Chapter 11 Looking for fragrance in the dimly lit night
Zheng Xiu has lived in this world for more than twenty years, and he understands one thing.
Zheng's father died in the battle, Zheng's mother was depressed, and later committed suicide by drowning in a river. In the end, Zheng Xiu was left with only the empty Zheng residence and the hereditary title of "Zhongliehou".
Zheng Xiu, who has a weak human nature and wants to use his late father's relationship to carve out a niche in the imperial city. He has neither a golden finger nor bad luck. It's like a dream, and it only exists in movie plots.
Therefore, although Zheng Xiu has memories of his past life and some cleverness, his struggle from scratch to become the richest man in the imperial city is not due to his own efforts.
Behind this huge business empire, there is a complex chain of interests.
Just say it briefly.
Just as every emperor worries about the bloody plot of "too much haste" when he is old, Old Wei, who sits on the imperial throne in the deep palace, has given birth to seven princes since he came to power.
Among them, due to various reasons, only three of the seven princes are left.
The third prince, Wei Chaozhong, had noticed Zheng Xiu's business talent and various whimsical ideas very early. In front of Zheng Xiu, he always got along with Zheng Xiu as a "close friend".
It was impossible for Zheng Xiu to work wholeheartedly for the third prince. Later, Zheng Xiu gradually came into contact with a wider and wider circle, and maintained a certain degree of friendly relations with the other two princes.
Of course, with the financial resources and skills that Zheng Xiu gradually showed, the three princes successively expressed their intention to win over Zheng Xiu. Zheng Xiu did not want to get involved, so he gave full play to the Tai Chi spirit, pushing here and sending there, indicating that he was the one.
A law-abiding businessman only focuses on money and dares not ask about other things.
There are a lot of things that are fishy about his imprisonment. The statement of "hiding 50 million in taxes" is outrageous to anyone who hears it. If Zheng Xiuzhen had the ability to hide 50 million in taxes until now, he would really be the emperor's subordinate.
Can't we detect waste?
Logically speaking, it makes sense for the emperor to let Zheng Xiu grow up like a leek and wait until now to take action. But whether he hid taxes or not, other people's claims are unfounded. Isn't it clear that Zheng Xiu himself has more money than he has?
Not to mention anything else, 70% of the shops on Zhengyang Avenue in front of the palace are now owned by Zheng Xiu. Does he need to hide taxes?
Zheng Xiu fiddled with the bright green on the golden vine at will.
The more I think about it, the more I understand.
Attacking without warning and sending Zheng Xiu to prison was just to make Zheng Xiu calm down and stop causing trouble.
Today, Zheng Xiu's action of asking Er Niang to lead someone to jail may seem extravagant and enjoyable, but in the eyes of interested people, it looks a little different, indicating that Zheng Xiu needs to take action.
So in the evening, Shi Wentong was ordered to come and give a warning.
"If I were them, and they wanted to take advantage of my Zheng family's property, they would definitely be fully prepared and seize the opportunity."
"It seems that it's not that they didn't expect it, but that something unexpected happened and it was too late."
"I obviously just want to live my life and be an ordinary wealthy businessman."
"Why force me?"
"If you really want money, just ask me for it. It's not like I won't give you money, so why bother?"
Zheng Xiu fiddled with the green vine with his fingers and sighed softly:
"It seems that Lao Wei is very likely to die soon."
…
At night.
Now it is November and autumn has entered. The sun has set in the west and the thin moon has just climbed over the branches. There is already a chill in the city. There are young men walking in the night looking for flowers in small groups, lively and laughing, and the atmosphere is still lively.
On the canal, the waves are sparkling and misty water vapor rises. From the painted boats hanging with colorful flags with the word "Zheng", soft songs are heard, sometimes weeping and complaining, sometimes wailing and squealing, and those who hear it are intoxicated.
Although Heaven and Earth is a brothel, regular customers all know that in Boss Zheng's mouth, he calls his "Heaven and Earth" a "nightclub."
The front door of Heaven and Earth is resplendent, and the paintings on the doorposts on both sides are very particular. The painting on it is of a strong man with a hazy face, surrounded by veiled beauties in different postures. This scene makes people feel the same involuntarily.
Put yourself in the place of the man in the painting, your imagination will wander and your blood will surge.
Today, the heaven and earth are open to welcome guests as usual, and all those receiving guests are rich young men and high-ranking officials.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-dang..."
