"… A large family like the Zhong family has hundreds of people, young and old, and the situation is much more complicated than outsiders imagine. There are countless intrigues and infighting. The one who holds the power of the Zhong family now is the current head of the Zhong family, Zhong Hongan. Since Zhong Hongan's great-grandfather, the heads of the Zhong family have all come from this branch, which is also the so-called direct line of the Zhong family. Except for Zhong Hongan, it is not easy for other collateral descendants of the Zhong family to make a name for themselves in the Zhong family. Those who have outstanding abilities can only become a manager or shopkeeper in the Zhong family in the end. If they have the opportunity in the future, they will seek to be transferred to other places. It would be good to be able to be in charge of Datong Money House in one place and be able to be independent. In the end, only a very few people can enter the family's elders council. You can guess why the Zhong family chose me to come to Pingxi County this time…"
Zhong Ruolan leaned on Yan Liqiang's open chest, her still slightly flushed face pressed tightly against Yan Liqiang's thriving chest muscles, a slender finger as green as a shallot gently slid across the muscles between Yan Liqiang's chest and lower abdomen, her eyes a little blurry...
“A big family like the Zhong family certainly won’t put all their eggs in one basket. The Zhong family naturally knows the relationship between me and Lin Qingtian. On the one hand, the Zhong family sent you here because they naturally want to win me over through marriage and use me for the Zhong family, so as to establish a connection with the emperor. On the other hand, even if I lose power in the future or am liquidated by Lin Qingtian, you are a branch of the Zhong family, and the Zhong family can easily cut off ties with you. No matter what you do, it will not affect the Zhong family much. Do you think I’m right?” Yan Liqiang’s hand slid gently on Zhong Ruolan’s back. Zhong Ruolan’s skin was like solidified fat, white, lustrous, and delicate, which made Yan Liqiang love it.
"Alas, nothing can be hidden from you!" Zhong Ruolan said with a sigh.
"Your situation in the Zhong family must have been difficult. I remember when we first met in Pingxi County, you were only accompanied by a maid and a coachman, not even a guard..."
Zhong Ruolan smiled, "My father should be Zhong Hongan's cousin according to seniority. When my father was young, he was also a talented and capable person in the Zhong family. However, because my father was a collateral branch of the Zhong family, he never had a chance to make a name for himself in the Zhong family and was suppressed everywhere. When he was young, the disciples of the Zhong family had the opportunity to enter the four major sects. Those direct disciples of the Zhong family, whose qualifications and abilities were much worse than my father's, got the opportunity to enter, but my father was not selected. Later, the Zhong family selected the shopkeepers of Datong Bank in various states and counties. My father was also not selected for almost the same reason. In the end, he was only assigned to manage a small cloth shop. In the end, he died of depression when I was eight years old. If it weren't for you this time, the Zhong family might have arranged for me to marry the stupid son of Lanzhou Governor Du Yuefeng as a concubine..."
"So you have never dared to show your true abilities in the Zhong family?"
"As a woman with no one to rely on at home like me, I can't be too stupid in the Zhong family. If I'm too stupid, I'll be bullied and looked down upon. But I can't be too smart either. If I'm too smart, it's better to be dumb. The best thing is to be just a little bit smarter than the ordinary children of the Zhong family, so that I can barely protect myself!"
Yan Liqiang sighed. "The prosperity of a family is based on people. It seems that the Zhong family has also been infected with many of the drawbacks of big families!"
"Everyone understands the truth, but when faced with a real choice, it is extremely difficult for a person to be selfless!"
"It's been really hard for you to stay in the Zhong family for these years!"
"I am yours now, do you believe me now?"
"So what do you want me to give you?"
Zhong Ruolan turned over and pressed Yan Liqiang under her. She looked at Yan Liqiang with complicated eyes and bit her lip. "If I said that I wanted to overthrow the Zhong family one day and make the Zhong family's direct descendants kowtow in front of me, would you think... that a woman like me is scary?"
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "You want to crush the Zhong family?"
"I'm not stepping on them. I just want to outdo the Zhong family and let the world know that the famous Northwest Lanzhou Zhong family run by those people is nothing special. Even in the northwest, a girl from the side branch of the Zhong family who was thrown out by the Zhong family can outdo those who stayed in the Zhong family!"
This is Zhong Ruolan's obsession, and everyone has their own obsession.
"The core of the Zhong family is Datong Bank, and in my opinion, Datong Bank is really just so-so. The business model of that bank is really too backward!" Yan Liqiang smiled and shook his head. "The wealth accumulated by Datong Bank for the Zhong family over the years is only tens of millions of taels of silver at most. It will only take two or three years to surpass the Zhong family. What's the difficulty..."
"Do you have a solution?" Zhong Ruolan looked at Yan Liqiang with surprise.
"Originally, I came to you this time because I wanted to talk to you about this matter. I won't tell you yet. Since you are so smart, you can try to guess it!"
Zhong Ruolan glared at Yan Liqiang, lowered her head, and bit Yan Liqiang's chest fiercely...
…
Yan Liqiang stayed in the Zhong family's mansion for a day and a night until noon the next day, when he left the Zhong family's mansion with the housekeeper, who looked as usual, and got on a carriage, slowly returning to Yan'an Fort.
Sitting in the carriage, Yan Liqiang touched his chest, thinking about what happened yesterday, and a smile of aftertaste appeared on his face. This time when he came to Pingxi City, the gains were somewhat beyond his expectations.
When the carriage arrived at the gate of Pingxi City, it stopped moving and was stuck in the street.
"Young master, there are troops entering the city at the gate ahead, and the carriage cannot pass through. Please wait in the carriage for a while!" The coachman knocked on the partition of the carriage, then opened a small window in front of the carriage that was separated by a hollow copper sheet, and said to Yan Liqiang in the carriage.
"Oh, okay!" Yan Liqiang had an idea, and then he opened the door of the carriage and got out to check.
The street was already blocked, and several patrolmen were maintaining order on the street. At the city gate more than a hundred meters away, Yan Liqiang could still see teams of soldiers in distinctive armor and carrying long spears, entering Pingxi City in teams from the city gate. People on both sides of the street and in the windows of the surrounding attics were all sticking their heads out to watch...
"My dear father, where do these troops come from?"
An old man on the street glanced at Yan Liqiang, then looked at the gorgeous four-wheeled carriage next to Yan Liqiang, and smiled. "These troops are from our Ganzhou state army. I heard that the Gulang grassland seems to be a bit chaotic now. The governor is worried that our Pingxi County is unstable, so he dispatched troops to garrison at Baishi Pass to strengthen the defense. They passed by our Pingxi City today and entered the city to rest!"
"Thank you, old man!"
"You are too polite, sir!"
Wang Jianbei and Lei Sitong acted so quickly that Yan Liqiang suddenly had an idea. Just by calculating the time, these soldiers were probably on their way before he agreed to take out two million taels of silver to clean up the mess in the city. Otherwise, it would be impossible for these Ganzhou troops to arrive so quickly. This style of behavior, which wanted his money and the lives of the Shatu people, was exactly the same as Lei Sitong's...
I guess it will be done in the next few days. I can't miss such a grand event...
(End of this chapter)