Chapter 30
When Han Tusi heard Yueming was fine, his anger subsided a little. He asked Yunkai in a deep voice, "What did your brother say in the letter? Tell me carefully."
Hearing that he had to speak carefully, Li Yang pulled the letter from his sleeve, unfolded it, and read it while speaking to Han Tusi, "Yun Kai said that the Third Madam was angry with Lan Yueming because of Lan Yingde, and ordered the servants in the mansion to mistreat Lan Yueming. He drove out the two people who helped the Third Madam take the responsibility. Because the matter involved the elders of the family, he dared not hide it and sent a letter to inform his father. He told you not to worry, he will appease Lan Yueming and will not ruin your business."
Knowing that Lan Yueming was fine and Yun Kai had already taken care of the matter, Han Tusi resumed his lazy demeanor, lying back on the couch and said to Li Yang, "Okay, I got it."
He had been furious when he heard the news, but now that he knew the whole story, he acted as if it was no big deal. Li Yang asked curiously, "Is that it? We're not going back?"
Upon hearing this, Han Tusi, who had already calmed down, was about to explode again. He turned over and sat up, intending to scold Li Yang, but seeing Li Yang's genuine confusion, he lost his temper. He said with a headache, "She's just a little girl. Your brother has already taken care of it. Why do we have to go all the way back?"
Li Yang also noticed his father's impatience, and explained with an embarrassed look on his face, "I'm just worried that if Lan Yingde comes back and Lan Yueming complains to her father, what will happen if Lan Yingde feels resentful?"
Tusi Han sneered: "Those who should be punished have been punished, and those who should be expelled have been expelled. What else is Lan Yingde dissatisfied with? He is not asking me to kowtow to him and admit my mistake because of this matter."
Li Yang glared: "He dares."
Han Tusi was speechless: "That's it, what are we going back for? Let me feed that little girl medicine!"
Li Yang was worried about something happening at home, so he rushed over to tell his father as soon as he received the letter. He didn't even have a cup of tea before he was rejected. He felt really upset. The one who was confronting him was his own father, so he couldn't say anything, and his face was sullen.
Looking at his son's unhappy face, Han Tusi suddenly remembered a saying of the Han nationality, "The deeper the love, the sharper the criticism." He wondered if he was too harsh on Li Yang. In fact, there was nothing wrong with Li Yang's idea. It was just a little immature, superficial, and a little impatient.
Lan Yueming's stay at the mansion was more like a hostage than a caregiver. The transaction was so huge that if Lan Yingde became greedy, with his connections to the British, he could abscond with the money through Burma or Bangkok and no one would be able to catch him.
With Lan Yueming in the mansion, he would return the same way he left. Now that things had turned sour in the mansion, it was only natural for Li Yang to worry that Lan Yingde would become resentful and tamper with the business. But he forgot that no matter how useful Lan Yingde was, he was just an errand boy for the Tusi Mansion. The Tusi Mansion wanted to rely on him to open up business with foreigners, and Lan Yingde was also using his Burmese and Siamese relatives to pursue his own plans. Since everyone's interests were closely linked, why should he be so humble and get so nervous about the slightest thing?
This son has some ability, but lacks the shrewdness to see through the world. He still needs to be taught! The second son is much more shrewd. When he wrote this letter, he really wanted to tell him everything about the family. He was afraid that the third wife would whisper in his ear and cause trouble for him when he returned. So he just took the initiative and convicted the third wife of the crime. And although he said it lightly, just giving a few servants a light punishment and a heavy warning without touching the third wife at all, given his temper, the third wife must have suffered a loss.
Thinking of his second son's mischievous behavior, he calmed down and was in the mood to give his eldest son some advice.
He said to Li Yang, "This matter involves the harem, and it's not something a man should be involved in. The mistress will make the decision when she comes back. Instead, you go back and persuade the second son to follow Lan Yingde on the opium business."
Li Yang pondered for a moment and asked, "Dad, don't you believe in Lan Yingde?"
Chief Han rested one hand on his leg, scratched his head with the other, and said calmly, "This isn't a matter of belief or disbelief. The mining, herbal medicine, and tea businesses are numerous and diverse, and the profits are so high. We must have someone of our own to feel at ease. Your brother has studied abroad and can speak all sorts of bird languages. He would be the cheapest to follow Lan Yingde."
