Chapter 1070: A Favor of a Meal Must Be Repaid, a Grudge of a Glare Must Be Avenged

Freedom Point and Freedom City were the most important transit stations for Atlantic trade.

Ships from the West headed south and arrived at Freedom Point, where they gained complete freedom. No one would be under the jurisdiction of the church or the court anymore. Here, they could head south to trade in the vast West Africa, or they could head west from Freedom Point, following the ocean currents to the Brazil Governor's Office and the New World.

This was the key to Atlantic trade.

This place was originally discovered by Portuguese explorers, who established a port here as a transit station for supplies. Soon, it became a gathering place for pirates, without any law or order. The slave trade was very prevalent here.

And England breaking Spain's monopoly on Atlantic trade started from Freedom Point and Freedom City. After the English explored the direct route from England to Freedom Point, it became very difficult for Spain to stop England from eating this bowl of sea trade rice.

And Da Nang became the Freedom Point of the East. Its formation and Freedom Point were similar.

Both were important trade transit stations, both had countless ships replenishing here, both had countless desperadoes gathering, and both relied on a huge economic entity for ships to go to sea, etc. Such similarities led to their convergence.

Philip could tolerate Freedom Point because in Philip's view, the chaos of Freedom Point was part of maintaining his maritime hegemony.

Terrifying pirates became the stumbling block for ships of various countries to pass. If only Spanish ships could pass through Freedom Point, then no one could challenge Spain's maritime hegemony.

This wishful thinking was very good. When the Invincible Armada was invincible in the West, all pirates had to give Spanish merchant ships face and dared not easily offend Philip. No matter where it was, reaching into a hegemon's pocket was a very dangerous act.

As the Invincible Armada was no longer invincible, Spain's treasure ships became fat meat in the eyes of pirates. Plundering treasure ships began to become frequent.

Annam, Brunei, Siam, and other places, sea pirates led by Lin Daoqian, did not dare to attack Ming merchant ships, because the Ming navy was strong, and after the South Seas Navy was established, they dared even less.

This kind of cowardice was very wise. The Annam Five Lords and Seventy-Two Surnames had just closed Da Nang, not allowing Ming merchant ships to enter, and allowed Annam ships to attack Ming merchant ships, which provoked the Emperor's thunderous anger. The Ming Dynasty sent 200,000 troops to punish the disobedient.

When plundering merchant ships could not be carried out, the huge profit of the slave trade became the key to the pirates' survival. And this old-fashioned way of "passing on help" (trafficking), bringing people out, was truly very secretive. These 7,000 victims were all confirmed by the Shipping Department as volunteering to go to sea, mostly under the pretext of relying on relatives in the South Seas.

This kind of concealment was not exposed until the Ming Dynasty conquered Annam and captured Lin Daoqian's nephew, Lin Mao.

Wan Wenqing's memorial described the atrocities of these sea pirates in detail: imprisonment, beating, humiliation, rape, dismemberment, disembowelment, etc., using all kinds of methods to make people live in extreme fear and eventually submit.

The Wanli opening of the seas must eliminate these filth and crimes. The navy was very willing to undertake this mission. This was in line with the military spirit of reporting to the Son of Heaven and saving the people, and also proved the value of their existence.

The Ming navy was truly very expensive. The court spent so much silver to support the Songjiang and South Seas navies. The navy had to do something; otherwise, the court officials, wealthy merchants, and the people would all be suspicious of whether it was necessary to spend such a large sum of silver to support the navy.

Zhu Yijun's imperial decree was passed down, passed to Songjiang Prefecture, and headed south.

The former merchant general of the Songjiang Ocean Trade Firm, Sun Kehong, the Third-Class Pioneering Earl of the Ming Dynasty, shook his swivel chair and walked out of the prison in Songjiang Prefecture. Since stepping down as merchant general, he knew very well that he had lost his value. He originally wanted to retire in peace, but suffered an unmerited disaster.

"Master." The new merchant general of the Ocean Trade Firm, Chen Jingyi, came to the front of Songjiang Prefecture, saw Sun Kehong, and hurriedly stepped forward to grab Sun Kehong's swivel chair.

Sun Kehong pushed Chen Jingyi's hand and said, "Jingyi, you are confused. I am just a broken-down old man who has been thrown into prison; others avoid me like the plague, so why have you come?"

Almost no one came to pick up Sun Kehong. Everyone was avoiding him because they wanted to avoid suspicion. Sun Kehong had three adopted sons, but none of them came. Only Chen Jingyi brought a few people.

