Chapter 98 Can’t take it back
"Hey, She Dengke, what are you going to do if you have money?" Liu Quxing asked vaguely while sitting on the edge of the stone mill platform and eating the rolls brought by his master.

"Of course I want to buy a house for my family first. I want to buy a house with two courtyards. My father, mother, eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law will live in the back courtyard, and my second brother and his wife, and third brother and his wife will live in the front courtyard. They have worked so hard over the years. The whole family squeezed into one room and slept on the floor. It was not easy to turn over."

"What about you? Where do you live?"

She Dengke stuffed the last roll in his hand into his mouth: "I live in the hospital, there is no need to leave a room for me at home... Liu Quxing, what are you going to do with the money?"

Liu Quxing thought for a moment and said, "I want to take my mother out of the Liu family so that she doesn't have to look at the mistress's eyes anymore. Every time she comes to give me money and food, she gets the cold shoulder and often gets ridiculed when she goes home."

"It's great to have money," She Dengke said with his head down, "Money is like an old god that can help people realize their dreams."

Liu Quxing suddenly asked: "After you become rich, will you still be an apprentice in the clinic?"

She Dengke was stunned for a moment, and said hesitantly: "Yes, if you have money, do you still want to be an apprentice..."

There was a snap.

The bamboo stick fell on She Dengke's back, causing a burning pain.

She Dengke turned around and saw that Old Man Yao had walked to his side without him noticing. He glared at Liu Quxing and said, "Grandson, you are setting a trap for me again!"

Old man Yao sneered at the two of them and said, "Okay, if you have money, you won't be an apprentice in my Taiping Medical Clinic, right?"

Liu Quxing quickly jumped down from the stone mill and said with a flattering smile: "Master, that was said by She Dengke, it has nothing to do with me. I will definitely study medicine from you diligently in the clinic, and be respected like you in the future!"

Old Man Yao sneered, "Why do you rich guys have to come to my Taiping Clinic to suffer?"

She Dengke said in a panic, "Master, please don't misunderstand me. We will definitely stay in the clinic to serve you. We all remember how kind you have been to us in the past two years."

At this time, Liang Gou'er was lying on a straw mat not far away, holding a grass stem in his mouth and swinging his legs. "Five thousand taels of silver, how are you going to divide it? Haha, throughout history, how many brothers have turned against each other, not because of shared hardships, but because of shared wealth."

Liang Maoer raised her hand: "I'm just here to help, I don't need to share."

Liang Gou'er sat up suddenly, and said angrily: "Apart from Chen Ji, you have worked the hardest these days. Why don't you share the credit?"

Liang Maoer glanced at him and said, "Brother, don't say anything yet. You have no part in it anyway."

Liang Gou'er: "..."

He opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't utter a word. Finally, he simply leaned back, covered his face with the straw hat, and his crossed legs shook faster than anyone else's.

Everyone gradually quieted down and looked at each other, no one dared to speak first.

How should we divide the five thousand taels of silver? Dividing it equally is a good idea, but everyone knows that dividing it equally is unfair to Chen Ji.

During this silence, Bai Li wanted to step forward and speak, but Prince Jing reached out and pulled him aside.

He looked at the group of young men with great interest: "The world is bustling with people all for profit. Only in the face of real interests can you see a person clearly. Don't say anything yet. Let's see if your friends can stand the test."

Bai Li hesitated for a moment and whispered, "But why do we have to test human nature? This is unfair to the person being tested."

Prince Jing was startled, then laughed and said, "Silly child, there is no fairness in this world. You must learn to protect yourself."

As he finished speaking, a carriage slowly stopped outside the kiln factory.

But Zhang Zhuo lifted the curtain of the carriage, picked up the hem of his official robe and jumped down. After landing, he did not forget to turn around and help Chen Liqin, and then they strode into the kiln factory together.

The two came to Prince Jing, and Zhang Zhuo bowed: "Your Majesty..."

Prince Jing raised his hand to stop them: "Don't disturb them by talking first, and wait and see how they divide the money. It's always a good show when brothers divide the money. You two came at the right time and happened to catch it."

Zhang Zhuo was surprised: "Share the money? What kind of money?"

Prince Jing smiled and said, "I will explain it to you slowly later. By the way, Master Chen, Chen Ji is also among them."

At this moment, Zhang Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully distinguished each person in the crowd. He pulled Chen Liqin aside and asked in a low voice, "Hey, why is your kid here too?"

Chen Liqin hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I knew he was here yesterday, and I came to pick him up, but he didn't leave with me."

Zhang Zhuo was surprised and said, "This child is so arrogant. He would rather come to the kiln factory to do rough and heavy work than go back to Chen's house with you?"

