There is a village called Shilipu about 20 miles south of Zuodun Town. Most of the villagers have the surname Xu, and almost all of them are tenants of Mr. Xu, the largest household in the village.
The Xu family also had the largest share among the original small shareholders of Cao Mining, with a 3.5% stake.
The Xu family was the first to lead the small shareholders in making trouble, and Xu Dazhong, the eldest son of the Xu family, came forward. Most of the men who made trouble were farmers from Shilipu, and they selected the young and strong ones to bring along.
Now, Lu Ming was sitting in the flower hall of the Xu family mansion.
The person who came out to greet him was Xu Dazhong, a man in his early forties, with triangular eyes and a unfriendly face.
Lu Ming also didn't say much. The one arguing with Xu Dazhong was Cao Jiaxing, the third brother of Cao Jiashun.
The logic is simply that the share transaction has been completed and the original market price was already a high price. Regardless of legally or logically, your Xu family has no reason to regret it.
Xu Dazhong just sneered and suddenly said, "How about this, give me another 500,000 yuan and I won't get involved in these things!" Looking at Lu Ming, he said with a fake smile, "Boss Lu, 500,000 yuan is a drop in the bucket for your boss, right?!"
Cao Jiaxing's face darkened slightly. "Dazhong, you are not the kind of person who would open his mouth like that. If you say that you want to share the 500,000 yuan among yourselves and stop causing trouble in the future, maybe we can still talk! You want 500,000 yuan for yourself? You are still not fair? You are going too far!"
Xu Dazhong spread his hands: "It seems we have nothing to talk about."
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Since there is nothing to discuss about this matter, let's talk about business." He made a gesture.
Huang Guirong, who was standing behind him, took two steps forward and said, "Mr. Xu Dazhong, on behalf of our client Xu Niuzi, I would like you to serve as a witness and testify in court for Mr. Xu Niuzi."
Xu Dazhong was puzzled. "Xu Niuzi? You're not talking about that idiot from our village, are you? He wants to sue? How come I don't know about this matter in our village? What kind of evidence do you want me to give?"
Huang Guirong smiled and said, "It's like this. The more than 50,000 mu of land in Shilipu belonged to Xu Niuzi's ancestors 869 years ago. But in 869, the Longgang County Office at that time issued a special decree to expropriate the land of Xu Niuzi's family at a very low price. Three years later, it was sold to your great-grandfather at the same price. We checked the relevant information and believed that this was a planned plunder. Therefore, our law firm has filed a lawsuit with the Longgang Court on behalf of my client, Mr. Xu Niuzi, demanding that the county office return the land to my client, Xu Niuzi."
"Nonsense!" Xu Dazhong sneered, "It happened almost a hundred years ago. There must be a statute of limitations for a lawsuit, right?"
Huang Guirong smiled slightly. "We are asking the county office to correct the mistakes in the administrative order from 80 years ago and provide corresponding compensation. As for whether the judge will accept it, it depends on what the judge thinks. Now, the judge has agreed to hold a hearing to listen to the opinions of all parties and then decide whether this case is qualified to be heard in court. The county office also has a special supervisory committee to handle such incidents. Therefore, as a member of the family that owns this land today, your testimony is also very important."
"Go, go, go!" Xu Dazhong didn't understand what the woman was saying. He just wanted to drive them away. He was also inexplicably upset and felt that this matter might really cause some trouble.
Cao Jiaxing was also a little confused over there, he had no idea what was going on.
Seeing Lu Ming get up and walk out, he smiled at Xu Dazhong and said, "Dazhong, think about it yourself." Then he turned around and chased after him.
…
When I returned to Zuodun Town from Shilipu, I didn't expect that two uninvited guests came to visit the Lotus Garden.
A Western couple who looked like a perfect match were waiting in the flower hall. When they saw Lu Ming, they stood up and respectfully addressed him as "Uncle".
Introducing themselves, we are Governor Chuckson’s grandson Wells and his granddaughter-in-law Susan.
"Uncle, Aunt Windsor mentioned you and said you could help Wells." Susan was a little reserved, and continued, "My family and Aunt Windsor's family are distant relatives, and only on holy festivals can my family be qualified to visit Aunt Windsor's family. But a few days ago, I went to see Aunt Windsor specifically for Wells, but I didn't expect Aunt Windsor to see me. Now that I think about it, Aunt Windsor probably heard that I was returning from Jiangning."
These two days, Lu Ming has been focusing on investigating Wells, and he knows that his wife is from a baron family in the imperial capital.
It was strange as it seemed inconsistent with Wells's character. After all, he was the eldest grandson of the Earl. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be an Earl in the future. Marrying into the lowest noble family was not in line with his character. From all indications, this Wells was quite ambitious.
It turns out that Susan's family and the Windsor family are distant relatives, which is no wonder.
But Susan speaks very honestly, which is a skill and makes people like her.
She said frankly that she had no chance to talk to Aunt Windsor at first, but Aunt Windsor only met her because she heard about Jiang Ning's matter.
Lu Ming picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smiled and said, "How can I help you? I'm in a mess right now!"
Wells remained silent, and it was obvious that he was still very proud in his heart. He reluctantly called himself "uncle", which was already the limit of his tolerance. After all, he was obviously a few years younger than him.
He couldn't bring himself to ask for help anymore.
So, Madam Susan took over and said gently, "Uncle, my aunt and niece told me that you can definitely help me. Wells' grandfather insists that he return to the imperial capital, but he doesn't want to go back. Uncle, you must have a way, right?" Her blue eyes full of hope stared at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "That's not difficult. I've heard a little bit about your affairs. It's mainly about Mrs. Hu. Wells, you just need to bow your head to Mrs. Hu and beg her a few words. Mrs. Hu will help you speak in front of Grandpa when she sees that you are obedient, so that she actually wants to become a family with you, the descendants of the original wife."
Wells' eyes lit up when he heard Lu Ming mention "Mrs. Hu". The lawyer Lu in front of him actually knew something about his family affairs, which made him suddenly feel that this trip might not be in vain.
But after hearing what happened next, he couldn't help but shake his head and said sullenly, "I just scolded that woman to her face... Why would she speak up for me?"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "That's easy. Take advantage of the opportunity when the Governor and Madam Hu are together, apologize to Madam Hu in person, apologize to the Governor, and then tell him why you don't want to leave."
"Of course, your attitude must be sincere, and you must think carefully about the reasons why you don't want to leave."
"If you can't do these, then go back to the imperial capital. If you stay, you won't be able to defeat the Hu family."
Listening to Lu Ming's words, Wells's expression changed from gloomy to bright. When he heard the last sentence, his expression changed even more and he looked at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "The Hu family is also trying to drive me away, so I hope you can stay, but it still depends on your ability." He added, "It would be best if you can think of a reason that will allow the Governor to assign you a job in Black Mountain."
To be honest, when it comes to historical allusions, this world is pretty boring.
Unlike his previous life, there were endless palace fighting dramas, and fights between the royal family and foreign relatives were even more common.
How to grasp the mentality of the second empress can be learned from reading history books in the previous life.
Seeing the increasingly surprised expression on Wells' face, it was obvious that he gradually figured out why he had to sincerely apologize to that woman in front of his grandfather.
Lu Ming smiled inwardly. With the help of "royal family members" to fight against the in-laws, he could save himself a lot of trouble.