Good luck with koi carp

Chapter 157 Parents Come to Beijing
Chili took a rare leave today, and with her taking a bath tomorrow, she had exactly two days off.


With something on her mind, she got up before dawn. Fu Lu heard the noise and quickly came in with a basin of warm water to help her young lady wash and dress.


It's June now, the summer heat, and the weather is very hot, so Chili doesn't wear too much. She only wears a satin apricot-colored embroidered orchid chest-length skirt, covered with a pure white gauze large-sleeved shirt, and her head is like a waterfall. Fu Lu's hair was skillfully combed into cute and playful bunny ears, and was simply embellished with a few small pearls and a beaded silver hairpin. The whole person was pure and elegant without losing the unique liveliness and liveliness of a girl.


Chili is naturally beautiful and does not need any makeup. Fulu only helps her apply some moisturizing cream for daily maintenance, and then applies a thin layer of pink lipstick on her lips to enhance her entire complexion. Brighten it up.


After dressing up carefully, Chi Li couldn't wait to take Fu Lu and Feng Wen to the carriage that had been waiting at the door. Feng Wen acted as the driver, raised his whip, flicked it, and with a crisp sound, the horse pulling the carriage The son stepped forward and pulled the car forward.


They walked out of the city gate all the way, and after about two hours of driving, they finally arrived at another town near Kyoto.


Due to the newly opened canal pier here, more and more pedestrians are coming and going. Now the streets are busy with people coming and going.


As the carriage approached, people on the road saw the carriage with the official wooden sign hanging in front of it and immediately moved to both sides so as not to block the official's way.


Afraid of accidentally bumping into someone, the carriage did not move very fast in the downtown area. It finally left the downtown area and walked along the avenue to the edge of the pier, where it found a place to stop.


Judging from the situation, this car was specially brought to pick someone up.


Yes, today is the day when the cargo ship on which the Chi family and his wife arrived arrived at the dock near Kyoto.


Afraid that his daughter would miss her, Chi Xiucai and his wife wrote a letter to her daughter almost every time they docked after boarding the ship. In this way, as the couple got closer and closer to Kyoto, the letters they sent would be delivered. And faster and faster.


Chi Li estimated based on this that her parents should arrive here in the past two days, so she specifically asked her superiors for a day off and came over in advance to wait for her parents.


Fortunately, the leader who is responsible for approving leave for cabinet officials is Deputy Prime Minister Liu, so after confirming that the reason for leave for his subordinates is legitimate and reasonable, the leave is easily approved. Otherwise, Prime Minister Xing, who regards Chi Li as an eyesore, Chili might not only not get a holiday, but she might also have to be called over and reprimanded.


This is not the first time Chi Li has been scolded by Prime Minister Xing.


Ever since Shilang Lu chose to secretly defect to the Empress, and began to expose to the Empress evidence of Prime Minister Xing's accepting bribes, manipulating official business, and instructing his subordinates to steal people's wealth and wealth, the Empress' forces began to intensify their efforts to impeach Prime Minister Xing. , causing the other party to be a little unhappy recently.


When this person is angry, in order not to make himself angry, he always has to find a punching bag to vent his anger on.


As luck would have it, Chi Li, a minion who was blatantly placed in the cabinet by the empress, became the opponent's punching bag.


Originally, Xing Cheng had a disdainful attitude towards Chi Li and was too lazy to deal with her personally. He only asked his subordinates to watch her every move and give her some shoes from time to time.


However, now that the other party finds some reason from time to time, he will hand Chili over to be scolded. Sometimes the words he says are quite unpleasant, but because Chili, as a subordinate, cannot do anything, he can only endure it.


Of course, on the surface it is.


In fact, insulting Xiangrui is quite offensive, and it is even more serious for this old guy to insult Xiangrui in person.


Therefore, from the perspective of the Empress's secret guard, every time Prime Minister Xing scolded Chi Li, something bad would happen after he returned home, such as choking on his tea or falling while walking. Some of his subordinates who helped him do dirty things caused some things that could not be exposed to be sent to the empress by various mysterious coincidences.


During that time, the Empress almost woke up laughing while dreaming.


Although she felt sorry for Chi Li for thinking this way, she still hoped that Prime Minister Xing could die more in front of Chi Li.


She has now seen with her own eyes that as long as the enemy is unlucky enough, they can sit back and watch them slowly destroy themselves without any effort.


Maybe you also know that it is a bit unethical to do so.


Afterwards, the empress found a way to give Chi Li some compensation. It had become commonplace to find excuses to verbally praise and give some gold and silver rewards. Now Chi Li made this carriage a gift from the empress. It was not very luxurious and was more suitable for ordinary officials. It is used daily, but no matter what it is, as long as it is labeled as Yuci, it will be quite special in the eyes of caring people.


