Chapter 736: Zhuozhou Lu Family
Cui Mansion
Old Madam Cui, Cui Yan and his mother, as well as several elders of the Cui family sat in the main hall, listening carefully to Gao Mei's talk.
Gao Mei was describing the scene of meeting Governor Lu Songli in Changli, and she was in high spirits.
Cui Yan couldn't stand her ostentatious side. After she finished speaking, he snorted coldly, "Because of what you've done, our Cui family's assets have shrunk by half! And you're still so smug?"
Gao Mei glanced at him and said, "You think this result is not good enough? Then why don't you take a look at the Lu family in Zhuozhou?"
Cui Yan choked.
"I'm not taking credit for it, but it's the truth. If I hadn't put in this effort, our Cui family would have most likely followed in the footsteps of the Lu family."
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Cui and the elders of the Cui family were startled.
At that time, more than half of the people in Zhuozhou had to go into debt to raise donkeys.
The Lu family of Zhuozhou was probably their biggest creditor. Many clansmen had lent their money, but the interest they asked for was very high.
Because the Lu family of Zhuozhou had lent out too much money at interest, their accounts were directly liquidated after Pingzhou took over Zhuozhou, and they could not even get their principal back.
Of course the Lu family members were unwilling to do so.
The patriarch of the Lu family was so frustrated by his clansmen, and he felt that Pingzhou's approach was too overbearing, so he protested to the Pingzhou government.
The Pingzhou government had just sent troops to Zhuozhou, and it was time to win over the people. How could they possibly help the Lu family exploit the people of Zhuozhou? Therefore, with the intervention of the Pingzhou government, these high-interest accounts were settled, and even the Lu family patriarch was not given face.
The explanation given by the Pingzhou government was that lending money at interest was illegal and immoral, and that they should have considered the consequences when doing so, and that they would certainly not be protected by the government.
The head of the Lu family naturally felt very uncomfortable. Their Zhuozhou Lu family was considered one of the big families in Dali. When Zhuozhou still belonged to Dali, even the emperor was polite to them.
Now that Pingzhou has captured Zhuozhou, they have been very rude to the Lu family.
The head of the Lu family was dissatisfied. In the beginning, he secretly did a lot of things to prevent the Pingzhou government from successfully conquering Zhuozhou.
After Governor Lu learned about this, he took immediate action to discipline the Lu family and investigate them. In the end, based on the findings, he punished and fined the members of the Lu family who violated the law, and also confiscated the ill-gotten gains they had made over the years.
After this round, the Lu family’s assets were reduced by 80% and they were completely in decline.
Of course, this is what is happening on the surface. There must be some more happening in secret, but even this is enough to make things difficult.
It can be said that decades of accumulation have all been lost.
Now, hearing Gao Mei mention the consequences of Lu's disobedience, the elders of the Cui family were all filled with awe.
They consoled themselves by thinking, it’s okay, even though the assets of their Cui family were forced to shrink by half, it was still pretty good compared to the Lu family.
Not to mention that this incident left a bad impression on Governor Lu and made Lu unpopular among Pingzhou officials.
Thinking of this, they looked at Gao with even kinder eyes.
It didn't matter that the Cui family was in a slump now, at least the Gao family had a good reputation in front of Governor Lu. With Governor Lu's care, wasn't it just a matter of time before the Cui family returned to its heyday?
After figuring it out, these people exchanged glances with each other. It seemed that it was inevitable that the Cui family would have a female head of the family.
"Governor Lu is a woman with no vision! In the Three Provinces Free Trade Zone now, brothels are so popular and making so much money. If she had kept our Cui family, Pingzhou would be able to make a lot of money now, and would not have to look down on Dali and Xianbei." Cui Yan complained. He always felt that Pingzhou was wrong to ban brothels.
Gao Mei looked at him with contempt. The governor is the one who has made great plans and built such a large foundation. How can you, a waste, be qualified to comment on the governor?
Not wanting to bother with this man who was confused and self-righteous, Gao Mei asked directly, "Mother, uncles, may I ask if I am qualified to be the head of this family?"
Cui Yan glared at her, feeling both angry and anxious. Was Gao so impatient? He hadn't expected her to be so straightforward! He had thought she, a woman, would be too shy to bring up the matter.
The oldest elder of the Cui clan suggested, "Sister-in-law, why don't we let the Gao clan try to be the head of the Cui clan?"
Madam Cui was silent for a while, then ignored her son's pleading eyes and nodded, "Let Gao take over the position of head of the family."
Gao Mei expressed her gratitude happily, "Thank you, mother, and all the uncles. I, Gao Mei, will definitely do my best for the family."
After this matter was settled, several elders of the Cui family wanted to say goodbye. Gao Mei stood up to see them off. After seeing everyone off, she came back to say goodbye to her mother-in-law and returned to her courtyard.
Gao Mei simply ignored her husband beside her. She was about to take up her new post, so shouldn't she go back early to prepare?
As soon as Gao Mei left, Cui Yan started to complain, "Mom, why did you agree to let Gao become the head of Cui's family?"
Mrs. Cui looked at her son helplessly. Did he forget that this was agreed upon before? Could she just say no?
Cui's answer was very satisfactory. Most importantly, she was received and appreciated by Governor Lu Songli.
As for Cui Yan, he didn't even see the other person.
This alone is enough to make the elders of the clan look at him with respect.
Therefore, she couldn't stop Gao from being promoted to the position of head of the family.
"Don't you like Qi? It's just right that you will have a lot of time to accompany beauty in the future. Isn't this what you like?" Old Lady Cui changed the subject, and at the same time she also hoped that her son would feel better.
Cui Yan: ...
******
Zhang Xian took Wu Ren, Ji Dashao, Gu Huaisheng and others to inspect the newly completed site. After a long tour, they confirmed that the site had indeed been built.
"We can finally open for trial operation." They spent half a year building the entire area.
"Three days from now will be an auspicious day."
"Then let's set the date for three days from now. Now, send out invitations to all parties."
As soon as the order was conveyed, the troops in Pingzhou that had been prepared long ago began to move.
Guo Wanli was a wealthy man in Yuzhou. Since Yuzhou was adjacent to Yanzhou and Xuzhou, he came as soon as the Three States Free Trade Zone was established, bringing with him a large sum of silver.
Upon his arrival, he discovered that the Dali and Xianbei regions were just as he'd imagined, with countless delicious and fun things to do and excellent service. It was just that the Pingzhou region was still under construction and not open to the public, which made him itch.
One day, he was about to go out and visit the Victory Casino when he noticed the doorman coming hurriedly and jogging towards him when he saw him.
Guo Wanli asked loudly, "What are you holding in your hand?"
"My lord, the shop in Pingzhou is preparing for a trial run, and I've specially sent you an invitation."
"Hey, is the site in Pingzhou finally finished? Bring it over to me and have a look."
"Isn't it?"
This invitation was indeed sent by Pingzhou. Guo Wanli noticed that the invitation also stated that on that day, all guests who came with the invitation would receive a 20% discount on their purchases at the venue.
"Three days later, right? Remember to remind me, Master!" He wanted to see what tricks Pingzhou had come up with after being so mysterious for so long.
Pingzhou sent out countless invitations like this.
Everyone who received the post was eagerly awaiting the opening of the Pingzhou venue in three days.
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