Chapter 242 Call Dad
"Let's get down to business. Tomorrow, help me get detailed intelligence on the top leaders of Northern Qi from the Supervisory Council. And find professionals in the Council to help summarize and analyze it. I'll need it for negotiations."
Mei Cheng'an suppressed his disdain for Wang Qinian and spoke seriously.
He had a general understanding of the situation in Northern Qi with the help of the existing documents in the Honglu Temple and the fragments he had seen in his previous life.
But in Mei Cheng'an's opinion, these are far from enough. Just like in a war, what is actually fought for is intelligence.
Getting more detailed internal information and being able to accurately grasp the psychological needs and bottom line of the other party's senior management will definitely be of great benefit to the negotiation.
Unexpectedly, Wang Qinian became embarrassed when he heard this.
"Ah? Master, this... I don't have that authority. The detailed information of the top leaders of Northern Qi is top secret in the Supervisory Council. Only the dean and a few sponsors are qualified to see it."
Mei Chengan thought for a while and said.
"If I give you the Tisi waist badge, will it work?"
Wang Qinian hesitated and shook his head.
"That's tough, Master."
Mei Chengan raised his eyebrows, then quickly relaxed.
"That's easy. Tomorrow you can go directly to Chen Pingping and tell him my request. Ask him for permission, or just ask him to order the collection and compilation."
Wang Qinian was startled.
"Will the dean agree?"
Mei Chengan smiled.
"of course."
After a pause, he added another sentence.
"Maybe they are all ready."
This part is not described in the drama, but in the original novel, Chen Pingping did prepare an analysis report for Fan Xian.
Mei Cheng'an was not sure whether this analysis report existed now. Even if it did not, Chen Pingping would not refuse it for the sake of national affairs.
Wang Qinian said "oh" and stopped talking.
There was no conversation after that.
After returning to the Mei Mansion, Wang Qinian parked the carriage and went to Mei Chengan's courtyard and sat there for a while, waiting for Mei Chengan to come out after packing and changing his clothes.
Mei Cheng'an came out of the house in a refreshed outfit and was stunned when he saw him again in the front hall.
"Didn't I tell you to go home? You still have something else to do."
Wang Qinian looked a little embarrassed.
"Yes, there is one small thing I want to ask you, Master."
Mei Cheng'an nodded, picked up the teapot to pour himself tea, glanced at him and said.
"You ask."
Wang Qinian uttered a sound.
"That's right, Master. Look, I am now considered a member of our courtyard. I wonder if there are any extra rooms in our courtyard..."
Mei Cheng'an was a little confused. The tea was brought to his lips but he couldn't drink it.
"Why, you want to live here with me?"
Wang Qinian waved his hands quickly when he heard this.
"No, no, Master, you misunderstood. I won't live here. That's right. Some things are not suitable to be placed at home..."
"..."
Mei Chengan, who understood what was going on, rolled his eyes and said unhappily.
"So you want to leave the stolen goods with me? No way, I tell you, don't even think about it!"
Wang Qinian was unhappy when he heard this.
"Hey, Master, don't talk nonsense. Those are all Wang's collections that he collected with great effort. How can they be called stolen goods? At most... they are private money that has not yet been cashed."
"..."
Mei Cheng'an was speechless for a moment. Yes, the corpse was digged openly and honestly, and it was indeed inappropriate to call it stolen goods.
But Mei Cheng'an was disgusted by those things in his heart.
"Why do you have to put it here with me? It's not convenient at home. You can put it in your other courtyard. Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. You are an expert in hiding money, don't tell me that you don't have a separate place to hide money."
Wang Qinian chuckled.
"Master, you are right about my judgment. There is a place, but it is not safe. If a thief comes, I will have nowhere to cry.
It's different here, young master! What thief dares to come to the residence of the prefect of Jingzhao to steal? That's like lighting a lantern in the toilet to seek death."
"..."
The argument was so well-reasoned that Mei Cheng'an couldn't figure out how to refute it after thinking for a long time, and finally could only utter one sentence.
"Aren't you afraid that I might covet your valuables? They all need to be stored somewhere separately. There must be a lot of them. Are you so relieved to let me know? Money can only make people happy, Old Wang."
Wang Qinian's face froze, but soon wrinkles appeared on his face again.
"Don't worry, the young master has a rich family and a lot of wealth, how could he be interested in my little things? I, Wang, can rest assured about this."
Mei Cheng'an noticed that his face changed color for a moment, then curled the corners of his mouth, drank the tea he had been holding for half a day, and said.
"That's not necessarily true. The richer a person is, the stingier they are. Haven't you heard that? How did they become wealthy? By earning? First, by plundering, and second, by saving!"
After a pause, Mei Chengan shook his head.
"Why am I telling you all this? Alright, I agree to your request. I'll have someone arrange a room for you right away. Move all your belongings here quickly. You can rest assured that I'll be watching over you."
"..."
Wang Qinian opened his eyes wide, his smile gradually disappeared, his eyeballs rolled around, and he forced out a stiff smile.
