Chapter 66: Human Relations and Worldly Wisdom

Men have three major kinship families: father’s family, mother’s family, and wife’s family.

These are three very important family relationships, which can be specifically uncles, uncles, father-in-law, or cousins, wives and brothers. In the Taoist sect, because master and apprentice are like father and son, the relationship between these three kinships is made more important. Too complicated.

For Qi Xuansu, the Zhang family is the wife family. The real father-in-law, Zhang Kuqi, may not hold much weight, but Zhang Kucheng holds a lot of weight. He is the next head of the Zhang family and a popular candidate for the Celestial Master. If Master Donghua becomes the Grand Master, and Master Cihang becomes the wife of the Grand Master as the Zhang family hopes, then Zhang Jucheng will succeed Master Cihang and become the Master of the Tiangang Hall, waiting for the Heavenly Master to ascend. He took advantage of the situation.

The Third Division will definitely have to stand the last post, wait until the selection of the Seventh Generation Master is finalized, and then they will be put on their horses for a ride, and then they will ascend.

This is also for the overall interests of Daomen.

If Qi Xuansu wants to compete for the Eighth Generation Chief Master, he must rely on the strength of the Zhang family, so in addition to helping Zhang Yuelu, he is also willing to take care of the Zhang family's affairs, stand up for his brother-in-law, take care of his brother-in-law, and so on, adding own influence.

Take the brother-in-law as an example. Whether he punches his brother-in-law or treats his brother-in-law with respect depends on his abilities. The brother-in-law is capable, and the brother-in-law is like a biological son. The brother-in-law has no skills, and the brother-in-law is like a biological father. Human nature is what it is.

For example, Zhang Wuyue was very afraid of Qi Xuansu, because Qi Xuansu was so powerful that he would not be afraid of the shadow of a famous tree. If Qi Xuansu is just a fourth-level wine-offering Taoist priest now, do you think Zhang Wuyue is afraid of him? I'm afraid he will say harsh words to Qi Xuansu, for example, if you dare to disrespect my sister, I will make you look good.

No matter how close the relationship is, it depends on status. How the Zhang family viewed Qi Xuansu in the past and how the Zhang family views Qi Xuansu now is a good example.

Qi Xuansu has an advantage, he can hold grudges and he can also be generous.

Now, he is very generous when it comes to dealing with the Zhang family.

Qi Xuansu is not a good person, nor is he a purely bad person. He has certain ambitions and certain bottom lines. Being ambitious means that he must achieve some results and climb up. Having a bottom line means that his hands cannot be dirty when doing things, and he cannot directly do things that are not in compliance with the rules.

However, the ecological environment of Daomen in recent decades has led to a dilemma, that is, ambition and bottom line are often incompatible and sometimes even contradictory to each other. This created Zhang Yuelu's dilemma. Qi Xuansu saw this. If he wanted to realize his ambition while adhering to the bottom line, he needed support from both the top and bottom. The top was the backer and the bottom was the foundation.

With a backing, you can protect yourself from wind and rain. With a foundation, you can take root deeper. The backer is naturally Donghua Zhenren, which also has advantages and disadvantages. Needless to say the advantages, the disadvantage is that once the real Donghua

If Qi Xuansu falls, he will be regarded as the "remaining poison" of Donghua Master and be eliminated. Regardless of whether Qi Xuansu contributed to Taoism or not, this is the biggest reality.

Qi Xuansu cannot choose his backer, but in terms of foundation, Qi Xuansu has considerable room for choice. He has always been interested in cultivating his own foundation, and his brother-in-law Zhang Wuyue is certainly one of them.

Qi Xuansu not only helps Zhang Yuelu solve a family dilemma and enhances the relationship between the two, but also gets a helper to make the Zhang family think of him and increase his influence in the Zhang family. This is a win-win situation.

Zhang Yueyue moved quickly. Shortly after Qi Xuansu received Zhang Yuelu's letter, he took a "Huang Chi" from Tianjitang to the Southern Continent.

