Chapter 1445
: The Routine
Chapter 1445: The Routine
Coming to his senses, Lin Hao poured a cup of hot tea for the new Chuanzhu.
Shinkawa looked at Lin Hao with satisfaction and said, "If we do as you say and clear out the mess of debts that the Household Registration Department has accumulated over the years, how much of the debt can we repay?"
"Forty percent!" Lin Hao said decisively.
"Yes, but those who withdraw money from the Household Registration Office are all seasoned veterans. After all, you're still young and can't handle them!"
"You should consult your eldest brother about this matter."
"Thank you for your warning, Lord Chuan. I will not be presumptuous and will definitely ask my experienced elder brother for assistance!"
"He's still biased towards the second son after all! He has to consult with him on everything, pshaw." Lin Hao secretly scorned the new Sichuan Lord.
"Alright, if this matter succeeds, you will go to Jinchuan to repay the debt, persuade the Jinchuan ruler to accept the initial payment, and then repay it in installments."
"However, we should not alert the enemy and should not let other people in Sichuan know the details."
"Understood, Your Majesty, I have one more suggestion!"
"you say!"
“Besides recovering foreign debts, I believe that the palace must also restrain its spending, set an example, and prioritize the young master’s palace.”
"Hmm, that makes sense!"
The new Chuanzhu nodded, then looked at the chief eunuch Liang Shidao beside him:
"By my decree, all officials of Xinchuan Palace shall set an example and shall not increase expenses from tomorrow onwards!"
At this point, the new Chuanzhu paused deliberately and said, "Especially tell the third brother that he was the most extravagant and wasteful person in the past!"
Yes!
Liang Shi bowed and left, while Lin Hao chatted with the new Sichuan chieftain for a while before also leaving.
Subsequently, the decree of the River Lord spread throughout the palaces and gardens.
In the palace of the Third Young Master, Yin An sat upright above, while Dong Haitang, Bai Lu, and several other ladies of the solar terms slumped weakly in chairs below.
But Yin An still spoke with great passion:
"My father ordered us to cut expenses, especially since he entrusted me with important responsibilities and instructed me not to be extravagant!"
"Although I have a lot of money outside the palace, I am determined to eliminate extravagance and absolutely cannot lose to my other brothers."
The seasonal girls, and Dong Haitang, having been under Yin An's command for so long, were already fed up with his nagging.
To pass the time, they even learned to use eye contact and facial expressions to communicate.
"Tch, all high-sounding words." Bai Lu first showed a disdainful look.
Then, winking, he sent a message: "It's clearly the new governor who doesn't allow him to bring in money from outside."
Frostfall also conveyed its message with its eyes: "Being too proud is a recipe for suffering!"
Yin An, of course, couldn't hear the ladies' thoughts, so he continued:
"You, as my inner court ladies, must strictly abide by the rules and diligently fulfill your duties of serving me. Your ability to put my mind at ease is to put Xin Chuan at ease and to put the world at ease!"
Upon hearing this, Dong Haitang glanced at the ladies of the solar terms and sent them a message, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"From this moment on, your monthly allowance is gone!" Yin An said excitedly and passionately.
As soon as he said this, everyone felt as if thunder had struck from the sky—no, thunder had actually roared in the sky, as if even the heavens couldn't stand it anymore.
The ladies immediately perked up and sat up abruptly, as this concerned their own interests.
"My mother is from Jinchuan, so I am half a Jinchuan person. Therefore, I should show the courage and drive of the people of Jinchuan to strive for excellence!"
“If the other brothers save one coin, I will save ten. From today onwards, we will hand over our monthly allowance to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From now on, we will each spend fifty taels of silver per month!”
"Boom!" Thunder rumbled outside again.
"Why hasn't he been killed yet?!" several ladies of the solar terms said with indignant eyes.
Because the new Chuanzhu entrusted the repayment of Jinchuan's loan to Lin Hao, and learned that expenses needed to be reduced, not only did the third prince's palace feel like the sky was about to fall, but the second prince's eldest son was also furious in his residence.
He not only severely criticized Hao Jia, who had previously agreed with his opinion, but also punished her by not allowing her to eat.
As a result, Zhao Fangru, the wife of the eldest son, heard that the eldest son wanted to use her family's mine as collateral for a loan.
She immediately became angry and questioned Yin Song about why he hadn't discussed it with her. Unfortunately, Yin Song ignored her and instead gave her a severe scolding.
Yin Song is a man with a strong sense of self-esteem. He seems ambitious, but in reality, he is selfish and self-serving, a contradictory figure who is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with mortgaging his wife's family's mineral resources, and even acted as if it were perfectly justified.
