Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Why did he give so much stuff in Chapter 54?
Lin Jiang bought some food on his way back to Shuixing and was about to eat it as he walked when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be cow offal.

Niu Xiashui was accompanied by a little girl, who was also dressed in ordinary coarse linen clothes. She looked quite young, still at the age of sucking her thumb.

The two were on the street when the little girl set her sights on the sugar-blowing stall.

The stall owner was skilled, and the sugar figurines he made were incredibly lifelike. But this skill was clearly not meant for the laborers on the roadside; only children dressed in fine clothes could hold sugar figurines and walk happily by.

This tiny figure is more expensive than a candied hawthorn, and even mixed with coarse sugar, it costs a full sixteen coins.

To cheer up the child, it would cost half a day's wages. Niu Xiashui was reluctant to spend the money and tried to persuade the little girl, but she refused to go see him. This made the honest man anxious and hesitant.

Little Ginseng saw this scene from inside his sleeve and asked in confusion:
Why is he unwilling to buy it?

"Because it's expensive."

"Expensive? What does 'expensive' mean?"

"Silver isn't enough, copper coins aren't enough, so it's expensive." Lin Jiang said, "You remember I told you before, right? Some people get obsessed with money because they don't have enough. So silver is both a good thing and a bad thing."

Little Ginseng rubbed his head and thought for a long time:

"That's terrible!"

"Yes, that's terrible."

Lin Jiang walked up to the shopkeeper, took out thirty coins, and asked for two sugar figurines. The shopkeeper said it had to be thirty-two coins, so they finally settled on thirty-one coins.

He kept the imposing general for himself to eat, while flaunting another pretty girl in front of the little girl.

"Young Master!" Niu Xia Shui was clearly surprised to see Lin Jiang: "How could we trouble you to spend so much money!"

Lin Jiang waved his hand, signaling Niu Xiashui to keep quiet, so Niu Xiashui could only stand obediently to the side.

"Want one?" Lin Jiang asked, shaking the sugar figurine.

"Yes!" The little girl's eyes followed the sugar figurine up and down.

"That won't do, this is for a good child." Lin Jiang took the sugar figurine back: "You were just angry with your father, so I can't give this to you."

The little girl immediately felt wronged:

“That’s my grandfather.”

Lin Jiang: "..."

He first looked at the cow offal.

His skin was dark, and his eyes looked weathered, but he didn't seem, should, or perhaps wasn't that old.

"Ox offal, how old are you?"

I think I'm forty-two this year.

How old is your granddaughter this year?

"She should be seven years old."

Lin Jiang calculated the time.

People these days are indeed getting married and having children very early.

"Isn't it wrong of you to be angry with Grandpa?"

"But Grandpa doesn't want to buy me any..." The little girl was obviously too young to understand that her grandfather might only be able to buy two or three sugar figurines after a whole day of hard work.

"How long can you eat this sugar figurine?" Lin Jiang thought for a moment and asked.

"I'll be able to finish eating in a bit."

"Have you ever eaten a big fish? Enough to feed an entire family?"

"I've eaten it. My grandfather was a fisherman, and he brought it to me a few times."

"If it were a business, this sugar figurine could be worth a huge fish," Lin Jiang exaggeratedly gestured, making the little girl's mouth drop open.

"Grandpa's fish are very precious, and so are the sugar figurines. I shouldn't want such precious things." The little girl lowered her head, a little disappointed.

“You can have this precious thing.” Lin Jiang gave the sugar figurine to the little girl, “but you have to earn it yourself, honestly. I’m lending it to you this time, but you have to pay me back with one next time.”

"Okay!" After taking it, the little girl thought for a moment, then earnestly stretched out her hand to make a pinky promise with Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang and she made a pinky promise.

After calming the little girl down, Niu Xiashui looked at her with a face full of apology.

"Young master, I can definitely return this sugar figurine to you."

"We'll have the girl go to the water sect to learn something then," Lin Jiang said. "She'll have to be skilled before she can repay me."

Niu Xia Shui understood perfectly what Lin Jiang meant, and his heart was filled with gratitude.

"Why make that face? Just invite me to your house for a fish dinner sometime," Lin Jiang said with a smile.

“My home is quite a distance from Cangsong, and I usually stay in the dormitory provided by Shuixing.” Niu Xiashui said a little embarrassedly, “Moreover, there has been a cold outbreak in my village recently, and many people have fallen ill. Once this period is over, I will definitely host a grand banquet to entertain the young master.”

"It's settled then."

After chatting for a few more minutes, the two parted ways.

On the way back, Little Ginseng poked its head out: "You seem to be in a good mood?" "Hmm?" Lin Jiang thought for a moment: "I got a good meal, so of course I'm in a good mood."

