Linxia

Chapter 213, Arrival

Not only the Qiao family and the old Fang family, but some families in the village have also noticed the changes in the world and are ready to seize this opportunity to go to the provincial capital.

Of course, not all animals will notice when a disaster occurs, but the smart ones will follow the leader and act together, thus gaining a greater chance of survival.

……

You family.

"We must go home."

You Chaodong confirmed that he would go to the capital this time, and discussed with his wife how to get there: "Should I go there first, and then take you over after I settle down, or should we go together?"

He knew that his wife was a person with her own ideas, and he could not match her, so he naturally had to ask for her opinion on such an important matter.

The You family's wife thought for a moment and said, "Let's go together and sell the land here!"

You Chaodong was shocked when he heard this. He left no room for retreat: "Wife, this..."

"You don't trust me, but you don't trust Lord Fang? Besides, look at those people who went to the capital earlier, such as Fang Chuanhui, Fang He, and Qiao Xu. Is there any one missing now?"

The You family's wife stared at her husband's eyes and said, "After going to the capital this time, there is no plan for us to come back!"

"Okay, I'll listen to you, wife."

You Chaodong gritted his teeth and made the decision. He was relieved. He said, "I originally thought that Linzi would take his time. First, the Fang family members, then the Qiao family, Aunt Fu's family, and Uncle Jiao's family who had favors, and then those of us who are close to us... I didn't expect that all the people in the village who are of the right age can go at once."

"Yes, this is also because Lord Fang has become rich too quickly. Don't feel uncomfortable about these things. Even if we are all going, there are still some close and distant relationships. How can they be the same?"

"That's the truth. I know. Now Linzi..."

"I just wanted to tell you, what is 'Linzi'? Call him 'Master Fang'!" The You family's wife interrupted, "Now it's different from before, don't call him 'Linzi' all the time. We are used to talking about him behind his back, what if we say it to his face? Even if we don't mean anything, it will be seen as an offense to others."

"Yes, Lord Fang! Who can't see that Lord Fang is so successful now? I will definitely follow him."

You Chaodong sighed, "Back in the city, Lord Fang, me, Geng Shi, and Fu Hong, the four of us went out to find work. Who could have thought that Lord Fang would become so prosperous now? Geng Shi followed Lord Fang and became a city dweller, and he is not bad among the people in the city. I am like this, but I am better off than Fu Hong who went to jail and died of illness earlier."

"Alas, now that I think about it, if I had been determined to follow Lord Fang and had not left halfway and not come back, would I be the same as Geng Shi now? Every time I think about it, I regret it!"

"What's the use of regretting? You chose this path yourself. Later, I asked you to apologize to Lord Fang and help deliver the letter. I left a token of my gratitude."

……

Geng family.

Father Geng said to his eldest son Geng Cong, "Don't you want to go to the capital city like your brother? You go this time!"

Geng Cong had been thinking about saying this, and had planned to go even if he had to run away secretly if his father didn't agree. But now that he heard this, it would be better if he could go openly, and he was ecstatic and excited.

"Dad, didn't you say that I don't know how to be a down-to-earth person and do things, and I only think of clever tricks, so even if there is a chance, you won't let me go?"

The father is the leader of the son, so he naturally didn't dare to talk back to his father openly, but now that he was digging up this "old account", he was also happy and a little impetuous, so he secretly contradicted and slapped his father in the face to vent the depression that had been in his heart for a long time.

"That was the situation then, and it's different now."

Father Geng raised his head and looked at his eldest son. "At that time, Lord Fang only brought a few villagers to the capital. If you went there, you would be too conspicuous and try to get close to Lord Fang. Now, Lord Fang is such a high official and has such a big business. The threshold is high. You are nothing and you can't even get close to Lord Fang. I am not worried anymore."

Geng Cong didn't expect that his father actually thought this way. He was deeply shocked when he heard it.

However, this is true, although the words are rough, the gap is too big, it really makes people unable to cross the threshold. It is like in a city, the common people and the top dignitaries may never meet each other in their entire lives, let alone offend each other.

……

Song family.

Song Liu, Song Huai and Song Ye discussed this matter and whether to go to the provincial capital this time.

"The smartest person in our family is still your father. It would be great if he were still alive."

When Mrs. Song Liu talked about Song Guangcheng, a look of sadness appeared on her face. Because of this incident, the conflict between the Song family and the Bai family continues to this day.

"What do you two brothers think about this?" she asked.

