Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 432: The Huang Family
"Dad, Dad, there are a lot of people outside.

The leader was said to be the Inspector General of the East Road, the newly appointed General Manager of the Bandit Suppression Affairs in Fengtian and Jilin provinces.

They said they wanted to stay at our house for a while."

At noon on the second day of October, there was nothing to do after lunch, so Huang Maotian, the old man of the Huang family, was lying on the kang, taking a nap.

His eldest son Huang Wanfu came in hurriedly from outside and scared Huang Maotian away from his sleepiness with a shout.

"What the hell? Boss, can you say it again?" Old Master Huang sat up straight and asked in surprise.

"A group of people came from outside, saying they were sent by the imperial court to suppress bandits and would stay in our house for some time." Huang Wanfu briefly repeated it again.

"From what I heard from them, the inspector seems to be quite powerful, a high-ranking official."

This time, Mr. Huang finally came to his senses and immediately slapped his thigh.

"Oh no! This is probably aimed at the bearded guys in the reed marsh."

Huang Wanfu's face turned ugly when he heard this. "Dad, what should we do? Should we let them in?"

"How can we not give in? He is an official and we are ordinary people.

Even if we have a backer in the government, and the county magistrate is not as good as the current one, we dare not provoke him.

Quick, have someone open the door and welcome the distinguished guest in."

Old Mr. Huang hurriedly put on his shoes, put on his thick cotton jacket, put on his hat, and followed his eldest son out.

At this time, outside the Huang family compound, Qu Shaoyang was waiting with about a hundred cavalrymen.

According to the confession of the leader of Dong Dabiao's gang, the Huang family compound in front of them has a close relationship with Dong Dabiao's gang and is the gang's leader.

The so-called nest owner is a local gangster. The nest owner does not directly participate in fighting and killing, but is mainly responsible for selling stolen goods for the gangsters.

After all, what Hu Zi robbed was not all money, but mostly clothes, jewelry, horses, guns and ammunition, etc.

Guns and ammunition can be used directly, and horses are a means of transportation, so they can all be left behind.

But he couldn't keep all the clothes, jewelry, and beards to wear by himself, so he had to find a nest owner to help sell them for money.

In addition, the leader of the gang is also responsible for purchasing guns, ammunition, etc. for the gang. After all, the gang is registered with the government, so they cannot directly deal with many things.

Often, the money obtained by the gang's chief manager and his subordinates would be deposited with the gang owner for safekeeping.

If Hu Zi cannot start the game when setting up the table, the owner of the nest will provide usury.

The owners of these dens are all wealthy landlords with powerful backgrounds, and they have backers in both the black and white worlds.

For some small and medium-sized gangs, their children have to go to the owner's house regularly to do odd jobs, such as farming and carrying heavy loads.

The Huang family is the largest reed tyrant in the vicinity. They manage the hundreds of miles of reed marshes nearby. They have a large family business and good relations with the government.

So after Dong Dabiao and the others arrived here, they hooked up with the Huang family.

After learning about these circumstances, Qu Shaoyang led about a hundred Dingbian soldiers to the Huang family compound and asked to stay at the Huang family for a while.

As soon as they arrived outside the Huang family compound, Qu Shaoyang's men reported their purpose and Qu Shaoyang's official position.

At this moment, everyone was quietly waiting for the Huang family to come out to greet them.

There is no doubt about this. If the Huang family dared to refuse Qu Shaoyang's request to stay overnight, disaster would come in an instant.

With Qu Shaoyang's current status, even if he killed a hundred of these reed tyrants, it wouldn't cause much of a stir.

Not to mention, the Huang family is the leader of the gang and should be killed.

As expected, after a while, the gate of the Huang family compound opened from the inside.

Immediately afterwards, Huang Maotian, the old man of the Huang family, came out trotting with his three sons, Huang Wanfu, Huang Wansheng, and Huang Wanqing.

"Oh my, I didn't know you were coming. I'm sorry for not welcoming you. Please forgive me."

Old Master Huang brought his son and servants to the front, knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and said.

“Mr. Huang, you are too polite. I was ordered to suppress bandits and happened to be passing by here.

The weather is cold, and I want to find a place to stay and rest for a few days. I am really sorry to bother you all. "

Qu Shaoyang sat on the horse, glanced at the Huang family kneeling in front of him, and said loudly, "Old man, there is no need to be polite. Please stand up."

"I dare not, I dare not. It is a blessing for me that you can come to my humble home.

Sir, please follow me into the enclosure to rest. Please come in."

Old Master Huang stood up from the ground trembling, then respectfully let Qu Shaoyang and his party into the enclosure.

