Su Xigui was sitting on a wicker chair, humming a tune, shaking his head, and drinking tea leisurely.
"Master, please stop it if you like. If it makes things worse, aren't you afraid of ruining my uncle's reputation?" The cashier and several attendants nearby were urging the owner to stop in time.
Su Xigui smiled and said: "You are afraid, there are people who are more afraid than you... Do you think the magistrate here does not want to be promoted? I insist on sitting here, not because I feel that I have lost face and need to make up for it, but because I want to make a clear calculation.
How much is your brother-in-law's face worth? How can you make a fortune if you don't know how to take advantage of the situation in business?"
Su Xigui drank a few cups of tea and was about to have the chamber pot brought to the place for convenience. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps. He thought it was Magistrate Shenli leaving and returning, so he immediately sat down at attention.
But it was an old woman, strolling into the cell as if strolling through her own back garden.
Su Xigui was also considered a show-stopper. He stood up and came to the cell door. He looked at the graceful old lady in front of him and looked confused: "The old lady is...?"
Zhu Jia nodded: "I am the wife of Zhu Mingshan, the hereditary royal guard of Qianhu. The person who reported to the Yamen about selling illegal salt was Quanzi."
Su Xigui immediately turned away and smiled: "Oh, I made a mistake and I come out to clean up the mess?"
Said.
Before returning to the desk, he poured himself another cup of tea, but found that he had a strong urge to urinate, so he paused there.
Zhu Jia didn't respond, but turned around and said to Song County Prime Minister: "I wonder if I can talk to Su Dongzhu alone?"
"this……"
Before Su Xigui could say anything, Song County Magistrate hurriedly called out and not only called the jailer away, but also took out the accountant and others who were put into the cell with Su Xigui.
Soon, only Zhu Jiashi and Su Xigui were left in the cell.
"Old madam, let's be honest. Apologizes and other things should be avoided if possible. I won't go out without a serious explanation."
Su Xigui's attitude was indifferent and he was not interested in sitting down with Zhu Jia for a detailed discussion.
Zhu Jiashi sat down on the bench beside him and wrote lightly: "Dongzhu Su is not even willing to give me the face of the Zhu family?"
Su Xigui thought that the other party was here to admit his mistake, but unexpectedly, the old lady assumed a domineering posture when she came up. In addition to being confused, it also aroused his competitive spirit.
"Hmm."
Even if the magistrate comes to beg me, I won't go out.
Do you dare to threaten?
Is Jin Yiwei awesome?
On the ground of Huguang, no matter how powerful you are, can you be bigger than Fan Tai?
Zhu Jiashi said: "By the way, it has been twenty years since my Zhu family moved to Anlu in the seventh year of Hongzhi. The eldest son is currently serving as Deputy Qianhu at Fusi Yamen in North Town, the capital."
Su Xigui frowned: "Old madam, it's meaningless for you to say that."
"What did Mr. Su say? I just want to catch up on old times."
"Speaking of which, my Zhu family has been favored by the emperor for generations and has been given the national surname. Does Mr. Su know why my husband and I did not stay in the northern and southern capitals and came to Anlu, a place where birds don't shit?"
Zhu Jia's words are still calm. I will not talk to you about apology, but will only talk to you about my family's past.
Su Xigui frowned slightly: "Anlu... Prince Xing?"
"It's Prince Xing's Mansion... It is said that in the last years of Chenghua, there was a traitorous concubine in the court who tried to depose the crown prince and establish Prince Xing, but failed. Shortly after the late emperor ascended the throne, he ordered Prince Xing to confederate himself. The imperial court sent me, the Zhu family, to move to Huguang to supervise nearby. This shows that the late emperor was very concerned about
I, the Zhu family, value you."
Zhu Jia said eloquently, "The new emperor has ascended the throne. Now His Majesty does not pay much attention to these past events. After all, it has been a long time. However, the Queen Mother has never forgotten it. She often writes to ask if there is any trouble in Anlu. My Zhu family will know it."
Report it truthfully. Could it be that Mr. Su wants me, the Zhu family, to arrange a little bit about what happened in the past two days and report it to the Queen Mother so that the whole court will know?"
Su Xigui was extremely angry and shouted: "Old madam, are you threatening me?"
Zhu Jia said: "Dongzhu Su, there is a saying that is better to offend a gentleman than a villain."
"Pooh."
Su Xigui spat out the tea foam on his lips: "You mean, everyone in your Zhu family is a villain?"
There was a strong smell of gunpowder in the cell.
Zhu Jia stood up, turned around and made a gesture of leaving, but still said in a calm tone: "Adults take the big road, and small people take the small roads. Sometimes the big roads are blocked, so we have to force people to go to the small roads."
