Gu Qinghuan muttered, feeling that Lu Bai could withstand the admiral's anger, so he waved Lu Bai away.
Lu Bai left the premises with a gourd of wine.
In the afternoon after surviving the hot summer, the market should be lazy, but there is a peaceful atmosphere of the noisy future.
However, after a plague, Yancheng's vitality was seriously damaged.
Lu Bai walked through the sparse crowd.
Some people sighed for their lost lives and the loneliness that was about to come in the evening.
In the past, there were street vendors selling candied haws and other snacks, but now they are replaced by vendors selling children, daughters, and even wives, just to exchange for some money, prepare a thin coffin for the dead, and earn a life for the living.
Opportunity - If you fail to pay the upcoming salt tax, you will really die.
There are many beggars on the street.
Lu Bai heard from several of his elders that the branches in Yancheng were almost saturated, and most of the new members of the Beggar Gang were orphans, as well as some women and old people who had lost the mainstay of their families.
Almost all their parents and sons died from the plague.
Naturally, the Beggar Clan does not refuse anyone who comes.
Not only did they not reject anyone who came, the Beggar Clan, under the auspices of Gu Qinghuan, also selected suitable people among these orphans as their future training targets.
Lu Bai turned a corner, surrounded by cigarette smoke.
This is a T-intersection, and a statue of the Sword Immortal is enshrined in the center.
Many people gathered here, bustling and crowded. They held three sticks of incense, prayed in front of the statue, and murmured to themselves.
Their prayers are no longer limited to eradicating the plague, but also include wishes for a better life such as reducing salt taxes.
Amidst the swirling smoke, Lu Bai seemed to be walking through the heavy fog in the autumn morning.
He walked slowly, and in the smoke he saw some patients lying in the corner, and some numb children with straw marks on their heads.
When he came out of the T-shaped alley with smoke, a woman wearing a cool shirt stood at the door waving a handkerchief to Lu Bai, with a charming smile on her face.
Lu Bai remembered that it used to be a shop selling tea, snacks and cakes. Because the Jiangnan cakes they made were very authentic, Gu Qinghuan often asked Lu Bai to bring some snacks from the shop when he went home.
They are a mom-and-pop shop, where the woman sells and the husband cooks.
Now the husband is nowhere to be found, and the woman has come out and sold it.
Lu Bai walked through the streets after noon in the hot summer, but it seemed like he was walking in the desolate streets in winter.
Kagura Restaurant is also much bleak.
In the past, there was a lot of traffic and people coming and going in front of the door, but now there is not a carriage in sight.
When Lu Bai entered, there were only a few guests inside, only three or four idle people eating and drinking.
There were also two fair-skinned people in brocade clothes staring at the people who came in.
When they saw Lu Bai coming in, they came over with smiles on their faces and greeted in a soft voice: "Master Lu, the admiral has been waiting for you for a long time."
Lu Bai smiled and said: "Hey, the Admiral came here in person. Blame me, blame me. I thought it was just Mr. Baihu who was here to take care of me."
The father-in-law on the left smiled softly, "Master Lu just did a big thing for the Admiral. You are now the Admiral's heart. The Admiral feels sorry for you before it's too late. How can I blame you?"
He turned sideways and invited Lu Bai to go upstairs.
Lu Bai picked up the wine gourd and took a sip of wine, then slowly went upstairs.
Kagurabo is a wooden building with three floors, with private rooms on the third floor.
Although the second floor is not a private room, the layout is quite good.
At this moment, the sunlight from the west fell in through the doors and windows, as miserable as blood, dividing the entire second floor into two, with blood on the left and darkness on the right, as if there was no light to go out.
A gust of wind blew, making the gauze on the doors and windows flutter, as if autumn was coming.
It was quiet on the second floor.
But it's not that there is no one, it's that there are only the people who want to invite Lu Bai - the admiral, the deputy 100 households, and a few people dressed in brocade clothes.
