Chapter 747: Because the whole family is dead, there is no one to mourn
When Sanyou Trading Company was first established, there were many people who were jealous of the company's unique secret recipes, and Fan Shicheng was one of them.
He is a local tyrant with a considerable background.
During this period, he used threats, bribes, beauty, power, wealth and frame-up, and all the means he could think of, but in the end, it all ended in failure.
Fan Shicheng had been troubled by this for a long time, and had tried every possible means to make things difficult for Lin Yun and the others, but he regretted that he failed to succeed.
The people of Sangzhixia really don't buy it.
Fan Shicheng felt a little embarrassed when he recalled the past, and said with a dry laugh, "That's why they say that getting older brings more disadvantages."
"My memory has been getting worse over the years. I'm just getting confused."
Gui Sheng snorted, too lazy to continue Fan Shicheng's usual acting.
When they were led into Sang Zhixia's restaurant, Old Man Hua thoughtfully prepared clean clothes for them to change into.
"It's raining heavily and the wind is cold. The two family heads should change into dry clothes first to avoid getting caught in the cold."
"Don't worry, these are all clean clothes that we just brought from the cloth shop. They are all new."
Gui Sheng took the clothes and turned into the compartment prepared for him. His fingertips slid across the material that Old Man Hua said was rough, and his face showed a bit of dejection and resignation.
As the head of the Gui family who enjoys a life of honor and privilege, his eye for quality is definitely not wrong.
This is clearly a precious Shu brocade that is hard to come by even with money.
Just this seemingly ordinary set of clothes alone could be exchanged for no less than several hundred taels of silver.
Sang Zhixia is so generous, it is obvious that the request she will make soon will not be small.
Gui Sheng packed up and came out with mixed feelings, and found that Fan Shicheng, who was one step ahead of him, also had an indelible tension in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
While no one was paying attention, Fan Shicheng leaned in and whispered, "Lao Gui, I have a bad feeling."
Gui Sheng sighed softly: "This premonition is right."
"Did you bring enough money with you when you came to Nanyun this time?"
Fan Shicheng looked at Gui Sheng speechlessly, and when Old Man Hua knocked on the door, he immediately put on his harmless smile again.
"Alright, alright."
"Oh, they even prepared hot ginger tea for us! Otherwise, how could I have heard that the Sang family is kind and benevolent? This is so thoughtful."
Fan Shicheng's straightforward flattery failed to elicit any useful words from the others, but instead made him even more uneasy.
Unlike what Fan Shicheng had expected, their journey here was not smooth, but the process of meeting Sang Zhixia was unexpectedly simple.
There was no screen that was required of women from aristocratic families when meeting guests, nor was there the embarrassment of being stopped outside and having to speak through the door.
On the contrary, Sang Zhixia was quite polite to them. When they met, he didn't wait for them to lower their status and greet them first. Instead, he stood up and smiled and made a gesture of invitation.
"You two Patriarchs have been through a lot of trouble. Come in and sit down first before we talk."
Fan Shicheng and Gui Sheng responded with relatively cautious smiles.
After sitting down, Fan Shicheng put aside his rude demeanor and said kindly, "I've heard of Mr. Sang's elegant name for a long time, but it's a pity I've never had the chance to meet him."
"Normally, I should have brought some gifts for my first visit, but unfortunately I came here on such a short notice today. I hope you can forgive me."
Sang Zhixia and Diancui served hot tea to the guests and chuckled, "Actually, I was a bit rude. I'm really flattered that Patriarch Fan is so polite."
Fan Shicheng said several times in a row that it was all as he should do.
Sang Zhixia smiled and didn't respond. She turned the small teacup in her hand and changed the subject: "I left home early today, so I don't know what the situation is like in the city now."
"Since Patriarch Gui and Patriarch Fan came here on horseback, I imagine they saw quite a bit along the way?"
Fan Shicheng opened his mouth hesitantly.
Gui Sheng thought he had finally waited, and said calmly, "Are you asking about the flooding in the city during the heavy rain?"
Sang Zhixia nodded with a smile: "Yes."
"Can Master Gui see clearly?"
It's boring to pretend to be stupid after speaking out.
Gui Sheng had a rough idea of Sang Zhixia's temperament. After a moment's thought, he said matter-of-factly, "The terrain in Nanyun City is relatively low, and most of the houses along the streets are also low, so the road surface is slightly higher."
"The rain and thunder have been pouring for days, and the water has accumulated into puddles on the road. Now it's deep enough to reach ankles. As for the houses on both sides of the road..."
Gui Sheng sighed and said, "Some steps are higher than the street level, so the flooding has only reached the steps for now. But for those that are relatively lower than the street level, the accumulated water on the road has washed down, and many doors and windows are flooded."
"When I came here, I saw many families using shovels to shovel out the water, but the results were minimal."
Water flows to lower places, which is God's will that cannot be stopped by human power.
Due to the varying terrain, everyone faces very different situations when faced with heavy rain that has nowhere to drain.
only……
Anyone with a discerning eye can see clearly that a slightly higher level of security can only last for a while, not forever.
If the rain continues, no one will be able to escape, no matter how tall or short the house is, or how luxurious it is.
Sang Zhixia already knew what Gui Sheng said, but after listening to it, the smile on Sang Zhixia's face faded a little.
It’s only been half a day…
If this continues, the situation will be dire.
Fan Shicheng couldn't figure out Sang Zhixia's temperament. Noticing the change in her expression, he rubbed his sleeves and said with a smile, "That was just in case. But everything is fine now."
"Although it's a bit annoying that it keeps raining, the weather often changes as we wish. Maybe it will stop and clear up in a few days."
Seeing that Gui Sheng refused to respond, Fan Shicheng smiled innocently and said, "Besides, even if there are unexpected events caused by fate, human power cannot stop them. Even if you are anxious, there is nothing you can do."
Fan Shicheng thought his words were perfect and thoughtful, but Sang Zhixia didn't respond to his words at all.
Sang Zhixia said slowly, "I heard a story today. It was about a great flood many years ago."
Fan Shicheng's heart skipped a beat.
Sang Zhixia said playfully, "According to what I heard, you two should have been around fourteen or fifteen when the disaster occurred. Do you remember what it was like then?"
Fan Shicheng wanted to say that he couldn't remember, but Gui Sheng's mouth turned faster than his brain: "I remember."
Gui Sheng completely ignored the glimpse Fan Shicheng was secretly casting at him, lowered his eyes, and continued to himself, "Back then, more than half of the cities and towns in Jiangnan were flooded, with Nanyun and Ningnan suffering the most. After Nanyun was sealed off, it was said that only one in ten people in the city remained alive."
"In places like Jiangnan, only two or three out of ten people survived. Corpses were scattered across the ground, countless homes were shattered, and white banners were hung throughout most of the city."
Sang Zhixia's fingertips slid across the corner of the teacup and said calmly, "The remaining half didn't have a white banner. Is it because they escaped in time and didn't suffer?"
Gui Sheng felt a bitter taste rising from deep inside his tongue. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said, "No."
"It's because the whole family is in mourning and there is no one to mourn."
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