Chapter 95: Men Need to Learn to Hide Their Secret Money
Xu Huijia cried out in pain, dodging as she said, "She didn't seduce me, but I'd be attracted to her beauty! Besides, the maidservant beside her named Feng'er is as powerful as an old hen. I dare not provoke her! I just... I just..."
Of course, Xu Huijia would not tell Huang Cui'e that she had made a lot of money with Xu Qingying today, which amounted to several hundred taels.
He knew that with Huang Cui'e's quick-witted nature, the money he hid on her would be found out by her sooner or later, so he followed Xu Qingying and deposited it in the bank, and only took it out when it was a critical moment to save his life.
He is so old now, and he won't give the money to his mother even if he has it. There are two brothers in the family. Huang Cui'e likes the second brother the most who can recite some sad poems. If the money is handed over, it might end up in the second brother's arms.
That won't work.
He still has to save up money to get married.
However, with money in hand, Xu Huijia couldn't help but speak more generously. As soon as she said that she would return the silver to Qian Zhenniang, she was scolded by Huang Cui'e.
Xu Huijia was speechless and could only run away. "I just don't want to be entangled with her anymore. We've broken off the engagement, so we'll just be strangers from now on. If I keep pestering her every day, other people will think I'm still in love with her! What good girl would be interested in me like that?"
"You still want to linger on?! What's going on? Are you two still in love?!"
"No! There's no old relationship. I was just saying it casually! What good will it do if you make a scene every day and everyone knows about it? Even if you meet a nice girl in the future, you'll scare her away. What I'm saying is, let's just pretend she doesn't exist from now on. When we meet, treat her as a stranger. This will avoid getting our two families entangled, and other people won't dare introduce nice girls to me!"
Huang Cui'e was furious, and she actually felt that Xu Huijia's words made some sense. She stopped and thought for a moment, but she was still worried. She glanced at Xu Huijia and said, "You said these are your own thoughts. Are you really not deceived by Qian Zhenniang and fall into her honey trap?"
Xu Huijia was very proud. "Hmph, you don't know, I only became generous because I had food in my hands. A dozen taels of silver is nothing. If I told him how much money he had, I'm afraid he would scare me to death!"
Xu Huijia put on a pretentious face and said, "Mom, I've told you countless times, I really despise Qian Zhenniang. Look at her, she's as skinny as a monkey, and she'll definitely have trouble giving birth in the future. And she's like dough, crying all day long. I dare not get involved with such an unlucky woman. I have to make a lot of money to support Mom in the future, so how can I be fascinated by a mere woman? When I make money, I can find any woman I want. Why do I have to find someone with a strong destiny who can easily defeat me?"
Huang Cui'e finally felt relieved after hearing what he said. She was really afraid that Qian Zhenniang, that damn girl, would use tricks to bewitch Xu Huijia. Now it seems that this kid of hers is completely clueless!
That's fine.
"Alright, let Qian Zhenniang do whatever she wants. From now on, I'll just pretend I didn't see her. Oh, in the end, this matter is still the fault of the Sixth Girl. There are so many people at home, but she insisted on keeping Qian Zhenniang by her side. She doesn't care about the reputation of our eldest wife at all!"
Huang Cui'e was being extremely polite, considering Xu Qingying had helped her earn money. In the past, she would have pointed at Xu Qingying and scolded her.
She touched the fur coat that Xu Qingying had given her. The fur was so soft and white that she couldn't let it go. She muttered a few words, feeling that she was guilty of taking someone else's things and couldn't bring herself to curse.
What's more, that dead girl is so noble and dignified, she is the center of attention and more glorious than anyone else.
Every time she looked into that girl's eyes, Huang Cui'e felt inexplicably frightened.
Xu Dechi touched the fur he was wearing and couldn't help but say a few words of sourness, "Okay, Sixth Girl is now capable and independent. She has earned two carriages after going out twice. Look how happy our mother is. I'm afraid no one in our Xu family will be able to say anything to her from now on——"
Second wife Xu Huining shook her head. "Hens crow at dawn, women usurp power, and only women's words are obeyed. Our Xu family has fallen to the point where a woman is in charge. We are truly at the end of our rope. Oh, how hateful, how hateful!"
