This is only a small fight on the water, and the real big deal lies in the large area of ground that is about to be cleared on the west bank.

The area around the West Lake has long been a place where every inch of land is valuable, and the embankments in the southeast and north have long been the battleground for large restaurants and merchants. Over the years, everything that could be occupied has been crowded to the brim. When this large area of the West Bank is cleared, it should be extremely sought-after, at least in Yan Zhengzhi's opinion.

Yan Zhengsu convened all the city's businessmen to conduct a promotion briefing, and the content of the meeting was very simple. After the West Bank is cleared out, it will be the land of the official family, but in order to raise silver taels, Yan Zhengsu is willing to take out part of the land for pre-sale. In the future, when the West Bank is cleared, only those who pay money to buy land in advance can occupy a place there.

However, what Yan Zhengsu didn't expect was that in the face of the more than a dozen plots of land marked, a businessman in Hangzhou City did not show a positive attitude. Throughout, they took a wait-and-see attitude towards the new prefect's plans. No one wants to buy a piece of worthless land soaked in water for a long time, and the prefect has put forward such a high price, as high as two thousand taels of silver per mu, which is simply insane.

In the end, no one believed that this plan would succeed, after all, the merchants were only for profit, which was one of the reasons for the low status of the merchants.

At this embarrassing time, the Lin family showed the vision they should have as an old big family. Or it can't be called vision, Lin Boyong and Lin Ke are actually just thinking about using the silver to tie up with the new prefect. The Lin family resolutely made a move in silence and bought twenty acres of land on the west bank that they didn't know if they could use it at a price of 40,000 taels of silver. The Lin family made a move, and the rest of the merchants also had to symbolically buy some land, although it was only one acre and two acres to buy, but more than a dozen merchants also got together the silver taels they needed. For this matter, many merchants scolded the Lin family behind their backs for spending unjust money, and if the Lin family didn't make a move, they wouldn't have to spend this money. The prefect is like flowing water, and the businessmen are deeply rooted in Hangzhou, what can he do?

Yan Zhengsu didn't care what they thought, what he wanted was for his plan to move forward. He didn't have any gratitude for the Lin family, because in Yan Zhengsu's view, it was these merchants who took advantage of it, and those lands would skyrocket in the future, so he had no choice but to ask the imperial court for permission to sell some of his land to raise funds.

The project finally started, although there were many twists and turns in the middle, so that the prefect lost more than a dozen pounds of meat, and whenever he had free time, he went to the construction site to supervise, and personally participated in the excavation and dredging work. But finally ten months later, the huge project was finally completed, and a six-bridge embankment connected the north and south. A large area of silt and weeds on the west side of the lake was excavated and cleared. A diversion channel connects a tributary of Qiantang six miles away. During the rainy and hurricane season that year, for the first time, the wasteland on the west bank of West Lake was not flooded by the flooding water. When the green shade of the transplanted willow trees swayed on the causeway, and when the water surface of the west of the lake changed from a muddy stench to a clear turquoise, those in Hangzhou who were skeptical of it suddenly realized that this had happened.

When the weeds of the trees and weeds on the west bank were cleared and the roots of the rotting trees were removed, a new atmosphere appeared on the embankment of the west bank, which was reinforced with stones. The mud-covered west bank is flat and wide, with the foot of the West Mountain in the back and the rippling blue waves in the east, making it a treasure of feng shui. It was only at this moment that the former businessmen realized how short-sighted they were. They approached the government to buy the land, but they were told that the land in the West Bank would no longer be sold, and that it would be used as official land for official use.

The merchants beat their chests, they hated themselves for not being able to buy more before, and they regretted that they were about to vomit blood. And the Lin family, who ate twenty acres of land in one go, has undoubtedly become the biggest beneficiary. In just one year, the original 2,0021 acres of land in the West Bank has doubled. The Lin family didn't eat or drink, and just by changing their hands, they had already earned forty or fifty thousand taels of white silver.

However, how could the Lin family make a move. Even Lin Boyong and Lin Ke were extremely surprised by this great thing that fell from the sky. The Lin family has to keep these 20 acres of land, and they will only sell it when the price is sky-high, or when it is needed.

Of course, the land cannot be empty, and since last spring Lin Ke has ordered people to build walls and houses on the land, and to plant trees and flowers. Although it is only a few simple courtyards, it is still named Lin Family Garden. After the transformation, the scenery is beautiful, the environment is quiet, except for Lin Boyong's occasional stay, Lin Ke often comes to live. The rest of the people were not allowed to go to live, and it became a private residence of Lin Ke.

……

In the evening, Lin Jue, who was sitting in a big car, was crossing the long embankment under the sunset to the north under the Qixia Ridge. The annex on the west bank of the Lin family is close to the northwest, on the side of Qixia Ridge. Walking from the causeway is the quickest way to do it.

