The Thirty-Fifth Chapter: The Cycle of Incarceration Arrives

  After four people finished dinner at Liu Mingjiu's home, they were afraid that Wu Tongjin would tease them about their relationship with Zhao Bilin again. So Liu Mingjiu asked Han Zhen to send Zhao Bilin back home.

  Zhao Bili again came out the door, but suddenly turned around and walked back to Liu Mingjiu's face, lowering her head and softly saying: "Tomorrow I have to go back to Beijing, my vacation is over. Can you come see me off tomorrow afternoon?"

  "I can, I'll help him answer you, he definitely can." Wu Tongjin, who had made teasing this couple, whose relationship was only a thin layer of window paper that hadn't been completely pierced, into a profession, immediately chimed in and spoke up when he heard Zhao Bilin's words.

  Liu Mingjiu lifted his foot and kicked Wu Tongjin's shoulder. This time, Wu Tongjin was not so lucky. He tried to dodge, but Liu Mingjiu's kick came too quickly and he was hit squarely on the left shoulder. The pain made him sweat instantly, and he squatted down, clutching his shoulder and muttering: "This guy is about to leave, and you still haven't explained things clearly. How can I help you if I'm just a spare tire?"

  "If you don't shut that stinking mouth of yours, I'll kick you again." Liu Mingjiu didn't expect to actually hit Wu Tongjin this time, who had always dodged quickly in the past. Although his eyes showed concern, his expression remained unchanged: "Get moving, follow Old Zhang down to the town. When you come back and finish what you need to do, I'll treat this stupid donkey to a drink as an apology."

  Wu Tongjin was helped up by Zhang Qiuming, who was already stifling a laugh on one side. He muttered something under his breath and jumped onto the war horse. Before leaving, he didn't forget to shout: "Don't hide or cover it up anymore! If you have something to say, speak out; if you like someone, confess it now. Don't wait until later and regret it... I'm going..."

  Zhao Bili heard this and got angry, picked up a stone from the ground and threw it in the direction of Wu Tongjin's departure. She also shouted loudly: "Kill you, ghostly slippery, just your talkative, from now on, whatever happens, don't let you know, you damn thing."

  Liu Mingjiu saw Zhao Bilin, who was still flushed and had a few hints of coquetry despite being teased by Wu Tong, and couldn't help but smile: "Alright, that's just his personality. You've played together since childhood, it's not like you're meeting him for the first time."

  Zhao Bili heard Liu Mingjiu's words and turned around with a red face, lowering her head and softly saying: "Consider him lucky to have escaped quickly."

  Liu Mingjiu found her even more adorable in this state, and he really had the urge to pull her into his arms. But after all, as a man from another world, he suddenly remembered that his life could be thrown onto the battlefield at any moment, so he quickly pulled himself back together, lifted his gaze off Zhao Bilin's head by a few degrees, and said: "I've already had that kid notify Mule and the others about taking over, so I don't need to go back tomorrow. I'll come see you off."

  "Then I'll be off, we'll meet tomorrow." Zhao Bili heard Liu Mingjiu finish speaking and reluctantly walked into a sedan chair that Han Zhen had already called over. After the sedan bearer lifted the sedan, Zhao Bili opened the curtain again and looked at Liu Mingjiu with deep feeling: "Tomorrow afternoon at 9 o'clock, see you at the South Gate."

  Liu Mingjiu waved his hand, indicating that he understood. Seeing the sedan chair gradually moving away, he turned around and returned to his own mansion. That afternoon, Liu Mingjiu again received the shareholders and accountants of the Liuhe Commercial Corporation at his new home. From the accounting perspective, if nothing unexpected happened, the Liuhe Commercial Corporation and the Escort Bureau, which had invested 800,000 yuan, would have a capital of 1.8 million yuan after the New Year's Day, which was not far from the personal assets of other shareholders. The Eight Linked Account also had a huge sum of 10 million yuan to support it. Su Shiying, Wu Tongzhou, Mao Dezhong, Pu Zhe, and Huang Zuquan saw Liu Mingjiu's "Western Trade Company" model achieve great success in these four months, and they no longer had any contempt for this military officer who was not yet 19 years old. Without fixed assets, the funds were used to the greatest extent in business operations, so the Liuhe Commercial Corporation was a dark horse that rose rapidly in Rehe, Liaoning, and even compared with those merchants in Tangshan, it was the one with the fastest capital growth.

  In the evening, several shareholders got together again at Liu Mingjiu's home to drink. After taking their seats, Pu Zhe, who claimed his family property was worth over two million, spoke first: "First of all, let's congratulate our Director Liu on becoming the General Inspector of the Six Towns! Come, Director Liu, I'd like to offer you a toast. With your promotion, our Six Harmony Commercial Corporation will surely prosper even more in the future."

  "Nowhere, nowhere, without the cooperation of all of you, our Liuhe Commercial Firm wouldn't have been able to get on track so quickly. I was able to become the General Inspector of Liu Town, and that also couldn't have been done without the help of all of you behind my back." Liu Mingjiu also stood up, raised his wine cup and said to everyone, then drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

  Indeed, Liu Mingjiu's ability to become the general manager is inseparable from these few partners. Although they are businessmen, they have close ties with both the military and political circles. This was evident when the Six Harmony Commercial Corporation opened for business. Those famous people and high-ranking officials, if Liu Mingjiu had to establish relationships with them himself, would probably take three to five years even with good opportunities. Being able to attract Jiang Guiti's attention and invitation, Yu Zhe and that third young master of the Jiang family were definitely an important factor. Although he is still not impressed by Yu Zhe's constant flaunting of his Manchu imperial identity, since he is helping him now, Liu Mingjiu cannot decline too much.

