Go back to ancient times to engage in sideline business

"Don't, don't, don't..." Tang Zhong laughed dryly, and took a small step back imperceptibly while refusing.

As long as things can be solved with the brain, there is no need to rise to the height of fisting.

Besides, he still doesn't know the details of this old man, if he is a hot-tempered guy who goes in and out with red knives as soon as he comes up, then he and the three younger ones in the family can't follow him in?

"Let's chat for a while, don't rush to do it!"

The river breeze was blowing, the reeds were rustling, the cold light of the white blade was so dazzling in the sun, Tang Zhong turned his throat up and down, and swallowed.

"Well..."

The little old man flipped his wrist, and retracted the dagger back to his waist with his backhand. His movements were as swift as the wind, and he didn't even move his eyes.

Tang Zhong couldn't help but worry that one day he would poke his lower back when retracting the dagger.

"This is not a place to talk, follow me."

Almost without any intention of discussing with him, the little old man boarded a canopy boat by the water, Tang Zhong followed behind and sat down in the canopy at the stern of the boat.

The long pole enters the water, and the light boat drifts down the river like a reed leaf.

After coming to Qingjiang County for so long, it was Tang Zhong's first time to set foot on the river, and he felt somewhat uneasy.

Not long after, the canopy boat left the wide waters outside Qingjiang County, the riverbanks on both banks gradually transformed into rolling hills, and the water flow gradually became turbulent.

"Where are we going?"

"You will know when you arrive!"

The current is rolling, the mountains on both sides of the bank are getting steeper, and the boat is getting more and more bumpy.

Tang Zhong clutched the crossbar under his seat uneasily, feeling that the surface of the river was like tumbling boiling water.And I am the glutinous rice balls that are rolling up and down.

When people are in a tense mood, they often feel that time passes slowly, which is the case for Tang Zhong who is sitting in the fishing boat with awning at the moment.

After a long time, after turning into a branch channel, the boat went upstream and finally stopped at a wild crossing.

Tang Zhong felt that this voyage should take about an hour.But after getting off the boat and landing on the shore, I looked up and saw that the sun had not yet set in the sky.

His gaze fell slowly, and he scanned the surrounding towering peaks one by one, only then did he see clearly that he was in a canyon with high mountains and dense forests.

"Are you there?"

"You will know when you arrive!"

The old man still said the same thing, but Tang Zhong became more and more nervous.

It's so mysterious, maybe it's on a pirate ship, right?

But the matter has come to this point, if we don't continue to follow, is there any other way?

He has to go back by water, and he doesn't know how to row a boat at all.

Besides, Uncle Chen, I'm afraid he will come to the gate of the city to look for him this afternoon.

The old man moved swiftly, and walked quickly on a nearly vertical path while speaking.Tang Zhong used both hands and feet, and hurried to follow.

After about a stick of incense, people finally appeared at the end of the winding mountain road.

Unexpectedly, in this canyon with extremely inconvenient traffic, there is actually a village hidden.

It really feels like a paradise.

"Ninth Master!"

"You're back, Master Jiu!"

The two men came out of the village in a hurry, and when they met them, they both nodded to the old man.

It can't be seen that he is still a person with identity.

But judging from the appearance of these people, they all looked very kind, not like some water bandits, Tang Zhong's mood gradually calmed down.

The village in front of me looks no different from other places. The houses with brick and wood structure are built against the mountains, the valley is full of water vapor, and many green ferns grow on the roofs of every house.

It's just that the smell in the air is a little different, like the salty smell of the sea.

There was a huge grinding wheel at the door of a house in front. Two women, one old and one young, were busy grinding soybean milk, while the man next to him just leaned on the door and dozed off without any help.

Really lucky!

Tang Zhong couldn't help being envious of this man's supreme family status.

Looking around at other houses in the village, it seems that most of the workers are women, and occasionally one or two men pass by.But they were all in a hurry like the two people they met at the gate of the village.

The clothes of the men were the same as those of the old man, with their cuffs and trouser legs tied up with bandages, and they looked much more capable than ordinary farmers.

Tang Zhong only regarded it as an alternative dressing habit in the fishing village, and followed the old man into a room without thinking too much about it.

"Sit anywhere……"

The old man made a gesture of invitation, and Tang Zhong immediately picked up a bench beside the square table and sat down.

The furnishings in the house are similar to those of ordinary farmers' homes, except that the sickles and other agricultural tools hanging on the wall are not very bright, as if they have not been used for a long time.

