Chapter 2986 Reminder
Bai Shan's mind instantly flashed back to what Tang He had said to him when he left that day, "If the salt administration incident gets out, not only Yang Heshu, but you and Zhou Man will also attract attention. After all, you two are the instigators."
He said, "But you two are both capable and not corrupt. I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to attack you in official matters. So, we can only start with your family."
"Your family and Zhou Man's family are both good points of entry. Zhishan, it's easy to succeed even if you have a plan. From today on, you have to be careful."
Bai Shan regained his composure slightly, unsure whether Censor Ning was reminding him, warning him, or intending something else. He smiled calmly and said, "Censor Ning, you're joking. My fourth uncle is just selling the extra herbs he grows at home, and helping the villagers with other things. He's not a professional merchant, so how could he do this kind of business?"
"Really? I've always heard in the capital that Mr. Zhou's brother has a huge business, but it turns out it was just a rumor."
Bai Shan nodded affirmatively, "It's just a rumor."
Censor Ning smiled and temporarily passed over the topic.
Bai Shan returned to the county government office and went into his office to think.
When County Magistrate Dong returned home from the yamen, he saw that he was still in his office. He knocked on the door, poked his head in, and asked, "Are you busy with official business, sir?"
Aren’t you free lately?
The county magistrate handed over part of the county affairs to County Magistrate Fang and him, so they shouldn't be busy at this time.
Bai Shan raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then put down his pen, folded up the half-written letter and stuffed it into his pocket. He called over a yamen runner and said, "Wash the pen."
County Captain Dong always felt that the county magistrate was not in a good mood. He touched his nose and followed him out.
Bai Shan looked back at him and said, "I'm going home."
County Magistrate Dong was stunned for a moment before saying, "I will go home too."
Bai Shan raised his chin, and County Captain Dong smiled awkwardly and turned to walk towards the gate of the county government office. Wasn't it like he had gotten used to it and couldn't change it immediately?
Bai Shan returned home from the small gate of the county government office. Bai Erlang and the others were there. Cui Yuan lived near the small gate. When she came out for a walk, she saw Bai Shan's thoughtful look and was delighted. She went up to him and asked, "Master, is there anything wrong?"
Bai Shan raised an eyebrow when he saw him, then he remembered that he also had a staff. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "Fortunately, making decisions is not very difficult. It's just that it takes a certain amount of effort to implement them, and the work is complicated, so it's a bit of a headache."
Cui Yuan immediately said, "I am willing to serve you, my lord."
Bai Shan took him along. He was an aide-de-camp, so there were some things he should know.
He introduced Cui Yuan to Bai Erlang and the others.
Bai Er looked at him in surprise, "We didn't see Master Cui when we lived in the backyard of the county government office before."
Bai Shan: "...At first I thought that the prince would also live here, and since Manbao and I had moved out, it was natural for everyone else in the courtyard to move out as well."
It was just that the prince didn't move in in the end, so Bai Shan and Zhou Man didn't move in. Cui Yuan also moved back in after Bai Erlang and the others moved out.
Bai Shan showed Zhou Man the half-written letter and said, "As you all know, Beihai County's official salt will soon be famous throughout the world. I'm afraid you don't know about my family's situation yet, do you?"
This was mainly addressed to Cui Yuan. He said, "I come from the Longzhou Bai family, a branch of the family. If the salt drying method gets out, I might become a thorn in the eyes of some people. If they can't find a way out of it, they can only look within my own family."
Cui Yuan was a little nervous and asked quickly, "How is the relationship between the master and our family?"
"It's just so-so," he said. "Although we've been in touch more often in recent years, we don't see each other often. Besides, my family mainly lives in the capital now, but we lived in Mianzhou earlier."
Cui Yuan understood as soon as she heard it. This was not just average at all, it was clearly very bad.
"Then they can't threaten the Lord."
Bai Shan nodded. "It's not a threat, but I still need to remind her." Bai Shan looked at Zhou Man. "I plan to write a letter to my grandmother, but the news of the changes in the salt-drying method and salt policy cannot be spread from here, so..."
So what excuse would he find?
Cui Yuan thought for a moment and said, "It's no secret that the Crown Prince is inspecting the administration, and it's even more no secret that he's coming to Qingzhou. Why not use this as an excuse?"
Bai Shan thought this was a good reason and readily accepted it.
After Cui Yuan left and only five of them were left, the other four looked at Bai Shan together.
Bai Shan turned back to look at them and raised an eyebrow, "What are you looking at me for?"
Yin Huo was drinking tea in silence, so Bai Erlang chuckled and asked, "Are you testing your staff? I can come up with excuses like this, how could you not think of one?"
Manbao also chuckled: "It's hard for you to pretend to be distressed and embarrassed."
Bai Shan: "...I am really distressed."
"Ah?" Zhou Man looked at him in confusion, and Yin Huo also raised his head curiously.
Bai Shan sighed and said, "It's not because of the Bai family, but because of your family."
Zhou Man pointed at his nose and asked, "My home?"
"Yes," Bai Shan said as he sat beside her. "My relationship with my family is average, or even bad. It's not hard to find out. The only trouble they can cause me is probably to instigate other members of the clan to come to me and ask for profit. But you are different."
Zhou Man asked, "My family's problem... the caravan in Fourth Brother's hands?"
"That's right," Bai Shan said, "Although Fourth Brother has suppressed the size of the caravan, the annual profit is still increasing year by year."
This can be seen from the amount of money Zhou Man receives every year.
"Even if we say that he mostly sells produce from the fields and the village, which still counts as agricultural products, his business is so large that he will still be considered a merchant," Bai Shan said. "Now the Zhou family doesn't just have you as an official, there's also Lixue and Ligu, Sanniang and Liru, and in the future there will be Lizhong and Liwei. Even Fourth Brother's children will pursue official careers, so our family must not be considered a merchant."
Although Zhou Man and Zhou Liru have already married, it does not have much impact on them, but the Zhou family is one, especially Zhou Man and Zhou Liru, who have deep feelings for their family.
So it’s best to prepare for this kind of thing in advance.
He said, "Fourth brother, it's best to hand over the caravan."
Zhou Man rolled his eyes. "For example, is it registered under someone else's name, just like your caravan?"
Bai Shan's eyes flashed with a smile, and he nodded and said, "Yes."
"But your family doesn't have any hereditary servants, so the servants we hire now definitely can't be trusted. Even if you keep their families, there's still a risk given their indentures, so we can only entrust them to our relatives." Bai Shan said, "Or choose a close family from Qili Village to help, or..."
He looked at Manbao, who also looked up at him and blinked, "Leave it all to Lijun?"
Bai Shan's eyes flashed with a smile, and he nodded and said, "Yes, in fact, in the long run, it is better to hand it over to relatives than to Li Jun. Married women rarely interfere in the financial affairs of their parents' family, but your family is a little different."
See you at 11pm
(End of this chapter)
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