Zhengyi, in the Ji family courtyard.
After Li Ran explained himself, Zichan no longer doubted him.
It's no wonder, after all, during the meeting in Pingqiu, he had already seen in Jiangcheng how much Yang Yangui valued this person.
They even cooperated with him to imprison Ji Sunsu in the Jin Kingdom. The Ji family was forced to lose face in front of Lu and other princely states.
Therefore, if Yang Tongue really wanted something from Li Ran, it would be natural for Li Ran to give him advice.
But he thought this way because he understood the merits of it, but Ji Xian obviously didn't think the same way.
He looked sideways at Li Ran, with a trace of fear and vigilance hidden in his brows.
"But... Zi Ming, now our Zheng State's food supplies are ready for use. If Qi State arrives earlier than us, I'm afraid that if word spreads in the future, people in the world will laugh at my Zheng State's hypocrisy."
Qi's grain transport caravan has entered Lu and will reach Wei in ten days at most. Zheng Guo's grain transport caravan has just been ready to go, and it is already a little behind in time.
What worries Zichan is that Zheng and Wei are closely interdependent, while Qi and Wei are thousands of miles apart. The food from Qi State has been transported to Wei State, but you from Zheng State have just arrived, so what if it’s not hypocrisy?
You must know that the drought in Weiguo has been going on for some time, and it is by no means sudden. Now Zheng Guo's actions are really too slow.
After Zichan finished speaking, he and Jixian looked at Li Ran. However, Li Ran looked confident and smiled without saying a word.
"Why is Mr. Ziming laughing?"
After hearing Zichan's question, Li Ran spoke:
"Haha, I don't agree with what the doctor said."
Li Ran's expression turned serious, he shook his head and remonstrated.
"Oh? But why?"
When Zichan heard this, he couldn't help but look troubled and asked with suspicion.
Li Ran was quite confident and continued to talk:
"Does the doctor know that the 'Bi Gua' in the Book of Changes says: If there is a Fu Bi, there is no blame. If there is a Fu and a fou, it will be auspicious to have it in the end.' Can the doctor understand its meaning?"
After hearing this, Zichan and Jixian looked at each other in confusion, but they were completely puzzled by what he meant. Just listen to Li Ran continue to say:
"The meaning of this line means that as long as you have a sincere heart and stick to the right path, you will not make mistakes in making friends from all walks of life. A sincere person is like a vat full of wine, and your sincerity will naturally and eventually Attracting more people to associate with you is auspicious."
Li Ran is worthy of being the collector of history in Luoyi, and he has the Book of Changes at his fingertips. Quoting scriptures casually is unconvincing.
Just listen to Li Ran continue to explain:
"Nowadays, there is a severe drought in the Wei State, and everyone is suffering. The country is no longer able to provide relief. Therefore, it seeks help from the princes. Therefore, whether it is the State of Jin, the State of Qi, or the State of Zheng, as long as the transportation of food and relief is done out of sincerity, then it will be They are all benevolent and righteous actions. How can we sing for the first and be shameless for the latter?"
"Furthermore, the food raised by the doctor was definitely not the work of one person. It was the work of all the people in Zheng State. It was definitely not delayed by the doctor intentionally. The country of Wei is in a great crisis, how can it be tolerated? Zheng Guo is so kind but he still ridicules Zheng Guo? Villains whisper, and a gentleman walks alone. Zheng Guo acts openly and aboveboard, so why worry about being laughed at by others? "
Li Ran corrected Zi Chan here, that is, the relief of the drought in Weiguo was not just for a false reputation, nor was it to show off his great achievements. But to truly help the ordinary people of Weiguo.
If it's just for fame and reputation, or if it's for other reasons. Then, his heart can be said to be incorrect. If his heart is not correct, it will be difficult to accomplish anything.
"Hmph! In that case, I am not acting openly and aboveboard, and am adding insult to injury to the people of Weiguo?"
At this time, Ji Xian, who had never spoken a word, suddenly sneered and said.
Li Ran said that the actions of Qi State and Zheng State in transporting grain to provide disaster relief were all actions of benevolence and righteousness. Therefore, there is no need to worry about being laughed at by others.
But what the sacrificial family planned was to transport grain to the Wei Kingdom and sell it to make money. In comparison, wouldn't it be unjust?
