Everyone present stared at Gu Chengyu's actions in stunned silence. They were at a loss. Could such a handsome young man be...
Gu Chengyu couldn't control the thoughts of everyone present. He took advantage of Xia Hongji's daze and pried off Xia Hongji's thumb.
"Ah! Mr. Xia is indeed a role model for our Hangtian Mansion! He is actually willing to pay one hundred thousand taels of silver."
Gu Chengyu sighed in admiration, then let go of his hand, put his hand behind his back, and wiped it vigorously with a handkerchief.
Gu Chengyu's praise brought everyone out of their daze.
Xia Hongji quickly lowered his head and looked, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood. How many fingers were these? Could it be that his eyes were dim?
"No, it's not ten." Xia Hongji quickly objected. He couldn't afford so much money!
“Mr.
Shopkeeper Zhan rolled his eyes and quickly stopped Xia Hongji's words. He bowed his hands and expressed his admiration.
The rest of the people looked at each other in confusion. Wasn't this imperial envoy too shameless? It was really beyond their expectations!
They could see that Xia Hongji seemed to have only wanted 40,000 taels of silver. Unexpectedly, the imperial envoy turned the 40,000 taels into one hundred thousand taels with just a few words.
Xia Hongji felt a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat. He didn't expect that Gu Chengyu would act rogue like this.
Why do you think this is not a rogue thing? He obviously only wanted to use four fingers. At this moment, Xia Hongji couldn't help but think of the coldness and disgust on the patriarch's old face, and his heart trembled.
He was just a branch of the clan, and was sent to Hangtian Mansion by the clan leader to take care of business. Where could he make the final decision on the money? Before, he thought it was only thirty thousand taels, and the clan leader would not blame him too much afterwards.
Later, in order not to be looked down upon, he gritted his teeth and added another ten thousand taels. Even if the clan leader was unhappy, he could still explain it.
But now it's one hundred thousand taels! He can't use his own wealth to supplement it, otherwise the clan leader will definitely doubt where he got so much money.
Besides, if he was asked to take out the one hundred thousand taels by himself, it would be like ripping out his heart, and it would be extremely painful.
"I just said four." Xia Hongji held up four fingers, his eyes widened. His hands kept shaking, as if he was about to have a stroke.
"Yes! I heard clearly just now that Mr. Xia donated one hundred thousand taels of silver. Come on, come on! Everyone, let's toast Mr. Xia first!"
Gu Chengyu sat at the table, raised his wine glass, and drank the wine in one gulp, regardless of Xia Hongji's face that was about to cry.
He would not give Xia Hongji a chance to tell him, since he was going to settle the one hundred thousand taels of silver anyway.
Gu Chengyu was filled with regret, but it was a pity that Xia Hongji only had ten fingers.
He made some calculations in his mind and realized that Xia Hongji was just a branch of the Xia family and had little authority.
Anyway, he will rush to Yingnan Mansion the day after tomorrow. Yingnan Mansion is the place where the Xia family made its fortune, and the direct branch of the Xia family lives here. When he arrives at Yingnan Mansion, how can Gu Chengyu want to transfer the direct branch of the Xia family to that lineage?
Just bite off a piece of meat.
Everyone drank wine and donated money. Logically speaking, Gu Chengyu's goal was achieved today, and the banquet can be broken up.
However, everyone saw that Gu Chengyu was only focusing on drinking and had no intention of leaving the table.
Hu Maoshen and other officials also looked puzzled. They looked at the account books in Yang Chaoying's hands. Isn't this enough?
I'm afraid this adds up to almost 300,000 taels, right? Isn't Gu Shaoqing still dissatisfied?
If we have enough money to divert the river embankment and resettle the victims, it should be enough in a short period of time.
Yang Chaoying and the others were so happy that they couldn't wait to count the banknotes. But Gu Chengyu didn't say anything, so they had no choice but to keep him company.
Gu Chengyu glanced around at everyone who was having a sweet dream, and felt that the time was almost up, so he spoke again.
"I can't thank you enough for your generous donation and your dedication to the victims and the river embankment! You are all kind people, and you have carved monuments of merit and deeds that will surely be remembered for generations to come."
Gu Chengyu planned to engrave all the merchants who donated silver taels this time. After all, they all contributed 10,000 taels of silver.
Not to mention that every business firm has received awards from the emperor, but for people who have donated so much money, some benefits must be given.
Anyway, the purpose of this money is for the people. Detailed accounts will be recorded when the time comes, otherwise the ministers in the court will get into trouble again.
"Hey, Sir, you have really embarrassed us. We donated so little money, how can we be famous forever? It's really unworthy. Besides, we don't give money to gain fame, but to help these victims. At the same time, we are worried about the river embankment.
The collapse of the river will cause our Hangtian Mansion and Changtian Mansion to be ravaged by the river, causing people to live in dire straits!"
Mr. Wang touched his swollen belly and opened his mouth as if it were covered with honey. He spoke of himself as being so upright and upright without asking for anything in return.
Yang Chaoying twitched his lips. Although he had been an official in Hangtian Mansion for a short time, he was very familiar with Mr. Wang.
There is no one else, because there is a Hedong lion in Mr. Wang’s family! Mr. Wang was actually a poor peasant boy with nothing at all at that time. Later, his father-in-law hired a wife, so he took him in.
His wife's family was powerful, and Mr. Wang had been angry for many years. It wasn't until his father-in-law passed away three years ago that he stood up and took charge.
It's just that he can't change his habits over the years, and he is very strictly controlled by his wife, and his wife happens to be a stubborn man who never plucks out his hair.
When he goes back this time, Mr. Wang will definitely be treated well by his wife.
So don't look at Mr. Wang who has five people and six people at the moment. When he goes back today, he will suffer a lot.
But now that the money is in their hands, they will never spit it out again, so Mr. Wang can only ask for his own blessings.
"Don't worry, everyone, the money collected just now will never be corrupted by court officials. Every large expenditure must have the official's private seal. Every other expenditure will be recorded in the account book and presented to the emperor for review in the future!
"
"What are you talking about, Mr. Gu? How can we not believe you? The adults have worked hard to rescue the victims and build river embankments. If we have any doubts again, we will be really arrogant." Li Yuhuan said quickly.
.
Li Yuhuan just wanted to gain favor in front of all the adults so that he could look familiar.
In fact, the money has been donated and both parties have achieved their goals. Who cares about where your money goes?
Merchants only want reputation, which is called everyone getting what they need. These imperial envoys have raised so much money, and they will never believe it if they say they won't be greedy for even a tael.
"Hey, this money must be put to practical use. Of course, every transaction must be recorded!"
If this money is really taken, won't it be hot to the touch? Their original intention is to help the victims and reduce the burden on the court.