Not long after Zhang Wuyue arrived in the Southern Continent and before he could adapt to the climate here, he was led by Qi Xuansu to a strange manor. It had beautiful mountains and clear waters and was a good place to escape from the world and recuperate. Then came the usual banquet. Zhang Wuyue discovered that Qi Xuansu, who usually sat at the main seat, actually vacated the main seat today.

Only then did Qi Xuansu tell Zhang Wuyue that he had an appointment with Huangfu Ji of Xidaomen today. This real person enjoyed the treatment of Daoist Master Shenzhi. He is now the master of Juesheng Hall and the future leader of Xidaomen.

Zhang Wuyue couldn't help but feel nervous for a while. The mass of the West Gate is placed here, one of the five gates. To put it bluntly, the Celestial Master is the leader of the South Dao Sect, the National Master is the leader of the East Dao Sect, the Earth Master is the leader of the Middle Dao Sect, Emperor Daxuan is the leader of the North Dao Sect, and the leader of the West Dao Sect is comparable to the deputy headmaster Da Zhenren, who is the leader of the Third Division. One level. The future leaders of Xidaomen will be at the level of Master Donghua, Master Qingwei, and Master Cihang.

Although Zhang Wuyue was born in the Zhang family, he had not had much contact with such big figures. He usually says that dining with big shots involves many twists and turns, but he has never learned this.

Just when Zhang Wuyue was feeling uneasy, Huangfu Ji had already arrived.

Qi Xuansu stood up and said hello with a smile, "Brother Li Ming, long time no see."

Zhang Wuyue also stood up, with a slightly stiff smile, "I've met the real Huangfu."

"Tian Yuan, it's not easy for you to take the initiative to treat us." Huangfu Ji greeted Qi Xuansu, but his eyes turned to Zhang Wuyue.

Qi Xuansu took advantage of the situation and introduced, "This is the younger brother of your sister-in-law Zhang, that is, my brother-in-law, Zhang Wuyue. The 'May' that crosses Lu in May means Tianzhong."

Huangfu laughed very hard and said, "Since he is brother and sister Zhang, he is my brother. From now on, little brother in Tianzhong, don't call him real person Huangfu, just brother Huangfu."

This is quite a bit

The Jianghu atmosphere is not like that of people from the Taoist sect, but is also caused by the atmosphere of the Western Daoist sect.

Qi Xuansu said, "That's too flattering to him."

Zhang Wuyue could only smile.

Everyone sat down, Qi Xuansu said, "My old Taishan has only one daughter, Qingxiao, but he also has a brother, Tianzhong's father. The two families are neighbors, and their relationship is extraordinary. Tianzhong grew up under Qingxiao's watch, and they have a special relationship. On weekdays, Qingxiao often told me that she only has this one brother, and asked me, as her brother-in-law, to take care of him. So I brought him to the South Continent to see the world and experience some experience, instead of going around women's skirts all day long."

Huangfu Ji smiled and said, "A good man has ambitions in all directions, and it's time to go out and make a living."

Qi Xuansu stopped talking about Zhang Wuyue's affairs, and talked about some seemingly unrelated things, such as the progress of the construction of the new port. Then he raised his glass frequently, and those who didn't know would think that Qi Xuansu was a wine lover.

When the wine was half drunk, Qi Xuansu glanced at Zhang Wuyue and said, "Tianzhong, I toast to Master Huangfu."

Zhang Wuyue immediately picked up the wine glass, stood up and said, "Master Huangfu, I toast to you."

Huangfu Ji could be polite, but Zhang Wuyue had to follow the rules, so he still used the honorific title of Master.

Huangfu Ji did not deliberately make things difficult, picked up the wine glass and said, "Young man, work hard." Then he drank it all.

After a banquet, Qi Xuansu did not mention anything about Zhang Wuyue's business, but just introduced Zhang Wuyue to Huangfu Ji.

