Chapter 88: Excessive Consumption
Qi Er took this opportunity to observe Xu Qingying carefully.

I saw that she was not very old, a little thin, and her appearance was deliberately decorated. Only her black and white eyes could be seen clearly.She chewed her food carefully and tasted every dish. She looked like a well-educated person.

Under such a situation, she could still sit still without any panic on her face, which shows that she is mentally strong.

As expected of the niece of the censor Zhongcheng in Bianjing City, she was bold enough to start a business on the road to exile.

From Bianjing City to Xingyuan Mansion, it only took a month. She, a weak woman, was able to form an elite army and strong generals in such a short period of time. Even the accompanying escorts obeyed her orders——

Miss Qi Er dared not look down on Xu Qingying even more.

Even though she had Xu Qingying's handle in her hand, she still had to deal with it with all her strength.

The two people sat at the same table to eat by accident. One talked about what he had seen along the way, and the other talked about the local characteristics.

Going around and around in a fog, always intentionally or unintentionally avoiding the serious things to talk about.

Xu Qingying considered that they could not stay for a long time, so she took the lead in breaking the window paper: "Miss Qi Er, your mouth is almost dry as you talk, when are you going to give me the person?"

Miss Qi Er slowly put down her chopsticks, with a half-smile on her face, "Mr. Xu, are you talking about the Jie Chai named Huang Yazi?"

Having said this, Xu Qingying already knew two things.

The first thing is that Miss Qi Er has found Huang Yazi.

The second thing is that Huang Yazi probably told Miss Qi Er everything he knew, including the prescription.

Seeing that Xu Qingying was silent, Miss Qi Er's face turned cold, she slapped the table and said: "Miss Xu Liu, you are so brave. As an exiled prisoner, you dare to start a business on the road of exile?!"

As soon as he said this, everyone at the next table stood up with their swords drawn.The two parties faced each other across the table, glaring at each other angrily, and almost starting to fight if they disagreed.

Xu Qingying made a calm gesture to Team Leader Zhao, then crossed her legs with a smile, "Miss Qi Er, if you really want to arrest me and report me to the police, I was arrested when I stepped into Xingyuan Mansion, why bother?" Such a big table of food is wasted. But by the way, Zuixian Pavilion is indeed the largest restaurant in Xingyuan Mansion, and the rice dumplings made with fermented rice are really fine, long, sweet and fragrant."

Miss Qi Er stared at Xu Qingying, and saw that she actually picked up the bowl and drank all the wine at the bottom of the bowl calmly.

Miss Qi Er was at a loss. She burst out laughing and said to the maid next to her: "Look, look, I'll just say it. This little battle won't scare her."

The people at the next table didn't dare to breathe. With Miss Qi Er's laughter, the atmosphere improved slightly.

Miss Qi Er sat down again, with a gentle and doting tone, "You girl, you are more courageous than me. This means that there is some affection between you and me. If it were anyone else, we would not directly report you to the officials!"

"What's the crime?" Xu Qingying tilted her head, "The laws of the Zhou Dynasty clearly stipulate that prisoners cannot do business after being exiled to the place of exile, but it does not say that they cannot do business on the road."

As for the words "love", just listen to it.

She is not stupid enough to believe in the feelings of a man who has been in the business field for many years.

As the saying goes, wealth can be found in danger, and Miss Qi Er is not a righteous citizen. She cannot make enemies for herself and do stupid things that hurt her enemies by one thousand and hurt herself by eight hundred.

The reason why Miss Qi Er pretended not to know her identity was probably because she wanted to see what kind of disturbance she was going to cause in Xingyuan Mansion.

As a businessman, seeking money always comes first.

Xu Qingying looked like she accepted it, "Then thank you Sister Qi for being merciful."

"Hmph, I confided in you, but you told me lies." Miss Qi Er made a look of hurt that Xizi was heart-warming about, "It's a shame that I came to Xingyuan Mansion and called the police because of your words. You have to make it up to me for so many acquaintances.”

"Then what kind of compensation does Sister Qi want?"

