Chapter 6: Money cannot be spent too little

The father and son and Uncle Hao and the butler searched with their heads down, but still didn't feel which item was eye-catching, so they had to give up.

He Lingchuan lowered his head and quietly glanced at the necklace on his chest.

This thing is different, it is no longer the original version. He repeatedly considered whether to offer it, but there was a voice in his heart reminding him: Never show it to others! This premonition was so strong that he struggled for a long time before deciding to follow his heart.

"Take these back, and the two guards are still kept by the Red and White Path. Yes, I remember the Red and White Path has a farm in the southern suburbs. It is the slack season, and there are mostly no people near the farm. Lingchuan, do you understand?... Well, go there after dinner. Do it beautifully." He Chunhua turned to Uncle Hao, "Ah Hao, you stay."

He Lingchuan took the order and went out, and Uncle Hao stayed in place.

After the figure of the eldest son of the He Mansion disappeared into the corridor, He Chunhua said to Uncle Hao: "Tell me everything that happened today, word for word."

Uncle Hao told them one by one, without adding or subtracting.

He Chunhua nodded after listening and let him go.

The miscellaneous material room was quiet, and He Chunhua stared at the leopard corpse on the table, lost in thought for a long time.

Butler Wu waited on the side until two incense sticks of time passed before reminding him: "Master, it's time for dinner."

He Prefect said "Hmm": "What do you think of this?"

"The Young Master seems reckless, but he actually responded well." Butler Wu smiled, "Those two guards shouldn't be allowed to run around and inquire in the city."

"The little bastard has also grown a bit of heart. It seems that his serious injury this time is a blessing in disguise." Prefect He exhaled lightly.

"Yes." Butler Wu said, "The Master's original concern, the Young Master's sudden change in temper, should also be relieved now."

"Yes." Prefect He said gloomily, "Let's go, let's go to dinner."

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No matter how much Prefect He misses his hometown, and no matter how much the He Mansion resembles the style of the capital, every meal has to bow to reality, eating almost the same as the locals in Heishuicheng.

After all, rely on the mountains to eat mountains, rely on the water to eat water, and rely on the soil to eat soil.

He Lingchuan was gorging on half a boiled lamb leg in front of him. This was truly boiled in clear water, at most with some ginger pieces and onion knots in the water to remove the fishy smell.

Clear stew brings out the original flavor. The lamb meat is crisp and elastic, and then dipped in pepper and spicy salt, it is really fresh beyond compare—He Lingchuan personally operated the knife, cutting a piece, dipping a piece, and eating a piece, satisfied and sighing.

The chef hired by the Prefect's Mansion only uses big-horned sheep under one and a half years old. This sheep likes to wander in the Gobi and often eats medicinal herbs such as dandelion and Scutellaria baicalensis, so the meat is mellow and fragrant, which is very different from its kind elsewhere, and is a specialty on the Red Cliff Road.

Sitting beside He Chunhua was a gorgeously dressed beautiful woman, scooping millet porridge and blowing it twice before drinking it slowly. That unhurried manner was in sharp contrast to He Lingchuan's big mouthfuls of meat.

This is He Chunhua's original wife, the mistress of the He Mansion, Ying Hongchan. She occasionally tastes a piece of lamb, but it must be picked by the butler for her, arranged in a pleasing way.

She listened to the conversation between her husband and her younger son, smiling, and occasionally glanced at He Lingchuan.

Their family of four was all here, neat and tidy.

He Chunhua was discussing the tax revenue of Qiansong County this year with his younger son.

Yes, tax revenue. One of the topics that the residents of Heishuicheng talk about with relish is that the most capable assistant of Prefect He is not a senior accountant, nor is it a think tank under his command, but his younger son, He Yue, who is not yet fourteen years old.

This little friend recognized characters at the age of three and could recite three hundred poems at the age of seven. The next year, the He Mansion sent two accountants to prison—He Yue calculated the account books when he was idle, calculated several old bad debts, and also dug out two white and fat rice worms.

By the time He Yue was twelve, in addition to his chess, calligraphy, and painting, he began to point fingers at Prefect He's government affairs... oh no, it was giving advice.

He Chunhua is not a pedantic old scholar. The younger son's proposal is clear and effective, and he naturally encourages it with both hands. He Yue is more confident as he does it, and can even share part of his father's work.

So this kind of scene is very common.

He Lingchuan did not participate in their discussion, not even a word, just enjoying the food quietly. After all, the original body was like this before.

He couldn't get a word in.

The He brothers both inherited their father's good looks. He Lingchuan has distinct features, tall and handsome, while He Yue has delicate eyebrows and eyes, more like Ying Hongchan.

But the characteristics of the two are completely different.

He Yue has the ability to never forget, while He Lingchuan, as the eldest son, will definitely fall asleep within a quarter of an hour of reading, which is more soothing than any sedative.

The only thing more annoying than "other people's children" is "my own brother is a top student."

That is really a comprehensive, no-dead-angle crushing.

"Alright, eat!" Ying Hongchan interrupted the conversation between the big and the small, "If you don't use your chopsticks, the dishes will be cold."

In fact, it was that if they didn't use their chopsticks, the dishes would be eaten up by He Lingchuan.

He practices martial arts, and his appetite is more than double that of ordinary people.

Seeing Ying Hongchan personally pick up a soft-fried river shrimp for He Yue, He Lingchuan wiped his hands with a towel: "Second, send a customs clearance document to Liu Baobao's chamber of commerce tomorrow. Their caravan is coming back soon, and I don't want them to be stuck at the Baitong Pass."

"I said don't call me Second!" It's really ugly, He Yue really hates this title, "I was just about to tell you, the Liu Chamber of Commerce has owed vehicle and horse taxes for two years. Including the overdue fines, it's about seven hundred taels. They can only get the customs clearance order after making up the full amount."

"That caravan won't come back, so they can't pay the seven hundred taels." He Lingchuan laughed, "They are all old acquaintances, just make an exception, and I will help you watch it when the time comes."

He Yue wanted to say something else, but He Chunhua spoke first: "No problem, send the document."

He made the final decision, and He Yue could only respond resentfully, and then glared at He Lingchuan.

What kind of "exception" is this? There have been eight or ten times like this. He hasn't personally watched it once, and he forgets it as soon as he says it! It's just that his father favors the eldest brother.

He Lingchuan raised his sand-thorn juice to him and smiled.

In fact, after one or two times, he understood that this is not embezzlement, but doing work for his father. After all, Prefect He is an official, and sometimes it is inconvenient for him to come forward, so he does it on his behalf.

"Speaking of which, the eldest brother's expenses for the past month have indeed decreased, only spending more than two hundred taels from the mansion. In the past, nine hundred taels couldn't stop it." He Yue counted them one by one, "However, after you were injured, you spent more than three hundred taels of silver on medical treatment, medicine, and supplements..."

He Lingchuan's heart jumped, and he hurriedly pretended to be impatient: "Got it, got it. Isn't this because I stayed in bed for too long and didn't have a chance? I know I spent less, I will work harder next month!"

The flaws are really everywhere. He didn't expect that spending less money would make him more suspicious.

Roughly calculating, one tael of silver can be exchanged for one thousand coins, and the eldest son's monthly expenses are nine hundred thousand coins!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 7 =====