Chapter 14 He is really a love-struck seed
After Zhao Jue received the task of collecting military rations, he went to visit the Qin Mansion. The people in the mansion only said that the master had gone south, and they knew nothing more.
Yesterday I accidentally learned that Baixiangzhai is a base of Qin's Trading Company.
Boss Qin's confidant works as the shopkeeper here, collecting information for Boss Qin and having channels to contact Boss Qin.
As soon as Zhao Jue received the letter yesterday, he came here to find Boss Qin. After introducing himself and explaining the reason for his visit, the manager revealed that Boss Qin would return to Baixiangzhai today.
In addition to waiting for news from Boss Qin these days, he was also looking for other ways, fearing that Boss Qin could not afford so much food.
He was busy entertaining the aristocratic families, borrowing or buying grain from them, but unfortunately, he had little success and instead they came to him crying poor.
Now, three days have passed since the date of the military order, and there are seven days left.
Zhao Jue threw the reins to the servant and strode into the shop. "Manager Hu, has your boss arrived?"
"Sir, the boss arrived early this morning and is resting in the backyard," Shopkeeper Hu said respectfully, "I've already passed on your message to the boss. He said that if you come, he'll bring you to see him."
Zhao Jue's tense mind relaxed after hearing the news. "Thank you for leading the way."
Manager Hu led Zhao Jue to the study in the backyard.
Boss Qin saw Zhao Jue through the open window and signaled to the ink-grinding servant, "A distinguished guest is here. Go open the door."
"Yes." The servant took the order and went to open the door.
The door opened, and Zhao Jue happened to be at the entrance. As he walked in, he saw Boss Qin leisurely coming out from behind the desk and bowing to him. "Young General, I received a message from Manager Hu when I returned home at midnight yesterday. I came here early this morning to greet you."
Zhao Jue gave her a false helping hand: "Boss Qin, Tan'er and your daughter are like sisters. You are considered her elder, so there is no need to be so polite."
"I was supposed to attend the wedding banquet of the young general and Miss Shen, but something went wrong with my business in Jiangnan, so I couldn't go to your house to enjoy the wedding wine." Boss Qin invited Zhao Jue to take a seat and poured tea for him. "I found a treasure in Jiangnan. When it is transported to the capital, I will send it to your house to celebrate Miss Shen's wedding."
Zhao Jue's eyes flickered slightly, and he deliberately mentioned Shen Qingtan in an intimate tone in order to test Boss Qin.
Boss Qin's words seemed to imply that he didn't know that he and Shen Qingtan had married separately.
He suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart. If Shen Qingtan had given up on him, she would definitely write a letter to inform Boss Qin and sever all cooperation with him.
After all, Shen Qingtan married someone else, and they had different positions and stood on opposite sides.
Now it seems... Is Shen Qingtan still unable to forget her old feelings for him?
"I'll treat Boss Qin to a drink some other day." Zhao Jue didn't explain the details of the marriage exchange. He took a sip of his tea and said, "Boss Qin has traveled extensively in business and is very capable. You pioneered the transportation of grain from the south to the north. Our grain shops are spread all over the Great Zhou and have a very good reputation."
Boss Qin said modestly, "No, no, whether in business or in life, we always put integrity first."
Zhao Jue got straight to the point and said, "I came here today to cooperate with Boss Qin and buy 100,000 dan of military rations from you."
Boss Qin was shocked: "One... one hundred thousand stones?"
He sighed, "You know there's a famine right now. How could I possibly have so much food? The little I have is old grain I bought at a high price."
Zhao Jue said in a heavy tone, "The people of the Great Zhou can live and work in peace and contentment, all thanks to the soldiers on the border who sacrificed their lives and shed their blood to defend this land.
It turns out that the war in the north should have ended long ago. The Northern Qi Kingdom knew that the Great Zhou was suffering from a famine, so they wanted to use delaying tactics to delay the attack until we ran out of ammunition and food, and then capture the city in one fell swoop.
If the northern border cannot be defended, the people of the Great Zhou will suffer and there will be no peace as we have now.
There is a shortage of military supplies in the north now. The soldiers are hungry, so how can they have the energy to fight the enemy?
Dying on the battlefield killing the enemy is a worthy death.
How tragic and miserable is it to die of starvation on the battlefield?
Boss Qin looked solemn.
"Boss Qin, sell me all the food and fodder you have." Zhao Jue stood up and bowed deeply to Boss Qin. "I'd like to thank you on behalf of the soldiers in the northern border."
