Chapter Thirty: Linked Strategy

  Su Tiancheng's estimate was correct, Liu Dahua indeed accepted the task and specifically tried to probe him. Of course, the reason behind this, Liu Dahua would not say for the time being.

  There was another thing that Su Tiancheng had not fully anticipated, he did not think that Lei Wentong would not be so easily appeased. Seeing his own son and Su Tiancheng at odds with each other, and Su Tiancheng's behavior showing an extraordinary temperament, in the future if he were to pass the imperial examination and become an official, wouldn't it be a big trouble for his own son?

  Doing business for a long time, Raven Tong's greatest characteristic is to measure others by himself, so he has to make another move.

  Su Tiancheng's visit to Liu Dahua's home has spread again, and it's really strange. In Pingyang Prefecture, this period of time, Su Tiancheng's deeds have been circulating all the time, as if someone is specially watching his every move. The banditry that occurred in the first half of the year was originally the focus of everyone's discussion, but now it has become unimportant.

  Here, of course, there are scholars helping to promote it. Nowadays, scholars are not like those in the next few hundred years, they all help each other out. Whatever happens among scholars, everyone does their best to spread the word. History is written by scholars, so if you want Su Tiancheng to have a certain reputation in Pingyang Prefecture, it's really not that difficult.

  Recently, I've been feeling quite annoyed. Apart from some urgent matters outside, there are also things at home that need to be dealt with.

  After moving to Taiyuan Prefecture, he felt that something was wrong. His wife's attitude had changed greatly. In the past, when doing things or making decisions, she would consider his face and think of him as the head of the household. But since Su Tianhao went to Guozijian to study, his wife no longer had these considerations. She began to interfere with business matters. To say that his wife was not good at doing any business, from morning till night, she stayed at home, never leaving the main gate or entering the inner courtyard.

  The lady interfered with business matters, not because she had any good ideas or ways to make the Su family earn money, but because she was concerned about dividing up the family property.

  The wife's intention is that all family property should be transferred to the names of Su Tianhao and Su Tianran, including the ancestral home and land in Pingyang Prefecture. All the land will be transferred to Su Tianran's name. As a monitor student, Su Tianhao can enjoy tax exemption according to the imperial court's regulations. As for the shops and property, priority should be given to Su Tianran.

  Su Huawen would never do such a thing. There are two reasons for this.

  The first reason is that he also has a son named Su Tiancheng.

  No matter what, we must leave some property for Su Tiancheng. Otherwise, the lady will be criticized by public opinion and he himself will have to bear all the responsibility. If Su Tiancheng ends up on the streets, he estimates that he will be scolded to death by scholars.

  No one knows a son better than his father. Su Tianhao and Su Tianran, both of them are spoiled sons, this point, Su Huawen is very clear about it. The lady has such virtues, the two sons can't be good in any way, and their biggest problem is that they don't care about family ties. If they inherit all the property, Su Tiancheng will definitely be kicked out of the house.

  Su Tiancheng is good at reading books, but unfortunately this son is too weak in character. There are reasons from his wife's side, but a man should also have his own decisiveness.

  Su Huawen is busy with business every day, where does he have time and energy to discipline his son?

  Arrived at Taiyuan Prefecture City, Madam disagreed to bring Su Tiancheng along, and Su Huawen also agreed. However, he had a backup plan in place. Strictly speaking, from the perspective of studying, the Su family still has hope, which is precisely Su Tiancheng.

  The second reason is to maintain the Su family business and also for his own future.

  The division of the merchant's family is very strict, unless one has passed away or is seriously ill, otherwise, they will not divide the family in advance. If one is not very old and divides the family so early, all the property belongs to the son. If these sons indulge in extravagance and waste money recklessly, the Su family will be ruined in no time.

  Wealth easily squandered is like water flowing away, while wealth carefully accumulated is like grains of sand piled up.

  As for saying that after closing one's eyes, things behind oneself can't be managed anymore.

  Strictly speaking, madam should understand this principle. Why the hurry? It's just that next year is the county exam. If Su Tiancheng passes and becomes a scholar, madam won't dare speak recklessly anymore. After all, being a scholar is an honorable identity, one can enter the imperial court to be an official, which involves the division of family property. Madam absolutely wouldn't dare exclude Su Tiancheng completely.

