Liu Yu'er had just finished washing up and went to the front, where she saw Zhao Hu and Chen Enze wearing only their jackets in the cold weather, punching in the courtyard. They were sweating profusely on their foreheads, truly not afraid of the cold at all. Lin Fu and Zhou Pu sat on the corridor railing talking, Liu Yu'er saw that Lin Fu had a knife with a snow-white blade lying on his knee, his clothes were also very thin. Liu Yu'er thought to herself, why did Lin Fu get up early without practicing calligraphy or reading books, what was he doing with a knife hidden in his clothes?

  "Is your leg better? Is the crutch still useful? I was busy with Master Zhou until midnight." Zhou Pu asked with a smile as he saw Liu Yue'er walking out with her crutches.

  Liu Yue'er thought it was just Lin Xie letting Zhou Pu help, but didn't expect Lin Xie to also lend a hand until midnight. "Thank you, Miss Yue'er and Master Zhou."

  "It's nothing!" Zhou Pu waved his hand nonchalantly, "You've injured your foot, so you don't have to get up early to prepare breakfast for us these two days. From now on, let Zhao Hu or En Ze do it."

  Liu Yu'er looked at Lin Xuan in surprise, thinking that today's breakfast was made by Zhou Pu and the others. She didn't expect Lin Xuan to get up early. She also didn't expose it, treating it as a secret between her and Lin Xuan. This thought she couldn't even explain clearly herself.

  "These two days, you'd better lie down and rest more, don't move around casually." Lin Mou let Liu Yue'er go back to her room to rest. Yesterday, she saw her peeking into the window of her own room, and couldn't shake off some doubts. It seems it was just her being overly cautious.

  After sending Liu Yu'er away, Lin Xie told Zhou Pu in detail about his meeting with Su Mei yesterday. With Su Mei's three thousand taels of silver as a guarantee, there was no need to rush to sell the remaining forty good horses. He also mentioned Qian Xiao Wu's affairs and asked Zhou Pu to go in person to confirm that Qian Xiao Wu was indeed loyal and honest, and not a spy for Qingfeng Bank.

  In the morning, Lin tied up Zhao Hu and led two horses to Jiangning's official residence and the Jiangdong Xuanfu Si government office to surrender. Liu Yue'er was not feeling well, so she asked Chen Enze to stay behind and guard the house.

  This morning, local officials were divided into three categories: main officials, assistant officials, and subordinate officials. The main officials and assistant officials of the prefectures and counties all belonged to the capital appointment, such as the governor, county magistrate, Tong Pan, Tong Zhi, county lieutenant, and instructors, etc., who were either appointed by the emperor or selected by the Ministry of Officials. The Jiangning Ministry of Officials could only stand by and watch, and local officials had no say in the matter. The subordinate officials of the prefectures and counties were selected by the Provincial Governor's Office. In order to maintain the dignity of the Jiangning Ministry of Officials, the subordinate officials of the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Jiangdong Prefecture were jointly selected by the Jiangning Ministry of Officials and the Jiangdong Provincial Governor's Office from among the local gentry, students of the Jiangning Imperial Academy, and those with honors and titles.

  In fact, the Jiangdong Xuanfu Si and the Jiangning Lübu have been arguing over personnel rights of local officials since they moved from the imperial capital to the north, and now it has become a convention that the personnel authority of the Jiangning Lübu is limited to the selection of local officials in the twelve counties of Jiangning Prefecture.

  Lin wanted to get an official position, he had to throw himself into these two government offices and wait for selection.

  The scholar has passed the imperial examination and has the qualifications to become an official, but it is not certain that he will get a position. There are hundreds of applications for positions accumulated in the Jiangning government office, but there are only a few positions available each year in the 12 counties under the jurisdiction of Jiangning Prefecture. It is difficult to obtain a position as an official. The situation is slightly better in the Jiangdong Xuanfu Si (a high-ranking military and administrative position), but Lin Xie does not want to leave Jiangning, so he can only try to find a position in the Jiangdong Xuanfu Si, Jiangdong Ancha Si (a judicial position), or the Jiangdong Tidu Fu (a military position) in Jiangning. However, the opportunity is even slimmer than submitting his application to the Jiangning government office.

  Whether it was Jiangning's official department or the gate of Jiangdong's declaration and comfort, Lin Xie had no way to get in, so he just threw in his name card and left.

