Qiao's mansion is still solemn and dignified, the fragrance of osmanthus can still be smelled from miles away, and the old man who is the gatekeeper is still leaning at the corner of the door, eating peanuts with a little wine.
Xue Poye came over early in the morning after breakfast.
Although the old man is a janitor, but the material of the clothes is very good, Xue Poye can't help sighing secretly, this big family is a big family, even the clothes of the servants are not comparable to ordinary people, the old man's head is already covered with white hair, It's really not easy to be guarding the door at such an old age, so Xue Poye made his smile as bright as possible and his voice as soft as possible: "Old man, I'm here again, I still have to trouble you to report, thank you Thank you!"
The old man didn't even get up this time, he waved his hands and said: "My lord has told me, I'm still busy today, I don't have any guests, you go."
Xue Poye frowned, but immediately smiled and said: "Qiao's family property is huge, and the old man has a lot of things to do every day. It's normal to be busy. I just ask the old man to help me. It's not easy for us to come to Suzhou, and there are still a lot of things to do over there. , just ask the old man to spare a little time, let the younger generation please take care of me, please help me!"
The old man laughed, shook his head and said, "Xiao Xue, I can't be the master of this matter. I'm just a servant. I will do as the old man tells me. If the old man says he won't see you, he won't see you. You'd better come back another day."
Xue Poye hesitated, procrastinating here is not a problem, there is still a lot of trouble behind it, if you talk to Qiao's family as soon as possible, you will start doing things as soon as possible, and you can't even see each other, how do you do things, you can't always Take a stroll in Suzhou today.
The old man seemed to see that Xue Poye was in a bad mood, and said with a smile: "Little Xue, don't be in a hurry, come here, I'm fine, if you're not busy, talk to the old man, hehe, I don't know what you see Don't you think highly of me, a servant?"
Xue Poye smiled wryly. The servants of Qiao's family are much better than ordinary merchants. Seeing the old man's amiable face, he couldn't help but sit down on the threshold next to him, and said with a smile, "What do you call the old man?"
The old man was taken aback for a moment, and then he laughed quickly: "I have lived past my age, and I don't have a name, so you can call me Qiaobo."
Xue Poye said "Oh", touched his nose and said, "How is Qiaobo!"
Qiao Bo twirled two peanuts and put them in his mouth, chewed them gently, and said vaguely: "Young people are very polite, my grandfather likes young people who are polite, hehe, Xiaoxue, you can find our grandfather In a hurry?"
Xue Poye glanced at Qiao Bo, but did not answer. Looking around, there were large expanses of sweet-scented osmanthus groves. The wealthy Qiao family had few guests. According to his own understanding, such a rich family, The bustling crowd is not enough to describe the excitement, I really didn't expect it to be so deserted here, so I said casually: "It seems that there are not many customers coming to the door?"
Qiao Bo leaned comfortably at the corner of the door, took a sip of the wine, and said leisurely: "It's good to be clean, it's good to be clean. A few years ago, when there were many people, the family couldn't handle it. If there were too many people, we couldn't do business. How nice it is to be so clean, I have a lot more time to spend."
Xue Poye wondered: "Could it be that no one came to discuss business?"
Qiao Bo laughed and said: "Today, our Qiao family doesn't need to discuss any business. We should have a lot of business, and we don't do business that shouldn't be done. Even if we really want to talk about business, we have to talk about business." The doorway, there is no need to go to the door."
Xue Poye praised: "To do business like this is already perfect. The Qiao family is a family in the business world, and their reputation is well-deserved."
"What's so good?" Qiao Bo didn't seem to take it seriously, and said leisurely: "The business of keeping the ancestors is, my grandfather is not very serious, and now the business is going on step by step, there is nothing to worry about."
Xue Poye laughed, and asked in a low voice: "By the way, Qiao Bo, this grandfather is also getting old, has he... hehe, hasn't he handed over the burden to his descendants?"
Qiao Bo's expression immediately sank, and he was very gloomy. He packed up the peanuts and wine, ignored him, went straight to the hospital, closed the door, and left the dumbfounded Xue Poye outside.
I rely on!
Xue Poye was very surprised, this old guy has a good temper, wasn't he very kind at first? It's just why the descendants of the Qiao family have such an attitude when they ask about it, their faces are more gloomy than a coffin board, what's the reason
Tieniu, who had been waiting by the carriage, couldn't help but came over, and said angrily, "Master, Qiao's... I smashed the door and caught their grandpa."
Xue Poye was covered in cold sweat, rolled his eyes at him, and said in a cold voice: "If you touch Mrs. Qiao, we will definitely not be able to leave Suzhou. You are really joking, and you want to smash the door? But the other door is not smashed." Let’s have our heads smashed.” He secretly lamented that although Tieniu was powerful in force, his intelligence was really mediocre.
