Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 293 Detour
On the first day, Lu You took Yang Yuan, Emmanuelle Belle and Wen Tian to travel around the mountains and rivers.

This was a prelude to release the news that he had a good friend coming from Lin'an.

The next day, Lu You invited several local friends to formally welcome Yang Yuan.

Since Lu You had already mentioned when he sent out the invitations that his friend had female companions, all of these friends brought their female companions.

Shen Xi brought a favorite concubine, Xiang Xuan, to the banquet.

Xiang Xuan is a typical Jiangnan beauty, graceful and exquisite, with a face like a scented fan pendant, very lovely.

Beauties, after all, have their own characteristics, but Shen Xi has seen so many that he is no longer amazed by them. With the bright and dazzling blonde beauty as a backdrop, the more he compares, the more he feels itchy.

However, today he did not have much chance to get close to Yang Yuan and chat with him, because the person who was arranged to sit next to Yang Yuan today was Chu Nianqiu, the head of the Shanyin Bamboo, Wood and Livestock Industry.

In the Song Dynasty, operators of commerce, handicrafts and other service industries generally had their own "trades".

Such as rice shops, wine shops, and food shops; handicrafts are generally called "works", such as belt making, gold and silver plating, forging, comb blade making, etc.

Even small vendors selling flowers, vegetables and fruits have guild organizations, and the main person in charge of the guild is called the guild head, guild chief or guild elder.

The head of the industry is one of the most powerful businessmen in the industry. At the same time, he also has certain "clerk" characteristics. He is a local boss in the industry and his influence in the industry is greater than that of officials.

After all, the county magistrate is not as good as the current one.

Chu Nianqiu is the head of the Shanyin bamboo, wood, livestock and poultry industry.

Lu You arranged him to be next to Yang Yuan, obviously intending to get the two of them to know each other.

After taking a look at the seating arrangement, everyone understood the nature of today's event, so no one would be so tactless as to disrupt the host's arrangements.

Yang Yuan and Chu Xingshou had a very pleasant conversation.

Yang Yuan, who works in crisis public relations, is not only very proficient in speaking differently to different people, but also has some knowledge of psychology and is good at speaking.

As the head of a guild, Chu Nianqiu was naturally no ignorant person. As the two of them clinked glasses and talked in soft voices, a lot of information was fully exchanged.

The other guests also played their parts and cleverly livened up the atmosphere of the party.

While Shen Xi was joking and chatting with his friends, he was secretly observing the conversation between Yang Yuan and Chu Nianqiu, looking for opportunities to interrupt, and from time to time he glanced at Emmanuelle with appreciation.

Unfortunately, the more Yang Yuan talked with Chu Xingtou, the more they got along. Chu Nianqiu stroked his beard, smiled and nodded, looking down, obviously trying his best to hear every word Yang Yuan said amid everyone's laughter.

Yang Yuan also leaned towards Chu Xingshou, talking fluently and very talkative.

Shen Xi felt quite regretful that he had no chance to get close to Yang Yuan today.

He smiled and put his arm around Xiangxuan's shoulders, whispering, "Did you see that foreign woman?

This young master intends to exchange you with the second young master of the Wang family. After the garden tour tomorrow, you will belong to the second young master Wang. "

The faint smile on Xiang Xuan's face suddenly froze.

She knew the character of these noble men. As concubines, they were just playthings of others. She had no right to decide whether to resell, give away or exchange them.

Even the Grand Secretary Su Dongpo had a friend named Jiang who saw his concubine Chunniang and liked her very much. He said frankly: I have a white horse, which is very majestic. I am willing to exchange it with the scholar for the beautiful concubine Chunniang.

The reaction of the Grand Scholar Su was, I made a profit by exchanging a famous horse for a concubine!

So I readily agreed.

However, if you criticize from the perspective of later generations' values, it may not be appropriate.

As for the people at that time, they did not think that this was something immoral, but rather regarded it as a kind of celebrity style and gentlemanly freedom.

