Official Lin spent several days dealing with visitors from all walks of life, and spent another ten days inspecting various establishments, and completing instructions and arrangements. It was the end of July.
In the next few months, he should focus most of his energy on two major events - the Literary Forum and the dredging of the lower reaches of the Wusong River.
The Literary Forum is tentatively scheduled for early October, so that there will be enough time to give widespread notice and allow others enough time to arrive.
With the communication and transportation conditions of this era, it is impossible to send a notice today and hold the meeting in a few days, at least two months in advance.
As for the project time, the autumn harvest time in the Jiangnan area is from late September to early October. There will be enough manpower to start construction after the autumn harvest, which is still two months away.
In other words, during these two months, all preparations must be made before the start of construction, mainly funds and policies.
Thinking of this, Lin Daguan said to his wife Wang Shiwu: "I find that I am very short of money. I have always been short of money."
Wang Shiwu thought this was some kind of fun, and responded: "It's on Wan'er Baqian's cabinet. If you work hard tonight, I'll reward you."
Lin Tailai replied: "We are short of three hundred thousand taels."
Wang Fifteen: ""
At this time, Secretary Bai came in with a stern face, holding a letter, and said to Lin Tai: "There is an urgent letter, sent from Yangzhou."
After Lin Tailai opened it and looked at it, he said to Wang Shiwu: "Correction, now there is only 200,000 taels missing."
The letter was sent by Wang Da, the shopkeeper of Lin's Salt Industry, informing him that he had successfully borrowed a huge sum of 100,000 taels from other salt merchants using the nest capital controlled by Lin's Salt Industry as collateral.
This is completely expected, the nest is a hard currency, and 40,000 nests are used as collateral. Unless the Ming Dynasty is about to perish, it is impossible to borrow less than 100,000 taels of silver.
Thinking about the huge gap, Lin Tailai sighed: "How come there is no one like Lu Buwei in our Ming Dynasty who dares to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver to invest in political achievements projects?"
"There was once, but now I don't even know where the grave is." Wang Shiwu said.
Then Wang Shiwu looked at Secretary Bai's back and said to Mr. Lin, "You'd better go and appease Secretary Bai first. She seems to have a bad temper recently."
After Mr. Lin returned home, he first appeased the main palace, and then went to the west to appease the other palaces. He did not bring Secretary Bai with him. No wonder Secretary Bai was upset.
Lin Tailai said easily: "It's a trivial matter, I can handle it in just one sentence!"
Then he said goodbye to Wang Shiwu and went directly to Lihuayuan where Secretary Bai lived - the name of the courtyard comes from the poem "The cold invades the clothes in Lihuayuan" written by Lin Daguan to Secretary Bai.
Secretary Bai is sorting out a lot of paperwork. As a woman with high cultural literacy, she is still responsible for secretarial work.
Lin Tailai walked slowly to Secretary Bai. Secretary Bai didn't even raise his head, and said with a hidden edge: "When I didn't come back, I was idle; after I came back, I was still idle. Isn't that why I came back in vain?
?”
Lin Tailai said calmly: "Next time I leave home and go north, I will take you with me."
"Really?" Secretary Bai's expression immediately changed from autumn to spring.
Lin Daguan is a man of his word. He can get it done with just one sentence, without even using his hands.
Secretary Bai, who was in a good mood, pointed to a large pile of documents on the desk and said, "After the officials came back, they sent a message to the entire Suzhou Prefecture that the Lin Mansion would like to recruit two or three retainers. These are the letters of recommendation for registration."
Originally, Secretary Bai was in charge of the Lin Mansion's paperwork, and Gao Changjiang was generally responsible for handling people and things.
However, Lin Tailai was promoted from the number one martial artist in the world to the Nine-Yuan True Immortal Queen. The status of the Lin family continued to rise, and the level of contacts became higher and higher. Gao Changjiang was a bit unsatisfied.
This is not unkind, but a cold fact.
In this era, there are also unspoken rules for recruiting diners. Everyone knows what kind of diners a family of a certain class should match.
For example, the family of Ge Lao University scholar had to recruit top-notch hangers-on to be dignified. For example, Wang Laodeng, the leader of Suzhou literary circles, was a hanger-on to the bachelor Yuan Wei, and Xu Wenchang was a hanger-on to the bachelor Li Chunfang.
Therefore, it is okay for Gao Changjiang to be a foreign steward, but to receive high-ranking guests as a retainer, he is not suitable for the current Lin Mansion.
Last time Wen Yuanfa, Wang Laodeng, Zhang Fengyi, and Zhang Youyu came to visit together, Gao Changjiang, who didn't even have any fame, couldn't resist it.
Besides, Lin Tai plans to take Secretary Bai north when he comes, so there will always be someone at home to help with all kinds of daily paperwork.
For example, if someone's mother needs to write a congratulatory note on her birthday, should the mistress Wang Shiwu do it herself?
