He Nansheng sighed and said: "I know that Brother Shi still blames me. I can't say that I am innocent for what happened back then, but it would be unfair to say that it was intentional. Like Brother Shi, I are both disciples of saints. Just because my father passed away and my brother became an official, the general affairs of the family were left behind. When it comes to me, it is inevitable that there are some imperfections. When I was shocked to hear that the Zhang family had fraudulently sold the weaving factory, I tossed and turned for several nights, unable to sleep. If the He family has been separated, this matter is my fault alone, and I will never I won’t delay until now to find my brother. But the He family is not my family alone. The He family was also deceived. The transaction was written in black and white. It was recorded in the Yamen and became a public property. Even I can’t make the decision. The disposal is related to the reputation of the two families, so it’s hard to talk about it in detail..."
Shen Juren snorted coldly: "It was hard to talk about it back then, so why did Mr. He Er want to let go of the old matters? This is because Mr. He Er has made the decision and is willing to return his deceased wife's property.
He Nansheng shook his head and said: "Brother, please forgive me for my incompetence. Although I am in charge of the general affairs of the family, I have no right to deal with the public property."
No matter how helpless He Nansheng said, no one in Shen Ju could sympathize with him. Those two weaving factories accounted for the majority of the Sun family's industry, with an annual income of seven to eight thousand taels. It is true that the He family spent more than fifty thousand taels of real gold and silver, but it was a penny. None of the money fell into the hands of the Shen family.
Thinking of this, Shen Juren's resentment towards the Zhang family deepened.
How dare they, how dare they do this? Thinking of this matter, Shen Juren wanted to go to court. He would always be able to find out something. There would always be traces of one hundred thousand taels of silver, and Zhang Yanniang and his wife could do it alone. Hiding such a large sum of money?
It's just that three years ago, Shen Juren didn't know much about the world, so he couldn't think of this in a panic. When dealing with property, he should first ask his relatives and then his neighbors. This is not something that can be done with just one sentence.
Not to mention the yamen, the clan house, the third house, and the ninth house were all clean, so why should they be allowed to recover the money? They had to divide the money from the Zhang family and extorted more than 10,000 yuan from themselves. Two silver coins passed.
In the end, the Zhang family, who had defrauded and sold their property, was still alive and kicking, and the greedy relatives who had usurped the property had not suffered much loss. Only the fourth family had lost its two most important weaving factories, and it still had more than 10,000 taels of cash on its books.
At that time, the patriarch only said that it was about the family's reputation and that it was not easy to cause trouble, so he minimized the matter. Was it really for the reputation of the Shen clan, or did he not want to confront the He family? The He family is not only the in-laws of the clan, but also the eldest son of the clan of the He family. But he is ranked among the ninth ministers.
The one who lost the weaving factory was the fourth family, not the clan. Why did the clan want to confront the He family? If the weaving factory that was defrauded and sold was under the name of the clan, would the patriarch be willing to "make a big deal out of a big deal"?
Shen Juren squeezed the tea cup tightly, feeling like a big fool.
Shen Juren lost patience with the belated arrival of the clan master. Just as he was about to get up, he heard someone at the door say: "I'm late, I'll punish myself with three glasses of wine to make amends."
The patriarch of the clan clan is here.
This meal was requested repeatedly by the He Nan family, and the patriarch of the clan clan nodded and came forward. The He family is his in-law family, and although the He family's affairs back then were not authentic, the right and wrong in them are unclear. To put it bluntly, , even if the He family didn't take over back then, someone else would. Who would let go of the benefits that came to their doorstep?
Even within the Shen family, the third family was also eyeing it. Unfortunately, they did not get the Sun family's weaving factory, but instead let the foreign surname take advantage.
It's just that the eldest son of the clan is the eldest son, and he is marrying a daughter of the He family. His status is embarrassing, so it's not appropriate to say anything about this matter.
Now He Nansheng intends to take a step back and wants to resolve the feud between the two families through marriage. This is also a way. Even if he cannot return to the weaving factory, he can prepare a generous dowry, which can more or less make up for the loss of the four houses. The He family is not the culprit for what happened three years ago. , but benefited from it.
Speaking of which, the biggest loss that year was not only the fourth house, but also the clan house. On the premise of returning the Sun family's property, the patriarch supported the third house and the ninth house to pursue the transaction losses from the Zhang family and the fourth house, but did not allow the clan house. The second master of the house, Shen Jiang, pursued the case.
According to the patriarch, only by learning a lesson can one have a long memory and make Shen Jiang never dare to be greedy again. Therefore, Shen Jiang and the Qu family's ten thousand taels of silver were wasted.
However, the reason why the patriarch of the clan is willing to sit here and be the middleman is not because of his brother-in-law's face, but because he hides guilt in his heart.
The person He Nansheng proposed to marry was no one else, but the little He family sister who almost became the stepmother of the clan elder.
After the eldest wife of the clan recovered from her illness, she felt uncomfortable and urged the He family to marry off the clan sister as soon as possible. The He family's daughter did not know how to be a concubine, but the actions of the two families in the past few days could not be concealed from anyone who wanted to do this. After the matter was covered up, the He family's direct wife came forward, found a marriage for the little He from out of town, and soon married her. Within two years, the little He was gone, and she died less than two years ago. ten.
He Nansheng and the clan elder said frankly that this arrangement was not only to resolve the rift with the fourth brother of the Shen family, but also to compensate for the younger He family. More than ten years ago, the first wife sacrificed the younger He family for the reputation of her aunt. Not kind.
The life of Xiao He's natal family was very difficult. Only one brother was not good enough, and the family was poor and could not even prepare a decent dowry. This was why their second sister was not even in her prime. Make a marriage decision.
