As early as a few years ago, Zheng Hu was very burly, but now it seems that he is taller and stronger than then. Seeing Cao Hao coming in, he got up from his seat and greeted Cao Hao according to the rules: "Little Zheng Hu has seen Gongzi!" ”

Zheng Hu's real name is Zheng Hai, because the name "Hai" was given by his father, and after arriving at the Cao family, he abandoned this name and changed to Zheng Hu.

"Hmm!" Cao Hao nodded: "I saw Sister Ling just now, and I asked about you, I heard Xiaoman say that you added a kid a year ago, but my 'congratulations' is a little late!" ”

Zheng Huhan laughed twice, took the teapot on the table, and poured a cup of tea for Cao Hao in person.

Looking at the young man in front of him who gritted his teeth and shouted in the broken temple back then, "If you want to kill, you will kill, if you want the tiger to be a slave, you will talk about it in the next life", Cao Hao was quite touched. Only after being in the capital and kneeling down in front of Kangxi and the prince and clan could he truly understand Zheng Hu's mood back then. What did you do? For the sake of the Cao family, for the sake of the pearl's profits, the tiger was put in a cage.

Now, seeing Zheng Hu's well-behaved and obedient appearance, it seems that he has also been "taught". Cao Hao couldn't help feeling a little guilty in his heart, and said with a smile: "I heard that you are looking for me, but I don't know what it is, I am also looking for you here!" ”

"Childe looking for me?" Zheng Hu's face was a little more joyful: "Then, Gongzi will say it first." ”

Cao Hao nodded lightly and asked, "Do you remember what I said to you when we first met?" ”

"What do you mean?" Zheng Hu furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a while: "Childe meant that he promised to help me take revenge ten years later?" ”

"Hmm!" Cao Hao responded, looked at Zheng Hu, and his expression turned solemn: "Now, five years have passed. I heard that the Yang family's business has not been easy to do in recent years, and Bihelou is almost about to be swallowed up by the Bai family. Now that you have become a father, you are considered to have a family and a business, and your desire for revenge is still strong? ”

Zheng Hu was a little confused, obviously he hadn't thought about this problem before, and after a long time, Fang muttered: "The little one doesn't remember what he looks like, although he still complains about that person when he thinks of his mother, but it's strange to say, but he doesn't have the gritted teeth and hatred in the past." ”

Cao Hao was not surprised by Zheng Hu's reaction. At this time, people were influenced by Confucian traditions, and even if the father and son were not in harmony, there were a few people who could give birth to the idea of killing their father. At that time, Zheng Hu was a young man, and his life was down, so he naturally hated his father. Now, life has been settled, married and had children, and lived a small life, where is the time to talk about the father who abandoned him for many years.

Over the years, Yang Mingchang also vaguely knew that a pair of children had defected to Caofu. Because of the loss, and taking into account the face of the Bai family, he denied the identity of the pair of sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and it was not easy to find them openly. In addition, he is also an old household in Jiangning City, so he naturally knows that the Cao family is not something that they can touch, so he has no choice but to give up.

When the Zheng family brothers and sisters went to Taihu Lake, in order to keep the secret of raising pearls, all the slaves of the Cao family were used there. Near the bead field, all these years are allowed to enter but not to leave. Despite this, several key aspects of pearl culture are separated, and different people are responsible for it, also to prevent leakage. In the past few years, the Zheng family brothers and sisters have returned to Jiangning only a handful of times. It wasn't until the year later that Cao Hao thought about transferring the secret recipe for raising pearls, and everyone was more broad. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Zheng Hu brothers and sisters have little intersection with their biological father Yang Mingchang.

Seeing that Zheng Hu didn't seem to have any ideas, Cao Hao asked, "Do you know about the May Pearl Conference?" ”

Zheng Hu nodded: "Well, I heard the little sister mention it, saying that she wanted to transfer the method of raising pearls to others." Speaking of this, he said with some hesitation: "But I don't know how the son would think of this, this is not giving the wealth to others!" Over there, the little one hasn't done anything over the years, just taking some people to protect the hospital and doing his best. The little girl is trying her best, and when it comes to planting beads every year, even the small ones are blocked at the door. She is only one daughter's house, and she only rests for one or two hours every day, and she is busy for half a month. ”

Cao Hao thought of the dinner table and found that Zheng Woxue was a little abnormal, it seemed that her sleeves were extraordinarily long, covering most of her hands. It seems that she is trying to keep this secret method of raising pearls, and the most critical part of the bead planting link is not to be fake, and she was injured by excessive lake water immersion and labor.