Of course, with Lin Daguan's current status, it is not possible for celebrities with well-known names in the literary world to put down their pretensions and become hangers-on, but at least they should use high-level scholars.
Therefore, after Lin Tailai tidied up the Wen family, and before his western tour, he widely announced to the outside world that the Lin family wanted to recruit talented people and accept two or three guests.
The conditions are as follows: First, the applicant must be from Suzhou Prefecture, any county is acceptable.
This ensures that you know the basics and it is easy to do background checks. It is best to have an acquaintance in the Lin family to vouch for you.
Second, you must be over thirty years old. Those who are too young have little experience and cannot take on the responsibility.
Third, in principle, people must be promoted to meritorious service, and outstanding candidates can be considered to be scholars or well-known literary figures.
Now more than ten days have passed. Lin Tailai looked at the recommendations on the desk. The total height was almost two feet. He said in surprise: "So many?"
Secretary Bai answered soberly: "It's not surprising, in recent years there have been more and more scholars, but there are only a few places in the imperial examination.
In Suzhou Prefecture, there are too many scholars who have no way out and are in urgent need of a way out. If there is an opportunity, of course they will grab it."
Under Official Lin's affectionate gaze, Secretary Bai immediately said softly: "Of course, Official's Nine Yuan Miracle is also a golden sign, which can attract heroes from all over the world to come and invest."
That's pretty much it. Official Lin nodded with satisfaction, "It's rare that I don't have anything to do today, so let's pick some of the diners and let them take up their posts as soon as possible."
To be honest, inviting diners is really a top priority now, otherwise just dealing with visitors would be an annoying task.
Moreover, it is inconvenient to prepare for a literary conference, or even to start a literary conference, when there are not many literary people around to help.
Secretary Bai thought of something again and asked curiously: "When officials ask others to write business reports, they just state their own names and birth dates. Why do they need them to state their son's name and birth date?"
It can only be said that many of Lin Daguan's operations are incomprehensible to everyone.
It is said that the power of God is unpredictable, but many people believe that Lin Daguan's thoughts are even harder to guess than the emperor's.
For example, when recruiting customers this time, you also need to ask someone’s son’s name and birthday. What does it mean?
Hearing Secretary Bai's inquiry, Lin Daguan laughed and said, "Don't you know I'm good at fortune telling? So you might gain something by looking at the birthdays of other people's father and son at the same time."
If the applicant is unknown, but his son is a future celebrity, then he can be admitted first!
But the bad taste of time travelers cannot be explained clearly to others. Even Lin Daguan, an eclectic person, has a tendency to collect celebrities.
In terms of profit, if the son of a historical celebrity is born, his success rate will definitely be higher than that of an unknown person. Invest in one person and enjoy the benefits for two generations, and you will definitely make money without losing money.
For example, Chen Yunjian, who was a classmate in the same year and was recruited to work as a doctor in the Host and Guest Department of the Ministry of Etiquette, and Senior Officer Lin became friends with him largely because he had a son named Chen Renxi.
Under Secretary Bai's service, Senior Official Lin began to look through the recommendation letters.
There are two types of book recommendations, those that recommend others and those that recommend oneself, but there is no essential difference. The key is to look at the person.
Huh? A quarter of an hour later, Senior Official Lin held a letter of recommendation and fell into deep thought.
Qian Shiyang, thirty-six years old, was born in Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture. He had a good reputation as a scholar, but his family was in decline and he failed in the imperial examination. He currently makes a living by teaching everywhere.
This Qian Xiucai was distantly related to Feng Menglong, the wife of Imperial Physician Feng, so even though he only had the title of scholar, he was recommended by Imperial Physician Feng to come and sign up boldly.
None of the above is important. The most important information is that Qian Xiucai currently has a son named Qian Qianyi, who is eight years old this year.
After lying in a trough, Lin Daguan was shocked. His "father depends on son's strategy" really pulled out a famous person in history?
"The water is too cold" is famous. Who knows a little bit about the history of the Ming Dynasty? Who doesn't?
Also, is the father of "The Water Is Too Cold" so desperate? Making a living by teaching here and there sounds a bit bleak.
Secretary Bai turned his head to take a look and commented: "This person is ordinary, even the worst. Why is the official so brooding?"
Lin Tailai chuckled and said, "I can't play and sing, but you can't watch people."
Then he put the recommendation letter of Qian Xiucai aside and continued reading.
In less than half an hour, Senior Official Lin took another letter of recommendation and fell into deep thought.
Zhou Daodeng, 30 years old, native of Wujiang County, a descendant of Zhou Dunyi, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, from a poor family - was recommended by the Shen family, a famous family in Wujiang, an important partner.
The personal information in the recommendation letter is very simple, but Lin Daguan has already figured out a lot of information.
Historically, Zhou Daodeng became the chief minister in the first year of Chongzhen. He was known for his stupidity, vulgarity, and lust for women. He was often extremely stupid when confronting the emperor. He was called the stupidest chief minister in the Ming Dynasty. He was ousted a year later.