Therefore, the fact that Chi Li is the empress's most popular person has been further confirmed.


Later, during the fierce battle between the Empress's Party and Prime Minister Xing's Party, the Empress' Party also eliminated several of Prime Minister Xing's cabinet members, leaving some vacancies. Chili, a celebrity favored by the Holy One, happened to be in It has become a matter of course that people on duty in the cabinet are deliberately recommended by caring people to fill vacancies.


This matter has not yet been completely determined, but in fact anyone with a discerning eye can see that with the empress here, Chili's promotion this time is a certainty.


On the surface, Chi Li was lucky enough to be promoted this time because she had the right time, place, and people, but overall it was mostly luck, which meant that she had made a mistake.


In fact, there was an element of luck, but the real reason was that she secretly did a good job for the empress and got the reward she deserved.


Even though Minister Lu was considered an outcast by Prime Minister Xing, since this man was able to become a second-rank minister in the court, he was once one of Prime Minister Xing's confidants. He controlled various matters related to Prime Minister Xing's party. The evidence of the crime and the inside story are numerous.


Chi Li was able to use his identity to secretly instigate the opposition through Lu Shuwen, which can be said to have made a great contribution.


But this matter cannot be stated openly for the time being, and the empress cannot blatantly use this to reward Chili, so she can only do it in a roundabout way.


Coincidentally, they knocked down several officials from the cabinet, one of whom was originally a fifth-rank official in the cabinet.


The difference between the fifth rank and Chi Li's current sixth rank is only one level. As a clear member of the Empress's party, she also followed the chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven when the empress was currently gaining power. She was promoted by one level, which is not eye-catching.


Because this time the promotion was a collective promotion for the empress’s party members.


Naturally, the Empress would not just watch as Prime Minister Xing found someone else to fill the vacancies in official positions that had been taken from him. They were all promoted by his own people to occupy the positions.


Among them, Chi Li is just one of the "place-holders", and is not as conspicuous as those officials who were promoted to important positions of real power all at once, or who were promoted to several levels at once.


Such an arrangement is actually a way of protection and favor shown by the empress to Chi Li.


She is taking this to tell Chi Li that as long as she is loyal to her and does things well for her, then the current small reward is just the beginning. When Chi Li makes more contributions to the empress in the future, no matter what glory, wealth, high official She can give her all the power.


And these are things that others cannot afford and cannot promise.


So from beginning to end, Chili's choice was only the empress.


This is both an encouragement and a knock.


Chi Li was a smart person, so she would naturally understand, so she became more cautious in doing things after that, and even began to secretly use the name of the empress in the cabinet to beat people who were not completely loyal to Prime Minister Xing.


It won't be able to draw people into the Empress's camp all of a sudden, but it will at least make them stop keeping silent about the bullying of Prime Minister Xing and his party. Some memorials that should have been presented to the Empress have now begun to appear on her desk. , this is Chi Li’s proof to the empress.


Not only does she love the empress, she also has a purpose.


Even if the current position is low and the effect is not large enough, at least it is not just a simple mascot.


In addition to good luck, Chili is also capable and skillful. As long as she is given a chance, she will naturally prove herself with her strength and convince others of her rapid promotion.


"Miss, is that the master's and his wife's ship?"


The thoughts immersed in memories were suddenly attracted by Fu Lu's voice. Chi Li looked in the direction of Fu Lu's finger and saw a medium-sized cargo ship slowly approaching on the dock.


What they recognized was not the boat, but the owner standing on the bow.


This person is an acquaintance who is not very close to Chi Li, Xue Zhangming's son.


Due to the friendship between their parents, Chi Li is still young, so he calls him Brother Xue, and his wife is also called Sister-in-law.


As I said before, Brother Xue was a businessman, but the scale was not that big at first. Later, after Xue Shibo passed the scholar examination one after another, the Xue family became completely prosperous.


It’s just that Brother Xue is not good at studying, and he has already taken the road of business. It is unrealistic for him to change his career, so the couple will continue to work in their old business, and without the burden of their father, they can even get a job. With the protection and help of Juren's father, the couple's career became more and more prosperous, and now they have their own cargo ship and caravan.


On this trip to Beijing, Chi Xiucai mentioned in his letter that because he had too many things to move here, he went out of his way to do some favors and asked the Xue family's cargo ship to deliver them to them when they were transporting goods to Beijing.


Of course, the shipping fee that should be paid will definitely be paid, and the Xue family also gave a relatively favorable price.


