The heaven and the earth are not as great as the king, the master is not there, the master is great, and the master travels far, the gentleman is the greatest. The so-called gentleman is not an antonym of a villain, but an out-and-out son of a gentleman, that is to say, the third prince who is still a villain is now the biggest in Suzhou City, so Shi Chanli is not worried about anything, and pretends to be distressed for a while. , finally agreed to His Highness's request.
The third prince ruthlessly ordered the old ladies and eunuchs who had just rushed over from the palace to stay in the mansion, and left the mansion carelessly with Shi Chanli and a few guards. Seeing the little master disappearing at the door, the eunuchs and nuns trembled in fear, thinking that Master Taisi was not here, and this immediately turned the world upside down, and couldn't help but secretly prayed that Master Taisi would come back quickly, but who would have thought that it would be Fan Xian wants to use the identity of the third prince to suppress others.
It is rare for the third prince to have such a chance to play, so of course he is not in a hurry. The group of people changed their clothes and pretended to be the son of a rich family traveling. Sitting in a carriage around Suzhou City, seeing some beautiful scenery, and watching a few flower boats on the lake, the third prince's interest finally weakened.
"The weather is too cold, and the girls are wearing too many clothes, how can we see the flair?" The noble young man frowned, "Go and choose the place first, and I will do the business that Fan Xian wants to do." You have to worry about it, or if you take me around, I'm afraid he will be angry."
Shi Chanli thought to himself, it should have been like this a long time ago.
The problem of location selection was easy to solve. Anyway, it was the busiest place in Suzhou City, and a group of people rushed in desperately to find the busiest street among the bustle. The Young Youth Building is already a well-developed place, which sets the general direction.
Then, in this large area, pick the building with the clearest door and look at it, and look at the building that looks atmospheric. This group of people easily caught their eye. It was a restaurant, which occupied the best location on this street. It was a very luxurious three-story building.
The third prince waved his little hand: "Don't look for it anymore, I think this location is the best."
Shi Chanli felt so happy. He also managed Baoyuelou in the capital for some days, but he never thought that it would be so easy to choose the location of the shop with the prince. He is rich and powerful, and he does things really neatly.
But standing at the door of the restaurant, he still moved his mind and whispered: "This place is too eye-catching, I think there is always a background behind it."
The third prince was startled, and asked: "Who in the world has a greater background than mine?"
Shi Chanli opened his mouth wide and didn't say anything for a long time. He swallowed the mouthful of blood forcefully, and said Xiaoyi: "In case... there are people from the governor's mansion or the governor's family, although His Highness doesn't care about anything, but Always give these officials some face."
Although the third prince is young, he is not a fool. This is indeed the case when he thinks about it. Governor Xue Qing is not someone he can easily offend. Besides, his group came all the way from the capital, and he wants to snatch the high officials from the south of the Yangtze River. For the sake of face, I'm afraid it's not a good thing.
But when he looked at the location of the restaurant, he felt more and more itchy, and the more beautiful he looked, he frowned and thought for a long time, and said, "I have to ask, if I want to let this geomantic omen go, Fan Xian can't help it." Distressed, I will feel distressed for many days."
This group of people had already stayed outside the restaurant for a while, just paying attention to the layout, and then blocked the entrance of the restaurant. If you don't eat, you just smell the fragrance. Although Suzhou City is mixed with three religions and nine streams, there is no such thing. This pedestrian pointed and whispered at the door of the building, which immediately attracted the attention of people on this street. , The guard Kong Wu is powerful, unlike the characters in the rivers and lakes, so the merchants on the street restrain their gossip to watch the excitement.
Only the shopkeeper in the restaurant had no choice but to come out, put on a professional smile, and asked: "Everyone, do you want to go upstairs and try our signature dishes? The Zhuyuan Pavilion of our restaurant is called the second floor of Suzhou together with Jiangnanju. Some good food."