Chongzhen: "What is the allusion to black teeth?"
Zhou Shoufu: "Black teeth are those with black teeth."
Chongzhen: “In recent memorials, the word ‘human face’ appears frequently in memorials. What is human face?”
Zhou Shoufu: "If you look at the word "qingmian" in reverse, it means "face".
Chongzhen: "The prime minister is really a scholar. How can I explain that?"
Zhou Shoufu: "I'll wait until I go back to the cabinet to check the book, and then report back."
Chongzhen: "Get out!"
Of course, some people say that Mr. Zhou Ge appears to be a stupid chief minister, but in fact he is as wise as a fool. That is why he was able to escape unscathed from Emperor Chongzhen who killed many ministers.
None of the above is important. What is important is that after retiring and returning home, the sixty-year-old former chief assistant Zhou Daodeng was still lustful and lustful. He bought the fourteen-year-old Liu Rushi back home and became Liu Rushi's first man.
After Zhou Daodeng's death, Liu Rushi, who was fifteen or sixteen years old, was kicked out of the Zhou mansion. She claimed to be the abandoned wife of the prime minister and traveled around the south of the Yangtze River. Her net worth doubled and she immediately became a famous lady.
And Qian Qianyi, the "water is too cold" I saw just now, is the last man of the famous socialite Liu Rushi in history.
The names of these two people actually appeared on the desk at the same time. Lin Daguan felt so strange in his heart.
After thinking about it, Lin Daguan also put aside Zhou Daodeng's recommendation letter with Qian Qianyi's father.
Secretary Bai is still confused. Dowden is still ordinary this week. What exactly caught the official's attention?
Official Lin didn't want to explain, and couldn't explain it, so he continued to read the recommendation letter.
When he was about to finish flipping through the pages, Senior Officer Lin once again took a recommendation letter and stopped.
Gu Bingqian, 40 years old, native of Kunshan County, passed the national examination in the seventh year of Wanli, and then failed in the general examination many times, so he recommended himself this time.
The self-recommendation book says: I heard that Sir Jiuyuan has a profound knowledge of "Yi", and I also deal with "Yi" scriptures, but he has failed to sell them many times. This time, I would like to respect Jiuyuan as my teacher and study "Yi" under Lin Fu.
Damn it! Lin Daguan was numbed instantly. How could he not know the level of his "Yi" studies?
So Lin Daguan quickly judged that this person's skill was at least as good as Zhou Yingqiu's!
Wait, Lin Daguanren forced himself to calm down again. This name seems familiar!
After thinking about it carefully, Lin Daguan finally recalled who Gu Bingqian was.
This person seems to have been the chief assistant for two years in the last years of Tianqi. As for his character, he is indeed comparable to his contemporary Zhou Yingqiu.
It can even be said that in history, Gu Bingqian's kneeling and licking skills are half as good as Zhou Yingqiu's!
If Zhou Yingqiu's classic is "Pig's Trotter General Constitution" and "Sun Ten Thousand Heavenly Officials", Gu Bingqian's classic is once said to nine thousand year old Wei Zhongxian: "I should have worshiped you as my father, but I am too old and I am afraid that you will not
He likes a white-bearded son like me.”
Official Lin held Gu Bingqian's letter of recommendation tightly, feeling inexplicably melancholy.
Secretary Bai saw Lin Daguanren's suddenly desolate expression, and asked with concern: "What's wrong with Guanren?"
Lin Tailai sighed deeply, causing Secretary Bai to complain inexplicably: "Who are these people?"
Among a large number of recommendation letters, the only people with any reputation were Shui Tailiang's father, the stupidest chief minister in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and the most unscrupulous chief minister Bai Xuer.
A "leader" of two dynasties and two rubbish chief ministers.
Suzhou Prefecture claims to be at its peak of humanities and celebrities emerge in large numbers. Could it be that the "celebrities" who come to seek refuge with it can only be this kind of thing?
Aren't there some celebrities who are more upright and positive in the history books and come to Lin Mansion to submit their resumes?
Lin Daguan absolutely refused to admit that this might be the effect of "people of the same kind flock together"!
In Secretary Bai's eyes, he didn't know what Lin Daguan was thinking about. He only saw Lin Daguan constantly picking up and putting down the three mediocre recommendations.
Finally, Mr. Lin sighed and made a difficult choice, "Let's meet these three first! When we are recruiting people, arrange an interview as soon as possible!"
After struggling for a long time, I still couldn't resist the instinct of a time traveler - when I don't know who to choose, I choose a celebrity, as long as he doesn't have any poisonous points that "hinder the master and defeat the master".
No matter how rubbish the first assistant is, he is still someone who can be the first assistant. At least he is not an evil, vicious or ungrateful person.
Otherwise, if there are a lot of completely unfamiliar names in a lot of resumes, how can Mr. Lin know who is good and who is bad?