Daming Yinghua

Chapter 224 Laying a Subsidiary Specializing in Jewelry

"Madam is back?"

"Congratulations, madam."

"Ah, I heard that Chongming's cloth is better than our Songjiang's. Mrs. Xie rewards the cloth."

In the Wenzhe Garden, the servants saluted and thanked Zheng Haizhu one after another.

Then, everyone looked at Dong Erya tacitly.

Dong Erya was Mrs. Zheng's first confidant recruited from the Zhenjiang Canal. Since Han Ximeng became pregnant, she has been serving her around.

The mothers-in-law and maids of the Gu family and the Han family, although secretly muttering behind their backs that this former coolie girl from Shandong has had shit luck, they still respect her more and more as a celebrity on the surface.

What's more, the young master has done such a stupid thing this time, and it has been spread all over the Songjiang Mansion. After Dong Erya accompanied the young mistress back from Chongming, Dong Erya must know better than anyone what the situation between the hostess and hostess in Wenzhe Garden is like. Be sure to rush to chat with Zheng Haizhu.

Dong Erya still smiled innocently, as if the subtle atmosphere surrounding her did not exist, she said to Zheng Haizhu: "The young master and the young mistress are both in the garden today."

Zheng Haizhu dusted off the ashes on her body, and said with a normal expression: "After I went back to the house to wash, I went to their yard to talk. Someone took the Chongming pumpkin shreds I brought, mixed them with sesame oil and salt vinegar, and sent them over. Give the young master and young mistress a taste."

Dong Erya smiled and said: "The young mistress is in the summer, she will definitely like this. Then I will report to the young master and grandma first, the madam's carriage and horses have arrived home safely."

Zheng Haizhu gave a faint "hmm".

The servants and women also dispersed and continued to work.

Although they were amazed at the simplicity and calmness of the conversation between the two, at the same time they were relieved of their anxiety.

Dong Erya still put Gu Shouqian, the head of the family, first, and Mrs. Zheng actually talked to her in a gentle manner.

Spies have entered Madam's firearms factory, and her generals were killed by Jurchens. Today is Madam's first return to Wenzhe Garden after the dust settled, but she doesn't seem to be angry with Young Master Gu.

The servants and servants of the big mansion always hope that the house will be beautiful, and they will be more airy when they go shopping on weekdays.The imperial court ordered his wife like Zheng Haizhu to have an apartment in Wenzhe Garden, which is the scenery of the Gu family, and the servants do not want Mrs. Zheng to break up with Gu Zhaien.

Zheng Haizhu cleaned up a bit, changed into a decent dress, and went to the courtyard of Gu Shouqian and Han Ximeng.

More than a month ago, when Han Ximeng was in Chongming to figure out that the spinning jenny was similar to that of Song Yingxing, he met Jurchen spies who almost bombarded Zhuangzi.She soon decided to leave Chongming.

"Azhu, when I escaped from the bandit village, Shou Qian protected me like in the rumors. Now he must have become the laughing stock of the whole city. I have to go home, at least to make it look like the eldest lady of this family, Still there."

From Han Ximeng's gloomy complexion and tired tone, Zheng Haizhu fully understood her unspoken emotions, anger, helplessness, guilt, and hesitation.

This couple has an old favor with Zheng Haizhu, and has changed from a master-servant relationship to a close friend relationship.

Even if the husband did something stupid and messed up, which indirectly led to Wu Bangde's death, she, Zheng Haizhu, couldn't yell at Han Ximeng like the heroine of Brainless Shuangwen: Kick him and come with me.

Not only can't do this, but you have to calm down and think about how to guide the follow-up.

Gu Shouqian, just like Mu Zaohua in Hetuala in the past, they are not evil in nature, but reckless or naive in their character, which made them almost or have stepped into a pit in a certain journey of life.

At this moment, Zheng Haizhu, who stepped into the main courtyard of the couple, caught a glimpse of the two red-painted toilets that had just been washed in the corner.

One brand new, one slightly old.

Zheng Haizhu then understood that the couple mostly slept in separate rooms for a while, and Gu Shouqian should be sleeping in the study.

The servants were nimble, and they had served the refreshing pumpkin shreds with mung bean porridge on the table.

Gu Shouqian came out of the study, described Qingxia as haggard, and cupped his hands at Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, Shouqian is stupid and stupid, I am ashamed of you, and I am even more sorry for Old General Qi and Wu, Mr. Wu."

Zheng Haizhu stared at Gu Shouqian, sighed, and said in a deep voice, "You're sorry, miss. You can be fooled by anyone, how could you be fooled by Han Xiying?"

Gu Shouqian lowered his head wearily.

He asked himself that he fell into Han Xiying's way this time, and it was definitely not because of any lustful thoughts, but Miss Zheng was right, his so-called soft heart was a deep hurt to his wife.

The door curtain slammed softly, and Han Ximeng took his son Gu Zuoyou's hand and stepped out of the threshold.

