This is to let the two companies fight each other first!

Pei Man understood and agreed with a smile. He turned to the place where Ah Ming had read before and prepared to continue reading the gift list to Pei Yan.

Pei Yan raised his hand and made a "no thanks" gesture, saying, "Here is the gift list sent by the Wu family. Take it and have a look at it first, and prepare a return gift based on it. Then see if there is anything interesting in the gifts sent."

Pei Man knew his hobby, so he responded respectfully and stepped back.

Pei Yan felt a little bored, so he picked up the beast ring and went to talk to his second brother about the New Year. He then went to greet his mother, thought for a while, and went back to the study in the outer courtyard.

The place where the Yu family father and daughter were received before was now brightly lit in all the rooms except Pei Yan's study. The accountant, the manager, the clerk, and the servants were all busy. Although everyone was talking in low voices, it was still noisier than other places. The hot air coming towards him made Pei Yan frown in disgust.

"Third Master!" When everyone heard the noise and saw that it was Pei Yan who came in, they all stepped forward to greet him.

Pei Yan nodded and his eyes fell on Pei Man.

Pei Man hurriedly said, "The gift list from the Wu family has been compiled, and several of us are discussing and preparing the return gift." At this point, he paused and said, "If you don't come now, I will also go to see you later. The things sent by the Wu family are quite expensive. I asked the accountant to calculate, and it is worth at least 10,000 taels of silver. Among them, more than 7,000 taels are specifically for you."

Obviously, it was requested.

But the other people in Pei Mansion didn't know the reason, and they all looked at Pei Yan with admiration, as if they had just met this person.

Pei Yan curled his lips and stroked the frosted ring of the beast ring he bought, thinking that the Yu family would give him 70% of the profits.

If they knew that he had received so many gifts in just two days, how surprised would this father and daughter be?

"Then accept it." Ever since Pei Yan fell out with his second senior brother, he no longer liked the people and things around him. "If I don't accept it, I won't feel at ease!"

Pei Man smiled and agreed. At this time, another servant ran in and said breathlessly, "Third Master, the Superintendent of Education Deng Xuesong is here to visit."

Pei Yan was very surprised.

It was already late at this time. Although he and Deng Xuesong were from the same school, Deng Xuesong came from a poor family and had an aloof personality. The relationship between the two was very ordinary. Logically, Deng Xuesong would not come to visit him at this time.

Could it be related to Yutu?

Pei Yan touched his chin and went to the warm room for meeting guests.

Deng Xuesong was a man in his forties, tall and thin, with a goatee. He sat on a throne with his eyes half closed, allowing Hu Xing to surround him and show him courtesy. It was unclear what he was thinking.

When he saw Pei Yan, he nodded at him arrogantly.

Deng Xuesong didn't like Pei Yan very much either. He thought Pei Yan was intelligent but willful. He didn't care about the talent that many people wanted but couldn't get. But the two were from the same school, so even if he didn't like Pei Yan, he couldn't undermine each other. Fortunately, he had helped Pei Yan once before, which made him more confident.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, Deng Xuesong directly explained his purpose: "I heard that the head of the Huzhou Wu family is here with you? Do you know what the Huzhou Wu family originally did?"

Pei Yan sighed in his heart, and felt that he didn't need to think too much to be sure that Deng Xuesong also came for Yutu. I just don't know who he wants to speak for? He can speak so directly for Jiang Hua's in-laws, which shows that the people who asked him to come forward are not some idle people. But why don't they come directly to him, but find Deng Xuesong as the middleman?

Pei Yan pretended not to know and said with a smile: "The Wu family is my second senior brother's in-laws after all, how could I not know?"

As soon as the words came out, Pei Yan's heart moved.

Zhou Zijin had heard that he and his second senior brother had a falling out. Could it be that these people thought the same?

This is kind of fun!

Pei Yan thought about it, pushed the fruit plate next to him towards Deng Xuesong, and said, "Try it. Tao Ziran had someone bring me the lucky cookies from Guangzhou. I tasted it and it really lives up to its reputation."

When Tao An, whose courtesy name was Ziran, was the chief clerk in the Ministry of Works, Deng Xuesong was his subordinate.

Deng Xuesong's expression froze as he listened, and it was obvious that he already knew what the Tao family had done.

Pei Yan laughed and handed a lucky cookie to Deng Xuesong: "Eat a cookie, eat a cookie!"

Deng Xuesong reluctantly ate a piece of cake and praised it for being delicious. After thinking for a while, he felt that he could not compare with Pei Yan and Tao An in eloquence, so he simply said, "Then I won't beat around the bush. The Yin family of Quanzhou has done me a favor, so they let me be their go-between. Please meet me, Xiaguang."

The Yin family of Quanzhou, the Peng family of Fuzhou, and the Li family of Longyan are known as the three major clans in Fujian. The Yin family of Quanzhou started out as a tea-making family, but was later overwhelmed by the Li family of Longyan and switched to shipping. Most of the fleets in Fujian today, except for the Peng family, belong to the Yin family. The Yin family is not as single-minded as the Li family, nor as powerful as the Peng family, but they also have their own advantages - over the years, the Yin family has been committed to clan studies and has helped many scholars. Among the three families, their family is the most well-informed, the most flexible, and the most adaptable.

Pei Yan had hesitated before whether to lure the Yin family over as well.

