Chapter 63: Chamber of Commerce 2/2

According to past practice, they would have a meal together and then start discussing business, but Zhu Qian had not yet invited them to sit down for the meal.

Wu Baichuan curiously asked the person beside him, “Why hasn’t it started yet? Could it be that someone hasn’t arrived?”

The person Wu Baichuan asked was well-informed and whispered to him, “I heard that the county magistrate is coming.”

“County Magistrate is coming!” Wu Baichuan exclaimed in surprise.

“I asked around. Today, besides the re-election of the president, I heard there’s another major announcement to be made!”

Another major announcement? Wu Baichuan was curious. Just at that moment, a servant rushed in and whispered something into Zhu Qian’s ear.

Zhu Qian said, “The County Magistrate is here. I must go out to greet him, everyone…”

“We’ll go too!” Everyone chimed in, following Zhu Qian outside. They saw two sedan chairs approaching from a distance.

These two sedan chairs were carried by two young and strong sedan bearers. When they arrived at the gate of the garden, the bearers carefully set down the sedan chairs, and then the people inside lifted the curtains and stepped out.

Wu Baichuan was squeezed behind the crowd, peeking through the gaps at the sedan chairs, feeling somewhat excited.

This was the first time he was so close to the County Magistrate!

Wu Baichuan’s business was doing fine, but even with all his calculations, he only had one boat. When he went to the capital to do business, he had to go himself, so he never had the chance to meet the County Magistrate before.

Under the gaze of the merchants’ association members, County Magistrate emerged from the first sedan chair, exchanging greetings with Zhu Qian and others with a smile.

Wu Baichuan had intended to go up and greet him too, but he froze, forgetting to push his way through to Zhu Qian.

He saw the husband of Jin Xiaoye getting down from the second sedan chair!

This was the first time Li Qingzhi had ever ridden in a sedan chair. In fact, riding in a sedan chair didn’t feel good at all, it wasn’t as stable as being on a boat.

But in Chongcheng County, riding in a sedan chair was a very prestigious thing to do. If it weren’t for County Magistrate Gou, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to ride in one.

Li Qingzhi followed County Magistrate Gou, greeting Zhu Qian, “Uncle Zhu.”

“Nephew Li, long time no see!” Zhu Qian smiled and chatted with Li Qingzhi.

Wu Baichuan’s mind was in turmoil.

What’s going on? Not only did Jin Xiaoye’s husband come over in the sedan chair with County Magistrate Gou, but he also had a good relationship with Zhu Qian?

Wasn’t Jin Xiaoye just an ordinary country woman? What on earth was going on?

Wait a minute… Wu Baichuan suddenly remembered, Hong Hui had said that Jin Xiaoye’s husband had offended him… It made sense. If Jin Xiaoye’s husband were an ordinary person, how could he offend the young master of the Hong family?

But if he was someone close to County Magistrate Gou, then this matter would make sense!

County Magistrate Gou had a feud with Sun Juren, and he even had Zhang Yunquan thrown into prison. Hong Hui must definitely be unhappy with County Magistrate Gou, and he would definitely hate those close to County Magistrate Gou.

So, what did Hong Hui mean by making him break the contract? When Hong Hui first talked to him, he not only wanted him to break the contract but also wanted him to swallow the goods and not give the final payment to Jin Xiaoye…

Was Hong Hui deliberately trying to harm him?

Wu Baichuan hated Hong Hui for a moment. At the same time, he was relieved. He had met Jin Xiaoye’s husband yesterday when he was eating noodles, and he had seen him again today.

The heavens were really blessing him!

He hadn’t done anything yet. As long as he didn’t speak, no one would know about the deal he had made with Hong Hui… This was really great!

Just as he was thinking this, Wu Baichuan met Li Qingzhi’s gaze.

Li Qingzhi smiled at Wu Baichuan. He became more convinced that there was something wrong with Wu Baichuan.

Since County Magistrate Gou had arrived, they could start the meal.

Zhu Qian personally invited a chef from the restaurant to cook. The delicious food, prepared with great attention to detail, was already laid out. County Magistrate Gou was immediately seated at the head of the table.

Li Qingzhi, being brought by County Magistrate Gou, also had the honor of sitting beside him.

Li Qingzhi was very interested in the food on the table, but unfortunately, the others present were not focused on eating. Instead, they were raising their glasses and toasting all around.

Fortunately, no one dared to persuade County Magistrate Gou to drink, and consequently, no one approached him for a drink, which made him feel much more relaxed.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, County Magistrate Gou solemnly introduced Li Qingzhi, “This is Li Qingzhi, one of my juniors. He is very knowledgeable and has unlimited prospects.”

County Magistrate Gou’s words showed his closeness and admiration for Li Qingzhi. Seeing this, the merchants hastened to praise Li Qingzhi as well, showering him with all sorts of flattering words.

However, privately, they were puzzled and couldn’t help but whisper to each other, “Who is this person?”

“Why haven’t I seen him before?”

“Is he a local?”

…

After all, this was ancient times, and information traveled slowly. Plus, without deliberate promotion, these people didn’t know about Li Qingzhi helping County Magistrate Gou write books.

But after hearing Li Qingzhi’s name, someone remembered another incident, “This name… wasn’t he the one who went to the Hong family banquet with Zhu Qian’s son before and got his arm broken?”

It seems so!

Then this person must have had a good relationship with Zhu Qian all along!

As the people discussed, Wu Baichuan naturally heard everything. It was only now that he understood why Hong Hui wanted to deal with Li Qingzhi.

And… when Zhu Qian said he had a good eye for business before, was it because he had his eye on Jin Xiaoye’s goods?

Just as he was thinking this, Wu Baichuan suddenly saw Li Qingzhi walking towards him, smiling and greeting him, “Shopkeeper Wu.”

“Mr. Li.” Wu Baichuan smiled back.

Li Qingzhi said, “I have something to ask Shopkeeper Wu. Could you step aside and talk to me for a moment?”

Wu Baichuan immediately said, “No problem.”

It was quite cold outside, but the two of them still went out. Wu Baichuan was wondering what Li Qingzhi wanted to say to him, when he heard Li Qingzhi ask, “Shopkeeper Wu, did Hong Hui ask you to deal with my wife?”

Li Qingzhi had noticed something off about Wu Baichuan as soon as he saw him. Wu Baichuan might be trying to interfere with his business with Jin Xiaoye.

But Wu Baichuan felt a bit guilty… he hadn’t initiated this.

After some thought, Li Qingzhi quickly identified the suspect.

He had always been cautious and had never offended anyone. Jin Xiaoye had even fewer enemies. Yao Zuming and Yao Zhenfu didn’t like him, but they didn’t have the ability to make Wu Baichuan do anything. That left only Hong Hui.

Hong Hui was a hypocrite, so it wasn’t surprising that he would resort to underhanded tactics behind people’s backs.

Wu Baichuan froze. He hadn’t planned to reveal the things he had discussed with Hong Hui, but he hadn’t expected Li Qingzhi to come up and expose the matter.

Taking a deep breath, Wu Baichuan looked at Li Qingzhi again and felt that Li Qingzhi was somewhat inscrutable.

Since it had already been exposed, there was no point in hiding anything. Wu Baichuan immediately said, “Mr. Li, I really didn’t intend to do anything.”