The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 280: Three-to-seven split
With a scratch on the floor, the lights in the house came on.

Zhang Cheng sat down on the chair, his face was a frighteningly pale color.

Two maids came in with water for washing faces and feet, and were about to wring out the face towel in the basin after putting it down.

Zhang Cheng uttered two words coldly: "Get out!"

The two maids looked at each other and retreated.

He didn't know how long it had been, but he sighed deeply, got up and walked into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, pulled up the thin blanket, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Although he was promoted and became rich, Zhang Cheng still lived in the south city. Many people in the south city had vegetable gardens and raised chickens and ducks. At four o'clock in the morning, a rooster crowed for the first time, and then many roosters around the south city followed suit.

Zhang Cheng didn't know when he fell asleep. Hearing the crowing of chickens everywhere, he got up, sat on the bed, stared at the beams, and was absent-minded for a while. Then he got out of bed and went to the outer room, picked up the basin of water for washing his face, put it on the washbasin rack, and slowly rubbed the face towel in the basin. It took a long time to wring it dry, then shook it open and slowly wiped his face.

At this time, the maid's voice came from outside: "Master, breakfast is ready."

Zhang Cheng: "No, I'm going out to eat."

"Yes."

The outside of the house fell into silence again. Zhang Cheng wiped his hair on both sides with a face towel, threw the towel into the basin, changed his clothes, and went out alone without calling for guards.

It was already daybreak, and the bustling city was not far outside the alley.

Zhang Cheng walked to the small table in front of the breakfast stall he often came to and sat down.

A bowl of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, a tray of pork and scallion buns, and a bowl of fried liver!

Unlike Li Hu who wears mixed clothes, Zhang Cheng is a genuine old Beijinger and he loves this kind of clothes.

While they were eating, a man walked over to the bench next to Zhang Cheng and sat down.

"A bowl of bean juice, two fried dough sticks, and more shredded mustard greens."

"Okay!"

Zhang Cheng was startled, put down his chopsticks and looked at the man, it was the old man.

The old man sat there smiling and looking at him.

Another bowl of bean juice, two fried dough sticks, and a small dish of shredded mustard greens were brought to the old man.

The old man took a sip of the soy milk, then said to Zhang Cheng with a smile: "No delicacies from the land and the sea can compare to a bowl of soy milk!" Then he took out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder, picked up the crispy and fragrant burnt ring, took a bite of the burnt ring, drank a sip of the hot soy milk, ate some side dishes, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Zhang Cheng couldn't eat anymore, so he put down his chopsticks and whispered, "Who asked you to come here?"

The old man smiled and said, "Drink the bean juice while it's hot."

Zhang Cheng's face sank: "What do you want?!"

The old man also put down his chopsticks, looked around, and then whispered: "I have thought about it carefully. For your safety, we cannot leave the capital."

Zhang Cheng frowned.

The old man said, "Not only can you not leave the capital, but you must also do what you said. Only when you get things done can you be completely safe." At this point, he smiled and said, "Of course, I also have selfish motives. I only have this one son."

Zhang Cheng interrupted him: "The Sharp Warriors Battalion only wants girls from good families!"

The old man smiled and said, "We don't steal or rob, we make a living by our cooking skills, so we can be considered a good family."

Zhang Cheng: "Don't mess around!"

The old man said, "I'm doing this for your own good. Who are the Shi brothers? They were able to stir up trouble more than a decade ago. Will they let this go so easily?"

Zhang Cheng sighed inwardly; this was exactly what he was worried about.

At this time, the old man took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng took it and looked at it, and saw several people's names written on it.

The old man went on to say, "People in South City love to show off and brag. I was so happy that I got drunk and told everyone about it. It's normal for those old neighbors to come to my door. The most important thing is to make things better. Of course, you don't have to arrange all the people on the list to enter the barracks. Just pick three or four."

Zhang Cheng's face turned blue.

