Old things in Nancheng

There is a huge garden in Xingyuan City, named Qin Yayuan.Most of the buildings in the garden imitate the pavilions and pavilions in the Jiangnan water town, such as bamboo pavilions, lotus leaves, black tiles and blue bricks. They are extremely elegant and are highly sought after by civil officials.

The garden is elegantly built, and the programs in the garden are also varied. There are singing and dancing, there are waterside pavilions and cups, wine orders are issued, and literati sing and lie drunk. The beautiful maid she fell in love with went into the private room to "change clothes". Although she was doing a brothel-like business, she didn't have the vulgarity of a brothel.

Qin Yayuan has been opened in Xingyuan City for many years, and everyone knows it, but if you ask who is the owner of Qin Yayuan, from high-ranking officials and dignitaries to Li people, no one can tell who is ugly and Yinmao, only rumors are that it is a Jiangnan wealthy businessman.

Wang Zimo followed Zhao Xian, walked leisurely into the garden, and strolled along the narrow path. The green bamboos on both sides swayed gently with the wind, scattering the snowflakes on the leaves into the air. Far seems near, like a shadow like an illusion.

I looked up, but was dazzled by the cold snowflakes, turned a corner, and suddenly saw a lotus pond in front of the bamboo forest. In this severe winter and the twelfth lunar month, the lotus blooms so brilliantly, it is amazing, that flower heart On top of it, there are twinkling lights, dancing with the wind, reflecting hazy stars on the surface of the pool.

In front of the lotus pond, there is a small hollowed-out pavilion next to the pond, with a light gauze on it, and you can vaguely see a lot of women in seductive clothes. The melodious Wudi singing just now came from there. of.

"Just this lotus waterside pavilion is a miracle." Wang Zimo couldn't help admiring.

"What's so good about it, the good stuff is inside!" Zhao Xian laughed at Wang Zimo's ignorance of the world, pulled off the arty fan, and fanned it carelessly, not feeling the cold.

Wang Zimo pursed his lips, and unfolded the ivory ink painting fan with gilded borders in his hand. Following Zhao Xian's example, he followed the young man who led the way.

Walking to the outside of a large courtyard, there were already loud shouts from the courtyard, and the howling of ghosts and wolves came one after another, which actually overwhelmed the martial arts scene on the stage.Only when Prince Mo stepped into the courtyard did he realize why there was such an inconsistency.

This is a theater building, with the stage on the second floor at the front, and the stands on the other three places. The grand lord and other prominent civil officials sit on the attic opposite the stage. Most of the generals in the army sit on the left side of the stage, and the country gentry and rich men sit on the right side. gathering place.Wang Zimo's eyesight was very good, after looking around for a week, he found that the civil servants such as the Grand Master were ashen-faced, while the generals were yelling loudly, and those wealthy businessmen looked like they were enjoying the show.

As soon as Zhao Xian entered the door, many people from the rich man's side came to pay respects, and kept winking. Zhao Xian looked like a dude, but in fact he was extremely sophisticated. After saluting their heads, they followed the rich merchants into the right building.

As soon as Zhao Xian passed by, everyone in the building on the right stood up and bowed their hands to salute, only a few veterans did not stand up, Wang Zimo is now considered a newcomer in the business circle of Xingyuan Mansion, knows many insiders, and many people congratulate her new year.

"Bai Weng, you old green pine will not change."

"Brother Liang, congratulations to Xinxi."

"Uncle Yang, during the Lantern Festival, my boy wishes you a happy family reunion."

Wang Zimo walked in the crowd calmly, with a neither humble nor overbearing attitude, with a warm smile on his face, and his unique friendly temperament, which made everyone feel good about him.

Sitting in Zhao's seat with Zhao Xian, shopkeeper Zhang of Caishengzhuang led several people over.

"Master, why are you here?" Shopkeeper Zhang asked suspiciously, didn't he mean that he didn't want to be ashamed in front of the nobles in the city?

"Didn't you meet Mr. Zhao at the Lantern Festival and be kidnapped by him?" Wang Zimo said playfully.

"Wanfu, Mr. Zhao, look at him, he is more energetic than before." Shopkeeper Zhang is also a wonderful person, and he will come as soon as he opens his mouth.

"You old bastard, who in the whole city doesn't know that there are two liars in Caishengzhuang, one is you, the old liar, and the other is the little liar sitting next to me. I just flew into your pockets by myself." A layman like Guan Ying may not understand business, but a successful businessman like Zhao Xian, even if he has never read the account books of Caishengzhuang, can estimate the approximate figure.