"Mom, if I go to the provincial capital, I will be worried about my family; if I don't go, it will be a good opportunity, but I'm afraid I will regret it in the future." Song Ye hesitated.

"Mother, second brother, let's go home!"

Facing Song Liu and Song Ye, Song Huai said, "I'm not as smart as my father, but there is a way. I can look at the smart people in our village. Who are the smart people in our village? Mr. Fang, Qiao Cunzheng... The old Fang family is different from us. If we can't look at the old Fang family, then we can look at Qiao Cunzheng. This afternoon, I walked behind and asked secretly. Qiao Cunzheng said that he would let Qiao Sheng go to the city."

When Mrs. Song Liu heard this, she suddenly saw the light: "Yes, my son is right. Let's go."

"It's good to go. Only people in our village have this opportunity. People from other villages can't go even if they want to!" There was a hint of complacency in Song Ye's words.

However, he also has reason to be proud of himself. As a person from Xiaohe Village, he is different from people from other villages. Who made their village not produce someone as promising as Fang Lin?
……

White House.

The brothers Bai Feng and Bai Rao were also talking about this.

"I asked the second master, and he said it was a good idea to go, as it would be a way to leave a way out." Bai Feng said.

This can be said to be that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. The elderly have experienced a lot and walked a lot, so they can see many things more clearly.

"Row."

Bai Rao nodded silently.

Ever since his affair with Song Qingqing was exposed, people in the village are pointing fingers at him wherever he goes, so it would be better for him to leave.

"Then it's settled." Bai Feng nodded, hesitated before leaving, and said, "Song Qingqing will go too this time."

"Brother, what are you saying?" Bai Rao raised his head suddenly with an excited expression when he heard this.

Song Kai and Bai Bao caused the feud between the Song and Bai families. Although Song Qingqing was a distant relative of the Song family, because of this feud, the marriage between the two failed and they lost face in front of the villagers.

Now, does this mean that the Bai family has wavered in their attitude and can tolerate it? "Because of Bai Bao and Song Kai... there is no way to talk about this matter between our family and the Song family. However, when we arrive in the capital, the two families will not fight again for their future, so as not to offend Lord Fang... As for other matters, you can take care of it yourself!"

Fang Lin helped the villagers and let them go to the city so that they could do work, not to engage in intrigue. Both the Bai and Song families could see this clearly, so after they went to the capital, even if they still hated each other, at least they would not fight every now and then like they did in the village. The obvious conflicts were slightly eased, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the relationship between Bai Rao and Song Qingqing.

……

Fu family.

"Going to the capital this time is such a great opportunity. Look at Qiao Cunzheng, Mr. Bai and other smart people. They all want to let their family members go!"

Mrs. Fu sighed, "Oh, it would be great if our Hongzi were still here."

Father Fu shook his head: "At first he stayed in the city by himself, first he was sneaking around, then he got involved in some gang, got arrested, and died in jail... Even if there was such an opportunity, that kid would have been honest for two days and then would have done something crooked."

No one knows a son better than his mother. Mrs. Fu also knew her son's character. It was very likely that he was just as her husband said. After thinking for a while, she said, "We are too old to go. How about I go and get my two nephews from my mother's family to come over..."

"You just said two smart words, and you're being stupid again!" Father Fu felt tired of his wife: "Do you think the villagers are stupid when you do this?"

He didn't even mention Fang Lin, he just said that the villagers couldn't get past this hurdle.

Such a clever trick might affect the villagers themselves, so they would definitely not agree to it, not to mention that because of Fu Hong, the Fu family had a bad reputation in the village. Even the relatives of the Fu family had gossip behind their backs...

Therefore, if they really dare to do such a thing, the villagers will not show mercy to them. They will be drowned by their spit. Even worse, they will be driven out of the village.

……

Zheng family.

"This time, those of us villagers who are going to the capital are all going to factories. This kind of work is not as good as our son's, cooking in a bookstore?" Zheng's wife said proudly.

"Yes, you have a long-term vision. You have a good eye. You established a good relationship with the old Fang family in advance. You also asked me to go to the old Fang family to talk about this matter, and asked our son to go to Linzi's bookstore to cook early. You are amazing, okay?"

Zheng's father had heard his wife brag about this so many times that he had developed a whole set of dialogue to respond to her. His wife was so happy that she was beaming with joy. He took advantage of her happiness to express his own thoughts: "I was thinking, should we go to the prefectural capital this time? We are both in the same age group, and if we go to the prefectural capital, we will be closer to our son."

