Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

<After much deliberation, I have made some revisions to the previous chapter. I hope you will be aware of this.>

"How about the third son of the Chengyi family satisfying your request?"

Until this youngest sister was unreliable, Zhang Shikang had to introduce his brothers.

The capital was filled with royal relatives and a thrown brick could potentially hit the son of a high-ranking official.

But it is not easy to judge a person's character. Instead of marrying into unfamiliar families, it is better to promote your own group of brothers first.

Liu Jiawei was the same age as his youngest sister. He was talented in writing, fair-skinned and well-behaved. As the prince's companion, he was destined to become an official in the court in the future.

Moreover, the Marquis of Chengyi did not command the military, nor did he violate the rules of the court. No matter how you look at it, it was more appropriate.

"It's Liu Jiawei, right? Literati are full of tricks. And third brother, I heard that the Earl of Chengyi is an old scholar. He talks about all sorts of things all the time. It's very scary.

I think we should just forget it."

Zhang Jingyi said cautiously with a bitter face.

Zhang Shikang then recommended several other unmarried brothers to his youngest sister, but in the end he didn't quite like any of them, so he had to give up for the time being.

After the youngest sister left, Zhang Shikang asked about the bank. Half a year had passed since the Ming Royal Bank project was launched at the beginning of the year.

In fact, Zhang Shikang could have given this task to someone else. The reason he gave it to Liu Rushi and others was simply because he was worried that his wives were bored at home.

In particular, nearly half of his wives were influenced by Confucianism. Zhang Shikang understood that they all wanted to do their part for the court.

Seeing her husband asking, Liu Rushi hurriedly asked the servants to get things. Not long after, two servants brought over two stacks of documents and account books, each stack was one foot high.

Zhang Shikang just felt a headache.

"Let's not look at the account books for now, and first talk about the general situation."

Liu Rushi knew her husband's temperament, so she smiled and said:

"My dear, the branches in Shuntian and Yingtian are almost complete, but due to safety concerns, the bank vaults and warehouses at the head office in the capital are quite large, so construction will take at least another six months.

In addition, branches in thirteen provinces were also under intensive construction three months ago and are expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

In terms of talent training, I spent two months compiling a detailed set of rules with my sisters based on my husband's strategy at the time.

First, the detailed rules were taught to a dozen Mingsuan imperial examination candidates. A month ago, these dozen Mingsuan imperial examination candidates had already mastered the detailed rules.

I then recruited another three hundred new people and had them taught by these dozen masters. Now they are all stationed in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, and they have homework and training every day.

In addition, I will discuss matters with more than a dozen masters every month. If I feel that a certain rule is inappropriate or if I have a better suggestion, I will discuss it and record it.

These books and accounts are all the records of the Royal Bank in the past six months.

There are family and background checks for those recruiting personnel, regulatory details, some relatively novel proposal records, and the arrangements for the next work.

If you have any questions, you can ask me."

As the leader, Liu Rushi has devoted almost all her energy to the Royal Bank over the past six months.

After all, Zhang Shikang once said that if the Royal Bank's job was done well, it would be as good a thing as land reform, and it would be no exaggeration to say that it would benefit the country and the people.

"My husband's house has become a training class for bank employees." Zhang Shikang joked.

The original owner of the Zhenguo Mansion was Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo Mansion, who had been stripped of his title.

The mansion was huge, but Zhang Shikang still felt it was more lively to live with his father and elder brother. He would only go to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion when he and his brothers from the Second Son's Group were drinking and having parties.

Now it has become the office space for the wives, which is considered to be the best use of the space.

'No, after all, it's my home, but this bank is run for the court.

My wife doesn’t want a salary, and the court doesn’t give me rent.

This, this, this...I was taken advantage of for free?

This is outrageous.'

The more Zhang Shikang thought about it, the angrier he became. He decided to meet Brother Chongzhen tomorrow and ask for some interest back.

"Thank you for your hard work recently. You have done a good job, but there is no need to rush, especially not to work overtime or stay up late." Zhang Shikang said again.

Although Zhang Shikang had high expectations for the bank, the Ming Dynasty had been like this for more than two hundred years, so it didn't really matter if it was half a year earlier or later.

Especially since Liu Rushi was pregnant, he himself didn't even work overtime, so how could he bear to let his wives work so hard?

"My husband is the one who works the hardest. I, your concubines, am so happy that I can help him." Dong Xiaowan took over the conversation.

As women, especially highly educated women like them, they understand better the helplessness of being a woman.

If it weren't for Zhang Shikang, the best outcome for them would probably be to be taken as concubines by powerful people near Jinling and spend the rest of their lives behind high walls.

But now, their husbands not only never restrict them with rules, but even encourage them to go out more. In order to allow them to realize their ambitions, they even give them such an important project.

Without the outsider, his youngest sister, Zhang Shikang pulled Liu Rushi into his arms in front of his first wife.

"Of course it's hard for me, so you have to serve me well tonight."

Zhang Shikang lifted Liu Rushi's chin with his fingers, and the next second he kissed her.

Liu Rushi, who had just looked like a female CEO, blushed immediately with embarrassment.

The women were already used to this. Gu Hengbo said:

"When the news of my husband being trapped in Guanshan reached the capital, my parents were terrified. I have never seen my father so anxious. He didn't even bother to wear his court attire and rushed to the palace to see His Majesty."

"What about you? Are you worried about your husband?" Zhang Shikang hugged Liu Rushi and gently stroked her bulging belly with one hand.

The women knew Zhang Shikang's character and naturally refused to admit it. In the end, a personal maid told the truth.

That night, Liu Rushi and the others stayed awake all night, and Kou Baimen even fainted.

In this era, men are the sky of the family. If something happened to Zhang Shikang, it would be like the sky falling for them.

Zhang Shikang was slightly moved, but before this emotion could take shape, Kou Baimen destroyed the atmosphere.

"Sister, you personally experienced the Battle of Guanshan. Tell us what exactly happened at that time."

"Yes, yes, my sister is a martial arts master. I should have thought that my husband would be fine earlier." Dong Xiaowan said with anticipation.

It is said that two women are equal to five hundred ducks. Zhang Shikang has seen it. These wives are more gossipy than each other.

Ma Lingqi had never been the focus of attention like today, and for a moment she didn't know where to start because of the curiosity of the girls.

"I heard from Dad that the Crown Prince was also abducted to the military camp by his husband. Sister, is this true?"

"If my husband becomes a prince, then won't we all become princesses?"

"Sister, did your husband bully you in the barracks? In other words...did he do anything bad?"

……