Chapter 293 The Imperial Envoy Arrives

After the festival, it is time for all shops to open. Starting from the archway on the street, walk slowly along the main road. On the clean and spacious avenue, people can be seen everywhere, as well as busy shop assistants.

Songjiang's Xiunan Street is different from Yangzhou's Qiupu Street. The latter has developed year after year, with planting and textile as its foundation, and has formed a considerable scale of handicraft manufacturing. When a certain opportunity in the future appears, the three words "handicraft" can be removed.

In Chen Heng's plan, the future of Xiunan Street will be more like a comprehensive commercial street. In addition to sending goods from the south to the north and abroad, it can also directly connect the east, west, south and north through the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Grand Canal and Jiangnan Waterway.

It is said in the classics: Mountains are noble, and water is wealth. Songjiang, which was born by the water, will surely be rich by the water. It is precisely because Chen Heng has this understanding that when supervising the construction, he focuses more on the cultural landscape.

Three roads and four streets intersect with each other, and a small river runs through them. There are also eight lanes and sixteen alleys that are arranged in order like a chessboard, which set off all kinds of shops like chess pieces. Thinking of how he just clicked his finger before, one building after another rose from the ground. How could Chen Heng not be proud and proud of being in it at this moment?

The guests who followed Chen Heng and stopped to visit together also made some exclamations. There is no need to say much about the beauty of the architecture of Xiunan Street. While walking and touring, you can feel Chen Heng's delicate thoughts.

There must be a place to eat within fifty steps, and there are pavilions and teahouses for people to rest and listen to music within a hundred steps. Thinking of Ruanjia Lane opposite Xiunan Street, the two echo each other. No matter how the business at sea is, Xiunan Street will surely become a good place to go in Songjiang in the future.

During the tour, Chen Heng couldn't help but explain some of his ideas. In addition to the nods of the people who followed, many hosts also invited Lord Liu and Lord Chen to come into their own shops to take a look.

How long would it take to look at so many people one by one? Chen Heng thought for a while and only chose the guild halls of Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants. These two are the leaders of the business community in Dayong, and it is hard to tell who is better. But if any merchant gang insists that they are better than them, they will probably make people laugh.

When he arrived at the door of the guild hall, he saw that the two places were indeed built with their own characteristics. The guild hall of Shanxi merchants is more stable and grand, which is closely related to the style of doing things by the people of Shanxi.

The guild hall of Huizhou merchants is different, and they talk about a lively and pompous show. On the first day of opening, all the treasures in the house were taken out.

In recent years, Huizhou merchants have bought a lot of good things in Southeast Asia and the West. Chen Heng also found a musket that can be held in one hand. In Liu Xianglian's vigilant eyes, Chen Heng picked it up and played with it with great interest.

Feng Zhu, who had been following closely all the way, came up to introduce at the right time: "This thing was made by the Portuguese. It was seen by the people of the Chamber of Commerce last year, so they bought it as a decoration."

He saw that Chen Heng seemed to be reluctant to let it go, so he remembered it in his heart. Who knew that Chen Heng looked around, put down the musket with a smile, and directly pointed at Feng Zhu.

"Master Feng, don't learn from the old things in Yangzhou."

This was to warn Feng Zhu not to make decisions on his own and give this thing to himself privately. Other Hui merchants didn't know the doorway, and thought that Feng Zhu had another origin with Master Chen, and they all laughed.

Feng Zhu secretly complained in his heart. When Chen Heng was still a little boy. The steward of their family had directly invited the master to enter the mansion. Unexpectedly, many years later, this arrow would hit him at this time.

"Don't worry, Master, I saved it, I saved it." Wiping the sweat with a handkerchief, Feng Zhu felt that the weather was really hot today. Although his family was rich, he was also the head of the Yangzhou salt merchants. But among the huge number of Huizhou merchants, he can only be regarded as a leader. The real leader of Huizhou merchants is actually someone else.

If it weren't for his old relationship with Lord Chen today, Feng Zhu knew that he would not have the opportunity to come up and chat. There were some awkward moments, but Liu Yanzhang came out to help him out.

"Chixing, come and take a look at this."