The old man said, "With this status, people who stay in the capital will not be afraid of them." Seeing Zhang Cheng's bad face, he said hurriedly, "You are still young and have little experience. When it comes to a critical juncture, 'it takes brothers to fight a tiger'. Don't make it difficult for you, just let them follow you as guards."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng's expression eased a little. After thinking for a while, he folded the list and stuffed it into his arms. Then he said to the old man, "Don't come here again." After that, he stood up and left.

After watching Zhang Cheng's back disappear into the alley, the old man continued to eat his breakfast.
At this time, Li Hu was also eating breakfast, but he was not with Lin Daiyu, but with an old man. The delicacies of the capital were hidden in the alleys. Li Hu took Heshen, who had been reborn, to eat at each restaurant. In the end, Heshen walked out of the alley with a bulging belly.

He Shen was walking when he suddenly stopped and looked at the rising sun. He opened his hands, took a deep breath, and said with a smile: "This feeling is really great!"

Li Hu smiled. This old guy had indeed been to the gates of hell.

At this time, a man selling candied haws came over. Heshen asked for a string of candied haws and pointed at Li Hu, saying, "He will pay." Then he walked straight forward.

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, then asked for a string of candied haws and pointed at Wang Daniu: "He will pay." Then he followed him.

Wang Daniu rolled his eyes, pushed Liu Quan and said, "Pay." Then he took a string of candied haws and chased after him.

Liu Quan was stunned.

The vendor hurriedly grabbed Liu Quan's arm and said with an apologetic smile, "Two cents a string."

Liu Quan then came to his senses, spat at Wang Daniu's back, took out six copper coins and handed them to the vendor, then hurriedly chased after him.

He Shen ate the candied haws and said with a wry smile: "You have screwed me so badly!"

Li Hu raised his eyebrows. Has this old guy reacted?

He Shen spat out the candied haws pit and sighed, "I treated you as a close friend, but you schemed against me."

Li Hu smiled: "When did you find out?"

He Shen: "When I sobered up, I realized something was wrong."

Li Hu: "Oh? Then why are you still cooperating so well?"

He Shen smiled bitterly: "I dare not gamble!"

Li Hu nodded. He wouldn't dare to gamble if it were him.

Walking under a big tree, He Shen stopped and said, "Hong Zhou and the others should have guessed it."

Li Hu was shocked.

He Shen: "Although they acted well, that kind of subconscious alienation and defensiveness can't deceive people." At this point, he sneered: "They all say that I am a villain who can only flatter and win the favor of the emperor by saying nice things. But in fact, the emperor is not short of people who say nice things around him. What he lacks is people like me who are knowledgeable, good at observing people's words and expressions, and can adapt to changes. Compared with the emperor's scheming, they are nothing!"

After a pause, he said, "You were an accident."

Li Hu smiled: "Are you praising me?"

Heshen looked at Li Hu carefully and said seriously, "You are more shameless than me." He couldn't help laughing.

Li Hu also laughed.

After laughing, He Shen said: "When the car reaches the mountain, there must be a way out. The next step is to deal with the opponent's moves."

Li Hu: "Since they have guessed it, they must be thinking of using you, no, using Dashun. You are safe until they achieve their goal."

Heshen nodded.

Li Hu: "Okay, now that we've had our meal and walked around the streets, let's go to the Ministry of Rites."

He Shen suddenly remembered: "I almost forgot the main thing. Is Bai Hongzhi the White Lotus Sect?"

Li Hu: "You know?"

He Shen: "There is one of my people around Yongyan. He accidentally heard the conversation between Bai Hongzhi and Yongyan, and then he knew his identity. Also, this guy mentioned some treasure of the White Lotus Sect. My people didn't dare to get too close, so they didn't hear it clearly. Do you know?"

White Lotus Treasure? Li Hu frowned: "I've never heard of it."

He Shen blinked and said, "Well, let me confirm the news. How about we split the profits 70% to 30%?"

Li Hu looked at him: "Who's number three, who's number seven?"

He Shen coughed and said with a smile: "Of course it's seven for you and three for me."

Li Hu: "Okay."

He Shen smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits: "Great! Let's go and act with those two idiots!"

(End of this chapter)