Chapter 1167 Fate
Although the two met quite a few times in the camp in the past few days, and they talked for a while before leaving last night, the atmosphere had never been as awkward as the current one. Seeing that Ma Yuling had also seen through his identity, Chen Yixin stopped acting: "I haven't had a chance to introduce myself to Miss Ma in the past few days. I am Chen Yixin."
"Then you... already know who the little girl is?" Ma Yuling was angry and ashamed. The reason she ran away from home was to avoid Chen Yixin, but she didn't expect that she would fall into the trap and run to him without even thinking about it. Self-aware. She remembered what the other party had said last night about "ransacking the house, arresting people, and punishing all" to intimidate her, and she immediately felt that it was also a calculated trick that he later sent someone to escort her back to Majiazhuang overnight.
Chen Yixin naturally wanted to clarify for himself: "If I had known your identity from the beginning, I wouldn't have let you stay. In fact, it was only after our people arrived at Majiazhuang yesterday that we heard that you ran away from home. Then you sent a message to inform me. Although I am a little suspicious of your identity, I am not sure, so I can only test you with words. If I have offended you, I apologize."
Ma Yuling was dubious about Chen Yixin's explanation. After these few days of contact, she believed that the other person was not a bad person. He was also very different from the image of a tall and rough military man in her imagination. However, there were too many coincidences in this incident. She couldn't help but doubt the authenticity of Chen Yixin's words and deeds. And thinking about her childish attitude when she said goodbye yesterday, and even gave the other party a token, Ma Yuling just wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it immediately.
Seeing that Ma Yuling was silent, Chen Yixin thought that she probably didn't believe what he said, so he could only smile bitterly and said: "Miss Ma, I don't have any bad thoughts towards you, and I have already issued a hush order, and no one is allowed to speak again." Mention your whereabouts in the past few days, so as long as you don’t tell anyone, no one will know your whereabouts in the past few days. Also, the matter of marriage has always been unilateral to your family. I have never agreed, so don’t put any pressure on me. I will make it clear to your father later and ask him to give up the idea of marriage.”
"You...you dislike the little girl's poor appearance?" After hearing Chen Yixin's words of comfort, Ma Yuling asked the reason why.
Chen Yixin quickly denied: "Of course not. Miss Ma is naturally beautiful. She can be said to be very beautiful."
"That's because he dislikes the little girl and runs away from home without permission. It's so daring."
Chen Yixin smiled bitterly and said: "I admire Miss Ma for being bold and having her own ideas at a young age. When I was your age, I had never experienced what it was like to run away from home."
"Does that mean you think this little girl is heartless and unjust when she abandons her family?"
Chen Yixin said: "Although Miss Ma ran away from home, there was a reason for it. And yesterday, when you heard that your family might be implicated, you immediately exposed your identity and rushed back to Majiazhuang. How can you call this ruthless? You knew your family's arrangements. I cannot accept your marriage, but I still choose to sacrifice my own happiness for the sake of my family. I think Miss Ma is a very sensible person, and I admire the choice you made. For Miss Ma, I think I have made it. I was very respectful and never disliked Ms. Ma.”
Ma Yuling said: "If that's the case, then why...why did you ask my father to give up...the marriage..." Her voice became softer and quieter, and in the end it was inaudible. Not only her face, but also the skin on her neck turned red. , thinking about it, she mustered up the courage to say these few words.
"Ah?" Chen Yixin responded in surprise. No matter how slow he was, he could certainly detect what the other party meant. Originally, he wanted to explain it clearly to Ma Yuling, and then let Ma Dongqiang give up the idea of marriage, and the matter would be settled, but now it seems that things may have deviated from his expectations. This Miss Ma seems to have changed Initial thoughts.
Chen Yixin licked his dry lips and said: "Miss Ma, I remember that you were unwilling to accept your family's arrangements until you left the camp. Why did you change your mind just one night after you came back... It's not like your family is forcing you. Is that what you said?”
After all, Ma Yuling was just a teenage girl, and it was impossible for her to say straightforwardly, "I was moved by you when I saw you were young, brave, gentle and considerate." She was embarrassed and anxious at the moment, so she turned around and walked back into the house: "If you really don't Then, when you leave, just leave the fan that the little lady gave you yesterday!”
