Green Mountain
Chapter 133 - 97, Can’t Take Back_2

Chapter 133: 97, Can’t Take Back_2

"Beat the steward to death?" Chen Liqin looked at Zhang Zhuo in astonishment, "Why go to such lengths? This steward is an old servant I brought with me from the Imperial Capital; he has been diligently managing everything for over ten years, and if not for his achievements, then at least for his hard work."

Zhang Zhuo laughed, "When the late Emperor was alive, was General Hu Guang’s contribution not big enough? He recaptured Chongli Pass, blocking the Jing Dynasty’s Iron Cavalry for more than a decade. His contributions were so great that he dared to hold military power and roar in the court. What was his fate in the end? The late Emperor first promoted Liu Wencheng to Minister of War and into the cabinet, then let Official Liu clip General Hu Guang’s wings, had his family exterminated and home ravaged. When Official Liu was cursed by everyone as a treacherous minister, the late Emperor issued an edict to demote Official Liu to return to his hometown, and he was immediately praised as a wise ruler."

Chen Liqin’s expression changed, "Lord, be cautious with your words!"

Zhang Zhuo chuckled and said with certainty, "You are a righteous gentleman, so you certainly wouldn’t go to the Eunuch Party to tattle on my misdeeds. You are just too conservative."

Chen Liqin, being called conservative, felt displeased and said with a heavier tone, "Lord Zhang does not resemble a scholar, but rather a petty person."

Zhang Zhuo responded carelessly with a bow, unconcerned, "Flattery will get you nowhere."

The cold wind was piercing.

Although Liu Quxing and the others’ hands were red with the cold, they didn’t notice, all keeping quiet as they calculated how to divide the five thousand taels of silver.

Everyone looked at each other, none willing to speak first.

In the midst of silence, Chen Ji spoke. He smiled at Liu Quxing and the others and said, "I won’t be modest with everyone. I’ll take thirty percent of the silver each year, and you can divide the rest."

Take thirty percent?

Zhang Zhuo instinctively looked at Chen Liqin. He counted, with six or seven people present, the young man of the Chen family demanded thirty percent right from the start? How would the rest divide what was left?

Chen Liqin’s brow furrowed, and he bowed to Prince Jing, "Prince, I have failed in educating my son. I will certainly take him back to the mansion for strict discipline and teach him to be modest and yielding."

"Ha," Prince Jing laughed out loud, "Mr. Chen, do not hurry. Everyone here isn’t even hasty in dividing the money, so why the rush?"

Chen Liqin was stunned.

The next moment, however, he heard She Dengke speak in a stodgy tone, "No way!"

The kiln factory fell silent once again, and Chen Liqin frowned, worried that Chen Ji would fight with the others over money, bringing shame upon their scholarly family.

But She Dengke suddenly said, "Chen Ji, we all know very well that without you, this money would not even exist. Although we did contribute, in reality, we just endured the cold for two days and did some hard labor. Such work, if you go to East Market and spend a few silver coins to find a strong man, could be done just the same. You take half, and we’ll divide the rest. Liu Quxing, what do you think?"

Liu Quxing’s face darkened, "Why are you asking me? It’s like I’m so greedy!"

She Dengke pressed on, "Then do you agree or not?"

Liu Quxing, grinding his teeth, "Agree! Agree! You big idiot, he already offered to take thirty percent, and you couldn’t just agree to that? Do you realize how much money we’re losing by not taking those extra twenty percent?"

She Dengke glared at him, "You son of a..., you finally spilled what’s in your heart!"

The Princely Heir chuckled, "Good, good, good. If we all kept it bottled up, it could lead to resentment over time. Now that we’ve spoken our minds, everything’s out in the open. Honestly, even I am envious of that sum of money. And tonight, there’s no need for Princess Bai Li to host the meal. It must be Chen Ji’s treat. The best private room at the Yingxian Building, we’ll order their famous Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea dish, and if Chen Ji dares frown, we’ll beat him up!"

Liu Quxing, grumbling with heartache, "Right, he’s taken so much money, if he dares frown while treating us, we’ll definitely beat him up!"

Chen Ji smiled, "Don’t worry, I won’t frown at all. The little monk abides by the Money Precepts and must not handle money; the Princely Heir, Princess Bai Li, Brother Mao’er, Senior Brother She, and Senior Brother Liu—the five of you can split the rest."

The little monk pressed his palms together curiously, "Then after the meal, shall we go to Hongyi Lane?"

Everyone burst into laughter, "You hedonistic monk!"

