The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

That five-courtyard mansion alone would cost at least 100,000 taels of silver on the market.

In a place like Beijing, it's the kind of thing that's expensive but unavailable!

With the furnishings and decorations in the courtyard, it's definitely another 100,000 taels.

It can be said that Lai Da can be considered the pinnacle of the family-born sons of the Ning and Rong mansions.

His financial resources are definitely stronger than Lai Er's, and much stronger!

Lord She's eyes gleamed, like a wild dog spotting its prey, eager to devour the Lai family's wealth as if it were food.

Although he had never been to the Lai family, he had heard about them!

Of course, as eager as he was, without the old lady's support, Master She would have been somewhat lacking in confidence.

Facing Lai Da, he really had that kind of master-servant power dynamic!

As a result, he was naturally scolded away by the angry old lady!

Just kidding, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog!

The Lai family are the old lady's absolute confidants, how could she possibly harm her own confidants?

Lai Da didn't do anything outrageous!

As for what the old lady was really thinking, no one knows.

Regardless of the circumstances, Lai Er's expulsion from the Ning family is a fait accompli.

Even the old lady wouldn't criticize Jia Rong, who had just taken over the household, for his actions.

However, they simply summoned him to the Rong Mansion, gave him a good scolding, and that was the end of it.

With things going so smoothly, the collaboration between Jia Huan and Jia Qiang naturally began quickly.

With other families setting precedents, they only need to follow suit.

Then, the grain stored by the Ning family in their estates outside the city was continuously transported to the capital via both overt and covert transportation routes, including land routes and artificial waterways.

The Ning family naturally had grain shops, and they were quite large.

Taking advantage of the current high grain prices in the capital, they quickly shipped out their goods without any attempt to conceal it.

Even if outsiders notice something and want to investigate further, once they learn that Jia Qiang is in charge of the Ning Mansion's external affairs, they will only say that he is young and impetuous and lacks experience.

People are generally more forgiving towards teenagers.

Just as Jia Huan had said, the net profit from selling grain alone reached a staggering 40,000 taels in a single month, which was undoubtedly an exorbitant profit.

Jia Qiang was naturally overjoyed, and was also delighted to hear that Jia Rong and Qin Keqing were together.

In the first month that the Ning family took over the reins, they earned 40,000 taels of silver!

Whoever hears this, they will all praise her for managing the household well, and there will be no other complaints!

Under Jia Huan's guidance, Jia Qiang made good use of the Ning Mansion's gossipy nature regarding the birth of a son.

The news was leaked 'inadvertently' and then spread throughout the Ning and Rong mansions with lightning speed—it was that exaggerated.

As a result, the servants of the Ning family, while not entirely convinced of the new head of the family, at least stopped being so sarcastic and engaging in underhanded tactics.

The new head of the family has plenty of money and can replace them at any time. There are too many servants who want to take over; only a fool would give a chance to someone who comes later.

Previously, everyone was in a wait-and-see state, which created an opportunity to exploit.

Trying to exploit loopholes now would be irresponsible of oneself.

Although Jia Rong did not generously reward the children born into the family with a monthly allowance of one or two months, the influence of his words was already incomparable to what it used to be.

Not only Jia Rong, but also Qin Keqing and Jia Qiang's prestige soared as the rumors intensified.

It's truly a beautiful sight, the situation is excellent!

Those most shaken were naturally the Rong family members.

At first, I didn't believe the news, but later I was filled with envy and jealousy.

Especially Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng, their hearts felt like they were bleeding, but they dared not speak recklessly.

Even the old lady and the second wife, Madam Wang, were not as calm as they appeared on the surface.

There's no other reason; the amount of silver offered by the estate outside is far less than 40,000 taels.

Naturally, I was quite unhappy, but I couldn't show it.

Jia Huan saw all this and was quite pleased.

Without some kind of stimulation, everyone in the Rong family just lies back down and has no ambition whatsoever.

Without some changes, how can the luck value in the cheat system be improved?

Jia Qiang was in business with him, and the Ning Mansion made the lion's share, while Jia Huan naturally got a smaller share.

In just one month, he earned over three thousand taels of silver, which was truly exhilarating.

This doesn't even include the kickbacks from his thugs; if you add them all up, it would be over four thousand taels.

That's why they say that periods of political turmoil are the best time for the powerful and wealthy to make money!

Of course, the people of the capital were in big trouble. The prices of food and various daily necessities rose sharply, their living costs increased significantly, their savings were quickly depleted, and life naturally became difficult.

