The sky was clear and clear, the clouds were gentle, and the boat was sailing along. Li Mu was half lying on the deck chair, feeling the breeze blowing on his face and admiring the scenery on both sides of the strait.
After Lou Shuwan brought people on the boat, he also lived on the third floor of Huafang. After all, the lower two floors were occupied by shipwrights, stewards and shopkeepers. The third floor had the richest space and the best conditions, and the host's family was also on the third floor.
Since we are guests, we naturally have to be placed on the third floor.
This was one of the reasons why Li Mu didn't want Lou Shuwan to take the young man on board the ship. It would have been fine if they were a couple. It would be awkward to let a man and woman whose relationship was unclear live with them on the same floor.
The mood of the next trip may also be ruined.
Lou Shuwan was very smart. After boarding the ship, she quietly figured out by talking to people that it was Li Mu who had been causing trouble for her.
Otherwise, as the daughter of a merchant, based on her understanding of Su Tan'er, Su Tan'er would not be able to refuse with a low face, whether it was carrying some goods on the boat or taking people on board.
Naturally, I didn't have a good impression of Li Mu, especially when I found out that Li Mu was a surrogate son-in-law, the impression was even worse, even though she also had a surrogate son-in-law.
Therefore, when he got on the boat, he just nodded to Li Mu indifferently without saying a word. Li Mu's expression was also indifferent.
The visitor is a guest, so Su Tan'er naturally cannot ignore Lou Shuwan. After all, the Su family wants to expand its business in Hangzhou. Even if you can't take advantage of local snakes like the Lou family, don't offend them. After all, outsiders can't do anything for you.
But it can give you bad things.
Li Mu did not intervene, although he knew that the fall of Hangzhou was imminent and almost all the merchants and wealthy households in the city would be wiped out. It would be useless to do all this at this time.
The only person Lou Shuwan was familiar with on the ship was Su Tan'er. They had similar identities, so he could only talk to her.
As the two chatted, they learned more about their respective situations.
She also knew the general situation of Li Mu. He was a scholar, married into a wife, and had no fame...
Although Su Tan'er said that her husband-in-law was talented, she had no intention of relying on fame. After hearing this, Lou Shuwan naturally felt that if she continued to support Li Mu, how could any scholar not want to take the exam?
That's all.
No matter how talented you are, you can only coax sister Tan'er.
The two continued to chat. When Su Tan'er said that Li Mu knew martial arts, Lou Shuwan felt that if he didn't know how to study but practiced boxing and swords, he was not seeking advancement. The smile on Su Tan'er's face seemed to be a forced one.
Laughter.
She took Su Tan'er's hand to show that she understood her difficulties. After all, if any of her husbands in the family also liked boxing and swordplay, she would have to force a smile.
Su Tan'er had no choice but to say how powerful her husband was, but Lou Shuwan probably didn't believe it. Even if she talked about her husband's talent and reputation, it would be difficult for Lou Shuwan's circle to hear about it, so she could only keep quiet and talk about other topics.
During the chat, Lou Shuwan mentioned the son-in-law she had recruited, and also said some complimentary words about his talents and academics. They sounded like good words, but Su Tan'er could hear the disapproval in her tone.
While talking, they treated themselves as if they were sisters who had a common experience. Occasionally, they would sigh and express an attitude of "It's all the same, you know."
Su Tan'er was confused and felt helpless, and then she realized that there were probably very few couples who were as harmonious as him and her husband.
We can only talk less about such topics and talk more about shopping malls, especially the situation of Hangzhou's weaving industry, to prepare for the next layout.
Of course, these are just small episodes on the way. The boat arrived in Suzhou the next day, stopped for a few days of sightseeing, then headed south, stopped in Jiaxing for a few days, and then went all the way to Hangzhou.
Jiaxing is not far from Hangzhou, only two hundred miles by water. Even if the boat doesn't go very fast, it only takes more than a day to enjoy the surrounding scenery along the way.
This section of the waterway is very prosperous, with constant traffic of ships, and villages and gardens on both sides of the canal from time to time.
Hangzhou has been a very prosperous city since ancient times. Even if it is not the pinnacle of history, Lin'an is not inferior to Jiangning and Suzhou.
After getting off the boat at the pier, Lou Shuwan invited Li Mu and Su Tan'er to stay at Lou's house temporarily, but they declined. After all, there were too many people traveling with them on this trip. The Su family itself also has property here, and Su Tan'er also planned to
I will buy another big house in Hangzhou in the next two days.
Lou Shuwan was not overly polite. There was the Lou family's warehouse here. He found the steward and arranged a carriage, and then returned to the Lou family all the way.
The Su family's own steward went to hire carriages. There were more than ten carriages, and the group of people finally settled down.
