The sudden scene made the waiter at the door and the Qianniu Guards stunned.
The housekeeper suddenly broke free from the control and took the opportunity to rush towards Qin Huaidao. Qin Huaidao instinctively dodged to avoid it. The housekeeper rushed too fast and could not stop. He tripped over the body of Master Cui Ren on the ground and hit his forehead hard on the corner of the stone steps. on, making a muffled sound.
Qin Huaidao went up and opened his body to check, but he was also out of breath.
This is the same as Master Cui Ren, who knows that he will not survive, but still wants to splash people's blood in death. It's so cruel!
Qin Huaidao was furious and looked at Qianniu Guards who was in charge of guarding him.
dereliction of duty?
Or on purpose?
Several Qianniu Guards reacted, their faces instantly turned pale, and they knelt down with a thud, completely panicked.
Several chamberlains were also panicked, and Wang De hurried into the palace to report.
Qin Huaidao knew he couldn't leave, so he stared at the two kneeling Qianniu Guards and shouted: "Raise your head, look at me, and say, why don't you control the good criminals?"
Several Qianniu guards raised their heads and hesitated to speak, but could not utter a word. Their faces were ashen. The guards were about to commit negligence and let someone run over and kill them. The crime was not trivial, and there was even suspicion.
Can the majestic Qianniu Guard still be able to guard two people who have no strength to restrain a chicken?
Qin Huaidao's eyes were like a torch, scanning the faces of several people, observing the micro-expressions. If it didn't look intentional, it would be a dereliction of duty, but dereliction of duty is unforgivable. However, Qianniuwei, who was responsible for the travel of Su Wei, was an internal guard, and The outer guards were different and were under the control of Xu Shiji. Qin Huaidao could not intervene. He looked at it coldly and mourned for Xu Shiji in his heart. This pot came out of nowhere.
Soon, Li Er and others rushed out and looked at the dead body, their faces as gloomy as frost.
Qin Huaidao took the initiative to admit his mistake: "Your Majesty, I am guilty and should not have provoked Lord Cui. If I had not said those words, Lord Cui would not be impulsive. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Li Er comforted him and said, "You are right. God is watching what people do. If you do unjust things, you will be killed. This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't feel pressure. I'm not stupid. How could I not see that he is doing this?" I deliberately used my own life to expose you, and countless ministers will impeach you tomorrow. Just go with it, I will take care of it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Qin Huaidao said gratefully, and looked at Fang Xuanling and Li Jing calmly. The two waved their hands slightly in understanding, indicating that they should leave first, and their movements were very subtle. Qin Huaidao slowly excused himself and left.
After leaving the palace, Qin Huaidao jumped on his horse and hurried back to his home.
Without He'er, he had to rely on himself. Qin Huaidao asked the cook to help him boil hot water and rinse it thoroughly. Then he went to the study, made a pot of water and looked out the dark window, thinking deeply.
Master Cui Ren is dead, so there is no need to worry about it, but the case can no longer be investigated. Who are the others?
Was the murderer a hired soldier? Or a hired killer? Who was the person behind it?
These aristocratic families are so ruthless that they dare to commit suicide, but that's right. Once they are alive, a lot of people will be implicated. If they are dead, the people involved will feel at ease, and they will vigorously plead for mercy, and even put pressure on the court. The family estimates It can't be saved, but the clan members might be able to save it, it depends on what price Cui is willing to pay.
But it has nothing to do with him. The top priority is to strengthen the strength of Qin Family Village, just in case. If the family is desperate, they can do anything.
There was silence in the study, except for the red candle beating.
…
Early the next morning, Qin Huaidao came to the West Courtyard after breakfast. He saw that Uncle Ma had made many molds for making briquettes, and asked people to take them to Qinjiazhuang immediately, and hurried to the Supervisory Mansion.
The murderer's body was still left in the living room. Qin Huaidao checked carefully for a while and found no clues to his identity. However, there was a faint crescent moon mark on the back of his hand, which was not very obvious.