Meanwhile, the imperial court and the current emperor are also having a tough time!

The soaring prices in the capital have dealt a significant blow to the prestige of the imperial court and the royal family.

Having barely managed to catch their breath by allocating resources from the surrounding areas and transporting supplies by canal, they then had to send troops to quell the rebellion, spending money, grain, and supplies at an astonishing rate.

However, when the pacification army dispatched by the Beijing Garrison arrived in the rebellion area, it did not achieve a decisive victory, but instead engaged in a stalemate and entanglement with the White Lotus rebels.

This is alarming; military spending shows no signs of decreasing, but rather increasing.

The current cabinet leaders are quite anxious and have repeatedly ordered the army to quickly quell the rebellion and not waste time and money, but unfortunately, the effect has been minimal.

The White Lotus Sect's years of cultivation were no joke; at this moment, it was at the height of its power and momentum, and it was not afraid of fighting government troops in the open field.

The government troops could not launch a fierce attack at this time, otherwise the losses would be too great and who would bear the consequences?

Unless the White Lotus Rebellion reveals a huge weakness, like Bo Cai during the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the Three Kingdoms period, we can only wait for the rebels' momentum to weaken before launching a major war.

This requires time and a lot of patience!

Fortunately, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Ma Yuan, and many other officials who suffered because of this fellow had their millions of taels of silver confiscated from their homes as military funds; otherwise, the current emperor and the cabinet would be furious.

All of this silver was converted into food and supplies and transported to the front lines.

Now you know why Ningfu's grain shops earn so much silver a month. It's because they make large-scale military purchases. Otherwise, if they were just selling grains in small quantities, they would be lucky to earn 10,000 taels a month.

However, this situation cannot last long. If the rebellion is not quelled within two months at most, the current emperor will have to painfully replenish the funds from his own private treasury.

Unfortunately, misfortune never comes singly, and a delayed boat is caught in a headwind.

This year is certainly not a good year for the Great Qian Dynasty; in fact, it can be described as a year of continuous disasters.

During the plum rain season, torrential rains fell continuously in many parts of southern China, causing severe flooding.

In a short period of time, numerous counties and prefectures in several provinces have been hit by disasters, and the situation of millions of displaced people is extremely critical!

The key point is that the government has already discovered that members of the White Lotus sect are mixed in with the large number of refugees.

The news was delivered to the capital at the fastest speed possible. Upon hearing it, the emperor was so upset that he almost fainted, and the cabinet ministers were also in a panic.

There's no other way; if it's not handled properly, the south will be plunged into turmoil and devastation.

Even the very foundation of the Great Qian Dynasty might be shaken!

At such a critical juncture, how could the cabinet ministers dare to easily express their opinions?

At the same time, a question arose in his mind: was the reign of the Great Qian Dynasty nearing its end?

It's no wonder they think that way; this year, the heavens have been exceptionally unkind to the Great Qian Dynasty.

The north suffered a severe drought in the spring and summer. After finally enduring the rains, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out in Shandong, creating a huge uproar.

As a result, a Grand Secretary, a Vice Minister of Justice, a Vice Minister of Revenue, and many other mid-level officials in the capital were either about to retire and end their political careers, or they were directly ruined.

Before the imperial court could even catch its breath, the south was hit by continuous floods, giving the impression that turmoil was imminent.

If it were a more superstitious emperor, he would have immediately issued an edict of self-reproach.

That would certainly not be the case today; even in the worst circumstances, such a desperate measure would not be taken.

If the throne is shaken, the emperor could very well be forced to step down, which would be disastrous.

Once the emperor realized what was happening, he naturally dispatched his most capable ministers to the south immediately to oversee disaster relief and stabilize the situation.

The problem is, even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice!

It's easy to find capable ministers, but the corresponding funds and provisions are nowhere to be found.

Now, the people are really in a hurry.

Without money or food, even if he personally went to the south to take charge, it wouldn't make a difference!

However, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury was truly empty. The last bit of silver was intended for emergency use, and even that was insufficient; it wouldn't solve the problem.

It can be said that, regarding the floods in the south, he has been holding meetings every day with the cabinet leaders and a number of important officials, but they have not been able to come to a conclusion.

Ultimately, there was no other way but to allocate a portion of the silver from their own treasury first, and then gradually find a way to send the remaining funds and supplies over once the disaster relief efforts in the south began.