~~~~~~

After a few words of greeting, Nian'er served tea. Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "Master Shen is an honored guest. How come you have time to come to Yuan Qing's place today?"

Shen Shikui was slightly embarrassed. After a moment, he recovered and said with a smile: "Yuan Qing, I'm telling you the truth...This time, it's me, brother. I...have something to ask of you..."

Shen Shikui can barely be regarded as Mao Wenlong's father-in-law, and Li Yuanqing is Mao Wenlong's nephew...

But at this time, Shen Shikui called himself "old brother" in front of Li Yuanqing. From this, it can be seen that this guy must be in big trouble now to be able to lower his body so low.

As the old saying goes, "Snakes have their own ways, and rats have their own ways."

When people are in the martial arts world, they are all on the scene, and everyone knows many things well.

It looks the same on the outside, but on the inside, the warmth and coldness are just like people who drink water and know the warmth and coldness themselves.

At this time, seeing Shen Shikui's attitude being so low, Li Yuanqing did not show any surprise. He took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Master Shen, this is not the first day we have known each other. What's the matter? Just tell Yuan Qing directly. If Yuan Qing can help, he will do his best."

When Shen Shikui heard Li Yuanqing's words, he immediately regained most of his energy.

He couldn't help but secretly sigh in his heart: "It's no wonder that Li Yuanqing was able to achieve such a fortune at such a young age. At this time, even Dongjiang can't compare. Whether it's Li Yuanqing's ambition, momentum, or methods, he, Shen Shikui I can't find fault with it.'

After a moment, Shen Shikui smiled bitterly and said, "Yuan Qing, this time, brother, I'm here to borrow food from you."

"Borrow food?"

Li Yuanqing couldn't help but frown slightly, pondered for a moment, and said: "Master Shen, I remember that the sweet potato harvest in Lushun last year was pretty good, right? Why..."

At this time, although Lushun was a 'special case' in southern Liaoning, after all, Mao Wenlong's face was there, and the optimization results Li Yuanqing had done on Changsheng Island and in southern Liaoning were not reserved for Lushun, and the results were always shared with Lushun.

Of course, there are exceptions to the confidentiality of ordnance.

"Why……"

Shen Shikui sighed deeply, and said with some embarrassment and helplessness: "Yuan Qing, this matter is all my fault, my old brother, I was dizzy and did something stupid..."

Li Yuanqing's attitude was very open, and Shen Shikui naturally couldn't hide it.

After all, this matter is not a small matter, especially the figure of the deficit, which is by no means a small amount. Shen Shikui did not dare to hide it, and hurriedly recounted the incident to Li Yuanqing in detail.

The story started during the sweet potato harvest last year.

Due to the storage of sweet potatoes, it is impossible to store the fruits directly. Instead, they must be sliced ​​and dried before being stored in the warehouse.

Among them, except for about 70%, which was kept by the common people for their own consumption, the other 30% had to be handed over to the Dongjiang troops stationed in Lushun.

As the saying goes, ‘money is a man’s courage, clothes are a man’s face’.

In the past, when he had no money, Shen Shikui worked conscientiously and walked on thin ice. After all, he was born as a businessman. Although he was considered an "old oil man", he could not be regarded as an "old veteran oil man".

To a large extent, Shen Shikui also wanted to make a career in Lushun and let others know that he, Shen Shikui, did not sit on the throne of Lushun just because of his marriage relationship with Mao Wenlong.

It's a pity that people's abilities vary, especially when they are excited and impulsive. The decisions they make can easily fall into pits, even big pits.

With so much stored food, Shen Shikui felt itchy in his heart.

After all, if these grains are kept in the warehouse, they will grow hair, which is really a waste.

Especially last year, the sweet potato harvest in the Dongjiang headquarters and the fields around Zhenjiang was also good. Mao Wenlong was considerate of Lushun and was not in a hurry to escort the grain stocks handed over to the headquarters directly to Pi Island.

Shen Shikui then thought about using these sweet potatoes to store grain, do some things, and earn some money.

It is different from Li Yuanqing’s Changsheng Island, including other places in southern Liaoning.

Lushun's position was very important. Shen Shikui relied on Li Yuanqing on one hand, but on the other hand, he was also deeply wary of Li Yuanqing.

I was afraid that Li Yuanqing would be cruel one day and swallow his Lushun.

Therefore, Li Yuanqing's affairs in Liaonan Trading Company naturally did not belong to Shen Shikui.

But Shen Shikui was a businessman after all, and sweet potatoes were eaten directly. This might not be accepted by the people in the pass for a while, but Shen Shikui knew that Li Yuanqing's Liaonan had always used dried sweet potatoes to make wine.

The famous Liaonan Laojiao is brewed with dried sweet potatoes as the main raw material.

Shen Shikui began to use the dried sweet potatoes stored in the army to exchange for some silver, and then used the money to purchase dried sweet potatoes from the people to supplement the military reserves.

After all, the lives of the people in Jinzhou, Fuzhou, and Lushun under the rule of Li Yuanqing were all seen by the people in Lushun.

If you have money, who wouldn’t make it?

Not to mention, in addition to dried sweet potatoes, Lushun’s grain harvest was also pretty good last year.

Especially ~, to a large extent, dried sweet potatoes are actually just supplementary food, not the staple food.

Because even if dried sweet potatoes are ground into powder, they must be mixed with flour before steaming steamed buns and pancakes. Pure dried sweet potatoes can only be used to make porridge.

Shen Shikui also wanted to use his method to bring more benefits to the people of Lushun, strengthen his prestige, and strengthen his control over Lushun.

With this idea in mind, he quickly sent his own soldiers to work for these sweet potatoes and find a home.

