Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 518 Why? To apologize?
Song Hui Shou had seen Ah Liu before, and he thought he had paid enough attention to this young man who followed Zhang Shou like a shadow. He not only sent people to inquire about his background, martial arts heritage, but also sent people to inquire about his preferences and personality. However, apart from the fact that Ah Liu had a big appetite, he didn't find out anything else!
He only knew that he was a rare young master, but he was not sure how skilled he was. However, the sudden appearance of Ah Liu now fully demonstrated how skilled he was... Because this Guangdong Guild Hall was not a place made of paper, there were guards outside the door, and each courtyard was defended accordingly, and even copper wires and bells were laid out for warning.
Because the people who stayed here were usually wealthy merchants and officials from Guangdong, and everyone wanted to ensure safety. But now, he still remembered the promise made by the guy who set up copper bells and other mechanisms on the wall, but Ah Liu had already rushed directly in front of him! You know, Fang Qing just didn't take two steps and went back, but Ah Liu obviously came in from outside!
He had already given instructions that at least in this courtyard, he must be informed today before releasing anyone, so that the guards would not disobey his orders in secret!
However, before Song Huishou could adjust his mood and expression and greet the young uninvited guest, Ah Liu, who came in boldly, glanced at Song Juren who was still lying on the spring stool, and spoke first: "Are you done?"
These four words were as concise as ever, and were exactly how Ah Liu treated outsiders in the past. Although Song Juren and Fang Qing were used to it, one was too embarrassed to answer, and the other didn't know how to answer.
Song Huishou, who was not familiar with him, felt that this was like a censure. He wanted to explain, but felt that it would make him look too weak. If he didn't explain... He had kidnapped Song Juju and Fang Qing, who were originally living in Zhang Garden, and perhaps he had offended Zhang Shou. Now that Ah Liu had fallen from the sky, if he didn't explain clearly, would people take him back in return?
Although Zhang Shou doesn’t seem to be such a strong and rude person...but the one who came today is Ah Liu!
After weighing the pros and cons, Song Huishou could only smile and say, "I was just angry at my nephew's reckless behavior, so I used some extreme means. I just hit him a few times with a thorny bramble. Now that I think about it, I was indeed a little impulsive..."
Before Song Huishou could finish his words, Ah Liu interrupted him and asked, "So, the fight is over?"
He didn't notice that his question made Song Huishou and Song Juren extremely embarrassed. Seeing that they didn't answer, he looked at Fang Qing. As a result, Fang Qing, who had been beaten by Ah Liu before and knew how scary this young man was when he went crazy, nodded his head without hesitation, and then deliberately answered: "It's over!"
Nonsense, even if the fight wasn't finished, he had to say it was finished! Otherwise, if the boy got serious and really asked Song Hui Shou to finish the fight, wouldn't Song Hunzi have to suffer again? Although he and Song Hunzi didn't get along, he wouldn't cheat him like this. He had to learn from Song Hunzi's cruel heart and ruthlessness in the future!
After receiving Fang Qing's reply, Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief as if nothing had happened: "Then there is no need for Madam Tai's post."
After hearing this, Song Huishou, who was just wondering about the purpose of Liu's visit, felt a pang in his heart, but still asked with a glimmer of hope: "Brother, could it be the Lady Dowager of Zhao State?" Although he himself did not believe that Mr. Song would have the face to let the Lady Dowager take a note and ask Liu to come and rescue him, but after thinking about it, this was the only possibility.
Ah Liu never knew what it meant to be mysterious, so he nodded directly: "Yes, Mr. Zhu was going to take his post, but the lady got there first."
What does it mean that the lady took the lead? When did this nephew who was the best at getting by have a relationship with Zhu Tingfang, the eldest son of the Zhu family? Song Huishou felt that his head was gradually getting bigger. Even the dumbfounded look of Mr. Song at this time seemed to him to be a pretense. But he couldn't get angry, and could only force a smile to deal with others.
"Just for the sake of the Guangdong Song family's housework, Madam, you are really..."
However, he still couldn't finish his words this time, because Ah Liu interrupted him again in all seriousness: "The Madam sent a message that even though Mr. Song has a thousand faults, he is the one favored by the Emperor."