In the next few days, Zhang Wuyue did not need to participate. Qi Xuansu just asked him to adapt to the environment of the South Continent as soon as possible and understand the specific situation.

Although Zhang Wuyue did not know how Qi Xuansu would operate next, he also knew that his brother-in-law was concerned, because if he just sent him away casually, his brother-in-law would just say hello, but his brother-in-law's current posture was really consuming favors.

Zhang Wuyue knew that her brother-in-law worked so hard not because he liked her, but because of her sister's face, so she couldn't help but feel a little guilty towards her sister.

This is the way of the world. When you become rich, your relatives who have treated you as their own children since childhood ask you for something. Their children have grown up and need to make a living. Do you help them? If you help, you will repay the kindness of the past, and everyone will be happy if you think of you well. If you don't help, you will be branded as a ruthless person, and you won't even be a relative.

Qi Xuansu did it for Zhang Yuelu, and didn't want to make things difficult for Zhang Yuelu.

After Huangfu Ji returned, he asked his secretary to contact Duan Changqing, the head of the Xishi Botang.

"Brother Duan, I have something to ask of you." Huangfu Ji got straight to the point.

Duan Changqing did not refuse, "Liming, if you have anything to say, just tell me." Huangfu Ji said, "It's like this, I want you to help me arrange a person, born in Shangqing Zhang, is the brother-in-law of Chief Qi, and the younger brother of Chief Zhang. Chief Qi came in person, so I can't refuse. After all, Chief Qi has spoken for our Xidaomen, and we can't let others say that we don't care about our feelings. We can only help to the end, right?" Duan Changqing said, "Of course, Chief Qi must help." Huangfu Ji said, "Well, this matter will be handed over to you, brother, is it okay?" "No problem." Duan Changqing agreed, "But I want to ask first, how to arrange it specifically?" Huangfu Ji said, "I heard from Chief Qi that this Taoist friend Zhang prefers to do foreign trade. Chief Qi and Chief Zhang have successively served as the chiefs of the Borneo Daofu. Deputy Palace Master, the head of Jiangzhou Daofu is also a member of the Zhang family. Letting Daoist Fellow Zhang be in charge of trade will save a lot of trouble. "

Duan Changqing said, "Our trade is mainly concentrated in Nanyang and Jiangnan. In the process of weaving local relationship networks, Daoist Fellow Zhang has a natural advantage."

Huangfu Ji said, "That's right. This matter is not only to sell the face of Chief Qi, but also really helps our development. The sphere of influence of the three Daos determines many of our policy directions. Although we will not admit these on the surface, these do exist."

Huangfu Ji paused and said, "That's too far. Then it's settled. This matter will be left to you to handle."

Duan Changqing said, "I will report to you after I make arrangements."

Although the two are of the same level, Huangfu Ji has the potential to be the crown prince, so Duan Changqing still used the word "report".

After Duan Changqing went back, he asked the deputy hall master who was in charge of this area, "Have you arranged someone?"

The deputy hall master had already chosen a candidate, but he was obedient and naturally understood Duan Changqing's meaning, so he changed his words temporarily and said, "Several families want to participate, but they haven't decided yet."

Duan Changqing said, "It just so happens that I have a candidate here, named Zhang Wuyue. Master Huangfu and I have discussed and decided to use him."

The deputy hall master naturally could not have any objections, and said "Okay, okay."

Duan Changqing instructed, "This little Taoist friend Zhang is from Shangqing Mansion in Wuzhou, don't neglect him."

The deputy hall master immediately understood about 70% of it. This is someone from Shangqing Zhang. Master Qi's Taoist partner is from Shangqing Zhang, and maybe he has some relationship with Master Qi, otherwise Master Huangfu would not come in person.

In this way, Zhang Wuyue's matter came to an end. When the matter reached the ears of the Zhang family, everyone in the Zhang family naturally changed their impression of Qi Xuansu.