HCB Chapter 1975, the five Jia and the five Xia 5.
Chapter 1975, the five Jia and the five Xia 5.
As soon as Song Yi finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
Wang Defa's cigarette fell onto the snow and went out with a "whoosh." He was completely unaware of it, and just stared wide-eyed, asking, "What...what about the Ten Families of Yanjing?"
Xu Damao and He Dashuang scratched their heads, their honest faces showing the bewilderment of ordinary people. "What ten families? Do you mean we need to arrange ten more tables? We'll have to rearrange the tables. Right now, the two courtyards next door can only accommodate eighty tables..."
Yuan Zhencheng was quick-witted enough to sense that something was amiss, so he lowered his voice and asked, "Dr. Li, what... what's going on?"
Li Xiangnan didn't answer. He stood there, letting the snowflakes fall on his shoulders and melt into a wet patch.
But Song Yi's words kept echoing in his mind: "Ten families from Yanjing will also come to offer their congratulations!"
He recognized each of the nine characters, but when put together, they felt eerily unfamiliar!
The Ten Families of Yanjing?
He was a barefoot doctor who came from Hongshan County in southern Anhui Province. Over the years, he had heard of all sorts of powerful figures in Beijing, including the five most prestigious families, Du Xingyue (known as Du the Half-City), and the families of nobles and prostitutes. But this was the first time he had ever heard of the ten most prestigious families in Beijing.
"Song Yi!" Li Xiangnan spoke, his voice so steady it surprised even himself. "What do you mean? The ten families of Yanjing? Which ten families?"
Song Yi, supporting herself on her knees, took a deep breath. Once her breathing had calmed down, she straightened up and looked around. "This isn't the place to talk!"
“Grandpa!” Li Xiangnan looked up and called out to his grandfather.
"Let's talk in my room!" Li Dequan patted the door and turned to go inside.
The crowd filed in behind him, some making tea, others pulling out chairs and stools, quickly setting the scene.
At this moment, Song Yi held the hot tea, blew hard on it, and her bright face flickered with an uncertain expression, looking quite nervous.
Li Xiangnan raised an eyebrow.
This was the first time he had ever seen Song Yi with this expression.
In my memory, Song Yi has always been bright and charming, and aloof and peerless. Coming from the large Song family, she has never lost her composure in the face of anything!
Never!
But today, her expression foreshadowed that these ten families of Yanjing were no ordinary people!
Li Xiangnan took a deep breath, looked steadily at her, and indicated that she could speak.
"I told you before about the top five families in Yanjing..."
“I know, the Shangguan, Yu, Jiang, Mu, and Song families!” Li Xiangnan nodded, revealing what he knew directly.
Even the Song family, with its immense power and influence in both official and civilian circles, only ranked at the bottom, which already demonstrates the terrifying nature of the top five families!
When Li Xiangnan named these five companies, he felt inexplicably confident.
Because the Yu family is a marriage alliance with the Song family, and the Jiang family is a marriage alliance with the Qin family, which is my father-in-law's family. The Mu family is my ancestral home, my grandmother's family, and the Song family is a family I've been on good terms with for generations!
Of the five families above, apart from the mysterious Shangguan family whom he had dealt with a few times, the other four families had some connection with him!
In other words, Li Xiangnan alone is capable of mobilizing the resources of the top four families, which is also an extremely terrifying existence!
Of the ten families in Yanjing, could four have the resources of these four?
I doubt it.
If Li Xiangnan could think of this, the exceptionally intelligent Song Yi would probably think of the same level as him!
But now, Song Yi's expression suggests that things are not simple, which makes Li Xiangnan feel a little wary!
What exactly are the Ten Families of Yanjing?
"Besides the top five, the middle five and the lower five are collectively known as the Ten Families of Yanjing!" After saying this, Song Yi's face turned pale for some reason.
