Chapter Thirty Talents

  Seven or eight people on the ground had mostly sat up, with the bleeding man covering his head. The neighbors on the street stood in a circle, scolding them loudly, especially more than ten housewives, who cursed with flying spittle. Haigouz and others threw the young master they caught to the ground, this was the young master of those over ten people just now.

  That man saw Deng Kuo Shan, his face filled with anger, stood up and pointed at Deng Kuo Shan saying: "You scoundrel, return my money quickly." He rushed forward wanting to fight Deng Kuo Shan. The crowd seeing him still wanting to be violent, without using sticks, surrounded him and gave him a beating with their fists again knocking him to the ground. Liu Min You knew that this man was actually a victim, couldn't bear to see him being beaten, stepped forward and pulled the crowd apart.

  That young man was beaten, finally realized the situation, looked around at the crowd with fear, he was an outsider, sent a batch of goods to Beijing, stopped in Tianjin and showed off everywhere, as a result, he was cheated by Deng Keshan, ran back to the boat and called his family servant, searched for three days, finally found the enemy, which led to the scene of chasing and beating Deng Keshan.

  This young master was also quite unlucky. He didn't train well and ran slowly. When his subordinates started to flee, he finally arrived at a street corner, panting, thinking about how to scold Deng Ke Shan. However, just as he saw his retreating subordinates, one of the family servants shouted "Young Master, run quickly!" The result was that Zhang Da Hui heard this and thought it was the main culprit, so he gave him a good beating. Fortunately, there was a loyal servant who came back to rescue him. Zhang Da Hui rushed too quickly and didn't have the cooperation of Hai Gou Zi, so he was hit by that person with a stick. It wasn't until everyone arrived that they were able to capture this Wang Gongzi.

  Deng Keshan triumphantly said to the young master, "Young Master Wang, you dare to come to our Second Avenue to commit murder and assault, do you think all of us on Second Avenue are dead?"

  The people around felt proud, anyway now it's kicking a dog when he's down, they all scolded and spat. Wang Gongzi showed a fearful expression, hesitantly not daring to respond, just now Liu Min had blocked the crowd from hitting him, he subconsciously shifted towards Liu Min.

  Deng Kesha saw that he didn't speak and was even more pleased with himself, of course, he also absolutely refused to mention cheating people, but pointed at Zhang Da's bleeding head and said: "Wang Gongzi, you injured so many of our neighbors today, what do you say we should do to settle this? The Tianjin Qing army supervisor is my maternal uncle, do you want to go to the Qing army hall with me?"

  Liu Min heard this and looked at Deng Keshan's expression, then he was just like Chen Xin when he cheated that fat guy from Ji County. First, use some invisible power to suppress the victim's momentum, and next should be to find Wang Gongzi to settle the matter privately.

  As expected, "If you don't want to go, then it's up to you to satisfy us neighbors."

  "Big brother, I'll pay, I'll pay the silver."

  。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

  Deng Kesha held a pair of scissors, smiling and handing out silver coins to the neighbors who helped. Those who helped fight got one or two taels, including Zhang Dahui and another injured person who received two taels each. Even the several aunties who helped with the quarrel received five qian in silver coins. He searched Wang Gongzi and his servants thoroughly, getting over sixty taels of silver, not leaving a single copper coin behind. Then he forced Wang Gongzi to write a confession, admitting that he came to Erdao Street to beat people without reason, before letting them go.

  Everyone was delighted with the silver they received, as one or two taels could buy over a hundred catties of grain. They boasted to each other about how powerful they were just now, and naturally also praised Liu's family members. Liu Minyou had also received one or two taels of silver, but he was unwilling to become Deng Keshan's shield for deceiving people. However, the situation earlier almost became a war of resistance in Erdao Street, so if he said something inappropriate at this time, it would definitely have an adverse effect. Although he was kind-hearted, he wasn't a blockhead either, and went with the flow to collect the silver.

  As everyone slowly dispersed, Liu Min and a few others also turned around and entered the courtyard. Deng Keshan followed closely behind, his eyes scanning the surroundings as he closed the gate and walked over to the stone table to collect the remaining silver. He handed it over to Wang Dajiang, who had been injured, and told him to use it to bandage his wound. Meanwhile, Hai Gouzi and Zhang Erhui squatted beside the stone table, gazing enviously at the dozens of taels of silver on display.

  Liu Minyou looked at him with annoyance, although this person's and Chen Xin's methods were similar, but somehow, he just didn't like the look of him. He coldly said to Deng Keshan: "Brother Deng, how did your Huotuan get itself into such a mess? If it weren't for the help of the neighbors today, I don't know how you would have gotten out of this situation."

  Deng Kesha raised his thin face and said with a flattering tone: "Indeed, thanks to everyone's help today, especially this brother who used the iron rod and several younger brothers. Just now on the street, there were many people and it was inconvenient. Now I'd like to come and thank you all again."

  He divided the silver on the table into two roughly equal piles, and after deducting the battle reward he had just given out, there were about thirty taels left. He made a bow to Liu Min and said, "Brother Liu, please choose one share. If it weren't for you brothers today, I would have been in big trouble. Don't be polite."

  Liu Min had a serious face: "Deng brother, I'm not helping you with your troubles, you don't have to give me a share, and I won't be able to do such things. In the future, if someone chases you, Deng brother, don't come running to me."

  Deng Keshan rolled his eyes and smiled, "This isn't a matter of being angry or not, Brother Liu. You don't think highly of me, that's fine. This silver is still good, let's just say I'm giving these few younger brothers some compensation for their injuries and labor, they've worked hard after all, and need to eat something to replenish themselves."

