Chapter 196 No Money to Buy on Credit
When Zhao Yuqing heard him talking about opening up all the catering businesses of the Shenwei Army, his eyes immediately lit up and he said with a look of joy that he must be given priority when the time comes.
Zhao Yulin said that was natural, since his eldest brother knew about it first and knew the situation best, would he take over a store that was not cost-effective?
The aunt and sister-in-law were also happy.
Fairy Banban, Zhao Yulin finally got rid of the three of them. He sighed and lay down on the chair with his eyes closed to rest.
The headmistress came over to take his pulse, and Zhao Yulin closed his eyes and asked, "There's construction going on on the mountain, and there's a lot of things to do, why don't you go back and take a look?"
The headmistress asked him unhappily: Are you chasing me away? Are you annoyed by me?
Zhao Yulin smiled and said, "No, that's not the case. I just felt bad for delaying other people's time."
The woman actually said quietly: She was pleased. She turned around and gave him a head massage.
Zhao Yulin had nothing to say, so he let himself be manipulated and soon fell asleep. He was sleeping soundly when the captain of the guard came over and said that Master Lu had returned.
The head woman reluctantly woke Zhao Yulin up and walked away.
Lao Lu said apologetically that he was sorry for interrupting his brother just as he fell asleep.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said, "There's no need to be sour. What's the matter?"
Lao Lu said that the matter in Chengdu had come to a preliminary conclusion. He left Dongmei at the Inspection Bureau to deal with the aftermath and would come back after sorting out the clues.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said there was no rush and not to take it too seriously as the situation in big cities was much more complicated.
Lao Lu was also full of emotion, but in a good mood, and said happily that his brother would not have to worry about having no money to spend this year. The dirty silver seized from Shi Buhou's house alone was enough to pay the Shenwei Army for three months. He had already instructed Fengyuan Prison to mint coins at full capacity.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that he was more anxious than anyone else. It was not enough to just have money, he also had to find a way to spend it and find more money.
Lao Lu has invited Chen Xian to expand the investment in the workshop in Hanzhong. He will set up workshops there to produce all the things that can be made in Hanzhong and start the business.
As soon as Chen Xian came in, he said that they had developed many new agricultural tools that could improve the efficiency of farming. The improved plow only required one ox to plow the land, greatly speeding up the plowing process. They also made the first foot-operated thresher, which could easily thresh millet and wheat grains.
Zhao Yulin knew that this was Guigu's master who had studied the thresher he had drawn thoroughly. He suggested that more efforts should be made to make it lighter. It was too hard for the common people to climb up the high ridges to farm the land. After we make it, we can sell it at cost price. If the people who farm a lot have difficulty paying in one go, they can buy it on credit. As long as we get the production going, everyone's life will be better.
After hearing this, Chen Xian nodded continuously.
At this time, the captain of the guard reported that a letter from Jiangbei said that the imperial envoy was about to arrive and invited the young master to cross the river to chat. Zhao Yulin went into the house, changed into his official uniform, crossed the river, and entered the government office to see Ding Gong had arrived first.
Yang Zhishan said on the side that the imperial envoy was about to arrive, and asked his brother to chat with Lord Ding first.
Mr. Ding was very happy. After Zhao Yulin left, Lu Youpeng helped him catch two petty corrupt officials and confiscated a large sum of silver into the government treasury. So he didn't have to worry about having no money to spend this year.
Lord Ding asked Chen Yun happily, Xuzhou has built a street at the dock, the new street is bustling with people coming and going, and the business is doing well.
Chen Yun pursed her lips and said that it was all thanks to the young man. How the new street was built was the idea of these young people from beginning to end.
Mr. Ding was delighted and asked Zhao Yulin with a smile, "Why don't we build a street in Chengdu?"
He saw that the new street on the dock had a smooth road surface, the curbs were of uniform height, the shop signs on the eaves were neatly arranged, and the shop doors were decorated with bright glazed bricks, which was extremely beautiful.
Zhao Yulin glanced at his father-in-law and said, let's do it next year. The finances of the Shenwei Army are very tight this year and they have no money to cover the cost.
Mr. Ding nodded and said: That’s right, let’s talk about it after this year.
Zhao Yulin explained to him: taxes were too heavy right now and people were having a hard time living, so he wanted to make a batch of advanced farm tools for people to use. If people didn't have money to buy them, he would sell them on credit to farmers.
Otherwise, the people will spend more than they earn and will always be in poverty.
