Chapter 319: Warm wine around the fireplace and talk about the famous family

Songjiang Prefecture is located in the south of the Yangtze River, so it is naturally no colder than the north. However, if you suddenly come to this southern place from the north where there are stoves and kangs everywhere on a cold day, it will be difficult for outsiders to get used to this kind of cold that penetrates into their bones for a while. Therefore, every winter, the number of merchants in various places drops by at least ninety percent, which makes it difficult for those inns who rely on ushering in and sending them to live.

Because the merchants who collect cotton cloth in Xiasongjiang Prefecture often live in Wuxiang Old Street in the southeast of Shanghai County, there are more than ten inns on this old street. When business was booming, everything from the most expensive upper house to the cheapest Chase shop was crowded with people, but now it is a dismal business. The Xilai Inn, which has the best business on weekdays, on the street, is the most miserable, and there has not been a single customer since ten days ago. Seeing that the calculating boss Chu Yun turned the abacus beads loudly, several young men were worried about their jobs.

Despite the lack of business, the rules of the inn remain the same. Early in the morning, after getting up, Fan Gou'er got up and got down to the door panel as usual to prepare for business. As soon as he opened the door, he heard the sound of horses' hooves and the wheeling of cars in the distance. Still a little dazed, he poked his head out and looked out, and saw that it was a carriage, followed by a few people on horseback, and suddenly a spirit came to his senses. He didn't even have time to greet the boss inside, so he ran out of the smoke and diligently solicited business.

"The guest officer wants to stay in the hotel? Our Xilai Inn is a time-honored brand, the price is fair, and the rooms are cleaned up. ”

Hearing this, the carriage stopped in front of the inn, and then the curtain of the carriage was opened, and a delicate voice came from inside: "What kind of weather is this, the thief is cold, the thief is cold, and it is useless to have a stove in the car...... Since your inn is said to be a time-honored brand, the bedding inside can be neat, the stove and charcoal basin can be complete, and the wine and food may be dotted? ”

When Fan Gou'er heard that it was a woman, and the voice seemed to be coquettish, she immediately knew that a big customer was coming, and hurriedly nodded and said: "Don't worry, our inn has a sky-number, a place-number, a person-shaped room, and a separate small cross-courtyard, all of which are ready to keep you comfortable." Our chef is also the best on the whole street, and if it is not enough, you can go out to buy it. And now there are no other guests in it, it's very quiet......"

As soon as the words came out, he immediately regretted that his intestines were blue, didn't he clearly tell people that the business in his store was cold? Just when he was worried in his heart, he suddenly heard a man's voice from the carriage: "It's your house, hurry back and clean up the separate little courtyard, all the rooms are provided with charcoal pots and stoves, and hot water and wine and food are ready." ”

"Okay, guest officer, wait a minute!"

After soliciting such a big business to the door, Fan Gou'er was overjoyed, and immediately ran back in three steps and two steps. With his shouting, two middle-aged men soon ran out of the Xilai Inn, one helped lead the horse, the other helped carry the luggage, and saw three young and jade-looking girls coming down from the carriage first, and then a young man wearing a heavy fur came down, both of them suddenly straightened their eyes, and their hearts were full of envy.

This rare big business soon alarmed the boss Chu Yun, although he was a little annoyed by being disturbed early in the morning, but seeing so many guests living in his empty inn at once, his face that had been tense for several days suddenly blossomed. After settling the people in person, he went to the kitchen and instructed the cook to prepare the food and drinks. Seeing that he was not well prepared, he simply sent Fan Gou'er outside to buy some mutton and other cooked food.

When Zhang Yue and Lingxi Amber Qiuji sat down at the dining table, the table was already full of dazzling dishes, and there was a stove of warm wine next to it, which was just steaming with meat and vegetables. Because it was too dazzling to take a boat to Songjiang Mansion in winter, they naturally had to take a car all the way, and they were in a hurry this way, and even the skeleton was almost scattered, and their bodies were almost frozen. A bowl of hot rice wine was put into his stomach, and he came to his senses, and then tasted a few dishes, although it was not exquisite, but it also had a different taste.

Chu Yun smiled and went to the room to serve the food in person, but found that Zhang Yue was just a superficial taste, and the three girls next to him seemed to be very picky when eating, and they couldn't help but feel strange. Despite this, he did not rashly open his mouth to test it, but he answered whatever people asked, knowing everything and saying everything, lest there be anything inconsiderate.

With this business, the expenses of this whole winter can be filled up, not to mention, and there is a small surplus, what does it matter to him where people come from?

At this time, when he heard Zhang Yue ask Su Song to be familiar with the world, he smiled and said: "This is naturally true, there is a way that Su Song's wealth is half the world, although our Songjiang Mansion is not as big as half of Suzhou Mansion, but the tax is half of the people's house, once the year is not good, the whole world will have to eat grain!" However, some dry lands are not suitable for growing rice, and cotton is planted, so except in winter, the merchants who come to us to collect cotton cloth can crowd our street to the brim. ”

Zhang Yue also knew that Songjiang Prefecture had been widely cultivated since the Yuan Dynasty, and cotton cloth was a local specialty. However, he didn't come here for this, so he just skipped it casually and turned the topic to the big local families. As the boss Chu Yun told the story of a few family treasures, he heard two familiar surnames.