"Well...actually, when I think about it, the public security in Kyoto is still pretty good under the governance of the prefect. I think I might be worrying too much.
After repeated and careful consideration, I still feel that it is not appropriate to trouble the young master.
I was careless in asking the young master for a room. Young master, just treat it as a joke and let it go in one ear and out the other. Don't take it to heart.
"What? It's getting late. I have to go buy some snacks for my wife. I won't disturb you. Goodbye!" After saying that, Wang Qinian bowed and turned to leave.
Mei Cheng'an looked at his back with a smile.
"I don't mind the trouble, Lao Wang, why don't you think about it again?"
Wang Qinian didn't even dare to turn his head and just waved his hands randomly.
"No, no, thank you for your kindness, Master."
After saying that, he walked faster and disappeared from Mei Chengan's sight in the blink of an eye.
Mei Cheng'an burst into laughter and shook his head helplessly.
You still want to buy snacks? Your family runs a snack shop, what kind of snacks are you buying?
……
Wang Qinian had just left and Mei Cheng'an came out of the front hall. Before he could sit down in the porch in the front yard, Fan Xian arrived.
Mei Cheng settled down, sat down as usual, looked at him and asked casually.
"Old Wang just left. Did you meet him?"
Fan Xian nodded and sat down next to him.
"He was in a hurry. I greeted him, but he didn't even stop to chat with me. He just said you were inside and left. What's going on?"
Mei Cheng'an smiled when he heard this, but didn't mean to explain. Some jokes are only suitable for personal experience and will be meaningless if told aloud.
"What do you want from me?"
Fan Xian just asked casually. Since his fellow villager didn't say anything, he didn't want to ask further. It wasn't important.
"You don't mind what happened yesterday, do you?"
Mei Cheng'an was stunned when he heard this. He didn't react to what was going on at first. When he finally reacted, he screamed.
“What’s there to mind? I didn’t bring people there for any credit. Anyway, my goal has been achieved.
As for who gets the title, I don't care. Rather than splitting it among the six of us, it's better to give it to you alone. That way it can at least make a difference."
Fan Xian sighed.
"I didn't expect Chen Pingping to do this out of the blue. I was totally confused at the time."
Mei Chengan laughed.
"Did you ask Chen Pingping about this later?"
Fan Xian hummed.
"He said it was because of my mother. My mother founded the Overwatch Council, and he was just guarding it for my mother. Now he plans to return it to me."
Mei Chengan picked up a plate of spiced broad beans from the table.
"Don't you want it?"
After asking, he picked up a piece of cake, put it in his mouth, and started chewing it with a crunching sound.
Fan Xian gave a bitter smile.
"It would be a lie to say I don't want it. Whether it's because my mother is the founder or because of the power held by the Supervisory Council, I want it."
Mei Chengan smiled.
"Not bad, quite frank."
Fan Xian shook his head.
“It’s just that I feel that I am not qualified to take over the Supervisory Council right now. Zhu Ge was right.
The Supervisory Commission is a powerful weapon for a country, and even has the ability to lead national wars. It is indeed too hasty to pass it on through personal relationships.
It's like...cheating. I hate cheating because it's not fair to other people, but I...
All in all, I am now very upset and annoyed! "
Mei Cheng'an crossed his legs and put another broad bean into his mouth.
“First, regarding the qualification, you are indeed not qualified right now, but don’t get it wrong, I’m not asking you to take over right now.
If you are not qualified now, then why don’t you work hard to make yourself qualified?
Second, regarding the issue of private transfer, you don’t really think that Chen Pingping from the Supervisory Yuan can give it to you just by talking to you, right?
That needs the approval of His Majesty. What kind of place is the Supervisory Council? And who is His Majesty? Can he just give it to anyone?
This brings us back to the first question. You have to make yourself qualified, and it can't be just you who thinks you are qualified.
You also have to convince His Majesty that you are qualified. This is not an easy task and you have to make great efforts for it.
As for the issue of unfairness you mentioned, there is no absolute fairness in this world. Not to mention that there is no fairness now, there was no fairness even at our time, so we can only seek relative fairness.
However, given His Majesty's level of caution, by the time you are able to satisfy him, you will no longer lack qualifications, merits, and abilities.
Relationships are just a stepping stone. You inherited the Supervisory Council through your own strength, not for free. That's fair!
Maybe someone will still have objections by then, but that has nothing to do with you. If he has the ability, let him talk to His Majesty. Anyway, you will have a clear conscience by then!"
Mei Cheng'an's clear, logical, and persuasive words made Fan Xian suddenly enlightened.
What my fellow villager said is right, isn't that the truth? What is there to be entangled about? If you are not qualified, then that's it!
Hi!
Slapping his thigh, Fan Xian gave his fellow villager a thumbs up from the bottom of his heart.
"It has to be you, my friend. You are my life mentor!"
Mei Chengan smiled slightly.
"Call Dad!"
"roll!"
After thinking about it, Fan Xian felt that it was a bit rude to talk to his life mentor, so he hesitated and called out anyway.
"Father!"
Mei Chengan laughed.
"Hey, good son."
"roll!"
……
(End of this chapter)