"My sixth son is a poor commoner. In this world, I only recognize one word: 'righteousness.' Repaying kindness is righteousness." Chen Jingyi said with a smile while pushing Sun Kehong. Chen Jingyi's original name was Sixth Son. The big name "Jingyi" was given by Sun Kehong when he became the manager of Songjiang Cotton Spinning.

Chen Jingyi said this very thoroughly. On one hand, he was indeed grateful for Sun Kehong's promotion; on the other hand, he had no foundation in Songjiang Prefecture and had to rely on the Sun Mansion to stand firm. The moment Sun Kehong recommended him to become merchant general, he had long been tied to Sun Kehong's honor and disgrace.

Sun Kehong didn't care if Chen Jingyi was acting. If he acted for a lifetime, it was real. Living so clearly, it was better to be a little confused.

"Those three adopted sons of yours didn't come. I'll have someone deal with them. Unfilial things, keeping them is useless, and they also stain Master's reputation." Chen Jingyi whispered.

These three adopted sons, in Chen Jingyi's mouth, looked like objects that didn't need to be cared about, but in this Shanghai Beach, they were also big figures who could make the ground shake by stomping their feet.

"You, you, still this temper. Always talking about dealing with them. This is the government office, not on the sea or on a boat!"

"And what is your status now? Sun Sun Shangzong. Shouting about killing and fighting, what does it look like." Sun Kehong pretended to be angry and lectured Chen Jingyi. He wasn't really angry. He had already retired and didn't have the qualification to be angry. He was released from prison, and the three adopted sons didn't come to pick him up. This was "people go, tea cools."

Fortunately, Chen Jingyi had a conscience and came to pick him up, making him not so embarrassed. 【10

Fortunately, Chen Jingyi had a conscience and still came to pick him up, so he wouldn't be quite so embarrassed.

"Master's lesson is correct." Chen Jingyi revealed a smile. That he had today was naturally due to his own struggle, but of course, it was inseparable from Sun Kehong's promotion. He remembered these kinds of lessons, and every single one had benefited him greatly.

Chen Jingyi's business acumen was all learned from following Sun Kehong, especially in dealing with the imperial court; this was not something others could teach.

Chen Jingyi often led ships to trade at the three Governor's offices in the East Pacific. He was an uncompromisingly ruthless character, his hands stained with blood—the blood of Red-Haired Barbarians, barbarians of the East Pacific, and various indigenous people and Han Chinese. Most of those who went to sea were desperate fugitives, and there were often troublemakers jumping out on the ships.

Being ruthless and never showing mercy when striking was his characteristic.

"What did the three of them do?" Sun Kehong inquired. Chen Jingyi wanted to deal with his three adopted sons; "unfilial" was a pretext, but clearly, some things had angered Chen Jingyi, and it was better for Sun Kehong to ask clearly.

"Taking a little silver would be one thing; the silver in the firm belongs to everyone, and only what you put in your own pocket is your own. But the silver they took was not clean." Chen Jingyi told him everything that had happened after Sun Kehong stepped down.

Silver that wasn't clean meant smuggling and illicit trade, and most of it was "white goods." However, Chen Jingyi recently discovered that these three had been dealing in some "black goods."

"People are truly never satisfied. Are white goods not profitable enough? Is sugar not more profitable than opium? How foolish." After hearing these stories, Sun Kehong shook his head and said, "Take the silver back, but don't kill them. In the Great Ming, you have to pay with your life for killing someone. After you take the silver back, hand them over to the prefectural office; Prefect Hu handles matters quite fairly."

"Yes." Hearing Sun Kehong say this, Chen Jingyi breathed a sigh of relief. If Sun Kehong had really told him to kill them, he would have stained his hands with blood in the heartland of the Great Ming, and it would have been impossible to explain.

Taking the silver back and sending them to prison was a way to let everyone save face.

Sun Kehong had reminded Chen Jingyi many times that in the heartland of the Great Ming, to be a powerful and influential figure, one must first abide by the law. This was also the first principle of dealing with the yamen: do not let those who hold power feel provoked or offended.

"The imperial court recently issued an order to plant trees. I intend to donate 500,000 silver taels in the name of the Ocean Trade Firm; that should be enough to plant about six million trees." Chen Jingyi pushed Sun Kehong onto the carriage and continued.

