Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 109 Even if innocent, the porters and spies of the car and boat shop should be killed.
Jinling City, at the lower street entrance.

This place faces the Imperial River and is adjacent to Chaotian Palace.

The streets were bustling with people and vehicles, and the cries of vendors filled the air, creating a lively and prosperous atmosphere.

"A shop in such a bustling place."

Lin Dao looked around and finally focused on the inn with the seal on it. "It's a place that's worth its weight in gold, and I wouldn't sell it even if I could keep it as a family heirloom. What major thing happened to this inn?"

Chen Zhenhui, one of the Four Great Talents, smiled and said, "Of course, I have violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

Lin Dao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Could it be murder and robbery?"

It's not some backwater shop in the middle of nowhere; this is the bustling city of Jinling. Would anyone really dare to kill and rob someone in a shop?
Chen Zhenhui clapped her hands and said, "Brother Zihou, you have truly keen insight."

"There's no such thing as keen insight."

Looking at the seal of Yingtian Prefecture on the gate, he thought, "They are just porters, boatmen, innkeepers, and spies; they deserve to be killed even if they are innocent."

"Uh~~~"

Chen Zhenhui was a prominent figure in the Fushe Society and one of the founders of the Guangye Society.

His father had served as an imperial censor, and his family was a prominent clan in the area.

When traveling, one is always entertained by friends and followed by servants.

He had never encountered the dark side of the car and boat shop.

"This Yunlai Inn has a history of stealing guests' money."

"It's just that there are some connections behind it, and since no one has been able to find a weakness, it's always been left unresolved."

“Last month, however, I stole a customer’s money, got into a fight with the customer, and accidentally killed him.”

"The victim had some connection with the Duke of Wei's mansion. Upon learning the news, the Duke of Wei's mansion sent a document to Yingtian Prefecture, and that same day, they arrested the person and sealed off the shop."

The title of Duke of Wei in the Ming Dynasty originated from Xu Da.

Xu Da was the first of the six founding kings of the Ming Dynasty, a fierce and powerful warrior.

In addition to this, Xu Da had another identity that was crucial to the Xu family's status in the Ming Dynasty.

He was Zhu Di's father-in-law.

Zhu Di's descendants have the bloodline of the Xu family.

It was precisely because of this that the Xu family was able to regain the title of Xu Huizu after he was stripped of it.

Two hundred years have passed, and the Wei State Duke's Mansion, deeply rooted in Jinling City, is the true master of this city, which is the largest in the world and has the largest population (1.2 million).

What are the Six Ministries of Jinling, what are the garrison eunuchs, what is Yingtian Prefecture?

They are nothing compared to the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Of course, a few years later, when the Wild Boarskin Army besieged the city, the power of the Duke of Wei's mansion vanished like a bubble.

The last Duke of Wei led a group of nobles to surrender and kneel in welcome, which was a disgrace to Xu Da.

"Oh."

Lin Dao looked enlightened. "No wonder he took my grandfather clock, mechanical watch, and full-length mirror to give as gifts to the Duke of Wei's mansion."

With the backing of the Duke of Wei's mansion, it was only natural that he took over the inn.

"Walk."

Lin Dao stepped forward and said, "Let's go in and take a look."

The clerk from Yingtian Prefecture, who had been waiting there, stood at the door with a smile on his face.

Lin Dao had never done such a thing before, so he didn't know what it meant.

Fortunately, Qian Qianyi knew that he didn't understand these things, so he specially asked Chen Zhenhui to help him.

Taking the money bag from the servant, Chen Zhenhui stepped forward and stuffed it into the hands of the clerk of Yingtian Prefecture.

The clerk skillfully weighed the money pouch in his hand, put it away, and then immediately shouted in a serious tone.

"Unsealed~~~"

Since the shop was sealed off by the government, it was the government that had to remove the seal.

This is also a way for people in Yingtian Prefecture to monetize their power.

Seeing this, Lin Dao smiled nonchalantly.

Yonghe Time and Space doesn't have these kinds of things.

The difference between an era of struggling to survive and an era that at least had order is indeed significant.

The clerks left with the seals; their work was done.

Lin Dao entered the inn. The chairs and benches were scattered haphazardly, and the pots, pans and other items were broken. It was clear that when they arrested people and shut down the inn, there had been quite a commotion.

I ran my finger across the table, and a dust mark appeared on my finger.

"It seems that no one has come in during this period of time."

Chen Zhenhui's attendant led several master craftsmen inside to pay their respects.

Lin Dao took out a stack of blueprints from his travel bag.

He spread it out on the table and pointed it out to the master craftsmen.

"The entire shop has been transformed into two parts."

"The front is the showroom and sales counter, mainly used to display samples and negotiate sales."

"The latter part was transformed into a trading venue for the high-priced acquisition of jewelry, gold, precious wood, medicinal herbs, and other items."

"We need to be discreet about what we do next to ensure the privacy of our guests."

Those who can sell these things are basically either rich or noble.

It's very embarrassing to be found out that you've sold off your ancestral property.

Lin Dao's blueprints were designed and printed by someone in the modern world.

Not only is it extremely neat, but it is also very clear and beautiful.

During the Ming Dynasty, blueprints were used for building gardens and other major projects.

However, their drawings were all handmade, and over time the ink would smudge and ruin the original shape.

The master craftsmen marveled at Lin Dao's drawings.

"Everyone."

