Gao Yifei smiled slightly: "As the saying goes, don't avoid relatives when promoting talents. Ma Yun is young and promising, so why can't he participate in the bidding in a fair and impartial manner?"
Lin Ruhai looked troubled and said: "Although Mr. Ma is a talented person, he has never been in this business. Besides, building river embankments is a low-profit and long-term project. There is really no profit. Why does Mr. Ma insist on participating in the bidding?
.”
Gao Yifei said: "I just want to try it because I have never done it before. As for the lack of profit, that is not a problem. Jack Ma is not a mercenary person. He wants to do this project mainly for the well-being of the people and to give you this
It brings disgrace on the face of my future father-in-law."
Lin Ruhai still shook his head: "It's inappropriate. It's precisely because Ma Yun is about to become the son-in-law of the Lin family that he can't participate in the bidding. If his colleagues in the DPRK find out, Lin's official reputation will be over."
Gao Yifei noticed Lin Ruhai's words. He was not afraid of what the people would think, but was afraid of what his superiors would think. He laughed in his heart. What an upright official and censor was, he was just a guy who cherished his feathers. Gao Yifei had been prepared, and he was relieved.
He said: "Brother Lin, you are worrying too much. You and I are both from the Metropolitan Procuratorate. We are just impeaching other people's officials. Why are we afraid that others will gossip? Besides, I have already taken care of the affairs between the DPRK and China. Look at this.
"As he said this, he took out a few letters from his sleeves and handed them to Lin Ruhai.
Lin Ruhai took it over and took a look. It turned out to be letters written by several popular officials in the imperial court. Although these people did not climb to the position of minister, they all held real power in the six ministries. As the saying goes, county officials are not as good as current officials.
Without their support, what else can't be settled?
The letter was nothing more than praising Ma Yun's character and suggesting that Lin Ruhai give the young man a chance. Of course, it was just a sincere suggestion and did not criticize the Xunjiang Censor Yamen. After reading it, Lin Ruhai put the letter into his sleeve and said:
"Brothers, you should seriously consider it."
After Gao Yifei heard what he said, he knew there was something going on, so he said no more and stood up to leave.
After Mr. Gao left, Lin Ruhai took out the letters and read them carefully, understanding the meaning between the lines. After a long time, he sighed and locked the letters in the desk drawer.
There was a gentle knock at the door. It was the newly purchased maid, who said timidly: "Master, Miss, please come over." Lin Ruhai frowned dissatisfied, thinking that she must find someone to train them well.
The local servant learned to speak Mandarin and immediately replied: "Back off, I understand." The maid stepped aside obediently. Lin Ruhai took a sip of tea to calm down and left the study to find her disobedient daughter.
.
When he walked far away, the maid from before suddenly appeared from behind the flowers, looked around, quietly opened the door and entered the study, took out a steel needle from the corner of her skirt, and carefully turned the copper lock of the desk.
, old-fashioned padlocks are designed to protect against gentlemen but not villains. They were quickly opened. The maid first carefully observed the position where the letters were placed, then took them out and looked at them one by one. After reading ten lines at a glance, she placed them as they were and fastened the copper.
After locking the door, he took out a rag and wiped the desk a few times. He pretended to have just finished cleaning the study and walked out. He returned to the maid's room in the backyard and whispered to the groom, Lao Zhang, for a while. Then Lao Zhang went out through the back door and walked to the street.
After sneaking around for a while, I saw a blind fortune teller, so I went over to him, and after a while with the blind man Hu Tianhai, I returned to the Censor's Mansion.
Lin Daiyu had a quarrel in the embroidery building. Today's experience made her dislike Ma Yun even more. She firmly opposed the marriage, but Lin Ruhai was very angry. Old Lin was a very serious and old-fashioned intellectual.
Children's marriage is a matter of parents' orders, and the matchmaker's words will never allow the existence of free love. Although he is not completely optimistic about Ma Yun, his daughter's attitude makes him involuntarily side with Ma Yun.
"What's wrong with Mr. Ma? He's young and promising, and he has a lot of money. He's also crazy about you. Daiyu, why don't you follow your mother at all? Look at you, how can you still be a lady?"
Lin Ruhai said heartbrokenly.
