Chapter 195: Needing People and Money

There was a small carriage parked on a clearing in the mountains not far from the official road.

In the carriage, Zhao was bored and flipping through a vernacular novel, feeling drowsy. He opened the curtain and looked at the sky. The sun was getting weaker and it was almost dark.

He lowered the curtain and calculated that he arrived here yesterday and the letter was sent five days ago. At the speed of 800 miles, Lu Wenyu should arrive tonight.

"Damn it, if I don't blackmail you, do you really think my price is cheap..."

He stared at the curtain in a daze, and smiled at himself unconsciously. What a coward!

He lay down on the carriage, and didn't care about anything. He would sleep first. At worst, he would let Lu Wenyu wait for him.

Maybe he slept too much in the past two days, or maybe he didn't feel sleepy at all. In short, he woke up slowly after sleeping for a while.

It was just getting dark when he got off the carriage.

He lit a tinder, started a fire next to him, and stretched out his hand to warm himself casually. The gradually warming air did not make him feel much more energetic, but he felt a little tired.

He took out some wine and food and ate and drank in small sips by the firelight. The firelight flickered, illuminating the open space. Drinking alone facing the moon was quite interesting.

"Tram, tramp, tramp"

There was an urgent sound of horse hooves in the distance, and Zhao looked back at the pipe. He could not see anyone, but he felt that it should be Lu Wenyu.

"What a big show..."

After muttering to himself inexplicably, he ignored the horse hooves behind him and continued to roast the fire and drink. No matter if he was Lu Wenyu, if he couldn't find himself in such a small place, he might as well die.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves came from far away, and the sound of iron hooves stepping on the mud had already sounded around the forest.

The person had not arrived, but the voice had arrived.

"Why did you choose such a place to meet? Don't you like the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River? I remember you are from the south of the Yangtze River!"

This familiar voice, who else could it be but Lu Wenyu?

"There's no one here, so don't shout. If there's a woodcutter coming down the mountain to cut wood, you'll scare him to death." Zhao said unhappily.

"No, no!" The voice seemed far away, but it was right in front of him in the blink of an eye.

Lu Wenyu, dressed in casual clothes, walked out of the darkness like a country gentleman, leading his horse, stroking his beard and making a faint sound.

Although his eyebrows were drooping, there was no trace of fatigue on his face, but he looked a bit relaxed and comfortable like a spring outing.

Zhao turned his head to look at the forest in the distance, and smiled thoughtfully. When Lu Wenyu approached, he asked politely, "Did you have a smooth journey?"

"Haha." This made Lu Wenyu laugh lightly, and he asked in confusion, "Your polite words are getting more and more indifferent..."

"Don't mind, I just mean it."

Lu Wenyu tied up the horse, stretched out his hand to warm the fire and said, "That's meaningless."

The two looked at each other. Since it was meaningless, they didn't say anything. So as if they had a tacit understanding, they kept silent, one drinking wine with a gloomy look; the other roasting fire with his eyes downcast.

They looked like two sullen chickens.

"What's the matter with calling me here? It's not to enjoy the moon, is it?" Lu Wenyu couldn't hold back and asked.

"I want money! I want people!"

Zhao had nothing to hide since he had come straight to the point. He spoke very naturally and even felt that he had lost out.

"You want money and people before the work is done?"

"How can you do things without money and people?"

Lu Wenyu was a little surprised by the tit-for-tat words, and this time he didn't play by the usual routine.

He frowned and asked in surprise, "Have you thought of a solution? You know, it's not good to cheat people, especially your superiors!"

"How should I know! What's the solution? How can I think of it without money and people? Mules can eat their fill, and I'm hungry and I'm still thinking of a solution." Zhao was a little disdainful. I can't think of a solution by myself. I'm a saint if I don't put fire in the government warehouse!

After the words fell, neither of them spoke again. Lu Wenyu looked at Zhao Jue with scrutiny from time to time. His intuition told him that the person who was roasting the fire calmly in front of him was probably bluffing, but his curiosity could not be suppressed.

His eyes went back and forth, looking up and down for who knows how long. It turned out that Zhao Jue was impatient first, raised his eyebrows and said unhappily, "Just give me a straight answer, will you give it? Do you want to carry 100,000 dan of grain by myself?"

"How many people do you want? How much money?" Lu Wenyu turned his head and stared at him, with an ambiguous light flashing in his eyes.

"A big..." Seeing Lu Wenyu's face change drastically and his brows frowning, he quickly changed his words, "A small master, the more above the fifth rank, the better, and find me a jade carving master and an antique master with good craftsmanship."

"As for the money, raise it to two thousand taels a month."

This lion's exorbitant request almost made Lu Wenyu laugh. What kind of small master is needed to move grain? This is still 100,000 dan. If it is 200,000 dan, will I have to take off my python robe and do hard labor?

"Haha." Lu Wenyu smiled and joked, "How about getting you a few dozen junior masters, a hundred thousand elite soldiers, and tens of thousands of good horses?"

"Just give you Jiangnan, and you can be the king of the mountain!"

Before Lu Wenyu finished speaking, Zhao was already furious, "Fuck, what are you talking about? What are you talking about?"

"I will do the work and I will take the blame. Dozens of people, two thousand taels is too much? Did I ask for one more person or one more tael of silver from beginning to end?"

"Speak without thinking, damn!"

In the flickering firelight, the two looked at each other, and the atmosphere was tense for a while, as if they would fight if they disagreed.

But surprisingly, the two just looked at each other, and nothing happened.

After a moment, as if compromising, as if helpless, Lu Wenyu sighed and nodded, "Little Grandmaster is fine, but above the fifth rank, I can only get you 25. I think for things like raising grain, there is no difference between 25 and 50..."

"That's enough! Transfer Captain Jiang and Young Marquis Li over." Seeing Lu Wenyu's resignation, Zhao made a request that was not a big deal.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhao asked worriedly, "Can I kill two prefects when necessary?"

Lu Wenyu did not answer immediately, but smiled mysteriously, "Don't you have a way? Why, are you afraid that I will steal your credit?"

"Will there be a way when the people arrive..." Zhao refused to give in.

Across the firelight, the two looked at each other, and the serious expressions on their faces gradually changed, and then they laughed.

"Good nephew!"

"Good uncle!"

But how much calculations were there between the nephew and the uncle, neither of them could tell.

As if remembering something, Zhao changed the subject and pointed at the hazy Laiqu Villa in the distance, "I want that place, including the surrounding mountains."

He circled his fingers and said lightly, "You can come here to transport it in the future. I can't help you to transport it to the capital, right?"

"Okay, it's a piece of cake. It's not far from the capital. I will send craftsmen to renovate it. What do you plan to do..."

"The brothel." Zhao said calmly. Such a good place must be convenient for its own people.

Lu Wenyu was puzzled, "Ah?"

"You don't understand the brothel?" They are all men, why are you pretending? Zhao was speechless.

"I understand!" Lu Wenyu nodded helplessly.

It's good to understand. Zhao clapped his hands, stood up and walked towards the carriage. After saying so much, he was a little sleepy.

He said as he walked, "Let the people arrive as soon as possible, especially the young marquis and Captain Jiang."

"Let them come to Lin'an to find me..."