After Zheng Haizhu took Li Zhizao and Mrs. Li to Songjiang, he handed Wang Yuesheng the last thousand taels of silver notes he had on hand.
Wang Yuesheng's mother, who used to be the head waiter in Nanjing, was actually a thin horse from Yangzhou when she was young.
The way out for raising thin horses in Yangzhou is to serve as concubines for high-status families. Therefore, they not only train chess, calligraphy and painting, but also how to manage family finances. Skinny horses that can use an abacus and keep tripod accounts are sold at a higher price.
However, Wang Yuesheng's mother was so beautiful that the wealthy housekeeper who came to buy a skinny horse didn't dare to buy it for fear of taking it back. The master liked it, but his skin would be peeled off by his grandmother.
A good-looking woman who knew how to settle accounts had no choice but to go to the Qinhuai River to make a living. She was promoted from a popular shopkeeper to a mother-in-charge. After suffering losses from several accountants, she decided to take care of the money in and out by herself.
Among a group of girls named "Yue", only Wang Yuesheng would watch her mother learn accounting in her free time when she had no tickets. Over time, she became proficient in abacus and even filled out the account books.
Thinking about it, Zheng Haizhu thought that for such a clever person, who had already invested tens of thousands of silver in the "Song Shi Jian Yi" piano as an in-kind investment, who else would the financial manager of the firearms shop give her?
Wang Yuesheng happily accepted the order and even took the initiative to ask for help, saying that she could also contribute to the accounting office of Zheng's Insurance Company.
Zheng Haizhu declined, as the latter's position as chief financial officer had been left to Shi Yuelan.
Tang Ayuan and Shi Yuelan were originally Yan Siqi's stewards at the Daishan Saltworks.
Now that Yan Siqi has been recruited by the court, his subordinates can go to the mainland to make arrangements openly, and the Tang couple's son is no longer an ignorant boy. The couple intends to return to the literary hub of Jiangnan to let their son study and be tested as a scholar.
Zheng Haizhu couldn't get it.
After all, Zheng Shoukuan was not yet fifteen years old and was too young, and Wu Bondang was a man in the shadows, so it was impossible to come forward to take charge. The shipping insurance branch in Zhenjiang really needed a more experienced shopkeeper.
So it was decided that for the Songjiang Shipping Insurance Corporation, the "young boss" would be Zheng Zhilong, and the shopkeeper would be Tang Bo from Nanhui. For the Zhenjiang branch, the "young boss" would be Zheng Shoukuan, and the shopkeeper would be Tang Ayuan. The accounts on both sides would be handled by Shi Yuelan.
As the elder of Tang Ayuan and Shi Yuelan, Tang Bo declined at first, saying that the collection of insurance premiums and accounting were done by the same family, and he was afraid that it would not be clear when the time came.
As a result, Zheng Haizhu smiled and said: "Brother Yan has asked your family to take care of the salt factory and its contacts with important guests. How many years have it been?"
These words conveyed trust and affection, and the Tang family felt comfortable. Tang Bo then urged Tang Ayuan and his wife to follow Zheng Haizhu to work in Zhenjiang.
…
In the living room of the trading company, Zheng Haizhu introduced Tang and Shi to Wu Bangdang.
Since we want to make money and do things together, we no longer hide each other's details.
The two parties explained their origins. Wu Bondang did not hate sea travelers like Qi Jin. He told the Tang couple sincerely: "Although Wu wears a veil bought from the Imperial College, he is actually just a rough man. Miss Meng Zheng thinks highly of him and helps."
Trading companies chase away flies and mosquitoes.”
Just as he was talking, Zheng Shoukuan's greeting came from outside: "Brother Zhou is here?"
Zheng Haizhu hurriedly made a "silence" gesture to everyone in front of her.
But I heard a man with a Jiangbei accent say: "Have your guys followed the ship boss to see it?"
Zheng Shoukuan said: "I've seen it. The boats on both sides collided quite badly. I've also heard about the testimony of the boss of the boat."