So now when Chili saw Brother Xue standing on the bow of the boat, she knew that her parents had arrived.


He quickly got up and got off the carriage, and walked quickly towards the cargo ship that was slowly docking.


Chili had to take her status into account and was not allowed to shout in public. Fulu beside her had no such scruples. She jumped up, shouted, and waved, for fear that others would not see them: "Uncle Xue, we are here. , Uncle Xue!"


Since Xue Zhangming's son has already established his own family, married a wife and had children, he can no longer be called a son. However, his father is still alive, so he cannot be called a master. The servants like Fu Lu can only treat him as a master. The title of uncle.


Fu Lu's loud voice immediately attracted the attention of Brother Xue on the bow of the boat. He lowered his head and was a little surprised to see Chi Li coming.


Even if he is just a businessman, he also knows that today is not the day for officials to take a break. The girl from the Chi family who has become an official will appear here. She can only ask for leave in advance, but the other party's calculation of the time is too accurate. They We really arrived at the Kyoto port today.


Knowing who the other party came here to see, Brother Xue greeted Chi Li from a distance and nodded, then turned around and entered the cabin. After a while, the figures of the Chi family and his wife hurriedly appeared on the deck, and they were seen standing under the boat. The daughter was immediately excited.


"Pear, pear!"


Mrs. Xu waved to her daughter in a rare gaffe. She was anxious to think about it, but the wooden bridge to disembark had not yet been built, so she could only wait patiently.


After finally being able to get off the boat, she lifted up her skirt and ran faster than her husband. She immediately hugged her daughter, who was walking towards her, into her arms and couldn't stop sobbing.


"We haven't seen our Li'er for a few days. You've lost a lot of weight. Didn't you eat well? You're still wearing such thin clothes and you're not afraid of catching a cold..."


Chi Li felt warm in her heart as she muttered words of concern for her daughter, and smiled and told her mother to read them, even though she actually hadn't lost any weight at all, and had gained two kilograms because she had grown taller. Today It's so hot that no matter how little you wear, you won't feel cold, but the tenderest love from a mother always makes people unable to help but immerse themselves in it.


The mother and daughter hugged and made out for a long time, and then they let go of each other amidst Chi Xiucai's jealous coughs.


Chi Li turned to look at her father with a sweet smile: "Dad."
"Hey, long time no see, Li'er has grown taller."


Chi Xiucai's eyesight was still precise, and he immediately saw that his daughter was taller and taller than before. The reason why she was taller was just a small reason. After all, Chi Li's body was already an adult, and no matter how tall she was, she would only be one or two inches taller. Regarding the matter of centimeters, what Chi Xiucai actually wanted to express was the change in his daughter's momentum.


If I had to describe it, it would have more official power.


This was an aura cultivated by living in officialdom for a long time. Neither Chili nor Fu Lu and others who were with her every day were aware of the changes in her. On the contrary, her parents, who had been separated from her for a long time, immediately recognized their daughter. changes in the body.


However, these are all in a good direction, so they just lamented that their children are promising, and did not say anything more about it.


No matter how things change, their daughter is their daughter. This is an unchanging fact.


"We have a lot of stuff. Fortunately, your Xue Shibo's son also wants to transport goods to Kyoto for sale, so they can help us transport the stuff to Kyoto. Have you made arrangements at home? Don't wait until your father and I arrive. But there’s not even a place to sleep at home.”


Before Mrs. Xu arrived home, she had already begun to worry about family affairs. Chili listened and replied: "Don't worry, I have arranged everything in advance. If you are really not satisfied, you can sleep in my room."


In the end, Chi Li arranged for her parents to live in the study temporarily. After all, there were too many things piled up in her room, including some gifts from the emperor, which were really difficult to move.


Anyway, after her parents arrived in Kyoto, the family was about to find a new place to move out. They wouldn't live in the small courtyard for a long time, so it was okay to make do with it for a few days.


Knowing that Brother Xue and sister-in-law had to instruct the workers to move goods and were busy, Chili's family did not bother them too much. They only exchanged a few words with people and said hello before taking Chili's carriage back to Kyoto.


The luggage and other items brought by the Chi family couple will be delivered to their door by the Xue family caravan, so there is no rush to move them home now.


On the carriage, the two boxes of luggage that were brought up in advance only contained the more important gold and silver items, as well as the Chi family's clothes and other personal items.


Knowing that the master, his wife, and the young lady had not seen each other for a long time, they must have a lot to say, so Fu Lu wisely went outside the carriage and sat with Feng Wen outside where the carriage was being driven.


It happens to be one on the left and one on the right, so it is quite spacious for two people sitting side by side.