Chen Liqin sighed, "It was my fault as a father before. After he went to Taiping Medical Clinic, I asked the housekeeper to send a servant to deliver his monthly salary every month. Who would have thought that this servant secretly deducted the money and changed the monthly salary from three taels of silver to three hundred coins. Later, he simply delayed the payment. I guess he came to the kiln factory to earn some money for his studies?"

Zhang Zhuo looked at Chen Liqin and said, "Master Chen, how did the servant end up?"

Chen Liqin replied: "He has been beaten to death."

Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard and asked, "Where is the housekeeper? Has he been beaten to death?"

Chen Liqin shook his head: "No, just a slight punishment of ten strokes of the cane."

Zhang Zhuo smiled meaningfully, "Your kid is more resilient than my kid. He would rather endure hardships than go back and suffer this humiliation. I guess he lingers in the gambling house because of his bad friends. Listen to my advice. First, give your kid two hundred taels of silver to calm his nerves, and then beat your stupid housekeeper to death to vent his anger. I guarantee you can bring him back."

"Beat the housekeeper to death?" Chen Liqin looked at Zhang Zhuo in surprise. "Why is it so? This housekeeper is also an old man from the capital. He has been working diligently for more than ten years. Even if he has no merits, he has worked hard."

Zhang Zhuo was amused: "During the reign of the late emperor, were General Hu Guang's contributions great enough? He recaptured Chongli Pass and blocked the cavalry of the Jing Dynasty for more than ten years. His contributions were so great that he dared to hold military power and roar in the court. What was his final fate? The late emperor first promoted Liu Wencheng to be the Minister of War, and then allowed Liu to cut off General Hu Guang's wings and confiscate General Hu's property and exterminate his clan. When Liu was scolded by everyone as a traitor, the late emperor issued an edict to banish Liu and send him back to his hometown, and he was immediately praised as a wise ruler."

Chen Liqin's expression changed: "My Lord, please be careful with your words!"

Zhang Zhuo laughed and said firmly, "You are a gentleman, you will not report my wrongdoings to the eunuch party, you are just too pedantic."

Chen Liqin was unhappy to be called pedantic, and said in a more serious tone: "Mr. Zhang doesn't look like a scholar, but more like a villain."

Zhang Zhuo casually bowed and said nonchalantly, "Thank you for the compliment."

The cold wind is biting.

Liu Quxing and others' hands were frozen red but they were unaware of it. They just kept silent and figured out how to divide the five thousand taels of silver.

Everyone looked at each other, and no one wanted to speak first.

Chen Ji spoke in silence. He looked at Liu Quxing and the others and said with a smile, "I will not be modest with you. I will take 30% of the money every year, and you can share the rest."

Take 30%?
Zhang Zhuo subconsciously looked at Chen Liqin. He counted and found that there were six or seven people in the field. The Chen family kid wanted to take 30% of the prizes. How should the rest of the people be divided? Chen Liqin frowned and bowed to Prince Jing, saying, "Your Highness, I have failed to educate my son properly. I will definitely bring him back to the palace to discipline him strictly and teach him to be humble and courteous."

"Ha," Prince Jing laughed loudly, "Don't worry, Lord Chen. Even the money is not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?"

Chen Liqin was stunned.

The next moment, She Dengke said in a muffled voice: "No!"

The kiln factory became quiet again. Chen Liqin frowned and watched, fearing that Chen Ji would fight with others over the division of money, which would be a disgrace to the society.

However, She Dengke suddenly said, "Chen Ji, we all know that without you, there would be no such money. Although we also contributed, we only endured the cold for two days and did two days of physical labor. You can still do this kind of work by spending a few taels of silver and a power stick in the East Market. You take half, and we will share the rest. Liu Quxing, what do you think?"

Liu Quxing's face darkened: "What are you looking at me for? It's as if I'm so greedy!"

She Dengke pressed the issue: "Tell me whether you agree or not!"

Liu Quxing gritted his teeth and said, "I agree! I agree! You big fool, he has already said that he will give you 30% of the money, can't you just agree to it? Do you know how much money it would cost to give you 20% less?"

She Dengke glared and said, "You grandson, you finally spoke out your true feelings!"

The prince laughed, "Okay, okay, if everyone keeps it to themselves, they will just get sulky over time. Now that everyone has spoken out their thoughts, it's more straightforward. To be honest, even I am jealous of this money. Don't let Bai Li treat us to dinner tonight. Chen Ji must treat us. We should go to the best private room in Yingxian Tower and order their most famous Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea. If Chen Ji dares to frown, we will beat him up!"