I don't know what a good day it is today, but a flower hunter discovered that there were many small bells hanging in front of the door of the heaven and earth, with red satin hanging under the bells.
Every time someone comes in, the bells collide with each other, producing a series of crisp jingling sounds, ups and downs. Close your eyes and listen carefully. Combined with the scent of precious sandalwood wafting from the building, you feel as if there is a peerless beauty using it.
A beautiful voice said "Welcome".
"Wonderful!"
The flower-seekers all marveled at today's unique decoration, adding to their interest.
"What the hell, you dare to come to heaven and earth to run wild? Looking for flowers and asking willows is about your own will. If you are in love with each other and you want to play something strong, please go out and turn right. There is a house next door that can use strong ones. Here? Hey, it won't work!
"
"Throw it out."
At this time.
Several Zheng family guards, dressed in black and with sinister faces, threw out a richly dressed young man like a chicken.
The young master felt pain when his butt fell to the ground, but he said that he was not at a disadvantage, and shouted that it was just a broken brothel, and that my father must make the boss behind him look good.
"Father Li Shuangchui!"
The guards of the Zheng family were not surprised by these unfamiliar foreign visitors: "You don't care about your sledgehammer, double hammer, three hammers or four hammers, but you don't care who owns the territory here?"
The others gathered around for a while, pointing, secretly amused, and dispersed after a while.
It's such a trivial matter that someone comes to the heaven and earth to act wild. The regulars who come here for fun can encounter it once every ten and a half months. They bump into each other every year and month. They have long been tired of seeing it. There is nothing lively and interesting to see. It is better to seize the time.
It is more practical to hang your own name tag under the girl you like.
Foreigners are ignorant.
The young master who shouted "Father Li Shuangchui" saw the crowd quickly dispersing, felt that it was boring, and left angrily.
inside of.
Today, there is rarely the most famous "opera on stage" in heaven and earth. The flower guests can only concentrate on dealing with the girls beside them.
After thirty years of drinking, at some tables, the florists were whispering to each other.
"I heard that Mr. Zheng...had something happen to him?"
Someone made a circle with his left hand and a finger with his right hand, and penetrated into the circle. With this gesture, he wanted to metaphor whether Mr. Zheng had "entered in."
"I've heard this too, but that's not possible. Didn't we just throw out a tyrannical young man? If something really happens to Mr. Zheng, how can these servants be so confident?"
Everyone sitting at the table suddenly realized it, and they understood it tacitly, even saying it was impossible.
"That is!"
"To say something happened to Mr. Zheng is sheer nonsense!"
"What nonsense!"
"drink!"
"Done!"
All kinds of incidents did not affect the business of the brothel. Soon, as the night went on and the lights were on, some people came to the place in high spirits and others left in displeasure. In short, there was an endless stream of people coming and going on this street.
Around the middle of the moon, a man dressed in shabby clothes came to the door of heaven and earth.
I saw him walking dressed up, wearing straw sandals, with a little mud stained under his rolled-up trouser legs, wearing linen clothes on his upper body, and carrying a broken bamboo hat behind him.
When Zhizhi arranged the bell outside the door in advance, she took the initiative to apply to Er Niang to guard the counter tonight.
From a distance, she saw a man walking in costume. Her heart skipped a beat, but she did not greet him. Instead, she lowered her head to settle accounts.
Those who come to heaven and earth for consumption are either rich or noble. A cyclist walked in, attracting the attention of many people.
Some people stared and watched, some waved their fans and smiled, some raised their glasses and drank, all waiting to have fun.
Zhizhi on the counter showed just the right amount of disdain, but soon put on a smile and asked: "A friend has come from afar, welcome to heaven and earth."
It seemed that this was the first time for Xingzhi to visit such a luxurious place, his expression was gleaming and he was a little trembling.
He took out a cloth bag and poured out some broken silver and copper plates.
They started negotiating prices, asking about prices, and looking for girls.
Zhizhi breathed a sigh of relief, and the secret code was met quietly. She quietly kneaded a piece of cloth into a ball, and embroidered the words the master ordered on it in advance.
Zhi Zhi calmly found a girl who was willing to sell herself. She was old and experienced, and her skills were proficient. When the girl looked at tonight's flower customer, she looked reluctant. Zhi Zhi smiled and said: "The price he pays is only for prostitution, sister.
All you need to do is drink, sing, and talk until dawn, why not do that!"
The florist and the girl went upstairs.
The next step is to have fun behind closed doors, drinking and talking, which makes people endlessly daydreaming.