After Old Master Ren returned, he rested in bed for three days, and his condition finally showed improvement. Apart from coughing up blood once in the middle of the night on the first day he returned, he did not cough up blood again in the following days.
However, perhaps due to Old Master Ren's advanced age, his body lacked the recovery ability of a younger person. Although he could get out of bed after a few days of rest, his energy was far from what it used to be. Old Madam Ren saw this, and the hidden worries in her heart never dissipated.
Nevertheless, Old Master Ren still kept matters outside in mind. After he was able to get out of bed, he began handling the accumulated affairs that had piled up during his absence from the Ren Family.
Although Old Master Ren usually devoted effort to nurturing his eldest legitimate son, Master Ren the Elder, he was a man with a strong desire for control. The true authority in the Ren Family still lay with him, and during his absence, there were many matters that even Master Ren the Elder could not handle.
Old Madam Ren and Master Ren the Elder were concerned that Old Master Ren's body, which had just regained some vitality, would not be able to endure, but Old Master Ren insisted, and they had no way to stop him.
On the fifth day after Old Master Ren's return, the Ren Family once again gathered members from all branches for a discussion. Since Ren Shijia and her husband remained in the Ren Family and had not returned to Yunyang City, Old Master Ren made an exception this time and allowed Lin Kun to attend. During the recent troubles in the Ren Family, Lin Kun had also provided considerable assistance and had not avoided involvement like other relatives and friends who kept their distance to avoid suspicion. This earned him the goodwill of most members of the Ren Family.
Old Master Ren sat at the head of the room, his gaze sweeping over his sons, sons-in-law, and nephews one by one. Everyone stood respectfully with their heads bowed in the lower seats. Old Master Ren nodded in satisfaction, placed the account book he was holding on the small table beside him, and said to Master Ren the Elder, "Eldest, explain the current situation of the Ren Family to them."
Upon hearing this, Master Ren the Elder stepped forward respectfully and said, "Yes, Father."
He looked at the others and spoke slowly, "The Ren Family must produce 1.5 million taels of silver before April next year. We have already raised 500,000 taels. Although our Ren Family can grit our teeth and come up with this amount, it will inevitably cause significant strain. Therefore, in the next three years, our external businesses must not encounter major setbacks. Otherwise, we will face difficulties in financial liquidity, and the Ren Family may never recover from it."
Upon hearing this, everyone could not help but exchange glances.
Fifth Master Ren hesitated and asked, "Eldest Brother, is it truly this serious?"
Master Ren the Elder sighed and said, "Our Ren Family is now considered large and prosperous. Although we may not be the wealthiest in the entire Yan Prefecture, our assets are certainly among the top ten. However, while the Ren Family's assets far exceed 1.5 million taels, the amount of silver we can readily use is limited. Maintaining such a vast family enterprise itself requires a large amount of readily available silver; otherwise, our coal mines and coal depots simply cannot be sustained. Among you, like Third Brother, who rarely deals with these matters, may not fully understand. To put it simply, if our Ren Family wants to maintain the industries we already have, most of the silver cannot be touched."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt understandably heavy-hearted.
Master Ren the Elder continued, "As for the consequences of allocating 60% of all annual profits, the Ren Family will likely be unable to achieve significant growth for the next ten years."Although she had already braced herself somewhat beforehand, Old Madam Ren still found the blow difficult to bear: "How could it be this severe? Isn't this like having our throat seized?"
Upon hearing this, everyone remained silent. The impact of this incident on the Ren Family was even more severe than they had originally imagined.
Master Ren the Elder comforted her, saying, "But think about it—compared to the other two families, we at least managed to barely preserve our family's assets this time, and all our family members are safe. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."
The two families implicated along with the Ren Family by the Zeng Family had assets no less than those of the Ren Family, yet in the end, all their properties were confiscated by the state.
Thinking this way, everyone felt somewhat better.
Just then, the voice of the old madam from the Eastern Mansion sounded outside again. Because of the unpleasantness caused by Madam Liao's forced entry last time, the maids guarding outside did not dare to let her in easily this time.
However, Master Ren the Elder said to Old Madam Ren, "I was the one who had someone call Second Sister-in-law over. Let her in."
Old Madam Ren nodded to Shanhu, who then went out to bring Madam Liao inside.
As soon as Madam Liao entered, she shot a glare at Old Madam Ren, who remained expressionless as she sat in the seat of honor.
Old Master Ren nodded to Madam Liao and instructed Shanhu to bring a chair for her. After Madam Liao sat down, she said to Old Master Ren, "Has Eldest Brother's health improved?" When facing Old Master Ren, Madam Liao still knew to exchange a few polite words.
Old Master Ren smiled and nodded. "Much better."
Madam Liao smiled and said, "That's good, that's good." She glanced at Old Madam Ren and then asked Old Master Ren, "So, Eldest Brother, did you call me here today to discuss the matter of dividing the family?"
Second Master Ren advised from below, "Mother, Eldest Uncle has only just recovered from his illness. Shouldn't this matter wait a while longer?"
