Leaving the wine shop, it was already evening when he returned to the Wu residence. Remembering 【End of Book God Station】 mobile users enter the address:

The Wu family's mansion was brightly lit, and the festive atmosphere that had permeated the Wu family for the past month and a half had not dissipated. This kind of joy could be seen in the spirit of every servant. Perhaps only the servants who were close to the highest-ranking members of the family could vaguely sense something was amiss. As he entered the gate, a servant guarding the entrance cautiously approached.

"Young Master, you're back. The Second Young Master and the Master returned home half an hour ago. Also, the Third Master, Fifth Master, Sixth Master, Shopkeeper Luo, and Shopkeeper Nie have also arrived and are currently in the side hall discussing matters with the Master."

It was the time shortly after dinner for most families. In the past month or so, the various stewards of the family had to be out socializing until late at night before returning, and only these past two days had been like this. Wu Qilong nodded, silently heading towards the side hall. As he reached the corridor, he heard a crash from inside, the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground.

"So you're saying it can't be resolved? It's only been three days? You're saying it can't be resolved?"

The one who had just thrown the teacup and was now speaking was his father, Wu Chenghou. In all these years, he had rarely been seen in such a state of loss of control. It was also because the consequences of this problem were too severe, and the turn of events was too sudden, leaving everyone feeling somewhat caught off guard. Suddenly struck with a blow to the head, everyone was a bit dazed. In the side hall, the one currently speaking with his father was his Fifth Uncle from the clan. Shopkeeper Nie was in charge of the technical aspects of dyeing fabrics, but the main manager was still his Fifth Uncle. At this time, he was probably the only one who could say something negotiable to his father.

"But... it really can't be resolved. It's not a formula that we researched ourselves. In the two months since we obtained it, the family's masters have been trying to modify it, but this formula is too sensitive. Even small changes will cause the color to change drastically. The Su family even used some raw materials that were originally used for dyeing blue fabrics. Now... it's not to say that it definitely can't be resolved, perhaps with good luck..."

Fifth Uncle Wu Chengke was also somewhat embarrassed at this time. Wu Qilong entered the room. His father looked at him, waved him to sit down beside him, and turned his head to confront his Fifth Uncle again.

"...Luck?"

"Heh, the Su family spent two or three years researching this formula. We have no clue right now. Master Chen and the others said... perhaps we can only rely on luck..."

In the business world, when it came to solving problems, the answer he got at this time was actually relying on luck. Wu Chenghou stared with wide eyes, the entire main hall was silent. After a long while, Wu Chenghou opened his mouth a few times, retreated and sat back in his seat: "So, can it be confirmed? It's not that we have a problem, we really are... being played by the Su family?"

Among the people in the side hall, no one dared to speak, no one dared to make such a conclusion. Perhaps everyone had thought about it, but if that were the case, the price that would have to be paid afterwards would be truly terrifying. In a moment of silence, Luo Minzhi shook his head:

"There is still something strange about this matter, difficult to understand. If the Su family really laid out such a plan, wouldn't it be better for them to directly take down the Imperial Merchant. Su Tan'er spent several years doing this, everyone can feel it. Look at the current Su family, in a state of chaos. Even if there is really some turning point, the commotion of the past month and a half is enough for them to lose a lot. The Third Master, Shopkeeper Nie and I have all considered that if there was a conspiracy two months ago, the risk for the Su family would be too great..."

Wu Chengyuan, who ranked third in the Wu family, also nodded at this time: "Brother Luo is right. We didn't originally intend to use the Su family's formula, it was only a temporary idea more than two months ago. If the Su family really had another formula, it would be impossible for us not to know. Several subsequent deductions also proved that there was no problem before using this Splendid Gold Brocade. To say that the Su family set up this game from the beginning, how could they be so sure from the beginning that we would enter the game. To say that they calculated so seamlessly, I don't believe it. Su Tan'er does not have such ability, and even Su Yu, his cunning is not to that extent..."

"But no matter what, our current situation is like this..." Wu Qilong sat beside him without speaking after entering the room, but he seemed to be in low spirits, his eyes only lightly looking at the people in the side hall. Wu Qihai looked at his elder brother a few times, and then sighed and began to speak.