Seeing the prefect standing in front of an object, Chen Heng stepped forward upon hearing the voice. I saw that this object was brass in color, with a small circle next to a large circle, and some patterns engraved on the edge of the circle.

"You are knowledgeable, Chixing, have you ever seen this object in a book?" Liu Yanzhang was really interested, he always felt that this thing was familiar.

Chen Heng took a look and knew that this object was called a gilded equatorial sundial. He immediately smiled and said, "Sir, don't fool me with this craftsmanship. It is our sundial. Look at it, just pull out the needle."

Oh, after a long time, the thing I saw was this. Liu Yanzhang lost interest immediately after getting the answer, and turned to appreciate other objects.

Chen Heng turned around and talked with the Hui merchants for a while, and listened to their detailed talk about the next plan of his chamber of commerce. Seeing that the time was almost up, he led everyone out of the guild hall.

As soon as they returned to the street, everyone clearly felt the heat coming up. Everyone took advantage of the shade of willows to stroll around the commercial street. Occasionally, they came to one or two pavilions, and saw that the scholars of the prefectural school had left their calligraphy here.

Chen Heng went forward to take a few glances, and saw that it was not a vulgar word like "I was here", so he didn't care about the scholars' nonsense.

The last stop was the office where Pan Youan was. In the future, the connection with various shops will be handled directly by him.

Bringing people here to recognize the way, Chen Heng also took this opportunity to tell others. This Pan Youan is the boss he appointed, and I hope everyone can give each other a face in the future.

After dealing with these trivial matters, Chen Heng and Liu Yanzhang both intended to take the merchants back to hold a banquet. Seeing Pan Youan who was a little embarrassed, Chen Heng reminded him before leaving: "I'll leave the business street to you, remember to do your best."

"Don't worry, my lord, I will not slack off in the slightest."

"Yes." Chen Heng nodded. If there was anything unnecessary to say, he had said it countless times in private. In front of everyone, he was so comfortable with Pan that he didn't need to be too rude.

When other people do things here in the future, they also need face to support them.

"Everyone, please come with Mr. Futai. Can we go back to the government office and have a chat?"

Chen Heng fell down, and no one dared to disobey.

Jia Lian and Xue Pan, who didn't say a few words from beginning to end, could only silently follow Chen Heng. As for their affairs, they still haven't found any friends willing to spend money to help them join forces.

On the way back to the government office, Jia Lian winked at Xue Pan: Didn't I ask you to have a good relationship with the Xia family in the capital? Their family grows and sells osmanthus. Not only did they have money, but the key was that they also had the secret recipe for treating incense.

Xue Pan was really a roundworm in Jia Lian's belly. Just by looking at each other, he could guess what Jia Lian meant.

Wanting to understand what Jia Lian meant, he felt even more angry. Is it because he, Xue Pan, doesn't want to get close to Xia Jingui? It was Xia Jingui who simply ignored him.

Second brother, you have slept with more women than I have eaten, why don’t you do it yourself?

Seeing Xue Pan's eyes, Jia Lian hurriedly pretended that he was busy and tried his best to get closer to Chen Heng. He already has a tigress in his family. Xia Jingui is very good-looking and his family is also very rich. But her temper is really bad.

Compared with her, Wang Xifeng seems to have a general understanding. Jia Lian was not willing to have more contact with Xia Jingui, so he simply ignored Xue Pan's eyes.

Zuo Baoyu is Xue Pan's brother-in-law, not his own brother-in-law.

With this in mind, Jia Lian squeezed a few steps closer to Chen Heng, but found that he couldn't squeeze in at all.

Today is different from the past. Today, Chen Heng is surrounded by people who are close to him, so there is nowhere left for him.

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Needless to say, there was no need to talk about the banquet at the government office, but Daiyu could not come with her because she had to take care of the children in the academy. Chen Heng also thought much less about eating. After dealing with some social interactions and casually drinking a few cups of tea, he found a reason to leave.

When we left the government office, it was already dark. When he returned home, he saw only a few bright lights waiting for him in the dark night. Just this scene made Chen Heng feel hot in his heart.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw Baoqin sitting with Daiyu and Yinglian. Chen Heng felt even more curious and saw the three of them talking and laughing. Chen Heng asked about the content of their conversation.