"And in the name of my Sun family, donate another 200,000 silver taels. Planting trees is a good deed." Sun Kehong sat in the carriage, his expression finally relaxing as he said, "This is also an ancestral law."

"Ah?" Chen Jingyi asked sluggishly, "Planting trees is also an ancestral law?"

"Yes." Sun Kehong said with great emotion, "Many people in Emperor Taizu Gao's family starved to death, and the Emperor himself only survived by eating persimmons. After the Emperor ascended the throne and founded the Great Ming, during the Hongwu reign, he planted more than 50 million trees in the vicinity of Nanjing."

"In the 23rd year of Hongwu, Emperor Taizu Gao ordered that those with ten mu of land should plant one mu of trees, those with a thousand mu should plant two hundred, those with two thousand mu should plant four hundred, and so on."

"There was even a large tung tree garden at the Xiao Ling Mausoleum, which was one of the most important sources of tung oil during the Yongle reign."

"It really is an ancestral law." Chen Jingyi was not a scholar; he didn't know these things, and in fact, most scholars didn't know them either. Sun Kehong only knew this past because after his leg was broken, he had nothing to do at home and read many books, and his reading was broad and varied.

"Actually, Emperor Chengzu Wen also planted trees." Sun Kehong said with a smile, "During the Yongle reign, while constructing the northern capital, the Emperor planted a thousand-mile pine forest in the Yanshan Mountains and forbade axes from entering the forest."

"Later, no one managed it, and this thousand-mile pine forest was chopped down by people. His Majesty is determined to achieve a restoration, so naturally, he is following the old Yongle precedents. Is he perhaps digging up the thousand-mile pine forest from the old papers and planning to rebuild it?"

It was a logical guess: the Emperor had seen the magnificent scenery of the thousand-mile pine forest in old papers and planned to recreate the past. After all, the Wanli Restoration was meant to be a comprehensive comparison to the Yongle Golden Age.

Chen Jingyi shook his head and said, "That's not it. Planting trees in the capital is the business of the Shuntian Prefecture yamen. This time, it is mainly about planting trees in the northwest."

"The dying wish of former Shaanxi Governor Shi Maohua was to plant poplar trees in the Western Regions. Suiyuan Governor Pan Jixun submitted a memorial requesting three million silver taels to plant fast-growing poplars. The imperial court had the silver, but the wealthy families of Xitucheng were willing to donate, so His Majesty approved it."

"As for Songjiang Prefecture, there is only a quota of 800,000 silver taels. Then I will add another 100,000 silver taels myself to make up the 800,000, so as not to make things difficult for Prefect Hu."

The imperial court needed a total of three million silver taels. The wealthy families of Xitucheng had taken on 800,000, and Songjiang Prefecture had to take on 800,000. Chen Jingyi had originally intended to contribute 500,000 in the name of the firm, but after what Sun Kehong said, he wouldn't look for anyone else; their firm would take on the entire 800,000.

"Planting trees is good. Those who come before plant trees, and those who come after enjoy the shade; those who come before cut down trees, and those who come after suffer in the sun." Sun Kehong said with great emotion, "Do you know why Emperor Gao and Emperor Wen wanted to plant trees? Because the barbarian emperors were just no good. When Emperor Gao first arrived in Nanjing, the entire city was bare, without a single tree."

"When the wind blew, sand flew and stones rolled, dust filled the sky, and for days one couldn't see the sky. How could that still be Jiangnan?"

This was also the reason Zhu Di planted the thousand-mile pine forest in the northern capital. At that time, looking out, the northern capital didn't even have the shadow of a tree; they had all been harvested.

"A wind blows once a year, from spring until winter; lighting oil lamps during the day, and blocking doors with dirt at night; nine out of ten mountains are bald, and red mud flows everywhere; wind rises and yellow sand flies; ten years and nine failures; day is as dark as the extreme night, and people cannot distinguish each other at close range." Sun Kehong hummed a nursery rhyme; this was describing Shuntian Prefecture during the Yongle reign.

He made a gesture of the number eight and said, "In the 13th year of Hongwu, Emperor Wen was enfeoffed in the Yan Prefecture. At that time, the capital was still called Beiping Prefecture. Emperor Wen personally took people to look at it, and in the entire territory of Beiping Prefecture, there were only 8,000 mu of residual forest."

"How much?" Chen Jingyi sat up straight abruptly and asked blankly.