Xu Huijia felt bad when she heard this.
He is the legitimate eldest grandson, how could he have fallen to the point of listening to orders from a woman?
Can he still be the head of the Xu family?
Xu Huijia thought of the questions she had just asked Xu Qingying.
He asked Xu Qingying why she wanted to bring him along on this operation, and whether she wanted to take the opportunity to frame him and seize the head of the Xu family.
He still remembered Xu Qingying laughing so hard that she was bent over backwards, looking at him with pitiful and helpless eyes, which seemed like mockery, but not really.
Xu Qingying said that she brought him along because she felt that he was not an irredeemable bad person.
Although he had driven Qian Zhenniang away, he would always tip off Qian Zhenniang whenever Huang Cui'e started causing trouble. When Qian Zhenniang fell into the water and became ill a few days ago, he also secretly slipped a few copper coins to Feng'er.
Xu Huijia didn't understand either. It was just a matter of convenience. He hated Qian Zhenniang for deceiving her, and he really didn't want to marry a woman with such a strong destiny, but he didn't want her to die.
What if Qian Zhenniang dies and he is blamed?
Why did Xu Qingying look up to him just because of such a trivial matter?
Humph, women are really hard to understand.
If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Anyway, it costs several hundred taels of silver for one trip.
No matter whether Xu Qingying is a man or a woman, as long as she can help him make a lot of money, why would he care so much?
It's a pity that Xu Qingying is a woman. He thinks he is a genius, but he can only be inferior to a woman. His talent is not appreciated. It's unfair.
The wind and snow in the evening soon stopped.
The air was filled with cold, heavy snow weighed on the branches, and the mountains and fields were silent, with only the biting cold wind.
Xu Qingying was so cold that she couldn't sleep. Even with thick branches under her and a fur blanket wrapped around her, she still felt cold all over and her toes were about to freeze off.
I’m afraid I won’t be able to spend the night in the wild anymore. In such cold weather, sleeping in the wild will freeze you to death!
Fortunately, the soap business has been sold, and she only has to wait for the year-end settlement and account audit. Otherwise, in such weather, if she delays her schedule because of soap making, I am afraid that many people will complain.
Xu Qingying also thought of another thing. Since there was such heavy snow in the south this year, the situation in the north might be even worse.
It's said that Jinzhou Prefecture suffered another summer of flooding this year. Several dikes south of the Wujiang River were breached, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. To the north, heavy snows fell continuously, and minor wars continued to ravage the Great Zhou Dynasty, leaving it unable to recover for the next few years.
Xu Qingying felt a little uneasy. If things continued like this, the Great Zhou Dynasty would probably be in chaos.
In troubled times, life is worthless. Although Xu Qingying has not read history in depth, she knows how miserable the lives of the lower-class people in troubled times are.
If the world really falls into chaos, how can she protect herself and the third branch of the Xu family?
At this moment, Xu Qingying could only place her hopes on God's will, and she also hoped that the precarious Zhou Dynasty could linger for a few more decades, allowing her to develop for a while longer.
There was a bonfire burning in the camp, and everyone gathered around it to build a simple tent to shelter from the wind and snow, to protect themselves from the severe cold and wild beasts.
The bonfire was left unburned all night and someone was watching over it, but Xu Qingying was too cold to sleep. In the middle of the night, she saw that the lights in Old Master Fang's carriage on the Fang family's side were on, and from time to time, a low whimpering sound could be heard. The sound was a little hoarse and could not be heard clearly through the cold wind, but it inexplicably touched her heartstrings.
Xu Qingying realized belatedly that Old Master Fang's favorite student, who had risen to the position of Zhongshu Sheren, had been beheaded because of his failure in the political struggle.
This crying sound...Is it from Old Master Fang?
Xu Qingying was a little moved. Thinking about how Old Master Fang was so old, not only was he exiled, but his most beloved disciple was also beheaded, and he was unable to see him off. The two of them parted ways so hastily.