  Yu Zhe sat down, and the others also stood up one after another, taking turns to toast Liu Mingjiu. The several people went back and forth like this, clinking cups and changing plates until midnight before dispersing.

  Liu Mingjiu was again forced to drink a bellyful of wine by these partners. Although his capacity for liquor was not bad, he was subjected to a relay of drinkers and believed that even the best capacity could not withstand it. As he walked back to his bedroom, just as he was about to lie down and rest, the butler lightly knocked on the door and said from outside: "Young Master, Mr. Pu Zhepu has returned again and says he wants to discuss something with you."

  Liu Mingjiu heard Pu Jie leave and return, hastily put on his outer garment again, pushed open the door: "Wait in the living room, I'll be right there."

  The housekeeper responded and returned to the front yard. Liu Mingjiu put on his clothes and walked straight into the living room, saw You Zhe and clasped his fists: "Boss You, what's going on? What's wrong that you didn't say earlier, but instead made you come back to my humble abode again?"

  Yu Zhe also made a fist and walked close to Liu Mingjiu, then whispered in his ear: "This thing I really can't say in front of them, so I left with them and came back to discuss it with you."

  "Oh, what's gotten Old Yu so worked up? I'm actually getting interested." Liu Mingjiu smiled and walked back to the main seat in the living room, sat down, and gestured for Yu Zhe to sit beside him. He looked at this last scion of the Qing dynasty with curious eyes.

  Yu Zhe sat down, looked at the butler standing by and waiting on him. Liu Mingjiu felt even more curious, looking at the butler waving his hand: "Old Deng, you go down first, I'll call you if there's anything."

  The housekeeper responded with a sound, turned around and pushed open the door to walk out, and then reached back to close the living room door.

  Yu Zhe saw that Guan Jia had left, so he stood up and walked closer to Liu Mingjiu. He lowered his head and whispered: "General Liu, do you still remember General Xu who was awarded a title by Commander-in-Chief Dai in Chengde?"

  "Of course I remember, how could I forget Uncle Xu Shi? What's going on? Why is Boss Yu suddenly bringing him up?" Liu Mingjiu said, but in his heart he thought, "You've had a relationship with him for a long time, how would I not know? What kind of trick are you playing now?" But on the surface, he remained calm and waited for Yu Zhe to continue speaking.

  Yu Zhe smiled and straightened up, but his voice was still soft as he continued to say: "I won't hide it from you, General Xu and I are old friends who have been in the tobacco business together for a long time. And among them is also Gongzi Jiang's investment. This time after General Xu met with you, he felt that your wisdom would be a great asset if we worked together, and our business would only get bigger and more profitable. So he sent me to discuss this with you and see if you're willing or not."

  Xu Minghui? Jiang San Gongzi? Trafficking opium? Liu Mingjiu's head suddenly rang out after hearing this. One is the prince of Rehe Emperor, and the other is an official who holds many rights to the provincial army, and they are actually doing drug trafficking business with Pu Jie? What kind of society is this? What era is this? What kind of world is this? Liu Mingjiu couldn't help but ask heaven in his heart.

  Although he had doubts in his heart, he couldn't show it on his face. Liu Mingjiu, who had adapted to the officialdom of this era, understood that Yu Zhe's decision was not his own, and he didn't have the courage to do so. Liu Mingjiu, who had a deep understanding of drugs from various reports in later generations, hated drug trafficking and addiction. The Western powers, including Britain and France, first used opium to drain large amounts of silver from China, turning many addicts into "sick men of East Asia". Later, due to the prohibition on smoking by the relatives of the Qing imperial family, they launched two infamous "Opium Wars", which further pushed China into a state of semi-colonialism and semi-feudalism. It's hard to understand why the descendants of the Qing aristocracy, who might have been able to rule for a few more years without the "Opium Wars", would join in the sale of the very thing that indirectly led to the downfall of their dynasty, which they still proudly talk about today.

  He thought to himself, but Liu Mingjiu didn't show it on his face. If Yu Zhe were to force himself into a desperate situation, he could make him die without knowing how he died. But those two people behind him, whoever spoke a few bad words in front of Jiang Guotie, could take his life at any time.

  His mind racing, Liu Mingjiu smiled and looked at Yu Zhe for a moment before speaking: "Everyone says that business is lucrative, but Boss Yu, you also know that my little capital has all been invested in our trading company. Moreover, I'm more of an outsider when it comes to the tobacco trade compared to other businesses."

  Yu Zhe glanced at Liu Mingjiu, smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, placing it in front of Liu Mingjiu. "This is something that General Xu, Third Master, and I have already prepared for you. This is a loan agreement written by my uncle a few days ago. If you are willing to partner with us, my uncle will immediately lend you another 300,000 taels, but the interest rate will be slightly higher, at an annual rate of 20%. Once you invest this 300,000, you can hold a 2% stake in our tobacco business."