Wang Defa, with his keen eye, instantly noticed the silver tone in Song Yi's mouth, which was different from the word "home," and asked in surprise, "Are you sure you didn't mispronounce it? Jia? Third tone? Not home? First tone?"
Song Yi shook her head, dipped her finger in the water stains on the edge of the teapot, and wrote the words "Middle Five" and "Afternoon Holiday" on the table.
Li Xiangnan frowned and looked at it, but suddenly looked puzzled, because this concept was really unfamiliar to him.
Not only him, but even the old man Li Dequan looked thoughtful, frowned and stared for a long time before shaking his head. "Little Song, this is the first time I've heard of this saying! When I was in Yanjing, I don't think this saying existed!"
“Grandpa, these sayings are indeed only circulated among aristocratic families!” Song Yi sighed, somewhat nervously saying, “I’m afraid even someone of Grandpa Du Bancheng’s status would only jokingly summarize it like that!”
"No wonder!" Li Dequan suddenly realized, and only said one cryptic sentence: "Back then, I was involved in legitimate business!"
Everyone was puzzled, but they didn't dare ask the old man for details at the moment. Instead, they all turned their attention to Song Yi.
Li Xiangnan got up and poured her some tea, then solemnly asked, "Your brother's information should be accurate. What else do you know?"
Song Yi recalled, her voice exceptionally clear in the silence: "These ten families of Yanjing are not simply wealthy people!"
"We know that the five most powerful families in Yanjing—the Shangguan, Yu, Jiang, Mu, and Song families—have been rooted in the city for hundreds of years!"
Song Yi's voice was soft, but every word was heavy. "We keep a low profile mainly because we feel it's unnecessary! But if you dig deep, for example, you can see traces of the involvement of the top five companies in the pipes under any street in Beijing! The traces are so deep that we know better than the ministers in charge where the water pipes under the offices of some high-ranking ministries go!"
This is the truth, but it is also the reality.
Although Li Xiangnan was not shocked, he deeply agreed with it.
Meanwhile, ordinary people like He Dashuang, Xu Damao, and Pang Weinong listened in awe, their eyes gleaming with wonder.
But that's not the worst part!
Song Yi looked at Li Xiangnan, "The most terrifying ones are the top five! Ye, Chen, Wang, Lu, and Han!"
Everyone frowned, their bodies trembling.
Only then did they suddenly realize the significance of the character "甲".
Guilin's scenery is the best under heaven, and Yangshuo's scenery is the best in Guilin!
The "甲" in this context means first-class or top-tier.
"That's right, your guess is correct! If the top five families are the roots of a century-old tree, then the middle five are the most prominent trunk and branches of this tree! Let me explain in detail. According to my elder brother Song Yu's reminder, the Ye family holds the power to schedule, import, and make important personnel removal recommendations for more than 30% of the heavy machinery factories in the country..."
"hiss!"
Everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath. This was tantamount to curbing a rare and powerful force that was scarce in the country!
"The Chen family can change the direction of railcar dispatch with just a word in the railway system and long-distance freight lines!"
The power of the Chen family is truly astonishing.
Wang Defa couldn't help but ask in a trembling voice, "What about the Wang family? What about my old Wang family?"
No one thought he was joking. Although he also had the surname Wang, it was obvious that his Wang family was different from this Wang family.
"The Wang family, their people sit in key positions in the financial system, they can influence the speed of every transaction! But that's not the main point, the main point is that the Wang family has a natural business mind. They started as blacksmiths in the last century and have now developed into a family that controls 32 percent of the country's steel resources, whether it's steel mills or iron mines..."
"hiss!"
This wealth hasn't been revealed yet; if it were, it would be enough to rival a nation's riches!
"What about the Lu family and the Han family?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangnan frowned, and became even more concerned about Han Xu, the head of the Han family, who might be involved in the life and death of Master Lang Zhipin.
If the top three are already this strong, what about the Lu family and the Han family who are behind them?
Li Xiangnan asked intently, noticing that Song Yi had unconsciously swallowed.
"..."