At noon, Li Ye returned home and found his father receiving guests.
This is normal, it's a day off! Officials will go out to make connections and visit their superiors, not to mention that my father is a dignified Minister of Etiquette and holds the power of the Ministry of Etiquette, so of course there will be officials to curry favor with me.
Li Ye went directly to the back house, where his mother was packing her bags. Li Ye was startled and said, "Mom, who wants to go out?"
"Your daddy! He is going to Chencang again. Hey! He has already made several trips."
"What did father do in Chencang County?"
Li Ye was a little confused. What was the Minister of Rites going to do in the small county town?
"I don't know. I seem to be looking for a subordinate. I heard that something happened to one of his subordinates. He is in his hometown of Chencang County. Last time, your father was afraid that he would commit suicide and ran to comfort him."
At this time, Li Dai hurried over and said, "Madam, have you packed up? I'm going to leave!"
"Father, what happened?"
Li Dai smiled bitterly and said: "I told you about the imperial examination thing yesterday. Some people are keeping an eye on it, which is more troublesome."
"Yang Guozhong?"
Li Dai shook his head, "It's not Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong's thoughts are with Nanzhao. He doesn't care about the imperial examination. It's the Zhang brothers, the prime minister Zhang Jun, and the Taichang Qing Zhang Bian. Alas! It's a long story. I'll talk about it when I get back.
Let me tell you in detail."
"Father, do you want me to go with you?"
"No need, you are busy with your own affairs, daddy can take care of it."
Li Dai took his luggage, got into the carriage with the two officials, and left.
Li Ye watched his father walk away, feeling a little worried in his heart. He vaguely felt that Zhang Jun was using the imperial examination as a means to attack his father.
Mrs. Guo Guo only ensured that the Yang family would not touch her father, and she did not care about others.
After lunch, Li Ye came to Dongshi Zhenwei Martial Arts Hall. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ping was no longer in the martial arts hall. According to the wishes of the martial arts hall members, Zhang Ping was promoted.
After finding out Zhang Ping's new address, Li Ye went to Baoji Trading Company, which was also located in Dongshi.
From a distance, I saw a tall, fat man wearing a gauze hat and robe saying goodbye to the guests. He looked quite polite.
Li Ye couldn't believe his eyes. That person was Zhang Ping, his friend since childhood.
"Little Fatty!"
Li Ye waved to him from afar.
The tall, fat man was Zhang Ping. He heard a familiar voice, looked around, and saw Li Ye at a glance.
He was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly walked forward. Li Ye turned over and dismounted. The two hugged tightly. Li Ye punched his generous shoulder and said with a smile: "Have you passed the exam?"
Zhang Ping chuckled, "I can write the entire Analects silently now, how about it?"
"That's right! That's right! Your wife has taught her husband well, but she's not in the martial arts school now?"
"I am still in charge of the martial arts school, but I don't care about the specifics. I leave it to Wu Changxing. He is indeed a man who earns a living in the Yellow River. He dares to fight and fight hard. He is not afraid of death. Everyone is more afraid of him, so he is nicknamed Black Wolf."
"Don't call him Wujilang anymore?" Li Ye said with a smile.
"That was my childhood nickname. Now I can't call him Wujilang. By the way, when did eldest brother come back?"
"I just arrived yesterday, let's go! Let's go have a drink."
Zhang Ping pointed at the restaurant opposite and said with a smile: "I own the restaurant opposite, and the shopkeeper is my brother."
The two of them walked towards the restaurant. There was a big sign hanging on the restaurant, 'Xiao Zhang Baiwei Restaurant'.
Li Ye recognized that the words on the signboard seemed to be written by his father.
"Does this word look like it was written by my father?" Li Ye asked with a smile.
Zhang Ping nodded, "My uncle wrote it and the name was also given to me. It is both vulgar and approachable. Everyone praises this name."
"How is business?" Li Ye asked again.
Seeing that there was no one around him, Zhang Ping lowered his voice and said: "When business is at its best, the net profit is a hundred guan a day, and at worst it's 50 guan."
"not bad!"
Li Ye was amazed that the Anranju Restaurant in Pingkangfang was nothing more than this.
Zhang Ping blushed and said with some embarrassment: "Thanks to you for teaching me those dishes. Although other people have learned it, they can't make the taste. Only Xiao Zhang Restaurant is the most authentic. Everyone recognizes that, plus
If you drink Wang's Baihualu sake, business will naturally be good."
