Pan Xiaoxian called Chen Yuanyuan and came to the Lianghuai Guild Hall again to ask about Ambassador Chen's recruitment results.
Ambassador Chen sighed: "The cost is too high. I summoned Yangzhou salt merchants to inquire about the situation, but none of them were willing to pay 10,000 taels of silver."
Ten thousand taels of silver is indeed a lot, but for the Yangzhou salt merchant, it just feels like a pain in the butt, not a lot of silver.
Ambassador Chen added: "If the son needs 10,000 taels of silver every year, even 30,000 taels of silver can be used, but it is for my daughter."
This sentence is full of patriarchal thoughts. The son will carry on the family line, and the daughter will eventually get married.
It sounds reasonable to anyone.
Any other official would have been put off by this excuse.
Pan Xiaoxian's first reaction was that he might not be willing to take the money. After thinking about it carefully, he realized something was wrong.
Pan Xiaoxian acted cautiously. Taking advantage of Ambassador Chen's lack of concentration, he casually asked, "Has Fan Chengde been here?"
Just a casual question.
Out of caution, I made a test before leaving.
"How did you..."
Ambassador Chen subconsciously wanted to ask Pan Xiaoxian where he got the news, but he quickly shut his mouth mid-sentence.
Ambassador Chen looked at Pan Xiaoxian differently. He was not an official who was easy to fool, and was too thoughtful, but more like an old bureaucrat who had been in the officialdom for many years.
Pan Xiaoxian knew it in his heart. It seemed that his casual test had really revealed something.
Sure enough, it was Fan Chengde who disrupted the situation again.
Logically speaking, there are dozens of Yangzhou salt merchants in the Lianghuai Guild Hall, so it is impossible that they cannot recruit even a single female student.
There is always someone willing to try.
Unfortunately, there was not even a Yangzhou salt merchant who had any money to spare, so he was influenced by others.
Pan Xiaoxian continued to persuade Ambassador Chen: "You have to think clearly. Behind Fan Chengde stands the West Factory, and behind me stands Liu Rushi, which is equivalent to standing behind the East Factory."
The meaning of this sentence is obvious.
Offending the West Factory will not end well, and offending the East Factory will not end well either.
Ambassador Chen said with a bitter look on his face: "No one can be offended by the Yangzhou salt merchants, but the father-in-law of the East and West factories, so please don't embarrass me."
The words have already reached this point, and there is no point in trying to persuade him any further.
The salt merchant of Lianghuai Guild Hall made up his mind that he would not spend any money to send his daughter to study in the Imperial College.
Chen Yuanyuan opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped before she could speak.
Pan Xiaoxian shook his head: "We can't force this kind of thing, let's go."
As Pan Xiaoxian left the Lianghuai Guild Hall.
Ambassador Chen's face turned gloomy: "Chen Yuanyuan should not have been allowed to bring people here in the first place. Now, it has caused dissatisfaction with the West Factory and may also offend the East Factory."
Pan Xiaoxian has the smallest official position and has no power of his own.
Ambassador Chen could not resent anyone else, but resented Pan Xiaoxian, blaming him for all the troubles.
All of this was caused by Pan Xiaoxian. If he hadn't come to recruit female students, he wouldn't have offended the eunuchs in the East and West factories.
Ambassador Chen was irritable and called the concierge: "Remember from now on, whenever Chen Yuanyuan comes over, you will always say I am not here."
When the concierge saw that the master was angry, he was frightened and said quickly: "Don't worry, master, I will never let Miss Chen in again."
Pan Xiaoxian returned to the place where he lived and asked sadly: "Besides the salt merchants from the Lianghuai Guild Hall, do you know any salt merchants from other guild halls?"
Chen Yuanyuan shook her head: "I followed my aunt to the palace when I was very young. I got to know the leader of the salt merchants of the Lianghuai Guild Hall because Ambassador Chen is an uncle of the same family."
Pan Xiaoxian sighed and looked at the bustling Yangzhou City outside the window, feeling unwilling to do so: "Am I going back empty-handed?"
Regarding the issue of recruiting female students, Pan Xiaoxian had already figured it out and put together a plan.
When I came to Yangzhou this time, I had to recruit ten female students.
After all, the number of wealthy businessmen is limited, let alone a wealthy businessman who can spend ten thousand taels of silver every year.
Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou each admitted ten female students, for a total of thirty female students.
Jinling can admit twenty female students.
The four places combined have just enough space for fifty female students.
Pan Xiaoxian was worried: "I have no background and no family to rely on. Is it possible that I will leave in despair?"
"You came to Yangzhou to recruit female students."
Zhao Yanxue opened the door and came over, holding a pot of tea in her hand and placing it on the table.
Pan Xiaoxian took a sip of tea and calmed down his irritable mood: "Yes, I came here to recruit ten female students this time. There were already signs of it, but it was ruined by Fan Chengde."
Zhao Yanxue didn't know who Fan Chengde was, but she could tell from Pan Xiaoxian's tone that it involved a fierce struggle in the officialdom.
The official struggles in Yangzhou officialdom were fierce, not to mention the more powerful Jinling officialdom.
In order to climb higher, officials stepped on others and even dug up their ancestors' graves.
It's not that there is any conflict among the officials, it's just to climb up.
Zhao Yanxue was lost in thought and suddenly spoke: "The leader of Changlu Saltworks and I are from the same family. I have taught Ambassador Zhao's daughter and niece in the past. I can introduce you two to each other."
This was an unexpected surprise.
Pan Xiaoxian's face was full of surprise: "Another village has a bright future, and I didn't expect to find another way out."
However, before going to Ambassador Zhao's home, there is a countermeasure that needs to be thought of.
Even if Ambassador Zhao agreed, Fan Chengde would go over to disrupt the situation and continue to disrupt the plan to recruit female students.
In order for Ambassador Zhao to stand firmly on Pan Xiaoxian's side, there must be enough interests.
For a family, the greatest benefit is for someone to stand out.
Pan Xiaoxian still had chips in his hand and asked, "How is Ambassador Zhao's attitude towards you?"
Zhao Yanxue recalled the past situation and gave an answer: "Ambassador Zhao's daughters and nieces have become ladies of the world one by one. I dare not say that they are all due to me, and they cannot be separated from my teachings. Ambassador Zhao was very emotional at the time, If only I could be his daughter.”
Pan Xiaoxian nodded: "Of course. With your talent, if you were a man, you might be able to get the top prize. Every family likes talents, let alone the Yangzhou salt merchants who desperately need the collusion between government and businessmen."
Ambassador Zhao wants to recognize Zhao Yanxue as his goddaughter, and things will be much easier to handle.
Pan Xiaoxian asked: "Would you like to ask Ambassador Zhao to be your godfather?"
Zhao Yanxue said enviously: "Of course I am willing. Ambassador Zhao loves his daughter and niece very much. He really treats them as his own children, not just a commodity."
This sentence seems to be saying that Ambassador Zhao is humane and treats his daughter as a human being.
Pan Xiaoxian could hear that this sentence was full of complaints.
