Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 50 Everything is in progress
The room was as warm as spring, with steam coming out of the copper pot. Four people sat around it. Zhu Qiuqi poured wine while thanking himself. The brothers Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minqi also put down their chopsticks and looked at him with smiles and expectant eyes.

This scene made Zhu Shenzui feel as if he had traveled through time and space, and he felt like he was being treated to a dinner party in the future.

Slightly absent-minded, Zhu Shenzhui laughed at himself and subconsciously glanced at his fingers. If the other party handed him a cigarette and lit it for him at this time, this feeling would be perfect.

"Uncle, when can Liu Shancheng's matter be settled?"

"There's no rush for this matter. What's the matter? It's only been a few days and you're short of money again?" Zhu Shenzhui looked at Zhu Qiuqi and asked with a smile. Unlike his brothers Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu, Zhu Qiuqi was still a bachelor. He had no idea how much money he spent on weekdays and was always the kind of guy who would get drunk today if he had wine.

In fact, Zhu Qiuqi's family background was not bad, but he was used to spending money lavishly, and the ten taels of silver given to him at the beginning had almost been spent by now, and even the money given to him later would probably not last long. Just like today, he invited them to eat hot pot, such a luxurious way of eating was something only he could think of.

"Hehe, isn't the New Year coming soon? I was thinking that so much time has passed, so we should get the Liu family's matter done as early as possible so that everyone can have a good New Year after it's done." Zhu Qiuqi explained with a grin. Although the brothers Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minyu didn't say anything, it could be seen from their eyes that they had the same idea.

Zhu Shenzhui smiled, picked up the chopsticks and took a piece of frozen tofu from the pot, blew on it, and said meaningfully: "If you are impatient, you can't eat this hot tofu. It will come naturally when time permits."

"I have finished everything I asked you to do. Now you just have to wait patiently. Don't worry, it won't take too long. I estimate it will be done in the next few days."

"With Uncle's words, I feel relieved." Zhu Qiuqi nodded repeatedly, but he still asked worriedly, does he trust the eldest brother of the Kang family so much? Is he sure that the eldest brother of the Kang family will follow Zhu Shenzhu's plan?

"To say I'm 100% sure is a lie, but to say I'm 80% sure is real." Zhu Shenzhui smiled faintly and put the somewhat cooled tofu into his mouth and chewed it carefully. "The Kang family almost lost their lives this time. Others may not know how much Kang Youfu hates Liu Shancheng, but how can I not know? Besides, the Liu family is not a kind family, and Kang Youfu is a smart man. It is absolutely impossible for him to take revenge on the Liu family by himself. As long as he catches the Liu family's handle, he will definitely come to me for help."

At this point, Zhu Shenzhui said with full confidence: "You guys just wait. These days Kang Youfu has been going to the Liu family every now and then. Maybe he has already found out about the Liu family's lifeline. When the time comes, Kang Youfu will definitely come to me. That will be our chance to take action!"

"Great! It's really great! Sixth uncle, you are the one!" Zhu Minfeng gave Zhu Shenzhui a thumbs up and expressed his admiration for him. At first, when Zhu Shenzhui asked them to secretly find someone to do this, they didn't take it seriously. But as the matter developed, everything was exactly as Zhu Shenzhui had expected. Now that Zhu Shenzhui seemed so confident, they felt relieved.

"By the way, did you guys clean up the mess last time I asked you to do something? Don't let your mess get exposed by accident."

"Uncle, don't worry about this, it's absolutely clean!" Zhu Qiuqi patted his chest and assured: "When doing things, we followed your instructions and went around in circles to find someone to do it. It can't be linked to us in any way."

"That's good. Don't get into trouble for not eating the mutton."

"No, no, I promise!"

Zhu Qiuqi made another promise, then thought for a moment and said, "After the Liu family's matter is over, Uncle, how much benefit do you think we can get?"

"Haha, you're thinking about this again? Didn't we agree at the beginning that we can definitely get a thousand taels, and more is possible." Zhu Shenzhui smiled, then thought about it and told them the truth: "You also know that the Liu family is not an ordinary family. If we really want to accomplish this, it won't work just for us. Someone else needs to step up."

"There are so many links to take care of in various places. If you want to do things well, you have to pay a little. Not to mention the county government and the prefectural government, there are also the provincial government and the governor's government. In addition, you have to involve the general's mansion. Oh, even those eunuchs who have no balls from the palace have to be taken care of. Who would be willing to take the lead to do this without some sweet rewards?"

