The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

On the seventh day after the academy was renovated, Jiang Lin encountered a problem even more serious than teaching.

No money.

Although the Wang family, that sucker, paid a sum of money for the repairs and made the academy look decent, it was clear that Master Wang wouldn't be so kind as to cover the food expenses for these dozen or so people.

Eight students who are still growing, three "teaching assistants" with big appetites, plus Jiang Lin himself and a few handymen.

Every day when I open my eyes, there are more than a dozen mouths waiting to be fed.

Inside the lecture hall, Jiang Lin sighed as he looked at the account book, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table.

"Zizhan."

Jiang Lin didn't even look up. "Can you do accounting?"

Su Shi, who was grading homework for new students, paused for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "Teacher, I am quite good at poetry and prose, but as for matters of commerce and money... I am completely ignorant of them."

Jiang Lin glanced at him, exasperated: "This is why you'll be so poor that you'll have to become a monk."

Su Shi: "???"

Jiang Lin closed the ledger and rubbed his temples. Everyone has their own expertise; someone like Su Shi was born for art. Letting him manage money would probably result in him being sold out while still counting the coins for the seller.

We need to find a professional.

Just as he was pondering this, Old Li, the gatekeeper, rushed in.

"Headmaster, a strange man has come to the gate." Old Li looked puzzled. "He's dressed no better than a beggar, but he speaks with a lot of arrogance, insisting that he can solve our academy's 'urgent crisis'."

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow.

A pressing matter? This guy's interesting.

"Bring it in."

……

A moment later, a young man walked in.

The man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His blue shirt was faded from washing, and the cuffs were worn out. His toes were even showing through his cloth shoes.

But the way he walked in was as if he were inspecting his own storeroom. His back was ramrod straight, and his eyes, unlike those of an ordinary down-on-his-luck scholar, did not dart around; instead, they gleamed with the sharpness of a wolf.

He walked up to Jiang Lin, neither humble nor arrogant, and respectfully bowed deeply.

"Student Qian Yongchang has met Jiang Shanchang."

Jiang Lin didn't wake him up, but looked him up and down, tapping his palm with the folding fan in his hand.

"Judging from your appearance, you're not doing too well. Are you here to borrow money?"

Qian Yongchang straightened up and looked directly at Jiang Lin: "I won't lend you money, I'll sell myself."

Su Shi, who was standing nearby, was startled and dropped his pen.

Jiang Lin laughed, even finding it amusing: "Selling yourself? This is a proper academy; we don't accept male concubines."

Qian Yongchang remained unfazed, seemingly long accustomed to such sarcasm: "I sell my brains. I've heard that the academy doesn't consider family background when accepting students, so I suppose it doesn't judge people by their clothes either. I dare to recommend myself for the position of head steward of the academy."

"Quite the boast."

Jiang Lin shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me, what makes you think I can support you?"

Qian Yongchang took a deep breath and spoke very quickly:

"I was originally the son of a merchant in Runzhou. Three years ago, my father's business failed, and he died suddenly due to debts. I sold the family property to pay off the debts, and in the past three years, I have worked as an accountant in three shops. Whether it is silk, rice, or general merchandise, as long as it passes through my hands, there is not a single bad account."

He paused, his eyes dimming for a moment before flashing with a cold light again: "But I don't want to be just an accountant. I have the means, I have the vision; all I lack is capital and an opportunity."

Su Shi listened in stunned silence; this experience sounded even more tragic than a storybook.

Jiang Lin remained calm, and even yawned.

"There are plenty of people out there who know how to manage an account. Since you say you have a good eye, let me test you."

Jiang Lin held up one finger: "Suppose I give you 100 strings of cash as capital now. In three months, can you conjure up 1,000 strings?"

Su Shi gasped.

Turning 100 strings of cash into 1000 strings? That's outrageous! Even loan sharks aren't this ruthless!

Qian Yongchang was stunned.

His brows were furrowed, his eyes fixed on the ground, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The lecture hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a short while, Qian Yongchang suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse but firm:

"able!"

"Tell me about it." Jiang Lin's lips curled into a slight smile.

Qian Yongchang swallowed hard and spoke rapidly:

"It's late autumn now, and the weather is cold in the north. The price of furs is starting to rise, but porcelain is in short supply. Porcelain is cheap in Runzhou. I buy porcelain for fifty strings of cash, transport it by waterway to Dengzhou, where the price triples, and I get one hundred and fifty strings of cash."