  Liu Minyou was still wearing a lawsuit expression, and when he was about to reprimand him again, Dai Zheng just came over, picked up a piece of silver and put it in his own pocket. Liu Minyou looked at him in shock, not knowing what he meant.

  Dai Zhenggang bowed his hand to Deng Keshan and said, "Brother Deng, I'm Dai Zhenggang. We happened to be short of silver, so we took this gift on behalf of Brother Liu, but we didn't take the money as a substitute for our relationship with him, it's just taking the feelings of your fellow villagers."

  Deng Keshan had a step, originally also saw their military strength, planned to make good relations with these people, no matter what name they were collected under, as long as they were collecting silver. He also smiled and said: "It's best for brothers like this, neighbors shouldn't be outsiders, you all must be tired, rest well, I'll take my leave first."

  Liu Min had no choice but to nod and make a gesture of courtesy, intending to see Deng Keshan out the door. But then Deng Keshan turned around and saw the dresses on display inside the shop, and suddenly let out an exclamation, running in to take a closer look at one of them. He picked up a purple silk dress with a round collar and buttons down the back.

  Liu Min had no choice but to take the rolling knife meat, and as for his face, it was already far beyond Chen Xin's, so he could only follow him in and watch him, not letting him mess things up.

  "Brother Liu, are you guys going to open a clothing store? This clothes rack is quite clever."

  "Yes."

  "Why is it that I've never seen clothes like this before, but they look like an official's everyday attire?"

  "Ordinary clothes? Is it also like this?"

  "It looks like but actually isn't, usually it's still right lapel, just the collar has a scarf wrapped around it, from afar it seems to have no lapel, but in fact there is."

  Liu Min felt relieved that if this style had been around before and hadn't become popular, it was because the acceptance level wasn't high and the market prospects were worrisome.

  "Are you and your brother Liu selling in the market?"

  "In the market, you have to sell, and also find some saleswomen... Hmm!" Liu Min said with a smile, suddenly carefully sizing up Deng Keshan's thieving eyes, and burst out laughing.

  Deng Keshan was perplexed and asked: "Brother Liu, don't you think I'm right?"

  Liu Min hastily pulled Deng Keshan into the courtyard and handed him a stool: "Brother Deng, what do you think of this garment?"

  "Alright."

  "Did you say there were many people buying?"

  Deng Keshan scratched his head and flattered: "More? Of course it's more! Brother Liu, what you've done can't be less!"

  "Brother Deng, look, I have a method here that can help you increase your wealth and won't delay your burning of incense."

  "Help you sell clothes?" Deng Keshan was indeed a straightforward person.

  "Alright, one piece of work for one silver coin as wages, although it's not a lot, it's still a steady income."

  Deng Keshan's eyes rolled around, and he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he asked: "Liu brother, how much do you sell this for?"

  "Ah, satin and velvet, I plan to sell for one or two or three coins, cotton for four or five coins, with discounts and supplements based on the amount used. In addition to selling in the store, we also need to find some saleswomen and brothels..."

  "One or two taels is too little, it's not good to split. This clothing looks so good, let's sell it at the brothel first. Those who are willing to spend money are numerous there, and we can sell one piece for several times more than your store price. We'll sell this clothing at the brothel for at least three taels per piece, even at the best Qunfang Tower. Give five taels to the madam, two taels to the pimp, and five taels to the girls, we'll still have one tael eight cents left over. Brother Liu, you see, some of these girls only get food but no money, they'll definitely try their best to persuade customers to buy clothes. The madam and pimp will also get a share of the profit, so they won't stop us. Right, we need to find someone inside to collect the money, don't let the madam take it, or it'll be hard to get back. Let me think who's suitable..."

  Liu Min stared at him with his mouth open, thinking to himself that he had indeed found the right person. He didn't know much about the ways of the brothel, but listening to him talk about who would go collect money from the streets, it was indeed a hassle. The neighbors were all honest folk, and neither men nor women were suitable for the task. If Deng Keshan were to go collect money, Liu Min wouldn't feel at ease either, so he hesitated for a moment.

  The person next to Dai Zheng suddenly said: "Let Zhang Dahuai go, he will definitely be able to do it."

  Liu Min really had no one else to turn to. Among the few people, Zhang Da was a bit more slippery and hadn't settled down yet. The only worry was that he would learn bad things from him.

  "It's just that I'm afraid he'll see some worldly things in there every day, and what if he learns bad habits?"

  Deng Keshan smiled and said: "Men are afraid of what? Not learning is also bad, learning a little might even make having sons faster."

  Liu Min ignored him, and Dai Zhenggang, seeing his hesitation, advised: "Brother Liu, I have something to say, don't mind if I do."

  "Say it, substitute brother."

  "The conference and the sea dog are both seventeen years old. If it weren't for the destruction of the family, they would have already started a family and had children. Brother Chen and you still treat them like kids, which seems inappropriate. Moreover, although they went to the brothel, they only sold clothes, so there's no harm done."

  Liu Min was speechless, and if we were to follow the standards of this era, Zhang Dahuai and Hai Gouz would have been adults long ago. Although he and Chen Xin knew this too, due to their habitual way of thinking, they often treated them as high school students.

  He was stunned for a moment, and finally said: "Then I'll ask the meeting's opinion. If he is willing to go, let him go."

  After finishing speaking, he got up and entered Zhang Da Hui's house. Hai Gou Zi and Zhang Er Hui followed to the door and heard Liu Min asking Zhang Da Hui: "Da Hui, there is something here, Big Brother wants to hear your opinion."

  Zhang Da Hui smiled with a sly grin: "Liu Ge, I'm going, I've heard it all. I've been wanting to go take a look at that place for a long time, hehe."

  Liu Minyou said: ".................................."