Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 215 Unfilial Son! You've squandered all the Xu family's money!

"A textile workshop?" Li Shizhen was somewhat puzzled. He didn't think there was anything wrong with women working in workshops, since workshops were also popular in Jiangnan, and many women worked there.

This is the first time I've seen this in the capital.

He couldn't help but say with some concern.

"Will this plan work?"

Zhang Yunxiu smiled slightly: "Whether it can be successful depends on whether Mr. Dongbi can become a friend to women, gain their trust, and let them work with peace of mind."

After much deliberation, he concluded that Li Shizhen was the most reliable candidate. Firstly, there were already female workers in the clinic, and secondly, Li Shizhen was elderly and highly respected, so he would not have much impact on the reputation of women.

"This..." Li Shizhen's face flushed red as he stammered, "Isn't this somewhat inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with that?" Zhang Yunxiu asked with a smile. "No one but Mr. Dongbi can handle this!"

Li Shizhen was dumbfounded. He could almost foresee that his illustrious reputation was about to be tarnished.

The main house of the Xu family.

Xu's descendants all gathered here. His second wife, Zhang, his eldest son, Xu Fan, and his second son, Xu Kun, all surrounded the bed, their expressions quite sorrowful as they looked at Xu Jie, whose face was pale.

Zhang wiped the sweat from Xu Jie's face with a handkerchief, her eyes slightly red as she spoke.

"Master, you can't let anything happen to you! If something happens to you, what will become of this family?"

The doctor beside them wrote out a prescription and comforted everyone.

"There is no need for you all to worry too much. Master Xu is just in a fit of anger. I have prescribed some medicine to calm your mind and nourish your spirit. Please decoct and take it every day. You must not anger Master Xu again."

Xu Fan, the eldest son of the Xu family, immediately stepped forward to take the prescription, stuffed a silver ingot into it, and bowed, saying...

"Thank you very much, Dr. You."

After the doctor was sent away, the servants prepared a dose of medicine and fed it to Xu Jie. Only then did the latter wake up, barely breathing.

He was still muttering something.

"Zhang Shiyuan, you brat!"

Such words.

Zhang was a little worried, so she quickly patted her chest and said.

"My lord, you have already retired from officialdom, so you should no longer think about matters of the court."

Xu Jie was nearly eighty years old, already seventy-eight years old, which was considered extremely long-lived in ancient times.

In the eyes of his wife and children, Xu Jie was already in a state where he could pass away at any moment.

At this age, it is unwise to still be involved in court intrigues.

After drinking another bowl of ginseng soup, Xu Jie's complexion gradually regained its rosy hue. Upon hearing Zhang's words, he immediately put on a stern face and spoke again.

"Womanly compassion! I'm just worried about this family, that's why I'm going to such lengths!"

Despite being scolded, Zhang dared not retaliate and silently wiped away her tears with her head down.

As the eldest son of the family, Xu Fan naturally bore a heavy responsibility, so he immediately stepped forward to comfort him.

"Father, why get angry? It's not worth getting sick over petty officials in the court. If there's anything you need in the future, just give me your orders."

Upon seeing Xu Fan, Xu Jie's expression softened considerably, and he nodded and said...

"Good child, come here. Your father has some things to tell you."

Xu Fan was overjoyed, knowing that he could finally be in charge at home, and quickly stepped forward to grasp Xu Jie's hand and said.

"Please give me your instructions, Father."

Just as Xu Jie was about to speak, a commotion arose outside.

Xu Fan's expression hardened, and he instructed the servant beside him, "Didn't I already tell you that Father needs to rest? Why are there still people making noise in the house?"

The servants hurriedly went to check, but when they returned, they saw a travel-worn young man following him.

Madam Zhang's eyes lit up immediately, and she rushed forward to greet her, saying, "Ying'er! You're finally back! Your mother has been so worried."

The visitor was Xu Jie's third son, Xu Ying. Unlike his elder brother Xu Fan, who never entered officialdom, Xu Ying passed the imperial examination and is now serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing. He rushed back after hearing that his father was ill.

After Yu's mother finished crying, Xu Ying wiped away her tears and knelt down in front of Xu Jie's sickbed.

"Xu Ying is late and cannot serve Father at his bedside. Please forgive her."

Upon seeing his third son in his official robes, Xu Jie smiled slightly.

"It's not your fault. You're busy with official duties, so it's normal to be a little late. Come and visit your father."

His words were full of affection; at this age, the only thing he couldn't let go of was his family.

"What did you see or hear in Nanjing?" Xu Jie asked, unable to resist bringing up this topic again as they chatted.

Xu Ying hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I have already informed Father of many things in my letters. Recently, the only matter is Zhang Shiyuan's establishment of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau and the Xishan Money Exchange."

With three sons in Nanjing and various protégés and former officials in the court, it's understandable that Xu Jie was well-informed.

"Ah."

With a complex expression, Xu Jie leaned against the bed and let out a long sigh.

"You must still be careful in your actions in court, and do not give anyone a handle to use against you. You must know that in court affairs, only those who can endure will have hope." "Your son will remember."

Xu Ying nodded, but still spoke with some resentment.

"If we just let that Zhang family father and son act recklessly, mobilizing the military and setting up a textile bureau and a money exchange, isn't that like setting up cannons in front of our own door?"

“Third brother is right,” the eldest son, Xu Fan, said indignantly. “That Zhang Shiyuan is too arrogant. All the local gentry in Jiangnan rely on our Xu family. If we are afraid of Zhang Shiyuan, wouldn’t Jiangnan become Zhang’s domain?”