Looking at the foremen, Lin Dao simply asked, "How many days will it take to complete?"

The foreman immediately said, "It can be completed in one month."

In this day and age, it's perfectly normal for a project to take several months to complete.

The reason it only takes a month is because it only requires renovation, not building anything new.

"Too long." Lin Dao shook his head simply. "Five days at most."

The foremen were immediately in an uproar.

"Young master, we cannot operate your shop." "Five days is simply impossible."

"That's right, five days isn't even enough time to prepare the materials."

Faced with the craftsmen's dissatisfaction, Lin Dao immediately used his financial power.

"If the work is completed within five days, I will give you an extra thousand taels of silver as a bonus in addition to your wages."

“I’ll pay you two thousand taels if you finish it in four days.”

"Five thousand taels will be given after three days!"

The purchasing power of silver in the Jiangnan region remains very strong.

At least in Jinling City, most people can't earn even a tael of silver after a month of hard work.

Lin Dao offered an additional reward of up to five thousand taels, which was undoubtedly a huge sum of money.

The foremen's eyes turned red.

That's five thousand taels!
They couldn't wait to ask, "Is this true?"

Silver is so cheap in modern industry that Lin Dao has no reason to fool them.

“I’m in business,” Lin said truthfully. “If I break my oath, this business will go bankrupt before it even opens.”

These days, it's still important to have a good reputation when doing business.

If you lose your credibility, no one will do business with you.

It doesn't seem like the modern world... *cough*
The craftsmen thought about it and agreed; this young master was going to do big business, and he wouldn't do something that would ruin his own reputation.

"I've got it." Lin Daoxuan added, "Ensuring quality is the prerequisite."

"If it's for the sake of a reward, then the quality will be substandard~~~"

The foremen all said, "If the quality is not good, then young master, you can twist off our heads and kick them around like footballs!"
They grabbed the blueprints and rushed out.

We must get started now on gathering all kinds of craftsmen and bringing in all kinds of building materials from the trading companies.

"Zihou".

After the business was finished, Chen Zhenhui stepped forward, fanning herself, and asked, "Why the rush?"

The pace of life in ancient times was actually very slow.

It is completely different from the race against time in the modern world.

Lin Dao only gave them three days to rebuild the shop, which Chen Zhenhui thought was far too rushed.

Of course he was in a hurry. He was eager to earn valuable resources such as jewelry and gold to exchange for money in the modern world to buy goods.

Again.

They were doing industrial dumping as a cover.

If he were to start by making a big fuss all over the city, offering countless amounts of silver to exchange for gold and jewels, then all the factions that had figured out his background would immediately devour him.

To sustain the business and make it bigger and stronger.

In this way, collecting the valuable items hidden behind them becomes much easier and more convenient.

As for building a team, it will take at least several months and a significant amount of investment.

He doesn't have the time, nor the energy for it at the moment.

Lin Dao smiled and took the box out of his travel bag.

Upon opening it, you'll find a mechanical watch purchased from a small commodities market.

"To call it a thank-you gift would be too formal."

Lin Dao handed the watch to Chen Zhenhui, saying, "A gentleman's friendship is as light as water. Exchanging local specialties is nothing to overthink."

"Hahahaha~~~"

Chen Zhenhui laughed as she took the watch and, with Lin Dao's guidance, put it on her wrist.

"Ever since I saw what Mr. Muzhai was wearing on his hand," Chen Zhenhui said, raising her hand to examine it, "I was just about to ask you about it."

Watches in the small commodities market are very cheap.

However, in terms of design, it is extremely beautiful.

The dial is made of imitation gemstones, the glass cover is crystal clear, and the workmanship is made of high-quality stainless steel.

Watching the pointer move back and forth, Chen Zhenhui's mouth was practically crooked with a grin.

It's absolutely exquisite.

This thing is good enough to be a family heirloom!
"Since they consider me a friend, I can't lose face."

Chen Zhenhui laughed and announced, "Tonight, it's the Meixiang Pavilion, my treat!"

Lin Dao originally intended to refuse.

He has a lot of work to do.

In the Chongzhen era, he opened a shop and did business; in the Yonghe era, he became a general and led everyone to a better life.

Back in the modern world, he's a company owner and a deliveryman again.

I'm so busy, I don't have time to go to the brothel to listen to music.

Chen Zhenhui added, "You wouldn't believe it, Meixiangfang's business has been booming lately."

"Ok?"

Lin Dao didn't care much about this.

After all, he's a man who does big things; how could he possibly care about the business of a pleasure boat?

But Chen Zhenhui then said, "It's because of the rare treasures you entrusted to them."

"You have no idea how many people forced Mei Xiang Fang to hand over her things."

"That really caused a huge mess."

"If we didn't have such strong backing, we would have had to submit long ago."

"They also asked me to pass on a message to you."

Chen Zhenhui laughed again, "Please hurry up and get your things away."

"If they keep releasing them, their Meixiang Pavilion will be torn down."

“The sons of noble families, relatives of high-ranking officials in the six ministries, and even the adopted sons of the garrison eunuchs are all demanding it.”

Jinling City was extremely prosperous, and a large amount of wealth from the Jiangnan region was concentrated here.

The powerful and wealthy have nothing to do but seek thrills and novelties every day.

Without a doubt, the rare treasures that Lin Dao brought were very much to their liking.

These words made Lin Dao laugh.

"Okay, let's go."

(End of this chapter)