Perhaps it was because of listening to Old Master Fang's intermittent and suppressed crying, Xu Qingying felt heavy in her heart and could not even fall asleep.
The next day, even though the wind and snow were about to stop, the large army continued to advance towards southwest Guizhou.
They had only walked one-third of the way, and it was already so difficult. Xu Qingying couldn't imagine how they would be able to cross the mountains and reach Qianzhou in the freezing December.
Xu Qingying was a little worried about Mr. Fang's health. Mr. Fang was almost sixty years old, which was considered a long life in the Great Zhou Dynasty where life expectancy was not long.
Now the temperature has dropped suddenly, the wind and snow are blowing, and I have to travel a long distance, and suddenly hear the bad news. I don’t know if my body can bear it.
Xu Qingying remembered that she heard Feng'er say yesterday that a first-level distributor had sent her medicinal herbs, so she hurriedly took Feng'er and Qian Zhenniang to search in the back of the carriage.
Xu Qingying is now considered a wealthy man. She owns three carriages. If they squeeze in, the elderly and female relatives in the family can barely fit in. Everyone takes turns riding in the carriage, which is much more comfortable than before.
However, Xu Qingying reserved one for herself, and only allowed the third wife and her grandmother to ride in it.
She was well aware of the principle that a little kindness will be followed by a great deal of resentment, and she didn't want to pamper the Xu family too much.
Those who are useful will naturally be conscripted into the army, and as for those who are useless, as long as they behave themselves, she doesn't mind giving them food.
If he is incompetent and restless, she will carefully make a pair of small shoes for him to wear overnight.
After searching the two carriages for a while, Huang asked, "Girl, what are you looking for?"
"I see that Old Master Fang is not in good condition, so I want to find some old ginseng to help him recover."
These words made everyone in the carriage's eyelids twitch.
The third wife is now speaking in such a high tone. A good ginseng is worth at least dozens of taels, but she actually found it and gave it to someone else.
Xu Lezhi gnashed his teeth and said, "Sixth sister is so powerful now. She can give away things worth dozens of taels at will. Why don't you show filial piety to Grandmother when you are so rich?"
Xu Qingying tilted her head and looked at Xu Lezhi's fur coat with a smile. Xu Lezhi felt a little scared by her gaze and wanted to leave and take off the fur coat, but the weather outside was very cold, so she gritted her teeth and stared at Xu Qingying.
Xu Qingying smiled slightly, "Next time you're jealous of me, remember to take off the things I gave you first, otherwise you'll just look ridiculous."
Huang hated quarrels among young girls the most, so she quickly said, "The Fang family has been very kind to our family. Now that the sixth girl has made money, we have the ability to help her. We must help her if we can!"
Lian also helped to find it, "Sixth girl, this is it!"
Lian handed over a wooden box. Xu Qingying opened it and confirmed that it was ginseng before putting it away. "Thank you, Fourth Aunt."
Xu Lezhi stared at the man's retreating figure, her teeth clenched. Unconvinced, she pulled Huang and said, "Grandma, look at her! What has she become? Not only does she deal with a bunch of merchants all day, but she also treats outsiders better than you! Does she think that just because she's made a few bucks, she can ignore her family?"
Huang rudely pulled her arm out of Xu Lezhi's grasp, leaned against the carriage, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, but she didn't forget to say, "Seventh girl, your sixth sister is right. Next time you scold someone, remember to take off the fur your sixth sister gave you first. Wearing other people's clothes, eating other people's food, and scolding them is really immoral. You are a girl, and you are so talkative. Be careful that you won't get married!"
"Grandma!" Xu Lezhi was so shocked by Huang's words that he was speechless for a long time.
She had seen through everything. The entire Xu family now listened to Xu Qingying.
What's so great about Xu Qingying? Isn't she just good at making money? You talk as if she can't do that.
If she didn't think that the status of merchants was too low, she would not be willing to do business.
But now that Xu Qingying is doing very well, it has aroused her desire to win. If Xu Qingying can do it, then it must not be difficult.
