Qiu Yizhi stood up again to fill the teacups in front of Lin Shuhan and Zhao Chengxiao, and then told Zhao Chengxiao and Lin Shuhan about his plan. It turned out that Lin Shuhan also had the same plan, and Qiu Yizhi actually agreed with him.
After talking like this for a cup of tea, Zhao Chengxiao suddenly realized: "So Zhao Fuyi can be used in this way... But... But does this matter have to go through him?"
Zhao Chengxiao still had some grudge against Zhao Fuyi, so he asked this question.
Qiu Yizi frowned, stood up and paced around the room twice, then said: "Zhao Fuyi is a man who forgets his principles when he sees profit, has no backbone, bullies the weak and fears the strong, and has low moral character. I know all this. How much I suffered in the past, even my mother was bullied by him... Brother Zhao, you know my temper best. If he is good to me, I respect and love him; if he is bad to me, I also resent and hate him. What kind of person is Zhao Fuyi, how can I just let him go so easily?"
When Qiu Yizi said this, there was a mixture of sadness and indignation in his tone.
He changed the subject and continued, "But I just want to use him now. I want to use someone like him who forgets his principles when he sees profit, has no backbone, bullies the weak and fears the strong, and has low moral character. It is precisely because he has a handle in my hand that I can use it to deal with him at any time and anywhere. This is why I can trust him to do things, and he will always be afraid of me!"
After hearing this, Zhao Chengxiao felt a chill run down his spine - although Qiu Yizi was not very old, he had been in the central government for so many years and had learned how to be so ruthless in employing people.
Lin Shuhan, who was standing by, was quite impressed by Qiu Yizi's insight, but his face remained expressionless. He slowly waved the folding fan in his hand and said lightly: "Your Excellency, why don't you tell Zhao Fuyi about your idea directly, so that he will know what's going on and stop thinking about it. In my opinion, this will be a blessing for him!"
Zhao Chengxiao felt a chill again after hearing this, and thought: Lin Shuhan is indeed the gentleman Qiu Yizi had spent a lot of effort to hire. His move was so powerful that his opponent could hardly resist, and he did it in an open and aboveboard manner so that others could not find fault with him - after all, he is still a scholar with a kind heart!
Zhao Chengxiao was just daydreaming when he heard Qiu Yizhi call his name: "Brother Zhao, it's good that you know these things. We will be the bad guys." He laughed and continued, "Recruiting soldiers can't wait. You should prepare first. Tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow at the latest, I will ask Mr. Lin to write a recruitment notice. It doesn't matter if the military pay cannot be collected for a while. I still have about 20,000 taels of silver, which is enough to support me for a few days."
So they talked for a long time before saying goodbye to each other.
The next day, Qiu Yizi got up early, washed up, and pushed the door open to see Wang Laowu sweeping the yard absentmindedly with a broom. She shouted, "Wang Laowu, what are you doing? If you sweep like this, the wall of my yard will collapse, and you haven't even swept the yard clean!"
When Wang Laowu heard that it was Qiu Yizhi who called him, he quickly put down his broom, walked up to him, bowed, and said, "Is it because I am too loud and disturbed the adults to rest?"
Qiu Yizi waved his hand and said, "Old Five, I brought you here from Henan, so you are one of us now. Why are you talking to me about these useless things? Let me ask you, what have you been doing these days while I was in Mingzhou doing business?"
Wang Laowu said: "Tou'er Zhao also asked me to practice martial arts. It's not that I'm afraid of hardship, but I'm really not cut out for martial arts. I almost cut myself with a knife, and I almost shot someone with an arrow. My brothers mocked me, but I couldn't save my face. I was afraid that Tou'er Zhao would report me to the adults, saying that I cut corners in martial arts training. If the adults punish me, I'll die unjustly..."
Wang Laowu is a chatterbox, he would nag about the smallest things. Qiu Yizi had other things to do, so she had no time to listen to his complaints, so she quickly interrupted him and said, "Laowu, when I brought you out, I didn't expect you to charge into battle, so don't look down on yourself. You know Yang Ying'er, when I asked her to choose someone from among my men to get married, she didn't leave you out. You see, even in this matter, I treat everyone equally."
Wang Laowu's eyes suddenly brightened when he heard this: "Sir, is there such a thing? Miss Ying'er has such eyes and figure. If I were lucky enough to marry her, it would be a blessing that I have cultivated for several lifetimes..."
"Okay, Wang Laowu, you are so impatient, aren't you ashamed? Swallow some of the saliva on the edge of your mouth first." Qiu Yizi interrupted again, "Let me be frank, Ying'er's husband has died, don't like her now and then despise her in the future."
"No, no, no. I'm not that kind of person." Wang Laowu denied repeatedly, "My lord, don't think I'm a loose-lipped person. I say things before I even think about them. So my lord, think about it, my words don't even go through my brain. If even one word or half a word of them is false, it would be a strange thing."
Qiu Yizi laughed out loud at Wang Laowu's words: "Laowu, what you said makes sense. Although I am Yang Ying'er's benefactor, I cannot decide her life. You have to fight for it yourself. Well, remember that you run fast, not much slower than a horse that can run 600 miles per hour. I wonder if you have improved your legs and feet?"
