Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 9 Liu Quan's Visit
Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin toured the water scenery and returned to Manqian Penglai. They heard music coming from the stage and it turned out that a play was about to begin.
Who could mobilize this troupe when both of them were away? The two looked at each other and felt that something might have happened.
When we got on the pier, we could see from afar that the theater pavilion was covered with a pearl curtain, which looked very strange.
Wu Qi had already come over, Wu Chengjian glanced at him and said, "The show you gave way to?"
Wu Qi whispered, "Hutab is here."
Wu Chengjian understood and asked Zhou Yijin: "Will you come with me, or should I go alone?"
Zhou Yijin said: "Now that they are here, why shouldn't I go and greet them?"
The two men approached the viewing pavilion and took a closer look. Through the pearl curtain, Wu Chengjian could vaguely make out Liu Quan's figure, but Hutabu was not there and no one knew where he was hiding.
Wu Chengjian waved his hand to let Wu Qi, Wu Xiaojiu and others move away, and walked in with Zhou Yijin with a smile on his face, calling out, "Mr. Quan, how come you are interested in coming here to listen to the opera without informing me in advance?"
Liu Quan laughed, stood up and returned the greetings to the two men - no matter what he thought in his heart, he was still very polite.
Wu Chengjian introduced him again, saying, "This is my good friend, Zhou Yijin."
Zhou Yijin bowed and said, "Greetings, Lord Quan."
Liu Quan turned to look at Zhou Yijin and thought, "This is Wu Chengjian's strategist. He's so handsome. If I hadn't heard about some of his methods, I would have thought he was just a gigolo."
He laughed and said, "Master Zhou is famous throughout Guangdong. How could I not know him?" He also greeted Zhou Yijin and treated him as cordially as he treated Wu Chengjian.
His affection did not make Zhou Yijin feel happy, but instead made him feel secretly uneasy.
At this time, there was already hot tea and snacks on the table in the theater pavilion. It was not known whether Liu Quan was being impolite or Hutabu secretly asked Wu Qi to arrange it.
The three of them sat down, and Liu Quan pointed at the stage and said with a smile: "This troupe is very good. I rarely see such a decent accent even in Beijing ."
Zhou Yijin said: "I wonder if they will be so lucky as to go to the capital and sing for the Duke."
What he said was that he wanted to give the troupe to Liu Quan - Wu Chengjian had already given it to him, and Zhou Yijin really loved the troupe and had put a lot of effort into it over the past few days, so it was Zhou Yijin who had to initiate the matter. Of course, in the eyes of Liu Quan and the others, what Zhou Yijin gave was also what Wu Chengjian gave.
Liu Quan laughed and said, "No, no, I can't afford it. But I can ask the Lord Zhongtang."
Wu Chengjian's face showed an expression of "even more joy". Since Zhou Yijin had already spoken, he continued: "If they can have the opportunity to show off their skills at the He Mansion, it will be a blessing for these actors."
Liu Quan nodded, which was considered as his agreement.
This opera troupe is worth more than a thousand gold coins, but Liu Quan is willing to accept this gift on behalf of Heshen, which makes the person who gives the gift flattered.
The three of them listened to a short segment, and Liu Quan smiled and said, "This play is good, but it can't be better than Hao Guan's two plays."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Mr. Quan is joking. I can't sing opera."
Liu Quan said: "I enjoyed watching the big show in the Guangdong Customs Supervisory Office last year. It's a pity that I didn't see the show before the Thirteen Hongs fire."
After hearing this, Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin both became restless. Just now, when they saw that Liu Quan was willing to close the troupe, they thought the matter was over. Unexpectedly, the situation took a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. Was Liu Quan preparing to have a showdown?
Liu Quan seemed not to notice their nervousness at all and continued to smile.
Wu Chengjian said, "I don't understand what Lord Quan said."
"Haha, that's right, that's how it should be done." Liu Quan said with a smile, "When you're acting, you have to do it in its entirety. Very good, very good."
Wu Chengjian said seriously: "Mr. Quan, I really don't know what you are talking about."
Liu Quan said: "Hao Guan, you have been walking on the edge of the cliff and are unwilling to really serve Master Zhongtang. To be honest, I am actually a little disappointed."
Wu Chengjian lowered his head. It was enough to say the words of denial twice. If he said it more, Liu Quan might get angry.
"But, who made Hao Guan do it so cleanly?" Liu Quan said, "Not only did the batch of popular goods disappear, but the entire Thirteenth Line was wiped out. Good, good, a big deal!"
He turned around and said to Zhou Yijin: "Master Zhou is indeed a disciple of Master Cai. What he has done is consistent with Master Cai, but he is even more ambitious than Master Cai!"
Zhou Yijin hurriedly said, "Mr. Quan's words make me feel both panicked and puzzled."
