Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"Lin Ping hasn't returned to the manor yet, brother, why don't you have a chat with Yu'er..."

To be honest, the city lord was also afraid of his elder brother, so he simply pushed the blame onto his good son.

Jiang Yunyu's heart skipped a beat, and his legs felt like they were filled with lead; he didn't even have the strength to run away.

Fortunately, Jiang Xiuwen did not take his anger out on Jiang Yunyu. He sat in the armchair, still furious, clearly waiting for Jiang Yunyu to come to him.

"I wonder what brings you to your anger, brother?"

The city lord understood Jiang Xiuwen's temperament and knew that his anger wouldn't dissipate unless the whip landed on Lin Ping.

"Second brother, do you know what that scoundrel Lin Ping has been up to these past two days?"

Jiang Xiuwen slammed his fist on the table, nearly shattering it.

The city lord shook his head, adopting an attitude of being all ears.

"That fellow gave the servants fifty taels of silver as soon as he left!" Jiang Xiuwen said sternly.

"Only fifty taels..."

The city lord knew that Lin Ping was a spendthrift and had long been prepared to waste a thousand taels of silver. Now that he learned it was fifty taels, he was secretly pleased.

To match Jiang Xiuwen's mood, the city lord deliberately put on a serious expression and listened attentively.

"That's not all. Next, he actually spent one hundred taels of silver to buy a maid!"

Jiang Xiuwen tapped his knuckles on the table repeatedly, making a thumping sound.

Lin Ping was indeed going too far. The city lord's mansion already had countless maids, so there was no need to buy another one, especially one that cost the exorbitant price of one hundred taels of silver.

"As long as it wasn't stolen..."

The city lord thought to himself, but kept agreeing with his brother.

"And what's even more infuriating is that this guy spent three hundred taels of silver to buy a jade horse, only to smash it to pieces without hesitation!"

Jiang Xiuwen stood up angrily.

"Three hundred taels!" The chubby boy held up three fingers in front of him; his mouth could definitely fit a fist.

Normally, he would walk very carefully when entering the city lord's study, afraid of damaging the precious objects. He never expected that Lin Ping would deliberately break the jade horse worth three hundred taels.

"This……"

The city lord was also a little unsettled. Although the thousand taels of silver were meant for Lin Ping to squander, they couldn't be wasted so easily.

"I heard today that this fellow went to the gambling den... where would he get the money to buy soapberries!"

Jiang Xiuwen felt ashamed when he said this; it was a disgrace to his family!

"Bastard!"

This time, the city lord was also furious. He remembered that he had only promised Lin Ping that he could go to gambling dens and brothels, but he had not promised to let him go to gambling houses.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Lin Ping is not to blame. Although he did not agree to let him go to the gambling house, he did not forbid it either.

Jiang Yunyu lowered his head, covered his mouth, and almost burst out laughing. The image of Lin Ping being beaten had already appeared in his mind.

"Manager Jinmanlou has arrived..."

Just then, the doorman cleared his throat and began calling out the names.

Manager Jinmanlou is the top executive of Jinmanlou Trading Company in Jiangcheng Prefecture. Even at headquarters, he holds a prominent position and has been dealing with the City Lord's Mansion for a hundred years.

In other words, the other party is the financial backer of the City Lord's Mansion, and this matter concerns the struggle for the position of Commander-in-Chief.

If Jin Manlou cuts off the city lord's supplies, even if he gets the position of commander-in-chief, he won't have the money to support the army.

Therefore, the city lord is very concerned about Jin Manlou's movements. Now that the other party has come uninvited, it seems that something bad is about to happen.

"Please come quickly!"

The city lord strode out to greet him personally, not daring to neglect this distinguished guest.

The manager of Jinmanlou was dressed in a brown robe and wore a black felt hat. He had a taut, expressionless face and acted more arrogantly than the city lord, as if someone owed him money.

Um... okay, it seems the city lord really does owe the other party a lot of money.

Although Jiang Xiuwen was a martial artist, he understood the implications to some extent and managed to suppress his overwhelming anger towards Lin Ping.

"I am Qian Duoduo, and I pay my respects to the City Lord."

The manager of Jinmanlou bowed slightly, showing a respectful greeting to the city lord.

Even if he is a creditor of the city lord's mansion, he cannot neglect these basic courtesies, otherwise he will be accused of being disrespectful.