Isn't this behavior just what a villain does?
Unexpectedly, Zichan would say this in front of Li Ran. He immediately smiled and said thoughtfully:
"Zi Ming certainly didn't mean this, why would he say this when he was offering sacrifices to me?"
"What Ziming said is indeed reasonable. Although the people of Wei are not from Zheng, they are still under the rule of the same king. Even if the grain carts of Zheng arrive later, it doesn't matter. The wish of Zheng is shared by the world. Since you are upright, why should you be afraid of what villains say?"
Zichan naturally knew about Jishi's plan to transport grain to the Wei Kingdom for sale, so he entrusted Jishi to transport the grain prepared by the Zheng Kingdom's court to Weiguo.
In his opinion, the Ji clan is, after all, a home of merchants, and everything must be done to benefit the family first. Although this trip of transporting grain to Zheng State for sale was suspected of being greedy for money, at least it was actually about helping the victims of the disaster in Weiguo.
What kind of people do what kind of things? As the saying goes, if there is no benefit, it would be too harsh to just let the Ji clan send food to Weiguo for free.
In fact, although Zichan said that Zheng and Wei were under the same king's rule, the people of Wei were also the people of Zheng. But in fact, in Zichan's mind, or in his subconscious, he still classified them as foreigners.
This concept, continuously strengthened over the past hundred years, has become deeply ingrained.
That's why he felt that it was okay for Ji Clan to go to Weiguo to sell food.
"I was born as a merchant, and everyone in the world puts profit first in everything. Now that there is a severe drought in the country of Wei, I transport grain and sell it to meet its urgent needs. Compared with the princes who send grain for disaster relief, I feel inferior. However, I did not I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this.”
"I heard what you said just now, and it seemed that you were opposed to my going to Weiguo to sell food this time. Please tell me, what is wrong with my trip to the country?"
Ji Xian had already suspected that Li Ran's purpose in coming to Zheng was impure. In addition, he did not quite believe what Li Ran had just said, so his suspicion of Li Ran was even more intense at this moment.
He always felt that what Li Ran said just now was clearly a hidden secret, deliberately sarcastic and sarcastic in front of Zichan.
"Since the old sect leader mentioned this matter, I forgive him for having the audacity to speak nonsense."
Zichan originally thought that Li Ran would go down the steps he just gave him, but who knew that instead of going down the steps, Li Ran took the initiative to cause trouble. Hearing the sound, he couldn't help but be startled, and his eyebrows suddenly gathered together.
What he didn't expect was that Li Ran was really dissatisfied with Ji's plan to sell grain.
"snort!"
"Then I want to see what you can come up with today!"
Ji Xian didn't take it seriously. He had already planned it and was not afraid at all. At this moment, his face was full of disdain, and the anger gradually surged in his eyebrows.
When Li Ran saw this, his expression was calm and unfazed.
Just listen to him:
"I dare to ask, what is the benefit of offering sacrifices to the old sect leader?"
"What are you talking about? I have been in business all my life, how can I still not know how to profit?"
"Ah, yes, it is indeed the younger generation who is rude. However, I think that this 'profit' must be divided into visible benefits and invisible benefits. Visible benefits are real objects. For people, acres of land, home That’s what it is. For a country, it’s territory, rich treasures, and people are what it is.”
"And this invisible benefit is only about meaning. Losing the invisible meaning and gaining tangible benefits is too much for the sacrifice family."
"Weiguo is currently experiencing a major disaster, with people dying of hunger all over the land. It's so miserable. In many places, people have even exchanged their children for food. The people of Weiguo are looking forward to the help of the princes of various countries day and night to help them tide over the difficulties."
"Please think about it, the old patriarch. Regardless of whether the Qi State will import grain into the Wei State, even if Dr. Zichan's grain arrives at the Wei State, then the Wei State will treat the sacrifice family's grain. What's your attitude?"
"The name of 'taking advantage of the fire' will probably come true. By then, although selling grain can make a profit, it will undermine the sacrifice of the clan and even the great interests of the Zheng State. We must guard against such dangers!"
"Besides, I would like to ask the old sect master to take a step back and think about it, what if..."
When Li Ran said this, he suddenly paused.
