The mage in the late Qing Dynasty

After Hu Gentang, Hu Li and Sheng Xuanhuai all entered, the hawkers carrying burdens outside hurried away.

He went to Mitsui \u0026 Yoko.

After entering the door, I exchanged a code with the clerk and was led to the back where I met Eiji Asabuki.

The spy pretending to be a hawker immediately said: "Asabuki-kun, something serious has happened."

Asabuki Eiji frowned: "Elaborate."

"A salt merchant from Hankou came to Sheng Xuanhuai's mansion and threatened to invest one million shares. It seems that the salt merchant also joined forces with other Huai salt merchants in Hankou. These salt merchants are all extravagant, and their wealth should not be underestimated."

"What?" Asabuki Eiji could no longer remain calm and stood up suddenly: "What else did you hear?"

"No, just a few words of greeting, and then they went into the mansion to talk in detail."

Asabuki Eiji immediately sent someone to ask Hisahide Aso from Nippon Steel Works.

When Aso Jiuhide heard the news, he also frowned: "These damn salt merchants have ruined our affairs! What should we do now? Once Sheng Xuanhuai has enough capital, he will not be in a hurry to borrow money from us."

"Don't worry." Asabuki Eiji has calmed down at this time: "I secretly calculated that the total amount Sheng Xuanhuai needs is 15 million taels. And those salt merchants will not take out all their wealth and invest it in the coal and iron works. The most they can make is One or two million taels of silver. Sheng Xuanhuai will definitely come to us again. The terms in the contract cannot be changed, but we can lend him more to seduce him."

Aso Jiuhide breathed a sigh of relief: "How much is the loan?"

"three million!"

Aso Jiuxiu breathed cold air.

Even though there is a wealthy Zhengjin consortium that is still sharing the money, the funds are still huge.

Aso Jiuhide suddenly remembered another thing: "Then Zhao Chuanxin has been silent, do we still need to prepare?"

Eiji Asabuki's face straightened: "Not only must we be prepared, but we must be fully prepared. There is so much money that cannot be lost! I heard that someone caused trouble in the French Concession last night, and many people were killed and injured. In such an eventful time, even without Zhao Chuanxin , there may be other lawless gangsters. You must know that bandits and robbers in China are always bold. In addition, send someone to contact the salt merchant..."

The two murmured and discussed.

…

Zhao Chuanxin and his party were having breakfast. The housekeeper was watching and found that the group had a huge appetite and ate everything on the table.

The butler smiled bitterly and asked, "I'll go and set up another table."

Zhao Chuanxin patted his stomach: "No need, we are just afraid that there will be leftover food for you, and Boss Hu will not be able to finish it."

"..."

Benjamin Goldberg looked at Zhao Yixian: "Didn't you say that you want to give me Su Hengtai paper umbrella, Wang Yuxia pastry, Lao Jiuru comb grate and Cao Zhengxing kitchen knife?"

Zhao Yixian hesitated: "Well, maybe the kitchen knives in Hankou may not be that good. I just finished eating and can't eat the pastries..."

He was penniless and had been working with Zhao Chuanxin's master and apprentice during this period. How could he have any spare money for shopping?

Benjamin Goldberg was disappointed: "Turns out you lied to me."

Zhao Yixian's old face was a bit worried: "I think back then, my ancestors were also rich, and it was passed down from the lineage of Song Taizu. During the Ming Dynasty, there were ten mansions in Yizhou, Shandong Province, and thousands of hectares of fertile land. Whenever there was a banquet, rare land and water treasures were displayed. There are too many to mention. It’s just that with the demise of Ming Dynasty, the family fortune has declined..."

Zhao Chuanxin nodded beside him: "Well, what he said is true. I was selling pancakes and fruits in Yizhou at that time!"

Zhao Yixian: "..."

Zhao Chuanxin turned to look at A Bao: "You are not needed for the rest of the work here. Little widow, you are relieved, get out."

Abao was held hostage all the way and couldn't help himself, and even dreamed of escaping.

But when things came to a close, I suddenly felt confused.

She never expected that Zhao Chuanxin, who always teased her, would let her go so easily.

I couldn't help but have mixed feelings in my heart.

A Bao is very thin-skinned and very strong-willed. When Zhao Chuanxin told her to get out, he refused to stay. He hugged the butler and said, "When Boss Hu comes back, say goodbye to him for me. A Bao will leave now." ”

The housekeeper simply doesn’t know how to do it.

