Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 182
It was windy and rainy last night, and it was another rainy day.

At five o'clock in the morning, there was no trace of light in the Rongguo Mansion, but a dark figure was walking along the inner wall of the Grand View Garden with his head lowered and a heavy load.

If you want to do good things first, you must first sharpen your tools.

This black rubber raincoat was a test product used by the State-owned Enterprise Department to test the rubber ratio, and Lai Shangrong took it as his own under the guise of checking for leaks and filling in the gaps.

Um!Still not light enough.

The reason why we keep our heads down and move forward is not because we consume too much, nor because the raincoat is too heavy, but because we summarize the information.

According to the information revealed in Wang Xifeng's words, Jia's mother knew the news that Jia She and his wife were marrying a daughter, and reprimanded Mrs. Xing.

Combined with the statement that they first took a concubine, handed over the shares and then married a daughter, it is not difficult to guess that these two people planned to wipe everything out.

I just don’t know if Xing Zhong, his wife and Xing Xiuyan know their plans.

However, he didn't want to cause trouble, as long as Xing Zhong and his wife knew that they were taking concubines instead of marrying wives, and there was no such thing as robbing women, he didn't intend to expose their plans.

But Mrs. Xing originally said that she would let herself invest in the stock to honor her future father-in-law. He combined the original work and set a share of 5000 taels.

Thinking about it now, it was set too high.

Fortunately, the official wording was in two words, and the right to interpret it was in his own hands, so he bargained with them on the grounds of insufficient shares.

He opened the back door of Rong Mansion with ease, returned home, and took a hot bath to wash away the sticky skin all over his body.

After catching up on another night's sleep, I ate breakfast and rushed to the Yamen.

"Sir!" Yuan Chengtao knocked on the door and entered the duty room. He bowed and said: "I found a house that meets your requirements near your house. It is in Huazhi Lane next door to your house. It is a courtyard with two entrances. The furniture is a bit old.”

Public affairs are worse than private affairs. Leaving these private matters to subordinates is also a way to win over people's hearts. Lai Shangrong is very familiar with it.

Moreover, Yuan Chengtao came from the Ministry of Industry and was more knowledgeable than himself in matters such as the housing construction pattern.

"Okay! Come with me this afternoon!" After a pause, he added: "Although I am from Rongfu, I cannot abandon my official position for personal reasons. As for the amount of the shares, don't rush to report it. I am thinking think!"

"Eh!"

Yuan Chengtao hunched over and was about to exit, when Lai Shangrong said calmly: "The disaster relief performance has been good this time, and the documents from the Ministry of Civil Affairs are about to come out! From now on, the errand of buying shares will be left to you, so there will be no more gossip!"

I originally thought that Yuan Chengtao would just ask for merit and be promoted to the seventh rank, but unexpectedly he was promoted to chief together with Chen Jie.

"Hey! Thank you for taking care of me, sir!"

After handling the government affairs of the yamen and having lunch, the sky was clearing. Lai Shangrong took Yuan Chengtao to Ningrong Street under the guise of inspection.

Firstly, this house is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Xing Zhong, so it shows respect for them to see it. Secondly, this is a chance to talk about it.

When Mrs. Xing heard that she was going to take her brother and sister-in-law to see the house, she also wanted to follow, but she had to take them with her.

A group of people came to Huazhi Lane and walked around the house.

Although it is only a two-entry courtyard with not many houses, the area is not small, and the scenery is elegant and has a garden-like layout. There is a pond in the backyard with fish playing in groups.

The green bamboos and willow trees in the courtyard have been watered by a night of rain and become even more green. The dense sunlight shines on the rain-stained willow leaves, making them sparkle.

Seeing the joy of Xing Zhong and his wife, Lai Shangrong prepared the draft.

He said to Xing Zhong: "Although this house is not big, it is only home to the two of us and some maids and servants. If it is too big, it will be deserted. Moreover, it can be accessed from the front and back, and the inside and outside are isolated, which will also make it easier for my uncle to entertain guests in the future!"

