Huaishu Hutong, Xu Mansion.

Although Xu Jie was attacked by the Lin Party and the Northern Party, he was still the senior chief minister for six years, and his disciples and disciples were all over the government and the public. Therefore, early this morning, the Xu Mansion was also bustling with people.

Officials from the capital, big and small, all came with gifts. Even Zhang Siwei and Wang Xilie, who were presiding over the provincial examination, did not forget to ask their families to send gifts to express their gratitude to the teacher.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Li, please come in!"

Xu Fan and his two younger brothers were waiting in the front yard, also greeting the visitors warmly.

Xu Fan, Xu Kun and Xu Ying are all officials in the capital now, so they are not idle today, but help to receive the middle and senior officials who come to visit, and even chat with the officials in the flower hall first.

But I don’t know whether it was because of the tragedy caused by Yan Shifan’s stealing of father’s power, or because Xu Fan, Xu Kun and Xu Ying did not have enough political talent. Although Xu Jie has been the chief minister for six years, he has always restricted the three of them.

The development of his son's career.

Of course, Xu Fan, Xu Kun and Xu Ying all entered the official position as officials, but they were destined to be unable to truly integrate into this officialdom. They usually could only live as officials with positions but no power.

If he follows Yan Shifan's path of stealing paternal power, it is very likely that the Xu family will follow in the footsteps of the Yan family. Therefore, Xu Jie is actually following the practices of the chief ministers and ministers of the past dynasties.

Xu Fan has gradually come to understand this fact and knows that he cannot become a small pavilion elder like Yan Shifan, so he is no longer so obsessed with his official career, but focuses most of his energy on making money and running more than a dozen shops in the capital.

superior.

Just like this, seeing that many items were added to his Baibaozhai, he seemed to be working very hard to entertain these officials, big and small, who came to bring gifts.

Although Xu Kun and Xu Ying were more shrewd, they had a bit of arrogance in their personalities, but they were unwilling to do the work of receiving officials. Xu Ying even used his big name to escape.

For all this, the Xu Mansion also has a set of rules and regulations. It already has a rough plan for which officials need to receive gifts and which officials need to be received.

"A box of jade cakes?"

"A pair of golden locks?"

"A string of South Sea pearls?"

"What, a big golden Buddha? And the land deed?"

…

Xu Fan, on the other hand, was not interested in drinking. He was always paying attention to the "income" while receiving officials. While counting the latest batch of gifts, when he saw the golden Maitreya Buddha statue and the land deeds

, his eyes couldn't help but stare.

Although many gifts are given every year, it is very rare to be able to give such a heavy gift. The collection alone can already catch up with the banquet of my father's 60th birthday.

The back garden of Xu Mansion is not very large, but there are rockeries and a small lake. The few trees with sparse branches and leaves in the garden show a somewhat bleak atmosphere in autumn.

Xu Jie is sitting in front of the stone table in the lake pavilion, wearing a set of ordinary home clothes, with a kind smile on his face. If someone who doesn't know the truth sees him, they may mistakenly think that this is just an ordinary kind little old man.

.

He also got up early to receive guests from all walks of life. In order to maintain his reputation as a "virtuous prime minister", he diligently received even middle-level officials.

Although this kind of interview is a heavy workload, he knows that if he wants to maintain his current power, he needs to attract as many middle-level officials as possible into his camp.

Now the battle between him and Guo, Lin, and Gao has become intense, but he has been attacked by Lin Haoran and Gao Gong for his inaction.

Just like this, at this time, more officials are needed to protect themselves, regard his inaction as the way of governing the country to "recuperate and recuperate", and respect themselves as the wise prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that this kind of reception is undoubtedly tiring and tiring. The reason why the meeting place is in the back garden instead of the study is because I hope to have more time to breathe.

"Student Yinglong pays homage to his master!" Zou Yinglong, who was wearing a third-grade official uniform, came to the pavilion and saluted in a formal manner.

He was originally a small censor, but he succeeded in making a fortune when the emperor was in power. Then he was supported by Xu Jie, and his official career officially entered the fast lane.

The position of the Minister of Dali Temple overlaps with that of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, but it is also a real vacancy, so the competition has always been fierce. However, relying on the help of Xu Jie, he finally stood out from many competitors and became one of the nine ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

one.

Xu Jie's eyes flashed with joy, but he raised his hand with a smile and said: "Yun Qing, please sit down!"

"Thank you, Master!" Zou Yinglong gave another solemn salute before carefully sitting down opposite Xu Jie.

Xu Jie looked at the proud disciple in front of him, but said seriously: "Yun Qing, you are now in charge of the Yamen of Dali Temple. You must be very cautious in handling the affairs of the Yamen and make sure no mistakes are made! As I taught you earlier, in officialdom

Unlike other places, only by being cautious can you avoid making big mistakes. When I first entered the officialdom, I was ruined by carelessness. You always took your teacher as a lesson!"

"Students, please obey your teacher's teachings carefully!" Zou Yinglong also listened to this warning, carefully studied the word "caution", and said with a respectful hand.

Xu Jie picked up the tea cup on the table just because he wanted to casually ask about the specific affairs of Dali Temple. Before he could speak, he saw Xu Fan coming in a hurry, which immediately caught his attention.

Zou Yinglong also noticed Xu Fan's figure, and immediately knew that this was a visit from an important person or an important report, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Xu Fan didn't know whether he didn't take Zou Yinglong seriously or didn't understand the way of life at all. He didn't even look at Zou Yinglong. He walked directly to Xu Jie and said in a low voice: "Dad, the Chen family just sent a statue

The initial estimated value of the golden Buddha and land deed...!"

After seeing the huge gift, he was the first to inquire about the person who gave the gift, and also contacted the Chen family who sent the generous gift.

"No matter how much it is worth, return the things immediately!" Xu Jie knew who the Yang family was referring to, and even guessed the intention of presenting the golden Buddha, but he made a firm decision.

Xu Fan thought about the weight of the golden Buddha and the land deed, and suggested in a low voice: "Dad, it's not easy to send someone all the way here. How about we arrange for him to meet you?"

"Can't you guess what they want to do? We can't help them at all!" Xu Jie glanced at Xu Fan and said with a cold face.

Xu Fan, however, kept in mind the great value of the box of things, and tried to persuade him again: "Dad, based on the child's understanding of the Chen family, I'm afraid he won't make too many demands!"
Chapter completed!