Chapter 160 Thank You

Today, Li Bian is happy.

The toasts with the Yangzhou salt merchants made him feel flattered in the prime minister's house. Li Bian is only 36 years old, and he can be a fifth-rank academician at this age, which shows that the prime minister's people value and appreciate him.

He is a proud person, and he also thinks that he has some strategies. Although he encountered some setbacks in Lin Ruhai's hands a few days ago. But he only felt that the other party was using the momentum of the superior to suppress him, and he was still very dissatisfied in his heart.

Now that he has found a few helpers in Yangzhou City, Li Bian's mind has become active. When the banquet was over, he followed the master who was traveling with him to leave Feng Mansion, and the expression on his face was as confident as when he just got off the official ship.

The two sat in the carriage on the way back to the mansion. Seeing that Lord Li was in a good mood, the master took advantage of the fact that he was drunk and flattered him: "It has only been a few days since Lord Li came to Yangzhou, and someone has come to surrender. It is really a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration."

Li Bian, with a red face, leaned against the shaking carriage, suddenly widened his eyes and said: "You only know how to say nice things, do you really think I am drunk?"

For those in a superior position, the most taboo is to let the people below guess their thoughts. Li Bian didn't know where he learned this from, and he kept dancing in front of the master.

"Hehe." The master laughed and lowered his head.

Li Bian raised his hand to rub his face, and then let out a long breath. The strong smell of alcohol drifted in the carriage. He seemed to be sober and shook his head, saying, "They are just some stupid people who can't show up on the stage. They think they want to establish a stronghold with the imperial officials just because they have some money. If it weren't for the situation..."

Li Bian snorted twice again. Seeing him like this, the master couldn't help but be curious.

"What does your lord mean?"

"It doesn't matter. They have money and we can just use their money." Li Bian showed a very confident smile. He didn't know what idea he came up with. He collapsed on the carriage and sighed, "From this point of view, it doesn't matter if you are a little stupid. Ha."

He laughed contemptuously, took a soft pillow and put it behind him, yawned and said.

"Wake me up when we get home."

"Yes, lord."

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After Li Bian left, the Feng family quickly cleared the banquet.

In the spacious hall, the seven or eight salt merchants who had been sitting with him before had already sat on both sides, each holding a teacup and drinking.

They were in good spirits. When they entertained Li Bian, they sat side by side. In addition, they could drink a lot, so they could discuss matters with Feng Zhu.

Feng Zhu saw that all the irrelevant people in the room had been removed, so he asked the servant who brought the chair to close the door. Feng Zhu then got up and went to the back hall to invite the other salt merchants out one by one.

Soon, more than 20 people filled the hall. Everyone was in a very relaxed mood. Some people showed off what Li Bian had just said, and some asked who the prime minister was.

"You idiot." A colleague looked at the other party with contempt. This newly-made salt merchant was shallow in knowledge. "Prime Minister, that is the current Prime Minister Gu Zaiyong, Gu Ge Lao. Haven't you heard of the names of Nan Pei and Bei Gu?"

"Then... why call him Prime Minister? Wouldn't it be better to just call him Ge Lao?" The salt merchant who was despised, seeing that the person who replied was powerful, did not want to contradict the other party, and only complained softly.

"If he didn't say that, how could he appear to be close to the Prime Minister?"

Feng Zhu saw that this person was a bit unreasonable, and directly intervened: "Okay, we are all family, so be careful when talking."

It is not easy for him to be the head of the meeting. If there is anything, everyone below will complain to him, and if there is any problem, everyone above will only go to him.

He is caught between the inside and the outside. He has to give instructions to the upper level, make friends with the lower level, and prevent conflicts between the people below, so as not to disturb the hearts of the people on his side.

Feng Zhu shook his head, feeling deeply that it is not easy to be the head of the meeting. Seeing that the place gradually became silent, he put down his teacup and asked everyone about their views on Li Bian.

Hearing the question, the salt merchants below had different opinions. But they all came to the same conclusion that this person could give it a try. Apart from other things, Gu Zaiyong standing behind the other party alone made them very excited. Over the years, they have also been very troubled by Wei and Lin.

Feng Zhu listened for a long time, but he was still a little dissatisfied in his heart, and did not show an attitude of agreement or refusal.

