The golden autumn and August came in a blink of an eye, when the city of Hangzhou was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus flowers, what happened in the Lin family in Hangzhou had gradually been forgotten.

Although there were many pairs of eyes staring at the Lin family, waiting to see the chaos and jokes of the Lin family, however, the Lin family still returned to normal inexorably inside and outside. Lin Ke's death and the change of the head of the Lin family did not seem to have any signs of decay in the Lin family at all, on the contrary, what those who stared at the Lin family saw was the new atmosphere of the Lin family's business and the peace in the Lin family's house.

In the Lin family's business, the short-term discomfort caused by the new regulations actually lasted less than half a month. It didn't take long for people to realize the changes brought about by these new regulations, and the responsibility system of the treasurer and the elimination of the last position of independent accounting made everyone have to be vigilant. The big pot of rice is gone, and some of the lazy and chaotic behaviors in the past are no longer tolerated, and everyone is like a clockwork tightened, racking their brains to make a difference.

Those who are in charge of the storekeeper, they didn't have to use too many brains before, because big and small matters are decided from above. But now they have to solve some of their own problems. Despite this, they were happy and excited, because they didn't have to think much about it before, but they didn't have much presence. At the moment, they have so much power and responsibility that they feel valued more than the pressure that comes with it. Who doesn't want to be an important person, and no one wants to be dispensable. Human nature is nothing more than that.

Lin Jue's life quickly became easier, with Huang Changqing at home, and with the help of his uncle in the outer room, there was basically no need for Lin Jue to worry about it. Although Huang Changqing was very humble and came to the small courtyard every night to report, Lin Jue just listened. Occasionally, he vaguely reminded Huang Changqing that he could not make the same mistakes as before, and he could no longer treat everyone in the outer room with the same way as before. Huang Changqing obviously understands this, he is a shrewd person, and he has a good grasp of proportion.

In business, the old treasurers of the affairs club have gradually adapted to their roles. Lin Jue basically doesn't need to sit in the boat shop every day now, and the old shopkeepers can see that Lin Jue has no intention of being here, except for major events, they basically don't bother Lin Jue. However, Master Tang had a heart, and ordered someone to record the affairs handled every day and present them to Lin Jue, Lin Jue was also clear at a glance, and he also knew the big and small affairs.

Lin Jue was very satisfied with this state, this was exactly the result he wanted, he was not willing to waste all his time in these trivial matters, inside and out. He would rather look at the flowers and birds, ride the horses given by the imperial court, and wander around aimlessly, rather than be trapped in that pile of boring trivial things every day.

Of course, there is one thing he can't escape, that is, as the chief steward, he must maintain the Lin family's external contacts and establish good relations with all kinds of businessmen and some officials who have friendships with the Lin family. This is exactly what Lin Jue hates the most, because Lin Jue knows that there are some dirty deals secretly between these people and the Lin family, and he has to continue to maintain this dirty deal. For example, when Zhang Yi was sentenced, Lin Jue had to drink two meals with him, and at the same time, he had to call his precious son Zhang Yanei, who was once dragged to the street with his bare buttocks.

Fortunately, Lin Jue's adaptability is very strong, and when some things have to last, Lin Jue will grit his teeth and do it, and he does it well.

The inside and outside of the Lin family were back on track, and Lin Jue's tense nerves were also relaxed. After all, it is easy to seize power, but how to stabilize the Lin family inside and outside after this is the root of the problem. Now that everything has calmed down, the stress has suddenly decreased a lot. All that's left is to see how effective all the measures are and then adjust the response.

But there is one thing that Lin Jue must do, and that is to meet Lin Boyong. In any case, Lin Boyong is the owner of the Lin family's big house, although he was removed from the position of head of the family, but this process is really not fair enough. Now that Lin Boyong is closed, Lin Bonian obviously did not obtain his forgiveness before leaving, and this matter is still a hidden danger after all.

The unity of the Lin family is the consensus of Lin Bonian and Lin Jue, although the two planned all this, the fundamental purpose is not to make the Lin family chaotic and divided. And now the situation between the big house and the second and third rooms is like fire and water, Lin Boyong doesn't care about everything, and the two brothers Lin Song and Lin Run are even more broken jars, drinking and scolding every day for fun, this is not a thing.

Before this, Lin Jue had tried to see Lin Boyong, hoping to bridge the difference. But Lin Boyong didn't want to see him at all, so he let him eat twice behind closed doors. At that time, Lin Jue was busy inside and outside, and he really didn't have time to think about these things, but now, everything was calm, and Lin Jue thought that it was best to make efforts to obtain Lin Boyong's understanding. Even if we can't understand, at least we must reconcile, and we can't never die without getting along. Besides, if Lin Boyong has been unable to forgive the two, and Changfang and the Lin family are in a state of opposition, then something will happen sooner or later.