Chen Yixin stared at her dumbfounded as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her back. After a long time, she shook her head helplessly. It's not that he doesn't have a good impression of Miss Ma at all. At least her appearance and personality are quite to his liking. She has also received basic education and has a certain cultural foundation, so it is relatively easy to communicate with her. If it weren't for the other person's family background, Chen Yixin wouldn't mind spending some time with Miss Ma to slowly develop a relationship. However, Ma Dongqiang is also a well-known figure in the local area, so naturally he will not hand over his daughter to him before there is a marriage contract. The process of "free love" he expects will be difficult to realize.
Whether to continue to stick to his views on love and marriage, or to seize this seemingly good opportunity in front of him first, Chen Yixin found it difficult to make a decision for a while. Judging from Miss Ma's words just now, as long as she relaxes in front of Ma Dongqiang, she will probably no longer object to this marriage.
As for the token that Ma Yuling mentioned just now, Chen Yixin could only smile bitterly, because he didn't bring that thing over today at all. Who would have expected that Ma Yuling would use the sandalwood fan as a way to express his stance? Where are the props? Of course, it's also possible that Xiao Nizi was sure that he didn't bring anything with him, so she deliberately used this to retaliate against him.
However, it didn't matter whether Ma Yuling said this intentionally or unintentionally. After all, Chen Yixin was a soldier and would not spend too much time thinking about his children's personal affairs, so he quickly made a decision and left the compound. .
When Ma Dongqiang saw Chen Yixin coming back, he was not in a hurry to ask him if he was satisfied. Instead, he ordered his servants to start the banquet first. Most of the leading figures in the Ma family have already arrived, and there are three tables of people waiting to have lunch with Chen Yixin. There was no other company for Haihan, so Chen Yixin took Sun Zhen to sit next to him and asked him to help him block the wine. Seeing that Chen Yixin had no obvious expression on his face, Ma Dongqiang was not sure what he was thinking, so he did not take the initiative to mention the marriage during the dinner. In fact, apart from the private matter of marriage, he has already negotiated many cooperation projects with Chen Yixin today, and now he can show them to the clan elders.
In addition to the labor cooperation with miners that was discussed at the last meeting, Haihan will also purchase a large amount of locally produced grains and vegetables from Majiazhuang in the next three years, and the price will be slightly higher than that of Dengzhou grain merchants. past acquisition prices. As long as there are no major natural or man-made disasters, Majiazhuang will be able to obtain stable income from agricultural production in the next few years. Part of the cost of purchasing these grains and vegetables will be exchanged for weapons, farm tools and other daily necessities produced in Haihan.
The Haihan Army will assist Majiazhuang in forming and training a local militia with a scale of 100 people to ensure that Majiazhuang has certain self-defense capabilities. Majiazhuang has formed a joint defense relationship with the Haihan Army stationed in Fushan County, and can apply for military assistance and protection from Haihan when necessary - this is also one of the conditions that the Ma family values most. In the future, Majiazhuang will open up trade routes to the outside world, and these militia armed forces will also become a reliable armed escort force.
It is not easy to find a strong backer in troubled times, and the Haihan Army whose main force is stationed on Zhifu Island is obviously much more reliable than the Qiu Ba in Dengzhou City a hundred miles away. Although this army comes from foreign countries, But at least he didn't do anything harmful to the local area after he came. On the contrary, it greatly improved the security environment in Fushan County. Ma Dongqiang has already visited Haihan's military base on Zhifu Island and has considerable trust in its strength. It is worth spending some money to hire such a powerful bodyguard. At least he has never heard of Haihan people taking money without doing anything. Or something bad can't be done.
In addition, the Ma family will also use their local connections to bridge the "communication" between Haihan and the government. The Ma family has lived in Fushan County for generations. Although they have not produced any high-ranking officials, there are quite a few members of the family working in the government offices of Fushan County and Dengzhou. They are still very well-informed about various official developments. The Haihan Security Department sent people to sneak into Dengzhou to conduct reconnaissance and intelligence collection. Those who provided cooperation and assistance locally were the Ma family members. The tacit understanding reached between Haihan and the Fushan County Government was also attributed to the activities of the Ma family.
