Joy of Life: I'm really not a saint

A pair of tiger eyes scanned the crowd around them.

Not long after, he saw a group of people gathered at the place where the Fifth Master of the Ming family was. He frowned and glared at them with sharp eyes.

The fifth master of the Ming family was so frightened that he trembled all over and quickly lowered his head to hide behind the servants.

Seeing that no one was causing trouble in the crowd, the people from the Supervisory Office were a little surprised. They looked at each other and nodded, then pasted the seal notice in their hands on the shop door and left.

"Fifth Master! Do you want us to teach those people a lesson with sticks?"

The fifth master of the Ming family felt weak on his feet and almost fell to the ground. With the help of his servants, he calmed down and said calmly, "You will work at the dock in the future!"

"Master Wuwu?"

The man had a look of disbelief on his face and was immediately dragged away by the two men.

The fifth master of the Ming family thought about it and ordered, "Go and prepare the visiting card. I want to see the city lord, as well as the people from the Xiong family and the Cui family!"

"Yes!"

The accountant responded in a deep voice, waved his hand, and a servant went down to prepare.

"Old Yan, tell me the truth, is there any problem with those account books?" The fifth master of the Ming family was startled and he leaned over and asked softly.

A trace of contempt flashed through the accountant's mind, and he said, "There is nothing wrong with those account books. I have checked them several times."

"But Master Wu, those people are from the Supervisory Council! Let's not talk about the Chamber of Commerce's current attitude. If those people from the Supervisory Council want to tamper with the account books, it will only take some effort!"

What kind of brain is this? How can you still not see the situation clearly?

It seems that I have to make plans early.

"I understand. Let's go meet those adults first!"

After saying that, the fifth master of the Ming family took his servants and went to the city lord's mansion first.

The outcome was unexpected, yet reasonable.

The officials of Suzhou City, who usually bowed and scraped in front of his brothers, were now rude and didn't even give him a good look. And the Lord of the City was not even allowed to see him!

It is obvious that he was scared by the people from the Supervisory Commission!

"Let's go! Visit the Xiong and Cui families!"

"Fifth Master!" The accountant noticed something was wrong and became more and more worried. "If I saw it right, the deacon of the Chamber of Commerce is from the Xiong family!"

"What?" Ming Family Fifth Master was shocked. "If that's the case..."

The accountant nodded heavily.

"Quick! Quick! Let's go home and inform the brothers." The Fifth Master of the Ming Family paused and gritted his teeth and said, "No! Let's go directly to the board room to see the Imperial Envoy!"

The fifth master of the Ming family's expression darkened. At this moment, he no longer cared whether the old lady would suspect him or not. Fan Xian was clearly bullying him, and he could only endure it!

Not only do you have to endure it, but you also have to greet it with a smile and say it's okay to be bullied!

His eyes were a little wandering, unaware of the changes in the outside world and the passage of time.

The accountant came up to him timidly and said softly, "Master, we're here!"

The fifth master of the Ming family got off the carriage in a daze and couldn't help but look up. Baoyue Tower?

Unexpectedly, this unexpected imperial envoy did not avoid suspicion at all, as if he had no idea what taboos were. Even the place where he stayed was a place of fireworks.

Just as he was about to break in, four more carriages arrived.

Who else got off the carriage if not his brothers?

"Brothers, all of you..."

"Hey!" The third son of the Ming family sighed and answered the fifth son's words, "Go in!"

There was no one outside blocking the way, and it was obvious that Fan Xian had been waiting for them for a long time.

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother, you must have joined Fan Xian before, right? I hope we won't follow your old path!"

This is what several people think.

Several people entered the lobby and walked to the stairs leading to the second floor. There was a man waiting there. He was fat but not bloated. He looked at them from time to time with a lewd smile on his face.

It turned out that Wang Qinian had been waiting here for a long time.

"Everyone, let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Fan's confidant, Wang Qinian from the Supervisory Council. I know why you all came this time. Perhaps I can say something good for you."

After saying that, he scratched his fat face with a few fingers of his right hand from time to time.

The five men of the Ming family knew what was going on. Instead of feeling disgusted, they looked delighted.

They all reached into their sleeves and gathered their money together. In an instant, fifty thousand taels of silver notes were in Wang Qinian's hands. "Please say a few good words for us, sir!"

"This is natural, this is natural!"

Wang Qinian's eyes lit up, he chuckled, turned around and walked upstairs with a few people.

The few people did not expect that the person guarding the stairs was actually a master, and they became more convinced that this person was Fan Xian's confidant.

Fan Xian came tremblingly to the second floor where he was drinking tea. When he saw the few people coming, he did not put on airs. Instead, he gently asked them to sit down and be casual.

And what about Wang Qinian?

He left without looking back.

This. This?

Lao Wu was shocked. Was the banknote given away for free?

The third brother, on the other hand, remained calm. He understood that since the people from the Supervisory Council dared to take money, Fan Xian must have known about it.

Since he took the money, even if he didn't say a word, it represented Fan Xian's attitude.

He pulled Lao Wu's sleeve hard and shook his head, signaling him to stay calm.

"Master Fan, I hope you are in good health! I am the third child of the Ming family."

"Don't say more, I know everything!" Fan Xian waved his hand, interrupting the other party, and pushed the tea that had been prepared in front of several people, "Sit down and talk."

"Don't dare!"

"I'm not used to looking up at people!"

