A leisurely life in the world of cultivation

Chapter 34 Accepting the Loss (Please add to your favorites and vote with monthly tickets!)
Li Weizhou was not entirely unfamiliar with what disaster victims were like.

On television, in the Middle East, due to war, you can see refugees fleeing in panic at any time.

But when he went to the disaster relief gathering point designated by the county government at the city gate and saw it with his own eyes, he realized that what was shown on TV was far too embellished.

It was already snowing and the winter was cold, but most people were dressed in rags and barely had any clothes to cover their bodies.

The phrase "barely clothed" appears on paper as just four light words, but once you see it with your own eyes, you realize how tragic it truly is.

Clothing, especially cotton-padded clothes, was actually one of the hard currencies of that era; it could be pawned for money.

People from poor families could pawn their belongings in the spring when the weather was warm, and then redeem them in the winter; they were assets.

Of course, there will be a handling fee.

If the money cannot be paid to redeem the cotton-padded coat after the due date, it will belong to the pawnshop.

For example, how could these disaster victims possibly have the money to redeem their winter clothes?

Even worse, a significant number of people didn't even have a single piece of clothing, sitting there blankly wrapped in tree bark...

Their expressions were numb, as if they had cried all their tears.

However, things might be a little better today, because the soup kitchens set up at the city gate are serving soup, and it's said that today's soup contains rice and is quite thick...

On the city gate tower, the powerful families of Qingzhou Prefecture were quite excited, pointing and gesturing as if they were buying pigs for the Lunar New Year.

Among them were even some officials wearing official uniforms, such as Li Delong, Li Changping, and Li Chang'an.

"Uncle, eldest brother, second brother."

After being glanced at several times by Li Delong and his two sons, Li Weizhou finally walked up from the back and greeted them.

Li Delong chuckled and nodded, then took his arm and led him to the center of the crowd to introduce him: "Your Excellency, this is my third son, Li Weizhou."

Dong Zhiyu, the magistrate of Qingzhou Prefecture, was considered a good official with a good reputation in the prefecture. He also looked quite refined at the moment. Perhaps out of respect for Li Delong or the fourth son of the Li family, he nodded and smiled, saying, "You must be the owner of Zuixianlou? Who would have thought that the owner of the Qingzhou gourmet restaurant, which is admired by so many wealthy merchants, would be a young man? Not bad."

County Magistrate Zhou Yunjun stroked his beard and smiled, "Indeed, you are a handsome man, and your filial piety is touching. If this dynasty had not abandoned the practice of selecting officials based on filial piety, I would have guaranteed you a place in the imperial examinations."

County Lieutenant He Chonglian's smile looked like he was about to commit a sinister act. He snorted and said, "Of course he's a handsome man, otherwise he wouldn't be able to live at Zuixianglou."

A group of men burst into laughter.

A man's womanizing will always resonate with people, no matter the time...

A man dressed like a wealthy gentleman, but with a face as red as a jujube, smiled and said, "Young man, you are indeed enviable. To rise from a teapot to a brothel madam's patron is not something an ordinary person can achieve."

The atmosphere fell silent upon hearing this.

Li Delong's eyes were practically bulging outwards, and the "king" character on his forehead was even more prominent. He stared at the still smiling master and said, "Of course, this is not something an ordinary person can do. If Clerk Zhou doesn't believe me, you can have your mother come and see for herself. She might even be tempted by worldly desires."

"puff!!"

Laughter erupted from the crowd, but the county magistrate and his assistants seemed not to hear it.

They were all officials sent to govern from elsewhere, so naturally they preferred to see local powerful families at odds.

If local tycoons really band together, what's the point of them being officials?

Making powerful clans compete for disaster victims was intended to sow discord and alienate among them...

To Li Weizhou's surprise, the wealthy man... who was also the clerk of the county government's household office and the head of the Zhou family of Xinyi Trading Company, Zhou Kejin, was not annoyed at all. He still smiled and said, "I guess it's not bad. It would be good if he could dance a few dances for my mother. You Li family members can all make a living just by your looks. It's really enviable."

For some reason, the Zhou family members all had dark red faces, making them look dirty, which naturally made them jealous of other families who made a living based on their looks.

"Hahaha!"

A burst of laughter, filled with a mixture of envy and mockery, rose from the surrounding area.

Li Chang'an chuckled and stopped his father, who was about to throw a punch, and asked Li Weizhou, "Sanlang, what was that joke we heard last time? Since everyone here is in such high spirits today, why don't we tell it and have a good laugh together?"

"..."

Li Weizhou paused, noticing everyone around him looking at him. After mentally cursing Li Lao Er, he began to speak: "On the Lantern Festival, a man was strolling through the lantern fair. A child on the street looked up at his mother and asked, 'Mother, why is that man wearing a monkey's butt lantern on his face and walking around like that? Isn't he ashamed?' The mother looked closely and whispered to her son, 'Silly child, that's not a lantern, it's his face. But this person was born with a face as red as a ghost, like a monkey's butt, so it's no wonder you mistook him. Such a person is born without a face, so he doesn't know shame.'"

"Hahahaha!"

Li Chang'an was overjoyed, while Li Delong burst into laughter, and the other officials also laughed heartily.

It is conceivable that from this day forward, the Zhou family's ancestral red-faced man will have an additional elegant nickname: monkey butt face!

Nicknames that accurately reflect reality tend to spread quickly. This has been true throughout history.

If it were a good reputation, that would be fine, but such a bad reputation, accompanied by amusing jokes, is extremely vicious to any family.

