Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 24 A Win-Win Strategy
In fact, during this period of time, Ye Youyu has always been both grateful and respectful to Cai Qiaozhu - firstly, Ye Youyu knows that Wu Chengjian has deep feelings for this sister-in-law, and this feeling is not like that with Tan Sanniang, but a family affection, so she has no need to be jealous, so for the sake of her husband, she consciously knows to be good to Cai Qiaozhu; secondly, when she just got married, Cai Qiaozhu also took care of Ye Youyu in many ways, so Ye Youyu has always been grateful in her heart.
Originally, there was no problem between the two sisters-in-law. However, after Yao'er was born, there was a natural conflict between him and Guang'er. If Wu Chengjun was in charge, Wu Chengjian was willing to give way and could have directly said so as to prevent the quarrel from happening. But now that Wu Chengjian was in charge, there were some things he could not say carelessly, so as to prevent the people below from making random guesses and causing instability among the people - especially now that foreign threats were surging, and there was a natural conflict of interests between the first and third houses. Now was not a good time to resolve it.
With the general situation like this, the servants had their own opinions. Although they were suppressed by Wu Chengjian and Ye Youyu, the unspoken and unintentional thoughts that occasionally appeared were beyond Ye Youyu's control. It was fine in the old house, after all, Cai Qiaozhu had a deep foundation. When they arrived in Henan, the situation suddenly reversed, and the host and guest suddenly changed positions. Some clues that were still hidden in the old house also appeared in one or two days.
At this time, Cai Qiaozhu was talking about one thing after another, and she felt more and more bored, because there was nothing unreasonable or rude about those things on the . Even if it got out, people would probably say that Cai Qiaozhu was overthinking it, and no one would blame Wu Chengjian or Ye Youyu.
For example, regarding the big goldfish , Ye Youyu delivered the fish on the same day, showing his respect for his sister-in-law without waiting for the night. If the news got out, others would praise her for her virtue. Another example is the story of Ye Dalin opening the central gate while Cai Shiqun went through the side gate. If the news got to Xiguan, others would probably just laugh at the Cai family for not being able to tolerate others wearing such a big hat even though they themselves didn’t have such a big head.
After Cai Qiaozhu finished her speech, she sighed, "Actually... maybe I'm just overthinking..."
Cai's mother sneered: "What do you mean by overthinking? I didn't overthink at all! But do you remember what I said when Mr. Wu was still here?"
Cai Qiaozhu remained silent.
At the beginning of last year, when pork was distributed after worshiping the gods, Wu Guoying made arrangements for his affairs after his death. At that time, everyone said that the old man had made good arrangements, except for Cai's mother who secretly accused Wu Guoying of being "partial."
Cai's mother's view is very simple and direct. She believes that dividing the family now is beneficial to Guang'er, and dividing the family in the future will be more beneficial to Yao'er. "Thirty years later, the old friends who should die will be dead, those who should leave will leave, and those who should change will change. At that time, who will speak for the former head of the family who has been dead for thirty years?"
He also asserted: We don’t have to wait thirty years, within one or two years, others will have to give Cai Qiaozhuo a hard time.
At that time, Cai Qiaozhu got angry with her mother because of this, but her mother's words are still clear in her mind.
"Look, look! Am I right?" Cai's mother said, "It's only been less than a year! People are already starting to worry about their master. In another ten or eight years, you and your son will be in trouble for Wujiayuan, as well as the land."Hao Guan is a very good person, and he treats you and Guang'er well. But how many times have I said this? No matter how good he is to you, can a sister-in-law be better than a wife? No matter how good he is to Guang'er, can a nephew be better than a son? This has nothing to do with his character, it's just human nature!"
Cai Qiaozhu could no longer hold on to her own opinion. If it was just for herself, she would not want anything and would give everything to Wu Chengjian. But Guang'er... that was her dearest child! It was okay for her to suffer for herself, but she could not let others suffer for her son.
"Mom, I'm at a loss now." Cai Qiaozhu said, "My father-in-law had already made arrangements before he passed away. We can't go against his wishes, but if people's hearts change... it's Guang'er's share, and I... as a mother, I have to help him protect him before he grows up."
Seeing that her daughter had finally come to her senses, Cai's mother was overjoyed and said, "I don't care about this matter for now. I will go back and discuss it with your father. We must plan a way out for our Guang'er. You can stay half sick and half well these days, so I can take the opportunity to come and talk to you often."
Cai Qiaozhu nodded and agreed. After thinking for a while, she continued, "It's just that you can tell Dad about this matter, but don't mention it to outsiders. Also, no matter how much you plan, you can't let Guang'er ruin the Wu family. Yihe Bank's foundation is the hard work of two generations of the Wu family. If I ruin the Wu family's important events for my own selfish reasons, I will not be able to face my father-in-law and Chengjun in the future. In that case, I would rather Guang'er leave the house with nothing than let him be an unfilial person!"
Cai's mother said, "Don't worry, don't worry. We have to think of a win-win plan. We are not greedy people. We only want to protect ourselves and will not harm others."
At that moment, Cai's mother returned to Daxing Street. The distance from Daxing Street to Wujiayuan in Henan and to the Wu family's old house in Xiguan was actually not much different. Xiguan was closer, but coming to Henan was mostly by water, which was more convenient.
