Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 63: The Bottomless Pit and the Infinite Mountain
Due to the delay in news, when Wu Chengjian was in a good situation in Beijing, the Wu family in Guangzhou began to be in turmoil.
Yihe Bank's operations were going smoothly, thanks to the good foundation laid by Wu Chengjun. However, some distant suppliers could not help but come to the door, ostensibly to express their condolences, but in fact to inquire about the news. Everyone had a smiling face, but behind the smile was an impatient urging.
Cai Qiaozhu gradually became impatient and almost wanted to close the door and refuse visitors. However, she thought that if she turned people away at this time, it would attract more criticism, speculation and association from the outside world. Therefore, she endured it and continued to receive all the guests.
Ye Youyu wasn't having a good time either.
Since she became pregnant, Xu had visited her daughter almost every other day, but now she hasn't come for nearly half a month. At first, she sent people to deliver things across the river every day, but in the past three days, not even a servant could be seen. Ye Youyu guessed that something might have happened in the Ye family again.
She touched her big belly and consoled herself: "There are fish, there are fish, you must hold on, don't worry about other things, Hao Guan can handle it, he will definitely handle it. My child, my mother will eat well, you must grow up well in there, and when you are full-term and come out, my mother will help my aunt to deal with those people outside."
Many people came to Wujiayuan, and quite a few went to Panjiayuan as well - naturally they all went there to ask around, but Pan Youjie ignored them all. However, the business dealings between the Pan family and the Wu family were as normal, and all the funds that should have been provided were provided in full, and some debts were not collected by him either.
Precisely because the Pan family stood firm as a mountain, the Wu family was able to enjoy temporary peace.
At this time, a letter came from Beijing. Ye Youyu was shocked when he received the letter, but after looking at the content of the letter, he found that it was undoubtedly written by Hao Guan himself. After thinking for a long time, he invited Cai Qiaozhuo to come.
After Cai Qiaozhu came over and read the letter, she was also skeptical: "The words are from Hao Guan, but... do we really have to do this?"
"The letter is not forged." Ye Youyu said, "If it was forged, it would have added more explanations, and would not have made such a big thing seem like a piece of trash like this letter does - but this is Hao Guan's true temper. Besides, if it wasn't Hao Guan, who else could have described our family's assets so accurately? Although I still don't quite understand why Hao Guan arranged it this way, it should be his intention. It's just... after all, you are the head of the family now, so I still have to ask you about this matter."
Cai Qiaozhu said decisively: "Give it to me, give it to me! When Hao Guan went up, I said that as long as he can come back, it won't be a pity to lose all the assets of Yihe Bank."
She immediately returned to Lirongyuan, opened the treasure chest, took out more than a dozen land deeds and house deeds, and asked Wu Liu to take them to Panjiayuan.
Watching Zhou Yijin slowly walk into the door, Wu Chengjian's worry turned into joy, and he could hardly hold back the happiness on his face.
"Isn't it too hasty to walk now?" Wu Chengjian was happy to see Zhou Yijin able to get out of bed, but also afraid that he would exert too much force too early.
"I was able to walk a long time ago. Master Ma said that I need to heal this injury, but I can't be completely immobile." Zhou Yijin looked up at the sky and sighed, "It's been a long time... I haven't seen the sun. It's so beautiful. But... the sun in Guangzhou is still more beautiful."
Wu Chengjian held his hand with one hand and supported his arm with the other, and helped him walk to the door, saying, "When this matter is over, we will return to Guangzhou and stay as long as we want."
Zhou Yijin laughed.
Wu Xiaojiu waited for Zhou Yijin to sit down and then left. Wu Qi came in and reported that the new maids had been trained and that the bed in Master Zhou's room had been arranged. He then said, "Officer Hao, things in our Wu family should be stable now, right? Can we report to Guangzhou that everything is safe?"
Wu Chengjian remained silent.
Wu Qi was the most trusted confidant among the trusted confidants, so Wu Chengjian did not put on a false face in front of him. Seeing Hao Guan like this, Wu Qi said worriedly and surprisedly: "Hao Guan, is it possible... is it possible that this matter is not over yet? Didn't we even deal with He Shen?"
Zhou Yijin looked at Wu Chengjian and asked, "How far have you come?"