Sun Kehong sighed, shook his head, and said, "In such a large capital, there were only 8,000 mu of residual forest. At that time, eighteen sand villages appeared in Shunyi and Changping, and to this day, these eighteen sand villages are still exempt from land tax. It was also starting from the 13th year of Hongwu that Emperor Chengzu Wen began to plant the thousand-mile pine forest, and this planting lasted for more than forty years."

"Yanyun was lost to the hands of barbarians for hundreds of years and was ruined to such an extent. You think the capital was always the prosperous scene you see now? Bald mountains were the northern capital at that time. Moving the capital to the northern capital was truly moving to a bitter and cold place."

"Why did the barbarians want to cut down the trees?" Chen Jingyi asked, full of confusion.

"For pastures, to raise sheep and horses." Sun Kehong gave Chen Jingyi the answer. During the short reign of the barbarian Yuan, which lasted less than a hundred years, they began to fell forests to create more pastures, a process that lasted for a hundred years. The trees in Nanjing were also all cut down.

"Therefore, Han emperors are still better. After all, it is their ancestral land, and they cannot bear to see it completely ruined."

"The people's suffering under tyrannical rule has never been worse than at this time." Sun Kehong actually didn't understand the prevailing public opinion among the Jiangnan literati that mourned the Yuan. The Yuan was indeed lenient, but what was there to miss about such a dynasty that left no descendants?

The people under the rule of the Yuan were in such pain and distress under tyranny, exhausted from running for their lives; there was never a time more serious than that. The places where trees should have been planted had all become pastures, and the people didn't even have firewood to cook their meals. Where was the peace and prosperity?

If it's not their own thing, they don't know how to cherish it. These barbarians who entered the Central Plains did nothing but things that would leave no descendants.

The more books he read, the more he felt that this public opinion in Jiangnan was exactly as Li Yashi had said: they hadn't seen it, so they had unrealistic fantasies, always feeling that the Great Ming court managed things too broadly.

"And then?" Chen Jingyi asked in a low voice.

"The tung tree garden at the Xiao Ling Mausoleum was burned clean by a fire, and the thousand-mile pine forest in the northern capital was completely felled during the Chenghua reign." Sun Kehong's expression was very, very poor. Around the 9th year of Zhengtong, the eunuch Wang Zhen and the ministers in the court, because of a huge deficit in the court's finances, sold the thousand-mile pine forest to powerful and influential families.

Regarding the relationship between man and nature, there had been sufficient discussion as early as the pre-Qin period among the hundred schools of thought. Pre-Qin philosophy taught: follow heaven, follow earth, follow the four seasons, follow nature, emphasizing harmony between man and nature. Following heaven leads to prosperity, while going against heaven leads to destruction—this was the logic.

For example, Xunzi said in "The Rule of a King": "Forests, mountains, marshes, and weirs should be prohibited from being harvested at certain times, and no taxes should be levied" (meaning do not harvest without any restraint or limit).

For example, Guanzi had several articles such as "Earth Numbers," "Light and Heavy A," "Mountain Power Numbers," and "Mountain Country Tracks," describing the importance of mountains, rivers, marshes, and forests. Guanzi even stated bluntly: "If a ruler cannot carefully guard his mountains, forests, marshes, and grasslands, he cannot be the king of the world."

When an emperor is a ruler, if he cannot guard these assets of mountains and forests and cannot harmonize with the way of heaven, he cannot become the king of the world.

The actions of the Great Ming at the beginning of the dynasty emphasized harmony between man and nature, but later, as the finances suffered huge deficits, whatever could be sold was sold, and it could no longer be managed.

Sun Kehong highly approved of planting trees; this was all accumulating family property. Even if future descendants were unfilial, they could still afford to squander it for a few more generations.

"The Great Ming now is truly good. Look at the trees along the road; they are growing so happily." Sun Kehong looked at the trees along the road outside the carriage window and said from the heart.

Many of these trees along the roads in Songjiang Prefecture were planted by Wang Qian when he was in Songjiang Prefecture. Before the Wanli Reform, these trees wouldn't have been able to grow this big before being cut down. "Growing happily" meant growing very lushly. Although it was already deep winter and the trees had no leaves, the bare branches still made people feel very at ease.

Xunzi liked to talk about the methods of the three kings, the thousand-year method, and the hundred-year method; these principles all seemed stiff. How could they be as reassuring as these visible and tangible big trees?

When society is generally in disorder, people will reach out to nature without restraint. When nature is completely ruined, it also signifies that society has lost order and is a sign that a great change is about to occur.

Trees and fragrant grass can tell the rise and fall of a dynasty.

