Zheng Yuanshao did not dare to refuse this time. He took the ticket with both hands and said, "Mr. Lin is very observant and will not be easily fooled."

"No matter how awesome he is, he doesn't have supernatural powers. He still needs his subordinates to do things for him. What can he accomplish alone?" Xu Ying sneered.

"I won't hide it from you now. Many of Lin Run's subordinates have already stood on our side. With your help, Zheng Guancha, he will be in trouble!"

Zheng Yuanshao didn't know whether this was true or not, but he didn't want to verify it. He just wanted to be alone and quiet. It would be even better if there was a crack in the ground he could crawl into.

He responded to whatever the Xu brothers said in a daze, and then got off the pleasure boat in a daze.

Watching his disappearing back, Xu Ying couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother, how did you know this guy's secret?"

"We have to thank Lu Bing for this." Xu Fan chuckled and said, "Back then, his Jinyiwei had great powers. They specialized in spying on the private affairs of civil and military officials and then extorting money from them."

"I know that." Xu Ying nodded and said, "This is one of the charges announced by the court last year."

"But the Jinyiwei had collected too much dirty information to blackmail them. So they packed up the dirty accounts of officials below the fifth rank and kept them, planning to use them in a few years when they got promoted and made a fortune."

"After Lu Yi took over, he sensed that the situation was not good, so he ordered people to send those boxes of black accounts back to his hometown in Pinghu to use as amulets for his clan members in the future." Xu Fan said indifferently: "Later, the Lu family was raided and the stolen money was recovered. Those boxes of black accounts were brought to our house along with the Lu family's property."

"Hey, why didn't I notice it?" Xu Ying couldn't help but blush: "I have read the Lu family's account books, there is nothing unusual."

"Of course you can't understand it." Xu Fan smiled faintly and said, "They use the secret code of the Jinyiwei. You have to learn it specifically."

"Is that so?" Xu Ying suddenly realized and said with some worry, "Brother, will Zheng have a change of heart? What if he sells him out to Lin Run? What should we do?"

"Don't worry, he definitely won't do that." Xu Fan said with disdain, "He talks better than he sings, but he's just a power-hungry person. As long as he can continue to be an official, he won't feel bad even if his father is shot, not to mention that Lin isn't his father..."

"That's good." Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief, put away the 10,000 taels of bills on the table, and couldn't help but smile: "It's still unclear whether Mr. Lin can return to Songjiang. Maybe we've worked in vain."

"That would be the best." Xu Fan also chuckled and said, "If we don't solve the problem of selling silk, Suzhou will not be able to calm down for a while."

"Then our beloved Lin Zhongcheng will be busy now." Xu Ying was overjoyed. "I didn't expect that such a passive situation could be easily resolved by my elder brother."

"We're just getting started." Xu Fan sat back in his seat complacently and asked the troupe to start playing again, saying, "I haven't really started yet."

"Brother is so awesome!" Xu Ying poured him wine attentively, wondering whether she should tell her brother about Umekawa Kazuo's case and ask him for some advice.

But if he did that, he would no longer be able to hide the secret of colluding with the Japanese pirates behind his family's back...and that was completely different from selling goods to maritime merchants!

Thinking of the serious consequences of saying it, Xu Ying finally held back and didn't mention it.

~~

Suzhou, Governor's Office.

Lin Zhongcheng was also inviting people to dinner.

He specially ordered the chef he brought from Fujian to carefully prepare a table of top-notch Fujian cuisine.

One was to express gratitude, and the other was to show off the hometown dishes in front of the owner of the world's number one restaurant.

He sent out two invitations in total, one to Jiang Xueying, the president of Jiangnan Company, and one to Mr. Zhao, whose position in Jiangnan Company was unknown.

But just like the last time when the Lu and Gu families were invited, this time only the idle Mr. Zhao came, and President Jiang found a reason to decline the governor's invitation.

Every time a governor holds a banquet, there are always ordinary people absent, which really hurts his self-esteem.

But that is the fact. In the scattered Nanzhili, the common people would take to the streets to cause trouble at any time.

These powerful families with deep backgrounds have absolutely no respect for the government and only consider their own interests in everything.

The young man in front of me is the best example.

Not only was Lin Run unable to put on the airs of a governor in front of him, he also had to forget the difference in age and status and coax him patiently.

"Come, try this 'Bass and Sea Bass' and see how it compares to Suzhou's 'Squirrel Fish'?" He pointed with his chopsticks with a smile at a dish on the plate that was shaped like a lotus flower, with each flower standing upright and looking very good.

Zhao Hao picked up a golden fish-shaped piece and put it into his mouth to taste it. He felt that it was crispy, tender, sweet and sour, and he couldn't help but praise it: "It tastes sweet and sour, and goes well with rice."

"Uh..." Lin Run thought to himself, what the hell is this evaluation?

Then he used a spoon to scoop a piece of dish that looked like a jade ring and put it on the plate in front of Zhao Hao, saying with a smile: "Come, try this 'ring-shaped scallop'."

"What is this?" Young Master Zhao asked curiously, looking at the white and yellow thing.

“The outside is a sleeve carved from white radish, and inside is dried scallops that have been soaked in water and have their edges removed. Steam them in a pot for an hour, then pour the drained steaming sauce on top and add a little seasoning before serving.” Lin Zhongcheng was obviously a gourmet the moment he opened his mouth.

"Hmm." Zhao Hao took a bite and praised, "It tastes fresh and salty, and goes well with rice."

"This drunken pork ribs..." Lin Zhongcheng recommended another dish.

"Sour and spicy? This tastes better with rice!" Mr. Zhao's comments were still very friendly.

"Are you the boss of Weijixian?" Lin Run finally couldn't hold it anymore and rolled his eyes at him and said, "Can't you just say a few words of advice?"

"You, a Hujian, are still so 'Ya Ya'." Zhao Hao muttered to himself, picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth and said, "Drunken Spare Ribs uses curry, right? Where did this stuff come from?"

"You are indeed an expert." Lin Run praised, and said as a matter of course: "My Fujian has already opened the sea. Isn't it reasonable to have spices sold from India?"

"Reasonable, very reasonable." Zhao Hao nodded and said casually: "Hu Jianren is so lucky that he can still do business overseas."

Seeing that this boy finally showed his true colors, Lin Zhongcheng couldn't help but curl up his lips, and said with a smile that could charm all the young ladies in Suzhou:

"Why, are you jealous?"

"Of course." Zhao Hao smiled calmly: "Jiangnan Company has taken in so much silk. If we can sell it overseas, won't everything be fine?"

"Yes, the provinces of the Ming Dynasty are basically self-sufficient. After all, demand is limited. We can't sell so much silk by domestic sales." Lin Run asked casually:

"Have you ever thought about whether the silk merchant's head was hit by a door or kicked by a donkey? Why did he produce so much silk before?"

"Of course." Zhao Hao nodded and said with a smile: "I find it strange too."

"Okay, stop playing dumb!" Lin Run knew that this kid was as good as two men in Tai Chi, so he pointed it out directly:.

"Originally, 70% of their goods were sold overseas. The entire silk weaving industry in Jiangnan was supported by smuggling!"

ps. Chapter 2, please give me your monthly vote!