiu came in. Wu Chengjian said, "Get some paper and pen."
Wu Xiaojiu prepared the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and left. Wu Chengjian wrote two more pieces of paper in front of Guangxing, but did not let him see what he wrote. He sealed one of the pieces of paper and handed it to Guangxing along with the second piece of paper: "The second sum of silver is 1.2 million taels. The money is in Tongzhou."
Guangxing took the envelope, opened the paper and took a look. As expected, he saw another address. His eyebrows raised, and his expression relaxed: "What do you want to do this time?"
Wu Chengjian said, "It's a small matter. I have a legal advisor named Zhou Yijin, who was implicated in an old case and imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture. I have asked people to prepare the relevant files of the case. It is legal for him to be acquitted. I just need someone to help pass on a message."
Guangxing had noticed this matter long before Wu Chengjian came to Beijing, and he was very clear about the cause and effect. It was not difficult to figure it out . He smiled and said, "You are generous enough to save a person with 1.2 million taels." He paused and said, "But don't you leave a little money to save your own life?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That's another story. When doing business, you first have a few small transactions, get to know each other, build trust, and then you can do big business. This is the business philosophy of us Cantonese people."
Guangxing's pupils suddenly shrank slightly: "This is a small business? Then what is a big business?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Although Lord Guangxing is a good middleman, if we really want to do a big deal, we have to meet face to face." Seeing Guangxing's suspicion, Wu Chengjian said, "No hurry, no hurry, let the master collect the money from Tongzhou first, and we can talk about the rest later."
Guangxing also held the piece of paper tightly in his hand, wondering how much silver there was. He was in no mood to play tricks with Wu Chengjian anymore. He drank another cup of tea and said goodbye.
Wu Qi walked in after seeing him off and said, "Officer Hao, this is the person who saved you?"
Wu Chengjian said: "No, it's a group of hungry dragons behind him."
After Guangxing personally delivered the letter, he waited for another day before finding an opportunity and went to the address written on the second piece of paper overnight, where he indeed found a lot of gold.
Since the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a large amount of silver was imported, which made gold expensive and silver cheap. The gold-silver exchange rate kept rising. During the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, one tael of gold could be exchanged for nearly twenty taels of silver. Guangxing took a quick look and saw that the gold ingots should be fifty taels each, and there were as many as a hundred of them! He roughly estimated that it should be five thousand taels of gold, worth about one hundred thousand silver.
One hundred thousand taels of silver was just a number, but when he saw the real thing, Guangxing's eyes widened. Five thousand taels of gold weighed more than three hundred kilograms, and Guangxing spent a lot of effort to transport it back home.
His wife was shocked when she saw so much gold, and was worried that her husband would do something illegal. He was just a secretary, and his salary as an official for a lifetime was not as much as this.
"Don't make a fuss!" Guangxing said, "This is just labor compensation. Bring the gold and silver scales!"
His wife thought, what kind of hard work can earn so much money? But she didn't dare to ask, she just hurried to get a scale. Guangxing weighed the gold one by one, rubbing his hands and feet in joy, and then discussed with his wife where to hide it. His wife said, "I got so much silver a few days ago, and piled it under the bed. I dared not go out these days, and I couldn't sleep. Now I got so much gold, and my house is so small, there is no place to put it."
There is definitely room in the courtyard to store this amount of gold and silver, but they cannot be placed in the utility room. Even in the study, I am afraid that the servants will find them. There are not many places in this house that are both private and safe.
"Yeah..." Guangxing murmured, "We have to move to another room..."
Just a few days ago, before meeting Wu Chengjian, he had no idea that he would soon be troubled by having too much money and nowhere to put it.
Just then, the old family member came to report: "Sixth Master sent someone to call you."
Guangxing was slightly startled, and hurriedly told his wife to keep an eye on the gold and silver, then hurried over, worried that someone might have discovered that he had taken the "hardship fee".
When they arrived at the Sixth Master's residence, there was still someone in the room. Guangxing hurriedly bowed: "Greetings to the Sixth Master and the Prince." He glanced and saw that both of them had happy expressions on their faces, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Master Liu pointed to a plate of something covered with red cloth on the table and said, "Open it."
Guangxing opened it and saw a plate of silver ingots, a total of twenty, neatly arranged, which should be one thousand taels of silver. He knew what it meant, but still asked: "Sixth Master, what is this?"
The Sixth Master smiled and said, "The prince has spoken. This is a reward for you."
Guangxing was so excited that he lay on the ground and said, "This, this... How can I deserve it!" If it were a few days ago, he would be really happy to see so much reward, but this time his ecstasy was fake.
The Beile next to him smiled and said, "Why are you talking so much? Take it. This is what you deserve."
Guangxing pretended to refuse twice, and then said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward. Thank you, Sixth Master, for your reward. Thank you, Beile, for your reward." Then he stood up and covered the red cloth again.
The Sixth Master said, "In Tongzhou, the place mentioned in the letter really has gold and silver. Very good, this Wu is very tactful. Including gold and silver, the total is about 1.2 million. It's worth it for us to swallow our pride and fight Heshen!"
The prince next to him sneered: "He Shen is so coquettish right now that he doesn't dare to provoke us for such a small matter. This deal is worth it!"
The two looked at each other and nodded together.
Emperor Qianlong was the most arbitrary and decisive emperor, and Heshen held all the power. The two people in the room, together with those who have not yet appeared, had just been maintaining their dignity for a long time. Now that they are in power, some people tactfully sent money, twice in a row, tens of thousands of real gold and silver were piled up in front of them. The thrill of their hearts was not comparable to a number during the negotiations over the air.
The Sixth Master and the Beile felt that they were a bit cheap for standing up for a businessman from Guangdong, but their minds changed after they got the money. The two million they had already received would be a very fat piece of meat for everyone! Thinking about the two million left, they became a little impatient.
The Sixth Master said, "I have already told him about the matter of the master, and he will be able to see him tomorrow. The first two things he mentioned are not a big deal, and I don't know what he will mention next."
The prince said with a smile, "No matter what he says, he just has to protect his life and property. This is not a big deal! Not to mention that he has not actually violated any national laws. Even if he has committed an unforgivable crime, what's the harm in temporarily protecting him? As long as he is still in this Qing Dynasty, he is like meat on the chopping block, and it depends on when we can cut him."
When the Sixth Master heard this, he laughed out loud and said, "Your Highness and I think so too." He said to Guangxing, "You should handle this matter well. If you do it well, you will benefit from it in the future. This Guangdong barbarian is a big fat fish. We must eat him up thoroughly. Only then will we feel comfortable. Haha, haha!"
Hefu, Anshantang.
Heshen was reviewing official documents while listening to Liu Quan's reply, but suddenly, he stopped.
"Four million taels?"
Liu Quan lowered his head: "Yes."
Heshen narrowed his eyes and suddenly became furious. He threw the pen in his hand to the ground, staining the floor tiles.
"Four million taels, for just four million taels, they banded together to oppose me!" Heshen said angrily, "What about the princes and nobles? These dogs are so short-sighted that they can't even catch a needle!"
"Master, Master, please calm down!" Liu Quan said anxiously, "Now in the palace... the emperor hasn't summoned you for half a month. The emperor also ordered you to hand over all the errands in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Now we... we can't ruin the overall situation for such a trivial matter!"
"It's just a small matter, just a small matter..." The anger on Heshen's face suddenly turned to sadness: "This is a small matter, and that is also a small matter... But when the small situation in the whole capital is turned upside down, then... it will be a big deal..."
