Ancient natural disasters: The whole family traveled through time and was almost wiped out

Chapter 204

Without further ado, that day, Jiang Yipei took County Magistrate Zhang and went to various wealthy households in the county.

The first family is the richest family in the county, the Qian family.

"Sir Jiang, what a rare guest! Long time no see, hahahahahaha——"

When the master of the Qian family heard the message from his servants, he went out in person to welcome Jiang Yipei into the house.

"Zi Zai went to the capital. It has been almost six years since we last met. Uncle Qian, how are you?"

Jiang Yipei had a smile on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes. It was a business smile, the kind that showed eight teeth. He personally helped Master Qian to sit at the top of the table.

This old man is very smart, even though he came to greet us in person.

"Alas, I am old, and I have pains all the time!" Master Qian pounded his shoulder with his hand, sighed, and said to Jiang Yipei, "Sit down, Master Jiang, sit down!"

"Uncle Qian, I haven't seen you for many years. Are you alienated from me? I am no longer Lord Jiang. Just call me Apei like before."

Jiang Yipei sat down on the chair next to him without any hesitation, and spoke in a familiar manner, but he didn't like introducing himself like this. Apei, bah! It sounded like he was scolding himself.

"Hahaha..." Mr. Qian seemed to love laughing, and he laughed for a long time before stopping: "Back then I said you would accomplish great things. See, I was right. Now you are an official in Beijing, and your future is limitless! Uncle was thinking of you helping him. Why did you suddenly resign and return home?"

"If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't know if I could have survived these two natural disasters in the isolated capital city - it's so cold today!"

Jiang Yipei rubbed his hands, and wisps of white mist came out as he spoke. He glanced at the big mink on Master Qian's body.

Mr. Qian is a fat man, and it is unknown how many generations of the Diao family have collected this large mink coat.

How much money does it cost? The Qian family is truly rich!

Mr. Qian could not deny what Jiang Yipei said before, but he did not say much. He just casually agreed: "Yes, it's really cold today!"

Perhaps it was because Jiang Yipei's gaze was too naked, Mr. Qian noticed it and looked at himself, and even pulled his mink coat closer - there was nothing wrong!

The clothes are in good condition and not dirty, what is Apai looking at?

But Jiang Yipei had already looked away, so Master Qian didn't dare to ask any more questions. Jiang Yipei didn't say anything for a long time, just sipped the Da Hong Pao tea that the servant had just brought over, nodding as he drank: "Mm, good tea! There's still as much good tea as always at my uncle's house!"

Master Qian waved his hand and said, "If you like, I'll let you take some back later."

"That's great, thank you, uncle."

Mr. Qian: “…”

No, you really want it! Didn’t you not want it before? !

Even though Mr. Qian sounds very generous, if Jiang Yipei really accepted it, then what he said is what he got, no more.

Giving one more is a loss.

Jiang Yipei drank half a belly of tea, and Master Qian did not ask him a single question, so he could only take the initiative to speak: "Uncle, you know, the snowstorm is too serious now. Many houses of the people in Luoshui County have collapsed. The people..."

Bah bah bah bah...

Mr. Qian sat quietly listening to Jiang Yipei complaining about his poverty and confiding in him the difficulties of governing Luoshui County.

He just agreed from time to time, but he didn't express his opinion at all - nonsense, he has everything Jiang Yipei said, but why did he bring it out? Is it because you are so shameless?

As long as Jiang Yipei didn't say it clearly, he would just pretend that he didn't understand. Who asked them, the literati, to speak in a roundabout way?

It was not until Jiang Yipei really and clearly asked him to buy grain, cloth, and livestock that Master Qian had to speak up. He did not make excuses, but went straight to the point -

"If my Xiaoyao had married into your family, we would be one family, and I would definitely help you, but this... I am in a dilemma!"

Jiang Yipei closed his eyes secretly. He knew that people in ancient times believed in nepotism, otherwise there would not be so many intermarriages between aristocratic families.

When the original owner passed the imperial examination, Master Qian extended an olive branch to him. He gave the prostitute he had just redeemed and adopted as his daughter to him as a concubine, and he sent her and gifts in several carts with great fanfare. However, after Jiang Yipei clearly refused, before he could send the gifts back, servants came to take them away.

He is rich but stingy, a complete miser.