Miss Qi Er smiled slyly, "Mr. Xu, why don't you tell me whether the prescription in Huang Yazi's hand is real or fake?"

At this point, Miss Qi Er finally showed her fangs, "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. Huang Yazi is a very coward. He confessed everything as soon as we met. Including that prescription..."

Miss Qi Er leisurely played with the cinnabar on the cinnabar, and said with a smile, but there was a cold light in her eyes, "Huang Yazi, I just had a few of his teeth pulled out, and he was so scared that he wet his pants and begged for mercy. Let me let him go. No, I got a soap recipe for nothing. My dear sister, you kept it secret so well that you actually made me spin around!"

Miss Qi Er was calm and powerful, and the temperature in the whole private room seemed to drop suddenly. Feng'er stood aside and felt that her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

It's over, it's over, Miss Qi Er knows everything.

Will she kill the girl in anger?
No, she has to protect the girl.

Feng'er glared at Miss Qi Er, as if she would rush to protect her whenever she made any move.

"The prescription is real." Xu Qingying wiped her mouth indifferently and glanced up at Miss Qi Er, "I think Miss Qi Er has already seen the prescription and found someone to test it, right? What, something went wrong? "

Qi Er's eyes narrowed and the corners of his lips twitched, "It's so fast. Didn't your prescription say that you have to wait for the condensation to come out of the mold?"

Xu Qingying estimated that Qi Er must have made it according to the recipe, but the effect was not good.

Although she wrote down the recipe at the time, she was careful in the end and did not indicate to what extent it could be poured into the mold. In fact, it was not difficult. You can always find the pattern after a few experiments.

"Xu Liu, give me the prescription and I'll give you 2 taels." Miss Qi Er's tone this time was unquestionable, even a little aggressive.

Everyone listened carefully and held their breath knowing that today's negotiation had reached a critical point.

"Impossible." Xu Qingying refused without thinking, "My prescription will cost at least this amount on the market."

Xu Qingying made a ten sign.

"10 taels, you have such a strong tone!"

"Whether it's worth this number, Miss Qi Er naturally knows in her heart."

"Hey, Xu Liu, don't be shameless. I'm telling you, the recipe is already in my hands. You have only two ways to go. Either tell me the last step, take the money and leave. Or I Just reveal that you have the soap recipe and see how many powerful people want to deal with you!"

Miss Qi Er's sudden change of expression caught everyone present by surprise.

Team Leader Zhao slapped the table and put his hand on the handle of the knife. If Xu Qingying hadn't repeatedly signaled to be calm, Team Leader Zhao would have drawn the knife to kill someone.

Others were staring at Miss Qi Er eagerly.

Miss Qi Er smiled coldly, no longer as gentle as before, "Xu Liu, just give up when you see fit, take the 2 taels of silver and get out, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, I will make it impossible for all of you to leave Xingyuan Mansion." The door!”

At the critical moment, Xu Qingying slowly stood up.

She was not tall, but her aura was astonishing. She stared at Qi Er with a pair of clear black and white eyes, and said word by word: "I will not give the prescription to you. Miss Qi Er wants to kill or behead, please do as you please. I have something else to do, so I’ll leave first.”

Miss Qi Er was stunned.

And just when she was in a daze, Xu Qingying had already raised her steps and walked out without hesitation.

Everyone stared at the man's back in stunned silence, their jaws dropped in shock.

No, leaving midway is nothing.

Qi Er immediately became anxious and shouted at the back: "Twenty-five thousand taels, no more!"

The figure immediately stopped.

Team leader Zhao and others were waiting where they were.

Xu Qingying turned around, but there was no trace of anger on her face. Instead, she turned back and grabbed Miss Qi Er's wrist. She smiled like a disciple and said: "Miss Qi Er, remember to bluff next time. Don’t shake your hands when you do it.”

Miss Qi Er changed her face slightly, took out her hand, pushed her, and said angrily: "You heartless person!"

Everyone couldn't keep up with the plot again.

Are women so fickle?