After traveling for a long time, Tang Zhong's throat had already turned into dry land with crusts. When he saw the old man bring a bowl of tea, he got up and thanked him repeatedly. He took the tea bowl in his hand and drank it.

The old man punted and climbed the mountain all the way, but he was not out of breath at this moment, and said in a calm tone: "Don't you want to know my details? Let me tell you now, this village has no name, and even the county does not know it. "

Tang Zhong's hand holding the bowl froze, and before he could ask any questions, he heard the old man say something even more terrifying to him.

"Because we live in seclusion and traffic in private salt."

Tang Zhong was so choked that a mouthful of tea spewed out far away.

Mother!It's not fun to say!

"You guys, aren't you fishing?"

The old man was noncommittal: "Casting nets in the first half of the night, transporting salt in the second half of the night, and fishing in the early morning."

No wonder the fishermen by the river, and many men in the village, were sleepy in broad daylight!

Tang Zhong was very frightened, he must know that the crime of selling illegal salt is not small, if he is caught by the government, he will go to prison directly, no kidding!

After a brief astonishment, Tang Zhong remembered that the most worrying thing right now was his own situation!

He stroked his forehead, and said in an almost resentful tone, "Why are you telling me these things!"

From ancient times to the present, there are no private salt dealers who hide and hide. It's good for this ninth master to reveal his family background to him clearly.

With the other party's secret in his heart, can he go back to Qingjiang County without hesitation?

"When I walked around the rivers and lakes in Shanjiu, I always put faith first. The Qi family was kind to me in the early years. Since you are a friend of the Qi family and a guest of Shan, you should treat each other honestly. The Qi family trusts you, so I naturally I can also believe it!"

Shan Jiuye said it frankly, with a free and easy way to travel around, which made Tang Zhong feel petty.

That being the case, he had nothing to hide, so he told the truth about his identity as the city gate guard, and explained the whole story of Chen Yuanbao's forcing him to submit.

As expected of Shan Jiuye who ventured into the rivers and lakes, he didn't even lift his eyelids after hearing this.

Seeing Tang Zhong coming to ask for help with Qi's jade pendant, he thought something terrible happened.That's why he was brought into the village to prevent any accidents outside the city.

But I never thought about it, it was just being blackmailed.

What's so embarrassing about this?

Tonight, I brought people to Fengguan Town, tied up the coffin shop owner and his assistants, and transported them directly to the stockade to lock them up.

If you are really worried, you can take it with you when you go to the boat dealer's salt, and just throw it away in any deserted seaside village.

"Impossible!" After listening to Shan Jiuye, Tang Zhong immediately stopped his dangerous idea.

"Trafficking in private salt and going to prison can be presumed to be forced by life. But kidnapping and imprisonment in this way, and kidnapping people, if not done well, people will die. What is the difference between doing this? I have three children in my family! "

Shan Jiuye: Huh?

Tang Zhong knew that he had made a slip of the tongue, so he quickly changed his explanation: "What I mean is that instead of solving the immediate problem, it caused even greater trouble. Chen Yuanbao and Wang Jiu are two real people, not two chickens. Take it away if you say it. If you leave clues and are tracked down here by the government, won't you all be implicated?"

Shan Jiuye has always been used to the affairs of the Jianghu, and most of the people he deals with are men in the Jianghu. He has never heard of anyone who couldn't beat him and went to the government to report the crime.

Since Tang Zhong has a special status, he still has a lot of worries, so let's not tie him up if he doesn't want to!

For the first time, Shan Jiuye felt helpless that the hero was useless, and said: "According to your opinion, what should I do?"

Tang Zhong sighed: "He's holding me back, I have to draw something serious for him. But I really can't think of anything that can frighten him, but is actually useless."

Shan Jiuye was a little confused by the words: "Why do you have to make useless things?"

"Because Chen Yuanbao loses money only if things cannot be sold, and I can express my anger!"

Such a simple truth, what is so hard to understand!

But Shan Jiuye didn't think so: "Since this road doesn't work, it's better to change the way of thinking and let him get something that is too useful."

"Too useful?"

"That's right! Chen Yuanbao is just a businessman, with no power or power. Once he has something beyond his status, whether it's a blessing or a curse, he can't help himself. Don't you want to vent your anger? When the time comes, you will Someone help you vent your anger!"

