As the sky gradually darkened, at the dinner table in the Chen family's old house, Xianjin mentioned the visit of Little Bear Girl to Star of Hope.
Chen Fu was not here. Chen Zuo's mother was paying her marriage proposal today, and Chen Fu attended as the honorary representative of the eldest branch of the family and the financial accounting representative. It was said that the occasion was very high. After dinner, he was dragged to Xiaodaoxiang by Zhang Wenbo's four uncles and five uncles for the second session.
Before leaving, Chen Fu raised his head and drank a bowl of medicine soup prescribed by Doctor Wang, ready to die. "Remember, I am going for the Chen family..."
I know you are panicking, but don't panic yet.
Xianjin sounded the alarm for Zhang Wenbo early in the morning - her father was an extremely weak second-generation rich man who became lame due to drinking. Whoever got him drunk would be responsible for all of Chen Fu's needs for the next fifteen days while he lay in bed, groaning and dying, including but not limited to a series of material needs such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, as well as a series of spiritual needs such as playing musical instruments and singing.
Chen Fu rarely went through fire and water for the Chen family, so naturally he missed the opportunity to see the little bear girl.
At the dinner table, Xianjin and Chen Jianfang sat on the left and right of a small round table.
"...What may be poison to one may be honey to another. For the Chen family, Cui Heng is tearing off the face of the Chen family and trampling on it. It is a great shame. For the Xiong family, it seems that this is not a big deal. They are not afraid of their son-in-law taking advantage of the situation, but are more afraid of their son-in-law not taking advantage of the situation."
Xianjin drank a sip of mung bean, pumpkin and millet porridge, and picked up a piece of half-cooked and raw Chinese cabbage. The porridge was thick and sweet, and the Chinese cabbage was crisp, salty and fresh, soothing his throat. Xianjin squinted his eyes comfortably.
Chen Jianfang had no habit of talking while eating. He never talked while eating and never talked while sleeping. He was a true gentleman.
However, Chen Fu and Xian Jin were eager to put on a play at the dinner table.
As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Chen Jianfang picked up a piece of Chinese cabbage very naturally, and squinted his eyes comfortably like Xianjin, smiling lightly, "Because of unequal status. The Cui family has something to ask for, and we can't control it. We can only take whatever they want. Just try and see if Cui Heng and his mother dare to say anything harsh in front of the prefect."
I definitely wouldn’t dare.
In front of Prefect Xiong, even if Cui Heng wanted to fart, it would be crushed and released in segments.
Xianjin was depressed for a moment, lowered his head to finish the millet porridge, raised his head and asked, "Under what circumstances can merchants be favored by the government?"
Chen Jianfang did not hesitate, "One of them is that someone in the family is an official in the court. Another is that they are imperial merchants."
The latter showed that Jin knew it.
The eight imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty!
Appointed by the emperor, they were responsible for the royal business, such as copper, iron, salt, tea and horse, silk, fur, silver casting, and other important businesses. Could the court safely hand them over to others? Of course not. These businesses must be firmly controlled by the court.
Furthermore, they also had to manage the royal assets, such as shops and land in various places, ginseng cultivation in Wusuli in the northeast during the Qing Dynasty, etc., or produce and supply various materials for the court. For example, Cao Xueqin's family's ancestral Jiangnan weaving business was for this purpose.
In addition, if the emperor issued an order, imperial merchants were also required to transport military rations and armaments for the court.
In general, imperial merchants are the saints' employees, the hubs of the imperial court, and the setters for the royal family to make money. If necessary, they must contribute money and effort and serve as qualified blood-replenishing packages.
Shen Wansan once helped Zhu Yuanzhang to make up for his losses - he helped Teacher Taizu to build the Great Wall with all his heart. Teacher Taizu said that it would be presentable if we just use gray bricks to build the Great Wall, but Shen Wansan refused to do so. He felt sorry for his boss and wanted to save his face, so he insisted on replacing the gray bricks with marble.
