No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 96
"Once upon a time, in Song State in the pre-Qin period, there was an old man who raised monkeys. He liked monkeys and raised them in groups. The macaques could roughly understand what the old man said. The old man may be gifted, or he may be staying with monkeys. After a long time, I also understand the minds of the monkeys.

"In order to raise monkeys, this old man often saves his family's rations to satisfy the monkeys' appetite. After a long time, the family naturally lacks rations.

"He had no choice but to reduce the food provided to the monkeys, but he was afraid that the monkeys would be angry and would not obey him, so the old man first deceived the monkeys and said: 'I will give you three acorns in the morning and four in the evening. Is that enough for you?"

"The monkeys were so angry when they heard this, the old man immediately changed his words and said: 'I will give you four acorns in the morning and three in the evening. Is it enough for you?' After hearing this, the monkeys were very excited. Happily lying at the feet of the old man, docile to him...

"Lord County Magistrate, Miss Xie, you were born in an academy and have read a lot of scriptures. You must have heard this little story about gossip and change. What do you two think of this story?
"Is the monkey breeder in the Song Dynasty kind-hearted and wise? As for the group of monkeys, you can't completely laugh at their stupidity, because humans and monkeys are different, and monkeys are like this by nature.

"The important thing is not to forcefully reason with them and explain that there is no difference between going on and off and going on and off, and no monkey will listen, but to adapt to their nature and resolve this small conflict when getting along, so that the monkey breeder and the macaques Only then can we get along well... that's the most important thing, isn't it?"

In the box on the second floor of Yuanming Building, Liu Ziwen looked over a table of delicacies, smiled and looked at the two people opposite, and slowly finished a short story, with some emotion in his mouth:

"Liu saw this story when he was studying before, and he was very impressed. It is really not easy for the monkey breeder in the Song Dynasty. There is really nothing new under the sun. Our ancestors have taught us the truth."

"Oh? Really?" A handsome young man said with a smile: "Master Liu's ancestors were all religious. Why is it a little different from my ancestors?"

Xie Lingjiang said crisply: "Maybe senior brother and he are not the same old ancestor."

Liu Ziwen's smile remained unchanged: "Really, what's the difference between the county magistrate's ancestor and Liu's?"

Ouyang Rong rested their elbows on the table, and rested their chins lightly on the backs of their fingers.

Under the eyes of Xie Lingjiang beside him and Liu Ziwen on the opposite side, he leaned forward slightly, smiled and nodded:

"It's a coincidence, I also happened to hear a story about a monkey breeder from my ancestor. But it seems to be a little different from what Master Liu told."

"Oh? What's the difference, please tell me, my lord."

"The story I heard was not in the state of Song in the pre-Qin period, but in the state of Wei next door.

"There used to be an old man who raised monkeys in Weiguo, but he was different from the monkey raiser in Song Dynasty. Can roughly understand what he said.

"Early in the morning, the old man would line up the monkeys in the open space in front of his house, and start a meeting to assign tasks. He let the old monkey be the team leader, and led the macaques to the back mountain to pick acorns, and then returned after dark. Every time the old man who raises monkeys will draw one-half as tax to support himself.

"If any monkeys are disobedient, refuse to give or hide acorns, or if the daily income of acorns is insufficient, the old man will beat the monkeys with an iron whip.

"The monkeys are all afraid of him and dare not disobey him.

"However, one day, the group of monkeys who went up the mountain to pick fruit met a wild monkey. The wild monkey asked curiously: "Are all the fruit trees on this mountain planted by that old man?" The group of monkeys said: "No, they grow naturally. of.'

"The wild monkey asked again: 'Then without the old man, can you not pick the fruit?' The group of monkeys said: 'No, anyone can pick it!'

"The wild monkey asked again: 'Then why do you rely on him and pay him tribute?' Before the words were finished, the monkeys immediately understood.

"That night, the group of monkeys waited quietly until the old man who raised the monkey fell asleep, climbed out of the railing, distributed the stored food, lit the courtyard with a fire, and ran into the mountains happily, never returning. In the end, the monkey breeder of Weiguo starved to death."

After Ouyang Rong finished speaking with downcast eyes, he raised his head and smiled and asked:
"Master Liu, you are familiar with the story of raising monkeys. Have you ever heard of this story? What do you think of the story I told you?

"From this point of view, monkeys don't seem to be that stupid. They understand the truth. After all, the more correct the truth is, the simpler and even obvious it is.

"Also, the nature of this monkey seems to prefer being in the mountains. How can Master Liu adapt to it? How does Master Liu think the monkey breeder can resolve this 'little conflict' and get along with the monkeys in harmony?"

The young county magistrate paused, smiled and waited quietly.

Xie Lingjiang saw Liu Ziwen on the opposite side after listening to the elder brother's story, his face became gloomy, and now he stared at the elder brother expressionlessly, without speaking.