Not long after, Yuchi Baolin hurried over and said: "Brother, I checked last night and found a mark on the back of my hand. I asked someone to check it. It is the mark of a killer organization. Only strong people in the organization are qualified to possess this mark. It represents
status."
"What killer organization?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"Fengyu Tower, legend has it that it originated from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It is very mysterious. Not many people know about it. As long as they give money, there is no one they dare not kill. I heard that during the previous dynasty, they sneaked into the palace to assassinate people and almost succeeded. After the founding of the Tang Dynasty,
People thought that the country was peaceful and the people were safe, so these people disappeared, but unexpectedly they appeared again."
"Are you sure?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"I'm sure, this mark is archived in the palace, and also in the Ministry of Punishment. I just went to the Ministry of Punishment to check. Mr. Li asked me to remind you to be careful in the future. The purpose of Fengyu Tower is to get money first and then work. It will not stop until death, even if the employer cancels
No." Yuchi Baolin said firmly.
"Find a way to check it. In addition, the body should be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for disposal." Qin Huaidao warned, thinking of the carriage, he asked: "Has the carriage from the court been delivered?"
"It was delivered early in the morning. You were not here. Luo Zhang came to take over and took it to haul coal."
"That's good. I'll go back to Qinjiazhuang and come find me anytime if I need anything." Qin Huaidao said a word and left in a hurry.
Li Er is personally watching the case, so it would be inappropriate to interfere again.
About half an hour later, Qin Huaidao rode his horse and hurried to Qinjiazhuang. He saw a baggage troop blocked at the entrance to the village.
Shouted: "Why is it you?"
"Hey, how can a good thing happen without me? Hurry up and explain to Brother Xue, let us in, what's the point of being blocked from outside?" Yuchi Baoqi said with a smile.
Qin Huaidao was right. Without a war, there would be fewer opportunities to make meritorious deeds. If there was a rare opportunity, Yuchi Gong would naturally stick to his own people. Moreover, Yuchi Baoqi was familiar with him, so it would be inappropriate to send someone else.
Xue Rengui didn't know the inside story, so he raised his hands and said: "Young Master, they said they came to pull briquettes?"
"Thank you for your hard work. Let them go in. However, they can only assemble on the flat ground in front of the ancestral hall. They cannot run around. The people in the village will send out the briquettes." Qin Huaidao said and looked at Yuchi Baoqi. There were many secrets in the village that could not be kept.
Leakage, must be guarded against.
"Don't worry." Yuchi Baoqi agreed knowingly.
The group slowly entered the village and stopped on the open ground in front of the ancestral hall. Qin Huaidao came to the ancestral hall and called Jia Youcai and Huang Lao. After some instructions, they agreed to inform people.
We made a lot of briquettes, and everyone couldn't keep them in their rooms. They were eager to move out. With an order, the whole village, men, women, old and young, all took action. He'er led a few people to count and register, and they were very busy.
Seeing that there was no problem, Qin Huaidao asked Xue Rengui to help, and together they took out 15,000 taels of silver from the ancestral hall and gave it to Yuchi Baoqi. He had already purchased 100,000 shi of grain, of which 50,000 shi was received at the rate of five cents per dou, and the other 50,000 shi had different prices. Qin Huaidao warned
He said: "If it's not enough, come back tomorrow."
"Okay, I will keep an eye on your account books and never let them mess around." Yuchi Baoqi promised, and asked someone to come and take the money away, load the car, and arrange for trustworthy people to guard it.
When Qin Huaidao returned to the ancestral hall, he saw that the bag containing the silver was almost half missing. A hundred thousand taels of silver could not support nearly a thousand people in Qinjiazhuang to eat and drink. There were still so many labor expenses, and the funds had to be withdrawn as soon as possible.
