There were no complications on Fang Youdu's side. After Feng Ziying and Fang Youdu brought it up, Fang Youdu also asked about the situation of the Xue family and quickly agreed.
Although it is said that Fang Youdu's parents are both alive, the saying that an eldest brother is like a father becomes even more obvious after Fang Youdu clearly leaps into a dragon. Fang Youdu's big promise is almost a foregone conclusion. This is also
The second wife of the Xue family, who was almost crushed by the Mei family's divorce, could finally feel proud.
Fang Youdu was awarded the title of Censor of Shandong Province, which was considered a very good arrangement among the top three Jinshi.
According to the grade of the second-class Jinshi who has been observing government for three years, the grade will be increased by three or four levels (from grade seven) (Level three if you stay in Beijing, and the fourth grade if you are sent abroad).
According to the rules of the grade (eighth grade) rising to two or three levels (third grade for external officials, and second grade for Beijing officials), Fang Youdu can be regarded as a supervisory censor of the seventh grade, and he is in Shandong, which has the best conditions in the North.
, so Fang Youdu was very satisfied.
Of course, Fang Youdu also knew that being able to stay in the Metropolitan Procuratorate and even Shandong Province was inseparable from his various performances in compiling "Internal Reference" and Feng Ziying's support to him, so when Feng Ziying proposed to serve as Xue Biao's
When he proposed marriage, he agreed without much hesitation.
Of course, Feng Ziying didn't hide it from him. She bluntly said that she would soon marry Xue Biao's cousin, the first daughter of Xue's parents' house, as the second wife of the Feng family. This was also the main reason why Fang Youdu nodded readily, otherwise a descendant of an imperial businessman,
He would still have to struggle for a while if he wanted to marry his biological sister, who was born as a Jinshi and now had a bright future as the imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Even if Feng Ziying came to make peace with her.
After solving this problem, Feng Ziying feels much more at ease. It can at least offset the influence of the Mei family's withdrawal from the Xue family. While the concubine in the Shuntian Prefecture has withdrawn from the marriage, at the same time, she is getting married to the direct sister of the Shandong Road Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. In the capital
In this circle in the city, nothing can be hidden from anyone, and everyone can even quickly dig out all the details behind it.
It is nothing more than that the Mei family now looks down on the Xue family, but the Xue family is related to the Feng family and is married to Fang Youdu, who is obviously close to Feng Ziying.
Now Fang Youdu's Fang family can't really be called a Fang family. At least Fang Youdu's brother or son has to be a scholar, at least after he is born in Juren and obtains an official status, then the Fang family where Fang Youdu lives can be called
It belongs to the Fang family in Shexian County, and it takes at least three generations before poetry and calligraphy can be said to be passed down from family to family.
Seeing Xue Biao and Xue Baoqin supporting their mother Cui who came out to express their gratitude, Feng Ziying was also startled and quickly avoided the gift, "Second aunt, brother Biao, sister Qin, why are you like this? The same goes for my second uncle and our Feng family.
As fate would have it, the Feng and Xue families are still supporting each other, and it is only right that my nephew does this. Doesn't this mean he is going to hurt my nephew?"
"Brother Keng, they say no thanks can be given for a great favor. The second wife of the Xue family is in such a situation now. They are used to the harsh world. It's all thanks to brother Keng that he made such a marriage for brother Biao. Everyone in the Xue family remembers it."
This kindness,..."
Ms. Cui was also chattering, her eyes were red. Aunt Xue, Xue Pan and Baochai beside her were also trying to comfort her, but they all had smiles on their faces.
This matter finally turned around for the Xue family. Not only did the second bedroom have an explanation, but more importantly, it also offset the impact of Xue Baoqin's withdrawal from the Mei family to the entire Xue family. Some kind of
In a sense, Baochai has also stabilized his identity.
Seeing that Ms. Cui was emotionally unstable, Aunt Xue and Bao Qin took the initiative to help Ms. Cui into the house.
After helping her mother in, Bao Qin came out and wanted to thank Feng Ziying and salute Feng Ziying again, but Feng Ziying stopped her.
"Okay, Brother Tao, I'm just a matchmaker. If Brother Tao doesn't have the ability and Uncle Fang doesn't like him, no matter what I say, he won't agree." Feng Ziying waved her hand, "The Fang family
Although he is not a heirloom of poetry and calligraphy, Uncle Fang has been studying since he was a child, and he has a younger brother who is also still studying and has just passed the scholar examination. Her sister is also well-educated, so I mentioned it to Uncle Fang...
"
Although Feng Ziying said so, Baochai, Baoqin and Xue Biao all knew that without Feng Ziying's relationship, how could the Fang family marry the Xue family? No matter how capable Xue Biao was, they didn't know it, and this Bao
Qin has just been divorced, the reputation of the Xue family has been damaged, and Fang Youdu is still the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. How can he be willing to marry you, a member of the Xue family, an imperial merchant?
"Brother Feng, I will remember your kindness in my heart, and I will never dare to disappoint Brother Feng's expectations. However, I am not really good at studying. During this period of filial piety, I also took the county examination in Jinling and failed..." Xue
Tadashi didn't hide anything in front of Feng Ziying. He was indeed bad at studying, and there was no point in hiding it, especially from Feng Ziying.
