"Go, go, go! Come back before noon. If you don't come back then, never come back. Rubao, follow Xiao Xinzi and don't let him be sold by others!"
With Wu Shigong's approval, Tao Xin immediately wiped his tear-stained face, and then quickly ran towards the city of Nanjing with Zhang Rubao.
In the early morning, after breakfast at the inn, Wu Shigong and the others set off on their way back. However, as soon as they started, Wu Shigong found that his apprentice Tao Xin looked a little unnatural. When asked why, Tao Xin immediately told the reason aggrievedly: It turned out that they had arrived in Nanjing.
From now on, Tao Xin has not found time to buy gifts for Xiaojie.
So Tao Xin begged Wu Shigong: Let Wu Shigong give him a holiday first, and wait until he has finished buying gifts in Nanjing City before catching up with Wu Shigong's group.
Tao Xin's pleading was like adding fuel to the fire. Wu Shigong was immediately furious, and immediately started to curse. Anyway, he just cursed whatever came to his mind, because he knew that Wu Shigong's business in Nanjing was not going well this time, and no guards dared to do so.
Advise your lord.
After scolding all the way to the gate of Nanjing City, Tao Xin, who was still a child, was scolded by Wu Shigong and cried. When he saw it, he shed cat urine, and Wu Shigong relented, so he threw a hundred taels of silver to Tao Xin.
He was allowed to buy gifts. After Tao Xin left, Wu Shigong found a seat in a teahouse near the city gate, waiting for Tao Xin's return.
Now Wu Shigong was like a powder keg, and the guards stayed away and did not dare to approach. Wu Shigong also happened to have some peace and quiet, so he sat in the teahouse and quietly thought about how to plug the silver gap.
One way is to sell the remaining shares in the workshop; another way is to apportion it to the gentry of Runing Prefecture; another way is to temporarily borrow it from the officials of the Runing Army; and the last way is of course to default on military pay!
However, no matter which method was adopted, it was a kind of killing of the goose that laid eggs. Wu Shigong had no choice but to analyze the pros and cons of each method and wanted to choose the method that was the lesser of the four evils.
Time flew by so fast that the tea and water were changed before I knew it. Suddenly, a guard ran in from outside the teahouse and reported to Wu Shigong in a low voice: "Sir, there is a guest named Zheng outside who wants to see you!"
Wu Shigong frowned. He thought he didn't know anyone named Zheng in Nanjing. So he made a gesture and asked the guard to bring the guest in.
A middle-aged man in his early thirties came in outside the door. He was not tall, but he was tall and strong. Although he was wearing a scholar's robe, his skin was dark, and he could tell at a glance that he had been walking outdoors for many years. And this man
Behind the middle-aged man, there was a servant holding a plate covered with red silk lacquer.
The middle-aged man walked up to Wu Shigong, bowed deeply and said, "Master Wu, I'm here to invite you! Little Zheng Jiao. Now that I heard that the master has left Nanjing, my master specially presented Cheng Yi with a plate as a token of my modest gratitude."
The person who came was none other than a cousin of Zheng Zhibao, who was also the head of the Zheng family in Nanjing. After meeting Wu Shigong yesterday on Chaoku Street, Zheng Zhibao immediately sent someone to meet Wu Shigong at the inn early this morning.
He invited Wu Shigong, but the person he sent reported back that Wu Shigong had left and returned to his hometown, so Zheng Zhibao sent Zheng Jiao to chase him with fifty taels of gold to send Wu Shigong off.
In fact, Zheng Jiao was very dissatisfied with Zheng Zhibao's request, because the person who inquired about the information yesterday was quite capable. After giving some money to Xu Wenjue's personal entourage, he found out Wu Shigong's origin, official position and the purpose of coming to Nanjing.
So Zheng Jiao felt that there was no need to make friends with Wu Shigong.
But Zheng Zhibao still sent Zheng Jiao away. For no other reason than one more friend and one more path. Of course, Wu Shigong's words yesterday, "You will win only if you love and work hard" also left a deep impression on Zheng Zhibao. Otherwise, now,
Wu Shigong and Zheng Zhilong were completely unrelated to each other, and Zheng Zhibao would never let go of such a long line. Although the Zheng family was rich, the money did not come from strong winds.
"I'm sorry for my poor eyesight. Who is the master of your family?" Wu Shigong asked.
"The Zheng family in Anping! Yesterday, the fourth master of my family met you by chance on Chaoku Street."
Wu Shigong suddenly recalled yesterday's conflict. It turned out to be that "Taiwanese compatriot"! Since the Zheng family is so polite, he also smiled and said politely: "Yesterday was a misunderstanding. Mr. Zheng Si was too polite. But really
I am ignorant and ignorant, where is the Zheng family?"
"Oh! Anping, Fujian. Our eldest master Zheng Gong said that Zhilong is a coastal defense guerrilla, and his family has some business overseas." As he spoke, Zheng Jiao looked a little arrogant. He thought that Wu Shigong must have heard of the Zheng family by now.
It's a name.
But Wu Shigong had no impression of the Zheng family at all. After all, they were too far apart, and it was impossible for Wu Shigong to care about the affairs in the corner of Fujian. And it was impossible for the current Shanchuan Division to extend its hands and feet to such a far place.
However, Wu Shigong related scenes such as coastal defense guerrillas, large-scale merchants, and welcoming guests on Chaoku Street, and then a scene emerged in his mind: a man who was also owed military pay and worked hard in maritime business to support the army went to Nanjing Yamen
The image of a military attache who runs relationships.
This made Wu Shigong feel like he was in the same boat. And this Zheng family seemed to want to make friends with him, but Wu Shigong also knew that after his trouble yesterday, he himself had been blacklisted by Nanjing officials and nobles. So
Wu Shigong didn't want to harm the Zheng family anymore.
So Wu Shigong said calmly: "Since we are destined, I am not willing to hide it from you. I have offended too many people in Nanjing. If you get too close to me, it may not only be unhelpful to your family, but also bring harm."
Please think again, Mr. Zheng. As for your family’s kindness, I will accept it first.”
After meeting Wu Shigong, Zheng Jiao has been observing Wu Shigong. He found that although Wu Shigong spoke very kindly, he could not disguise the look of being dominant and contemptuous of the world.
As the chief of the Zheng family who is stationed in Nanjing, Zheng Jiao has visited many senior officials of various ministries and yamen in Nanjing. It should be said that those senior officials all have the air of a senior official, but he has never seen such a unique person. To be honest, Zheng Jiao
Jiao had only seen this kind of demeanor in their family leader Zheng Zhilong before.
And after learning the identity of his Zheng family, Wu Shigong still did not arrange for Zheng Jiao to sit down, which made Zheng Jiao even more optimistic.
You know, if Zheng Jiao comes forward now, generally civil servants at the prefect level will be polite to him, but the dismissed governor in front of him turns a blind eye to him. It can only be said that he has indeed regarded Zheng Jiao as his subordinate.
People look at each other, but Wu Shigong puts himself on an equal footing with Zheng Zhilong. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!