Chapter 49 "This time, on our trip to Sichuan..."

Chapter 49 "This time, on our trip to Sichuan..."

"While I was in Sichuan collecting brocade, I also bought a manor for my daughter there. You can add it to her dowry." Xiao Fuyan placed a stack of land deeds and indentures in front of the First Madam.

At first glance, this stack of sheets, roughly estimated to be dozens, clearly shows that the manor that Xiao Fuyan claimed to have added casually was actually quite large.

"What kind of bewitching potion has Qin Ji given you, sir? You've been so generous with your daughter's dowry after just one trip out." The First Madam said this, but her hands didn't slow down at all, and she immediately handed over the stack of contracts.

Upon seeing the stack of contracts, the First Madam was initially pleased, but later couldn't help but complain, "If you want to acquire a manor and land, why didn't you buy it closer to Jiangzuo? It would be more convenient for our daughter to manage it in the future. Sichuan is too far away, and it's not easy to manage something that's out of reach."

"Wow! How can the land price be so high? Is there gold growing in that land?!" The First Madam exclaimed in surprise when she saw the transaction price on the land deed, even though she had only been casually flipping through it.

The land price here is more than three times higher than in Jiangzuo, and the land is poor. Although she has never been to Sichuan, her family has been doing silk business there for many years, and the First Madam is not completely ignorant about the area. This price is clearly unreasonable.

"Master, what's the trick behind this? Tell me quickly." The surprise only lasted a moment before the First Madam's mind immediately turned, and she looked at Master Xiao with curiosity in her eyes.

Master Xiao is an extremely shrewd person, and the First Madam naturally wouldn't think he would make such a obviously disadvantageous deal. Since he paid far more than the market price for this manor, it means that the manor has a value far exceeding the market price.

"Greetings, Third Miss!" came the greetings from the maids outside the door.

"Chicken? Mother wants to eat chicken? I have a great steamed chicken recipe here, Mother. I'll write it down and have the kitchen make it. We can try it together for dinner."

The voices of the maids serving outside the door rang out together with Xiao Yan Hui's voice.

As soon as Xiao Yan Hui arrived at the door, she vaguely heard the First Madam talking about chicken. She immediately thought of fragrant, golden, tender, and juicy steamed chicken, and her mouth watered. So, she immediately asked for a recipe for steamed chicken.

"Hahaha, how can you be so hard of hearing at such a young age?" The first wife was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter and collapsed onto the table.

"Hahaha... Yan Hui'er has some good recipes too, hahahaha... Quickly write them down and have the kitchen make them, so that your father can try them too." Master Xiao laughed so hard that even the hand stroking his beard was shaking.

As soon as Xiao Yan Hui lifted the curtain and entered the room, she was met with Master Xiao and his wife laughing heartily.

"Looks like I misunderstood, you rascal." Xiao Yan covered her ears with both hands. Seeing that the two were still laughing, she pretended to be a spoiled little girl and said, "If you keep laughing at me, my steamed chicken for tonight will be gone."

"Alright, alright, stop laughing, let's talk about serious matters." The First Madam slowly suppressed her laughter before gesturing for her daughter to sit down, and then turned to Master Xiao and said, "Master, tell me quickly, what kind of ingenuity is there in this estate?"

As he spoke, he deliberately amplified the word "ingenious" and then covered his mouth with a fan, unable to suppress a laugh.

Xiao Yan then realized which "chicken" she had just heard actually referred to the "machine".

She wasn't annoyed by her mother's teasing again; she just took it as a way of amusing her. Instead, she instructed the maidservant to fetch paper and pen, insisting that she write down the recipe for steamed chicken, meaning that if she said they were having chicken that night, they would have chicken that night.

Xiao Fuyan laughed again at the mischievous mother and daughter, and then got down to business: "The price of this manor is not high at all, because what I bought is not just a manor, but also a stepping stone."

After saying that, he revealed a mysterious and smug smile: "This brick, who knows, might turn into a treasure trove for us someday. Hahaha, we really didn't make a mistake in choosing this son-in-law."

"Why are we talking about the son-in-law again, sir? Stop beating around the bush and teasing me. Tell me clearly." The First Madam specially served Mr. Xiao a cup of tea, meaning, "I've specially served you tea, so please stop keeping me in suspense."

