Li's Mansion Side Hall
Gu Sinian sat quietly, the light shining through the wooden window on half of his face, slightly dazzling. The cup of strong tea beside the table had already cooled down, and there was no trace of heat.
He has been sitting here for an hour since he came here early in the morning.
During this hour, only a servant of the Li family came to exchange tea once, and the head of the Li family never showed up.
Leave to dry?
Gu Sinian didn't mind, he had plenty of time to spend here today.
The simple wooden table and the patterns on the wooden railings all show that the Li family's house has been around for some time.
Gu Sinian knew in his heart that if the land leasing order was to be implemented smoothly, the Li family must overcome a hurdle.
I don't know how long it took before footsteps sounded from behind the screen.
Before anyone arrives, the sound comes first.
"I'm sorry for making Gu Dianshi wait for so long. There is really something going on in the house and I can't get away. Please don't take offense, Gu Dianshi."
The old man Li Zhi calmly sat on the main seat, saying sorry, but there was no trace of guilt on his face.
This was completely different from the treatment Chen Hongxin received when he brought Gu Sinian to the house for the first time.
"Mr. Li was joking."
Gu Sinian stood up quickly:
"It's not an honor for Mr. Li to take time out of his busy schedule to meet this junior, so why should I blame him?"
"Haha, Gu Dianshi is still good at talking."
Li Zhi, who had both white temples, smiled:
"I wonder why Gu Dianshi came to visit today?"
In fact, Li Zhi doesn't have a good impression of Gu Sinian, and there is only one reason:
Last time he brought Chen Hongxin's son to steal the show at his birthday party, even surpassing his grandson.
Gu Si young said:
"It's nothing important. I just wanted to ask about the recent land leasing order implemented by the county. Has Mr. Li ever heard of it?"
Li Zhi took a sip of tea casually:
"Yeah, I've heard a little bit about it."
"So some wealthy businessmen went to the county government to cause trouble, and Mr. Li also knew about it?"
"This matter has made a big fuss in the city. I don't believe it even if I say I don't know about Gu Dianshi."
Li Zhipi asked with a smile:
"But my Li family is not among the people making trouble. Gu Dianshi came to see me, did he find the wrong person?
Besides, it doesn’t make sense for Gu Dianshi’s land to be rented to other people but not to wealthy businessmen, both emotionally and logically, right?
Haha~"
"It is true that there is no one from the Li family."
Gu Sinian leaned slightly towards the back of the chair:
“But most of the big businessmen and literati in Fengchuan County followed the lead of their predecessors.
With so many families uniting together, I’m afraid there’s someone behind it~”
Li Zhi frowned slightly:
"Gu Dianshi means that it was my Li family who instigated them?"
Gu Sinian raised his head and looked directly at Li Zhi, pointing out:
“Senior, don’t get me wrong, junior didn’t say that.
However, after all, the county government is a place of the imperial court and has its own laws and regulations. If so many people get into trouble and violate the strict laws, it is not a small crime~
Mr. Li has been a county magistrate and should understand the pros and cons. "
"Presumptuous! Are you threatening me?"
Li Zhi's tone suddenly turned cold:
"I only met you to show Mr. Chen's face. After so many years, no one dares to speak to me like this!
Even if you, the county magistrate, arrive at the Li Mansion, you must be polite!
If you dare to threaten me, you may have chosen the wrong person. "
Gu Sinian was not afraid at all and asked without changing his expression:
"So, Mr. Li admits that the Li family was involved in organizing this behind the scenes?"
Only then did Li Zhi realize that he had lost his temper and let something slip, but he still said disdainfully:
"So what if it is, so what if it is not? We have to provide evidence for everything.
If Gu Dianshi came here today to cause trouble, then please come back!
After all, I have been rooted in Fengchuan County for decades, and the Li family is also a wealthy family in the city. I want to see what you can do to the Li family! "
A tense atmosphere instantly filled the entire side hall, and the first private communication between the two was unpleasant.
What made Li Zhi most angry was that this young man was trying to trick him both inside and outside his words, and even threatened the Li family.
How can the dignity of the Li family be tolerated by others?
"Old Li has misunderstood. The senior is highly respected in Fengchuan County. No matter how courageous the junior is, he will not dare to go to the Li Mansion to stir up trouble."
Gu Sinian picked up the already cold tea on the table, took a sip, and said casually:
"This junior is here to cooperate with the Li family and give the Li family a future!"
"Cooperate? Give me a future for the Li family?"
"Hahaha!"
Li Zhi, who was still full of anger just now, looked up to the sky and laughed as if he had heard some joke:
"Baby, you are a classic. People only call you "sir" because they respect you, but in fact you don't even have a rank, you are a low-ranking official.
Moreover, I know your true identity. You are just a prisoner who got into Mr. Chen’s eyes by chance.
How dare you discuss cooperation with my Li family? Send a future?
I would like to advise you, young people, you must know that the sky is high and the earth is high. "
The county magistrate Feng Tao was Li Zhi's protégé, so Li Zhi naturally knew Gu Sinian's background, but he only knew that Gu Sinian was a prisoner and did not know that he was involved in a major case in the palace.
"Juniors are naturally not qualified, but Mr. Chen, are you qualified?"
No matter how sarcastic Li Zhi was, Gu Sinian always had a smiling expression on his face.
Deliberately irritating Li Zhi was just to open the sky and speak frankly.
Hearing the words Master Chen, Li Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly:
"Forget it, tell me, how can we cooperate?"
Gu Sinian's face does not need to be given, but Chen Hongxin's face must be given to him more or less.
