pjbooks Chapter 598: Who Is the Mighty General?
Chapter 598: Who Is the Mighty General?
The second young master of the Zheng Family had his plan well thought out.
Unexpectedly, it was shattered before implementation even began.
Now, the cotton cloth from Jufu Supermarket is selling hot, and both the grain and cotton prices at Jufu are quite stable. The second young master of the Zheng Family suspects that since Tong Huaqiong can hoard coal, she will surely also hoard cotton and grain like him.
As long as the grain and cotton at Jufu do not rise in price, the Zheng Family’s grain and cotton cannot be sold.
The second young master of the Zheng Family can think this far, his father, Old Master Zheng, can certainly think this far too.
If not for Tong Huaqiong’s unexpected lightning move, Old Master Zheng would have praised his youngest son for hoarding coal, cotton, and grain, considering it to be a thoughtful action.
Looking at it now, the son’s action was downright foolish.
He actually placed all risks in one basket.
"Father, you must save me. Even if the Fifth Prince is not favored, he is still a prince. Crushing me is like crushing an ant." The second young master of the Zheng Family became fearful.
Not even needing the Fifth Prince to show up himself, any one person from his mother’s family could easily crush him, a merchant’s son from a small county.
Old Master Zheng supported his head, tremblingly said, "But that’s a hundred thousand taels of silver. Where will I gather that from? Unless you want me to sell the shop and the land?"
The second young master of the Zheng Family fell to his knees with a thud and said, "Otherwise, our entire family won’t be safe."
Old Master Zheng was so angry he almost couldn’t catch his breath, kicking the second young master hard.
The second young master sat on the ground, resentful of Gu Ruinian for eating both ends of the news, and resentful of Tong Huaqiong for not playing by the rules.
It’s ruined!
Everything is ruined!
...
To gather silver, the Zheng Family urgently sold coal, cotton, and grain.
Only relying on scattered sales, they couldn’t sell at all.
The Zheng Family could only hope that some large merchant could buy all the coal, cotton, and grain in one go.
One of the stewards at Jufu Supermarket used to be a steward at Zheng’s shop, promoted by He Chao back in the day.
After Jufu Supermarket opened, He Chao recruited him to Jufu.
He learned that the Zheng Family was urgently selling coal, cotton, and grain, and informed Tong Huaqiong about it.
Tong Huaqiong smiled.
Lu Zhaozhao’s strategy was effective.
Tong Huaqiong didn’t need coal for the time being, but she needed cotton, the more the better.
As for grain, Huang Yuanwai dealt in grain business, he surely needed it.
The Zheng Family’s urgent sale clearly indicated they were in need of a cash return, so it was the perfect opportunity for bargaining.
Tong Huaqiong felt no guilt for adding insult to injury to the Zheng Family, who clearly intended to drink the blood of common people during the extreme cold weather, deserving of such treatment.
Thus, Tong Huaqiong passed the news to Lu Zhaozhao and Huang Yuanwai, deciding that the Tong, Lu, and Huang families would divide the Zheng Family’s cotton, coal, and grain.
Neither Tong Huaqiong, Lu Zhaozhao, nor Huang Yuanwai needed to appear in person, having their respective stewards handle the negotiations.
At first, the Zheng Family, seeing someone willing to take over, tried to control the price.
The Zheng Family didn’t set an exorbitant price, pricing it ten percent higher than hoarding.
Even so, the Tong, Lu, and Huang families didn’t budge, insisting on making Zheng Family bleed before willing to take over.
The stewards, following Tong Huaqiong and others’ instructions, simply walked away.
Leaving the Zheng Family hanging until the eve of New Year, until they finally couldn’t hold out and agreed to sell coal, cotton, and grain at the price set by the Tong, Lu, and Huang families.
Tong Huaqiong smoothly acquired two hundred thousand pounds of cotton.
Lu Zhaozhao acquired twenty thousand pounds of coal, while Huang Yuanwai acquired ten thousand pounds of grain.
