Linxia

Chapter 217, Changing Fate

Fang Lin brought Qiuqiu, Fang Tai and Fang Xi back with them and saw Dang Zhixian waiting in the reception room.

Five years ago, when he had just become the general manager of the men's factory workshop, he was still a little immature. Now, after five years of baptism, the immaturity has faded away, and he has gained a touch of majesty that comes without anger. However, in front of Fang Lin, that was not visible at all.

"Master, are you back?" The moment Dang Zhixian saw Fang Lin, he immediately stood up, bent his waist to 60 degrees, greeted him with a smile, and then looked at Qiuqiu and her three siblings, greeting them one by one: "Miss Qiu, Master Tai, Master Xi!"

As he spoke, he turned around and took the gifts from the two servants he brought with him and gave them to the three siblings.

Qiuqiu, Fangtai and Fangxi's eyes were sparkling, knowing that Uncle Dang would bring them their favorite gifts every time he came to their house.

"So beautiful, thank you Uncle Dang!" Qiuqiu looked at the tri-color crystal bracelet and obviously liked it very much. She thanked him politely.

"Thank you, Uncle Dang!" Fang Tai and Fang Xi said in unison while looking at their respective picture books and tank models.

The gifts for the three siblings were different, each catering to their own preferences, showing their dedication.

"You're welcome. I bring these for them every time I come." Fang Lin nodded, let the three siblings go downstairs to play, and told the maid to serve tea.

"They are just trinkets, not worth much."

Dang Zhixian handed over the account and stood beside him, bending down and listening attentively. When Fang Lin told him to sit down, he quickly sat down opposite him, but only half of his butt was sitting on the chair, with an expression as respectful as a student facing his teacher.

At this time, the maid Cailan came over and saw Dang Zhixian's actions, a strange look appeared in her eyes.

She knew Dang Zhixian. She had seen him outside, with seven or eight servants following him, looking very impressive. She had also heard that Dang Zhixian was known as the "Black-faced King of Hell" among the factory workers. However, even such an impressive man outside was so "humble" in front of Fang Lin. Outsiders probably could not imagine it.

At this moment, Cailan suddenly thought of the two characters she heard in a passage when Miss Qiuqiu was reading "Journey to the West" to Master Tai and Master Xi two days ago: Qingfeng and Mingyue.

——Qingfeng and Mingyue were just two boys in Wuzhuang Temple, but when they went outside Wuzhuang Temple, what would the common people call them? Who would dare not call them ancestors?

It is true that books are like life, and life is like books. They are so similar.

After Caiyun poured the tea, she signaled him to leave.

While looking through the accounts, Fang Lin casually asked, "How is the latest phase of factory construction going?"

"After Prefect Yan approved it, the government office completed the procedures in half a day, and construction has already begun in the past two days..." Dang Zhixian flattered, "This is all because of your face. If it were someone else, even if they had connections, this matter would probably take ten days or half a month."

It is indeed so. What seems to be extremely difficult for others can now be accomplished by Fang Lin with just one sentence.

Needless to say, Prefect Yan strongly supported the construction of factories to prosper Huai'an's economy and to receive more landless people.

——When Prefect Yan first arrived, in order to gain power quickly, he compromised with the big families in the city and allowed land annexation. Now things are getting out of control, and more and more people in Huai'an have lost their land. It was only because Fang Lin's business grew bigger and he continuously expanded his factories and took in these people that there was no chaos.

It can be said that Fang Lin has made a great contribution to the stability and prosperity of Huai'an. His factory has truly served as a reservoir.

As for why the minor officials below sped up the process extremely quickly after Prefect Yan approved it, that was another reason.

Thanks to the connections left by Prefect Pu, those minor officials have been able to receive a sum of silver from Fang Lin every month over the years. As Fang Lin's industry grew, this sum of silver has increased, and now it is almost as much as the imperial salary!
In this case, how could they not do their best?
"There is one more thing. Two days ago, the second son of the Fan family tried to probe me and seemed to want to win me over, but I flatly refused." Dang Zhixian sold Fan Qihui out without hesitation.

He has reached this position, so he must be clear-headed. He knows that he is where he is today thanks to Fang Lin's promotion. If he betrays him, his reputation will be ruined.

To take a step back, what can the Fan family give him? Fang Lin can give him the largest men's factory to manage, but the Fan family doesn't have this platform for him to display his talents, and even if they do, it won't be the turn of an outsider like him.

"The Fan family?" Fang Lin narrowed his eyes: "I'll go talk to Master Fan some other day."

These words sounded plain, but they contained a sense of arrogance - you, Fan Qihui, came to poach my people and test me, but I don't even bother to talk to you and should go directly to your father. The implication is that you and I are no longer on the same level.

He paused, then continued, "Be careful, don't step into a trap and get dragged down by others."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll remember it."

Dang Zhixian agreed seriously, thinking to himself: "It seems that the matter of the thirty-seventh concubine has to be cancelled."

