Chapter Twenty-Three: The Wealthy Merchant of Guangzhou

  These few people who can infer the future decisions of the imperial court, except for Bo Gui, are also high-ranking officials in the imperial court. Except for these people, only a middle-aged scholar sitting in another seat had no emotional changes, and Li Mingfeng secretly remembered this person in his heart.

  He is now relying on his special status to be able to move freely in Guangzhou, but once the foreigners leave, if he wants to still have a foothold here, he must have his own backing. In terms of cunning, Li Mingfeng knows that no matter what, he is not a match for old foxes like Bai Gui. In terms of power, after the foreigners leave, it will be every man for himself. At that time, won't others be able to manipulate him at will?

  Li Mingfeng loves wealth and luxury, he doesn't want to live a life of hardship. Through these few events, he has already accumulated enough silver for the second half of his life. However, this is in feudal society, having silver is both good fortune and calamity. If there isn't matching power with the silver, then the silver is like a time bomb. Since being captured by Sima Ping of the Tiandihui last time, Li Mingfeng knew that in certain situations, no matter how much silver you have, it's useless. It was from then on that Li Mingfeng decided to establish his own power network in this chaotic late Qing dynasty era.

  Li Mingfeng was delighted to see that this person's mind and strategy were enough to rival those old foxes, thinking to himself that if he could recruit this person under his banner, even if things didn't go well in the future, at least he wouldn't be sold out and have to pay for someone else.

  After the wine party, the Governor's Mansion had already cleaned up a separate house, and Li Mingfeng was carried into the warm room by soft sedan chair. Bai Gui sent away the guests and sent someone to deliver more than 10,000 taels of silver tickets over.

  Li Mingfeng lay on the bed and had the steward of the Governor's Mansion bring in several members of the Lin family, who were not qualified to attend the banquet earlier.

  Lin Dehai and Lin Xing Sheng were still a bit unaccustomed when they came in, and even the usually bold Lin Wan'er didn't dare to breathe loudly inside the Governor's mansion. The butler led the three of them in, bowed and retreated, while Lin Dehai and Lin Xing Sheng hung their heads in fear, not knowing what to do.

  Li Mingfeng couldn't help but burst out laughing at the scene, and Lin Wan'er, who was following behind, suddenly understood something when she heard the laughter. She glanced at her father and brother, her face turning red, and pulled on their clothes from behind. The Lin family members were all about saving face, and since they had been intimidated by the officials from Guangzhou in the morning, they had been a bit stunned. Being received by the people from the Governor's office and taken to the Governor's mansion made them feel even more honored. This shock and intimidation made the two men lose their composure for a moment. It wasn't until Lin Wan'er reminded them that Lin Dehai and Lin Xingcheng realized they had lost their dignity, so they quickly adjusted their clothes and bowed to Li Mingfeng, who was lying in bed.

  "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect Mr. Li to be such a great person, I don't know if the Lin family's ancestors have accumulated good deeds, but it's really fortunate that Mr. Li has come to our humble abode." Lin Dehai said with a flattering smile on his face.

  Li Mingfeng picked up a small, intricately carved box from beside the bed, which was the gift box that Bo Gui had just given him. He opened it and took out a name card the size of an envelope, handing it to Lin Dehai: "Mr. Lin, please don't be too polite. I'm still the same Li Mingfeng as yesterday. Our relationship is based on sentiment, not social status. Take this name card with you when you go to Master Xue's residence, and he will give me some face."

  Lin Dehai knew the importance of this name tag, carefully accepted it and put it in his bosom: "Master Li's kindness to the Lin family is as heavy as a mountain. When I return home, I will set up a longevity tablet for you, Master Li, and worship it for generations."

  Li Mingfeng glanced at Lin Wan'er standing at the door, and coughed lightly: "That's not necessary, it's just a small effort. Originally, I was going to personally send you and your father to Ti Xue Da Ren's place, but as you can see, my legs are inconvenient now, and I can only let you take the name card. However, based on my relationship with Ti Xue Da Ren, he should still give me some face."

  Lin Dehai's eyes were sharp and he saw Li Mingfeng stealing a glance at Lin Wan'er, so he hastily intervened: "What you said is reasonable, with an injury on your leg, you should rest and not move around. Although the Governor's mansion is nice, it's inconvenient for you to be without a servant girl. Wan'er, why don't you stay here and take care of Big Brother Li?"

  As soon as this was said, Li Mingfeng's face lit up with a bright smile, but Lin Wan'er widened her eyes and stared at her father, seemingly unable to believe that such words could come from his mouth.

  Lin Dehai didn't give his daughter a chance to explain, and pulled his son out the door. As soon as they opened it, someone was walking towards them, and Lin Dehai almost bumped into him. At this time, Lin Wan'er also reacted, her face red as she quickly walked outside. She was an unmarried young woman, if she really stayed behind to take care of Li Mingfeng alone, all sorts of things would be unclear in the future.

  Li Mingfeng was smiling slyly, thinking of saying something to persuade Lin Wan'er to stay, when he suddenly saw the person standing at the door was the one from the banquet. He restrained his smile and used his hand to support himself on the bedside, wanting to get out of bed to welcome the guest. This move was learned from TV, whether it's Cao Cao or Liu Bei, anyone with a bit of strategy has used this trick to show respect for talents.

  The people who came didn't expect Li Mingfeng to want to get out of bed, and seeing this, they hurriedly stepped forward to block Li Mingfeng, who was making a gesture to get up: "Lord Li, you have an injury on your leg, quickly rest, what if the old wound relapses?"

  As soon as Lin Dehai saw this person arrive, Li Mingfeng got out of bed to greet him, knowing that he must be an important figure. Lin Dehai was afraid of delaying the conversation between the two 'important' figures, so he closed the door and left the governor's mansion with his children, carrying Li Mingfeng's name card.

  This time, the two finally came into close contact, and Li Mingfeng was also able to observe this person carefully. The man who came was about 40 years old, with a white face and no beard, wearing a long gown and a horse jacket. Although he didn't recognize the fabric, just by looking at the color, it could be determined that this person's clothes were very expensive.

  "In the last disturbance, in this city of Guangzhou, our family's property was preserved thanks to your care, sir. This time, foreigners entered the city, and it was all thanks to your arrangements that our family business was saved. Today, I came to express my gratitude to you, sir." Zhang Shipei smiled and bowed to Li Mingfeng, then took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and handed them over.

  Li Mingfeng took a look and was also startled. Good fellow, it turned out to be a whole 10,000 taels of silver tickets! He narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhang Shiping for half a day, making him dizzy. Only then did Li Mingfeng slowly ask: "No work no pay, although Zhang is a wealthy merchant in Guangzhou, this 10,000 taels of silver is not a small sum either. I wonder what you want me to do?"

  Zhang Shiping did not expect Li Mingfeng to be so direct. Usually, officials who take bribes would say a few polite words first and then reluctantly accept the money. He didn't expect Li Mingfeng to directly ask him what conditions he wanted.

  Zhang Shiping turned his head to take a look at the door and window, and after confirming that they were closed properly, he said in a low voice: "Since you are so generous, I, Zhang Shiping, cannot appear stingy. This time, I am prepared to make a deal with you."