Aren't we asking Hu Gengtang to make the connection?

The real owner is gone, leaving only a few people eating and drinking?

He stretched out his hand, but didn't know what to say to retain her, because he had never encountered such a thing before.

Abao went straight out and reached the street, where there was already a crowd of people outside.

She looked around confusedly and walked towards the port.

When she arrived at Shi Pier, Abao went to the China Merchants Bureau station to buy a ferry ticket. When it was her turn, she took out her pocket and remembered that she didn't have any money to pay for her trip. Zhao Chuanxin also took away all the savings she had accumulated for several years in her hometown.

There is a sense of decadence in ordinary life.

The snow had just stopped and the air was cold.

Where the water is slow on the river, a thin layer of ice has formed.

In the final analysis, Jin Kunxiu's death had nothing to do with Zhao Chuanxin, and the resentment should also be blamed on the patrol officers.

Abao knew this.

She was very resentful about the death of her subordinate at first, but she was the one who brought the bad luck to Zhao Chuanxin in the first place.

It's hard to say which one is right and which one is wrong.

What should she do now?

I went back to collect Jin Kunxiu's body, but so many days had passed and it was unclear whether the body was still there.

Go back and continue to lead the troops, traverse Taihu Lake, and engage in illegal activities?

Abao shook his head. This road was dead. Enough people had died.

After all, she is just a helpless female.

Just when I was in despair, I suddenly heard that familiar and hateful voice in my ears: "Little widow, why don't you leave? You can't bear to leave this poor monk, right?"

Abao turned around suddenly, not knowing whether to be happy or sad.

When staying with Zhao Chuanxin and the others, these people are so busy that even when their bodies are idle, their mouths are not idle.

Abao would often be embarrassed by Zhao Chuanxin's unrestrained speech.

She had no time to spare, and she had no time to grieve over the spring and autumn.

Suddenly leaving that environment, the helpless feeling hit him, leaving Abao at a loss as to what to do. Suddenly I heard Zhao Chuanxin's voice again, and I felt instinctively happy.

Although this perverted monk is talkative and bloodthirsty, he is capable and resourceful. He can solve any problem easily.

Zhao Chuanxin looked at her expression and said in surprise: "You really can't bear to leave me. Are you so happy to see me?"

Abao was shocked, how could he be happy?

Her face darkened: "Huh, I just... just thought that you haven't done what you promised me. But you swore to help me get revenge."

Zhao Chuanxin bared his teeth: "Of course you must keep your word, otherwise Cheng Kun will be struck by lightning."

Abao felt a little weird.

She nodded and saw Benjamin Goldberg and Zhao Yixian following behind.

Suddenly, she felt faintly disappointed. Maybe the perverted monk didn't come to chase her on purpose, but was just passing by.

She was actually right.

Zhao Chuanxin took Benjamin Goldberg and Zhao Yixian out for shopping to see the customs and customs of Hankou during the day and did some shopping.

Thinking of this, Abao looked a little ugly and said, "I'm leaving. See you later."

Zhao Chuanxin said cheerfully: "Your pocket is cleaner than your face, right? Do you have money to buy a boat ticket?"

Abao: "..."

Zhao Chuanxin handed over several oceans wrapped in heavy oil paper: "Take it, consider it your consulting fee as a consultant."

If Abao hadn't reminded him at that time, Zhao Chuanxin would have missed out on a big deal.

When Abao took a look, wasn't this the silver dollar that was taken away by Zhao Chuanxin?

Seeing the expression on Zhao Chuanxin's face as he waited for her to thank him, she couldn't help but feel itchy with hatred.

"You, take care of yourself..." Abao really shouldn't say anything else.

"So you can do it for yourself?" Zhao Chuanxin gradually stopped smiling: "Jin Kunxiu's master is the Jiangyang thief Fan Gaotou, right? Those of you who are wandering in the world always think that you are the embodiment of justice. Let me ask you, what kind of person is Fan Gaotou? ?”

Abao's face turned solemn: "Of course he robbed the rich and gave to the poor, and spent his whole life as a knight..."

"Any hero!" Zhao Chuanxin spat: "Then let's take a bandit leader. Let's not mention that he kills without batting an eye and has killed many innocent lives. Let's say that he steals foreigners' cigarettes and destroys them, but he knows clearly. Just resell them. Let me ask you, are the cigarettes sold to foreigners for smoking? Why don’t we fucking suffer from it? Do you know that this guy deserves to die?"

