Qing Yao

Chapter 215 You are my own brother-in-law

The mindset of someone who is 86 is undoubtedly complex.

On the one hand, their self-esteem was hurt, and on the other hand, they faced the reality of being short of money and struggling to make ends meet.

This time, he came to Yangzhou to discuss a business partnership with his brother-in-law. Besides his wife, Shi, persuading him, it was also because he himself felt that things could not continue like this.

As his brother-in-law said, he's already forty years old. Does he really intend to spend the rest of his life in the position of Zuo Ling?

Back then, when he went to war against the Jinchuan tribes, he donned his armor and led his elite troops to seize the fortresses of those former Ming loyalists. He became famous in one battle and was awarded the title of Zuo Ling (a military rank). How glorious that was!

Seventeen years have passed, and he has not been promoted from his position as Zuo Ling.

Seventeen years not only wore down his courage and fighting spirit, but also made him, at eighty-six, see the coldness and warmth of human nature.

He had no money, so even his brother-in-law could point his finger at him and berate him!
If he had money, would his brother-in-law dare to do this?

For a moment, I felt a mix of resentment and grievance, but even more so, I felt bitterness and resentment towards my unsatisfactory life.

At the same time, they are eager to change their fate.

What Zhao Youlu said was true. Let alone tens of thousands of taels, even a few thousand taels could have been used to bribe his superiors, and he would have become a third-rank official, such as a deputy commander or assistant commander by now.

If you send tens of thousands of taels of silver at once, even if you can't become a deputy commander-in-chief, it's not impossible to arrange for someone to be transferred to a post as an admiral.

To sum it up, you need money to be a good person, and you need even more money to be an official. Without money, everything else is meaningless!
Thinking of this, she became even more concerned about the canteen business mentioned in her brother-in-law's letter, but she was too embarrassed to bring it up herself, especially since she had just been less than "polite" to Committee Member Zhao.

To be honest, it wasn't that he was arrogant; it was just that the Manchus were born with an innate sense of pride, and he wouldn't give up his principles even when he was down on his luck.

Deep down, they looked down on Han officials and bondservants.

But the Han officials and bondservants are doing better than him, richer than him, and living more carefree lives. Where can he go to reason with them?
So the problem lies with him.

A person who is inflexible and lacks social skills is destined to run into obstacles and be sidelined in officialdom.

"It's rare for a myna bird to come all the way from Jiangning, Brother Shi, shall we talk over drinks?"

Zhao An had a keen eye for timing, so he suggested discussing it over drinks, saying that three drinks would be more effective than a thousand heartfelt words of advice.

He was certain that Ba Liu would not simply walk away; if he truly had that kind of pride, he wouldn't have come to Yangzhou on his own initiative.

Didn't you see the look in his wife Shi's eyes when she saw the golden rat?

The family is certainly not short of money, so how could the housewife, who is in charge of the household, be so easily tempted?
Manager Shi made the arrangements, having his waiter order takeout from the restaurant and deliver it to his residence.

When his brother-in-law invited him to drink, the brother-in-law couldn't refuse. Half-heartedly, he was "escorted" to the table by Manager Shi and Zhao An.

Shi poured wine for the three of them. Although this "sister" was in her thirties and had given birth to several children, she was still quite presentable in appearance and figure, giving Zhao An a sense of familiarity with the proprietress of a tobacco and liquor store in later generations.

Compared to her husband at eighty-six, Shi Shi seemed more presentable, which might be related to the fact that the Shi family came from the background of bondservants in the Imperial Household Department.

Regardless of gender, servants in bondservants need to be discerning; otherwise, how could their masters possibly take notice of them?

With his brother-in-law and Zhao An taking turns urging him to drink, Ba Liu quickly downed four cups and became noticeably more talkative.

“Eighth Brother, it’s not that I’m talking nonsense after having a couple of drinks. Right now, everything in our Great Qing Dynasty requires money. What good is a noble status if you don’t have money?” Zhao An said as he got up to pour wine for Eighty-Six.

"You know Fukang'an, right?"

