The weather the next day was pretty good, God seemed to have overused the heat yesterday, so although there is still some heat today, the wind is blowing and the air is not as stuffy as yesterday, which makes people feel much more comfortable.
The Qiao family in Suzhou is well-known, and the locals in Suzhou naturally know the location of the mansion, so Xue Poye easily asked the way, and led Mingxu and Tieniu to Qiao's mansion in a carriage.
Qiao Mansion, also known as "Qiao Mansion", is located in the west of Suzhou City. It is not a bustling place. The huge Qiao Mansion is surrounded by a large osmanthus forest. The fragrance of osmanthus can be smelled ten miles away.
It seems that due to the prestige of Qiao's house, there are few people around Qiao's mansion. Even birds dare to stop by the roadside to pick up the debris in the grass. If it weren't for the singing of birds, this place would be really deserted.
Along the way, Xue Poye sat in the carriage with his eyes closed and meditated, thinking about the words to persuade Qiao's family to cooperate. Neither Mingxu nor Mingxu dared to disturb them, for fear of arousing the wrath of the helmsman.
A wooden bridge is erected on a slowly flowing small river. After the carriage crosses the small bridge, it enters the osmanthus forest. The fragrance of osmanthus is even more refreshing. After a while, a majestic mansion appeared before his eyes.
Xue broke the night curtain and stretched his head to look, and saw the Qiao mansion in the osmanthus forest crawling like a vicissitudes of life monster, it looked hard and cold, this building seemed to have been eroded by too many years, and it looked a little old, but But it reveals a trace of profound background, not the glitz of ordinary rich people, but the solemnity and solemnity that only aristocratic families have.
The carriage stopped in front of Qiao's mansion, the dark gray door was open, and the tall courtyard wall was so heavy that it was hard to breathe. Xue Poye only felt that the place was very deserted, giving people a very depressing feeling, not at all like that of Hangzhou Lu. The luxury of home.
This is the residence of the Qiao family, the richest man in Suzhou!
Even the old man who guards the door is extremely old, leaning against the gate, eating peanuts with a little wine, perhaps this is the greatest pastime and the greatest enjoyment in his twilight years.
Seeing the carriage stopped in front of the mansion, the old man stood up while leaning on the wall, stuffed the small wine jug into his arms, and greeted him with a salute, his voice was very kind: "Where is the mansion? Please let me know, I will go report."
Xue Poye got out of the carriage, seeing the old man's enthusiasm, he hurriedly said: "You are more polite, you are more polite!" He also bowed, the old man is almost sixty years old, if he accepts his gift, he is afraid that he will suffer retribution of.
But thinking about those rich and wealthy families, most of the gatekeepers are arrogant, like greyhounds baring their teeth. This old man is very kind, and I can see that the Qiao family has a very good family style. It is worthy of a business family and has more connotations than those upstarts too much.
"I'm Xue Poye from Hangzhou, I'm here to pay a visit to Mr. Qiao... Mr. Qiao!" Xue Poye said with a smile, "Please tell me, Mr. Qiao."
This 40,000 pieces of autumn clothes not only need to purchase large quantities of silk, but also make garments with the help of the Qiao family's workshop. Although it is not a big business for the Qiao family, after all, it involves the suspicion between Suzhou and Hangzhou. , so it is useless to find some underlings, you can only discuss with the Patriarch of the Qiao family.
"Hangzhou?" The old man squinted at Xue Poye, and muttered, "Do we do business in Hangzhou? Uh..., just wait, I'll make a report, you wait first."
The old man actually knew that he came to do business, and even knew not to do business in Hangzhou. It seems that reaching an agreement with the Qiao family is really not an easy task.
Ming Xu stood behind him blankly, staring at the dark high wall in a daze.
Xue Poye touched his nose, glanced at him, and asked curiously, "May I ask what else you found?"
"This mansion is probably more than 50 years old!" Mingxu leaned closer and whispered: "Look at that stone, it is almost turning into stone powder, just like the stone pillar in my yard. I can't take it anymore."
This is very strange to say, blame the monk for saying strange things.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Xue Poye couldn't help but ask authentically.
"The big family is deserted, guarding the old, with a dead air, it's not ominous!" Ming Xu murmured.
Xue Poye couldn't help but kicked his ass: "My day, do you still know Fengshui?" But he really didn't know the truth about this strange monk. , hiding herself very, very deeply...!
Ming Xu let the helmsman kick his ass, looked calm, shook his head and said: "Subordinates don't know how to look at Feng Shui, but it's too cold here, their Qiao's family is in the Fujia side of Suzhou, it's easy to buy a new mansion, but I live in this deserted place, and I don’t see many people all day long, so my subordinates think so...!" After a pause, he concluded, "The Qiao family is in trouble, that's why it's like this."
"My god!" Xue Poye couldn't help but sneer: "You didn't even enter their house, don't say these curse words, if they hear you, don't chase you with a broom and beat you."
Mingxu said aggrievedly: "I'm just telling the truth, don't blame me for the shopkeeper."