He saw that these people in front of the building seemed to be from other places, and their identities should be good, so he responded in a small way. When talking about business, there was no trace of blaming the other party for blocking in front of the building.
Shi Chanli was taken aback for a moment, and said with a gentle smile, "I'm really sorry, I lost my mind for a while, the shopkeeper is not to blame."
The shopkeeper hurriedly said politely. The third prince was impatient and said, "Go in and sit down." He led a group of people into the building, and finally said: "Shopkeeper, arrange a quiet room, I have some things to ask for advice." .”
The shopkeeper was taken aback, thinking that your elder brother didn't speak, why did the younger one speak first? Shi Chanli coughed twice, concealed it, and followed him into the building.
Everyone was still sitting in a room in the building, and the shopkeeper came into the room to greet them. The third prince didn't talk nonsense, and asked directly: "Shopkeeper, do you sell this building?"
The shopkeeper was surprised a lot today, secretly thinking that this young master's tone of voice is really serious, but he has dealt with so many difficult things in this life, he humbly said with a smile: "Little master, the business here is good now, the owner seems to be There is no meaning of a turntable."
"Dare to ask your master's name?" Shi Chanli secretly resented His Highness's impatience, and asked gently.
The shopkeeper replied neither humble nor overbearing: "The owner's surname is Qian."
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After the shopkeeper withdrew, Shi Chanli frowned and said, "This is the first time I've come to Suzhou, I can't figure out the relationship, and I don't know who the surname Qian is."
The third prince stood up, pushed open the window in the box, his face was stunned, as if he saw something strange.
Shi Chanli was suspicious, walked behind him and looked out the window, he couldn't help but also froze in place for a moment.
Outside the window is the back garden of the Bamboo Garden. There is a Pinghu Lake in the garden. Although the lake is not wide, it is quieter. There are courtyard walls on both sides to separate it from the downtown area. The lawn in the courtyard is not yet green, but you can imagine the spring beautiful view.
"alike… "
The two sighed at the same time. The similarity mentioned here, of course, means that the setting behind this building is very similar to that of Baoyue Tower in Kyoto, especially on those lawns. If you build some quiet courtyards, I am afraid that they will become twins with Baoyue Tower in Kyoto. .
Looking at the back garden of the Zhuyuan Pavilion, the two managers of Baoyue Building were moved, and their hearts were greatly moved—this building must be bought!
"Buy it!"
The third prince and Shi Chanli spoke at the same time in a very tacit understanding, and then chuckled, the rest of the matter is simple, after going back, find a way to find out the background of this Zhuyuan Pavilion, I just hope that the background of the other party is not too strong, If too high-level officials are involved, things will be more troublesome.
The third prince is still young, but he doesn't know where he came from so many sighs: "If Fan Sizhe was here, I'm afraid he would have a lawsuit with the owner of this restaurant, and he would point at the other party's nose and scold him for shamelessly copying his own design."
Shi Chanli thought about it, Master Fan Er really had this kind of temperament, and couldn't help laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" The third prince glared at him, "My second cousin is more sinister than the first cousin... Of course, the two of them are not good-natured, they just played tricks to get out of their shells and bully me at my age." Little boy, I have lost my shares, don't forget, you are also involved in this matter!"
Shi Chanli timidly dared not answer.
The group had a meal in the private room, and they greatly appreciated the culinary skills of this restaurant, and the third prince even came up with the idea of recruiting the original cooks.
After the meal, everyone was about to leave. But found the shopkeeper hastily walked into the box, saluted again with sweat profusely. While wiping his sweat, he said in a soft voice: "These guest officials, you talked about buying a house earlier, can you discuss it again?"
The Third Prince was so strange. The business of this building was obviously very good, and when the question was asked earlier, the other party was obviously on guard. Why did his attitude suddenly change so much at this time
Shi Chanli asked tentatively, "Shopkeeper, what does this mean?"
