Hai Shuzu felt that this was not the case - the most valuable thing he had now was the five-masted ship and the goods on the ship, so what was the point of tying him up? Moreover, the sailors and merchants who came back said that the Australians were very interested in us.
Very polite, no offense intended.
However, his wife and family firmly refused to allow him to go to Lingao. The opposition was so severe that he had nothing to do. The matter of going to Lingao was put off. After much deliberation, he decided to go to Guangzhou to find friends from his past study tours and colleagues from his father's generation.
Please help. Let’s borrow some money first and wait for a while.
Although Hai Shuzu has a high family status due to his ancestor's reputation, he is just a prison student - this was given to him by the government because he was a descendant of Hai Gong. The family does not have much financial resources. So this time
The borrowing journey was not smooth, although friends helped me to some extent with twenty or fifty taels. After more than ten days, I could only collect more than 300 taels of silver, which was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed.
After lingering in Guangzhou for a long time, everything here was expensive and accommodation was not easy. Hai Shuzu knew that there would be no results if he stayed any longer, so he had to leave early to return to Qiongshan to attend to business.
He didn't dare to go home alone, so he first settled in his own farm. He went to the head of the farm to inquire about the news. He sat alone in the house. This time when he went out, he didn't even dare to bring the usual servants at home - they were all owed
They took their money. Although these servants did not dare to make a fuss due to their status, they were already very sloppy in their service, and there were still sarcastic remarks from time to time. Hai Shuzu couldn't bear the humiliation, so he had to ask his friends to temporarily lend a boy to serve him.
.
He thought that although he was not a prominent household in Qiongzhou Mansion, he would be surrounded by five or six servants when he went out on weekdays. The servants were always respectful in front of him. He never expected that he would be in this situation now.
The end result of being unable to control even his own servants!
While he was sighing, suddenly a few more small sedans carried by two people came to the village. Zhuang Ding hurriedly reported in. Since the head of the village had gone out, he couldn't ask Zhuang Ding to greet the guests, so Hai Shuzu had to bite the bullet and greet the guests.
come out.
When he saw that the leader was his family's steward, Haiji, who was carrying the sedan, but none of the attendants knew him. Hai Shuzu was startled. When the curtain of the sedan was opened, he saw that his wife, children and mother were sitting in the sedan.
Haiji cried and said: "I really can't stay at home anymore."
It turned out that after he left home, the noisy people came to his door to sit down. Because they could not see the owner of the house, they were afraid that there would be no hope of recovering their losses, so they made more noise. In desperation, they had to ask the Yamen to intervene.
"Now, the servants in the yamen are asking for personnel benefits as soon as they come. They are not satisfied after being given hundreds of dollars. They only work but do not contribute any effort. They are left to make trouble. Some people threatened to rush into the second door to find the wife, and the old lady commented.
Mr. Zhang from the county came over and couldn't see past him, so he took care of him on the spot and took a few shackles before suppressing him."
Hai Shuzu just lowered his head and sighed. Although he knew that Mr. Zhang had good intentions for his family, using his official power to suppress others would inevitably bring disgrace to his family's reputation.
His mother, wife, and children couldn't bear the harassment, so they had to borrow a sedan from relatives and friends and sneak out secretly.
When Hai Shuzu saw his family members looking panicked and carrying only a few packages in their hands, looking extremely embarrassed, he couldn't help but shed tears when he thought that his failure in business had not only affected his wife and children, but also harmed the family reputation.
Come down.
"These unscrupulous slaves are really abominable." Hai Jiyou murmured to himself, "Let's not talk about those who owe them money - there is still some excuse. Those who don't owe money will not come to greet and serve them.
I’m already looking for job referrals at a place where I’m being hired..."
"We all fly away when disaster strikes, and we don't blame them." Hai Shuzu was disheartened. His family has lived in Qiongzhou for more than a hundred years, and it can be said that it is a family of virtues and good deeds. Although the family background is ordinary, he never treats his servants harshly. Unexpectedly,
In front of a little money, all this was in vain. He had never felt the power of money so clearly.
He sighed, the matter had to be solved, and it would not be a tradition for the whole family to hide away from debts. Hai Shuzu had to discuss with his mother and wife to prepare to sell the family's fields, and with the money borrowed from Guangzhou, he could always
Pay some back.
"It's just that after selling it, I no longer have any money, and even a well-off family can't live a comfortable life." Hai Shuzu said sadly.
There are sacrificial fields in the clan, and there is always enough food to eat, but the leisurely life of the past is no longer possible.
"It's only right to sell the land to pay off the debt." His mother said with tears, "It's just the money you borrowed from Guangzhou. How can you pay it back if you lose the land in the future?"
Haishuzu thought that if he was willing to borrow the money, he would not be able to pay it back. But he could not say this.
The family was thinking about how to live in the future, and they discussed and discussed, but to no avail. They didn't even bother to eat lunch. In the afternoon, Zhuangtou came back in a hurry.
"Sir!" The village head didn't have time to greet him, "That moneylender is gone now!"