But Xiao Fuyan didn't intend to reveal more: "It's not time to explain now, but our son-in-law is more capable than we imagined. Anyway, daughter, you should hold onto this manor for now. Don't sell it off after the wedding just because it's far away and difficult to manage."

When he said his last words, a stern look appeared on his face, clearly indicating that he was giving a very serious explanation.

"Father, don't worry, I will definitely not sell it." Xiao Yan Hui had just taken the land deed from the First Madam's hand and glanced at it. Seeing the address of the manor and hearing Master Xiao mention Qin Ji, Xiao Yan Hui had already guessed why Master Xiao called this manor the "Knock-on-the-Door Manor".

The land surrounding the manor that was purchased together must have been suitable for drilling salt wells.

She had talked to Qin Ji about the snowflake salt he sold, and knew that the snowflake salt originated from the Sichuan region.

Because the area possesses extremely abundant underground brine resources and deep salt layers, and the associated natural gas can greatly reduce fuel costs, facilitating the development of salt-boiling technology, and the basin topography also makes it relatively stable, Qin Jisheng chose that area as his first choice when he decided to start a refined salt business.

However, it was later discovered that there were also obvious problems there. The local powerful clans and families were very strong, and it would be difficult for outsiders to move in, let alone develop on a large scale.

The Qin family sought a marriage alliance with the Xiao family back then because of the trade route from Jiangzuo to Sichuan, and the Xiao family's connections there. Xiao Fuyan had an uncle surnamed Tang who held considerable influence in Sichuan, which explained why the Xiao family's silk business with Sichuan had been so successful over the years.

Just now, Master Xiao mentioned the "stepping stone," which means he has already taken Qin Ji to contact the local forces in Sichuan. If things go smoothly and the refined salt refining is fully rolled out, then the "treasure trove" he mentioned is indeed not an exaggeration at all.

Xiao Yan returned to her place and quickly integrated and pondered the information she knew. Meanwhile, the First Madam, hearing Master Xiao repeatedly praising her son-in-law, was pleased but also had some doubts.

"Since we can't mention the manor, we can at least mention the son-in-law. How come the master praised him so highly after traveling with him for so long?" These days, the eldest madam felt that she was getting tired of hearing the master praising his son-in-law, so she decided to ask him the reason today.

"Hahaha, there's really nothing to hide. Our son-in-law is quite remarkable." Master Xiao's satisfaction was evident. As he spoke, he praised him again: "Not to mention his excellent character and appearance, I think his interpersonal skills and shrewdness are even better than Old Qin's. No wonder he has been so successful these past few years."

"Do you know who's standing behind him?" Old Master Xiao chuckled without saying a word, but pointed upwards.

Master Xiao was extremely pleased with himself, for he never expected that a marriage alliance based on mutual benefit would actually hold such great advantages.

The Qin family has powerful backers, and now they can make good use of his connections. Moreover, the two families are related by marriage, which means that the Xiao family has also gotten in touch with powerful people!

Getting connected with a powerful person can bring more than just money; it might even lead to meteoric success. Even if these benefits come later, he's already secured the immediate gains.

Take, for example, the deal in Beijing that they couldn't close down last year. Now, thanks to his son-in-law's connections, that deal has been finalized. From now on, his business will be able to operate at all levels, both north and south.

Thinking about it this way, Xiao Fuyan became more and more pleased with himself.

Seeing the gesture Master Xiao made, Xiao Yan Hui was very familiar with it; her elder sister had given a similar hint when she mentioned Prince Cheng last time.

"Is it really His Highness? Isn't he always secluded and doesn't come out?" the First Madam asked in surprise.

"It is precisely because His Highness has always kept his distance that it proves that becoming his confidant is no easy task, and it also proves that our son-in-law is no ordinary man." Master Xiao's logic was very rigorous.

"Before, he was called Qin Ji, or Qin Family Eldest Son. But after going out for a while, he comes back and calls me son-in-law. Our daughter isn't even married yet. I've never seen a father so eager to please her. Master, you should tone it down in front of the Qin family." Although the First Madam occasionally called her son-in-law in private, it didn't stop her from referring to Master Xiao.

"It's only a few months away. When I came in just now, I heard the maid say that you and your daughter were going to look at wedding dresses today?"

