The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 354 The bandit leader Zhu Xiaolang

Pan Mei took out a silver collar, weighed it, and stuffed it into Zha Hui's arms without saying a word.

Zha Hui's eyes widened as he held the silver collar. He had never seen such a large piece of silver since he was a child.

Greedy eyes flashed across his eyes, and he suddenly woke up, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

"Masters, just give me your orders if you have anything to do. I'm just a slave to this Banqiao store, haha, but I can't bear such a generous reward from you~~" Zha Hui said with a sad face.

He is not stupid. How could these people from the north reward him with a large piece of silver for no reason?

Pan Mei hugged his shoulders, her rough red face smiled menacingly: "Boy, grandpas need your help with a few small things."

Zha Hui's legs went weak and he knelt down. He held the silver in his hands and raised it high above his head. He cried mournfully: "I am not so lucky. I cannot bear the rewards from these gentlemen. I would like to ask these gentlemen to take back the rewards. I just want to give you orders. Xiao If people can help, they will help, because they are afraid that the villain will be incompetent and unable to help."

Pan Mei glared and grabbed his collar and lifted it up: "Stop the fucking nonsense! You have to help this favor, and you have to help if you don't!"

Zha Hui was even more frightened and trembling all over. Zhu Xiu signaled Pan Mei to let go of him, and said kindly: "You don't have to be afraid, as long as you do things for us honestly, I will give you a silver collar of the same weight after the work is done. With this With money, you can go wherever you want.”

Perhaps the temptation of the huge reward was too great, so Zha Hui forgot his fear and subconsciously said: "Seriously?!"

Pan Mei laughed loudly, and the cattail fan slapped him heavily on his shoulder: "I know you are a money-hungry brat!"

Zha Hui's face fell. The silver collar in his hand felt hot, but he couldn't shake it off.

"What do you guys want the villain to do~" Zha Hui sighed. Now that things have happened, he knows that he can't escape, so he can only listen to their purpose first.

Among the three northerners, the red-faced and bearded man and the northwest man with chapped and red cheeks do not look like good people at first glance. Looking at the posture of holding a knife, he looks like a murderous green forest bandit, not easy to mess with!

The only person who looked like a normal person was the young man who kept shaking his fan.
And the two fierce bandits were led by this young man.
Zha Hui trembled all over. Could it be that this seemingly charming young man was the kind of evil person mentioned in the play with a human face and an animal heart?

Zha Hui almost cried, why was he so unlucky~
Zhu Xiu winked at Pan Mei, who nodded, held Zha Hui's shoulder and walked aside, whispering a plan.

After hearing this, Zha Hui was so shocked that he cried out: "You want to build the Zhou family's boat?"

Pan Mei slapped him on the head: "If you want to die quickly, just scream!"

Zha Hui covered his mouth tightly, his eyes full of fear. These foreigners were really not good people. They were so bold that they even wanted to scuttle the Zhou family's cruise ship!

Zha Hui knelt down on the ground again, wiping his tears and crying: "Masters, please let me go! I am a good citizen, but I don't dare to do this! I have an eighty-year-old mother above me and a three-year-old baby below me."

Zhu Xiu said displeasedly: "You are the only child in the family. Both your parents are dead and you are not yet married. Where did you get this old mother's baby?"

"Uh" Zha Hui was speechless. It seemed that this group of people had investigated him beforehand.

Zhu Liang and Zhu Fang giggled when they saw his funny appearance.

Zha Hui rolled his eyes and said hurriedly: "The Cha family has been a good citizen for generations, and my ancestor was an official. I don't dare to do anything that violates the king's laws and ruins the reputation of my ancestors."

Pan Mei got angry, pulled out a knife and put it on his shoulder, shouting: "Good boy, how dare you talk nonsense in front of grandpa?"

Zha Hui was so frightened that his whole body froze, and he cried mournfully: "What this villain is telling the truth! Have any of you heard of the name of Zha Wenhui, the deputy privy minister of the dynasty?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Mr. Cha is a famous official in the world, so naturally he has heard of it."