...

...

Princess Bai Li looked at Prince Jing with a smiling gaze, "It didn’t turn out to be the fight you hoped for!"

Prince Jing regretted, "I thought I’d get to see a good show. It’s remarkable that they all have the heart of a warm-blooded youth. I just hope that this heart of innocence does not get tempered into darkness by the crucible of the human world."

By this time, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin had gradually sensed that something was amiss.

Previously, they had thought that the discussion was about the distribution of the hard work in the kiln factory’s wages, but if it was only about wages, how could they afford to go to Yingxian Building and Hongyi Lane?

Zhang Zhuo looked at Prince Jing, puzzled, and asked, "Prince, how much money are they dividing?"

Prince Jing explained with a smile, "Five thousand silver taels every year."

Zhang Zhuo involuntarily took in a sharp breath of cold air, "So, the young lad from the Chen family is walking away with two thousand five hundred taels of silver by himself?"

Prince Jing nodded, "That’s right."

Zhang Zhuo slowly turned to Chen Liqin, "Mr. Chen, you’re probably not going to be able to take your boy back home."

Chen Liqin remained silent.

Zhang Zhuo continued, "The annual expenses of your entire Chen household probably don’t even amount to his two thousand five hundred taels of silver, and he’s living a much more comfortable life outside than in your Chen Mansion. Forget what I said earlier, if you want to pull him back, money won’t do it—you’ll probably have to appeal to his emotions and reason..."

Chen Liqin ignored him, but stepped forward, puzzled, and said, "Prince, five thousand silver taels is a huge sum, where does it come from?"

Prince Jing led the two men to a brick wall and had them strike it with a large hammer, "They have developed this thing called ’cement’, which sets many times faster than glutinous rice mortar, and costs only a fifth of it. My Prince Mansion has purchased the formula for this material, promising them an annual dividend of five thousand silver taels. What do you think, gentlemen? Is this formula worth it?"

Zhang Zhuo’s eyes gleamed as he picked up a bit of cement and kneaded it, asking, "The cost is only a fifth of that of glutinous rice mortar and it sets faster too? Worth it, it’s very worth it! Prince, are you saying that this substance was created by that group of young men?"

Prince Jing nodded, "Exactly, the formula was thought up by Chen Ji, and they all worked on it together."

Zhang Zhuo suddenly realized, "No wonder when everyone was dividing the money, he said he would take three tenths, but the others insisted he take five tenths, so this invention was his doing."

It was only then that Chen Liqin recalled what Chen Ji had spoken to Prince Jing about the previous day, something about a "carburization steel-making technique," and how Prince Jing had stopped him, preventing him from taking Chen Ji back to the mansion...

Inside the kiln factory, Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji in the crowd with a complicated expression.

He thought that if he just disciplined the servants at home, allowing Chen Ji to let out his frustration, and then kindly persuaded him, he would eventually be able to bring Chen Ji back.

He also thought that perhaps if he cut off Chen Ji’s silver coin, Chen Ji would obediently return home.

But now, the son he had driven out, no longer needed that home.

At that moment, Chen Ji and his companions bowed to Prince Jing, saying, "Prince, we’ve been tired these past few days. Today, we want to go back and change our clothes to celebrate, so we’ll take our leave now."

Prince Jing waved his hand, "Go on then, you have my permission to drink today."

Chen Ji responded with a smile, "Thank you, Prince."

After speaking, he hesitated for a moment and then turned to bow to Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin, "Lord Zhang, Mr. Chen, I take my leave."

Chen Liqin did not say a word.

Zhang Zhuo watched as the youths climbed onto the ox cart and slowly left the kiln factory, his eyes flickering, "Your young man seems to have found favor with the Prince Mansion. If he can become a favorite of Prince Jing, perhaps we could use him to get a piece of the action in Henan Province from the Liu family."

Chen Liqin frowned slightly, "Lord Zhang, the Liu family is ruthless. We are already quite constrained and anxious in Henan Province. Why involve an innocent young lad in this?"

Zhang Zhuo rolled his eyes, "I’m not asking him to lead a charge. What’s the rush to be protective? If you’d taken good care of him, he wouldn’t be calling you ’Mr. Chen’. What’s the use of acting with me now!"

Chen Liqin’s expression grew even darker, "You!"

However, just at that moment, Zhang Zhuo suddenly raised his hand to stop Chen Liqin’s words.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Mr. Chen, do you know if there’s been any talk of marriage for Chen Ji? My family has a daughter who has just come of age, waiting in her boudoir..."