Sure enough, when you look at Zhou Kejin again, his face is already turning red, and his gaze at Li Weizhou is as sharp as a knife.

Li Chang'an stepped in front of Li Weizhou, looking at Zhou Kejin with a half-smile, and said, "Old man, you don't know what's good for you. Who gave you the audacity to bully my Li family? You can ask your master if he can stand up for you. By the way, General Xia from the north should be sending you a letter soon. Also, I have some good news for you. From today onwards, all caravans of the Xinyi Shipping Company entering and leaving Qingzhou Prefecture must be inspected by the patrol office before being allowed to pass. I suspect you are colluding with the bandits of Dayuan Mountain to wreak havoc on the local area."

The county magistrate seemed to know more, and asked Li Delong, "Your fourth son came back last time to carry out his duties at the Imperial Prison, right?"

Zhou Kejin: "..."

He couldn't believe his ears.

After glancing at him, Li Delong smiled modestly at the county magistrate, saying, "That lad is quite useless; he just follows others around, picking up the credit. He came back with Princess Yi'an, the granddaughter of the late Prince Qi, and they even visited our home together. He's been away from home for six years, and this is his first time back. How unfilial! By the way, he's also good friends with the General's daughter, Xia, the Assistant Commander at the horse market. She used to be the General's personal guard..."

As he spoke, he squinted and looked at Zhou Kejin, whose face was pale, with a smile.

Leaving aside Zhou Kejin, County Magistrate Dong Zhiyu was also feeling quite uneasy at the moment.

He had long known the secret to being a good official in the bureaucracy: avoid offending wealthy and powerful families.

The reason is simple: few powerful families that have been passed down for generations are truly isolated; they must have a dense network of relationships behind them.

But he still didn't expect that the situation in such a small place as Qingzhou Prefecture would be so complicated.

Behind the Zhou family stands not just a military commander, but also a royal mansion, though not the main branch of the Prince of Jin, yet still not one that ordinary people can contend with.

The Li family went even further. The fourth son of the Li family was born with superior martial arts skills and was valued by a big shot in the capital. He was taken back to the capital and became a personal disciple, which was already legendary enough. Who would have thought that he would now join the Imperial Punishment Department and become a Sili?

The Imperial Punishment Office is staffed entirely with the emperor's trusted confidants!
As for the Princess of Qi and the daughter of the Great General mentioned by Li Delong, they are even more so, the pride of heaven!
Who can he afford to offend?

These families are all seasoned veterans; they certainly wouldn't do anything blatantly illegal. But it's also difficult to find any dirt on them, because apart from a handful of officials, everyone in the county government is one of their people.

Fortunately, these families had been fighting each other openly and secretly because of their interests; otherwise, he, a dignified county magistrate, wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly at night.

"I have official business to attend to, so I must take my leave now. The plight of the displaced is a serious matter, and I hope that you gentlemen will use your abilities and virtues to ensure that not a single person is harmed. I, the county magistrate, thank you all!"

After saying this, Dong Zhiyu bowed deeply.

Everyone present naturally returned the greeting, saying, "Your Excellency is benevolent and virtuous!"

The county clerks recorded this scene and spread it far and wide...

The county officials all left, unwilling to get involved in the following dealings.

After all, dividing up the refugees is not illegal, especially in years of famine, but it is certainly not a pleasant thing to do.

After most of the county officials had left, the atmosphere on the scene changed once again.

Zhou Kejin somehow figured things out; after all, discretion is the better part of valor. He actually walked up to the Li family with a smile and said to Li Delong, "Li Laohu, the outsiders are gone. Our performance just now was quite good."

Li Delong cursed, "Sing my ass! Get out of here! Who the hell has time to sing with you? Zhou Fox, you've got some nerve, daring to cut off my third son's share. Just you wait and see who's really cutting whom off!"

Zhou Kejin remained calm and said with a smile, "The mutton fat business isn't just a business for General Xia alone... I'm not threatening you or trying to manipulate you. Li Laohu, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents, I don't need to elaborate on this principle, you're an old hand in this business. So, when it comes to doing business, harmony is paramount. If our two families work together, we can conquer not only Qingzhou Prefecture, but also Jinzhou Prefecture! Don't you think so? After all, we're from the same hometown!"

Li Delong stared speechlessly at the man, seemingly disgusted and speechless for a moment. He then looked at his beloved nephew, Li Weizhou, and said indifferently, "General Xia can cooperate with you, and naturally he can cooperate with me. It doesn't matter whose money we make, right? It's true that harmony is the most important thing in business, but I don't want to cooperate with someone like you. Is that not allowed?"

Although the question "What are you?" was not explicitly stated, the meaning was roughly the same.

He underestimated Zhou Kejin, who actually agreed, saying, "Yes, yes, a true man should repay kindness and avenge wrongs. Third Young Master, how about this? My Zhou family was in the wrong first and is willing to apologize. In business, you have to accept the consequences! My Zhou family can afford to lose and is willing to accept it. We'll offer a silver shop as compensation. What do you think?"

Li Weizhou then asked for clarification: "Does it include all the craftsmen in the shop?" The filigree craftsmen are much more valuable than a simple silver shop.

Zhou Kejin: "..."

The three members of the Li family: "..."

Has it changed that quickly?

However, Zhou Kejin quickly nodded and said, "Of course it's included, otherwise how can we show our sincerity?"

He first violated the rules by blocking other people's access to beef and mutton oil, and now that he's at a disadvantage, he admits it sincerely!

……

(End of this chapter)