Cui Jiuming held a tea cup and sat across from Su Ren under the mulberry tree in Su Mansion, tasting the new tea just delivered from Laojun Temple. It tasted mellow and made him feel refreshed after drinking it. He closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a long time, with a smile on his face.
"I heard that you are planning to seek the title of Captain of the Chengdu School? What's the matter? Has the Governor agreed?"
Cui Jiuming's question was very simple, but it hit the point directly. The prefect of a county is considered the emperor of the country. Shu County is also a remote small county with high mountains and far away from the emperor. As long as Wen Dang says a word, let alone the school captain, he will not succeed Meng Ji as the chief historian.
That said. But Wen Dang is a literati, and one of the problems of literati is to save face. As a student of Wen Dang, if someone objected to Su Ren, given the character of Wen Dang literati, he really would not appoint Su Ren as the school captain.
Su Ren didn't speak. Cui Jiuming leaned his head over and said mysteriously: "If you really have this idea, I can help you!"
"Oh?" Su Ren smiled: "Your family still has contact with the military?"
Cui Jiuming chuckled: "As a businessman, you have connections in all aspects. Let alone Shu County, even in the court, as long as you are willing, it doesn't matter if I recommend you an official position. Isn't it just a matter of money? Are you still short of money?"
Su Ren shook his head: "There is no shortage of money. I am just curious, how much hidden strength does your Cui family have?"
"Hahaha..." Cui Jiuming was very proud. He sat back in his seat and leaned back comfortably: "Don't worry, now you and I are one, and I have no intention of harming you yet!"
"Currently?" Su Ren said in surprise: "So there is no guarantee in the future? When I have no use value, you will kick me away?"
Cui Jiu nodded triumphantly: "You and I are both businessmen, so you should understand!"
"Go, go, go away. You are not allowed to come to my house again. I will never be friends with you, a black-hearted businessman!"
Cui Jiuming laughed louder, but his fat body did not move: "No kidding, how much do you want to be a captain?"
Su Ren took a deep breath and let it out for a long time: "Speaking of which, I'm really not very interested. I asked the prefect for this official position just to see how many people in Chengdu would be against me and our Sichuan Chamber of Commerce.
Now that you've seen it clearly, it doesn't matter whether you become a captain or not."
Cui Jiuming thought for a while, nodded and said: "That's right, you won't take a small captain in your eyes. Besides, if you become this captain, you will be Tang Meng's subordinate, and you will not talk to Tang Meng anymore.
I feel uncomfortable now, but it’s best to be like this now! By the way, you have resigned, so Bing Cao doesn’t want you anymore?”
"Haha, what do you think?"
"This is not good. It doesn't matter if you don't want the captain. The soldiers are different. The captain leads the troops. The soldiers are responsible for the supply of food and grass. If you continue to be the soldier, the food, drink and diarrhea of the soldiers in Shu County will not matter to the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce.
It’s a good business!”
"Hey! You are indeed a businessman, but you only saw one and not the other!" Su Ren looked at Cui Jiuming: "This is why the prefect asked me to be a soldier, but he is exactly the opposite of what you think.
In the eyes of the prefect, the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce can provide the cheapest and best things to the county soldiers. I heard you clearly, it is the cheapest!"
Cui Jiuming thought for a moment: "Oh, I almost ruined something big!" After saying that, he turned around and ran out. His fat body could be so light at times.
Su Ren was puzzled: "What's wrong?"
"It's okay!" Cui Jiuming waved as he ran: "I'll explain it to you when I've finished it!"
Cui Jiuming ran to the door and happened to see Sima Xiangru coming in. After the two hurriedly saluted, Cui Jiuming did not stay for a moment, got into his carriage and hurried towards the east of the city.
After Sima Xiangru heard the news about the incident in Chengdu, he returned to Chengdu. However, because the county soldiers were besieging the city and could not enter, he and Abang stayed outside the city to wait. They waited until Tang Meng put down the rebellion before rushing back to the Su Mansion.
Looking at Cui Jiuming's hurried back, Sima Xiangru chuckled, walked in and sat across from Su Ren. Huo Jin changed the tea bowl, added tea to Sima Xiangru, and went to the side to continue chatting with Huang Shisan. Today, Sima Xiangru no longer
As for the poor Confucian scholar, in the hearts of everyone around Su Ren, Sima Xiangru had already been regarded as an indispensable person, even slightly higher than Leng Jun's status.
Talking about the events of the past few days, Sima Xiangru was a little hesitant: "The chaos in Chengdu is still due to you, but I don't agree with you becoming a school captain or a soldier."
"Oh? Tell me what you think!" Su Ren was very happy to finally find a like-minded person. Since his resignation, Chengdu's rumors spread into the Su mansion, and everyone felt that Su Ren had gone too far this time.
Not only would he not be able to become a captain, but he might not even be able to become a military officer or a city magistrate.
Sima Xiangru smiled and said: "Although the captain is good, he is controlled by others and cannot leave the military camp at any time. This restricts his activities. As for the soldiers, it is even worse. Not to mention that the governor wants to rely on the power of the Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce to provide supplies.
If you, a soldier in Shu County, continue to serve as a soldier, the merchants in Shu County will eat you up."