The next day, as one of the wealthy businessmen with whom the Su family had some friendship in Hangzhou, and also traveling with Lou Shuwan, as usual, Li Mu and Su Tan'er went to visit Lou's house, had a meal, and met Lou Shuwan.
The current main building of the home is nearby.
He was a rather handsome man, he was in his early fifties, slightly older than Su Boyong, and his beard and hair were all black and white.
Judging from the conversation, he is quite skillful and is indeed a veteran in shopping malls. Before the Su family took over the Wu family's property, he might not be able to compare with the Lou family in terms of strength and foundation. Now in terms of financial strength, the Su family is probably better. However,
Hangzhou and Jiangning are thousands of miles apart, and the Lou family may not realize this.
Regarding the two people's visit, Su Tan'er's attitude was quite friendly, showing the cordial attitude of the elders towards the younger ones. However, Li Mu was completely ignored and even asked a lot of pointed questions.
Li Mu knew that Lou Shuwan probably told some things on the way. This person probably looked down on his adopted son-in-law. He didn't like him to begin with. Coupled with the status of his adopted son-in-law, it was strange that he had a good attitude.
Li Mu didn't care, and stopped making any gestures as a junior. He quietly watched his performance. After the visit, he quickly left.
On the way back, Su Tan'er looked a little angry: "This family came to visit with good intentions, but they actually gave my husband a hard time..."
Li Mu said: "Maybe he thinks I made things difficult for his daughter at Changzhou Pier."
Su Tan'er said: "Shuwan may have misunderstood my husband? She always felt that I was telling lies when I talked about my husband on the way."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Mu said with a smile: "That's because she and her husband don't get along well, and she thinks that others don't get along well with her just like her.
"That's right. There aren't many people who get along as well as we do."
Although this was a bit boastful, Su Tan'er only felt that it was the truth and said with a smile: "Maybe it's because my husband is so kind to Tan'er!"
Li Mu looked at her and smiled: "Isn't it true that my wife is too kind to my husband?"
As they spoke, the two looked at each other and smiled.
After a moment, Su Tan'er said seriously again: "Then we will deal with Mr. Lou from now on."
Li Mu nodded in support. With the situation in Hangzhou, it would be useless to do anything and everything would be reshuffled after the fall.
The day after visiting Lou's family, Lou Shuwan also came to the house where Su's family temporarily lived for a courtesy visit. She didn't stay too long. She left a servant behind, saying that she could help guide the way, and she never came again after that.
.
Li Mu and Su Tan'er didn't care either. They didn't intend to deal with each other anymore. They just wanted to save face.
There were too many people on this trip, and the Su family's house here was too small. They spent the next two days buying another house in Taiping Lane in the city, and Li Mu and Su Tan'er moved the people there.
past.
The streets near Taiping Lane were quite prosperous, and most of them were wealthy households. After settling down, Li Mu finally remembered that he had another important matter to attend to, which was to visit the great Confucian surnamed Qian and deliver a letter to Qin Siyuan.
After asking someone about it, I found out that the great scholar named Qian was named Qian Jingru, with the courtesy name Xiwen. He was a famous person in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Qian family was also a well-known local family. When Qian Jingru was mentioned, everyone was full of respect and admiration.
.
The next day, Li Mu took Xiaochan to visit.
Xiaochan heard that she was visiting a big family named "Qian", and thought she was a rich man with a lot of money and bling. After all, her surname was "Qian". When she got there, she discovered that there was no bling. Although the house occupied a huge area,
The house is quite simple.
Xiaochan said: "Uncle, does his family have no money? The yard is not as beautiful as our Su family's!"
Li Mu said with a smile: "I am not short of money. His family is a well-known big landowner in Hangzhou. They are strict in housekeeping, strict and simple. If it is too gorgeous, I still don't like it. I think it is like being rich."
Xiaochan nodded in understanding.
When he arrived at the door of Qian's Mansion, Li Mu handed over the greeting card and letter, and the concierge outside took them. After a moment, an old housekeeper came out to greet him.
After entering the courtyard, he led them directly to Qian Xiwen's study in the inner courtyard without going to the front hall.
Along the way, remembering what my uncle said just now, Xiao Chan looked at it carefully. In terms of luxury, it was indeed inferior to the Su family. Some buildings looked very old at first glance, and there were signs of repairs on them, but they looked just right.
There is nothing shabby about it.
After seeing more, Xiaochan suddenly felt that this house, which was not gorgeous, seemed to have a certain background and a bookish atmosphere. Could it be that this was a scholarly family and a noble family?
Xiaochan looked at it for a moment, then tiptoed close to Li Mu's ear and whispered: "Uncle, I understand what you just said. The lady and I have been to Puyang's house. It's very beautiful, but it's just beautiful. It doesn't feel like this!"