"Daughter, I don't care about that. No matter how rich he is, I don't like him. Dad, you don't know. Today, this guy actually ordered the evil slaves to kill people on the street. He also relied on his status as brother-in-law not to take official positions seriously. He is a villain who gets his way.
The look is disgusting!" Lin Daiyu angrily told her father about what she saw today. However, it obviously failed to achieve the expected effect. Lin Ruhai suddenly became furious: "You damn girl, you actually ran out without telling me. You are the censor.
My young lady, how can you show up in the market? Alas, your mother died early because of your father's neglect of discipline. From today to the day when the Ma family comes to marry you, you are not allowed to step out of the embroidery building!"
After saying that, Lin Ruhai left angrily. Several housekeepers followed the instructions and stood under the embroidery building and began to guard it 24 hours a day.
In Wuchang Xingyin Pavilion, Zhenwu Marquis's residence, Liu Ziguang had just finished listening to the secret report from Nanchang fanzi, and said to Zhong Shouyong next to him: "Go back to the capital quickly and investigate these guys who wrote letters to see what they are like.
How much benefit did you get from the Ma family? By the way, the two corpses you buried in Wuhu were dug out and examined carefully. Whether they were from Dongchang or Jinyiwei must be found out. I don't like the feeling of being secretly remembered."
Zhong Shouyong accepted the order. The true identities of the two guys with fake Nanchang waistbands he killed on the way to Wuhan are still a mystery. On this trip back to Beijing, he just happened to find a widower to do an autopsy, hoping to find out some clues. As for
Although the characters that Mr. Hou arranged to monitor were all powerful figures, they were just scum in the eyes of Nanchang, and it was easy to deal with them.
The bidding work has gradually begun. Based on the principle of fairness, justice and openness, each merchant participating in the bidding can submit a bid to the Xunjiang Yushi Yamen. The bid documents indicate the merchant's qualifications, performance and preliminary plans for the river embankment.
Then there is the price tag. Under the same qualifications, the one with the lowest price will get it. But everyone knows that the short and wretched Jack Ma is likely to take over all the bids. Well-informed people have learned that Jack Ma is Lin Yushi’s
Future son-in-law, it is precisely because of this that he can participate in the bidding without any qualifications.
On the night before the bidding was opened, Wang Jiu was sighing in his hotel in Hankou, lamenting the unfairness of the competition and lamenting that Marquis Zhenwu had accepted the gift and refused to help him. He was depressed when suddenly a servant came to report that a distinguished guest had arrived.
, Wang Jiu thought it was a friend who was traveling with him to complain, so he hurriedly invited him over, but the person who came was beyond his expectation, it was Mr. Ma Yun.
"I wonder why Mr. Ma is here?" Wang Jiu asked in surprise.
"Wang Yuanwai, I have been admiring you for a long time since I was born late. You are the pinnacle of this industry. My admiration for you is like a torrential river. I came to visit you today because I want to ask Yuanwai for a favor tonight." Ma Yun said very politely.
"What can I do to help Mr. Ma? Mr. Ma is now prosperous, and we still hope that Mr. Ma will reward him with a bowl of rice." Wang Jiu said sourly.
"Wang Yuanwai's words are wrong. We always rely on friends to help us when we go out. Wansheng will not go around in circles in front of you. The bidding will be opened tomorrow. All the bids will definitely be won by Wansheng. Wang Yuanwai also knows that with Wansheng's skills
How can the group of people below accomplish such a big project, so I would like to ask for help from outside members."
After listening to Ma Yun's words, Wang Jiu found it unbelievable. You idiot could take over the contract, but you didn't fulfill it, and then handed it over to us. What kind of thing is this? There is something fishy about this matter, and he didn't say anything.
, as if thinking.
Upon seeing this, Ma Yun explained: "Wan Sheng can give a generous price, which is definitely higher than what Wang Yuanwai quoted."
Wang Jiuqi said: "Wouldn't Mr. Ma be at a loss?"
Ma Yun said with a smile: "What are you afraid of losing? It's all for the people along the river. Besides, Wansheng also wants to help his father-in-law's face. I won the contract at a low price and quoted a high price to Yuanwai and others to supplement it."
It's not a bad idea to pay some money. If the other members don't believe it, we can sign the contract, put it in black and white, and then ask someone to guarantee it. There's no danger."
"Is there such a good thing?" Wang Jiu still didn't believe it. He had been working hard in the mall for many years. How could he believe that Jack Ma was a vegetarian wolf?
