November of the second year of the Zheng Guang era.
A major event has occurred in the Cheng family, the richest family in Beijing.
The old patriarch of the Cheng family claimed that he was old and frail and had little time left to live, so he was willing to step down and hand over the position of patriarch to the younger generation of the family.
The new clan leader is Cheng Tingrui's uncle.
His name is Cheng Jihai.
Cheng Tingrui calls him Uncle.
Cheng Jihai was originally a scholar who buried himself in books for most of his life and barely managed to earn the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).
After passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, he knew he could never achieve greater success, so he became a teacher at the clan school to support his family.
This person is usually very careful and cautious, and dares not do anything out of line.
After school that day, he was suddenly surrounded at home by a group of his clansmen.
The person in the lead was none other than Cheng Tingrui, the most dazzling business genius in the Cheng family.
Cheng Jihai was completely baffled.
"Nephew Tingrui? What brings you here?"
Cheng Tingrui stepped forward slowly and said respectfully, "Uncle, the people in the clan often say that you read the books of the sages, are of upright character, never form cliques or show favoritism, and have never made enemies or suppressed the clan members. You are kind and generous, and have never spoken ill of others behind their backs. Therefore, everyone unanimously recommends you as the new clan leader to uphold justice for our Cheng clan."
Cheng Jihai was stunned.
He said he had never made enemies and had never uttered a single harsh word...
That's true.
However, this wasn't because he read Confucian classics or was kind or anything, but because he was... a coward...
He was a rather timid person since childhood. It wasn't until he finally passed the imperial examination and became a scholar that his clansmen looked up to him, and only then did his personality harden a bit.
But it's only one point.
That's the most I can have.
She goes between school and home every day, maintaining a very regular schedule.
Life was also very simple and boring.
He teaches, goes home to have dinner with his wife, reads some leisure books in the evening, and goes to bed early to rest.
Life was as calm as a stagnant pool, without even a ripple.
Life has changed more than the wrinkles on my wife's face.
Now a huge crowd has gathered around him, wanting him to be the clan leader?
“Nephew, I’m afraid… I’m not suitable. I know nothing about clan affairs; I’m not cut out to be the clan leader!”
Cheng Tingrui smiled slightly: "Uncle, please don't refuse. Everyone knows your character and admires your conduct. No one else would be so highly regarded. As for managing clan affairs, you don't need to worry. I will help you with everything. I will send someone to guide you through the various tasks."
Cheng Jihai is easily swayed and doesn't know how to refuse.
In addition, Cheng Tingrui was very eloquent, and after some persuasion, Cheng Jihai was tricked into becoming the clan leader.
The first thing I did after becoming the clan chief was to accept Cheng Tingrui's appeal.
Cheng Tingrui is a child with a hard life.
As the direct heir of the Cheng family, he did not have a smooth childhood.
He ranked second among the direct heirs of the Cheng family.
The eldest one in the row is the eldest uncle's son, a good-for-nothing playboy.
His mother died early, and he was raised by a wet nurse.
His father, Cheng Jiduo, also had a talent for business and was the manager of a Cheng family business.
However, he died young, while doing business in a foreign land.
That year, Cheng Tingrui was only ten years old.
When the father's coffin was brought back, all his belongings were gone.
The head of the Cheng clan said that all profits from business were clan property and would be confiscated.
A loyal servant of his father secretly told him that Cheng Jiduo had accumulated a private fortune over many years, which he intended to leave to Cheng Tingrui.
This private property was stored in Fuheng Money Exchange, and could be withdrawn with the personal seal.
However, when Cheng Jiduo passed away, the receipts for this private property were also seized and confiscated by the clan.
Cheng Tingrui was young then, and although he wanted to, he was powerless to get it back.
After enduring so many years, they finally spoke up to appeal after Cheng Jihai succeeded as clan leader.
Cheng Jihai had a headache.
Why did such a troublesome thing have to fall on my head?
Is this because you think you have a soft personality?
When Cheng Tingrui appealed, dozens of his clansmen came to the home of the new clan leader, Cheng Jihai, to speak on his behalf.
Everyone says that Cheng Tingrui is a pitiful child, having no parents. Our clan has always been compassionate towards the elderly and the young, so we'll just return the money that belongs to that family.
Cheng Jihai is easily influenced.
Moreover, dozens of people said so, so a solid ladder was set up for him. How could he not climb down it?
He came down.
I checked the clan's old accounts and asked the elders in the clan.
Finally, it was discovered that Cheng Jiduo's private property documents were still intact.
Why is it still there?
Because they tried to withdraw money using Cheng Jiduo's personal seal, but failed.
The money exchange said the seal didn't match.
It turns out that Cheng Jiduo did not use his own personal seal when he deposited the money.
They secretly searched through the house where Cheng Jiduo had lived, but found no other seals.
Therefore, this ticket can only be left idle in the warehouse.
It's useless to leave it idle, so I might as well do this favor.
The new clan chief was kind-hearted and generously returned the private property receipt to Cheng Tingrui's father.
Cheng Tingrui held the carved wooden box containing the receipts, his expression calm.
This was something he desperately wanted.
Nowadays, it's not really necessary.
However, since it is his father's heirloom, keeping it is a way to remember him.
He could hardly remember what his father looked like.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