"I buy furs in Dengzhou with full payment upfront, before the furs in the north have reached their peak price. They're then transported back to Jiangnan, where winter comes late, and by December, fur prices skyrocket. This whole process, including the miscellaneous goods that change hands in between, guarantees at least 900 strings of cash in three months!"

"The remaining one hundred strings of cash will be covered by the deposits collected in advance during this process. As long as the ship doesn't sink, one thousand strings of cash, or even more, will be secured!"

After finishing his speech in one breath, Qian Yongchang gasped for breath, staring intently at Jiang Lin like a prisoner awaiting judgment.

Pop, pop, pop.

Jiang Lin clapped three times lightly.

"Wonderful."

Jiang Lin stood up, walked up to Qian Yongchang, and said with a piercing gaze, "With your brains, it's a waste to study and take the imperial examinations. The Song Dynasty doesn't need another Jinshi like you, but it does need a Tao Zhugong."

Qian Yongchang gave a wry smile: "Sir, you flatter me. I can't even get enough to eat right now."

"That was before."

Jiang Lin pulled out a silver note he had prepared long ago from his sleeve—his last savings, exactly one hundred strings of cash.

He slapped the banknote into Qian Yongchang's calloused hand.

"Two paths."

"First, work as an accountant at the academy. The monthly salary is five strings of cash, with room and board included, and you can live a stable life."

"Second, become my agent. All the future businesses of the academy will be managed by you. If we make money, I'll give you 70% and you 30%. If we lose money, I'll sell you to pay off the debt."

Qian Yongchang looked at the silver notes in his hand, his hands trembling violently.

One hundred strings of cash.

For him now, this is fate.

Without the slightest hesitation, he knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the blue bricks heavily with a dull thud.

"The student chooses the second option! This life was a stroke of luck; I'm willing to serve you like a dog!"

Jiang Lin nodded in satisfaction and reached out to help him up.

"Now that you're in my group, don't call me by that unfortunate name anymore. Qian Yongchang... it sounds like someone who'll always be someone else's accountant."

Jiang Lin stroked his chin and thought for a moment, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.

"From now on, your name will be Qian Duoduo (meaning 'lots of money'). The meaning is simple and straightforward: our academy will always have inexhaustible wealth."

"Money...doesn't it?"

The name was so common that Su Shi wanted to cover his face, but Qian Yongchang, with tears in his eyes, loudly replied, "Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, sir! Qian Duoduo will certainly not fail in my mission!"

Jiang Lin sat back down in his chair, reverting to his lazy demeanor.

"Alright, stop being so grateful. Now that you've taken the job, you have to get it done."

"The first task."

Jiang Lin pointed to Su Shi's and others' manuscripts on the desk, "Take that hundred strings of cash and open a bookstore for me. Name it 'Jiang's Bookstore.' I want it to open within three months, and it has to be the most bustling one."

Qian Duoduo carefully put away the silver notes, her eyes instantly shifting from excitement to shrewdness: "Don't worry, sir, I've long since figured out the rules of the bookstores in Runzhou City. Three months? One month will be enough!"

After saying this, he bowed and took his leave, his steps carrying the wind as he turned to go.

Watching Qian Duoduo's departing figure, Su Shi finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Sir, that's one hundred strings of cash! You're just going to give it to him like that? What if he runs off with the money?"

Jiang Lin picked up his teacup, gently blew on the floating leaves, and looked as deep as an ancient well.

"He won't run away."

"Why?" Su Shi asked, puzzled.

Jiang Lin chuckled and pointed to his eyes.

"Zizhan, you've never been poor, you don't understand."

"I've seen that look in your eyes before. It's like a drowning person grasping at a straw, or a hungry wolf smelling meat."

Jiang Lin took a sip of tea, his voice low and soft:

"In this world, the poor who want to turn their lives around cherish their lives more than anyone else. To them, this hundred strings of cash is not money, but dignity."

Su Shi nodded as if he understood, but was secretly shocked.

My husband seems lazy most of the time, but his ability to see through people's hearts is chilling.

Jiang Lin put down his teacup and looked out the window.

Once you have people, money will follow immediately.

Next, it's time to drop a thunderbolt into this peaceful literary scene in Jiangnan.