Zha Hui bravely straightened his back, swallowed his saliva and said with a smile: "Zha Wenhui is from Xiuning, Shezhou, and my ancestor is also from Xiuning. In terms of seniority, he has to call me uncle~~~"

Zhu Xiu and Pan Mei looked at each other.

Pan Mei kicked him on the shoulder, pointed the blade of the long knife directly at his throat, and cursed angrily: "I don't have time to listen to your nonsense! I just want to ask you one question, do you want to do this business?"

Zha Hui was trembling all over and struggling fiercely inside.

Zhu Xiu leisurely said: "To tell you the truth, even if you don't agree, we will still do it, at worst we can find someone else to do it! There are so many men in Banqiao shop looking for a living, I'm not afraid that we won't be able to find a few who dare to work hard! For this money If you don’t make money, others will naturally make it!”

Hu Guangyue stepped forward, opened his palm, and grabbed the silver coin.

"We came to see you today, and many neighbors saw it. If the Zhou family investigates later, do you think you can escape suspicion?

You can't stay at the Banqiao store any longer. You have to leave sooner or later. Why not earn a generous salary before leaving? "

Zhu Xiu shook his head, glanced at Zha Hui who was lying on the ground dumbfounded, shook his folding fan and walked out of the courtyard gate.

Before Zhu Xiu could step over the threshold, Zha Hui stood up in excitement, with a ferocious look on his face: "I'll do it!"

Zhu Xiu smiled slightly, Hu Guangyue threw out the silver collar, and Cha Hui hurriedly caught it.

Pan Mei chuckled and whispered in his ear, which made Zha Hui feel frightened.

"Are you serious about piercing the Zhou family's ship?"

Zhu Xiu shook his head: "There is no need to dig through it, just make it impossible for the boat to sail today."

Zha Hui swallowed: "I understand, villain."

"Go find the people who work, and inquire about the Zhou family's whereabouts. If the news leaks out, you know what the consequences will be." Zhu Xiu's tone was cold.

Zha Hui nodded his head, his back vest already soaked with sweat. From tonight on, he would also have to live with his head in his belt.

Zha Hui went into the house and changed his clothes, then went out with a confession, Hu Guangyue followed him.

"If everything goes well, we can arrive at Jiangning at dawn tomorrow morning."

Pan Mei stroked her beard and laughed.

Zhu Liang raised his head and said, "Uncle, are the people on that big ship the same evildoers who took my grandma and my parents away?"

Zhu Xiu touched his head and said with a smile, "Not bad."

Zhu Liang clenched his small fists and said viciously: "I want to dig a boat too! I can swim, and I can swim well! I can hold my breath in the water, no one in Nanwazi can compare to me!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "But you are young and weak, and you don't know Kung Fu."

Zhu Liang scratched his head: "Uncle, I want to learn kung fu."

Zhu Liang glanced at Pan Mei secretly.

"Haha~ You know the stuff!" Zhu Xiu laughed dumbly.

Pan Mei curled her lips: "My kung fu will not be spread easily!"

Zhu Xiu winked at Zhu Liang, and the little guy was smart. He knelt down neatly on the ground, kowtowed, and said loudly: "I am willing to become Uncle Pan as my teacher! Please teach me how to practice martial arts!"

Pan Mei knew that it was Zhu Xiu who was secretly instigating her, so she glared at him angrily and said hesitantly: "My Kung Fu is not something you can just learn if you want to. You have to try first to see if you are the right one! Come on, first of all Let’s take a look at the horse stance.”

