Seeing off the big manager of the Shang family, Lin Run sighed to Lin Qingwan again: "I am far inferior to you, if only you were a man."

  In this way, she can inherit the position of the head of the family, and the Lin family will not be so difficult.

  Lin Runcai had been the clan leader for over a year and had deeply felt the difficulties within, not only from the resistance within the clan but also from external challenges.

  The rights of the clan leader are indeed great, but the responsibilities are equally great.

  Lin Run has already started missing the days when Lin Jiang was the head of the clan. At that time, he was really carefree.

  Lin Qingwan just smiled at him, "Fifth brother, things are almost done here, I'll send someone to escort you back. Now is a chaotic time and the clan can't be left unattended."

  The Lin family's estate has been involved in such an incident, and Governor Zhou's tolerance for refugees will definitely shrink again. There must be some action during this period. As the number one clan in Jiangnan, the Lin family will definitely have to make a statement.

  Lin Run then asked: "What do you think the Lin family should say?"

  Yanzi was sent to Chu, and a thief was caught and brought before the king of Chu. The king asked, "Are the people of Chu naturally good at stealing?" Lin Qing said, "My brother has read many books and knows that this statement is incorrect."

  Lin Run understood Lin Qingyuan's attitude and nodded: "I will talk to Prefect Zhou, let him not mistakenly harm the innocent refugees."

  Lin Qingwan nodded, last night she ordered a thorough investigation, this was already a kind of deterrence to the outside world.

  It was not only a counterattack against those who were secretly instigating trouble, but also a warning to the various families of Jiangnan and a warning to the refugees.

  That was enough for the Lin family.

  At this time, rather than standing in opposition to the vast number of refugees, it would be better to divide them and not kill them all with one stick.

  Be kind to refugees who come seeking a lifeline, but use strong measures against those with malicious intentions.

  The Lin family is most famous for its talent and virtue; now that talent is no longer guaranteed, it's better to strengthen virtue.

  "Brother Wu would be better off taking his people to help those poor refugees, not just for fame, but also to accumulate some good karma."

  Lin Run smiled bitterly, "It's not that simple, you're not unaware of the situation in our clan. There's no leftover wealth in the clan, and the people are barely getting by, I'm afraid we can't come up with much money for disaster relief. If it's just a small disturbance, it's better not to do it at all, it would make us look too petty."

  "It would be better to give the things to Zhou Cishi and have him take them as payment in kind."

  This is another dilemma for the Lin family.

  The Lin family used to be very wealthy, and it wasn't just Lin Ping's generation that was like this - the generations before him were also a prominent clan in Jiangnan.

  Although most of the family's wealth was accumulated in the direct line, the collateral branches were attached to the direct line and still lived a good life.

  But after the disaster of Gengwu, the direct branch was almost completely destroyed, leaving only one Lin Zhi, and the family property of the direct branch naturally also belonged to him.

  Lin Yi is only good at fighting and his attention is all on the imperial court, but Lin Zhi is not.

  He had a knot in his heart, remembering the hatred of the side branch for not saving him at the time. When Lin Yu was around, he tightly grasped all the family property in his hands and one by one eliminated those profitable industries from the side branch.

  And when his father died, Lin Zhi was even more unrestrained. Except for giving some money to the clan school and making some offerings to the ancestral hall every year, the direct branch almost never supported any of the collateral branches.

  He made more money, and the emperor owed him a debt of gratitude, so he was rewarded greatly. Many things were overlooked, so under his management for over thirty years, the Lin family rose rapidly, not only surpassing the emperor but also some old aristocratic families in wealth.

  After Lin Jiang took over as the head of the clan, the days of the side branches were slightly better, although the discord still existed, but there was more support.

  It's just a pity that he was too wasteful and donated all of Di's property with a single letter.

  You should know that the majority of the Lin family's assets are in his hands, and other branches don't have much money. Otherwise, why did the three clan elders rush to Yangzhou in a hurry at first?

  Lin's current situation is somewhat embarrassing, as his clansmen attach more importance to money. It took Lin Run a great deal of effort to prepare food for the refugees in the past, and now it would be almost impossible to get them to donate again.

  Although Lin Qingwan did not live in the clan, she also knew about the current situation of the Lin family from Old Loyal Uncle, which was also one of her concerns.

  Does she have a good impression of the Lin family?

  No!

  Does Lin's clan have responsibility?

  Nor did I!

  But she couldn't let them go on like this, a huge family without even a heart, and she would slowly lose the foundation she had accumulated over hundreds of years.

  And she and Yuhin actually need her protection, even if they don't like being part of her side branch family.

  The status of a princess can actually provide her with very limited protection; in fact, it still depends on her own ability and the power behind her.

  For example, Zhong Ruying, who is also a Saintly Seal County Lord, who dares to look down on or bully County Lord Ruying?

  Is Zhao Jie brave?

  He's afraid that when he sees Zhong Ruying, he won't even dare to straighten his back, and the princes who were born to the emperor have to be polite and try to please this sworn sister.

  Why?

  Because she is good at both literature and martial arts, with the talent of a general, also because she has 100,000 Western troops in her hands.

  Lin Qingyuan can't live up to her position, or rather she can't yet, so she has no choice but to rely on her family.

  At this time, the better the development of the Lin family clan, the better.

