Dugong

Chapter 39: Cold Heart
South Pearl is Li Ping'an's most precious treasure at present. He doesn't know the exact price, but estimates that it is worth at least 180 acres of land.

Sun Baopi was rampant in the village, and the family property of several generations could only be exchanged for three or five South Pearls.

Li Ping'an didn't feel distressed. The most important thing now was to find the Zhang family's channels. He had no one at his disposal at the moment, and the only one who could be used and was useful was Xiao Yuzi.

"Besides, our family only lent him the Nanzhu for a period of time..."

It would be fine if Xiao Yuzi did a good job, but if he did not, not only would he have to return the Nanzhu, but he would also have to bear the responsibility for hundreds of thousands of taels of stolen silver.

"Not only can Gan'er be used as a sword and shield, he can also be used as a piggy bank!"

Li Ping'an opened the accounts sent by Xiao Yuzi. The calculation method was not very clear, but the anomalies and errors were circled.

No wonder he was able to please the tribute-paying officials; his thoughtfulness was truly meticulous.

As a new official, the eunuchs in the Tribute Department had not yet figured out Eunuch An's moods, so they were more careful than before and had less seemingly normal "losses".

Of course, there were also eunuchs who relied on their strong background and did not take Li Ping'an seriously.

"We remember every one of our families by heart, and these guys just hope that their backers will never fall!"

Li Ping'an turned to the last page and saw two familiar names. Xiao Yuzi had specially used an entire page to record in detail the methods and amounts of money they had made in recent days.

"You bastard! We haven't even embezzled money yet, but you two are so quick to make money!"

Li Ping'an called over the young eunuch on duty at the door. This young eunuch had just been assigned to the tribute department. He had little foundation and no backing. Although he didn't come to the door to kowtow in the middle of the night, he was very suitable to be a doorman.

If he performs well in the future, he may be adopted as a godson.

This method was learned from my godfather. Under him, one must not only have godsons, but also have reserve talents.

"Let little Mengzi come to see our family and tell him that this eunuch is very angry!"

The little prince bowed his head and accepted the order, then turned around with a happy expression, hoping that his father-in-law's son would fall out of favor so that he would have the opportunity to replace him.

A eunuch who doesn't want to have a godfather is not a good person!
soon.

Little Mencius came to the master's room with a frightened look on his face. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down in front of his godfather and kowtowed hard.

"Godfather, this child deserves to die."

Li Ping'an took a sip of tea slowly, watching the tender green tea leaves swirling in the cup. He didn't understand why the bigwigs liked to drink tea.

He could not tell the difference between good and bad, even the tribute called "Snow Bud". However, in order to please the important people, he endured the bitterness and drank tea instead of eating malt sugar or white flour buns.

"Tell me, what the hell?"

Little Mencius was not a newcomer in the palace. He figured it out on the way and realized that he must have been behaving recklessly in recent days and made his godfather angry.

He took out a stack of banknotes from his pocket, held it above his head, and said with tears in his eyes.

"Godfather must have put a lot of thought into arranging this job for me, but I didn't know how to show my respect. This is my first sin. I earned a lot of money from this job, but I didn't know how to share it with Godfather. This is my second sin!"

"He's quite self-aware."

Li Pingan put the banknote into his sleeve and scolded him, "As the saying goes, you can do it once, twice, but not three times. Remember this well. If you do something wrong again, don't blame us for disregarding the father-son relationship!"

Little Mengzi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little distressed. Not only did he give out the money he had made in recent days, but he also lost most of his fortune.

Li Pingan ordered: "We have heard of the Longevity Eight Treasures a long time ago. Go and get two portions. We need them for something."

Little Mengzi asked tentatively: "Godfather, what should be written on the account?"

Li Pingan said coldly: "What do you think?"

Little Mengzi gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I'll sign my child's name. Are two copies enough? I can get more to make ends meet."

Li Pingan nodded and said, "It's enough for now. We are too young to use it, so I sent it to your godfather to try."

Little Mencius quickly praised his godfather for his filial piety, saying that he was far inferior to him and must serve him and learn from him.

After enjoying the flattery for a moment, Li Pingan waved Little Mengzi away and counted the silver bills on his sleeve, which amounted to about fifty or sixty acres of land. "That's more than what's recorded in the account books. This guy is quite sensible!"

After a little thought, he didn't let Xiao Beizi call Xiao Dezi.

If a godson makes a mistake, you can forgive him by giving him some money, but you cannot forgive him completely. You must punish him severely.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey and make an alarm to the tiger.

Only then will other servants feel fear, do their work well, and give money well.

……

at dusk.

Li Ping'an came to a small open-air square with a food box and looked at the new eunuchs who were learning the etiquette from afar, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"I should have come to visit Eunuch Xu earlier. We owe him a debt of gratitude."

Looking back now, Eunuch Xu deliberately disrupted the order of teaching rules, obviously intending to help himself reasonably change the shape of his face and body.

If not for this, and Eunuch Zhou discovered that Li Ping'an was deliberately harming himself, he would probably end up in trouble.

"Serving in the palace is like walking on thin ice. Can we make it to the other side?"

Li Ping'an waited quietly with the food box in his hand until Eunuch Xu came off duty in the evening, then he stepped forward to speak to him.

"Eunuch Xu, your teaching rules are still so strict."

Eunuch Xu raised his eyelids and said, "Learning the rules is not like studying or practicing martial arts. It doesn't matter if you fail to learn the latter, but breaking the rules can cost lives."

Li Ping'an looked at Eunuch Xu who was sitting on the armchair with a cold expression, gritted his teeth and knelt down in front of him.

"I would like to thank you for your guidance."

The new eunuchs who had not walked far were stunned when they saw the eunuch in official robes actually bowing to Eunuch Xu.

"Jie Jie Jie..."

Eunuch Xu laughed like a night owl, looked Li Ping'an up and down, and spoke in a gentler voice: "At least you haven't forgotten the rules of our family education. When asking for help, you must know how to kowtow. Don't be so reluctant to lose your face."

Li Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, secretly cursing the old eunuch for his weird temper, who deliberately made him kowtow in front of the new eunuch to satisfy his sense of superiority.

"Father-in-law, I am now in charge of the tribute department. I have picked out some local specialties for you to try."

Xiao Quzi, who was serving nearby, took the food box and accidentally opened a gap in it, revealing the Ganoderma lucidum and Polygonum multiflorum on the top layer.

"Yes, the Eight Longevity Treasures. My family is old and they like this kind of food the most."

Eunuch Xu nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Xiao Quzi, our family has taught etiquette for so many years, and we've dealt with at least eight thousand eunuchs. How many of them know how to return a gift?"

Xiao Quzi bowed and said, "Including Eunuch An, there are twelve in total."

"People's hearts are truly cold and indifferent, only one or two out of a hundred have some warmth."

Eunuch Xu sighed, "Eunuch An, my family has no special abilities except being well-informed. We know a lot about the affairs of the palace. What do you want to ask?"

Li Pingan had a plan in mind when he arrived, and he respectfully asked, "Do you know Master Xiang from the Fire God Temple?"

"Xiao Xiangzi..."

Eunuch Xu's eyes were blurry and empty as he muttered, "He was once a talented disciple of Baiyun Temple, learning from Master Ziyang. He was proficient in alchemy and had a chance to be canonized. But he ended up having an affair with a palace maid, and his future was completely ruined!"

Li Ping'an was shocked. Baiyun Temple has been canonized by the royal family for generations, and it has a profound foundation and extraordinary strength.

"Well, there's one more thing. I remember that Master Ziyang's surname was Zhang..."

(End of this chapter)