With such thoughts, Lin Jue decided to ask to see Lin Boyong again. On the afternoon of the seventh day of the eighth month, Lin Jue took time out and went to Huxi Villa alone. Xiaohu wanted to follow, but Lin Jue resolutely refused. Lin Jue never wanted Lin Boyong to have any other ideas, and Lin Jue didn't want to be known about Lin Boyong.

When Lin Jue arrived at the Lin Family Villa in Huxi, it was already afternoon. The autumn sun is shining, and the autumn mood is very strong everywhere, but in front of the high gate building in the back of the sun, there is already some autumn cool and gloomy meaning in the shadows. In front of the stairs, a large area of fallen leaves is piled up, as if it has not been cleaned for a long time, giving people a sense of decay and desolation.

Lin Jue thought to himself, there are also a lot of servants in the other garden, and they don't even clean up the fallen leaves, and these servants are too disagreeable. Whether it is because Lin Boyong's identity at the moment is no longer the head of the family, these servants are also slacking off, this is resolutely intolerable. If this is the case, these servants and servants must be severely punished. The tiger fell into Pingyang and was bullied by dogs, and it was absolutely not allowed for the servants to snub their masters and be lazy and negative.

Standing in front of the gate where fallen leaves were piled up, Lin Jue was a little hesitant. I had mustered up the courage to come before, but now I am a little timid. It's not that I'm afraid of Lin Boyong's face, or I'm worried that he will scold himself, but when I arrived here, I couldn't help but ring the day Lin Ke died, and remembered what happened that day. Even if Lin Ke's death was self-inflicted, Lin Jue always felt uncomfortable in his heart, and he always had some strange feelings.

Lin Jue adjusted his mood and walked to the hidden door and was about to knock on the door to call someone, when he suddenly heard the sound of rushing water in the distance under the shade of willows behind him. The Lin Family Garden is on the west shore of the West Lake, and it is not uncommon for the lake to lap on the shore, in fact, standing here, you can always hear the sound of the water splashing gently hitting the lakeshore, but what you hear at this moment is the violent sound of the water splash, which is by no means a normal water sound.

Lin Jue was startled and hurriedly turned his head to look. He saw an old man wearing a hat and dressed in coarse cloth walking slowly up from under the dock. The man was holding two herring fish in his hand, jumping and writhing endlessly. The old man also raised his head at this time, and the two looked at each other, both stunned in place.

The old man is none other than Lin Boyong. He wore a hat and dressed like an ordinary fisherman. He was wearing straw sandals on his feet, and he was still wet and sticky with muddy water. It must have been in the cabin that was contaminated with muddy water from the bottom of the warehouse.

"Uncle." Lin Jue woke up and hurriedly went down the steps to meet him.

Lin Boyong frowned, suddenly turned around and walked towards the shore of the lake, and walked down the stone steps quickly. When Lin Jue arrived, in the sound of Lin Nai, Lin Boyong got on the boat and had rowed to the shore of the promised land.

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Lin Jue shouted.

"I caught two herrings, and I was in a good mood, but I was in a bad mood by a white-eyed wolf." Lin Boyong said coldly, his hands did not stop, and the boat left Zhang Xu again.

Lin Jue frowned and exclaimed, "Uncle, I know you hate me now, but it's not a way to ignore each other forever." You should have let me explain it to you. No matter what, we are all members of the Lin family, and we can't never ignore each other. Even if you don't forgive me, we should have a good talk, or at least make a decision. ”

Lin Boyong stopped the oar in his hand and muttered for a long time. The boat floats on the lake, and you slowly ripple with the waves. Suddenly, Lin Boyong rowed with an oar, but he rowed towards the shore.

"Come on board, we'll say something on board." Lin Boyong said in a deep voice on the bluestone on the shore with wood pulp.

Lin Jue hesitated slightly. Lin Boyong sneered: "What? Afraid that I'll push you off the lake? ”

Lin Jue no longer hesitated, walked down the stone steps quickly, jumped forward, and got on the stern of the boat. After sitting down, he stretched out his hand to Lin Boyong, Lin Boyong was slightly stunned, and then handed the wood pulp to Lin Jue. Lin Jue turned his back to Lin Boyong, the wood pulp tapped the stones on the shore, and the boat leisurely swung off the shore towards the lake.

"Uncle, where are we going?" Lin Jue asked sideways.

"Go there, it's quiet there, just talk." Lin Boyong pointed into the distance. Lin Jue raised his eyes to look, under the autumn sun, the lake was dazzling with golden light. In the distance, a green lotus leaf has not yet withered, and is trying to show the last of its green, stretching a large area of the lake to the south shore of the lake. It's really a great place to talk.