As soon as the Great Wall was completed, Master Taizu thought, "You little bastard, you used marble to build the Great Wall, but the hoes at home must be made of gold!" So he found an excuse to confiscate all the 1.5 billion taels of silver that Shen Wansan had saved.
What lesson does this teach future generations?
Don't pity your boss just because he is a delicate flower.
Feeling sorry for a man will bring you bad luck for half your life; feeling sorry for your boss will bring you bad luck for eight lifetimes.
Having gone off topic, Xianjin cleared his throat and pulled his thoughts back to the topic, "Then what about the Chen family..."
Do you think the Chen family still has a chance?
Although being an imperial merchant was a high-risk profession, it was a high-investment, high-risk and high-return profession. At the end of each year, the eight imperial merchants of the Qing Dynasty would come to Beijing to report on their work, and would be personally hosted by Emperor Shunzhi. All the civil and military officials in the court respected these eight men as "Sirs".
If you can become a top star, why don’t you work hard?
Today it is Cui Heng, tomorrow it is Cui Wai. As long as the Chen family is in a low position, countless people will stop them on the road, some collecting protection fees, some collecting bribes. Anyone who dislikes the Chen family will even beat them up while touching their thighs.
Xianjin also wants to have the confidence of the little bear girl.
She also wants the people around her to bully others and act tyrannically.
Chen Jianfang paused with his chopsticks, and looked up in confusion, "I... I still have two years before I can take the imperial examination. If I get a second place, I can enter the Imperial Academy. After three to five years of editing books in the Imperial Academy, I can enter the Six Ministries. After rotating through the Six Ministries for more than ten years, it is not a pipe dream to enter the cabinet and become a prime minister."
This is a very clear path.
Why should we take a different path, a dangerous road that no one has ever taken and that has no experience to follow?
Xianjin didn't know how to explain, so he lowered his head and poured himself a cup of white peach almond green tea that the little bear girl had drunk in the afternoon. This tea cannot be drunk hot. Drinking it hot is like eating barbecue with ice, which is not only strange but also uncomfortable.
Chen Jianfang frowned again, "Why are you drinking cold tea again?" As he said that, he prepared to pick up the boiling copper tea stove.
The last time they drank herbal tea, Chen Jian took the initiative to pour her a pot of hot water.
Lukewarm tea, like diet cola.
Healthy, but not necessary.
Xianjin glanced at Chen Jianfang, turned around and poured himself a full cup of herbal tea. He even bent down and took two grapes that had been rinsed with well water from the ice jar and put them in.
Xianjin tilted his head back and drank the ice tea in one gulp. Coincidentally, he placed the bottom of the teacup, which was completely clean, in front of Chen Jian.
Chen Jianfang watched Xianjin finish his drink quietly. After a moment's silence, he lowered his head, picked up a large piece of dried mushroom shreds with chopsticks and ate it quickly with rice porridge.
Afterwards, Chen Jianfang gently placed the bowl and chopsticks on the edge of the table, pursed his lips, stood up, nodded slightly to Xianjin, and turned to go into the inner room.
The whole process was quiet and calm, without a trace of direct emotion.
Xianjin held the teacup in his hand, his eyes calm and gentle.
"...The shopkeeper and Erlang had a quarrel?"
When Mother Zhang came out to clean up dinner, she looked at the table and whispered something in Suo'er's ear.
Suoer was confused.
"No, the two of them were very harmonious." Suo'er tried to recall, "Erlangjun envisioned a bright future, and the shopkeeper also ate two grapes."
Mother Zhang:?
Mother Zhang turned around and looked at the leftovers on the table.
Er Langjun ate up all of his side dishes, but several items of Jin Jie'er's side dishes were left over.
That doesn't make sense.
Usually, if Erlangjun can’t finish his side dishes, Jinjie’er will ask for a small portion.
Now the situation is reversed, which is a little abnormal.
Mother Zhang discussed this important discovery with Suo'er, who spread his hands and said, "Even dogs like to eat shit, let alone Erlangjun!"
Mother Zhang:? ?
Forget it, this girl is only smart when eating and learning characters.
Other times, it was like being possessed by the Third Master.
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