"Could it be that you are still here taking charge?"
Zhang Ping shook his head, "My brother is in charge. I taught him everything exactly. He worked hard and practiced better than me."
The two of them walked into the restaurant. It was almost noon, but there were still many drinkers in the restaurant, and they all seemed to be businessmen discussing business.
The two went up to the second floor and found a seat in front of the window. Zhang Ping found the bartender and ordered two bottles of sake and a few side dishes.
Zhang Ping smiled and said, "I haven't told my eldest brother yet that I'm a father!"
"Congratulations! Congratulations! Is it a son or a daughter?"
"It's a son. My father named him Zhang Qin. There is a river in my hometown called Qin River. Father, let him not forget his roots!"
Li Ye took out a small leather bag from his arms, took out a high-quality ruby the size of a sparrow egg, and handed it to Zhang Ping, "This is for your son, it's a little bit of my heart!"
"Okay! Thank you."
Zhang Ping was not polite, took it away, and asked with a smile: "I heard from my aunt that you will get married in mid-August, right?"
Li Ye nodded, "I'll give you an invitation then!"
"I will definitely go!"
Zhang Ping smiled and said: "I listened to your advice and learned to read and write. I completed the elementary school courses in one year. My adoptive father was very happy and let me take over his business. He retreated behind the scenes."
"You mean, you became the chief executive of a commercial bank?"
Zhang Ping shook his head, "There is a big manager below. My adoptive father gave me a 30% share to take care of various businesses for him. To be precise, I do what his son should do."
"Where is his own son?"
"The foster father has two sons. The eldest son is a fool. When he was sixteen, he was hit on the head with a stick and became a fool. Now he is thirty years old and his brain is still like that of a three-year-old child, with drooling from the corners of his mouth.
, and cannot marry and have children.
The youngest son is as old as me, but I don’t know where he is. He was hidden by his adoptive father, as was the youngest son of the family head. Since the second son was killed by An Lushan, the family head has also hidden his youngest son. I
I only know that it is hidden in the Jiangnan area.
Now the head of the family only operates Baoji and Wude Restaurants, and all trade is distributed to other brothers in the family. My adoptive father produces medicinal materials, grain, oil and tea. He is currently the second largest medicinal materials merchant and the second largest oil merchant in Chang'an.
The third largest grain merchant and the largest tea merchant were all handed over to me, and the martial arts school was also handed over to me."
Li Ye's first reaction was white gloves, and Zhang Ping gradually became Wang Xuanhai's white gloves. These rich people were very keen and sensed the changes in the current situation, and began to retreat behind the scenes and push those they trusted to the front.
Li Ye pondered for a moment and asked: "How many people are there in your martial arts gym?"
“There are more than 20,000 ordinary students”
Zhang Ping looked at both sides, lowered his voice and said: "In the name of students and instructors, there are actually more than 1,800 warriors raised. These people are under my command, and I command them as a black whale. Wu Changxing
He's my deputy."
Li Ye nodded, "It makes more sense for you to stay in Chang'an than to go to Suiye!"
Zhang Ping pressed his head in pain and said: "I'm scared to stay in Chang'an! My adoptive father retreated behind the scenes and handed over the burden to me. Only then did I feel the tremendous pressure. How many powerful people were watching us eagerly, and we were like
A group of fat sheep will be torn apart by tigers and wolves at any time."
"Don't you also have a backstage? King Si Ning."
Zhang Ping shook his head, "King Si Ning only has some influence. The five major forces in Chang'an have no chance to turn to him. If the Yang family wants to attack us, he will not be able to protect us at all."
"What are the five major forces in Chang'an?" Li Ye asked.
"The first largest force is the Emperor's force, represented by Gao Lishi, who is aloof and overlooks all living beings; the second largest force is the Yang family force, which is actually part of the Emperor's force; the third largest force is the Guanlong force, which is your future father-in-law.
The Dugu family, the Yuan family, the Changsun family, the Dou family, etc.; the fourth largest force is the prince's force, and your father is the recognized prince's faction; the fifth largest force is the Anlushan force."
"An Lushan power?"
Li Ye was startled, "Is An Lushan very powerful in Chang'an?"
Zhang Ping smiled bitterly and said, "I just listened to what my adoptive father said. I don't know what exactly happened."
Li Ye smiled and said: "Actually, there is a sixth major force!"