Chapter 172: Creditors Arrive
Old Mrs. Zhang's face looked extremely stiff, and she could hardly maintain the smile she was trying to force.
Others would stab someone in the back, but Mr. Lu wanted to stab his old friends twice.
Why be a merchant? You should be the boss of a bandit's den.
Perhaps, Mr. Lu, the boss of Chaofu Grain Store, knew very well about the relationship between him and Mr. Sun, so he acted in such a weird way.
"I am just a wealthy man who lives an honest life with his farmland and shop. It is not appropriate for me to engage in violence. It is not appropriate."
Lu Mingchao looked like someone who was willing to accept good advice. "Mrs. Zhang is really kind and generous."
There were hurried steps outside the flower hall. After a moment, the old housekeeper, who was nearly fifty years old and had gray hair, entered in a panic. "Old lady."
"What's the matter?" Old Mrs. Zhang maintained her composure.
The old butler glanced at Lu Mingchao from the corner of his eye, then walked up to Old Lady Zhang and whispered in her ear.
Old Mrs. Zhang: I can’t hear it clearly, I can’t hear it at all.
As I get older, my ears feel like they are clogged with shit.
The old butler looked embarrassed and had to raise his voice slightly.
But Old Mrs. Zhang still heard it vaguely, as if she was shrouded in heavy fog, like a kite with a cut string.
Lu Mingchao was full of energy, his voice was clear and loud, "Grandma Zhang, he was saying that the five masters Wei, Zhou, Cheng, Dong and Xiao came to visit.
The thick fog dissipated, the kite with the string lit flew back, and Old Lady Zhang finally heard clearly.
It’s better not to hear clearly!
Old Mrs. Zhang's pupils shrank and her expression changed drastically.
Are they all here to collect the debt?
"Mr. Lu." Old Lady Zhang exhaled a breath and drank half a cup of medicinal tea. "An old friend has come to visit me. I am afraid that I have neglected Mr. Lu's hospitality. Why don't we just..."
Why don’t we stop here today and meet again another day!
Old Mrs. Zhang never had the chance to speak out her unfinished words.
Lu Mingchao smiled carefree and generously, "No need to entertain, you can do as you please."
Old Mrs. Zhang: It’s not about doing it yourself, it should be about asking to leave.
Mr. Lu from Chaofu Grain Store is really ignorant!
Lu Mingchao: What's the point of being sensible and considerate to someone you have a grudge against?
Before she traveled through the book, she was not the Leshan Giant Buddha!
Old Lady Zhang gritted her teeth and said, "Please ask them to go to the North Flower Hall."
Lu Mingchao raised his eyebrows and stood up quickly. "Grandma Zhang, is it that the South Flower Hall is not good?"
"Since the South Flower Hall is not suitable for hosting, why should we entertain the young people there?"
"There is a huge difference between poor hospitality and deliberate humiliation."
Old Mrs. Zhang was speechless.
I really want to throw all my eggs in one basket and say, it's not that the South Flower Hall is not presentable, it's that there is a shit-stirring stick in the South Flower Hall that can stir up trouble.
Lu Mingchao continued his vivid interpretation, full of righteousness and indignation, "Mr. Zhang, you are going too far, regardless of how close we are to each other."
Old Lady Zhang's eyebrows twitched. "Master Lu, why do you have to be so aggressive? Leave some space for us to meet again in the future."
"Aggressive?" Lu Mingchao sneered. "If Old Lady Zhang thinks I am aggressive, I am wronged and cannot defend myself."
"As for leaving a way out for others, I have already done so."
"The Zhang family's ancestral property is the last ray of hope that I have left for you."
"In fact, what I left behind was not a line, but a green mountain. It was a green mountain that Old Lady Zhang could not see the solid ground under her feet. In her eyes, there were only the brocade flowers outside the green mountain."
When Old Mrs. Zhang heard the first sentence, she burst out laughing!
No way to defend yourself?
Less defense?
That little mouth was moving like jumping beans and couldn't stop.
He said everything he said, and yet in the end he still had to maintain an image of being as calm as a chrysanthemum and unable to defend himself. Did he think that this old man was easy to bully?
The anger lasted only a moment before turning into surprise and astonishment.
"Is it your man?" Old Mrs. Zhang exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Mingchao looked at Old Lady Zhang quietly without saying a word.
Old Mrs. Zhang's heart sank to the bottom. No wonder Sun Zhiye was defeated by Lu Mingchao several times.
The Zhang family could hardly escape the disaster.
"Please go to the South Flower Hall." Old Mrs. Zhang instructed the old butler who was standing on his side with his head lowered and his back hunched.
After a while, Wei, Zhou, Cheng, Dong and Xiao were led to the South Flower Hall by the old housekeeper.
Mr. Wei casually glanced at Wei Tang, who was holding the teacup and sipping it, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Tangtang, why are you here?"
Wei Tang put down the teacup in his hand, swallowed his saliva, stood up, and bowed dignifiedly and generously, "Greetings, father, uncles."
"This is Mr. Lu from Chaofu Grain Store in Changhe County. He is a good friend of mine."
Seeing this, Lu Mingchao said humbly and politely, "Master Wei, I want to discuss a business deal with Old Lady Zhang, but I have no way to do it."
"I heard that Wei Zhang was familiar with him, so I asked your daughter to lead the way and accompany him."
"I am sorry for the impoliteness. I will prepare a gift to apologize later."
Old Mrs. Zhang was stunned by what she heard.
It turns out that Mr. Lu from Chaofu Grain Store can also speak human language.
Every word he said made him angry to death. Was it purely a personal vendetta?
Mr. Wei waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's just a small matter, not worth mentioning."
After Wei Zhou's advice, Mr. Wei's attitude became very correct.
Old Lady Zhang only told the maid to serve tea and did not ask the purpose of their coming together, hoping to delay the matter as long as possible.
If it drags on for too long and no one dares to speak up, it will naturally come to nothing.
How could the Ming Dynasty, a country that promoted virtue, allow this to happen?
So, Lu Mingchao took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and asked, "You all came here together to discuss business with Old Lady Zhang?"
Old Mrs. Zhang's head was buzzing.
Lu Mingchao, this evil star!
Old Master Wei smiled and said, "Old Master Zhang, since you want Mr. Lu to stay here, it means that Mr. Lu is a kind and reliable person. I will speak frankly."
Old Lady Zhang: Someone who is close and reliable?
He is a person who takes advantage of his misfortune and tries to kill him when he is ill!
"Some time ago, although Old Lady Zhang sold all her land and shops on the pretext of a family disaster, as businessmen, we always need to keep our eyes and ears open. We learned that the old lady's favorite grandson had a close relationship with Master Yuxian of Sun Ji in Changhe County, so we speculated that the so-called family disaster was just a cover, and the real intention was to help Sun Ji."
"The old lady has been so shameless in raising money. Since we have known each other for many years, we should all do our part."
"But money doesn't come from the wind after all. Our families are not as wealthy as the Zhang family with the old lady in charge. We can't just sit there and watch thousands of taels of silver go down the drain."
Old Mrs. Zhang: Isn't it better to have the Zhang family with him as the ruler?
This may be true for the other four families, but the Wei family is very wealthy. The ancestors of the Wei family were officials, and their antique calligraphy and paintings are worth millions of gold.
Mr. Wei didn't know what Mrs. Zhang was thinking, so he continued, "I'm sure you've heard about what happened in Changhe County."
"We have come here today just to get a definite answer. If Sun Ji goes bankrupt and loses all his money, can the money that the old lady borrowed be returned as scheduled?"
He chose Lu Ming Dynasty