Carrying the book, Wei He continued walking towards the cloth shop. Not long after, he saw a wine shop on the roadside.
However, there was no smell of wine at the door of the winery. Instead, there was a strong smell of tea.
Even at this time of year, the wine shop was filled with the sounds of bragging and talking.
Wei He paused, walked over, opened the door curtain, and entered the wine shop.
There were about ten people sitting sparsely in the square, most of them dressed fairly neatly.
Most of the people who can still maintain their dignity in this world and still come to drink tea are people with some family background.
In the corner of the wall, three thin and unkempt men were squatting. A wooden sign was placed in front of the three of them, with the words "Sell yourself to bury your father, sell your body to bury your mother, sell your body to bury your brother."
The three of them lined up in a row, it was extremely desolate, but Wei He didn't know why and was speechless.
He walked to an empty table with his book and sat down.
Immediately, a girl came forward, poured him water, and carefully said the price.
Different teas have different prices. There is no trading of cereals and noodles here, but relief cards from the city gang.
"Tongcheng Gang relief card?" Wei He was surprised, "What is that?"
"My guest didn't know that the Tongcheng Gang leader, his old man, took pity on the hard life of everyone, so he distributed batches of relief.
This relief card is used to receive relief food. A relief card can be exchanged for a certain amount of cereals and noodles."
The girl explained skillfully, and it seemed that she had said it countless times.
Relief card?
Would Tongcheng Gang, one of the three gangs and two factions, be so kind?
Wei He didn't believe it. Nothing in this world was good for no reason. There must be a conspiracy behind it.
"If the guest doesn't have a relief card, he can also pay with inner city golden beans." the girl reminded.
Jindouweihe does exist.
He has killed a lot of bandits recently, and what he robbed the most of in his money bag is these kind of golden beans, which are actually just copper horns mixed with gold.
Ten of these can be exchanged for one gold leaf, and ten gold leaves can be exchanged for one tael of gold. It is the simplest currency in the inner city.
The inner city's ability to maintain stable prices today is entirely due to the stability of the Seven Alliances.
I just don’t know how long these seven alliances can last.
Wei He sighed in his heart, ordered a pot of buckwheat tea, put it on the table, and drank it quietly. As for the price, it was only one golden bean, so there was still more.
The store gave him an extra plate of peanuts.
The peanuts had a bit of a musty smell, but a pot of buckwheat tea was filled with buckwheat and multigrain rice. You could still eat it after drinking the water.
Wei He sat down peacefully, intending to listen carefully to the current situation in the city. Places such as wine shops and teahouses were a good place for chatting and bragging, and were naturally gathering places for information circulation.
Generally, people who can come to such a place are independent people who have nothing to worry about and have nothing to do. Such people often have a lot of time to squander. Since the family has no worries about food and clothing, it is naturally not an ordinary family. They all have a certain amount of wealth and wealth.
foot.
In this way, the news will naturally be well-informed.
Once these people have something interesting or strange, they will often come here to publicize it and share it with their friends. In this way, they can become the focus of everyone's attention and gain status vanity and satisfaction.
The gathering of these people also further attracted people who were engaged in their business, such as storytellers, charlatan singers, music sellers, etc.
There are more entertainment methods, which further attracts more popularity.
And these storytellers and the like, because they travel far and wide, can further bring more news and information that is uncertain whether it is true or false.
This is the kind of channel Wei He wants. Anyway, now that he is behind Shipi, without the supervision and supervision of Master Zheng, he has a lot of free time. It is also necessary to spend a day investigating the situation.
........
........
........
Yonghe Escort Agency.
In a somewhat desolate stone square.
Several big bodyguards and the main men of the Cheng family were all present. There were also many bodyguards who came from various branches of the town.
Dozens and hundreds of people gathered together, the crowd was full of heads, all waiting for news.
Cheng Shaojiu also stood at the forefront of the men of the Cheng family, quietly waiting for the news.
Waiting for news from the chief escort chief Cheng Zhengxing.
Not long after, Cheng Zhengxing came in from outside the square together with several escorts.
With a stiff face and without saying a word, he walked all the way towards the highest wooden speaking platform.
The surrounding escorts all took the initiative to make way for him.
Not long after, when Cheng Zhengxing walked up to Cheng Shaojiu, he paused, glanced at his nephew, and wanted to say something.
But he still didn't speak and continued to walk towards the high platform.
On the high platform.
Soon Cheng Zhengxing walked up step by step, stood at the highest point, and stared down at everyone.
Everyone also focused on him.
The atmosphere that had been very quiet just now was even quieter now, even a little scary.
Everyone held their breath slightly, waiting for the final news to arrive.
Cheng Zhengxing looked around and saw that this large escort team was created by his own hands and feet, and he spent decades working hard.
And now...
He opened his mouth and wanted to speak.
But the sun was so hot that he actually started to sweat.
He felt a tightness in his chest. He took several deep breaths, but it failed to relieve it. Instead, it became more and more stuffy.
Recently, he has been staying up late continuously and running around here and there just to maintain the vitality of the escort agency.
And this last single dart was all he needed to make a comeback.
He pushed everything up.
but....
Cheng Zhengxing's heart felt cold. It was such a hot day, but he felt chilly all over.
He shook his hand hard, but there was no warmth in his palm.
"I......"