Zhao Fangru was furious, but considering that Yin Song was her husband and that Jinchuan's mineral resources also needed to be purchased and consumed by Xinchuan, she could only swallow her anger.
However, this also marked the beginning of a rift between her and Yin Song.
Meanwhile, as the monthly allowance decreased, the fifth young master Yin Qi pawned his writing implements, books, and paintings so that Shangguan Jing could eat better.
It has to be said that although Lao Wu is a bit eccentric, he is a really good person and a good husband who loves his wife!
Although he is a bit indecisive, even a bit naive and simple-minded, he is a really good person.
Shangguan Jing was initially quite touched, but when she saw that the weapons on her weapon rack had also been pawned, she was so angry that she beat Yin Qi up on the spot.
When Lin Hao returned from school, he suddenly found Li Wei digging in her yard.
"What are you doing?" Lin Hao asked as he approached.
“I’m going to grow a vegetable garden. This will help change my life. I have to save money every day now, and I’m even a little hungry.”
At this point, Li Wei looked aggrieved.
She never imagined that after marrying the sixth young master of Xinchuan, she would still go hungry. Even in her hometown in the countryside, things shouldn't be this bad.
"Oh? Is that so? Here's what we'll do: have Yu Ping and Yu Zhan call Su Shen and Song Wu to the study!"
"Wait, you come along too, I have some things for you!" After saying that, Lin Hao went straight back to the courtyard.
A short while later, Song Wu, Li Wei, and Su Shen all arrived at Lin Hao's study.
"Brother Hao, is there something you need?" Song Wu ran to Lin Hao's side, grabbed his arm, and asked in a sweet, coquettish voice.
Upon hearing this voice, Lin Hao disdainfully pushed Song Wu's hand away and angrily said, "That's too tight. Who taught you to talk like that?"
"Hmph!" Song Wu hummed twice in dissatisfaction upon hearing this.
Then Lin Hao picked up a small box from below and placed it on the table.
Then he said to the group, "Your monthly pay has been a bit low lately. I heard that you've been trying to save money so much that you haven't even had enough to eat!"
"No, no!" the two gluttons said in unison.
"Alright, stop pretending. I know exactly how much you guys eat!" Lin Hao then said earnestly.
“You don’t need to be so frugal. I’ve saved up over the years, do you think I’d be short of food?” After saying that, Lin Hao opened the box, which contained a box of silver ingots.
"Wow, Brother Hao, I love you so much!"
Song Wu, nicknamed "Wooden Horse," excitedly kissed Lin Hao on the cheek.
"Old, this old servant is not seeing things, is he? How... how can there be so much silver?" Su Shen said excitedly.
"Young Master, I've been in the courtyard for so long, how come I never knew you had these things?"
"Yes, Sixth Young Master, where did you come from?"
Meeting the curious gazes of Su Shen and Li Wei, Lin Hao smiled faintly and said:
"You don't need to worry about where it came from. Su Shen, take some for the household expenses!"
"As for Li Wei and Song Wu, each of you can keep one hundred taels as your private savings!" Lin Hao said to the two of them with doting affection.
"Yes, this old servant obeys."
"Thank you, Sixth Young Master!"
"Thank you, Brother Hao!"
Watching them divide the silver, Lin Hao nodded in satisfaction. In fact, the original owner of this body did not have any silver saved, at least not this much.
Part of this silver was given by Lord Danchuan so that Lin Hao could use it to take care of his sister-in-law.
Some of it was from the bandits and highwaymen they helped on the way back to Xinchuan, and some was from winning at the Xinchuan casino.
Thinking of his sister-in-law, Lin Hao gave Su Shen another instruction:
"By the way, Old Su, we send one hundred taels to the Fifth Young Master every month. That should be about enough!"
"Yes!" Although Su Shen didn't understand why Lin Hao still wanted to send money to the Fifth Young Master, since the Sixth Young Master had spoken, it was no longer his place to question it.
Moreover, the young master and the fifth young master have always had a good relationship. The young master was raised by the fifth young master's mother since childhood. At a time when everyone is tightening their belts, it is only right to take care of the fifth young master within one's means.
Lin Hao shook his head. He actually had quite a bit of money left, but he certainly couldn't take it all out at once.
Thinking of this, Lin Hao added, "Oh, and remember to pawn some of the writing implements and such!"
"Why?" Li Wei asked, puzzled, when she heard that Lin Hao wanted to be the Four Treasures of the Study.
Since she entered the palace, she often saw Lin Hao writing with that precious set of writing materials, and knew that Lin Hao cherished it very much.
Upon hearing this, Su Shen immediately realized what was happening and then explained to Li Wei:
“Madam, as the saying goes, the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind. Not to mention the other young masters, our young master has not been valued since childhood. His monthly salary is already meager, and it is often deducted.”