Wu Chengjian said: "I gave those people 800,000 through Guangxing, and gave Guangxing 80,000 as hard work fees. They let me live back in the Guangdong Guild Hall. Then I gave them another 1.2 million, and gave Guangxing 5,000 taels of gold as hard work fees, and they let you out."
The two of them knew everything, so Zhou Yijin nodded.
Wu Qi was anxious: "Hao Guan, Master Zhou, this...what is 800,000 or 1.2 million? Could it be...could it be that we have spent so much money and still have no peace?"
Zhou Yijin laughed and said, "Two million is enough to get you safe, how can it be so cheap!"
Wu Qi shouted, "Two million can't buy back peace... Who are those people?"
Zhou Yijin said: "Those people are the hungry dragons and tigers around the young dragon. They have been hungry for half their lives and are about to go down the mountain to find food for themselves. Therefore, they are more ferocious, greedy and cruel than anyone else. Even at this time, even Heshen dared not to provoke them."
Wu Qi said: "But they have already taken our money..."
"They took our money, but they wanted more." If it were Wu Chengjian, he would definitely not have the patience to explain so much to Wu Qi, but Zhou Yijin took the trouble to explain it to him slowly and clearly: "They were happy to see so much money suddenly, but their greed was magnified tenfold after seeing the silver. When Heshen wanted money, he would have restrained steps and rules and regulations, but these people were not like that. They only thought about how to squeeze the bones and marrow and how to eat the Wu family dry. As for our life and death, they don't care, and they ."
Wu Qi shouted: "But they took the money!"
Wu Chengjian sneered, "So what if they took the money! Can you still expect these people to abide by the contract like us? Compared with them, the British have a better sense of contract. He Shen at least has reason. These people have none of that. Now they are meeting our requests because they haven't squeezed us dry. When they see that they have squeezed us dry, we will be like a pair of torn pants. We will not only have to throw them away but also despise them."
"Well, then..." Wu Qi thought, what should I do if this group of people have no integrity at all?
Wu Chengjian waved his hand to tell Wu Qi not to ask any more questions, and said to Zhou Yijin: "I first used 800,000 taels to hook them, and then released 1.2 million to whet their appetite. Now we are just waiting for the next step."
Zhou Yijin nodded: "800,000 taels is the first taste of blood. After seeing the real gold and silver and tasting the real blood, these hungry tigers will no longer be willing to let go. I believe there will be the next step soon. How is Guangzhou? Will it be unable to hold on?"
Wu Chengjian said, "I have secretly agreed with Qi Guan that he knows when I can no longer hold on. My family has also warned me about this."
"I've been told over there, that's good..." Zhou Yijin looked outside the house: "I hope I can hold on. I'll go back with you and see the sun in Guangzhou..."
Zhou Yijin had just arrived at the guild hall in the morning and had not yet had lunch when Guangxing arrived - not only was he anxious, but the people behind him were even more anxious.
Wu Xiaojiu poured the tea and left. Only three people were left in the room. Guangxing looked at Zhou Yijin. Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Yijin is my other half. He knows everything about me."
Guangxing had never had anyone he truly trusted, so he was not happy about this, but since Wu Chengjian said so, he suppressed his anger and asked, "What about the remaining two million?"
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "I don't have that much money."
Guangxing had figured out Wu Chengjian's speaking habits by this time, and he was not annoyed at all. He just sneered, "Official Hao, some jokes are only good in front of me. Those nobles can't stand jokes."
"I'm not kidding." Wu Chengjian said, "To tell you the truth, I don't have any cash left, maybe about one million, but I have some things that are worth as much as gold and silver, such as jewelry, antiques, shops, land, etc., which together probably amount to one million. I wonder if the nobles will accept them."
Guangxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He and the nobles behind him had long doubted whether Wu Chengjian could continue to take out money in such an endless stream. Now it seems that the cash and silver are probably cut off - this is in line with their prediction. Today's world is known as a prosperous era. Antiques are valuable, and shops and land are even more profitable. Although they are not cash and silver, as long as the valuation is correct, they are better than gold and silver.
However, he said: "Who knows how much these things are worth."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "If you don't like it, then forget about this deal. Let's call it a day."
