eurekapd Chapter 256 You have to obey today, whether you like it or not.
Chapter 256 You have to obey today, whether you like it or not.
Li Xun remained silent, thinking to himself that her words contained more of a transactional element on the surface, but she also said that whether or not he would repay her kindness if he truly achieved academic success in the future would depend entirely on his character.
In reality, it was just to give him a pretext to accept the Gu family's financial assistance.
In this way, although he would still be working part-time while studying, the pressure on his shoulders would be much less.
To make him feel more at ease accepting it, she even adopted her cousin's generational title.
After a while, Li Xun looked up and said, "I appreciate my cousin's kindness. Making a living is inherently difficult, and it is even more difficult for you, a woman, to run a business."
"We are not yet at our wits' end, so how can we accept my cousin's money?"
Lin Chang'er chuckled, "Since my cousin has already acknowledged me as a relative, why wait until we're at our wits' end to maintain our relationship?"
He stuffed the money bag into his arms and said, "Studying hard doesn't necessarily mean spending years in the library. If you have any spare time, you can help your classmates. The friendships formed during your school days are invaluable and may become a great help to you in your future career."
"Furthermore, one should not just study blindly; necessary social interactions and networking are also essential."
"They say time reveals true character! You can't blame others for respecting appearances before respecting the person; after all, they might only meet you once in their entire lives."
Upon hearing this, Li Xun's heart suddenly pounded violently. What was she doing?
This isn't about finding a powerful backer; it's about cultivating one's own influence.
And I am the one who connects the dots for her?
That's an incredibly audacious idea!
Li Xun looked at her in shock. Although he admired her courage, he still did not want her to get involved in politics for safety reasons.
Her voice trembled as she asked, "Cousin, you wouldn't be thinking of...?"
Lin Chang'er curved her lips into a smile. "Cousin, you're being frank. I won't beat around the bush either. Yesterday, you witnessed firsthand the barbaric acts of the pirates who came ashore, burning, killing, and looting."
"My Linshui Village was well prepared and thus escaped the massacre. Fortunately, Zhoujia Village was nearby and also escaped this calamity."
"But what about the other villages? My cousin must have heard about the massacre of several villages in Yuhai County earlier."
"It is too early to say that the coastal areas have suffered from pirates for too long. However, the pirates will not give up this lucrative territory on their own initiative. If the court continues to turn a deaf ear, it will eventually come to this."
The hands that I usually use for reading and writing suddenly clenched, and the shouts of my brothers in the coastal defense team fighting against the pirates yesterday still seemed to resonate in my ears.
Yes!
Many days have passed since the massacre of Xiaonan Village, and the imperial court has yet to take any action, let alone send troops to suppress the bandits.
Linshui Village has spontaneously resisted the pirates and won several battles against them.
But the pirates continued to harass the coastal areas. Unable to defeat the village of Linshui, they resorted to looting, burning, and killing people in other villages.
“Cousin…” Li Xun said in a deep voice, “Lord Wu…”
Li Xun didn't know how to put it. Given Lord Wu's background, the civil officials behind him must have considerable influence in the court. But the lack of action in the court, did it mean that Lord Wu hadn't...
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "I know what you want to say is that the civil officials behind Lord Wu are not speaking up for the coastal areas in the court."
"Cousin, there is no doubt that Lord Wu has devoted himself to Ninghai County, but the struggle in the court is not only about the people's livelihood, but also about the interests of the party faction."
"Lord Wu, he is not the leader of that faction. How much weight do you think his words carry?"
"So, my cousin wants to support the coastal faction and speak up for them?" Although Lord Wu is from the capital, he is now the local official in the coastal areas. He is one of their own. They can't rely on the capital. Once the new candidates enter officialdom, they will become new support. In the future, they may very well achieve great things.
Lin Chang'er lowered her eyelashes. There were some things that Wu Qingfeng had told her in a vague way, so she naturally couldn't tell a third party.
“Cousin, the poor should cultivate their own virtue, while the rich should help others. I don’t have the righteousness to embrace the world, nor do I have the ability to do so. I just want to do my part for this land.”
Li Xun's eyes gradually brightened, as if he had found a guiding light in his quest. He lifted his robe and bowed, "I am willing to travel with my cousin."
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "The flood caused severe damage to the entire county, including my workshop. My fellow countrymen are short of clothes and food, and I might have to donate some money to them."
"That's all for now. From now on, I'll have Liu Zi send you money every month. You can decide how to use it, cousin."
"There's only one thing: things can't be done overnight. My cousin should let things take their natural course, but ultimately he should prioritize his studies and not put the cart before the horse."
“I understand.” Li Xun smiled as well.
"Furthermore, scholars value their reputation. If they are unwilling to accept direct assistance, I can introduce their family members to work in my workshop. They can also come to do short-term work during holidays and festivals, as long as they are willing to swallow their pride."
"I've written it down."
Lin Chang'er raised her hand, "In that case, cousin, please make yourself at home."
Li Xun nodded to her, then turned and got off the carriage.
Liu Zi asked from the carriage shaft, "Miss Lin, shall we go find Master Zhu now?"
Lin Chang'er lifted the carriage curtain, "Since we're already here, let's park the carriage and take a walk around."
I arranged to meet Lao Zhu and the others at noon. Anyway, it was still early, and there were always great business opportunities near schools in the future, and school district housing was often in short supply.
Now that the floods have just passed, who knows...
Although she was unwilling to take advantage of the situation, she thought it would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity.
Liu Zi smiled and said, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Miss."
After driving the carriage a little further, we parked it and found a teahouse where we ordered two bowls of tea and sat down.
Suddenly, a commotion arose from ahead.
"Don't run, Gu Ziyan, don't let me catch you, or I'll break your legs..."
Lin Chang'er looked up at the sound and saw a familiar face pulling a scholar-like person of similar age running towards her.
The scholar being led around, with a bruised and swollen face and a limp, must be Gu Ziyan, the one being chased.
Behind them, several scholars, also dressed in Confucian robes, followed closely.
“Hey, girl, isn’t that your maternal uncle?” Liu Zi craned his neck and asked.
"Let's see what's going on," Lin Chang'er said.
"Alright!" Liu Zi stood up and stopped Li Xun and Gu Ziyan who were passing by the teahouse.
Liu Zi reached out and gave Li Xun a bear hug. "What a coincidence, Uncle-in-law, we meet again so soon."
Li Xun felt as if he had run into a wall, and was about to apologize and continue running away.
Recognizing Liu Zi's voice, he was overjoyed and pulled Gu Ziyan behind Liu Zi, saying, "Brother Liu Zi, Chen Zhao and his men want to rob Brother Ziyan."
Before Liu Zi could ask any further questions, the student named Chen Zhao arrived with several followers and servants.
Chen Zhao was plump with a round face and fair skin. After chasing him all the way, his face was flushed and he was panting heavily, supporting his knees.
After a long pause, he pointed at Gu Ziyan and said, "Gu Ziyan, you have to comply today, whether you like it or not, or I'll..."