The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 128 Monetization

"A good name, Manager Lin. You have high expectations for Brother Lin." Jia Chen said with a smile.

By naming his son Zhixue (知学), Lin Heqing clearly hoped that his son would achieve something in his studies.

As a merchant family, even if they were not short of money, their social status was indeed somewhat low.

Lin Heqing could only smile and shake his head.

These are all difficult to explain.

This is his daughter.

She was in a bad mood because her daughter's engagement had been called off.

He happened to be in Datong when his daughter mentioned wanting to come along for a walk and relax, so he agreed.

Originally, he hadn't planned to bring her along when he came to see Jia Chen; he wanted her to stay at Deshengbao.

But she said she was very curious about Jia Chen, the young hero who killed the northern barbarians, and wanted to see him in person. In the end, Lin Heqing couldn't resist his daughter's coaxing and agreed.

However, it was not appropriate for a woman to be out in public, so she dressed as a man.

"Lord Jia, what's the point of them running around the city like this?" Lin Zhixue asked.

"Nonsense! How can you pry into military secrets?" Lin Heqing immediately rebuked.

There are some ordinary people and shops in the Fortress, but it is still mainly under military control.

Normally, some rogue soldiers in these fortified cities would use such methods to extort money from passersby, claiming that they were spying on secrets.

He had seen it in Deshengbao, so he knew about it.

However, he wasn't saying that Jia Chen would extort money, but rather that he didn't want his daughter to get entangled in these military issues, as it wouldn't be appropriate.

"It's nothing, nothing at all, it's not a secret," Jia Chen said with a smile. "Making them run is to train their long-distance running ability. Manager Lin, you've come at the right time, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you with a few things."

Jia Chen had no real interest in Lin Heqing's son; he was only being polite.

In Jia Chen's opinion, Lin Zhixue was not very old, and Lin Heqing probably brought him out to broaden his horizons. Doing business is not easy.

Unlike Lin Zhixue, Lin Heqing is very important to Jia Chen.

Jia Chen hasn't fully sold off the spoils from the last raid.

Emubu simply couldn't handle so many goods at once, and he couldn't come up with more gold and silver. If he were to offer cattle and sheep hides as payment, Jia Chen hadn't agreed yet.

Because he has no way to convert these things into cash.

Things are different now. Lin Heqing is back, so he can ask Lin Heqing to help sell the goods.

Of course, Lin Heqing couldn't let the other party help for nothing; he could take a cut of the profits.

Whether it works or not, we can discuss it and find a solution that everyone can accept.

"You're too kind, sir. I will never refuse to help if I can," Lin Heqing said with a smile. "Last time you asked me to inquire about the firearms craftsmen in the south, I sent someone there."

Lin Heqing was willing to help Jia Chen with some of his requests.

After all, Lin Ruhai had said that he should provide Jia Chen with as much convenience as possible.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to return to Datong so early; he set off almost immediately after the New Year.

According to his original plan, even if he returned to Datong, it would be in April or May, after the weather warmed up.

Now, braving the freezing cold to come back, I suffered terribly on the way.

Of course, besides these, he also had some of his own reasons.

Previously, the Sun family had tried to forcefully lower the price and buy their land at a low price.

The situation now seems to have changed.

One was that Jia Chen became the garrison commander of a city. Of course, Jia Chen's position as garrison commander was not the key point. The key point was that Jia Chen had a close relationship with General Chen Tai and the newly appointed eunuch Hu Youcai.

If we can use Jia Chen's connections to get in touch with those two, the Sun family will probably not dare to covet our land anymore.

Even if it's to be sold, it has to be at the market price.

Upon hearing Lin Heqing's words, Jia Chen's eyes lit up.

So pleasantly surprised.

To be honest, he had only mentioned the matter of firearms craftsmen on the coast casually before, and he never thought that Lin Heqing would actually help him inquire about it.

I'm really curious to know what's going on over there.

"Manager Lin, let's go back and discuss this in detail," Jia Chen said.

"it is good."

Lin Zhixue felt a little unhappy as she watched the two smiling faces, feeling completely ignored.

"Father, I'd like to see the soldiers' training again." Lin Zhixue knew that the two of them would be discussing matters after they returned, so there was nothing for her to do.

Since that's the case, it's better to stay here; it might be more interesting that way.

"This?" Lin Heqing frowned.

"Brother Lin is curious, so feel free to look," Jia Chen said with a smile. "Don't worry, Manager Lin, no one here will hurt you."

Wei Dao, arrange for a few men to follow Brother Lin.

"Alright," Lin Heqing nodded.

He didn't think his daughter was in any danger, but since she was a girl, it might be inappropriate if someone found out.

After watching Jia Chen and her father leave, Lin Zhixue pursed her lips and decided not to think about anything else for the time being.

Her gaze fell on Huang Xiuer and the others.

The long-distance run has ended, and everyone has begun training in formation and various firearms shooting.

She had noticed Huang Xiuer and the others earlier; she hadn't expected there to be women in the army, which was completely unexpected.

"Can I go over and take a look?" Lin Zhixue asked the guard sent by Jia Chen, pointing towards Huang Xiuer.

"Of course, Young Master Lin, please!" the guard said politely.

He knew that Manager Lin was a distinguished guest of the master, so he naturally had to be polite to this young master Lin.

This is just some ordinary training; it's nothing that's unwatchable.

They usually train outside the city, so ordinary people can still see them.

