Chapter 103 Old Father

Although it was the second day of the twelfth lunar month and it was in the morning again, but because of the snow yesterday, the weather was extremely cold today. Cao Yong rode on his horse and felt that the cold wind was like a sharp blade. The official road was sparsely populated, and only the figures of Cao Yong and the Wei brothers.

I originally planned to rest in Xiaotangshan Villa for one day and set off for another trip tomorrow. However, at noon, I sent someone from the capital to Beijing and said that the master had arrived. Mr. Zhuang asked the uncle to go back home as soon as possible.

Cao Yong told everyone that he wanted to go back to Beijing first, and everyone could play here and go back to Beijing tomorrow. After two days of fun, everyone decided to return to Beijing today.

Cao Yong was in a hurry to go back to see his father, so he entrusted the convoy to Seshtu and Ning Chun to take care of him, and took the Wei brothers first.

It is sixty miles from Xiaotang Mountain to Andingmen. Even if it is fast, Cao Yong and the others will have walked for more than an hour.

When I returned to Cao's Mansion, it was already Shen Chu (3:00 pm).

As soon as he entered the mansion, the old butler Cao Zhong came up to meet him. Cao Yong hurriedly asked, "Where is the master?"

"Just finished dinner, I was talking to Mr. Zhuang in the study. Should I change my clothes first or go directly to pay my respects?" The old butler saw that Cao Yong's face was a little haggard, and he couldn't help but worry: "What's this for uncle? It's clearer than two days ago!"

"It's not a big deal. I'll treat my father to my father first and then change my clothes!" Cao Yong simply sorted out the collar and cuffs and headed to the front hall.

The person waiting outside the front hall was Cao Yuan, the manager next to Cao Yin. He was the eldest son of Cao Fu, the eldest son of the South Mansion, Cao Fang's brother, and Xiaoman's uncle. He was in his forties and was slightly fat. When he saw Cao Yong coming, he hurriedly bowed: "I wish you a blessing to the uncle!"

"What are you doing for these false gifts? Master is inside?" Cao Yong stretched out his hand to help him, very polite to him.

Cao Yuan replied respectfully: "Reply to the uncle, if the master is inside, do you need a servant to inform you?"

"Yes!" Cao Yong nodded: "I'll inform you, I'll pay my respects to my father!"

The voice at the door had already reached the study room. When Cao Yin heard this, he asked loudly: "But Yong'er is back? Come in!"

Cao Yong came in. The moment he saw Cao Yin, he felt very sad.

Since the father and son parted in March, it has been less than a year since Cao Yin has gray hair and thin face, but it is very different from the past. If it weren't for his waistline and his eyes still had a bit of sharpness, it would be difficult for people to associate the old man in front of him with Cao Zhizao, who had been talking and laughing in the Jiangnan officialdom for decades.

After Cao Yong came forward to invite Cao Yin to An, Mr. Zhuang retreated.

Cao Yin asked Cao Yong to sit down and asked a few casually, but they were all mentioned in previous letters. Cao Yong asked about his mother's health and some recent situations in Jiangning Mansion. Then, there was a silent silence.

Thinking of his young brother who died, Cao Yong felt a little more pity for Cao Yin. This stubborn old man was used to presenting the strict father's poem in front of his eldest son, and he didn't know how to get along with his son at the moment. At the same time, Cao Yong couldn't help but examine himself. Since childhood, he has acted like a child and still cared for his mother, but he has never been close to this father a few times.

It was Cao Yin who broke the silence. He looked at his son with a slight look, coughed a few times, and then said, "Chiayuanzi has been handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was about September. I originally said that I would ask you for your opinion, but since your little brother went there, I have understood that only by saving my life is important. I am old, and now I only have a son like you. As long as you can be safe, I will have nothing to ask for." In the end, it was very lonely.

Cao Yong had no greed for the tea garden, and he had known that his father had given it to him for a long time, so he was not reluctant to let go. He thought of the Cao family's debt and couldn't help asking: "Father, if he paid the tea garden, then the deficit..."

Seeing that Cao Yong didn't care too much, Cao Yin's expression softened a little, he rubbed his eyebrows: "Long Sui Ye knows the difficulties of our family, so he specially gave grace. He promised that our family would operate for another three years and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would send someone to accept it after three years. In addition, he allocated 200,000 taels of silver to be considered as the cost of buying a tea garden. If we look at the income from the previous two years, even if we cannot pay off all the deficits in three years, there will be no more left!"

Speaking of this, both father and son breathed a sigh of relief. The millions of debts were carried by him, like a sharp sword hanging over his head, and now he finally had some hope.