This retreat and then advance, indulgence in lust, what kind of riddle are two people playing?

Xu Qingying sat down again, this time her posture was much lazier, she even crossed her legs leisurely, and motioned to Miss Qi to sit down, "Second Sister Qi, sit down, let's have a good talk this time."

Qi Er sat down reluctantly and snorted arrogantly, with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I knew I couldn't fool you."

"Twenty-five thousand taels, is your entire net worth?"

Qi Er turned his head, his face slightly red, "I'm going to borrow 5000 taels from Zhao. You must have heard about me. My uncles at home are eyeing me, and I'm being constrained everywhere. In the past two years, there has been a war in the north, and the Qi family has Business is not easy to do."

Seeing Bantou Zhao and others looking at her with confusion, Xu Qingying had no choice but to explain: "Second Sister Qi had no intention of blackmailing me. She was just bluffing. Even if we rejected her, she would not take action against us."

Qi Er patted her hand and said coquettishly: "You damn girl, our Qi family's business depends on credibility. I can't do anything like buying and selling by force. I originally wanted to fool you." Just say a few words, and if you can't bear it, I'll give you the money. Who would have thought that you girl, like a human spirit, wouldn't be fooled."

Xu Qingying smiled, "If your acting skills were more realistic just now and your hands stopped shaking so much, maybe I would really believe you. Sister Qi Er, you are not the type to do dirty work. Of course you can't pretend to be so ruthless. from."

Qi Er also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Xu Qingying hasn't left yet, as long as Xu Qingying is still willing to sit down, it proves that things can turn around.

When she shouted "Twenty-five thousand taels", she knew that she had the upper hand in this game.

She really had to admire Xu Qingying.

At such a young age, he is so calm and able to maintain such keen observation in such a chaotic situation.

"Miss Qi Er, I also want to congratulate you." Xu Qingying's voice was light, but there was a touch of condescending appreciation and approval in her eyes.Even like the elders admiring the younger ones.

Miss Qi Er didn't know why: "Why, you have figured it out and are going to give me the recipe? Or, we can cooperate. The conditions are negotiable!"

Xu Qingying smiled and patted Miss Qi Er on the shoulder, "I want to congratulate you for passing my test."

"Huh?" Miss Qi Er was really confused this time by Monk Zhang Er, "What kind of test?"

"Actually, I do have some ideas about soap, and I urgently need a partner. Originally, Huang Yazi took away my soap recipe, and I thought he would definitely come to you, and even give me my soap recipe to save his life. The identity and the contents of the prescription have been leaked to you. So I tried my best to catch him, and secondly, I wanted to test you and see what you would do if you got this prescription."

Xu Qingying's eyebrows were light and her tone was very soft, but it inexplicably made Miss Qi Er feel frightened.

"I thought that you could either pretend that you didn't get the prescription, then turn around and take the prescription as your own, and start making soap yourself. Or you could use my identity to threaten me and hand over all the prescriptions." Xu Qingying's hands were as if Youruowu knocked on the table, "But now it seems that I won the bet."

Qi Er was stunned, "So you had guessed that Huang Yazi would give me the prescription?"

"Huang Yazi knows that you have bought our soap before, so when you arrive at Xingyuan Mansion, you will definitely look for you non-stop. And if you are entrusted by me, you will definitely look for Huang Yazi. The two of you will definitely run into each other. But, Judging from the results, Miss Qi Er is a girl worthy of trust and trust."

Qi Er couldn't recover for a long time, "Why did you take such a big detour, just to test me? What next?"

"Of course we want to make a lot of money together. Miss Qi Er has forgotten that I promised you to make a fortune in Xingyuan Mansion."

At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the private room. Ming Xiaoshuang only showed his head and saluted her, "Girl, the matter is done."

Xu Qingying nodded.

Miss Qi Er looked at the two men playing riddles and asked quickly: "What's going on?"

Xu Qingying asked instead without answering, with a burning smile in her eyes: "Miss Qi, are you interested in cooperating and squeezing the pockets of the wealthy people in Xingyuan Prefecture?"

