102 102 Merchants
◎It doesn't matter! If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth.◎
When the second elder of the Xue family said this, the whole audience fell silent.
Because he was too fake,
and everyone didn't know how to react. After all, although he looked very anxious, he spoke slowly and didn't look anxious at all. It
was as if he said this just to save face, and didn't mean it at all.
It's no wonder, because Xue Pan was not his real nephew, and whether he got lost or not was really not a big deal to him.
Although based on simple humanistic morality, he certainly couldn't be too cold-blooded, but in his heart, he might even wish that this kid disappeared.
If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth.
Besides, the Xue family was originally a business family, and the imperial merchant was also a business family, so their profit-seeking nature would never change.
The eldest master of the Xue family was also dishonest in this matter.
If you don't have a son, then you don't have one, but you have to learn from others to play the "cat for the prince" game... No, in a strict sense, it is "the prince for the cat".
Using a living child of another family to exchange for a dead child of your own family, this transaction is really quite a good deal.
But normally, it is women who do this kind of thing. The so-called "mother's status depends on her son" brings about a bad influence, which makes women not only have to endure the pain and danger of pregnancy and childbirth, but also have to worry about what to do if the child they give birth to is not a son...
So under the control of various fears and the drive of interests, many mothers kill or send away their own daughters in a desperate manner, and then open their hearts to the sons who are brought from nowhere.
Many people will be exposed in the process, and some will sooner or later reveal their true colors in the future. Even if they are lucky enough to hide their lives, they will still be worried every day.
I really don't know why.
I can only say that it is one of the many tragedies caused by this evil old society.
There are many reasons why women do this, but it is very rare for men to do this.
After all, men always pay more attention to blood. For children who are not their own, it is good enough not to kill them. If they want to be treated well and raised seriously, it is really impossible.
This is the case with the eldest master of the Xue family.
Although he replaced the stillborn baby born by Aunt Xue with a living baby adopted by someone else due to circumstances, he still couldn't get over it.
In particular, he originally thought it was his own problem. After all, he was in his twenties or thirties and didn't even have a child. This was really too abnormal.
After much difficulty, Aunt Xue got pregnant. Who knew that after ten months of anticipation, the baby ended up being stillborn? This really made him start to doubt if it was his own problem.
Some people are indeed unlucky with children and are destined to be childless. If that is not possible, they can only adopt a child.
But his younger brother, Second Old Master Xue, did not have many offspring either.
As for the others, forget it, none of them can fight.
The Xue family, in this generation, has no extra sons, even in the collateral line within three generations of the direct line.
Either none, or only one.
If someone only has one son, you cannot go even if you need a son, right?
That would really mean giving up all the family wealth.
Therefore, under various pressures, he chose this exciting path, and has lived a life of treading on thin ice ever since.
The most infuriating thing is that after he did this, he and Aunt Xue gave birth to a healthy Xue Baochai only two or three years later.
Although she was a girl, at least she was alive and basically healthy.
What do you mean by "heat and poison brought from the womb"?
This little problem is not a big deal. Their family has money, so they can just take the prescription to treat it.
It's such a strange and difficult prescription. As long as there is something in this world, their family has money and connections, they can buy it.
This is a true story.
Let's not talk about anything else, just say that Xue Baochai's prescription for "Lengxiang Pills" is really tortuous and tricky enough.
Just like what she said when she introduced it to others, it takes a "good luck" to put these things together. If it's not a good luck, it may take ten or eight years to put them together. By then, the person may have died. What's the point of curing the disease?
But they got the prescription and it was completed within a year. It was as if it was sent on purpose. It really makes people sigh - "This is the halo of the pig girl."
I have to say, this is really good marketing. It is
completely worthy of the nature of a businessman. It is really too good.
To him, this prescription is deliberately mysterious. It must have something like "rainwater on the day of rain" and "light snow on the day of light snow". It's just pure pretense...
Are things on the day of the solar term magical? Aren't the ingredients the same?
Chemistry breaks down feudal superstition.
No matter what day it is, just follow this recipe, mix some rainwater, snow water, various waters and various flower stamens together to make balls and eat.
It smells delicious, and it seems to be a good dessert.
At least it is pure natural.