Over the years, he enjoyed a share of the factory's profits, although it was only a very small proportion, but considering the astronomical figure of the total amount, this tiny proportion was enough to make people stunned. When you have money, you naturally have to spend it, and he spent a lot of money on wine and women outside.

This guy even did something outrageous. He took in 36 concubines one after another, and placed them all in the same alley. At night, he would go to different houses and sleep with them like an emperor selecting concubines. In recent years, with the economic prosperity of the capital, housing prices have also skyrocketed. Many ordinary people cannot afford to buy a house in their entire lives, but this guy has one concubine for each household. You can see how extravagant he is.

Fang Lin had also heard about these things, but he didn't care. After all, it was a matter of personal morality. As long as he did his job well, everything else was just a minor matter.

"Well, just keep it in mind." He didn't say anything more.

Even if Dang Zhixian is really clueless and is poached, it is not a big deal. After five years of integration, digestion and development, no one in the factory is indispensable except him.

After discussing these things, the party's determination was clear.

Fang Lin thought to himself, "Now in Huai'an City, I have surpassed the Fan, Gu, Ma, Shao, and Duan families and have become the only one in power. At the same time, relying on the soap business, I have gradually tied the Ma, Shao, and Duan families together, almost to a vassal relationship."

The Ma, Shao and Duan families also want to save face and don't want to be vassals of Fang Lin, but the benefits of following Fang Lin are too great. Under Fang Lin's far-sighted and outstanding leadership, the profits are far more than before... Now, perhaps they feel uncomfortable in their hearts but honest in their bodies.

"As for the Gu and Fan families, the Gu family focuses on the restaurant and fish pond business outside the city, while the Fan family is more interesting."

The secret recipe of the "fragrant dew business" that is now the mainstay of the Fan family was bought from Fang Lin. They are worried that Fang Lin has a grudge in his heart, but he has not found a chance to resolve it. They are afraid that Fang Lin will remember it and catch the flaw of the Fan family one day and give them a hard time. In addition, Fang Lin has surpassed the Fan family and squeezed them from the boss to the second. They must feel uncomfortable. But if you say that they are fighting because of these, on the one hand, they still rely on Fang Lin for the promotion of the fragrant dew, and on the other hand, there is no conflict in the essence of the two businesses, so it is not worth fighting. But if they say that they want to maintain the close relationship as before, it is really awkward, and at the same time they are afraid that they trust Fang Lin too much and Fang Lin will stab them in the back one day.

In short, it is quite contradictory, and it manifests itself in a somewhat schizophrenic state. They won't fall out with each other, but they always make small moves to test each other.

"There is no need to worry about Huai'an. What we really need to pay attention to is the imperial court in the capital."

Five years ago, Emperor Hongtai promoted Wei Zhongxian, and a fight broke out between them and the civil service group. As Emperor Hongtai deliberately took sides, the civil service group was at a disadvantage over the years, and many ministers and even several cabinet ministers were forced to resign or retire.

Of course, the civil officials were not easy to deal with, and it was not easy for them to direct the conflict towards Emperor Hongtai. However, they were rude to the eunuch group headed by Wei Zhongxian. They controlled the mouthpiece of public opinion, and through propaganda, the eunuch group's reputation among the scholar group and the people was already notorious. Words like "eunuch dogs ruling the country" and "nine thousand years old" were even more heartbreaking.

In Fang Lin's opinion, this is actually... dog bites dog: "Well, it was an accidental injury, Brother Dong doesn't count."

Dong Zugao is doing fine for now. On the one hand, he is cautious in his words and deeds, and he is humble and modest. On the other hand, his goal is relatively small, and Emperor Hongtai has a good impression of him, so he can still protect himself for the time being.

'In the letter two days ago, Brother Dong expressed his concerns about the court situation, saying that Emperor Hongtai had not attended court for half a month. Considering the handwriting changes in the last letter Emperor Hongtai wrote to me, I am afraid that Emperor Hongtai has a serious health problem.'

Fang Lin and Emperor Hong Tai are still pen pals. In the past, all the letters were written by Emperor Hong Tai himself. The handwriting of the last letter changed, and it was obviously written by someone else. It can be seen that Emperor Hong Tai's health is very bad.

'In the past few years, Emperor Hongtai took the golden elixir and was assassinated by a palace maid. Even though he has been nursed back to health by the palace's Chinese medical master and nourished with secret medicines and precious herbs, he has worked hard to pave the way for his son and has been scheming against the civil service group behind the scenes. I'm afraid he has run out of energy and will die in this year or so!'

'Also, Brother Dong also mentioned in his letter that the climate in the north has changed, and the Liaodong Tartars have invaded the country every year to plunder, and the barbarian disaster has become more and more serious.'

Fang Lin looked at the gradually darkening sky outside and sighed, "Heaven and man are in trouble, both internally and externally. The sweet potatoes I presented seem to have given Daxia a breath of fresh air, and Daxia is gradually showing signs of revival, but in reality, it is still in turmoil!"