"Since things are already like this, we must start considering the next response. My father and I talked with Lord Dong today, and there should be no problem postponing the delivery date, but the current trouble is. Once we formally propose the postponement to the Bureau of Textile, then this matter must be put on the official documents, and then it is not Lord Dong can suppress. The news that the Wu family has a problem will definitely spread, and it is difficult to say what it will become. There are still ten days before the agreed delivery date. After ten days, we have to think about how to deal with it."

He paused: "And whether it is postponed for a month or two, in the end, to solve the problem, we still have to adjust this formula. Fifth Uncle, Uncle Nie, whether we desperately try, or rely on luck, we can only try. Also, if the Su family has a real formula, we probably have to try it. Then..."

Wu Qihai looked towards his elder brother. On the other side, the Sixth Uncle of the clan shook his head and said, "If the Su family is not setting up a layout, it is indeed possible to do this, but we can't be sure of this now."

"But we can only deal with it this way now." Wu Chengyuan interjected, "It is indeed impossible to determine now, but if it is not the Su family's layout, but really because of coincidence, we have a problem ourselves, and we don't deal with what can be dealt with, wouldn't it be a laughingstock in the end."

In the midst of the somewhat rushed argument, Wu Qilong also stood up at this time under the gaze of his younger brother. He patted Wu Qihai on the shoulder: "Dad, uncles and elders, I... I have been dealing with the development of the northwest side recently, and I haven't really paid too much attention to Jiangning City. I know some things, but I don't know them in too much detail. May I ask recently... What exactly has the Su family been doing?"

Wu Qilong had the demeanor of Wu Chenghou. Although his voice was not loud at this time, he obviously had some conclusions in his heart. Everyone looked at him. Wu Chengyuan thought for a while, then sat down in his seat: "Internal strife, I guess."

"The situation is not good. Su Zhongkan and Su Yunfang are exerting their strength, and it is currently a mess," Wu Chengke also shook his head and said, "Su Tan'er is in a state of chaos, apologizing everywhere, building relationships, and trying to maintain the original cooperation."

"I heard... it doesn't seem to be very effective. Su Tan'er is capable, but before, she had Su Boyong behind her. Now Su Boyong is said to be paralyzed, and he still can't get out of bed recently. The original Li family and Nian family are already preparing to stop cooperating with the Su family's main house, and some fragmented small businesses have also been affected. The main reason is that everyone is saying that Su Tan'er will soon not be able to control the business of the main house. The Xue family has also been pulling these people recently. Once the Su family's business shrinks, it would be better to cooperate with the Xue family first if some of the original relationships are not very close..."

Everyone has been busy with other substantive matters recently, and they don't know much about the real specific things about the Su family. Luo Minzhi had a lot of dinners recently, so he also paid attention to some things. At this time, everyone said various things. Wu Qilong frowned: "Then what about Su Tan'er herself?"

"Maintaining the previous cooperative relationships." Wu Chengyuan smiled, "Su Boyong has fallen. In the current situation, the businesses of the Su family's second and third houses are shrinking. She still wants to maintain the previous businesses and maintain those that were originally managed by Su Boyong. How is that possible..."

Wu Qilong looked at his Third Uncle, his eyes did not change much: "But what is the entire Su family's main house doing?"

"The entire Su family's main house, she..." Wu Chengyuan looked at this nephew, waved his hand, then stopped in mid-air, shook his head after a moment, but did not speak. He seemed to understand something, or had thought about it a long time ago, but was unwilling to say these things, thinking it was incredible and incomprehensible no matter what. The faces of the people in the room changed slightly. What they were thinking of at this time was not a good thing.

"Actually..." The bitter smile on Wu Qilong's face was indescribable. He slowly opened his mouth, "Actually... Third Uncle, Fifth Uncle, you may have considered it a few days ago, haven't you?"

"That is putting the cart before the horse, impossible." Wu Chengke said with a gloomy expression.