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From ancient times to the present, every place has its own characteristics, which include many aspects, such as local customs, the voice of speaking, and even more such as local delicacies.
Qiao's family refused to see anyone, Xue Poye was disappointed, but he did not give up, even Liu Bei could pay three visits to the thatched cottage, and he had to visit the house several times, if it was impossible, he would take other measures.
Mingxu is a monk, so he recited scriptures along the way, but the recitations were not real scriptures, but mumbled that he wanted to eat a special meal at a restaurant. The name of the dish is mouth-watering, and the mind is also stirred, so I took the two of them to the very famous restaurant in Suzhou---Taixiyuan!
This is a very strange name, but the business is extremely hot.
Of course, Tai Xiyuan has a very old-fashioned layout, and the people who come to eat seem to have some status. Although there are many guests, they are not very noisy.
"Crab rice dumpling, meat in sauce, garlic crab, thirteen-flavored lobster...!" Ming Xu ordered this dish in a very polite manner, without hesitation, he was very familiar with it.
"Have you brought any money?" Xue Poye couldn't help asking.
Ming Xu stopped talking when he mentioned "Snowflake Needle Mushroom", and looked at Xue Poye aggrievedly: "Shopkeeper, don't you have money?"
Xue Poye rubbed his nose and said, "I can't spend it like this even if I have money. I really admire you. So many dishes, can you finish them all?"
Mingxu grinned and said: "It doesn't have to be finished, but you have to taste it, don't you think so, shopkeeper?"
Xue Poye still wanted to talk, but the guy next to him couldn't help but interjected: "Do you want anything else?" Looking at Xue Poye, there was a trace of contempt in his eyes, obviously very disdainful that Xue Poye didn't even eat a meal. Such haggling.
Xue Poye sighed, waved his hand and said, "All right, all right, that's all."
The man turned around to leave, Mingxu couldn't help but said: "Man, add another pot of Biluochun." Seeing the rudder master looking over with cold eyes, he hastily bowed his head and remained silent.
This Taixiyuan has only two floors, which is much less imposing than his own Hanyuan, but the second floor is very lively, as if a grand party is being held.
Before the dishes were served, a group of people came in from the gate. The leader was a middle-aged man in brocade clothes, with a slightly fat body and a mustache. He lived like a rascal, with a big belly, as if he was six or seven months pregnant, holding two iron gallbladders in the palm of his right hand, making a "stabbing" sound, and behind him were six or seven big men in black, each of them Very vigorous.
Xue Poye frowned, it seemed that the bloody scene was about to appear again, he turned his face away and did not look at them.
When the customers in the store saw these guys, they all showed disgust and panic, and they all lowered their heads and stopped talking, only laughter still came from upstairs.
A guy who looked like a shopkeeper had already stepped forward and said with a smile: "Master Tiger, you are getting old, please hurry up!"
That Mr. Tiger's right hand was flexible, and the two iron gallbladders were turning straight in the palm, making a piercing sound, without even looking at the shopkeeper, his eyes swept across the shop, and suddenly he showed a strange smile, and shouted: "Treasurer Fan, so you Here, it's easy for me to find, what's the matter, what's wrong with me, brother? It's not a problem to avoid me all day long, it's better for us to do things early, so don't tire your family."
Everyone followed his gaze, and saw a person standing up in the corner, trembling all over, bent over, lowered his head, his voice trembling: "Tiger... Master Tiger...!"
Many people showed sympathy, it seems that shopkeeper Fan is going to be in big trouble.
Master Hu walked over slowly, and said with a chuckle: "What's the matter, every day you shout that you have no money, isn't this still here to spend time and drink?"
Shopkeeper Fan said with a bitter face: "Master Tiger, we are talking about business, so I can earn money to honor you."
"Honor me?" Master Hu chuckled, "Isn't it true? Master Tiger, I have said that I don't like those trivial little money, but I can give you the money and hand over the land deed and house deed of your pharmacy." Give it to me, you can talk about anything, Master Hu, I want to talk to you, you also have to give Master Tiger some face, don't you?"
The few big men behind him crossed their arms, with weird smiles on their faces.
A friend at the same table as shopkeeper Fan stood up, a little angry, and said in a foreign accent: "Why are you unreasonable? Can this land deed and house deed be given casually? That is the way of life for others."
"Reasonable?" Master Hu squinted his eyes, stroked his mustache and said, "Master Hu likes reasoning the most, come on, reason with this master."
Immediately behind Lord Tiger, a person sprang forward, grabbed the outsider by the neckline and lifted it up. He picked up the wine pot on the table and smashed it straight down on the head. Shattered, the outsider immediately burst into blood, the blood flowed down with the wine, his face turned pale instantly, he yelled "Ah", and as soon as the thug let go, the outsider immediately collapsed like a puddle of mud .