Boss Liu's name was Liu Qing. He was in his thirties, with a dark complexion and a sturdy build. Dressed in a cotton robe, he looked more like a country boy than a wealthy businessman.
The Liu family used to be in the business of mountain products and local produce, and they had accumulated a lot of wealth by working in the mountains and farming.
Later, Liu Qing's younger brother Liu Mu also passed the imperial examination and the Liu family spent all their wealth to pave the way for Liu Mu. Liu Qing also moved his family to the capital to arrange his younger brother's marriage and build a family business.
Later, Liu Mu was sent to serve as an official in the countryside, and now he is the prefect of Huzhou. Liu Qing is also tired of doing business in Beijing, and he still likes to farm and run around in the countryside and sell some mountain products.
After discussing it, the two brothers decided to dispose of all the businesses in the capital and let Liu Qing return to his hometown to live a stable life.
In Liu Qing's words, there are too many cunning people in the capital, and his life is too tiring.
Lin Wuchen instructed the people around him to hand over the gift, and said with a smile, "I heard that your house was sold. I thought you were leaving soon. Please don't despise this little bit of Beijing custom. It's a small token of my appreciation."
Liu Qing gave a bitter laugh, "Where did you get this information, Third Young Master? My house hasn't been sold yet. There have been quite a few people looking at it, but not many are willing to offer the starting price."
The two exchanged greetings as they entered the hall. Liu Qing ordered someone to bring in tea and invited Lin Wuchen to sit down.
"Third Young Master, who told you that I've sold this house? I'd like to sell it, but it's not easy to do. I've made up my mind to leave it here for now. If my younger brother returns to the capital to take up an official post, he'll have a place to stay."
The Liu family was not in a hurry to use the money. They wanted to sell it because Huzhou was far away from the capital due to the high mountains and long roads, and they needed to leave someone here to take care of it.
Coming from the countryside, they felt it was a bit of a waste to just leave the house empty and pay someone to look after it. It would be better to sell it sooner rather than later, as the money would be real.
But yesterday he received a letter from his brother Liu Mu, saying that his mother was not feeling well, so he decided not to sell it for now and to deal with it later.
Lin Wuchen casually replied, "I also heard someone say yesterday that it was sold to General Chen."
Liu Qing shook his head. "Is the Third Young Master talking about General Chen who follows the Li family? He actually came to ask, but my asking price was too high and he didn't have the money."
"Several other officials have asked about this, and it all comes down to the same reason." He then jokingly said, "The officials in the capital are much more reasonable than those in our small towns. They don't use their power to force purchases or sales."
Lin Wuchen smiled, "How can you be so unreasonable under the emperor's feet?"
Inwardly, he thought, this was because the Liu family had a prefect. Although the position was low, it still held real power. Moreover, Liu Mu's mentor was Zhang Zhongliang, an assistant minister in the cabinet. Who in the capital would dare to openly humiliate the Liu family?
If it were a small merchant with no power or influence, it would be hard to say.
Lin Wuchen asked again, "Boss Liu, how much can General Chen offer? To be honest, Boss Liu, he once helped the Lin family when he was in the Northern Frontier. I thought if the difference is not too big, why not I pay for him, as a favor."
"As businessmen, we're not afraid of owing money, but what we fear most is owing favors to others."
Liu Qing agreed deeply with Lin Wuchen's words. Not to mention a big business like the Lin family, even when he was in the countryside, what he feared most was owing favors to others.
But after hearing Lin Wuchen's words, Liu Qing still looked embarrassed, "Third Young Master, if you want to repay the favor, I'm afraid you have to think of another way."
Lin Wuchen was stunned. "What do you mean, Boss Liu? Do you really not want to sell it even if I pay you?"
If the Liu family refused to sell, this would be a difficult matter. Chen Ping looked at many houses and chose this one. It would be difficult to find a suitable one for Chen Ping.
Liu Qing shook his head. "That's not what I meant. It's just that the money General Chen is short of is really... a bit too much."
Lin Wuchen said readily, "Boss Liu, tell me how much it is. Since my Lin family wants to repay a favor, we can afford a little more money."
He thought that since Chen Ping dared to look at such a nice house outside, he must have paid more than ten thousand taels of silver. He would at most give him another ten thousand taels.
Ten thousand taels of silver made Li Chaoyun infamous, but it was well worth it.
He calmly picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Then Liu Qing said, "General Chen only has five thousand taels of silver, and he still needs twenty thousand taels."
Lin Wuchen almost spit out the tea in his mouth, but fortunately he reacted quickly and finally swallowed it hard.
"He only has five thousand taels of silver, and he dares to look at your house?"
In fact, Chen Ping was just a small general, and 5,000 taels of silver was already a lot. This was because he was valued by Li Yunsi, had great power and was rewarded a lot.
Liu Qing said helplessly, "So I say, you should repay this favor another way."
Lin Wuchen pondered for a moment, then made up his mind. Twenty thousand taels is twenty thousand taels. As long as the matter can be accomplished, spending an extra twenty thousand taels is worth it.
"Boss Liu, I paid 20,000 taels of silver for this house on behalf of General Chen. I've thought about it and decided that as businessmen, we should still value integrity. We should repay a drop of kindness with a spring of gratitude."
Liu Qing was obviously a little surprised. "Is what the Third Young Master said true? You want to pay 20,000 taels of silver for General Chen? Then I will send someone to tell General Chen right away."
He also had good intentions. The Lin family paid money on behalf of General Chen to repay a favor, so of course he had to tell General Chen.
Upon hearing this, Lin Wuchen hurriedly said, "Boss Liu, please don't mention me. Just find an excuse to lower the price."
Seeing Liu Qing's puzzled expression, Lin Wuchen continued, "Actually, I consulted a fortune teller, who said that such things cannot be done deliberately. What I did is called unobstructed merit in Buddhism, and I will be blessed by the Buddha. I did this to clear my conscience, so there's no need to let General Chen know."
Liu Qing suddenly understood and said with a smile, "The Third Young Master is the one who has foresight. I will listen to him."
Then he asked with an embarrassed look on his face, "Then according to what Third Young Master said, what reason should I come up with? Reducing the price from 25,000 taels to 5,000 taels doesn't make sense."
If he were Chen Ping, he would not dare to buy in this situation.
Lin Wuchen's eyes flickered, and he spoke mysteriously, "Why don't you just do me a favor, Boss Liu? Maybe you can even pave the way for Prefect Liu in advance."
Liu Qing didn't know much about the twists and turns of officialdom, so after hearing what Lin Wuchen said, he spoke humbly.
"Please explain clearly, Third Young Master. I am a rough man and I don't quite understand what you mean."
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