"There is no way at this time, even if it is putting the cart before the horse..." Wu Qilong shook his head, "Three years of preparation, a one-time investment of 200,000 taels of silver before the Imperial Merchant, maybe even more was invested before. Su Tan'er improved the looms under her command. We originally thought she was to cope with the demand for a large amount of tribute cloth and was determined to win the Imperial Merchant. But after the Imperial Merchant's business, she hasn't stopped. Outsiders think she's crazy, stuck in a difficult position, wanting to target our Wu family to increase production and dump goods at low prices..."

"A woman with a broken brain can do anything." Wu Qilong murmured, "But what if it wasn't... Dad, uncles, elders, if this woman was staring at our Wu family's share from the beginning, she was waiting for us to free up the share ourselves, what would happen?"

Wu Chenghou looked at this son for a long time, then opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse: "If that's really the case, she's almost ready now."

"Yes." Wu Qilong smiled wearily. The next moment, he raised his voice, "Now no one in the entire market is staring at our Wu family. We are going to expand, and even when we walk over, everyone else is considering how to give way. Led by the Xue family, everyone is staring at the current Su family, waiting for the day when it suddenly collapses, and then to divide those shares. But what if the Su family simply doesn't collapse? Only this woman took the Imperial Merchant from us..."

He waved his hand: "No, she was already waiting even before she took the Imperial Merchant. Once we have a problem, all the cloth merchants in Jiangning who are staring at the Su family will make a big joke. As soon as the Wu family's market share is released, before the others can react, Su Tan'er will eat them up, and the others can only stare blankly."

"For a month and a half, we felt that nothing was wrong, and we left others behind as defeated generals. But in fact, she has diverted the focus of attention of the entire Jiangning weaving industry and secretly made all the preparations. Su Tan'er updated and upgraded the looms under her command, increasing the output rate that seems useless now. Everyone is laughing, only us, after we react, people have been preparing for more than a month..."

An indescribable feeling of suffocation enveloped the entire side hall. After a moment, Wu Chengyuan still shook his head: "This is the worst possibility. If this is the case, this game is too exaggerated. How could we not feel it at all..."

Wu Chengke frowned: "Even if that's really the case, the Su family is not having a good time now. How long can Su Tan'er last? How long can we last? We can just postpone it, drag it for two months, drag her to death..."

"No matter how exaggerated it is, this is what is in front of us, and..." Wu Qilong looked at Wu Chengke, "Fifth Uncle, people won't wait for us to fall ourselves. The workshop had a problem the day before yesterday, and Uncle Qin fell ill. Yesterday, did you notice? Someone was spreading rumors outside, saying that our Wu family had problems with the Imperial Merchant... Of course, it is common for the business world to make wild guesses and random speculations, but this is too fast. Everyone knows that someone is spreading rumors behind the scenes, but not many people pay attention to it yet, but..."

He took out a piece of Xuan paper from his arms: "Before I came back, I actually investigated Su Tan'er's actions in the past month or so. Now maybe I can see it more clearly. After the Imperial Merchant, all the adjustments and expenditures are aimed at our Wu family. She is plotting meticulously. In a month and a half, we have been walking forward mindlessly, and people have silently set up all the knives, guns, swords, and halberds, each one aimed at our vital points... Dad, Fifth Uncle, have you felt it?"

Wu Qilong smiled bitterly, shook his head, and looked in the direction of the Su residence: "That woman has secretly made all the preparations... and started to take action..."

That Xuan paper was circulated in the hall. For more than a month, these all looked like jokes. As long as nothing happened to the Wu family, all the wires were meaningless. But what could happen to the Wu family? It was under such cognition that they went all the way to the best direction, and when they found that the front was a dead end and were still wondering, they would find that the surroundings were full of sharp edges.

An indescribable feeling, looking at the list on that paper of the layouts Su Tan'er had made against the Wu family in the past month and a half, everyone almost felt their backs begin to chill, and a cold aura surged from there. If this is true...

