Chapter 2568
Tao Hongfang felt very satisfied when he saw that Xu Wenlin had a positive attitude and was quite confident in his request, and did not ask Xu Wenlin in detail how to proceed with the investigation.
In order to prevent his whereabouts from being noticed, Tao Hongfang did not stay in Shunfengxing for too long. After agreeing on the contact information with Xu Wenlin, he hurriedly left with his entourage Apeng.
But after calming down, Tao Hongfang also realized that he made the decision too quickly. It was just the first time I met Xu Wenlin. It was really rash to trust him so much based on just one word and entrust him with such an important task to complete.
"A Peng, what do you think of Xu Wenlin? Is he trustworthy?" Tao Hongfang felt uneasy, but he couldn't bear to go back and go back to Xu Wenlin to test the depth, so he asked his personal follower A Peng for his opinion. After all, Apeng had received some special training in order to serve as a personal attendant, and he had been observing from the side. He might have noticed some details that he had not noticed.
Apeng responded: "Young master, I just observed that his movements and posture are extremely upright. He should have been in the military. Based on the experience he mentioned, it is very likely that he worked as a guard beside the master. If so, it is certainly trustworthy.”
The personnel who can serve as guards around the time-travelers are basically soldiers who have received special training and are extremely determined, and their reliability is very high. As for whether it is necessary to further verify his identity, it depends on Tao Hongfang's wishes. As long as a telegram is sent back to Sanya, it will take at most a day or two to find out Xu Wenlin's life experience.
Tao Hongfang thought about it and felt that A Peng's words were reasonable. It's up to people to plan things, and it's up to God to make things happen. What I can do has been done. Whether I can find the clues Bai Letong needs, I'll wait for the next development.
After finishing this matter, Tao Hongfang still had one place to go to socialize. Yesterday, Ning Zijing told him that Li Fa, the big boss of Qiong Lianfa in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, had returned to Hangzhou. Ning Zijing wanted to take Tao Hongfang with him to the banquet.
Tao Hongfang is very interested in this. For the field of business, Li Fa is definitely a very influential figure. He was born in Fu Ruifeng, a large trading company, and now he is working in a commercial giant like Qiong Lianfa. He is responsible for managing the bulk trade of this organization in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. He has a lot of commercial resources at his disposal, which is exactly what Tao Hongfang needs to visit during this trip.
So he readily agreed to Ning Zijing, and after finishing his work, he rushed back to his residence to meet him, and then went to visit Li Fa.
Li Fa's residence is also located in the east of Hangzhou, not too far from the property Qiong Lianfa purchased by the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Although the scale of the house is not as exaggerated as the stone garden by the West Lake, it still occupies a large area, and the main building is a three-bay, two-corridor building structure. From a distance, you can see the wok-shaped gable shaped like an official hat. . Visitors from the south like Ning Zijing and Tao Hongfang can tell at a glance that this is a typical Cantonese-style building.
Of course, if you want to build a Cantonese-style house in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you will have to hire senior craftsmen from the south to be responsible for the construction. It is likely that even some building materials and furniture will have to be transported long distances from the south, and the cost will be quite high. However, for Li Fa's net worth, these expenses should not be a big problem.
When the two arrived in a carriage, Li Fa's housekeeper was already waiting at the gate to welcome them. Li Fa came from a prominent family and was on equal terms with many high-ranking officials in Haihan. They did not come out to greet him in person, so Tao Ning didn't think there was anything wrong.
The housekeeper took them into the inner courtyard. Li Fa stood at the door of the living room and bowed his hands to them from a distance. Li Fa is already an old man in his sixties, slightly fat, and has servants supporting him.
The two of them did not dare to neglect, so they quickly returned the courtesy and stepped forward to meet each other.
The three of them exchanged a few words, and then Li Fa invited them to come in and sit down.
"The last time I met you was probably seven or eight years ago, right? Speaking of which, I haven't been to Sanya for several years. How is your family always doing?" After sitting down, Li Fa naturally asked about their family. situation. The two of them quickly thanked Li Fa for his concern. Although Li Fa did not visit Sanya as frequently as Li Nai, he had visited Sanya a lot in the early years. He was an old acquaintance with their parents and regarded himself as their elder in front of them. It's also normal.
"When I met you back then, you were all still students. Now you are able to take charge of your own business and run errands overseas. It's amazing, amazing!" Li Fa said with emotion: "Now Haihan has conquered the world and has land all over the world. It's because of your exertion." It’s time to take action!”
"Uncle, thank you very much. The elders in the family knew that we were not very talented, so they specially sent us out to increase our knowledge!" Ning Zijing immediately responded humbly.
Li Fa nodded and said: "After traveling thousands of miles and reading thousands of books, you should really go out and see more to understand how big the world is. Although Sanya is good, other places are not bad either. For example, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich in products. , with pleasant climate and beautiful scenery, it is an excellent place to live. After staying here for a while, I don’t want to go back to the south.”
Compared with Lingnan and Guangxi, the natural environment in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is indeed more livable. However, Li Fa said that he did not miss the south. He was probably just joking. Otherwise, how could his residence be pure inside and outside? Guangfu residential style.
After sitting down and chatting for a while, Li Fa called the butler and asked if the banquet was ready. After receiving a positive reply, he invited Tao Ning and Tao Ning to the table.
There were no other guests at this banquet, and Li Fa had not arranged to accompany the guests. They were the only ones at the table, which made Tao Ning and Tao Ning feel less restrained.
"I am getting old. I was seriously ill two years ago. The doctor said I can no longer indulge in alcohol and meat, so I eat light now. I will have tea instead of wine today. Welcome you!"
Li Fa raised his glass to indicate that the two young men did not dare to neglect and quickly raised their glasses to thank them for the hospitality.
After three rounds of wine and five delicious dishes, Li Fa casually asked about what they had experienced since arriving in Hangzhou. He heard that they had already gone to Shiyuan to meet Shi Diwen. He nodded and said, "Master Shi is quite capable of managing the place." , although the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas are undergoing a change of dynasties, they have not seen any chaos, and their prosperity has only increased. I admire this ability very much!”
Ning Zijing said: "To be honest, uncle, we have little knowledge. Master Shi has some administrative measures, but we don't understand them very clearly."
"Oh? Let's hear it!" Li Fa was very interested in hearing their opinions.
Ning Zijing gave Li a brief description of the regulatory measures and implementation methods for bulk trade that Tao Hongfang had learned about two days ago.
(End of chapter)