On this side of the river, more than a thousand villagers from Shanglin suddenly appeared. Although everyone came to escape the disaster, they were also worried about the safety of their relatives and friends who stayed in Shanglin. After all, it made this side of the river much livelier than before, just like a prosperous town.

  The night was dark, the grass hall was brightly lit, and on the desk were two exquisite bronze oil lamps. Lin Xie, Lin Xu Lu, Lin Meng De, Lin Xu Hong, three madams, six madams, seven madams, young madam, and three clan elders sat in the hall discussing the future of the Lin family.

  It was the fifth month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was getting hotter. In the hall where they were discussing matters, all the doors and windows were wide open, and occasionally a gust of night wind would suddenly blow in, causing the copper oil lamps and candles to flicker and dim, making people feel that the situation was precarious and uncertain, just like Lin's family drifting on a boat in the middle of the ocean, which made one's heart tremble with fear.

  When it came to the sad part, San Furen, Liu Furen and Shao Furen, these three women couldn't help but burst into tears again.

  No matter what, the situation is uncertain, and everyone has to settle in Jiangning for the time being. Many things had no one to take charge of before, but now San Gongzi represents Er Lao Ye Lin Tingli and has come, so there is someone who can take charge, and the settlement cannot be delayed.

  The coffin of Lin Tingxuan was placed at the river mouth, and even if the conditions at the river mouth were harsh, several madams, young masters, and even Lin Xulü's couple had to guard the mourning at the river mouth. Unless Lin Tingxuan's body is moved into the city, but moving the coffin casually has a suspicion of disrespect and unfilial piety, people in this world dare not commit such taboos casually.

  Lin Yila Dongyang Township Party jointly built the river mouth, Lin Mengde was one of the earliest to invest in the silver, he invested in building several houses on the back street, which are about to be completed, and immediately expressed his willingness to let the best house for the ladies, young masters, and young sons to move in temporarily.

  Lin Mengde's several houses have a similar layout to Jiyunju, all with three courtyards: front yard, main courtyard and backyard. Two of the houses are adjacent to each other and can be connected to form a large house.

  Although this house can't be compared to the Lin family's grand mansion in Lindu, it is a rare good house in the newly built area on this side of the river. Several ladies, young masters, and servants moved in, and after hiring a few reliable helpers from the refugees, life could barely settle down.

  "Meng De Shu's house can't be lived in for free, I think it's better to just buy it directly from the original owner at twice the construction cost..." Lin Xu Lu said.

  "I don't dare, I don't dare," Lin Mengde said. "I have some savings in my hands, which were also given by the master of the house. If the ladies want to stay, they can just take it and live there. I will transfer the deed to the master's name tomorrow, and as for the silver, Third Young Master, don't mention it."

  "Ah..." Lin Tingxun's nephew, the manager of Linji Warehouse, and the seventh son of the main family, Lin Xuhong, cleared his throat and said: "The situation is unpredictable, this side is close to Jiangning City, it's ten or a hundred times safer than in the countryside. The river mouth is also a newly built area, our Lin family can buy a house here, and some land, with Old Seventeen taking care of us, we won't be considered outsiders in Jiangning either. Having another place to settle down is also a good thing..."

  Gu Yingru glanced at Lin Xie and saw that he was sitting upright with a serious expression, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

  Among many people, three elderly men may still have some old ideas, after all, they are older and don't want to be bothered; Lin Xuhong, who is not yet 30 years old, is the easiest to win over.

  On this side of the river mouth, in addition to the ordinary people's dwellings, the shops and houses built by Dongyang Township Party along Nanbei Chang Street and Hou Street have also taken shape.

  Now the river mouth is not to mention compared with the city, and it's far less prosperous than Longcangpu and Quyang Town in the south. The original intention of Dongyang Township Party was to invest money over there, one is that Lin Mou gave the land for free, and the other is that they wanted to give Gu Wu Chen a face. The participation of Xiangyang Township Party was very enthusiastic, anyway, investing money has houses placed there, but they have not moved in or relocated their business here yet. With Lin Mou and Lin Mengde as intermediaries, it's not difficult for the Lin family to buy the shops and houses that are about to be completed from them at a high price.

  From a future perspective, this group of Dongyang Township Party members can be considered the most primitive real estate investors.

  Lao Qi Lin Xuhong suggested that the family set up a business directly at the river mouth. Lin Xu Lu furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, asking the four women: "Third Aunt, Sixth Aunt, Seventh Aunt, Second Sister-in-law, what do you think?" Without waiting for their response, he continued, "Old Seventeen has been established in the river mouth for less than five months, and it already looks like this. It's really not easy. I don't know when the chaos in Hongze Pu will be settled, but since Old Seventeen and Lord Gu have proposed that the Dongyang Township Party jointly build the river mouth, our Lin family shouldn't fall behind..." He was already inclined to set up a business directly at the river mouth.

