The Red Mansions

Chapter 136 The storm is rising
Jia Yun brought Liu Xianglian and Ni Er to the tea room to sit down and talk.

After the charming woman served the tea and stepped back, Jia Yun laughed and said, "Brother Liu and Second Brother Ni don't want to shout from adults, if you can afford it, just call Second Master!"

"That's good, we don't feel comfortable calling Master Yun Erye privately." Ni Er said carelessly.

Liu Xianglian also nodded with a smile.

Jia Yun smiled, poured tea for the two, and said with a smile: "This tea is a local specialty. Brother Liu and Brother Ni must try it, so it's not a waste of time to visit Cixi."

The two took a sip from the teacup, Liu Xianglian beamed with joy, and praised: "Good tea, is this sparrow tongue?"

"The tea leaves are green and moist, slightly fragrant, with a high and long-lasting fragrance. The tea soup is orange-yellow and bright. The entrance is smooth, fresh and sweet, light and moist, full of body fluid, after swallowing, the fragrance remains on the teeth and cheeks, and the aftertaste is long."

"Looking at the bottom of the leaves, the leaves are bright yellow and green, neat and well-proportioned, plump and tender into flowers, soft and thick, which shows that they are of high quality."

Jia Yun laughed and said, "Hahaha...Brother Liu really knows how to tea!"

"I think this tea is delicious, but I can't say one, two, three like Brother Liu!" Ni Er said with a smile.

The three of them laughed, and Jia Yun said: "Drink more if it tastes good, and tell me by the way, you investigate the details of Xue's business route."

Ni Er nodded and said, "At the beginning, I discussed with brother Liu that I would be in charge of the north, and he would be in charge of the south."

"To be honest, we are not specialized in this business. For the first month or so, we were all confused. We didn't know where to start. It was a waste of energy and time."

"Later, I listened to a scene one day and remembered a word called catch the big and let go of the small."

"So I asked my brothers to focus on those who have jobs, follow up and investigate their daily life trajectories, and immediately opened up their minds!"

"For example, the details of these people's family property and relatives, life history, who they have more contact with, where they go to have fun, who are their enemies and opponents, etc."

"I remember that just after investigating some things, someone sent a box of evidence to Erye Yun. Although it was all superficial, it also showed that our efforts were not in vain."

"Later, with the in-depth investigation, we knew more and more things, but one thing made it difficult for the brothers, that is, we still have no access to the core ledger."

"If you can't find the account book, you can't really figure out how much money these people have been greedy for. Just when things were at an impasse, people from Jinyiwei actually approached me."

Speaking of this, Ni Er looked at Jia Yun, gave a thumbs up, and said in admiration, "Second Master Yun, to be honest, I, Ni Er, have rarely been convinced in my life, and I really admire you."

"The group of people in Jinyiwei have always had their eyes above the top, and they bark their teeth and claws at everyone."

"A local rascal like me doesn't have eyes to see, but this time they are looking for me, guess what?"

"Heh, after they heard that I was working for Master Yun, they were being polite!"

"Second Master, it's not considered a skill for you to command us, but you can command Jin Yiwei, tsk tsk, that's really awesome!"

"Hey, let's get down to business. Just because people from Jin Yiwei joined us, the progress of our investigation is getting faster and faster. They can find a way to get a lot of confidential inside information."

"But it's also because of this that our group of people have become errands. You said it was done!"

"Later, after they finished the investigation, they took away those who committed serious crimes, but they didn't let us leave. Instead, they told us to keep an eye on those little characters like the little servants and keep digging."

"We didn't understand their intentions at the time, but later we found out that they wanted to give us credit, so that we can give Erye Yun an explanation, so that our work won't be wasted."

After finishing speaking, Ni Er took out a stack of silver bills from his arms, handed them to Jia Yun, and said, "This is what my brothers have recovered. In addition to food, there are still 58 taels of silver bills left. Hand it over to Second Master Yun."

After receiving it, Jia Yun nodded, took out 5 taels of silver bills, handed it to Ni Er, and said, "This is tea money for the brothers, please be sure to accept it."

Ni Er was able to keep a close eye on the entire northern Xue family business route, so he must have recruited a lot of men. If you have money, you can turn ghosts around, but if you don't have money, you can't do anything.

Therefore, those who should be rewarded should not hesitate and be stingy.

