Chapter 20 Keeping to Your Own

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On the road from Liangwa Town to Baofeng County, this two-meter-wide road jointly maintained by the big households in Liangwa Town is not much worse than the official road in Lushan. As the porcelain-making center of Lushan County, Liangwa Town has no idea how many cars of porcelain it has to transport out all year round. How can it work if the road is not good?

In the past two months, Chen's bone porcelain has become famous in Ruzhou. Due to the production volume, bone porcelain does not threaten Liangwa Town's position in Lushan's porcelain industry, but its edge has been seen by everyone.

Tumen bone porcelain wins with quality. They entered the market with a clear mid-range porcelain boutique price and style, and have been recognized by this market. Although Liangwa Town is the center of Lushan porcelain, 99% of their products are inferior coarse porcelain, and the only fine products can only reach the threshold of the mid-range, and the gap with Tumen bone porcelain is immeasurable.

As more and more bone meal, especially cattle bone meal, is sent to Tumen, the output of Tumen bone porcelain is steadily increasing. The accumulation of experience also makes the quality of Tumen bone porcelain improve little by little. Sooner or later, it will replace Liangwa Town's position in Lushan porcelain industry. It may be three years or five years, it is just a matter of time.

If the Chen family suspects the "Chen Ming kidnapping incident" the most, it is the big porcelain makers in Liangwa Town. They should be the most urgent in need of bone porcelain formula. In the past two months, they have sent people to Tumen more than once to contact the craftsmen and masters of the kiln in private. All of them were severely taught a lesson by the Chen family and drove away.

It's a pity that the identities of the two bodies are from Qingtiaoling, Baofeng County, and the tails of the big families in Liangwa Town have not been found. But can this prove that the big porcelain families in Liangwa Town are innocent? Nonsense.

Chen Hui only knows that there are five big families in Liangwa Town, namely Zhang, Ding, Xu and Liang, and each of them seems to have dealings with Qingtiaoling. There are three trade routes in Liangwa Town, one is to the north - Ruzhou, one is to the south - Nanyang, and then to the east - through the Shahe waterway.

Among these three ways out, Ruzhou is the main trade route for Liangwa Town porcelain. 80% of Liangwa Town's annual porcelain production is transported to Ruzhou. The weight of the two trade routes to the south and east is far from comparable to Ruzhou.

Therefore, Qingtiaoling, which lies between the north-bound trade routes, is a hurdle that Liangwa Town cannot bypass.

This wave of bandits hiding in Qingtiaoling, who can survive several encirclements by the Green Camp, is like a greedy tiger sitting on the ground. Whoever passes through his sphere of influence will be skinned. The five major families in Liangwa Town pay tribute to Qingtiaoling every year.

This is not collusion, but just an unspoken rule that has been passed down in China for thousands of years. Otherwise, you think that the mountain king eats and drinks and lives a carefree life by going down the mountain to rob.

You have to understand that this is the heyday of the Qing Dynasty. If the people on Qingtiaoling frequently go down the mountain to rob, and someone reports it to Kaifeng City, they don’t need to go to Beijing. With just one order from the Henan Governor, even the king of heaven can’t protect them. Therefore, "eating tribute" is the real foundation for maintaining the livelihood of Qingtiaoling.

At this moment, the group of people sent by the five major families in Liangwa Town are being surrounded by another group of people. Chen Erbao held a steel knife in his hand and looked at Liang Quan with a ferocious look, "Liang, leave all your things behind and get out of here and go back to Liangwa Town."

"Go tell your master that if you want to go to Qingtiaoling to celebrate the birthday of Zhao, you can take the money to Baofeng or Ruzhou to prepare birthday gifts. Out of sight, out of mind. My Chen family is not so domineering as to reach out to Baofeng and Ruzhou. But in Lushan County, whoever dares to bring a red box and a colorful box to celebrate the birthday of Zhao Chuan, that would be a slap in the face of my Chen family!"

