Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 296 Three Cunning Rabbit Cave
The boomerang that swung around hurts the face. The wives brought back by the brothers from Shenjiying are almost all settled in the south of the city. Speaking of the brothers who can bring a wife back from Shandong, all of them are from very poor families. It is because the settlement fee in the south of the city is cheap that it attracts a large number of brothers to settle here.

Jia Lian was too lazy to ask any more questions. The two sisters were frightened. It was totally unnecessary for you to explain that you just wanted to understand the situation. In their opinion, it was natural.

The best way is to make them feel comfortable after that, so that they feel they are still useful and the effect is excellent.

Ni Er returned in triumph. He walked to the gate of the yard, skillfully put away his arrogant expression, bent his waist slightly, with a flattering look on his face. After entering the door, he lowered his head and dared not look around.

It's really not Ni Er's fault for being a lowly person. He is just a low-level gangster. It was all thanks to Jia Lian that he was able to go from being in a state where he didn't know where to find his next meal after the last one to where he is today.

Nowadays, in the capital, if Ni Er, the Drunken King Kong, is mentioned, no one from the Five Cities Army will make things difficult for him. Even in front of the yamen runners from Shuntian Prefecture, he can hold his head up and speak without getting beaten.

After entering the room, Ni Er wanted to kneel down, but halfway through he remembered that the Second Master did not like his subordinates to kneel, so he quickly stopped, stood up, bowed his head and spoke: "Ni Er, pays respects to the Second Master."

Jia Lian leaned against his sister on the kang, handed the teacup in his hand to his sister, and stood up. His sister hurried down to put on his shoes. After landing, Jia Lian looked down at Ni Er and said, "As a local, you should know the territory in the east of the city. It is true that it involves the livelihood of the brothers in the Shenji Camp. Isn't such a large area in the south of the city enough for you to mess around? Why do you have to go to the east of the city to cause trouble for me?"

The tone was not good. Ni Er slightly increased the amplitude of his waist and his legs trembled slightly. If Jia Lian came up and scolded him, Ni Er would really feel relieved. Now speaking in this tone, Ni Er felt unsure and panicked. He knew how to read people's faces to make a living. Jia Lian seemed calm, but he was actually very dissatisfied in his heart.

This is the capital city. There are many merchants in the east of the city, which means there is a lot of money. Jia Lian knows very well that places with a lot of money may look peaceful on the surface, but there are some monsters and demons under the surface. Anyone who does not have real power in the capital dares to mess around in the east of the city. If you delay the big guys from making money, you will get into countless troubles.

"To answer Second Master's question, the Evil Dragon Gang is leaderless. If we don't seize the opportunity to extend our influence now, we will never have another chance in the future. No matter what the outcome of this incident is, Ni Er will be the only one to bear the consequences. The brothers in the Shenji Camp will not be implicated, and Second Master will not be involved." Ni Er's voice was not loud, but his tone was extremely firm.

"Bullshit!" Jia Lian suddenly raised his voice and kicked Ni Er. Ni Er staggered after being kicked and knelt down: "Second Master, calm down!"

Jia Lian kicked her again: "Calm down, NM, and stand up and speak for me."

Ni Er stood up quickly, and Jia Lian continued, "Everyone in the capital knows that you are my follower. If you go in, you will be a junior. Who will be responsible if I lose face? Stand up straight, don't bend your waist!"

Ni Er quickly stood up straight, and Jia Lian continued: "Do you know why I kicked you?" Ni Er shook his head like a peddler's drum, and Jia Lian said: "Whether you won or lost, why didn't you tell me the result before entering the door?"

I didn't ask you, did I? Ni Er complained in his heart, but he made up for it in time: "To answer you, Second Master, with the help of the brothers from the Shenjiying, we won a great victory. With the brothers from the Bingmasi taking care of us, none of our people were arrested. Those who were arrested were all from the Evil Dragon Gang. The censor seemed to be very angry, but he didn't say anything harsh."

"You know nothing. Now is the critical moment for the position of the head censor. He dares to make trouble for you? You will lose your current position, not to mention promotion. Forget it, it's useless to tell you this." After saying this, Jia Lian turned around and sat back on the kang. He looked at Ni Er and said, "It's not bad to want to lead your brothers to live a good life, but you will only be brave and aggressive and will never achieve anything in your life. Go back and think about what I said. Come back and talk to me when you understand it. Okay, let's leave it at that for today."

Ni Er retreated in confusion, but Jia Lian lay on the kang in low spirits. The capital was a bad place, as all the profitable businesses had already been taken by others. If you wanted to make money, you had to come up with new ideas.

