Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 44 The man who shines with golden light!

The next morning, Madam He first sent someone with silver to find He Qing. Meanwhile, seeing that Lu Jia had left home and gone to Hongtai Company as usual, she also went to Tanzhou without stopping.

She was itching to send that brat to the brothel right away. Last time she hired someone but failed, and she absolutely couldn't fail again this time!
As soon as Madam He stepped out, Xie Yi immediately followed.

After leaving the Xie family, Shen Qingzhou went to Fuxingfang and, as expected, encountered Zhang Laosan.

Zhang Laosan knew very well that the young master Qin had an official household registration card. If it were a legitimate business, he wouldn't be able to get a turn. It was probably a business that couldn't be conducted openly, and he would have to find someone like Zhang Laosan who was idle.

But he didn't care! The person was a distinguished guest from the capital. With such a background, what did Zhang An have to fear?

After much pleading and cajoling, Young Master Qin finally relented and agreed to meet at the teahouse the next day.

By noon, Zhang Laosan couldn't wait to get to the place.

As soon as Zhang Laosan entered the door, He Qu, who had been watching from across the street, turned around and informed Shen Qingzhou.

The carriage was glittering with gold today. Shen Qingzhou put on her clothes and styled her hair.

To fulfill his promise to that Miss Lu, their young master has probably never been so diligent in his studies, not even when he was studying with his teacher.

Sigh, men!
Shen Qingzhou led the two of them to the back room and used a bone fan to lift the curtain.

Zhang An had just finished drinking half a cup of tea when suddenly the bamboo curtain was lifted, and as light and shadow spilled in, a corner of a brocade robe flew in with the left foot that stepped through the door, almost blinding him!
"Young Master Qin!"

On their previous meetings, this young master had always dressed in the silk robes typical of ordinary merchants. While this couldn't conceal his imposing presence, it wasn't entirely outrageous.

But what is he dressed like today?
He was dressed in brocade robes from head to toe, adorned with a jade crown and cloud-patterned shoes, with a jade pendant around his waist and a bone fan in his hand. His waist badge from that day was also prominently displayed. Zhang An had never even seen such an imposing figure before!

I had seen several young masters from the Prince Ji's residence in Tanzhou Prefecture from afar before. They were imperial relatives! They were princes of the royal family! Their food, clothing, and daily necessities were incomparable to those of ordinary people.
But compared to the man before him, those distinguished young masters seemed to lack something!
"coming."

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him as she stepped through the door.

With a slight flick of his bone fan, He Qu and Tang Yu, who were following behind him, retreated and left.

The two of them moved in perfect unison, as if they were twins, and stood on either side of the door.

Zhang An had never seen anything like this before, and his head was almost spinning. He bowed and said yes, then looked up and saw Shen Qingzhou sitting calmly at the head of the table. Only then did he realize that he shouldn't have been standing there like an idiot.

But no sooner had his bottom touched the stool than Shen Qingzhou's words made him stand up abruptly.

How much cash did you get?

Zhang An was stunned for a moment before he realized what he had asked.

Who would ask about someone's property as soon as they meet them?
But these words, coming from the person in front of us, didn't seem out of place.

"In cash and banknotes, the total amount is over 18,800 taels. There are also two shops and some farmland."

After Zhang An finished speaking, he straightened his back.

After the family divided the property, they received nearly 20,000 taels of silver. Such substantial wealth was not something an ordinary person could possess.

Unexpectedly, the other party stopped fanning himself: "Not even twenty thousand taels?"

Zhang An lost his speech.

As far as he knew, the official annual salary of the prefect of Tanzhou was only eighty taels of silver. Wasn't that enough for him? ...

He calmly probed, "I wonder how many I should have?"

Shen Qingzhou exhaled calmly: "The imperial court has been carrying out a major overhaul of water transport this year, and many places will undergo changes, you know that, right?"

Zhang Anxin was terrified: "I've heard a little about it..." Reforming water transport? His business has actually gotten involved in water transport? Is he dealing with the imperial court?!
"Third Master is a smart man. With the ships from Tonghuomen already moored, how can a small place like Shawan possibly handle them?"
"Either the goods are transferred to other wharves along the route, or the facilities are expanded."

Shen Qingzhou slowly stirred the tea in his hands, speaking slowly as well. "Once the expansion is completed, the river embankment will be repaired, wharves will be built, and even official post stations along the way will require money everywhere."

"The Ministry of Revenue is about to allocate a sum of 500,000 taels of silver. I wonder if you've heard about it?"

Five, five hundred thousand taels?

A fog rolled through Zhang Laosan's head. He swallowed hard. "N-Never heard of it!..."

How could a nobody like him know such crucial information?!

Shen Qingzhou continued, "In the imperial court's assignments, the higher-ups take on the tasks, but the lower-ups do the work. If there's no incentive, who would be willing to do it?"

"I rushed to Tanzhou because I wanted to find a few reliable people before this money arrived, so we could make a little money together."

"It's a pity that after staying for almost a month, we're still missing two or three more."

“I reminded you of something before, Third Master, and you took back the shop without saying a word. Your decisiveness has impressed me quite a bit.”

He paused for a moment, then his gaze fell on Zhang Laosan's face: "But I didn't expect you to only get such a small amount of silver."

"Fine. This has nothing to do with you anymore, let's call it a day."

He picked up his fan and made a gesture as if to stand up.

Zhang Laosan quickly pressed him down: "I wonder how much silver is needed to invest in the young master's business?"

Shen Qingzhou held up five fingers.

Zhang Laosan was stunned.

Shen Qingzhou said, "I've calculated it for you. Even if you sell all your land and shops, you'll only get a few thousand taels of silver, which is far from fifty thousand."

"Young Master! Young Master Qin!"

Zhang Laosan strode forward and blocked his way: "I only want 20,000 taels, is that not enough?"

Shen Qingzhou suddenly scoffed: "What do you take me for? Do you think I'm someone who's never seen such a small amount of money before?"

"By investing in my company, you'll at least double your profits!"
"You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. If you don't have the ability to make money, why force it?"

He frowned, flicked his sleeve, and stepped through the door.

Zhang Laosan knelt down behind him with a thud: "Please, young master, for the sake of our past acquaintance, please give me a hand!"

But they left without even turning their heads.

Zhang Laosan was so anxious that he was about to rush out when the curtain opened again and He Qu walked in from outside: "Third Master, please have some self-respect."

“The groups my young master has brought together are all influential people. Why should we make an exception for you?”
"Without your help, the young master's matter could still be accomplished."

"But if you really want to get in, why don't you find a way yourself?"

Zhang Laosan was completely at a loss. What solution could he possibly come up with?
He Qu sighed: "Third Master is confused. You can't raise 50,000 by yourself, but if you get two or three people with you, surely you can raise 50,000?"

"Given your status in Shawan, wouldn't it be easy for you to seize two or three groups?"
"Not to mention anything else, don't you have two older brothers?"
"You can't even think of this simple trick? You really deserve to have been tricked by your older brother for so many years!"

After being given such a severe scolding, Zhang Laosan couldn't help but open his mouth wide!

(End of this chapter)