The atmosphere fell silent.

Ouyang Rong suddenly smiled and said:

"Master Liu's ancestors don't seem to have taught this...

"It's okay. In the Zhou Dynasty, there are many people who have never heard the story of the monkey breeder in the Wei state. The most widely spread is the story of Master Liu, the monkey breeder in the Song Dynasty. Don't belittle yourself. I also heard it from hearsay. .”

He also showed some emotion:
"It's also very impressive. The monkey breeder in Weiguo is living a very good life. He can get half of the tax without doing anything every day.

"However, the ending is quite interesting. It seems that there are still new things under the sun. Our ancestors raised a group of monkeys to create so many stories. Monkeys are hard to serve. Be careful, maybe there will be some new tricks in the future." Come out, Master Liu, don’t you think so?”

The young county magistrate asked with a smile, raised his wine glass, toasted Liu Ziwen, who was facing him silently, and drank with his head raised.

The lady of the Xie family next to him was smiling, and she picked up the wine jug with a thin mouth in her hand, and filled him another small cup.

"Okay, it's a good story. Thank you, the county magistrate, for your enlightenment. Liu has learned a little bit more today."

Liu Ziwen suddenly nodded and clapped his hands.

He reached out, grabbed the wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and said with a long breath:
"Okay, as a show of thanks, the porridge shed can be closed."

Xie Lingjiang nodded lightly: "It should have been like this long ago."

Liu Ziwen didn't look at her, stared at Ouyang Rong, nodded and said: "Liu has shown his sincerity, I don't know if the road that the county magistrate gave up is wide enough."

"Actually, I can do anything, it mainly depends on how big Master Liu's appetite is. You can point out for me."

"Okay, then Liu doesn't hide it anymore. A digong gate, plus the closure of the porridge shed and the Yuying Hall, hope to exchange for the admission ticket of Zhayiqu. Our Liu family will vote for this amount."

Liu Ziwen stretched out a finger towards Ouyang Rong.

The latter glanced at it and nodded: "100 million guan?"

"..."

"It's 100 guan." Liu Ziwen frowned and said, "Don't be kidding, magistrate, [-] million guan. Is this to build the Grand Canal?"

"It turns out that there are only [-] guan, that's fine."

Ouyang Rong smiled lightly.

But in fact, he was quite surprised. The [-] yuan was already a larger share than that invested by Wang Caozhi, Li shopkeeper, and Ma shopkeeper. Dominance, but it is also the party that has invested the most in addition to the county government.

So, is the Liu family so optimistic about Zhayiqu?Or do you really want to shake hands with him and make peace, full of sincerity?

Just when Ouyang Rong was in the dark, Liu Ziwen nodded and said: "However, the Liu family has a small condition for Zheyiqu."

"What's the condition, let's hear it." After a pause, Ouyang Rong added: "The county government has enough manpower, and there is even a surplus. Maybe no one can be arranged for Mr. Liu."

"Not on this condition."

Liu Ziwen looked normal and said:

"Liu believes that if we want to repair it, we should build the biggest and best one! Liu has seen the micro-scene sand table of the county magistrate, and thinks it is still a bit petty. I suggest deepening and widening the river, so I use the one cast by Liu. This is ten thousand dollars!"

Both Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang couldn't help taking another look at the Young Patriarch of the Liu family.

It sounds like there is no problem, anyway, there are people who are taken advantage of to pay, and whoever wants to give it away for nothing, but...

Xie Lingjiang suddenly said:
"If there are more specifications, then the previous preparations will have to be perfected. Stop and change... The completion time of the Broken Wing Canal may be delayed again. Are you businessmen willing to wait?"

Liu Ziwen glanced at Ouyang Rong who was silent, shook his head, and said calmly:

"It's nothing, Zheyi Canal is very important to Longcheng, so it's best to repair it naturally. Our Liu family is willing to pay this money. Anyway, it's a good thing for everyone. Time is not urgent. The county magistrate and Miss Xie can go back to the county government office, and then we can go back to the county government. Discuss and discuss, it doesn't matter if the repair is slower, the quality is the most important.

"Liu has heard before that the magistrate will divide the construction of the Folded Wing Canal into two phases. It is due to the lack of money, food and manpower. Do you want to build it first? I personally think this is not appropriate. If it is divided into two phases, we will expand it now." Isn't the wide river channel very troublesome?
"It's better to build it once. Do the preliminary work well. Don't worry. If there is a shortage of money, food and manpower, our Liu family is willing to support the adults and the county government. Ten thousand yuan is not enough, and we can add more."

Liu Ziwen looked at Ouyang Rong with a smile: "What do you think, my lord?"

The young county magistrate looked at him and remained silent for a while.

　(There is another chapter at twelve o'clock)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)