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

"They've gone too far!"

Zhu Jifu was furious, his voice trembling with extreme anger, his beard seemed to stand on end, and his eyes were wide open as if they could spit fire.

Throughout his life, whether he was struggling in the business world or establishing prestige within his family, he was known for his unyielding spirit. He had never suffered such humiliation before, and he could not tolerate outsiders bullying him, let alone such a rebellious act within his own family.

The butler knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with helplessness and fear as he continued to report, "Master, it was the young master... he took it upon himself to sell off all the treasures, antiques, land, and shops in the house at rock-bottom prices. Now the house is completely empty, and we're even having trouble making ends meet next month..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jifu felt a rush of blood to his head, his vision went black, and he lost his balance, stumbling and falling heavily to the ground with a dull thud. His chest felt as if a boulder was pressing down on it; the pent-up anger and heartache intertwined into an indescribable feeling of oppression, as if it would burst through his chest at any moment, turning into a mouthful of blood that gushed out.

His eyes were wide open, his face as pale as paper, his gaze filled with disappointment and anger towards Zhu Xiaoji. He rolled his eyes back, almost fainting.

Just as chaos erupted inside the room and everyone was in a panic, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, accompanied by an anxious shout that broke the deathly silence: "Master! Lin Ping... Lin Ping has come with his men!" The doorman rushed into the room, sweating profusely and panting, his face filled with fear and unease.

"Haha, this kid hasn't forgotten his brother after all!" Zhu Xiaoji perked up immediately. Ignoring Zhu Jifu's life or death, he ran out in a flash, not forgetting to comfort him, "I didn't touch a single penny in the account, Father, you don't need to worry about the cash flow being cut off."

It must be said that Zhu Xiaoji still had some principles; he simply sold the land and antiques without cutting off the Zhu family's operating funds.

Is this consolation?

Probably...

In short, Zhu Jifu couldn't swallow his anger. He knelt on the ground, his head spinning, his hands gripping the bamboo chair, muttering incessantly, "This unworthy descendant has failed his ancestors by raising such an unfilial son. The son's unfilial conduct is the father's fault. If the ancestors want to blame someone, blame Zhu Jifu..."

Zhu Xiaoji naturally didn't hear these words; at this moment, he was single-mindedly thinking about squandering his family fortune, becoming famous, and marrying into the family...

The moment Zhu Xiaoji saw Lin Ping, he pulled out the 50,000 taels of silver without saying a word.

"Let's go buy some land!" Zhu Xiaoji put his arm around Lin Ping's shoulder and headed to buy those inferior plots of land.

Seeing Zhu Xiaoji's impatient look, Lin Ping didn't know what to say, and muttered to himself: Is it really that fun to squander money?

Yes, that's how great it is, a voice deep inside me answered.

You, Lin Ping, are a complete spendthrift. What right do you have to laugh at others?

Before coming to the Zhu residence, Lin Ping personally went to the flooded area outside the city for investigation and was surprised to find that the shallow rock salt layer, which was about 200 meters deep, covered an area of ​​2,000 mu, which is the limit of the depth that can be developed at present.

In other words, Lin Ping had to acquire all two thousand acres of land in one go to prevent others from taking a share after the news leaked out.

In addition, Lin Ping also needed to know who owned the two thousand acres of land. Just as he was about to go to the brokerage to inquire, he happened to see the brokerage owner walking out of the Zhu residence with a happy expression.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect that the young master of the Zhu family is not only a spendthrift, but also a bit stupid. These antiques and collectibles only sold for 20,000 taels of silver."

The brokerage owner, Shen Wanwan, carefully played with the goose-egg-sized jade bead in his hand, muttering to himself.

These treasures of the Zhu family were worth at least 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver, but Zhu Xiaoji sold them for 20,000 taels, making the broker overjoyed.

However, the brokerage owner did not notice that Zhu Xiaoji was staring at him with a gloomy face outside the door.

If the 50,000 taels of silver hadn't already been handed over to Lin Ping, he would have definitely taken the goods back from the brokerage owner.

"That's a bad word."

Lin Ping walked up to Shen Wanwan with a smile and explained, "Young Master Zhu isn't stupid. He's just trying to squander money. If it weren't for the fear that your heart couldn't handle it, he might have given all these things to you for free!"

Lin Ping had two objectives: first, to get money from Zhu Xiaoji; and second, to publicize the group's wasteful behavior.

Now that the money is in hand, it's a good opportunity to use Shen Wanwan's big mouth to publicize Zhu Xiaoji's extravagant spending.

"Give it away for free?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wanwan's heart pounded, and he hurriedly covered it with his palm, his face turning pale.

Lin Ping wasn't joking; he had already discovered through X-rays that Shen Wanwan's heart development was somewhat unhealthy. In the midst of such extreme joy and sorrow, an accident might actually happen.

After calming down a bit, Shen Wanwan glanced at Lin Ping and immediately panicked, cold sweat breaking out on her already pale face.

He had seen this familiar face before; it was the same person who had approached him to sell his land not long ago.

Without Shen Wanwan's instigation, Lin Ping would likely not have been thrust into the limelight, his fame suddenly surpassing that of Zhu Xiaoji and others.

As the owner of a brokerage firm, Shen Wanwan enjoyed dealing with these spendthrift sons. However, the situation was different now. Lin Ping had married into the city lord's mansion and held a noble status. If he were to cheat Lin Ping out of his money again, it would be the same as cheating out of the city lord's mansion, a crime punishable by beheading.