  In Jiangning City, one cannot ride a fast horse; after visiting the two yamens, Lin Xie and Zhao Hu had already passed lunchtime when they rode their horses through Bianji Lane.

  Lin Tie and Zhao Hu led the horse into the front yard, looking at a carriage parked in the yard, feeling strange. Seeing Chen Enze come out to help him lead the horse, he asked: "Is there a guest?" Thinking that Gu Wu's family couldn't have entered the city so quickly, besides, they didn't know that they would stay here on their first day in Jiangning.

  "Xiucai, it's me..."

  Lin Xuan raised his head to see Lin Jingzhong accompanying a middle-aged man walking out of the guest room. The middle-aged man had his hands clasped behind his back, standing in front of the corridor and said loudly to Lin Xuan: "After receiving the letter from Shanglin, I have been calculating the day you will arrive in Jiangning. It was not until Jingzhong came over today that I knew you had already arrived in Jiangning..."

  "How did you get here?" Zhao Hu saw Lin Jingzhong, overjoyed, and hastily walked over to punch a fist on his thin small body.

  "There is a cargo ship coming to Jiangning, and Seventh Madame asked me to come along with the ship to broaden my horizons. I just arrived in Jiangning yesterday," Lin Jingzhong said. It was fortunate that Seventh Madame held actual power within the clan; otherwise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to come to Jiangning to broaden his horizons. He also asked Lin Fu, "After you all arrived in Jiangning, why didn't you go to the warehouse to find Meng De Shu? You've already set up a residence here?"

  Apart from Su Mei, Xiao Man and Si Niangzi, Lin Xie was not without acquaintances in Jiangning City. The middle-aged man before him was an acquaintance, he was the store manager of Lin's warehouse in Jiangning, Lin Mengde.

  Lin Mengde was only in his early forties, with a sturdy build and a broad face with thick eyebrows. He wore a long gown under a leather jacket on a cold day. Although he didn't have close blood ties with the Lin family or the Ben family, he had a lot of tact in dealing with people and affairs, earning the trust of Lin Tingxun, who sent him to Jiangning to take charge alone after he stood out early on.

  Before Lin Xian arrived in Jiangning to take the imperial examination, his daily life was taken care of by Lin Mengde. After he passed the examination, Lin Mengde also took the initiative to give him 20 taels of silver for expenses, even if they were not close relatives, they could be considered familiar with each other.

  "Uncle Mengde," Lin Xie also warmly greeted Lin Mengde, "The official boat travels slowly, and we only arrived in Jiangning yesterday. We stayed overnight at the Chaotian Inn before catching up with Jingzhong. What a coincidence! Yesterday, as soon as I arrived in Jiangning, I walked to the first pawnshop and fell in love with this house. I was thinking of waiting for two days to settle down before coming to pay my respects to Uncle Mengde..." He asked again, "Oh, by the way, how did Uncle Mengde and Jingzhong know that I lived here?"

  "I don't dare to accept, you are now a respected gentleman," Lin Mengde said with a smile, narrowing his eyes and looking at Lin Xie. He thought to himself that it had only been three days since they last met, but now he was unrecognizable. This was indeed true, and Lin Mengde smiled as he explained the reason for his visit. "Xiao Mian, the owner of Xiao's Pawnshop, is a fellow townsman from our hometown in Dongyang. He has been running a pawnshop in Jiangning for only a few years. I ran into him at the Dongyang Guild Hall this morning, and he mentioned you... The incident where you and Du Rong had a falling out at the Chaotian Inn last night was also being talked about at the Dongyang Guild Hall today. I came to see you because Xiao Mian asked me to apologize for his rash behavior last night."

  "It's not a big deal," Lin said with a smile, "I don't know if he's friends with Meng De Shu, otherwise why would he give him this house?" His mouth was nonchalant, but in his heart, he scolded Xiao Mi until she was covered in dog blood.

  In this era, whether it's going out for business or going out to be an official, leaving one's hometown, it's often several years before getting news from home. If you encounter a fellow villager in a foreign land and hear a few words of your local accent, you'll feel exceptionally close and enthusiastic. If either party has any difficulties, they will also take the initiative to help each other out, thus forming a powerful force of hometown connections.

