Chapter 64: Master
"What is this palace you just mentioned? Is this what the Xie and Chu families are stealing food for?"
Tang Xian nodded: "I also heard the head shopkeeper mention it when he was talking to someone. He said that the person above might go on a tour to the south, so the major families want to take this opportunity to curry favor with the officials and even those above them."
"So that's how it is." Liang Jinyu understood instantly.
No wonder the price of cedar trees has skyrocketed this year. It may be related to the construction of the imperial palace.
"Do you know the exact time?" Liang Jinyu asked.
Tang Xian sighed: "This is not something a small shopkeeper like me can know."
In his previous life, Liang Jinyu had never heard that the emperor had been to Shaozhou. Either the news was kept secret, or he had never come at all.
Liang Jinyu was more inclined to the second option, because the next three years were full of natural disasters and man-made disasters, and it was not a wise move to tour the south at this time.
"Let's not talk about that for now. I'll just take you around. Oh, there's one exception."
The location of Luanxiang Garden is very strange. It is located in the southeast corner of the entire mansion and occupies a large area. The black-painted wooden door looks old and seems like it will fall down at any time. The copper lock on the door can probably be opened with a light twist.
"Don't move this yard, and no one is allowed to enter." Liang Jinyu warned.
Tang Xian took note of it silently and did not ask any more questions.
It was already past noon when they finished looking at the whole house. Liang Jinyu asked Tang Xian to go back and think about it carefully, and they would meet the next day to discuss how to implement it.
Although Tang Xian had many doubts in his mind, he also knew that this house renovation was just a test of his ability by Liang Jinyu, and the other party would not reveal too much to him before it was completed.
After seeing Tang Xian off, Liang Jinyu also told the Wang brothers and sisters about renovating the house.
"This yard also needs to be renovated, but there's still early time. I will arrange accommodation for you in advance." Liang Jinyu said, so as to relieve the two of them from having any psychological burden.
Wang Juan'er held Liang Jinyu's arm and looked up and asked, "When the house is repaired, will you live with us?"
Liang Jinyu smiled and rubbed her furry head: "It's not certain yet, not too soon."
"When will it be soon?"
"Juan'er!"
Wang Erniu shouted, glancing at Liang Jinyu: "I can help move the bricks."
Liang Jinyu laughed: "How many bricks can you carry with your small body? Take good care of Juan'er now, and I will arrange things for you in the future."
Wang Erniu pursed his lips and said nothing.
"By the way, where is Dingfang?" Liang Jinyu suddenly realized that Dingfang was not in the room, so she went out to look for him.
In winter, the grass and trees in the yard withered, and the scene was desolate everywhere.
Liang Jinyu found Ding Fang in the small courtyard at the back. He was staring at a tree, motionless.
"What are you looking at?" Liang Jinyu walked over and asked.
Liang Dingfang pointed at the tree trunk and said, "Sister, look here."
Liang Jinyu moved closer and noticed that the bark seemed to have been punctured by something, and there were many such puncture marks.
"What is this?" Liang Jinyu asked.
Liang Dingfang gestured: "It looks like a flying knife."
Liang Jinyu looked around and asked suspiciously, "Who would practice flying knives here?"
"It's me."
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Wang Erniu actually followed him.
"I did it." Wang Erniu looked ready to die.
Liang Dingfang walked over and looked at Wang Erniu, who was about the same height as him. "You?"
Wang Erniu bit his lip: "What's wrong with me!"
In a flash, Liang Dingfang suddenly attacked and punched Wang Erniu in the face with a heavy punch.
Wang Erniu was startled and instinctively ducked to avoid the attack.
Liang Dingfang just dribbled the gun and attacked Wang Erniu's knee before he could stand firm.
Wang Erniu felt pain and fell backwards repeatedly, but he stood up again miraculously the moment he fell to the ground. He looked surprised, as if he had not expected that he could do it.
Liang Dingfang tilted his head slightly, stared at Wang Erniu with a gloomy look for a long time, and asked, "Who taught you?"
The move he just performed was clearly not something that could be done by brute force. He used skill, which showed that he had practiced before.
Liang Jinyu also became interested and asked curiously: "It's been less than a month, and you are already amazing to have achieved this level. It seems that you have met a good master."
The unexpected praise instantly made Wang Erniu's dissatisfaction with Liang Dingfang disappear, and he even felt a little happy.
"I don't know his name, I just meet him occasionally." Wang Erniu said with his head down.
That day he heard the noise and came out, and met the man here.
He thought the man was a thief and wanted to chase him away, but he got beaten up by the man instead.
Wang Erniu was stubborn and would not admit defeat even after being beaten. Instead, he became more courageous as the fight went on.
After several attempts, Wang Erniu still failed to drive the man away. Instead, he became more and more powerful under the other party's guidance.
"You must know what the other person looks like, right?" Liang Jinyu asked.
Wang Erniu recalled: "She was wearing a white dress, a red belt, a hat, and was very good-looking. She was also holding a paper fan."
Liang Jinyu and Liang Dingfang looked at each other and guessed who it was.
"I understand. If he is willing to teach you, you should study hard. It's always good to learn more skills." Liang Jinyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, he had another guess in his mind.
...
After leaving the house, Liang Jinyu asked Dingfang to find Liu Ya Ren, while he went to Fusheng Money House.
Looking at the mark on the door plaque, Liang Jinyu nodded and said, "It really is the Xie family's."
It is said that pawnshops are the money houses of the poor, and money houses are the pawnshops of the rich. The Xie family is different. They do business with both the poor and the rich.
Liang Jinyu thought so and walked in, lifting her skirt.
When the bank clerk saw someone coming in, he hurried over to greet her. When he learned that Liang Jinyu was there to deposit money, he became even more enthusiastic.
When the Yuan family lent Liang Jinyu 1,000 taels of silver, she planned to keep only 100 taels with her and temporarily deposit the rest in the bank.
When the nine hundred taels of silver were taken out, the guys' eyes widened.
Liang Jinyu took the opportunity to ask, "I remember you have a shopkeeper named Tang here, why didn't I see him today?"
The waiter hurriedly brought tea and snacks to Liang Jinyu: "You mean the second storekeeper Tang Xian?"
"That's the name."
"He is no longer in our bank."
"Oh? Why is that?"
The guy wanted to please Liang Jinyu, so naturally he had to take up the topic.
He looked around and said in a low voice, "In fact, the second shopkeeper was also quite innocent. He and our first shopkeeper were good brothers and had been through hardships together. Who would have thought that a misunderstanding would lead to the destruction of their relationship."
"Oh? What's the matter? Tell me about it." Liang Jinyu asked hurriedly, with a gossipy look on her face.
Seeing that Liang Jinyu was interested, the waiter immediately explained the whole story in a vivid and emotional way.
About three months ago, the head shopkeeper suddenly contracted a serious illness and kept coughing every day. His overall condition was very poor. So Tang Xian advised him to go home and have a good rest, and come back to Qianzhuang when he was well again.
The head shopkeeper was a suspicious person. He thought that Tang Xian wanted to "seize power and usurp the throne", so instead of agreeing, he had a big quarrel with Tang Xian.
I don't know who told the boss about this, and I don't know how the boss listened to it, but they actually sent someone to persuade the manager to go home and have a rest.
That afternoon, the shopkeeper packed his luggage and went home angrily.
The very next day, news came that the head shopkeeper was going to hand over his business and leave.
"One is the head shopkeeper, and the other is the second in command. It's obvious who stays and who leaves." The clerk spread out his hands and said helplessly.