"Of course there are some conditions, that is, Wang Yuanwai must advance the funds, and the money allocated by the court must be used for a period of time before Wansheng can pay it to Yuanwai. You must have heard of Wansheng's ability to use money to make money."
"That's it." Wang Jiu finally understood Ma Yun's intention. This trick is called a white wolf with empty hands. He uses connections to win over projects and then subcontracts them. The purpose is to make use of huge project funds, which is equivalent to financing activities. The key is
The reason is that Ma Yun cannot successfully hit this time difference every time, and there is also the issue of the amount and time of the advance capital. It cannot exceed the range that Wang Jiu can bear.
We are all smart people and hit it off immediately. We will discuss the specific details later. The two high-fived each other and reached an initial agreement.
After Ma Yun left, Wang Jiu sat in the dark room for a long time. His close followers carefully reminded him: "Do you want to report to Marquis Zhenwu?"
Wang Jiu shook his head and said: "Since they dare to do this, they are quite sure. There is no big conflict of interest between Zhenwu Marquis and them. Just give them a generous gift and it will be settled. It is not good for me to report it rashly. In short, there are many things in this world."
Friends are stronger than many enemies. I can’t afford such a big contract anyway, so I might as well make a little money with Jack Ma.”
Wang Jiu thought carefully. Since ancient times, officials have protected each other. He couldn't believe that Liu Ziguang would side with common merchants like them and go against the censor who patrolled the river. As long as he could make money, it didn't matter whether he was subcontracted or not.
Other builders also agreed with Wang Jiu's idea. Ma Yun visited all the way and almost all of them agreed to cooperate with him. After he won the general contract, he would split it up and subcontract it to these builders. The raw materials would be manually designed.
He does not have to pay for the exploration expenses. He is allowed to advance the funds first. Ma Yun uses the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue first, and then allocates it to these people according to the subcontracting contract after a certain period. In this way, the equivalent of millions of the imperial court's silver is in vain.
He has been using it for several months, and the interest he has saved in Rishengchang is huge. Besides, Xunjiang Yushi is owned by his father-in-law. When the time comes, he can find some excuse to deduct some project funds, and then find someone from above.
Dredging and dredging means that the river is complicated and additional money is needed. When the time comes, it will not be easy to get several brothers-in-law and father-in-law to go out together.
The day for the bidding opening came, and the Xunjiang Yushi Yamen was busy. The hall was full of officials, with Lin Ruhai at the forehand, and on both sides were the chief envoys and inspectors from Huguang. Officials from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Households, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were also present.
Even the King of Chu came to observe. Officers and soldiers borrowed from the newly established Huguang Command and Envoys were guarding the yamen. Representatives of builders from all over the country and gentry from both sides of the river came here, quietly waiting for Mr. Lin to open the bid.
Lin Ruhai first spoke in a high-sounding way for a while about the emperor's wise decision to allocate huge sums of money to build river embankments. Everyone should be grateful to the emperor for his kindness from generation to generation. Then he talked about how open and transparent this tender was. Hearing some gentry in the hall
They kept nodding in agreement. The story of Lin Ruhai angrily denounced the briber was widely circulated in Huguang area. Everyone still admired Lin Ruhai's official reputation. With this iron-faced censor to guard the situation, they could rest assured.
The bids from the builders were all packed in large envelopes and sealed with fire paint. There were only seven or eight qualified shortlisted companies. Each company gave a base price based on careful calculations. This price was not the total price of the project, but was measured in miles.
The river embankment project is so big and will last so long that it is impossible to estimate how much money it will cost. Such a quotation is very scientific. These bid documents have been opened and the prices have been compared. All that needs to be done now is
It was read out in public.
The bid opening finally began. Lin Ruhai nodded slightly to his officials. A young official stepped forward, took an official document with a bright red seal from Lin Ruhai's hand, walked to the middle of the hall, and read aloud: "The floods in the Yangtze River affect the Sacred Heart."
, God’s grace is so great that we allocate funds for the construction of river embankments. Our officials have all done their best to protect the people. After being jointly recognized by the Xunjiang Yushi Yamen, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household and other relevant yamen, we won the project for the construction of the river embankments.
It's Ma's from Zhejiang, and the unit price is 8,880 taels of silver per mile!"