Shen Langgui

At the beginning of October, Jiangning is already a scene of late autumn in the maple-stained mountains and forests.At noon, Shen Yue prepared the meal and was about to send it to Zhizao Mansion, but when he went out, he saw Yinshi came back with a cart and carriage. Shen Yue was surprised: "Why are you back?"

Xun He poked his head out of the window and said with a smile, "It's a good time to catch up. I told Cheng Yin to hurry up, because I was afraid that you would be a step too late. You will arrive at the yamen first."

Shen Yue helped Xun He get out of the car, and asked, "Why do you suddenly want to go home and eat?"

"I just received the news that Zichong and Eunuch Zhang traveled a little faster, and they will be able to reach Jiangning this afternoon." After Xunhe walked around a lot and the time passed, Emperor Cheng finally appeased his anger and recalled Zichong.People are refreshed on happy occasions, and Xunhe's interest rises, so he takes Shen Yue's arm and enters the mansion.

It was rare to be happy in Xunhe, and Shen Yue was also elated.Back in the deep forest of Lanxiu, Shen Yue took out the plate from the food box, and there were only four dishes on the big Eight Immortals table, which was a bit shabby.Shen Yue said to go down and do some more, but was held back by Xun He: "Don't go, eat with me."

A hundred years of cultivation can cross the same boat, and a thousand years of cultivation can make it possible to sleep together.However, in Shen Yue's eyes, what is more rare than these two is Xun He's request to himself, so Shen Yue sat down hastily, with a flattered expression on his face: "Okay, okay, you like this rice, eat more."

Don't look at this ordinary bowl of rice, but there is a story behind it.At the beginning of August, Shen Yue made a special trip to the Weaving Bureau, and asked for a small bag of rice from Uncle Sun, and brought it back to cook for Xun He. five stone.

Unexpectedly, the rice steamed from these rice, but Xun He said it was different from the one that Uncle Sun had.One time, Shen Yue packed rice samples and took them to Uncle Sun’s house, but the answer after comparison was disappointing. The rice of the two families not only came from the same origin, but also had the same appearance and texture. Uncle Sun's is more delicious.Shen Yue went to the nearby people to order some rice to taste, and still felt that the rice from Uncle Sun's house was unique.

Ordinary people might stop here, thinking that it was a coincidence of the right time and place that made the Sun family's rice unique, but Shen Yue was not an ordinary person, so he turned to get to the bottom of the difference.

Unfortunately, the result of the investigation was fruitless.Just when Shen Yue was about to return home without a feather, Sun Jiateng’s sieve for drying crops caught his attention. When he picked it up, it felt softer than other sieves. After Shen Yue questioned, he realized that the Sun family’s sieve used for making the sieve was unreasonable. The rattan under the sieve is dry straw, and because the straw texture is a bit fragile, it has to be weaved every year, so when Shen Yue smells it, he can clearly feel the fragrance of the seedlings on the sieve.

And Sun's rice has a unique flavor, which is the rich aroma of grass and trees.

Shen Yue then made a guess, and hired Uncle Sun and his daughter-in-law to weave four sieves overnight, and brought them back to Xianmiandu. Under the puzzled or curious eyes of Xunhe Yinzhang, Zhang Yin and others, he took some sieves transferred from Shan County. The rice is dried on it.During this period, Shen Yue took good care of it, and on the tenth day, he put away the rice and steamed it in a pot, brought it out to Xunhe to taste it, and his eyes were all smiling—the unique fragrance of rice has returned!

However, Xun He didn't know Shen Yue's hard work from the beginning to the end. He only felt that Shen Yue returned home later than before, until Xun He went to the Weaving Yamen once, during which Uncle Sun stopped Xun He and praised Shen Yue a lot. Xun He only found out about the good intentions towards his master.

Drinking water and thinking of the source, not to mention the sensitive Xun He, so every time before picking up the rice bowl and chopsticks, as long as Shen Yue is by his side, Xun He will come closer and whisper: "Thank you, Lord."

"Okay, it's the best thanks for you to eat more." Shen Yue put a chopstick of cucumber mixed with drunken shrimp from West Lake into the Xunhe bowl.

Xun He swallowed a mouthful of food, and sighed: "I have tasted a lot of delicacies from mountains and seas over the years, but in the end I still think the ordinary food at home is the best."

"It's not as good as these home-cooked ingredients, which are more attractive and nutritious." Shen Yue felt Xun He's legs swaying under the table. Cherish the place where Xunhe is, and even the joy has to be hidden.Just as he was talking, the servant girl brought up some cages of crabs, which Shen Yue ordered the servant girl to make after heeded Xun He's suggestion not to cook.

