Chapter 501 Jiu Yuan Returns Home

After leaving Yangzhou City, Lin Tailai, escorted by dozens of family servants and three hundred Suzhou guards, slowly traveled south along the canal.

It was already mid-July, and the weather was beginning to cool down.

Most of the "family servants" who followed Lin Tailai northward were very happy. For them, returning to Suzhou was like going home.

And they knew that as long as they returned to Suzhou, they would definitely become the most popular figures.

After all, they were the witnesses of many things, and I'm afraid that all Suzhou people wanted to hear first-hand legendary stories from them.

Then these legendary stories such as "Mr. Lin's Battle with the Northern Tartar Queen Mother" would become the latest storytelling materials and become popular throughout the city.

They couldn't wait to show off their knowledge of the past year to their relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Sitting in the boat, looking at the scenery on the shore, it seemed that they were already close to Hushu Pass, so he sighed deeply.

The left and right guards at the cabin door asked, "We are almost home, why are you sighing?"

Lin Tailai replied, "Every time I think about returning to Suzhou, there will be countless trivial matters, and I feel annoyed."

Lin Tailai has no intention of returning home in glory.

Returning home in glory is the mentality of poor people after they become rich, and he, Lin Tailai, was already very successful in his hometown, so he doesn't need to show off again.

No matter whether he is glorious outside, as long as he returns to Suzhou, he is the unique Mr. Lin.

This second half of the year in Suzhou, Mr. Lin only wants to do two major things, one is to start the project of dredging the old road in the lower reaches of Wusong River, and the other is to hold a literary conference.

But there will definitely be countless other things coming to him, and there is nothing he can do about it. As the saying goes, rich people in the mountains have distant relatives, and this is how human relationships are, and it is inevitable.

Then Lin Tailai ordered: "Stay at Hushuguan for one day and set off tomorrow morning!"

Zhang Wen, the left protector, asked in surprise: "Why? According to the route, we can reach the city today."

Lin Tailai complained: "Your mistress Wang said that tomorrow is the 100th day of the child, so it is more meaningful and impressive for me to go home at the same time tomorrow."

This was too much for Lin Daguanren to complain about. Wang Shiwu seemed to pay special attention to formalism, especially in his son's affairs.

Although the Zhang brothers wanted to go home early, they didn't say anything after the mistress had spoken.

Then they rested at Hushuguan for a day, accepted the hospitality of the tax officer, and then set off again early the next morning.

Near noon, the fleet finally arrived at Fengqiao, which was ten miles outside the city.

In the social etiquette of Suzhou City at that time, the more formal nodes of welcoming and seeing off were all at Fengqiao.

After Lin Tailai became famous in Suzhou, he also participated in welcoming or seeing off ceremonies at Fengqiao several times.

Of course, it seems that Mr. Lin has an ominous aura, and it is true that every welcoming ceremony always has some accidents.

Today, the bank under Fengqiao was crowded with people and the sound of gongs and drums was standard. What was surprising was that Governor Zhou Ji also appeared here.

Wang Zhiyou, the deputy envoy of Zhejiang Province and the acting governor of Suzhou Prefecture, thought that he, as the governor of the prefecture and the brother-in-law of Lin Tailai, must be the most handsome guy at today's welcoming ceremony, until Governor Zhou appeared.

Wang Fuzun asked in surprise: "How dare the Grand Chancellor condescend to attend today's ceremony? If you have anything to ask, please ask Lin Jiuyuan to visit the Chayuan tomorrow."

Governor Zhou waved his hand and said: "I am not here to welcome Mr. Lin, but the world's first champion!"

The main organizer Wang Fuzun had to temporarily adjust his position and let Governor Zhou stand in the first place.

After a while, the sound of trumpets and suonas that soared to the sky spread from the canal to the shore, which can be said to be heard before the boat is seen.

Experienced people know that this is a big shot coming.

And who else could dare to blow such a loud noise outside Suzhou City today except for the returning home official Lin?

The left and right guards have been following Lin for a long time, and their eyesight has been trained.

After looking at the shore for a few times, they reported to the cabin: "Boss! The one leading on the shore is an old man, maybe the governor! The governor is standing behind him!"

Hearing this news, Lin Tailai had to come out of the cabin in advance and stand at the bow waiting for the dock.

After getting off the boat, he took a few steps forward to greet - others gave face, so he couldn't be too rude on his side.

"I don't want to bother the Zhongcheng! It's really embarrassing for the juniors!" Lin Tailai said modestly.

Governor Zhou also spoke: "I respect not the clothes, but the top scorer!"

Lin Tailai also flattered very strongly: "I heard that Zhongcheng Zhou governed my Wu area, and his official reputation was outstanding, catching up with Hai Qingtian twenty years ago!"

