In the plum blossom season in the south of the Yangtze River, the rain begins to drip continuously. The dripping cornices, the rippling rivers, the stone bridges covered with moss, and the graceful and shiny bluestone alleys. Occasionally, I meet a "holding an oil-paper umbrella, wandering alone" on the street.
In the long, long and lonely rain alley, how I hope to meet a lilac-like girl with a sorrow and resentment..."
Don’t think that the plum rain in the south of the Yangtze River is always so poetic and picturesque, but also has a ferocious and violent side.
Today, Haiyu Town was ravaged by a heavy rain. The drizzle that had just drifted slowly gradually gradually, after a burst of lightning and thunder, brewed into a refreshing and heroic rainstorm, with big raindrops hitting the ground like a heavy rain.
The fierce war horses kick with four hooves, and the loud sound is boring, filled with the majesty of thousands of troops and horses rushing down the rapids!
Two figures walked into the alley. It was pouring with rain. The oil-paper umbrella in their hands was blown to one side by the wind from time to time, and the rain drenched the corners of their shoulders and shirts. The two of them were walking in a hurry, using umbrellas to cover their heads, faces, and upper bodies, regardless of their footsteps as they walked.
The stagnant water brought up made my shoes, socks and clothes wet. I quickly walked to a house at the end of the alley, hid under the rain eaves at the door, and knocked on the courtyard door "bang bang bang".
Soon I heard the sound of footsteps stepping on the stagnant water in the courtyard. The door latch was pulled open and the courtyard door was pushed open, revealing a servant dressed in blue cloth.
"Who are you two looking for?"
One of the young men with frost-stained temples asked: "Brother Zhu, is he in the mansion? A certain man named Lu made an appointment with Brother Zhu and will come to visit today."
The servant said "Oh", quickly opened the courtyard door, and said sideways: "It turns out to be Mr. Lu. The head of the family has made an explanation. If you come, you can go in directly. No need to inform."
The young man nodded and walked into the courtyard with the other one.
The servant closed the courtyard door and trotted to the front to guide the two of them.
The courtyard is not big, but it is extremely well-maintained, with rockeries and walls. There is even an exquisite waterside pavilion built next to a small lotus pond. In the summer, the lotus pond is cool, which is a bit elegant.
There is a row of moso bamboo planted in the corner of the wall. The bamboo leaves have been washed by the rain and become more and more green, which is very interesting.
The servant led the two of them through the green brick-paved courtyard and went straight to the door of the main house. He raised his hand and knocked on the door twice, and said loudly: "Report to the master, Mr. Lu is here."
A strong male voice in the room said: "Please!"
The servant then opened the door and said respectfully: "You two, please come inside."
It's raining heavily outside, but inside the house is cool and tidy.
The shiny mahogany floor is covered with a finely textured reed mat near the inside. There is a carved lacquered tea table on it. A set of crystal white tea sets are placed on the tea tray, and there is also a crystal clear porcelain plate.
Contains generally freshly ripe plums.
A fat man in sapphire blue uniform sat on his knees behind the tea table, staring at a pot of water on the small red clay stove. When he saw the two people coming in, he waved his hands casually: "You two, please take a seat. Who will take this pot?"
Just open, I’ll give you two this year’s new tea, the top-notch Longjing, you can’t even drink it if you’re rich!”
This casual gesture made Lu Xiaoyu feel faintly angry.
Back when he was a doctor in the Ministry of Punishment, this guy was like a fat dog wagging his head in front of him. Now that he has been dismissed from office, Mr. Lu has been unable to recover, so he has begun to make trouble with himself?
what!
However, thinking of the real possibility of coming here today, I could only hold back my anger, sit across from the fat man, and said with a smile: "That's a blessing for Lu, but it is said that this high-grade Longjing is a tribute to the emperor."
, is absolutely not allowed to be sold in the market, and the Fang family is also very strict about its control and management, but I don’t know where Brother Zhu got it?"
As he said this, he waved to those who came with him to sit next to him without being polite.
Zhu Qu's fat face like Maitreya Buddha was full of pride, and he said disapprovingly: "So what about the royal tribute? We didn't fight against the emperor! After all, the land of San Wu is still the world of our Jiangdong Wu surname. His Fang Jun
What does it mean to get some tea from his tea garden? Nowadays, it is spread all over Suzhou that Fang Jun likes to eat human brains, and his reputation is already extremely bad. Moreover, the people in Jiangnan say they don’t know that Fang Jun went south to fight with Jiangnan.
