Before noon arrived, guests had already arrived in the Peony Room of Juxiang Restaurant. This elegant room was on the far west side. Next door was the utility room, which was full of old tables and chairs, making it impossible to monitor, so Wang Shuang chose this elegant room.
, they have booked a fixed time slot at noon at the same price every day. If they need it at night, they can book it in advance and the private room will be reserved for them.
Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua came a little early. This was the fourth time they invited Lu Wei to dinner today. After the first three contacts, Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua both saw that Lu Wei was serious on the surface and no longer fought. No.
Even when he teases women, he sometimes speaks in an official tone.
But deep down, the playboy mentality is still there, that is, the idea of getting something for nothing is deeply rooted in my bones. I envy the counselors’ income of thousands of dollars a year. I don’t know where their income comes from. They always complain that they work harder than cows and eat too much.
It's less than a chicken.
The time has gradually matured. Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua decided to show off today. Of course, it was not them who would tell the truth, but Lu Jiao.
Wang Shuang glanced at Lu Jiao, who was drinking tea next to him, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Lu, did you really see the couple quarreling yesterday?"
Lu Jiao smiled and said: "Actually, it wasn't a quarrel. It was his wife who complained that King Yong was ruthless and would not give special approval for such a close relationship. This made Lu Wei angry, so he yelled at her, saying what do women know? Let her
Shut up!"
Next to him, Zhou Hua raised his eyebrows and said, "In other words, he wants to sell the land but can't?"
"Exactly!"
Wang Shuang pondered for a moment and said, "Is his family in a hurry to sell the land, or is it because they are in a hurry to raise money to buy a house?"
Lu Qiao nodded, "Actually, it's because of Li Mei's family. Li Mei's father was assassinated in Chengdu. Her mother and her young brother wanted to come to Jingzhao to join her, but Lu Wei was reluctant. Li Mei also had two brothers in Bashu.
He is an official in the county! Why should he seek refuge with his daughter?
So Li Mei thought about buying another house for her mother and younger brother to live in instead of living together. Lu Wei also agreed. It happened that the government had a three-acre house for sale, and the location was very good. It was on Chang'an South Street.
Lu Wei accepted the favor, and the house was left to him, but he had to pay 30,000 guan to transfer it. I heard from Lu Wei that their family only had 6,000 guan, and he didn't want to ask his father and grandfather for it, so he was in a hurry."
Next to him, Zhou Hua said: "He can actually ask the princess to borrow it! Isn't it his biological sister?"
Lu Qiao snorted disdainfully, "Dr. Zhou, you are overthinking. The princess is hypocritical and selfish. She will never allow Lu Wei to buy a house because it is beyond Lu Wei's ability to bear and will make others doubt Lu Wei."
Gaining benefits from the princess affects her reputation as a virtuous and selfless person. She does everything based on her own interests and will never allow others to harm her interests, even her own brother."
Wang Shuang and Zhou Hua looked at each other, and they understood that Lu Wei, a relative who seemed to be in a good position, was actually more difficult than others. No wonder he was transferred to Xiazhou to be the governor before. No one else would accept such a dangerous place.
Go, only he can go.
At this time, there were rapid footsteps outside, and Lu Wei walked in like a gust of wind, clasping his fists and saying apologetically: "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long!"
Lu Jiao jumped up and shouted: "Lao San will be punished with three drinks later!"
"Let me drink one drink as a penalty! I have to inspect the warehouse in the afternoon. Drinking too much will cause trouble. That guy Lao Guan is not easy to talk to."
Wang Shuang chuckled, "Forget about the fine wine, sit down quickly, brother Zhou will let them serve wine and food!"
Zhou Hua went out and called out. Not long after, three bartenders came in with boxes of wine and vegetables, and placed a table full of wine and vegetables for them.
Wang Shuang waited for Lu Qiao to fill everyone's glasses with wine, then he picked up the wine glass and stood up and said with a smile, "Come on! Let's have a drink first."
Everyone also stood up, picked up their wine glasses and drank down the wine in one gulp. Wang Shuang then asked Lu Wei to pick up the food and the four of them started eating.
After drinking two glasses of wine, Wang Shuang put down his chopsticks and asked with a smile: "How is the land thing?"
Lu Wei sighed and said: "It's difficult to handle! The rule is that it is not allowed to be sold within three generations."