“Well, what are your next steps?” This is also a question, and Feng Ziying has to ask clearly.
These days, children from wealthy families don't want to hang around and wait to die. If they want to get ahead, if they don't study and take the scientific examination, then the path will indeed be half narrow. The remaining path is either to donate to officialdom or to do business.
The Xue family can get money by donating an official position, but donating an official position also involves filling the vacancy, and not only is it difficult to get a good position, but there is also an upper limit for donating an official position. It belongs to the end of the chain of contempt in the officialdom. Basically, a sixth-grade official is
The ceiling.
Either doing business, which is the strength of the Xue family. They were originally royal merchants, and they still have connections in all aspects, but their reputation may not be that great.
"Brother Feng, I have considered that donating an official position may be a way, but I feel that with my temperament, it is really inappropriate to be an official of that level. In terms of age and experience, I am afraid that I will not be qualified, but
But I don’t want to make a living like Fengrunxiang anymore.”
Xue Biao spoke very seriously, but Feng Ziying became interested and motioned for him to take a seat.
Baochai and Baoqin were also very surprised by this. Xue Biao had never mentioned such a thing before. Now it is logical that they are about to get engaged, but their thoughts should be on this. Why did they suddenly think of this?
“Brother Ta, what are you going to do?” Baochai asked curiously.
Xue Biao will be seventeen this year. He is only slightly younger than Baochai. Like Baoqin, he followed Xue Jun around since childhood, so it is difficult for him to calm down and study.
Feng Ziying also felt that Xue Biao might not be able to study, but if he didn’t study, if he didn’t want to donate to the government, and he didn’t want to continue running a traditional business like Fengrunxiang, what else could he do?
"I heard that the imperial court is strongly encouraging the opening of air routes from Shandong to Liaodong, North Korea, and Japan. I hope to open up a new route. I want to give it a try." Xue Biao hesitated, obviously taking into account the pressure from his family.
She is about to get engaged. She is young, but she has to learn from those businessmen to venture overseas. The sea is unpredictable. A storm may destroy the ship and people will be killed. And opening a new route means having to fight with those who have always been there.
There are also many uncertain risks when contacting foreigners who have never interacted with foreigners. That is why Xue Biao wants to get support from Feng Ziying.
Before Feng Ziying could speak, Baochai and Baoqin were anxious, "No!"
"Brother, is it as simple as you think overseas? Brother Feng also mentioned to me that many overseas routes have never been tried before. Reefs, storms, savages, and epidemics can all kill people.
"You are the only second wife in the Xue family. If something goes wrong, are you going to let your aunt give the white-haired one to the black-haired one?" Baochai said flatly.
Baoqin followed suit: "Brother, I can do anything to you, but not this matter! My mother is not in good health, but you are going to take such a risky move. Not to mention other things, my mother alone can't survive...
…”
Xue Biao laughed, "Sister, sister, I am not taking risks like you said, I am saying that I want to shift our Xue family's business to this aspect. It turns out that the Xue family's shops and farms are not very prosperous now.
, In fact, in theory, things like running silk factories and tea farms are pretty good, but we definitely can’t compete with those who have been doing this for many years. Before coming to Jingshi City, I asked someone to explore Nanzhi, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.
In the past year, the number of tea farms and silk factories in Zhejiang, Nanzhi and Jiangxi has increased sharply, all of which are aimed at sea trade. However, Nanzhi, Zhejiang and Fujian have already had a fixed group of people in the sea trade.
It’s very difficult to intervene, so I thought about whether I could start from Denglai’s side..."
Feng Ziying became interested, but he didn't expect that Xue Biao would actually take the idea to Denglai. He had to say that the other party still had some sense.
"..., the sea trade between Shandong, Liaodong and Beizhi has been in an untapped state. It can even be said to be almost non-existent. It was originally a sea ban, and later it was a Japanese invasion. In addition, the sea trade tradition of the Northland itself has been far away.
It is not as good as Jiangnan. Taking Shandong as an example, its sea trade volume is probably not worth 20% of the South China Sea, and even less than half of Zhejiang. However, the imperial court needs the sea trade of Shandong and Liaodong to develop to ensure the security of Liaodong. At the same time, North Korea and Japan will also be in the future.
The imperial court's sea trade partner, so I think this should be an opportunity..."
Feng Ziying didn’t believe that this alone would make Xue Biao so interested. Xue Biao should have been preparing for a long time before, and it was definitely not a whim.
“What else?” Feng Ziying nodded and asked.
Xue Biao hesitated for a moment, "My younger brother heard that Zhongshu Ke was interested in changing its name to the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Commerce was interested in rewarding those who had made contributions in opening up routes that were of great significance to the imperial court with military merits, even if they were particularly important at first.
Contributors can be awarded titles by the court,..."
Feng Ziying suddenly realized that Xue Biao had taken a fancy to this. No wonder Xue Biao was a little shy before, but now he made his attitude clear after being forced.
This chapter has been completed!