Linxia

Chapter 177, Sensation

Xiaohe Village.

The sun was hanging motionless in the sky in the afternoon, and a big river was flowing quietly outside the village, sparkling with light.

At the entrance of the village, three or two roosters cackled and flapped their wings as they flew up to the pile of firewood. Not far away, a group of children stood on tiptoe, looking around and waiting.

"Muramasa has gone to the county town. He will be back soon. It was always around this time before!"

"Who knows, there might be a letter from Brother Fang this time. In Brother Fang's letter, he said that Fucheng is really great. When I grow up, I want to go to Fucheng too."

"Erdan, you are dreaming. My father said that life in the capital is not easy. Money is spent like water. Hey, look, Muramasa is back! No, why is there a carriage?"

……

Qiao Cun was returning in a donkey cart. In another horse-drawn carriage was Ji Guangxiang, the leader of the caravan that had accompanied Fang Lin and his party last time. This time, he was entrusted by Fang Chuanhui and Fang He to bring some silver and money to the first and second wives of the Fang family.

People from the first and second branches of the Fang family were quickly called over, and Ji Guangxiang gave them the twenty taels of silver that Fang Chuanhui and Fang Herang had transferred to them.

On the first house side, the eldest uncle Fang Boxian was very happy and kept saying good things. The eldest aunt Fang Liu took the money and smiled, but she kept saying, "It's not easy for Chuanhui to earn money, why did he send it all back home?" On the second house side, the second uncle was fine, but the second aunt Fang Wang was so happy that she couldn't find her way around. She kept saying, "My son Hezi has made great progress! He is filial!"

The impact on the villagers was even greater.

Twenty taels of silver!

In Xiaohe Village, people work hard all year round, and even in a good year, they can only save one or two taels of silver. It can be said that many families in the village do not even have twenty taels of silver in their entire lives!
Ji Guangxiang handed over the silver and money, said goodbye and left, and the villagers then started talking as they walked back.

Arriving at Qiao's courtyard, this time, the villagers asked to read the letters from Fang Chuanhui and Fang He first. In their letters, they said that Fang Lin's second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a big hit, and the store was doing a booming business. They also said that they were going to watch the fireworks show "Liu Guanzhang's Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage"...

"What kind of book is so great? So profitable? Chuanhui and Hezi both make so much as assistants, how much should Linzi make?"

"Hey, you don't understand. Writing books is something that scholars do. Scholars can make money!"

"Fireworks show, fireworks, show, I know these two things separately, but I don't understand them together. This is a rare thing that only this city has, I don't know if I can see it once in my life!"

……

Next came Fang Lin's letter. In the letter, Fang Lin only briefly mentioned the great sales of the second part of his Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Soon, he said that the emperor had read his book and was very pleased, and appointed him as the fifth-rank Jinyiwei Zhenfu.

The villagers were all shocked. They were quiet for a long time before they burst into an uproar.

"The emperor has read Linzi's book? He even gave him a high position, a fifth-rank official. This seems to be higher than our county magistrate, right?"

"The old Fang family's Linzi is really promising. He used to make a lot of money, and now he is a high-ranking official."

"Master Fang, you are so lucky. You will enjoy happiness in the future!"

……

In fact, everyone in the Fang family was no less shocked than the villagers. In their minds, only those who studied hard and took the imperial examinations could become officials, and without studying hard and taking the imperial examinations, one could not become an official.

Well, no matter how Fang Lin got this position, it is a great joyful event.

Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang were very happy and accepted everyone's congratulations with rosy faces.

The first, second and fourth wives were also happy and were waiting in the village. Letters from Fang Lin came one after another, each one was the same, and they felt they were all getting lucky, especially this time, as he was a high-ranking official of the fifth rank!
It can be said that the old Fang family has produced a fifth-rank official. Who in the surrounding area dares to mess with the old Fang family in the future? When they go out, they speak with a firm voice!

"Everybody, be quiet! Be quiet!"

