Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 108 Look, this is what it feels like to be misunderstood
The New Year goods in Liu Jin's hands fell to the ground with a thud. Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin's faces changed immediately. They were horrified and tried to run away.

I was caught eavesdropping...

"Who?"

Chen Ce's voice came from inside.

Zhu Houzhao said in panic: "Little brother, it's not me."

Liu Jin: "Not an old slave either."

Chen Ce walked out of the study with a speechless look on his face, staring at the two masters and servants who were lying on the doorstep with their buttocks sticking out, and asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"

Zhu Houzhao said awkwardly: "Little brother, you, you...are having sex in broad daylight, what a refined taste."

puff!
"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Chen Ce rolled his eyes at him. Oh, he understood. He might have been misunderstood just now.

"I, I just want to bring you some New Year's goods."

"Also, I may not be able to come these days because I have something to do. Are you not finished yet? Haha, go ahead. I won't bother you anymore. I'm leaving now."

"By the way, who is your sister-in-law? The one next door?"

"Hmm...wait, what are you yelling about?!"

Zhu Houzhao nodded heavily and said, "Yes, you are right. We are not married yet, so you shouldn't call me sister-in-law."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Zhu Houzhao said seriously: "Yes, you should call her sister-in-law."

Why are you so stubborn, kid?
Before Chen Ce could say anything else, Zhu Houzhao had already slipped away with Liu Jin.

Chen Ce entered the room and looked at Madam Wu helplessly. Madam Wu had obviously heard it and said helplessly, "He misunderstood."

Chen Ce shrugged and said, "Just like when you misunderstood me and him, now you know how it feels, right?"

After helping Madam Wu back to her own courtyard, Chen Ce returned to his own courtyard and told Madam Wu to rest at home and cook lunch herself.

There was still some time before noon, so Chen Ce returned to his study and wrote the ending of the third volume of "Rebirth of the Red Chamber" before going to the market to give it to the store owner of Rongxing Bookstore.

The owner of Fortunately Bookstore was so excited that he said this was the best New Year's gift he had ever received.

Then he took the three taels and two cents of silver he earned from the sales that month and distributed it to Chen Ce as a profit.

Although doing business is a menial job, one can earn more than thirty taels of silver a year, and those ten acres of land can only earn ten taels of silver a year at most. In terms of making money in the Ming Dynasty, farmers were really not as good as businessmen.

Chen Ce chatted with the owner of Rongxing Bookstore for a while and found out that his name was Wang Defa.

Seeing Chen Ce was a little dazed, Shopkeeper Wang asked in confusion: "My dear, what's wrong?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "It's okay, it's a good name."

"By the way, if there was no "Rebirth" storybook, how much money would you normally make per month? Can you tell me?"

Wang Defa said: "Of course it is inconvenient for outsiders, but it is convenient for you, my dear."

"To be honest, if it weren't for my husband's "Rebirth", given the level of competition in Shuntianfu's bookstores, I would be thankful if I could earn one or two taels of silver a month."

This was indeed not much, just enough for his family to eat, and life was tight.

Wang Defa asked Chen Ce nervously, "After you finish this book, are you going to write a new one?"

Chen Ce nodded: "Yeah."

"There are some other businesses that you can try. I wonder if Shopkeeper Wang is interested?"

Wang Defa hesitated to speak, but Chen Ce did not embarrass him and said, "It's okay. There's nothing wrong with being stable." Just as Chen Ce was about to leave, Wang Defa clenched his fist and asked, "What are you going to do, my dear?"

Chen Ce said: "Newspaper company."

"What do you mean?"

Chen Ce smiled and said, "I'll tell you in detail after the New Year. If you're willing, you don't have to invest, just help me run the business."

"it is good!"

Not long after Chen Ce left the bookstore, he saw a crowd of people outside Rongxing Bookstore. Rongxing Bookstore had already put the third volume of "Rebirth of the Red Chamber" on the market, and many readers were queuing outside the bookstore to buy it.

Chen Ce did not return to Huaihua Hutong, but came to a mansion in Shuntian Prefecture.

The leader of the Northwest spies was called Liu Gong. What surprised Chen Ce was that he was actually a scholar, in his thirties, and taciturn.

Chen Ce briefly asked about the specific number of spies in this group, how much their salary was, etc.

On the way back, Chen Ce was thinking.

The old man left himself this group of spies to support. According to Chief Liu, their annual salary should be around three thousand taels, less than thirty taels per person.

Going out for reconnaissance also requires additional financial expenses.

The cost of supporting this group of spies is very high. Chen Ce roughly estimated that it would cost three thousand five hundred taels per year, or even more.

Now that the old man is dead, this group of spies needs to be reorganized. As for how to use them and what to use them for, Chen Ce has not figured it out yet, so he can only keep everything as before for the time being.

Three to four thousand taels of silver a year had to be paid in real money, but Chen Ce did not have that much money. At the beginning, he could feed his whole family by himself, but now it was no longer possible. He needed a fixed income every year to support them.

Before this, when Chen Ce and Zhu Houzhao went out and saw storytellers in teahouses, he had the idea of ​​a newspaper in his mind, but the idea was not mature at that time.

At that time, his purpose was to use the newspaper as a supervisory body of public power and as Zhu Houzhao's eyes and ears, so that the information known to the emperor would no longer be screened by the civil officials, and the civil officials would not have complete control over what to let the emperor know and what not to let the emperor know.

Things are different now. Newspapers can not only achieve this goal, but can even supplement their own financial resources.

I just don’t know whether the newspaper’s profits can reach this level. Everything is unknown, but lack of money is a real and thorny issue facing Chen Ce.

But no matter what, let’s just get through this year’s New Year first.

Returning to Huaihua Hutong, Chen Ce unexpectedly found Xu Jing and Tang Yin waiting outside the door. They came with a lot of New Year's goods. Xu Jing smiled and said to Chen Ce, "I know that you, Mr. Chen, will not go to my villa to celebrate the New Year, so Brother Tang and I bought some New Year's goods for you."

Tang Yin also said: "Teacher, if you are willing, we can go to Brother Xu's villa to celebrate the New Year together."

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I won't go. There's nothing wrong with spending the New Year alone."

"It won't be long after the new year before the exam begins. I wish you all the best in advance."

Xu Jing and Tang Yin bowed in thanks.

Chen Ce glanced at Tang Yin again and said, "Remember what I told you."

He glanced at Xu Jing again and reminded him, "Just stay at home and study hard. All your relationships are fake before you pass the exam. I know you are smart and have many friends, but the exam is coming soon. Don't do meaningless things and cause trouble for yourself."

"Don't get in touch with people in the officialdom. Even if they are high-ranking, it has nothing to do with you. If you get in touch with them, anything will be risky."

Xu Jing bowed and said, "Thank you, Master Chen, for your reminder. I will keep it in mind."

Chen Ce glanced at Tang Yin again, and Tang Yin smiled and said, "Teacher, I remember everything. You don't need to remind me."

Chen Ce hummed and said, "That's good."

……

The last day of the eleventh year of Hongzhi has arrived. Tonight is New Year’s Eve and the fireworks in Shuntian Prefecture will be very beautiful.

The blood should also be very red!
(End of this chapter)