At this time, people regard any craft as a family secret, and Zheng Hu's incomprehension is normal. Thinking of these, Cao Hao's idea of arranging a good way out for the Zheng family brothers and sisters is even stronger, what is the difference between the two brothers and sisters and being in prison over the years?

After thinking about it, Cao Hao said: "I did this to stop you from having such a life. Even if the pearl field over there makes more money, but everyone wants to guard against the night, like a prison and not be free, what is the point? Besides, you have become your own child, and you can't keep stealing it. I remember you mentioned back then, if it weren't for my sister, I would have enlisted in the army a long time ago, but I don't know what you think about the future now! Do you want to be in business, or do you want to be a landlord and collect rent, or do you want to enlist in the army? No matter what you have in mind, as long as it is within Cao Hao's ability, it will help you achieve it. ”

Listening to Cao Hao's words, Zheng Hu shook his head vigorously, got up from his seat, and knelt down on one knee in front of Cao Hao: "Childe, Zheng Hu has nothing to ask for, only one thing, I hope that Gongzi will agree to the sake of the younger brother and sister who have also done their duty over the years." ”

Cao Hao glanced at Zheng Hu, nodded, and said slowly: "Except for the fact that Na Lingmei is a concubine, it is difficult for me to obey my fate, the rest is still the same sentence, but as long as it is within my ability, I will not disappoint you." ”

Zheng Hu's face turned pale: "Why is this son?" Could it be that the little girl is not worthy of the concubine of the son? If it weren't for our brother and sister who received the great favor of the son, how could the younger one be willing to make her a concubine? ”

Cao Hao patted Zheng Hu on the shoulder: "Why do you want to be a concubine with someone?" I've seen Sister Ling today, but she's a good girl with both good looks. It's that someone else wants to be hired as the main room, and we have to choose carefully, and we want to find a good character and family affairs, why should we wronged her to be a concubine with me? ”

"But, the little girl ......," Zheng Hu wanted to say more.

Cao Hao stopped at the exit: "I have a marriage in Beijing, I guess you have heard about it." The other party is a noble person, if she relies on her identity to bully your sister, it is a matter of life and death! Your brother and sister have been dependent on each other for many years, do you want her to end up like this? Saying this, he felt a little guilty about the little fiancée he had never met, and in order to extinguish Zheng Hu's mind of sending his sister as a concubine, he had to "like" his future daughter-in-law like this.

Zheng Hu had seen Yang Bai's jealous face when he was a child, and of course he knew that women were even more terrible when they were vicious, so he was a little hesitant.

Cao Hao helped him up: "At the beginning of May, pearl diving families from all over the country will send their sons and nephews to Jiangning, and we will pay attention to it when the time comes, to see if we can find a good family affair for Ling Mei." ”

Zheng Hu originally took the initiative to mention it cheekily because his sister-in-law had no idea of marrying outside, and Cao Hao had no intention of taking a concubine for a long time, and his sister-in-law was old again. Now, seeing Cao Hao say this, he won't say more.

On the fifth day of the first month of April, Wei Xin rushed back from Guangdong.

Although he is only twenty-two years old, he has a short beard on his upper lip, a white silk robe with a green and dark bamboo pattern horse coat, and he looks mature and stable when he washes the image of the original ruffian, and has a bit of Confucian taste.

Cao Hao looked at him and joked with a smile: "I haven't seen you for four years, you seem to be a different person." It's really good. ”

Wei Xin grinned, showed a little ruffian, and said with a smile: "The blessing of the young man, the small one is just mixed with a layer of human skin." The little one looks at the son is more and more magnificent, and his bearing is extraordinary......"

Cao Hao waved his hand and said: "That's it, that's it, it's good not to open your mouth, but it's the oily Wei shopkeeper who opens your mouth." ”

Wei Xin hurriedly smiled: "It's true that I'm used to fighting with people in the Chamber of Commerce, and the son forgives the sins, but the little one sincerely praises the son." Seeing that Cao Hao was fine, he regained his smile, took out a lacquered wooden box, and held it to Cao Hao.

