Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 492: First Day of Huizhou Trip

Places like this always remind people of some scenes in Water Margin, such as the steamed buns from Shizipo, the bandao noodles and wonton noodles from Xunyang River.

In this era, it is too unsafe to go out. Many good people in the eyes of their fellow villagers did something bad, but only after it was exposed did they find out that it was him who did it.

This village is quite special, it is a gang crime. This is related to the local clan, and in modern society there are still whole villages involved in drug trafficking.

The villages of this era were still at the stage where clans and bloodlines served as social bonds. Clans had great power, and many issues were resolved directly within the clan.

Those who abide by the law can also report to the county government, for example, if a certain adulterer and his wife were put into a pig cage, the county magistrate will know about it and praise the good local customs.

How can you argue this? You know, in this era, the farthest place most people in the countryside go in their lifetime is the county town.

The situation is better in places near the sea. In order to make a living, many people venture out to sea and go to places like Southeast Asia.

This kind of thing is very difficult to deal with. We cannot rule out the possibility that they colluded with the post stations to scare outsiders passing by into paying more money, but it is very small.

The dinner was very bad. To Jia Lian, it was no different from pig food. He got up early and ate another meal of pig food. When he arrived in Huizhou, it was already noon.

There are inspections at the city gate as usual, and an entrance fee must be paid.

There was a tea dealer at the door. After looking at the tea Jia Lian brought, he smiled and said, "Master, how would you like to sell the tea?"

Jia Lian heard something and quickly folded his hands and offered a cigarette: "I'm new here, I haven't asked you for your advice, what's your name?"

This man has a kind face, but his eyes are very active. He weighs 100 kilograms, but he probably has 80 kilograms of eyes. To say less is disrespectful to him.

"I'm just an errand boy for the pawnbroker. I don't have a proper name, everyone just calls me Lai San." Lai San's attire looked decent, he wasn't the type who would wear shorts and straw sandals.

"Oh, Brother Lai, which brokerage firm?" Jia Lian remained calm and continued to ask him.

Lai San was very wary of outsiders, so he smiled but said nothing. Jia Lian whispered, "This is my first time doing business here. If Brother Lai is willing to help, please leave your address and I'll come back to visit you."

Lai San couldn't help but be surprised. His idea was simply to take people to the pawnshop to earn some commission, but he didn't expect that this young boss had so many ideas.

In order to become a long-term customer, Lai San considered for a moment and said in an obscure tone: "Boss, there is only one dental clinic in this city!"

Jia Lian was surprised and quickly folded his hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Lai, for reminding me!" After that, he stretched out his hand and stuffed two silver dollars into his pocket. Lai San took them without hesitation and said, "You won't suffer any loss if you report my name at Fulong Inn."

"I am Jia Quan. If I succeed this time, I will come here often in the future. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Brother Lai. So, today the people below are tired. How about Brother Lai condescending to come to the inn early tomorrow morning to show me the way?"

Lai San's suspicions were gone after hearing these words. This was a serious businessman. He couldn't believe everything you said. He would definitely ask around in the city.

"No problem, Mr. Jia, go first. I can't leave here." Lai San said this not because he was being reserved, but because he really had something to do and had to wait for someone.

After Jia Lian walked away, Lai Sandeng's men also arrived. He was a man with a face full of flesh, and he brought four followers, all with a fierce look on their faces.

Lai San received the man and led him to a secluded courtyard in the city. He didn't say much along the way. After they settled down, Lai San said, "Everyone, take a rest first. Later, the head of the dental clinic, Peng, will host a banquet to welcome you."

The leading man grabbed Lai San and said, "Wait a minute, I heard that the new governor is coming to Huizhou?"

Lai San was shocked, but said calmly, "If this is true, wouldn't the news have spread along the way if the governor brought a thousand governor's standard-bearers with him?"

"We just landed, and we heard about it on the way. Let's confirm it. Okay, it's okay, you can go first."

After Lai San left, the leading man closed the door and said to his four subordinates, "We need to inform the leader immediately. Lao San, thank you for your hard work."

After packing up, Jia Lian took the four people out and strolled around the city. The city was not big, with only one street running east-west, but there were quite a few alleys.

There is nothing to see on the street, it is a small place the size of a palm and it takes less than half an hour to go back and forth. However, there are some very exquisite things inside the small boxes.

For example, in this alley in front of us, people are constantly rushing in, and some are coming out with a satisfied look on their faces.

Standing at the entrance of the alley and taking a look, I didn't see any banners, but from the expressions of the passers-by, I could roughly guess what kind of business this place was doing.

