The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

Heshengyuan.

Zhou Xing silently repeated the name in his mind.

The Huai Shu Lane in Xishi is in a remote location with small shops. It has only been open for half a month. What does this mean?

This means that this business is insignificant in the entire business community of the capital, and no one will pay attention to it or any power will take it seriously.

This is the best cover.

Moreover, the timing chosen by the system was ingenious. The opening day meant that everything was just beginning, and all accounts, all business, and all customer relationships were starting from scratch, as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

Having a blank slate is the biggest advantage for business geniuses like Edmond and Raymond Leigh.

Zhou Xing was rapidly calculating the strategic value of this elite team in his mind.

The first and foremost function is to make money; that's the most basic function.

Although Heshengyuan is currently just an inconspicuous little grocery store in a corner of the West Market, with Yidun's business acumen and Lei Lutai's financial skills, it won't be long before it gains a foothold in the capital's business world.

The profit margin of the general merchandise trade between the north and south is not high, but it is the best entry point to reach all walks of life. General stores can supply tea to teahouses, ingredients to restaurants, dyes to cloth shops, and medicinal herbs to pharmacies.

Every supply chain is an information chain, and every transaction is an opportunity to establish connections with different industries.

More importantly, the general merchandise trade required logistics. Goods were transported from the south to the capital and then distributed from the capital to various shops, involving carriage companies, docks, warehouses, and security escort agencies.

These are precisely the weak points in his current intelligence network.

Although Lu Changfeng's Beggars' Gang was spread throughout the streets and alleys, most of the information they could access remained at the level of ordinary people.

The logistics sector has access to information about the flow of goods, such as which official has purchased large quantities of silk from the south, which government office is stockpiling grain, and which merchant is transporting ironware to the border. This information is more valuable than rumors circulating in the marketplace.

But what truly excites Zhou Xing is the second function: finance.

Lei Lutai was the founder of the Piaohao (piaohao) business, whose core business was intercity remittance and deposit and loan services.

What does this mean?

This means that once Heshengyuan's business scales up, Lei Lutai can legitimately conduct ticket business.

Once the money exchange was established, his intelligence network would have a brand new, efficient, and secure channel for transferring funds.

With the establishment of money exchange houses, intelligence funds could flow through normal commercial remittances, eliminating the need for people to carry loose change around the city.

With the money exchange, he could establish financial channels between the capital and other places, preparing for a larger future expansion.

With the money exchange, he could even quietly infiltrate various industries in the capital through loans and investments. If any business was short of money, he could lend it money through Shengyuan.

Which workshop wants to expand production and invest in Shengyuan?

Where money flows, influence extends.

These things certainly cannot be achieved overnight.

Right now, Heshengyuan is just an inconspicuous little grocery store in a corner of the West Market, and it hasn't even made a proper business name yet.

But he was patient; it took him ten years to build his empire from scratch, so he had plenty of time.

He is only seven years old this year.

Three days later, Zhou Xing received the first report about Heshengyuan at Wang Mazi's pancake shop in Deshengfang.

The report was delivered personally by Lu Changfeng, tucked inside a sesame seed cake. The paper was as thin as a cicada's wing, and the words on it were so small that a magnifying glass was needed to see them clearly.

Zhou Xing broke the sesame seed cake in half, took out the slip of paper, and read it while munching on the cake.

Lu Changfeng's handwriting is crooked and uneven, but the information is very solid.

"The owner of Shengyuan Trading Company in Huai Shu Lane, West Market, is surnamed Yi, and his given name is Dun. The shop is not big, and there are not many employees, but the manager and accountant are both very capable."

"In just three days since opening, we have already signed supply contracts with three teahouses and two restaurants. Our deliverymen shuttle between various shops every day, focusing on niche businesses that other shops don't do."

"Furthermore, this business seems to have surplus funds, and some of its employees have been secretly inquiring about the lending rates of money shops in the capital."

After reading it, Zhou Xing crumpled the note into a small ball, stuffed it into the sesame seed cake, and chewed and swallowed it.

This action destroyed evidence without wasting food, and he felt he was becoming more and more like a qualified intelligence worker.

Yidun has already begun to take action; signing supply contracts is to establish distribution channels, and inquiring about lending rates is to prepare for its banking business.

Having only been open for three days, they're already planning their financial strategy; no wonder they're the ancestor of Shanxi merchants.

He clapped the sesame seeds off his hands, left the sesame seed cake shop, and strode towards the palace gate with his short legs.

Chunlan followed behind him, carrying two unfinished sesame cakes in her hand, muttering, "Your Highness, please walk slowly."

Zhou Xing turned around and gave her a sweet smile, but when he turned back, the smile on his face had turned into a deep one that didn't belong to a seven-year-old child.

He had already asked Lu Changfeng to squeeze a portion of the Beggars' Sect's funds to send over the start-up capital to Shengyuan.

Although the amount is not large, with Yi Dun's abilities, turning ten taels of silver into one hundred taels is only a matter of time.

The most important thing right now is to help Heshengyuan quickly establish itself in Beijing's business community, accumulate its first pot of gold, and acquire its first batch of customers.

In this process, Lu Changfeng's Beggars' Sect can also be of help. They are better informed than anyone else about which merchants are short of what goods and which docks have recently received what goods.

The merchants and the beggars' gang, one providing funds and the other providing information, complemented each other perfectly, one openly and the other covertly.

In the side hall, Chunlan placed the remaining sesame cakes on the table and began to nag again, "Your Highness has walked quite a distance today and should rest."

Zhou Xing obediently took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, closed his eyes, and pretended to take a nap.

His breathing gradually became even and long. Chunlan quietly withdrew and closed the door behind her.

Hearing the door latch fall, Zhou Xing opened his eyes.

His gaze fell on the ceiling, and the chessboard in his mind silently unfolded once again.

The Imperial Household Department has Zhao Gao, the inner palace has Wei Zhongxian and Gao Lishi, the Imperial Guard has Xu Chu and his four companions, the streets and alleys of the capital have Lu Changfeng's Beggars' Gang, and now there is a new business called Heshengyuan in the West Market.

Each line is moving steadily along its own track, some fast and some slow, but all in the same direction.

Next, he needs to find an opportunity to make these lines begin to intersect.