Huang Wendong is one of the most famous salt merchants in the place. Their Huang family's experience of making a fortune did not rely on the relationship of the Feng family, so they naturally did not need to look at each other's eyes too much when talking.

"Brother Feng, do you have another opinion?"

Feng Zhu did not put on airs with him. He now has a fortune of millions and thousands of acres of fertile land. If it were not for the people below, who complained every day and asked him for a solution every day. He really did not want to compete with the prefect Lin of the government office. It was not worth it, and it would not be necessary.

Isn't Shen Wansan from the previous dynasty a living example?

These days, few people who are too prominent have a good ending in the end.

Feng Zhu cleared his throat and asked everyone, "Who do you think wants Lord Lin to leave, us or Lord Li?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately opened everyone's eyes. It's hard to say whether those who can survive in the salt business have the ability to study, but they are all very good at making plans.

"That's right! Chairman, what you said is like a sudden enlightenment. It really gave me a wake-up call." Someone immediately clapped his hands and flattered.

"What a mess." Feng Zhu laughed and cursed, and continued, "I think that our families are all in Yangzhou, so there is no need to make things too awkward with the government office.

Now that Lord Li has his own ideas, even if we want to get in touch with him, there is no need to rush. We just need to help fan the flames and wait until they decide the winner before we get involved. Isn't that better? "

The salt merchants below all had their own calculations in mind. Some nodded in agreement, while others remained silent. Among them, Huang Wendong was the most disdainful. He felt that Feng Zhu was really used to being the boss, and was timid when doing things.

As a rising star among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, their Huang family was able to surpass others by relying on their brave and aggressive style. Huang Wendong naturally inherited this wild spirit. He was a man who dared to make a big bet at a critical moment.

Now that Li Bian was short of people in Yangzhou, his ideas were more decisive than Feng Zhu. As long as he could get on the road of Gu Zaiyong, he would not have to worry about the people in the government office in the future?

Just like Sun Dasheng, jumping out of the five elements, wouldn't it be extremely happy.

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When Chen Heng returned home, Gu was pulling the woman in the family, talking about the excitement in the west of the city during the day. He went over to be a good boy for a while, followed his mother and listened to a few gossips, and only waited until dinner was over before getting up and going back to the house.

He was entrusted by Feng to find a place for her family in Yangzhou.

The house doesn't need to be big, just a small building. It's convenient for the mother and daughter to close the door and live their own lives.

Considering that the other party doesn't have much money, and they have to take into account the safety of the environment. Chen Heng took out the latest issues of the newspaper and leaned over the table with Xinda to look through them.

In Yangzhou, the cheapest house prices are in the east of the city. Although there are many people here, the nobles with status can't stand the noise of the market.

There is a government office in the north of the city, and there are not many vacant houses. In the south of the city is a large family residence, which is better because there are few people and it is close to Baozhuang Lake. This place is too expensive, let alone a closer look. After the great reclamation of the west of the city, there are more places such as Gongyuan and Pi Lianfang, and the rent is more expensive than that of the east of the city.

The two brothers circled the rental information about the east of the city in the newspaper from time to time, and occasionally exchanged ideas about the future of the mother and daughter of the Zhen family.

"Second brother, is it too late to let them go to Pi Lianfang now? I think my second aunt said that the workshops in their places are no longer hiring. "Xinda thought about what Gu said just now, and always felt that Feng's way was a bit difficult.

"This is easy to arrange. The chief clerk who took over this matter at the government office had worked with us in disaster relief outside the city before, so we have some friendship. When the time comes, ask him for help, it should be solved. If it really doesn't work, I have other ways. "

Chen Heng shook his head, took the oil lamp from the side, and leaned closer to the newspaper in front of him, "Come and see, how is this house?"

Xinda came up. He has been running around outside more than Chen Heng recently. When he saw the lot mark, he thought about the location of the house in his mind, and hurriedly said, "Second brother, this owner has a very bad reputation. I heard that the last tenant couldn't get along with him, so he moved away in anger. "

"Is there such a thing?" Chen Heng didn't get annoyed, and said patiently, "Keep looking, keep looking. "

While the two were busy, Gu, who was in a good mood, pushed the door open and walked in. She was holding two bowls of chicken soup in her hands. As soon as she entered the room, she shouted, "I said, you two brothers, you disappeared after dinner, hiding in the room and doing sneaky things. "

"Mom, we are looking for a house." Seeing that the head of the family was coming, Chen Heng hurriedly stood up from his seat and took the bowl from Gu.