He came out to observe for a while, and after confirming that there was no problem, Qin Huaidao came to the warehouse with the gypsum he bought last time. He saw the cement clinker stacked together. The color was a little off. Qin Huaidao picked up some and looked at them. They hadn't polished them yet, and they weren't fine enough.
I know if it works.
The guard responsible for firing cement clinker came over and looked at Qin Huaidao nervously. Qin Huaidao comforted him: "Don't worry, it's normal if it doesn't work well. Just start it again. Bring me some water, sand and lime."
The other party agreed and hurried away.
Qin Huaidao came out and shouted to the guard who was burning bricks not far away: "Uncle Wu, has the stone mill arrived?"
"I heard it's been shipped. You have to ask the steward where to put it."
Qin Huaidao hurried back, found Jia Youcai and inquired about it. The stone mill was too expensive. Jia Youcai was worried about damaging it, so he placed it in Mr. Huang's home. The two found Mr. Huang and returned home. The stone mill was placed outside. Qin Huaidao went up to check the quality.
They were all good, so I picked one up and walked outside.
The stone mills were custom-made and were large in size. A set weighed nearly a hundred kilograms. Qin Huaidao held them and walked quickly without any pressure. Jia Youcai smiled happily and said, "Old Huang, the young master's strength has become stronger again."
"
"Indeed, he is indeed the son of a general." Mr. Huang said with emotion.
"This strength is even greater than that of General Lu, can you believe it?" Jia Youcai said with a smile.
Huang Lao shook his head: "This is impossible, the general is invincible."
"Forget it if you don't believe me." Jia Youcai chuckled and chased after him.
When he came to the warehouse, Qin Huaidao put down the graphite, found some bricks to lay it on, and asked someone to find a straw mat to spread it on. Then he placed the stone mill on the straw mat, so that the gypsum would not be all over the floor.
, got stolen.
At this time, the guard who took the things came back. Qin Huaidao signaled to smash the gypsum, then throw it into a stone mill. After grinding out some gypsum powder, mix it with cement clinker and lime in a certain proportion. Cement clinker is the most, followed by lime.
, the least amount of gypsum, I don’t know if the proportion is right, so I can only try it, and then grind it again with a stone grinder.
After grinding it, Qin Huaidao took it and mixed it with the sand, then added water and evenly mixed it. He found bricks and built a simple platform, and told the onlookers: "Go on, don't bump it, and don't put anything on it."
"Here!" Everyone agreed quickly.
One person couldn't help but asked curiously: "Young Master, is this thing also used to build houses?"
"Yes, if there is no problem with this thing, you can build houses on a large scale, and you don't have to worry about collapse no matter how heavy the wind or snow is. If you don't have this thing, you can build with lime, but the degree of sturdiness is different."
The other party quickly said: "I see, it must be done, and the house cannot collapse."
Qin Huaidao said a few words and left. We won't know until tomorrow when everything is dry.
When they returned to the ancestral hall, they saw that the briquettes had already been shipped. Jia Youcai came over and said, "Young Master, He'er calculated that 100,000 briquettes were transported. No matter how many more, their carriages would not be enough. However, everyone's room has a lot of room, so it can be loaded."
"
"Hurry up and do it. Have you sent out the molds that were shipped this morning?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"I found out. There are now three hundred people working on it. It's cold and the work can't be done quickly. It's okay for one person to make five hundred a day. I can make hundreds of thousands a day. Is that enough? If it's not enough, I'll ask Lao Ma to make some molds."
"Leave enough 100,000 yuan to Yuchi Baoqi every day, and exchange the rest for everyone. You don't have to keep it. If there is more, take it to Chang'an City to sell it after the stove is burned." Qin Huaidao warned, feeling relieved in his heart. This output can be
.
Jia Youcai quickly said: "I'm afraid there won't be many. After the news of the exchange was released again, many people came to exchange, even those who pulled trucks to transport coal. I heard that after someone exchanged the briquettes, they took them far away
I’m changing rice somewhere, but I don’t know if it’s genuine or not. Do you want to check it?”