"If everyone else is eating coarse food and wild vegetables, and suddenly someone is eating better than other young masters, but can't explain the source of their money, not to mention whether people will be wary of them, who knows what kind of rumors will spread about them!"
"Oh~, I see!" Li Wei exclaimed in sudden realization.
"So they pawned the Four Treasures of the Study, just to put on a show for others, at least the money had a source, right!"
Seeing how cautiously Lin Hao lived in the Xinchuan Palace, I felt even more sorry for him.
Lin Hao looked at the statistics of debts over the years and thought that he definitely couldn't collect the debts by himself.
So he waved to Li Wei and whispered a few words in her ear. Upon hearing this, Li Wei happily ran out and took the jade cup to visit Dong Haitang.
While Lin Hao calmly sorted out the debts, the third brother couldn't take it anymore.
It turns out that ever since Li Wei visited Dong Haitang, Yin An's backyard has been on fire.
Originally, their monthly expenses were fixed, but several girls from afar heard that Dong Haitang and the others were not getting enough to eat or wear, so they all came to visit them.
Meanwhile, Dong Haitang led everyone in preparing food and drinks, which in turn helped Yin An squander his fifty taels of living expenses.
One meal used up all of Yin An's monthly expenses. He was at his wit's end. If he didn't pay back the loan from Jin Chuan, he wouldn't be able to get his expenses back, and he would starve to death!
Thinking that Lin Hao was in charge of repaying the loan in Jinchuan, he quickly ran to Lin Hao's residence to discuss countermeasures.
Su Shen served two cups of tea and said, "Third Young Master, please have some tea!"
Lin Hao picked up a cup of tea and calmly drank it, while Yin An, ignoring his tea, anxiously said to Lin Hao:
"Sixth Brother, the matter of Jinchuan owing money is of great importance to Xinchuan and cannot be delayed!"
"I came to see Sixth Brother this time to see if there is any good way. If the two of us join forces, we can definitely win in one blow and relieve Xinchuan's worries!"
Lin Hao put down his teacup and said with a smile:
"Third Brother is indeed sharp-witted and perceptive; he must also know about my plan to inform Father!"
"A plan?" the third brother asked doubtfully. He really didn't know that Lin Hao had come up with such a bad idea: to recover the debts owed to officials for loans from previous years!
Lin Hao casually pushed the ledgers of debts owed by various officials to the Household Registration Department in front of Yin An.
"This is a record of the debts owed by officials of various departments to the Household Registration Department, as well as their personal circumstances, characteristics, likes, and dislikes!"
"Collecting debts?"
"That's right!"
"This is something I'm good at!"
"Success is the only option!"
"Failure is not an option!"
"Third Brother, please!"
"Sixth Brother, please!"
In the end, the two went to collect the debt together, and it must be said that Yin An was quite adept at this.
Of course, Lin Hao was not to be outdone. In addition to using many modern debt collection methods, he also imposed double the late payment penalties on those who maliciously defaulted.
After seven days of traveling, the two finally settled their accounts. They looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
After this debt collection incident, the two became much closer, and then reported to Lord Jin Chuan together.
Because the matter was handled well, the King of Jinchuan also hinted that if the Jinchuan debt problem was resolved, Lin Hao would be allowed to establish his own residence and attend court next year.
Back at the Young Master's Residence, seeing Li Wei's absent-mindedness even while eating, Lin Hao knew she must be homesick.
At the same time, I felt that I should speed up my progress, otherwise the difficulty of conquering the area would increase infinitely when Yuan Ying came to Xinchuan.
After dinner, as Li Wei was about to take a walk in the garden, she passed by Lin Hao's study and overheard Lin Hao talking to Su Shen about her.
"Tell me, is there any precedent in Xinchuan of elevating a concubine to the status of principal wife?"
Upon hearing that it was about her, Li Wei was immediately startled. She told Yu Zhan and the others to go back, and she secretly eavesdropped outside the window.
"Does the young master not want his concubine to leave?" Su Shen asked.
"Sigh, I'm afraid that even if I want to keep them, I won't be able to!" Lin Hao sighed and said.
"During lunch today, I tried to ask her about it, but she kept avoiding the question!"
"Actually, I know that this girl wants to go back to Jichuan!" Lin Hao then shook his head and said:
If she can't be kept here, and she really has to return to Jichuan as a concubine, she'll probably face criticism!
"So I thought that since she was divorcing me as my legal wife, she wouldn't have any worries about going back to Jichuan!"
Upon hearing this, Su Shen immediately objected vehemently:
"Young Master, you've never received anything since you were a child. Even if you have a beloved person, don't you try to fight for yourself?"