“Young Master Lin…” Shen Wanwan stammered, head bowed.

"Don't be afraid, Mr. Shen, I'm not going to rob you." Lin Ping smiled wickedly, which made Shen Wanwan even more nervous.

Shen Wanwan was well-informed and knew what Lin Ping had been doing in Jiangcheng these past few days. It seemed that no one who had come into contact with him had a good ending, and his forced smile said it all.

Sure enough, Lin Ping then made a series of dramatic turns: "The one trying to rob you is the heir of the city lord's mansion..."

At this point, Jiang Yunyu, dressed as a pageboy, got off the carriage, shaking his head and saying with a straight face, "The City Lord's Mansion also has some treasures. Will Boss Shen accept them?"

Shen Wanwan was a celebrity and had naturally met Jiang Yunyu before. His legs went weak, and he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed, but did not answer the question.

This isn't an easy question; it's a death trap.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare accept anything from the City Lord's Mansion. If caught, he'd be beheaded. But Jiang Yunyu was pressing him hard; if he didn't accept, he probably wouldn't leave alive today. The two foremen's gleaming swords were no joke.

"I'm asking you a question! Are you going to accept it or not?" Jiang Yunyu asked angrily.

Shen Wanwan looked at Lin Ping with pleading eyes, knowing full well that he and Jiang Yunyu were in cahoots and most likely conspired together.

It makes sense. Not long ago, he swindled a lot of money from Lin Ping. Now that the other party has gained power and influence, it's normal for him to retaliate.

To be honest, Lin Ping was really willing to take revenge on someone like Shen Wanwan. The reason he shook his head helplessly was because he hoped that the treasures of the City Lord's Mansion could be sold to raise more start-up funds for mining rock salt.

Left with no other choice, Shen Wanwan said with a bitter expression, "I will obey Your Highness's orders..."

"Boss Shen is indeed straightforward. From now on, you are my friend, Jiang Yunyu!" The chubby boy laughed heartily, seemingly feeling that he had finally done his part for the development of the City Lord's Mansion.

Hearing this, Lin Ping was taken aback. He hadn't expected the chubby boy to be so good at winning people over. Becoming the prince's friend was something many people dreamed of.

Sure enough, a smile bloomed on Shen Wanwan's bitter face as he stood up and gave a dry laugh.

“Three days later, come to the City Lord’s Mansion with 100,000 taels of silver to collect your belongings!” Jiang Yunyu said casually.

"Three days? One hundred thousand taels?" Shen Wanwan's smile froze again, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest once more.

Although brokerage firms make money quickly, they are not printing money machines, and it is indeed difficult to prepare 100,000 taels of silver within three days.

Moreover, Jiang Yunyu, you demanded 100,000 taels of silver without even letting me inspect the goods, which seems a bit like forcing a sale.

However, did Shen Wanwan have a choice? Of course not.

He was just a merchant; how could he dare to challenge the heir of the city lord's mansion?

"Sigh..." Shen Wanwan let out a sigh of relief, thinking about how to sell the treasure he had just acquired as soon as possible and raise as much cash as possible.

"Is Mr. Shen going to the Xu and Tang families?" Lin Ping still had a smirk that seemed to have no good intentions.

Shen Wanwan had long been afraid of him, and with some unease in his heart, he nodded painfully.

Lin Ping patted Shen Wanwan on the shoulder, his smile widening as he comforted him, "Don't be afraid, Mr. Shen. I, Lin Ping, am not one to hold grudges. I will not hold a grudge just because you cheated the Lin family out of their land and ruined my reputation. It was purely by chance that I went to the Xu and Tang families with you this time!"

I don't believe you for a second...

Shen Wanwan thought to himself: If you weren't so vengeful, would you have cut off the head constable's testicles? You're not just petty, you even remember that I tricked you?

Thinking of the constable's fate, Shen Wanwan felt a dull ache in his groin. He quickly offered a fawning smile and clasped his hands, saying, "That's right, that's right..."

At Lin Ping's enthusiastic invitation, Shen Wanwan boarded the carriage of the City Lord's Mansion. He immediately felt like he had boarded a pirate ship, and looked around in a panic, trying to find a way to get off the carriage.

Lin Ping thought to himself: "You think you can just get away after getting into this experienced driver's car? The doors are welded shut. Enjoy the driver's skills!"

"Mr. Shen, Lin Ping has something to ask you." Lin Ping said solemnly, even clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wanwan was terrified and wished he could lie flat on the carriage to show his lowly status. He hurriedly said, "Young Master Chen, please speak. I will tell you everything I know."

Lin Ping nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Who owns that piece of land in the flood zone outside the city?"

After speaking, Lin Ping anxiously awaited the answer.

He feared two possible outcomes: first, the land would belong to the prefect, in which case the land purchase would definitely fall through.

Secondly, since the land is owned by some individual owners, there will always be some "holdouts" who are difficult to acquire no matter how much money is offered.

Shen Wanwan, being the know-it-all of Jiangcheng, quickly replied, "This land totals two thousand mu, all belonging to Boss Zhao of Qingfeng Tower. At market price, it's about ten taels of silver per mu, but Zhao Yinian is cunning and might not be willing to sell..."

Whenever land is mentioned, there are essentially two possibilities: selling land or buying land.

The land belonged to someone else, so Lin Ping naturally wanted to buy it. Shen Wanwan immediately explained the ins and outs to Lin Ping in detail, which was also a way of currying favor.