"My lord, guess what." Daiyu wanted to show off, but she didn't give any hint, she just tried her best to hold back her smile.

How can one guess? Zhuge Kongming is not alive. Chen Heng laughed, sat in the hall, took the tea cup from Qingwen, and said, "Why are you making things difficult for me, madam?"

"You guess." I don't know what happened today, but Daiyu actually became squeamish in public.

I can't stand it, I can't bear it. Chen Heng subconsciously licked the corner of his mouth, saying that beauty under the moon is a beauty in front of the lamp. The young couple looked at each other, which made Chen Heng feel very itchy.

What are you looking at? Pay attention. Sister Qin is still here. If you have anything else to do, please wait until you get back to the house. Daiyu glared at Chen Heng.

I didn’t think about anything. Madam, please don’t wrong a good person. Chen Heng suppressed his thoughts hard, and then in Bao Qin's eyes, he asked: "But it has something to do with Brother Xue?"

Both ladies know the relationship between the Chen family very well. The only person who could be called Brother Xue by Chen Heng was Xue Biao.

Daiyu was not surprised that her husband could guess this. Yinglian nodded generously and asked, "What is that about Brother Xue?"

What kind of fun could Xue Bao have, making these three people laugh non-stop? When Chen Heng heard this, he fell into deep thought. After a while, he spoke up and said hesitantly: "But it has something to do with Brother Xue's marriage?"

This time, Daiyu and Yinglian were shocked. The two of them looked at Bao Qin together, secretly thinking that it couldn't be you, girl, who had already leaked the information to others in advance.

"Yo yo yo." Bao Qin immediately started to get angry, "I didn't even say a word to my eldest brother today. I don't have the ability of you and your wife to communicate with your eyes."

This girl's face was slightly red, and she was obviously still angry about the scene that was not suitable for children just now. Chen Heng couldn't help but secretly thought that it was strange that Baoqin, a young girl with a yellow flower, could understand and guess the secrets of the boudoir.

He then coughed lightly and said with a smile: "You asked me to guess, didn't you?" He also mentioned his interest in the 120,000 yuan, and asked in a gossipy manner, "Whose girl is so discerning that she can take a fancy to our Xue Xue?" Brother."

"I'm afraid I'm going to scare you when this person says it." Before Daiyu could finish her sentence, she was already laughing.

Annoyed, Bao Qin raised his hand to slap her repeatedly, not knowing whether it was because Sister Lin was laughing at her brother, or because she was seeking revenge for what she had just done.

Seeing that they were having fun among themselves, Chen Heng looked at Yinglian who was standing aside. The latter simply said directly: "I heard from Sister Qin that it might be Miss Xia. But we are also guessing, and there is no news at the moment."

When it comes to gossip, Lin Daiyu is far more energetic than most people think. Although she has a plain face, she actually has very good ears.

When I have nothing to do, I like to listen to trivial things for fun. Every day, she read the newspaper at home first, and then it was Chen Heng's turn to read it.

"I also heard what Miss Xia said. Even if she didn't say it, she must have meant it in her heart." Daiyu was really excited and hurriedly shared the things that happened during the day with her husband.

After hearing the general idea, Chen Heng also felt that there was something to this matter. But when I think of Xia Jingui's temperament and her relationship with Xue Pan. Thinking about it in his own mind, he felt very weird.

After thinking it over again and again, Chen Heng couldn't help but laugh in his heart. Let the elders of the Xue family worry about this matter. Even if he marries a Hedong lion, it will be Brother Xue himself who suffers.

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"Miss, what are you thinking about?"

The personal maid saw Xia Jingui coming back and sat in front of the mirror thinking deeply. This unusual reaction was really strange in the eyes of the maid.

The little maid wanted to care about her, but Xia Jingui didn't hide anything at all, and said directly: "Xiao Cui, what do you think of the young master of the Xue family?"

"Ah?!" The little maid thought about it, and asked first, "Which Xue family are you talking about?"

"Of course it's the Xue family in Yangzhou."

The little maid was relieved after hearing this. She is a family member and knows her own affairs. Not only does the young lady have a bad reputation, but Xue Pan's reputation is not much better.

Hearing that the young lady was talking about Xue Ke, and then comparing it with Xue Pan who she just thought of. The little maid immediately felt that Xue Ke was really elegant and knowledgeable.

