poor family young gentleman

Chu's Mansion in Xiarao Village

"Father, mother, big brother."

In the lobby of the main courtyard, all the members of the Chu family had arrived. Chu Tianlang, who arrived late, yawned and stepped in carelessly. Master Chu, who was sitting in the main seat, immediately lost face, and Mrs. Chu who was beside him hurriedly reached out to hold his hand , silently begging him to calm down, so that the father and son would not quarrel as usual when they met.

"Tianlang."

A clear and majestic voice suddenly sounded, following the sound, it was a man who looked at most 20 years old, who looked somewhat similar to Chu Tianlang, but his handsome face was full of seriousness and seriousness. He was none other than Chu Tianlang. The master's eldest son, Chu Tianlang's eldest brother, Chu Tianyi, has already taken over many businesses in the family.

As if he hadn't heard his warning voice, Chu Tianlang still swayed on his toes and walked towards the vacant place under Chu Tianyi with leisurely steps. Everyone's eyes in the hall followed him unconsciously. It wasn't until he sat down, leaned on the chair and looked up, that everyone looked away one after another.

"What happened again?"

All the members of the Chu family have arrived, this is not a common scene.

"Aside from causing trouble everywhere, what else do you know?"

Seeing that he still looked like he didn't know anything, Mr. Chu was so angry that he glared at him regardless of his wife's stop.

"master!"

Mrs. Chu shouted helplessly, Master Chu suddenly turned his head, his eyes were about to burst: "Why can't I talk about him?"

The distinction between concubine and concubine in the Ming Xia Kingdom is very clear. The concubine does not even have the right to share the family property. Master Chu has only two concubine sons in his life. The eldest son Chu Tianyi is excellent, but he is just an ordinary person, not a do-it-yourselfer. The second son, Chu Tianlang, is the do-it-yourselfer It is an indisputable fact that Chu Tianlang is better than ordinary people in all aspects. When Chu Tianlang was young, he was indeed smart and eloquent. He passed the Tongsheng examination at the age of eight. Although his ranking was not high, he was young. How happy I am, I plan to urge him to study hard. In the future, he will be the number one scholar and come back to honor his ancestors. As for the family property, it will be handed over to the eldest son. From now on, the two brothers will help each other in the officialdom and the shopping mall. The Chu family became more brilliant, got rid of the embarrassing status of a farmer, and became a real big family. Who knew that not long after that, his temperament changed drastically, he stopped reading, and fought with the children in the village all day long. Ten years later, the whole Who else in Tongyang County doesn't know him as a gangster?

Master Chu loves and hates this son. Whenever he sees him not doing his job properly, he wants to beat him to death. The father and son quarrel almost every time they see him, and it almost becomes a well-known joke in Xiarao Village.

"Tianlang."

He took the first step to hold down Chu Tianlang who wanted to say something, Chu Tianyi shook his head wordlessly, leaned over and said in a low voice: "Don't be stubborn with Dad, he is also upset in his heart, now there is a drought all over the country, since the imperial envoy came two days ago After that, the people from the county town to the villages and towns in Tongyang County gradually panicked. In just two or three days, all the rice shops in the city were sold out, and our shop did not dare to open today. This is not the last The important thing is that when the imperial envoy heard that we were not affected by the disaster, he immediately turned his mind on us. Last night, he summoned all the gentry and landowners in Tongyang County at the county government office and called on us to donate surplus grain and money to the disaster-stricken areas. This is not a big problem. After all, it is a donation to the government. Not only does the government remember our feelings, but it can also take advantage of the opportunity to promote our shop. Maybe we can also take the opportunity to break into the Lingnan Prefecture business district. They all expressed their willingness to donate one after another, and father even promised to donate [-] shi of rice and [-] shi of white flour. This is not a small amount for our Chu family, but the imperial envoy was not satisfied and asked us and everyone The country gentry must donate two-thirds of the harvest, and the fields are relatively small, and those who do not have much food have to donate silver separately. We decided to convene the whole family to discuss."

This matter is of great importance. If one is not careful, the Chu family may be overthrown directly. If the people don't fight with the government, no matter how rich the Chu family is, they are just ordinary people. How could they possibly win against the government?The imperial envoy obviously wanted to use their family property for political achievements. He was empty-handed. If they didn't give it, he would definitely be the first to pick on the Chu family. Who made them the largest landlords and farmers in Tongyang County.

And this thing?

Chu Tianlang's eyes were dim and flickering, but on the surface he still looked like a fool, and no one who saw him would take him seriously.

Sighing lightly and patting the back of his hand, Chu Tianyi turned his head and said, "Father, let me briefly talk about the situation first."

"Ah."

The business is important, Master Chu nodded with a bad face, and Chu Tianyi slowly repeated what he said to Chu Tianlang just now, making the situation more serious and urgent, hoping that all the Chu family members present can brainstorm and come up with a practical plan Come.

"Two-thirds of the harvest? Why doesn't he grab it?"

"No, the Chu family has a lot of land and a lot of harvest, but that's what we worked so hard to plant. Besides, don't we need money for seeds and hiring long-term laborers to plant the land? The remaining one-third is basically If it is used here, let him take two-thirds, and we and those who depend on the Chu family to survive will drink the northwest wind?"

"Donation is voluntary. Brother, if you are willing to donate [-] shi of rice and white flour, it is very righteous. Why does he ask us to donate almost all the harvest?"

