20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 754 May th
A few days later, at the Jiang family mansion.

As soon as it was afternoon, Li Zhengxi hurried to his sister-in-law to apologize.

Truth will come to light sooner or later. As expected, Laizi and his gang extorted money along the river for several days. Finally, a merchant could no longer tolerate it and went to complain to Mr. Li Sanye.

The Jiang family's online relationship, which had just eased in the past two years, seemed to have suddenly become tense again.

After hearing this, Li Zhengxi was so furious that he didn't even celebrate his birthday. He immediately called Laizi and others and gave them a severe beating.

He originally planned to remove the culprits from the Jiang family, but when he heard that the brothers did this to raise money for his birthday, he felt a little reluctant. After beating and scolding them, he went door to door along the river to apologize.

Everyone knows that the Third Master is a righteous man.

No one was angry at him, as everyone knew that the Third Master would not do such a disgusting thing as extortion. Now that the Third Master had come to explain in person, it would not be easy to be unreasonable. With the idea that it is better to resolve a feud than to create one, they finally waved their hands and let it go.

Occasionally, there were two shopkeepers who were outspoken and said a few words from their heart:
The Third Master has a fiery temper and has always been righteous. He always thinks of his brothers in everything. He would rather suffer himself than see his brothers being wronged. However, there is a limit to being a good person. If one is not clear about one's intentions, his loyalty and courage will only help the tyrant to do evil; if he does not discipline his subordinates, he will make friends with bad people and may end up in trouble himself.

These words made Li Zhengxi feel ashamed.

He understood the truth, and Xifeng was not a soft-hearted person, but he just couldn't bear to draw his sword and attack his own brothers.

He scolded those who deserved to be scolded, beat those who deserved to be beaten, and punished those who deserved to be punished. However, as for cruel tortures such as three cuts and six holes, pulling out tendons and breaking hands, he only used them on outsiders.

Having said that, when brothers in his own hall caused trouble, he had to report it to his superiors and he would never dare to hide it.

He walked across the courtyard, entered the mansion, and came to the door of the study on the second floor. After thinking for a while, he finally knocked on the door gently.

"Enter."

Hu Xiaoyan was free today and did not look through the account books. Her desk was also tidy with only a bowl of hot medicine on it. However, she was sitting in a wheelchair with her back to the window. It was more like she had expected it than saying that she was not surprised at all, as she was waiting for Xifeng to come and apologize.

"Sister-in-law, I..."

Li Zhengxi stepped forward, lowered his head, and suddenly hesitated.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't say anything. She silently opened the desk drawer, took out a palm-sized gift box, and handed it to Xifeng with a smile in her eyes.

Li Zhengxi was probably confused by Lai Zi and the others, and took it blankly without realizing it. Instead, he asked, "Sister-in-law, what is this?"

"Is it your birthday? This is for you." Hu Xiaoyan picked up the medicine and blew on it twice. "Open it and see if it's precious."

Li Zhengxi opened it and saw that it was a foreign gadget, a very exquisite small gold watch.

Hu Xiaoyan sipped the medicine while saying, "I asked Fangyan to prepare it last month. He said it's a Swiss product called Longines. You're no longer a street vendor. Even if you don't wear gold and silver, you should still dress up. Reputation is not false. You should pay attention to it."

"Thank you sister-in-law."

Li Zhengxi put on the gold watch and looked at his outfit, feeling that it didn't match him well. His heart warmed, and he felt even more ashamed.

Just as he was about to explain his purpose, he swallowed his words when he saw the medicine in his sister-in-law's hand and asked, "Sister-in-law, have you been feeling better recently?"

Hu Xiaoyan glanced over the edge of the bowl and glanced at Xifeng, but said, "Don't worry, your little thing won't make me angry enough!"

Li Zhengxi was shocked: "Sister-in-law...you know everything?"

"Since they can sue you, why can't they sue me?"

"Sister-in-law, I have already whipped those who were the first to come up with the idea, and I have also fined them their crops. They went to extort money from other businesses without permission, which is of course against the family rules, but in the final analysis, it was me who failed to keep an eye on them. You can blame me if you want!"

Hu Xiaoyan remained silent for a moment, but asked, "If I blame everything on you, will they understand you?"

"Whether you understand or not, no matter how many mistakes there are, the manager has the biggest responsibility." Li Zhengxi did not shirk his responsibility, but instead took on all the responsibilities.

Hu Xiaoyan had watched Xifeng grow up, so of course she understood his character, and at the moment she had no intention of blaming or complaining about him.