The cotton Tong Huaqiong acquired was for the Weaving Workshop, while the Lu and Huang families directly transported the coal and grain to the border, paving the way for Lu Zhaoyang.
...
When Tong Huaqiong hurried from Pingchuan County to Qinghe Bay, every household had already started making dumplings in the snowfall.
Another year’s New Year’s Eve had arrived.
This year, the house didn’t have Gu Dashu and Su Chengmin, but it did have additions like Su Qing, Xiao Xi, Granny Chen, and other maids and elderly women.
"Mother, the villagers all say thanks to you, they were able to buy coal. This is their offering for the festival." Chen Sufen, holding her child in her arms, pointed at the meat, vegetables, and dumplings in the yard.
Tong Huaqiong received her little granddaughter Ying Er from Chen Sufen’s arms, holding her.
Man Er, Xiao Long, and Yaozu gathered around.
Tong Pandi and Mrs. Hong brought Hua Er and Duo Er to the house, and Mr. Su was also invited to celebrate the New Year together.
Just as they were having a reunion dinner, the Lu Family sent a letter from the mansion city to Tong Huaqiong.
"Whose letter is it?" Liu Yueer couldn’t help but ask.
This year, the most unhappy person was Liu Yueer, constantly worried about Gu Dashu. At times she was concerned that Gu Dashu would be conscripted, and at others that Gu Dashu would be captured by people from Mo Bei.
With Liu Yueer speaking, Mrs. Hong also looked towards Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong handed one of the letters to Gu Jingzhe and said, "A letter from your second brother, read it to everyone."
Then she handed the unopened letter to Mrs. Hong and said, "He Chao’s letter to you."
Gu Jingzhe read the letter from Gu Dashu to everyone.
Gu Dashu, He Chao, Su Chengmin, and others had safely arrived at the border during the twelfth lunar month.
Dasheng and Mo Bei were already at war.
Gu Dashu wrote about the difficulties of war at the border, then turned to say how Dasheng would definitely win, expressing optimism about the border market and his future desire to do business at the border.
The letter mentioned they encountered Nie Xiaofeng, saying Nie Xiaofeng was thriving in the barracks, a combat-proven Colonel, also revealing that Su Chengmin directly joined the military alongside Nie Xiaofeng.
Tong Huaqiong: "..."
"What’s wrong, Third Brother, why did you stop reading?" Liu Yueer was listening with interest when Gu Jingzhe suddenly stopped speaking.
Everyone looked towards Gu Jingzhe.
Gu Jingzhe looked at Tong Huaqiong, a trace of awkwardness appearing on his face.
"Read it. Why are you looking at me?" Tong Huaqiong said.
Gu Jingzhe continued reading despite the awkwardness, stumbling over his words, thinking how his second brother writes everything in the letter.
The impatient Gu Taohua snatched the letter and said, "Stop dilly-dallying."
Gu Taohua scanned the letter, her eyes widening, barely able to contain her excitement, saying, "Oh my, mother, no wonder Second Brother and the others are doing so well at the border, do you know who Second Brother met? The Mighty General."
Tong Huaqiong searched her mind briefly, not knowing who Mighty General was.
Xiao Long raised his head, his eyelashes fluttering, before lowering his head again.
"Which Mighty General?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
Gu Taohua wore a face of curiosity, reading from the letter: "Turns out the Mighty General was mother’s childhood friend, Min Han Niu."
The room fell silent.
Tong Huaqiong appeared speechless.
No wonder Gu Jingzhe stumbled in his reading.
Gu Dashu unabashedly wrote about Min Han Niu being his mother’s childhood friend in the letter.
Gu Taohua looked up innocently and said, "I didn’t say it, Second Brother wrote it like this."
Liu Yueer grew excited and said, "Min Han Niu? The cowherd boy from Black Dragon Pool that followed the rebels? How could he be the Mighty General? Oh my heavens, mother, if you hadn’t married father-in-law, wouldn’t you be the General’s wife?"
Liu Yueer couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself, speaking openly without reservation.
Gu Jingzhe’s face turned dark immediately.
Gu Dahuan’s mouth twitched slightly.