Li Yang knew what life was like for the horse caravan, and he felt sorry for Yun Kai. He said to the chieftain, "It would be the same if you chose two sons from the Tao family or the Feng family to do this. Why do you have to let your second brother go? He has never suffered any hardship since he was a child. How can he bear the wind and sun, food and shelter that come with following the horse caravan?"
Han Tusi was pleased with the good relationship between the two brothers. However, he also knew that there were some things that Li Yang couldn't handle alone without Yun Kai standing by. Only when Li Yang held power and Yun Kai controlled the money could Yun Xiang's position be unbreakable. Continuing with this momentum, expanding Mengquan would be a piece of cake.
He patted Li Yang on the shoulder and said, "These are family matters. Do you want him to stay out of it and entrust such an important thing to a servant? He is also a man. He is old enough to marry. How can he hide under our wings and wait for death? Is this worthy of your wife's efforts to send him abroad? When you take over my position in the future, Yun Kai will be your most capable assistant. The faster he grows, the better it will be for you."
His father would not easily change his decision. Li Yang knew that it was useless to say anything, so he could only think about going back and persuading Yun Kai.
He said to Han Tusi, "Then you continue to rest. I will go and reply to my second brother's letter first."
Tusi Han stopped him and said, "When you reply, tell him not to pay any attention to Tusi Mengding if he comes to borrow grain."
Li Yang was puzzled: "Doesn't Chieftain Mengding always borrow grain from the Tao Tou Ren? Why would he come to our mansion to borrow?"
Han Tusi hadn't had enough of his cigarettes just now, and after talking to Li Yang, he felt the urge to smoke again. He yawned and asked someone to get a new pipe. He wiped the tears from his eyes with his fingers and said to Li Yang, "I'm afraid they won't be able to borrow one this year."
"Can't borrow? Li Shengmeng's harvest was bad this year? That doesn't seem likely!" Li Yang looked at the furnishings of the Tao Mansion. To welcome them, they had just replaced the old Burmese rosewood with a new one, and the jade ornaments on the table were all exquisite. It was a scene of prosperity, not like they couldn't even borrow a few dozen dan of rice! He turned and sighed, "Why is Meng Ding Mansion so rude? They have such a large and beautiful dam, but they have to borrow grain every year. Every winter, the mansion gives them dozens of dan of grain for free, but it's not enough for them to last until the Green Crop Festival."
"Two old men were guarding a young one, and the nephew from the next room was eyeing the chieftain's position covetously. They were so scared that they had no time to care about anything else."
Knowing that the chieftain and the eldest son were discussing something, Tao Da personally handed the pipe over, lit a puff for the chieftain, and then quietly left.
The chieftain blew out a puff of smoke, feeling the refreshing sensation all over his body, and then said to Li Yang, "The quarrel between the brothers in Mengding Prefecture is a lesson. If the brothers had been united, they wouldn't have fallen into this state now."
Li Yang bowed and said, "Don't worry, my second brother and I won't do that."
Chief Han nodded and continued smoking his opium. Suddenly, an idea struck Li Yang, and he asked in surprise, "You just said that Mengding Prefecture couldn't borrow grain from Tao Tou Ren. You don't think Tao Tou Ren is going to help Lan Yueming, do you? How could that be? He doesn't like Lan Yingde."
Tusi Han nodded with satisfaction. His son's straightforwardness had finally changed.
"Lan Yueming is his closest blood relative. This old man is extremely protective of his own people. If I can't confront him directly, he'll definitely punish Meng Dingfu. And how do you know if his dislike for Lan Yingde is genuine or just a facade? Lan Yingde gave the caravan he used to use to Tao Mannu's brother, who was born to the same mother, to run salt runs. If he really hated Lan Yingde, why didn't he just chase him away, horses and all?" He gestured at the furnishings in the room. "Don't you see how much money he's saved from this caravan over the past two years?"
Li Yang asked in confusion, "But what's the point of pretending like this? What's the benefit?"
Han Tusi narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Yes! Why? What's the benefit? I don't understand it either."
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