"No, no, it's too expensive..." Xu Enda, who was lying on the bed, heard that the bottle of medicine Yan Liqiang handed to Hu Haihe was actually used in the palace. Knowing that kind of medicine was very expensive, he hurriedly shook his hands on the bed.
"There's nothing I can't do. After all, this matter of yours was caused by me, so how can I ignore it? You should take good care of your injuries these days. When you recover, I still expect you to do things for me. The conditions we agreed on before will not change. From now on, you will follow my work!"
Hearing what Yan Liqiang said, Xu Enda's eyes suddenly became moist, and his lips trembled and he couldn't speak. He originally thought that if he got injured this time, this job he had worked so hard to find would also be ruined. Unexpectedly, everything turned out in an unexpected way. His injury not only did not ruin the job, but it also brought the relationship between the two parties to a step forward. They knew each other well at once, and he was completely relieved.
Xiao Wu and the others who came with Yan Liqiang looked at each other with some excitement. For poor people like them who live at the bottom of the imperial capital, it was an opportunity not everyone could have to meet someone like Yan Liqiang and to find a long-term job with good pay under such a person. Who knows, their destiny in life might be changed because of this.
"But this medicine is too expensive..."
"No matter how valuable something is, it is not as valuable as a person!"
"Cousin, this is a little gift from Captain Yan, please accept it!" Seeing that Xu Enda was still embarrassed to accept it, Hu Haihe said from the side.
"Haha, Haihe, don't call me Captain Yan from now on. That's too formal. I'm younger than everyone else, so just call me Liqiang!"
"How can this be done? It's too rude!" Hu Haihe quickly shook his head.
“Yes… yes, we can’t be too unruly… How can we be so disrespectful…” Even Xu Enda, who was lying on the bed, was shaking his head.
"I'm not here to do anything as the captain of the Imperial Cavalry and Infantry Division this time, so there's nothing I can't do!"
"How about...how about we just call you Manager Yan!" Xiao Wu suddenly interrupted from the side.
In this world, there is no such nouveau riche term as "boss". Everyone is called shopkeeper. Shopkeeper is the boss. Shopkeepers, big or small, are bosses of all sizes. Those who open shops on the street can be shopkeepers, and the heads of large business groups that are rich enough to rival a country are also shopkeepers. The term shopkeeper is quite applicable.
Hearing Xiao Wu say this, Yan Liqiang smacked his lips slightly and laughed, "Okay, then from now on, everyone can call me Yan Manager. It is indeed a bit inconvenient for me to work with my identity as a lieutenant, and it is easy to be criticized. As long as we don't see me in the army, Haihe, you can just call me Yan Manager!"
"Okay!" Hu Haihe nodded, then his expression dimmed a little, and he forced a smile, "I'm afraid it will be impossible for me to see you in the army in the future..."
"What's wrong?"
"I just finished my brother's funeral a few days ago. After the seventh day of mourning, I am the only male in the family. According to the rules of Mabusi, the only male in the family is not required to serve in the military. I just completed the formalities of leaving the military service at Mabusi two days ago!"
"So what are you doing now?"
"I haven't found a job yet. Several older brothers who have retired from the Mabu Division are working as detectives in several government offices in the capital. They want to help me get some connections, so they let me work as a detective, so that I can make a living and find a job to settle down..." Hu Haihe looked helpless, "My parents are busy arranging a wife for me, and want me to get married and have children by the end of this year. I don't want to be a detective, and I don't want to get married so early..." Hu Haihe looked at Yan Liqiang with a burning gaze, his face firm, "I want to practice, and when I have the ability, I will completely wipe out those Black Wind Bandits in the future and avenge my brother..."
Yan Liqiang pondered for a moment. The job of criminal detective seemed good now, but in the long run, it was not worth it. If Hu Haihe became a criminal detective and entered the public service, when the heavenly calamity came a few years later, it would not be so easy for him to take his family away from the capital. There would be many restrictions. It was not worth it to sacrifice the whole family for a job. And if Hu Haihe did not enter the public service, when the heavenly calamity came a few years later, he would have more freedom to advance and retreat, and the safety of his family would actually be more guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Yan Liqiang said directly to Hu Haihe, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to do the job of criminal arrest. Haihe, if you don't mind, just follow me. It just so happens that I am short of a lot of manpower here, and I will be at ease with you coming!"
"Ah, really?" Hu Haihe looked at Yan Liqiang with shining eyes.
"Of course it's true!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"Well, from now on I can call you Manager Yan just because of nothing!" Hu Haihe became excited.
"Don't you want to ask me what I want you to do?" Yan Liqiang asked with a smile.
"My cousin and his friends said before that they found a good job as a long-term worker with good pay. I was really curious..." Hu Haihe laughed, "Anyway, I know that you will never cheat us as the shopkeeper..."
Yan Liqiang glanced around the room and said, "I plan to have someone buy a library and a workshop in the Imperial Capital City, and we will start making newspapers in the future!"