However, throughout this entire process, they completely ignored this woman and did not treat her as a human being with the same thoughts, intelligence, and emotions as themselves.

Upon hearing this, Miss Xiangxuan naturally felt ashamed.

She quickly glanced at Yang Yuan again, and the only thing she was thankful for was that he was young and handsome, at least not an old man with white hair and chicken skin, or an ugly man with a big belly.

Shen Xi patted her buttocks lightly and said with a smile, "Go ahead and get close to that blonde girl. It's a good opportunity for you to learn about your new master's temperament from her so that you can please him.

Don't forget to find out what the blonde girl likes for me."

Miss Xiangxuan forced a smile, stood up, raised her glass, and walked towards Emmanuelle Belle, but her eyes were more focused on Yang Yuan.

After all, that was the person she would serve in the future.

……

After the banquet, everyone said goodbye to each other and agreed to meet at Shen Garden tomorrow, then they went their separate ways.

The carriage that Wen Tianchang rented was waiting downstairs, taking Yang Yuan and Emmanuelle Belle back to the inn.

As soon as Emmanuelle Belle got in the car, she said happily: “Mr. Yang Yuan, I met Miss Xiang Xuan today. She is a very nice person and very knowledgeable.

She said she is particularly good at the pipa, and she will play a piece for me at the Shen Garden party tomorrow."

Yang Yuan was leaning lazily against one side of the carriage, so his legs were in closer contact with Belle.

Yang Yuan could clearly feel the youth and vitality of her thighs, especially the firmness that ordinary women did not have.

Just now at the table, he was chatting and laughing. Who would have known that in the midst of the clinking of glasses and the seemingly relaxed communication, he had been listening carefully to every word that Chu Xingshou said, observing his every expression, and carefully analyzing every word he said. What he said was also uttered after rapid analysis and judgment, and quick consideration.

That was very tiring.

He asked lazily, "Really? Can you play it?"

"Yes, I can. It's just that I have only been learning this instrument for a short time. I will play it for you when I have a chance."

"it is good!"

Yang Yuan yawned and said with a smile, "I'll find you a good pipa later." "Didn't you get enough rest, Mr. Yang?" Emmanuelle Belle asked apologetically.

She felt that there were problems with the records in her memo.

As the Chinese say, she is a little paranoid.

The person she recorded the most in her memo was Yang Yuan.

From the initial vigilance and caution, the tone of each day's recording has gradually become softer.

She felt that this showed that she had misunderstood Yang Yuan at the beginning, but in the process of getting along with him, she gradually got to know this person.

The two of them have been living in the same room for such a long time, but Yang Yuan has never violated her, right?

Well..., definitely not!
If she had, she would have recorded it.

She used Latin, which Yang Yuan didn't recognize and couldn't forge.

Therefore, she didn't need to be too alert. As a secretary, it was inappropriate for her to always occupy the most comfortable bed.

"How about... Sir, please sleep in the inner room tonight?"

Seeing Yang Yuan looking up, Emmanuelle Belle quickly added, "I'll sleep outside, no problem."

Yang Yuan closed his eyes, rested for a while, and said lazily: "This Chu Nianqiu, whom I met through a friend today, is the head of the Shanyin Bamboo, Wood and Livestock and Poultry Company."

Emmanuelle Belle immediately turned her head and listened to Yang Yuan carefully.

Yang Yuan said: "There is a garrison in Shanyin. In our Song Dynasty, there are garrisons in every prefecture. The commander of the local garrison is called a Dujian. A Dujian usually has 3,000 soldiers under his command."

Three thousand soldiers? Emmanuelle was secretly surprised. This was a large armed force.

Yang Yuan said: "As Shanyin is a strategic point on the Grand Canal and the seat of Shaoxing Prefecture, there are more garrison troops here.

There are 3,000 local imperial guards, 3,000 garrison troops, and 3,000 naval troops here, a total of more than 9,000 people."

The governor of a provincial capital was usually of the sixth rank, equivalent to the colonel deputy commander or deputy division commander of a military sub-district in later generations.