For this reason, the eldest son of the clan clan agreed to be the middleman and wanted to facilitate this matter. Considering the situation of the Xiao He family, it is considered a high achievement to marry into the fourth room of the Shen family as a stepmother. If you marry, you will be the head of the family. , although there are two stepsons here, they are both knowledgeable people and know etiquette, so it won't be a problem.
As for whether being a matchmaker will offend Shen Jin, the clan leader won't care. Not to mention that Shen Jin is just a scholar now, just a scholar, a scholar, so what? He has already been recorded in the name of Sun, so what qualifications do he have to be the biological mother? Zheng, what are you talking about? It is not right to support a concubine as a wife.
Seeing Shen Juren's expression of displeasure, the eldest clan master knew the reason. The current days of the fourth house... not much was known to outsiders, but the eldest clan clan master knew it clearly.
Shen Jue was the only one who kept talking about how many injustices he had avenged for Shen Rui. As a member of his clan, he was not a shrewd person. Even without Sun's dowry, the fourth house had ancestral property and public property purchased by Sun's later generations, but his life was getting worse. It's getting more and more embarrassing. It seems that there should be a lady in charge.
There was sincerity on the face of the clan elder: "Chaoyuan, it's really rare to see you. The clan clan and the fourth clan have always had the best relationship. You and I have been brothers for most of our lives. Could it be that you are really confused because of your second brother's confusion?" My old brother is also blamed?"
After hearing this, Shen Juren couldn't help but think of the old things and lamented endlessly. The number of people in the four houses was very small, and the family business had been in decline. If it were not for the care of the clan, he would not be able to live a better life. Even the Sun family was married by the clan master. .
In Shen Juren's heart, he respected the patriarch as his father, and regarded the two clan brothers as brothers. The more he was tricked by Shen Jiang, the deeper his resentment became. But Shen Jiang's life was not easy now. Not only did the family separate, but his old wife He was also sent to the family temple and has not been taken out yet.
Thinking about this, the fire in Shen Juren's heart has dissipated a lot. In any case, the patriarch and the clan elder did not protect Shen Jiang in this matter, but made the decision for him, and they should accept this situation themselves.
Seeing that Shen Juren's expression softened but his eyes were still unkind when looking at He Nansheng, the clan leader winked at He Nansheng.
He Nansheng stood up and said, "Brothers, please sit down for a moment while I go and hurry up." After saying that, he cupped his hands to the two of them and pushed the door open to go out.
"Hey, we brothers are drinking. Why did the eldest brother call him over?" Shen Juren complained.
"It's better to resolve enemies than to end them. There is news in the capital. The boss of the He family will probably be promoted to a higher level when his term expires next year. It would be fine if he went to another department. But if he goes to the official department, Chaoyuan won't be afraid?" the clan elder said solemnly.
Shen Juren said disdainfully: "So what if I am promoted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs? I don't seek an official position. I am only a peace gentry. How can he control me?"
The elder of the clan house hated iron and said: "You are at ease, and you are not afraid of delaying Brother Jin? Brother Jin is a good young man. I heard the teacher in the government school said that Brother Jin is in good condition. If next year is almost the same, the year after that will be good." Just go to the capital."
The elder clan master said solemnly, and Shen Ju's heart also started to rise. He frowned and said, "It's not enough for the He family to embezzle other people's property. Do they also want to destroy other people's futures?"
The clan elder sighed and said, "If the two families continue like this, I'm afraid it will happen one day."
These words are not made up by the clan elder to scare people. You can think clearly from another perspective.
If the fourth room of the Shen family insists on not reconciling with the He family, then the He family, in order to avoid future troubles, will most likely try to interfere with Shen Jin's future and cut off the hope of the fourth room, leaving the fourth room without the power to take revenge. As for the fourth room with the fourth room, Among the other people who are related, whether it is Shen Li or Wu Fang, who will stand up for Shen Jin? As for Shen Rui, he has not even passed the boy's examination, and his qualifications are unknown, but he will not fall into the eyes of the He family for a while.
The He family knew about Shen Rui's apprenticeship with Wang Shouren because of Mrs. He, but the clan leader didn't, so he thought so.
"How dare they? The clan will just watch?" Shen Juren's eyes were filled with fear, but he still spoke harshly.
"Who is harming others blatantly? As long as there is no evidence, the He family can deny it. There is a reason to be a thief for a thousand days, but how can you prevent a thief for a thousand days?" The elder of the clan sighed and said: "Your family just raises people. Family status, directly bumping into the He family's direct wife, is like a chicken touching a stone."
Shen Juren was angry in his heart, but he had seen the warmth and coldness of people in his early years, and knew that what the clan master said was not a lie. He looked panicked and said: "Brother, what should I do? Is it possible that such a big loss is in vain, and I still have to go and congratulate him?" Do you want your family to show off your smile? Being so cowardly will bring shame to the Shen family..."
The elder master of the clan said sternly: "Of course you can't suffer losses in vain. You are the Shen family. Can the clan still watch? I have already mentioned to He Er that even if we cannot return the weaving factory, we must make up for the loss of the fourth house."
When Shen Juren heard this, he couldn't help being surprised: "Is he willing? When the elder brother didn't come just now, although he was verbose a lot, he just said that he was innocent."
After saying these words, the elder clan leader made a loud noise in his throat. He ate half a cup of tea and said slowly: "You have to be willing even if you don't want to. The He family can't cover the sky with one hand and give him a ladder. If he refuses to take a step back, Shen My family is not vegetarian.”
Shen Juren's eyes showed excitement: "Brother, then he really agreed?"
The eldest clan master nodded, feeling helpless. He didn't mean to scare him, but he actually knew Shen Juren's temper. He was soft when faced with tough situations, and tough when he got softer.