Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

Gu Yunji knew that a big businessman like Fan Li who travels far and wide must have a lot of accumulated property in his family, at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, and it is not uncommon for them to be as many as 10 taels.

But 5000 taels of silver is not a small amount, even if Fan Li can get it, it is not an easy task.What's more, he used the word "gift", not borrowing or credit, but giving him money for free.

Gu Yunji almost thought he heard it wrong, and looked at Fan Li in disbelief: "Fan Li, you have to think about it, it's 5000 taels of silver. You gave it to me today, and I'm not sure that I can get it from the Xuzhou government in the future." Ya will pay you back the money, and as for myself, I can’t even afford to pay back 5000 taels of silver.”

Fan Li said solemnly: "The villain thinks very clearly, the 5000 taels of silver are used for the purchase of fine potato seeds, and I give it away as I give it away. There is no need for the government to return it, and I don't need you, Mr. Gu, to return it."

A businessman values ​​profits and will not do business at a loss. If Fan Li helped find high-yield crops before to make friends with the officials of the Syrian state government, then he is willing to give Gu Yunji 5000 taels of silver for nothing now. It is definitely not just for the simple purpose of establishing friendship with him .

Gu Yunji couldn't figure out his purpose, so he asked: "Although the promotion of yams is a matter of benefiting the people, I am the general judge of the Syrian state government, and my achievements will be glorious if the matter is done well. But you are a businessman. It has nothing to do with it, no matter how high-yield the potato is and how wide the scope of promotion is, the imperial court will not remember your credit, what are you trying to do?"

Fan Li smiled, and said calmly: "The villain's family has been in business for generations and has accumulated tens of thousands of wealth, but the children of merchants are not allowed to become officials. No matter how much money they have, apart from making their children's lives as good as before, they can do other things. No. Since that’s the case, why don’t you take out 5000 taels of silver and let it play a bigger role in Mr. Gu’s hands?”

"Of course——" Fan Li paused for a moment, with a humble attitude, "If Mr. Gu can keep his promise, after the cultivation of yams is popularized and planted in the future, when the imperial court rewards you for your merits, you can remember the name you promised in front of the emperor. That's even better."

Gu Yunji knew it in his heart.

The hierarchy of scholars, farmers, businessmen and commerce is strict, and businessmen are at the bottom. No matter how much money Fan Li earns, his social status is still low. Any poor scholar with a reputation can point his nose at him and scold him.

In addition, the imperial court stipulated that merchants could not take part in the imperial examination. If Fan Li wanted to improve his status, he could only rely on his in-laws to marry a daughter and find a promising newcomer in the imperial examination to be his son-in-law. If it is wrong, no one will know.

But the son-in-law is of a foreign surname after all, within two or three generations he can still be regarded as a close relative, and after a few decades, the other party may not want to recognize their relatives as a lowly businessman.But now there is an excellent opportunity in front of him, as long as he seizes it, he can change the fate of future generations once and for all.

Fan Li has seen with his own eyes how high the yield of artichokes is, and he is convinced that it can become an important crop that will cause earth-shaking changes in the future, as Gu Yunji said.Such a high-yield food crop, but anyone who makes efforts in the process of promoting it will definitely be rewarded by the court in the future.

Fan Li found yams for Gu Yunji from Fu Lang Jiren, and gave him 5000 taels of silver when he was short of money. He paid so much, even if the court only gave him a nominal official position in the future, it would be enough for him to leave. Business membership, to achieve class leap.

Fan Li is a citizen, and Gu Yunji is an official. From ancient times to the present, the people have not had much say and autonomy in front of the officials. If it were someone else, it is very likely that they will take the credit for finding yams and buying seeds. Anyway, Fan Li is just a small businessman, and he can't make any waves despite the sky.

However, according to Fan Li's observation and understanding of Gu Yunji in the past few months, he found that he is indeed dedicated to serving the people, putting his personal political achievements and interests behind the common people.Such a person would not only not monopolize the credit, but would also take the initiative to ask him for credit. Even if the matter fails in the end, Gu Yunji is not low-born and has a bright future, so it is worthwhile to sell him a favor.

Gu Yunji is not afraid of people's calculations, as long as it is not a conspiracy, it is not shameful to express one's purpose frankly.What's more, compared with people like Yan Zhengqian and Chen Xunzhou who are not doing anything, Gu Yunji would rather cooperate with someone like Fan Li.

So he readily agreed: "Don't worry, Fan Yuanwai, I will never forget your hard work and hard work. In the future, I will write a letter to His Majesty to reward you."

Fan Li smiled brightly, cupped his hands and said, "Then I would like to thank Mr. Gu first. I thought that I would have to rely on my merchant ship to transport the yams to the Xuzhou capital anyway, so I just gave 5000 taels of silver to the Buddha directly." Lang Jiren, you don’t need to worry about it, just check and accept [-] jin of fine seeds in a few months.”

Gu Yunji is a layman in business, so it is naturally better, and avoids many cumbersome matters. He smiled and patted Fan Li on the shoulder: "Then you have to worry about it."

After discussing with Fan Li the follow-up matters of purchasing fine potato seeds, Gu Yunji stayed in the government office to handle official business.

The sun was setting, and it was almost time to be on duty. In the past, Xu Shuhua should have come to pick him up, but now she was not there.Gu Yunji was about to send Xudong back to inquire about the situation, when he saw someone from his family sent a message:

"My lord, there are visitors at home today, Madam has to entertain guests at home, so she won't come to pick you up, let you go back by yourself."

Gu Yunji said unexpectedly: "Is there a visitor? What kind of visitor?"

The boy who sent the message scratched his head: "It seems to be a relative from Madam's natal family. I don't know the exact identity."

Ever since Gu Yunji brought his wife and daughter to this remote Xuzhou Mansion to take office, he has never seen any familiar relatives or friends. He and Xu Shuhua's relatives are either in the south of the Yangtze River or in the capital. state capital.

Could it be an official from the Xu family who came to the southwest on a business trip?Gu Yunji was curious, and when it was time to be on duty, he immediately went home.

Walking outside the main hall, Gu Yunji heard indistinct chatter and laughter coming from inside. As soon as he walked in, he found that besides Xu Shuhua, there was a strange man sitting in the hall.

The man looked in his thirties, with a thin body and rough skin, as if he had been exposed to wind and rain every day, and even his clothes were shorts that were easy to move around.From the appearance alone, it doesn't look like an official who has been in a high position for a long time, but rather a hard laborer who moves goods on the wharf—but although the man's hands are much rougher than Gu Yunji's, they are only a little callused, and it can be seen that it is not real drudgery.

Gu Yunji was puzzled: The Xu family in Shaoxing, like the Gu family in Songjiang, both have a scholarly family that has been passed down for hundreds of years, and their children have entered official positions from generation to generation. How could there be such a down-and-out child in the family?
Seeing that he came back, Xu Shuhua got up immediately, and said with a smile, "Come on, Yun Ji, let me introduce you. This is my natal family's third cousin, Xu Zhenzhi."