Fuck! Governor Zhou almost couldn't catch it. You, Lin Tailai, are overdoing it!

People know their own business. He is a mediocre person among the frontier officials. How can he compare with Hai Rui, who is famous all over the world?

Of course, Governor Zhou is also very clear that if he is not mediocre, the court will not let him be the governor of Jiangnan.

After all, among the three previous governors of Jiangnan, two who did not want to be mediocre did not have a good end.

Especially the last Governor Li, who committed suicide inexplicably after being besieged by civil unrest.

The last governor was Zhao Zhigao, who was lucky in his old age, and he can't compare; the last governor was Wei, who caused a tax resistance storm and was forced to resign voluntarily, and then strangled the white gloves voluntarily, so he was able to return home safely.

Therefore, Zhou Ji, who is mediocre and doesn't like to cause trouble, has the opportunity to serve as the governor of Jiangnan. The court only wants stability.

But even if you, Lin Tailai, appreciate me, don't compare me with Hai Rui, that would be just a joke!

Lin Tailai continued, "What's wrong with Hai Qingtian? As the saying goes, no one is perfect.

Even Hai Qingtian made mistakes during his tenure as governor of Jiangnan!

Now, your chance has come, Zhou Zhongcheng! If you can correct Hai Qingtian's mistakes, wouldn't you surpass Hai Qingtian?"

Governor Zhou: ""

I bet a hundred coins that you, Lin Tailai, are definitely talking about the problem of the lower reaches of the Wusong River!

I've heard about it a long time ago. Last month, Prime Minister Shen Shixing and fellow Shandong native Wang Situ both wrote letters about this matter.

I didn't expect that Lin Tailai would forcefully bring up the topic and start talking about it as soon as he got off the boat.

Governor Zhou had only recently heard about the idea of ​​dredging the lower reaches of the Wusong River. He had no idea at the moment, so he didn't know what to say at this time.

Wang Fuzun, who was standing by, came to the rescue and said, "This matter cannot be explained in a short time, let's find another time to talk about it slowly and in detail."

So Lin Tailai let Governor Zhou go and greeted everyone else one by one.

No matter what others thought in their hearts, most of them looked happy, only Wu County Magistrate Yuan Hongdao had a sullen face.

It is understandable that great writers are all people of temperament, and Magistrate Yuan is a representative figure of the Gong'an School, a new force in the literary world.

Mr. Lin teased, "What's wrong with County Magistrate Yuan? Who has provoked you? Or is it because you have too much backlog of official business and have been held accountable by your superiors?"

County Magistrate Yuan said unhappily, "I have been the county magistrate of Suzhou for four years. The official business here is really too busy. I want to change to a less busy position, but the court refused."

Lin Tailai immediately shirked responsibility, "This is not my fault! It's your father who doesn't want you to leave Suzhou City! After all, your grain store and the business here are getting bigger and bigger!"

County Magistrate Yuan snorted, "But my father said that it was you who didn't want me to leave Suzhou.

Whose idea was it? Can you two discuss the excuse first?"

"Hahaha!" Lin Tailai changed the subject again and said, "Because in the second half of the year, I plan to hold a literary conference in Suzhou. Don't you want to participate?"

Huh? Yuan Xianzun's eyes lit up, "Is that true? That would be great!"

Lin Tailai instructed, "When the time comes, please ask your public security to send a bunch of people to advocate for me and nominate me as the leader!

Invite a few more fellow practitioners, I will cover the travel expenses, food and lodging!"

Yuan Xianzun said a little uncertainly, "The leader you want to fight for is not from the martial arts world, right?"

He arrived in Suzhou four years ago and saw with his own eyes how Lin Tailai conquered the east and the west, relying on his iron fist and golden whip to beat Suzhou City without any opponents.

At that time, he could not dream that this first hero in Suzhou City would actually covet the position of the leader of the literary world a few years later.

In just a few years, the world has changed dramatically.

After the welcoming ceremony at Fengqiao, Lin Tailai waved to the people on the shore, made a bow, and prepared to board the ship to enter the city.

Although Governor Zhou came to Fengqiao to welcome him, he would not accompany Mr. Lin into the city, as that would be too flattering.

Therefore, it is most appropriate for Wang Zhiyou, the mansion master and relative, to accompany Mr. Lin home.

On the boat, Wang Zhiyou said to Lin Tailai: "The Changmen Gate is too congested, and there is no waterway at the Xumen Gate, so enter the city from the Kuimen Gate."

"Kuimen?" Lin Tailai was unfamiliar with this name.

Wang Fuzun introduced: "It is the gate you opened a few years ago! It was renamed Kuimen in the first half of this year to commemorate your feat of winning the first prize for nine consecutive times."