  Now is a good opportunity, Su Tiancheng is just a humble official, receiving a small salary from the government every month, and has no great status. At this moment, taking action and dividing the family property would make it a fait accompli, and even if Su Tiancheng were to pass the imperial examination in the future, it would be of no use.

  Actually, Madam didn't want Su Tiancheng to come to Taiyuan Prefecture City, it was just that she thought, if this matter could be completely settled, then Su Tiancheng wouldn't know about it and definitely wouldn't make a scene, which would be embarrassing.

  Since the beginning of the year, Madam has been talking about this matter. At first, Su Huawen still explained it a bit, but now he doesn't even have the mood to explain and simply ignores her.

  Su Huawen felt a chill in his heart, Madam was really unreasonable, why didn't she consider the future of the Su family.

  Since she got married, madam has been a bit tyrannical.

  His wife's family background was not good either. Su Huawen was a businessman at that time, and it was impossible to marry a girl from an official family. The hierarchical system of the Ming Dynasty was strict, and high-ranking marriages were rare, basically not allowed, and door-to-door matching was the most important thing.

  It wasn't until after the ceremony that Su Huawen found out one thing: his wife had taken in a godfather.

  The husband's adoptive father was an official in the imperial court, although his rank was not high, he seemed to be a metropolitan official.

  As for how she became his wife, after all these years, the lady has always been tight-lipped and never mentions it.

  Su Huaiwen was originally delighted to have such a relationship, which would be a great thing for the merchant's family. However, when he brought it up and wanted to go visit this adoptive father, his wife strongly disagreed.

  As time went on, Su Huawen's thoughts changed and he began to suspect this relationship. Of course, what he thought of most was whether his wife's adoptive father had any power or authority.

  Mrs. Ke had arranged for Su Tianhao to go to the Imperial Academy to study, which made Su Huawen a bit hesitant, wanting to enter the Imperial Academy to study, just having silver was not enough, and some connections were also needed.

  It's hard for a clean official to handle family affairs, after so many years, Su Huawen gradually weakened this thought, the family business is doing well, there is silver, and the important thing is that several sons can make a good show, bring honor to their ancestors, and change their fate.

  In December, Su Huawen received an important piece of intelligence.

  The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Bi Ziyuan, presented a memorial to the throne with twelve proposals, one of which was to increase the grain allowance. This time, the increase was in the Liaoyang allowance, from 9% during the Wanli period to 12%, taken from the land tax, with an additional 3% per mu.

  Liaoyong, also known as Xinyong, was mainly used for military needs in Liaodong.

  The Su family has land in Taiyuan Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture, all under the name of Su Huawen. He himself does not have any official title, so he must pay taxes. As a result, the taxes naturally increased. If these lands were under the name of Su Tianhao or Su Tiancheng, they would not need to pay taxes.

  For this reason, Su Huawen began to consider how to dispose of the land, whether to redivide the household registration, and as for the family's shopfront, it was not necessary to consider it now, it would definitely not be moved.

  His idea was to buy arable land around Taiyuan Prefecture and put it under Su Tianhao's name, while the land in Pingyang Prefecture would be put under Su Tiancheng's name. This seemed more appropriate, as Su Tianhao was after all the eldest son of the Su family.

  However, this suggestion encountered fierce opposition from his wife.

  Su Huaiwen and his wife had a fierce quarrel, in a fit of anger, he was about to return alone to Pingyang Prefecture City to deal with this matter.

  Su Huawen is the master of the house after all, and he has made a decision. The lady temporarily can't do anything about it, watching as the conflict in the mansion becomes more and more intense, showing signs that are beyond control.

  News from Pingyang Prefecture kept coming back, and the things Su Tiancheng had done made Su Huawen feel shocked. Every day at home, his wife was cursing Su Tiancheng, saying that he was a prodigal son, and even prepared to stop Su Tiancheng's monthly living expenses of 30 taels of silver. Of course, Su Huawen disagreed with this.

  If it weren't for the daily quarrels in the mansion, Su Huaiwen and his wife would have returned to Pingyang City long ago.

  In secret, Su Huawen felt something was off. The messages he received were shocking, and it seemed like something Su Tiancheng wouldn't be capable of doing. Had Su Tiancheng undergone a huge change?

  At this time, Su Huawen received a letter from the Pingyang Prefecture Chamber of Commerce.