Chen Jingyi sent Sun Kehong back to the Sun residence before choosing to leave. As for the three adopted sons, Sun Kehong couldn't be bothered to manage them anymore. Chen Jingyi's methods were ruthless, and these three adopted sons would likely suffer a lot. The most uncomfortable thing would be that they were still alive, but the silver was gone.

Three days—it only took three days for Chen Jingyi to use a speed that left people no time to react to take back the silver from these three adopted sons. Not only that, but he also made them owe a mountain of debt.

All the shops, cotton spinning, and weaving and dyeing workshops operated by these three adopted sons were under Sun Kehong's name.

Chen Jingyi didn't even need to use any dirty means, like putting a sack over someone's head and beating them, or using coercion and bribery. He just had the firm's accountant check the accounts, and he turned their foundation upside down.

At first, these three adopted sons intended to resist, but Chen Jingyi didn't indulge them. He directly gave the evidence of their tax evasion to the Songjiang Prefecture Tax Inspection Office. With one "death warrant" from the Tax Inspection Office, they immediately became honest and could only honestly pay back the money.

Much of the money had been spent on debauchery, so they had to borrow money to pay it back, which was how they ended up with a mountain of debt.

On the fourth day, Chen Jingyi sent these three adopted sons to the Songjiang Prefecture prison. The two charges of smuggling and illicit trade were enough to deal with these three adopted sons cleanly.

On the 8th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the Laba Festival, Chen Jingyi went to Sun Kehong's home again. He came to invite Sun Kehong to go to the Baolian Nunnery in Pudong County to distribute porridge. This had been a tradition of the Sun family since the Sun family turned things around in the 5th year of Wanli.

During the winter, the Baolian Nunnery, with the support of the Sun family, would distribute porridge to the poor and suffering laborers. On Laba Day, it was the head of the family, Sun Kehong, who went to distribute the porridge personally.

Reputation is always the best protective talisman for powerful and influential families. As for silver, as long as there is a reputation, there is plenty of silver.

Chen Jingyi waited outside the Sun residence gate and suddenly felt his cheeks go cold. He looked up and saw that the sky was filled with sleet. It was another cold winter; he wondered how many people would freeze to death in Songjiang Prefecture this year.

"Chen Jingyi, you insubordinate house slave! Did Big Brother, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother provoke you again! How could you treat them like this! I, Sun Chengzhi, want to tell you today that you cannot touch the people of our Sun family!" A thirty-year-old man rushed out of the Sun residence, charged in front of Chen Jingyi, raised his hand, and pulled forcefully at Chen Jingyi, intending to slap him.

Chen Jingyi reached out, grabbed Sun Chengzhi's hand, and with a pull and a push, pushed Sun Chengzhi to the ground.

Chen Jingyi was a sailor; if he didn't have some martial arts skills, he would have sunk to the bottom of the sea long ago. Sun Chengzhi was a playboy; did he want to move him? Ten Sun Chengzhis wouldn't be enough for Chen Jingyi to beat up.

This was Sun Kehong's biological son, Sun Chengzhi. The "Big Brother, Second Brother, and Fourth Brother" he spoke of were the adopted sons who had been sent to prison by Chen Jingyi. Sun Chengzhi also had an older biological sister and two younger biological brothers. In terms of long-term interaction, their personalities were almost no different from Sun Chengzhi's.

Sun Chengzhi's move shocked everyone present. The four strong men brought by Chen Jingyi blocked the reckless Sun Chengzhi.

Sun Chengzhi chose to act directly because Chen Jingyi did not have the surname Sun. Sun Chengzhi felt that those three adopted sons were the power Sun Kehong left in the firm to check and balance Chen Jingyi. Chen Jingyi dealing with them was a house slave offending his master.

Those three adopted sons also had the surname Sun; they were collateral branches of the Sun clan adopted under Sun Kehong's name.

Chen Jingyi glanced at Sun Chengzhi. A waste is a waste; even his recklessness was lacking. He didn't speak, just stood quietly, listening to Sun Chengzhi's clamoring.

Sun Kehong appeared in front of the door. Chen Jingyi hurried forward, took the wheelchair, and said in a low voice, "Today is Laba; the porridge distribution duties have all been arranged. Master, be careful, we are crossing the threshold."

"Dad! He is just a house slave! A house slave! A dog that has entered the hall, and he actually dares to bully our Sun family!" Sun Chengzhi was still clamoring. A cold light flashed in Sun Kehong's eyes. Chen Jingyi was very familiar with this cold light; it meant that Sun Kehong was truly angry and intended to kill.

