Chapter 70: Observation

West of the city, outside the Cao Mansion.

At the corner of the alley, there was a middle-aged man in his thirties, leaning against the wall, as if basking in the sun. If you look closely, you will find that his gaze is always in the direction of the gate of Cao's mansion.

"The world is different, and the red face is old in the dust for half of my life; I don't have to wear clothes early, and I watch the puppets make a fuss. I cried and burst into tears, and I burst into laughter. I've stopped, Yuhu Qiongdao, and I have few sorrows forever." With a humming humming in a low voice, an old man in his fifties rode a blue mule and walked leisurely, with a thirteen or fourteen servant holding the reins in front of him.

When passing by the middle-aged man, the old man looked over there seemingly unintentionally, then squinted his eyes and continued to hum: "Look at his two-part collar, don't let the next autumn wave be removed. Thanks to my peach blossom fan torn apart, I won't let the foolish insects spit out their soft silk and tie them up for thousands of times."

After a while, a young man with a young man walked out of the Cao family's gate, with a pale face. After coming out, he turned around, looked at the Cao family's gate, stomped his feet hard, and left unsteadily, just facing the direction of the old man, and almost bumped into the mule-leading servant.

The servant saw someone so reckless and wanted to refuse to rely on him, but he was a person with vision. Seeing that the other party was wearing Qingsujin and hitting the mansion in front of him, he could see that he had a status, so he just held the reins and wanted to avoid it.

When the young man heard the mule's nasal sound, he came to his senses and retreated to the side. He felt a little more apologetic on his face, and he hurriedly bowed: "I'm really sorry!"

The old man swept the corner from the corner of his eyes first, then nodded and said, "It's okay, it's okay, you're welcome, brother!"

*

Cao Mansion, front hall.

Cao Yong took a sip of warm tea. He was eighteen years old but still an older child, so he had to carry these things. It was really heavy.

Gu Na came here not to pay his respects. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, he "betrayed" the Cao family. It would be strange if he still walked around. In March, he came to the door under the banner of "wining over" the Cao family for Prince Ninth because he had not seen Cao Yong for several years. Now this time, he is here to give money. He is frugal by nature and has only a hobby of reading and writing. In recent years, he has saved some money.

In the past two years, the Ministry of Revenue has caused a lot of controversy, and Gu Na naturally knows it under the Ninth Prince. Now, the Cao family is one of the top debt-owing households, and the Cao family's legitimate son sells land and sends slaves in the capital. It is not a secret.

Gu Na has already decided to leave the job outside, either to Shandong or Anhui, and he will be able to get the official documents in the past few days. He knew that although his young cousin was not a person who likes luxury, he had never suffered since childhood and was unwilling to live in Beijing, so he exchanged his savings for the past few years and sent them over the silver bill.

Although Cao Yong is a little tight at the moment, he still has not accepted these banknotes. Since the Ninth Prince is willing to let Gu Na out to be an official, his purpose is only two, in order to make money or develop local forces. Gu Na has been square since childhood and lacks flexibility, so he is afraid that he will not be suitable for such a job. If it causes dissatisfaction from the superiors, it will be bad. Sometimes, he can take some money to respect him and spend money to buy a comfortable life.

Although Gu Na was a few years older, how could he say that Cao Yong was so reasonable? In the end, he had to put it away reluctantly and leave with regret.

*

Although Xiaoman was arranged to rest, he was not willing to calm down. After changing into clean clothes, he followed a few servants of the same age in the mansion to talk about the experiences on the grassland.

Seeing someone coming in from the door, Xiaoman looked over curiously, and someone next to him whispered: "Mr. Zhuang has gone to drink tea and listen to the opera again. I have never seen such a leisurely western class as in our mansion!"

Xiaoman was loyal to Cao Yong all day long. He had already complained to Mr. Zhuang in his heart, but still whispered: "Talk too much. The master specially invited the uncle to the uncle. How can he write a trick at will? Although the uncle is generous to the servants, he cannot tolerate these!" After that, he stood up and greeted him, and called him: "Xiaoman greeted the gentleman. I haven't seen him for several months. Seeing that the gentleman looks better than before, it's not in vain for our uncle!"

Zhuang Xi nodded: "You are too tall, and you are more generous than before. It seems that this is a good place to train people outside the border!"

When Xiaoman heard the praise, he stood up with a small breast and said with a little pride: "Sir, although Xiaoman is a humble person, he cannot lose face of the Cao family when he goes out. The old man is either the prince or the prince Beile. Xiaoman has indeed gained a lot of knowledge!"

Zhuang Xi smiled and ordered the servant behind him: "Take the food I just bought outside Zhengyang Gate to the kitchen. I gave me careful instructions to cut it thinly and keep the rest well, and don't waste it!"

