As the official decree came out from the palace, and the palace did not conceal the intention to spread it, people in Kaifeng were talking about it.
"What? The imperial court is going to send troops to suppress bandits?"
"It seems to be a group of strongmen from Qingyun Mountain in Linxiang County, Kaifeng."
"There are bandits entrenched at the emperor's feet? This is really unreasonable!"
"As soon as the imperial guards arrived, why didn't those bandits just surrender?"
"But I heard that that group of bandits defeated two thousand imperial soldiers, and they are all working for the bandit leader on Qingyun Mountain right now!"
"That's nothing. I've heard that the bandit leader also took the daughter of the minister of rites to the mountain. He probably has children by now!"
…
As the people on the streets started talking, almost everyone knew that the imperial court was going to attack Qingyun Mountain.
In the Zhongxi Market in Kaifeng City, there is a shop called "Qingshan Yaji".
There were many people in the shop, many people dressed as maids and servants, and women dressed in silk and satin, choosing their favorite items in the shop.
This 'Qingshan Market' suddenly opened in Kaifeng City not long ago, and the shop is full of strange items.
For example, there are soaps that you can put on your hands to wash them very clean, and various perfumes that you can put a few drops on your clothes to have a lasting fragrance.
When it opened, it was deeply loved by ladies and ladies from all walks of life. Business was booming, and there was an endless stream of people coming to buy all day long.
No, as soon as the door opened this morning, the shopkeeper of Qingshanji was squeezed out of the door, and he couldn't even enter his shop at the moment.
Looking at the crowded door in front of him and the many people waiting behind him, Wang Dacai, who was dressed in brocade and silk and a jeweled hat, squeezed forward again, but still couldn't get in. He leaned against the corner and wiped his hands helplessly. Wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The business of this shop was so booming, which he had never expected.
At the beginning, the owner of the village gave him a booklet, which contained some production methods, recommended selling prices, and sales methods.
After he first started researching and producing it, he felt that the price set by the owner was a bit high.
Take soap, for example. You can make a lot of it for five cents, but the owner's brochure sells it for only two yuan, and there is a limit on the purchase quantity per person.
Especially the perfume, which comes in different small bottles, and the price starts from 5 guan.
At first, he was worried that no one would buy it, but he didn't expect that this thing and the perfume would attract a lot of people as soon as they came on the market.
After learning that each person had a purchase limit, these people called a large family to queue up, especially those from large families with dozens or hundreds of maids and servants.
This also caused him, the shopkeeper, to be squeezed out of the hall when the door opened this morning and unable to enter his shop.
In just a few days, thousands of copper coins were obtained. This was because the output of the workshops outside the city could not keep up, otherwise the income would be even greater.
Wang Dacai couldn't help but sigh that the owner of his village had the foresight. Thinking about it when he was appointed, he still felt a little nervous. This was purely a money-picking business.
At the beginning, there were still some local gangsters who came to ask for protection money. Wang Dacai looked like a rich man, and he gave money to everyone who came.
But the next day, the heads of all the local gangsters who had come to the store to cause trouble or collect protection fees would be found in the Chenghuang Temple outside the city.
From then on, no one dared to come to this 'Qingshan Elegant Gathering' to cause trouble.
Later, people from the palace came to inquire and asked Qingshan Yaji to contribute a batch of fine soap and perfume to the nobles in the palace.
Wang Dacai is also a man with nimble hands and eyes. He immediately donated 30%25 of his shares to the palace and used a tiger skin as a banner. The business has been going smoothly so far, and he has opened five or six branches in Kaifeng City.
Of course, the officials would not come forward in this kind of thing, and the responsibility was first handed over to the eunuchs around the officials.
This is enough for him to operate in Kaifeng City.
Seeing that he couldn't get in through the front door, Wang Dacai had no choice but to climb back through the neighbor's wall into his shop.
Despite Wang Dacai's pot-bellied appearance, his movements were light and he jumped from the two- to three-meter-high wall with almost no sound.