"Third Master is wrong. The old man is an old liar, but my young master is the most honest person. The first time I saw you, I thought you were dear. I just introduced you to the good rice grain business." Well, I don’t even want commissions from other people, the old man told my young master that this is not how business is done, guess what she said?” Shopkeeper Zhang said emotionally.

"What did my brother say?" Zhao Xian couldn't help asking, obviously attracted by shopkeeper Zhang.

"My young master said that she has an elder brother at home, but it's a pity that she doesn't kiss you. When she saw you, she felt like old friends at first sight. She just felt that she had to say something from the bottom of her heart to feel at ease. Since she is an elder brother, why bother, we are They make silk and satin, but they don’t make rice grains, and the fat and water don’t flow to outsiders’ fields. If you don’t introduce them to the third master, who can you introduce them to?” Shopkeeper Zhang said in a very sincere tone pretending to be Wang Zimo, and then turned his head and sighed at Zhao Xian Said: "Third Master, tell me, how does my young master treat you, has he ever lied to you?"

"My virtuous brother and I are like brothers. It was just a joke just now. You don't have to protect her so tightly, you old bastard. She will never suffer if she follows me." Zhao Xian didn't care whether Zhang Zhang's words were true or not, anyway, listen Just feel comfortable.

"The old man thanked the third master for taking care of my young master." Shopkeeper Zhang bent over and said.

"Don't thank me in advance, but my brother said that I want to use the good silk from your farm to honor her sisters-in-law. Don't give me inferior goods, you old man."

"Then how can it be, the third master just ask the steward to come and get it. I will definitely not let the wives down."

After shopkeeper Zhang finished speaking, he exchanged glances with Wang Zimo, left two servants for her to use, then went back to his seat in Caishengzhuang, and chatted with other shopkeepers.

Wang Zimo watched Zhao Xian talking to shopkeeper Zhang, but kept silent. The seemingly joking words contained a lot of information. His bright eyes flashed with thought, and the performance of the two veterans touched her very much.

Shopkeeper Zhang is Wang Zimo's most capable and trusted subordinate, and the two servants left behind are naturally Wang Zimo's confidantes.The shares in Caishengzhuang are divided among six people. The official management doesn't care about anything and only takes money, and the other four shopkeepers and shopkeeper Zhang are in charge of the operation. Wang Zimo is in charge of the overall situation. Except for the shopkeeper of Jiang's family who is quite polite, the shopkeepers of the other three families often behave in a positive way.

Wang Zimo has always been quiet in his work, and he doesn't care about those shopkeepers. He slowly expands his power secretly, and Zhang Zhang, a respectable figure in the Xingyuan Mansion, tries his best to help. How can I fight against shopkeeper Zhang.

Don't look at shopkeeper Zhang as a scholar, but he never looks up to the integrity of a gentleman. If a businessman is upright, how can the business survive, and Wang Zimo has no worries about this, she only cares about Caishengzhuang Whether his business is good or bad, how much he controls Caisheng Zhuang, and making friends with high-ranking officials and dignitaries, he seeks good opportunities to go out of the city.

In one transaction, Wang Zimo and shopkeeper Zhang tripped those shopkeepers and delayed the cargo ship from Jiangnan, making it impossible for those shopkeepers to deliver goods to the merchants on time, and Caishengzhuang was facing a crisis of compensation.At this time, Wang Zimo suddenly appeared as a hero and borrowed goods from other silk and satin houses. Those silk and satin houses had already negotiated secretly with shopkeeper Zhang, and Zhang promised them a large sum of money. In the face of a crisis, he took the opportunity to seize the power of Caishengzhuang.The most exciting thing here is that the money promised by shopkeeper Zhang was obtained by Wang Zimo's fraudulent accounts.

This time, shopkeeper Zhang led the incident, and Wang Zimo assisted from the side. She participated in the whole process, and the twists and turns inside really opened her eyes.There is a saying in later generations that true knowledge comes from practice. Although Wang Zimo has a theoretical foundation, he has never planned a business war. This lesson from shopkeeper Zhang let her know that shopping malls are battlefields without gunpowder. Many times, if such battles are lost, , will also be ruined.