Given Xu Jie's seniority and seniority, he was naturally regarded as the leader by the Jiangnan gentry. If Xu Jie were to back down, then the others would truly fall apart.

"Who does Zhang Shiyuan think he is? He's just a callow youth."

Xu Jie snorted coldly, but then coughed a few times.

"Please be patient, I have a plan. I will let you do it and get familiar with it. In the future, it will be your world."

The three brothers looked at each other, then bowed to Xu Jie and said, "We will follow Father's teachings."

After another round of encouragement, Xu Ying, the third son, smiled and said to Xu Jie.

"Father, you have suffered a lot of humiliation at the hands of Zhang Jiangling and Zhang Shiyuan. I happen to have something to give you as a gift to bring you some good luck."

Xu Jie nodded with satisfaction: "It's kind of you to show your filial piety. Please bring it up and take a look."

With his eyes closed, he had lost all interest in the "treasure".

"Yes."

Xu Ying nodded and instructed the servants to bring the brocade box over.

The brocade box was placed on the desk, and Xu Jie could see it from afar. But when he saw the familiar brocade box, Xu Jie's eyes froze.

Xu Ying was very excited and opened the brocade box as if to take credit, finally arranging the six glass statues in front of everyone.

He spoke with great enthusiasm.

"I heard that Father recently acquired a glass statue of Confucius, which is exquisitely crafted, but it is missing sixteen sages and philosophers compared to the glass statue from the Western Hills."

So the child kept it in mind, and after making some inquiries, he heard that a Portuguese merchant was selling this item.

Xu Ying became happier and happier as she spoke: "The Portuguese merchant said that Zhang Shiyuan is an ignorant person who sells such a treasure cheaply, and that it can be bought for 50,000 taels."

Little did they know that after this item left the capital, its price had increased by several tens of percent, amounting to a difference of tens of thousands of taels.

Zhang Shiyuan was skilled in ingenious crafts and sold this item everywhere, but in the end he still failed, and we got the better deal. It's truly gratifying!

He boasted for a while, expecting to be surprised and praised by everyone, but unexpectedly the room fell silent.

The eldest son, Xu Fan, looked ashen-faced and his voice trembled as he said, "Xu Ying! Are you saying that this glass statue was purchased from the Western Hills by Portuguese merchants?"

"If not, how could the Portuguese sell it like this?" Xu Ying wondered. "If it were glassware that had traveled across the ocean, this quality would probably cost more than 100,000."

Xu Ying smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "The Western Hills are not a trading place, so everything is sold cheaply. I see that the Portuguese merchants' cargo ships are full of this stuff, so they must be able to make a fortune!"
Speaking of which, I recently spent 100,000 taels of silver to buy some glassware, thinking I could make a fortune by tinkering with it!

But the more he spoke, the worse the expressions on everyone's faces became.

Madam Zhang said somewhat anxiously, "Ying'er, don't mention this matter again, quickly take the glass statue down."

The eldest son, Xu Fan, stamped his feet repeatedly and said, "Oh dear! Xu Ying, how could you be so foolish! This is Zhang Shiyuan's treacherous scheme! A whole 150,000 taels of silver has gone down the drain! Are you trying to make your father die of anger?"

"What's going on?" Xu Ying was terrified.

But Xu Jie ignored him, his beard trembling, and pointed at the glass statue, saying, "Quick! Bring it here. Let this old man take a look."

Madam Zhang comforted him from the side, saying, "Master, don't look anymore. Let's let this matter rest. The doctor said you must not get angry."

"Shut up!" Xu Jie roared. "Is my word no longer valid? Bring that glass statue over here at once! Xu Ying!"

"Son. Son"

Xu Ying was so frightened that her mind went blank. She quickly took the glass statue, handed it to her father, and tried to make amends.

“Father, there’s no need to be angry. In my opinion, this item is definitely not a fake. Its craftsmanship is superb. Even if it were sold overseas, it could make a fortune.”

Xu Jie ignored them, snatched the glass statue from the three sons' hands, his eyes were bloodshot, and his withered fingers looked as if he wanted to crush it.

His chest heaved as he carefully examined every detail of the glass statue. The more he looked, the redder his face became, because this thing was exactly the same as the one Wang Shizhen had sent before!
In addition, the recent proliferation of glass products all indicate that Zhang Shiyuan is not only able to make these glass statues, but also to mass-produce them!
This undoubtedly dealt Xu Jie a fatal blow.

With a loud crash, he slammed the Mencius statue in his hand to the ground, his eyes wide with anger as he spoke to Xu Ying.

“Sell? Can you outsell Zhang Shiyuan? He not only makes money through auctions, but he can also sell overseas!”
You unfilial son! You've given away over two hundred thousand taels of silver! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!

"Daddy!"

Xu Ying hurriedly knelt down, her face filled with fear.

"I truly do not know the crux of this problem. If I did..."

He wanted to offer some further explanation.

"Father, you are wise. I only spent a little over 100,000 taels of silver, not over 200,000. If I sell it, I can still recoup some of the cost."

"you"

Xu Jie bit his teeth until they bled, then suddenly his eyes rolled back and he fainted again.

Zhang and Xu Fan were all terrified.

Xu Fan hurriedly shouted, "Quickly, call a doctor! Quickly, call a doctor here!"

(End of this chapter)