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Chapter 293 Partner One
Hai Shuzu felt that this was not the case - the most valuable thing he had now was the five-masted ship and the cargo on the ship, so what was the point of tying him up? Moreover, the sailors and merchants who came back said that the Australians were very kind to everyone. You're welcome, no offense intended. Read the full text.
But his wife and family were determined not to allow him to go to Lingao. Their opposition was so severe that he had no choice but to do anything. The matter of going to Lingao was put off. After much deliberation, the only option was to go to Guangzhou to find help from friends from my past study tours and colleagues from my father's generation, and borrow some money first to wait for a while.
Although Hai Shuzu had a high family status due to the fame of his ancestors, he was just a prison student - this was given to him by the government because he was a descendant of Hai Gong. The family does not have much financial resources. So this borrowing trip did not go smoothly, although friends helped me to some extent with twenty taels or fifty taels. After more than ten days, I could only collect more than three hundred taels of silver, which was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed.
I have been staying in Guangzhou for a long time. Everything here is expensive and living here is not easy. Hai Shuzu knew that there would be no results if he stayed any longer, so he had to leave early to return to Qiongshan to attend to business.
He did not dare to go home alone, so he first settled in his own farm. Go to Zhuangtou to inquire about the news. There was only one person sitting in the house. When he went out this time, he didn't even dare to take the usual servants at home - he owed them money. Although these servants did not dare to make a fuss due to their status, they were very lax in their service and made sarcastic comments from time to time. Hai Shuzu couldn't bear the humiliation, so he had to ask a friend of his to lend a boy to serve as his servant.
He thought that although he was not a prominent household in Qiongzhou Mansion, he would always be surrounded by five or six servants when he went out. The servants were always respectful in front of him. I didn't expect that I would end up in a situation where I can't even control my own servants.
While he was sighing, suddenly several more small sedans carried by two people came to the village. Zhuang Ding hurriedly reported in. Since the head of the village had gone out, he couldn't ask Zhuang Ding to greet the guests, so Hai Shuzu had no choice but to bravely come out.
He saw that the leader was his family's steward, Haiji, but neither the sedan bearer nor the attendants recognized him. Hai Shuzu was startled. When the sedan curtain opened, he saw that his wife, children and mother were sitting in the sedan.
Haiji cried and said: "I really can't stay at home anymore."
It turned out that after he left home, people who came to sit down and make noises became more noisy because they could not see the owner of the house and were afraid that there was no hope of recovering their losses. In desperation, he had no choice but to ask the Yamen to intervene.
"Now, the servants in the yamen are asking for personnel benefits as soon as they come. They are not satisfied after being given hundreds of dollars. They only work but do not contribute any effort. They are left to make troubles. Some people threatened to rush into the second door to find the wife or the old lady for comment. It was Mr. Zhang from the county who came over and couldn't see past him, so he took care of him on the spot and took a few shackles before suppressing him."
Hai Shuzu just lowered his head and sighed. Although he knew that Mr. Zhang had good intentions for his family, using his official power to suppress others would inevitably insult his family's reputation.
His mother, wife, and children couldn't bear the harassment, so they had to borrow a sedan from relatives and friends and sneak out secretly.
When Hai Shuzu saw his family members looking panicked and carrying only a few packages in their hands, looking extremely embarrassed, he couldn't help but shed tears when he thought that his failure in business had not only affected his wife and children, but also harmed the family reputation. Come down.
"These unscrupulous slaves are really abominable." Hai Jiyou murmured to himself, "Don't even bother to talk to those who owe them money - there is still something to say. Those who don't owe them money won't come to greet them. I’m already looking for job referrals at the place where I’m being hired.”
"We all fly away when disaster strikes, and we don't blame them." Hai Shuzu was disheartened. His family has lived in Qiongzhou for more than a hundred years and can be said to be a family of virtues and good deeds. Although his family is ordinary, he has never been mean to his servants. Unexpectedly, In the face of a little money, all this is in vain. He has never felt the power of money so clearly.
Sigh, sigh, things have to be solved, so it is not a tradition for the whole family to hide away from debts. Hai Shuzu had no choice but to discuss with his mother and wife, and planned to sell the land at home, plus the money borrowed from Guangzhou, so that he could repay some money.
"It's just that after selling it, I no longer have any money, and even a well-off family can't live a comfortable life." Hai Shuzu said sadly.
There are sacrificial fields in the clan, and there is always enough food to eat, but the leisurely life of the past is no longer possible.
"It's only right to sell the land to pay off the debt." His mother said with tears, "It's just the money you borrowed from Guangzhou. How can you pay it back if you lose the land in the future?"
Hai Shuzu thought that if someone was willing to borrow it, he would not be able to pay it back. But the words could not be said.
The family was thinking about how to live in the future, and they discussed it over and over again, but to no avail. I didn't even feel like eating lunch. In the afternoon, Zhuangtou came back in a hurry.
"Sir," the village head didn't have time to greet him, "The moneylenders are all gone now."