Xu Lezhi thought over and over again about what business he should start, but then he thought about how his pockets were cleaner than his face, and he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.
How can you start a business without this initial capital?
But it seems that the Fang family is quite rich?
Why not ask Fang Xun to borrow some money?
If she asked, Fang Xun would probably not refuse, right?
Humph, if Xu Qingying can do it, she Xu Lezhi can do it too, and even do it better than Xu Qingying!
Xu Qingying took the ginseng and quickly walked a few steps to catch up with the Fang family's carriage. The old man and old lady of the Fang family were in the same carriage, and Fang Ningmo was also sitting in the carriage. Xu Qingying handed the ginseng inside through the curtain and said, "Second Miss Fang, I see that the old man Fang doesn't look well today. I have a ginseng here. I asked someone to make a soup for him. It's freezing cold out here, and he's old, so he has to be careful."
Fang Ningmo lifted the carriage curtain. Tears still lingered on her face. Seeing Xu Qingying managed a forced smile, she said, "Xu Liu, thank you for thinking of my grandfather. This ginseng is too valuable. You can take it back."
"No matter how valuable it is, can it be more valuable than a person? Things are dead, but people are alive. Besides, you know I'm rich now." Xu Qingying stuffed the old ginseng into Fang Ningmo's hand without saying a word.
Fang Ningmo looked at the people in the carriage at a loss. Then a low cough was heard from inside the carriage, and the voice of Old Madam Fang came, "Never mind, it's also a kind gesture from Miss Xu Liu. Accept it."
"Xu Liu girl...if you don't mind, come up and talk to the old man." Old Master Fang called her to get in the car through the curtain in a hoarse voice.
Xu Qingying did not refuse. After getting on the carriage, she found that Mr. Fang seemed to be in a very bad state. The old man who was full of energy two days ago now seemed to have shrunk and looked very old overnight. When she looked closely, she found that Mr. Fang's temples seemed to have added a touch of white.
Old Fang lay reclining in the carriage, covered in thick fur. A small stove burned inside, so it wasn't too cold. Even so, he looked exhausted. His eyes were sunken, and there were dark circles under them, as if he hadn't slept all night.
Xu Qingying knew that the death of her favorite student was a huge blow to the old man, like a young man sending off his old son.
But she couldn't say much about these things, so she could only comfort him in a bland way: "Mr. Fang, you must take care of yourself. If you fall, the Fang family will be without a backbone. They have little life experience, and they will have to rely on you when they arrive in Qianzhou."
Mr. Fang coughed twice, his face flushed abnormally. "I heard that you killed a lot of people in Xingyuan Prefecture yesterday and made a lot of money?"
Xu Qingying turned to look at Fang Ningmo, who quickly said, "I didn't say anything."
Mr. Fang forced a smile. "When I saw you all came back, you all looked so happy. I guess the soap must be selling very well, right?"
Xu Qingying has been studying with Mr. Fang recently. Mr. Fang can be considered as half a teacher. What's more, Mr. Fang is open-minded. Although he is almost sixty years old, he still has a childlike heart, which makes Xu Qingying feel more relaxed when getting along with him.
So she didn't intend to be vague, "I did make a lot. Enough for me to squander for the rest of my life."
"Good! Very good!" Old Fang's face flushed slightly, and he took Xu Qingying's hand. "You are a promising girl, and you will definitely have a bright future. It's a pity that you are not a man. If you were a man, I would definitely pave a way for your future--"
Xu Qingying smiled, "Boys have their own strengths, and women have their own strengths. In this world, there is yang and yin, and everything is balanced by yin and yang. I never think that being a woman is a problem. It doesn't matter whether you are male or female. Where there are people, there will be struggles. It all depends on how you choose."
"Good!" This time, Mr. Fang's praise was sincere, and there seemed to be a glimmer of fire in his eyes. "Xu Liu girl, you are the most special woman I have ever met. You are the one who has truly broken free from the shackles of men and women. You are more free and easy than thousands of people in this world!"
He seemed to have thought of something again, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. "It's a pity that my student didn't understand. His life was like a trapped beast fighting. He lost his life before he could achieve his ambitions."