"This issue……"

Zheng's wife was not against that kind of person just for the sake of opposing. After thinking about it, she found that it seemed feasible: "In the letter our son sent back, he also said that the treatment in Linzi's factory was good. I calculated that two or three months in the factory was equivalent to a year of working on the land, and that was in a good year. If we go to the capital, we can be closer to our son... Then let's go! Let's lease out all our land..."

"Really?" Zheng's father was also happy that his idea was approved.

God have mercy on him. Ever since he told his son to get closer to Song Kai on the way to the provincial capital, which almost led to a big mistake, he hasn't dared to make decisions on major family matters for a long time.

"You're smart this time. Tonight I'll do it...twice..." Zheng's wife said the reward.

Father Zheng listened with a wooden face and subconsciously touched his waist, but he still felt somewhat relieved and happy in his heart because his wife at least didn't say anything three times.

At this time, Zheng's wife muttered, "I know I can't handle it now, so I'll let you go a little bit..."

Father Zheng: ...

……

As soon as Fang Lin's letter was sent back, the people of Xiaohe Village took action - in this era where people value returning to their roots and are reluctant to leave their hometown, it is extremely difficult to get the people to make up their minds to leave their land.

This was also due to his reputation and trust that he had accumulated over a long period of time; it was also due to the fact that he knew that the opportunity was rare and time was running out when compared to other villagers; it was also due to the fact that the imperial court's taxes were increasing year by year, and the "leaders" in the village were leading...

In the end, most of the people who met the age requirements were ready to set off for the provincial capital. When the news spread to other villages, it aroused countless envy.

In fact, this envy will become stronger and stronger in the future, because this deviation of fate will become greater and greater with the passage of time, until it becomes like an insurmountable chasm.

……

More than half a month later, the people from Xiaohe Village came to the provincial capital. Many of them came here for the first time and showed the same expression as when Granny Liu visited the Grand View Garden, and were startled from time to time.

"Is this the dock that Lord Fang mentioned in his letter? Oh my God, I have never seen so many ships in my life!"

"I've heard that the city is paved with stones everywhere, so you don't have to worry about your shoes getting wet even if it rains... How much does it cost to buy such a large place?"

"Everyone in the city is rich. Look, there are only a few people wearing patched clothes!"

……

People came and went, and the people from the capital city felt superior when looking at these country bumpkins. They couldn't help but straighten their backs when passing by, as if they were showing off the image of the people from the capital city.

However, when Fang Lin received the message, these passers-by seemed to know him. They all bent down, greeted him with a smile, and called him "Master Fang".

——In fact, the factory recruited hundreds of people, which was far from the point where he could show up in person. However, these people from Xiaohe Village were different. Whether it was for reputation or to win over these "fellow villagers", he had to show up to calm people's hearts.

"Uncle, Yu Yu... Brother You..." Fang Lin greeted them one by one. With his strong memory, he could remember and recognize most of the villagers, and he even said a word or two more to those who were close to him.

On the contrary, members of the Fang family were better. When other villagers responded, they would unconsciously lower their heads and speak in a submissive manner.

The last time Fang Lin and his family returned to the village, they didn't feel anything. But now they see Fang Lin in brocade clothes, with guards following behind him, and a crowd of people. His aura of majesty without even being angry is even greater than that of the county magistrate!
In fact, the people are still the same people, but they think of Fang Lin as a fourth-rank official, so they lower their heads unconsciously and think of themselves as humble.

And those people like Geng Cong, who had prepared for a long time before meeting Fang Lin, wanting to say nice things to flatter him and build a closer relationship with him, all felt weak in the knees and stuttered when they actually saw Fang Lin, and they did not have the courage to start a conversation at all.

Faced with this situation, Fang Lin said something gently, and then asked the party leader to take them to the factory first and treat them to lunch at noon.

It’s not that he was arrogant and didn’t lead the group himself, but the villagers felt uncomfortable with him around. In order to show that they were treated equally, my uncle and the others didn’t take the group away for the time being.

The party leader looked at the people from Xiaohe village, secretly sighed at their good luck, and led them to the factory.

"Master, is this the factory? Which one belongs to Master Fang?" someone asked.

"You don't need to address me as sir, just call me 'Party Leader'. As for which one?"

The party leader pointed with a smile: "This area, this area, and this area, they are all... There are factories and dormitories... Not only here, but also in the west of the city..."

The people of Xiaohe Village were dumbfounded when they heard this.

……

(End of this chapter)