Therefore, Xue Baochai is a child given life by God. But Xue Pan really has no chance...
No chance, no chance. In fact, as a merchant family, you can take the route of training your daughter to inherit the family business and then recruit a son-in-law.
I guess Mr. Xue has thought so too.
After all, he has placed high hopes on little Baochai from the beginning, teaching her to read and how to behave in society, and really raising her as his own son.
Even if the eldest son is useless, he would not work so hard to train his daughter.
Unless this son is not allowed.
Why not? Is there any better reason besides that he is not his biological son?
Anyway, Mo Yu feels that there is no other possibility.
Under such circumstances, Mr. Xue can either train Baochai well and find a son-in-law for her to inherit the Xue family, or he can obediently adopt a son and give the inheritance rights to this stepson.
At this time, the second elder of the Xue family also had his own sons. The eldest son was Xue Ke. Although he was one or two years younger than Bao Chai, he was a good child at first glance.
Yes, as long as he was the real blood of their Xue family, generally speaking, he could not be wrong. If you don’t believe it, look at Bao Chai, Xue Ke, and Xue Ke’s sister Bao Qin.
Even if they were all children, you could clearly see the difference.
Only Xue Pan was like a wild chicken that strayed into a flock of cranes. It was really eye-catching and ugly...
Old Master Xue was overwhelmed with grief, and his heart became more and more depressed. He soon fell ill and then died.
He didn’t even wait for him to choose a better ending. There was no ending at all.
After his death, the Xue family was without a backbone. Neither the nine-year-old Xue Pan nor the seven-year-old Baochai could support such a huge business empire of the Xue family.
Baochai was a good girl, but unfortunately she was too young.
What could a seven or eight-year-old girl do?
Not to mention that she was a little girl, even a son would not be able to do it.
As for Xue Pan, don't count on him even more.
He was not the blood of their Xue family, so isn't it natural that he would be a failure?
And the eldest wife, Aunt Xue, is even more of a problem. She is the little daughter at home and is spoiled to the sky.
After she got married, the eldest master of the Xue family also doted on her.
So she developed a character that is somewhat dependent on others - if you ask her to constantly strive for self-improvement, you might as well kill her.
Under such circumstances, it was normal for the second branch of the Xue family to come back and inherit the family business.
However, Aunt Xue was a strong mother. As a woman, she actually argued with the Xue family and defeated several elders in the family, and firmly grasped the Xue family's property.
This was probably the most glorious moment in Aunt Xue's life.
Anyway, Aunt Xue, who thought Xue Pan was her own son, became famous in one battle and snatched the Xue family's property back.
Unfortunately, even if she got it back, she couldn't keep it.
In just a few years, more than half of the Xue family's property had been destroyed. What's worse, the fact that Xue Pan was a fake was discovered...
Then the Xue family fell into panic.
Xue Pan ran away, which made the situation even worse.
In fact, Aunt Xue didn't really want to give up Xue Pan. After all, she had raised her son for twelve years, so how could she just say she didn't want him?
Unfortunately, Xue Pan was really raised too "well". Not only did he have no manners, he even tried to run away from home. He is not only a loser but also has a strong addiction to being a loser. It's really hard to say what to say about him.
He just ran away, so wouldn't the rest of the people be dumbfounded?
Especially Aunt Xue.
Originally, she vented all her resentment for the death of her own son on Xue Pan - the kind that couldn't be persuaded.
Who knew that after Xue Pan disappeared, Aunt Xue would make more noise than anyone else - she always cried and shouted to find Xue Pan back, from the time Xue Pan disappeared until the second master of the Xue family came back from other places to take over the family affairs. She was still making noise. She
simply couldn't stop.
The second master of the Xue family had no choice but to take the opportunity of going to Beijing to report on his work and take Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai with him.
The reason was ready.
First, he could take Xue Baochai to Beijing to participate in the selection of the princess's tutor - this matter was still due to Mo Yu's help. It was because he did such a good job as a tutor for the prince that the nobles in the palace, including Master Kang, wanted to choose a few tutors for the princesses.
Although the mainstream of society in this world is full of the idea of "preferring sons to daughters", there are occasionally a few "good fathers".
