Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 47: Does the Wan Hua Lou earn more?
He Qing is just a county magistrate; how could such a thing possibly be in his private hands?
He said, "No!"

Zhang Qi took out several silver notes and stuffed them into his hand without saying a word.

He Qing said, "What are you doing? The imperial envoy is still in Shawan!"

Zhang Qi then tucked the silver note into his waistband, saying, "Please, sir, do me this favor!"

He Qing declined repeatedly, but finally couldn't refuse their hospitality. He changed his clothes and had Zhang Qi disguise himself as his servant before heading to the yamen.

As a county magistrate, it wasn't difficult for him to enter and leave the government office at night.

The government maps couldn't be taken back, but everyone still had their own. Upon entering the office, He Qing pulled out a map.

Zhang Qi quickly unfolded the drawing, and upon seeing it, sweat broke out on his back again. This drawing was exactly the same as the one that Young Master Qin had shown him earlier!
Even the location of the stamp is the same!
The font on the seal is the same!
Zhang Qi was drenched in cold sweat.

What exactly did he miss?!

After leaving the yamen, he was unsure whether to return to his residence or head to the dock.

Just as he hesitated, a man rushed over from a distance. After recognizing him, the man hurriedly reported, "Master! Something terrible has happened! The head of the Hongtai ship, Liu, has just secretly boarded that young master Qin's ship!"

"what?!"

Zhang Qi felt as if he had been hit. "What is she doing?!"

"What else could they be doing? Second Master and Third Master are extremely anxious. They saw Chief Liu board the ship with their own eyes, and it was that same attendant who led them aboard!"

"Furthermore, Second Master also saw that Young Master Qin came to greet us at the door!"

Liu Xiyu also found out about the news.

The competitors are here too, so there's even less chance it's fake!
Liu Xiyu deserves a lot of credit for the Zhang family's current predicament!

How can we let her get this advantage?
Zhang Qi took two steps and ran towards the dock.

But he was a step too late.

The once magnificent ship was now completely dark, with only two lights still lit at the bow and stern.

"Why are you taking so long to get here?!"

The second and third brothers caught up, panting. "Liu Xiyu has already left! Young Master Qin personally escorted her to the bow of the boat!"

Zhang Qi's heart sank: "She beat me to it?"

"That's about right! I clearly heard Liu Xiyu say as he left that he would bring silver notes to see me tomorrow on time!"

Zhang Qi became even more panicked.

"Haven't paid yet? As long as you haven't paid, there's still time!"
"Third brother, you stay here and guard the boat!"
"Second brother, come back with me to raise money!"
"Before we arrive with the silver notes at dawn, Third Brother, you are not allowed to go anywhere! Remember who gets on the ship!"

He absolutely cannot let Liu Xiyu get there first!
……

When Liu Xiyu returned to the Hongtai, Lu Jia, who had been waiting there, came out to greet him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Boss! Thank you for your help!"

Liu Xiyu waved his hand: "I didn't expect you to go all out this time, including all three Zhang brothers. And what's the background of that young master Qin you invited? He doesn't seem like an ordinary person."

“He is indeed no ordinary person.” Lu Jia handed him tea. “He used to be a rich young master, but his family fortunes declined.”

After saying that, she glanced outside and said, "I have to go back now. I hope the boss can finish the show later."

Liu Xiyu sipped her tea and waved her away. Li Chang and Xie Yi were already keeping watch along the way, so they naturally wouldn't let the Zhang family have a chance to run into Lu Jia.

She entered the house quietly, and had just sat down under the lamp when Xie Yi eagerly came in.

"Today I followed the He family to Tanzhou, and guess what I saw?"

Lu Jia glanced over, and Xie Yi immediately continued, "She had someone find the madam of the Wan Hua Lou!"

The tea that Lu Jia had just swallowed remained stuck in her throat.

"The madam? She doesn't want to be with Zhang Qi anymore? The brothel makes more money?"

Xie Yi was taken aback by her words.

Lu Jia stopped talking nonsense: "What did they say?"

"I can't hear them!" Xie Yi shook his head. "They met in a private room at the teahouse. I don't know what they talked about, but He Shi came out looking very smug!"

And he was so smug!
Although merchants are not of high social status, they are not considered part of the lowest social class. Besides, the Zhang family is planning to establish a marriage alliance with the He family; why would they associate with people from a place like the Wan Hua Lou?
Lu Jia immediately said, "This wicked woman is probably up to no good. Keep a close eye on her these next few days and see what she's up to!"

Given that He Shi had previously planned to sell her to Li Er and dared to spend money to have someone ambush her on the way, what else wouldn't she do?

Seeing that Qin Zhou was getting along well, how could Lu Jia allow them to cause trouble?

……

After waiting all day, Madam He finally got Zhang Qi home. Before she could even talk about her own affairs, she heard him say that this Young Master Qin was indeed someone important. He casually took out the river map that even He Qing couldn't possess. Madam He was so shocked that she couldn't speak!
Upon hearing that Liu Xiyu might actually beat her to it, she jumped up from her shock!

Why did she go too?
"How can we let her succeed with such a good opportunity?!"

"We absolutely cannot let her get away with this!"

"I'm just rushing back to raise money! You quickly check how much cash we have on hand?"

Madam He immediately summoned the steward to open the storeroom.

After the boxes containing the silver notes and cash were all brought over, the three of them counted them several times. By sheer coincidence, the sum of the fifty thousand taels was just two or three thousand short!
But that's not a problem at all.

They also own shops and land.

Nowadays, land consolidation is serious, and a large amount of fertile land has fallen into the hands of wealthy families. The Zhang family mainly engages in trade and does not own much land, but it is enough to fetch three or four thousand taels of silver.

The thought that this was family property passed down from his ancestors made Zhang Qi feel a pang of heartache, and he wondered if it was worth it.

He's words snapped him out of his daze: "Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever. Is it hard to do business with the government? Is the government's money not reliable? Why are you still eyeing this little bit of money! Didn't you see that Liu Xiyu was rushing to it in the middle of the night?"

Everyone in the world knows that nowadays, as long as you have the ability, the government's money is the most reliable.

Wherever there's a government official involved, countless people are waiting to skim off the top. This kind of lucrative opportunity to work for the higher-ups is something they could only dream of, and now that it's practically their livelihood, how can he be so reluctant to give up that measly little plot of land?
Zhang Qi was deeply moved and had no further doubts. He immediately instructed his steward to take the land deed to the pawnshop.

Madam He sat down and said resentfully, "Lord He has already replied this morning. He will bring me the documents for the Xie family's house and shops later!"

"I've already spoken to Wan Hua Lou. We'll take action tomorrow. As soon as that brat enters Wan Hua Lou, I'll kick that mother and son out of Shawan!"

"Then all the Xie family's houses and shops will be ours!"

"To hell with all that talk of being helped out, all that money the old man gave his daughter and son-in-law, to hell with it all!"

(End of this chapter)