Fan Xian's tone became more serious, and several people sat down swiftly.

"To make a long story short, I will destroy the Ming family. Perhaps this is difficult for you to accept."

"But I can say it another way so that you can understand it more easily!"

"I want 90% of all the Ming family's assets. The remaining 10% will be divided among the five of you brothers."

"If you agree, here are a few things for you to do."

"If you don't agree, that's fine. I'll own 100% of the Ming family's shares. I still have some things for you to do!"

After Fan Xian finished speaking, he smiled slightly, blew some green leaves floating in the teacup, and took a sip.

"we agree!"

Chapter 258 Borrowing.

"Meet the master, meet the old lady!"

In Ming Garden, the housekeeper led a dozen stewards into the hall, bowed slightly and said, "Some shopkeepers and stewards of the clan want to see the master. I made the decision privately and brought them in first."

Ming Qingda looked a little unhappy, but the old lady nodded and said, "You go down first!"

"Yes."

The butler bowed and retreated, leaving a dozen deacons standing there, their faces filled with anxiety and sorrow.

"What happened?"

Ming Qingda asked in a deep voice.

"Master, most of our clan's businesses have been harassed and investigated. Not counting those fined by the Chamber of Commerce, the number of businesses ordered to suspend operations for rectification has reached four levels!"

"Master, I am the general manager of the neighboring province. Now my employees are in a state of panic. Many people were beaten in the street for no apparent reason. Some were even threatened and intimidated. If they dare to work in the shop again, they will be..."

"I am the head shopkeeper in charge of Hangzhou City. Several companies that previously cooperated with us have successively cut off contact and cooperation with us. Some even tore up the contract and paid huge compensation to cancel the cooperation."

More than a dozen people rushed to talk about the various situations that had happened in the past month, constantly explaining that it was not their responsibility and trying to shirk responsibility.

For a moment, the whole hall was in a mess and it was disturbing.

Before the visitor could finish speaking, he heard a strange noise coming from Ming Qingda's place.

"Snapped!"

The porcelain cup that was in Ming Qingda's hand the moment before had now fallen to the ground!

"How can it be!"

"Why. Why has the situation come to this point in such a short time!"

Ming Qingda was not a shrewd man, but at this moment he had already lost his composure.

The old lady at the side glanced at her son with disgust, and said with a gloomy face: "Why are you panicking? I'm not dead yet!"

"Tell me in detail which relationships have severed ties with us!"

A dozen deacons fell silent. At this time, the head manager of Suzhou stepped forward and spoke silently.

After a while, another deacon took over to report.

When the old lady understood everything, her already terrible face turned even darker!

"How much running water do you have now?"

“Can the projects that were previously won be able to be launched normally?”

A dozen deacons remained silent, looking at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Speak! You are all mute!"

The old lady was furious, and her heart became heavier!

"Previously, all our cash flows were handed over to the government to pay tribute to Kyoto. We didn't have much cash in the first place, and even though a few companies broke their contracts and paid some money, most of it was used to pay the Chamber of Commerce's fines. In addition, many shops have closed down for rectification, and now we just have to maintain daily expenses and take care of various parties."

Ming Qingda said gloomily, "Why are you still fighting? Can't you see that the imperial envoy has taken action against us?"

"nonsense!"

The old lady scolded her son, then turned to the backbone of the Ming family and said, "We still have to take care of what needs to be done. This is not a one-time deal. As long as we can get through this year, how much cash will we have left after setting aside the money?"

"Only enough to fill one item in the inner storehouse!"

"You bunch of bastards!" Ming Qingda stood up with an angry face and shouted, "Tell me, did you embezzle money? The bidding for the inner treasury only requires a 40% advance payment. Once the project is won, the money will be returned! How is it possible that there is still so little money left?"

The head shopkeeper of Suzhou City responded with a cold expression, "It is indeed as the master said, but the three internal warehouse projects that have been launched at the same time are the three largest projects among the dozen or so bids. In order to start running, we must first fill in 60% of the silver! And the partners who previously provided us with raw materials have now terminated the contract one after another at a loss. We have no choice but to buy a batch of raw materials from other places at market prices in order not to delay the operation of the project. This is very expensive!"

Despite listening to the explanation of the chief shopkeeper, Ming Qingda was still furious!

The scene fell into silence for a moment.

After a while, the old lady spoke. She looked tired but forced a smile and said, "We all know the situation. You don't have to worry about the subsequent cash flow. It will be deposited into your accounts before the agreed time!"

"You guys go down first, calm your employees and comfort them! Once the suspension and rectification period is over, we can reopen the business."

All the shopkeepers breathed a sigh of relief. It was best if there was no punishment.

Since it was the old lady who spoke, the situation wasn't so bad that it was irreversible.

"Yes."

A dozen shopkeepers and deacons said goodbye and left.

"Mother, I didn't expect that little bastard to be so cruel!"

The old lady ignored her son's nonsense, frowned and shook her head, and after thinking for a while, she said: "Now we should consider how to get through this difficult time!"

She did a quick calculation and found that her current cash flow was only enough to cover the advance payment for one project.

The other two projects will require 60% of the silver as an advance payment, which should be more than 2 million taels of silver. In addition to the cost of food and transportation, employee interest, etc., at least 3.5 million taels of silver will be needed.

"How much silver do you have?"

Ming Qingda looked uneasy, wondering if he had any reservations. He said, "There are still more than 400,000 taels left."

"fart!"