It is really difficult to get money from him, and Jiang Yipei is mentally prepared.

Besides, he played it straight, without pretending to agree to you and then giving you a little bit of help, which gave Jiang Yipei a little hope.

——What County Magistrate Zhang said is right. Although Mr. Qian is stingy, he is really not a cunning person.

Merchants value profit, and Mr. Qian also values ​​profit, but he also has a conscience.

On the one hand, he did not value his reputation very much, otherwise he would not have adopted a prostitute from a brothel as his adopted daughter in order to win over Jiang Yipei. This was not a glorious thing, and not many people would do such a "shameful" thing.

County Magistrate Zhang and Jiang Yipei analyzed that although this miser was stingy, his reputation in the county was exceptionally good.

The monthly wages of the shop assistants in his shop are twenty cents more than those in other places, and they also receive gifts during the New Year and other festivals. Unless there are mistakes in their work that cause losses to the shop, Master Qian generally will not beat or scold the shop assistants, let alone deduct their monthly wages.

——Therefore, the loyalty of Mr. Qian’s shop assistants and servants is the highest.

After experiencing two natural disasters, many servants of the rich landlords in the county betrayed their masters. Especially when the masters were weak, they were bullied and killed by the "united" servants. They not only wanted the masters' granaries, but also their treasure houses.

There aren’t many ways for poor people to turn their lives around, but this is one of them—taking people’s lives and their property.

There were originally eight well-known mansions in the county, but now two of them have changed hands.

But the Qian family's servants are extremely loyal. They always put their masters first, and there are four servants who are willing to risk their lives for their masters.

The first thing that Mr. Qian, the stingy old man, did when he returned to the town after the rainstorm was to build a cenotaph for the four people and bury them on the small slope next to his ancestral tomb. He told his descendants that during the New Year and other festivals, when they offered sacrifices to their ancestors, they should remember to burn three incense sticks for them as well. Not too many, just three would be enough, so that they could also enjoy the incense offerings from the Qian family's descendants.

The families of these four people are also well taken care of——

Don't get me wrong, they didn't give any money, they just gave them a job opportunity. One of the servants who died was only 18 years old, had been married for just half a year, and didn't even have any children yet.

Mr. Qian, who always judged the woman by her skills and never showed favoritism, gave this servant girl a privilege, which was to be an assistant to the female shopkeeper. He really wanted to train her to be the next shopkeeper. You know, in the past, it was impossible for her to enter the Qian family clothing store with her skills.

These news were all spread from the Qian family and then collected by County Magistrate Zhang, so Jiang Yipei went to the Qian family first - to capture him, and there would be no need to waste any time on the other families.

Jiang Yipei felt that although Mr. Qian was stingy, he was not really unwilling to spend a penny.

He just wanted his money to be spent wisely, and every penny spent had to achieve a positive effect, such as burying a servant and arranging a job for the servant's wife. The news that it was possible to get out was most likely released by Master Qian himself.

Otherwise, with the way he manages his subordinates, especially in this environment, who has the time to listen to such gossip?

It's nothing more than that he spent the money, but at the same time he wanted to promote his reputation as a benevolent person.

You may not care about something like reputation, but who can complain about too much reputation when doing business?

As soon as Jiang Yipei heard this, he knew what Master Qian was planning - wasn't this just an opportunity to advertise his family? The money spent on the burial could be earned back from the sales in a matter of minutes, of course, if it were a normal situation.

At this time, the Qian family didn't dare to open the shop at all, for they were afraid that the store would be emptied out.

"Uncle, you are joking. I told you at the beginning that I only want to grow old with my wife in this life. Don't talk about taking a concubine or not. My wife will be unhappy to hear that." Jiang Yipei said with a smile: "Didn't you just say that you were not feeling well? My wife is studying under a famous doctor in the capital. How about asking her to take a look at you?"

Rich people value their lives. Jiang Yipei felt that if he couldn't convince Mr. Qian, he would let his wife do it!

But Jiang Suying was busy and couldn't come along, so she asked Jiang Yipei to test the waters first. Events have proved that no matter how much you talk or how big a promise you make, you can't impress smart people.

The only thing that can move people is benefits, but what benefits can Jiang Yipei give them now?