The man said angrily: "Really? Who is willing to be involved in this matter? Repairing the boat is a lot of money. However, not all of our boss's goods were overturned in the canal."
Zheng Shoukuan shook his head helplessly: "Then I have dug through a dozen sacks, which is almost a hundred taels of silver. Brother Zhou, your boss is in the medicinal materials business. If the owner of the goods last time is like that, he is very good at making cotton cloth.
If you can fish it out, you can calculate its residual value."
The man surnamed Zhou said with a flattering smile: "Little boss Zheng, you have to think this way, although it is medicinal materials, fortunately there are only some Qi Bai Zhi and Qi Ai's northern medicinal materials. If they are expensive products from Nanyang,
Not to mention a dozen sacks, one small sack costs only a hundred taels of silver."
When Zheng Shoukuan saw the man talking, he looked directly at the small wooden box guarded by the two clerks in the store. Then he took out a document with the seal of the trading company and pushed it in front of the man: "After you press your fingerprint, you can take the money."
Let’s go, eight spindles of twelve and three spindles of five and a half, a total of ninety-five taels.”
The man complied, happily picked up the wooden box, met his two companions who were standing outside, and walked away.
Zheng Shoukuan opened the door curtain and walked in. He first asked Wu Bond, "Brother Wu, can you see this person's face clearly?"
Wu Bondang nodded: "Well, our people nearby must have seen clearly and will follow them."
The couple present, Tang Ayuan and Shi Yuelan, looked at Zheng Haizhu inquiringly.
Zheng Haizhu said calmly: "After arriving in Zhenjiang, Shou Kuan told me about this list. The owner of the goods was collecting medicinal materials in Nanjing. This man named Zhou Hu, who claimed to be the owner's brother-in-law, went to Suzhou to deliver goods. He came to buy from us on the recommendation of his peers.
Shoukuan went there personally to pay the premium, inspect the goods at the dock, and check the seaworthiness of the ship. There was no problem at that time. However, on the Bingyin section, he collided with another ship and turned over a lot of medicinal materials on the river.
inside."
Tang Ayuan didn't understand and asked: "What is the Bingyin flight segment?"
Wu Bangdang said: "That's what Miss Zheng meant. Our people have been taking boats in groups in the past few months to get familiar with the waterway from Zhenjiang to Suzhou and then to Songjiang. The Tiangan records whether the waterway is dangerous and prone to accidents, and the Earthly Branches indicate whether the waterway is usually crowded. Watch
Kuan, show the picture we drew to Shopkeeper Tang."
After taking the picture, Zheng Shoukuan pointed to a river bend south of Zhenjiang: "The hydrological conditions of the Bingyin section are not bad, but there are many ships. When Zhou Hu came with the ship boss to report the accident, he said that the collision occurred in the early hours of the morning, in broad daylight.
We immediately inquired with other boatmen, and they did see the collision and the falling of the bag. However, after I looked at the boats, I found that the bow of one boat hit the side string of the other boat. Looking closely at the damage to the two boats, the wood was obviously larger than the
The other pieces are going to be rotten, but the tenons are quite new. The wood of other ship planks is very hard, but the tenons are old."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Zheng Haizhu took over the conversation and said to the Tang family couple: "So, we suspect that Zhou Hu colluded with the boatman to defraud compensation. Although the two boatmen can share the benefits,
But he still wanted to save money for repairing the ship, so he temporarily replaced it with rotten ship planks. Mr. Wu was a good swimmer, so he went to the bottom of the river and pulled open the sack. It was full of grass and wadding. Just now I looked at Zhou Hu through the curtain.
He picked up the money and walked away, without weighing it carefully or counting it clearly. Obviously, in his eyes, this money was just a windfall, and he didn't care about the difference by just a few taels. I guess the original ones
I'm afraid the medicinal materials have been resold by him."
Tang Ayuan suddenly realized it and said with emotion: "This business is indeed easy to be deceived."