The other servants of the Chi family who came to Kyoto along with the Xue family caravan were also able to take care of the Chi family's luggage.


This carriage is not big enough to accommodate many people.


Taking into account the time it took, the return trip would take at least two hours, which would be four hours if converted. If Chili and her parents hadn't simply had lunch, they would be hungry by now.


"Didn't you prepare some food in the car?" Mrs. Xu asked her daughter.


Chi Li smiled naively: "I forgot."


She is not a person who is very good at taking care of others, and she is loved by her parents here. When she is around them, there is no need for her to take care of such small things. When she is away from her parents, she still has Mama Wang and others to take care of her, so Chi Li Considering that she had to bring her own food to pick up people, she really couldn't think of going there.


Even the meal they had for lunch was because they were hungry while waiting for others, so they asked Fengwen to go to the food shop by the pier to buy some to fill their stomachs. They didn't buy much, just enough for three people.


"We haven't left town yet. Mom and dad, are you hungry? Why don't you go buy some more now?" Chi Li opened the car window and asked facing the lively street scene outside.


"No, your mother and I ate on the boat. Let's go back and eat again." Chi Xiucai shook his head. He was eager to return home and was unwilling to waste time on other trivial matters.


After Mrs. Xu confirmed that her daughter's maid had brought enough water, she no longer asked her to prepare food.


In fact, she asked this mainly because she was worried that her daughter would be hungry.


"How do your parents arrange things at home?" Thinking of the long journey, Chili took this time to ask about trivial matters at home.


Chi Xiucai looked at his wife.


Xu, who is most familiar with things in the family, replied: "After some exchanges of sales and purchases, our family now has [-] acres of fertile farmland, [-] acres of medium farmland, and [-] acres of dry farmland. Now these fields except one In addition to the one hundred acres in your father's name, the rest are all in your name. In addition, mother also rented the tax exemption of four hundred acres of land in your name and gave it to your father's family and mother's family respectively. Two hundred acres on each side, and [-]% of the harvest will be used as rent. My mother's family will pay Qing five years' rent at a time, and your father's family will pay three years' rent at a time."


Although the harvest in the field varies from year to year, in fact, experienced farmers who have planted a lot of land can roughly estimate the harvest in the next few years. As long as there are no natural or man-made disasters in the middle, the difference will generally not be too much.


Therefore, for the Chi family's request to pay rent in advance, both parties can estimate a reasonable price and pay accordingly.


Another thing that needs to be explained first is that according to the regulations of this dynasty, anyone who has the title of Jinshi will be exempted from taxes on one thousand acres of land.


Therefore, including Chi Xiucai's quota, Chi Li's family can have a total of [-] acres of tax-free land.


As for whether you can increase the amount of tax-free land after becoming an official, this is out of the question, because officials have a salary. Unless you are specially rewarded by your Majesty, normally speaking, even if a person becomes the prime minister, he will only have at most One thousand acres of land can be exempted from taxes.


I heard that this rule was set by the founding emperor in order to avoid serious land annexation in the future, which would shake the foundation of the country. For this reason, the founding emperor also deliberately increased the salaries of court officials in order to allow the officials to have enough money. Maintain the family's livelihood.


However, the human heart is always insufficient.


Even though it was strictly prohibited on the surface, secretly the wealthy nobles still used various means to obtain large amounts of land without paying taxes. It was not uncommon for officials to engage in corruption and bribery in order to obtain more money.


This is also something that the Empress can't stand.


In particular, Prime Minister Xing's group is quite rampant. Hearing that the Prime Minister's residence has an inexhaustible supply of all kinds of rare and precious treasures, which are more abundant than the national treasury, it is no wonder that the Empress regards them as a thorn in her side and will definitely kill them. This huge cancer must be removed.


The Chi family's wealth is limited. At least in a short period of time, their family cannot buy so much land, and the family's livelihood must be maintained. It is impossible to say that all the money will be used to buy land. Therefore, after careful consideration, the Xu family After discussing with Chi Xiucai, he decided to rent out part of the land tax exemption in his daughter's name in exchange for money that would allow the family to live in Kyoto.


After all, their family had spent a lot of money buying and selling land some time ago. If they didn't find a way to earn some money back, they would be in straitened circumstances for a while after they moved to Kyoto.


It's okay for the couple to suffer, but Ms. Xu doesn't want her daughter to suffer, so she spent as much money as possible on this trip.


Knowing that her mother was explaining everything to her in detail, Chi Li expressed her attitude directly: "Since I said before that it is up to my parents to make the decision, then you can arrange it however you want. My daughter will never be too talkative."