Uncovering the cage cover, the smell of fresh fish wafted out. Regardless of the hot hands, Shen Yue picked out a crab and sighed while cutting it: "When the autumn wind blows, the crab's feet itch; when the chrysanthemum blooms, the crab comes. Mmm, it smells so good." A piece of meat was taken out and stuffed straight into Xun He's mouth.

Halfway through eating, he led Zhang in, followed by Yan Ru holding a big plate.The introduction chapter uncovered the brocade covering it, and said to Xun He: "Three sections of color forging, three sections of lake silk, two hundred pieces of incense, and thirty taels of platinum, sir, do you see enough?"

Xun He nodded: "Okay, I will also prepare a few bags of broken silver, and prepare it for the servants."

The introduction went down in response.

Shen Yue knew clearly that this was an item from the eunuch Xun He managed to deliver the decree.

After dinner, Xun He went to the city gate to wait, Shen Yue followed.It was not until the third quarter of the hour that the carriage in which Zi Chong and Eunuch Zhang were riding arrived in Jiangning.

Eunuch Zhang got out of the car first, this person is famous for his indifference and reticence, he showed no expression when he saw Xun He, but when he met Shen Yue, Eunuch Zhang bowed slightly: "Your Excellency Shen, please come and be safe."

Shen Yue was equally indifferent: "I dare not be that."

Immediately afterwards, another thin man got out of the carriage, Xun He glanced at it and turned around, but the carriage was already empty: "?? Zi Chong?"

"You idiot, you don't even know your uncle anymore." The skinny man cursed in a low voice.

"Ah?!" Xun He turned his head sharply, and looked him up and down. His figure was indeed quite different from that of the original plump Qiu Zichong, but his facial features could still distinguish his former appearance. Cutting off the fat that has been burdened on Zi Chong's body for many years, one can imagine the suffering, Xun Gu's eyes became hot, and he hugged tightly with the only relative left in this world.

After a short exchange of pleasantries, the carriage started again and drove directly to Xianmiandu.Stepping into the Nanmu Hall, Xun He invites Eunuch Zhang and Zi Chong to sit down, and just happens to introduce a cup of tea, and Xun He waved his hands: "My nephew doesn't know that my uncle is haggard, and what I prepared in advance is Pu'er that has been shaved and greasy. Serve Persian black tea. In addition, on the way, I heard that Eunuch Zhang coughed from time to time, so I introduced the chapter, and took this year’s newly soaked candied golden orange, and brewed it for Eunuch Zhang to moisten the lungs and relieve cough.”

Eunuch Zhang remained silent, but his previous indifference eased a little, and he nodded slightly towards Xun He.

After the tea was served, a servant girl held the upper plate, Xun He took it, uncovered a corner of the brocade, and dedicated it to Eunuch Zhang respectfully: "Eunuch Zhang has traveled back and forth from north to south, and it is really hard work. Qiu has nothing to respect. gratitude."

No matter how indifferent Eunuch Zhang was, he couldn't help but speak at this moment: "I've heard Qiu Lang's reputation for being as thin as a hair for a long time, but seeing him today, it's really true. It's rare for you uncles and nephews to see each other, so I, an idler, won't get in the way here."

"Father-in-law, you are welcome. Where do you come from? Come, send Eunuch Zhang to the west chamber to rest. Girl, this gift will also be sent to the eunuch's room." Turning around, he said to the eunuch, "Eunuch needs anything, just send it to the courtyard. My little servant girl." After finishing speaking, Xun He personally escorted Eunuch Zhang to the guest room.

When they came back, the uncle and nephew were holding hands, but they were speechless.

Shen Yue was silent at the right time, recalling Eunuch Zhang's evaluation of Xun He just now, and Xun He's treatment of people today, he had to admit that the Xun He in front of Shen Yue hadn't changed much, but Xun He in the officialdom and shopping malls was slippery and sophisticated. two people.

Nine Wans are nominally handed over to Peng Yu to take care of them, but the operation behind the scenes is still Xun He.The group arrived in Jiangning in early May. In the past six months, Jiuwan has grown from a silk shop to a satin shop, silk shop, and wool shop. The cloth trade in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is basically monopolized by Jiuwan.The reason for this is that, in addition to borrowing the position of a weaving doctor in Jiangning and opening the door for convenience, the more important thing is that in the process of doing business in Xungou, a large number of intermediate links are reduced, thereby reducing costs and increasing profits, and quickly accumulating capital.