Shopkeeper Shi let out a drunken burp and gave him a helping hand, "This General Fu became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Deputy Commander of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner at the age of sixteen. At twenty, he went with Agui to fight against Jinchuan and became the Commander of the Manchu Plain White Banner in less than half a year. He became a general at the age of twenty-four. He has served as governor-general, minister, and minister of the Imperial Household Department. Yet, even such a big shot was extorted for ten thousand taels by a minor clerk in the Ministry of Revenue?"

I've heard of this story before. It's said that two years ago, when Fukang'an returned from fighting in Guangdong and Guangxi, he went to the Ministry of Revenue to claim reimbursement for his military expenses. As a result, when Fukang'an went to the Ministry of Revenue to complete the formalities during the day, a minor official from the Ministry of Revenue came to him that evening and demanded a processing fee of 10,000 taels of silver.

Who was Fukang'an?

He could tolerate this humiliation and had the petty official who came to demand money driven away. As a result, the military expenses that should have been reimbursed were delayed for half a year. No matter what reason he gave for urging the Ministry of Revenue, or even complained to the Emperor, the Emperor repeatedly urged the Ministry of Revenue to reimburse him, but the Ministry of Revenue just kept dragging its feet and refused to process it.

They had all sorts of reasons, leaving even the emperor speechless.

Later, someone advised General Fu that he had to pay the money, so Fukang'an reluctantly paid 10,000 taels as a "handling fee." A few days later, hundreds of thousands of taels of military funds arrived in his account.

Shopkeeper Shi said that the purpose of this matter was nothing more than to "point out" his own brother-in-law. Look at how high Renfukang'an's official position is, but he still has to pay money to get things done. What right does a mere Zuo Ling have to be so arrogant and look down on him and you?

Do you have power, or money?
You have neither, so why are you pretending to be a big shot?

"Brother, that's just his personality, so stubborn. If he were more open-minded, he would have been promoted long ago."

Shi's tone was somewhat resentful.

Hearing this, Ba Liu felt uneasy and silently picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"So these days, money is king. Without money, no matter how heroic you are, you can't get anywhere!"

Taking advantage of the momentum, Zhao An explained the benefits of contracting school canteens to Ba Liushi. He conservatively estimated that even if he only contracted a few famous schools in Jiangning Prefecture, he could earn 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver a year.

"You don't need to contribute any capital, Brother Ba. You just need to lend your name. If there are any problems, Brother Ba will step in. We'll split the profits equally among the three of us. What do you think, Brother Ba?"

Zhao An is a supervisory committee member, and Ba Liushi is a regimental commander of the Central Army. Neither of them can openly take over the canteen, so Manager Shi has to be the "legal representative".

To be precise, Manager Shi submitted the application, Zhao An approved it, and the local bully was dealt with by the military representative, Eighty-Six.

No matter how badly this Central Army Corps Commander fared, he was still someone that no ragtag army or security regiment would dare to offend.

"Stop thinking about it. Where else can you find such a good deal? Listen to me, it's settled. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do you think I, your brother-in-law, would cheat you?"

Shopkeeper Shi was definitely trying to facilitate a three-way cooperation, so he was trying his best to persuade his brother-in-law to stop thinking about such things and to quickly convert his Zuo Ling's signboard into cash.

"With money, it would be a piece of cake for you to get promoted and become a nobleman, Brother Ba. Although I am only a seventh-rank official and not very capable, I can say a few words to the governor. If you don't mind, I will put in a good word for you with the governor next year. We can't let you be a lieutenant for the rest of your life."

The Jiangsu governor couldn't control the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning, but he could still put in a good word for a lieutenant with the general, acting as a bridge or a go-between. Besides, the Jiangning general's father-in-law was Zhao An's "old leader," Eqina.

As long as Ba Liushi agrees to join, Zhao An will definitely help him get a third-rank military officer position before the White Lotus Rebellion.

Eighty-six put down his wine cup, glanced at his wife, Shi, then at his brother-in-law, and finally at Zhao An's sincere face. He said in a low voice, "I'm not good with words. As long as Lord Zhao treats me as his brother-in-law, I will treat Lord Zhao as my brother-in-law."

(End of this chapter)