At the same time, through this incident, Jia Yun can almost grasp Ni Er's character.

With such a large sum of money, anyone would be tempted, but he can stick to the bottom line. Such a person is worth making friends with.

Ni Er didn't refuse, and thanked him with his hand: "I'm not welcome, if it's just me, it would be my blessing to help Er Ye run errands for nothing, but the brothers still have to support the family, and I will accept as much as Er Ye Yun gives! "

Jia Yun said with satisfaction: "That's exactly what it should be!"

At this moment, Liu Xianglian also took out a stack of banknotes from her bosom, handed them over and said with a smile:
"I have more than 86 taels here. It wasn't that much. It's just that the brothers are a bit ruthless, forcing those with dirty hands and feet to empty out their old bottoms."

"I thought they had already enjoyed the blessings, and they should suffer some hardships, so they didn't return them, and just brought them to Erye Yun."

After Jia Yun took the bank note, she took 8 taels out of it and gave it to Liu Xianglian, then turned to Ni Er and said:
"Second brother Ni, brother Liu is in the south, and the things they encountered are more complicated. Give them more money for tea, do you have any objection?"

Ni Er smiled and said: "Haha, it should be so. Don't worry, Er Master Yun. Ni Er has been in the world for so many years, and he still understands this rule. If you can ask me, you will think of me."

Jia Yun smiled and nodded, and gave the banknote to Liu Xianglian.

At the same time, he also knew that those who committed crimes on Xuejiashang Road were basically wiped out after Jin Yiwei, Liu Xianglian, and Ni Er beat their bones and squeezed their marrow.

What is left now will naturally find opportunities to be promoted and reused.

After all, Father Xue has been dead for so many years, and those people can still keep their duties and never leave, but this friendship cannot be ignored.

After Liu Xianglian took the silver ticket, she laughed and said, "My good fellow, I've grown up so much, I've never owned so much silver. If I go to Chunlou in the future, I won't have to eat, drink, and sleep for nothing!"

Jia Yun and Ni Er couldn't stop laughing when they heard what he said.

This Liu Xianglian is handsome, elegant and heroic, very popular with women.

But he is a poor man, even so, there are many brothel girls who like to treat him upside down, which is an elegant and interesting thing.

After laughing, Liu Xianglian got up and said: "I can't keep the money, before the money is warmed up, I will take it out and share it with my brothers, otherwise, when I use it up, I will be ashamed to see others." .”

"Let's go, let's go together. Brothers get the money earlier, and they can feel at ease earlier. Drinking will be more enjoyable. After all, after half a year of exhaustion, it's not a waste of work, right?" Ni Er also said.

Jia Yun didn't stop her, nodded and said: "Brother Liu and Second Brother Ni, please go ahead and come back quickly. I have prepared a good table here, and I have ordered someone to call Brother Xue. When he comes back, we will have a good time." Have a drink."

"This is good!" Ni Er said happily, then bowed to Jia Yun at the same time with Liu Xianglian, and went out.

Not long after the two went out, Jia Yun heard a burst of laughter from the outer courtyard, and she seemed very happy and excited.

Jia Yun didn't want to have direct contact with this group of people from the rivers and lakes, and he didn't need to lower himself to become one with them.

To put it bluntly, since people from the rivers and lakes are mixed in the rivers and lakes, they are not very good, and few have a bottom line in their hearts. In the face of interests, they can also rebel at any time.

Therefore, Jia Yun would only let those people work for him indirectly through Liu Xianglian and Ni Er.

As long as he has money, when he needs help from the people of the Jianghu, there are many people who can work for him.

After a while, Liu Xianglian and Ni Erxi came back smiling.

After they saluted and sat down, Jia Yun asked, "What is the itinerary for Brother Liu and Second Brother Ni to pick them up?"

Liu Xianglian pondered and said: "I want to go back to the capital first, and repair the ancestral house and grave. I have been wandering outside these years, and I have never taken care of it. The unworthy child is very smooth, and I feel very sorry."

Jia Yun nodded, then turned to ask Ni Er, "Second Brother Ni, what about you? What are your plans for the future? Now that you have money, you won't be that street ruffian again, right?"

"Oh, there was no way to do it before, it was all for survival." Ni Er shook his head and sighed, hesitating for a moment, he asked Jia Yun:
"I don't know if there is still a shortage of errand runners around Master Yun? I, Ni Er, have no other skills, but I am quite good at running errands and leading horses."