Now, there is no need for him to step forward, the Yin family will step forward on their own.

Pei Yan did not want to argue with Deng Xuesong and said bluntly: "We are not outsiders, so I will speak frankly. If I say something wrong, you will have to cover it for me. Yu Tu did not know whether it was true or not, so I did not make it public. However, I happen to have something to trouble the Yin family. If this thing succeeds, then Yu Tu will count them as a share no matter what."

Deng Xuesong's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he asked, "Is it one share?"

Pei Yan smiled and said, "You don't think that such a big thing can be eaten by just a few of us, right?"

Deng Xuesong was a man who only cared about reading sage books. He neither liked nor cared about business matters. He blushed when he heard this and said, "You also said that we are not outsiders. Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

Pei Yan was not polite anymore and said, "I have something I want to ask the Yin family for help. Please ask them to send someone who has a say."

Deng Xuesong knew that this matter was not simple since Pei Yan asked for help and was tempted with maritime business.

He had done everything he could, and he didn't want to get involved in this mess anymore.

"Okay! That's a deal." He stood up decisively and said, "It's getting late today, and I have to rush back to Hangzhou City overnight. Don't keep me here. The assessment will be at the end of the year, and I can't delay my work."

Pei Yan did not force Deng Xuesong to stay, and personally escorted him out. On the way, he mentioned Yu Wen's matter: "Although he is only a scholar, the annual examination is not with you, you should at least say hello and take care of him if you can."

Scholars have to take exams every year. If they fail the exams, they may be stripped of their title of scholar.

Deng Xuesong did not ask any more questions. Pei Yancheng had already accepted the favor. He said, "Don't worry. I know what to do about this matter. I'll have someone inform you when the time comes."

Pei Yan thought that this was also a thank you gift for the beast ring. After watching Deng Xuesong's sedan chair leave Xiaomei Lane in the cold wind, Pei Yan went to the outer study room where he handled general affairs.

Everywhere was still busy, but a few managers gathered around the desk where he had thrown a beast ring to press down the account book, talking about the beast ring: "I didn't expect the Third Elder also had one. If I had known this, I would have either sent the one in the store over, or asked the Third Elder for it. We can make a pair, and that's worth the money."

Pei Yanqi asked, "Where is the gate beast ring?"

The manager smiled and said, "It was in the antique shop. There was a door beast ring exactly like this one, but it was sold a few days ago. It's too late to regret it now."

Pei Yan looked a little strange when he heard this, and asked, "When was it sold? How much did it cost?"

The manager smiled and said, "It happened a few days ago. You know, this thing is not worth much in the first place, and it is even less valuable since it is a single piece. We sold it for two taels of silver. If we had known that you had one, we would have sold it for at least one hundred taels of silver."

"Oh!" Pei Yan responded expressionlessly, "Then you guys get busy, I'll go back and rest!"

After all, the stewards acted according to his wishes and were very good at reading people's expressions. They immediately realized that he was unhappy.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what made him unhappy.

They exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.

After Pei Yan finally left, Pei Man couldn't help but slap one of them and said, "Why don't you work hard? Do you want to stay awake for days and nights?"

The manager who had spoken cried out in shock, holding his head, and hurriedly put down his beast ring to check the accounts.

Pei Man looked at the beast ring that was glowing green, and felt like it was a hot potato, not knowing what to do.

But we can't just leave it here like this!

He thought about it again and again, waved to Ah Ming and called him over, and whispered to him: "Find a chance to quietly put it on the Third Elder's bookshelf."

If the third elder found it while flipping through the book, it would be fate. If he didn't find it, it wouldn't be lost.

Ah Ming followed the instructions and put the beast ring inside.

The Yin family arrived in Lin'an City at noon the next day.

He is the eldest son of the Yin family and will be the next patriarch of the Yin family.

Before coming, their family had carefully inquired about Pei Yan. Knowing that this was the first Spring Festival that Pei Yan took over as the head of the Pei family, they thought the same thing as the Wu family and felt that Pei Yan would definitely want to establish his authority. So they came with large and small cars, carrying nearly ten carriages full of things, to pay a visit to Pei Yan.

That day, Yu Tang happened to accompany his mother to deliver New Year gifts to Madam Ma's family. He sat in the sedan chair and lifted the curtain to see clearly. After returning, Chen said to Yu Wen: "No wonder Old Master Pei wants to pass the position of the leader to the third master. This year's New Year gifts are a hundred times more lively than in previous years. Will the Pei family become more and more prosperous in the future? What do you think, will the Pei family move to Hangzhou City?"

The pot was thrown out, his wife's illness was treated by a famous doctor, his daughter became more and more obedient, and he could help with household affairs. Yu Wen's life was so comfortable that he began to spend his days in the study carving seals and reading books. He thought that when Yu Yuan got married in the spring and Yu Tang's marriage was settled, he would carve a seal for his daughter. In the future, when his daughter was the housekeeper, she could use the seal to pay money or collect debts. Just thinking about it made him feel stylish.

"No!" He looked at the seal and said casually, "If the Pei family wanted to move, they would have moved long ago. Besides, it's not so easy to take root in Hangzhou."

The couple chatted leisurely, but Yu Tang felt a little anxious.

It looks like the auction will have to be postponed until after the New Year.

I wonder if these people who come to give New Year gifts have anything to do with the Yutu auction?

She sighed softly.