Chapter 427: The Contact Chart
Lu Xuan’s study was in the side courtyard of the second courtyard. The small courtyard was a world of its own. Both its construction and landscape design were the essence of the entire residence. The small courtyard was specially designed by Li Xiaolü, the only professional landscape designer in Lingao architecture, which made the chief designer Mei Wan quite jealous.
Since it was carefully crafted, it was naturally built without regard to cost, with the cost accounting for about one-third of the entire residence. However, Lu Xuan believed that the money was well spent. Compared to the main house, this was his headquarters. In fact, he rarely went to the main courtyard except to sleep at night, spending most of his time in the study.
The study was exquisitely decorated and furnished, with a large number of confiscated goods bought from the Planning Commission’s warehouse. At this moment, he was sitting in his study, looking at the rockery in the courtyard, absentmindedly flipping through the “contact chart” he had taken out of the safe, his mind in a mess.
The “contact chart” in his hand was just a thin paper folder, but it was the only result of his five years of hard work in the Great Library.
In the past, he was always in a very happy mood whenever he took out the “contact chart.”
You guys are making such a fuss about the patronage system, knightly allegiance, private soldiers… Hmph, the real knight is here.
Over the years, he had sponsored more than a dozen students, most of whom had already entered various government departments and the army. He had a list that made him quite gratified. And he was constantly adding new names to it every year—this list was his capital to stir up trouble in the Senate and even the entire empire in the future.
But now, five years have passed. The cause of the Senate has progressed by leaps and bounds. The Senate has not only established a firm foothold in Hainan, but also has the power to look down on all the heroes. Although the rule of the Senate is still rough, it is constantly learning and adapting, becoming more and more mature. This also means that there are not many opportunities left for him to turn the tables.
Lu Xuan’s anxiety came from this. If he could not occupy an ideal position in the Senate and master enough political resources, he would not be able to continue to control his team: he took them in, supported them, and trained them, but in the end, he had to lead them to continue to rise and provide them with a larger platform to maintain the team’s cohesion and centripetal force. Otherwise, his years of forbearance and dedication would become a wedding dress for others, and he himself would be reduced to a soy sauce crowd relying on others for protection—this was something Lu Xuan absolutely could not see.
He began to doubt whether his existing ability could support this ambition.
In the past, he had vaguely sensed the dissent of his “disciples,” but he had not paid much attention to it. But today’s discussion with Liu Hui made him realize that the crisis of the blueprint he had drawn was already at hand.
His outburst at Zhang Lan and Liu Hui was not so much a release of his emotions as a deliberate warning. Liu Hui and Zhang Lan were both his pillow companions, and their status in the Lu family village was second only to him. They were educated and had lived in the core area of the transmigrators in Lingao for many years, so their horizons were much higher than those of ordinary natives.
They could more or less see Lu Xuan’s actual living conditions in the Senate. Although Lu Xuan had been the breadwinner of the Lu family village for the past few years, these people who lived under his protection had grown up and matured. A full stomach was no longer enough to make them grateful to him. But maintaining the current situation was already the limit of Lu Xuan’s ability—the dozen or so naturalized citizens who were already working had all entered the system, but none of them had become a cadre of a sufficient level. Most of them were still ordinary staff and workers.
Although the children he sponsored to study at Fangcaodi graduated and were assigned jobs in batches, once they entered the jurisdiction of the Human Resources Department of the Civil Affairs People’s Committee, with the resources Lu Xuan had at hand, their future was not something he could control.
And these people who were raised in the Lu family village were full of longing for the world outside the village, which was like a raging fire and a brocade of flowers. They were all eager to try. “After mastering both literary and martial arts, sell them to the emperor’s family.” The Senate was certainly worthy of being this “emperor.” But Lu Xuan was not, and his aura as a Senator was gradually fading.
He had originally intended to cultivate these off-system natives in the village as business talents to expand his financial resources. In other words, they were his “white gloves” to obtain benefits in the future.
But to do that, first, you need money. Second, you need power.
Unfortunately, he now had neither money nor power. He had some face, but he could only handle small matters.
He was not in a position to take back the construction team he had contracted to Zhang Youfu: it would look too ugly. You know, there was not a single Senator who had a legitimate industry of his own. Even the popular South China Sea Cafe was not legally his, but the property of the Agricultural Committee.
In theory, the dividends of the Senators were very considerable. But in fact, the Senators basically could not dispose of this dividend. The Senate implemented a high accumulation policy, and the Senators’ dividend accounts were actually frozen. As a Senator, he could only dispose of his own salary and subsidies. After the end of each fiscal year, a certain amount of cash was allowed to be withdrawn according to the currency issuance of that year.