Just as I was thinking about this, Tian Xuan came over and said, "Brother Lin, Chuanzong, Chuanhui and the others are here. It's time to eat."

"Coming." Fang Lin withdrew his thoughts and stepped over.

……

At the gate of Fang Mansion.

Fang Chuanzong and a beautiful woman with an oval face, bright big eyes, and a slender figure came over. The latter paused and said nervously: "Brother Chuanzong, look at the clothes I'm wearing. Isn't it a bit shabby and hard to get in?"

"It's okay. Linzi doesn't care about these things." Fang Chuanzong shook his head.

It turned out that the woman's name was Qin Lan, and she was a worker at the "First Women's Weaving Workshop".

——At the beginning, when Fang Lin's "Second Good Quality Weaving Workshop" was expanded, the neighbors in Xixiang Hutong learned the news from Fang Lin. Her aunt lived in Xixiang Hutong and learned about it first. She went to the "Second Good Quality Weaving Workshop" and was admitted because of her good skills. Later, she transferred to the "First Women's Weaving Workshop" which was staffed entirely by female workers.

In the "First Women's Weaving Workshop", Qin Lan is considered to be extremely outstanding. She is good-looking, dexterous, has a good personality, and is of marriageable age. Fang He's wife Meng He introduced her to Fang Chuanzong.

Fang Chuanzong fell in love with her at first sight, but Qin Lan saw that he was dull and was still hesitant. Fang Chuanhui happened to come back from sea and knew about this, so he came up with an idea and said he would bring Qin Lan over for a dinner.

After listening to Fang Chuanzong's words, Qin Lan mustered up the courage to go in.

As they entered the door, a maid came over with a lantern, bowed, and led them in.

It was not Fang Chuanzong's first time here and he had already adapted to the times. But Qin Lan was reserved and kept her head down all the way. She only saw a very beautiful garden out of the corner of her eye. She was in a trance and then was led to a spacious and bright room. Twelve white candles were lit here, emitting bright light. Miraculously, there was not even a trace of smoke.

Qin Lan thought to herself, "As expected of the Fang family, they light so many candles. My mother would blow out the oil lamp after a while!"

Thinking about this, she secretly glanced at the people in the room and saw Sister Guihua and Su Xiaoqing - they were dragged here by Fang's mother to eat. She knew that they were the heads and managers of the 'First Women's Weaving Workshop', people who had very high status in her family's mind, but they took the worst seats here on their own initiative, and seemed to have the lowest status. She couldn't help but feel more inferior.

As the hostess, Tian Xuan naturally welcomed Qin Lan who came for the first time. She came over, took her hand, and introduced her: "This is Fang Chuanhui, Chuanzong's younger brother, the leader of the fleet; this is Zhong's husband, the owner of the bookstore branch, and Cao'er's husband... This is Fang He, you also know He'er... And there is also Sister Guihua, Sister Xiaoqing..."

Qin Lan greeted them one by one in a low voice as soft as a mosquito's hum, and an idea arose in her mind uncontrollably: people like Sister Guihua, Su Xiaoqing, and Meng He became the heads and managers of the factory just because they had some relationship with the Fang family. If she married Fang Chuanzong, would she be able to do the same?

Because it was a family dinner, there was no distinction between men and women in seating, and I was pulled to sit next to Fang Chuanzong.

When the maid brought the dishes, Qin Lan was shocked again. There were all kinds of creatures flying in the sky, swimming in the water, and running on the ground.

The female factory worker actually has no shortage of money, and her family conditions are relatively good. They can eat meat once every ten days or half a month. But where has she ever seen so much, and so rich?
This is not Fang Lin's extravagance. Some of the precious ingredients were given by Dang Zhixian when he came over.

He had told the other party about this more than once, but each time Dang Zhixian agreed with a smile, and would send it the same next time. Gradually, the housekeeper Deng also learned to be bad, saying that there was no need to be extravagant, but every time there was a dinner, he still insisted on having a sumptuous meal, and he also agreed verbally, but was determined not to change.

What could Fang Lin do? He could only sigh like Emperor Taizu of Song who was forced to wear a robe: You guys really made me suffer!
Qin Lan didn't know how she had finished this meal, but she instinctively moved closer to the familiar Fang Chuanzong and became more dependent on him.

Fang Chuanzong is a loyal and honest person, but he can naturally feel it and is happy in his heart.

Fang Chuanhui looked at this scene and smiled. He had a lot of experience at sea and was quite familiar with people's hearts, so he easily helped his eldest brother this time.

This is not to trick big brother. Even for father and son, or husband and wife, it is often difficult to get rid of the influence of status and position. There is no need to be ashamed of it, and there is no need to think that others are snobbish... Besides, in this era, after getting married, even if the woman is tied up to death, it is rare for them to divorce.

"Just because of Brother Linzi, this marriage has become so simple. Our entire Fang family has been promoted and changed its fate because of Brother Linzi alone!"

Fang Chuanhui was thinking about these things when he suddenly heard Fang Lin calling him. He quickly responded and got up to go out.

……

(End of this chapter)