Of course, this kind of help is not free. After Haihan gradually controls Fushan County, the Ma family will also use Haihan's power to annex a large amount of unowned land in the county due to war. For the landlord class like the Ma family, land and gold and silver are the most reliable things in the world. The ultimate goal of all the deals reached with Haihan is still aimed at these two things.
There was another deal that Ma Dongqiang couldn't refuse, which was the exclusive right to sell goods provided by Haihan. He had been to Zhifu Island before and looked at various samples provided by the Haihan Department of Commerce. Although he didn't quite understand the principles and usage of some things, he immediately realized the business opportunities. Moreover, the exclusive agency sales system proposed by Haihan people also interested him very much. In the next two years, he can monopolize the operation rights of Haihan products in Denglai and Denglai states, and Haihan will also provide him with a complete set of marketing plans. This is all based on several years of successful experience in the southern coastal areas, and there is no need for him to make detours on his own.
It is difficult for Ma Dongqiang to deduce how much money this business model can earn, but the service provided by Haihan people is almost impeccable. Some products can be purchased on credit in the early stage, and will be settled when the next purchase is made. The sales are not good. items can also be returned. If Ma Dongqiang's cash flow fails, Haihan can even provide him with low-interest loans to ensure that his business will not be terminated due to capital problems. In Ma Dongqiang's view, Haihan has thought it through very carefully. It is difficult to lose money on this kind of cooperation. He really has no reason to refuse such an invitation. No one here in Fushan County will tax the Haihan people. The Ma family does not need the Haihan people to explain how profitable this kind of smuggling business is.
After finalizing many cooperation projects, it is difficult for anyone in the Ma family to raise any objections. Although Haihan is a foreign country to the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial court has not yet recognized the commercial relationship with Haihan, the benefits before them are very practical, and who can resist such easy-to-get benefits?
After the luncheon came to an end, Ma Dongqiang asked his son Ma Cai to continue to accompany him, while he invited Chen Yixin to sit down in the study to discuss this last and most important personal matter for him.
"Chief Chen has already met my little girl before. I wonder what he wants?" Ma Dongqiang asked cautiously. If this matter is solved, it will really be done. A Haihan uncle has been added to the family. From now on, the Ma family will be fine even if they go sideways in Dengzhou.
Chen Yixin responded: "Well... I have thought about it carefully just now. It seems that I am destined to meet Miss Ma here. But as for whether this fate can lead to a family, I am now I don’t dare to fight this with Mr. Ma.”
When Ma Dongqiang heard this, he noticed that Chen Yixin's tone was much looser than before. At that moment, he just felt that there was something wrong. He didn't think about why Chen Yixin said that he was destined to his daughter. He quickly advised: "Chief Chen is right. Since we are destined to be together, I I thought it would be a good idea to meet more. Majiazhuang is only about ten miles away from the mine, and it takes an hour by horse-drawn carriage. It would be nice if we could walk around more and get to know each other slowly.”
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "Master Ma, aren't you afraid that your precious daughter will be kidnapped by me?"
Ma Dongqiang waved his hand and said: "There is nothing to be afraid of. If you don't give this girl a good home, I'm afraid she will run away..." At this point, Ma Dongqiang consciously made a mistake and quickly changed the topic: "I heard that Haihan Academy is open to both men and women. In addition to literacy, girls can also take exams for exams? ”
Chen Yixin nodded and said: "That's right, in our country of Haihan, girls don't have to follow the rules of never leaving the first door and never leaving the second door. As long as they have the ability, they can also be officials. I think Miss Ma is also a person who has studied. , it’s a bit of a waste of talent to stay at home like this. If there is a chance, she can come to us to learn something that interests her.”
Ma Dongqiang deliberately brought up this topic. He was thinking about how to bring these two people together. Now that Chen Yixin was relieved, he naturally took the opportunity to climb up the pole: "Okay, okay, I will talk to my little girl later and let her Go to the chief to learn more skills." As for what he would learn after going there, he didn't say a word about it.
(End of chapter)