The Huang Family Courtyard is a well-known hard kiln with high walls made entirely of brick and a "lucky" layout.

The so-called "lucky star" refers to the highest standard in the construction of the enclosure, with a wall height of eight feet four, a gate of seven feet seven, three courtyards, horse patrols, a ridge fort and a sunshade eaves.

The Huang family compound has more than 30 gunners, more than 20 quick-firing rifles, and a large number of long-term workers all year round.

In addition, there are six or seven hundred reed farmers and swordsmen who depend on his family for their livelihood. With such a situation, ordinary gangs have to avoid them.

It is said that when Huang Maotian was young, a fire flag was hung in the Huang family compound.

It represents a red kiln, which is a warning to the gangsters and, of course, a provocation.

Later, as Huang Maotian grew older, he became less courageous, so he took off the fire flag. He was very careful in his daily life and became friends with many gangs.

The Huang family father and son respectfully invited Qu Shaoyang and his party into the courtyard.

"Boss, hurry up and arrange for someone to take all the horses to the stable and have them feed and water them.

Have a dozen rooms cleaned up and the kangs heated up so that they can be used by adults and military officers to stay in at night.

Arrange people to slaughter pigs and sheep, and prepare a banquet. Your Excellency will stay at our house for a while, so we must serve him well."

As he walked in, Mr. Huang gave orders loudly.

The three sons of the Huang family quickly agreed and led their people to get busy. Qu Shaoyang also sent people to help with the packing and preparations.

After all, there are more than a hundred people here, and there are a lot of things to do to feed them. The owner can't do it all.

Qu Shaoyang led Zhou Chuanyong, Zheng Tiezhu and a few others, followed by the Huang father and son to the main hall in the front yard and sat down.

"Mr. Huang's business is not small. I saw many people busy inside and outside.

Judging from the old man's accent, he doesn't sound like a local. Where is his hometown?"

After everyone sat down, someone brought tea. Qu Shaoyang held the teacup, scraped the tea leaves with the cup lid, and chatted with the Huang father and son.

"My ancestral home is in Binzhou, Shandong. When I was sixteen, I came here with my father and brothers.

It was also good luck that this area was Mongolian, and the Mongolian prince was generous and magnanimous. He allowed the Han people to reclaim the wasteland and did not set up a rental counter.

The three of us reclaimed land here and gradually became a well-known landowner. Later, we recruited people from the inner city to do the work, and slowly the business developed like this.”

Mr. Huang didn't dare to hide anything, so he told everyone his family's origins in detail.

"After I got some money, I set my sights on the reed business, which can make money much faster than farming.

After our old man passed away, my eldest brother and I divided the family property. He took the land and inherited the family business, and I inherited the power of Weizidang.

After so many years of operation, we have built this family business."

Talking about the past, Mr. Huang was quite proud.

There are so many people who go to Guandong, but only a few can achieve what he has.

Qu Shaoyang nodded when he heard this. "It's not easy for the old man to own such a large business. He deserves admiration. I came here this time to ask for your help."

Qu Shaoyang paused here and glanced at the Huang father and son.

"I dare not say that I am helping, but it is a blessing for me to be able to serve you.

Just give me your orders, sir. I will help you get it done even if I have to bow my head to the ground."

Does Huang Maotian dare to say he won't help? Even if he has eight guts, he wouldn't dare to do that.

Qu Shaoyang was quite satisfied with Huang Maotian's performance and nodded.

"I heard that Dong Dabiao's gang, about two hundred bandits, are hiding in this reed marsh.

Old man, you know about this, don't you? "The first part is all nonsense, the latter part is what Qu Shaoyang really wants to say.

The four members of the Huang family, father and son, were all shocked when they heard this.

As expected, my guess was correct. They were targeting Dong Dabiao and his gang.

How should I answer this? If I say I don't know, will people believe me?

The hundreds of miles of reed marshes are not only the source of food and clothing for the reed farmers, but also a natural hiding place for the bearded men, who can fly into the sky or hide in the ground at any time.

Generally speaking, the beards in the plains rely on green gauze tents to hide their tracks.

So after farmers harvest their crops in the fall, the dogs need to hibernate.

But the reeds in the reed marshes do not need it. Although there are swordsmen coming to harvest them every year, the actual area that is harvested is at most half, or even less.

Therefore, the reed marshes can provide a hiding place for bearded men all year round.

Moreover, there is an unspoken understanding between Wei Ba and Luan Zi.

Every autumn, before the reeds are harvested, the reed boss will send out swordsmen to "explore the fields".

One is to explore the growth distribution of reeds to facilitate subsequent harvesting.