In the small bowl, the golden chicken soup was fragrant. Considering that the children were still young, Gu did not add any tonic condiments. It was just that Chen Heng studied too hard recently, which made Gu realize that she should stew a bowl of chicken soup for the children.

She asked the children, "Why are you looking at it carefully? Are you going to buy a house again?"

Chen Heng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After taking a sip, he quickly explained, "Mom, how can it be possible? I, your son, didn't find a gold mine. "He told Gu about Feng's affairs in general, and the latter was very touched and immediately made a decision.

"I say, why are you still wasting your time? Our neighbors next door are worried about finding tenants. Don't you know?"

"This... I really don't know."

Chen Heng was also at a loss. When it snowed last year, he was still upstairs watching the neighbors sweeping the snow. Why did they suddenly move?

"Their children are about to reach school age. They simply asked relatives to collect money and bought a new house in the west of the city." Gu sat down at the side, staring at the two little guys drinking chicken soup, and then continued while collecting the bowls.

"That courtyard is a little small. But it is very suitable for the mother and daughter you told me about. Their asking price is not high. Anyway, they are just renting it out and will take it back for the children in the future.

I just want to find some clean and honest people who don't ruin their own land. The things in the house are also complete, but damages must be compensated according to the price. "

Chen Heng nodded his head. If that was the case, it would be great. He had seen that yard when he bought the house before. If it wasn't too small, he would have been very tempted.

At that time, the neighbor's family had planned to sell the house and move to the west of the city, but they didn't expect that they hadn't sold it until now.

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After receiving the letter from Gu, Chen Heng didn't dare to delay.

The next morning, he went out and blocked the door of the neighbor's house. While the other party went out to buy breakfast, the two families agreed to see the house later.

Chen Heng rushed to the inn to invite Feng. After the three people from the Zhen family arrived, they were very satisfied with the house. They were just very worried about the price, fearing that they didn't have enough silver.

The original owner's surname was Liu. Although he spoke with some arrogance like a local Yangzhou person, he could not lose his temper with an orphan and a widow. With two neighbors, Chen Heng and Chen Gaishan, watching, they only said a few words to be careful with the things, and haggled over the price for a long time before finally agreeing to sign the document.

Seeing that he had done something for his grandson, Chen Gaishan laughed happily. His recent life was really boring.

The wife and several daughters-in-law went to Zhifang Street in the west of the city to find a living. The two sons were busy in the shops, and the grandsons and granddaughters also had their own things.

Only this empty-nest old man was left. He got up early every day to cook for his family and send his grandsons to Lin's house for class. At the end of the day, except for eating and sleeping. It was hard to find any fun.

"Master, thank you for your hard work just now." Feng put away the documents, still couldn't believe that she could rent the yard at such a low price, and hurried to thank Chen Gaishan.

If it weren't for the 70-year-old Chen Gaishan, who was talking loudly beside him, how could the landlord surnamed Liu easily agree?

Chen Gaishan looked at his precious grandson with great pride, as if to show off, "Look at how great grandpa is." He waved his hand at Feng and said, "We are neighbors in the future, why are you being polite? If you have any problems in the future, just knock on our door."

Feng pulled Yinglian to thank him again and again. Seeing that their family was so polite, Chen Gaishan said, "Have you eaten lunch? No, come to our house. My eldest son will be home at noon. He is a carpenter. If you need anything, just tell him directly. I will ask him to make it and give it to you as a housewarming gift."

"No, no." Feng didn't dare to agree to this kindness, but the more she refused, the more hospitable the farmers became.

Chen Gaishan didn't say much, just turned around and went out, "I'm going to cook. Your family hasn't worshipped the Kitchen God today, so you can't light the fire. Bring your two daughters to our house to eat later."

What two daughters? Grandpa, the older one is their maid.

Chen Heng laughed and was about to follow his grandfather away. But Zhen Yinglian pulled his sleeve. Under Feng's gaze, he took back his foot and advised: "Aunt, don't be polite to my grandfather. He is just like this. If you don't come, our family will not be able to eat."

Seeing Chen Heng say this, Feng was very embarrassed and said: "Your family has really helped us too much. It's really that I don't know how to thank you."

