After thirty years of drinking, a performance started on the stage next to the main table. Some talented people went up to sing operas. They were all legendary operas from the Ming Dynasty. Li Zhi didn’t know what he was singing, so he just listened to it babbling.
lively.
The outstanding people sang for a while and then went down. A very beautiful young woman walked onto the stage holding a pipa. After kneeling down and saluting the commander-in-chief, she sat on a chair.
The woman had a melon-seed face, a pair of phoenix eyes embedded in her face, and a straight little nose underneath. She was very beautiful. Even Li Zhi, who came from a later generation, had to admit that this woman was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Those in the top ten were also fascinated by it.
Seeing this woman coming out, everyone stopped drinking and watching the woman's performance. The woman sang with her pipa in her arms, and her voice was very sweet.
Seeing that Li Zhi's eyes were straightened, Xu Mince smiled and said, "Brother Li, this is the daughter of a daughter from Yangzhou!"
"Qianjinji?"
“The old-timers and old-timers in the Goulan brothels in Yangzhou paid for the good-looking girls from poor families and taught them to play the piano and flute, recite poems and write calligraphy, draw and go, play Shuanglu, and play dominoes, and all kinds of obscene tricks.
When they grow up, they can be sold to wealthy families as concubines. The first-class ones with the most outstanding appearance can be sold for more than a thousand gold, and they are called Qianjin Concubines."
Li Zhi secretly clicked his tongue when he heard this, lamenting the development of the hook-and-rail industry in the Ming Dynasty. He also heard Xu Mince say: "Brother Li is rich now, why not also buy a rich girl as a concubine?"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "I have no such plan for the time being."
Xu Mince looked at Li Zhi, nodded, and stopped talking. After a while, his stomach became bloated after drinking, so he went to relieve himself.
As soon as Xu Mince left, someone immediately came up to trouble Li Zhi.
Seeing Xu Mince walking away, Lu Huarong, the owner of Xianjin Company who was sitting at the main table, came over and walked straight in front of Li Zhi.
"Are you Li Zhi?"
Li Zhi was stunned, wondering why Lu Huarong came to him. He remembered Xu Mince's comment about Lu Huarong just now, and felt wary. He nodded and replied: "It's me!"
Lu Huarong smiled and asked: "Are you in charge of the soap business in Tianjin City?"
"I did it."
Lu Huarong stared straight into Li Zhi's eyes and said fiercely: "Please give me a price and sell me the soap formula!"
It turned out to be a plot to create a soap recipe.
Hearing this, Li Zhi's heart tightened. He had just witnessed the power of the Ming Dynasty when the chief military officer went upstairs, and with Xu Mince's instructions these days, Li Zhi knew that he was helpless and had no strength to fight against these backgrounds.
Deep knowledge in government and business. The Tongzhi of the Qing Military Department in Tianjin was in charge of Tianjin's civil affairs. Lu Huarong was the younger brother of Tongzhi. If he tried to rob him by force, Li Zhi would be powerless to stop him.
The so-called asking Li Zhi to sell the formula at a price is just a rhetoric, and Li Zhi will not be given much money at all.
The other party came with bad intentions and had obviously planned it for a long time. Li Zhi secretly wondered if the people who were spying on the soap factory in the alleys these days were also sent by Lu Huarong?
Could it be that peeping was fruitless? Lu Huarong wanted to be more aggressive and asked for the formula directly from him.
Li Zhi kept a calm expression on his face, thinking about it in his mind, and suddenly had an idea and said: "I have shared the recipe for soap with Brother Xu Mince. If I sell it to you, I will discuss it with Brother Xu."
Li Zhi himself couldn't stop Lu Huarong, but Xu Mince obviously had the background and could stop him. Lu Huarong even chose the time to attack him when Xu Mince was not around, obviously because he was afraid of Xu Mince. Li Zhi felt anxious and
He said that he gave the formula to Xu Mince and used Xu Mince as a shield.
Hearing that Li Zhi used Xu Mince to criticize him, Lu Huarong stared hard at Li Zhi's eyes, as if he wanted to distinguish the truth from Li Zhi's words. Fortunately, Xu Mince valued Li Zhi before, and everyone saw it, but Lu Huarong was
Li Zhi deceived him. After looking at Li Zhi for a while, he snorted dubiously, said no more, turned around and walked back to the main table.
Obviously, Lu Huarong's coming to face Li Zhi today was also a test. Seeing that Xu Mince valued Li Zhi so much, he wanted to test the relationship between Li Zhi and Xu Mince.
Seeing Lu Huarong walking away, Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that it was very dangerous. With Xu Mince's name blocking him, Lu Huarong did not dare to do anything to him for a while.
Li Zhi secretly thought that the officials and businessmen of the Ming Dynasty were really sinister. The inventions and creations he made would not end up as wedding clothes for others. But Xu Mince was not bad at all. He dealt with him fairly and always reminded himself of himself.
While he was thinking about future countermeasures there, Xu Mince had already returned.
Wiping his hands with the towel on the table, Xu Mince said: "Brother, I admire Li Xiaodi for not being moved by his beauty right now. He is so focused, and given time, Li Xiaodi's business will definitely grow even bigger. I'm afraid it won't be possible.
Soon, Tianjin will have the ninth largest business house."
Li Zhi laughed and said: "Brother Xu is joking." After a pause, Li Zhi said: "How can Li Zhi do such a big business without any background? I'm afraid that someone else will eventually occupy the magpie's nest."
When Xu Mince heard this, he smiled and said, "Little brother Li, he's enlightened!"
Li Zhi looked at Xu Mince and thought to himself: How can I not realize it? Lu Huarong has come to visit me, how can I still not realize it? Each of these eight major business houses has a big backend, and I, a commoner, can't resist it.
Li Zhi bowed his hands to Xu Mince and said, "Brother Xu, please show me a clear path."
Xu Mince smiled and said calmly: "Brother Li, don't worry, Lu Huarong doesn't know your details, so he won't take action for a while."
It turned out that Xu Mince had noticed Lu Huarong's behavior, but he didn't say anything to him just now, and even made fun of him. Li Zhi had a new understanding of this official and merchant city.
Flicking his fingers on the table, Xu Mince said: "In a few days, you prepare a gift list, and I will take you to see my uncle!"
Li Zhi asked blankly: "Who is Brother Xu's uncle?"
Xu Mince smiled and said lightly: "Governor of Tianjin congratulates Shishou."
Li Zhi was stunned and realized that Xu Mince's backstage was the toughest. The governor was the head of the local civil and military officials. No wonder Xu Mince didn't take the other seven businesses seriously and went to the deputy table to sit with him.
Together.
Xu Mince's so-called gift list was implicit. In fact, he was asking himself to prepare money to give money.
Li Zhi gritted his teeth, walked up to Xu Mince and asked in a low voice: "Brother Xu, is one thousand taels enough?"
Nowadays, Li Zhi's soap industry makes more than 3,000 taels a month, so it is still affordable to send a thousand taels to the governor.
Xu Mince nodded with a smile and said: "This is the first time we met, it's barely enough."
Li Zhi smacked his tongue, gritted his teeth and said, "To leave a good impression on the governor, I'll prepare two thousand taels!"