Qiao Cun was still reading Fang Lin's letter. This time, Fang Lin said that he had three good job vacancies in the city, as a small manager at the dock. With three taels of silver per month, he could allow three people to go to the city. The arrangements were: one from the Qiao family, Qiao Sheng and Qiao Xu, depending on who would go; one from Aunt Fu's family, for Wang Fulin; and one from the family of Uncle Jiao from the neighboring Nanping Village, who saved his life when he was a child.

It turned out that Xu Kuo Lao had contracted a section of the dock. The dock was recruiting more people, and the last time he drank with Fang Lin, he gave him three positions as small managers. In fact, he was doing Fang Lin a favor and asked him to arrange the positions for his close people.

This job, which was what Fang's father did before, did not require any special skills. It just involved counting the number of people every day, watching others work, and checking the numbers. There was no room for performance and no room for mistakes.

——Now, Father Fang has been promoted from a small steward to a big steward, and has less time to do. He doesn't have to do anything. He just patrols and chats with people every day. In fact, the Fang family doesn't need Father Fang's salary at all. They just worry that he will be bored at home, so they find him something to do.

After listening to what Xu Kuo Lao said, Fang Lin thought about it and decided to take these three places. Among the neighbors, there was no one with whom he had a very good relationship or was very suitable, so he could use any of them. He would use these three places in Xiaohe Village. On the one hand, it would expand the influence in the village; on the other hand, it was also "Shang Yang's establishment of trust". After this time, the credit would be established, which would facilitate opening factories and going out to sea to recruit people in the future.

The three places were allocated to Qiao Cunzheng's family because Qiao Xu had taken care of Fang's family on the way to the city, which was considered a favor. In addition, Qiao Cunzheng was also worth winning over. Not to mention Aunt Fu's family and Uncle Jiao's family, Fang's family had done them a favor and brought something back last time, but it was not enough to repay them.

When the villagers heard the news, they were as shocked as when they heard that Fang Lin had just become a fifth-rank official.

——This is easy to understand. No matter how successful Fang Lin is and how high he becomes a high-ranking official, they are mostly just listeners. Now, taking people to the provincial capital is truly a matter of concern to them. They will think, this time it was the Qiao family, Aunt Fu’s family, and Uncle Jiao’s family, will it be them next time?

The villagers looked at the people from the Qiao family and Aunt Fu's family with indescribably complicated expressions. Besides being envious and jealous, they surrounded the people from the old Fang family and said nice things to them.

It goes without saying that the old Fang family is very prosperous. The fact is that as Fang Lin's status rises, the old Fang family has an easier life in the village, and their status becomes more and more superior. Not only the lineage of Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang, but also the entire Xiaohe village, all the young men and women with the surname Fang, have benefited from it, and it is easier for them to find wives and marry out!

It is true that when one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

Just when the villagers of Xiaohe Village gathered to read the letter, County Magistrate Hou actually came over.

——County Magistrate Hou was keeping an eye on Fang Lin's news, and also learned that Fang Lin had become the governor of the Imperial Guard. This time he inspected the dam, and came by to curry favor with Fang Lin.

"... Xiaohe Village is lucky to have someone like Fang Lin. This is a blessing for Xiaohe Village and also a blessing for me as a parent official."

When the villagers in Xiaohe Village heard this, they all felt proud.

Isn't it? Because of Fang Lin, the whole Xiaohe Village has benefited from it. This year, the embankment in their area will be reinforced first.

Let me put it this way, Xiaohe Village has a Fang Lin. The villagers can stand up straighter in front of people from other villages. This time Fang Lin has become a fifth-rank official. Needless to say, in the future, he can even walk sideways like a crab when he leaves the village!
……

For the people of Xiaohe Village, this was an extremely turbulent afternoon. First, Fang Chuanhui and Fang He each sent back 20 taels of silver, which shocked them greatly. Then, Fang Lin was appointed as a fifth-rank official. Then, Fang Lin gave three people the quota to go to the prefectural capital. Finally, County Magistrate Hou came...

It can be said that the shocks came one after another, pushing the villagers' emotions up layer by layer, and they were still talking about it long after the show was over.

……

The old Fang family.

