12dz Chapter 217: It's Really a Salt Mine
Chapter 217: It's Really a Salt Mine
Wang Jinyi took a look at the large envelope made of kraft paper. The seal was originally sealed with wax and a seal. Now that it was opened, the seal could no longer be seen and the wax was torn into pieces.
How to do this?
Wang Jinyi reacted quickly. His grandfather had told him a few years ago not to ask about it anymore. So he sent people to basically survey the Ku Shui Mountain. Are they exchanging information?
I couldn't let my parents get caught in the middle, so I could only pretend that I had opened the letter accidentally. Then I took the envelope and said to my parents:
"Dad, Mom, please give me the letter. I'll go find grandpa and tell him that someone sent it to me and I opened it by accident..."
My father shook his head.
"Let your father go with you!"
The father and daughter hurried out, leaving behind their bewildered mother, their confused elder brother, and their curious younger brother.
My grandfather and his three cousins from the eldest family had just finished talking in the study in the front yard, and the three of them walked out of the study.
The grandfather saw his second son walking towards him through the hanging flower gate from afar. A touch of pink behind his second son made the grandfather sure that it was his little granddaughter who had arrived, so he pursed his lips and smiled and stood in front of the study door waiting.
Wang Wenzhen, the eldest son of the eldest house, brought his younger brothers Wang Wenbo and Wang Wenzhen to pay a visit to his second uncle. People from both sides greeted them one after another. When Wang Jinyi saw them, he also joined in and paid his respects to his three cousins.
It was the first time in six years that the three cousins saw their cousin so closely and they were a little stunned.
Wang Jinyi guessed that it might be because girls were not allowed to come to the front yard. As the saying goes, if a girl goes out of the front door, she is not allowed to go out of the back door. If a girl goes out of the back door, it means that the family is not strict enough in disciplining her!
Wang Jinyi knelt down and saluted his three cousins without paying any attention to them, and walked towards his grandfather without waiting for their return salute.
After entering the study, my grandfather asked:
"What's the matter? Why are you rushing here? Jin'er has something else to do, why did you have to bring her here?"
The father didn't expect that after not seeing him for six years, his old father would become like this. He protected his granddaughter without asking any questions. No wonder his daughter had to take the responsibility of opening the letter privately.
The grandfather complained and asked his granddaughter to sit down at the desk. He ignored his son's curious gaze and began to look for something in the desk drawer. Wang Jinyi knew that her grandfather was looking for math homework. Usually, she would explain an example to her grandfather and leave two homework assignments. She would check them when she had time, and it didn't matter how long it took to finish them.
Watching his grandfather take out the homework book from the drawer, Wang Jinyi quickly handed the letter in his hand to his grandfather.
Just when I was about to take all the responsibility on myself, my father told me the truth:
"Father, I accidentally opened your letter. I thought it was from Jin'er, so I came here to..."
After hearing this, my grandfather put down the book in his hand, said nothing, read the letter word by word, and asked:
"Have you all read the letter?"
Wang Jinyi shook his head, but his father nodded. His grandfather pushed the letter forward. In his father's surprised eyes, Wang Jinyi unfolded the letter, read it carefully, and asked:
"Grandfather, can you tell me who you asked to investigate this salt mine? Are you planning to develop the salt mine yourself?"
Grandfather frowned and asked, "What do you think, Jin'er?"
Wang Jinyi thought and said:
“I don’t think so. Grandfather couldn’t possibly want the Wang family to mine salt. The only possibility left is that Grandfather has already informed the imperial court.
However, if it was someone from the imperial court, there would be no need to be so cautious and avoid people!
I can’t guess it then!”
Grandfather nodded in agreement: "Jin'er guessed right."
The grandfather looked at his son who was standing there in shock and said:
"Sit down, why are you standing all the time?"
Then he looked at his granddaughter and said, "I tell you, the mineral deposits belong to the Great Qi Dynasty. If we want to live a stable life, we should not think of opening a mine privately to make a fortune, otherwise it will bring endless disasters!"
"People are born lazy, they can sit back and enjoy themselves, so who wants to struggle? But unexpected wealth is often a disaster, or even the root of disaster!"
"The rest of my grandfather can't tell you. Oh, I'm telling you, don't think about living by getting something for nothing. Study hard and be a down-to-earth person!"
Grandfather suddenly remembered something and said:
"Shuli, please go out first. I want to talk to Jin'er."
Wang Shuli looked at his father in confusion, wondering why he didn't tell his son but told his granddaughter instead. However, he still bowed respectfully and retreated to the door.
Standing outside the door, waiting quietly for my daughter to come out.
When the grandfather saw his son leave, he thought for a moment and said in a low voice:
"Jin'er, do you still remember Min De? Min De and Min You are both doing well now. That's all, you can't tell anyone else, understand?"
Wang Jinyi knew the seriousness of the matter, and nodded seriously without hesitation, then stood up to say goodbye. The grandfather watched his granddaughter leave and unfolded the letter again...
When Wang Jinyi went out, he forgot that his father was waiting for him outside the door. He walked silently along the corridor through the hanging flower gate and stood in the corridor to think about what had just happened. Suddenly, his father grabbed his hand and said,
"Be careful when you walk, watch the road, and think about things before you go back."
When they returned to the main room, the elder brother had already left with his younger brother, leaving only the anxiously waiting mother. Seeing the father and daughter enter, the mother stood up and walked to the door, asking:
"What's going on?"
My father said briefly:
"We met my father in the study in the front yard. He just said he knew and told us not to reveal a single word to anyone. We must keep it a secret!"
When the mother heard that it had nothing to do with her daughter and that her daughter was not bold enough to open a mine on her own, she felt relieved, but she still warned her daughter:
"Jin'er, you must listen to your family members in the future and don't be too bold!"
Wang Jinyi knew what his parents were afraid of. They were afraid that he would be ignorant and bring trouble to the family. So he raised his hand and swore to his parents:
"Dad, Mom, don't worry. Jin'er swears to you that she will never do anything that is dangerous to her family and clan!"
The father was skeptical about what his 9-year-old daughter said.
When night fell, the grandparents welcomed the children who had returned home. A big banquet was set up in the dining room, with men and women sitting at separate tables, separated only by a screen.
Grandfather cleared his throat before the meal began, and the children and grandchildren present were silent, all listening with bare hands:
"We haven't been together for six years. This time Wenli is coming back to take part in the imperial examination next spring. Wenzhen and Wenbo from the first house are both scholars and are coming back to take part in the autumn examination. Wenzhen and Wendong are taking part in the provincial examination this year. I hope you can bring honor to the family and live up to your efforts.
In the past few years that you were not in Xunyang Mansion, the courtyard of the second house was expanded to do things for the clan. The west courtyard in front is now a workshop, which is also cooperating with the clan. These were all done by Jin'er during the six years that you were not in the mansion.
Tomorrow at 7:00 pm, we will have dinner in the front yard. The whole family will go to look at two plots of land to build a library. All men must express their opinions. Write them down and give them to me. Oh, Wenxin will dictate them and the family will take notes. These will be kept in the archives for building the library. Think carefully about it yourself. "