Holding the rice paper, Gu Zuoyou took a careful look at his mother's face before running up to Zheng Haizhu, and said in a childlike voice, "Auntie, the oriole I drew was for Mama's embroidery. It's threading."

Zheng Haizhu patted his head and boasted: "It's a good painting, is it your father who taught you the brushwork?"

Gu Zuoyou quickly glanced at Gu Shouqian again and said: "Yesterday, my father taught me for a whole day, and I drew a lot of wings alone. Erya said, I can open a braised meat shop."

Zheng Haizhu showed off her face and knew it in her heart.

Allowing the precious son to stay in his father's study for a day, the affection between the couple is still there.

Sure enough, Han Ximeng walked in front of Gu Shouqian and Zheng Haizhu, without a frosty expression, but said solemnly to Gu Shouqian, "Even if I believe that you are just a Bodhisattva with a heart and a good heart, instead of drinking Han Xiying's ecstasy soup, I don't forgive you. Ah Zhu has to say it herself."

Gu Shouqian hurriedly said: "I save it, I save it! The iron tools and cattle I bought for Chongming, and the summer clothes and horse feed for Mr. Qi, I just want to make up for my mistakes, I implore Azhu..."

Han Ximeng said: "No amount of money can exchange Mr. Wu's life, nor can it prevent the Tatars from coming to the south of the Yangtze River to taste the sweetness."

"Okay," Zheng Haizhu said softly to stop the two of them, hugged Gu Zuoyou on his lap, and hung a herbal sachet made of Chongming fine cloth around the child's head and neck. I am here today to look ahead with you. Yu privately, I hope that you are still a good couple. Yu Gong, if the young master and miss want to go outside Songjiang, I have a place to go, and I have to take care of it today. I’m here to listen to you two.”

Gu and Han were relieved when the topic was changed, and they were also grateful for Zheng Haizhu's demeanor, so they expressed their willingness to hear more about it.

Zheng Haizhu said bluntly: "I asked Yan Xuanfu to buy a sea boat. I also followed the rules of Songjiang Mansion to find a dental dealer and run a boat guide. From now on, I can enter Hong Kong for sea sales."

Gu Shouqian asked curiously: "Is this ship not affiliated to Haoming Trading Company?"

Zheng Haizhu thought in his heart, yes, after all, he is an educated and thoroughly enlightened minority in this world. Although Gu Shouqian has never been in business, his brain is not stupid. The amount of information implied in a ship at sea.

"That's right, Chuan's surname is Zheng, but only Zheng. Brother Yan and I made it clear that because the only surname is Zheng, we will not participate in the sea and land sales of Haoming Trading Company, which is a joint venture between me, him, and Mao Wenlong, but create a new one Category. Do you still remember that in Taiwan, when the young lady asked if she wanted to take a share in Haoming Trading Company, did I decline?"

When Han Ximeng heard the words, he suddenly realized: "Now you want me and my wife to manage your business only with the surname Zheng?"

Zheng Haizhu said: "Partnership is also possible, but it is best for you to live overseas, not for us to hire a shopkeeper."

After Zheng Haizhu finished speaking, she observed the eyes of the couple.

Han Ximeng was surprised but not timid.

Gu Shouqian's gloomy look just now was even more swept away.Now the city is full of rumors and ridicules, and the firearms factory that made him feel that his Danqing skills are useful, he has no face to go back and face Sun Yuanhua. Leaving is indeed a way out of a desperate mental state.

"Miss Zheng, where are you going and what are you selling?" Gu Shouqian asked.

"Go to Champa, open a trading company there, and collect gems from Ceylon, Mengmi, and Golconda."

Champa is the southern part of Vietnam, and Ceylon, Mengmi, and Golconda are the later generations of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India respectively, producing high-quality sapphires, rubies, and diamonds.

Zheng Haizhu began to think about this business as early as when he saw the exquisite gold-inlaid gemstone jewelry of the women's family members in Yanzhou Lu Wang's Mansion.

With the efforts of her and other heroes, during the Minghe naval battle, the Ming army taught Hongmao a lesson, not only making the ships of the Dutch East India Company follow the rules set on the negotiating table, but also letting the Chinese ships go away. The routes in Nanyang are much safer.

Champa, a kingdom located in South Vietnam with a good seaport, has relied on the power of the Ming court to compete with North Vietnam for many years, and has treated the Ming people with courtesy.In recent years, the King of Champa sent troops to assist the Sudan of Malacca in fighting against the Portuguese invaders. Therefore, Zheng Haizhu is confident in establishing a sea trade base in Champa, receiving goods from several major jewelry producing areas in Southeast Asia, and transporting them back to Songjiang for inlaying.

High-end jewelry has an aesthetic threshold.Zheng Haizhu originally aimed at the upper class, so this business needs to be done by Gu Han and his wife, who have seen high-quality artworks since childhood and are also familiar with the aesthetics of the rich and powerful.

But today, Gu Shouqian, a noble son of the scholar class, has passed another level of examination if he can ask "what kind of goods to sell".