He finally opened his mouth.
Everyone is staring at him.
Everyone is waiting for him.
Cheng Zhengxing opened his mouth again.
"I...let everyone..."
He suddenly felt dizzy in front of his eyes, his ears were suddenly covered, as if they were blocked by something, and he suddenly couldn't hear anything.
The body leaned back involuntarily.
Plop.
He doesn't know anything anymore.
The Cheng family is about to collapse.
The news spread like a storm quickly through the escorts who had settled and left.
The escorts are all waiting to see if this last escort can save everything.
But unfortunately, this escort trip was over and was robbed.
Cheng Zhengxing, the chief escort officer who had high hopes, fell completely ill and fainted on the spot.
Because the escort was lost, Yonghe Escort Agency had to pay a huge amount of compensation.
And Cheng Zhengxing fell into a coma and fell ill, leaving no one in the escort agency to take on the overall situation. Previously, it was almost impossible to pay the salaries of the escorts. Now that the chief escort has fallen, the escorts who were originally gathered can no longer bear it.
Some old escorts value their feelings and have enough food at home, so they reluctantly stay and wait for the situation.
But most of the young escorts are mobile, and they quickly leave to find other jobs.
In just one day, the escort bureau quickly became sparsely populated. With the help of the two escort chiefs, Cheng Shaojiu liquidated all the food assets in his family.
But he was shocked to find that there was still a little less than enough to cover the value of the escort trip.
"According to the double compensation rule...at least seven hundred taels of gold are still missing..."
Cheng Shaojiu's wife, Cheng Zhang, who was born as a bookkeeper, said in a low voice with a frown.
"Seven hundred taels..." Cheng Shaojiu gritted his teeth and looked at the boxes of supplies, grain and meat in front of him.
On a normal day, seven hundred taels of gold would be no more or less, but his escort agency had a big business, so he could still afford it.
But now...
The uncle fell ill and fell into a coma, so everyone in the family raised their own money, including the strong support of several big bodyguards.
But still short of 700 taels of gold...
Who can he borrow the money from?
Who around here can get this money?
Cheng Shaojiu was confused, and at the same time it was like a mountain weighing heavily on his heart.
"Young Master Escort Chief..." Chief Escort Officer Cheng Kai hesitated to speak, but considering the shortfall of seven hundred taels of gold, there was no way he could make up so much.
"They want us to give an answer within these two days, otherwise we will use the breeding method of silver-nosed black snakes to pay for the price." His wife Cheng Zhang's voice echoed in Cheng Shaojiu's ears.
He gritted his teeth and had no idea how he went back to his room to rest.
The next day, he was confused and said that he was going to think of a solution, changed his clothes, and headed back to the Shanquan Academy.
When he arrived in the yard, he stood blankly in his corner, looking at the iron sand basin where the charcoal fire was rising, motionless.
The fellow disciples around him who were usually brothers to him did not say a word and did not come over to greet him.
As for Xiao Ran, Jiang Yan and Jiang Su, they have gradually become distant from him and don't like him very much.
He looked up and knew that everyone should know about the escort agency.
"Brother Cheng."
Suddenly Wei He's figure approached him.
"I heard something happened at the escort agency yesterday. If you need any help, just ask."
Cheng Shaojiu had a close relationship with him, and he was also affiliated with the Yonghe Escort Agency. Now that the Escort Agency had a problem, he was worried that Cheng Shaojiu wouldn't be able to cope with it, so he hurriedly came over to ask about the situation.
Cheng Shaojiu looked up at Wei He.
He opened his mouth to ask about money, but suddenly his heart smiled bitterly.
That's 700 taels of gold... He knew very well how little income Junior Brother Wei He had, which added up to only 40 taels of gold in a month.
Where can I get so much money?
When the words came to his lips, Cheng Shao was silent for a while, then took them back with a smile on his face.
"It's okay, I can handle it. Don't worry, Xiaohe."
Rather than speaking out and making Wei He worry, it's better to be alone and bored.
After all, this is a matter of the Cheng family and has nothing to do with Wei He.
Even if he said it, Wei He could do nothing but worry. In this case, it would be better not to say it.
"Don't worry." Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He on the shoulder again and said with a smile.
"If you need any help, just say it, you and my brother, I am also Cheng He's godfather. Don't be alone." Wei He said solemnly.
He has been robbing people recently, and has gained quite a lot. In addition, his income has not been used much, but he has saved a total of more than fifteen thousand gold tickets, and he is thinking to see if he can help.
"I know, don't worry." Cheng Shaojiu heard him say this. The more he said this, the more he didn't want to drag Wei He down.
You should handle your own family affairs by yourself, how can you drag down your brothers?
"It's just that this month's salary has been suspended." Cheng Shaojiu said with a bitter smile.
"That's okay. Let's deal with your important matters first." Wei He nodded.
Seeing that Cheng Shaojiu seemed to be fine, he gradually felt relieved.
"Are you really okay?"
"It's really no problem." Cheng Shaojiu showed a bright smile.
He knew that people around him were watching him, and at this time, he couldn't show any fear or panic.
Now that the uncle has fallen, if even he shows his cowardice and reveals his true identity, those former enemies of the Cheng family will not look at him in a daze.
They will be like hungry wolves, taking advantage of the Cheng family's weakness, pounce on him from all sides and bite his flesh!