The shopkeeper laughed twice, and said: "The owner heard about this before, thinking that the recent business is not as good as in previous years, since there are valuable customers bidding, they simply let them go, and only hope that the distinguished customers can give a suitable price. It's just... I hope that after the change of hands, the distinguished guests can take good care of this building."
Shi Chanli became more and more strange, and was about to ask something, but the third prince said with a smile: "It's natural, we are also business people, of course we will complete this building, but you said the right price earlier, I don't know What price tag is more appropriate?"
The box suddenly fell silent.
The shopkeeper's eyes froze, thinking that he would dare to ask this young master to let himself bid? But there is no order from the owner, how can this price be paid? Judging from what the owner meant, he must be planning to give it away for nothing, but the other party didn't seem to notice... want to bid by himself
The sweat on his forehead was dripping faster and faster, his face was red and swollen, it seemed that the cold weather in early spring had already turned into a season of turmoil. After holding back for a long time, the shopkeeper finally plucked up the courage and stretched out four fingers!
Shi Chanli was taken aback for a moment, and the guards in the room were taken aback again, thinking forty thousand taels? Even if the lion's head in this place is famous, there are no lions with such big mouths!
Seeing that the other party didn't answer, the shopkeeper was even more frightened, and quickly withdrew three fingers, leaving one index finger standing up pitifully.
Shi Chanli almost vomited blood again, the price was really weird, without needing to speak, it changed from 40,000 taels to 10,000 taels in an instant, after thinking about it, he felt that the price was actually quite good, nodded and said: "One Although ten thousand taels of silver is not much...but..."
The shopkeeper's legs went limp, and he almost burst into tears, saying, "This gentleman, you are wrong, you are wrong."
Shi Chanli was surprised and said, "What's wrong?"
"It's... one thousand taels." The shopkeeper forced an innocent smile, "It's not ten thousand taels."
Shi Chanli swallowed back the third mouthful of blood today, before he had time to say anything, the third prince had already said: "Bring me the contract." Judging by his expression, he seemed to be confident.
The shopkeeper seemed to have been prepared for a long time, and immediately went out and invited a middleman approved by the government to enter, and began to write the contract. When the transaction amount was written, the third prince smiled sweetly and said: "Sixteen thousand taels, I don't take it." You are cheap, so I will give you an extra 20% of the money, because your boss is probably not willing to sell it, so the 20% of the money will be used to buy wound medicine for him."
Although the third prince was wearing civilian clothes today, he naturally exuded a sense of nobility. Although the shopkeeper was very surprised, he didn't dare to say much. After writing the contract, both parties signed their fingerprints, and agreed to settle the transaction at the bank tomorrow.
Carefully sending the group of people out of the restaurant, the shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat on his forehead with some fear, calmed down and walked to the third floor, walked into a quiet room, and handed over the contract in his arms. to a young man.
This young man has a clear face and gentle eyes. He is exactly the young master of the Ming family, Ming Lanshi, who appeared on the upstairs of West Lake in Hangzhou.
He took the contract and glanced at it, a trace of hatred and disappointment flashed in his eyes, and he slapped it with his backhand! With a bang, the shopkeeper covered his cheeks and looked at the young master timidly, not knowing what he did wrong.
"Useless things!" Ming Lanshi was angry in his heart, but his face was still gentle, but there was a cold wind in his words, "I can't even give you money!"
Today was also a meeting for him. After the family meeting, Ming Lanshi stayed in Suzhou. Suddenly, he heard the shopkeeper say that someone wanted to buy a house. Hearing the other party's description of the dress, the successor of the Ming family vaguely guessed something. Later, when Xiao Er overheard Fan Sizhe's name, he immediately confirmed the other party's identity, and was ready to send the Zhuyuan Pavilion with both hands in a very quick reaction...
Unexpectedly, the other party did not take any advantage, 16,000 taels of silver, this is not a small sum!
