The Huitong River is one of the sections of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty. It has served as an important hub for travel between the north and the south for hundreds of years.
However, due to frequent wars in the middle and no one repairing it, as well as some natural disasters, it gradually became clogged.
By the time of Qianyuan, it was no longer usable.
Therefore, in recent years, the flow of goods between the north and the south has been either by sea or by land.
The reason why Xi Zongwang spent all his wealth to buy the shop in Luofengpo after hearing that the emperor was moving the capital was because he considered that once the imperial court moved north, the prosperity of Luofengpo, a major transportation road, would inevitably increase.
But now the imperial court actually intends to dredge the Huitong River... This situation makes it clear that the Grand Canal is to be reopened!
Compared with sea transportation, which has high ship requirements and is likely to result in shipwreck and loss of life in the event of a shipwreck, and land transportation, which has limited carrying capacity, slow speed, and is easily subject to layers of exploitation and extortion, the canal is simply cheap, fast, and convenient!
So what are the merchants and pedestrians traveling from north to south doing in Luofengpo? !
Xi Fuwei didn't even need to go out to inquire, she knew that all the shops in Luofengpo must have been smashed into her hands!
That's fine. The most terrible thing is that Xi Zongwang was so obsessed with money that he even mortgaged the entire house where his family lived!
Now that the news has spread, creditors are coming to your door immediately.
Xu Shi went because he was worried about Xi Fucui. Xi Fuwei was still engaged to the Wen family. The visitor was polite, but there was no room for change in his attitude: If the Xi family didn't pay the money within a month, he would Come and take away the house!
Although the Xi family's house is located in the countryside, it occupies a very spacious area and has a garden of several acres. The lake stones in the garden are all transported from Taihu Lake in the south of the Yangtze River, which is considered very particular in the entire Dongchang Prefecture.
Moreover, Xi Fucui has a good reading seed, which obviously has good feng shui and is beneficial to his descendants.
So when you take out a mortgage, the valuation is very high.
At that time, Xi Zongwang didn't expect that he would not be able to pay back the money, so he pressed his fingerprints with confidence.
At this moment, he woke up and was furious. Shortly after the creditor left, he fell to the ground and fell unconscious!
The young Xi Jiao didn't understand why, and he was frightened and cried when he saw this situation.
For a time, Xi Fuwei didn't know who to take care of first!
After being busy for most of the day, she finally settled down her grandfather and grandson. She ordered her servants to guard the door and summoned several stewards to the main hall to discuss countermeasures.
When the stewards arrived, they all looked at each other and seemed helpless.
Xi Fuwei looked at this situation and felt a little cold in her heart. She steeled herself, and after saying some scene words, she said: "The Xi family has suffered such a disaster, and I don't want to drag you down now. If you want to leave, Just go to the accounting office tomorrow to get your body deed!"
A group of people quickly said that this was nothing, the Xi family had always been generous to the people, and they were all determined to advance and retreat with the Xi family.
And although there are rumors from the imperial court that the canal will be dredged in preparation for moving the capital, there is no telling when such a large project will be completed!
During this waiting time, people in the world can't stop interacting with each other, right
Therefore, although the value of the shop in Luofengpo has definitely jumped immediately, it does not mean that there will be no income immediately.
"The old slave thought that we could sell a number of shops at low prices to raise some money and preserve the ancestral home." The leader of the old housekeepers suggested, "As for the remaining shops, we can continue to open our doors and do business as much as we can make." Although this will definitely damage your vitality, with the Xi family’s financial background, you won’t think you’ll be too aggrieved to the master, young lady and Mr. Sun?”
Xi Fuwei made some calculations in her mind and nodded: "That's it!"
After discussing the specific method in depth with everyone, she left the old housekeeper alone to talk. At this time, her expression suddenly darkened, "Uncle Lian, please do something for me: go and get Xi Xing quietly for me." Come here, I want to ask where the so-called top secret information he revealed to dad before came from?!"
The old housekeeper's name is Xi Lian.
Hearing this, he nodded and said in a deep voice, "Even if the young lady doesn't mention it, I still want to speak to you and investigate thoroughly whether he deliberately murdered our family!"
But Xi Lian was also a little puzzled, "Because the Xi family settled down from outside, they have always been squeezed out by the villagers intentionally or unintentionally. Due to the small number of descendants, it has been passed down to this day that there are only so many people with the surname Xi in Dongchang Mansion. Xing is not very capable. What can he do without the support of our family? Even if blood ties are not mentioned, he should not attack our family for the sake of profit!"
Xi Fuwei sneered and said: "Because the Xi family has only a few heirs, if Jiao'er and I also have a bad relationship after my brother passes away, wouldn't it be his turn to have such a big family? It's just that although he was influenced by his brother during his lifetime, Zhaofu, I have been working in the yamen for several years, but I have never made a name for myself! Even if my brother is gone, he still doesn’t have the ability to attack Jiaoer and me!"
"So we can only collude with outsiders to dig holes for our family!"
"Anyway, not even a penny of the Xi family's money would be his!"
"Although it has greatly damaged our vitality now...if his plan succeeds, it will be a bit of extra money, right?"