Jia Lian has no shortage of new tricks, but he doesn't plan to use them so quickly. He has to at least wait until the quantification of soda ash can be resolved.

There are many soap makers in time-travel novels. In fact, the soap made by filtering water with plant ash is hard to describe. (When I was a child, I saw soap produced by farms. It became soft when it was slightly heated.)
There is one most difficult problem to solve when making soap - grease!
Oil and fat were a scarce commodity in that era. Simply put, the country was short of oil and fat until the early 1980s.

So even though Jia Lian didn't plan to make soap, it's not that soapberry is unusable.

What is the biggest obstacle to doing business in this era? It is not raw materials, not technology, not manpower, but transportation.

Jia Lian did have plans, but he always gave up halfway and in the end all he made was a cigarette.

Jia Lian is no longer as ambitious as before. He is now thinking about things that can meet local needs while local resources are sufficient.

The Great Zhou had a very troublesome problem. There were no powerful enemies around it, which made it difficult to develop heavy industry. Heavy industry was a field that required large investment, long time, and little economic benefit.

When he was in the Ministry of Works, Jia Lian discovered a problem. Compared with the research and development and improvement of military equipment, the workshops of the Ministry of Works were more willing to produce kitchen knives and farm tools. The reason was simple: it made money quickly.

Therefore, without sufficient interest driving force, it is extremely difficult for a country like Da Zhou, which poses no threat to its surrounding areas, to develop heavy industry.

The fact that the new China was able to be built by tightening one generation’s belt and enduring three generations’ hardship was due to the objective reality. From the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the reform and opening up, the shadow of war has always shrouded this country.

After thinking about it, Jia Lian only had one option left, go out and rob! The top of society sits at home waiting for money from outside to come in, with no internal motivation, but there are many poor people at the bottom of society.

For the first step, Jia Lian felt it necessary to hook up with Wang Ziteng to encourage the people who could not make a living in the southern coastal areas to go to Nanyang to make a living, and secondly to encourage the Nanyang Navy to go to Southeast Asia. One is to make more money in trade, and the other is to train talents needed for the navy. To be honest, it is a bit late at this time, but it is not too late, and there is still time.

Although Emperor Chenghui had some unpleasant faults, overall, he had the internal motivation to change the country and took action.

The East City Censor is the most insecure person at this stage. During the process of handling the large-scale brawl in the east of the city, he really didn't make any sense at all and was completely biased towards the Black Tiger Gang.

After dealing with the matter, the Imperial Censor of Dongcheng thought about how to curry favor with Jia Lian. He asked someone and found out that Jia Lian was in the south of the city. He hurried home to change his clothes and quietly went out in a sedan chair.

The East City Censor has powerful people behind him, but Jia Lian is his immediate superior. Once he is targeted, it will be too easy to punish him. Now is a sensitive period, and even if the powerful people behind him want to help, they will not do too much. Therefore, we must prepare for a rainy day.

Jia Lian felt very relaxed with the sisters, and didn't have to worry about the sisters showing a sad expression. Humph, this has nothing to do with putting on pants, it's all the result of personal dependence. The East City Censor came quietly, and Jia Lian was not surprised at all. After motioning him to come in, he got off the kang, stood with his back to the door, and looked at the painting "Many Children, More Blessings" hanging in the hall with his hands behind his back.

Looking at this painting, Jia Lian was filled with emotion. The two sisters had a beautiful vision, so try to satisfy it. This place is not like home. Wang Xifeng will not say anything, but Guixiang Ping'er really dares to take the initiative to squeeze.

Don't even mention the fast recovery from a hack. Even if you are a donkey in a production team, you need to take a break sometimes.

"Your Excellency!" a voice came from behind. Jia Lian turned around with a smile on his face: "Why did you come here?"

"The matter in East City has been dealt with, and I have come here to report." He was very good at speaking, and did not say anything like "Master Jia is concerned."

"Things in Dongcheng are difficult to handle. I know what's going on and I won't be picky. You don't have to worry or think too much." Jia Lian had a magnanimous face and a kind smile on his face.

The Dongcheng Censor bent over and lowered his head, sighing in his heart that he would not be able to make it today without heavy bleeding. Fortunately, he had been prepared for a heavy bleeding and could make up for it in the future.

Thinking of this, the East City Censor took out a large envelope from his sleeve, quietly placed it on the Eight Immortals Table, stepped back three steps and bowed again: "I will take my leave!"

Jia Lian was like a blind man who saw nothing. He hummed and continued to look at the wall.

When the East City Censor came down the stairs and turned around, Jia Lian spoke again: "That's it for East City. Be careful in the future."