"Does the young lady like him?" The maidservant was a little surprised. She had been following her closely for the past few days, and she hadn't noticed that the young lady had met Xue Ke in private.

"Yes." Xia Jingui nodded generously. Since she took charge of the family business, her mother didn't even dare to force her to get married.

Mother Xia had long accepted her fate, and only hoped that her daughter, who had a hot temper, could find a good family on her own and live happily together. She didn't dare to introduce anyone to her daughter casually, for fear of framing others.

"What does the young lady like about him?" The little maidservant couldn't help but start to inquire. For so many years, she rarely heard about men from the young lady. It was strange that Xue Ke suddenly appeared today.

For some reason, Xia Jingui laughed first and explained: "Seeing that he speaks politely, he seems to be easy to bully."

The maidservant was stunned. What kind of thing is this? Young lady, you have to live a life when you marry someone. Whose wife has nothing to do and bullies her husband all day long?

"Okay, okay. I lied to you." Xia Jingui waved her hands and finally explained seriously, "I saw that he could tolerate his sister working. This openness and self-knowledge really made me look at him differently."

"That's right." The little maid nodded. People these days are always half-baked. Compared with them, Xue Ke, who is studying and painting, is indeed much better.

"The key is that he is also good-looking, and he looks even better when he smiles." Xia Jingui added.

That's true. The little maid nodded hurriedly. But would such a good person be interested in our young lady?

Thinking of this, Xiao Cui's heart suddenly became empty. She secretly scolded herself: Xiao Cui, Xiao Cui, the young lady treats me well on weekdays. Although the young lady has a bad temper... it's quite bad, but the young lady is capable, beautiful and rich! !

No, it seems that the Xue family is also quite rich, right? !

Thinking of this, Xiao Cui felt even more empty. But her young lady was still talking about things in high spirits.

"Tomorrow you ask Baoqin's maid to find out when the brother and sister will leave for Yangzhou. Then we will find a reason to follow them."

Miss, I knew you were a brave man, but I didn't know you were braver. The little maid was shocked and nodded in response: "Oh, Xiao Cui knows."

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The matter of Xiunan Street got off to a good start, so Chen Heng didn't pay much attention to it. He is now busy with affairs, and the people on Xiunan Street are all old hands. As long as there is no big chaos, the development of things will be stable and good.

After pulling himself out, Chen Heng immediately put his mind on Lou County. He borrowed the power of Huang Bantou of Lou County and the momentum of Xiunan Street, and finally prepared to go to Lou County Government Office.

Before coming, he didn't tell anyone. After coming, Lou County Government Office was even more chaotic.

The officers of Lou County waited day after day until Lord Chen arrived.

Thinking of their old colleagues in prison, everyone looked at Chen Heng, who was at the top, and didn't dare to breathe heavily.

"Everyone sit down, everyone sit down."

Chen Heng's attitude was very friendly when they first met. Everyone looked at each other, and only when Lord Chen urged them again did they dare to sit in their seats properly.

"You have done a good job during this period." Chen Heng took out the familiar opening remarks. Everyone could only hold their breath and reply: "Your Excellency is too much praise."

"If you do a good job, it's good. I always like to speak my mind." Chen Heng, who began to establish his authority, looked around the venue with a smile. When he saw everyone ducking their heads, he suddenly asked: "Is Sun Zhubu here?"

A man stood up in the hall and replied in a trembling voice: "My Excellency, I am here."

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Just as Chen Heng was about to clean up the Lou County government office, a team of people had arrived at the gate of Songjiang City. The leader rode a tall horse and looked very majestic. His followers also followed him on horseback, and pointed to the distance with the reins, saying, "Sir, the city of Songjiang is ahead."

"Yes." The leader nodded.

"Should we go to the inn first? Or..." the follower asked again.

"Go directly to Huating County Office to find Mr. Chen."

"Yes." The follower got the order and immediately rode forward. While using the reins to drive the people in line, he shouted, "The imperial envoy is here, please get out of the way."

Here, here. It's terrible. I'm busy at the end of the year, but I have to attend a wedding on the 21st and a birthday party on the 23rd. It's really driving me crazy...