Seeing that Zhuang Xi was speaking solemnly, Xiaoman looked like a paper bag held by the servant: "Sir, is this?"

Zhuang Xi said: "Last month, a new Fushunzhai was opened outside Zhengyang Gate. This is his signature beef sauce!

Xiaoman heard that it was beef, but he lost interest. In the past few months, he had a nausea in eating beef and mutton, and he wanted to eat some porridge and side dishes every time.

*

Cao Yong was in the front hall and had already received a letter from Mr. Zhuang's return home, so he stood up to greet him.

Faced with Cao Yong's greetings, the village still looked quiet. After entering the house and sat down, he asked a few simple words outside the border, and was particularly concerned about the matter of the Cao family raising the flag.

"There is an old man in the family, as if there is a treasure." Cao Yong never dared to look down on the wisdom of the elders. Seeing Zhuang Xi frowned and pondered, he asked, "Sir, I think something is wrong with raising the flag!"

Zhuang Xi nodded, looked at the door, and said nothing.

Seeing that the village was worried, Cao Yong sent the little maid who served tea in the hall to go out to guard it, and no one was allowed to come in. Then, the two went to the small study room in the front hall to talk.

*

"Mr. Are you worried that the Cao family will lose their status as a coat and lose their protection?" Cao Yong asked after the two of them sat down.

Zhuang Xi shook his head: "It is well known that the emperor is kind to the Cao family. I will not be disrespectful for the sake of false reputation!"

"What did sir worry about?" Cao Yong was a little puzzled.

Zhuang Xi looked a little solemn: "I have lived for most of my life. I have a little bit of clarity about the world, but I really can't figure out the thoughts of that person!" As he said that, he pointed at it with his finger, and then continued: "There is also a matter of raising the flag in this dynasty. Most of them have military merits or women as nobles, and the whole family or the whole clan have carried the flag. Like the Cao family, it is the first time that the children carry the flag because of their birth date, but they don't know what the person is thinking!"

Cao Yong thought of his sister: "It was because his sister became the prince's concubine, and it was only because his father politely declined a few years ago that the matter was delayed!"

Zhuang Xi knocked on the table with his finger: "It's just a remark, don't believe it all! Since I received your letter from my family in mid-July and knew about carrying the flag, I have privately investigated the origin of the concubines of the royal palaces in the capital. It's not that there are no ones who marry into the royal family, but few parents' families receive grace together. Most of them are like Prince Ping, who raises the flag after marriage and prepares for marriage."

Cao Yong knew about this for the first time, paused for a while, and said, "If it weren't for the benefit of my sister, it should be the compensation for the Cao family! The Cao family has been busy for many years and has fulfilled its duties as a minister. Now it is a big hole!"

"I think that's all this reason left! Although I didn't become an official in the court, I heard that the person who values ​​friendship the most is the one. The Cao family includes the eldest son, but the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren have served in this dynasty!" After Zhuang Xi said, his face was still heavy: "Even so, the Cao family is still not out of danger at the moment!"

Cao Yong's heart sank, and he tried to make arrangements for the past few years, and nearly half of the deficit was paid. If this continues, the accounts should be cleaned in three to five years, so why not stop?

"Yinger, do you know that eight out of ten teahouses in Beijing have used the Cao family's tea; the major tea houses, the medium and high-end teas are almost monopolized by the Cao family's tea. The tea is profitable and there are more than one or two people who are jealous of the tea. If the Shengjia was not in Beijing, I was afraid that someone would not be able to help but take action. Now, when the Shengjia comes back, it will take a long time to test it!" Zhuang Xi said seriously.

It turned out that this was the case. Cao Yong felt relieved: "If you have no desires, you will be strong. After you have enough food and clothing, gold and silver are just numbers. The Cao family developed these tea gardens in order to repay the debt. When the account is cleared, it will be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs!"

Zhuang Xi heard Cao Yong's free and easy words and couldn't help but applaud: "What a tough guy who has no desires! It's really a blessing for the family to have a son like this!"

It turned out that Cao Yin had this worry in his heart since the tea profits grew in the past two years, and he was afraid that the Cao family would plant other disasters when paying back the debt, so he had the idea of ​​handing over the tea shop. However, after all, it was Cao Yong's idea to develop these tea gardens, and he didn't know what his son was thinking, so he had not made up his mind for a long time.

Mr. Zhuang Chang was afraid that the father and son would be separated from each other because of the tea shop, so he mentioned this matter in a letter to his cousin.

After hearing Zhuang Xi's praise, Cao Yong thought of it as a matter of secretly funny. What's the point of greed for this kind of wealth placed on the table? You must know that in addition to the tea garden and pearls, there is also Wei Xin. Wei Xin has been to Guangzhou for more than three years and has studied management at the Thirteenth Street. Now he occasionally makes a small fuss in the market and has begun to make investments.
Chapter completed!