Passing through a large area of clear waves, the boat slowly arrives at the place where the lotus leaves are luxuriant. Perhaps because it is convenient for lotus pickers to pass through, there seems to be an artificially opened waterway between the dense lotus leaves leading to the depths. At this time, it is almost mid-August, the lotus flowering season has long passed, and the lotus pod picking season has ended. However, the lotus leaves on both sides of the waterway still stand out of the water, and the fertile black mud at the bottom of the West Lake nourishes more vigorous stalks and giant lotus leaf umbrellas as large as a canopy. During the boat, it is quite a feeling of covering the sky and the sun. After the sun was blocked, there was a bit of a cold and gloomy meaning.

Finally, the boat passed through the waterway under the lotus leaf and entered the depths, reaching a small open area several feet in a radius of several zhang. This is the open space specially set aside by the lotus pickers to facilitate the stay of the boats. Boats can go into the depths of the lotus root from the dense waterways in all directions to pick lotus roots, and the results can be collected here and transported out together. But now it was deserted, and there were a few wooden stakes nailed to the bottom of the lake on the water, which were used for the mooring of boats. When the boat arrived, several waterfowl standing on the top of the stake were frightened and fluttered into the sky, without a trace.

"Stop the boat, and say anything here." Lin Boyong's voice came from behind.

Lin Jue responded, docked the boat to the side of the stake, and turned around after snaring the rope on the stake.

Lin Boyong took off his hat, his gray hair was messy, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as an axe and a knife. In just over a month, Lin Boyong seems to have aged a lot.

"Uncle, are you okay during this time?" Lin Jue asked softly.

"Thanks to you Hongfu, the old man can't die yet, is it to teach you to be disappointed." Lin Boyong smiled.

Lin Jue sighed and said, "Uncle, don't say such things, how can my nephew have such a vicious heart?" ”

Lin Boyong sneered: "Aren't you ruthless enough? Didn't you kill me when you did that? My Lin family has people like Bonian and you, and they are really ancestors who accumulate virtue. ”

Lin Jue frowned and said, "Uncle, I admit that the second uncle and I did calculate you, but our original intention was never to want the uncle's life. When the uncle said such a thing, I am afraid that he would be angry. ”

"Words of indignation? Ke'er has just died, and the old man is grieving, you are taking advantage of this time to calculate the old man, but is it not good will for the old man? No matter how clever your tongue is, I'm afraid it's hard to justify. Sooner or later, the world will know what kind of people you are. You pour dirty water on the old man, and the old man doesn't care. The old man is about to die, and his days are numbered. However, you still have a long way to go, and if you do this, I am afraid that it will be difficult to move an inch in the future. Lin Boyong shouted coldly.

Lin Jue said softly: "Uncle, since you hate us so much, why don't you publicize this matter to the outside world?" Instead, shut the door and don't say a word? I think that with the uncle's connections and prestige, if you tell the story, I am afraid that many people will help the uncle to denounce us. The second uncle may not be able to sit firmly in the position of the head of the family, and I will be blamed by everyone and my reputation will be lost. Why didn't Uncle do this? And I also heard that the uncle strictly forbade the two brothers of the long house to publicize this matter outside, so that they were silent and swallowed their anger. Why did Uncle do this? ”

Lin Boyong was stunned, and said in a deep voice: "Family ugliness can't be publicized, why should I ask outsiders for help in my Lin family?" You don't have to make the city stormy. What you do will be rewarded, and the underworld has its own eyes of the gods, and I don't need to do anything more. ”

Lin Jue nodded slightly and said: "Uncle is really a broad-minded person, normal people will definitely repay him, that's also human nature." However, I think the reason is more than that, and I have some guesses. ”

Lin Boyong sneered: "You have a lot of eyes, you can guess if you like, the old man is not interested in listening." ”

Lin Jue arched his hand and said, "Uncle, if you don't listen to me, you have to say it." The reason why Uncle is reluctant to speak out, I guess the reasons are as follows. First, the uncle is for the sake of the overall situation of the Lin family, and he is unwilling to cause chaos in the Lin family because of this matter. Although Uncle is angry and sad, he is not blinded by these things, you are looking at the overall situation. ”

Lin Boyong sneered: "The old man doesn't dare to be the old man, isn't the old man belittled by you?" Everyone in Hangzhou City knows that the old man is selfish and secretly persecutes you Lin Jue for the benefit of the long house. Why is your words different today than those of that day? It's really incomprehensible. ”

Lin Jue said: "The day is the day, and the day is the day." Forced by the situation that day, in order to force the uncle to give up the position of the head of the family, there are also words that are indeed fabricated, slandering the uncle's reputation, and the nephew is deeply guilty and uneasy. The nephew will give an explanation to the uncle about this matter. But today, the nephew must tell the truth and tell the uncle what is in his heart. In the nephew's mind, the uncle still took the overall situation into account and did not make drastic moves. Lin Jue admired this. ”

Lin Boyong sneered and was silent.