Zheng Haizhu smiled: "Which line of business is easy to make money? Which pond doesn't have a bastard? Just catch it. There will definitely be others in the future. You guys will learn the ropes slowly. As for Zhou Hu, he will continue to be a helper to Mr. Wu."
Wu Bondang stood up and cupped his hands: "I'll take the first step."
…
At night, although the city of Zhenjiang is not as gorgeous and prosperous as Nanjing and Yangzhou, it is still lively and lively.
Zhou Hu walked out of the crowded gambling house with a hint of resentment.
A few years ago, his brother-in-law, a drug dealer, took him with him to do business.
My brother-in-law was of an upright and cautious nature, and did not engage in prostitution or gambling, so he was kept under strict control.
This time it happened that my sister was giving birth, and my brother-in-law was watching at home in Nanjing, leaving Zhou Hu to go out alone with two men to buy and sell medicinal materials worth hundreds of taels.
When they arrived in Zhenjiang, two ship bosses told Zhou Hu that a new Zheng's shipping insurance company had opened in the city. It was known as a dental company, but in fact it could make money.
After hearing the boss's idea, Zhou Hu marveled that this was nothing but a piece of wool. After putting in a little trouble and putting on a show, he could get dozens of taels of silver, which was obviously a leg of lamb.
He was immediately moved, and went to Zheng's Merchant to pay a premium of five taels of silver, inspect the goods, and sign the deed. After the ship was shipped, he turned to a hidden river bank and asked two clerks to replace the medicinal materials with thatch.
After continuing to drive to many parts of the ship, they staged a collision scene with the ship boss's accomplices. The sacks filled with thatch piled on one side of the ship fell into the water and sank to the bottom in full view of everyone.
When I went to settle the claim, the young boss of the trading company, who had no hair on his lips, was so stupid that he said, "We are based on integrity and we should pay all the compensation, but we need to investigate first." The result was that I saw it.
The ship, after asking the witnesses who came and went, still honestly handed over the money with both hands.
According to the previous agreement, the captain of the ship will get twenty taels each, the waiter will get ten taels each, and he will get thirty-five taels.
For Zhou Hu, who earns only two taels of silver, this is a huge sum of money.
The two young men were hot-blooded and had not even married yet. They took the money and went to Yingying Yanyan's place.
Zhou Hu, who had been married for several years, had no interest in visiting brothels, but entered a gambling house without hesitation.
It seems that the cheater ran out of luck. Zhou Hu lost ten taels of silver in most of an hour. He was angry and panicked and quickly got off the gambling table.
Just a few steps out of the casino, a man wearing a green turban came up to him and said, "Sir, are you looking for some fun?"
Zhou Hu knew that in the south of the Yangtze River, people who dressed like this were either a turtle man in a brothel or a pimp for a wandering warbler.
He said angrily: "Get out."
The green-turbaned man with a Shandong accent smiled more flatteringly, followed behind and bowed: "Do you want to change your luck to another casino? Listen to me, the best way to change your luck is to see someone famous.
.”
Zhou Hu was stunned: "Why do you see such a thing?"
The green-turbaned man passed Zhou Hu, jogged a few steps, and yelled "Hey" in a low voice.
From the shadow of the eaves in front, a woman with hunched shoulders flashed out, looking shivering and frightened.
The green turban pulled her over, took off the hood of the wind robe, and said with a smile: "Master, this is a young boy. He is sixteen this year. If you open a bag, you will see a fortune. The custodian's luck tomorrow will be so red that it will make the banker cry."
Zhou Hu understood now and was a little moved.
"How old do you think she is? Sixteen? How come she looks eighteen or nineteen!" Zhou Hu pretended to be disgusted.
The green turban said considerately: "I'm just changing my luck, why spend more money? This kind of money is only one or two silver. A country girl who used to farm the land and was exposed to the wind and sun, how can she compare with the beauty of the red shopkeepers in the flower house?"