As soon as Wang Dacai landed, five or six strong men with weapons rushed out from a hidden place in the courtyard and surrounded him.
"who?"
"It's me!" Wang Dacai patted the dust on his body and said to one of the men: "Where are you protectors?"
The man quickly put away his weapon and clasped his fists and said, "I am going to protect you from the great wealth. We, the protector, are waiting for you in the guest room."
"Well," Wang Dacai nodded, and suddenly said: "I have told you so many times that if you see me in Kaifeng City, you will call me shopkeeper. Don't use the name "Dharma Protector". Others will think that we are... What, do you understand?”
"Yes, please remember this!"
Wang Dacai nodded with satisfaction, turned around and walked around the corridor into the guest room.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw a thin man wearing a short jacket and a bamboo hat sitting in the room, drinking tea.
After Wang Dacai closed the door, he looked at the man and said contemptuously: "You are still wrapped up tightly in front of me? Are you dressing up like this in broad daylight because you are afraid that people will not see that you are not a good person?"
The man was not annoyed when he heard this. He took off his bamboo hat and put it on the table, revealing a lean face. He was Li Ergou, one of the Western Protectors of Qingyun Villa.
Li Ergou chuckled and said, "This is terrible news, so I came to discuss it with you immediately."
"Discuss with me? What is there to discuss? Aren't you the first to report any news to the Villa? At the beginning, the Villa owner gave us a clear division of labor and we would not interfere with each other." Wang Dacai asked with some confusion after sitting down.
Li Ergou nodded slightly and said: "It stands to reason that this is the case. My hands are almost trained."
"What do you mean?" Wang Dacai glanced at Li Ergou warily and said, "I can tell you, you sent this news back last time. It has been several days, and the owner of the village did not order me to wait. Going back to rescue shows that the village owner is confident. If you don't follow the village owner's instructions, what do you want to do? "
Li Ergou smiled coquettishly, scratched his head and said, "Don't you think that the imperial army has gone, and I will go back and contribute?"
When Wang Dacai heard this, he snorted disdainfully, "Humph! You don't even look at your body. You have a bat with chicken feathers on it. What kind of bird are you? The owner of the village can suppress thousands of officers and soldiers with one hand, but he is afraid that the imperial army will not be able to do it." ? Do you need your hundreds of people to come back and cause trouble?"
Li Ergou's smile froze on his face, and he smacked his lips in embarrassment. He rolled his eyes, approached Wang Dacai, and whispered: "Dacai, did you know that a minion named Li Erniu has appeared in the Villa recently? And he still got Did you receive the Xiao Huan Dan rewarded by the village owner?”
Wang Dacai looked at Li Ergou suspiciously, not knowing what he meant, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to have many tricks. Can you understand everything in the villa?"
Li Ergou waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Don't say that, it was just my former brother who told me. Tell me, what do you think?"
"What do you think? Since the owner of the village rewarded Li Erniu, it means that he has something special about him." Wang Dacai said nonchalantly.
Although he said this, there was a sense of urgency in his heart. The Xiao Huan Dan is a reward that only the Western Dharma Protectors are eligible to receive. Now that it has been obtained by a minion, could it be...
However, Li Ergou smiled mysteriously and said, "Actually, this Li Erniu has a stupid mind. There is nothing special about him except that he is strong."
Wang Dacai suddenly became interested and asked: "Then how do you think he got the Xiao Huan Dan?"
Li Ergou lowered his voice again, "Have you heard the news that Miss Li Shilang's daughter was captured by Qingyun Mountain?"
"That's natural. You mean..." Wang Dacai suddenly paused and looked at Li Ergou, "You mean..."
Li Ergou nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, this young lady from the Li family was the one Li Erniu tied up to the mountain for the village owner. She is now the village owner's second wife. I heard that she is very favored by the village owner."
"Oh, that's it!" Wang Dacai nodded in sudden realization.