Hearing this, Chen Heng imitated Chen Gaishan's tone and said: "It's all fate. I didn't expect that we can become neighbors. We will take care of each other in the future."

Seeing his little adult talk, Feng was also interesting. She smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, take care of each other in the future." Then she asked Yinglian to send Chen Heng out for her.

The two walked into the courtyard without saying a word. Chen Heng probably felt that the world was so wonderful. He stood in the slightly smaller courtyard and pointed to the window on the second floor of his house and said, "Do you know where that is?"

Yinglian shook her head. She had been thinking about what to say. After thinking about it, she remained silent all the way. But Chen Heng thought she was timid and shy, so he took the initiative to talk about it.

"That's my room." Chen Heng smiled and moved his fingers again, "Those two places belong to my second and third brothers. They are both flying monkeys. If they make you angry in the future, just teach them a lesson."

"Ah..." Yinglian blushed, lowered her head and hummed softly, "Yeah."

The two said nothing else until they parted. Seeing Chen Heng's figure disappearing inside her own door, Yinglian suddenly realized what she was going to say.

But seeing that the other party did not stop for a step, she had to retract her gaze. Standing in place, Zhen Yinglian turned her head to look at her own home, and then looked at Chen Heng's home. Suddenly, I felt that it didn't matter if I didn't say it today, and I could leave it until tomorrow or next time.

At noon, the energetic Chen Gaishan cooked a table of dishes and invited the Zhen family to come for dinner. The two families sat together, and the women of the Chen family were also very hospitable. Seeing that Feng, Yinglian, and Lushui spoke carefully.

Each of them pulled over someone of similar generation, and they chatted while eating. Country people really don't have any taboos when eating. In addition, the children in the family are still young, so the two families get together to eat very lively.

After dinner, Chen Qing and Chen Xian took Yinglian to their room, which was considered to be taking each other to get acquainted and play around.

Chen Heng didn't stay at home for long in the afternoon. He went to Xue's house to start studying.

He didn't return home until the evening and had dinner with his family. Chen Heng returned to his room and tidied up a bit before opening the window to let the air in.

Coincidentally, the window opposite was also open. Yinglian, wearing a simple light green cross-collar dress, stood in front of the window at some point, and her eyes met Chen Heng's gaze.

Like stars in the dark night, the girl's eyes lit up, and her face without a veil blocked her with a pure and flawless smile.

Chen Heng was not surprised, as the two families were neighbors, so such coincidences were inevitable. It was just that he hadn't noticed it before, and now he saw that their rooms were so close.

With a bright moon in the middle, Chen Heng also smiled and nodded at her.

"Good evening."

"Good evening... Good evening."

Yinglian's reaction was similar to the past. Sometimes she was slow, and sometimes she was too bold.

Chen Heng didn't dare to look into the other's room, but only looked at the bright moon in the sky.

Yangzhou has a flat terrain, and the bright moon illuminated their house for a whole night.

The two fell into a brief silence. Chen Heng was about to say goodbye and go downstairs to wash up. Zhen Yinglian suddenly said, "Chen Heng."

"Ah?" Chen Heng was stunned. The ancients had so many etiquettes, but he hadn't been called like this for a long time.

"I... Can I call you Chen Heng in the future?"

Yinglian seemed to have thought about it for a long time. In fact, according to reason, she was older than Chen Heng, so it was okay to call him brother.

Chen Heng thought about it and just regarded it as a move between friends in the future. He nodded and said, "Okay."

"Then you can call me Yinglian too."

"Hahaha, okay."

The boy's hearty laughter pierced through the night.

Spring is here, and under this moonlight, there are still flying birds crossing the quiet sky like ink.

Xinda put one hand on the door, about to push it, but he was confused in his heart.

No, second brother, if you do this, how can I live in the future.

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After Chen Heng left, the open window was closed by the careful Xinda again. Zhen Yinglian huddled in a corner near the window, the moonlight shone into the room through the wooden window, and the candlelight on the table had gone out.

She seemed to have been thinking for a long time, looking at the shadow on the floor, which had the shape of the wooden window and the hair on her head.

Even in this dark little corner, the moonlight finally shone on her.

"Thank you."

She said softly, next time we meet, why don't you make up this sentence.

Hahahahahahahahahaha, Yinglian is so cute