Suddenly he sighed and said, "There are too many people in the Jiang family now. I can't take care of everything. There are many things that I can't handle. Besides, as the eldest brother, everyone has their own way of leading the younger brothers. There is no unified way for this kind of thing. It's okay as long as it works. So I never asked you to do this or that before, but now I really want to ask you."

"Sister-in-law, tell me!"

Li Zhengxi listened attentively, thinking that his sister-in-law would ask about his punishment measures, or how many businesses Laizi and others had offended. Unexpectedly, when his sister-in-law opened her mouth, she only asked a single question:
"Xifeng, among all the gangs in the family, the brothers under your command are the most diverse and difficult to manage. I just want to know one thing. You are so sincere to them. If the family really encounters any trouble, how many people do you think are willing to work for you?"

Li Zhengxi was startled, thought for a while, and murmured: "Sister-in-law, I feel that the stone should be..."

"You don't have to tell me," Hu Xiaoyan suddenly interrupted, "I have never seen them, and I don't know their temperaments. Besides, people's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. Even if you tell me now, I can't be sure. You should go back and ask yourself this question!"

"Yes, I understand."

"I can tell you the truth. If your brothers can really stand by you and repay you with their lives at the critical moment, then these things are nothing. Not to mention extortion, even if they commit murder, I will do my best to bail them out."

Ultimately, in Hu Xiaoyan's opinion, this is a question of whether it is worth it, and has nothing to do with what Lai Zi and others have done.

"Sister-in-law, how should they be punished this time?" Li Zhengxi asked.

Hu Xiaoyan thought about it, shook her head and said, "Haven't you already been whipped?"

"After being whipped, those who led the group couldn't get off the kang for some days!"

"That's it, don't fine them. There's not much money to share from the artists. You have a lot of brothers, so you have to leave them a way out. Let's forget about it!"

This statement is really not like Hu Xiaoyan's style.

Li Zhengxi was caught off guard and knelt down on the spot, saying, "Thank you very much, sister-in-law, for your kindness. I thank you on their behalf. They will remember your kindness!"

"Give me mercy?" Hu Xiaoyan sneered, "I'm not giving me mercy, I have no choice!"

"No choice?" Li Zhengxi didn't understand. "What do you mean by that?"

Hu Xiaoyan waved her hand and asked him to stand up, saying, "Don't kneel down, birthday boy. Stand up and talk."

Li Zhengxi stood up and stood beside the table with his hands hanging down.

Hu Xiaoyan went on to say: "Xifeng, this is the true teaching that the old man left me. Remember, the way to control subordinates is to strike a balance between relaxation and tension. Being too strict or too indulgent is not advisable. It depends on the situation, the time, and even the person." Li Zhengxi nodded repeatedly, but he actually only had a vague understanding of it.

Hu Xiaoyan explained, "Back then, the old man told me that any matter of managing people, whether it's opening a shop, setting up a company, or even just opening a small teahouse, as long as you are in charge, it is the way of the army, and it's the same principle as leading troops to war."

"Leading troops to fight?"

"Yes, if you have enough military pay, you should be stricter in leading the troops, abide by the rules, and not disturb the civilians; but if you are in urgent need of military pay, you should be more lenient in leading the troops. The soldiers under your command will burn, kill, and loot along the way, and you should not be too harsh on them, otherwise it will cause a mutiny."

Li Zhengxi understood.

If the younger brother lives a comfortable life, it is no problem if the elder brother is a little strict with him; but if the younger brother lives a tight life, and the elder brother glares at him, he will force his brothers to rebel.

Hu Xiaoyan said: "The market in Fengtian is not good right now. From the officials and businessmen who run factories to the street vendors, everyone is having a hard time. Prices are soaring and it's hard to make money. At this time, you can't be too considerate of others, otherwise, the people under you will be unable to hold back and rebel. If your own family members don't stand on our side, who else can you expect to support the Jiang family?"

This is the current situation. Even the Jiang family was forced to subscribe to 300,000 yuan of provincial government bonds, let alone ordinary people?

"Of course I also want to make the Jiang family look respectable," Hu Xiaoyan continued, "but the problem is that we can't just tighten the family rules now. We can only stick to the most basic principles - the brothers in the gang don't fight each other, and the businesses that rely on the gang can be stable. Other things can't be taken into account. And, to tell you the truth, your situation is not an isolated case. I've heard that several "in the gang" have been causing trouble recently."

The situation in Fengtian was not good, and the Eight Dark Gates began to act more and more out of line, especially Hengbaer, Lao Rong, and Chi Genian, who all began to show their abilities.

Cases of theft and robbery in the provincial capital began to increase day by day, and many people broke the rules. How could the Jiang family be unaware of this?

Li Zhengxi remembered what his sister-in-law said - the Jiang family's current bottom line is that gang members do not fight among themselves and can rely on the gang to achieve stability.