The sun had not yet set when Cai's mother returned home. Since their family became the new Baoshang, their social contacts have become more and more frequent, and the house on Daxing Street is no longer enough. The Cai family's sons are busy looking for a place to build a big house in Xiguan.
Although Xiguan is outside Guangzhou, it has become a prosperous place in Guangzhou after so many years of development. The land has also become very expensive, and even if you have money, you may not be able to buy it. However, in the past two years, three large mansions have happened to be vacant, and they belong to the three business owners Cai, Xie, and Yang who just went bankrupt.
The Yang family's house had been sold, and after the Cai and Xie properties changed hands, no one lived there. The eldest son of the Cai family wanted to buy the Cai house, but Cai Shiqun thought it was unlucky because someone had died there, and the two families were brothers from the same clan. If he moved into the house before Cai Shiwen's body was cold, it would be suspected of colluding with outsiders to seize his brother's property. The second brother advocated buying the Xie house, and Cai Shiqun was tempted, but the Xie house also occupied a large area. Sanbao Bank was founded not long ago, and Cai Shiqun was a little short of money to buy such a large house.
While she was discussing with her sons, Cai's mother came back and drove her sons away. The couple then discussed the matter in a secret room.
Cai Shiqun was also annoyed when he heard that his daughter was wronged, but he was now pointing his finger at the Wu family, and he did not want to offend Wu Chengjian, so he said: "These are all snobbish servants. I think Haoguan is a kind person. Otherwise, we should find an opportunity to talk to Haoguan and let the two families resolve their grievances."
"You are a loser!" Cai's mother scolded, "Is this something that can be easily sorted out? Besides, whether Qiaozhu feels wronged or not is secondary. The important thing is whether Guang'er can become the head of Yihe Bank in the future! Think about it yourself, do you want a grandson who is the head of Yihe Bank, or a grandson who has to rely on his uncle for support in the future?"
"It's impossible for me to ask my uncle for help. No matter how much Haoguan favors his son, he can't treat Guang'er so badly. We can have the glory today, all thanks to Haoguan, and why does Haoguan give us benefits, isn't it because of Qiaozhu." Cai Shiqun said, "We are separated by a layer, but it's still like this. Guang'er is his nephew, and he and his nephew have always been close. I guess that the head of Yihe Bank will most likely be passed on to Haoguan's son in the future, but Haoguan should also make arrangements for Guang'er. Apart from anything else, he should have some face to avoid being criticized."
Cai's mother was furious: "I said you are useless, and you are indeed useless! People just gave you a little sweet thing, and you don't even dare to think about the big head! Even though you are more prosperous now than before , you don't think about it. Your little industry and future are just leaking through the fingers of the Wu family! You treasure things that will fall down with a gust of wind, and you don't even dare to think about the real big industry!"
Cai Shiqun was embarrassed and at a loss when his wife scolded him. "But what can I do? Think about what the situation was like the year before last, and the year before that. The two disasters affected the Guangdong Customs and the Governor's Office. Everyone thought the Wu family was doomed, but Hao Guan won in a snap. Even the barbarians listened to him. People now speculate that the fire at the Thirteenth Floor was started by Hao Guan, but no one dared to say it out loud! How dare I plot against him with my ability? I'm afraid that if I just have this idea, I won't know how to write the word death tomorrow."
Cai's mother said, "Who asked you to plot against him? We want to discuss an upright plan. Qiaozhu also said that we have to protect Guang'er and cannot delay the Wu family. Besides, haven't you heard about the arrangement of Mr. Wu Guoying? He didn't say that Yihexing must be inherited by Haoguan's son in the future, but he said that whoever is capable of the third generation of the Wu family will take over. If Guang'er is inferior to others in every way in the future, we have nothing to say, but what if Guang'er is worse than his brothers in dealing with people and scheming?"
Cai Shiqun said: "Then Official Hao should...be...impartial...right..."
Cai's mother sneered: "You said this yourself, do you believe it?"
Cai Shiqun actually didn't dare to believe it.
Cai's mother said, "We don't ask for anything else, nor do we want to do anything bad to the Wu family. We just want justice for our Guang'er and protection for Qiaozhu and her son."
Cai Shiqun said: "This is too difficult... I can't think of it."
Cai's mother said angrily: "I know it's difficult, so I have to participate in the planning!"
Cai Shiqun did not dare to deny his wife's opinion any longer, so he put his head in his hands and thought hard with his mother. After thinking for a long time, he felt that forcing such a ruthless man like Wu Chengjian to "act impartially" in the future would be like courting disaster, which was impossible. So he could not come up with an idea after thinking for a long time.
Cai's mother said, "When Hao Guan was imprisoned two years ago, you were able to come up with a lot of ideas. Why is your brain blocked today?"
Cai Shiqun said: "It was only after I drank with Wei Laoshi that I suddenly understood the truth."
That Wei Laoshi was the third uncle of the wife of Cai Shiqun's eldest son, and also the cousin of Pan Zhenchen's seventh concubine. He was related to both the Pan and Cai families, and often interacted with Cai Shiqun, and they had a good relationship.
Cai's mother was tempted, and after thinking for a while, she said, "How about you treat him to another drink, and let him point out your faults when he's half drunk."
Cai Shiqun said in embarrassment: "This... Wei Laoshi is related to Qi Guan."