Judging from their appearance, they are most likely the adopted sons of the admiral.
Lu Bai took the lead and said, "Admiral, forgive me, forgive me, I didn't know you were coming, otherwise I would have rushed over as fast as possible."
Everyone present stood up.
The leader was over fifty years old, dressed in brocade clothes, with gray hair and a smile on his lips. He looked amiable and made people feel like they were in spring breeze.
However, if you look closely at his eyes, you will find that his eyes are cold and majestic. Staring at the person for a while will cause cold sweat to break out on the back.
This person who is full of superiority is probably the admiral.
The admiral smiled and said, "This is just a last-minute idea. Mr. Lu can do it as long as he doesn't mind us disturbing him. There's no such thing as forgiveness."
He pointed to the seat opposite him and said, "Mr. Lu, please sit down."
Lu Bai was not polite and sat down directly.
Then, the deputy 100 households and the admiral's adopted sons sat down.
The servant first pours everyone a glass of wine.
Lu Bai declined and poured himself a glass of wine from his own wine gourd.
The admiral raised his eyelids and said nothing.
The deputy 100 households and the adopted sons of the admiral looked strange.
The admiral said: "A plague has come for no apparent reason. If it weren't for the Sword Immortal Temple, I'm afraid we would still be huddled at home like mice today."
He changed the topic, "Mr. Lu Qi, I heard that it was you who released the method to eliminate the plague."
He was very interested in this, but he didn't know how Lu Bai found out about it at that time.
Lu Bai poured himself a glass of wine with a wine gourd and said shamelessly: "That's because I am devout to the Sword Immortal. I almost worshiped the Sword Immortal when I saw the temple. The Sword Immortal was moved by my piety and cured my aunt's illness."
Well, then I learned that praying to the Sword Immortal is useful."
The admiral smiled but did not smile, "Your aunt also agrees with you worshiping the Sword Immortal Temple?"
Lu Bai was surprised, "Why don't you agree?"
The admiral believed his evil deeds.
Gu Qinghuan and the Lu family have a sworn hatred.
However, from what he heard, it was obvious that Lu Bai still didn't know about his aunt's enmity with the Lu family.
So, he changed the topic again, "I heard that in Yongle City, Vice President Liu Qianhu and his family sold salt to them?"
Lu Bai nodded, "Yeah."
The admiral patted the table, "Okay! Great! I knew I was right about you. Mr. Lu is definitely a person capable of great things."
He was beaming.
This time, a smile appeared in his eyes.
When he asked Lu Bai to do this errand, he had already anticipated various results. Lu Bai would be considered qualified if he brought back the salt seller, and he would be considered excellent if he figured out the route. However, he never expected that Lu Bai not only figured out the route
It was cleared up, and even when Liu Fuqianhu and the old fritters couldn't get any salt, Lu Bai actually got it done.
This is equivalent to an answer sheet of 100 points, and Lu Bai gave an answer of 150 points.
How could he not be happy?
The admiral called on everyone to raise their glasses and toast Lu Bai with a glass of wine.
Lu Bai poured another glass of wine from the wine gourd, and then raised his glass with everyone.
The Admiral's adopted sons looked unhappy, and the deputy Baihu's expression was particularly gloomy. However, they looked at the Admiral and saw that he was overjoyed, so they did not speak.
After putting down the wine glass, the admiral said: "General Lu, tell us quickly, how did you get the salt one step ahead of them?"
Lu Bai waved his hand, "Hey, this is simple."
He first raised his chopsticks and picked up a piece of food for himself, and then said, "I went to the Salt Supervision Department and told their boss, I am a friend of your city lord, and I want to buy private salt. You
Give me some private salt, and then they adults say, oh, since you are our city lord’s friend, then my private salt will be cheaper for you, let’s count it as 80% of the official salt price. The private salt we sell now is originally the same as the official salt
It’s a price. This gentleman has put his words on this, what can I say, of course I say yes——”