Lin Jue continued to say softly: "The second reason why the uncle is reluctant to speak out, I guess the uncle should have realized his mistake. So the uncle chose to introspect behind closed doors, and he didn't allow the two brothers to make trouble, in fact...... In fact, there is a sense of repentance. ”

Lin Boyong laughed and said, "Repentance? It is you who should repent, what does the old man need to repent? In vain, I put my heart to Bonian and helped him wholeheartedly, but he stabbed me in the back. And you, are what you do fitting your identity? Are you not ashamed of your deeds? There are really people in the world who will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and the old man didn't believe it before, but he saw the truth in you. Yes, you succeeded, but can you really be proud of it? You've gone astray, you know? ”

Lin Jue said in a deep voice: "Uncle, you can not admit that you are wrong, but I think so. As for your accusations, I just want to say that my second uncle and I were also forced to be helpless. The matter of the eldest son, what has happened to the Lin family in the past year, and even the decades that the head of the family has presided over the affairs of the Lin family, I can't say that the head of the family has made no achievements, but the overall trend of the Lin family is becoming more and more sinister. Centrifugation inside and outside, people's minds change. The main family became more and more arrogant and rude, and the younger brothers in the outer house were in poverty. As the head of the family, you failed to unite the Lin family with one heart, which only exacerbated this division. It is the so-called court training system that you are most proud of, and the actions that are strongly constrained by family rules and family laws are good in their original intentions, but they are also ruined in your own hands. Because you are different from person to person, you are indulgent and lenient to your descendants, but you are harsh and strict with your outer brothers, and you have ruined your prestige. Don't you feel any of these things? ”

Lin Boyong said coldly: "It turns out that you are still here to teach the old man a lesson today, Lin is in charge, do you want the old man to kowtow to you and apologize?" ”

Lin Jue shook his head and said, "Uncle, why do you say these angry words, you know the intention of me and my second uncle to do this." I have also advised you many times to change your approach. Helplessly, my words are not even a gust of breeze in the ears of the uncle. In the uncle's heart, I, a three-room concubine, should be the person you hate the most. But have you ever thought about it, the Lin family is not only your Lin family, not only the Lin family of the long house, but also the Lin family of everyone. The Lin family's affairs are also everyone's business, if you don't act as the head of the family, but let the Lin family continue to be in danger, then the Lin family has the right to stand up and stop this behavior. You've just met someone like me who dares to stand up. But even if it weren't for me, a three-room concubine, I believe that the children who saw the Lin family's situation clearly would eventually come out to oppose it, because in fact, every child of the Lin family had expectations for the Lin family, how could they allow the Lin family to fall. This is something in the bones, this is the spirit of the ancestors of the Lin family flowing in the blood, which will not be extinguished. ”

Lin Boyong frowned and was silent.

"Uncle, you should understand that the purpose of me and my second uncle is not to humiliate you, not to betray you, but we both feel that we must correct the Lin family's slide into a dangerous situation. I thought that the big brother thing would wake you up. Makes you change your mind. Yes, the second uncle's recommendation of me to be the chief steward is indeed a temptation, that is, to test whether you are concerned about the overall situation of the Lin family, and whether you really realize that it was your mistakes that caused all these dangers in the family. However, you don't seem to realize it. ”

"The two sons of the long house are entangled in everyone making trouble, you must understand that they will do this, but the uncle did not stop it. Maybe you will say that it was the second uncle who prevented you from doing this, but you will agree with the second uncle's suggestion, in fact, it is also because you don't want me to be the big steward in your heart. That's why you pushed the boat along the river and agreed to the suggestion deliberately put forward by the second uncle. I know, in fact, you blame me for the death of the eldest prince. You have a grudge against me, and even if you know that the death of the eldest prince has nothing to do with me, your heart will not let go. ”

"Uncle, we are all very saddened by the death of the eldest prince, and I have to confess my heart to you once again about this matter. The death of the eldest prince was of course unlucky, and after being captured by the pirates, he was forced to work for the pirates, which can be said to be a catastrophe. But as the head of the household, you have the main responsibility. For so many years, the eldest prince has provided financial support to the bandits, the Lin family has annexed other people's industries with the assistance of the bandits, and various accidents have occurred to competitors for no reason, don't you know at all? Or do you actually feel something is wrong, but you choose to turn a blind eye? Even if you don't know anything, isn't that also a dereliction of duty as the head of the family? The death of the eldest prince can be said to be your fault to some extent, how can you anger others? Uncle, think about it, isn't this the reason? ”