After strolling around, they entered a teahouse. The attendant came forward and said a few words. The shopkeeper inside quickly left the counter and hurried inside. Jia Lian looked at the attendant, then stood up and followed him through the back door and into the inner courtyard. The shopkeeper was waiting in the courtyard. When he saw Jia Lian, he immediately stepped forward to greet him: "I am Wu Lai, the small flag of the Dragon Guard, and I am honored to meet you, sir!"

Jia Lian accepted his greeting and nodded: "Come inside and tell me in detail."

In fact, the information provided by Long Jinwei was very comprehensive, but Jia Lian had not seen it with his own eyes, and he was always worried that they were playing tricks and that there were some inaccuracies. After all, if one stayed in one place for a long time, who could guarantee that his loyalty would not deteriorate?
"Before coming here, I read the report that Huizhou gave to Eunuch Wei. There were only a few words about the local Xinglong dental clinic. How come there is nothing to say about this dental clinic?" Jia Lian asked coldly without even touching the tea that Wu Lai offered. The attendant who followed him in kept his hands in his arms and stared at Wu Lai intently.

"Your Excellency has misunderstood. Xinglong Dental Clinic is just a cover for outsiders to see. Huizhou City is not that complicated. The local Chen family is the only one in power, and the other families are all dependent on it. Xinglong Dental Clinic, to put it bluntly, is a place to divide the spoils. Every governor who took office could get 30% of the shares. There is really nothing to say. The Chen family I mentioned in the report is not only the largest family in Huizhou, but also one of the merchants in Guangzhou City before. Your Excellency reorganized various guilds in Guangzhou, and the Chen family suffered a lot of losses. I have mentioned all of this in the report."

Jia Lian silently compared the contents of the report in his mind, and then looked at his expression, feeling that he was not lying, he relaxed a little and said: "The report said that Chen had close contacts with pirates?"

Wu Lai nodded, then shook his head. Jia Lian waited calmly for him to explain in detail.

"Reporting to the Lord, few people know the real name of the leader of the Guangdong and Guangxi pirates. People outside call him Longtou. In the past ten years, this man has subdued more than a dozen pirate groups, big and small. Now he is said to have 500 ships and 30,000 men under his command. I guess that there are 300 ships and 10,000 or 20,000 men. During the reign of Taiwei Wang, the Longtou bandits were once suppressed. Not to mention the extermination of this beast, not even a trace of him was found. I also saw the head of the pawnbroker, Chen Ding, entertaining guests here. I saw that the guest did not look like a good person, so I guessed that Chen had close contacts with the pirates. I spent time investigating and found that Chen Ding often went to a house to meet some mysterious people."

Hearing this, Jia Lian nodded, confirming Wu Lai's words, and asked him again: "How is your investigation into the opium smuggling business going?"

"I don't know much about this, but I do know that the big opium dens in the city are all run by the Chen family. They used to run them openly, but now they are much more low-key and do them quietly. The adults have banned the opening of opium dens in Guangzhou. Apart from other things, the Chen family's annual income must have been greatly reduced. I have also heard that Chen Dong, the head of the Chen family, received Westerners in his farm outside the city. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, so it is not confirmed yet. Half of the land outside Huizhou City is under the name of the Chen family, and the city is even nicknamed Chen Bancheng. There is no industry in Huizhou that the Chen family does not intervene in. Even Chen Ding, the head of Xinglong Dental Clinic, owns 30% of the shares of this humble shop. I need to pay him 30 taels of silver every month, and it must be sent to his mistress at the beginning of the month."

Jia Lian was a little surprised: "With this teahouse, can you earn a hundred taels a month?"

Wu Lai shook his head: "At most forty taels, but Chen Ding wants thirty taels, so I have no choice but to give it to him, otherwise I won't be able to survive in the city."

Jia Lian saw that the time was almost up, so he stood up and said, "Okay, I can't stay for long, so I'm leaving now."

Wu Lai escorted him to the back door, but did not see him out. After Jia Lian had gone far away, he came back to look at the teacup that Jia Lian had not touched, and smiled bitterly. He had worked so hard to make the tea, but it was all in vain. He hoped that after this matter was settled, he could be transferred back. He had been in Huizhou for five years, and the days of fear and anxiety would never end.

The exchange with Wu Lai was quite fruitful. Among the guilds that were dealt with in Guangzhou, the first one was the tea guild, and among the several leaders of the guild, there was indeed a man named Chen. As a local big family, it was normal for them to be able to run an industry in Guangzhou. In fact, Jia Lian had another source of information, which was Xue Pan.

However, Xue Pan never mentioned Chen. He only said that it was Sassoon who smuggled opium, and the one who helped with the transportation was the pirate leader, Hai Longtou.