Competing with others for profit, in order to please the emperor? Let me tell you, even if Fang Jun escaped in Niuzhuji, he would still be unable to move even an inch when he arrived in Haiyu Town!"
Lu Xiaoyu sighed slightly, "It's just you? Fang Jun has dug a hole for you, just waiting for you to jump into it, but you are still complacent here... I don't know where the confidence comes from."
He was too lazy to argue with Zhu Qu, but the man beside him spoke.
"The Fang Jun you two are talking about is the emperor's son-in-law in Chang'an?"
Zhu Qu seemed to have noticed the person brought by Lu Xiaoyu at this moment. He raised his head and glanced at it, and was suddenly stunned.
This man is short in stature. He is sitting on his knees like a giant monkey. His face is full of whiskers, and his original appearance cannot be clearly seen. Moreover, although this man speaks in a clear and well-tongued tone, he is too stiff and obviously does not speak Chinese regularly.
people.
Then he asked Lu Xiaoyu: "Who is this?"
Lu Xiaoyu introduced: "This is the minister in charge of finance in front of the Emperor of Japan, His Excellency Ji Shiju. He is probably equivalent to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Tang Dynasty. I had previously sent an envoy from the Tang Dynasty to Chang'an and met Fang Jun."
The Lu family and the Japanese country have always had a paper business, and this time it happened that Ji Shiju came to purchase goods for the emperor. Lu Xiaoyu changed his mind and asked him for help. But he never thought that Ji Shiju and Fang Jun were also old acquaintances.
As soon as he heard that Lu Xiaoyu's plan was related to Fang Jun, he immediately agreed happily.
When Zhu Qu heard that he was a high-ranking official who was equivalent to the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he was shocked, but then he thought that the Japanese country was such a big place, and it was extremely poor. Where could even the emperor go?
He didn't pay much attention, he just said "hmm", lowered his eyelids, and stared at the bubbling water in front of him.
Ji Shiju didn't think too much of himself and didn't get angry at Zhu Qu's contempt.
This time I came to Datang, it was completely different from the last time.
Except for being despised by Fang Jun in Lishan outside Chang'an, the officials along the way were extremely respectful to him as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. However, when he came this time, Ji Shiju felt the "arrogance of the country and the people".
The atmosphere. As the Tang army conquered the south and north, a sense of national pride became stronger and stronger. Even ordinary people looked less and less at the Japanese country.
But for Ji Shiju, the "Japanese rapist", there is no psychological barrier at all...
The room was silent for a while.
The kettle on the small red clay stove was steaming. Zhu Qu lifted the kettle, pinched a handful of flat green tea leaves from a porcelain jar under the tea table and threw it into the teapot. Then he washed the tea and made tea.
He divided the tea in one go, his ten short, fat fingers were extremely dexterous, and his movements were actually quite pleasing to the eye. He was obviously a master of this art.
After sipping tea and joking around, Zhu Qucai asked: "Is what Xiaoyu said in his heart yesterday true?"
Seeing that the topic was about to be discussed, Lu Xiaoyu put down the teacup in his hand and said seriously: "Of course it's true. To be honest, Mr. Lu was in dire straits and wanted to continue a business, so he came to see Mr. Ji Shiju. I thought of it.
Due to our old friendship, His Excellency Ji Shiju agreed to a certain person that if he really could get high-quality shipbuilding timber, he could recommend it to be sold to the Japanese country and the emperor would buy it for shipbuilding."
Zhu Qu glanced at Ji Shiju, shook his head slightly and said, "Xiaoyu must have made a mistake. If you want to buy wood, you can go to Fang Jun. Nowadays, the riverside outside Haiyu Town is full of wood for several miles.
Fang Jun probably won't be able to use so much of the huge wood used in shipbuilding, so there's no harm in selling some secretly. The Zhu family is in the silk business, where did the wood come from to sell to you?"
Seeing Zhu Qu's denial, Lu Xiaoyu was not in a hurry and said with a smile: "We have lived in Jiangdong for hundreds of years. Why did Brother Zhu deceive me? I didn't mention where Brother Zhu's wood came from, let alone Zhu.
Brother, do you have any wood? I'm just asking Brother Zhu to do the Lu family a favor. If it can help the Lu family purchase the wood needed for shipbuilding, the Lu family will buy it at double the market price, as much as they want! If this business is completed, I will
From now on, the Lu family will always remember Brother Zhu’s great kindness, but if prompted, we will never refuse!”
No wood?
You really think everyone is a fool! If you don’t have it in your hand, could it be that all the wood lost by Navy Fang Jun was eaten by Jiang Dragon King?