, or even go to a dead end, what is the solution?"
Zhu Jiashi's meaning is very obvious.
It doesn't matter whether our Zhu family are villains or not. It's you who forced us to go to a dead end, so let's fight to the death!
Su Xigui gritted his teeth and said nothing.
Zhu Jia walked away with graceful steps, and a voice came from outside the prison door: "The Zhu family never interferes with local affairs. Huangfantai has a bright future, so maybe they don't care about some rumors."
After speaking, Zhu Jiashi walked out of the cell door without looking back.
…
…
Three poles in the sun.
Zhu Jiashi came out of the cell.
Songxian Cheng stared nervously at the cell door. Seeing Zhu Jia's appearance, he didn't know what was going on inside, so he hurriedly came over, eager to inquire.
Zhu Jiashi waved his hand: "I say goodbye, my son, I'm leaving."
Zhu Wanjian was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but quickly followed him to avoid being caught by the government and accused of false accusation.
The Prime Minister of Song County was about to stop him, but he saw Su Xigui slowly walking out of the prison door.
"Su...Mr. Su, you...you have figured it out. My county magistrate has prepared a surprise banquet and is waiting to be seated." County Magistrate Song hurried over to compliment.
Su Xigui looked gloomy, looked at Zhu Jia's back, and sneered: "Little Anlu is actually a land of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. It seems that we should try to avoid it when doing business in the future! Humph!"
He is not afraid of local officials.
But if you have a bad relationship with Jin Yiwei, especially if you can still communicate with Jin Yiwei above, then things will be very serious.
Zhu Jiashi has spoken first, and we will never tell the truth when reporting, but will "arrange" it so that Su Xigui will not do business again, and he will not dare to gamble with his brother-in-law Huang Zan's political future.
"Su...Mr. Su, I wonder what Mrs. Zhu told you just now?" Song County Prime Minister became curious and couldn't help but ask when he accompanied Su Xigui to the backyard of the county government office.
Su Xigui said angrily: "It's just a friendly communication about future business matters. Mrs. Zhu is very good at calculating, and Su is ashamed of herself!"
"Wait, where is the toilet?"
…
…
Mrs. Zhu Jia came out of the county government office with her son and housekeeper Liu.
She did not get on the carriage and walked southward with a sullen face, the carriage following behind her.
"Mom, what did you say to that person surnamed Su? Let's just leave like this? Aren't you afraid that the government will come back and cause trouble?" Zhu Wanjian was still confused about whether the government would settle the score after the fall.
Zhu Jiashi glanced at him and said, "If my Zhu family doesn't even have this bit of face, how can we gain a foothold in Anlu? There's no need to say anything more. Let's go to Lao San's shop with my mother."
When Zhu Wanjian heard this, he was instantly angry: "It's all a trick by that woman. She actually provided false information. This is going to turn the world upside down... Let's see if we don't skin her alive this time... Mother, you must vent your anger on me!"
Zhu Jiashi ignored him and looked uncertain.
Zhu Wanjian was also unhappy: "Who asked me to report to the government yesterday? Your old lady was obviously the cause of the trouble, so why do you want me to take the blame and put on a bad face?"
A group of people came to Zhu Niang's rice shop with murderous intent.
At this time, the rice shop had just opened, and Zhu Niang was taking care of the accounts behind the counter. When she saw Zhu Jia's arrival, she hurried to the door and said, "Mom, why are you here? My daughter-in-law didn't come far enough to greet her..."
Zhu Niang stepped into the shop first and looked around. She did not go to the counter, but just walked to the chairs placed aside. Shi Shiran sat down, as if she had no intention of overshadowing the guest.
"It's okay, I just went to the county government office and stopped by to take a look." Zhu Jia's attitude was gentle.
Be polite first and then fight.
Zhu Haoben was designing a salt pond in the back that was suitable for drying salt in the hilly areas of Huguang. When he heard some movement in front, he quickly came out.
This was the first time he saw the old lady of the Zhu family.
At first glance, the old woman's gray hair is neatly tied into a bun, with a plum blossom hairpin inserted at an angle. She has kind eyebrows and kind eyes, a smile on her lips, and a humble attitude that gives people a feeling of not being angry and asserting herself.
"Xiao Hao, come quickly and kowtow to grandma."
Madam Zhu greeted.
Of course, Zhu Hao was not willing to kneel down to an old woman who had repeatedly framed his mother and son. While he was hesitating, he saw Zhu Jiashi wave his hand: "Don't worry about these red tapes... My grandson is grown up, smart and smart, and he has his mother by his side."
I don’t have to worry about being treated badly, so I don’t have to worry about being a grandmother.”