  The Hongze Pu rebellion was quite fierce, and the refugees who lingered on both banks of the Shiliang River and around Hongze Pu were too numerous. Liu An'er raised his flag and almost everyone responded. The Jiangdong Prefecture did not have enough military strength to quell the rebellion, so Lin Xuelu had to consider that if the rebels threatened the East Yangfu City, his family would also have to flee to Jiangning.

  It's better to start a business now than to be left with nothing when the time comes.

  Of course, Lin Xulü initially wanted to go directly to the city to buy a house, but since Lin Tingxun's body was being kept at the river mouth, no one could enter the city.

  According to the "Mourning System", sons and wives should observe mourning for 27 months, also known as three years of mourning. Lin Xulü had to observe mourning for at least 100 days in place of his father. However, Lin Xulü was well aware that as long as the coffin remained at the river mouth, several madams would stay there too, and he couldn't leave either.

  Lin Xulü thought that before the chaos in Hongze Lake was settled, everyone would have to stay at the river mouth.

  "The Lin family also rose to prosperity because of the water. I heard from the old people that the upper Lin Du Kou was also very desolate at first," said Mrs. Ma, thinking that if she stayed by the river, she could rely on Lin Xie, otherwise, just her mother-in-law, San Furen, would be able to bully her to death. She interjected, "I'm just a woman who doesn't understand anything, but looking around here these past few days, maybe in the future there won't be any prosperity at Upper Lin Du."

  Madam Ma's father was an old scholar who had followed her to read for a few years since childhood, and she was strong in character. Among the women of her time, she was considered to have some insight.

  Many buildings on this side of the river have not been built yet, but the planned shape has already taken shape.

  On the river mouth side, there is a crossroads pattern. The north-south long street that comes out of Jiang'an Wharf is directly connected to the horse and carriage road leading straight to Donghua Gate Avenue. There is also a backstreet that runs east-west from He Dam Wharf through the river mouth.

  It is said that Nanbei Chang Street is long, but in fact it is only 400 steps long, and Hou Jie is only 300 steps long. The Dongyang Township government mainly built shops and houses around Nanbei Chang Street and Hou Jie. From Lin Xian's later perspective, it was indeed pitifully small. However, at that time, Nanbei Chang Street, Hou Jie, Jiang'an Wharf, He Di Wharf, two warehouses with an area of 30 to 40 mu, and several large courtyards on the west side, each capable of accommodating hundreds of households, made the river mouth already have the style of a big market town.

  Madam Ma's words made even Third Madam, who had the worst relationship with her, nod in agreement.

  Moreover, the horse-drawn carriage road that connects to the Donghua Gate official road has also been finally completed. The Ji Yun Society is hiring people to plant trees such as willows and peach trees on both sides of the horse-drawn carriage road. From the river mouth, taking a horse-drawn carriage into Jiangning City is only 14 or 15 miles away, which is very convenient.

  To say that the Lin family brought out nearly 200,000 taels of silver this time, and this number is not scary even when written on paper. If calculated at the price of Jiangning land, 200,000 taels of silver can buy 30,000 mu of paddy fields in Jiangning. In terms of area, it is equivalent to about 70-80 times the land occupied by the river mouth, which shows how vast this wealth is.

  Buying a house at the river mouth would cost no more than 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver, which is not even comparable to the grand gift given to the Gu family.

  These days at the river mouth are really hard, the host's body is being kept at the river mouth, no one can take it into the city to live, and everyone is suffering, not knowing how much longer they will have to stay at the river mouth.

  The three madams and the six madams felt that spending money, having a big house to live in, and being able to hold the deed in their hands was a good thing. They also thought that this place might prosper soon, so they all agreed without hesitation.

  Lin tied up this side also busy promised to help Jingzhong coordinate, and allocated more craftsmen. They would first build the house that Lin's family had taken over from Dongyang Township Party Committee, so that everyone could move in as soon as possible.

  **********

  The Lin family's affairs in Jiangning, Lin Mengde insisted on letting go, after all, cannot let Lin Xu Hong and several other managers who escaped from Shanglinli to Jiangning have nothing to do; also to show that Lin Fu has not touched the Lin family property.

  Lin Mengde and Lin Xie were close in Jiangning is a well-known fact.

  Lin Xulü and several madams advised Lin Mengde for a while, seeing that Lin Mengde was very insistent, so they naturally agreed. This way, there is no need to worry about Lin Fu taking over the family property. After all, apart from strong seizure, Lin Fu has no other means of invasion. The Lin family is a noble clan, and with Lin Tingli and Lin Xuwu holding important positions in the imperial court and local government, they don't have to worry about others openly seizing the family property.

  The Lin family's affairs in Jiangning were naturally taken over by Lin Xu Hong and several other managers and shopkeepers.

  Specific and trivial matters, let alone a few madams, Lin Xu Lu couldn't manage them either. Lin Xu Hong and several other managers have always been trusted, so there is no need to replace them at this time.