The atmosphere was no longer as quiet as before. Cao Yong thought of the pearl from the tea shop. Seeing that the pearl was about to make some progress, even if the income was not as good as the tea garden, it would be quite considerable. It was just that it had not attracted the attention of the world. If it was well known in two or three years, would it be impossible to give up like this? Before he knew it, he expressed his confusion.

Cao Yin was not very worried, and smiled and comforted Cao Yong, saying, "The pearls are very different from the tea garden. Salt tea and other things are related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Holding them in your hands for a long time is a taboo of the court. But no matter how good the Taihu pearl is, it is just a quick product, and it can be better than Dongzhu? This kind of pearl in our family is not very useful, it is just a boudoir ornament, so there is no need to take care of it. Moreover, it is understandable that our Cao family will buy one or two industries. Therefore, you don't have to worry about it!" At this point, he paused again and looked at his son: "But the method of raising pearls is top secret, and it must not be allowed to be taken by outsiders. The daughter of the Zheng family..."

After hearing Cao Yin's words, Cao Yong naturally understood that his intention was nothing more than to accept Zheng Woxue and prevent the method of raising pearls from leaking out. However, the artificial pearls did not have much technical content. No matter how the Cao family prevented it, as long as the scale of raising pearls was expanded, it would be inevitable. As long as the Cao family's pearls were listed and attracted the attention of experts, there would naturally be people who were interested.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong suddenly thought of a one-time and for all method, which is technology transfer. Inviting big bead collectors from the north and the south to transfer their technology to ten companies for eight years at one time, wouldn’t it be like making all the benefits of pearl cultivation in the next few years in a short period of time. He became one of the pearl cultivation owners. Although his future profits were thinner, it was not so eye-catching and would not become a target.

Cao Yong told his thoughts to his father. Cao Yin looked at his son and pondered for a long time. Although he was not good at management, he heard that his son's method was indeed a good way to eliminate disasters. Seeing that the emperor was getting older, if the new emperor ascended the throne, the Cao family might not have the status today. At that time, he would not be able to hold the profitable industry in his hand, and it would be difficult to be jealous. I really didn't expect that his son would be so clear about the world at such a young age. Cao Yin didn't know whether he sighed or was happy in his heart, his son had become a responsible man.

Through this long talk, both father and son felt that they were much closer to each other. From the beginning, after Cao Yin mentioned Cao Shun, neither of them mentioned this matter again. After talking about the deficit and the officialdom, Cao Yin also asked Cao Song about his studies and Cao Yi's health. His obedient meaning was that after meeting Kangxi this time, he would take his daughter back to the south.

*

When Cao Yi, Cao Song and others returned home, it was already dark.

According to what Cao Song said, everyone rushed to the city and drove Ba to the city gate.

The two brothers and sisters went to pay tribute to Cao Yin. They were shocked when they saw Cao Yin's thin appearance. Fortunately, Cao Song was a boy, and he was careless. He thought his uncle was exhausted from the journey. Cao Yi couldn't help but shed tears. Cao Yi knew all the love for Cao Yin for his young son. Although she was a little uneasy after the incident in August, she still remembered the situation when her father was bedridden after hearing the bad news. Thinking of the scene at that time and seeing her father's aging again, how could she not feel guilty and blame herself?

Cao Yi was not the only one who felt guilty and blamed himself. Cao Yin looked at his daughter with more concern: "It's not just for his father. At that time, he was sick and didn't care about you, so he was wronged. You went north for the past few months, and your mother missed you very much. Although you have your brother here in the capital, you don't have elders after all, and you don't have much time to stay. When you meet the father, you can follow me back to Jiangning!"

Cao Yi responded with tears in his eyes, and his heart was both happy and sad. What was happy was that his father recognized his daughter and would be able to go home to see his mother; what was sad was that he would leave the capital and separate from his brother, and he would not see Baoya, Yongjia, Mrs. Jueluo and others.

*

Shifuma Street, Pingjun Wangfu Mansion.

When Cao Jia learned that Baoya Gege was back, he was a little surprised. It was already evening, so why did he come back? Thinking of his sister-in-law's temper, I was afraid that someone would be angry with him. Only after asking about it did she know about her father's arrival in Beijing.

When Baoya saw that her sister-in-law didn't know about this, she was a little surprised: "Didn't she say she arrived in the morning? Why didn't she send a letter to our mansion?"

Cao Jia smiled bitterly and nodded. Her father was the most rigid and polite. He was afraid that he would not want to walk around the palace to avoid suspicion. Although he really missed his father, she was really afraid of seeing his father. Otherwise, if his father followed the etiquette and had to meet her, how could she, a daughter, afford it?

Seeing that his sister-in-law didn't say anything, Baoya remembered something and asked casually: "Sister-in-law, Lihua has a lot of thoughts and said, "Our children have been to his village for many days, so we should return the table to the table. By the way, we will wash away Cao Yin's dust."
Chapter completed!