Chapter 130 Giving Gifts
The servant was speechless and awkwardly stepped aside, thinking that his master was good in every way and knowledgeable, but was too stubborn.

He is stubborn in everything and cannot tolerate any flaws.

Bi Zisu turned around a few more times, and suddenly stamped his feet fiercely, "No, the commander-in-chief is a good fighter, and he is the shield of the Ming Dynasty. I cannot watch him go astray!"

Having said that, Bi Zisu strode out of the room and went to Zu Dashou's study.

At this time, in Zu Dashou's study, Fan Yongdou pulled out a gift list from his sleeve, respectfully placed it on the table and said, "I heard that Master Zu was recently promoted to the commander-in-chief of the vanguard. I don't have anything to give you, so here are some local products from my hometown, and I'll give them to Master Zu to express my congratulations."

However, Zu Dashou had a cold face and pushed the gift list back without even looking at it. "I appreciate Manager Fan's kindness, but there is no need to make the gift bigger."

Fan Yongdou didn't seem embarrassed at all, he just glanced casually at the other two people around Zu Dashou.

These two men, one middle-aged and one young, were also wearing armor.

The thin middle-aged man got Fan Yongdou's look and immediately said to Zu Dashou, "Fuyu, Manager Fan means well. This is to congratulate you. There is no other intention."

"Besides, they are just some Shanxi specialties, not worth much, so it won't affect my reputation as an official even if I accept them."

As the middle-aged man spoke, he took the gift list and glanced at it. However, it was this one glance that made him unable to take his eyes away.

What was written on the gift list were indeed some Shanxi specialties.

There were Pingyao beef, Shanxi jujubes, aged vinegar and the like. However, what caught the middle-aged people's eyes the most was that at the end of the gift list it was clearly written that there were ten small yellow croakers and three hundred small silver fish.

The so-called small yellow croaker and small silver fish are euphemistic names for gold and silver in official circles, and one fish is worth ten taels.

Ten small yellow croakers are worth one hundred taels of gold, and three hundred small silver fish are worth three thousand taels of silver.

Due to the turbulent times in the late Ming Dynasty, although silver had been appreciating relative to copper coins, the only thing that appreciated more rapidly than silver was gold.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that one tael of gold could be exchanged for four taels of silver. However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, one tael of gold could be exchanged for about ten taels of silver, and there was still no market for it.

In other words, the hundreds of small fish given by Fan Yongdou were worth more than four thousand taels of silver.

It can be said that he was very generous.

Moreover, this was just a meeting gift. If Fan Yongdou’s wish for ancestor’s birthday celebration could be met, more gifts would naturally come later.

The middle-aged man couldn't help but swallow his saliva and asked Fan Yongdou a soul-searching question: "Do you still produce aquatic products in Shanxi?"

Fan Yongdou was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Although we don't have the big rivers and lakes like the rice-producing areas in the south of the Yangtze River, we also have some lakes and water systems in Shanxi. It shouldn't be a problem to get some small fish and shrimp for the two generals to eat."

"Okay, okay!" The middle-aged man laughed happily and persuaded Zu Dashou, "Fuyu, you see that Manager Fan is also a straightforward person. You won't suffer any loss by making friends with him."

"Besides, they just want to be the best in Jinzhou City and choose a good location to open a store. It's not a big deal that they want you to kill people or burn things. Just accept it!"

Zu Dashou's expression eased up, and he took the gift list from the middle-aged man with embarrassment. He looked at Fan Yongdou and said, "Since my brother-in-law Wu Xiang is here to help you, then tell me which house in the city you think is suitable..."

Seeing that he had finally gotten the job done after spending four thousand taels of silver, Fan Yongdou did not look very excited. He just bowed and smiled and said, "Thank you so much, Master Zu. I will not bother you any more. Goodbye!"

After Fan Yongdou finished speaking, he stood up. Wu Xiang also hurriedly stood up and enthusiastically saw Fan Yongdou out the door.

But before he could even walk into the yard, Wu Xiang said, "Manager Fan brought a lot of dried fish with him when he came to Liaodong this time!"

Fan Yongdou understood what he meant, and a hint of contempt flashed in his eyes as he said, "I know that Lord Wu's ancestral home is Gaoyou, and he likes to eat fish the most. I will send some dried fish to your house later." "Haha!" Wu Xiang immediately became happy, "Come on, come on, wait for me to personally see Manager Fan out."

However, Wu Xiang just raised his head and was immediately startled.

The Liaodong governor Bi Zisu was standing in front of the two men with a sullen face. It was unknown how much of the conversation between the two men he had heard.

In the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were respected and military officials were despised. Although Wu Xiang was a general of the first rank, he was still intimidated when facing Bi Zisu, who was a graduate of the imperial examination system.

Although the Governor of Liaodong was only a second-rank official, Wu Xiang did not dare to underestimate him.

Wu Xiang immediately showed a flattering smile and said, "Master Bi, are you here to look for my brother-in-law?"

He pointed to the study behind him and said, "My brother-in-law is in the study. I have to leave first. I will come back later to keep you company!"

Having said that, he quickly ran away with Fan Yongdou.

Bi Zisu looked at Wu Xiang who was running away with a grim face, then he cursed him fiercely as a "scum" and strode into the study.

Seeing Bi Zisu coming to visit, Zu Dashou took away Fan Yongdou's gift list with a guilty conscience, stood up and said with a smile: "Master Bi, are you here to see me about the construction of the city wall?"

Bi Zisu waved his hand and was about to speak when he suddenly saw another person in the study. He immediately asked, "Who is this?"

Zu Dashou immediately introduced: "This is my nephew, Wu Sangui."

"Oh..." Bi Zisu's face fell immediately after hearing this, and he said, "Wu Xiang is your father?"

Although Bi Zisu's words were quite impolite, Wu Sangui still bowed politely.

Because at that time, Wu Sangui was only a fourth-rank garrison commander under his father.

Under normal circumstances, a seventh-rank county magistrate who was a member of the imperial examination system could point at his nose and scold him, not to mention that the other party was the governor of Liaodong, a second-rank official.

If it weren't for the fact that he had two elders, Zu Dashou and Wu Xiang, who were generals, Wu Sangui wouldn't even be qualified to stand in front of Bi Zisu.

Bi Zisu saw that Zu Dashou was accompanied by his juniors, so he was too embarrassed to say the words of advice that were on his lips, and could only say earnestly: "Fu Yu is a pillar of our court, so it is better for him to have less dealings with these lowly and cunning merchants."

Zu Dashou immediately understood what Bi Zisu meant when he heard this, and said, "Master Bi, I will keep your good words in mind."

"That's good..." Bi Zisu nodded, then said goodbye and left.

………………

That night, in a house somewhere in Jinzhou City.

Eight major Shanxi merchants including Fan Yongdou and Wang Dengku gathered together again.

Fan Yongdou, who was sitting at the top, said, "You all went to visit Zu Dashou today, right? What was the result?"

Wang Dengku was the first to speak, saying, "Today we brought twenty small yellow croakers to his house, but Zu Dashou pretended not to accept them."

The others also spoke up, saying that they had brought some small yellow croakers and small silver fish, but Zu Dashou refused to accept any of them.

(End of this chapter)