strictlysupreme Chapter 287 A blessing in disguise
Chapter 287 A blessing in disguise
The next day, Mu Liang brought Lu Zhi to the downtown area early and went straight to the Shuiliu Cloth Shop which had been open for a long time. While the craftsmen had not yet started work, he went to take a look at the Shuiliu Cloth Shop.
Although he knew that the boss behind Shuiliu Cloth Shop was Master Shen Shiye, and he also guessed that the reason why Manager Yang and his assistant Shuichi were able to successfully escape the government's search must be because of Shuiliu Cloth Shop. But there was no solid evidence, and the famous Li from Jiangnan had suffered a heavy blow in Yujiang City and had not yet recovered. Mu Liang did not want to cause trouble at this time, so he did not mention Shuiliu Cloth Shop in front of Magistrate Qi yesterday.
"Oh, the two famous Li shopkeepers from Jiangnan have come to visit us, which really makes our Shuiliu Cloth Shop honored!" The shopkeeper of Shuiliu Cloth Shop was surprised to see Mu Liang and Lu Zhi coming into the shop. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, but soon he went forward to greet them with a smile on his face.
Yesterday, Mu Liang led Jiangnan Ming Li and others to the downtown street and took the initiative to ask for compensation from the owners of two shops affected by the fire. The news had already spread throughout Yujiang City. Jiangnan Ming Li was also a victim, but when faced with the shops that were implicated for no reason, he not only did not cry but also borne the losses. For this reason, he was applauded by the people in the city. Such responsibility is worthy of the style of a century-old merchant.
Hearing that the reputation of the famous Jiangnan Li had revived in Yujiang City and was even higher than before, the owner of Shuiliu Cloth Shop was naturally furious, but there was nothing he could do.
"You're too polite, shopkeeper. We all do business on this street and are neighbors. Today we came to visit and get to know each other. We can help each other if we have any problems in the future, right?" Mu Liang raised his hand and saluted the shopkeeper of Shuiliu Cloth Shop, smiling calmly.
"Manager Mu is too modest. The Li family is a wealthy and powerful family in Jiangnan. Even if there is any problem, the government will take care of it. We, a small family, have no ability to help the Li family in Jiangnan?" Mu Liang's false polite words made the manager feel contemptuous. He couldn't help but show a fake smile on his face, and then he became sarcastic.
Mu Liang did not say anything else, but just smiled and looked down at the cloth on the shelf in front of him. Compared with the superfluous imitation cloth of Jiangnan Mingli at the beginning, the patterns of these cloths now can be said to be unique. It seems that Master Shen Shi has put some thought into finding a tie-dye master.
"This is the latest product from my Shuiliu Cloth Shop. It's selling quite well. I wonder if it will catch the eye of Manager Mu?" The manager of Shuiliu Cloth Shop felt annoyed when he saw that Mu Liang no longer paid attention to him, but he continued to walk forward and asked with a smile.
"The pattern of this cloth is unique and eye-catching. The tie-dyeing skills of your store's master are quite good." Mu Liang ignored the other party's hidden meaning and still praised him truthfully with a smile.
Mu Liang's every word and action was flawless and there was nothing to find fault with. The owner of Shuiliu Cloth Shop clenched his fist with great difficulty, but it felt like hitting a ball of cotton. He was angry but couldn't vent it, so he looked extremely ugly.
"I heard that your boss is from Wucang?" Mu Liang ignored the other party's ugly expression and continued to ask with a smile pretending to be curious.
"Yeah." The owner of Shuiliu Cloth Shop knew that Mu Liang in front of him was a cunning fox. He also knew that he was no match for him and was afraid of saying too much, so he didn't want to say too much and just responded perfunctorily.
Seeing that the other party began to ignore him, Mu Liang realized that the shopkeeper had become alert, so he didn't say anything else. He walked around slowly and left.
Lu Zhi, who had been following Mu Liang for some time, witnessed with his own eyes how Shopkeeper Mu handled things in front of people and in the face of difficult situations with ease and comfort. He couldn't help but admire him very much. No wonder the young master trusted Shopkeeper Mu so much.
It is said that Shopkeeper Lu from Wangcheng had already learned about the burning of the shop in Yujiangcheng before Lao Zhou arrived. He was shocked and vaguely guessed that it was Shopkeeper Yang who was desperate and lost his mind and set fire to the shop. He couldn't help feeling scared. Fortunately, he had only verbally agreed to Shopkeeper Yang and had not done anything.
The sudden appearance of Lao Zhou almost frightened Manager Lu. After all, everyone knew that Lao Zhou was someone close to Manager Mu. He came to Wangcheng alone at this time, so Manager Mu must have been in Yujiang City.
After a night of traveling, Old Zhou was very tired. He didn't pay much attention to the fear on Shopkeeper Lu's face when he saw him. Instead, he hurriedly told Shopkeeper Lu what happened in Yujiang City and took out a letter written by Mu Liang and asked Shopkeeper Lu to send it out by pigeon. After everything was done, Old Zhou left the store with peace of mind and found an inn nearby to catch up on his sleep.