This amount not only did not take advantage of the Ming family, but was much higher than the market price, but how could the Ming family be short of such a small amount of money? Ming Lanshi wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Third Prince didn't know who the owner of the Zhuyuan Pavilion was, so he could give this building away first, even if it was a cheap sale.
His main purpose, of course, is to please the other party, and if the other party does not recognize this small favor in the future... This paper contract is sent to the capital, it is the evidence that Fan Xian and the third prince bought private industries by force. It's easy to find a reason for the eldest princess to file a lawsuit against the imperial court!
I didn't expect that the young third prince would not take advantage of this... Could it be that the rumors in Kyoto are true, and this prince is not as greedy for money and ruthless as in the legend
Ming Lanshi fell into deep thought, and once again found that the people the family had to face this time were really elusive. After he closed his eyes and pondered for a while, he ordered softly: "Lord Fan's mind is very simple, this is to open a brothel... The order continues, no girl is allowed to be sold to them in any building, no matter how high the price is. !"
The shopkeeper responded, and then said with a wry smile: "Young Master, but our own girls are not the only ones who don't sell... There are quite a few people in Suzhou who do this business, and those people are definitely not willing to offend Master Fan."
"Do they have good girls in their hands?" Ming Lanshi said with a smile: "All the good girls are in the hands of Mr. Yuan... let them go and buy them, some leftovers, how can they attract customers."
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A horse-drawn carriage left the Zhuyuan Pavilion, and the surrounding merchants didn't know that Tangtang Ming's family suffered a heavy loss. The most famous restaurant in Suzhou was going to change hands tomorrow. Although Shi Chanli had little history of dirty things, he finally came to his senses at this time, frowned and said: "Your Highness, it seems that your identity has been known by the other party."
A trace of boredom flashed across the childish face of the third prince: "Those people are considered smart."
Shi Chanli thought for a while, and couldn't help asking: "Your Highness, the previous price was one thousand taels, why..."
"Why do I have to raise the price myself?" The third prince sneered and said, "It's nothing to be courteous. It's either rape or stealing. If you guess my identity, you can't wait to offer this building with both hands... What about the future? What they asked for is terrible. It’s not as simple as this building, if people put their smiles on their faces, of course we don’t want to slap them backhand, but there’s no need to put our faces on them to make out with them... How many people in this world are qualified to make friends with me?”
Shi Chanli shook his head and said, "I don't know who the owner behind that building is, but it's really quick to see the opportunity."
The third prince said: "Whoever the other party is, if I want to take advantage of him, it must be someone who wants to take advantage of me. You have to remember this. When you go out for a walk in the future, don't take advantage of others indiscriminately. Be careful not to offend Fan Xian." Come trouble."
Shi Chanli admired the little prince in front of him in his heart, and praised: "Your Highness's words are simple, but the truth is profound."
The third prince scolded in a childish voice: "Don't flatter me. It's really hard for me to pretend to be a commoner, and then I'm seen by others. I feel really upset."
Shi Chanli thought to himself, you want to buy a building as soon as you enter the building at a young age. How can you hide your identity with such a tone? He thought again, the prince in front of him was so young, and faced with the price of tens of thousands of taels of silver, he was able to hold back. A trace of doubt could not help but flash.
I don't know if the third prince saw his expression, and continued: "Fan Xian once said that if I try to take advantage of the people in the world, I will always be taken advantage of by the court in the end, and if I... People who take advantage of it are big fools who are willing to spend their own money for others to spend."
Shi Chanli was silent, secretly worrying for his master, but as a prince, he set up such an idea, which naturally told the prince that the interests of the imperial court... will be your own interests in the future, so what does this mean
The prince is still in place now!
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Unaware of the panic in Shi Chanli's heart, the third prince smiled shyly and said: "The teacher said that a gentleman loves money, and he gets it in a proper way, and the king's wealth is hidden in the world, why bother to get it?"