However, the chief inspector of the garrison stationed in Shanyin is of the fifth rank, which is equivalent to the deputy commander-in-chief of a military region, at the deputy army level.

Yang Yuan said: "This Shanyin governor is named Chu Yuan."

Emmanuelle Belle immediately asked sensitively: "Chu Yuan? Is there any relationship between him and this leader Chu Nianqiu?"

Yang Yuan closed his eyes and smiled: "Yes, they are relatives. Without Chu Yuan, Chu Nianqiu would not be able to become the head of the group here."

Emmanuelle Belle nodded slightly, but then she realized that Yang Yuan had his eyes closed, so she answered again:
"I see. So, sir, you got to know this Chu Xingtou in order to get close to that Chu Dujian?"

Yang Yuan said: "Smart. It is impossible for a garrison to rely on the court to distribute all its baggage. If we make some adjustments, we can save a lot of money on official transportation."

"For example, food, vegetables, firewood, bedding, and uniforms without military horns...

The imperial court can allocate money for these, and the garrisons can purchase them nearby, which is obviously more economical and efficient. "

Emmanuelle Belle blinked and asked, "So, sir, do you want to do business with the local garrison through this head of the guild?"

Yang Yuan didn't open his eyes, but he raised a finger and shook it gently: "It's not that I really want to do business with him, but... I want to get close to him in the name of doing business."

Emmanuelle Belle frowned slightly: "We are here to investigate the theft of the military crossbow. We may not find the problem through this method."

Yang Yuan said: "Of course, the weapons of the army are uniformly distributed. Weapons are not easily damaged, especially when there is no war.

However, our Song army has a high ratio of bows and crossbows, and the south is hot and humid, and this weather can cause serious damage to the bowstrings and arrow feathers of the crossbows.

Therefore, the local craftsmen camps need to frequently repair these weapons for the garrison, and repairing these weapons requires materials such as wood, lead, tin, feathers, arrow shafts, cowhide, tendons, horns, bladder glue, lacquer, wax, etc...."

Emmanuelle's blue eyes lit up immediately. "No wonder you want to get in touch with the head of the bamboo, wood and livestock business. Do you want to do business with him, get in touch with the garrison, and then learn about the garrison's production of crossbows and bows?"

Yang Yuan said: "Yes, bows and crossbows are made of cowhide, tendons, horns, feathers, bladder glue, arrow shafts and other materials.

Cows are indispensable livestock for farming and slaughtering them is strictly prohibited, but bows and crossbows require many parts of cows.

For example, beef tendons. You can only get 4 taels of beef tendons from a cow, but the garrison needs hundreds or even thousands of pounds, so we need to buy them.”

Yang Yuan closed his eyes and thought for a while, then said slowly: "If I can gain the trust of Chu Xingtou and promise to provide him with cheap and sufficient materials, I can get in touch with Chu Yuan and the craftsmen through him. I can even ask to see their account books to confirm their input and output..."

Yang Yuan opened his eyes slightly and glanced at Emmanuelle Belle who was in deep thought: “Just a casual look to confirm that what they told me is true.

After all, I was just a businessman who had the ability to get the materials they needed, and I just wanted to confirm what they said.

I will neither take the books away nor look through them too closely, and they will not withhold their information from me.”

Emmanuelle Belle understood: "Sir, you want me to use my photographic memory to remember everything I've seen, and then find the problem?"

Yang Yuan silently added in his heart: "Or it could be a place where we can do something."

Emmanuelle Belle suddenly realized that she was really useful to Yang Yuan.

Belle suddenly became excited, and the uneasiness in her heart disappeared.

She sat up straighter and said happily, "Don't worry, sir. Belle will never let you down!"

The warm golden sunlight slanted in through the car window, shining on her curvy body.

She is like a bright and beautiful tulip, with curves showing the most perfect proportions of creation.

Vivid and eye-catching.

Yang Yuan suddenly felt less tired. It turned out that beautiful women were not only pleasing to the eye, but also refreshing and invigorating.

(End of this chapter)