Although the Liao Dynasty was "isolated overseas" at this time, the sea route to the Liaohai Sea was very smooth. In addition, Shen Shikui's identity had a wide range of contacts in the Dongjiang Army. Within a month, there was a lot of news about him.

Many people have shown interest in this matter.

The technique of using dried sweet potatoes to make wine is actually not complicated, especially in Jiangnan and Fujian areas, where people have already had the skills.

However, how to make the wine made from dry sweet potatoes reach the purity of Liaonan Laojiao is something that others cannot master.

In addition, Mao Wenlong was at the height of his power at this time, standing side by side with Li Yuanqing, and many merchants in the surrounding area were also trying their best to get close to Mao Wenlong.

Shen Shikui soon made great gains.

A large business company claiming to be Nanjing's Qiyun Society showed a strong interest in this matter and made the highest bid among many people.

After all, although Li Yuanqing was famous and famous all over the world at this time, it was only a matter of making money during the war. Everyone was in "fair competition", so naturally they would not care about this matter and could become Li Yuanqing's enemy.

Especially since Qiyun Society's sphere of influence is in Jiangnan.

The people from Qiyun Society quickly delivered the deposit of 50,000 taels of silver notes, and Shen Shikui didn't think much about it, as if someone had ordered them to pack goods worth 50,000 taels of silver.

But within a month, people from Qiyun Society came again and asked for another 150,000 taels of silver. They just said that money was a little tight now and they needed to wait for the goods to arrive before sending the silver.

Shen Shikui didn't have so much inventory at that time, so he first tried every means to retain the people from Qiyun Society, paying high prices, but giving the goods to the people on credit. When the money from Qiyun Society came over, he would replenish the money to the people.

Things went very smoothly, and Zhou Zheng was dealt with in less than three days.

But Shen Shikui never dreamed that the people from Qiyun Society took the 150,000 taels of silver and disappeared without a trace.

Shen Shikui sent someone to Nanjing to inquire, and then he realized that there was no such brand name in Nanjing at all. He, Shen Shikui, had been completely fooled by others.

Especially~, just a few days ago, Dongjiang Mao Wenlong sent an order, in order to prepare for this year's new offensive, asking Shen Shikui to make up for last year's offerings.

With the people in Lushun, Shen Shikui could still use various means to evade them, but~~, how could he dare to evade Mao Wenlong?

You know, Mao Wenlong’s shrewdness is definitely not that of a mere mortal!

Even if Shen Shikui had the support of his precious daughter, how could he dare to lie to Mao Wenlong about this kind of thing? Isn't that asking for death?

At this time, among the people in Lushun, no one knew who spread the rumor that it was Shen Shikui who had swallowed up all the money and grain and could no longer afford to pay it back.

Shen Shikui was so worried that he hadn't slept a wink for several nights. After thinking about it, he could only come to Changsheng Island to seek help from Li Yuanqing, who was wealthy and had great hands and eyes.

"Yuan Qing, brother, I have figured it out now. This~, this is probably the method of the Tatars! Yuan Qing, brother, even if I lose my official position and lose my body, it doesn't matter!

But, the people of Lushun are afraid that they will be tricked!"

At the end of the story, Shen Shikui's eyes were red and tears were about to flow out.

Li Yuanqing's brows couldn't help but frown tightly.

Although Shen Shikui had spoken in detail, Li Yuanqing was sensitively aware that this guy was not completely telling the truth.

It is obviously not in line with common sense to give something as valuable as your life to someone you don't know very well so easily.

Unless his Shen Shikui's brain is funny.

But how could Shen Shikui's mind be so confused?

Eighty percent.

The opponent's "sugar-coated cannonball" offensive was extremely fierce, leaving Shen Shikui at a loss.

However, Shen Shikui was right. Looking at this method, it really looked like Huang Taiji's method.

But if you just take this, then say that Shen Shikui had "liaison" with the Tatars, I'm afraid it would really wrong him.

Li Yuanqing can still feel some of Shen Shikui's temperament.

This guy is very competitive. The ancestral property and business passed down by his family were completely destroyed by the Tatars. Many relatives died in the hands of the Tatars. He has always hated the Tatars.

.

Historically, Shen Shikui fought hard to the end on Shicheng Island before being captured by the Tatars.

When facing Azige, the later Yingwu Prince of the Qing Dynasty, Shen Shikui behaved very manly and heroic, and bluntly said that he "wanted to die."

When Azige saw that Shen Shikui had no intention of surrender and had no intention of surrender, he directly ordered his slaves to behead him. He died a grand death.

The death of Shen Shikui also meant that Dongjiang, which had been prosperous for more than ten years, was completely wiped out.

On the contrary, Shen Shikui's nephew, Shen Zhixiang, defected to the Manchus and became their lackey.

Shen Shikui fell into this "situation" at this time, which is obviously "unfounded".

"Master Shen, I wonder how much of the shortfall there is? How much should Master Shen offer to Pi Dao Mao Shuai?"

Li Yuanqing looked at Shen Shikui calmly.

Shen Shikui was even more embarrassed immediately, his old face turned red, and he hesitated: "Yuanqing, I'm telling you the truth. Now, Lushun, now, seven, seven, eight, eight, add up... in total, I owe a total of thirty More than 30,000 stones..."

"Three hundred and thirty thousand?"

Li Yuanqing couldn't help but be stunned.

Shen Shikui said with trembling embarrassment: "Yuan Qing, brother, I... I was also blinded by lard! I have completely fallen into other people's ways... Yuan Qing, you have to help me with this matter. Ah. Now, you are the only one who can give me a hand and pull me out of the sea of ​​fire..."
Chapter completed!