Qi Er couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all. It was in vain that she had been conceited and smart since she was a child, and she knew all the twists and turns in the business world. But somehow, now in front of Xu Qingying, she was like a new daughter-in-law who had just married into her husband's family. She had no control over everything. No clue.

She had no choice but to give up all her little thoughts and simply asked directly: "Miss Xu, can you tell me more clearly, where is the source of wealth for Xingyuan Mansion?"

"We'll talk about the details on the way. Is the meal ready? Let's talk while walking. Since we finally came to Xingyuan Mansion, we have to take a look."

Miss Qi Er could only suppress her strong curiosity, "What about the Huang Yazi man? Do you want more?"

Xu Qingying stared at her and smiled slightly, but there was an aura in her movements that no one could ignore, "Huang Yazi... is already in our hands."

"It's impossible. I locked him in the backyard and sent someone to guard him."

Xu Qingying didn't say anything and just walked out. Miss Qi had to follow quickly to keep her company, but she didn't forget to wink at the maid next to her to confirm where Huang Yazi was.

It wasn't until this moment that Miss Qi Er was truly relieved.

What a risk, with just one thought, I almost became an enemy with the person in front of me.

Being Xu Qingying's enemy makes her back feel cold no matter how much she thinks about it.

How to fight with her? This girl is like a spirit. Every step she takes is planned by Xu Qingying and she is eaten to death.

She was still plotting for Xu Qingying, but Xu Qingying was already plotting for her.

While she was still worrying about the 2 taels, Xu Qingying already had another bigger business in mind.

Squeeze the pockets of the wealthy people in Xingyuan Prefecture dry?

Why do I feel so excited just thinking about it?

One afternoon, Xu Qingying led the team to walk around Xingyuan Fucheng.

The weather was a bit gloomy, and in the afternoon, snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

Pedestrians fled one after another, and people around Miss Qi Er also bought oil-paper umbrellas and held them up.But when Feng'er had no money and was at a loss what to do, the girl also handed over an oil-paper umbrella and said with a smile: "Hurry up and protect your girl from the wind and snow."

Feng'er accepted it gratefully, but at the same time she had to lament that she was still far behind the girls from wealthy families.

Looking at how they treat others, if she wants to follow this girl to do big things, she has to practice more.

"By the way, Miss Qi Er, why don't you see Mr. Zhao from Zhao Ji Grocery Store this time?"

Qi Erlue said with some schadenfreude: "He has many brothers and sisters in his family, and they have been fighting fiercely recently. He said he was entangled by the woman sent by his second brother and couldn't get away."

Xu Qingying's lips curled up.

It seems that the relationship between Miss Qi Er and Mr. Zhao Ji is not as bad as it seemed that day.Otherwise, Mr. Zhao would not even tell Miss Qi Er such trivial matters.

Looking at the snowflakes that were as dense as goose feathers, Xu Qingying also felt that she was very cold, but she couldn't help but ask: "Miss Qi Er, is it normal to snow in November?"

Miss Qi Er looked at the gloomy sky with a solemn expression, "It's not normal. In previous years, Xingyuan Mansion was also cold, but it rarely snowed, let alone when winter just started in November, it snowed so heavily."

Fang Ningmo frowned slightly and said, "I'm afraid the North will fail again this year."

Bantou Zhao also said: "Last year there was a huge locust plague in the north, and many people dragged their families and families towards Bianjing City. This year it has snowed in the south, and I don't know what the situation will be like in the north."

Fang Ningmo may have been affected by the notice just now. He pursed his lips and said coldly: "The superiors have no virtue. They have sent down heaven's punishment, but they have made the people homeless."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

Although the people of the Zhou Dynasty had complained a lot against the young emperor and Zhu Guojiu over the years, no one dared to criticize the emperor so openly.

No one dared to answer the question, pretending they didn't hear it.