Sun Kehong had been a business leader for so many years, and his hands weren't exactly clean. Once out at sea, it was a lawless place. Throwing someone into the sea meant death, and there would be no evidence to prove Sun Kehong had ordered it.

Fortunately, this was his biological son. If it had been an outsider, in a few days, Sun Chengzhi would likely have met with some accident. Money is also a kind of ability to dominate others, which is power. There are plenty of people who would flatter Sun Kehong for his silver.

It was just that the Great Ming law hung high, and Sun Kehong rarely did such things.

"Liuzi, there was an article a while ago saying that 95 percent of the families of successful candidates in our Great Ming don't last past three generations. Do you know why?" Sun Kehong ignored his clamoring son and asked Chen Jingyi after getting into the carriage.

"I don't know. I come from a poor background. His recklessness today really doesn't count for much. Since I was little, I've suffered many more grievances than this." Chen Jingyi was telling the truth.

In his hometown, he was forced by local ruffians to crawl through their crotches and was pressed into a cesspit because he had no brothers and his father died early.

When he was an apprentice at the weaving and dyeing workshop, he was pressed into a corner and beaten severely, and the only copper coins he had on him were snatched away. He ate cold water-soaked chaff buns for a whole month before he waited for his pay.

Today's matter, for his forty years of life, really didn't count as much of a grievance.

If he hadn't met a noble person like Sun Kehong, he would still be rolling in the mud. So what if he was as clever as a demon? Getting ahead didn't just depend on talent. In a household like the Sun family, he wouldn't even have been qualified to be a house slave before.

"How can that be the same? You are now Chen, the Business Leader." Sun Kehong said with great worry.

"Then I am still Master's disciple." Chen Jingyi said with a smile.

Sun Kehong sighed and said, "These children of mine have lived in false praise and respect since they were young. Take Sun Chengzhi, for example; he doesn't understand at all where that praise and respect come from. He doesn't know that it is because he is Sun Kehong's son that he receives such praise and respect."

"In this false boasting, he was quickly alienated by vanity. He feels he is special—'I am different from the ordinary.' I am a noble by birth, and everyone must revolve around my ideas to do things."

"The alienation of vanity, 'I am different from the ordinary,' leads to acting without any taboos, not following any rules, and lacking sufficient awe for any person or thing."

"It would be a wonder if the family business didn't fail when left to such a person."

"Do you know? Sun Chengzhi never realized that this Songjiang Ocean Trade Firm is the Great Ming's, the imperial court's, and Songjiang Prefecture's firm, not the Sun family's firm. He doesn't understand this point and treats this public firm and company as his own."

"After I die, just spare their lives."

Sun Kehong was pleading for his biological son. Given Chen Jingyi's past character of being vengeful for the slightest grievance, Sun Chengzhi would likely not have a good death. Now Chen Jingyi was a Business Leader, a big shot, not the bullied lackey of the past.

Sun Kehong had no choice. If any of his sons had been a bit more promising, he wouldn't have had to rely on an outsider. The position of Business Leader of the firm was not easy to hold; it required a heart that was clever in all directions.

"A kindness of a meal must be repaid; a grievance of a glance must be avenged." Chen Jingyi shook his head and said, "What belongs to the Sun family will not be missing a single cent. When Master is no longer here, I will properly discipline them on your behalf and let them live in wealth for a lifetime."

The kindness of a meal must be repaid, and the grievance of a glance must be avenged—this was Chen Jingyi's rule for doing things and being a person. Sun Kehong had shown him immense kindness, and he would definitely repay this kindness.

"What if Sun Chengzhi doesn't listen to you?" Sun Kehong thought for a moment and asked.

Chen Jingyi said very seriously, "Then I will beat him up. When Master is here, if he hits me, I will let him hit me. When Master is no longer here, he still wants to hit me? I will definitely beat him up severely."

Sun Kehong was finally reassured. Chen Jingyi kept his word. He really intended to take revenge; he just needed to do nothing, and there were plenty of scammers who would trick Sun Chengzhi until he was penniless.

In the officialdom, there are people who hunt down honest officials; among the common people, there are plenty of people who hunt down these arrogant and ignorant powerful families, and they often succeed.

Sun Kehong didn't fear his descendants living in debauchery; he only feared them wanting to prove themselves. No matter how large the family fortune, it would be squandered completely.