Guangxing sneered, "Is that the end? Do you plan to go back to the ruined temple to sleep and eat dog food? Do you plan to let this master break his legs again and go back to jail?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. It's not like I haven't slept in a dilapidated temple before, and it's not like I haven't eaten dog food before."
Zhou Yijin also said: "If a leg is broken once, it is broken; if it is broken twice, it is still broken."
Guangxing could not help but be stunned. He originally wanted to lower the price, but he did not expect Wu Chengjian to be so unthreatening. He angrily said, "You don't want to live anymore, but what about your wife and children? Do you not want to live anymore?"
Wu Chengjian said calmly, "Before I came to Beijing, I had my family prepare coffins, both large and small, just enough for one family. If I die, they will come with me. There's nothing we can do about it. Anyway, we've seen this kind of thing many times in the Thirteenth Floor. It's just like that."
Seeing that he was so single, Guangxing turned around and saw that Zhou Yijin also had a calm face, not pretending at all. He was at a loss for a moment - people have even risked their lives, what can you do?
But Wu Chengjian was willing to take the risk, but he could not. The nobles were waiting for his reply. If he messed up, Guangxing could imagine what the nobles would do to him - there were still two million taels to be paid later. For the sake of two million taels, those people would even kill ten Guangxings.
"Alright, alright!" Guangxing pretended to be impatient and said, "I will answer on behalf of the nobles."
Wu Chengjian said again, "Okay." He took out a prepared envelope and handed it to Guangxing. Guangxing took it and put it in his arms. Wu Chengjian handed over another piece of paper.
This piece of paper was different from the previous one. It didn't look like new paper. When Guangxing opened it, he couldn't help but frown. This was not an address, but a property deed of a shop. It was a silk shop in Beijing. He had been there before and knew that the business of the shop was very good. He immediately knew what it meant, folded it, and hid it more carefully.
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "This time I don't have any gold or silver to give to Master Guangxing as a reward for his hard work, but I hope you will accept it with a smile."
Guangxing had just acquired a prosperous shop, and he was in a good mood, so he asked, "What are you going to ask for this time?" He thought that Wu Chengjian would probably ask to return to Guangzhou.
Unexpectedly, what I heard was: "I want to see the real masters."
Guangxing was stunned for a moment: "What?"
"I say, I want to see the real bosses." Wu Chengjian pointed at Guangxing and said, "You are just an errand boy. I have a big deal to do with the nobles, and I have to discuss it face to face, so I want to see them - all of them."
Guangxing flatly refused: "That's impossible!"
Wu Chengjian didn't even bother to beg: "Okay, forget it, let's stop here."
Guangxing looked him up and down: "That's it?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "What else can I do? I want to give money to the nobles, but they refuse to accept it. Then I have no choice."
Guangxing asked, "Do you still have money?"
Wu Chengjian sneered, "Compared to what I'm going to give you later, these are just appetizers." Seeing Guangxing's expression, Wu Chengjian said, "What? Don't you believe it? Ha, don't you think about it? I gave away something worth two million without even frowning. I'm not in a hurry to do something you didn't agree to do. Just because I don't care, Master Guangxing, do you think I have any money left?"
Guangxing was silent for a moment.
"Okay, go back and reply first. I know you definitely can't make the decision on this matter." Wu Chengjian said: "Just tell the nobles that I want to see them, and I want to see all the people who can make the decision. In the future, I will not do business with agents. If the real owner refuses to see me, I will not give him money, not a penny. But if he is willing to come to see my real owner, Wu Chengjian will give him a meeting gift - 500,000 for the prince, 200,000 for the beile, and 300,000 for each person between the prince and the beile."
Guangxing was very surprised: "Wu Chengjian, do you know what you are talking about?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Why? Are you worried that I can't come up with the money? All right. If the nobles are willing to see me, please tell me the rank and number of people before I go to see them, and I will bring cash with me. As for the gift of meeting, it must be presented in person to show sincerity."
Guangxing sneered, "Five hundred thousand per person, how many more five hundred thousand can you come up with?"
"Does the Qing Dynasty have so many princes?" Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I estimate that there are ten nobles behind them at most, and five at least. The gifts for seven or eight of them are only a few million taels of silver, which is nothing. Humph, this Beijing city is a bottomless pit that eats people without leaving any bones. But our Guangzhou Bay is an infinite mountain that produces money without limit!"
