Chapter 424 Tong Jianian
The Tong family became wealthy largely because of river transportation.
In the Daxing Dynasty, shipping was firmly controlled by the Su family, especially since they had several secret routes that people like them could not interfere with just because they wanted to.
Therefore, the Tong family at that time focused all their attention on river transportation, and smoothed out many relationships up and down the ladder before they took control of the river transportation to the southwest.
If the Gu family had not become a rising star after becoming the imperial merchant, I am afraid that the Tong family’s reputation would be even more famous in Jinling City.
Now, the series of orders from the River Transport Commissioner are like a chokehold on them. They can still eat, but not as happily as before. Naturally, they are unhappy here.
Especially today, they had sent out invitations to a banquet to entertain those "officials" who protected them, but now none of them showed up, and the face of the head of the Tong family was very ugly.
"You are the one who caused all the trouble. Why did you show off to the missionary? Look, you ended up losing more than you gained. You even pissed off Madam Xing. I don't know what she has been whispering to Madam Xing behind my back. She has disrupted our business so much that it's impossible to do anything."
The head of the Tong family pointed his sword at his wife and daughter-in-law. If they had not caused such a commotion and upset the Gu and Wang families, the Xing family might not have intervened in the matter.
The mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were trembling with fear, not daring to say a word. If they had known that things would turn out like this today, they would never have formed that game.
Just when the whole family was getting anxious and angry, Erlang from the Tong family suddenly rushed in and said with joy.
"Father, guess who I just met?"
The head of the Tong family was annoyed, and seeing his happy face, he became angry.
"You must have seen your ancestors. Who are you smiling like this for?"
Erlang's wife stepped forward and quickly pulled her husband's sleeve, asking him to stop talking, fearing that some trouble would arise. Unexpectedly, Tong Erlang was quick-witted and spoke immediately.
"The Gu family is holding a birthday party for the three brothers. It's in the Shuyue Pavilion upstairs. Father, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How about we go and congratulate them as well?"
When Patriarch Tong heard this, he was also quite surprised.
However, he rejected his son's suggestion. After calming down and thinking about it, he told his son.
"Go and ask someone to settle the bill for Shuyue Pavilion. If the shopkeeper asks about it, don't say anything. If the Gu family wants to repay this favor, there are many ways to trace it back to us. Let's go."
After saying this, Patriarch Tong stood up and left.
Naturally, those who followed him included the Tong family. Although the atmosphere at the banquet had cooled, the excitement in the Tong family members' hearts was hot enough at this moment.
Tong Jia Erlang followed his father's instructions and immediately went to do the matter.
The shopkeeper was also a smart guy and asked a special question.
"But the Gu family has come to pay the bill?"
The shopkeeper was familiar with the face of Tong Jia Erlang, so he remembered his father's words and naturally went to find a stranger without revealing his identity. He just nodded and settled the bill immediately.
After the man left, the shopkeeper winked and the clever clerk immediately followed him quietly. After a while, he saw the unfamiliar man talking to the second son of the Tong family.
So I hurried back to report.
"The shopkeeper is from the Tong family."
"Tong family?"
The shopkeeper was not stupid, and he naturally knew that the Gu family's feast was not something the Tong family could afford, so he hurried to tell Du Jingyi.
At the table, when the shopkeeper came over, no one paid much attention to him. After all, it was normal for the shopkeeper to talk to the guests.
Du Jingyi went out with a calm expression, but when he heard what the shopkeeper reported, he couldn't help sneering.
"The Tong family came here to settle the bill and pretended to be from the Gu family. I don't know what their purpose is. Please be careful when dealing with them, sir."
Apart from his three closest assistants, only the owner of Wangjiang Tower knew Du Jingyi's identity, so he called Du Jingyi the head of the family.
"Got it. Just don't mention this to anyone else."
"I understand."
"Well, go down."
"yes."
After he left, Du Jingyi began to think about it. It was not difficult for her to guess why the Tong family did this, but the Tong family's behavior made Du Jingyi feel that perhaps the Tong family could be used in some way.
If Yan Zhiqing wanted to take over the seventh branch of the Gu family, it would be no problem at all.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
But why bother yourself with such a big trouble? So the best way is to invite the "accomplices" around you, and each of them take a bite of his flesh, which may be more appropriate than swallowing it whole.
The Su family, the Yan family, plus the Tong family, and the seven branches of the Gu family that became angry, are not that conspicuous.
Thinking of this, Du Jingyi smiled, but she didn't notice that her husband looked curious when he saw her expression.
So, when the banquet was over and everyone started to go home, Gu Shaoyu did not ride a horse, but accompanied Du Jingyi in a carriage.
"What did the shopkeeper say to you? He has been laughing since he came back."
"The Tong family has submitted their pledge of allegiance themselves, so it would be a waste if we don't use it."
"What's the meaning?"
"They were also at Wangjiang Tower today. The general and Lord Xing were quite ruthless, so the Tong family's profits were cut by more than half. They are naturally anxious. I guess they want to curry favor with our family so as to get in touch with the Xing family. After all, my uncle is the river transport officer, and the Shanwan River that the Tong family wants to take has a lot to do with the one under his control."
"Then?"
"They settled today's account and left without leaving their names. They just want us to accept this favor and pretend to be surprised. So I want to play a trick on him. Didn't he have a missionary in his family? I think he would have had some contact with the Nanyang people. If we follow their way and deal with those Nanyang people who teamed up with the Seventh House first, it can also comfort the spirits of our grandfathers in heaven."
Du Jingyi then explained the plan in detail, and Gu Shaoyu thought it was a good idea as he listened.
By the time the carriage stopped in front of the Gu family's door, the couple had already discussed the plan in detail. Xing Zhao's cooperation was indispensable, so they had to ask Xing Zhao to come over to discuss it tomorrow.
The kids played so much today that they were mostly asleep on the way back.
The wet nurses carried the baby and hurried back. When Du Jingyi saw wet nurse Fu carrying Tai Ge'er, she could feel the obvious effort. She then said to her husband.
"General, Tai is getting older and older. I'm afraid it's not possible for him to be taken care of by a wet nurse alone. If there are suitable servants, maybe it would be better if we could pick two sensible ones to accompany him."
(End of this chapter)