"Yesterday, the river flowed past my door. Today, it has stopped. I ask the river to go to the other side. The sky is blue."
That was the thought of Steward Chen and Steward Zhang.
One day. In just one day, their master and subordinate positions had undergone a great change. Both of them had mixed feelings in their hearts.
The day before yesterday, just the day before yesterday, Steward Chen felt that he had stepped on the clouds. He didn't expect that he would be kicked down and flattened. Looking at Steward Zhang's appearance and hearing what Steward Zhang said, he felt that it would be good if it was just a dream. The Zhang family was indeed worthy of their reputation.
Steward Zhang was not calm at this time. The young master was indeed the young master. He was as calm as a mountain and as swift as thunder. With the young master in charge, the two Zhuangzi didn't seem to have to worry about anything. They just had to go forward. No matter if they got into trouble or were wronged, they didn't have to be afraid. They would be safe when they returned home.
Finally, Steward Chen lowered his head and said, "Steward Zhang, I have offended you two days ago. Please be magnanimous and treat it as a dream. What do you think we should do?"
"Dream? It's fine if it's a dream. Life is a dream. When you wake up, no matter what happens, the sky is still the sky, the earth is still the earth, and people are still people. The water still can't be changed. "
Steward Zhang wouldn't let go of the water just because of Steward Chen's words. The water level was not enough for boats to sail here in the future.
Chen Gengxin came here with a group of people to tear down the dam. Seeing that the Zhang family had five times more people than them and some of them were holding crossbows, he had no choice but to suppress his thoughts. Seeing that the steward couldn't do it, he had to stand up and say to Steward Zhang:
"You must be Steward Zhang. Good, good idea. But the river doesn't seem to belong to the Wang and Ge families, right? If it's like this, the families who live on both sides of the Yellow River can change the river's course at will. "
"The Chen family's road can belong to Zhuangzi. Why can't the Wang and Ge families' river belong to them? This was Sanshui County. If the head of the Chen family was not convinced, he could go to the yamen to complain. There were more than seven hundred yamen runners in Sanshui County. Perhaps they would act impartially and arrest the Wang and Ge families.
Or Lord Chen could write a memorial to accuse my master of bullying the people and taking advantage of the water. My master is currently in the capital, and he might be arrested. Not to mention the imperial examinations, he might even be thrown into prison in Chang 'an. Oh, I forgot, Lord Chen is not an official, so he can't submit a memorial to the higher-ups.
How about this, Master Chen will personally head to the capital and report to County Magistrate Pei. If you feel that there is no way to find your way, you can look for the Registrar, who is County Magistrate Cheng of San Shui County. "
Steward Zhang was naturally not afraid of whose family the river belonged to. If the Chen family had the ability to take over the river, then why couldn't the Zhang family do the same?
Chen Gengxin also thought of this. Even if he spent money to get someone to investigate, they would definitely find out that his house was blocking the road. Thinking of this, he took a few steps forward and came to the housekeeper's side. Before anyone could react, he slapped Housekeeper Chen's face.
"It's all your fault. You took advantage of the fact that I didn't care about family matters to privately block the river and block the road. Wait and see how I deal with you when we get back."
After slapping Housekeeper Chen, Chen Gengxin turned to Steward Zhang and said, "Steward Zhang, it's my fault for not being strict enough. If I have offended you in any way, please forgive me, Steward Zhang. This water …?"
"Lord Chen, the water has been diverted, and it can't be diverted back. Lord Chen is a noble, and usually you don't have time to care about this kind of thing. It's better to let nature take its course."
Steward Zhang felt sorry for Housekeeper Chen. Look, Housekeeper Chen took advantage of the situation, but when something happened, he was used as a punching bag. It was not easy being a housekeeper.
Chen Gengxin thought that a slap would be enough, but he didn't expect the Zhang family to be so difficult to deal with. He hesitated and finally said, "Is the Zhang family's wife here? I have some cloth business to discuss with the Zhang family. The Zhang family also has a cloth business in the capital, right?
I don't have the final say in this business. There are other bigger cloth businesses. I can take this opportunity to introduce them to Mrs. Zhang. The water is not urgent. "
Steward Zhang understood as soon as he heard this. No wonder Chen Gengxin dared to lay hands on the Zhang family. It turned out that there was a person in the cloth business who was related to him. Saying this was a threat.
Steward Zhang was about to tell this matter to the Little Childe, but he suddenly remembered that the Little Childe said that he would take care of the Chen family's business alone. In this case, he couldn't ask the Little Childe for help. He thought about it and said, "Lord Chen, you don't know. The business of the shops in the capital has been bad, and they are preparing to close.
The business of the restaurant is not bad. Does Lord Chen have the help of those who run the restaurant? Then I will go back and discuss with Mrs. Zhang. I can't help with other things. "
Chen Gengxin didn't expect the Zhang family to be so stubborn. They would rather close the business than go easy on him. He frowned and thought about it, not knowing what to do.
