Chapter Six: Younger Brother

  "Hehe, alright, I'll leave this matter to you then. It's getting late, let's head back home." Shen Qing patted his son's shoulder and said, a brilliant ending, and it can be considered that he has done justice to his ancestors.

  Days passed one after another, Shaoxing City was as prosperous as ever, except that the originally deserted entrance of the century-old shop "De Long Rice Shop" became increasingly popular, almost rivaling the opposite "Wan Tong Rice Shop". Tao Zhuangui was delighted to see this, and just yesterday, the master gave each of himself and a dozen or so apprentices a big red envelope. He didn't know what others got, but his own contained one or two silver coins, which was half a month's wages!

  Today's prosperity is all thanks to the young master. Just as the "buy one get one free" promotion was ending, two large trucks stopped in front of the store and a sentence "delivery at your doorstep" attracted half of the big households in Shaoxing city, making business continue to boom!

  With such a capable son, Shen Qing didn't bother to come back and forth anymore. For the past few days, it was Shen Chongming who came alone in the horse carriage to take care of the store, while he sat at home anxiously waiting.

  "Father-in-law, I'm back!" A man in his thirties rushed in, with a medium build and a square face with thick eyebrows and big eyes, giving a very good first impression.

  However, as a father-in-law, Shen Qing knew this son-in-law very well. He was greedy and selfish, narrow-minded, and if it weren't for the fact that this poor scholar later became a fellow graduate of the imperial examination, marrying his daughter off to him would be equivalent to harming his own child.

  His brother-in-law, Yu Jinglun, was also a Shaoxing native and passed the imperial examination in the same year as Shen Qing. Before he became a jinshi, he had already gained some reputation in Shaoxing. Shen Qing, who had always been fond of scholars and even somewhat revered them, married his daughter to Yu despite his family's poverty, and generously gave him 30 taels of silver to help him travel to Beijing for the examination. Yu Jinglun did not disappoint him, successfully passing the imperial examination and becoming a jinshi, and later serving as the magistrate of Shanyin County.

  However, Yu Jinglun, who was pleased with his official career, gradually revealed his true nature and became a frequent visitor to the brothel. He didn't treat his wife very well either. His daughter suffered from this kind of humiliation, Shen Qing hated it so much that her teeth were itching, but unfortunately, this little guy had risen to prominence and as a merchant's father-in-law, he no longer had the qualifications to scold him. Fortunately, Yu Jinglun still had some conscience and respected his father-in-law who had great kindness towards him, letting him help with some things without ever pushing them away.

  However, this kind of person with a straight face and a crooked heart is most suitable for mixing in official circles. In just a few years, he rose from the eighth-grade county lieutenant to the seventh-grade prefectural administrator, and gained the trust of the prefecture governor.

  "Please sit down, son-in-law," Shen Qing said as he stood up. Yu Jinglun sat down without hesitation, looking somewhat pleased with himself. "Father-in-law, it's all taken care of. One of the two spots is mine, haha."

  "Really?" Shen Qing asked excitedly, it had been a month, for this matter he was so anxious that he couldn't eat or sleep well, now finally there was news!

  "Hehe, how dare you deceive me, young son-in-law." Yu Jinglun took the tea from the maid and smiled after taking a sip.

  "It's all right, it's all right. Oh dear, you've worked hard, husband! Hehe." Somehow, the more she looked at her brother-in-law, the more pleasing he seemed to her eyes.

  "But, Father-in-law, although the Magistrate has agreed to this matter, whether it will be successful or not still depends on the situation in the capital." Yu Jinglun put down his teacup and said with some difficulty.

  Shen Qing, who had been mixed up in the business world for many years, heard this and clearly understood what the young master meant - it was about money. "Young Master, how much silver is needed?" Shen Qing asked with some concern, these officials' appetites were not small, and he feared that this sum of silver would not be small either.

  Yu Jingyu didn't say anything directly, she just stretched out one finger.

  Shen Qing let out a sigh of relief, nodded and said: "One thousand two is just one thousand two." One thousand two was indeed a large sum, but the Shen family's foundation could still afford it.

  "A thousand taels?! Father-in-law, it's ten thousand taels!" Yu Jinglun said with wide eyes. Indeed, people from small places are like this; a thousand taels of silver can't even be considered as a meeting gift in the eyes of those high-ranking officials in the capital!

  "One, ten thousand two?" Shen Qing said with a stunned expression, her eyes full of incredulity.

  "Father-in-law, 10,000 taels of silver is not a lot, and this is still the prefect's concession to my face. You should know that it's the Imperial Academy, once you get in, getting an official position is no problem. Moreover, Guigui is what kind of person you also understand, at his age, he can't even become a Xiucai, wanting to rely on imperial examination to achieve success, there's not even a little possibility." Yu Jinglun said, then picked up the teacup, with an air of "I've said my piece, now it's up to you".

  Ten thousand taels of silver indeed put Shen Qing in a difficult position. Although the Shen family was also considered a wealthy merchant, their rice business had been declining over the years, and they had been losing money all along. The family's current silver reserves were only over three thousand taels. If they wanted to come up with ten thousand taels of silver, they would have to sell their ancestral property, including the thousand-acre good land outside the city and the shops. These were all the family's ancestral industries! What face would they have left to see their ancestors after selling them?

  Although Yu Jinglun's face was full of indifference, his heart was also extremely anxious. After all, there were two thousand taels of silver in it. What if this old man didn't agree? All the hustle and bustle of the past month would be in vain!