The old housekeeper probably heard Xiaochan's words, and the smile on his face became more natural. As he walked, he said: "The master just returned from going to the countryside to give lectures yesterday. Not many people like Mr. Ning invite him to the study for a talk when he comes to the house for the first time.
Grandpa has an easy-going temperament, so you can be more casual."
He probably thought that Ning Yi was a junior who came to visit with a letter from somewhere else, so he mentioned a few words to avoid being trembling after meeting his master. He had seen this situation too many times.
Li Mu had a lot to say, nodded, smiled, and said thank you.
The Qian family's house is quite large. When passing a corner, a figure suddenly ran past and almost bumped into several people. The man was about twenty years old. He was stunned and raised his hands to several people. He seemed to be in a hurry.
Just as he turned around to leave, Li Mu saw a red coral pen falling on the grass he just passed.
He smiled softly, pointed at the coral pen on the ground and said, "Brother, did something fall?"
The man was stunned for a moment, looked at the pen box on the ground, and then looked at the old housekeeper. His face was a little bitter, and he seemed a little embarrassed, but he still turned around and picked up the pen box, and said seriously: "This
It’s not grandpa’s favorite coral pen. Could it be that it’s been lost again? I’ll return it to grandpa.”
As he spoke, he cupped his hands, picked up the pen box and ran away quickly.
When a few people walked to the door of the small courtyard where the study was located, they saw the young man just now, struggling to hold a heavy box and walking out of the study. Looking at the flushed face, the weight of the box was definitely not large.
light.
This kind of scene, especially Xiaochan's expression of curiosity and surprise, made the old housekeeper dumbfounded, so he quickly pulled the person aside and explained in a low voice.
Although the Qian family is a wealthy family in Qiantang, Qian Xiwen is very strict in managing his family and strives to be simple. The children in the family usually have very little monthly money. If there is no time, they will not even pay it in advance.
However, there are always people who are short of money and need it urgently. One time, a child in the family took away Qian Xiwen's favorite coral pen. After Qian Xiwen learned about it, he posted a list at home and rewarded anyone who could help find it back.
Shi Guan later fulfilled his promise and provided a way out for those children who encountered difficulties.
After this incident, the pen box was thrown away seventeen or eight times a year. Every time the list was published, someone would take it and return it, and Qian Xiwen always gave the money.
Perhaps he felt that this kind of educational significance was not enough, and the banknote of ten coins was only a small one, so he made a request that all rewards in the future could only be received in copper coins, and he could only receive and take them by himself.
How many grams are there in a penny, how many kilograms are there in a dollar, and tens of kilograms in ten dollars? For these pampered children, it is not a big deal to work hard to move back tens of kilograms of ten dollars.
of suffering.
In addition, whoever receives the money almost represents who stole the pen grid, which cannot be hidden, so everyone does not dare to take more and can only restrain themselves.
It’s not that I’m really short of money, I won’t do this if I encounter something, but it still has some educational significance.
Entering the study, I finally saw Qian Xiwen, a great scholar. His beard and hair were half white and neatly combed, and his gray robe was neat and simple. Although there were no patches, it could be seen that he had been starched many times and some places were already a little white.
, I just finished reading Qin Siyuan’s letters.
He looked up at Li Mu and said with a smile: "It has been eight years since we parted ways with Mr. Qin in the capital. Mr. Qin is in good health."
Li Mu said: "Mr. Qin's health is still good, but he may have arrived in the capital at this time."
He probably regarded Li Mu as a junior who needed to be taken care of. After chatting for a while, he started asking Li Mu what books he usually read and what he learned.
Li Mu just answered casually, but he was really well-educated. No matter what Li Mu's answer was, he was always modest and gentle, and what he said was very reasonable. Judging from Li Mu's experience, he was indeed a very knowledgeable person.
people.
Sure enough, it is indeed not easy for Qin Siyuan to call him a great Confucian.
After chatting for a while, Li Mu left two words, and Qian Xiwen also took down a few books from the bookshelf.
"I have annotated these books. If Li Heng finds them interesting, you may wish to read them often."
Li Mu took the book and looked at it casually. There were Zuozhuan, Chunqiu...
"Thank you, Mr. Qian, I will accept it."
After a few more polite words, Li Mu took his leave.
After returning home, there was nothing much to do next. Except that Su Tan'er would take several shopkeepers from time to time to inspect the market and visit some partners. The rest of the time, the two of them would take a few little girls to enjoy the mountains and rivers.
West Lake, Xizhao Mountain, Leifeng Pagoda...we all walked carefully. Looking at Hangzhou, which is about to undergo a catastrophe, I wonder when it will regain its current prosperity.