OBS Chapter 608: Revisit
Chapter 608: Revisit
"Dad, I understand."
Song Qiuzhu nodded in agreement.
"Haha, then Zhu'er, what do you think we should give as a gift?"
Song Hongyang was pleased to see that his son was quick to understand and was willing to listen to what he said.
"Since ancient times, heroes have loved beauties. Lin Xiaofan is at an age full of vigor and vitality. Dad, I just bought a beauty from the Western Regions as a concubine a few days ago. Why not give it to him directly?"
Song Qiuzhu said after careful consideration, with a look of distress on his face. The woman had just bought it, and he hadn't enjoyed it for a few days.
However, thinking that their family would get more things after winning over Lin Xiaofan, they could just buy a few more when the time comes.
In today's age, giving away a wife is a common thing, and as for concubines, they can be said to be items of trade.
I thought Song Hongyang would praise him, but when I turned around, the other party had a frown on his face.
Could it be that I am wrong?
Song Qiuzhu was a little confused when he saw this.
"Zhu'er, Lin Xiaofan just got married to the princess, how could he possibly take your woman? If he did, you would have offended Princess Fengsheng."
Song Hongyang spoke.
Song Qiuzhu understood immediately. As a princess, Feng Sheng was not someone they could blame. And she was Lin Xiaofan's wife. If she said a few bad things about her, the Song family would be in trouble.
But apart from this, what else can you give?
"My son will learn from you. Father, I have another plan. Lin Xiaofan has made countless contributions on the battlefield at such a young age, which shows that he has a deep understanding of the art of war and is very likely obsessed with it. If we can send him some rare books on the art of war, why would he not accept them?"
Song Qiuzhu spoke up.
After hearing this, Song Hongyang nodded slightly. He was also troubled by the issue of sending gifts, but Song Qiuzhu gave him a good idea.
"Yes, I'll leave this matter to you."
Before they knew it, they had returned to the Song family. At the door, two people dressed like ordinary people were standing.
"Any news?" Song Hongyang asked.
"Pei Xi and Pei Sheng from the Pei family had already looked for Lin Xiaofan before us, and Gong Yuanliang and Gong Yuanqi from the Gong family went there after you."
One of them spoke.
Song Qiuzhu couldn't wait to ask, "Did you notice what the people from the two families took with them?"
"The Pei family father and son brought two jars of wine, and the Gong family brought a large box of items, probably gold, silver and treasures."
"Two jars of wine? Did Lin Xiaofan accept them?"
Song Qiuzhu then asked a question.
“I didn’t take it out again.”
Song Qiuzhu and Song Hongyang looked at each other. Could it be that Lin Xiaofan was also a wine lover?
This way, things become much simpler.
"Zhu'er, we didn't investigate it clearly, but the Pei family father and son got there first. So, you go collect the military books, and I'll collect the fine wine. We'll go visit again in three days."
Song Hongyang said solemnly. If Lin Xiaofan helps the Pei family deal with them, their situation will be bad.
"Okay." Song Qiuzhu also nodded.
At the same time, two more guests came to the inn, Gong Yuanqi and Gong Yuanliang from the Gong family.
Both of them were in their forties and were overweight. Gong Yuanqi had fair skin, a mustache, and a shrewd smile. He held a folding fan in his hand, but it looked a little awkward in the palm-leaf-sized hand.
Gong Yuanliang has a dark complexion, a beard, and a rude smile. Although the two are similar in size and appearance, they have completely opposite personalities.
"Marquis of Champion, this is a small gift. Please accept it."
Gong Yuanqi spoke up.
"Patriarch Gong, no reward without merit, so take it back." Lin Xiaofan shook his head.
Hearing this, Gong Yuanqi naturally insisted on giving it to him. After the two of them refused several times, Lin Xiaofan gladly accepted it.
Afterwards, after exchanging a few pleasantries in class, the Gong brothers left. They came here just to say hello to Lin Xiaofan and to establish a rapport with him.
Afterwards, more than a dozen families, large and small, came to visit, and they all prepared some small gifts, which Lin Xiaofan gladly accepted.
It was not until dusk that Lin Xiaofan closed the door and refused to see visitors.
The next morning, before he had a good night's sleep, there was another knock on the door.
"Who!"
Lin Xiaofan asked impatiently again. Didn't we agree not to disturb his sleep unless it was important?
"Sir, the Pei family father and son are here again."
The guard outside the door spoke.
Lin Xiaofan sat up from the bed. He did say that if the Pei family father and son came, don't delay.
I just didn't expect that the two of them were so fast.
"Take them to the living room and wait for a while." Lin Xiaofan immediately got up, washed and changed his clothes, and was ready in a quarter of an hour.
"Patriarch Pei, Master Pei, sorry for the long wait."
"We are sorry for coming here and disturbing the champion's rest." Pei Xi and Pei Sheng stood up hurriedly and saluted.
Lin Xiaofan glanced at the two of them. They both had dark circles under their eyes, and it seemed that they had not slept all night as they were discussing this matter.
Indeed, the Pei family only had this one chance to unify all the major families in Midnight City. Of course, the benefits of this were huge, but the risks were also huge. If it didn't work out, the Pei family would no longer have a foothold in Midnight City.
After discussing for a night, they finally reached a decision.
"The Pei family is willing to be the champion marquis."
Pei Xi knelt down and bowed. He knew that Lin Xiaofan had given him an unprecedented opportunity.
"That's good. But to prevent other families from getting suspicious, we shouldn't meet too often. If there are any problems, try to resolve them all at once." Lin Xiaofan said.
"All is up to Lord Guanjun Hou." Pei Xi thought so too. If all the families near Midnight City united to resist before the action even started, the difficulty would increase significantly.
Even with Lin Xiaofan's support, there is still a possibility of failure.
"Marquis Guanjun, let me be frank. If you want to take over all the families in the city, it will cost about 700,000 taels of silver." Pei Xi said.
"Ah?" Lin Xiaofan was drinking tea and the cup almost fell to the ground.
What does seven hundred thousand taels of silver mean?
The tax revenue of the entire Daqian last year was only 700,000 taels of silver. It would take so much to start a price war against these families.
But Pei Xi had no need to lie to him about this. Besides, the other party had been running a large family for decades, so even if the calculation was inaccurate, the deviation would not be too big.
"That's true." Pei Xi thought Lin Xiaofan didn't believe him, so he smiled bitterly and said, "Master Champion Marquis, let me calculate it for you."
"First, let's talk about the Song family. Their family is no smaller than ours. In the past few years, they made about 10,000 taels of silver a year by evading taxes and various industries in their hands. Excluding management and expenses, there are still 5,000 to 6,000 taels a year. Their family has settled here for more than a hundred years, and they have at least 200,000 taels of silver."
"Speaking of the Gong family, although it is not as big as the Song family, but..."
"Okay, okay, I get it." Lin Xiaofan stopped talking and finally understood.