Shi Chanli swallowed back the fourth mouthful of blood that was secretly wounded today, staring at the green flags that kept floating outside the car window, suppressing the hidden fear in his heart, as if he had never heard this sentence at all.
"Business can be regarded as a hobby." The third prince said with a grin, "Old Shi, your courage is much smaller than my two cousins, and you are not suitable for business."
Shi Chanli moved his body to let the slightly wet clothes on his back breathe, and replied with a wry smile: "Your Highness is teaching you."
The third prince called to stop the carriage, and said: "The bank is here, you go to work, I'll go back to the mansion first."
A sinister smile floated across the child's face, not knowing what he was complacent about.
Looking at the carriage going away, Shi Chanli sighed secretly, and told his two guards to wait outside. After arranging his clothes, he went to the branch office of Taiping Bank.
Not far behind him, the China Merchants Bank, which has been opened for several months, is deserted, but it exudes an aura of nouveau riche. The brand new green cloth seems to be mocking Shi Chanli's pedantry and ignorance.
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The chicken is raw and double-yellow, eat half of it first. Not to mention what new and surprising things Shi Chanli will encounter in the bank, just say that outside the jurisdiction of the Neiku Transit Department, which is extremely far away from Suzhou City, the huge convoy carrying more than a hundred people is currently in the dark. Walking hard in the cold early spring rainy days.
The Neiku Transshipment Division is different from the Salt Division and Tea Division. First of all, it has more affairs and greater profits, and he is the only transshipment division among the three divisions that occupies the field. Neiku produces a factory workshop, which requires a huge land. After the imperial court allocated a piece of land in northern Fujian many years ago, it gradually became a special zone, and the area was actually larger than a small state. The status is very special.
Because they were worried that the manufacturing process of the inner warehouse would flow to foreign countries, the court of the Qing Dynasty really spent a lot of money on the security of the inner warehouse. For the territory under the jurisdiction of the inner warehouse, the Qing Dynasty implemented a fully closed management, setting up a total of five blockades. The outermost area is the local state army and navy in Jiangnan. The four lines inside are set up by the Qing State Army and the Overwatch Council, two each to supervise each other, sandwiched like a multi-layered juice cake.
As for the outward transportation line, in addition to the strict supervision on the surface, I don't know how many hidden nails have been sprinkled into it. Countless eyes, both in the open and in the dark, are staring at Cui Jiaming's house or other giant agents.
Even though Qing had put in so much effort, it still couldn't stop the greedy eyes of other countries. In the past few decades, the internal treasury had had countless incidents, and Qing had paid a very heavy price for it. First of all, It is the garrison and defense that cost a lot of silver every year, and the second is the loss of thousands of lives for the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty in the past few decades-the struggle between stealing intelligence and anti-commercial espionage is particularly bloody in this world !
This war seems to never end, and the Overwatch Council is the institution that paid the most price in this war. I don’t know how many undercover agents died in the dark. Fortunately, the internal treasury is still safe until today. of.
Yan Ruohai, the former head of the fourth division, and Qin Shan, the elder brother of Qin Heng, who is now guarding the capital, were the ones who were directly in charge of the defense work. Mosquitoes smelling of perfume can't fly out.
The convoy was undergoing the final test. Fan Xian lifted the curtains and looked at the hydraulic mechanism not far away by the river, his eyes slightly squinted. Although it was only some initial and rough industries, the demand for power was already inseparable from water.
There was a slight chill in his squinted eyes, without turning around, he said gently: "I brought you in only for my own safety, I don't want you to go to the various workshops to watch the excitement, if someone finds out, you You should know how serious the consequences are. Even if you are a superpower on the ninth rank, you may not be able to escape the pursuit of the forces here... and even though I am only half healed from the injury, I will do it myself."
Behind him, Haitang disguised as a maidservant smiled and glanced at Miss Sisi beside him, but said nothing.