Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 744 Making Money
"A 30-year port operating right, let's say 8 million taels. Is that expensive?"

"Lord Xia, you're making things too difficult for us." The head manager of the Dugu family sighed, "We have eight million taels, but eight million taels in cash is something I can't possibly produce even if I die. You... you can't keep taking advantage of the Dugu family like this. Why don't you wait for me to write a letter to the head of the family, Lord Xia?"

"Stop bringing up your family head. If your family head doesn't come, it'll be eight million. If he does, it'll be ten million. The Ningbo Port business has a thirty-year right to use the imperial seal. You pay up and the seal will be pressed down for you. It's a done deal. Buy it or not?"

"I really can't afford it, Lord Xia. Please look elsewhere. I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Okay." Xia Lin nodded: "You won't regret it."

That afternoon, all of the Dokgo family's properties in Gyeonggi Province and Gangnam Province were notified that they needed to undergo auditing and inspection. Goods, commodities, and shops were seized, and even the doors of carriages were sealed.

Dugu Han was in Chang'an at the moment. When the message arrived by carrier pigeon, her heart skipped a beat. She greeted her third sister and then ran frantically towards Ningbo Prefecture.

On the way, she had a premonition that this matter was definitely related to some scoundrel. He was the only person in the world with that much power; even the emperor had to be careful. Truly, money is worthless in the face of power…

Along this stretch of road, Douyazi felt increasingly aggrieved. She had given birth to his child, and while other women at least benefited from having a child, he did not get any advantages and was constantly being pulled around by her.

It's important to understand that the Dugu family's business is enormous. Even a single day of stagnation results in astronomical losses. Who knows how long this investigation will take? Let alone three or five years, even ten days or half a month wouldn't be enough to sustain them. They would truly go bankrupt. After all, the Dugu family isn't in a monopolistic industry like grain or coal, where they can be replaced...

Even with the horses galloping at full speed, it took them a full seven days to reach Ningbo Prefecture. Just as the fleet was about to set sail, Douyazi rushed onto the ship at the last moment and started scratching Xia Lin's face.

At that time, Emperor Jingtai was discussing with Xia Lin where to start the search for this round. This scene caught even the well-traveled emperor off guard, and he grabbed the map and ran out with his head down.

"Don't run away either!"

Bean Sprout reached out to stop him: "You two are birds of a feather, neither of you is any good."

After saying that, she drew a knife from her waist: "Today, either I die here, or one of you dies here."

Emperor Jingtai glanced back at Xia Lin, then leaned forward and asked, "Um... is it alright if he doesn't die? By the way! Li Shimin is right next door, go and kill him."

"I can't win." Bean Sprout laughed angrily, "Tell me, on what grounds are you seizing my properties?!"

“There’s a problem. Your Dugu family underreported taxes by 8.5 million taels a year.”

"You're talking shit!"

“I said you stole it, and that’s it. Either you make up for it now, or you pay off the debt.” Xia Lin spread his hands: “Even if you’re crazy, you have to follow the laws of the Great Wei.”

"Prepare to die..."

Douyazi raised his knife to strike, but Emperor Jingtai, quick-witted and agile, snatched the knife away and then put his arm around Douyazi's shoulder: "Come, come, Brother Dugu, let's go outside and talk, let's not be so impulsive."

Emperor Jingtai realized that Douya was really going to kill him. Today, she had no intention of letting Xia Lin live or letting herself live. One of them was the pillar of the family, and the other was the purse. If either of them were missing, Emperor Jingtai would wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself for the rest of his life. He would rather the knife be cut on him than cause a death.

"So he sealed off my businesses for those eight million taels? Is he even human??? Just give it to him, that would have been fine!"

“Brother, that’s not how it works,” Emperor Jingtai sighed. “Your head steward is completely unyielding. I ask you, how much do you think Ningbo Port is worth?”

"How much?" Douyazi calmed down when money was mentioned: "Ningbo Port has three major advantages. First, it is a natural deep-water port. Second, it is an important harbor connecting multiple countries. Third, it is a hub connecting Gyeonggi Province and Gangnam Province. Its annual throughput is already approaching that of Quanzhou Port. Hmm... If we were to buy it, I'm afraid we couldn't. However, if we were to lease it, it would definitely cost 300,000 taels a year."

"If I gave you 300,000 taels of silver a year, would you make a profit?"

"I could make a net profit of about 30,000 to 50,000 taels, but that's not how it's calculated. If I leased the port, I could make about 150,000 taels a year, including both profits and savings."

"Then tell me, if I offered you eight million taels of silver to lease the property for thirty years, would you take it or leave it?"

"Where do I pay, now?"

"Ten million taels!" Xia Lin's furious voice came from inside the room: "Damn it, the good thing of eight million taels is gone!"

Ten thousand taels... that's still a profit. Even in the worst year, you can earn at least five hundred thousand taels, and in thirty years, you'll have at least fifteen million taels. That's a good deal!