He didn't go to visit mountains and rivers to recite poems and paint. From then on, he slowly entered the role of a businessman, which was Zheng Haizhu's expectation for him and Han Ximeng.

"Crack," Han Ximeng opened the nanmu jewelry box that Dong Erya brought out, took out a treasure-embedded gold hairpin, and asked Zheng Haizhu, "Is this Meng Mi's ruby ​​you mentioned?"

Zheng Haizhu took it, and said with a smile: "After I went to Prince Lu's mansion, I realized that this should be tourmaline. The Sanbao eunuch brought back a lot after going to the West, but compared with rubies, it is worthless. This remark offends Miao A Too much."

Gu Shouqian waved his hand indifferently.This gold hairpin was a wedding gift from Miao Ruiyun to Han Ximeng, and it was said to be a reward from the queen, so Zheng Haizhu would add that at the end.

Han Ximeng stroked the blood-glazed tourmaline on the nobile hairpin, and sighed: "When I first went to Taiwan, I felt that the world was much wider in an instant. In fact, Taiwan's south and west are even wider, and the products are even more amazing, right?"

Zheng Haizhu smiled: "Compared to this house, Songjiang Mansion is very large, and compared to the world on the other side of the ocean, Songjiang Mansion is very small."

Gu Shouqian mustered up the courage to look at his wife: "I am willing to go, we will go together."

Han Ximeng gave her husband no cold eyes this time, but she asked a very practical question: "Who will serve the mother-in-law?"

Zheng Haizhu said: "Wen Zhe Garden has servants and servants, Suzhou Bieye has no shortage of servants, and my Zhuangzi in Chongming has also started to build tile-roofed houses. Master Gu, Lingtang, and Miao Atai, I will take care of them locally Plus."

The three of them talked about some more details before Zheng Haizhu asked about another matter, how did Gu Shouqian go to Suzhou with his mother Lu Shi on the day he was kidnapped by the Jurchens to Sheshan.

……

Wang Yuesheng returned to the familiar Nanjing.

This city has witnessed the backbone of her Fang family ancestors as scholars, and also recorded the years of her living by the Qinhuai River.

Today, walking into the Biaozhong Temple, Wang Yuesheng felt that it was not so much her supporting Miao Ruiyun, but Miao Ruiyun's hand holding her and comforting her.

She was nervous because she wanted to meet the real master.

"Miss Wang."

The man in front of the stele turned around and greeted her kindly.

Wang Yuesheng hurriedly bowed his head and saluted.

In her mind, due to the long-term teaching, the fixed thinking formed a solemn scene. She and the man in front of her both transformed into Fang Xueshi and Jianwen Emperor.

The solemn sense of etiquette between the monarch and his ministers made her excited and proud from the embarrassment a moment ago.

That's what Miss Zheng couldn't give her.

How nice Miss Zheng is, how much she is valued and trusted, but Miss Zheng does not have the blood of the royal family.

And she, Wang Yuesheng, is a descendant of Confucianism.

Serving the emperor and savoring the sweetness of the rituals of the emperor and his ministers is the real source of joy for scholars of all ages.

It can also completely wash away the shame that she once lived in prostitution.

As the incarnation of a courtier, Wang Yuesheng didn't dare to raise her head and look at the person in front of her, she only heard that Shen Yue's voice sounded again.

"This is the first time I've come back to Yingtian, and as soon as I entered the city, I thought about offering a stick of incense to Bachelor Fang." Zhu Ganjuan said slowly.

In the sweetness that Wang Yuesheng felt, another layer of honey was added.

At this moment, there were not many tourists visiting the Biaozhong Temple, and the guards pretending to be shopkeepers were nearby, and no one else could hear their conversations, but Zhu Ganjuan did not call himself "widow", he used "I".

And insisting on using "Yingtian" instead of Nanjing seems to add a footnote to the sense of intimacy in the same enemy.

Zhu Ganjuan motioned for the bodyguard who was acting as a book boy behind him to come forward, pointed to the bundle in his hand and said, "Yuesheng, it's a blessing for my Zhu family to find you. You are really capable, the princess said, you went to the firearms factory A few craftsmen were sent in. You should be rewarded for meritorious service. You are an elegant scholar. It would be vulgar to reward gold and silver. I made a piano and gave it to you."

The book boy presented the qin wrapped in an ordinary blue Songjiang cloth cover, and when Wang Yuesheng took it, it was like falling into a dream.

Miao Ruiyun looked at her and reminded her: "Yuesheng, thank you."

"Ah... Slave, I would like to thank Your Highness. How can this slave have His Highness's own hands..."

The flattering of this celestial beauty was within Zhu Ganjuan's expectation.But he won't spend any more time looking at this face. He is not one of those humble scholars who have never seen the world, or a country boy who would be overjoyed to be greeted by Qinhuai beauties.

His time is precious.

"Yuesheng, go back to the inn and rest. I have something to discuss with the princess."

Zhu Ganjuan still spoke to this descendant of Fang Xiaoru in a calm and calm tone.

(End of this chapter)