What a lucky world!

Chapter 160 I am Wei Wuyou

The swift horses galloped along the rivers and lakes.

After Zhang Mu and Ye Hanzhou came down the mountain, they headed straight for Sucheng without delay.

Sucheng is located in the central part of Taiping County, about five hundred miles from Qianyuan Mountain.

The climate here is mild, and the area is home to a specialty of blue silkworms, whose silk is tough, smooth, soft and pliable. This is why silkworm weaving flourished, and gave birth to one of the four world-famous embroidery styles - Suzhou embroidery.

There is a poem that goes like this: Green silkworms spit out silver ribbons, and skillful hands embroider them into a golden platform.

This is the best summary of Suzhou embroidery.

A business like this is simply a goose that lays golden eggs. Zhang Mu was worried that something might happen over time, so he ran a horse to death. Finally, he arrived in Sucheng two days later!

"Brother Mu, this Su City looks more prosperous than Lanling City!" Ye Hanzhou sighed as he walked on the streets of Su City while leading his horse.

It's no wonder that Ye Hanzhou had such feelings. At this time, Su City was crowded with people, and all kinds of hawking sounds were endless, which made Zhang Mu feel like he was back to the ancient street tourist area in his previous life.

"Yes, in the entire Taiping County, Su City is the richest," Zhang Mu echoed. "Suzhou embroidery is world-famous, and many merchants from all over the country gather here. It's hard not to be prosperous."

To be honest, Zhang Mu's understanding of the Dayun Dynasty is now very fragmented.

If you only look at Suzhou, it is indeed a prosperous time with abundant resources and peaceful people.

In fact, it's not just Su City. Take Yongning City and Lanling City, which he had visited. Although they were not as prosperous as Su City, they could barely be considered to be places where people could live and work in peace and contentment.

If we only look at the fortune from these perspectives, this dynasty should at least still be in a stable period, and is far from declining.

But this is not the case.

The prosperity of these cities was built on the blood and tears of the people outside the cities.

There is no land in the world, and the farmer still starves to death.

Whoever is covered in Luo Qi is not a silkworm breeder.

Zhang Mu had an impression of such a city.

Going back further, there was the city of Tokyo Bianliang, which was described as "a dream of prosperity spanning three thousand miles, and looking back it was unforgettable Bianzhou", and was eventually engraved with the "Jing Kang Shame".

To talk about the recent past, there is the foreign-style city that is still praised and missed by countless petty bourgeoisie, and eventually became the meat grinder of the East.

bustling?

Prosperity without foundation will disappear in just a few steps without even a breeze.

"Let's find a place to stay first and see what the Yongxiu Company is like now." Zhang Mu said.

"How to find out?" Ye Hanzhou asked.

Zhang Mu smiled. "Brother Han is a man of few words, but he's also a man of few words. Although he led his men back to the mountain stronghold, he left two clever brothers behind. They returned to Sucheng and are secretly keeping an eye on the Yongxiu Trading Company. I'll give the signal later, and they'll naturally come looking for us. We'll also be able to find out what's happened during this period."

Ye Hanzhou nodded slightly: "Very good."

……

"Meet the young leader, Chief Ye."

About an hour later, Zhang Mu and Ye Hanzhou met the mountain stronghold thugs that Han Wanli had arranged to stay behind in the inn.

Just after they met, Zhang Mu received a shocking news.

"Huang Tianlai was assassinated in the street?"

Huang Tianlai is the current official owner of Yongxiu Trading Company and the white glove of Shuangyue Mountain.

"Yes," the henchman replied, "One day after Chief Han withdrew from Su City, Huang Tianlai went to Yanhui Tower for a banquet. After the banquet, he was assassinated in front of the gate of Yanhui Tower."

"Have you found the murderer?" Zhang Mu asked.

The lackey shook his head and said, "I bribed the clerks in the government office. Currently, the government office only says they are investigating, but they haven't actually put in much effort."

Zhang Mu and Ye Hanzhou exchanged a glance, and Zhang Mu asked again, "What's the current situation at Yongxiu Trading Company?"

"People are uneasy." The lackey thought for a moment and said, "It's all thanks to the head shopkeeper who keeps things under control." "Head shopkeeper?" Zhang Mu pondered for a moment. "What kind of person is he?"

"Young Chief, the head shopkeeper's name is Li Quan, also known as Uncle Quan. He's about fifty years old. He worked his way up from clerk to shopkeeper and holds considerable prestige within the Yongxiu Company." The lackey rectified his words and continued, "After Brother Han arrived, he tried to recommend him to the village to continue managing the company, but Li Quan refused, stating that he would return home once the new owner arrived."

Zhang Mu raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Someone that even Brother Han likes?"

"It's worth seeing."

No matter how clever this minion is, he can only see the surface. For some things, the real information can only be obtained from insiders.

"Do you know where Li Quan lives?" Zhang Mu asked.

The minion nodded: "I know."

……

The setting sun.

Li Quan walked slowly home with his hands behind his back.

As the head manager of Yongxiu Company, he was well paid. His annual salary plus dividends amounted to over a thousand taels of silver, enough to support him in buying a small house in Suzhou City, where land was extremely expensive.

The house is not far from the business, only a quarter of an hour's walk away.

He enjoyed these two quarters of an hour because it was a rare leisure time for him in the day.

But at the moment, his mood was not so calm.

From the first day he became the head manager, he knew that the real owner of Yongxiu Company was actually the bandits entrenched in Shuangyue Mountain hundreds of miles away.

But for him, it doesn't matter who he works for. It doesn't require him to kill or set fire to anything. As long as the salary is paid on time and the boss doesn't humiliate him, he will be considered a good boss.

But things have taken a turn for the worse recently.

First, the group from Shuangyue Mountain seemed to have suffered a loss and lost the Yongxiu Company to another group.

A business with an annual income of 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver was sold just like that.

Even he, who was used to big scenes, couldn't help but sigh at the grandness of the event.

But he might as well change it. After all, he is at his age and is about to retire. Whether the Yongxiu Company is good or bad has nothing to do with him.

But just two days later, the group that came to take over were killed by bandits!
In broad daylight, when did there appear to be so many bandits in Su City?

If it were so easy to sneak into the city and cause chaos, the wealth of Su City would have been robbed long ago!
The water here is very deep!

But the story doesn’t end here!

Immediately afterwards, the old boss Huang Tianlai was assassinated on the street!
To outsiders, the water was becoming increasingly muddy, but as the head manager of the Yongxiu Company, he gradually discovered the truth in this fog.

"It's a turbulent time..." Li Quan sighed.

After turning an alley, he saw a small courtyard made of blue bricks. He could faintly hear the sound of reading coming from the courtyard, and Li Quan smiled again.

Yes, no matter how strong the wind and rain are outside, as long as I can protect this family, it is enough.

"I'm back..." Li Quan pushed open the door and was about to open his arms to welcome the child who was rushing towards him, but suddenly he paused and saw two strange men standing in the yard.

One of them was squatting and playing with his precious son, who was like his lifeblood, while the other was standing aside, holding the hilt of a knife, looking at him coldly.

"Husband!" The lovely wife came out of the house and smiled at Li Quan, "The distinguished guests said that the host is not at home, so they can't go in. They are just playing with Yuan'er in the yard..."

A smile quickly appeared on Li Quan's face, and he cupped his hands and said, "I am an old man with limited knowledge. I don't know who your distinguished guest is..."

Zhang Mu stood up and bowed in return, "Manager Li, I've heard a lot about you."

"I am the new owner of Yongxiu Company."

"Wei Wuyou!"

　My old eight is back...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)