This time, Song Huishou shuddered, but what he didn't see was that Song Juren, who hadn't gotten up from the spring stool, was also shivering like he had the hiccups. The idea that the emperor favored someone was too terrifying! Even if it wasn't the scariest possibility, he had dealt with the emperor face to face, and he only saw some kind of disdain, not any appreciation.
However, Ah Liu was not in the mood to explain to Mr. Song what was going on - or he was only responsible for conveying the message and had no intention of explaining at all. Now that he was there and the message had been passed on, he walked up to Mr. Song and picked him up with just his hand.
Although he was shorter than Mr. Song, to Mr. Song and Fang Qing, his effortless movements were no different from an eagle catching a chick. Mr. Song was also startled. He wanted to struggle but was afraid of angering this little devil. After he landed on the ground, he quickly begged for mercy: "Sixth brother, please spare me, I can still walk!"
Ah Liu did not let go as he was told. Instead, he first glanced at Mr. Song's buttocks. He could still see bloodstains on them, which showed that he had been hit hard. He said unhappily, "Fang Qing, come and help him. It's time to go."
Fang Qing dared not disobey Ah Liu's words, and Song Hunzi was beaten badly today. No matter how angry he was in the past, he had already vented it all. He immediately came up to help Song Juren walk out. Ah Liu stayed where he was, and didn't move until the two of them left the house. He turned his head and looked at Song Huishou carefully.
Although Mr. Song is quite old and has seen all kinds of people in the business world, he is sure that he has never seen anyone as hard to figure out as Ah Liu - because you can't figure out what the other person wants from his words and actions, so you can't please him and take advantage of him!
He could only try hard to calm himself and appear calm, but Ah Liu ruined his efforts with just three words.
"Why?"
Song Huishou took a deep breath and forced out a blank smile: "Why? Brother, what you are asking is..."
"Why did you tie them up?" Ah Liu asked more clearly. Seeing Song Huishou opening his mouth as if to explain, he stretched out his hand to stop him and said, "Don't say it's a family matter, and don't say you hate him for not making progress. I want to hear the truth."
Although Ah Liu did not continue to speak, his eyes clearly revealed a meaning of, if you don't tell the truth, I will force you to tell it. Under such strong pressure, Song Huishou felt that his mind was a little blank. Although he could still try to find a reason that might be able to get away with it at this time, he instinctively felt that it would be best not to play too many tricks in front of this young man.
He did not bring up the excuse he had just made in front of Fang Qing, but sighed and said, "What my nephew did in the capital this time made many people feel ashamed. Even some old men from Guangdong asked me to teach him a lesson, so I had to pretend."
Seeing that Ah Liu frowned and was obviously dissatisfied, Song Huishou knew that this explanation was not enough. He could only think about it quickly and then added a few more sentences with a forced smile.
"Of course, in addition to the show, I also hope to meet Mr. Lu San in private. Of course, I didn't expect Dr. Zhang to send you here. Didn't the Imperial Chef Selection Competition use ingredients brought back from overseas? In fact, people in Guangdong have also brought back many exotic fruits and other crops from overseas. Of course, the fruits cannot be transported from thousands of miles away, but..."
Chairman Song paused, seeing that there was no change on Liu's face, let alone eagerness, he doubted that if the other party was really not interested, he would probably turn around and leave, so he didn't dare to keep him in suspense anymore.
"For example, mangoes and pineapples from Southeast Asia are now being grown in Lingnan. Although fresh ones cannot be sent to the capital, dried mangoes and pineapples can be sent. Since we learned that the Imperial Chef Selection Competition has begun, our Guangdong Song family has sent back the news, but it is too late before the New Year. We will send a ship over when the monsoon starts next year. I beg you to hold the Imperial Chef Selection Competition again next year and use these ingredients."
If Zhang Shou were here, he would definitely understand a lot from Song Huishou's words, but Ah Liu is not Zhang Shou, and he is not good at these things. However, he did not easily agree or refuse, but just asked lightly: "What else?"
besides?
Song Hui Shou finally realized the powerlessness of the juniors and subordinates who used to tremble in front of him. He had racked his brains to come up with the most appropriate reason - beating up Song Juren was just for show, the real purpose was to lead out the influential Lu Sanlang or even Zhang Shou, and then beg them to do something to help him, how could this reason not be enough?
