1. Chapter One On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the forty-first year of Xianlong, it is auspicious to clean the house, but other tasks should be avoided. On a cold afternoon in the twelfth lunar month, the north wind swept across the treetops again and again, finally bru
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Chapter 1
1. Chapter One
On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the forty-first year of Xianlong, it is auspicious to clean the house, but other tasks should be avoided.
On a cold afternoon in the twelfth lunar month, the north wind swept across the treetops again and again, finally brushing away the few remaining withered leaves from the branches.
The sky was a somber gray, which only added to the oppressive feeling of unease.
Inside the main hall of the Luo family, the matriarch, Zhuo Yu, frequently wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes while listening to the barbed complaints from her brothers and sisters-in-law. Every now and then, she would turn her head and look hesitantly at her son, Luo Fengming, beside her.
The Luo family in western Beijing has been in business for three generations. Although Luo Fengming is only twenty years old, he has been in charge of the family business for two years and has seen a lot of human relationships. He is a calm and composed young man.
Today, these two uncles and aunts were clearly going too far, causing even the usually smiling Luo Fengming to clench his fists.
“Little sister, I’m a straightforward person, so please don’t think I’m being gossipy,” said the third sister-in-law of the Zhuo family, looking earnest. “Two years ago, my brother-in-law said he was going to take the maritime trade route and make a fortune, but what happened? One wave washed away the entire cargo on the ship, leaving them with nothing but losses and injuries that took three or four years to heal. Ever since then, I’ve felt like the Luo family has been cursed, nothing they do ever seems to work out…”
Zhuo's fifth sister-in-law chimed in, "That's right! Things seemed to be improving the year before last, but last year and this year, the goods heading north have run into trouble in Songyuan. Those are goods that were acquired with real money! Watching the money turn into water year after year, no matter how big and powerful the Luo family is, they can't withstand the continuous outflow without inflow!"
"...And then this year, the tenant farmers in the south are causing trouble and refusing to pay rent. Sigh. Since last month, many people in the capital have heard the news, and the Luo family's money shop has been having people rushing to cash out their silver every day," Zhuo's fifth brother said with a sorrowful expression, sighing repeatedly. "Little sister, you know that our third and fifth brothers only have so little wealth, and it's all tied up in your hands! Now, with this situation, sigh."
These four people had been going on and on about these same things for almost half an hour. Luo Fengming grew angrier and angrier as he listened, and finally couldn't help but blurt out, "In that case, did Uncle and Aunt bring the original shareholding agreement today? If they did, I'll have someone fetch the money for you."
His two uncles had no stable property and no skills to make a living. It was only because his mother couldn't bear to see them like this that she spoke up for them and let them contribute a small share to the Luo family so that they could receive some dividends every year to support their families.
In truth, their small amount of silver was nothing to the Luo family. If it were anyone else who wanted to invest that small sum of money in the Luo family, the entire Luo family wouldn't even bother to look at them.
The four men argued back and forth for a long time, all they wanted was to get the money back, but they didn't intend to return the original agreement to increase their shareholding.
In this way, if the Luo family's business loses money again next year, they can take their capital away long ago without suffering any losses; if they make a profit, they can shamelessly collect dividends based on the shareholding agreement.
Luo Fengming had long understood their intentions for coming today, but he had refrained from exposing their shameless schemes purely out of respect for his mother.
Seeing her brothers and sisters-in-law embarrassed and annoyed by their son's retort, Zhuo Yu quickly looked at her son with teary eyes and said, "Uncle and Aunt are not in business, so they are naturally unsure about these things. They meant no harm."
Luo Fengming knew his mother was always gentle, and seeing her eyes redden, he swallowed the "Pah!" that was already on the tip of his tongue.
Seeing that Luo Fengming had held back, Zhuo's third brother, relying on his seniority and certain that his younger sister Zhuo Yu would not let his brother and sister-in-law lose face, immediately rallied his spirits.
“Fengming, my uncles are all honest, incompetent men who know nothing about business and can’t say anything meaningful. But lately I’ve been hearing people say that if they stock up on tea next spring and then something goes wrong, the cash flow will be cut off, and the Luo family might go bankrupt!”
Unable to contain himself any longer, Luo Fengming wanted to curse.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then heard a sharp, playful laugh coming from behind the screen: "Oh, so Third Uncle even knows about 'cash flow'?"
The four members of the Zhuo family who were seated as guests immediately changed their expressions upon hearing this sound—
Didn't you mention that Luo Cuiwei, that little darling, is sick?!
The four members of the Zhuo family had heard that Luo Cuiwei was ill and had not left the backyard for more than a month. They thought that Zhuo Yu was always an easy target in front of her family, and Luo Fengming was a filial son. So today they mustered up the courage to t
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