The general process of the silk trade is that farmers plant mulberry to produce silk, weavers reel and make silk, and then merchants buy it and ship it back to the shop.However, to deal with Xunhe's "one whip", from farmers, to weavers, to boatmen, they are all their own people.Without the exploitation of middlemen, the cost of goods is greatly reduced.In addition, when Xun He used to do business in the Wu Mansion, although he was well-behaved, he had a lot of contacts with bureaucrats in private. trip trade.I saw with my own eyes that Xunhe wrote letters and gave generous salaries to officials in Qiantang and Qinhuai banknotes, in order to "get a little cheaper when paying taxes".As a result, Xunhe’s shipment of silk and silk worth at least 300 taels, which was worth at least [-] taels, was only paid [-] taels after this secret operation.

Silk, whose cost has plummeted, is still sold at the market price in Xungou, and huge profits can be imagined.

Xun He, an outsider, skyrocketed in a short period of time, which naturally aroused the envy of many businessmen.Once a businessman confronted the yamen, and Cheng Yin who was present was ready to sacrifice himself to protect the master. Unexpectedly, Xun Gu leisurely scraped the bowl and tea cup, and leisurely proposed to buy the businessmen's shops that were on the verge of bankruptcy.This kind of proposal to take other people's jobs away is simply a fantasy, and the businessmen were furious, but Xun He turned around and left after saying "I can do it myself".In the end, the troublemakers were suppressed by Supervisor Zhao.

However, after the merchants who participated in this matter returned, their business operations were repeatedly made things difficult. The pressurers were both black and white, and both black and white. money.

If Xunhe is simply annexed, that's all.Surprisingly, Xungou, who was treated indifferently last time, was merciful this time. Not only did he send people to distribute the silver taels on the spot, but he also stated that Jiuwan was not an annexation. All the businessmen were all convinced.Since then, no one has dared to shake Jiuwan's authority in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The so-called big tree attracts the wind, but what is the confidence in Xun He's domineering move.

The answer is the emperor.

That's right, Xun He's backer is the most respected person in the whole country.

When the ministers objected, Xun He supported the new emperor's proposal to move the capital, and took the initiative to buy part of the expenditure for the renovation of the new capital's palace.Emperor Cheng inherited such a great favor from Xun He, so he naturally sheltered Xun He.People in the officialdom, whoever winks at him, give way to Xun He.However, the huge profits that Xun He obtained by relying on the emperor's grace did not fill his own pockets, on the contrary, most of them were used to repair the palace.

Therefore, the ultimate beneficiary of huge profits is still the emperor.May I ask how many "loyal ministers" are there in the world who can afford to let go?

But Xun He didn't stop there. After he became big, he still insisted on personally supervising the repair of the palace, reporting the progress of the project with two memorials every month. His loyalty can be learned from.Shen Yue once saw the correspondence between Xun He and Emperor Cheng, in which Emperor Cheng asked Xun He what reward he wanted.However, Xun He only shows loyalty and does not want to repay.Therefore, to a large extent, the pardon of Zichong and the restoration of Zichong's position as prime minister were an indirect reward from Emperor Cheng to Xunhe.

In the past, Shen Yue was born rich and noble, and after becoming an official, he still maintained the nobility of a son of aristocratic family, how could he appear to be as respectful to a second-class eunuch as Xun He just did.Therefore, Shen Yue once could not get used to the glib side of Xun He.

In addition, Shen Yue didn't understand at first why Xun He worked so hard to raise money and finally burned it for the royal family.

Shen Yue knew that these questions could not be answered from Xun He's mouth, and he could only guess by himself.

Today, Shen Yue finally figured out one thing or two: living under the fence for a long time, Xun He could never get a solid stability.Even though Wu's mansion was very beautiful in those few years, Xun He must have known that it was just a gorgeous robe full of lice.

The ultimate pursuit of Xunhe is to not be despised by others and to have the confidence to survive in the world calmly.

That's it.

Knowing this, Shen Yue persuaded himself to accept Xun He's glib side, and realized that this is actually not easy for Xun He.

Withdrawing his thoughts, at this moment, Xun He was talking speculatively with Zi Chong, sometimes with mixed feelings, sometimes with a slight smile.

Xun He must live a happier and more relaxed life.

If Xun He's pursuit is status, then this is Shen Yue's pursuit for the rest of his life.

That's all.