Even so, the financial department was still racking its brains to “re-circulate the currency.” So much so that some Senators complained that the various “special supply” goods sold in the General Office’s “special supply store” were actually the “high-end snacks” of this time and space.
Unfortunately, Lu Xuan’s income was quite low among the Senators. Although his position salary was not much different from that of other Senators, he was far behind in terms of allowances. After all, the work in the Great Library was not heavy manual labor; it did not require him to brave the wind and rain, the sun and the dew, or climb mountains and ridges; nor was there the danger of dying at any time in a factory or on a battlefield. Therefore, the allowance standard for the Great Library was calculated according to the lowest administrative post in the central government. Because Lu Xuan often went on business trips as a part-timer, he was considered to have the highest allowance in the entire Great Library.
For other Senators—for example, Senator Cheng sitting opposite him, his income was actually lower than his, but he had no burden and could still live a leisurely and comfortable life. But he couldn’t. He had a large family and a large business. The Senate’s strange tax policy further exacerbated his financial difficulties.
In fact, since last year, the finances of the Lu family village had been in a state of embarrassment. The “precedents” for various “rewards” to the “disciples” were also established at that time.
His role in his official career was limited, and his financial support was also lacking. People are very realistic animals. Even if he had been a great benefactor to these people, when they found that their master could not bring them much benefit, all that was left was to gradually alienate him. Along with that, even the Lu family village began to become a little unstable. Especially Liu Hui—he secretly regretted that he should not have sent her to the maid training class for training—although the modern knowledge she learned from the training class was useful to him, it also filled her head with a lot of messy things, making her difficult to “discipline.” Just her interpersonal relationships with other maids were a headache. God knows what she would say in front of them.
He had to give her a good beating again to make her fear him. He thought to himself, otherwise she would eventually be a hidden danger.
Of course, a mere beating could not solve the problem. The only way out was to quickly become stronger. Otherwise, his years of hard work would not only be a fleeting illusion and a wedding dress for others, but it was also possible that one day the atmosphere of the Senate would change, and he, a powerless and restless Senator, would become the target of the Cheka, and the Lu family village might become the ironclad evidence of his being overthrown and discredited. But there was no turning back. There was no medicine for regret in the world. He had to bite the bullet and go on.
“I can’t wait any longer!” Lu Xuan pushed aside the public opinion analysis piled on the table, stood up abruptly, his face stern.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, the doorbell at the courtyard gate rang. No one was allowed to enter this courtyard without his permission.
“What is it?” he asked impatiently at the courtyard gate.
“Master,” Zhang Lan said timidly from outside the courtyard gate, “Sister Hui—”
“Come in and speak!”
Zhang Lan hurried in and stood in the middle of the courtyard to report: “Sister Hui fainted, fainted…”
Lu Xuan frowned: she fainted after being beaten? What kind of drama was this? After the punishment was verified, she could still walk down the railing and kneel. How could she faint in less than ten minutes?
“Just send her back to her room to rest.”
The next day, in Yu E’shui’s office, Lu Xuan sat dejectedly in front of Yu E’shui, his hair disheveled and his expression haggard.
Yu E’shui was used to Lu Xuan’s usual seriousness, jokes, and pretentiousness, but this was the first time he had seen Lu Xuan in such a decadent state. He asked with concern, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Alas… I think I’m going to be the second Yang Xinwu. Retribution! Retribution…” After a long sigh, Lu Xuan let out a series of wails, leaving Yu E’shui completely confused.
“What’s wrong? What second Yang Xinwu?”
“A while ago, when the maid case broke out, I was still laughing at him, saying that he couldn’t even control a maid and caused such a big trouble, it was a disgrace to the Senate. I didn’t expect that I… I myself have become a disgrace to the Senate… Retribution, retribution!”
“Speak properly, what disgrace?” Seeing Lu Xuan’s sad and indignant look, Yu E’shui asked quickly.
Seeing that Yu E’shui was not happy, Lu Xuan quickly straightened up and said, “It’s just some family matters. Alas, you know my situation, Director Yu…”
Yu E’shui nodded repeatedly: “Aren’t you like Old Xun, you also married a local native’s daughter! You’re living a good life, right?”
“Life is okay, but you know, I also have a life secretary—”
“Ah. Right, right, the blessing of having two women, what’s not to like? There aren’t many people in the Senate who have this blessing.”