After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The document was about ten pages long.

Zhou Youcai took it and turned to the first page.

After reading only a few lines, his brows furrowed.

"What...what is this?"

Yang Shen said, "The proposal."

Zhou Youcai was taken aback: "A business plan? What's a business plan?"

Yang Shen explained, "It's about clearly writing out what needs to be done next, how to do it, how much silver it will cost, and how much silver it will earn, so that everyone can understand what's going on."

Zhou Youcai lowered his head and continued reading.

Others also gathered around, forming a circle.

The first page describes the planning for the cotton spinning base.

A 50,000-mu cotton spinning base will be built in Wuqing County, mainly producing yarn spindles and cotton cloth. To achieve an annual turnover of 5 million taels, an annual output of 600,000 jin of yarn spindles and 500,000 bolts of cotton cloth is required.

Zhou Youcai looked up and gasped, "Young Master Yang, do you know what 500,000 bolts of cloth means?"

Yang Shen nodded: "I understand."

Zhou Youcai pointed at the business plan, his fingers trembling: "To weave 500,000 bolts of cloth, we'd need at least 10,000 weavers! Then we'd need spinning, dyeing, and washing workers—all sorts of miscellaneous tasks—and even 20,000 might not be enough! We'd also need spinning wheels and looms; workshop after workshop, even 50,000 mu of land might not be enough to accommodate them all!"

Manager Sun chimed in, "And then there's cotton! Six hundred thousand catties of yarn, five hundred thousand bolts of cloth—that's a huge amount of cotton consumed in a year! At least three or four million catties! Just transporting that much cotton is a problem!"

Others also spoke up.

"What about looms? A loom can only produce one bolt of cloth a day at most. To weave 800,000 bolts, you'd need over 2,000 looms running day and night! It's hard to say whether there are even 2,000 looms in the entire capital!"

"And then there are the weavers, but where are we going to find ten thousand weavers?"

"Young Master Yang, your calculations are correct, but that's just on paper. In reality, it's simply impossible!"

Yang Shen waited until they finished speaking before slowly opening his mouth.

"I have considered all of what you have said."

He pointed to a line in the proposal: "The problem of weavers will first be addressed through internal integration within the guild. Our guild has more than twenty shops, each with its own workshops. If we bring these people together, we'll have at least five or six hundred. Then we'll recruit workers locally and provide them with specialized training."

Zhou Youcai frowned: "Training a weaver takes at least one or two years, how can we possibly manage?"

Yang Shen said, "With the new loom, you can learn to use it in three days."

Everyone looked at each other.

Zhou Youcai pressed further, "A new loom? What new loom?"

Yang Shen didn't answer directly, but continued, "The spinning wheels and looms in my proposal are all new. One new spinning wheel is worth ten old ones. As for cotton, besides continuing to purchase it, we can grow it ourselves."

Everyone was stunned again.

Yang Shen paused for a moment, then continued, "I have 200,000 mu of newly reclaimed wasteland in Wuqing County, and I have recruited more than 1,000 displaced households. Next spring, cotton will be planted on all of these lands."

Zhou Youcai stared blankly at Yang Shen, speechless for a long time.

Two hundred thousand mu of land.

More than a thousand displaced households.

Who exactly is this young master Yang?

Manager Sun swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Young Master Yang, how did you acquire that land?"

Yang Shen glanced at him and said, "Then don't worry about it. It's mine now anyway."

Zhou Youcai took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He pointed to the last few pages of the proposal and asked, "Young Master Yang, does this say... the guilds will be under unified management?"

Yang Shen nodded: "That's right! From now on, all the purchasing, production, and sales of all shops will be arranged by the guild. No bidding wars among competitors, no stealing business from each other, and no price gouging or price manipulation. Anyone who breaks the rules will be immediately expelled from the guild."

The crowd began whispering among themselves again.

"This...this is basically tying us all together!"

"So, we can't even set our own prices anymore?"

"Then what's the point of doing business?"

Zhou Youcai raised his hand and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

He looked at Yang Shen and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Yang, I've read your proposal. The land issue can be resolved, and the personnel issue can also be resolved, but there's one thing I still don't understand."

Yang Shen said, "Please speak, Manager Zhou."

Zhou Youcai asked, "You provide the land, the technology, and the ideas; how will the profits be divided?"

Yang Shen laughed: "Of course I'm not in this position for nothing. I'll provide the land and the technology, and lead everyone to grow the business. I'll take 20% of the net profit."

The private room fell silent again.

Zhou Youcai quickly calculated the accounts in his mind.

With an annual turnover of five million, and a profit margin of 10%, that's five hundred thousand.

A 20% net profit is 100,000 taels, which sounds like a lot.

The remaining 80% was 400,000, which was distributed among more than a dozen merchants in the guild. Each merchant received many times more than before.

If he could really achieve five million, he would be willing to give up not just 20%, but 50%.

But the problem is...

Zhou Youcai raised his head, looked at Yang Shen, and slowly spoke.

"Young Master Yang, we understand what you've said. But, can this really work out?"

Yang Shen asked, "Do you lack confidence in me, or in yourselves?"

Zhou Youcai said, "We've been in the capital for decades, what haven't we seen? But none of us have ever run a business this big, with an annual turnover of five million taels—"

He looked around and said with a wry smile, "Don't mind me saying this, but I never even dare to dream about it."

Manager Sun chimed in, "Yes, Young Master Yang, you've set up such a large operation, what if you lose it all? We've staked everything on it, what if we lose everything and our families starve?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"You bet, that's way too big."

"We're a small business, we can't afford any setbacks."

"Young Master Yang, could you please reconsider?"

Yang Shen waited until they finished speaking before speaking: "I understand that you all have your own concerns, so I'm giving you a choice now."

The scene immediately fell silent.

Yang Shen's gaze swept over everyone present, and he slowly said, "Those who are willing to work with me can stay and follow the project plan. Those who are not willing can leave now; I won't stop them."

The group looked at each other, and no one moved.

Sweaters have already shattered the cotton-padded clothing market. If we don't follow this young master Yang, are we just going to go back and wait to die?

But if I go ahead and do it, this whole operation is terrifyingly large; what if it fails...?

Just as they were hesitating, the curtain was lifted.

The waiter bowed and led in a young man.

He was in his early twenties, wearing a worn-out robe, with a lean build and bright, piercing eyes. He greeted everyone with a fist and palm salute as soon as he entered.

"I'm late, I'm late! Please forgive me!"

Yang Shen stood up and went to greet him.

"Director Wang, you've finally arrived."

Everyone was taken aback and stood up.

Yang Shen pulled the young man to the table and announced loudly, "Let me introduce you all. This is Wang Shouren, the Right Vice Director of the Left Spring Palace and concurrently the Magistrate of Wuqing County!"

Everyone quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Chief Secretary Wang!"