Cao Hao knew that it was the profit of the Guangzhou Commercial Bank, and when he opened it, he saw a thick stack of silver tickets. Simply flipped over, the minimum face value is a thousand taels, and these are tens of thousands of taels. Cao Hao was stunned: "This is ......"

Wei Xin said with a smile: "I heard that the prince was given a marriage by the saint, and the little one thought that he must use silver, so he brought back the profits of the nearly several plates of business!" ”

Cao Hao thought about the expansion of the house in the second half of the year, Cao Yi and his own wedding ceremony, etc., the expenses everywhere were indeed not small, so he was not polite to him, thanked him for his kindness, and accepted the silver ticket.

Then the two talked about the business in Guangzhou, and some of the pearls produced in Taihu Lake were also sold in Guangdong. After that, Cao Hao said that he was going to transfer pearl farming technology, and Wei Xin also made suggestions on the details, and the two carefully scrutinized.

Because when it was time to eat, Cao Hao asked Wei Xin to go out to the restaurant to drink.

The two took Xiaoman, the Wei brothers and a few elders out of the weaving mansion, and walked through the streets and alleys to the largest restaurant in the city, Fulailou. When I walked to Moquan Lane, the road in front was blocked. It was a group of ruffians standing in front of a certain house and scolding the street, and there was a group of people watching the excitement from afar.

Cao Hao just wanted to tell the barge horse to exit the alley and change the way, but he heard Wei Xin laugh and said: "It's the Jiang family of [***] Qianzhuang!" I don't know who they provoked, the iron-winged Xie Lao Liu has come out to take charge! ”

Wei Xinyuan is also a well-known gangster leader in the north of Jiangning City, and he is very familiar with these old landlords. Cao Hao took a casual look, but he also saw two acquaintances. I saw that among the group of people standing in front of the door, there were two teenagers, one tall and one short, both of whom wore purple robes and had yellow belts tied around their waists, but they were the two little grandfathers of the Zhenguo Gong Tushou family who made a big fuss in Beijing.

Cao Hao wondered why these two guys came to Jiangning from Beijing, and then remembered that they were the two grandsons of the governor of Jiangnan, Kali, and it was not surprising. I just don't know which of these two boys are singing today, and what kind of trouble they are going to cause. However, he was not interested in watching this excitement, so he dismissed the horse, but Wei Xin begged with a salivating face: "Childe, wait for a moment." As he spoke, he turned over and dismounted, and pulled the surrounding people to watch the lively inquiry.

After a while, Wei Xin came back and got on the horse, and smiled at Cao Hao: "It turns out that [***] Qian Zhuang was given to Miss Jiang Er as a dowry by Jiang Sanye, and Miss Jiang Er recruited a door-to-door son-in-law, but the son-in-law had a short life, and he was gone before he got married, and Miss Jiang Er became a widow." This Jiang Sanye passed away, and Qian Zhuang inherited it to Miss Jiang Er alone, and her group of uncles and brothers looked at it and wanted to take a bite. ”

He said with a finger to the two young men in their twenties: "Just these two boys, Jiang Wenzheng and Jiang Wenxun, belong to their Jiang family's room, and they are not ...... things."

As he spoke, the gate of the Jiang Mansion suddenly opened, and more than a dozen sturdy families rushed out of the courtyard and stood in front of the mansion, followed by a middle-aged man dressed as a housekeeper in his forties, who hugged his wrist at the crowd in front of the door and said loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is not the first time that the merits have been spoken, what else is not clear?" The third master, the fourth master, can't write two Jiang characters in one stroke, do you have to force us to go up to the yamen lobby to argue? It's all the face of the Jiang family that has been lost! ”

Na Jiang Wenzheng took a sip and scolded: "I'm bah! Jiang Jinbao, you are a slave of the Jiang family, this is not your turn to speak! Tell Han Jiang to get out! I can't write two Jiang characters in one stroke, that's right, but Han Jiang's surname is now Han, why does she still occupy the Jiang family's property? Tell her to get out of here! ”

Jiang Wenxun also shouted in the back: "Today, let's invite two yellow belt masters to call the shots for us!" Get out of here! ”

The housekeeper named Jiang Jinbao really saw two yellow ribbons standing in the crowd, and he was a little stunned.