"I still don't believe it." Wu Chengyuan suddenly waved his hand, "If that's really the case, then it's not that we walked in ourselves, but that they induced us to walk in. They have been calculating us from more than two months or even earlier? Su Tan'er worked hard for three years to set up such a game? We didn't consider getting fake goods before, the whole thing is a little deliberate, and everyone will see it! No one can set up such a game! This matter... can't be done just by thinking about it, everyone knows clearly how difficult the whole process is and how many accidents there are. Su Tan'er is impossible, and Su Yu would not risk such a thing! Why didn't they take the Imperial Merchant if they could? If they couldn't take it, why did they build momentum to that extent before, almost not being able to trick people. Just say that getting the formula is one thing. If it is too difficult, we can't get it, if it is too simple, we won't believe it. Later, how many times did we review it before we confirmed that there was no problem with this matter. Who can do this!"

"She has already started to take action, and we will be able to see it in a few days. In fact, I also hope that I am just guessing..." Wu Qilong sat there, shook his head and said quietly, "But if it's not, then the whole incident will be thought of... heh, it would be very interesting..."

"Su Tan'er was really sick at the time, and Su Yu was unable to deal with such things during that time. He is old after all. But there is one person, maybe we have all neglected him, or in other words, except at the beginning, we have not regarded him as a big deal. You see... he seems to have done nothing in the whole thing, but after Su Tan'er fell ill, he was actually doing everything. He took us around in circles, and he seemed to be telling jokes every day. But behind this, he ran out very recklessly and said he was going to promote the yellow cloth in a big way, promoting that their Su family had the most strength..."

"Thinking about it now, it's actually very interesting. I, as well as the people of the Xue family, had a habitual idea at the time. Every time we said in the wine shop and teahouse what silly things Ning Yi had done recently, we would not forget to remind others: Su Tan'er is very powerful, and the Su family is still using the most aboveboard way to grab the Imperial Merchant, so don't be fooled by Ning Yi's performance. As a result, everyone is smart, everyone is staring at the Su family's cloth."

"Third Uncle, do you remember what you told me when I was a child? If you want people to see something, the best way is not to put it in the most conspicuous place, but to put it there and cover it with something, or bury it in the ground and spread a layer of sand. The more you try to hide it, the more obvious it becomes, 'Here lies buried three hundred taels of silver' ... Ning Yi has been telling us from beginning to end, the Su family has the best cloth, the Su family has the best cloth, the Su family has the best cloth! And... we all think we are smart, we saw the key points behind, and slowly lost our vigilance..."

"He is a fool, a business idiot, Su Tan'er is sick, and some omissions are inevitable. If Su Tan'er herself came, we might be more vigilant, because some small mistakes should not have been made. But he has been making small mistakes, and none of us think this is abnormal. Heh... in the end, he didn't do anything. Anyway, in the end we got the formula for the yellow cloth. He just watched like that, and then... 'Though white-haired, we still grasp our swords'... After he finished his work, he threw the things away and left. In the past month and a half, he has been the same as before. He is even too lazy to look at these things in the business world, but no one knows until now that he may not have taken these things seriously at all..."

Wu Qilong seemed to be talking to himself, and sat there with a sarcastic smile. Wu Qihai frowned: "Ning Yi? How can this be... impossible..."

Wu Qilong raised his head: "Heh, I also hope that I am wrong, but do you know that today I went to talk to our informant arranged in the Su family, and he told me one thing. When chatting with Shopkeeper Zhou, who is in charge of the dyeing formula in the Su family, two nights ago, Shopkeeper Zhou was drunk and said a word. He said that in the entire Su family, the people he admires besides Su Yu are the family's Ning son-in-law..."

Someone widened their eyes.

Wu Qilong paused: "Anyway... there are still a few days left. No matter what, we have to request a postponement from the Bureau of Textile within ten days. At that time, if the Su family really set up a game, everything will follow, and then we will know whether he was acting at that time or was clear in his mind. If that's really the case..." He looked at the darkness outside the door and thought of the scholar's figure, "I will be a little afraid of him..."

Recalling Ning Yi's performance during that time and recently, everyone was still silent and in disbelief, exchanging unbelievable glances with each other. But if that was true, the feeling of chills down their spines would be extremely strange.

After a moment, Wu Qilong rubbed his forehead and sighed softly.

"Poor Xi Junyu, he still doesn't know..."

***************

Five thousand five hundred words, asking for monthly tickets! Recommendation tickets!!!