This is the case with Mr. Xue to Xue Baochai, and the same is true with Lin Ruhai to Lin Daiyu.
Even Master Kang, probably because he is too rich and powerful, has no problem raising a few more daughters, so he can barely count - what's wrong with being a princess?
There is food and drink, and someone to play with. Even if you find out after adulthood that you are being cultivated as a tool for marriage, it's not a loss.
So, since the princes have tutors, then the princesses must have one too, right? Then hurry up and select.
So Master Kang announced to the whole country that after the Chinese New Year, all daughters of officials who are six years old or older and less than ten years old must participate in the election.
Xue Baochai is eight years old this year, which is exactly within this range. In addition, her other qualifications are not bad, so she should have a great chance of being selected.
However, her family background is not high, and Master Kang has always been a serious person. Even when it comes to finding a study partner for his daughters, he can't just pick anyone.
Therefore, Xue Baochai's failure to be selected is a foreseeable future.
Besides, because the second elder of the Xue family inherited the position of the Xue family's royal merchant, it is even easier for him to go to the Ministry of Revenue to settle accounts.
This matter has to happen once a year, and it was originally done by the eldest elder of the Xue family.
After the eldest master of the Xue family passed away, Aunt Xue asked the old housekeeper in the family to do the job in the name of her son Xue Pan.
This time, the job finally fell on the shoulders of a real member of the Xue family, so there was no need to rush.
Therefore, calming down the emotionally broken Aunt Xue has been the focus of the second master of the Xue family's work in the past few days.
But judging from the situation just now, he didn't push it at all.
There was even a feeling that the more he pushed, the worse it got. Who else could do this?
Seeing the second master Xue say this, the scene fell into silence, which became more and more embarrassing.
Fortunately, Mrs. Wang interrupted at the right time and said, "Second Master, you are too serious. After all, this is a big matter for Third Sister. It's not that we don't care about this matter, but we really can't do anything about it even if we want to."
Although Mrs. Wang has always been a wooden person, her words can't be said to be inappropriate.
Oh, your son ran away, and it's a fake one. Where can I find him for you?
The world is so big, how can I find such a small child...
And he has been running away for so many days, maybe he has already...
However, when I saw Aunt Xue's current situation, I couldn't say these words at all - not only did I not have the heart to do it, but it was obvious that even if I said it now, it would be useless.
I understand the reason, but it still can't solve the problem.
After all, Aunt Xue's crying skills are really amazing. Although
the second master Xue was very troubled, Mrs. Wang was also at a loss. Even when Jia Min came in with little Daiyu and Mo Yu, they only said a few simple polite words and had no time to welcome them warmly.
The main thing is that Aunt Xue is still crying there.
What else can be done?
Jia Min was very calm, and did not blindly step forward to persuade, but just watched from the side.
Mo Yu watched and couldn't help wanting to eat melon again.
After all, there is no such plot in the original novel of this world.
"The real and fake young master"!
What an old-fashioned melon-like cliché is this?
In this case, it would be a waste if we don't eat the melon up close.
Mo Yu sat down in his seat, watching secretly and watching the show quietly.
[Emma, Aunt Xue, are you really crying? Be careful not to get wrinkles on your face. You will look older than your second sister, Madam Wang.]
Mo Yu never expected that he would think of Aunt Xue's "fatal spot" when he just thought about it casually - even at this age, everyone loves beauty.
Hearing that crying will make you look old, even though she knew it was just a naive idea of a child, Aunt Xue couldn't help but stop crying.
Mo Yu was still unaware of this, but the second elder of the Xue family suddenly brightened up and asked Mo Yu directly: "Is this the little boy of the Lin family? He is really good-looking and smart, and he is really the envy of others."
Jia Min had to be humble and polite to him, and turned around to see the child beside him.
The child was only about ten years old. Although he was not very old, he was very good-looking, with a face like a crescent moon, delicate eyebrows and eyes, and he was really a handsome boy.
Not to mention, he really looked like a family member with Xue Baochai who was standing not far away.
Xue Baochai was accompanied by Xue Ke's sister Xue Baoqin. This Baoqin sister was about the same age as Mo Yu, and she looked like a doll.
She is definitely a beauty, and who knows how beautiful she will be in the future.