, but it’s a little bit cheaper than them. Look, he has big eyes and a good figure, and he actually looks pretty good.”
Zhou Hu stretched out his hand to lift up the woman's chin and took a look at it under the moonlight. She was covered in thick powder, bright rouge, a birthmark from her forehead to her eyebrows, and a pair of bright eyes. She was pretty.
But this kind of wandering warbler with unknown origins, as a foreigner, was afraid of being jumped by immortals, and even more afraid of being robbed of his wealth, so he said coldly: "I won't go to a low-class brothel."
"That's natural. Do you have an inn where you can rest? She can follow me."
…
Mu Zaohua followed Zhou Hu into the inn near the Confucian Temple.
Four months ago, she was a tracker by the canal. In order not to starve to death, she worked as a mule and horse as a human being.
After Miss Zheng recruited them, Mr. Wu became someone they often saw.
Mr. Wu taught them how to read and fight in close quarters, and also taught them how to track, investigate, deceive and escape pursuit. He called them intelligence agents, and they would follow him and Miss Zheng to do some interesting things in the future.
Among the trackers, Digu said that he was more experienced than a spy, but everyone was happy with it. In their view, the identity of a spy meant that he was getting rid of the miserable life of the low-level people and was working as a follower for the powerful.
Of course Mu Zaohua also wanted to perform well, not only to stay and take care of the job, but also to gain Wu Bond's recognition.
When Mr. Wu asked the intelligence agents to act out a shipwreck to promote the reputation of the insurance company, Mu Zaohua didn't get her turn and felt uncomfortable for a while.
This time, Mr. Wu finally assigned her a job, and she was determined to get it.
Mu Zaohua has experienced running away from home, cannibalism, and competing for fiber-stretching territory. At the age of eighteen, she has two strong arms and is not afraid of men like Zhou Hu, who are neither tall nor strong.
She followed Zhou Hu into the room under the unconcerned gaze of a night watchman at the inn.
When Zhou Hu tore off her coat and was about to press her on the couch, Mu Zaohua suddenly stretched out her right arm and punched Zhou Hu hard on the chest. Then she jumped up, turned over, and used
His knees restrained the back of Zhou Hu's neck, making his entire face suffocate in the quilt, and his screams of surprise were silenced.
Mu Zaohua took out a hemp rope from her arms, tied Zhou Hu's hands, took out a piece of cloth and stuffed his mouth, then got off the bed and went to turn over his robe.
In the bag there were only two large pieces of silver left over from gambling, and no paper.
Following Mr. Wu's instructions, Mu Zaohua began to search for Zhou Hu's luggage in the house.
She finally found the complicated lace banknote that Mr. Wu had taught them to recognize.
Two hundred taels, eighty taels.
Mu Zaohua chuckled and turned Zhou Hu over: "Your boat of medicinal materials was worth three hundred taels. How could you drop dozens of packets and get almost three hundred taels of silver?"
Zhou Hu said "woo woo" and his eyes were horrified.
Mu Zaohua took out a piece of paper with a few lines of ink written on it.
She didn't know much about reading, and the paper was read to her by Mr. Wu. The content was very simple, and it was Zhou Hu's tone of voice admitting to cheating on insurance companies.
Mu Zaohua took out the rouge box, took Zhou Hu's finger, and pressed her fingerprints on the paper.
Then he said calmly: "Our boss asked, is it the boss of the ship who taught you to do evil? Our boss will always do business in Zhenjiang from now on, and we must severely punish the boss of the ship who encouraged the cargo owners to cheat money, so we have to ask the magistrate to punish him severely. If you can testify
Their punishment will definitely be much lighter."
Zhou Hu's face was full of panic. He was stunned for a moment and nodded desperately.
Seeing his cowardly look, Mu Zaohua couldn't help but think of Mr. Wu's words: "This kind of person is not a ruthless character. In fact, Miss Zheng can also detain him in the trading company for questioning, but in that case, you will have one less time to follow and set up a trap."