The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 414 Xue Baochai's Accident

The Xue family owns several houses in the capital, all in good locations. They have been vacant for nearly twenty years, with only a few servants to clean and look after them.

After Xue Pan got married, he moved out of the Jia family mansion.

Because Xue Baochai started managing her business, she bought another house not far from their home for convenience.

In addition to its original pawnshop, coffin shop, antique shop, timber shop, and medicine shop, the Xue family business now also includes a cattle and sheep market and a horse market for trade outside the Great Wall.

The first and second wives compete internally, but outwardly they are united.

They were already in a position of absolute power in Jiangnan, and now they are even more overwhelming. Apart from a few salt merchants who can resist them, no other salt merchants can compare to them.

Ultimately, none of these industries can compare to ticketing.

As the saying goes, the Xue family is a leader in the industry, a long-established name, commanding all trades and none dare disobey. When the Xue family produces money exchange, who can compete with them?

This demonstrates the rapid growth of the ticket industry.

Xue Baochai followed Wang Xin's example and also established a general residence.

Several managers were promoted and selected to be in charge of the main office's affairs. After Zhang Dehui retired due to illness, the main office gradually took on the role of overseeing the business of the Xue family's main branch, with each manager performing their duties and taking charge of their own affairs.

Each head manager has several subordinate managers.

Each manager has subordinate managers and assistant managers in various departments.

Salary is paid on weekdays, and bonus is distributed at the end of the year.

Clear division of powers and responsibilities.

The traditional trades were small in scale and highly competitive, so Xue Baochai assigned them to a head manager. Then, the trade outside the Great Wall and the grain and vegetable shops in Datong each had a head manager.

The ticket shop is the only exception; it has four head managers.

There was a head manager in charge of each of the cities: Datong, Beijing, Jinling, and Yangzhou. He traveled between Beijing and other places all year round.

Currently, preparations are underway to open a fifth ticket office in Guangdong.

Xue Baochai accepted Wang Xin's proposal that the ticket office adopt a shareholding system.

In addition to acquiring shares, the company also grants shares to managers of all ranks, with the amount depending on whether they have held the shares for ten or twenty years, as well as on year-end profits. Successful managers can then become owners themselves.

"Why hasn't Miss arrived yet today?"

Lan Huai returned to the capital from Datong and exchanged views with the head manager of the capital, including Wang Xin's insights on the ticket office.

The speed at which ticketing companies are developing is truly astonishing.

Who can ignore the influence behind it?
In the capital, he had the Jia family as a backer; in Datong, there was Wang Xin; and Jinling and Yangzhou were both his hometowns. In Jinling, besides the various branches of the Jia family, there was also Jia Yucun, who served as the Minister of War in Jinling; and in Yangzhou, there were the connections left by Lin Ruhai.

Wang Xin was the most steadfast supporter of the ticketing agency.

Its foundation also lies in Datong.

Therefore, Wang Xin's attitude was extremely important. Only after confirming his level of support did the several managers have the confidence to open a ticket office in Guangdong. Although the General of Yuehai could take care of them there, they were still uncertain before confirming Wang Xin's attitude.

Since we are going to open a fifth ticket office in Guangdong, which is thousands of miles away, how can we ensure the safety of the ticket office?
As for transporting the silver, that's a minor issue.

In the years since the establishment of the bank, except for the first two years, the amount of silver transported each year has decreased, and the faster the circulation speed between different regions, the less pressure the bank faces.

Zhang Zhisheng walked in with a sullen face and said coldly, "Miss won't be coming today. Everyone, go about your business. There's no need to wait for her."

Seeing Zhang Zhisheng's attitude, everyone knew that something had happened, and it was most likely related to the Xue family.

Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, but Lan Huai remained unconcerned and asked in front of everyone, "What happened?"

Zhang Zhisheng remained silent.

"You come with me."