"Disappeared?" Hai Shuzu thought that this group of people was the most vigorous in collecting debts, because they all had IOUs in their hands. As long as there was no trouble, the government could do nothing. How could they suddenly stop and run away.
"I heard someone bought their IOU!"
"?" Hai Shuzu was shocked. He bought an IOU? What was he buying for? In his situation, he could lose everything in just one day. Even if he could sell the land to repay some money, he would only be able to pay back 20 to 30 percent. Isn't this person right?
Bought a pile of scrap paper?
Haiji said, "Is it possible that some master who admires the family's uprightness and righteousness has come here to lend a helping hand?"
Hai Shuzu didn't quite believe in such a good thing. These loans amounted to more than 2,000 taels without interest. He didn't have such rich friends. Those who could support him with 350 taels were already very loyal.
It's divided. How could a stranger come up with such a huge sum of money for himself?
While he was hesitating, the village man from outside came to report again: "There is Mr. Lin outside to pay his respects." He said and handed over the greeting card.
Hai Shuzu looked at the cover of the notebook. He didn't recognize Lin Baiguang, so he said, "Tell him I'm not here."
"Mr. Lin said that as long as you open the greeting card, you will naturally recognize it," Zhuang Ding said.
Hai Shuzu had no choice but to pick up the greeting card, but it was heavy. It turned out that there was an envelope underneath. When he opened it, he found that it was his IOU.
I was shocked for a moment, and looked through the IOUs again. Yes, it was the IOUs issued by myself, many of them, and they were all in this envelope. Each IOU was marked with an account.
Needless to say, this Mr. Lin was the one who secretly bought his IOU! What was his intention? Hai Shuzu was caught off guard and didn't know what to do.
However, Haiji had some insight and said: "Sir, this Mr. Lin seems to have no ill intentions. You see, he has cleared all the IOUs and returned them all. If he has any intention, why do he do this?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Hai Shuzu was pointed out by his words, "this must be seen."
"Mr. Lin, our master is here to invite you!" Haiji came out to greet him personally.
Lin Baiguang smiled slightly. After the government fettered some of the most troublesome people today, creditors' confidence in collecting debts dropped to the lowest point. Gao Di effortlessly removed the interest cap on the IOU and paid 30% of the real principal.
All the IOUs were bought.
Gao Di originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and buy out all the shareholders' equity at a discount, but Lin Baiguang instructed him not to do so.
"We can only remove some pressure first, show our sincerity at the same time, and really solve everything for him. He has no worries anymore. If you have some money, my whole family will pay it back to you if you want my help.
What if you come forward to open a mine and say that you can't even think about it? Can we still kill him?"
"His debts are in our hands, so we are not afraid that he will disobey us," Gao Di said.
"Haha, it's really hard to say." Lin Baiguang said with a smile, "Of course, maybe we can use this to coerce him, but this leaves a knot in my heart - working in partnership is a taboo."
"Furthermore," he continued to educate him, "you have to look at Hai Shuzu's family background. He is a gentry, a scholar, and a descendant of Hai Gong. Originally, a group of local people forced him together, but now it's us
One family is forcing him, and thousands of people in Qiongzhou Prefecture are all united in the same hatred. We are outsiders after all, so won’t we be deprived of both human and financial resources?"
"I understand." Gao Di showed his sincere admiration.
"For someone like the Hai family, you can only get their gratitude by showing kindness. As for the pressure, we still have to leave him some pressure. Once he agrees to cooperate with us, it won't be too late to help him solve it."
"What if he is being conceited? I will find excuses when the time comes."
"You have learned well now - Hai Shuzu is always a descendant of Hai Gong, and such despicable methods cannot be used." Lin Baiguang said, "Even if he has this intention, the family reputation of the Hai family will not allow it.
He does this."
Lin Baiguang didn't spend much effort in persuading Hai Shuzu to jointly open a coal mine. For Hai Shuzu, who was already desperate and desperate, although the road in front of him was not glorious enough, it was still better than losing all his money and becoming a hanger-on in the ancestral hall - not to mention that even if he lost his money, he would still be a diner in the ancestral hall.
The losses of these shareholders cannot be repaid.
Thinking that his family would be reviled by many people in the future, Hai Shuzu could not feel at ease. The conditions proposed by Mr. Lin from Guangzhou were very tempting:
Mr. Lin contributed the capital and Hai Shuzu came forward to open a coal kiln in Qiongzhou Prefecture. The Hai family did not need to contribute any capital. They could make a profit of 20%. Mr. Lin got 80%.
Hai Shuzu hesitated and said: "I understand what brother means. It's nothing more than asking brother to come forward to deal with the government and the local government. This is easy. Brother is still a bit thin-faced in the local area. I just have a word of advice, Qiongzhou Prefecture
Brother, I have never heard of whether there is coal to be mined here. Furthermore, it is very easy to get firewood here, so I am afraid that few people will use coal to make fires. I wonder if I have thought carefully before building a kiln in such a hasty manner."
Lin Baiguang nodded, Hai Shuzu could be called an "upright" person! He admired him in his heart - no matter where in time and space, it is always reassuring to deal with upright people.