Xi Lian was heartbroken when he heard this, and said: "Xi Xing said he was the nephew of the master, but in fact the bloodline has long been estranged. Since we can't write two characters of Xi in one stroke, our family treats him as if it were our own. Try your best! He doesn’t think about rewards, but becomes greedy because of it. He deserves to be damned!”
But after pondering for a while, he hesitated, "Miss, it's not that I don't believe your conjecture. It's just... is it possible that Xi Xing was also deceived?"
After all, "Xi Xing has never been very smart, and he didn't even know he was being used as a weapon... Isn't it impossible?"
Xi Fuwei glanced at him and said expressionlessly: "Maybe he was deceived, maybe he was repaying kindness with revenge! But have you ever thought about one thing, Uncle Lian? It's the shop in Luofengpo, which was sold to dad by the Wen family. ! And everyone in the Dongchang Mansion knows that I am the fiancée of the eldest son of the Wen family, and Wen Xianyun personally came to visit me two days ago... Who dares to cheat my Xi family like this, besides the Wen family?"
Xi Lian was shocked when he heard this and said, "Miss! Do the Wen family really have ill intentions towards our family?!"
As an old man who has been with Xi Zongwang for many years, his young lady resisted marriage to the Wen family, and he had heard of this to some extent. It's just that I've always been a little dissatisfied in my heart, because I felt that given the status of the Wen family, even when Xi Fucui was alive, they couldn't control it.
What's more, now that Xi Fucui has passed away, the Xi family is in a state of decline. If it weren't for the Wen family, the quasi-in-law, the squires from the surrounding areas might have joined forces to bully her!
At this moment, Wen Xianyun, the eldest son of the Wen family, has come twice in person... This is not considered sincere, so what else
I just know that Xi Zongwang dotes on his children, so it's hard to say anything.
Now after listening to Xi Fuwei's analysis, I was shocked. After thinking for a while, my face became more solemn, "The Wen family has been in Dongchang Mansion for several generations. They have always been rich. It is said that they will look down on our little family wealth..."
"I guess someone wants to kill two birds with one stone." Xi Fuwei said coldly, "The shop on Luofengpo, if I remember correctly, is owned by the second brother of the Wen family. It is said that the previous generation of the Wen family head preferred the second son, if not The current head of the Wen family is so resourceful that he almost won’t be able to take the position of head of the family! If they can do this, they will not only get rid of me, the quasi-daughter-in-law who the Wen family already despises, but also have a reason to To deal with the second room... the most important thing is that the reputation of the Wen family's eldest room will not be damaged in any way!"
Xi Lian gasped after hearing this, and after a while he asked: "Miss, what about now?"
"..." Xi Fuwei pursed her lips and thought rapidly. For a moment, she raised her head, "I remember that the day after my brother passed away, Wen Xianyun did not come to express condolences. Afterwards, his explanation was that the Wen family man had offended someone who should not have been offended. Man, he must go to resolve the grudges, is this true or false?"
Xi Lian hesitated and said: "When I bought the shop in Luo Fengpo, I made special inquiries about it. It is indeed true that he is there, and he is from the south."
He added, "The words he said in Luofengpo, judging from the rumors, should be true."
"Yingtian Mansion?" Xi Fuwei murmured, "If this is the case, then the Wen family is 100% responsible for Daddy being set up this time. Although our place is not a remote place, there are no famous scenery. Look, why did the nobleman from Yingtian Mansion choose to pass by and stay in Dongchang Mansion when it was getting colder day by day? Most likely, Wen Xianyun found out something while receiving this nobleman, so he set up this trap. .”
She sneered, "This is indeed the eldest son who has been carefully cultivated by the Wen family! In order to numb us, he took the time out of his busy schedule to make two trips in person. He has shown deep love and righteousness... It's really difficult for him!"
He took a breath and continued, "The Wen family is deeply rooted in Dongchang Mansion. Even the government will act based on their faces! Even if we can see their intentions now, there is no good way to break the situation on our own... For now The plan is to find traces of that noble man and try to establish a relationship!"
Xi Lian said cautiously: "Miss, we don't know anything about that noble person. We don't even know who his last name is, whether he is a man or a woman, whether he is old or young. Not to mention how to find their traces, we just Are you afraid that if you find it, you won’t know how to find it?”
"There are still traces of this noble man's whereabouts." Xi Fuwei reminded, "He came from Yingtian Mansion, and it is probably related to the court's dredging meeting on the river! So if you come to Dongchang Mansion now, it is probably In order to survey the current situation of Huitong River, we have prepared drafts for future projects! In this way, as long as we guard the key positions of Huitong River, we won’t be afraid of not being able to wait for him!”
"As for preferences..."
Xi Fuwei was silent for a while and said, "The reason why this noble man is related to the Wen family is because the Wen family's clerk offended him. From this point of view, either he traveled incognito, and the clerk looked down upon others; or He was arrogant, and the man relied on the support of the Wen family and refused to give in, so he was hit hard."
"The last scenario is that the Wen family has known his origin for a long time and deliberately used this method to establish a relationship with him!"
She thought as she said, "No matter which method is used, judging from what this noble man said in Luofengpo, it means to beat the Wen family... The Wen family has sent Wen Xianyun to personally mediate, obviously apologizing will not Don't worry! This noble man is still angry, either because he is not broad-minded enough, or... he knows how to make a river!"
Xi Lian asked in confusion: "Can you connect the river?"