Bean Sprout immediately stood up straight: "Who refused me when it was eight hundred?"

Emperor Jingtai paused for a moment: "It seems to be one of your head managers."

"Wait, I'm going to kill him." "The ship has set sail..."

The boat wasn't moving properly, so Douyazi dragged Emperor Jingtai onto the deck and pointed at the small boat above: "Lower it for me, quickly!"

In the end, they still put her down, to prevent her from actually jumping off the ship. With her size, if she jumped, she would be swept into the deep sea by the turbulence of the large ship, and she would be dead, fish food.

"So you knew she would definitely come?"

“Yes.” Xia Lin rested his chin on his hand. “The Dugu family is like a pig kept by the empire; they’ll cut it when they’re hungry. Do you understand what I mean?”

"Then why did you lease the port to her?"

"You raise pigs without feeding them feed?" Xia Lin looked at the scars on his face in the mirror. "Damn, she really went all out."

"Nonsense, if I were Bean Sprout, I'd kill you too. You really show no mercy, you guys..."

"When it comes to national interests, all personal feelings must give way." Xia Lin raised his head and said decisively, "I'm keeping her here not because of our relationship, but because she's the most suitable person to stay. I don't mind letting her be a figurehead, but the Dugu family needs a leader, and she's the most suitable one."

“Look, people say that the imperial family is ruthless, but it’s not that they are ruthless. Sometimes there’s really no other way. The other day, when I was drinking with the third brother, we talked about the second brother. They were brothers, but in the end, they ended up killing each other. The third brother was afraid that I would settle accounts with him, so he pretended to be crazy and went to Fuliang. In the blink of an eye, he settled down there.”

"There's no other way; stability is the foundation of development." Xia Lin sighed helplessly. "Alright, now the fleet's money is here."

Douyazi was furious and dismissed the head manager of Ningbo Prefecture, sending him to Liaodong to collect grain. He then replaced him with a young head manager to manage the affairs here.

She also secured the 30-year lease on Ningbo Port for 10 million yuan, with no room for negotiation. Xia Lin didn't give her a chance to bargain at all, but 10 million yuan was still a profit for her, so in the end she gritted her teeth and paid the money.

With the funds in place, the entire shipbuilding industry in Ningbo came back to life. It is important to know that whether an industry can survive depends on whether it can get a large order at the beginning that can lay the foundation for the industry. The fleet order is enough to allow the industry to enjoy the benefits for thirty years. After all, in addition to production, there are more maintenance and subsequent civilian orders.

The fleet was built at full speed, and industrial manufacturing capacity was maximized. All eight construction teams under the Jiangnan Road Construction Division came to support the effort, and the population of Ningbo Port suddenly surged to around 800,000.

As the population grows, everything else needs to keep up: infrastructure, people's livelihood, employment opportunities, and children's education. It's not a simple matter of addition and subtraction, but a complex geometry. In any case, as long as the primary and secondary industries are developed, it will inevitably lead a region to overall prosperity.

But at this moment, Xia Lin's head started to ache. The fleet had already set sail for the third time to search, but they still couldn't find a trace of the pirates.

The intelligence agencies were completely incompetent, unable to provide him with any effective leads.

"Why don't you go back to the capital first? You've been away for too long; after all, you are the emperor."

"I'm not going." Emperor Jingtai stood at the bow of the ship, a cigarette between his fingers. "These bastards slaughtered my people and burned my towns. How can I leave peacefully?"

Xia Lin frowned: "But we can't find anyone now."

"Hmm..." After pondering for a long time, Emperor Jingtai suddenly asked, "Do you think we've forgotten someone?"

Xia Lin slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Have you forgotten about my Brother Hong?"

"Yeah! He's the local bully, what are we doing wandering around here?"

Xia Lin smiled and said, "Yes, let's go to the town and summon him."

"What about you?"

"avoid arousing suspicion."

The fleet returned to the small harbor. Xia Lin disembarked but did not see Li Shimin. He was probably secretly writing a letter to Chang'an again. But it didn't matter; he could just report back.

Meanwhile, Emperor Jingtai was putting on airs and preparing to receive Hong Jinglue in bed.

Xia Lin arrived alone at the town's tavern. The scratches on his face were clearly inflicted by a woman, and it was precisely this claw mark that made him look less like Xia Daosheng. As he walked down the street, few people bothered to identify him.

Each person ate a fish, a serving of steamed razor clams with yellow wine, and a bowl of rice. The meal was simple. Since the garrison was stationed here, the people who had almost all fled have gradually returned. Rumors circulated that the person who came to suppress the bandits was the emperor himself. No one really believed it, but deep down they all hoped it was true.

Xia Lin was wearing what the locals called a "naval" uniform, which didn't show his rank. After all, the navy wasn't fully formed yet and didn't have an official background, but it was already quite popular in the town. He sat in a small restaurant, his eyes scanning the crowds passing by outside. He was certain that there must be pirates mixed in, otherwise they wouldn't have such good information.

(End of this chapter)