The key is that the child is smart and clever. She is not afraid of her cousin who is four or five years older than her. On the contrary, she often stumps Xue Baochai with questions.
In short, everyone was having a good time at the scene. Some were crying, some were contented, some were anxious, and some were fidgeting. It was really a mixed bag of life, but Mo Yu just wanted to eat melons.
He was like a civet that fell into a melon field, and was overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of a large field of melons.
Aunt Xue herself is a very interesting character. Whether it was marrying into the Xue family or being a widow at a young age, it was simply a comedy that looked like a tragedy. 】
【Her husband, the eldest master Xue, was able to do such a thing as "confusing the bloodline", so I think he is not a good person. Fortunately, the second master of the Xue family is still reliable. 】
【Huh? Aunt Xue is almost ten years younger than the eldest master of the Xue family. In fact, she wanted to find
a marriage for the second master of the Xue family at the beginning? 】 【That's right, whose youngest daughter is directly paired with the eldest son? Although the status of the Wang family is higher than that of the Xue family, it is only a little higher. 】
【The order of the four families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue, according to the comprehensive strength ranking at that time, must be the third of the Wang family and the fourth of the Xue family. 】
【Therefore, the Wang family's marriage to the Xue family is definitely considered a marriage of inferiority, so of course they have to choose a eldest son. 】
【Fortunately, Master Xue was always busy with business and didn't get married too early. Even though he had one or two concubines, he didn't have any children, which was a plus point when discussing marriage. 】 【
In short, in the end, the youngest daughter of the Wang family married the eldest son of the Xue family, and the matter came to a temporary end. 】
【Everything could have been peaceful, but Aunt Xue suddenly saw the second master of the Xue family one day...】
【So... she fell in love with him at first sight...】
【It's natural for a talented man and a beautiful woman to fall in love at first sight. I just wish they had met before they got married. It's a pity that fate played a trick on them, and they missed each other like this. 】
This paragraph was copied by Mo Yu from System 006 without any changes.
After all, this kind of thing is more like a "fiction" than a historical record, but in today's world, "fiction" is more attractive.
[It turns out that it's not just the Jia family that raises a younger brother-in-law, the Xue family does the same? ]
The story pushed to him by System 006 was so melodramatic and erotic that Mo Yu simply couldn't bear to look at it directly.
But what he didn't know was that there were more people outside, eager for him to think about it quickly...
Please, the melodramatic gossip
of the marquis's family! The explosive relationship between the sister-in-law and the younger brother-in-law!
Who wouldn't want to know what happened?
Unfortunately, Mo Yu is Mo Yu, and he has his own ideas in his head - anyway, as he thought about it, he didn't know what he was thinking about.
There was no need to think about Xue Baochai entering the palace to participate in the selection of the princess's tutor.
Just skip these official duties and get to the point.
[So these people are crying here, but no one has asked the basic situation clearly?]
While Mo Yu was thinking, Madam Wang had already asked first - good guy, does she know how to answer first?
"Where did Xue Pan go missing?"
Madam Wang pretended to be calm and asked the second master Xue directly.
The second master of the Xue family was also a smart man. He immediately told the details of Xue Pan's disappearance.
It turned out that Xue Pan was spoiled by Aunt Xue since he was a child. After suddenly knowing that he was not Aunt Xue's biological son, his mentality was a little exploded.
Originally, he just exploded like this, and then slowly recovered, which would be fine.
But Aunt Xue was too devastated.
Then Xue Pan also broke down.
He left a note saying that he was going to find out his origins and left. It
was really unrestrained, but also very infuriating.
Aunt Xue was angry for a while, and then she started to get anxious.
It's true that this method is quite effective, otherwise Aunt Xue would still be there cursing.
Now he became anxious again.
If Xue Pan was really found at this time, his past deeds could be written off.
How great is that.
Of course, the premise is that Xue Pan can be found.
If he can't be found...
Mo Yu said that he didn't dare to think about it.
In this chaos, Mo Yu suddenly heard the prompt sound of System 006 going online, and a weak sentence: "Host, I know where Xue Pan is."
[Author's words]
It will be refined later.
Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution between 2024-02-20 23:57:22~2024-02-21 23:18:09~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 2 bottles of plum green tea;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!