You also need to determine the thickness of the reed root stubble and choose an appropriate cutting knife.

Of course, these are all superficial. In fact, there is a more important purpose, which is to see whether there are any gangs within the planned harvesting range, so as to avoid "stepping on mines" and exposing the gangs' territory.

Therefore, the Reed King knows best whether there are any reeds in the reed marsh.

Besides, since they came in person, they must have already found out about it a long time ago.

If they told lies with their eyes open at this time, they might end up angering this adult.

But if they told them they knew, they might be forced to lead the way in suppressing the bandits, which would completely offend the gang.

The court arrested Hu Zi, that was the court's business, but Wei Ba fired the cannon, which was a big taboo in the underworld.

If Dong Dabiao's gang escaped this disaster, they would definitely take revenge.

Even if we take a step back, the Huang family is still cooperating with Dong Dabiao and others, so they can't betray their friends.

Qu Shaoyang saw the hesitation of the Huang father and son, but he didn't say anything.

However, Zhou Chuanyong, who was standing next to him, slammed the table.

"You are such a rude and unruly person. Our inspector is discussing this with you in a friendly manner because we are giving you face.

I tell you, don’t refuse the favor, or you will regret it later.”

Zhou Chuanyong's slamming of the table frightened the Huang family's father and son so much that they all shuddered. Their legs went limp instantly and they fell to their knees on the ground with a thud.

"Sir, please calm down, sir, please calm down. In this reed marsh, there is indeed a group of them in the summer.

When the swordsmen started cutting reeds a while ago, I didn't see any of them. I guess they are all hibernating now, right?"

Huang Wanfu was so frightened that he was shaking all over, but he still didn't tell the truth.

“Mr. Huang, I have been polite since I came to your house.

What? Do you think I can fool you? I already know whether there are any beards in your reed marsh.

I am giving you a chance now, please don't be ungrateful."

Qu Shaoyang held the tea bowl, but did not drink the tea. He just gently scraped the tea leaves with the lid.

The lid rubbed against the tea bowl, making a noise that made people feel nervous.

In fact, it doesn’t have to be so troublesome to wipe out the bearded men in the reed marsh.

In order to save their lives, the captives confessed everything. With them leading the way, it was not difficult to capture Weizidang in one fell swoop.

Qu Shaoyang came to the Huang family on purpose, looking for an opportunity to deal with this leader.

At this point, what else did the Huang family father and son not understand? They were coming for them and were ready to take care of them.

"Please spare my life, sir. I will go and ask the swordsmen if Tan Dianzi made a mistake.

My Lord, you don’t know that this reed marsh is a hundred miles in radius. It is such a huge place that we can only harvest half of it every year and we are too busy to handle it.

Perhaps the swordsmen didn't notice it."

No matter what, there is no way the Huang family would admit that they had anything to do with Hu Zi. That would be a crime punishable by death.

At that moment, Huang Wanfu stood up tremblingly and went out to greet a few swordsmen.

Those swordsmen were all trusted members of the Huang family. They immediately understood what Huang Wanfu meant with just a glance.

Then the swordsmen came in and their words were similar to Huang Wanfu's.

Of course, Qu Shaoyang couldn't hide this trick.

But he didn't get angry. He just waved his hands and made the excuse that he was a little tired and wanted to go back to his residence to rest.

Upon hearing this, Huang's father and son quickly arranged for Qu Shaoyang to rest in the guest room.

“Tell people to keep a close eye on the Huang family father and son, as well as those swordsmen.

If my guess is correct, they will definitely send someone to tip off tonight."

Qu Shaoyang returned to the guest room, took off his cloak, turned around and instructed the people around him.

The people around him responded and went out. Qu Shaoyang then leaned back on the kang, closed his eyes and stared blankly.

I had just been dazed for a while when I heard some noise in the outer room, as if someone was talking.

"Shunzi, what's going on?" Qu Shaoyang didn't stand up, but asked towards the outer room.

"Sir, it's Mr. Huang's fourth concubine who brought you cigarettes."

At this time, there were three people standing in the outer room, two of whom were Qu Shaoyang's followers.

The other person was a woman about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with outstanding looks, fair skin, beautiful looks, and a plump and charming figure.

The woman was holding a square plate with a pipe and other things on it.

After hearing the sound in the room, the woman's eyes rolled and she spoke quickly.

"My lord, I am Lin Yuhuan, and I have come specially to serve you.

I have some excellent cigarettes here. If you don’t mind, I will serve you a pack of cigarettes to relieve your tiredness.”

When the woman opened her mouth, her voice was so gentle that it penetrated into her bones.

(End of this chapter)