In Xianyun Hall, stringed instruments played leisurely, and an actor in painted face was reciting an excerpt from "Four-tone Monkey: History of Crazy Drums" behind the scenes:

"Crazy boy! I'm teaching you how to play the drums, but you're talking nonsense and comparing people to animals? I have a copper hammer and an iron blade here, they're very powerful, so watch out for your tongue and teeth!"

【零零看书00kxs】At the main table, Prime Minister Xu looked at Lin Run and said with a chuckle, "You are too polite, but how dare I disobey your orders?"

Zhong Zhengji, Xu Fan and others who were talking around also shut up.

"Mr. Yuan is indeed very righteous. I will speak frankly then." Lin Run smiled with relief and said seriously:

"Susong suffers from floods every year, and the people suffer terribly. This year, there were only two ordinary storms, but they still caused more than two million mu of farmland in seven counties to be flooded, and hundreds of thousands of people were affected. If there are frequent storms next year, or even super-strong storms, I am afraid that the two prefectures and ten counties will become swamps!"

Lord Xu and others nodded, seeming to agree with it.

"Therefore, our hospital has made a firm decision to carry out overall dredging of the lower reaches of Taihu Lake this winter. By opening Taipu and Huangpu, the flood discharge capacity of Suzhou and Songjiang will be at least doubled, so that we can have a little peace of mind next year!"

Lin Run said this with a firm tone, and then he looked at Lord Xu and said, "Please help me, Mr. Yuan, and make contributions to our hometown for generations to come."

"Haha, otherwise why do I often say that it is a blessing for the people of Jiangnan to have Lin Ruoyu to govern the country." Lord Xu smiled at Zhong Zhenji, and Prefect Zhong and others also smiled and nodded in agreement.

Then Lord Xu said solemnly: "I am just a commoner. Although I can't carry anything on my shoulders or lift anything with my hands, I am still willing to cheer for the chancellor and earn a living."

Translation Translation means, don't look for me, I'm useless, I can't do anything.

"There is no need for Mr. Yuan to ask for help from the court. You just need to take the lead and withdraw some of the fields along the Wusong, Huangpu and Taipu rivers so that our court can develop water conservancy projects." Lin Run continued to talk to himself.

Behind the curtain, Hua Lian was still reciting: "This fruit is rude!"

"Oh, oh..." Elder Xu pulled his beard together and laughed awkwardly, "Don't worry, Ruoyu, I am willing to make some sacrifices for my hometown."

Then he changed the subject and said, "But I was an official away from home for many years, and I was recovering from my illness after returning home, so I don't know anything about the family. You should ask someone who knows about it some other day."

"Then may I ask, Mr. Yuan, who understands it?" Lin Run asked with a smile.

"My son should know better than me." Lord Xu said calmly. Although he is no longer in the cabinet, his ability to pass the buck has not diminished at all.

Xu Fan reluctantly took the blame and stood up to Lin Run and said with a smile: "Zhongcheng must have been tired from the journey today, so let's not talk about business, shall we? My third brother and I will make a special trip to report to Zhongcheng tomorrow."

"Yes, yes." Zhong Zhenji also smiled and said in a smooth talk: "The improvement of Taihu Lake is a great thing. We in Songjiang Prefecture will definitely cooperate with the Zhongcheng. However, with so many rivers passing through our prefecture, it will affect more than just thousands of households. It is not something that can be explained in a few words."

"There's no rush." ​​Huating County Magistrate Zheng Yue was in the same class as Mr. Zhao Er, and he was released from this hellish place immediately after the list was released. Not only the prefecture and county were in the same country, but also the Xu family, a large group of thousands of people, none of them took him seriously.

Poor, weak and helpless County Magistrate Zheng had no other choice but to be a yes-man or a lackey.

Seeing that everyone was saying this, Lin Run could only stop talking. "Okay, I'll invite you two to come and have a chat tomorrow. I'll have some advice from you."

"Okay, okay." The Xu brothers smiled on their faces, but felt sorry for their mothers in their hearts.

~~

Lord Xu was old, and Lin Run was also tired from the journey. After three rounds of drinks, everyone talked for a while and then dispersed.