  In Jiangning, Dongyang merchants and travelers also gathered under the name of Dongyang Guild Hall. Lin Xie still thought about visiting Dongyang Guild Hall to get acquainted with his fellow villagers one day, so as to find some help for his foothold in Jiangning. However, he didn't expect that on the first day he arrived in Jiangning, he almost got into trouble with his fellow villagers from Dongyang. How could Lin Xie have a good impression of Xiao Mi?

  "First find yourself something to eat, I've been waiting for you and my stomach is growling," Lin Meng said loudly, "It's casual at noon, we agreed that the day after tomorrow will be a banquet at Dongyang Guild to welcome you. From now on, you'll be based in Jiangning, it's necessary for you to get to know the Dongyang Township Party; the housewarming party will have to choose another auspicious time..."

  "I don't dare to accept this, Uncle Meng has already decided to kill Lin Fu..." Lin Fu humbly said.

  They found a wine house to drink and ate for an hour, Lin Mengde still had things to do, so they agreed to meet at the Dongyang Guild Hall the next day to give Lin Fu a warm welcome before leaving early, while Lin Jingzhong followed Lin Fu back to Huji Lane.

  Back to Bianji Lane, the plaque that was instructed to be made yesterday was hung under the eaves in the afternoon. Lin Jingzhong looked up at the plaque with the golden characters "Ji Yun Ju" and said to Lin Fu as they entered the courtyard: "Meng De Shu seems enthusiastic, but actually came to test your underwater skills."

  "I know," said Lin Xie, "Shi Liang County and Jiangning are only two or three hundred miles apart, he should be able to learn about the events in Shanglinli through correspondence... He is afraid that I will come to Jiangning to replace him."

  It's said that Lin Mengde is one generation older than him in the Lin family and is also the general person in charge of the Lin family in Jiangning. Generally speaking, even if Lin Mengde was enthusiastic, there was no reason for him to take the initiative to visit Lin Xie.

  Lin Jingzhong saw that Lin Xizhi's thoughts were dense and meticulous, so it seemed that he didn't need to remind him of anything. He took out a letter from his bosom: "Madam Qi asked me to deliver this letter to you. I will stay in Jiangning for three days and return by boat the day after tomorrow. If you have any words to say to Madam Qi, I can take them back for you."

  *****************

  The wheels rolled over Stone Street, rumbling as they went.

  Lin Mengde sat in the carriage, leaning against the soft cushion, frowning slightly as he gazed at the withered winter trees by the roadside, lost in thought.

  Lin Mengde was worried that Lin would come to Jiangning to replace him.

  Although Shanglin Du is the foundation of the Lin family, Jiangning is the most important external branch of the Lin family. Although it cannot be compared to a large business like Qingfeng Hang, the Jiangning Linji Merchant House has more than 10,000 taels of silver in hand.

  If Lin Meng had been willing to let someone else take his place, that would have been a fool's errand; Lin Meng was well aware that there was no better position waiting for him in the Lin family than being the master of Jiangning.

  The master of the house, Lin Tingxun, was bedridden and gasping for breath. The power in the family had been dispersed among the seven madams, six madams, two old masters Lin Tingli and Lin Xuzong, as well as Lin Zonghai and others. Although Lin Mengde thought that the seventh madam had no children and it would be difficult for her to truly stand firm in the Lin family, he knew that she nominally held the greatest power in the Lin family, and appointing Lin Xie to come to Jiangning to take his place was not impossible to gain the support of the elders.

  Lin Meng didn't know about the things that had happened to Lin Xie, nor did he know that Lin Xie's coming to Jiangning was his own doing. It was well-known in the clan that Seventh Madame doted on Lin Xie, and he thought to himself that Seventh Madame hadn't kept Lin Xie in Dongyang to help her establish a foothold for the Lin family, but instead had let Lin Xie follow his uncle Gu Wu Chen to Jiangning, which must have been done with some profound intention.

  Lin Mengde also confirmed that Lin Xie had the intention of establishing himself in Jiangning after repeated attempts.

  This little guy is already showing his sharpness, no longer the timid and cowardly boy from a few months ago. He's determined to seize power, what should I do? Lin Meng has been troubled by this headache for a long time, he even suspects that everything that happened in Lin's house was manipulated by Mrs. Qi behind the scenes, that woman is really formidable.

  *****************

  PS: Collecting and red tickets are welcome. The second update is coming soon.