"There is no point in tracing the money that has been exchanged. From today on, all those who have exchanged money must be guaranteed by the village chief. Once discovered, the whole village will not be allowed to redeem money again, and the villagers will not be allowed to come to Qinjiazhuang to work. Without the village head's guarantee,
You can only exchange ten of them at a time, once every two days." Qin Huaidao said quickly, if the grain merchant asked someone to come and exchange it, it would be disgusting to exchange it for grain and compete with him.
Jia Youcai quickly wrote it down and made arrangements in a hurry.
Back at the ancestral hall, it was lunch time. He'er came over with a bowl of meat and some big steamed buns. He sat beside him with a smile, handed one to Qin Huaidao, and said: "Young master, let's pull out 100,000 briquettes today.
Can I get a lot of money back?"
"It's to be exchanged for rice, and then sold in Chang'an to stabilize the price of grain." Qin Huaidao said casually, took the big steamed bun and gnawed it. It was soft, sweet and tasted very good. We said: "Who made this? It tastes good.
"
"What those sisters did, they are so good." He'er said with a smile.
Qin Huaidao looked at the busy women outside. They all looked much better. He felt relieved and asked, "Are you used to living here?"
"There's nothing I'm not used to. I'm very happy to be with them. Can some literate people help me with the counting? There are more and more accounts, and one person can't count them all. It will delay everyone's work." He'er asked,
Looking at Qin Huaidao, his long eyelashes are blinking, which is really beautiful.
"No problem, you will be the one to take them with me from now on. Having more people will make it easier to worry. However, one thing should be noted. The contents of the account book should be kept strictly confidential and remind them that once the secret is leaked, the young master will not take it lightly." Qin Huaidao warned.
"I will pay attention, young master is the best." He'er said with a smile.
Qin Huaidao looked at He'er lovingly. It felt good to have a caring girl taking care of him and unconditionally trusting and relying on him. After chatting for a while, Mingyue came over and asked, "What else do you need, young master?"
"That's enough. I'm not here during this period. Are you okay?"
"Well, everyone in the village respects and takes good care of the sisters. Even the winter clothes are ready. Apart from cooking and making some masks, the sisters have nothing to do. I feel uneasy. Young Master, what can I do?
What can we do? Just ask." Mingyue said quickly.
We have been in Qinjiazhuang for a while. Our lives are stable, we have meat to eat, and we don't have to worry. We are living in paradise. We don't want to lose it anymore. Once we are free, we will think about it, for fear that it will lose its value and be kicked out.
Qin Huaidao understood everyone's mood and comforted them: "I tell you not to think too much. You are all useful. You rely on your ability to make a living. The young master is reluctant to drive you away. I will go back to Uncle Jia to buy some fabrics and make another hundred sets of stand-up collared tunic suits.
no problem?"
"No problem, thank you young master for your sympathy." Mingyue went away happily, having something to do and feeling at ease.
"Young Master, they are quite pitiful." He'er said from the side.
"Yes, who is not pitiful in this world? Only by uniting can we survive." Qin Huaidao sighed, thinking of Wang Tongbiao who ran to Khitan, that guy must have the secret support of his family, otherwise Khitan would not be able to listen to him.
Sometimes you will take action against yourself.
Also, once Master Cui Ren dies, the entire Cui family will attack him. Once the price of food stabilizes, the other companies mentioned in the letter will also be unfavorable to him. From this point of view, he is also a pitiful person.
Damn Wang, damn Cui!
No, we have to increase our strength quickly, otherwise the Qin Family Village may not be able to be saved.
"Young Master!" A member of the village protection team hurried in: "Young Master, a man named Zhao is here, saying he is Zhao Shuwen of the Zhao family in Weinan."
"Zhao Shuwen?"
Qin Huaidao was startled, wasn't that the Weinan County Magistrate? What was he doing here? He quickly said: "Bring the person here."