"Among the big local families, there are many eunuchs. The first is the Zhangyan Shen family, the big and small Shen bachelors are now deeply favored in the court, the Shen family is a scholarly family, and the younger generation is all good. The second is the Du family, although the Du family is also a prestigious family, but in the past, they were only wealthy, but there were few officials, and only one Du Bachelor is now in the court. This one is amazing, he killed and suppressed the White Lotus Sect in Shandong, and was released again after being imprisoned in Jinyiwei, and the only daughter also married her student as a son-in-law. Tsk, it's just that there are a few unscrupulous people in the Du family, and they may one day hinder the future of Master Du. ”

Hearing this, Zhang Yue's heart suddenly burst out, and when he saw Qiu Zhen's gaze glancing straight at him, he pretended to be disapprehensive and smiled: "The forest is big, there are all kinds of birds, and that Master Du is far away in Beijing, and he can't control the people at home." ”

"Who's to say it isn't? I heard that in order to prepare for the marriage of Du's daughter, several members of the Du family went to Beijing and prepared very generous gifts, and they had to send their nephews to Beijing to study in the next few days. Anyway, they have money and don't care about this little money toss. cough, although the Du family and the Shen family are famous families, the most prominent is the Wu family, the He family is the best at Qihuang, and the richest is the Yang family. Legend has it that the Yang family was once the richest man in the local area during the Tang Dynasty, and although there were ups and downs after that, it has developed again in this generation, and the family is very rich. Recently, Miss Yang and her aunt came back to visit relatives, but the pomp and circumstance were amazing. ”

Speaking of pride, Chu Yun licked his lips excitedly as if he was the protagonist: "The third lady of the Yang family is married to the Shandong Dongfang family, and her husband is not only a lifter, but I heard that it is the Shandong Dongfang family who is in charge now." The old man of the Yang family is sick, and the two sons at the bottom are making trouble over the family property, and this time the third lady and the aunt are back, which is just the right time to take a break. ”

Others have heard the four words of the mountain Dongfang family and regarded it as a deaf ear, but Zhang Yue suddenly thought of Fang Qing. Although he and Du Zhen were both transferred, Shandong's reclamation order and the mutual assistance of the peasants were fully supported by the imperial court, and more than half of his salt regulations were adopted, so that the peasants now have their own place, and the merchants are also quite profitable. When he got married before, someone from the Fang family sent a generous gift. Fang Qing can accompany his wife back to her parents' house to visit relatives at this moment, which shows that life is quite comfortable.

Although I went to Shandong with Zhang Yue last time, it was the first time I went out like this. The first was hinted at by Zhang Yue in the car and pretended to be frivolous, and when she saw him glancing at herself, she couldn't help muttering in her heart, but she could only pretend to be curious and asked: "Then the Yang family can really be called the richest man in the local area?" What did his family rely on to make a fortune? ”

Hearing this question, Chu Yun, who had been asking ten answers, suddenly laughed: "This girl, the Yang family was about to lose, who knew that when the ancestral house was renovated, she found three jars of gold left by her ancestors, so the luck is really nothing to say." The old man of the Yang family is good at management, so he started with this money, and the goods he handles every year are amazing...... The two of them were eating and drinking, and I went to see how the dim sum was doing. It was sweet wine balls, and it was just right to drink a bowl on this cold day. ”

Although Zhang Yue knew a lot about the situation in Songjiang Mansion, after all, he couldn't get the introduction of the locals, so he nodded indifferently at this time. Analyzing the relationship between the various families in his heart, he gradually gave birth to an idea. When the sweet wine balls were delivered, he and the three girls each served a bowl and ate it, and then went straight back to the room to rest. Hu Qi saw that after the four guards sent by Zhu Zhanji finished eating, he silently followed him to the cross-courtyard for protection, and simply occupied a table by himself and ate slowly.

In the eyes of Chu Yun, Fan Gou'er and others, the group of gobbling up men just now was really jaw-dropping, and the posture of those people eating was as if they had never eaten in eight lifetimes. Even Chu Yun, who wanted to talk from these people, was a little stunned in the face of those cold faces who couldn't get into the oil and salt.

The master looked gentle and kind, and the three girls accompanying him were all delicate and lovely, and the questions they asked were the same as ordinary foreigners. Only these guards exuded an aura that no one could approach, but they were well-trained...... Where did these people come from, and what are they going to do here? If he waits for the last day to settle the bill, will he spend a lot of energy and money to get it right, and in the end he won't be able to get any money back?

Just when Chu Yun was full of apprehension, the last man who stood up after eating walked straight towards him and took out something from his arms. Seeing that it was not the most unpopular treasure on the market, but a genuine piece of broken silver, he immediately threw aside all the confusion and reached out to take it with a smile on his face.

After Hu Qi gave the silver, he ordered in a deep voice: "We don't know how long we can stay here, this is considered an advance payment for your room and food." Our young master was sent by the old man to Songjiang Mansion to fight the front station, and then there is a big business to do, and the three female dependents are the people in the young master's house, don't disturb them. In short, don't ask too much if you shouldn't ask, understand? ”