Gu Sinian slowly took out a few pieces of paper from his arms and said calmly:
"Nearly all of the wasteland calculated by the county has been rented by beggars and homeless people. I will fulfill my promise and rent the remaining land to the big businessmen in the city.
There is a piece of wasteland of more than 300 acres on the edge of Sangou River, more than 20 miles west of Fengchuan County, which I specially left to the Li family. "
Li Zhi said nothing, but frowned slightly.
Gu Sinian continued:
"I know that the land in Sangouhezi has been abandoned for several years. It is overgrown with weeds and there is no one to rent around it. On the surface, it is not a good land.
However, every loss has its own gain!
More than 300 acres of land are all connected together, not scattered. It is the largest piece of wasteland in the county. There is a river next to it, which is convenient for irrigation. With a little care, it will be fertile land in a year or two!
With the Li family's human and financial resources, they only need to put in some effort at the beginning, and then just sit back and collect the money.
Moreover, the Li family will not charge rent for these more than 300 acres of land within three years! Just pay your taxes on time. "
By the time he finished the last sentence, Li Zhi's expression had softened a lot and he asked:
"What about other families?"
Gu Sinian smiled and said:
“Every family has a share of the remaining land, but it’s less than what the big families want. Every family wants one to two hundred acres, but how can there be so much land?
But with Mr. Li coming forward, these big investors will surely not cause any trouble again, right? "
Li Zhi asked with a strange expression:
"It seems that Gu Dianshi wants to use these three hundred acres of land in exchange for peace?"
"I think it's a good deal for the Li family."
Gu Sinian smiled slightly:
"What do Mr. Li think?"
"Haha~"
Li Zhi smiled and did not answer directly.
Gu Sinian added:
"Although other families are not allocated so much land, like the Li family, they will not charge rent for three years."
"You don't even charge rent?"
Li Zhi became curious now:
"Then what are you planning?"
"I have only one request."
Gu Sinian said calmly:
“In the future, when these large households hire people to farm, they need to pay the peasants their wages in full and not be in debt.
Fengchuan County Government, concessions benefit the people! "
Li Zhi's expression changed slightly, giving in to the people?
This was the first time he heard these four words.
"This is a good deal."
Gu Sinian smiled and said, "I think they can accept it."
Li Zhi thought for a moment and asked casually:
"Then, how much did Wang Zitong get?"
"Not an acre!"
"Not even an acre?"
Li Zhi frowned:
"Don't Gu Dianshi know the foundation of the Wang family in the city?"
"Of course I know."
Gu Sinian said casually:
"The rumors about me stealing the land and the ruffians causing trouble in the fields are all his work. They just want to get a piece of the pie.
But there is only so much land. If it is given to the Li family, it cannot be given to the Wang family.
He and I have always had a grudge, and I am a villain with clear grudges.
If you say you don’t have an acre of land, you won’t give even an acre of land! "
"Villain? Interesting."
Li Zhi said calmly:
"It seems that Mr. Chen wants to join forces with my Li family and become an enemy of the Wang family?"
"We can't even talk about being enemies."
Gu Sinian rubbed the tea cup in his hand and said:
“But we can’t coddle him!
The land leasing order is beneficial to both the people and the officials. Mr. Li is a smart man and can definitely see it.
As long as the land leasing order is implemented smoothly, it will be a political achievement for Mr. Chen. If he is promoted to the Langzhou government in the future, he will definitely recommend Feng County Cheng to take over as the county magistrate.
But if Mr. Chen gets into trouble with the merchants in the county, the Langzhou government may send someone to replace Mr. Chen. No one knows what the replacement county magistrate will do and how he will deal with the Li family.
Mr. Feng is Mr. Li’s protégé, and he knows everything about it. Doesn’t Mr. Li have the final say in Fengchuan County in the future?
After Mr. Feng has sat in the position of county magistrate for ten or eight years, and Mr. Li has grown up, it must not be difficult to gain a reputation and enter the officialdom. As long as he plans properly, it is not a bad idea to get promoted.
In other words, we both benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation.
This is the future of the Li family I'm talking about! "
The words are sharp and every sentence is reasonable.
Li Zhi remained silent. Gu Sinian's words touched his pain point.
His son died early, and the Li family was missing a middle generation. His only wish was to protect his grandson from growing up and maintain the Li family's status in Fengchuan County.
If it is true as Gu Sinian said, Feng Tao will take over after Chen Hongxin, then the Li family will be safe for ten years. By then, the grandson will have grown up, and he will be able to return to Fengchuan County as an official after getting a merit examination, and he will have completed his mission. The guardian of the Li family.
Inadvertently, my heart moved.
Gu Sinian continued, minding his own business:
"As for Wang Zitong, he is just a foolhardy man.
I have already sent people to arrest the ruffians he caused trouble.
I just want everyone in Fengchuan County to know that I dare to arrest anyone they dare not! Those they dare not treat, I will treat!
Mr. Chen and Wang Zitong are more important than each other. Mr. Li must have a weighing scale in his mind. "
Li Zhi was a little surprised by the sudden chill in Gu Sinian's tone, and said softly:
"You are young, but you are thoughtful, scheming, and capable. Mr. Chen has a very good vision~
I already like you a little bit. "
"Mr. Li, thank you very much."
Gu Si young smiled:
"What about our cooperation?"
Li Zhi raised the corners of his mouth slightly and shouted loudly:
"Come here, haven't you seen that Gu Dianshi's tea has gone cold?
Look at the tea! "