When Hu Haihe, Xu Enda and several people in the room heard what Yan Liqiang said about the newspaper, they all looked at each other, not knowing what the newspaper was at all.
"Well... Shopkeeper Yan, what is a newspaper?" Xiao Wu scratched his head and asked in a low voice.
"I can't explain it clearly in one sentence, but you will know it in a few days!"
At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open again, and a little girl of about eleven or twelve years old walked in obediently carrying a bowl of boiled medicine, "Brother, the medicine is ready, you should drink it..."
After Xu Enda finished drinking the medicine, Yan Liqiang found that Xu Enda was a little sleepy. Yan Liqiang left ten taels of silver to Xu Enda's family, saying that it was an advance on his wages. He asked Xiao Wu and a few others to stay at Xu's house today to take care of Xu Enda and prevent anyone from causing trouble again. Then Yan Liqiang said goodbye, took Hu Haihe with him, saying that he was going to do something, and left Xu's house.
"Who is this Guo Si? Haihe, can you find him?" Yan Liqiang asked as soon as he walked out of Xu's house.
"That Guo Si is a gangster from the neighborhood. He's always swindling people and is aggressive. He doesn't have any background. Many of our brothers and big brothers from the Mabusi are doing criminal investigation in the Imperial Capital City. My brother and I have a few good friends. If we just say a word, we will definitely find that bastard Guo Si!" Hu Haihe had a ruthless look on his face.
Yan Liqiang also narrowed his eyes. "After we find that bastard Guo Si, there's no need to bother anymore. Just do as you said in the room before, Haihe. Put him in the cell and find someone to kill him. Take this silver and use it to bribe people. It's not worth dirtying our hands for that kind of gangster..." Yan Liqiang said, and took out a silver note of five hundred taels and handed it to Hu Haihe.
"Ah, that's too much. To deal with that bastard, I can just treat some friends to a drink..." Hu Haihe was so scared when he saw the number on the banknote that he quickly shook his hands.
"If I tell you to take it, then take it. This relationship needs to be used and maintained. Only in this way can it last. You will work with me in the future. I am usually in Luyuan and cannot come out all the time. There are many things for you to run errands for, and there are many places where you need to spend money. You can keep the remaining money for yourself and make your own decision when you need to use it!"
Hu Haihe looked at Yan Liqiang, then took the banknote and carefully put it on his body. He nodded seriously and said, "I'll go find someone to find that bastard Guo Si..."
"Don't worry. Guo Si committed a crime here last night. He must be hiding somewhere carefully today and dare not show up. It will be difficult to find him in the next two or three days. I will take you to see someone first!"
"good!"
Yan Liqiang took Hu Haihe directly to Mingxiang Teahouse, which was not far from Xihuamen of Dijing. After entering the teahouse, the two went upstairs. Yan Liqiang saw Fang Beidou already sitting cross-legged in a private seat separated by a screen on the second floor of the teahouse, drinking tea and listening to the storyteller telling a story, looking very happy.
At this moment, Fang Beidou was wearing a gorgeous brocade robe and had a new hairstyle. He no longer looked like a Taoist priest. However, because the impact of the streaking incident had not completely passed, Fang Beidou still had a fake beard on his face. Looking at his current appearance, everyone would think that he was a shopkeeper or a rich man. Who would have thought that this person was a Taoist priest practicing in the mountains a few days ago, and had caused a sensational streaking incident a few days ago.
Seeing Yan Liqiang coming, Fang Beidou stood up and looked at Hu Haihe, "This is..."
Yan Liqiang introduced Hu Haihe's identity to Fang Beidou, and then introduced Fang Beidou to Hu Haihe, so that the two could get to know each other.
"How is it? Have you found a solution?" Yan Liqiang asked as soon as he sat down.
"Hahaha, don't you see who is doing the work!" Fang Beidou laughed, took out a few deeds from his bosom, and put them on the table with a snap. "The Shunyi Bookstore in Dijing City has four stores in the east, west, south and north of the city. There is also a farm covering dozens of acres and a good printing workshop under Longqi Mountain outside the city. The craftsmen's tools are all complete and they can start printing at any time. The owner of Shunyi Bookstore is from Cangzhou. He is old and wants to return to his roots in Cangzhou. So when the price was agreed, he readily gave up several shops and the printing workshop of Shunyi Bookstore. The farm and the printing workshop are together. The owner of Shunyi Bookstore didn't want to separate the farm and the workshop and sell them separately. It was troublesome, so I bought them together. I went to the farm and it was very good. There are also several small courtyards in the whole farm. I will live there in the future..."
"Okay, it doesn't matter if I buy one more manor!" Yan Liqiang smiled, "As long as I can take over the bookstore and the workshop..."
"Do you want to go see the bookstore and Zhuangzi?"
"Of course we have to go. This is our big business..."
(End of this chapter)