Xu Qingying turned her head to look at Fang Ningmo, but saw a trace of hatred on her porcelain face.She secretly patted Fang Ningmo's hand and reminded her to be careful. Fang Ningmo also noticed that she was losing her temper and immediately changed the subject and said, "I see that there are not many refugees in Xingyuan Mansion."

Only then did Miss Qi dare to follow up: "I heard that most of the refugees have gone south."

However, Bantou Zhao said: "I heard that the harvest in the south is not good this year. There were floods in many places in Jinzhou Prefecture, and many people simply abandoned their fields and went into the mountains to become bandits. This year's grain payment in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is said to be less than one-third of last year's of two."

Xu Qingying looked at the refugees huddled in the corner on Xingyuanfu Street. Most of them were half-clothed and their lips were purple from the cold. They huddled in the corner like zombies. Their bodies were lifeless and they were hanging on with only the last breath of life. With.

She couldn't help but sigh: "It's true that when things prosper, people suffer; when things die, people suffer."

But what can she do?

It seems that being able to take care of herself is already a great skill.

Xu Qingying can only force herself not to look at the suffering of others. She is like an ostrich, thinking that as long as suffering does not enter her eyes, it will not enter her heart.

She is too weak to change anyone's fate.

Xu Qingying finally understood that human beings are tough animals and can adapt to any environment.

In the past, we could spend a day in a heated room, but now in ancient times, we can spend a day wearing only two or three pieces of unlined clothing.

Human physique is indeed constantly changing with the environment.

Looking at the people coming and going on the street and the common people wearing single clothes, she suddenly thought that cotton did not seem to be widely cultivated in the Zhou Dynasty——

In the memory of the original owner, people in the Zhou Dynasty mostly used animal furs to keep warm, or wore two extra pieces of silk and linen clothes, and then relied on their righteousness to resist the severe cold.

So she curiously asked: "Miss Qi, don't people in Xingyuan Mansion wear cotton clothes?"

Miss Qi Er frowned: "What is a cotton coat?"

Xu Qingying put it another way, "It's cotton... kapok, have you seen it?"

Miss Qi Er smiled, "Ah, kapok, they are everywhere in the countryside and mountains. But what are the cotton clothes you are talking about? Do you use kapok to make clothes?"

Xu Qingying was sure this time that the Zhou Dynasty had indeed not realized the economic value of cotton.

Cotton is a plant with high yield and wide use. It can be made into cotton clothes, cotton trousers, and quilts. It is very effective in keeping out the cold in winter.

Isn’t this a ready-made business opportunity?
Wouldn't it be best to wait until the soap thing is finished and then start the cotton thing?

Xu Qingying began to plan tonight's Chamber of Commerce dinner in her mind. In the middle of it, she remembered that the weather was so cold and she should prepare more warm clothes, so she asked Feng'er: "Feng'er, see if there is anyone selling furs later. If so, If so, you can count the population of my family, and then include you and Zhenniang, and by the way, Team Leader Zhao and the officials are also included. Place an order first, tell the boss to keep the goods for us, and send someone to pick them up in the evening. "

Xu Degui immediately stopped her and whispered in her ear: "Qingying, where do we have extra money to buy clothes? Don't forget, Huang Yazi took all the money away."

"Father, don't worry, Huang Yazi is already in our hands, so the money can't escape."

Xu Degui was more reluctant to give up. Seeing that Bantou Zhao was not paying attention, he immediately pulled Xu Qingying: "You do the math, a good fur will cost at least ten taels of silver. Our family plus Bantou Zhao's people , let alone almost 40 people. With your words, hundreds of taels of silver will go out!"

"Father, what is the purpose of making money? Isn't it just for a better life? If money is not spent, it is just a pool of stagnant water. If the stagnant water cannot flow, how can we revitalize funds and make more money?"

Faced with Xu Qingying, who spoke eloquently, Xu Degui was rarely confused this time and pointed out the key points directly: "But the problem is, we are now dry and have no money."

"Consumption in advance." Xu Qingying said with a smile, dedicated to changing the Xu family's habit of digging around in the three rooms, "And father, don't worry, we will have money in the evening."

(End of this chapter)

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