Now, except for the few shopkeepers and the buddies brought from hometown, everyone in Caishengzhuang listens to Wang Zimo and shopkeeper Zhang, and outside, Wang Zimo is also very respectable, not only can he make friends with a high-class man like Zhao Xian The characters also have friendship with many people in the business community of Xingyuan Mansion. Of course, those old men who sit in the yamen look down on lowly businessmen. Wang Zimo has not been able to catch their eyes so far. Even Zhao Xian does not want to see them. will be able to see.

The two young servants were handsome and clever, one took off her cap and wide coat, the other made her the usual Longjing tea, washed her face with a pot of hot water, and handed her a warm hand stove, calling The guys in the building ordered Jiangnan snacks that Wang Zimo loves. Zhao Xian clicked his tongue "tsk tsk" when he saw it, and asked, "My dear brother, how did you become a servant? Why do you look bigger than my family?" Is the servant girl still capable?"

"Rules." Wang Zimo said flatly, drinking hot tea to warm up his body.

"You southerners just have a lot of bullshit rules." Zhao Xian said sourly with his mouth curled up.

"If the third master likes it, how about my younger brother giving these two to you?" Wang Zimo asked after hearing Zhao Xian's awkward words.

When Zhao Xian heard this, he was in the middle of his heart, and just about to say thank you, who would have thought that the two young servants knelt down on their knees, kowtowed and said: "Master, if you make a mistake, just beat and scold me. Don't give away the little ones."

Wang Zimo looked at it, and couldn't help laughing: "What are you thinking about, the third master is interested in the cleverness of you two, and following the third master, eating hot and drinking hot food, is no worse than following me to suffer. This is a great blessing. "

"Master, you..." The two showed reluctant eyes.

"A gentleman doesn't take what others like. These two are so loyal, it can be seen that they are close friends of a good brother. As a brother, I don't want to do things that go against people's hearts." Zhao Xian said dully.

"Third Master's words are wrong. These two are indeed loyal people, but they regard their younger brother as their master. If they follow Third Master, they will definitely be loyal to Third Master." Wang Zimo asked with a sullen face, " The third master loves you, but you two don't know what is good or bad, let me ask you, are you willing to go with the third master?"

The two young servants looked at each other, then kowtowed to Zhao Xian and said: "I am willing, I will be born as the third master's man in the future, and die as the third master's ghost, I dare not have second thoughts."

"You..." Zhao Xian was amused by the words of the two young servants, and said to Wang Zimo: "From now on, the errand of taking care of my elder brother and me will fall on my virtuous younger brother."

"Dare to obey."

In order to fulfill the friendship between master and servant, Zhao Xian ordered the two young servants to serve Wang Zimo tonight. Where Zhao Xian could not see, Wang Zimo glanced at the young servant without a trace, and the two men nodded with firm eyes.

These are the people that Wang Zimo cultivated. Most of them are clever children from the poorest families. Wang Zimo rewarded their whole family with enough food, so they sold their lives to Wang Zimo.

Zhao Xian's seat is in the wing room on the second floor of the right building. Once the door is opened, he can see the left floor of the main stage building thoroughly. Wang Zimo is drinking tea, squinting at the left building, and finds that the atmosphere there is already very lively. It is more interesting than the drama on stage.

The generals usually look majestic and solemn, but now they are gambling with their chests open and their sleeves up. The shouts shook the entire theater building, while the civil servants above the main building turned greener and bluer, trying their best to suppress their hearts dissatisfaction.

In the Song Dynasty, civil officials were more expensive than military officials, and military officials of the third rank were not as respectable as civil officials of the fifth rank, but in Xingyuan Mansion, things were a little different.Years of wars, civil servants have to rely on military generals to defend the city, and the generals, the murderous gods, are in charge. In the Chengdu Mansion not far away, there is Marshal Wu Jie Wu watching, so the civil servants of Xingyuan Mansion are not confident enough, and they cannot be like the civil servants of the imperial court. Show off your might.

There is a drama on stage, and there is drama off the stage, Wang Zimo and Zhao Xian watched with great interest, suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs, a group of guys led a graceful woman with a veil, and many people were shocked by this Fascinated by this scene, even the generals who had thrown themselves into the fiery gambling game stopped shouting.

I saw the woman walking gracefully in lotus steps, twisting her waist and swinging her hips, swinging the soft silk into a graceful arc, and slowly walked up the right building.

This time, even Wang Zimo and Zhao Xian were surprised. Who would have thought that a female prisoner would be so flirtatious after she had carefully groomed herself.