"Well, I wanted to take you home to enjoy the blessings and give my grandson an education, but since you don't want to, just stay in the city with peace of mind. My third daughter-in-law, if you have enough money in the future, you must remember to buy a wedding for my grandson.
Sir, live up to the spirit of the third child in heaven."
Neither humble nor arrogant.
This sounds fine, but Zhu Hao always feels that something is wrong.
The old lady was determined to take back the shop before, but now she meant to leave the three-bedroom orphan and widow alone?
There is a conspiracy!
Mother Zhu was frightened and bowed: "What mother said is that my daughter-in-law will do her best to raise Xiao Hao to be a talented person."
"Um."
Zhu Jiashi nodded again, "I heard that you recently sold salt to pay back foreign debts. My son has good vision and married a woman who manages the household well."
Zhu Niang said: "My mother's words are serious, my daughter-in-law is just doing her best."
Mrs. Zhu Jia sighed softly: "There is no need to belittle yourself. I am a member of the family under my mother's knees. If I say you can do business, you will be the best."
"Mom has explained to you the current situation at home. We have to spend money everywhere. I just hope that your uncle can get out of the sea of misery as soon as possible. As for the previous misunderstanding, just pretend it never happened and let it disappear."
"I was originally worried that your orphaned and widowed mother would not be able to run a business, so I assigned you a tent. I didn't expect that he would poison the salt. This is a bad thing with good intentions! How about this? From now on, I will pay you forty taels of silver every month.
At home, I will treat you as a filial piety to the third child, and I will never interfere in the business here..."
At this point, I finally have a clear picture.
Zhu Hao understood Zhu Jia's conspiracy.
Seeing that there was no reason to take back the shop, Zhu Jia took the initiative to change his strategy.
Now that the shop has offended Anlu Prefecture, the county-level government and local salt merchants, it is basically impossible to do business normally. If the rule of turning over 90% of profits every month is still adhered to in the future, the Zhu family's income will drop sharply, and the shop will continue to exist.
In Zhu Niang's hands, it runs counter to the original intention.
Zhu Jiashi simply "delegates power".
It's not impossible for you to take care of the shop, but you have to pay the family forty taels of silver every month as a price, even though the business is now 90% less than before the accident.
If you can't afford the contribution, it's natural for the family to close the shop.
"mother……"
Faced with this rude request, Zhu Niang certainly had to fight.
But Zhu Jia stood up and raised his hand to interrupt her daughter-in-law: "Third daughter-in-law, we understand that people don't talk nonsense. As long as you hand over the money on time and in the amount every month, not only will the family not cause trouble for you, but they will also help you if there is any difficulty."
Will help."
"But if you insist on saying that you can't even pay forty taels of silver, it proves that you are incompetent. Let the shop be run by someone who can complete the task, and return to the Zhu family with peace of mind... The Zhu family has a big business, and there is no need to support people like you.
Question! Second brother, let’s go!”
In the Zhu family, the words of the old lady were almost like an imperial edict.
She made a statement, which means that there is no room for change in this matter.
Zhu Wanjian raised his eyebrows to one side, smiled evilly, glared at Zhu Niang and her son with evil intentions, and followed Zhu Jia out of the shop.
At this time, the carriage drove over, and the group was ready to get on the carriage and leave the city.
"Mom, you are still smart. With the current business situation of the shop, if the third daughter-in-law is asked to pay forty taels per month, she can't raise it even by selling iron. In this case, it is logical for us to take back the shop."
Zhu Wanjian later realized that when Zhu Jiashi was talking to Zhu Niang in a friendly manner, he was blowing his beard and staring at her, looking unwilling to do so.
Zhu Jiashi glanced sideways at him: "Go home with your mother."
"Mom, there is still something wrong with the cloth shop run by our family. I have to deal with it." Zhu Wanjian immediately released his hand holding Zhu Jia's arm and prepared to leave.
Zhu Jiashi grabbed him, then raised his chin, and Butler Liu approached him.
"Old Liu, go and check the accounts of all the shops in the city... Second brother, come and catch the carriage back!"
Zhu Wanjian was unhappy when he heard this: "Mom, what do you mean? Asking outsiders to check the accounts?"
Zhu Jia turned around, stepped on the horse stool and got into the carriage. Before lowering the curtain, she said coldly: "It's okay if you don't want to come back. For my mother's sake, I will ask someone to send you to the county government office."
Zhu Wanjian was frightened when he heard this and argued: "Mom, why do you always put the responsibility on the child? It's obviously the woman's conspiracy!"
A cold and stern voice came from behind the curtain: "If I give you a trap, just jump. The sand won't cover your head. Why don't you raise your head and look at the sky? Seeing so many salt trucks and salt boats, you don't wake up. How can the Zhu family come out?"