Chapter 1193: Chapter 1195 Promise_1
Thus, the only thing these two families could do was to secretly take actions to suppress Jiang Family’s distillery, which resulted in the business suffering more and more.
However, these actions did not harm the foundation of the Jiang Family, as they still retained most of their wealth.
So when he now said he wanted to donate half of it, even Ye Zi’an found it hard to believe; accumulated over many years, half of the Jiang Family’s wealth was at least tens of thousands of taels.
"Lord Ye, my father is grateful that you returned the truth to our Jiang Family and restored my younger brother’s remains so that he could be placed in our family’s ancestral grave. Upon learning that you need considerable funds to renovate Mianyang’s water conservancy, and since our Jiang Family has been established in Mianyang for many years, he also wishes to contribute what little we can to the people of Mianyang. We hope that you can accept this!"
As he spoke, Eldest Young Master Jiang opened the bundle he had brought, revealing a stack of banknotes, which Ye Zi’an quickly observed, noting that the amounts on the top were all in the thousands.
"Young Master Jiang, has Old Master Jiang truly decided on this?" Ye Zi’an thought that if this were really the case, he could accept it—it was for the yamen, not for him personally. With this donation, the funding for the channel excavation would almost be covered. Excavating the canal would encroach on people’s farmlands, so money would be needed to compensate for that. Furthermore, the embankments along the Lanjiang River also needed simultaneous repairs. If they were to be fixed, they should be done thoroughly, reinforced and elevated to ensure they wouldn’t collapse at the first surge of water.
Once all of this was done, the roads connecting the various towns in Mianyang also needed to be reconstructed, as well as the official roads to other counties, which had been eroded by water over the years. The original roads were full of potholes and barely serviceable, and repairs would require money.
"Lord Ye, this matter was not a momentary impulse from my father, but rather a decision made after careful deliberation. Moreover, our Jiang Family is not an illustrious family—we merely inherit the craft passed down from our ancestors, without much depth to our heritage. Even with wealth, it’s hard to safeguard it, as you can see from the incident involving my unfortunate younger brother. It is better to take out a part of it; on one hand, to divert attention away from our distillery, and on the other hand, to sincerely contribute to Mianyang."
Young Master Jiang spoke sincerely, but listening to him made Ye Zi’an feel like sweating.
He now understood why the Jiang Family, despite their wealth and standing, found themselves with no wiggle room when it came to emergencies. Looking at Eldest Young Master Jiang, he saw someone who was honest to a fault, but lacked shrewdness. He feared that his networking abilities were also insufficient—it was often said, "like father, like son," and perhaps Old Master Jiang was also such a man. Even with donating money, there was no need to explicitly state its secondary purpose of diverting attention.
And there was certainly no need to reveal such intentions to him—if it were someone else, they would probably feel that the contribution wasn’t so much for the sake of Mianyang or to assist him, the County Magistrate, but more for the Jiang Family itself.
"Young Master Jiang!" After a pause, Ye Zi’an said, "This official deeply appreciates everything that the Jiang Family has done for Mianyang. Rest assured, these funds will be promptly recorded and cataloged by the county office. I guarantee that not a single coin will be misused by anyone in the county office; all of it will be utilized for the development of Mianyang. However, there is one matter for which I must apologize to the Jiang Family—I hold a minor position and have little influence, so I cannot ask for recognition of your family’s contributions from the emperor. But I can make one promise: as long as the Jiang Family does not engage in unlawful activities, I will protect the Jiang Family for as long as I am in Mianyang. If I am no longer stationed here and the Jiang Family encounters any issues, you may send me a private note. Even after my tenure, I will still speak on behalf of the Jiang Family to the next County Magistrate."
"Commoner thanks Lord Ye greatly!" Eldest Young Master Jiang was moved with gratitude. Having received the County Magistrate’s promise was worth the generous donation.
The Jiang Family had always lacked connections within the government bureaucracy. They had previously attempted to buy influence with money, but while failing to secure the connections, they almost brought down the Jiang Family itself.
And then there was the matter with his younger brother, wasn’t it the same!