Under the sunset, the willow shade on the causeway is dense, and in the gaps of the long branches, a little sunlight sprinkles, mottled and magnificent, and is beautiful. Although it is the height of summer and the city is full of heat, this embankment is quiet and cool. In the shade of the trees, the birds chirped, the sound was pleasant, the lake on both sides was full of golden light, and the brightly colored painting boats and boats were slowly rippling on the lake, which taught people to admire the courage and vision of the Yan Governor. Created this magnificent scenery in the lake.

The drive crosses the causeway and reaches the northwest shore of the lake, turning west around the lake. Qixia Ridge will be shaded by the setting sun, and the sky will suddenly become dark. There seems to be a layer of pale blue smoke around it. On the surface of the lake at dusk, there seems to be water vapor steaming and lingering, giving people a strange beauty.

Since the west bank has just been renovated and the land is not for sale, the deeper you go along the shore, the more quiet and lonely it becomes. Weeds and trees that have not been removed are scattered on both sides, and there is still a sense of desolation and desolation. Fortunately, the road was clear, and a stone and brick road had already run through the west bank, so that the weeds did not interfere with the carriage and horses.

After the sun officially set, in the twilight, Lin Jue saw a tall and long fancy wall in front of him. The black tiles and white walls, hollow carvings, are very exquisite. In this bleak scene, the sudden sight of this wall gives people a very abrupt feeling. It was as if I had seen a human being out of the wilderness all at once.

"Little boy, when you get to the place, please get out of the car and go in by yourself. The eldest prince said, idle people are not allowed to enter the garden, and villains can't send you in. The guy who was driving the car jumped out of the car and bowed out the window.

Lin Jue frowned, Lin Ke still has such strict rules, which is also incomprehensible. However, Lin Jue didn't care, pushed the car door and got out of the car, casually threw a string of reward money to the little girl, and slowly walked forward with his hair in his whole clothes.

A fork in the road leads along the wall to the shore of the lake, and around the corner of the wall, there is an open field in front of it. Not far away, under the shade of a dozen dark green willows is a small wharf inlaid with bluestone, and a small boat is tied to the shore and gently undulating. Lin Jue walked over slowly, and then, he saw the tall gatehouse on the right, and the black figure standing with his hands in his hands at the door.

"Lin Jue, are you here?"

"Brother, it's me. My brother has been waiting for a long time. ”

"It won't be long, but the food and drinks are already on the table, and they are indeed waiting for you to come."

"Brother bothered."

The two brothers bowed briefly, and after a simple answer, Lin Ke turned around and entered the gate, and Lin Jue slowly followed.

Inside the gate is a huge empty courtyard, with piles of earth and rocks, and piles of Taihu Lake stones that have been transported lying on the ground. It was something that was used to decorate the courtyard, and it was clear that everything was still a work in progress, not yet finished. On the contrary, there were a few tall trees standing in the corners of the courtyard, their crowns covered by the clouds, and the black shade stood like ink and speechless. These are the only few big trees that can stay in this wasteland, and the rest of the crooked melons, cracked dates, weeds and thorns have long been eradicated and excavated into charcoal.

"It's so magnificent, I've only heard that there is a West Garden, and it's the first time I've come here today." Lin Juedao.

Lin Ke smiled: "If you like it here, you can come and live more often in the future." It cost 40,000 taels of silver to get this piece of land. At the beginning, they all said that I was crazy, and now I can't buy 100,000 taels of this 20-acre mansion. It's one of the best places in the West Bank. In time, the renovation here will be completed, and it will be one of the best gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. At that time, the garden in Yangzhou and the Lingering Garden in Suzhou had to be compared. ”

Lin Jue smiled: "Big brother is so Yaxing." ”

Lin Ke said in a deep voice: "You don't know me, I'm just a little strong." What I want to do, I have to do, no matter the cost. ”

Lin Jue nodded. Looking ahead, beside a few newly loaded trees, several houses stood in the twilight. There was still a light in the middle room.

"There is no cloister of the monastery here, and the few houses are the only places to live. The picture is quiet and peaceful, let's go in. Lin Ke said.

Lin Jue nodded and smiled: "It's really quiet enough, except for the sound of insects and wind, there is no sound." Not even the shadow of a servant was to be seen. Are they all hiding? ”

Lin Ke turned around and smiled: "I didn't hide, in fact, there are not a few servants here, only three or four people close to me." It's so big, it's so dark, you just don't see them. You look back, and there's one next to you. ”

Lin Jue turned around in surprise, and sure enough, he saw a shadow more than a dozen steps behind, and at the same time, Lin Jue also saw that the gate of the courtyard had closed tightly and silently at some point.