……

When Lin Jiang returned to Shuixing, he found many horses parked outside his house.

They all appear to be public property.

This made Lin Jiang frown.

How did they find us?

Having been tricked by Zhu Mingyuan once before, Lin Jiang was somewhat wary of government officials. Seeing this, he quickened his pace and entered the main courtyard.

When they came in, they found the old lady sitting opposite a middle-aged man, drinking tea.

"Your tea is really good!"

"If Your Excellency likes it, I will prepare some more for you later."

The two exchanged polite greetings.

Hearing footsteps, Wen Xiangyi turned her head and saw Lin Jiang enter. Her eyes held a strange look.

Before Lin Jiang could even react to why he was being looked at like that, Fatty Liu suddenly stood up.

He took three steps in two and walked up to Lin Jiang, immediately grasping Lin Jiang's hand:

"Oh my! This must be your grandson, the renowned young master of the Water Merchants, Lin Jiang! Truly, heroes emerge from among the young! Let me introduce myself, my name is Liu Pang, I'm a minor prefect, you can just call me Little Liu..."

Lin Jiang: "?"

Isn't calling him "Little Liu" a bit too offensive?
Lin Jiang genuinely had no idea, and Fatty Liu was truly happy to see Lin Jiang now.

Actually, Fatty Liu didn't know what the relationship was between Lin Jiang and the old man, but it didn't matter.

All he needs to know is that Lin Jiang is his grandfather!
But Liu Pang couldn't show it. He remembered the old man's words: his grandfather didn't want his identity to be exposed too much, so he could only suppress his emotions and pretend to be enthusiastic.

"Actually, I came here specifically to thank you. There were some beasts in Hanbai Town's Ping Si, and I failed to control them properly, which led to many mistakes. If it weren't for you, Young Master Lin, my mistakes would have been even more serious."

"You flatter me." Lin Jiang was still on high alert.

Governor Liu was so enthusiastic that Lin Jiang was reminded of Magistrate Zhu.

“Your Excellency, you haven’t come to see us just about my grandson, have you?” Wen Xiangyi came to Lin Jiang’s rescue, and Governor Liu nodded in agreement.
“This matter involved the Cangsong Mao family, and we have already resolved it. However, I cannot take over the Mao family's businesses, nor can any other government officials. That's why I came to you. After all, you know the situation in Cangsong the most, and it is most appropriate to hand over their assets to you.”

Liu Pang waved his hand, and one of his subordinates immediately and respectfully took out the account book and handed it to Wen Xiangyi.

Wen Xiangyi's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

She also became suspicious.

The laws of Daxing did indeed state that officials were not allowed to engage in commerce, because doing so would provide them with convenience and make it easier for them to amass wealth.

But which official doesn't make money? They say they're not allowed to do business, but their relatives and subordinates will always have some businesses. Chongqing is a place some distance from the capital, far from the emperor's reach, so who would care?

The Han family is one of the three families, including the Liu family. One of the other two families also serves as a lackey for the Liu family.

Although Wen Xiangyi's water resources were large, they were still no match for the size of a governor.

If Liu Pang wanted to, he could send his men to take over the Mao family's businesses at any time.

Just like that, it's given away for nothing?
Why?

"Prefect Liu, is there anything else you need us to do?"

"No, absolutely not." Fatty Liu waved his hands repeatedly.

"Really not?"

"Not really."

Wen Xiangyi dared not take it on anymore.

Now it was Governor Liu's turn to be anxious: "Hey, Master Wen, don't overthink it. I really don't understand these things from the Mao family. It would be a waste for me to keep them. You should just accept them."

"...Thank you for your trouble." Wen Xiangyi reached out and took the ledger, but felt that the book in her hand was burning hot.

Only then did Fatty Liu finally smile.

After a few more words of conversation, Wen Xiangyi suggested that Liu Pang stay for dinner, and Liu Pang readily agreed.

Since the flower boat didn't come today, we simply hired some cooks to come to our house to prepare a meal. Naturally, the food and drinks were of the finest quality, and Fatty Liu ate with great relish.

Lin Jiang naturally had to attend the banquet, and during the meal, Fatty Liu kept praising Lin Jiang, making Lin Jiang feel extremely uncomfortable.

Finally, in the dead of night, under the stars, Fatty Liu, having eaten and drunk his fill, left with his men.

They have a place to stay in Cangsong, so they can just go back.

Watching Liu Pang's retreating figure, Lin Jiang couldn't help but ask Wen Xiangyi:
"Grandma, do you know him?"

"I've heard of it, but this is the first time I've met it."

"Then why did he give so much stuff?"

Both fell into silence.

Yes, we're not related by blood or marriage, so why?
(End of this chapter)