As for the philosophy of how to control subordinates, he also understood it, but knowing is difficult but doing is easy, knowing is easy but doing is difficult. How many people in this world can achieve the unity of knowing and doing?

If listening to a few truths could change one's behavior, everyone would have been a saint long ago.

As for the way to control subordinates, Jiang Chenghai only said these few words to Hu Xiaoyan back then. She listened and put them into practice. Now he said these words to Xifeng, but Hu Xiaoyan was not sure whether Xifeng's way of controlling his subordinates would change.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of a car coming from the yard.

The two looked out through the window lattice and saw Jiang Lianheng's car driving quickly into the courtyard.

Before the car stopped, there were a few "bang" sounds, and Jiang Lianheng, Zhao Guoyan, Wang Zhengnan and Hai Xinnian walked quickly into the mansion.

Next, it was Xue Yingqing's car.

Several people looked very hurried, as if they had encountered some major incident.

"What's going on?" Li Zhengxi was a little surprised, "Why are they all here?"

Hu Xiaoyan frowned and turned around to ask, "What was going on in the city when you came?"

"No, everything is fine. I haven't heard of any trouble."

Before Li Zhengxi finished speaking, he heard a shout from downstairs: "Dongfeng, come upstairs and talk!"

Soon, Zhao Guoyan and others all rushed into the study room with a rumble. Song Ma led a few servants and brought a drum stool into the room and set it up.

"What's going on?" Hu Xiaoyan became increasingly flustered.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Lianheng walked over quickly and slammed a telegram heavily on the table.

"Fuck them! The foreigners are bullying us too much. It's no wonder that everyone is making trouble. If I were there, I would make trouble too!"

After saying that, he sat down, picked up the bowl on the table and took a sip. After taking a sip, he found that it was medicine soup. He quickly put it down, changed to the tea bowl and poured a glass of water. He looked quite excited.

Not only him, Zhao Guoyan and Hai Xinnian also had angry expressions on their faces.

"It's not enough to withhold wages, but they also want to kill people. It's not enough to kill people, but they also want to massacre indiscriminately. Who can tolerate this?"

Hu Xiaoyan picked up the telegram on the table and asked around, "Is there another commotion in the city?"

"It's not Fengtian, it's Shanghai." Wang Zhengnan came over and explained in a low voice, "This is an urgent telegram sent by Wen Tingge from the south. Today's incident will probably be reported in the newspaper tomorrow morning."

"Just sent it?" Hu Xiaoyan was a little surprised.

Xue Yingqing shook his head and sighed: "The world is not peaceful!"

Jiang Lianheng was still furious, and immediately added: "During the Qing Dynasty, when we were bullied by foreigners, we could still curse the imperial court. Now it's the Republic of China, but the situation has changed. We are still bullied by foreigners. Who should we curse this time? If we curse again, we will curse Old Zhang!"

"Keep your voice down!"

Hu Xiaoyan scolded them, but she was still a little confused in her heart - why did the unrest in Shanghai make them so excited?
Unexpectedly, after reading the letter, even she herself felt a little frightened.

The telegram was not short and was sent in clear text, almost as long as a news agency message. It seemed that it was no longer a secret.

"Boss:"

"The situation in Shanghai is becoming increasingly tense. Since the shooting at the Dongyang Cotton Mill in the middle of this month, conflicts between Chinese and foreigners have escalated again and again. I have personally witnessed it. If I were not involved in it, I would never dare to talk about this case."

"There were already more than ten casualties in the shooting at the spinning mill, and the business community in Shanghai was outraged. Dozens of people have been arrested in the past half month."

"This morning, there was another riot in the concession. By the afternoon, 10,000 people had gathered to denounce the foreign powers. The British police ordered the shooting of the people. From what I saw, several people were killed on the spot, and countless others were injured and arrested. If it weren't for the Chinese police pointing their guns to the sky, there would have been even more casualties."

"At present, the Youth Gang has decided to come out to show support, and other sectors are also united in their hatred of the enemy."

"It is now certain that this unrest will not be quelled overnight."

"In short, the current unrest in Shanghai is unusual, and cargo disruptions will become the norm. If you have related businesses, please do not guarantee it."

"Also, this case is not just about Shanghai. Fengtian also needs to be on guard."

"The rest of the news cannot be discussed in detail by telegram, so I have sent someone to report back."

Hu Xiaoyan closed the telegram and immediately asserted: "The price of Fengpiao has dropped so much that everyone is already full of dissatisfaction, and it only takes a spark to ignite. Now, the provincial capital will definitely be in chaos."

(End of this chapter)