Chapter 700: Tarnish his reputation
Lin Ze would be lying if he was to say that he wasn't tempted, he was indeed tempted by the offer that Tai Zheng placed in front of him. These days were the hardest days of his life, forget about getting two hundred taels, his entire family fortune didn't amount to even two hundred taels, and he has been having a hard time.
From eating meals that were comprised of meat and whatnot, he was reduced to eating nothing but wild vegetables. And all of this was happening because of that annoying wife that his nephews married over, she was the one who egged them to separate from the family causing his family situation to fall to the point where they were having a hard time saving the money they had and then to make matters worse she even egged his wife to divorce him and then caused him to lose another piece of fortune.
The remaining money was used on Lin Che's studies but his good-for-nothing son failed this year's academy exam as well causing him to repeat another year, they did not even have the money to eat, how will they get the money to send him to the academy? In the end, they had no other choice but to stop Lin Che's studies, from the academy fees to buying paper and brushes everything was already so expensive, when Lin Jing and his brothers were living with them, he could bully them into not only paying Lin Che's study fees but also pay the debts that he owned in the bars and pubs.
But now he no longer had the liberty to do so, if he so much as mentioned the thought of borrowing money from the bars, he was beaten up by his mother, who was getting aged day by day while worrying about what she was going to do in the future.
Lin Ze who has been treated as the young master of the family really couldn't adjust to the current situation. If he was to steal the idea of making the doll houses then he surely would be able to get hold of a decent …no a rather amazing source of income.
But the thing was no matter how good the plan was, he knew that his nephews will never agree.
"It is useless, I have tried it so many times but no matter how many times I go and threaten them nothing happens," sighed Lin Ze as he scrubbed his hands over his face and dropped his face on top of the tabletop with a loud thump. " I have tried this tactic with them loads of times and they have never agreed, instead it's me who ended up getting thrown into the yamen every now and then."
In the past few months, he went in and out of Yamen so many times that he was very familiar with the officer there, that old officer even reserved a cell for him every time he was sent to the prison. According to the old man, he was such a frequent visitor that he might as well show himself to the cell without anyone helping him.
Tai Zheng sighed feeling sorry for himself, why was it that he has to look for such a stupid partner he knew better than anyone that if he wanted to get hold of the doll house plan and the money that the other party has offered him, he has to make use of the Lin family as much as he can.
He rolled his eyes at Lin Ze and said, " That's because you are too much of a fool, why are you bothering with those brothers who are working as merchants? Just go and make a fuss in front of the academy, scholars value reputation the most. If you go ahead and cry in front of the academy where your fourth nephew stays, then you might get a chance to get hold of the necks of your nephews, after all, they wouldn't want their uprising scholar's reputation to go down the drain?"
" If you are worried that you will be troubled then you can go and look for your wife first, start with the soft approach, tell her that you are barely earning enough to meet your bare minimum, and if she doesn't agree then you threaten her with the plan of ruining the reputation of that scholar and if she agrees just drop the matter if she doesn't then you can just go ahead with a gong and drum and announce to the world, how your nephews are watching you die of starvation…even if you don't get what you want, at least your nephews wouldn't be able to get what they want either."
Lin Ze raised his head and blinked his eyes that were shining, that was right! Lin Che was no longer studying to become a scholar, they no longer have to worry about their reputation, if they are not having a good time then they might as well drag those white-eyed wolves down with them!
If they are falling into the abyss his nephews might as well follow him!
What Tai Zheng said made sense and Lin Ze couldn't help but wonder why didn't he think of this idea before.
Tai Zheng then continued, " If you don't believe me why don't you go and try the method of threatening them first? I bet they will have a hard time after finding out that you have such thoughts in mind and it's not like they can make you disappear, right? They might be rich but they are still commoners, if your mother goes and complains in front of the magistrate, I don't think that they will have a good time."
" You are right, I can do this!" Lin Ze felt that Tai Zheng was right and since he was relying on him to get the plan of making the doll house, he could trust Tai Zheng.
Although he wasn't that familiar with him, he has been coming to drink with Tai Zheng for more than two weeks and the latter has sometimes paid his bills.
He was a shrewd businessman, only he knew himself just how many businesses he has usurped! If he follows him then if nothing unexpected happens he might be able to earn a decent living!
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the next chapter will be updated in the morning.