Wang Laowu was already very happy after hearing Qiu Yizhi's encouragement, and said hurriedly: "No, no. Of course, I can't compare with your Ferghana horse, but compared with the fine horses of the Iron Head Dragon, I will not admit defeat. If I can cross mountains and rivers, I will be much faster than them! If you don't believe me, I will run a lap right now, so that you can see it for yourself, how about it?"
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "Okay, then you go and ask Zhao Fuyi to come over. Go early and come back early. I'll keep track of the time for you!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Laowu turned around and walked out the door without saying a word, and ran away.
But after a while, Wang Laowu came back again, panting and saying, "My lord, I have told you this. Zhao... Zhao Fuyi, I will be here soon. Please wait... wait... wait a moment." He kept panting as he spoke.
Qiu Yizi was amused and said, "Alright! You are good, your leg strength is comparable to that of Sun Wukong in the play. Okay, go down and have a rest first."
After Wang Laowu left, Zhao Fuyi finally arrived at the county government office after a cup of tea. He saw his nephew standing alone in the yard, seemingly waiting for him. He quickly walked up to him, bowed deeply, and said, "Sir, I, I'm here."
"Oh, it turns out that it's my uncle who has arrived." Qiu Yizi's tone was very cold, "Since you are here, please come inside and talk."
After saying that, Qiu Yizi ignored Zhao Fuyi, turned around and calmly walked into the study, sat down behind the desk, picked up a book in his hand, not to read, but just to deliberately put on an arrogant look.
Zhao Fuyi followed closely and entered the study. He saw a beautiful stool in the corner, but he did not dare to sit down on it. He had to stand aside with his hands hanging down.
Qiu Yizi seemed to be absorbed in reading. After a long while, she looked up and saw Zhao Fuyi standing like a puppet. She pretended to be surprised: "Huh? Uncle, why are you still standing? You are my elder. If you stand, where will I sit? Why don't you move a chair and sit down?"
Zhao Fuyi then agreed, moved the stool in the corner closer, and sat down tremblingly, but he didn't know what to say.
After a while, Zhao Fuyi finally lost his temper and asked tentatively, "Yizhi, you just sent someone to call me, what do you want me to do?"
Qiu Yizi raised her eyes, glanced at Zhao Fuyi, then put her eyes back on the book and said nonchalantly: "Nothing, I just want to ask you, are you living well in Shanyin County these days?"
"You called me here so early in the morning just to ask this question?" Zhao Fuyi wondered, but he didn't dare to ask directly, so he could only answer, "Everything is fine, everything is fine."
Qiu Yizhi still didn't look at Zhao Fuyi straight in the eye, and said coldly again: "Uncle, you are lying. There are so many people in your family, young and old, squeezed into a small yard. I'm afraid the food and supplies are not as good as before. How can you say that 'everything is fine'?"
After hearing what Qiu Yizi said, Zhao Fuyi became even more confused: if he agreed with him, it would be tantamount to admitting that he was dissatisfied; if he went against his will, he was afraid of touching his sore spot - he had not spent much time with his nephew and did not know what his temper was like. If he was really as moody as an ordinary playboy, he would be afraid that he would have no good days if he fell into his hands.
But Qiu Yizi said again: "Uncle, don't you know what I'm thinking? I don't want to hear bad words or good words, just the truth. Don't you think uncle can tell the truth from the bottom of his heart?"
These sentences are very concise and clear when put together, but they are a difficult question: we should neither listen to bad words nor good words, so what is the truth? However, there is no way to refute this requirement of "listening to the truth", otherwise, what is the meaning of today's dialogue
So after thinking it over, Zhao Fuyi could only repeat the word "yes, yes..." and he could not say the second word.
Qiu Yizi didn't care about this, and then said: "In this case, I have something to ask uncle, uncle, please tell me the truth."
Zhao Fuyi had just said it, and now there was no room for maneuver, so he had to agree: "Of course, if Yizhi has anything to say, then just ask."
"It's not a difficult question. I just want to ask you one question..." Qiu Yizi suddenly raised her head and looked directly into Zhao Fuyi's eyes. "I want to ask you one question: Does my uncle hate me?"
Qiu Yizhi's previous questions had already left Zhao Fuyi with no answers, but this question was even more difficult than the previous ones combined. Zhao Fuyi was a simple person, and he was so nervous that he scratched his head, but he just couldn't think of how to answer.
But Qiu Yizi said again: "I have just told my uncle that he wants to hear the truth. If my uncle still wants to deceive me, then we will never see each other again in the future."
Zhao Fuyi also wanted to just leave and never see his nephew Qiu Yizi again. Not to mention anything else, if he continued to be tortured by his series of tricky questions in the future, Zhao Fuyi's life would probably be shortened!
However, right now, Zhao Fuyi and his whole family, both noble and humble, are all under Qiu Yizi's control. If anyone accidentally offends Qiu Yizi, they will be in immediate disaster!
So Zhao Fuyi thought about it for a long time, almost thinking about it to the point of exploding his head, and then he said, "I don't hate it." (To be continued)