Of course, Jia Chen would not expose certain special training sessions, such as live-fire exercises or new artillery tests, to outsiders.

In particular, how many muskets, how many three-barreled guns, how many cannons they had, and how far they could fire were all secrets.

In regular training, people often use wooden and iron-made bird gun models for practice, mainly to train the accuracy of aiming at the end of the wall.

Even some ammunition loading procedures are simulated; they won't actually use gunpowder and lead bullets, as that would result in too much damage, which Jia Chen can't afford right now.

Lin Zhixue circled around and finally stopped near Huang Xiuer and the others.

"Alright, everyone, take a break," Wang Baisheng called out.

Lin Zhixue had just passed by him and asked him some questions, so he already knew that this young man was the son of the shopkeeper Lin, and was considered a distinguished guest.

"Old Wang, what are you looking at?" Wu Jiangsheng walked over and asked.

"I didn't see anything. Young Master Lin went to those women's territory, he's not afraid of getting nowhere," Wang Baisheng said, looking at Huang Xiuer and her group. "Those women aren't as easy to talk to as we are."

"Old Wang, if you call him Chief Huang, the adults will scold you again if they hear you doing that," Wu Jiangsheng said with a smile.

While Huang Xiuer was in the army, Jia Chen treated her like a general and appointed her as the head of a detachment.

Each sentry consists of fifty men.

Huang Xiuer didn't have this many women under her command before, but she gradually added more, and now she has fifty.

The problem was that there weren't enough arquebuses; most of them were kept as reserves.

"We're just saying it in private," Wang Baisheng chuckled. "You, Old Wu, wouldn't betray us, would you?"

Wu Jiangsheng shook his head speechlessly.

He's not that bored.

He just wanted to remind Wang Baisheng to be careful, because he was used to saying it like that in front of adults sometimes.

For this, Jia Chen even rewarded Wang Baisheng with two lashes.

But Wang Baisheng clearly didn't learn his lesson and continued as before.

"Sister, your muskets seem to be fake. Will they be useful on the battlefield if you practice with fake ones?" Lin Zhixue was very puzzled when she saw that the women on Huang Xiuer's side were holding muskets that were obviously fake.

Although Huang Xiuer and the others were training a little distance away from Wang Baisheng and his group, Wang Baisheng still overheard Lin Zhixue's question.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this young master probably doesn't know the temper of Huang Niang. Calling her 'sister' is asking for death, isn't it? That's Huang Dachong, a tigress!" Wang Baisheng raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice.

Wu Jiangsheng frowned. He knew that Huang Xiuer wouldn't give other men a friendly look.

When she was in the army, she didn't allow anyone to call her "sister" or anything like that; everyone had to call her "commander."

However, this is Manager Lin's son, who is new to the area and doesn't know these things, so Huang Xiuer shouldn't react too much.

When Huang Xiuer heard someone call her "sister," her face instantly darkened.

She turned and stared at Lin Zhixue, ready to scold her. Even if she knew that the other party was the son of that shopkeeper Lin, it was still unacceptable.

Just as she was about to speak, a thought suddenly struck her.

She stared at Lin Zhixue for a long time without saying a word.

"Here it comes, here it comes, the tiger is about to get angry," Wang Baisheng said with a hint of schadenfreude. "This is going to be fun."

He's just enjoying the drama.

"Hmm?" Wang Baisheng waited a moment, but Huang Xiuer still hadn't spoken. He asked with some doubt, "Is she mute? She's not usually like this, is she?"

Wu Jiangsheng shook his head; he didn't know either.

Huang Xiuer is indeed quite energetic and decisive in her work.

Today's reaction is a bit strange.

Why are you just staring at people like that?

"Your name is Lin Zhixue?" Huang Xiuer withdrew her gaze and asked with a light laugh.

"Ah~~ right, the 'learning' in 'learning'." Lin Zhixue nodded hurriedly.

Seeing Lin Zhixue's expression, Huang Xiuer narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, and her smile deepened.

"Young Master Lin, these are indeed fake muskets. As long as you train properly, they will certainly be useful on the battlefield," Huang Xiuer said.

"I don't really understand," Lin Zhixue said.

"It's normal that you don't understand, but I can explain it to you—"

Wang Baisheng stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before him, utterly incredulous.

He originally thought that Huang Xiuer would be somewhat angry, but he didn't expect that this woman and the young master of the Lin family were chatting and laughing happily.

"I get it, pretty boy!" Wang Baisheng pondered for a moment and then suddenly said.

"What pretty boy?" Wu Jiangsheng, standing next to him, didn't understand what he meant for a moment.

"That Lin family boy is so fair-skinned and delicate, isn't he just a pretty boy?" Wang Baisheng sighed. "Women, indeed, all like pretty boys. When they see a pretty boy, they don't even get angry. Tsk tsk, a woman is still a woman after all."

Wu Jiangsheng didn't say much.

He didn't think Huang Xiuer was that kind of woman.

Huang Xiuer's behavior today was indeed a bit strange; he just couldn't figure it out.

"Perhaps it's because Young Master Lin is a distinguished guest, so we can't just get angry and start cursing at him right away, can we?" Wu Jiangsheng said.

"Perhaps," Wang Baisheng replied casually, seemingly uninterested. "Most likely, it's the pretty boys who attract women."

"Don't call me a pretty boy. If the adults hear this, it won't just be a few scoldings or a few lashes. Manager Lin gave us huge discounts when he sold grain and cotton-padded coats. He was a great help," Wu Jiangsheng said.

>