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

Chapter 326: Being Despised
The diners and prostitutes at Qingchunlou were amazed at Chen Ce's wealth, while at the same time curiously guessing about his identity.

Being so young and yet so rich, that would be fine. The three talented men in the capital had written poems with great confidence, and they should have won the game.

Why did Li Gui, when he saw the handsome young man, act as if he saw a ghost and didn't even dare to compete with him, but just admitted defeat directly?

What does this mean?
This means that these talented people in Gyeonggi Province have seen how powerful that handsome young man is!
So young, handsome, so talented, and yet so low-key, who is this person?

Such a mysterious identity would surely arouse the curiosity of the clients of Qingchunlou. However, after discussing it for a long time, they still did not know that such a person of great importance existed in the capital.

Several courtesans in Qingchun Tower stood on the second-floor attic and had a panoramic view of the conflict below. Several beautiful courtesans couldn't help but become interested in Chen Ce.

Chen Ce led Zhu Houzhao out of the brothel. Zhu Houzhao stammered, "Little brother, this, this..."

Chen Ce looked at him speechlessly. Historically, Zhu Houzhao did not have any children. It was rumored that he was used to hunting for beauties in brothels and was not interested in the women in the palace.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, Chen Ce didn't want Zhu Houzhao to linger in brothels in the future.

But if Chen Ce were asked to educate Zhu Houzhao in a serious manner, he really didn't know how to start.

As soon as she walked out of Qingchun Tower, Madam Wu passed by not far away. When she saw Chen Ce and Zhu Houzhao, she stopped.

It was so late and Mrs. Wu had just returned from a busy work at Shuntian Express.

Chen Ning felt a little guilty, as if he had been caught doing something shady. Although this matter had nothing to do with him, he still felt a little guilty.

Madam Wu glanced at Chen Ce calmly and said to him softly, "You are not in good health, so don't hang out with him anymore."

This "he" obviously refers to Zhu Houzhao. Madam Wu didn't believe that Chen Ce would come to such a place by himself.

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

Madam Wu didn't say much and just turned and left.

Zhu Houzhao was embarrassed. What do you mean by hanging out with me? Is this place so unbearable? Why did Miss Wu look at him with such contempt just now?

Madam Wu had just left not long ago.

Ning Zhijun and Su Hanmei happened to pass by here and saw Chen Ce and Zhu Houzhao standing in front of the brothel. They looked at Zhu Houzhao warily and reminded Chen Ce, "Mr. Chen, did he drag you here?"

"Associating with the good becomes good, associating with the bad becomes bad. Be careful when making friends in the future."

No... What do you mean by that? Come back and explain yourself clearly!
Zhu Houzhao was speechless. What's wrong with coming to such a place? How come the people around you are red, and the people around you are black? What do you mean you should be careful when making friends? Did I discredit my little brother?

Zhu Houzhao looked back at the brothel, clenched his fists tightly in his sleeves, and gritted his teeth secretly, thinking, I will never come to this rubbish place again!
Gu Dayong, this bastard, said that coming to this place would make men happy. What happiness!
Not only will you not be happy at all, you will also be looked down upon!

This trip to the brothel made Zhu Houzhao completely give up his fantasy about brothels and secretly vowed never to come there again.

……

In early July, an unprecedented rainstorm swept across Peking.

Liu Hong, wearing a straw raincoat, delivered the letter from Xu Jing of Southeast to Chen Ce.

It rained heavily today, and Chen Ce did not go out. He sat in the study and read the letter sent by Xu Jing from the southeast.

Xu Jing told Chen Ce that many businessmen had recently flocked to the southeast, and one of them, a businessman named Fu Yuan, began to rapidly expand his business in the southeastern coastal area.

He mainly engaged in textile business, and most of the refugees and farmers in the southeast were absorbed into his workshop.

The cloth woven by Fu Yuan was quickly sold in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the sales volume was very good. Another thing was that the court's reform of commercial taxation was more stringent, and the tax collection of merchants was more standardized. Various official bills emerged in an endless stream, and merchants' demand for accountants became more and more vigorous, and the price of employment became higher and higher.

As business develops, businessmen will certainly have an increasing demand for professional talent. This is the law of economic and social development.

Chen Ce put the letter under the lamp beside him and burned it. He sat at the desk with his chin in his hand, his brows slightly raised.

It was within Chen Ce's expectations that Fu Yuan would go to the southeast, and it was also within Chen Ce's expectations that he would be able to expand so rapidly in the southeast.

Liu Hong was still waiting for Chen Ce in the central hall.

However, Chen Ce did not reply this time. He asked Liu Hong, "Have the textile machines in the capital been sold to the south?"

Liu Hong shook his head and said, "Not yet."

The new type of textile machine is currently only being developed in the capital area, and the existence of this new textile machine is still unknown in the southeastern area of ​​Jiangnan.

Chen Ce hummed and said to Liu Hong: "Go tell the people in the southeast to spread the news among the merchants and tell them that Fu Yuan's efficient textile machine comes from the capital."

Liu Hong clasped his fists and said, "Okay!"

"and many more."

Chen Ce took two umbrellas from the room, handed one to Liu Hong, and said, "It's raining heavily, take an umbrella and go."

"Thank you, sir."

The situation in the southeast has been laid out, and Chen Ce, the pusher, is still needed to continue the layout.

He held an umbrella, wore a dark green gown and went out, heading straight for the residence of the Minister of Works.

In the past, Chen Ce would never take the initiative to visit these officials, but would wait for them to come to him, but that is no longer possible.

The Minister of Works Xu Guan was not at home. Although it was a day off today, Xu Guan was called to the palace.

Chen Ce went to the residence of Qin Hong, the Minister of Revenue, again. Similarly, Qin Hong was summoned to the palace.

Chen Ce held an umbrella and looked up at the sky at the heavy rain. He wondered what had happened in the court. Today was clearly a day off, but the two ministers were summoned to the palace again.

Chen Ce returned to Huaihua Hutong, and when it was time to light the lamps at night, the heavy rain was still continuing.

There was a knock on the door, and Qin Hong and Xu Guan came to Chen Ce's yard at the same time.

After returning from the palace today, they all heard that Chen Ce had visited them at their homes. They knew that Chen Ce would not take the initiative to look for them if he had nothing else to do, so they all came uninvited.

Chen Ce invited the two ministers to come in and sit down. After pouring tea for them, he said, "Some merchants in the southeast have already controlled the textile industry, and there is a trend of one company dominating the industry."

"I have ordered people to go to the southeast to spread the news of the textile machine. It won't be long before merchants from the southeast come to buy the textile machine."

"I would like to ask the two adults to make preparations and give priority to supplying textile machines to merchants in the southeast."

The textile industry in the capital is already saturated, and Fu Yuan's family cannot be allowed to monopolize the southeast. Once Fu Yuan has a monopoly, the price of cloth will soar in the southeast.

None of this is the key point. What Chen Ce wants to do is to squeeze Fu Yuan's living space in the southeast. He will let Fu Yuan taste the sweetness first, and then make it impossible for him to make money, forcing Fu Yuan to start overseas smuggling trade.

Qin Hong and Xu Guan nodded. This was not a difficult task for them.

(End of this chapter)