Xu Qingying asked, "Is Mr. Fang referring to Zhang Zhiwei, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat?"
Mr. Fang sighed deeply, as if suppressing thousands of emotions, but he was unable to utter the name.
He shook his head, but refused to say more. "It's all because of the fixed tax... If I had known this, I wouldn't have let him be so radical..."
Xu Qingying actually didn't care about politics, but she had no confidence in the precarious Great Zhou Dynasty, so she paid more attention to it.
"Fixed taxation? Does it mean that the emperor sets a fixed amount of tax that each region must pay, and no matter what the situation is, the region must pay this fixed amount of tax?"
Mr. Fang hadn't expected Xu Qingying to be so sensitive to current political affairs. "How did you know?"
"A fixed-rate tax—the name speaks for itself." Xu Qingying shook her head and sighed. "This ignores the specific circumstances of local areas and directly shifts all the pressure from the central government onto the localities, which then pass it on to the people. At the same time, they grant the localities so much power that the localities and their bureaucrats will undoubtedly pile on the burden. In the end, the people at the bottom will suffer. This kind of one-size-fits-all, lazy governance will only make the situation worse."
Old Master Fang was stunned and speechless for a long time. Xu Qingyingshan pointed out the disadvantages of fixed-rate taxation in just two sentences. Fortunately, a group of old foxes in the court had been arguing about it for several months.
This insight touched Old Master Fang's heart!
One size fits all...that's a very clever word!
Isn't it just a one-size-fits-all approach without considering local conditions?
"That's right." Old Master Fang now seemed a little more alert. "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the treasury has been empty for two consecutive years. Last year, tax revenue was less than two-thirds of previous years. Han Zongyun and his gang came up with the idea of a fixed tax rate. Zhu Ci, a complete idiot with no understanding of state affairs, immediately agreed when he heard it would guarantee revenue. My disciple, coming from a humble background, naturally knew that this policy, while seemingly guaranteeing revenue, would actually cause great harm to the people and could even destabilize the nation. So, he risked his life to oppose it. But I was already exiled, and he was isolated and helpless in the court. How could he defeat that old man Han Zongyun? In the end, he lost his life..."
Xu Qingying remained silent, completely disappointed with the administrative system of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
This administrative team is too sloppy. A child, a brother-in-law who knows nothing about politics but likes to grab power, and a bunch of eunuchs who can only flatter. The highest administrative body of the Zhou Dynasty is simply a makeshift team!
Xu Qingying had a vaguely uneasy feeling in her heart. The emperor was young, his relatives were in power, and there was also a eunuch in power. This script and storyline seemed so familiar.
Damn, isn’t this a must-have buff during every transition from one dynasty to another?
Xu Qingying felt her eyes go dark.
"Ahead of us is Jinzhou Prefecture, which suffered this year's floods. The lower reaches of the Wujiang River have submerged seven or eight counties, and hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. I'm afraid that before the disaster relief funds are allocated, the people will have starved to death. It's only November, and heavy snow has fallen in the south. The north is probably even worse. The people can hardly survive, and yet the court is still engaged in factional strife. The policies are changing every day. A policy of fixed taxation has been debated in the court for almost half a year and there is no result." Old Master Fang seemed very excited when he said this, and he couldn't stop coughing. His already pale face now looked a little gray, and the dark light in his eyes became extremely turbid. "Floods in the south, heavy snow in the north, years of war, and starving people everywhere. If this continues, God will destroy our Great Zhou Dynasty!"
Xu Qingying also felt very upset.
She was wrong.
Her biggest problem is not exile or lack of money, but if she is lucky enough to live in troubled times, what good will it matter if she has money and power?
In troubled times, human lives are worthless, and every change of dynasties is paved with blood and bones. Such turbulent times can last for a dozen years at least, or even several decades at most.
For decades, living in a war-torn era, Xu Qingying didn't even dare to think about it.
She had never experienced war and felt that the word war was very far away from her. However, looking at the precarious Zhou Dynasty, she was really panicked.
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