The four families are having a dinner together tonight, and each family can bring out good things. The meal will be even more sumptuous than the Chinese New Year's meal. Fang Wang, the second mother who was relatively stingy in the past, didn't show any heartache at all this time.

"Good, good, good! Great!" Grandpa Fang sighed: "The third wife's son is so successful. This is the blessing of our ancestors. We must burn paper money for them tomorrow!"

"If the ancestors could bless Linzi to become a high official, they would have become one themselves while they were still alive. Who knows, even the ancestors of the old Fang family would benefit from Linzi's help in the underworld!" Fang Wang's second wife muttered in her heart, but she didn't dare to say it out loud. She nodded in agreement with the old man.

The eldest lady Fang Liu and the younger lady Fang Qin also said nice things, making Grandma Fang smile from ear to ear, and they were all very happy.

As Fang Lin's family developed rapidly, many problems of the old Fang family were solved. Such harmony was unimaginable before.

The reason is that, on the one hand, Fang Lin's prosperity has brought incremental resources, which have benefited all four branches of the Fang family to varying degrees, so there is no need to fight over trivial matters; on the other hand, the other three branches are all smart people and know what the third branch hopes to see. If they continue to engage in intrigue like before, Fang Lin's family will probably be disappointed and will not come back, which would be a very bad thing.

……

The four families had dinner together and separated, and they continued to talk about this matter when they returned home.

……

Large room.

Uncle Fang Boxian sighed: "The third brother's Linzi is really promising. He has become a fifth-rank official. I dare not even think about it."

"Yes!" Aunt Fang Liu said, "Linzi didn't let our Chuanzong go this time, so don't think too much. I'm thinking, first, Linzi probably thought that Chuanhui went to the capital, and if Chuanzong left, our land would be hard to farm; second, if we really let Chuanzong go again this time, the second and fourth rooms would think too much and it would be unfair; third, before he left, Linzi also said that all the people in our family would be employed, and he also told Chuanzong to learn more characters, so this time is probably not suitable for Chuanzong."

"How could I not know this? Lin Zixin knows it clearly!"

……

Second bedroom.

Second wife Fang Wang said: "Master, you said that it would be good for our Hezi to work as a steward at the dock, right?" "You are short-sighted. If the stewardship at the dock is really good, how can we not give Linzi to our family?"

Uncle Fang Zhonggui shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. Just take the dock steward as an example. Can he get a reward of 20 taels of silver a month? From my perspective, this dock steward is just a job to eat for free. There is no future for him. He will be like this for the rest of his life."

"It's fine if it's like this for the rest of my life. That's three taels of silver a month. It's a pity that our Cao'er and the eldest wife Yuyu are girls, otherwise we would definitely use our own family members to take care of the children this time."

……

Four rooms.

The young lady Fang Qin was also saying: "It's a pity that our An An is too young..."

"Don't worry, our family is honest and honest, we don't fight or compete, Linzi can see it."

Uncle Fang Jiping narrowed his eyes and said, "Why didn't Linzi use our Fang family's people this time? I thought that the job of a small manager at the dock might not be that good, so Linzi did a favor and gave it to the Qiao family, Aunt Fu's family, and Uncle Jiao's family, to let the villagers see that he is considerate and not just caring about the Fang family. This is a powerful move, and it also prevents our Fang family from being too greedy and being envied by others..."

……

Not only the people from Lao Fang's family, but many families in the village were also talking about this.

……

Joe's house.

"Xuzi, you are more familiar with Linzi, so you can take on the job of the dock manager!"

Qiao Cunzheng made the final decision and sighed, "This time, our family owes a big favor to the third branch of the Fang family. From now on, we must help the Fang family in any way we can, otherwise we would be ungrateful."

"Dad, we remember this."

……

You family.

The You family's wife said to her husband, "Don't feel bad, and don't complain because Linzi didn't give you the job this time."

"I know that Xuzi from the Qiao family helped the Fang family, Aunt Fu's family, and Uncle Jiao's family on the way to the city. He is also very kind to Linzi's family, so it is right to give them some. This further proves that Linzi is thinking about the favor." You Chaodong said.