Could he still say, "Actually, I'm very interested in that colored cotton. Although it can't be grown in Guangdong, if it's possible, we Guangdong merchants have actually stockpiled land in other places. We can give it a try?" Even if we don't give it to the Song family, don't give it to other families at a discount?
If it was Zhang Shou who came at this time, Song Huishou might dare to mention it, but Ah Liu's wild imagination really made him dare not act rashly. Therefore, he had no choice but to play dumb and said, "What else?"
"Apologize." Ah Liu uttered the three words clearly. Seeing Song Huishou's expression as if he had seen a ghost, he added, "Not only your stupid nephew has to apologize, but I have to apologize as well. Well, just compensate with food."
Just after hearing the word "apology", Song Huishou was overjoyed that he had finally found Ah Liu's weakness. But when he heard the words "just compensate with food", he was immediately disappointed. Ah Liu asked him to compensate with food, could he also compensate him with one or two trucks of expensive food? It seemed that this seemingly powerful boy was actually very simple-minded. Perhaps this was an opportunity for him to take advantage of?
When Fang Qing helped the limping Mr. Song to the door, he saw a figure flying over his head and then landing steadily in front of them. However, compared with the empty hands when he came, Ah Liu had two more paper bags in his hands, and there was a faint smile on his face, as if he had encountered something happy.
Immediately afterwards, Mr. Song saw Ah Liu casually handing over a bag: "Apology."
Apology? What apology? Could it be that his stingy uncle gave it to him as compensation? As for the paper package in Ah Liu's hand, was it a gift to Ah Liu? Mr. Song was surprised and delighted, and hurriedly took it. But when he opened it, the fragrance inside rushed straight to his nose, which shocked him all of a sudden .
It was a very familiar taste - barbecued pork buns, egg yolk crisps, radish cakes... and the big paper bag was divided into small paper bags, all of which were freshly baked Cantonese dim sum, so fresh that Song Juren burst into tears. It was not the taste of his hometown that made him cry, but the special apology that Ah Liu asked for that made him cry. For the beating he received, these dim sum were considered apology?
Ah Liu noticed Mr. Song's sad face and raised his eyebrows in surprise: "You don't want it? Don't give it to me!"
With his arms stretched out, Ah Liu took the paper bag back from Mr. Song. He took two things into his mouth in a moment. He didn't care about Mr. Song's bitter expression. He praised with satisfaction, "Very authentic Cantonese dim sum, delicious!"
It was not until someone came up to apologize and explained that Song Huizhang had sent a carriage and it was parked outside that Mr. Song hurriedly urged Fang Qing to get on the carriage. However, he could not sit on it and could only kneel down with his butt sticking out. Seeing Fang Qing trying so hard to hold back his laughter, he could not help but shout in exasperation: "Do you still have a conscience? I'm in such a miserable state and you still want to laugh!"
This time, Fang Qing finally couldn't help himself and burst into laughter: "How can I not laugh? Song Hunzi, you have come to this day! Now you know how it feels like a scholar meets a soldier, right?"
"Don't gloat over other's misfortunes. You'll have to cry later!"
Ah Liu, who had tied his horse to the side and sent the driver away to drive the carriage himself, listened to the noise in the carriage but just sneered. He drove the carriage while eating, as if the dinner at the Duke of Zhao's mansion was completely fake. When the carriage arrived at Zhang Garden, it was already very late, and the two paper bags he had originally held had already been emptied, and the contents had been eaten.
An Lu, who came out to greet him, smiled as soon as he saw him: "Sixth Master, the young master is back. He said that you should return the letter from the Madam tomorrow."
"Yes." Ah Liu nodded, pointed at the carriage and asked An Lu to arrange it, and then went to Zhang Shou's study. When he arrived at the door, knocked gently and opened the door, he saw that Zhang Shou was not sitting at the desk at all, but on the Luohan bed by the window, and there was a copper hot pot on the table next to him.
Almost instinctively, his stomach growled. Seeing Zhang Shou's stunned face, he coughed and then said seriously, "Chairman Song hopes to add ingredients that originated in Southeast Asia and were transplanted to Fujian and Guangdong to the imperial chef selection competition. As for beating up Mr. Song... first, it's to vent his anger, and second, I want to meet the young master and Lu Sanlang... What's in the pot? Is it delicious?"
