The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 30: Decency and Rules

Jia Zhen came in, exchanged greetings, and after sitting down, he did not wait for Xue Pan to come over and asked directly:
"Uncle invited a few of us here today, I wonder what it is for?"

As he spoke, he glanced smugly at Zhan Ershisi standing next to him. The look in his eyes was like a demonstration and made people laugh.

Zhan Ershisi sat there calmly, sipping his tea leisurely, as if he didn't see his gaze.

Sure enough, Shi Nai said with a smile on his face:
"I have agreed with my nephew Nian Si that the Shi family will invest and buy out the Zhan family's shares in the honeycomb coal business."

"I invited my nephew Zhen and Wenlong here this time because I want you to be witnesses together!"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Jia Zhen's face suddenly froze.

The people of the Qing Dynasty always pay attention to leaving space when doing things. Many things can only be understood but not expressed in words. It is impossible for two masters of status to sit together and discuss the division of the spoils, right?
So although the purpose of this banquet was not explicitly stated, Jia Zhen had already understood it and was ready to join forces with the historians to put pressure on them and divide the benefits.

But now he suddenly discovered that Shi Nai had made peace with Zhan Ershisi in private, intending to swallow all the benefits in one gulp!
That won’t do!

Although he is also doing such despicable things, just because he does it doesn't mean he can accept others doing it too!

Who isn't a double standard dog!

"No way! Those are my shares, how can you swallow them up!"

Jia Zhen was so angry that he no longer cared about his dignity and started talking without thinking.

After hearing this, Shi Nai's face turned gloomy.

Although what he did was indeed a bit unkind, this kind of thing happens every day in powerful families. Everyone uses their own methods, and whoever has the better methods will reap the benefits, while the loser should exit gracefully and get a favor in return.

Since Shi Nai had implicated Jia Zhen, he couldn't let him run around in vain. Even if Jia Zhen didn't play any role in this matter, he had to give him some compensation, which could be regarded as an appearance fee, or compensation for the expected benefits that were not obtained.

Shi Nai was not ignorant of the rules. He would definitely make up for the favor he showed Jia Zhen today in other ways in the future.

These are all unspoken rules. Everyone keeps their dignity and doesn't fall out with each other, nor does the loser get nothing.

If the relationship is ruined and there is no dignity left, then one has to talk coldly about benefits. If one haggles over every penny, the loser will end up losing more than he gains, and may even lose favors!
Just like Zhan Ershisi, knowing that he could not keep his shares, he might as well give them up in exchange for the protection and goodwill of the historians.

Shi Nai knew that Zhan 24 sold his shares under pressure, and Zhan 24 also knew that the Shi family was robbing him by force, but both families pretended to be stupid and instead created an appearance of friendship, closeness and harmony.

Both families gained a good reputation, the historian made a lot of money, and Zhan 24 did not lose too much.

That's decency!
The historians were happy to have long-term relationships with businessmen who could bring benefits to their family and who knew the rules. Naturally, they did not mind if the businessmen borrowed their reputation to solve problems and gain more profits.

As long as this chain of interest transfer continues, the relationship between the two families will become closer.

This is what it means to know the rules!

The rules of collusion between officials and businessmen in China!
But what Jia Zhen is doing now is somewhat against the rules.

"Ahem!" Shi Nai coughed dryly, with a hint of warning in his tone, "Nephew Zhen, you misheard. The Shi family purchased the shares of the Zhan family, not the shares of the Ningguo Mansion."

Zhan Ershi also chimed in, "Brother Zhen, our honeycomb coal business has had a huge negative impact on the Shi family coal yard, and has seriously damaged the Shi family's profits."

"I was not thoughtful enough when I started this business. I feel ashamed of Uncle Shi's kindness, so I am willing to transfer my shares to Uncle Shi at a low price as an apology."

"Brother Zhen has never been involved in the operation of this business, so it is normal for him not to know about it."

"Brother Zhizhen has always been a man of integrity. He must feel guilty knowing this. However, since I have already transferred my shares, I don't need to transfer Ningguo Mansion's shares."

After hearing what Zhan Ershisi said, Shi Nai became more and more satisfied with this sensible nephew.

Look, the ladder leading down the stairs has been handed to Jia Zhen. He is so sensible!
"That's right, nephew Nian Sixian's words make sense." Shi Nai stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, "Originally, I didn't want to take this share, but nephew Nian Sixian insisted on giving it to me, so I had to accept it reluctantly."

Zhan Ershisi then advised:
"This coal yard business is not owned by my uncle's family, but by all the Shi family members. How can I, your nephew, put Uncle Shi in an unjust position out of my own selfish interests?"

"These shares must be transferred today!"

Seeing the two of them performing the tricks of Chang Hui You Shun in front of him, Jia Zhen was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

In Shi Nai's ears, it was just some words from the step, but to him, it was clearly someone making fun of him and squeezing him!

No wonder this guy refused to meet up at the mansion and ran here early. It turned out that he had this evil idea.

When he saw the mischievous smile on Zhan Twenty-four's face, Jia Zhen's heart suddenly felt like it was exploding.

He originally thought that the card in his hand was a royal flush, but who knew that he had no chance of playing the card at all.

Even if he threw out his cards now, it would be useless and the news would leak out instead.

Because this was something that Fengjie had asked him to do privately, and the people in the Xue family were unaware of it.

If he put pressure on him privately, Zhan Ershisi might even think that the Xue family wanted to cancel the engagement and asked him, Jia Zhen, to speak up for them!
When everything went smoothly, Zhan Ershisi obediently lowered his head and took the initiative to cancel the engagement. The Xue family was kept in the dark and cancelled the engagement in a daze. This was exactly what Fengjie wanted to achieve.

If the situation gets out of hand, it will be embarrassing for everyone.

Besides, even if he threw out this card, would it be useful?
Is it possible that Shi Nai would spit out the meat in his mouth because of this?
After figuring it out, Jia Zhen became even angrier. He slammed the table and left in anger.

Shi Nai frowned immediately, feeling unhappy, and snorted angrily:
"That's unreasonable!"

"Nephew Zhen is becoming more and more outrageous now. He has lost all his demeanor as our grandfather."

Zhan Ershisi smiled and gave a few words of advice, and soon Xue Pan also arrived.

Since Zhan Ershi's shares were already in his hands and Jia Zhen had run away, Shi Nai could not take action against the Xue family again, so he stopped talking about it and only asked him to be a witness to sign the share transfer agreement, and then held a banquet and drank heavily.

Everyone was having a great time drinking at the banquet when suddenly someone came in with news that Wu Sihai, the Xue family's chief steward, had come to report a message.

Shi Nai ordered someone to come in. As soon as Wu Sihai came in, he shouted:
"Master, this is bad. Shopkeeper Xue Zhong led people to the dock to pick up spices, but they were kidnapped along with the goods!"

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(End of this chapter)