Madam Liao glared at Second Master Ren. "You child, some things are better done sooner rather than later! Once the division is completed earlier, your Eldest Uncle's burden will be lighter, and he can rest and recuperate with peace of mind. I heard that Eldest Brother's illness requires quiet rest, isn't that right?"
Old Madam Ren frowned and was about to speak but was stopped by Old Master Ren with a wave of his hand. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Second Sister-in-law, are you truly determined to divide the family?"
Madam Liao quickly replied, "Of course. Do you think I'm saying this just for fun?"
Old Master Ren nodded and asked again, "Then, is this your own wish alone, or is it the unanimous opinion of everyone in the Eastern Mansion? If it is only your wish, I'm afraid we still need to discuss it further."
This time, Madam Liao paused before replying, "You know our old master's temper. He has always listened to you since he was young. Back then, when you said not to divide the family, he never brought it up again. When you asked him to take Fourth Son to the capital, he obediently took Fourth Son to the capital. But if you ask whether our Eastern Mansion wishes to be its own master, of course we do. After all, the children have all grown up now, and even great-grandchildren are about to arrive. We can't keep living under someone else's roof forever, can we?"
Old Master Ren raised an eyebrow, his expression inscrutable. "Living under someone else's roof? So that's how you see it, Second Sister-in-law?"Madam Liao was also somewhat afraid of Old Master Ren. Knowing she had spoken out of turn in the heat of the moment, she quickly said, "No, no, I meant that our East Mansion is now a large household as well. If we still have to seek Eldest Uncle's opinion for every matter, it would be rather inconvenient, wouldn't it?"
Old Master Ren nodded and did not press Madam Liao further on her slip of the tongue. He said, "I previously heard from the eldest that you had come to the West Mansion to propose dividing the family. I have carefully considered it. If this is the wish of everyone in your branch, as the head of the Ren Family, I cannot simply ignore it."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liao was delighted. "So Eldest Uncle agrees to the division?"
Old Master Ren raised his hand, signaling Madam Liao to let him finish. Seeing that there was hope, Madam Liao immediately stopped interrupting.
Old Master Ren said, "I already had the eldest write a letter to the capital for me two days ago, addressed to Second Brother. If he also agrees to the division and approves of the method I have proposed, then we will proceed accordingly." Old Master Ren leaned back wearily in his chair.
Madam Liao was first overjoyed, but after a moment's thought, she felt something was amiss and hurriedly asked, "Has Eldest Uncle already specified in the letter how the family is to be divided? Shouldn't you discuss it with us as well?"
Old Master Ren nodded toward Master Ren the Elder.
Master Ren the Elder spoke up, "Father's intention is that all coal depots outside Yanbei, including those in Jiangnan and the capital, will henceforth be managed by Second Uncle."
In recent years, the Ren Family had invested heavily in Jiangnan and the capital. In terms of scale, the number of coal depots in Jiangnan, including the capital, was no less than those in Yanbei.
Originally, the coal depots in the capital were not profitable. However, since the Fang family helped the Ren Family connect with that influential figure, the southern coal depots had become quite lucrative.
Second Old Master Ren, listening below, couldn't help but narrow his eyes thoughtfully.
Madam Liao had previously received letters from Second Old Master Ren and Fourth Master Ren and knew that the southern coal mines were now doing quite well. Thus, she was relatively satisfied with this division, as Second Old Master Ren had been managing the southern operations for years, while the Yanbei coal depots were under the West Mansion's control.
Nevertheless, Madam Liao put on a dissatisfied expression. "Our Ren Family has been operating the Yanbei coal depots for many years. Although Jiangnan has improved significantly compared to before, it still cannot compare to the Yanbei depots. With this division, our branch is still at a disadvantage!"
Old Master Ren did not argue but simply nodded and said, "Then we can proceed with the second method. Second Brother and I are no longer young. The future of the Ren Family depends on the younger generation. Therefore, I will divide all the Ren Family's coal depots in Yanbei and the south into five shares, to be managed by Shizhong and the other young members of their generation. I will step back completely as a hands-off manager."
Madam Liao frowned upon hearing this. "Why five shares?"
Old Master Ren replied calmly, "There are only five brothers in their generation, so naturally, there are five shares."
Madam Liao was momentarily speechless. She had only two sons, while the other side had three. Wasn't this clearly putting them at a disadvantage?
"What do you think?" Old Master Ren raised an eyebrow.
Madam Liao cleared her throat. "Let's set aside the coal depots for now. How will the coal mines be divided?"
Old Master Ren pondered for a moment before saying, "Our father's final wish was that the Ren Family should not be divided. If descendants insist on disregarding his instructions and causing a division, then all the Ren Family's coal mines will belong to the eldest legitimate branch.""What!" Madam Liao's eyes turned red with anxiety, nearly jumping to her feet.
A coal depot could be opened with just money, but a coal mine—even with money, one might not necessarily be able to buy a good one.
Old Master Ren made a gesture to calm her down. "This part of the ancestral instruction was written down by our father back then, and Second Brother was also aware of it. It's not something I made up on the spot."
The power was out today due to circuit maintenance, but the chapter is finally posted...
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