This time he worked for Jia Yun, which broadened his horizons a lot, especially after dealing with Jin Yiwei, Ni Er's spirit has improved a lot.

So, before coming here, he wanted to join Jia Yun.

Not to mention anything else, just because Jia Yun is young and can call Jin Yiwei to help with things, it shows that Jia Yun is far from as rootless as he usually sees.

And just because he is young, his future is limitless, even if he doesn't think about himself, he has to think about his future children.

If he could go to Jia Yun, he might not be able to give the child a good future in the future. This was what Ni Er thought.

Jia Yun laughed loudly, stepped forward to hold Ni Er's hand and said, "Second Brother Ni is too humble, it is my honor that you think of coming to join me."

"Okay, you can follow me from now on, as long as I have a stutter, I won't let you go hungry!"

Ni Er was overjoyed, and after leaving his seat, he took a few steps back, then knelt down and kowtowed to Jia Yun a few times, and said softly:

"Little Ni Er, pay my respects to the master. From now on, Ni Er's hundred or so catties will be handed over to the master!"

Jia Yun didn't stop Ni Er from kowtow, and after he finished kowtow, she stepped forward to help him up and said:

"Listen to his words, watch his actions, and hope that Brother Ni can become my right-hand man in the future!"

"Good!" Liu Xianglian on the side gave a big praise and applauded.

Ni Er struggled and said: "Since the little one has recognized the master as the master, it will not be appropriate for the master to call the young second brother Ni in the future. Just call him by his name, or the little one will feel uncomfortable!"

Jia Yun didn't refuse, she nodded and said: "Okay, there must be rules, so let me take the liberty of calling you Ni Er in the future!"

"That's how it should be called, haha, the master called the little Ni Er, the little Ni Er is so happy!" Ni Er laughed, and then stopped sitting back to drink tea, and stood behind Jia Yun and waited.

Jia Yun shook her head and said, "It doesn't have to be like this, brother Liu is here today, we have to talk about the rules in the future, and today you have to be the second brother Ni for a day!"

Ni Er hesitated for a moment, without being pretentious, nodded, stepped forward and sat down, and said: "The master thinks of the younger ones, and the younger ones should be respectful and obedient!"

The matter of recognizing the master was settled, Jia Yun turned around and asked Liu Xianglian: "When is Brother Liu planning to leave for Beijing?"

"This matter is not urgent. This time I came to Jiangnan, I have been busy chasing down the money, and I haven't relaxed. I want to play around for a while, and then return to Beijing." Liu Xianglian pondered.

As he said that, he asked curiously: "I heard that Second Master Yun has set up a very powerful patrol camp?"

Jia Yun asked suspiciously: "A patrol battalion was formed, but a single battle was not fought. Who said they are very powerful?"

"Second Master Yun doesn't know yet? Now Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shaoxing and other places have spread the word that Cixi's newly formed patrol battalion can outnumber one hundred. It's so powerful that even the pirates will run far away when they hear of the reputation." Liu Xianglian said in surprise.

Jia Yun immediately thought that someone was trying to kill him and the patrolling camp.

After thinking for a while, he sneered and said, "My patrol battalion has not even fought a single battle yet, and some people wear top hats. Needless to say, there are probably two types of people who can make such noise."

"One is that the pirates want revenge, so hold us high first, and when they are ready, I hope the superiors will send the patrol battalion out to die!"

"There is another kind of people who are in collusion with pirates."

"Brother Liu may not know that the pirates attacked the Cixi Guild Hall in Ningbo years ago, and many high-ranking officials happened to be watching a theater there. The pirates wanted to take some of them away, but I killed many pirates."

"At that time, because the matter didn't last long, the government issued a gag order for the first time, so in the past few months, I have rarely heard anyone talking about it."

"Rumors suddenly spread at this moment, someone must be unable to sit still."

"After all, I was able to bring less than ten people with me, and I killed all the pirates. For some people, I was a great scourge and a stumbling block. They must hate me so much that they want to get rid of it. quick."

"Only by getting rid of me and the patrol battalion I formed, can they dare to do their smuggling business happily, and they can also pick up the pirates ashore, burn, kill and loot at the same time, and get rid of their competitors by the way."

