Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 20 Where is the Master?!

After Lu Jia's series of sharp rebuttals, the Zhang family's background has been almost completely exposed.

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Chang exposed the dirty deeds of the Zhang family in the crowd. Some people in the crowd had heard the rumors from outside, while others had not.

Those who had heard it before suddenly understood, while those who hadn't heard it before quickly inquired among themselves, and after finding out, they also joined the ranks of those who despised the Zhang family.

Although He Shi had long since lost all shame, how could she withstand so many insults with just one word?

So he could only use Lu Jia's sharp tongue to constantly curse her for being mean and mean, and that she would never get married.

When the head of Hongtai Company stepped out of the shop, he saw a large crowd gathered on the other side of the road, with Mrs. He and a girl in plain clothes in the center of the crowd.

She moved closer and peered at them through the gaps in the crowd. Mrs. He was furious, her face contorted with rage.

Despite He's curses, the young woman remained calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant: "My aunt's daughter, Ru, is of marriageable age. You'd better watch your words, or you might have trouble finding her a husband in the future."

Every word He uttered was met with silence, and amidst the cheers, the female head of the household subtly revealed her admiration.

At this moment, the waiter next to her gently tugged at her sleeve and secretly pointed to a young man in a short cloth shirt over there: "That's him! Boss, the one who came to deliver the message to us earlier, that's the man."

The leader's eyes gleamed as he looked back at Lu Jia, who stood proudly in the crowd, and a hint of understanding appeared on his face.

When the people from the Hongtai appeared in the crowd, Lu Jia, who was always observant, naturally saw them as well.

She switched the basket to her other hand and said, "If Aunt doesn't have any other instructions, I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, she left Mrs. He and walked out of the crowd.

Madam He gritted her teeth, watching her retreating figure, and roared from her throat, "Where is the master? Where is the master?!..."

Li Chang caught up with Lu Jia, and the two had just exchanged a glance when a voice came from behind: "Miss Xie, please wait."

Lu Jia turned around, and the female manager of the Hongtai was walking towards her.

“Miss Xie, I am the head of Hongtai. I was once close to your maternal grandfather. He was a kind and virtuous man who lived a life of good deeds and fairness. I admire him.”

"I had heard before that the old man's granddaughter had moved back from Beijing, but this is the first time I've met her."

"For the sake of my friendship with the old man, would you be willing to come to my shop for a cup of tea?"

Lu Jia scrutinized the female manager closely, from her smiling yet shrewd eyes to her upright posture, and said, "Greetings, Boss." Then she said, "Thank you for your hospitality, Boss. However, my brother Li and I are planning to open a shop at the downstream dock and rent it out. Besides, your business is booming, and we might be disturbing you if we go."

Manager Liu smiled and said, "There's no rush to rent it out. Having a cup of tea won't bother you. Hongtai Company operates with strict rules and regulations, and everyone does their job. It won't cause any disturbance."

"Let this young man come along too."

Lu Jia glanced at Li Chang and smiled, "The boss's invitation is too kind. We shall respectfully accept."

……

Lu Jia and her companion had already started drinking tea in the backyard of the Hongtai Hotel. However, He Shi, who had returned after a series of humiliations, was unaware that the people she had sent still hadn't seen Zhang Qi at all. In the side hall of the Shawan County government office, Zhang Qi was taut like a bowstring, nervously facing the imperial envoy's questions.

Zhang Qi never dreamed that the imperial envoy would actually receive him!

Ever since the Assistant Magistrate Su Qing said that the first place the imperial envoy to come to Tanzhou specifically requested to be inspected was Shawan County, and that on the day he arrived in Shawan County, he specifically requested to personally meet with a group of local merchants, he has been coming to the county government office every day to wait and pay his respects.

This is a high-ranking official from the capital!

He had never met any important figures from the capital in his entire life, let alone the imperial envoy in charge of supervision and transportation! If he could curry favor with him, or even establish a connection with him, wouldn't his lifelong wealth and honor be assured?!

With powerful connections in the capital, how could he not amass great wealth? How could he not become the wealthiest merchant in Shawan County?!
Even a little bit of oil leaking from between the fingers of the wealthy is enough to make them incredibly rich!
He must seize this opportunity.

They had to squeeze into the ranks of the merchants who were to be received!

So he asked Su Qing to slip him several cans of tea, several sets of porcelain, several scrolls of calligraphy and painting, and several hundred taels of silver.

But this time it was really tricky. Su Qing, who had never refused him before, actually returned everything one after another this time.

Zhang Qi panicked. Was there anyone in this world who didn't love money? Even the wealthy and powerful in the capital needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, right?
After several days of pleading and cajoling, Su Qing finally slipped a message out the back door this morning, telling him to quickly bring the account books left behind by their grandfather and wait at the front door.

This made him ecstatic!
He just said it.

Money makes the world go round. How could anyone complain about having too much money?
He walked in excitedly, and even now, standing at the bottom of the small hall, his legs were still weak.

For some reason, even though there were only a few people in the room, with the imperial envoy sitting at the head of the table, and Magistrate Fang Wei leading two assistant magistrates from the yamen standing to his left to accompany him, and only a few attendants standing behind him, a sense of oppressive power swept over him, as if he were facing not just a few people, but several Mount Tai.

Zhang Qi didn't dare to look up at all, so he didn't even get a clear look at what the nobles looked like. All his attention was focused on answering the questions blankly:
"...Yes, Tanzhou Prefecture has been famous for its Hunan rice market for decades. Shawan Wharf has been even more prosperous in recent years. Although there are also many thriving businesses such as medicine shops, ironware shops, and oil paper umbrella shops, nearly 70% of the businesses are engaged in the rice business."

"As for cargo ships, they come from all over the country, including Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Lingnan. Almost all the medicinal herb merchants are from Jiangxi, and there's even a Jiangxi guild hall downstream from the dock..."

After answering the question about the current situation at Shawan Wharf, the hall fell silent again, which made Zhang Qi's trembling legs even more noticeable.

Guo Yi listened casually, holding his teacup, then took a sip and said, "I understand. You may leave now."

Zhang Qi hesitated to leave until he heard a cough coming from the hall. Only then did he quickly bow, step back to the threshold, and reluctantly leave.

Guo Yi put down his cup, stood up, and said to the magistrate, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Lord Fang, to keep me company. I'll take a look at these account books that the merchants brought today. I'll invite you over to talk later."

Fang Wei cupped his hands in greeting: "This humble official is at your service at any time."

After watching the officials leave, Guo Yi turned around, exchanged a glance with He Qu, who was dressed in plain clothes, and then walked one after the other into the back hall of the small side hall.

Under the crabapple tree just a window away, Shen Qingzhou sat on a bamboo couch, holding a dossier in deep thought.

(My darlings, it will be available on September 1st, please support me!)

(End of this chapter)