  "There's a saying that goes 'what you give up, you gain', Brother Wu, why don't you go and persuade them? First, try to gather some funds, if there's not enough, I'll make up for it," Lin Qingwen thought for a moment, her mouth curving slightly upwards as she said: "Those with money contribute financially, those with strength contribute physically, later on, you count it all up and give me the list of names, regardless of whether they contributed money or labor."

  Lin Ruxin's heart skipped a beat, and without asking her what she wanted to do, he nodded directly: "Alright, I'll go back and talk to the clan members."

  "Why don't you, Fifth Brother, rest for another night? Tomorrow morning I'll arrange for someone to send you back."

  Lin Run was so happy that he couldn't sleep for half the night. His long-following servant saw his master's excitement and couldn't help but say, "Master, the young lady didn't say she wanted to do anything, why are you so happy?"

  "No matter what she wants to do, she always has a way of getting involved, and that's good enough." Lin Run sighed: "Before, I thought Second Brother kept Wan Jie at home because he didn't trust us, but now it seems, it's more because Wan Jie has that ability."

  After this incident, Lin Run had a deep admiration for Lin Qingwan, thinking that even if he were in her situation, he wouldn't have done any better.

  "The clan is already on a downward spiral, but Father and I can't find a way out, now we can only pin our hopes on Wan Jie."

  She must have had resources given by Lin Jiang, and she also has that IQ.

  Through last night's events, Lin Run knew even more that she had made up her mind. If she was willing to intervene in the affairs of the clan, then it would be an opportunity for the Lin family.

  It's much better than Second Uncle's indifference and Second Brother's indulgence, isn't it?

  The next morning, Lin Qingwen sent four guards to escort Lin Run back to his tribe. After sending him off, Zhong Daguantie brought the four family members back.

  Those four long workers' homes are relatively far away. Manager Zhong had to find people and rush overnight, just barely bringing them back this morning.

  The four family members felt uneasy when Zhong Daguantie brought people to their doorstep, and their first thought was that Xiaolang had gotten into trouble at the East House.

  But unexpectedly, it was not the person who caused trouble, but rather the one who died.

  As they entered the mourning hall, the four families rushed towards the coffin.

  The coffin had not been covered yet, and the four families found their children respectively, unable to hold back tears as they wept beside the coffin.

  Lin Yuhu supported Lin Qingyu standing outside the door, looking at her with eyes that couldn't help but redden.

  Four families cried, and then they asked the long workers who lived in the same village as them.

  Although Zhong Daguan had already told them about what happened, they discussed it and felt that they still needed to ask others.

  If they were really killed by the refugees to protect their masters, they would have accepted it. But if they were harmed by their masters, although they might not be able to do anything about it, they still had to keep count in their hearts.

  Zhong Daguan looked at Lin Qingyuan and said in a low voice, "That is our aunt, you should greet her first."

  The four family members only then noticed a group of people standing outside the door, with two girls at the front who looked elegant and refined, like celestial beings. They hastily knelt down, not even daring to lift their heads.

  Lin Qingwan nodded slightly at Lin Yuhong, and Lin Yuhong hastily stepped forward to help the person up. "No need for formalities, we just came to take a look."

  Lin Yuhu looked at the four coffins, pursed his lips and said: "They sacrificed themselves to protect the other courtyard. My aunt had previously said that if they were injured, our Lin family would take care of them for life. If they died in battle, we would also take care of their families. So whatever your requirements are, just mention them, and we will definitely fulfill them."

  The four family members looked at each other nervously and then lowered their heads, saying: "There's no need to make any demands, it's already a blessing that the master can provide them with a coffin."

  Lin Yuhbin's eyes widened in surprise, apparently unable to understand very well.

  At that time, human life was not worth much.

  Lin Qingwan stepped forward and said: "You've all rushed here in a hurry, it's tiring. Why don't you go down and rest first?"

  She looked at Zhong Daguantie and said, "Take them down to see their fellow countrymen and let them comfort each other."

  Zhong Daguan knew she was going to their suspicion and hastily nodded in agreement.

  Most of the long workers are still in the two side houses in front yard.

  The rooms inside were all cleaned up and arranged for the wounded, while some of the uninjured took care of them.

  These two days everyone's condition has been a bit off, when killing people they've already turned red-eyed and don't feel anything, but after the fact in the middle of the night they always have some fear.

  The biggest thing these long workers had done before was just leaving the village to work in Lin's family villa.

  Murder is so far away from them.

  Lin Qingwan knew they needed psychological counseling, which she was not good at. All she could do was affirm their efforts and then let Fang Datong take the veterans who had come down from the battlefield to comfort them.

  Fang Datong and his men didn't even know what psychological counseling was, but they had seen this kind of thing many times before, especially in the army where every year they would encounter two or three batches of new recruits.

  It was they who often had nightmares when they first came down from the battlefield for the first time?

  Apart from those born with a taste for killing and indifference, no one can remain unmoved by the loss of a human life, whether it is that of an ally or an enemy.

  Four family members rushed to the infirmary and were shocked by the large number of wounded soldiers. They quickly found their fellow villagers who were laborers and asked, "Have you all gone to the battlefield? How did so many people get injured?"

  The workers saw familiar faces and couldn't help but shed tears, "Those damned rioters came in the hundreds, if not for the master persuading over a hundred to retreat and us making preparations ahead of time, who knows how many would have been killed or injured?"