"Second Master Yun is right." After hearing this, Liu Xianglian praised, "Second Master is really majestic, even the pirates were killed, so it is obvious that he killed them."

"Speaking of which, I'm really blind. I've never seen that the second master is actually capable of writing and martial arts. Tsk tsk, he's really a man!"

Ni Er on the side also stared wide-eyed, and said in disbelief: "My good fellow, if we hadn't heard what the master said, we really didn't realize that the master has extraordinary skills. We always thought that the master was just a scholar!"

"That's right, I am from the Jia family. The Jia family started with military exploits, and most of the clan members also practice martial arts!"

"The little one should have thought that the second master would know martial arts, but we are stupid. We didn't even think about it before, and subconsciously ignored it."

Jia Yun laughed loudly, waved her hands and said, "It's just a trivial skill, it's not worth mentioning."

"However, I still have to thank Brother Liu for mentioning this matter, so that I was prepared in advance, and I will definitely give those pirates and smugglers a good look in the future!"

Liu Xianglian excitedly said: "Take me, be sure to take me. Just now I heard Er Master Yun talking about killing pirates. I wish I could follow around. Next time I must not miss it!"

Jia Yun laughed and did not refuse, but said: "I promise you to kill the enemy together, but the battlefield is not a fight in the rivers and lakes. Brother Liu really wants to kill pirates, maybe he has to go to the patrol camp first."

"That's no problem. I've loved dancing with guns and clubs since I was a child, and I just want to go to the patrol camp!" Liu Xianglian nodded in response.

While talking, Xue Pan came back from outside.

Before I saw him, I heard his voice first, and heard him yelling loudly in the courtyard: "Where is Brother Liu? Brother Liu is here? Old Xue, I want to kill Brother Liu!"

At this time, Jia Ming said outside the door: "Uncle Xue, they and the master are drinking tea in the tea room."

Then, I saw Xue Pan rushing in excitedly. After seeing Liu Xianglian, his eyes lit up. After walking a few steps, he stepped forward and grabbed Liu Xianglian's hand, and said excitedly: "Brother Liu, old Xue, I want to kill you Already!"

"Get out! Don't make it so disgusting!" Liu Xianglian pushed Xue Pan away in disgust, and said, "I'm not the kind of person you think. I haven't learned my lesson from the beating last time?"

"Oh..." Xue Pan's face was filled with disappointment, and then he was suddenly happy, and said:
"Brother Liu misunderstood, right? I just haven't seen Brother Liu for a long time, and I just want to catch up with you, not him."

Liu Xianglian sarcastically said: "It's no wonder I believe you, just say what you say, and if you dare to move, look at my fists!"

The two quarreled for a while, and just as they sat down again, the beauty suddenly came in and said that the food and wine were ready.

At this time, she saw Ni Er again, her face brightened, and she stepped forward to salute, "Uncle Ni, is it really you?"

"Heh, it's a beauty. I heard that you and Keren followed the master before, and I haven't had a chance to see you. Well, you and Keren are both blessed!" Ni Er stood up and said with a smile.

"Master?" Li Ren heard Jia Yun's words and glanced sideways at Jia Yun. Seeing him nodding slightly, she turned her head and smiled at Ni Er, "I didn't expect Second Uncle Ni to come to our house, that's great!"

Jia Yun got up and said: "Eat first, you will have plenty of time to catch up on the old days!"

Jia Yun knew about Ni Er and Li Ren's parents, so it's not surprising that they knew each other well.

I remember that the houses of Liren and Keren's family were crushed by heavy snow. On New Year's Eve, Ni Er went to help them grab things from the ruins, and was bumped into by Jia Yun on the road.

Later, after the beauties and the others came to Jia Yun's house, Jia Yun asked them about their relationship with Ni Er.

A group of people filed out and came to the living room to sit down and eat.

At the dinner table, Jia Yun sat up, Xue Pan and Liu Xianglian sat on his left and right sides, and Ni Er sat next to Liu Xianglian.

After Xue Pan poured wine for everyone, Jia Yun toasted and said, "The last time we drank together was on a farm outside the capital, and it has been more than half a year since we parted."

"Now that we are destined to meet again in Cixi, we should have a few drinks to celebrate."

"This first cup, I would like to thank Brother Liu and Second Brother Ni for their hard work in the past six months..."

(End of this chapter)