Liu Quan laughed out loud: "Master Cai couldn't figure out where the valuables were hidden, so he simply gave up and used force to defeat tricks and surrounded the entire Thirteen Hongs, and he really found the valuables. Master Zhou, seeing that the valuables could not be taken away and that burning down Xingchenghang alone would not work, simply burned down the entire Thirteen Hongs. Burning down their own warehouses meant cutting off their own financial resources, and not only cutting off their own financial resources, but also almost cutting off the financial resources of everyone in the world. No one in the world would do such a thing that is almost suicidal and kills the world, so you can do it, but others don't dare to believe that you dare to do it!"
Wu Chengjian said, "Mr. Quan, I cannot bear your words. If this rumor gets out, I will have everyone in Guangzhou tear it apart."
Liu Quan laughed and said, "Who dares to tear you apart now? The entire Guangdong Bay is waiting for you to get money from the foreigners, who dares to tear you apart? So the most powerful thing about you, Hao Guan, is not only that you dare to set fires and can set fires, but also that you can rebuild the ruins after setting the fire. So this fire was so powerful that it burned all the way to the sky!"
There was silence in the theater pavilion. Wu Chengjian tried to blurt out something several times but was secretly stopped by Zhou Yijin. Liu Quan glanced at it and pretended not to see it even though he saw it.
After a long while, Zhou Yijin let go of Wu Chengjian only after he had completely calmed down.
Wu Chengjian pondered for a long while before saying, "Mr. Quan, the fire at the Thirteenth Floor was really an accident. Of course, Yi Jin and I did do some things after the fire, but we just went with the flow. There are many things that are really difficult for us. I think He Zhongtang is a person who does things himself, so he should understand this difficulty."
Liu Quan stared at Wu Chengjian. He was actually suspicious of the fire at the Thirteenth Bank, and even inferred from the profits that it was almost certain that Wu Chengjian was the one who set it, but all this was just speculation, without any real evidence. Wu Chengjian's final defense sounded somewhat reasonable, but of course Liu Quan would not believe it completely.
Zhou Yijin said, "Quan Gong, in some cases, we should judge by the heart instead of the matter. In terms of the matter, there is no filial son in the world. In other cases, we should judge by the matter instead of the heart. In terms of the heart, there is no perfect person in the world. Hao Guan is a filial son, but not a perfect person. In some cases, he has not done enough, but he has the ability, but also has scruples. He has a bottom line in dealing with people, and can grasp the degree. I think such a person is still very useful."
These words are openly meant to mediate, but secretly contain irony: in the first two sentences, the word "filial piety" compares the father-son relationship between Beijing and Guangzhou, Qianlong and Baoshang, and Heshen and Wu Chengjian. Beijing is where the emperor is, Qianlong is the monarch and father, Baoshang is the minister, Heshen is the superior, and Wu Chengjian is the subordinate. Wu Chengjian is subservient to Heshen, and even if he is really loyal, he can't do everything to please his superiors, but at least he didn't really turn to others; the second sentence points out Wu Chengjian's ability, which is to tell Heshen that Wu Chengjian is still very useful, and you may not be able to find someone better than him right now.
Liu Quan laughed loudly: "Master Zhou is very eloquent. Even if Master Zhongtang heard this, he would have to praise him."
Zhou Yijin bowed his head as a gesture of respect.
Liu Quan narrowed his eyes and looked at the two people: Wu Chengjian's eyebrows were like swords, which showed that he was strong-willed, while Zhou Yijin's eyebrows were like willows, which showed that he was feminine. The two things these two people did in the past two years were beyond his expectations.
However, just as Zhou Yijin expressed in the codeword, Wu Chengjian is indeed a person who knows how to weigh the pros and cons. Such a person seems to be more trustworthy than those who are brainless, impulsive or have no bottom line. And more importantly, he also has the ability.
No matter whether they are emperors or generals, their tolerance towards people with real power and those without power can vary greatly.
"Whatever." Liu Quan snorted coldly, and then said, "I didn't come here today to settle accounts with you. If I really wanted to settle accounts, I wouldn't have accepted your gift just now. However, I still want to make one thing clear."
Wu Chengjian said, "Please speak, Lord Quan."
Liu Quan said: "Whether it was a comprehensive plan or a matter of following the trend, you did a great job this time, Hao Guan. Since you did a great job, I will accept it. But you have to remember this clearly. There is a saying: three times is the limit! Last year, Ji Shan blindly provoked you, and you were forced to fight back. This year's incident is over. But from now on, no matter in terms of heart or matter, there must not be a third time. I, Liu Quan, have said all I can. I hope Hao Guan will respect himself."
Wu Chengjian stood up and bowed deeply: "Mr. Quan's kindness will be remembered forever in my heart. There are some things that Wu Chengjian only hopes he will never encounter again in this lifetime."
Liu Quan snorted softly and said, "I hope so!"