Immediately, under Pan Mei's guidance, Zhu Liang started gesticulating in a decent manner, while Zhu Xiu and Daya watched from the side.
~~~
At the right time, around six o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was setting in the west, and the golden afterglow spread over the river, as if it were covered with a layer of gold powder.

A carriage drove out of Banqiao store and headed for the dock.

Zhou Xian and his maid Dong Mei were sitting in the carriage, still discussing how delicious the river fish they just had at the restaurant was.

There was a group of brown-robed warriors protecting the carriage. The leader was a 35-year-old cold-faced man named Zhou Tong. He was a son of the Zhou family. Since he was a child, Zhou Zong hired martial arts masters to teach him martial arts.Zhou Xian is the legitimate daughter of Zhou Zong, and Zhou Tong is often responsible for escorting her when she goes out.

Zhou Tong's stern eyes scanned the people on the pier to ensure that no one would threaten the young lady's safety.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in front of the dock, and many boatmen and traders ran forward to watch the excitement.

I saw a sudden commotion on a cruise ship with colorful flags moored at the pier. Dozens of boatmen ran out of the ship in panic. Some people shouted loudly, as if they found a leak in the bottom of the ship.

The servants of the Zhou family who were left behind on the cruise ship hurriedly ran to report the news, and met the convoy as soon as they left the dock.

"Report to Zhou Hujun. The captain of the boatman came to report that there was a water leak at the bottom of the boat, and he is organizing manpower to repair it! I'm afraid we won't be able to sail tonight!"

Zhou Tong said in a deep voice: "What's the reason for the water leakage?"

"The captain said it was probably because the water was too deep and he hit the rocks at the bottom of the river."

Zhou Tong frowned and said nothing.

Zhou Xian opened the curtain and stuck his head out, saying with some expectation: "Uncle Zhou Tong, since you can't set sail back to the city, why not stay in Banqiao shop and wait until the bottom of the boat is repaired tomorrow before leaving. I'd be sorry to bother you, Uncle Zhou Tong." Send someone back to report to father."

Zhou Xian was wearing a veil, so his appearance couldn't be clearly seen, but his soft girlish voice made passersby turn around frequently, guessing that she must be a beautiful girl.

Zhou Tong vetoed without a doubt: "Young ladies are not allowed to stay overnight when traveling. This is an iron rule set by the head of the family. Please forgive Zhou Tong for not agreeing!"

Zhou Xian was a little disappointed: "But the boat can't sail, how can we get back to Jiangning?"

Zhou Tong clasped his fists and said: "Miss, please don't worry, leave a few people to guard the ship, and a certain escort lady can just hire another boat to go back to the city."

The servant who reported the news hurriedly said: "Just now, I saw a passenger ship at the pier packing up luggage. It seems that I want to rush back to Jiangning. Why not hire their ship to escort the young lady back to the city."

Zhou Tong nodded: "Go and charter the boat. Unload all the people and cargo. No one is allowed to board the boat except the captain, and then order them to clean the cabin."

"Little man, go do it now."

The servant hurriedly went to the captain to discuss the matter.

Zhou Xian sat back in the carriage and muttered depressedly: "I thought I didn't have to rush back to Jiangning tonight, so I was so happy."

Dongmei consoled her, "My maid heard that this Banqiao store is a mixed bag of good and bad, with people from all walks of life. It is not safe for young lady to stay here. Zhou Hujun also thinks about young lady."

"Oh~ when can I go out and play freely?" Zhou Xian stroked his forehead depressedly.

Dongmei smiled and said: "When we get on the boat, Miss can play the pipa to relieve boredom. My favorite is to hear Miss play the pipa!"

Zhou Xian said dissatisfied: "You know how to play the pipa. I asked you to learn from me, but you just refused."

"Hehe~ Miss is the number one pipa master in Jiangning City. I can hear her playing pipa every day, so why do I need to learn it myself?"

Zhou Xian poked her forehead: "I don't want to play it for you!"

Dongmei joked: "There are countless gentlemen in Jiangning City queuing up to hear the young lady play the pipa. It's a pity that they are not lucky!~"

"Damn girl dare to make fun of me!"

