Wu Muyue took Xu Bai and A Yuan to the dam, while Xu Zhi took the measures she had written and went to the next room.
When Ping saw what Xu Zhi had written, she looked at Xu Zhi in surprise. Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Good sister-in-law, you have been in Miaozhou for many years and must have witnessed the floods here. Please take a look and see if there is anything wrong with what I have written, so I can revise it."
Ping sighed and said, "Good sister, how could there be anything wrong with it? You wrote it so well. If we follow your method to prevent and prepare now, what will we be afraid of when the flood comes?"
Xu Zhi nodded and said, "Sister-in-law, since you think it's a good idea, I'll start preparing now."
Ping nodded and said, "Ninth Sister, I have an idea. Let's take this to the Yun family and see Old Madam Yun. What do you think?"
When Xu Zhi heard that she was going to the Yun family to see the old lady, her eyes lit up. Given Xu Zhi and Ping Shi's abilities and the financial resources of both families, it would be very difficult to follow Xu Zhi's plan. But the Yun family was different. The Yun family had lived in Miaozhou for generations. Not only did they have many businesses in Miaozhou, but the Yun family was also praised by the people of Miaozhou as a family of virtuous people, a living bodhisattva. Would they refuse such an opportunity to benefit their neighbors?
Ping was a woman of action, so she got up to change her clothes. Xu Zhi smiled and said, "Good sister-in-law, don't rush. We should first send a visiting card to their house to see if the owner is home."
Ping smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I'm just an impatient person."
Xu Zhi wrote a visiting card and sent Bai Ying to the Yun family. Fortunately, the Yun family's mansion in Miaozhou was not far from the government office, and Bai Ying returned quickly, saying that the eldest wife of the second branch of the Yun family was waiting at home.
The eldest branch of the Yun family has been keeping a low profile lately, and no one from their family has attended many gatherings. Even the last gathering organized by Madam Shen was attended by no one from the eldest branch of the Yun family.
Ping had told Xu Zhi that the men of the Yun family's eldest branch were all talk and no action, while the wife of the Yun family's eldest branch was somewhat aloof. It was said that back then, the old master of the Yun family went to a Hanlin family in the capital to ask for a wife in order to elevate the family's status, thinking that a woman from a respectable family would be the head of the household in the future, and that such a family would surely have a good upbringing for its daughters.
Who knew that this first wife was actually a self-righteous person who always looked down on merchants and thought that such money tarnished her reputation. Not to mention her family, even when she went to gatherings outside, she thought that the ladies attending the gatherings were all wives of merchants and that they were too low-class, so she wouldn't go even if she was invited. Over time, some people stopped sending her invitations.
Back then, the old master of the Yun family gave a lot of money to the family of the Hanlin scholar in order to marry his eldest daughter-in-law. However, the eldest daughter-in-law believed that she was bought by the Yun family and looked down on her husband's family more and more. As time went on, the old lady of the Yun family realized that her eldest daughter-in-law was not a capable person, so she had to train her shrewd and capable younger daughter-in-law.
This is why the eldest son of the Yun family felt abandoned by his family. One of them, ambitious but incompetent, was constantly fawned over by a group of idle men and a regular at city taverns and brothels; the other, self-important and self-pitying, spent his days in the courtyard lamenting his fate. This time, Madam Shen had gone to great lengths to win over the eldest son of the Yun family. Unfortunately, Xu Zhi's intervention ultimately thwarted their efforts. The Yun family rose to prominence after the second son's trip to the capital to meet the emperor. Few in the Yun family knew the details, but Old Madam Yun and Madam Ming were aware of them, and therefore felt immense gratitude towards Xu Zhi and even the Xu family.
Ping knew a lot about the Yun family's private affairs, partly because she had a good relationship with Ming in the past, and partly because she was a kind person and had good relationships with the wives of some merchants in Miaozhou, often chatting with them.
Miao'er saw that her mother was about to go out and originally wanted to go with her. However, this time they were going to discuss important matters, so Ping Shi did not allow it. She told the two Cuis to stay at home and take care of the children. After changing her clothes, she went to the gate and got into Xu Zhi's carriage.
Many places in Miaozhou City were paved with bluestone slabs. Some of the slabs were not very smooth, so the carriage bumped along. Ping lifted the gauze curtain on the carriage window and saw that they had passed the main north-south street in Miaozhou City and turned onto the east-west road where the Yun family lived. She whispered to Xu Zhi, "I heard that the eldest master and madam of the Yun family went to their estate near the capital to recuperate because of the hot weather. I think the eldest branch of the Yun family is not doing well. Although the eldest branch has many sons, their madam only gave birth to two daughters. As for the children born to the concubines, I guess the Yun family just gave them some money and then ignored them."
Since Xu Zhi hadn't returned after going to the capital, the second master of the Yun family had sent the eldest master and his wife to a manor in the outskirts of the capital to keep them under surveillance and prevent the people of Miaozhou from noticing. After all, the eldest master of the Yun family was a prominent figure in Miaozhou, and it wouldn't make sense to suddenly lock him up at home and prevent him from going out to socialize. Taking advantage of the second master's trip to the capital, the eldest master and his wife were brought along. The plan was to announce to the outside world that the eldest and second masters would jointly manage the Yun family's business, as the Yun family was currently a very influential family in the court.
Seeing Xu Zhi's thoughtful expression, Ping Shi whispered, "I heard my husband say that these merchant families are different from us. Some of them don't have concubines, some don't let their concubines bear children, and some do let their concubines bear children, but only give these illegitimate children a sum of money. When they come of age, they are released so that they can use that money to start their own families."
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