"Disappeared." Hai Shuzu thought that this group of people was the most vigorous in collecting debts, because they all had IOUs in their hands. As long as there was no trouble, the government could do nothing, so why did they suddenly stop and run away.
"I heard someone bought their IOUs."
"" Hai Shuzu was shocked. What did he do with the IOU? Given his situation, he could lose everything in just one day. Even if he could sell the land to repay some money, he would only be able to repay 20 to 30%. Didn't this person buy it? pile of waste paper
Haiji said, "Could it be that some master admires the family's high righteousness and came here to lend a helping hand?"
Hai Shuzu didn't quite believe in such a good thing. These loans amount to more than two thousand taels without interest - I don't have such rich friends. Those who can support him with thirty or fifty taels are already very loyal and kind. How could a stranger come up with such a huge sum of money for himself?
While he was hesitating, the village man from outside came to report again: "There is Mr. Lin outside to pay his respects." He said and handed over the greeting card.
Hai Shuzu looked at the cover of the notebook. He didn't recognize Lin Baiguang, so he said, "Tell him I'm not here."
"Master Lin said that as long as you open the greeting card, you will naturally recognize it," Zhuang Ding said.
Hai Shuzu had no choice but to pick up the greeting card, but it was heavy. It turned out that there was an envelope underneath. When he opened it, he found his own IOU inside.
I was shocked for a moment and looked through the IOU again. Yes, it is the IOU issued by myself, many of them, all in this envelope. Each IOU is marked off.
Needless to say, Mr. Lin was the one who secretly bought his IOU. What was his intention? Hai Shuzu was caught off guard and didn't know what to do.
However, Haiji had some insight and said: "Sir, this Mr. Lin seems to have no ill intentions. You see, he has settled all the IOUs and returned them all. If he has any intention, why bother to do this?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Hai Shuzu was pointed out by his words, "This must be seen."
"Mr. Lin, we have an invitation." Haiji came out to greet him personally.
Lin Baiguang smiled slightly. After the government fettered some of the most violent people today, the creditors' confidence in collecting debts fell to the lowest point. Gao Di effortlessly removed the interest tag on the IOUs and purchased all the IOUs at a price of 30% of the real principal.
Gao Di originally wanted to take advantage of it and buy out all the shareholders' equity at a discount, but Lin Baiguang instructed him not to do so.
"We can only remove some pressure first, show our sincerity at the same time, and really solve the problem for him. He has no worries anymore. If you have some money, my whole family will pay it back to you if you want me to help you. If he comes forward to open a mine, that's just empty talk. How can we kill him?"
"His debts are in our hands, so we are not afraid that he will disobey us," Gao Di said.
"Haha, it's really hard to say." Lin Baiguang said with a smile, "Of course, maybe we can use this to coerce him, but this leaves a knot in my heart - working in partnership is a taboo."
"Furthermore," he continued to educate him, "you have to look at Hai Shuzu's family background. He was a gentry, a scholar, and a descendant of Hai Gong. Originally, a group of local people forced him together, but now it's us One family is forcing him, and thousands of people in Qiongzhou Prefecture share the same hatred. We are outsiders after all. By then, won’t we lose both our lives and our wealth?”
"I understand." Gao Di showed his sincere admiration.
"For people like the Hai family, only by showing kindness can we gain their gratitude. As for the pressure, we still have to leave some pressure for him. Once he agrees to cooperate with us, it will not be too late to help him solve the problem."
"What if he is being conceited? I will find excuses later."
"You have learned well now - Hai Shuzu is always a descendant of Hai Gong. Such despicable methods cannot be used." Lin Baiguang said, "Even if he has this intention, the reputation of the Hai family will not allow it. He does."
Lin Baiguang didn't spend much effort in convincing Hai Shuzu to open a coal mine together. For Hai Shuzu, who was already desperate and desperate, although the road in front of him was not glorious, it was still better than losing all his money and becoming a diner in the ancestral hall - not to mention that even if he lost his money, he could not pay off the losses of these shareholders.
Hai Shuzu couldn't feel at ease thinking that his family would be reviled by many people in the future. The conditions proposed by Mr. Lin from Guangzhou are very tempting:
Mr. Lin funded it and Hai Shuzu came forward to open a coal kiln in Qiongzhou Prefecture. The Hai family does not need to contribute any capital. That's 20% profit. Mr. Lin got 80%.
Hai Shuzu hesitated and said: "I understand what brother means. It's nothing more than asking him to come forward and deal with the government and the local government. This is all easy. Brother is still a bit thin-faced at the local level. I just have a word of advice, Qiongzhou Prefecture Brother, I have never heard of whether there is coal to be mined here. Moreover, it is very easy to get firewood here, so I am afraid that few people will use coal to make fires. I wonder if I have thought carefully before starting a kiln like this."
Lin Baiguang nodded. He admired Hai Shuzu for being "upright" - no matter where in time and space, it is always reassuring to deal with upright people. ,.