"No, absolutely not."

As soon as Chu Tianyi finished speaking, the whole hall became agitated, and everyone was furious. The Chu family has fields, land and food, but two-thirds of this year's harvest is not a small amount. Once the Chu family donates it Well, I'm afraid I won't even be able to make ends meet in the coming year. The imperial envoys don't want them to donate, they obviously want their lives.

"Are you noisy enough? Shut up."

Unable to bear the noise of these people who had no idea what to do, Chu Tianlang jumped up violently, thanks to his well-known nickname, the scene was instantly silent, and Chu Tianlang didn't bother to care what they thought, he raised his head and said: "Father, we donate Will the imperial court reward two-thirds of the harvest? For example, tax relief for the Chu family in the next few years?"

These years, the imperial court has been fighting for years, and the taxes are getting higher and higher. The taxes and food that the Chu family pays every year are unimaginable figures. If the imperial court can exempt them from taxes for more than five years, then they will donate two-thirds of their harvest. There is still money to be made, but I am afraid that the other party will not promise anything and will only open their mouths to ask for food.

No one expected that he would say such constructive words. Everyone couldn't help but open their mouths and looked at him in surprise. Even Master Chu was stunned for a moment before he said: "He didn't say that. At the evening banquet, when he asked us to donate two-thirds of the harvest, everyone changed their faces and didn't pay much attention to what he said, but I remember that it seemed to be some words about supporting the imperial court, and the imperial court would not forget us, no Mention any subsidies."

"Heh! You don't want to give back to the lion. You are really an official of the court!"

No matter how sarcastically he listened to the word of fate, Chu Tianlang sneered and sat back, seemingly still not serious, but his mind was running fast, and the Chu family might not have a good time.

"Father, do you think we can take the initiative to ask to talk to the imperial envoy on the grounds of reducing or exempting taxes for the next few years?"

Looking at his younger brother, Chu Tianyi smiled, it was a matter of the survival of the family, Tianlang finally looked like the Chu family.

"Hmm... I'm afraid this is not very good."

Master Chu lowered his eyes and thought repeatedly: "The nature of our initiative is different from that of passive acceptance, and tax reduction is a major matter. How can an imperial envoy have the final say? Even if he promises verbally, who can guarantee him?" After returning to the capital, it will definitely be implemented, and when the food is gone, we still have to pay taxes as usual."

When Chu Tianlang raised it, it resonated with everyone because if the imperial envoy took the initiative to raise it, then he must have the imperial order. Now that they take the initiative to ask for it, the imperial order is nonsense, tax reduction, and an imperial envoy does not have that much authority. .

"That's right."

Nodding his head, Chu Tianyi lowered his eyes, as if he was also thinking about what to do to get the best of both worlds.

"Father, I suggest you first get in touch with the magistrate of the county and find out what the government has said. No matter whether things are as bad as we imagined, knowing ourselves and the enemy will win every battle. Only when we truly understand our current situation can we come up with targeted measures. As for the solution, what the elder brother said just now is not impossible, but we can’t talk about it, leave this matter to me, and naturally someone will throw stones for us to ask the way.”

Facts have proved that Chu Tianlang is still very reliable when he is serious. It is because of this that Master Chu hates him even more. He is obviously talented, but he only fools around with those little bastards. Can he not hate it?

"I also agree with Tianlang's opinion, Dad, why don't we just do this first."

"Ah."

The father and son all hold the same opinion, and the others will definitely not object unless they have a more practical and effective method. But before they left, Master Chu solemnly ordered them not to disclose any information about today's discussion as the head of the Chu family. Otherwise, he will be directly expelled from the Chu family.

"If it's okay, I'll go first."

Everyone left one after another, and Chu Tianlang stood up while yawning.

"stop!"

Master Chu reflexively yelled, and after the yelling, he realized that he seemed to have nothing to say, he still had business to do, and he didn't have time to reprimand him. Facing his doubtful and questioning eyes, Master Chu couldn't understand clearly. Cough twice: "It's not peaceful outside recently, don't run out of the sky."

Hearing this, Mrs. Chu and Chu Tianyi couldn't help covering their mouths and giggling, what do you mean by a knife mouth and a bean curd heart?This is.

"understood."

With a wave of his hand, Chu Tianlang left with the same careless pace as when he came, but shortly after he stepped out of the hall, his attendant Ah Zhong delivered a letter to him. Chu Tianlang took the envelope, smelled it, and left it on it. The sweet smell of the letter made him immediately identify the sender: "Where's Wanqing?"

Chu Tianlang opened the envelope while walking back, and slowly read the contents of the letter with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Still waiting in the yard."

"Tell him, go to Jiye, no, tell Huanyang, I'm happy to help."

After folding the letter paper and stuffing it back into the envelope, Chu Tianlang turned his heels and walked directly to the door. It happened that he had other things to do, so he just did it together.

"Second Master, where are you going?"

Seeing this, Ah Zhong quickly chased after him, and Ah Xin had already trotted out to lead the horse for him.

"Where can I go? Do something for Yeye."

With the envelope in Yang Yang's hand, Chu Tianlang has already stepped out of the gate quickly. What a Wanpeng, he was really ambitious and dared to stuff someone for a fool when Yeye was in heat. He didn't even think about it, there is no Yeye, a fool Can you earn that share of the family property?How dare he fight with Ye Ye with his little sesame brain?Impatient to live.