Zhou Xian stretched out his hand to tickle her, and the sound of girls laughing and playing could be heard in the carriage.
Less than half an hour later, with Dongmei's support, Zhou Xian carefully stepped onto the steps and boarded the passenger ship.

Zhu Xiu, dressed in a short linen coat, pretended to be the owner of the ship and was waiting on the side of the ship.

Pan Mei, Hu Guangyue and Zha Hui, dressed in armless shorts and black headscarves, pretended to be boatmen and stood behind Zhu Xiu, nodding and bowing with apologetic smiles on their faces.

Zhou Xian boarded the ship, and Zhu Xiu quickly came forward with a stern look on his face: "I have seen Madam Zhou before Chu Xun."

Zhou Xian was stunned, overwhelmed by the sudden enthusiasm. He quickly glanced at Zhu Xiu and saw that he was still young. Although he was dressed in rough clothes, his appearance was really good, and he looked like a handsome man.
Zhou Xian was startled, and his cheeks under the veil were flushed red. He didn't dare to look directly into Zhu Xiu's passionate eyes, and lowered his head shyly.

In Zhou Xian's impression, those who run boats on these canals are all old men, and young and handsome men like Zhu Xiu are extremely rare.

Dongmei took a vigilant step forward to stop in front of Zhou Xian, blocking Zhu Xiu's gaze and casting a dissatisfied look at him.

"I am truly blessed to be able to serve Madam Zhou~~"

Zhu Xiu still wanted to get closer, Zhou Tong frowned, took a step forward, held the long knife and looked at each other coldly: "Are you the captain?"

Zhu Xiu took a step back and smiled: "Exactly."

Zhou Tong looked him over and said in a deep voice, "The accent doesn't sound like someone from Jiangning?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "I grew up in Kaifeng, and later moved to Suzhou with my parents. This time I came to join my uncle's cousin. The two brothers worked together in the boating business."

With that said, Zhu Xiu pulled Zha Hui out from behind and said with a smile: "He is my cousin, his name is Zha Hui."

Seeing that he couldn't escape, Zha Hui had to bow to him tremblingly: "My little man, Cha Hui, pays homage to the officials."

Zha Hui wanted to die at this moment, and even reported his real name. It seemed that he really couldn't stay in this Banqiao store.

Zhou Tong stared at Zha Hui for a few times. When he heard his authentic Jiangning dialect, the suspicion in his eyes dissipated a lot.

Zhou Tong waved his hand, signaling Zha Hui to step back. Zha Hui stepped back as if he had been granted amnesty, with cold sweat on his forehead but he did not dare to reach out to wipe it.

Zhou Tong stared at Zhu Xiu for a few more times and suddenly asked: "I have never been to Suzhou, but I have been to Bozhou. How many days does it take to travel from Bo County to Linhuan by taking the Huanshui River?"

Zhou Tong stared at him closely.

Pan Mei, Hu Guangyue, and Zha Hui tensed up nervously for a moment.

Zhu Xiu froze for a moment, thought for a while and shook his head, "Now, from Huan County to Linhuan, it's impossible to walk along the Huanshui River."

Zhou Tong said coldly: "Why?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Last year, the Paoshui River changed its course and merged into the Huanshui River more than 120 miles west of Linhuan. As a result, the Huanshui River swelled and became so turbulent that ships were unable to navigate."

After a pause, Zhu Xiu continued: "It must have been five or six years ago that Zhou Hujun went to Bozhou. In the third year of Qianyou's reign, the imperial court issued an order to place Linhuan County under the jurisdiction of Suzhou. Now Linhuan County is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou." Land boundary.”

Zhou Tong narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded slowly.

Everything Zhu Xiu said is true.

If you are not a local in Suzhou, you will not know so much about these situations.

Since the Khitans invaded the south in the first year of Qianyou, people in the Bozhou area of ​​Suzhou have fled to Jiangning in large numbers. It is not surprising to see people with Huaidong accents in Jiangning Mansion.

Zhou Tong said in a deep voice: "Order to go down, hoist the sails and anchor, let your boatman work hard, and you must arrive at Jiangning before dawn."

"Please rest assured Zhou Hujun!" Zhu Xiu bowed his hands.

"Your people are not allowed to approach the inner cabin, and are not allowed to make loud noises. If anything happens, please report it to me immediately!"

Zhou Tong glanced at Pan Mei and others, and escorted Zhou Xian into the cabin.

(End of this chapter)