It's just fifty thousand taels. With prices soaring now, the purchasing power of these fifty thousand taels is less than half of what it usually is!

Jiang Yipei only had so little money, and he really couldn't bear to spend it cheaply, so he had to find another way.

Jiang Suying arrived quickly. She diagnosed Mr. Qian with a lot of problems that indicated he was destined to be rich, but couldn't die. However, he just felt uncomfortable all over, tired here and there, had no appetite, and didn't like to move.

Using this as a breakthrough, Mr. Qian finally agreed to sell Jiang Yipei a batch of grain and cloth as well as a small amount of cotton and fur at usual prices.

Jiang Yipei: “!!!”

He thought that the small amount was really a small amount, just a few hundred pieces, but when he saw the things that filled up half of the warehouse, his eyes widened immediately——

How rich must one be to feel that all these things are just a little bit.

County Magistrate Zhang handed over the silver note of fifty thousand taels, his heart trembling a little. Mr. Qian waved his hand, indicating that he would not take the money and should give it to the accountant!

After coming out of Qian's house, Jiang Yipei felt refreshed. He asked Mr. Qian to be a good person and send the things to the west, and asked the servants to deliver the things to the county government office. Mr. Qian wanted to refuse, but after looking at Jiang Suying, he agreed.

——This order is a big loss.

If I raise the price, I can make at least twice the money. Now I have to deliver the goods, so I lose money again.

For the sake of living two more years.

Mr. Qian thought.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yipei took everyone he could to visit the two families and the Qi family. The two families were neighbors, and coincidentally, the servants of both families had betrayed their masters. Even more coincidentally, the servants of the two families were actually in-laws.

They brought all their family members and relatives over and controlled the house inside and out. What's worse, they reversed their identities. The former masters became slaves, serving them and their families.

In order to prevent the former master from escaping or asking for help, they killed all the loyal servants and maids of the Liang and Qi families. The former master was powerless and isolated, and had no choice but to obey them in order to stay alive.

The serfs sang the song of their emancipation quite beautifully.

Moreover, the confidentiality work was done very well. If County Magistrate Zhang had not sent people to investigate the situation of the eight families in the county, they would not have found any clues at all.

He is really too busy. He can only control the general direction. The details in the county are really not managed well. The officials will not investigate unless the people report it. They can't just rush into people's homes to check.

There's no time for that.

Besides, these big houses are all fine and nothing has happened. We all know that they have many servants and can handle it, so who would waste manpower and resources to find out what’s going on?

The people they rescue and provide disaster relief to are generally ordinary people, and these rich people are naturally ignored.

But in this case, Jiang Yipei had no psychological burden at all when he brought people to the door - they were acting righteously, saving the Liang family and the Qi family from trouble. It was normal to sell some things to the two families who were saved!

Jiang Yipei was smiling and in a good mood!

"Do...what?!"

The two men guarding the gate were dressed in silk and satin, but their clothes did not fit them well and were loose, as if they were stolen.

They were so stunned when they saw the two doors being removed in front of them that they forgot to maintain their dignity as the masters of the family and even stuttered when they spoke.

Jiang Yipei was not the kind of person who would destroy public property. He entered the house without damaging the gate and directly had the two men captured.

The two struggled desperately and shouted, "Let me go! Let me go! This is my home. You broke into my house. I will call the police to arrest you!"

"What a coincidence, we are the officials."

Jiang Yipei walked inside with his hands behind his back, and then saw a very strange scene: people working outside, such as sweeping snow, were wearing clothes made of expensive fabrics, but they were doing the work of servants.

“Chapter chapter chapter…”

It must be that the two gatekeepers made too loud a noise, which alarmed the others. The leader ran and knelt very fast. As a strong and capable errand boy of the Liang family, he knew County Magistrate Zhang.

County Magistrate Zhang brought a lot of people to arrest him!

He was afraid of running errands and wanted to run, but his usually strong legs gave up at the critical moment. He could not even get up. He was wearing a mink coat and was sweating coldly. His not-so-smart brain was constantly thinking about how to solve the dilemma.

Jiang Yipei works in construction and has met many toxic and stupid people, but he has never seen anyone so toxic and stupid!

They don't trust others to guard the gate, but how can a wealthy family not have a gatekeeper?

So he asked the relatives to dress up beautifully and guard the gate.