The city lord hurriedly supported the man's arms, replying with politeness bordering on obsequiousness, "Manager Qian, you are too kind. May I ask what brings you here?"

After a few brief pleasantries, the city lord got straight to the point.

Jiang Yunyu knew a bit about manners, and eagerly served tea and water to the two of them.

Qian Duoduo remained silent, leisurely sitting in the armchair and sipping his tea. Then, with a stern face, he sighed, "Business at the money exchange is bad this year, so the mortgage amount will have to be reduced..."

The city lord really wanted to slap him. Ever since Wan Da Qianzhuang withdrew from Jiangcheng Prefecture before the new year, Jin Manlou has become the undisputed leader. Making a fortune every day is a conservative estimate. How dare you tell me that business is not good?

The city lord had expected the other party to say this, so he wasn't surprised and just kept sipping his tea.

Jinmanlou's success today is inseparable from the support of many city lords. However, with the promulgation of the new policies of the monarch, Jinmanlou has also changed its strategy, and its main business has begun to lean towards the new policies. Naturally, it does not want to lend money to city lords.

Of course, Jin Manlou's lifeline still depends on many city lords. The reason for the difficulties is that Qian Duoduo believes the city lord's mansion is doomed.

This judgment is based on evidence. The city lord's main source of income is salt from the salt fields. However, in recent years, there have been more cloudy days than sunny days, resulting in a sharp decrease in salt production. In fact, the salt in Jiangcheng Prefecture has been monopolized by a few wealthy merchants, greatly reducing the city lord's influence.

Furthermore, in recent years, the city lord has repeatedly served as the commander-in-chief, spending a lot of money to support the army. Now the treasury is empty, and he can't even come up with the items he has mortgaged.

"Manager Qian, my city lord's mansion also has tens of thousands of acres of salt fields..."

The city lord said softly, clearly unwilling to use his own life as collateral.

Upon hearing this, Manager Qian smiled faintly, his voice tinged with disdain, "Those ten thousand acres of salt fields probably won't even produce a single bushel of salt!"

Now that they've spoken frankly, Qian Duoduo isn't afraid of offending the city lord, since it's the truth: due to the weather, the tens of thousands of acres of salt fields are almost abandoned.

Jiang Xiuwen, who was standing nearby, was getting restless. He gripped the leather whip tightly in his hand and was about to attack Qian Duoduo.

He was ultimately rational. If he were to strike, the business between the two parties would be completely disrupted. Not only would the city lord's mansion not be able to borrow money, but it would also be very likely to be immediately pressured for repayment.

“There are some things that I shouldn’t have said, but I have no choice but to say them.”

Qian Duoduo paused and said, "Given the financial resources of the City Lord's Mansion, it's best not to compete for the position of Commander-in-Chief, lest we lose even our own 10,000 private troops."

As a businessman, Qian Duoduo shouldn't be talking about politics, but that makes sense.

Even if the city lord fights tooth and nail to win the position of the next commander, what good will it do?

It will still cost a lot of money, making the city lord's mansion even more difficult, and at that time, the money to support his 10,000 private soldiers will no longer be available.

The city lord frowned, a deep "川" (river) character forming between his brows. He understood the principle perfectly well, but he still wanted to take the risk, since it involved many islands to the east. These islands were all quite large, but they were rich in fish and shrimp, which could bring in a considerable amount of income.

Three years ago, the city lord was defeated by the city lord of Yangzhou, and not only did he miss out on the position of commander-in-chief, he also lost the ownership of many islands, which made the city lord's situation even worse.

If the status quo could be maintained, the city lord would not be worried. After all, he only wanted to protect the legacy left by his ancestors and did not want to expand his territory. However, the king did not agree. Under the suppression of the new policies, those without strong power would have their fiefdoms taken back.

Many weak city lords have surrendered and barely managed to obtain nominal positions in the imperial court, thus ruining their ancestors' legacy.

Rather than waiting to die, he decided to take a gamble, but the manager of Jinmanlou poured cold water on his plans.

The city lord tried everything he could, but the other party remained unmoved. He couldn't very well lower himself to beg the other party, and even if he did, it might not work.

"The son-in-law has arrived!"

Just when the situation was extremely awkward, the doorman called out the names again, but Lin Ping was standing outside the door, looking nonchalant.