"If you slap the face of the Chen family, don't blame the Chen family for not giving you face."

Chen Erbao was recalled from Xiangcheng by Chen Hui at the fastest speed, and there were more than 30 big men who came back with him. Now they were holding muskets, wearing breastplates, holding swords and guns, and surrounded the five families of Liangwa Town who were going to Qingtiaoling to celebrate their birthdays like robbers. Although there were sixty or seventy people in the five families' group celebration, how could these sixty or seventy people compare with Chen Erbao's group!

Chen Erbao had muskets, swords and guns, and many people were wearing iron armor. This breastplate made by hydraulic hammer weighed 10 kilograms. Because there was only one piece in the front, the back part was replaced by rattan armor. It was almost half lighter than the armor used by European breastplate cavalry in this era.

Chen Erbao's men were all young and strong men, each of them was big and strong, and the 10-kilogram breastplate did not affect their movements at all. And it gave them more confidence.

Twenty people surrounded sixty or seventy people with knives and guns, and they were fierce and looked at the surrounded Liangwa Town people like chickens and dogs.

Liang Quan is the housekeeper of Liang Xiancheng, the second Liang in Liangwa Town. He is a well-known figure in Liangwa Town. Of course, he was very angry when Chen Erbao pointed at him and scolded him. But the situation was pressing. They had five families and sixty or seventy people. Although they were numerous, they did not bring any swords or guns. They only had sticks in their hands. The other side had firearms and armor. To be honest, Liang Quan was stunned. It was not uncommon for the Chen family to have muskets, but the Chen family actually brought out armor. How audacious, how audacious!

"Master..." Liang Quan ran back to Liangwa Town in a panic and looked at Liang Xiancheng. The Chen family has armor, the Chen family has armor, this is a capital crime!

Liang Xiancheng sighed, "Go to the account office to transfer two hundred taels of silver, and take people to Baofeng to buy birthday gifts."

"Master??!!" Liang Quan looked at Liang Xiancheng in astonishment. Is it just like that?

"What else? What do you want to do?"

"Go to the government to file a complaint? Do you have any evidence to show?"

"Do you think Yue Wenhai will believe whatever you say?"

"The Chen family took out firearms and armor, which means they are really playing. They are not joking or just trying to get angry. The Chen family will drive Qingtiaoling out of Lushan County!"

"The Liang family is a businessman, and businessmen make money by being harmonious. So I can pay tribute to Qingtiaoling and celebrate Zhao Chuan's birthday. So why can't I give the Chen family some face today?"

"Can my Liang family suppress the Chen family? Or is my Liang family's reputation louder than Tumen Chen's in Lushan County?"

Is Liang Xiancheng really not angry? If he is not angry, how can he say so much to a housekeeper? He is also angry, but the situation is stronger than the person. The Chen family has Chen Erbao's group of brave and hardworking men, but the Liang family does not; the Chen family has Chen Hui's many years of business in the county government and the dignity in front of the county magistrate, but the Liang family does not. After all, the Liang family is just a merchant, a small merchant who has not yet completed the transformation into a gentry landlord.

Small merchants may have money, but they have no status in the Qing Dynasty.

If the five families of Zhang, Ding, Xu, and Liang in Liangwa Town join forces thoroughly and sincerely, they can fight against the Chen family. But Liang Xiancheng is absolutely unwilling to get involved. He is not a lonely person without any source of information. In the past few days, the attitude of the Chen family and the suspicion of the Chen family in certain aspects have been reported to Liang Xiancheng.

To be honest, even Liang Xiancheng himself has some doubts. Using the people of Qingtiaoling as minions to kidnap the only child of the Chen family was done by the other four families. Because the bone china involved in this is too closely related to the economic lifeline of Liangwa Town.

Anyway, Liang Xiancheng did not do this. He just wants to be alone now. He admits his weakness, but he is unwilling to join forces with the other four families who may do this. Don't let the yellow mud fall into your crotch. It will be shit if it's not shit.