Tang Zhong thought over Shan Jiuye's words over and over again, and it took him a long time to come to his senses.

The old Jianghu is indeed the old Jianghu!

When we came back from the pier, it was getting late.

Looking far away from the west gate, Tang Zhong saw from a distance that his cousin was already pacing back and forth under the tower.

Wang Jiu stood at the front, seeing Tang Zhong approaching earlier, and immediately called his shopkeeper to look at him.

"Xiao Zhong, you are here! They said you were not here, and I was worried if you were unwell."

Chen Yuanbao pretended to be concerned, but Tang Zhong thought it was just taking off his pants and farting, which was superfluous.

"There are too many people at the gate of the city, let's talk in another place."

"It's fine, as long as you don't play tricks, the Gao family, father and son, and your family will be safe."

Chen Yuanbao still didn't forget to knock one or two at this moment, but Tang Zhong didn't bother to answer, and walked straight to the outside of the city gate.

The three of them left the city gate and headed west along the river until they were far away from the people entering and leaving the city gate. Tang Zhong then took out the rice paper in his arms.

"One of the things painted on it is called a toilet, and the other is called a bathtub. You can use it to build it. The specific structure is clearly drawn, so don't bother me in the future!"

Chen Yuanbao eagerly took it in his hand and unfolded it, looking at it carefully.

Wang Jiu also stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck, leaning to the side to look back and forth.

After a while, Chen Yuanbao's expression turned from joy to anger, he put down the drawing, and asked Tang Zhong aggressively, "What do you mean!"

Tang Zhong looked innocent, "Why, is there something wrong?"

"Aren't you bluffing me! Isn't this Lao Shizi toilet just adding a water tank on top of the toilet, and every time you go to the toilet, you need to refill the water tank with water. Who would want such a troublesome thing?"

"There is also a bathtub, isn't it just to lengthen the barrel? Wouldn't the bath water cool down faster? Who would buy it!"

Tang Zhong said "Oh", and suddenly realized: "It seems that I didn't think carefully! How about it, you come back tomorrow afternoon, and I will think about two household utensils again."

"Isn't it intentional to play tricks?"

"how come……"

While talking, the pier behind the three gradually became noisy.

A cargo ship was slowly anchoring to the shore, and several men jumped off the ship, stepping on the water to fix the fiber rope to the foundation piles beside the pier.

I saw a capable old man with the appearance of the boss of the ship, quickly disembarked from the boat, turned around and told the two sailors behind him who were carrying the box to be careful.

But I don't know whether the box was too heavy or the hands and feet were too clumsy. When the two of them walked to the center of the board, the man in front was unsteady and staggered, and the box behind him directly hit the board heavily.

In an instant, the body of the box tilted and turned sideways, the lid of the box was forced open, and the silver and white things in the box fell into the water one after another, causing the boss on the shore to yell and curse.

"Damn it! You haven't gotten into the water to pick it up! I know how to count it here, and I will give you ten lashes for every ingot missing!"

Wang Jiu saw it clearly, and couldn't help but tugged at the elbow of his shopkeeper: "I saw it, the one that fell into the water just now is..."

"Silver!" Chen Yuanbao stared straight ahead, how could he not see it?

He watched helplessly as the sailors jumped into the river one after another like dumplings, picked up fist-sized silver ingots from the water, and placed them in rows on the pier.

silver!I have been in business for so many years, and I have never seen so much silver once!

Chen Yuanbao already had a pair of snobbish eyes. Seeing such a huge amount of silver lying in front of his eyes, he unconsciously moved forward like a fly smelling rot.

"Who! Stay away from the pier!"

Seeing someone approaching, the boat boss vigilantly touched the whip behind him with his backhand.

"Don't! Old brother, I also do business for a living, and we are all the same."

The boat boss didn't bother to get close to him, so he pulled out the guy and swung his whip in the air as a warning.

Chen Yuanbao had just set foot on the pier when he was scared back.

"Brother, I don't mean anything malicious, I just want to ask, what do you do for a living? Maybe we are still traveling together!"

Tang Zhong watched this uncle's wishful thinking again, and couldn't help slandering: "You're a rich man, who the hell is walking with you!"

Xu, the captain of the boat, was annoyed by the questioning, so he said casually, "I advise you not to inquire about other matters, such as grain transportation!"

After a while, all the silver in the water was scooped up.

There are about [-] of them in a row, a full size of nearly ten rows.