He learned that Mu Liang had restored the reputation of the famous Li in Jiangnan yesterday, and that Shopkeeper Yang had become a wanted rat and was even posted a wanted notice by the government. Shopkeeper Lu was impressed by Mu Liang again and was frightened, but he couldn't let the shop assistants notice that he was abnormal, so he turned around and went to the backyard.
"Manager Yang, you have always been smart and clever. How could you be so stupid this time and instigate him to set fire in the city late at night? Now this fire of yours has helped to restore the bad reputation of the famous Jiangnan general Li!" Deep in the bamboo forest outside Yujiang City, Lao Su, the fat slave beside Master Shen Shi, pointed at the two people in front of him with a look of disappointment and cursed with gritted teeth.
It turned out that Manager Yang and Shui Chi had hidden in Shuiliu Cloth Shop on the night of the arson. Early the next morning, the shopkeeper of Shuiliu Cloth Shop hid them in the goods to avoid the search at the city gate and successfully escaped from Yujiang City.
“At that time, I was just unwilling to let the famous Li from Jiangnan get such an easy advantage. I didn’t expect Mu Liang to arrive in Yujiang City so soon. What I didn’t expect was that the magistrate of Qi believed Mu Liang’s one-sided words without any solid evidence…” Although Manager Yang also regretted that he should not have let Shui Chi set fire to the city on impulse, he hated Mu Liang even more when it came to him.
"Yes, isn't this collusion between officials and businessmen? How can you convict us directly if we haven't even confessed yet?" Shui Chi, who was standing nearby, didn't take Lao Su's anger seriously. Instead, after hearing what Shopkeeper Yang said, he realized what was happening belatedly and agreed with his hands spread out with an innocent look on his face.
"Hmph, you're a nobody who can't do anything for you but always makes trouble! So? If you have the guts, go back and make excuses to the authorities?" Old Su glared at the ruler angrily and was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
The water ruler was speechless after being retorted by Lao Su and had to shut up.
"Although you have left the city, the government will probably expand the search area in the next few days. The master sent a letter asking you to follow me to Jiangnan." The bamboo forest was silent for a while, and then Old Su spoke again.
"That's great. Didn't we run away to seek refuge with the Tenth Master?" Shui Chi was so happy when he heard that they were going to Jiangnan that he couldn't help but shout out, but was immediately glared at by Lao Su.
"Now that Mu Liang has appeared in Yujiang City, Wangcheng's plan is likely to fail. Shopkeeper Lu has always been a fence-sitter. He will never betray the famous Li from Jiangnan at this time." Shopkeeper Yang sighed with guilt.
"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Now you just have to save your lives first." Although the fat slave Lao Su comforted them in this way, it was unknown whether the master would let them go easily.
Li Yunye, who was far away in Qile City, had been looking forward to a reply from his sworn brother Mu Liang since he left. It was not until seven or eight days later that Manager Yuan hurried into Li's house with the letter from Wangcheng.
After checking his brother's handwritten letter, Li Yunye felt relieved to learn that his brother Mu Liang had arrived safely in Yujiang City. However, he was furious again because the shopkeeper Yang set fire to the shop, causing heavy losses to the famous Li family in Jiangnan.
"I never realized that Manager Yang was such an ungrateful and ungrateful person!" Manager Yuan, who was standing nearby, sighed indignantly after reading the letter.
"Young Master, don't get angry at this point. Although Manager Yang is abominable, fortunately Young Master Mu Liang arrived in time and took the opportunity to use the government to resolve the crisis of the famous Jiangnan Li in Yujiang City and won back his reputation. It can be considered a blessing in disguise." Although An Ge was also angry at Manager Yang for his ingratitude, seeing that Young Master was very angry, she quickly calmed down and comforted him.
"Yes, sir, you must not get hurt because of such a heartless villain." Shopkeeper Yuan also hurriedly turned to comfort the young master.
Li Yunye calmed down after being comforted by the two. After calming down, he asked Ange and Manager Yuan to prepare the goods according to his brother's instructions, and asked the accountant to pay 5,000 taels of silver. But Li Yunye was worried that his brother Muliang would have to spend money to rebuild the shop in Yujiang City, and he was afraid that the 5,000 taels would not be enough, so he took out another 3,000 taels.
Although Li Yunye didn't understand why Brother Muliang asked him to arrange for Li, the steward of the farm, to escort the money and goods to Yujiang City? Steward Li didn't talk much and was usually far away from the farm. He only came to the mansion occasionally to settle accounts and greet Li Yunye. Therefore, he didn't know much about Steward Li. But since he was someone trusted by his sworn brother, Li Yunye naturally didn't have too many concerns and just did as Brother Muliang wanted.