While Master Xiao and his wife had changed the subject, Xiao Yan Hui was filled with doubt: "The person standing behind Qin Ji is actually Prince Cheng? Why hasn't he mentioned this at all?"

Perhaps it was because they were both modern people, or perhaps it was because they were about to get married and their relationship was about to become closer. So Qin Ji could be frank with her about many things that seemed confidential, such as the source of his salt industry and the development of some of the industries under his control.

Since he didn't hide anything that could be considered a core secret from me, why didn't he mention anything about it? His backer was Prince Cheng.

"Is it really because their level of trust is not up to par?" Xiao Yan kept this question to herself for the time being, but her attention was drawn back by Master Xiao.

"Are the headdresses and jewelry enough? After the wedding, what you have now won't be grand enough. How about we get a few more sets and put it on your father's tab?"

Faced with her father, who was in a very good mood and wanted to spend money on her like crazy, what other answer could Xiao Yan give? Of course, she praised her father lavishly and then readily agreed.

Unfortunately, the pleasant atmosphere in the room was interrupted a moment later.

As soon as the maidservant rushed in, she reported, "Master, Madam, Concubine Wan from the second wife's household is coming towards the main courtyard crying."

"Don't let her in. Quickly send some people to stop her outside our courtyard." Upon hearing the maid's words, the First Madam's smiling face immediately darkened.

The next move showed no mercy; he immediately ordered the maids in the courtyard to stop the person.

"Master, you should hurry and go see Consort Wan. My courtyard cannot be disturbed today." The First Madam said with a stern face, directly ordering Master Xiao to handle the trouble.

The reason the second concubine came to her, the first wife's, courtyard was because Master Xiao was here. Today, she had no intention of arguing with these people, so she simply told Master Xiao to leave.

She was still waiting to help her daughter look at her wedding dress. If a concubine came to her courtyard crying and complaining to the master, would they still be able to look at the wedding dress?

"That Aunt Wan is something else. She usually seems quiet and reserved, but I never expected her to be so cunning. Isn't she just asking to cause trouble? How unlucky!" Although the First Madam knew a little about Aunt Wan's behavior, she still couldn't help but feel even more displeased.

"Auntie, why don't we go back first? Although the First Madam is usually good-natured, she can be quite ruthless when she gets angry." The maid, Fen Tao, tried her best to dissuade Auntie Wan from going to the First Madam's main room.

She really couldn't understand what her aunt was thinking, why she had to come to the eldest son's house to make trouble. If it were the second wife's room, she could understand why, but why did it have to come to the eldest son's house?

Aunt Wan paused for a moment, but then immediately took another step, wiping away her tears as she walked: "I didn't come to make a scene at the main house. I came to see the master and beg him not to forget that the fourth daughter is also his own daughter when he thinks about the second and third daughters."

Aunt Wan wasn't afraid, but what that person said was right. If she continued to be obedient and silent, both she and her fourth daughter would be taken advantage of without a trace.

Why are the two girls at the top one noble and the other rich, while the fourth girl is just an ignorant and destitute person?

She had to let the second wife, and even the first wife and the master, know that she, Concubine Wan, was not someone to be trifled with. If she could cause trouble at the first wife's house today, she could cause trouble outside the Xiao family's residence tomorrow.

The marriages of the second and third daughters are at a critical juncture. If the Xiao family truly doesn't care about the fourth daughter's life or death, then their reputation will be ruined and everyone will be doomed.

Just as Master Xiao was enjoying his success in the business world, troubles began to stir in his household, while Qin Ji also encountered some problems in the Qin family.

......

"How are the follow-up cooperation negotiations with the Tang family going? Have their people arrived yet?" Qin Ji asked Wei Xun.

At this moment, Qin Ji was carefully examining a route map. If one looked closely, one could see that this was the route from Jiangzuo all the way to Sichuan. Along this route, there were circles of varying sizes, which represented the key forces at each point.

"My lord, we have just received news that members of the Tang family died on the road."

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Author's Note: Ah~ It's late, sorry to have kept you waiting, my darlings. I'm much later than usual tonight. (Secretly crying, my perfect attendance record is ruined too.)

Goodnight, night owls! Sweet dreams!