"That's right. First it's the old Fang family, then the people in the village who have done good things. If there are good things in the future, it may be the turn of other families. Our family is always closer to the other families in the village and Linzi's family."

……

Geng family.

Geng Cong had not given up on going to the capital, so he suggested, "Dad, Aunt Fu's brother Fulin has children of all ages at home, so they may not want to go to the capital. Why don't we go and ask if we can change his job..."

"Alas!" Geng's father sighed, interrupting his eldest son's words, looking at him with disappointment, "Linzi is such a capable man, how could he be happy with you playing tricks like this? Not only will you screw yourself, but you will also implicate your brother."

"If you keep doing this, not knowing how to be a down-to-earth person and do things, and just want to be clever, then even if there is a chance in the future, I won't dare let you go to the capital city!"

……

Fu family.

"When our Hongzi was in the village, he also stole some of the old Fang family's things. We found various ways to make up for it. That incident just passed, and last time, you went back to your mother's family and instigated the old Fang family's eldest son Chuanzong and Chuanhui to marry into their family... You ended up losing more than you gained."

Father Fu sighed, "You are making trouble like this, and you are getting further and further away from the old Fang family. As the third branch of the Fang family becomes more and more prosperous, what good can our family do?"

Mrs. Fu knew she was in the wrong, so she lowered her head and dared not speak.

……

Song family.

Song Liu said with regret: "Back then, that damned Bai Rao ruined Qingqing's reputation. Otherwise, marrying into the Fang family would have been such a great thing!"

"Yeah, I suspect that Bai Rao is up to no good and did it on purpose." Song Huai said.

……

White House.

"Fortunately, at that time, our Rao Zi and Song Qingqing interfered so much that the marriage between the Song family and the old Fang family became impossible."

"Yes, otherwise, if the Song family gets close to the Fang family, won't they suppress our Bai family?"

"We wrongly blamed Rao Zi. He really did a good thing back then!"

……

Bai Rao listened to these words, clenched his fists and then couldn't loosen them: "I'll go out for a walk."

……

Zheng family.

"You see, this time the old Fang family said that they would take people to the capital city. The villagers are so enthusiastic about the old Fang family! But I think they are blinded by their desires. How can they do this at the last minute without praying at ordinary times?"

Zheng's wife said complacently, "I was farsighted and established good relations with the Fang family in advance. Our son went to Linzi's bookstore to cook early."

"Yes, yes, you are awesome." After all these things, Zheng's father had to admit that his daughter-in-law had a much better vision than himself.

"It's good to know that I'm good. I'm happy today, so I'll give you..."

"I know, three times." Father Zheng said, holding his waist.

……

Wang family.

Aunt Fu's eldest son Wang Fulin looked at his children Goudan'er and Yaya and said, "The older one is big, the younger one is small, and there is also land at home. I'm afraid it's really hard to go to the capital."

"That's true, but we can't waste such a good job. How about we exchange this job for someone else?" said the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family.

Wang Fulin thought about it and agreed: "Okay, let's see who is willing to exchange among our family members first. We can't just look at who can exchange more things. We still have to find someone who is honest and will not cause trouble for Linzi."

……

Next door is Nanping Village, Jiao family.

Grandpa Jiao sighed: "Back then, I used traditional methods to treat Linwa's illness. I didn't expect that after so many years, the third branch of the old Fang family still remembered our kindness. The last time they came back, they gave me a lot of gifts. This time, they are taking someone to the capital city with them... The old Fang family is a family that remembers kindness!"

Finally, after some discussion, the Jiao family decided to let Jiao Simao, the fourth son of the Jiao family, go to the provincial capital.

……

Sun family.

Auntie Sun held Sun Lingling in her arms and sighed repeatedly when she heard the news from Xiaohe Village: "What a pity! You were unlucky. You didn't catch the heir of the eldest branch of the old Fang family last time..."

……

It can be said that the sensation caused by Fang Lin's letter back to Xiaohe Village this time was far greater than any previous time. Not only Xiaohe Village, but also people in several surrounding villages were in turmoil, which planted a seed for the future.

……

(End of this chapter)