Speaking of the congestion of waterways in Suzhou City today, it is really hard to describe. Sometimes you can't travel a few miles in an hour by boat.

The newly opened Kuimen Gate is said to be better than the Changmen Gate, but it is not much better.

If it weren't for the convenience of getting off the boat and changing horses, Lin Tailai would not have thought of taking a boat into the city to go home.

After entering the city, the boat swayed in the waterway for an unknown period of time, and saw the familiar Yinma Bridge.

As the boundary bridge between the two counties in the city, Mr. Lin also has many memories here. He beat people and wrote poems.

Wang Fuzun continued to introduce: "Now the central axis street is divided by Yinma Bridge. The northern section is still called Wolong Street, but the southern section has been renamed Jiuyuan Street."

Lin Tailai knew that after he won the nine consecutive championships, it would cause some physical repercussions in his hometown.

Wang Yusheng's ancestor Wang Ao left the name Xueshi Street seventy or eighty years ago.

But Mr. Lin did not expect that the repercussions would be so great.

Wolong Street is the north-south central axis of Suzhou City. This name should have been used for nearly a thousand years.

In history, it was not until Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River that it was renamed Hulong Street in order to please Emperor Qianlong.

And what virtue and ability did he have to change the name of Wolong Street?

So Lin Tailai sighed: "After all, this is a central axis main road. How can the northern half have one name and the southern half have another name?

I think it is inappropriate to change the name like this. It is too inconvenient for people to use one street with two names."

Wang Fuzun thought about it and said: "So what you mean is to abandon the name of Wolong Street and change the name of the entire street from north to south to Jiuyuan Street?"

Lin Tailai: ""

Could it be that Emperor Qianlong in history never thought of changing Wolong Street to Hulong Street, and the name change was made by local officials to flatter?

People in high positions really can't make random statements!

"Forget it, let's call it Wolong in the north and Jiuyuan in the south." Lin Tailai could only succumb to the status quo in the end, "The name that has been used for thousands of years cannot disappear here in my Lin Tailai."

Going south from Yinma Bridge, it is close to Canglang Pavilion Lin Mansion.

Sitting in the cabin, Lin Tailai immediately saw from afar that there were two large black masses on the southern half of the original Wolong Street, now known as Jiuyuan Street, which stretched across the street in an extremely domineering manner.

Wang Fuzun, who felt like a tour guide today, had to explain again: "Those are two stone archways, one civil and one military, showing your great achievements."

When he got closer, Lin Tailai also saw clearly that each archway had a thick eight-legged stone pillar, with a horizontal width of nearly 20 meters, a vertical length of 6 or 7 meters, and an overall height of more than 10 meters.

It is said to be a stone archway, but it is more like two large stone buildings. From the perspective of people of this era, it is definitely a giant.

"What a waste of money, how much money does it cost? Who built it?" Mr. Lin felt inexplicably distressed.

Originally, he was not short of money, but since he decided to start the project of dredging the lower reaches of Wusong River this year, he found that he was short of money again.

Otherwise, they would not have set their sights on the Yangzhou salt merchants and asked Wang Yuanwai to raise money.

Wang Fuzun replied: "The styles of these two stone archways were designed by your butler Gao Changjiang, and the locations were personally surveyed by Zhou Futai, and then your elder brother carried out the construction."

"Wait!" Lin Tailai said in confusion: "Zhou Futai personally surveyed the site? Is he so idle that he even does such a thing?"

Wang Fuzun smiled and said: "Our Zhou Futai is from our Shandong, and I know his details very well.

You may not know that Zhou Futai is the top geomancy master today. He has written ten volumes of "Yangzhai Daquan". The governorship is just a side job.

So when your Lin family wanted to build these two archways, Zhou Futai personally looked at the Feng Shui and surveyed the site."

Lin Tailai: ""

I really didn't realize just now that Governor Zhou is quite versatile. He is actually a Feng Shui master and a technical talent.

After a pause, Lin Tailai joked, "If Master Zhou had come a few years earlier, we could have asked him for advice when we started building the Lin Mansion in Canglang Pavilion."

Wang Fuzun replied, "It's not too late now. Your father has asked Governor Zhou to help rebuild the ancestral home in Linsong Village and the Lin Family Ancestral Hall."

While talking, he abandoned the boat and went ashore, entering the mansion through the main gate.

To be honest, when returning to Suzhou, Mr. Lin wanted to go to Hengtang Town to inspect Hengtang College first, or to the industrial park opposite Mudu Town.

In Mr. Lin's mind, those places are the foundation of his career, while the city is more about exaggeration and vanity.

But now that he has a legitimate wife and a legitimate son, no matter what he thinks in his heart, he must first return to the Lin Mansion in Canglang Pavilion in the city.