Chapter Sixteen: The Lin Family Father and Son

  The sun was already high in the sky when Li Mingfeng got out of bed. After getting down, he saw a basin of clear water on the washing table in the house.

  After washing his face and wiping it with a dry towel, Li Mingfeng finally took stock of the room he had slept in for the night. The only furniture in the room was an old bed that could be considered an antique and a desk. However, judging from the craftsmanship of the bed and desk, this household must have been a wealthy family at one time, but now it seemed to have fallen on hard times.

  Pushing open the door, taking a look around, it's clear that this family is quite well-off, with a three-section courtyard and three rooms in each section. In rural areas, this is considered an extremely wealthy household.

  "Master, you're up?" The young man who opened the door yesterday ran over from somewhere, his respectful attitude made Li Mingfeng feel very comfortable.

  "Lin Sheng you got up is very early."

  Simple flattery made the young man named Lin Sheng's face flush with excitement, repeatedly saying "not early, not early". After a few polite words, Lin Sheng finally remembered his purpose for coming: "Sir, my master invites you to have dinner in the main hall."

  Li Mingfeng did not expect that his casual remark would make the young man so excited, it seems that the hierarchical concept of class society is too deep, and he dare not say anything polite anymore, directly letting Lin Sheng lead the way.

  The place where they had dinner was in the house where Lin Dehai and Lin Xing Province stayed yesterday. As soon as they entered the house, the father and son saw Li Mingfeng coming in and hurriedly stood up to bow and make a courtesy, with words of praise on their lips. The two men asked Li Mingfeng to take the first seat, while they sat down beside him.

  "Mr. Lin, please don't be so polite, it's really too much for me to handle." Li Mingfeng couldn't bear this heavy courtesy.

  Lin Dehai smiled awkwardly and also knew that some were too enthusiastic, so he didn't dare to flatter Li Mingfeng again, and directly asked Li Mingfeng to start eating first.

  Look at this table of wine and food, I know that the father and son must have spent a lot of money. More than ten dishes are all very similar dishes. Although Li Mingfeng is very hungry, out of politeness, he still eats slowly, chatting with the father and son from time to time.

  After drinking a few cups of wine, the three people were all in high spirits and no longer restrained themselves, opening their stomachs to eat with gusto.

  After drinking for three rounds and eating dishes with five flavors, Li Mingfeng also got a lot of words out. It turned out that Lin's father and son were also famous figures in more than a dozen villages nearby.

  The Lin family's ancestors served as a prefect during the Jiaqing period and left behind this not-so-large but not-too-small mansion. However, their descendants were not worthy of their ancestors, not even producing a single scholar-official, and due to the face of being literati, they refused to farm or do business, resulting in the decline of the family's fortunes.

  Luckily, relying on the dozens of hectares of land passed down, every year eating some rent is also richer than those who live a life of toil. Lin Dehai only had an older brother left in his generation, he studied eight-part essays all his life, and at the age of 32, he became a scholar, later participated in several county exams, but none of them were successful.

  This old fellow is quite sensible, knowing that he has no hope of passing the imperial examination, and not insisting on reading books to death. He opened a school, and the wealthy landowners from nearby villages sent their sons to learn a few characters. As a result, he actually earned a few taels of silver for food, drink, and expenses. In recent years, he also bought some servants and maids to serve him, gradually taking on the appearance of a wealthy family from his hometown.

  His son Lin Xing Sheng also inherited the glorious tradition of the Lin family for several generations. At the age of 28, he hadn't even passed the Imperial Examination to become a scholar, but he was still young and followed his father in reading books every day.

  Li Mingfeng was sizing up the father and son, while they were also probing Li Mingfeng's identity. In the Qing dynasty, wearing a square scarf, boots, blue shirt and jade belt was the attire of a scholar, which meant one could become an official.

  Li Mingfeng didn't have any scholar's identity, upon hearing the two probing him, he directly changed the subject and mixed it up, also casually inquiring about the situation in Guangdong.

  It turned out that Guangdong was actually under the control of the Qing court, and Dacheng State only occupied a few counties. The Tianping Army just fought and ran away without occupying any cities. Hearing this, Li Mingfeng also felt much more at ease. After all, as an outsider in the Great Qing, his only foothold was Guangzhou. If it was too chaotic within Guangdong's borders, he would have to expend some effort to return to Guangzhou.

  "What is Brother Li planning to do in Guangzhou now?" After talking for half a day, Lin Dehai finally stopped calling himself "old master", but this man over 50 years old insisted on calling him "Brother Li". Li Mingfeng couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to let it be.

  "A few friends of mine are officials in Guangzhou and I went there to join them." Li Mingfeng was indeed telling the truth.

  Upon hearing this, Lin and his son immediately lit up with excitement and hastily asked: "I wonder what position your esteemed friend holds in the Guangzhou government?"

  Li Mingfeng said that the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Bai Gui, was his father's brother. I reckon these two would be shocked senseless. Thinking back to when Bai Gui introduced himself as a Guangzhou official, he directly said: "My good friend is currently serving as a Tongzhi in the Guangzhou government."

  The reason for choosing this official is that the Guangzhou governor was introduced to him by Bai Gui, and at that time, there was an official called Tongzhi next to the governor. Although Li Mingfeng wasn't quite clear about the size of this official, judging from the situation at the time, it was estimated that he was just a deputy governor, and a governor was only a fourth-rank official, so this Tongzhi could be no more than fifth-rank at most.

  In Li Mingfeng's impression, he was a small official, but in the eyes of Lin and his son, it was different. The two listened to Li Mingfeng's words, and their faces, which were already full of smiles, shone even brighter.

  After finishing the meal, Li Mingfeng took out a ten-tael silver ingot from his bosom and put it on the table, saying to Lin Dehai: "Mr. Lin, I have troubled you for a long time, today is still early and I need to hurry on my journey, so I will take my leave first."

  Lin Dehai grasped the silver in his hand, hesitated for a moment, furrowed his brow, and still handed it to Li Mingfeng: "Brother Li, how can you do this? As Confucian disciples, we should help each other. Moreover, Brother Li is a scholar-official, and being able to come to my humble abode is already giving me face. How could I not recognize the courtesy and accept your silver?"

  Li Mingfeng saw his expression and knew that Lin Dehai was reluctant to part with the silver. Ten taels of silver could support a scholar for half a year, and Lin Dehai was not wealthy to begin with. He had hired servants and maids just to save face, but in reality, this meal was made possible by the villagers' pork, chicken, and duck, which were borrowed on credit using his reputation as a scholar.

  "Although I am a poor scholar, these ten taels of silver are not a large sum, so please accept them, sir."

  When Lin Dehai heard Li Mingfeng say this, he hesitated for a while before putting the silver back in his pocket: "Brother Li has the distinction of being a scholar and the friendship of a high-ranking official, getting a real job is just around the corner, so these trivial ten taels of silver are naturally beneath your notice."

  Li Mingfeng saw that he had accepted the silver and was about to take his leave, but noticed that Lin Dehai seemed to have something unsaid. He opened his mouth and asked: "Mr. Lin, is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

  Lin Dehai's thoughts were exposed, and he said with some embarrassment: "Brother Li is right, I do have something to say to Brother Li, but our friendship is limited, and Lin Mou is really embarrassed to speak up."

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