"These people are hypocritical, but they are actually thieves and whores. It is no exaggeration to describe them as greedy. So even if we bring down the Liu family, we can only get a small portion of the Liu family's assets at best. The bulk of the assets must be divided among them." Zhu Qiuqi felt unwilling and could not help cursing. They were the ones who started this matter and they were the ones who were responsible for it, but in the end, it was others who reaped the benefits. This was really too much.

The Liu family had a lot of assets, even if it was roughly calculated, it was at least hundreds of thousands of taels, and even more if it was calculated carefully. With so much silver and so many assets, only this much ended up in their hands, which was simply a drop in the bucket. If you think about it this way, you really can't accept it.

"Eighteen, what Sixth Uncle said is right. Even if the Liu family falls, we can't get the big share." Zhu Minfeng advised from the side: "You know the situation of the Liu family. The Liu family has been operating in Pingyang Prefecture for so many years. They have a lot of connections up and down. Don't you know the mess in the officialdom? Who would be willing to help without some benefits? Besides, we are not important enough. Only the help from the General's Mansion can get things done. There are so many people to share. They eat meat, and we are lucky to have some soup."

"Yes, Eighteen, you should listen to Sixth Uncle on this matter. As long as the Liu family falls, we can all get some benefit. Haha, I don't expect to get a few thousand or tens of millions. It is important for people to know themselves. I'm already satisfied with what Sixth Uncle said." Zhu Minyu said the same thing. His idea was similar to Zhu Minfeng's. They were just ordinary royal family members with low status and no rights. They couldn't have a say in many things. If they wanted to get things done, they had to give up the big profits, otherwise they wouldn't even get a share of the benefit.

Besides, Zhu Minyu was an honest man. He was satisfied with the 250 yuan. This money was enough for him to buy a few acres of land outside the city and live a good life for his family. As for more, he did not expect it. As he said, people should know themselves and just take what they deserve.

Zhu Qiuqi thought about it carefully and felt that this was true, but he was still a little unwilling to give up the Liu family's huge industry. But even so, what? He also knew his own weight. This matter could not be accomplished by just a few of them. He sighed helplessly.

"Eighteen, don't be discouraged, and neither should the two of you." Zhu Shenzhui patted his shoulder and said, "First, do the important things. Once you do them, the rest will be easy. If you can't get the Liu family's floating wealth, you can think about getting some small things. I know what I'm doing, and I won't let everyone's work be in vain."

"Yes!" Zhu Qiuqi's eyes suddenly lit up. What Zhu Shenzhui said made sense. The Liu family's assets were enormous. Even if he couldn't get much extra money, getting some scraps would be enough. He nodded repeatedly, with a smile on his face.

Zhu Shenzhui ate hotpot until dark and then left. When he got home, his sister-in-law Zhang told him that Kang Youfu had come to see him today.

After hearing what Zhang said, Zhu Shenzhui's drunkenness disappeared instantly. Since Kang Youfu came to see him, it must be about the Liu family, otherwise he would not have come from so far away.

But it was getting late, and curfew was coming soon. It was too late to go to Kang's house. Zhu Shenzhui was thinking about what Kang Youfu had on the Liu family and how to deal with the Liu family next. He was a little excited for a while, lying on the kang thinking for a long time, and he didn't know when he fell asleep in a daze.

The next morning, Zhu Shenzhui got up very early due to the influence of his biological clock. He did not practice boxing like usual. After washing up, he rushed out of the door without even having breakfast and went straight to Kang's Tofu Shop.

When we arrived at Kang's tofu workshop, Kang Youfu was busy in the shop. It was the morning market time.

Due to the previous lawsuit, Kang's business has not been as good as before these days, but it has gradually recovered with the passage of time. There are still many customers in the shop, drinking tofu pudding or soy milk and eating pancakes.

"Sixth Master! Why are you here?"

"Haha, you came to see me yesterday?"

"Well, there are some things I want to discuss with you, Sixth Master... Sixth Master, have you eaten yet? If not, eat first and we can talk after you finish eating."

"Okay!" Zhu Shenzui nodded and sat down. Kang Youfu served him a bowl of tofu pudding and a pancake. Zhu Shenzui was not in a hurry at this time and started to eat slowly. After he finished eating, the number of people in the morning market gradually decreased and the shop became empty.

(End of this chapter)