Chapter 157 Volume B “Experiment”

 Feng Ziying never had much hope for Jiayu Village.

　　People of different ways do not want to conspire with each other, but this does not mean that they have to be hostile to each other. In some cases, this person can even be exploited.

This society is either friends or enemies, and the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty is even less likely to be like this. It is more like just sitting on the sidelines and watching the changes in the situation.

The magistrate or prefect of Yingtian Prefecture is a very powerful person. It is not clear what Wang Ziteng's intentions are. Using this position to win over Jia Yucun shows two aspects. First, Wang Ziteng is indeed interested in strengthening his own camp, and second, he really does not have any. How many scholars and civil servants can be used, otherwise it is impossible for people like Jia Yucun who are greedy, cruel and partial to be reused by him.

This is a natural shortcoming of nobles. Unless you can pass the Jinshi exam and completely change your own attributes, no matter what position you get, this deadlock will not be solved.

Of course you can sit in the position of emperor, but that is another matter. Zhao Kuangyin and Zhu Yuanzhang have all changed their original attributes, and the same is true for Taizu Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Feng Ziying has not seriously thought about what her future will be like. It is too far away. She wants to lead Zhou Dynasty to defeat the Tatars and Jurchens, annihilate Japanese pirates, and make Zhou Dynasty the overlord of East Asia. In ten or even twenty years, she may not be able to do that yet. Qualification can only be positioned as a distant ideal goal.

But the goals in the near and mid-term are indeed very clear. The first is to avoid being involved in the Tian family's fight for the throne, which is a disaster. If you are not careful, you will die and the family will be destroyed. The second is to study and become an official, and completely get rid of the shortcomings of Wu Xun's family. Restricted, became the most respected and popular line of civil servants in the Zhou Dynasty.

Now that he has a certain foundation, Qingtan Academy can provide him with sufficient support. At the same time, some changes that the court will promote in the autumn and spring examinations can also make his advantages more prominent, which can make up for it to a large extent. My own shortcomings in the foundation of classics and meanings.

 In the final analysis, I still have to study. After this spring break, I am afraid that I will have another year of hard study.

 Back home, Ruixiang brought him a message: Sister Lin was restless again and wanted to meet.

Thinking of this, Feng Ziying got a headache. Didn't she agree to choose a date during the spring break? There are only two days until the Chinese New Year.

“Sir, Second Master Lian and Second Master Bao both knew that you were back and sent messages. In addition, it seems that the master also received a message from the Rongguo government official, saying that he hoped you would have time to visit the government.”

"Master Zheng sent you a post?" Of course it was impossible for Jia Zheng to send him a post directly, but the person who sent the post must have left a message asking him to go to Jia's house and walk around.

This must have nothing to do with other things, it can only be related to Jia Baoyu's study.

It is estimated that the grand event of the Northern and Southern Scholars at Qingtan Academy made Jia Zheng feel a huge shock. Seeing the influence of this scholarly atmosphere on the entire capital city, he also felt that Jia Baoyu probably still had hope of reading. , so I want to find out about it myself.

 But can this be compared?

Although Feng Ziying is not optimistic about Jia Baoyu's ability to read, Feng Ziying does not have much hostility towards Jia Baoyu.

No one bothers Miss Lin much anymore, so there is no longer any grudge. Don't you have this in mind too?

 Isn’t this good?

While thinking about it, Ruixiang added: "In addition, Third Master Duan has returned from Shandong. I told you to go to my wife's place when you come back."

 Cousin is back? So fast?

It seems that the Xue family is not slow either.

 Feng Ziying nodded: "I understand."

  ************

From the moment he first learned that this business was promoted by his little cousin, Duan Xigui began to observe, understand and ponder carefully.

 It is necessary to think about people as well as making a living.

The little cousin is only thirteen years old, and he actually intends to take over the Feng family's business. This surprises Duan Xigui, and it seems that his uncle and two aunts actually nodded.

The uncle doesn't care much about these things, and the eldest aunt is careless and doesn't care much about the details. The main thing is that her own aunt, Xiao Duan, takes care of the details, but no matter how close an aunt is, she can't compare to someone else's son. .

This cousin was raised by my younger aunt. On the contrary, my eldest aunt did not take care of me much when she was a child, so my cousin has always been very close to my younger aunt.

Duan Xigui couldn't figure out how to start such a big business at first, so when he was initially arranged to go to Shandong, he was not very happy, especially the partnership business. If it fails, it's your own responsibility.

But when the aunt explained the specific situation and said that her cousin asked her to go, Duan Xigui realized that she was letting him go in order to show that she was trustworthy to the Duan family, otherwise it would not be his turn at all.

After this trip to Shandong, Duan Xigui completely understood a lot. The Xue family has such a big business, but they are willing to cooperate with the Feng family. Although the Feng family has connections in Shandong, it is said that it was the Xue family who approved it in the first place. My cousin came up with some business ideas, otherwise the Xue family would not dare to head north rashly.

When Feng Ziying stepped into the room, Duan Xigui stood up and said, "Brother Keng is here."