Steward Chen, who had been slapped, finally couldn't help but stand up and say, "You Zhang family shouldn't go too far. Your family head is going to the capital to take the imperial exam. Even if the Chen family has to go bankrupt, we won't let him pass."
"Who is so powerful? To be able to take care of the imperial court's imperial exam, let me see. You must be very capable. In this case, doesn't it mean that whoever your Chen family wants to be the top scorer will be the top scorer? This Marquis doesn't know who the examiner is. Could it be that you already know? Tell me, let this Marquis take a look. "
Li Xun came over and happened to hear Steward Chen's words. He asked with a sullen face.
"Just kidding, just kidding. Little Prince, don't take it seriously. There is something wrong with Steward Chen's head. He often says the wrong things." Chen Gengxin quickly explained. At the same time, he glared at the steward. Didn't he know to look at the people around him when he spoke?
Li Xun turned around and looked at the head of the Chen family. He said, "I think there is something wrong with your head. Otherwise, why would you use this kind of steward? Why would you dare to have any ideas about the Zhang family? There are people from the cloth trade. Amazing. I wonder how much that cloth trade can help you? "
"Yes, yes, Little Prince is right. There is something wrong with his head. The cloth trade is just a business. There is no such thing as helping or not helping."
Steward Chen didn't dare to say anything about the cloth trade. His status there wasn't high. This was a critical time for the imperial exam. How could the cloth trade's people offend the Marquis for him?
"In that case, what are you still doing here? It's just the river changing its course. Which river hasn't changed its course? Don't make a fuss. Go back first. I will think of a solution with you. " Li Xun casually talked about the change of the river. He waved his hand and coaxed these people as if they were flies.
The head of the Chen family revealed a wry smile. He didn't dare to stay any longer. He said goodbye to Li Xun while leading his people back.
After the Chen family left, Steward Zhang immediately came over and asked Li Xun, "Little Prince, why are you here?"
"Is it okay if I don't come? The water on Zhuangzi has been cut off. I have to come and see where to get water. This year, the Li family is planting rice all over Zhuangzi. I want the seeds from your family. " Of course, Li Xun didn't want to tear down the dam. He planned to come here and see where he could dig a small hole. He would find someone to make a ditch.
Steward Zhang had an idea. When he heard Li Xun's words, he said, "Little Prince, there is no need to get water from here. There is a small river in front of our house. It has less water than here, but it is enough for the Li family's Zhuangzi. As long as it rains, there will be more water. Looking at the sky, it seems that there will be rain in a few days.
Little Prince, why don't you dig a river over there? The Zhang Family and Wang Family still have water from the pond and well. It will be troublesome to make a hole here. "
"That's good. I can also help the Chen family. The Chen family has more than three thousand mu of land. It's not easy." Li Xun thought for a while and said.
Steward Zhang was stunned. "Little Prince, you want to help the Chen family?"
"Of course, this Marquis won't take sides at this time. This Marquis cares for the people of the world. I will help, I must help. We can't lack water during the spring plowing. Five strings of money a day. No, that's too much. Two hundred copper coins per mu. We will split it fifty-fifty with each family.
Hmm, two hundred strings of money, one hundred copper coins per family. It will be the same every year. We can't ask for too much. One mu can produce about three dan, which is only a few hundred copper coins. If we take out two hundred copper coins, we won't have much left. But we can't give water for free, right? "
Li Xun was calculating. If he wanted to charge two hundred copper coins for one mu of water, then the Chen family would have to plant rice as well. Rice was more expensive, but if they planted other crops, they would suffer a loss. They did not use much water, and the grains they produced would not be worth more than four hundred copper coins per mu of water.
When Steward Zhang heard this, he was dumbfounded. There was a limit to the rent that the villagers paid. Even if the main family wanted more, they couldn't ask for too much. Otherwise, the villagers would starve to death. According to this amount of money, the Chen family would have to pay 60 to 70 copper coins per mu if they collected rent from the villagers normally.
If they asked for more, they would have to pay thirty to forty copper coins. If they didn't want to pay, then the farmers didn't need to live anymore. Unless they could produce the same amount of rice as the Zhang Family and Wang Family's Zhuangzi, averaging four dan per mu. If they wanted to make a fortune from farming, then it was impossible.
Especially Li Xun's last sentence, it was the same every year. In other words, the Chen Clan was losing money every year. As long as they still wanted the manor, they could forget about earning money. At most, they could just keep some food at home in case of emergency.
"Little Prince, aren't you asking for too much? If they add this money to the farmers, then they won't be able to survive. "Steward Zhang reminded him in a low voice.
"It's good that they don't want to work. My family is short of people. This Marquis cares for the common people of the world, so I can find a way for them to live. It's also fine if it's cheaper. A hundred copper coins per mu, or fifty copper coins. This Marquis also wants to open a cloth shop in the capital. It just so happens that they have a cloth shop. This Marquis cares for the common people of the world, so I can help them sell some.
Li Xun was thinking about the cloth shop. He was now helping the Zhang family and wanted to stand up for this matter.
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