"We Han people have a shortcoming, and it is a fatal shortcoming, and that is internal friction. Those people have always been the suppliers of the county soldiers. When the rebels besieged the city, the situation was urgent and they had nothing to say. Now that the crisis has been lifted, fighting with each other is inevitable.
They will definitely be more unscrupulous than the Meng family!"
Su Ren nodded, turned to Huo Jin and Huang Shisan and shouted: "Did you hear that, you short-sighted guys! Go tell the second brother and those guys who were nagging in my room last night and not letting me sleep.
They all come to listen to Mr. Sima!"
Hawking was stunned and looked at Huang Shisan: "Who prevented eldest brother from sleeping in his room last night?"
Huang Shisan shook his head repeatedly: "You were on duty last night, how could I know!"
Hawking chuckled and continued chatting with Huang Shisan without moving.
Sima Xiangru smiled: "You can't blame them. Who in the world doesn't like to be an official? Sir, you saved Chengdu from danger and made such a contribution. If you don't become an official, the court will not be able to explain it to the people of Chengdu. Although this is
I have only been serving as a soldier for more than ten days, but no one can take away your contribution. A few days ago, I also felt that as long as you have an official position, no matter what the official position is, it will be of great benefit to the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce."
"Then how did you change?"
"I'm ashamed to say that after my husband resigned, he recommended himself to the prefect as a school captain, but other merchants immediately attacked him. I began to think quietly, and after two days of thinking, I finally figured out the whole thing!" Sima Xiangru said.
Looking at Su Ren's smiling face: "Sir, you didn't intend to continue to be an official from the beginning, right?"
"Haha! It's not the same for you. If you don't do what the good county minister does, you insist on staying in this Su Mansion with me. In the eyes of others, there is something wrong with both of us!"
"Hahaha..." Sima Xiangru also laughed, picked up the teacup and touched Su Ren lightly: "Indeed, in the eyes of others, we are both fools! It is precisely because we are fools that we can drink tea and chat here!
"
After taking a sip of tea, Sima Xiangru felt relaxed all over. He stood up and looked up at the mulberry tree. The mulberry tree was growing lush and green. The few silkworms raised by Leng Yue and Huo Zhilan had not even eaten half of the leaves of the big mulberry tree. It was the beginning of autumn.
The big mulberry tree is getting greener. Looking around, in the small courtyard of Su Mansion, except for this mulberry tree, there are not even bamboos or orchids, which are unique plants in Sichuan. The yard has been swept clean, and there is no trace on the ground.
Weeds make people feel a little barren.
Both of them were smart people. It was enough to understand many things and there was no need to go into further discussions. While drinking tea, they chatted about insignificant things and sometimes joked with Hawking and Huang Shisan, which made the four of them happy.
Leng Jun frowned, walked in and rolled his eyes at Su Ren: "Someone told me just now that you were looking for the person who kept you awake last night? I'm here now, what do you want to do?"
Su Ren was stunned, and looked at each other with Sima Xiangru. They both laughed at the same time. Huo Jin quickly pulled Leng Jun aside and told Leng Jun what Sima Xiangru had said. Leng Jun's expression softened a little and he looked at him solemnly.
Su Ren: "Really? Is this really the case?"
"Then what do you think? If I want to be an official, this Chengdu captain will not even look at me. I will go to Chang'an now. By the end of the year, not to mention the three officials and nine ministers, any official worth two thousand dan will never be able to escape."
"Hmph! Don't exaggerate too much. The prefect only has two thousand dan! Compared with two thousand dan, he is almost the same as Chang Shi! Do you have this ability?"
"Want to make a bet?"
"What to bet on? What if..."
"Slowly!" Before Leng Jun finished speaking, Sima Xiangru hurriedly interrupted: "You two, how can you bet on such a thing? Let alone winning or losing, we can't go to Chang'an at the moment. The Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce has just
Established, defeating Meng Ji is a small victory. Don't forget, there are thousands of merchants in Shu. If we don't convince these people, I'm afraid we haven't reached Chang'an yet. The Sichuan Chamber of Commerce has worked hard to establish
It’s time to break up! It’s better to think about the present moment!”
Leng Jun looked at the evil smile on Su Ren's face and felt angry. For some reason, the more he looked at Su Ren, the more unpleasant he became. Ever since he felt that he couldn't see Su Ren clearly, Leng Jun's mood had become very bad. Back then,
Is the guy who caused trouble with him in Wenshui County still the same person in front of him? Leng Jun was a little suspicious.
He rolled his eyes and walked away coldly. Su Ren sighed: "I have to find time to talk to this guy!"
Cui Jiuming's departure and return surprised Su Ren. When he entered, his face was covered with sweat. He took off his outer robe and was only wearing a silk middle coat. Fortunately, Su Ren didn't have any female relatives in his family. Leng Yue and Huo
Zhilan is also a child. If Cui Jiuming goes to someone else's house like this, he will be beaten out.
I held the teapot and drank it hard for a while, without tasting the new tea at all. After I was full, I sat down in the chair and said, "Oh! I'm so exhausted!"
Su Ren wondered: "I hurried out just now, why did I come back in a blink of an eye? What happened?"
Cui Jiuming laughed helplessly: "Forget it, I almost wasted 50,000 yuan!"
"Ah!" Hawking said in surprise: "I said Shopkeeper Cui, you are so stingy about one thing, how could you waste fifty thousand dollars?" (To be continued)