novelaction Chapter 988 The Ge Family
Chapter 988 The Ge Family
The steward of the Ge family was a servant brought from the Lin'an clan by a man with green eyes. His ancestors had worked for the Ge family for generations, and their lives depended entirely on the Ge family for survival, so their loyalty was beyond doubt.
The ability to read between the lines is one of the basic survival skills.
When Butler Ge entered the room, he saw Green Bean looking at him with an unfriendly expression and a very low aura. He knew he was about to get into trouble, but he didn't know what it was about.
So he first bowed down and apologized.
No matter what the situation, it's always right to admit your mistake first.
With his beady eyes, he slammed the teacup down on the table, then coldly demanded, "What's going on in Lin'an? Although I'm no longer involved in the family business, you didn't even inform me about such a major event as the locust plague! How dare you! I trusted you so much, entrusting you with all the household affairs. Are you my servant or the clan's servant? Speak!"
Influenced by the businessman's philosophy that harmony brings wealth, he was generally amiable and rarely lost his temper with his servants.
Seeing such great anger, the head steward knew things were bad and immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
He kowtowed and explained, "Master, of course I am your servant, and I will always stand by your side. But I really didn't know about the locust plague!"
"Still pretending?!" Green-eyed man slammed his fist on the table in anger. "At the end of last year, the family sent merchant caravans to various places to collect grain. From the beginning of this year until now, less than ten ships have gone to sea to do business overseas, but 500 million taels of silver have been withdrawn from the account. Where has such a large sum of money gone? Do you think I'm stupid? Humph! At first, I didn't want to care, so that no one in the family would think too much. But now that I've thought about it, I understand everything. You're trying to make money off the locust plague!"
"Furthermore, since you don't tell the truth at all, I can't keep you here in my little temple. Now pack your things and go back to Lin'an. See which family in the clan has the highest threshold and go there!"
Upon hearing this, Steward Ge was truly on the verge of tears: "Master, are you trying to humiliate me? I've been with you for almost twenty years. Where else could I go but here? It's not that I didn't want to tell you, but the old master specifically wrote to instruct me not to tell you, or he would sell my parents. He said that the Ge family is business at heart, and even if someone in our family has become an official, we can't forget that. Wouldn't it be foolish not to make money?!"
"So there really is a locust plague? Tell me in detail which areas have been affected," the beady-eyed man asked coldly, frowning.
There's no time to investigate the misdeeds of his own father now. The reason the Ge family is able to achieve such a leading position in the business world is inseparable from the temperament of the Ge family members. From the time he was old enough to understand, all the uncles, brothers, cousins, and other relatives in the clan were born with abacuses in their hearts. They were all incredibly shrewd. They could measure human relationships with copper coins and had to calculate every penny. As for national righteousness, it simply didn't exist.
If it exists, it's because of the circumstances.
The ability to be flexible and adaptable is also a major characteristic of the Ge family.
He's quite the oddball in their family.
Seeing that the truth had been revealed, Steward Ge had nothing more to hide: "There is indeed a locust plague, but it hasn't reached the point of widespread famine. The main affected areas are currently in the Jiangnan region. These places are wealthy, and even if they suffer a temporary disaster, they can afford to buy grain with their silver. If all else fails, they can even sell their children to exchange for food. However, things might change later..."
Green-eyed man listened for a while, then grew impatient and snapped, "What are you talking about? Stop beating around the bush and just say what you have to say, or I'll send you back to your hometown of Lin'an. Then we'll see where you put your old face."
"My lord, to be honest, our family discovered signs of a locust plague as early as mid-February. That's why they allocated so much silver to collect grain everywhere. Local officials were probably aware of it too, and even organized people to exterminate the locusts. But the court was in chaos back then, with the Minister of Revenue having fallen from power. Naturally, the lower-ranking officials were careful to protect themselves and didn't dare report these matters to their superiors, causing them worry. That's why it's been delayed until today. But judging from the situation over the past two months, this locust plague is likely to be fierce and not so easy to resolve. When there is a shortage of grain in various places, the price of grain will be up to us, and only a minority will be able to afford it."
Raising prices on the spot is a businessman's instinct.
The man with the beady eyes closed angrily. "Are you all so foolish? There are plenty of ways to make money, and there are countless businesses in the world. You dare to hide such a crucial matter concerning people's livelihoods from me? You're truly... truly short-sighted!!"
The butler was really angry when he saw that the man's eyes were like green beans, so he quickly got up and went over to help him calm down.
He kept muttering an explanation: "Master, please don't be angry. What's done is done. Besides, we didn't invite this locust plague. It's God's will to prevent the people from surviving. I heard that all the gentlemen in the clan discussed it beforehand, and it was a decision made by mutual agreement. After all, everyone needs to eat, and food is the foundation. This money is much easier to earn than going to sea!"
Besides, we're not really short-sighted. The imperial court has only been in power for a short time and won't collapse anytime soon. If the people don't have enough to eat, that's the court's problem; the court will naturally open the granaries to provide relief. We just need to make our money. It's a willing buyer and a willing seller situation; it doesn't bother anyone!
Green Bean Eyes grew up under this kind of teaching. Due to the family atmosphere, he used to think this argument made sense. However, after traveling to various countries overseas and then to the Western Regions, he suddenly realized that this practice was actually very cruel.
After every natural disaster or man-made calamity, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The greater the gap between the rich and the poor, the harder it is for ordinary people to live.
Until the next reincarnation and reshuffling.
Thinking of this, Green Eyes suddenly felt like he was talking to a brick wall. He waved his hand and stood up: "If you had told me in advance, at least I could have consulted with my colleagues and merchants in the court to devise a plan, and things wouldn't have gotten to this point. The consequences wouldn't be so severe later. Making money is one thing, but deliberately covering up the news is another... Never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. Pack your things and go back to Lin'an. I'll write to the clan and ask you to come and help them."
Leaving aside what happened at the Ge residence, Zhang Ping'an unexpectedly stumbled upon another matter after arriving at the Li family.