The Qiao family is very efficient in doing things. Although the old man is old, he has good legs and feet. He came over quickly with a smile on his face. Xue Poye was relieved to see the smile on his face. It seems that Qiao The master agreed to go in by himself.
"Xue...Master Xue...!" The old man called a name that made Xue Poye break out in a cold sweat.
Xue Poye hastily waved his hands and said: "Old man, just call me Xiaoxue, I can't bear it, master, I can't bear it." He went up to welcome him, and then he wanted to bring Mingxu and two into the mansion.
The old man hastily stopped him and said, "Xue...uh...Xiao Xue, the master is busy, come back another day."
Xue Poye was taken aback, and glanced at the old man. This old man is really not authentic. This is not good news. Why did he smile and asked, "I don't know when Master Qiao will finish his work? We can wait."
The old man shook his head and said: "I'm afraid I can't do it today, there are a lot of things." Without saying a word, I went back to the gate, leaned against the corner of the door again, took out the small wine pot and took a sip, feeling very comfortable, and picked it up again. Putting two peanuts into his mouth and chewing, he stopped looking at Xue Poye and left several people outside the door in a daze.
Xue Poye and the others looked at each other, and after half a day, Xue Poye couldn't help but said: "Old man, don't you like to laugh?"
The old man chewed the peanuts, and his voice was still respectful: "Smile often, and you will live longer. I still want to live a few more years, drink wine, eat peanuts, and have a happy life." Finally, I took a look at Xue Poye , smiled and said: "Xiao Xue, do you want to come over and have a taste?"
Xue Poye shook his head, remained silent for a moment, and said with a smile: "Old man, please go in and tell me again. I came here from Hangzhou to visit Master Qiao. The journey is far away, and it is not easy to come here. I beg Master Qiao to meet you. I have something to discuss." While talking, he took out a few liang of silver, walked over and stuffed it into the old man's hand.
The old man looked at the silver in his hand and sighed: "Good thing, good thing, but unfortunately I don't have the good fortune to enjoy it." He stuffed it back and hiccupped: "Uh, let's go, the grandfather said he was busy so he was busy, It's useless to go there, if you get kicked out of the mansion by the grandfather, you won't even have a day to drink this little wine." Squinting his eyes, he seemed to be asleep.
Xue Poye wished to punch the old man's nose crookedly, pretending to be confused, it seems that even a janitor in the Qiao family is not simple, he was angry in his heart, but his expression was calm: "Oh, if that's the case, Don't bother the younger generation, the old man can drink and eat peanuts slowly, the younger generation will come to visit tomorrow."
Just as he was about to get into the carriage, the old man suddenly shouted: "Little Xue, don't call me Master Qiao anymore, our master has passed away, and the master is in charge!"
Xue Poye suddenly collapsed.
It was expected that he could not see the Patriarch of the Qiao Family this time, Xue Poye was not discouraged, it would be a bit strange if he could see the Patriarch of the Qiao Family so easily.
After returning to the inn, after all, Suzhou is also a water town in the south of the Yangtze River. Although I am out to do business this time, I can take this opportunity to have a good rest. Therefore, Xue Poye took a few people to wander around Suzhou City, and even tried to draw the awning himself. Boat.
Of course, Xue Poye will never forget to get to know the Qiao family, the head of wealth in Suzhou.
"Only by understanding, can we know his strength!"
Xue Poye deeply understood the meaning of this sentence. Almost every three shops he walked into, one of them belonged to the Qiao family, and the industries involved were varied. As for the silk cloth shop, Xue Poye took a special look at it, and the quality of the silk cloth produced was indeed excellent, which was indeed higher than the silk cloth in Hangzhou. Da Chu is also second to none.
It seems that the Qiao family has a very good reputation, unlike the Lu family's arrogance and bullying. Although it almost monopolizes most of the business in Suzhou, it also leaves a way for other businessmen. The overall business atmosphere in Suzhou is harmonious and prosperous.
But what is intriguing is that the Qiao family is so powerful, but few people really know the Qiao family. The so-called knowledge is just knowing the various businesses of the Qiao family, but they are ignorant of the family life of the Qiao family. The Qiao family in Dachu is like a mysterious family. The family members seldom go out, but the shopkeepers of all walks of life are loyal and conscientious in doing things for the Qiao family. Xue Poye also has to admire the patriarch of the Qiao family. control ability.
The clearest news I can know is that the master of the Qiao family passed away six years ago, and now the head of the Qiao family is Grandpa Qiao Zhen, a name that few people dare to call him, and they all call him "Grandfather". As for the family The other members, like a mystery, are unknown. One said that there were seven or eight grandchildren, and the other said that there were dozens of them. Later, some people said that there were no descendants under their knees, and only the grandfather supported them. I am afraid that the Qiao family has no successors. Some people even said that the Qiao family still had descendants, but it was mysterious and no one knew about it.
In short, Suzhou Qiao's family is a very mysterious family in the eyes of outsiders!