"Sir, a large group of troops are entering the city, what do you think?" The followers around him were also worried, and they were eager for Jia Lian to return to the team as soon as possible.

Jia Lian nodded: "Alright, you don't have to worry, I will return to the team right away."

On the way, the governor's standard-bearing brigade met the prefect's team that came to greet them. Zhuzi came out to receive them and said that Jia Lian had caught a cold on the way and was not in a position to meet guests, so he should go into the city and recuperate first.

The prefect was naturally very concerned about sending a doctor, but Zhuzi refused.

After entering the city, they settled in the military camp in the east of the city. The prefect originally wanted to invite Jia Lian to live in the mansion of the local Chen family, but unfortunately he was stopped by Zhu Zi, so he lived with the army.

Chen Dong, the head of the Chen family, was a handsome man in his 50s. The Chen family had one Jinshi and seven or eight Juren. The rise of the family began when Chen Dong's generation produced a Jinshi. In just 20 years, the Chen family expanded and rose to become the leading family in Huizhou.

Chen Dong himself was a juren, and he caught the last train and passed the exam at the age of 40. He took part in the joint examination once, but gave up when he failed, and did not go to the Ministry of Personnel to register and queue up.

At this moment, Chen Dong and the prefect of Huizhou came back from the garrison camp. After entering the backyard of the government office, the prefect Hu Ping said to Chen Dong: "Brother Chen, don't worry too much. The governor accepted the benefits and met with me."

Chen Dong said with an uncertain expression: "Your Excellency, it's not that I am suspicious, but the prefectures and counties near Guangzhou were not the first choice, but Huizhou, so I can't help but worry."

In fact, the prefect Hu Ping was not as calm as he looked. His heart was in his throat and he was just pretending to be calm.

This man would feel guilty only after doing something bad. Hu Ping was very clear about the decrees issued by Jia Lian, and he had violated all of them, and even got involved. There was no way, because Chen Dong gave too much, and the beauties he sent were too seductive and too good, and the people who served him were too comfortable to leave. With money and beauty, under the double attack, no prefect in history could escape.

"People travel thousands of miles to become officials just for money. When Governor Jia takes the money, he is very generous. He has beautiful concubines and pretty maids at home. He is the same kind of people as us. As long as the money is in place, there will be no big problem. Brother Chen is not in the officialdom, so I don't know what the officials in the prefectures and counties say in private." Hu Ping said this and even believed it himself, and in turn stepped up his efforts to appease Chen Dong.

"Oh, what did they say?" Chen Dong also became interested. From the process, except for not meeting Jia Lian, there were really no other problems. He didn't notice any disturbance at all.

"Why? When Governor Jia arrived in Guangzhou, he went to attack Grand Marshal Wang. This was the will of the imperial court. The situation in Guangzhou was caused by the Maritime Customs who went too far. They really thought that Grand Marshal Long was blind and deaf, and a mere decoration. However, the Jia and Wang families are in-laws, so Governor Jia had to go too far so that he could report to the higher-ups. By the way, Governor Jia's wife is Grand Marshal Wang's niece. His concubine, the daughter of the Xue family, is Grand Marshal Wang's niece, and she calls him uncle when they meet. It's not easy for Governor Jia to have such a job."

After Hu Ping's analysis, Chen Dong also believed it. The main reason was that people of this era could hardly think out of the shackles. Who would have thought that Jia Lian's wife was Wang Ziteng's niece, and his concubine was a daughter of the Xue family. The four major families were in the same boat. Who would have believed that Jia Lian would be ruthless to Wang Ziteng? The main reason was that Hu Ping had been working in the lower level for a long time and didn't know much about the things in the capital. In his speculation, Jia Lian came to Guangzhou, maybe to help manage Annan as a retreat for the Jia family.

"Also, Governor Jia cleaned up all the gangs in Guangzhou, and officials at all levels made a fortune. This was for himself, and the affairs of the Maritime Customs Office were to make money for His Majesty and the cabinet. Speaking of which, there has been no movement in Guangzhou for many years, and the pigs have been fattened up, but it just happened to Governor Jia."

After listening to the thorough and logical analysis, Chen Dong felt relieved and didn't think too much about it.

After saying goodbye and returning home, he met his cousin Chen Ding and reported: "The people from Hailongtou have arrived. As usual, they have been arranged to stay. I will meet them in the evening."

Chen Dong couldn't help but frowned slightly after hearing this: "Remember, tell them not to do anything before Governor Jia leaves." After saying this, Chen Dong thought of Jia Lian's training of troops, and couldn't help but start to mutter again, this governor must have a reason for training troops. The reason for the court to develop a navy is barely justifiable, but who are you going to fight against by developing a navy?

(End of this chapter)