The Dongcheng Censor almost fell to the ground. It was obviously your dog that went to Dongcheng to cause trouble. Not only did I protect and favor it, but I also had to pay money to make up for it. Where is justice!
In the face of power, the East City Censor calmed down quickly. This was a sensitive period. Jia Lian had a say in front of the emperor. If he had to stir up trouble in East City, he would have to give up his position. Now that he has received the money, it is understandable that he would pay more attention in the future. As for what to pay attention to? Isn't it clear? The filial piety cannot stop!
After the others left, Jia Lian picked up the envelope, took out the silver notes and glanced at them. There were five silver notes of 10,000 yuan each. With the promotion of silver dollars, all banks, whether public or private, have changed to yuan.

Fifty thousand silver dollars was indeed a large sum of money. The Dongcheng Censor was determined not to be implicated in the Li Ni case.

Don't say he has a backer. If Jia Lian really wants to move him and slander him in front of the emperor, at this critical moment, Emperor Chenghui will definitely believe Jia Lian. For example, "I have observed for a long time that this thief is Li Ni's money bag." This kind of thing is not a complete slander. In order to secure his position, the East City Censor really did a lot of things! This position is really lucrative. Looking at these banknotes. Jia Lian once thought of taking down that guy and replacing him with a trustworthy person to serve as the East City Censor.

But on second thought, the position of East City Censor is not something that ordinary people can hold. Now this person can hold it firmly and have been in peace for several years, which is also considered a talent.

Keeping him, at least for now, can balance the interests of all parties and won't cause too much trouble. Let's wait and see!
If you really want to change someone, you may not be able to get what you want. This kind of position is very popular.

Putting aside his greed, Jia Lian pocketed the banknotes, looked at the time and went home.

When they returned to the Jia Mansion, the sky was dark. Yingchun, who often came to Jia Lian's place, and Tanchun, who seldom came, were both there. They surrounded Wang Xifeng and looked at her big belly curiously.

When Wang Xifeng saw Jia Lian appear, she struggled to get up. The two sisters supported her on both sides. Wang Xifeng smiled with satisfaction.

"My master is back. Isn't it almost the third day of the third lunar month? My two sisters came to ask about it. The capital is not peaceful now. The imperial examination originally scheduled for the second day of the second lunar month has been cancelled. They asked if there is a chance to go out for an outing."

At any time, Jia Lian would never hide his preference for Yingchun. He would reach out to touch her head and just smile at Tanchun.

"If you want to go out for an outing, that's not easy. Let the guards escort you. Let's see who dares to stop the young lady of the Jia family from leaving the city. After staying at home all year round, it's time to get some fresh air."

Jia Lian said this very casually, but Wang Xifeng, as his sister-in-law, did not dare to be careless and said, "Okay, let's have someone go outside the city to prepare things tomorrow, so that we can have more fun when we go out the day after tomorrow."

Yingchun took Jia Lian's hand and asked, "Brother, aren't you going for an outing?"

Jia Lian fondly stroked her head, messing up her hair before answering with satisfaction: "I want to go too, as I have a lot of official duties to attend to. We need to entertain Sister Tanchun, as she has the hardest job in this family. I'll go take care of some things first, you guys continue, call me when dinner is served."

For Xiangling, the study was her territory. After daily cleaning, no one came to disturb her while she quietly read and practiced calligraphy.

Although the study was clean without cleaning, Xiangling still wiped the furniture carefully. There was a lot of dust in this season, so it had to be wiped frequently. After dinner, I could read a book with peace of mind.

Hearing the footsteps, Xiangling narrowed her eyes and had a flattering smile on her face. When Jia Lian saw the slits in her eyes, he always thought of the Shiba Inu.

"I'm busy again. I should arrange two maids for you later to prevent you from getting too tired." Jia Lian joked with a smile.

Xiangling's eyes widened and she answered seriously, "No, I can handle it by myself." She did not hide her desire to protect her territory.

"Okay, you can go alone. Don't complain if you get tired later." Jia Lian said as he walked in and waved his hand. Xiangling sat on her legs skillfully, twisted her waist a few times, and rubbed her head a few times.

"Hey, keep this money with me, don't tell anyone." Taking out the envelope from his sleeve, Jia Lian changed the place where he hid the money. It's not that Guixiang is disloyal, but that a cunning rabbit has three burrows. It's clear without any guessing that Wang Xifeng knows that Guixiang has Jia Lian's money, and it's not a small amount. Ping'er also has some, but Wang Xifeng agreed to let her keep it after she took the initiative to report it.

That is because all the big money earned by Jia Lian went to Xiaojia. Otherwise, the money issue would have caused a stir long ago.

(End of this chapter)