Zhang Zhisheng is Zhang Dehui's son. Zhang Dehui has been the head of the Xue family for many years, and everyone takes care of Zhang Zhisheng. Lan Huai doesn't care and only treats Zhang Zhisheng as an ordinary manager.

Strangely enough, Zhang Zhisheng was not afraid of anyone. Even the old lady treated him like a junior member of her own family. Although he was not arrogant in the business, he was still a bit haughty. The only exception was Chu Lanhuai.

After he left with Lan Huai, the rest of the people dispersed.

With Lan Huai handling this matter, everyone should simply listen to him in the end.

"Who's stopping Miss from leaving?" Lan Huai entered an empty room. The room was very clean, the tables and chairs were spotless, and the teapot on the table was still warm and full of tea.

Following behind Lan Huai, Zhang Zhisheng hesitated whether to offer her tea. Upon hearing Lan Huai's guess, Zhang Zhisheng was not surprised and honestly admitted, "Young Master doesn't allow Miss to go out."

"Why?" Lan Huai didn't waste any words, speaking sparingly.

"Sigh." Zhang Zhisheng sighed, looked at Lan Huai with reproach, and said quietly, "It's all because of the bank. The young lady gave you shares, but the young master was not satisfied and scolded the young lady for giving away the family property to outsiders."

"Fool!"

Lan Huai disregarded Xue Pan, and after cursing, asked, "You don't support Miss?"

Zhang Zhisheng hesitated.

He understood what Lan Huai meant.

The young lady distributed shares, and the business was not just the business's business, but also their own business.

Those who do well will receive more.

And these are genuine shares.

He certainly hoped to obtain shares in the Xue family, but his family had served the Xue family for generations, and he couldn't be disloyal.

"Fool!"

Lan Huai cursed again.

Zhang Zhisheng looked at Lan Huai suspiciously. Was this a dig at him?
However, Lan Huai's expression was too calm, not like someone who was cursing, so Zhang Zhisheng sighed dejectedly.

"Who's in charge of sweet potatoes? I'll go to Daning myself."

Lan Huai knew about the sweet potato matter; it was he who arranged it in Datong.

Are you going to see the military governor?

Zhang Zhisheng wondered, even if Wang Xin intervened, what could he do? It was a family matter for the Xue family; could an outsider like him really interfere? That didn't make sense.

Lan Huai looked pained.

He originally wanted to marry the young lady.

The young lady was the most beautiful and intelligent woman he had ever met, and marrying her would save him thirty years, allowing him to reach new heights.

but
Lan Huai knew she wasn't qualified, so she didn't dare to think about it too much and could only keep it buried in her heart.

Then the other option is also good.

"Miss should marry Wang Xin." Lan Huai didn't care that Zhang Zhisheng had betrayed her and would speak her mind.

Although Zhang Zhisheng is a fool, he still knows how to seek his own benefit.

If someone knows how to benefit themselves, then they are someone you can cooperate with.

A fool who doesn't know how to seek his own benefit should never be cooperated with; it's best to avoid even getting close to him.

"what?"

Zhang Zhisheng was stunned.

"Wang Xin supports Miss's business ventures and even more so, he supports her taking a share of the profits. The ticket office needs Wang Xin more right now. By becoming deeply aligned with Wang Xin, the ticket office's future will be more secure, and it will also gain the trust of more people."

Lan Huai said calmly.

Zhang Zhisheng had no doubt about his young lady's character and appearance, but Lan Huai's words were a bit too confident, so he subconsciously asked, "What if Wang Xin doesn't accept? He has a marriage agreement with the Jia family."

“He will definitely find a way,” Lan Huai said without doubt.

The events involving the Zhou family in Datong were enough to make Wang Xin understand the preciousness of the young lady.

The Zhou family could have been the biggest asset to the Jiedushi government, taking away at least half of the Xue family's value. In the end, not only did they fail, but the conflict escalated, and the Zhou family became an obstacle.

Just like a young master.

It's wishful thinking to expect the young master, who lives off the family business and talks about it all the time, to get a share of the profits.

(End of this chapter)