"Is it really that strict?"
Lu Wei shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Actually, it's not that strict. Lao Guan had borrowed a lot of money from fellow villagers to buy his son a house, and King Yong specifically approved him to use five acres of land to pay off the debt. In fact, the key is not that King Yong didn't agree, but that
It’s the princess.”
Wang Shuang chuckled and said: "Understood! Understood! Then Lu Sima will be in trouble when it comes to buying a house."
"Hey! When I went back yesterday, my wife and I had a big fight. We were crying and fussing. It was so annoying!"
Lu Wei picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Wang Shuang filled a glass of wine for him and asked tentatively: "With Lu Sima's current position, it shouldn't be difficult to make more than 20,000 yuan!"
"Who said that? Go and try corruption. Now the inspector of the Supervision Department is still in Xiazhou! Encouraging officials in Xiazhou to write anonymous letters to report me is called out-of-office supervision. This is what you are most afraid of when you are an official."
The three people present had a dark look on their faces. Lu Qiao said unconvinced: "But you also said that the counselors earn several thousand dollars a year. Where does their money come from? Do they rely on that little salary?"
Lu Wei pondered for a while and said: "I later figured it out. One is the salary and year-end rewards. Counselors can get more than a thousand dollars in rewards at the end of the year, and they are distributed in these few days.
Their salary is also high, with an annual income of thousands of guan, and there are also rewards from King Yong. Last time King Yong came back from Lin'an, he rewarded a lot of jewelry. I heard that a sapphire gold hairpin of Jiang Yanxian's wife is worth thousands of guan, that is,
Rewarded by King Yong.
Then there is land income. The counselors are rewarded with farms, and the annual income is two to three thousand guan. In addition, I heard that the counselors have investments outside, such as the Bazhen Restaurant on Dongda Street. Zhou Kuan and Zhang Miao each invested 20%.
The business is so booming, how can their annual dividends be less?"
"Is King Yong still allowed to do business?"
"Investment is possible, but direct business is not possible for the time being. It's actually the same thing! I invest in dozens of shops, and then my son is responsible for taking care of these businesses. I continue to invest the profits I get. I don't participate in the business, I only care about the investment income.
, isn’t it the same?”
"You're right, there is a workaround for everything."
Lu Wei sighed, "It's just that such a good thing hasn't happened to me yet. Over the years, I have saved up six thousand dollars, all from my teeth."
"Haha! A horse will not be fat without night grass, and a man will not be rich without external wealth!"
"Foreign wealth?"
Lu Wei narrowed his eyes and smiled: "I think so! Does Mr. Wang have a way?"
"Of course there are ways, and the results are quick, but it's a bit illegal and may not be suitable for Lu Sima."
Lu Wei sighed, "People are poor and have short ambitions. They only care about the size of the risk. Who cares about whether it is legal or not?"
"You're right! Come, let's drink, and everyone drank this."
Wang Shuang had stopped talking. As for what business to do, it was not for him to say, but for Lu Qiao. The relationship between Wang Shuang and Lu Wei had not yet reached a heart-to-heart level.
Wang Shuang gave Lu Qiao repeated instructions, and Lu Qiao agreed. He ate a few more bites of food, drank two glasses of wine, and left.
Seeing his greedy attitude, Zhou Hua felt really disgusted. He shook his head and said, "This libertine is stupid and incompetent. He only does bad things. He really shouldn't be brought in."
Wang Shuang smiled slightly and said: "Don't underestimate him. If he hadn't been the matchmaker, how could we have known Lu Wei, and we also knew so many details about Lu Wei. More importantly, because of Lu Qiao's existence, even if Lu Wei didn't want to
, he won’t report it to the official, and I have another idea.”
Zhou Hua became interested and quickly asked: "Brother Wang, what else do you have in mind?"
Wang Shuang said meaningfully: "Didn't Lu Jiao say a few days ago that Lu Wei wanted to find a job for him? If he could work in the armory or granary, wouldn't we know the details of the Song Army's mobilization of ordnance and food?
"
"That makes sense!"
Zhou Hua stroked his beard and nodded, "In this way, this person is still somewhat useful."
Wang Shuang chuckled, "How can it be useless? After all, his surname is Lu! The key depends on how we use him."