Abao was speechless and unable to refute.

Because Zhao Chuanxin told the truth.

But the butt determines the head. She is a Taihu pirate, and she is used to putting gold on her face: "But that also hurts the foreigners..."

"What happened? The foreigners were harmed, and Fan Gaotou made money. Did he make money by building bridges and roads, helping the people, or investing in industry to create more jobs? He sold cigarettes and soil and harmed the people. When he got the money, didn't he just eat, drink, whore, gamble, and act recklessly? "

Abao was silent.

Zhao Chuanxin added: "Let's talk about you, Jin Kunxiu, and your group of subordinates. You often say that you take wealth without harming lives. Let me ask you, have you really never harmed anyone's life?"

Abao opened his mouth, but lowered his head without confidence.

Of course there is murder.

They trafficked in illicit salt, robbed passing ships, and occasionally did business similar to that of a bodyguard agency.

It is inevitable that you will encounter someone who refuses to listen and resists desperately, so he will be killed.

They are used to bragging about each other in business, and they think it's nothing. Who wants you to resist? Even if you die, you deserve to die.

But looking at it from another perspective, isn't it just killing innocent people indiscriminately?

Zhao Chuanxin sneered: "You said that Jin Kunxiu never picked flowers, so why didn't he rape women? This has become a capital that can be used to show off? This is a basic moral standard for a person, otherwise he is a beast, thank you for having the nerve to show it out Show off. Are there no ordinary people among those who were robbed by you? Where did their money come from? Look at the men carrying cattail bags on the dock. This is how they earn. It’s better for you to just plunder them without taking the money. If you hurt people, is this a fucking merit?"

Abao was said to be very upset.

She couldn't help but said: "Then you killed so many people, so what do you say?"

Zhao Chuanxin laughed: "I killed someone, but did I kill the wrong person? I killed the foreigners because they invaded our land, so they should be killed. I killed the Taihu pirates because you have no conscience and still claim to be heroes who uphold justice for heaven. If you don’t kill me, who will you kill? On that day, if it wasn’t me, but someone else, would you have killed me on the spot?”

"This..." Abao was speechless.

She was so sad that day that she felt really sad.

Although she wasn't like this before.

"I'm not to blame for the death of your subordinates. It's all your responsibility." Zhao Chuanxin said to her coldly: "I let you go today because I think you are not bad to the core and can be saved. We are all sad guests in the world. , don’t say who is a poor person. When you go back, if you want to find someone to take revenge, or kill innocent people to vent your anger, haha, I will not spoil you just because you are a little widow. You have often made me angry along the way. What’s going to happen to people?”

A Bao broke into a cold sweat after being told this.

She bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.

Although she couldn't fully accept what Zhao Chuanxin said, at least she understood the truth, and the threat from Zhao Chuanxin was real.

She felt powerless, angry, and a little aggrieved.

In the end, the feeling of grievance took over, and she couldn't explain why.

Maybe it was the reason why Zhao Chuanxin changed his playful smile and teased her and threatened to kill her, but of course it might be something else.

After all, women are still emotional animals.

Because Zhao Chuanxian had just talked about the workers carrying cattail bags on the dock, Benjamin Goldberg ran to a resting worker and squatted down.

In the United States, workers are actually far happier than in China, and they are even more impressive. They are not paid enough to go on strike and march, but they work more and have to go on strike and march, and they are unfair to strike and march...

But none of the dock workers in Hankou that Benjamin Goldberg saw complained, especially the baggage workers who worked for Hu Gengtang. There will be no strike.

Those skinny men seemed to contain endless power in their bodies.

This kind of hard-working spirit is simply unheard of in Benjamin Goldberg.

He asked the thin but extremely strong worker: "Uncle, you are so tired, what is the meaning of life?"

The worker wiped his sweat and only roughly understood the meaning. He was embarrassed to say: "The meaning is to come to the dock to carry cattail bags."

"..." Benjamin Goldberg emphasized: "What I want to express is, what is your goal in life?"

The worker had just wiped off his sweat, and sweat broke out again. He bared his teeth and said, "The goal is to come to the dock to carry cattail bags."

Benjamin Goldberg: “…”

Over there, Abao clutched the silver dollar in his hand and heard the funny conversation between the two, but suddenly paused.

That conversation was obviously ordinary, but it caused waves in Abao's heart...