After a pause, he added: "My servants need to take their time to choose, so there is no rush. If you buy those with evil intentions, it will be a bad thing."

Then he turned to Mrs. Xing and said, "If Uncle Shi doesn't find a suitable one, I will talk to the old lady and choose a few people from the house who can handle things properly." When Xing Zhong's family was in the south, they lived in two houses. There is not even a main room in this room. When you come to the capital, you can live in such an elegant second courtyard, where you can have slaves and maids, so there is no dissatisfaction.

Holding her breasts and shrinking her back, she said, "Shang Rong is still thoughtful!"

Lai Shangrong smiled and said: "The furniture is a bit old, but it doesn't matter. I have many craftsmen who were good at construction in the Ministry of Industry."

Having said this, he turned to Yuan Chengtao and said, "Let them hurry up and build a set of high-quality furniture as soon as possible. And the window paper is also in disgrace. I might as well replace it with glass windows. I'll ask someone to come over and measure them as well." The size is set. It’s time to calculate the money, and you are not allowed to occupy the yamen for even a penny, you know!”

Looking at Yuan Chengtao, who was dressed in official uniform and looked down in front of Lai Shangrong, Xing Zhong felt that his vanity was about to overflow.

As for Xing's wife, her dissatisfaction with her daughter being a concubine disappeared as she listened to his detailed consideration.

Mrs. Xing proudly said: "Look here, where can I find such a young master? There is still something to say now!"

Seeing that Xing Zhong and his wife looked embarrassed, Lai Shangrong quickly winked at Yuan Chengtao and watched him retreat.

Then he bowed and said sincerely: "Ms. I have been wronged.”

When the couple saw Lai Shangrong talking about Xing Xiuyan as a concubine, they even went out of their way to dismiss Yuan Chengtao, which was very different from Mrs. Xing's attitude, and they felt more at ease.

Xing Zhong hurriedly helped him up and said flattered: "Where is my nephew? It's her blessing that Xiuyan can follow you, so we can rest assured."

Xing's wife nodded and said, "I just hope Shangrong will remember what I said today..."

But before he finished speaking, Xing Zhong glared back and said in a choked voice: "Woman's words! As an official of the imperial court, what I said can be false!"

There were only four people present here, so he changed the title directly.

Since they all have no objection to Xing Xiuyan being a concubine, Lai Shangrong also takes his heart back.

"Why don't you take a look at it, Uncle Shi? If there are any areas that still need to be repaired, tell them so that they can complete them as soon as possible."

After speaking, he called Yuan Chengtao again, and took Xing Zhong and his wife to take a closer look.

Lai Shangrong left Mrs. Xing behind.

"Please Madam go back and beg Uncle She. This time, the shares in the rubber factory cannot be transferred. 3000 taels is the limit. But please don't worry. When we open the second factory after a while, I will make up for the share of 3000 taels. "

In fact, according to Lai Shangrong's idea, 2000 taels is almost enough, but he added a thousand taels to be on the safe side. Of course, he also has some follow-up tricks, which he will use after Xing Xiuyan comes through.

"This...haven't we agreed?"

"My nephew also wants to do something about the Yamen, and I can't decide it with just one word. But fortunately, the second factory won't take too long. I will add 1000 taels by then, wouldn't it be better?"

These words made Mrs. Xing speechless.

Lai Shangrong added: "Please, madam, go back and report the truth. This is Shangrong's bottom line. If you lose your official position just to get a wife, it would be worse than..."

Mrs. Xing could naturally hear the implication.

After all, it will be the residence of Xing Zhong and his wife. Although they say it is very good, they still made some small comments, and Yuan Chengtao wrote them down one by one.

"You don't need to use the manpower of the State-owned Department for renovation and furniture. Just find a good reputation outside. The glass windows follow the old rules of our company and pay the internal price."

He does have skilled craftsmen under him, but the state-owned department is too busy with everything, so how can it waste manpower here?

The reason why I told Xing Zhong was because I saw that he was very vain and wanted to do what he wanted.

(End of this chapter)