Although Chen Yuanbao was not standing very close, it seemed that those were all 50 taels of official silver, roughly estimated to be at least 1 taels!

The silver was repacked, and the lock was broken. To prevent accidents, the box was heavily tied with hemp rope to ensure that the silver inside would not fall out again.

Chen Yuanbao was still stuck in place, staring at the group of people walking towards him.

The boss of the boat had a ruthless gaze, and after only glancing over, he consciously stepped aside.

I don't know when there was an extra white-covered carriage by the river, and it was waiting not far away.

Seeing the boss of the boat and his party loading a box full of silver into the carriage and driving away, Chen Yuanbao felt completely uncomfortable.

Tang Zhong walked over at the right time, and whispered in his ear: "I advise you to put your mind to rest and don't think about them!"

"Do you know who they are?"

For a moment, Chen Yuanbao's eyes were wide open, and his two beards trembled in the wind, as if seeing ten thousand taels of silver again at this moment.

"Didn't you see it? You are a gangster! All you earn are money with blood!"

"How is it possible! I saw it clearly just now, it is full of official bank! They are doing business with the government!"

Tang Zhong pretended to be relaxed and changed his words: "Oh, that's from the Cao Gang. But what's the difference? They are all people that even the magistrates dare not provoke."

Chen Yuanbao remembered that the boss of the boat had indeed said about transporting grain just now, and felt a little strange: "When did Qingjiang County have a Cao Gang?"

"You don't know this? You even say that you have a lot of contacts in business! Now the pirates are fighting along the coast, and all the state capitals are raising grain to transport to the sea. The Cao Gang started out transporting grain. What a fuss."

Chen Yuanbao nodded: "Water transport is so profitable?" It seemed to be asking a question, and it seemed to be muttering to himself.

Tang Zhong saw that he was very angry, so he simply poured cold water on his head: "For the sake of our relatives, I want to make it clear to you. The reason why water transport and grain sales are so profitable is that not everyone If you can do it, the relationship inside is complicated! If no one leads you into the industry, I advise you to get rid of it as soon as possible!"

Mingli persuaded him to give up, but secretly threw a hook out.

People who are dazzled by sudden wealth often don't listen to other people's advice, and only pick up the information they want to hear and stuff it into their minds.

This is the case with Chen Yuanbao right now.

Sure enough, he took the hook from Tang Zhong's words, watched the white-covered carriage slowly drive into the east gate, and muttered to himself, "You need someone to recommend you to join the profession..."

Seeing him busy weaving the yellow beam dream, Tang Zhong didn't want to blow the cold wind with him.

"It's getting late, you guys should hurry back to Fengguan Town. At noon tomorrow, come to Dayimen to get the blueprints."

It was a cold spring, which caused the wind to blow all over the city.

Tang Zhong stopped by at noon to go home and changed into thick clothes, and dictated the initials that Tang Meng had learned a few days ago as usual, and then walked towards Dayi Gate at a leisurely pace.

It was three quarters past noon, but Chen Yuanbao and Wang Jiu were not seen in front of Dayi Gate.

Maybe we have to wait a while.

Anyway, being idle was idle, so he simply went to the entrance of Fuxing Restaurant, grabbed a handful of pumpkin seeds waiting in line, sat on the threshold, and listened to the opera to pass the time.

On the stage of Fuxing Restaurant, troupes from all over the world were invited to perform in turn, and today's performer is a famous actor from Zhongyuan.

As soon as "Wen Wang Visits the Sage", Jiang Taigong appeared in the song.

"I saw him wearing a straw hat ring and holding a fishing rod in his hand. The fishing rod was tied with a three-foot line, and he was splashing in the water..."

Tang Zhong kowtowed the pumpkin seeds, and looked at Rugui Inn diagonally across from him intentionally or unintentionally.

In front of the inn, a white-covered carriage was parked, occupying half of the road confidently.No matter which direction you look at it from, it is very eye-catching.

After touching half a cup of tea, a man hurried out of the Rugui inn, raised his arms towards him, and stretched out his index and middle fingers.

The pedestrians nearby acted as if nothing had happened, but Tang Zhong secretly called out "Hello" in his heart.

This is the code he agreed with Shan Jiuye, which means:

The fish has bitten the hook!

The author has something to say:

Today, the code word actually came to the feeling, coded up swish swish——

Finally, I was able to post it earlier, wiping my tears——