  "Father-in-law, think carefully, once Guigui becomes an official, it won't just be this 10,000 taels of silver. I guarantee that within three years, we can earn back this family fortune!" Yu Jinglun said with a glib tongue, knowing exactly what kind of person his younger brother-in-law was. Even if he went to the Imperial Academy, it would be a waste of two years, and at best, he would become an unremarkable minor official in some government office, and it would take until the year of the monkey on the lunar calendar for him to earn back this family fortune.

  If someone had said this before, Shen Qing would not have believed it even if he was beaten to death. After all, no one knows his son better than himself, and he knew Shen Chongming's abilities. It was precisely because of this that he was anxious to find a worry-free way out for him, so as not to ruin the family business after his own death.

  But these days, Guigui seems to have suddenly come up with a brilliant idea, and his performance has been surprisingly amazing. He has turned the rice shop, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, into a thriving business. With such a mind, he would likely be very successful in officialdom as well.

  Gritting his teeth, Shen Qing made a decisive statement: "Alright, son-in-law, wait for a few days. I'll gather the silver right away." After speaking, he hastily exited the room. Yu Jinglun was left staring in shock, having been about to bid farewell and return home to let him think it over for a few days.

  In order to find someone who can take over the family's property and shops, and pay off all the silver, there is only Wan Yulin in Shaoxing City, whom he has not contacted for many years. Therefore, Shen Qing hired a small sedan chair outside the house and rushed to the Wan Mansion.

  Shen Qing's sudden visit also surprised Wan Yulin, the two had a good relationship in their youth, but over the years as the gap between them grew larger, except for the annual Chamber of Commerce meeting at the beginning of the year to discuss important matters, the two privately interacted rarely, it can be said that they were like strangers.

  However, Wan Yulin did not forget this old friend and the things they had done together in their youth in Shaoxing. As soon as he heard that his visitor was him, he hastily came out to greet him.

  "My dear brother has arrived at my humble abode, I'm afraid I didn't come out to greet you from afar, forgive me, forgive me! Haha." As he entered the living room, looking at Shen Qing standing with his back to him, examining the layout of the house, Wan Yulin hastily walked forward and smiled.

  "Brother Wan, I'm so sorry to disturb you, forgive me." Seeing Wan Yulin grab his arm as soon as he came up and still being so polite, Shen Qing couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

  "Ah, my brother, what are you saying? You're making me so happy I can hardly contain myself. Ha ha, please take a seat quickly. Someone, bring out the good tea that I've been saving." At this moment, Wan Yulin was overjoyed and couldn't help himself. As they say, "the higher you climb, the colder it gets". As his business grew bigger and bigger, he had fewer and fewer friends. Every day, he faced nothing but subordinates, and any words from his heart could only be bottled up inside.

  Seeing this, Shen Qing was also extremely delighted, and said that it was a change of scenery. The current richest man in Shaoxing had long forgotten his good younger brother from his youth, but he didn't expect him to still be so sentimental.

  The two of them chatted happily, mostly about past events. Now looking back at it all is also a sigh. However, after the excitement had passed, Wan Yulin came to his senses and realized that Shen Qing's sudden visit must be for something important. But seeing her troubled expression made him afraid to ask what was wrong.

  "My dear brother, we have been close friends for many years. Whatever it is, just speak your mind."

  "Brother Wan, I won't hide it from you either. Now I urgently need 10,000 taels of silver, but I don't have that much cash on hand, still short of 7,000 taels. So I thought of selling the shops in the city and a thousand mu of good land outside the city. After thinking about it, only you, Brother Wan, have this ability in Shaoxing City." As he said this, Shen Qing couldn't help but blush a little.

  Wan Yulin's eyebrows furrowed involuntarily, and ten thousand taels was not a small amount for him. What kind of matter required ten thousand taels? "Younger brother, I'll ask you something presumptuously, what do you plan to do that requires so much silver?"

  Shen Qing sighed, "To be honest with you, brother, the emperor has recently decreed that each local government office should select two students to study at the Imperial Academy. My uncle is working in the yamen and managed to secure a spot for my son after much persuasion, but it requires a bribe of 10,000 taels of silver. It's a rare opportunity, so I had no choice but to resort to this."

  Wan Yulin suddenly enlightened, couldn't help but laugh: "You, after so many years, still haven't changed, yourself having no chance of an official career, yet wanting to send your son in, haha."

  "I'm afraid I've brought shame to our ancestors, but I have no extravagant desires. I just hope that among my descendants, there will be someone who can bring glory to our family and make us proud when we meet our ancestors in the afterlife." Shen Qing didn't hide his thoughts. For generations, their family had been merchants, but now suddenly one of them became an official, which was enough to comfort their ancestors.

  "Ah, my younger brother is right, I also often have such thoughts, but unfortunately, my children are not prosperous, and I only have a daughter under my knees. Even if I want to take the official path, there's no way, haha." Wan Yulin sighed twice, this was also his heartache. In his household, he had seven or eight beautiful concubines, but none of them were worthy, let alone having a son, not even a single grandson.

  These years, he has invited countless famous doctors, but the conclusion is that he was too indulgent in his youth! As for this result, Wan Yulin can only bury it in his heart. Now the only thought is to find a good son-in-law for his daughter, and if possible, let him join the Wan family to continue the incense.