Liu Quxing said with a sad heart: "Yes, he took so much money. If he dares to frown when treating us, we will beat him up!"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't frown. The little monk has taken the vow of not touching money. The rest, the prince, Princess Baili, Brother Mao'er, Senior Brother She, and Senior Brother Liu, you five can divide it equally."

The little monk put his hands together and asked curiously, "After dinner, shall we go to Red Clothes Lane?"

Everyone laughed: "You idiot monk!"

……

……

Bai Li looked at Prince Jing with a smile: "We didn't fight as you wished!"

Prince Jing lamented, "I thought I could see a good show, but they all have pure hearts, which is precious. I just hope that the pure hearts will not be turned black by the furnace of the world."

At this point, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin gradually realized that something was wrong.

Previously, they thought they were dividing the wages of the kiln, but if it was just wages, how could they afford to go to Yingxian Tower and Hongyi Lane?

Zhang Zhuo looked at Prince Jing and asked in confusion, "Prince, how much money are they dividing?"

Prince Jing smiled and explained, "Five thousand taels of silver per year."

Zhang Zhuo subconsciously took a breath of cold air: "So, the kid from the Chen family took away 2,500 taels of silver alone?"

Prince Jing nodded: "That's right."

Zhang Zhuo slowly looked at Chen Liqin and said, "Master Chen, I'm afraid you can't take this kid back with you.

Chen Liqin remained silent.

Zhang Zhuo continued, "The annual expenditure of your Chen family is probably not as much as his 2,500 taels of silver per year. He lives much more comfortably outside than in your Chen Mansion. Just ignore what I said before. If you want to bring him back, you can't use money. I'm afraid you have to persuade him with emotion and reason..."

Chen Liqin ignored him, but took a step forward and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, five thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money, where did it come from?"

Prince Jing led the two men to the brick wall and asked them to hit it with sledgehammers. "They developed this thing called 'cement', which solidifies several times faster than glutinous rice mortar, and the cost is only 20% of glutinous rice mortar. My palace has bought the formula of this thing and promised to share their annual dividend of 5,000 taels of silver. What do you think, do you two adults think this formula is worth it?"

Zhang Zhuo's eyes sparkled. He picked up a little cement and rubbed it, asking, "It costs only 20% of glutinous rice mortar, and it solidifies faster than glutinous rice mortar? It's worth it, it's worth it! Your Majesty, which group of young men did you say made this thing?"

Prince Jing nodded: "That's right, the formula was thought up by Chen Ji, and they did it together."

Zhang Zhuo suddenly realized: "No wonder when everyone was dividing the money, he said he would take 30%, but others asked him to take 50%. It turns out that he was the one who invented this thing."

Chen Liqin only then recalled that yesterday Chen Ji had told Prince Jing about the "carburizing steel technique", and Prince Jing had even tried to stop him from bringing Chen Ji back home...

In the kiln factory, Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji who was surrounded by the crowd with a complicated expression.

He thought that as long as he dealt with the servants in his house and let Chen Ji vent his anger, and then persuaded him with kind words, he would be able to bring Chen Ji back.

He also thought that if he cut off Chen Ji's money, Chen Ji would go home obediently.

But now, the son he kicked out of the house no longer needs that home.

At this time, Chen Ji and his companions bowed and said to Prince Jing: "Your Highness, we have been tired for a few days. We need to go back and change clothes to celebrate today. We will take our leave first."

Prince Jing waved his hand and said, "Go ahead. You are allowed to drink today."

Chen Ji smiled and replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, turned around and bowed to Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin: "Master Zhang, Master Chen, goodbye."

Chen Liqin said nothing.

Zhang Zhuo watched the young men get on the oxcart and sway out of the kiln factory. His eyes flickered, "It seems that your boy has hooked up with the prince. If he can become a favorite of Prince Jing, you and I might be able to use him to get close to Prince Jing and get a share of the Liu family's Yuzhou."

Chen Liqin frowned slightly: "Master Zhang, the Liu family is fierce. You and I are already tied up and worried in Yuzhou, so why should we let a child who has not experienced much of the world get involved?"

Zhang Zhuo rolled his eyes. "I'm not asking him to charge into battle, why are you so anxious to protect him? You should have taken good care of him earlier, so that he wouldn't have to call you Lord Chen all the time. Why are you pretending to be so with me now?"

Chen Liqin's face turned darker: "You!"

However, at this moment, Zhang Zhuo suddenly raised his hand to stop Chen Liqin from speaking.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Master Chen, I wonder if Chen Ji has a matchmaker? My family has a grown-up daughter who is waiting to be married..."

(End of this chapter)