Zhong Zhengji and Xu Ying sent Lin Run back to the mansion, while Xu Fan helped his old father back to "Mianfeng Pavilion" to rest.

The father and son walked on a winding waterside corridor, with lakes filled with the fragrance of lotus flowers on both sides.

The lanterns are reflected on the water, and the golden light and the starry sky complement each other, making it look like a fairyland.

Xu Fan couldn't help but break the silence. "Father, how should I reply to Mr. Lin about tomorrow's matter?"

"What do you think?" Xu Jie tapped the ground with his cane, his steps as steady as they had been in the past.

"In my humble opinion, he is the governor of Jiangnan after all. It's not easy to get him to return. We can't let him go back empty-handed."

"Haha, how much do you plan to give him?" Lord Xu smiled without comment.

"A few hundred acres is definitely not enough to get rid of him. Just get rid of him with a thousand acres, or at most two thousand acres." Xu Fan said carefully.

"Two thousand acres? It's really like a son selling his father's land without feeling sorry." Xu Jie sneered, looked up at the lights in the garden that were as bright as a sea of ​​stars, and couldn't help but sigh:

"When your grandfather was alive, he would never have thought that his eldest grandson would take out 50,000 or 60,000 taels of silver to send someone away without blinking an eye."

The fields in Songjiang are planted with cash crops, which are naturally more valuable than ordinary paddy fields. You can't even buy them at thirty taels of silver per acre.

Because all the land is in the hands of the Xu family.

As he spoke, Lord Xu sighed and began to tell his family history:

"My Xu family has been farming in the countryside of Xujiagang for generations. Your great-grandfather was poor and had many children, so they couldn't afford to support him, so they could only marry your great-grandfather into the Huang Mansion in Defengqiao, the county city, as a son-in-law."

Xu Fan was naturally well aware of this family history, and he had always been deeply ashamed of it and never allowed anyone to mention it. But since his father wanted to talk about it, he could only listen.

"Thanks to the Huang family, your grandfather was able to go to school and eventually became a county magistrate. The proudest thing about your grandfather's life was that he changed his surname back to his own before your father went to school. Otherwise, your father would have to take the imperial examination like the top scholar in Suzhou, Shen, using someone else's surname."

"It was really not easy for my grandfather." Xu Fan felt as if he were in another world.

"But if I change my surname back, the Huang family will no longer pay for your damn uncle and I to study. Your grandfather can only live frugally and save every penny. He never eats meat, never burns charcoal in winter, and never wears new clothes during the New Year. As a result, he passed away just when my father passed the imperial examination."

"I didn't see him for the last time. I only saw the six words he left for me before he died." Xu Jie wiped his eyes and said in a hoarse voice:

"Don't forget the hardships you've experienced."

"Don't forget how much hardship you've gone through?" Xu Fan repeated, ashamedly saying, "My son has indeed forgotten his roots."

"Actually, your father doesn't want you to be a miser, but you should spend the money when you need to spend it, and not spend a single penny when you don't need to spend it." Xu Jie whispered:

"We feel pain for the two thousand acres of land, but what about Lin Run? It's not even enough to repair a ditch? If we don't give up tens of thousands of acres, the problem won't be solved at all."

"That's impossible!" After all, Xu Fan is a member of the Xu family, and the virtues of diligence and thrift are engraved in his bones.

"Fifty or sixty thousand taels is the limit we can offer. If it weren't for the fact that everyone still has a bond of friendship with us, we would give this fifty or sixty thousand taels to those censors, and I guarantee they would be kicked out!" Xu Fan immediately changed his mind.

"It's good that you understand." The father and son walked to the door of Mianfeng Pavilion. When they entered, Xu Jie said calmly: "Everyone has his own value. The governor of Yingtian is worth this much. If it exceeds this, it would be overestimating one's own abilities."

In fact, fifty or sixty thousand taels is really not a small amount. In order to settle the matter, Lord Xu only gave Zhao Hao two thousand taels...

"Yes, father, don't worry." Xu Fan received the imperial decree and naturally knew what to do about this matter.

ps. Second update.