"Mom, of course I know you don't care, but I still need to explain these things clearly to you, lest you don't understand and cause misunderstandings in the future." Mrs. Xu gently patted the back of her daughter's hand and continued to talk about her arrangements.


"After deducting what is used by your family, there are still 250 acres of tax-free land under your name. These amounts are not used to rent to others in Kyoto, or for our family to see if we can buy it here in Kyoto. These fertile fields are all made possible."


It is much more cost-effective to rent to others tax-free here in Kyoto than in their hometown. The rental price alone is higher, which can be raised to about [-]% to [-]%. However, such an arrangement in their hometown actually takes care of the Chi clan. The intention of people and Xu's natal family is to avoid people saying that they are rich but ignore the clan, so they can't charge too much rent.


And if they can buy some fields on their own in Kyoto, that would be better. However, the fields here in Kyoto are not so easy to buy, and secondly, the price may be too high, so this matter still remains. You have to think slowly and long-term.


Not in a hurry anyway.


Chili could just rent out the remaining tax exemptions in his name and charge him a few years' rent. When the lease period is up and his family has money to buy land, they can then take back the quotas.


Until you buy enough land for your family, these quotas will remain idle. An extra year will be wasted. It is better to use it first to make some money back.


The same is true for the places rented out from their hometown. If one day the Chi family has money to buy more fields and the lease period there comes again, they will naturally have to be recovered.


"In that case, why don't the daddy tribe rent it for a few more years?"


Chi Li didn't think about this problem for a while. Wouldn't this opportunity to pay less tax mean more advantages in a few more years?

"The people on your father's side are not happy to pay more." Mrs. Xu glanced at her husband and said bluntly without hiding anything from him.


It turns out that the Chi family asked for free tax exemption, and even a tax exemption of [-] acres of land, but how could the Chi family be willing to do it?

Even if Chi Xiucai agrees, Xu does not agree.


Originally, they only charged [-]% of the rent, which was already considered a very favorable rate. Others were charging [-]% ​​to others. In order to take care of their clan members, their family had already asked for half of it. These people were still so unsatisfied that they even went to extravagance. At that time, Mrs. Xu was almost so angry. Just don't rent it.


Taking these places to Kyoto can help her daughter earn more money.


Later, the head of the Chi clan took the lead, and people from the Xu family came to discuss it together before reaching the current agreement.


The Xu family said they would pay the full rent for five years, but the Chi family said they were poor and had no money, so they only rented for three years.


Chi Xiucai knew that his clan members wanted to take the initiative to give them two more years for free, but how could he be willing? Regardless of the fact that these places were obtained by his daughter's hard work in the scientific examination, even he himself had reserved all the places in the first place. It’s for your own use, and you don’t give any of it to the clan at all?

From here we can see Chi Xiucai's attitude towards his tribe.


He doesn't mind trying to win over his clan members when it's convenient. He usually does the same thing and doesn't expect rewards from his clan members. But if the clan members are too greedy and touch the fundamental interests of his family, then don't blame him for falling out.


Nowadays, the most promising people in the entire Chi family are their father and daughter. It's not like the other clan members didn't send their children to school, but in the end they learned a lot, and the most powerful one was just a boy student.


Tong Sheng is not a serious figure, how can he compare with his daughter who is already an official, so in order not to offend Chi Li and Chi Xiucai, even if the Chi clan members want to benefit from the Chi family by virtue of their status as clan members, they do not dare to do so. Too much.


Moreover, the Chi family has a clear-minded patriarch watching over them. Under the triple suppression, they cannot make any splash at all.


Because of her status as an only child, and because her parents have been separated intentionally or unintentionally over the years, Chi Li has no feelings for the Chi clan, so she has no objection to her parents' arrangement.


Anyway, her parents would not let her suffer.


"What about our own land and those shops?" Chi Li asked about her own property.


"Your father and I have arranged for reliable people to manage those things. It will be the same as it was in the past. It's fine. It's just that in the future, we need to send people there regularly to deliver a year's harvest money, or your father should work harder. I go back every autumn for inspection, so I can feel more at ease.”


"As for my private school, I inherited it from an old classmate who has also been teaching for many years. He is very capable and can teach the students in the private school well." After Chi Xiucai finished speaking, he added, "In addition, a Jinshi monument has also been erected. Okay, it’s in the ancestral hall of my hometown. If you have a chance in the future, you can go back and have a look."


"Okay." Chi Li responded. As for whether he will return to his hometown in the future, to be honest, it depends on whether he has the opportunity.


While chatting, the family of three arrived at their home in Kyoto. They got off the carriage. Everyone was exhausted and stopped talking. They went back to their houses to freshen up and rest.

(End of this chapter)