Here, Wu Mao and Wu Sheng came to Cao Hao's side and said in a low voice: "Uncle, this person is the one who sold our horses." ”

Cao Hao took a closer look at the housekeeper, and sure enough, it was the man who sold horses. It turned out that when he bought the horse of [***] Qianzhuang, Cao Hao secretly thought, if it is said that it is an emergency move, he should help them today, well, let's see what is going on.

After a while, two rows of eight maids came out of the inner courtyard, all of whom were well-dressed and good-looking, and they attracted everyone's attention as soon as they came out.

Wei Xin couldn't stop smacking his lips on the side: "Miss Jiang Er is a big beauty, and the maids trained by this training are also like shallots, and they are seductive ......."

Cao Hao glanced at him: "I heard your eldest brother Wei Ren say that you have already taken three or four concubines in Guangzhou, and you are still worried about it?" Wei Ren also asked me to write to persuade you to marry a main house and settle down as soon as possible! ”

Wei Xin pursed the beard on his upper lip and said with a smile: "Gongzi also knows the surname of Xiaozi, and he is the most impatient and restrained. I finally got rid of the old lady's discipline, and I was comfortable for two years, and I didn't have to ask a mother-in-law to find me awkward, right?! I'll be at ease for a few years...... Hey, why did you lift the screen and come out? Hey, really, I still want to take a look at Miss Jiang Er......"

What he said later was that the people of the Jiang Mansion carried six screens with more than one person embroidered with eight horses, opened them and placed them in front of the door in the courtyard, and someone carried a chair of eight immortals and placed them behind the screen. The eight maidens stood on either side of the screen.

At this time, I heard a hoarse female voice sound behind the screen: "The surviving Han Jiang clan is polite." ”

Cao Hao listened to it, it was the voice of the lady in the carriage.

Jiang Wenzheng snorted: "Han Jiang's family, you are still polite if you don't show your face?" If you are really polite, then quickly let my Jiang family's property out, and it will not be difficult for you to do so. Otherwise, you won't have any good fruit to eat today! ”

Second Miss Jiang didn't seem to care about his provocation, and her voice didn't fluctuate: "Third Master Jiang said this strangely. Qian Zhuang was originally my mother's dowry, and now it is my dowry, when did it become the Jiang family's property? ”

The Jiang family is worried about this [***] money village is not one or two, but [***] money village is the largest money village in Jiangnan, and the background is naturally not simple. This Miss Jiang Er's biological mother is the daughter of a big salt merchant from Yangzhou, and she is also inextricably linked with Jiangnan officialdom, so although this group of Jiang family members has stretched out their claws many times, they have not begged for a bargain under Miss Jiang Er.

This time, Jiang Wenzheng accidentally got two yellow belts in the casino, and knew that they were the grandsons of the governor of Jiangnan, Kali, so he was like a treasure, and only regarded them as backers, regardless of whether his family was in a loss or not, so he swaggered to the door, thinking that if the other party was afraid, he would be able to make a windfall even if he couldn't get money.

Second Miss Jiang suddenly chuckled: "Third Master Jiang said that my mother married into the Jiang family, and this property belongs to the Jiang family?" ”

Jiang Wen testified: "That's right! ”

Miss Jiang Er said again: "If I marry the Han family, I am a member of the Han family." ”

Jiang Wenzheng was even more proud, and said loudly: "That's right! Now that you admit it, quickly return the money to the Jiang family! ”

Miss Jiang Er said slowly: "Third Master Jiang, this property is the dowry passed on to me by my mother, and the writing is clear and clear. If you say so, I will marry the Han family, and this property will be surnamed Han. What are you asking for? ”

Jiang Wenzheng was speechless for a while, and he couldn't find a word to refute her. Jiang Wenxun saw that it was not good, and shouted on the side: "Third brother, what are you talking about with that girl?" She'll be able to speak as fast as she can! Today, there are two little grandfathers who call the shots for us, and she doesn't admit it, so let's fight until she thinks so! ”

Miss Jiang Er raised her voice and said, "In broad daylight, do you still dare to rob it?" Just because you are a relative of the emperor and the country, you also have to abide by the word 'law', and if you touch the law of the Qing Dynasty, it will be impossible to escape! ”

The eldest of the two little grandfathers raised the fan in his hand and scolded: "This shrew is nonsense, what are you listening to her?" Pull her out for the master, and the master wants to see how long her tongue is and how sharp her teeth are! ”——

(To be continued)