  In fact, most of the Lin family's business in Jiangning was to resell goods from Dongyang Prefecture, especially tea, rice, paper and oil.

  It is said that the Lin family is the first noble family in Dongyang Prefecture, and it's not just empty talk. The fact that they were able to bring out nearly 200,000 taels of silver in a hurry while escaping disaster can be seen as a testament to the greatness of the Lin family's accumulated wealth over the past ten generations.

  The Lin family sells tens of thousands of dan of rice to Jiangning Prefecture every year, and also monopolizes the sale of Dongyang tea to other places. The Lin family has 18 oil extraction workshops along the Shanglin Creek, with 60 large waterwheels driving the grinding discs, and 400 yellow cattle pulling the mills. The Lin family's paper mill produces tens of thousands of bundles of paper every year, which are sold to various prefectures in Jiangdong through the Linji Warehouse.

  The fall of Shanglin Village has caused the Lin family an immeasurable loss.

  After Shanglinli fell, Lin's various affairs in Jiangning were also severely affected.

  In Jiangning, the Lin family's main industry had a warehouse at the mouth of Longcangpu in Sanxi River, covering an area of over 20 mu. In the prosperous city, there were 17 or 18 shops operating grain, oil, tea, paper and other products from Dongyang.

  There were also three courtyards, one of which was a delicate and elegant courtyard where Lin Mengde lived; a large mansion facing the street opened the Dongyang Guild Hall, operating a wine house and an inn, and a private garden was empty to prepare for the arrival of relatives from Jiangning.

  Not counting the value of houses, shops and courtyards, the Lin family's silver reserves in Jiangning, as well as their stored goods, added up to more than 40,000 taels of silver.

  Lin Mengde immediately handed over all of Lin's family assets in Jiangning.

  Lin Mengde's magnanimity made Zhao Xu, San Furen, Liu Furen, Shao Furen, and the three clan elders, including Zhao Xu Hong, feel extremely relieved, thinking that the master of the house had not trusted or used the wrong person when he was alive.

  Lin Mengde stepped down, and Zhao Xu Hong took over, but there was no particular difficulty. After all, the industries in various places were managed by big and small bosses, most of whom were local brothers and many were relatives.

  Zhao Xuhong and several others who came from Shanglinli also had their own worries.

  The Lin family's industries in Jiangning employed a total of 245 people, including managers, assistants, and security guards. The warehouse in Longpu, south of the city, had the most employees. At any given time, it stored goods worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, and was guarded by more than 40 security personnel (who were actually elite militiamen drafted from Shanglinli).

  Before the outbreak of the Hongze Pu riot, Lin's family-owned fleet had just transported a batch of goods to Jiangning. The Linji cargo fleet mainly took the waterway from Shanglin to Jiangning, with ships being 100-200 stone capacity Dongyang wooden boats, 22 ships in total, and more than 140 sailors and boatmen.

  In addition, there were 70 or 80 shopkeepers and apprentices who followed from Shanglinli and escaped to Jiangning together.

  Apart from the Dongyang Guild Hall's wine house and inn, the Lin family's other business operations in Jiangning mainly involved reselling goods from Dongyang. Now that Shanglinli has fallen, the warehouses, shops, and fleets have all lost their livelihoods for the time being. After all, the Lin family will still need to return to Shanglinli in the future, so they cannot disband the staff of nearly 500 people, including the shopkeeper, apprentices, guards, sailors, and others. Even if it is difficult to maintain a living, the household expenses must still be paid on time.

  "Need to support so many people?" Sixth Lady Lin Rou heard Lin Meng say that, and let out a surprised sigh. She was from a humble background, had been pampered since young, and after being taken in as a concubine by Lin Tingxuan, she didn't manage the household affairs either, nor did she know just how vast the Lin family's influence was.

  Lin Xulü was also unclear about the specific affairs of the Lin family, and after listening to Lin Mengde's explanation, he was quite surprised. Pretending to be calm, he said: "With these shops around, we can get some goods from other places to maintain them, and it shouldn't be a problem to support these people..."

  "It should be able to hold on barely," Lin Meng said.

  The Lin family's business in Jiangning was mostly large-scale transactions, and the large-scale commodity trade in various places was monopolized by local wealthy merchants. If other families came to Shanglinli to buy tea, paper, rice, oil and other products, the Lin family would naturally hinder and sabotage them in every way, and vice versa. Lin Mengde knew that things were not as simple as Lin Xulü said, but he and Lin Fu felt that it was good for the Lin family to hit a wall elsewhere.

  In short, Lin Mengde let go of these trivial matters and can also assist Lin Fu in doing other things.

  *****************

  P.S: It's already October

  Wish brothers and sisters a happy National Day!

  Everyone should make casting red ballots a habit

  Also want to thank brothers and sisters who recharge and support

  Zong Heng changed "reward" to "cheer", feeling really good.