"My cousin is back. I'm afraid this trip has been hard, right?" Feng Ziying first met her mother and aunt, and then greeted her cousin, "Hurry up and sit down, we are all a family, why are you so polite?"

That's what he said, but Duan Xigui didn't dare to be casual. It seemed that he hadn't seen him for more than a month. He felt that this cousin seemed to be a little different again, but he couldn't tell what was different.

No wonder Qingtan Academy has such a great reputation and everyone wants to go there. Looking at how long my cousin has been there, he feels a bit like a completely different person.

"Brother Keng, Xigui is back. Things in Linqing are going quite smoothly. The Xue family does have some background and can provide a lot of help in all aspects, so Xigui said that it is estimated that in March and April You can open the business." Mrs. Duan motioned to her son to sit at her house and start. The vacant seat belongs to Feng Tang. If Feng Tang doesn't come, the seat will remain vacant.

"Oh? It looks like it's beyond my expectation. Cousin, there's nothing wrong with the Xue family, right?" Feng Ziying sat down casually, "Then the Xue family is not simple either. His daughter was promised to the Hanlin Academy for review, but Both parties are young, so they are holding off. Mei Hanlin has just been given a review, and the future is promising."

"How come I haven't heard from you about this relationship before?" Duan frowned.

“My son didn’t know it before, but he only learned about it today from Mr. Jia.”

Feng Ziying's memory is a little fuzzy. Xue Baoqin and Mei Hanlin's son were engaged, but there was no explanation of whether they got married in the end. It seems that Mei Hanlin didn't do well in life after that. What happened was not mentioned in the book "Dream of Red Mansions" , at least this didn’t happen in the first eighty episodes.

 “The legitimate son of Hanlin promised this marriage?” Xiao Duan didn’t seem to believe it.

How can this be? The reputation of a scholar is as big as the sky, how could he agree to such a marriage?

Besides, the Xue family was an official in their ancestors, but now it has declined. You said that the eldest brother still has the Wang family to rely on, and the second brother is almost a pure merchant family, so what about the royal merchants? It's nothing more than having thicker connections and a few more taels of money at home.

 “I don’t know this.” Feng Ziying was stunned.

In this case, he didn't ask any more questions. Originally, he didn't care that much about the distinction between direct concubines and concubines, and it had nothing to do with him. Why would he ask about the distinction between direct concubines and concubines?

But people in this era are different. The distinction between direct descendants and concubines is deeply rooted. To put it bluntly, even if Su and Xie give birth to a son, if they want to compare with Feng Ziying, they can’t even think about it. Look. How big the difference is between Jia Baoyu and Jia Huan, you can understand the gap between them.

Even if Xiao Duan, who is a concubine, gives birth to a son, it will still be one level behind Feng Ziying. Unless Feng Ziying dies, other people will not be able to think about it.

"It makes sense if he is a concubine." Mr. Duan nodded. If he is a concubine, his influence is limited, and the Xue family has limited leverage. "Sanlang, please tell Brother Keng about the situation there. He is Always in my heart.”

Duan Xigui has a somewhat high opinion of his cousin's status.

The eldest aunt had been unwilling to listen to her about the business situation in Linqing before. She insisted on waiting until her cousin came back. I was a little dissatisfied with it, but now it seems that the eldest aunt is determined to hand over the business to her cousin. , but doesn’t my cousin want to study? Why do you have to take care of these businesses again?

"Cousin, don't be confused. I got this job from my mother in every possible way, so my mother simply let it go. However, I want to study and I really don't have much energy to interfere, so I asked my mother and aunt for the reason. My cousin will take charge. I also explained the specific situation to my cousin last time. My father will go to Shandong in the next year to make some preparations for our Feng family's future business in Shandong. Cousin, please tell me the situation first. "

 Feng Ziying sat down, without unnecessary nonsense, but also polite and respectful, but her attitude was unquestionable.

Duan Xigui also solemnly took out some account books and records he had brought with him and began to report on the specific situation of setting up jewelry shops in Linqing to make a living.

Feng Ziying has been carefully observing the performance of her cousin. He is less than thirty years old, has a flexible mind, is receptive to new things, and is also very careful and conscientious in his work. Otherwise, the Duan family would have a lot of descendants and concubines, and they would want to Anyone who comes to Feng's house to ask for a living is like a crucian carp crossing the river, and they will not choose him.

As for loyalty, Feng Ziying thinks it's a bit ridiculous. Everything must be conditional. If you ask people to be loyal, it also depends on the conditions you offer them. Based on current observation, Duan Xigui is not the kind of greedy person. , I can be considered pragmatic and serious in doing things. The key is to have a good brain and be able to accept some of my seemingly unreasonable arrangements. This is enough.

After listening quietly to Duan Xigui's report, Feng Ziying nodded, "My cousin and I will discuss some specific issues later. How did my cousin do with the things I arranged?"

Duan Xigui couldn't help but frown when he mentioned this matter, but seeing his cousin's firm eyes, he knew that this matter was beyond doubt.

He even suspected that the reason why his cousin suddenly wanted to start this jewelry business was to conduct his so-called "experiment".

 (End of this chapter)