Boss Qin didn't dare to accept Zhao Jue's gift and quickly stepped aside: "Young General, as a citizen of the Great Zhou, I must do my best to help the country in this crisis."
Zhao Jue breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak.
"It's just..." Boss Qin said helplessly, "After the natural disaster, I didn't have more than 50,000 dan of grain. Now that I've been away from Beijing for over a month, I don't know how much grain is left in the granary. I'll go and coordinate it and give you an answer tonight."
"Okay." Before leaving, Zhao Jue explained, "Tan'er and I were deeply in love, but our fate was short. Something went wrong on our wedding day, and she got into my second brother's sedan chair and moved into his new room."
Boss Qin was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses. "What a pity, your fate is so shallow." Then, he smiled and said, "Although you can't become husband and wife, you have become a family, which can be considered a kinship."
Zhao Jue's expression was gloomy. He didn't say anything more, but just reminded her deliberately: "I came here to see you tonight."
"Alright." Boss Qin seemed to see through his thoughts. "When it comes to the war in the northern border, I won't act rashly." After a pause, he added meaningfully, "Young General, I'm a businessman. I have so many mouths to feed."
How could we turn away business that comes to our door?
Zhao Jue felt relieved after receiving the guarantee.
In order to avoid complications, Zhao Jue decided to find an opportunity to coax Shen Qingtan.
——
Boss Qin sent Zhao Jue away and ordered his men to remove the remaining tea and replace it with the best West Lake Longjing tea, and also prepared some snacks.
Just as everything was ready, Manager Hu brought Shen Qingtan here.
As soon as Shen Qingtan entered the study, he took off the veil on his head and saw Boss Qin standing in front of the table.
He wore a square scarf and a wide-sleeved robe, with a long, smooth beard on his chin. He was graceful and elegant, without any of the shrewdness and materialism of a businessman.
But she knew that Boss Qin was a man who played dumb and had a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
If you count carefully, I haven't seen you for a year and a half, but in fact it feels like a lifetime.
In his previous life, Boss Qin helped Zhao Jue, but it did not end well for him. All his property was taken away by Zhao Jue, and he finally died unjustly in prison.
This is because of her.
Because on the day Boss Qin died, Zhao Jue came to her house drunk and told her the news of Boss Qin's death, saying, "You can only blame him for finding out you're not dead and almost coming to the villa. Otherwise, you wouldn't have ended up like this today."
He also said: "Shen Qingtan, more than 60 lives of the Qin family were lost because of you."
Shen Qingtan's eyes were sore and he quickly lowered his head.
Boss Qin didn't notice her strangeness: "Miss Shen, you sent someone to deliver a message specifically about the military rations?"
He learned from Shopkeeper Hu yesterday that Shen Qingtan had become the second wife of the Duke's Mansion's main house.
The reason why I met Zhao Jue today was firstly for military rations, which were of vital importance to the soldiers in the northern border.
Secondly, Zhao Jue’s identity was not someone a businessman like him could offend openly.
Thirdly, he wanted to see if Zhao Jue had any other purpose.
"Mr. Zhao San just left a while ago. He was still using you to make friends with him." Boss Qin remembered Zhao Jue's expression and tone when he mentioned Shen Qingtan, and said with a hint of sarcasm: "He is really a lovesick person." Bullshit.
A childhood sweetheart who grew up together, not to mention being able to recognize him even if he turned into ashes, you can at least recognize him by his figure, right?
As a man, he knows best what kind of person this man is.
For the sake of power, fame and fortune, he just seduced her and then abandoned her.
Boss Qin said thankfully, "Mr. Zhao San is not a good man. He did a good thing by not marrying you."
The sourness in Shen Qingtan's eyes receded in an instant. Looking at Boss Qin who was angry at one moment and relieved at another, he felt helpless.
She sighed softly, "Uncle Qin, there is some grudge between him and me."
Because she saved Qin Yao, she got to know Boss Qin who came to Beijing to develop his business. At first, Boss Qin's business was not going well and he was suppressed by merchants with aristocratic families as their backers.
She had a good reputation in the capital, got to know many officials' families, and introduced many connections to Boss Qin, allowing him to gain a foothold in the capital.
Boss Qin was an upright man who knew how to repay kindness. Seeing that she had helped him a lot, he secretly took her with him to do business.
"I've thought about this, but I haven't given him a firm answer yet." Boss Qin frowned. "Let's not even talk about the food and fodder being prepared for the soldiers in the northern border. He's been tasked with collecting military rations. If I refuse, and he requests an imperial decree to investigate me, it might even implicate you."
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