Mr. Ding became interested in his idea. Mr. Xishu, who had been exiled from Lin'an to Shu for many years, saw that Shu had not changed much from when he came here, and he also felt that he should find a way to make some changes.
In fact, he knew very well in his heart that the people here were very hardworking, but the fruits of their hard work were like honey made by bees, which were collected before they were ripe.
If this continues, how can the people become prosperous?
The old man looked at him with a smile and asked Zhao Yulin to continue.
He said that the Mongolian army was still fighting desperately, and overall, they were evenly matched. War was a test of perseverance and consumption, so we must practice our internal skills, strengthen ourselves and destroy the enemy.
Therefore, we must work hard to develop production, improve efficiency, and accumulate wealth to deal with war.
He smiled and said that even though he got some silver in Chengdu, it could not solve his hunger and thirst by eating it, and he had to spend it to turn it into food and weapons.
Mr. Ding was a little surprised. Zhao Yulin really thought deeply.
He told Mr. Ding that the Shenwei Army would no longer specialize in beggar's chicken, burnt noodles and rice noodles, which required no technical skills, and would let the people who were interested do it themselves. In fact, there was no way to stop them.
The Shenwei Army not only wanted to let the people run their own businesses and make money, but also to provide financial support for their business. Just like the sale of new farm tools mentioned earlier, he wanted to bring in the pack horses and cattle from Baoning Prefecture and sell them to the people. In this way, the livestock of Baoning Prefecture would become wealth, and the people of Chengdu would have cheap transportation capacity again.
Ding Gong was very happy and really acted like Mr. Xishu. He asked him to continue with great interest.
Zhao Yulin picked up the tea bowl and drank tea. He kept the secret for a while before saying that the first thing to do was to transform the bamboo cable bridge on Dujiangyan into an iron cable bridge, and build an iron cable bridge over the river leading to Baoning Prefecture.
Mr. Xishu rolled his eyes when he heard this, thinking that he was fooling people. Want to build a cable bridge on such a wide river? He was really bragging without thinking.
Zhao Yulin told him that the Shenwei Army's construction team had been mobilized and had successfully built three cable bridges over the Han River, allowing fully loaded carts to pass through unimpeded. If Ding Gong was willing, he bet 100,000 taels of silver and he would guard the construction.
Mr. Xishu asked him cheerfully if he knew that Manager Lu had helped him get 200,000 taels of silver in order to take advantage of him.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said he dared not.
Mr. Xishu was delighted and said generously: If you can really succeed in building it, I will give you one hundred thousand.
Zhao Yulin clapped his hands and said with a smile that everyone had heard it and it was passed by applause.
Mr. Xishu was happy and told everyone that it was time to repair the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. After winter came, he arranged to work on the cable bridge and the annual repairs together.
At this time, Yang Zhishan came in and asked everyone to move to the dock, as the imperial envoy would be arriving soon.
A group of people went out one after another.
When everyone arrived at the dock and stood still, they saw three large ships coming up from downstream. The leading official ship was tall and bright. Ding Gong immediately took two steps forward and waited near the shore.
Later, the official ship docked. After seeing the imperial envoy, Mr. Ding whispered to Zhao Yulin beside him: My brother is so loved by the government that they even invited Lord Li to Yibin, who is an important official at the level of prime minister of the current dynasty.
The two acquaintances greeted each other from a distance.
Chen Yun and other officials at the back stood there straight and were also amazed. For this kid Zhao Yulin, Lord Li Zhongmian had gone to Sichuan at great trouble.
After the imperial envoy got off the boat and exchanged greetings, everyone came to the Xuzhou government office in a line.
The court gave Zhao Yulin a long list of honorary titles, 50,000 taels of silver, and two beautiful concubines. The imperial envoy smiled and asked him to accept the imperial decree and express his gratitude. He also said that the government had granted Zhao Yulin's mother the title of a second-rank imperial lady, and ordered the government office to report to Zhao's house, and that a grand ceremony would be held tomorrow.
Oh, the emperor had investigated Zhao Yulin thoroughly and knew that he only had his mother in his heart and was a filial son. He intended to improve his mother's status so that he would repay his mother's kindness.
Mr. Ding happily accompanied the imperial envoy to the back hall to talk. Zhao Yulin suggested to his father-in-law Chen Yun that when the imperial envoy came out, they should ask him to inspect Jiuzhouba and let him taste the local food, which would be a good opportunity to understand the people's sentiments.
His father-in-law said that they had come all the way to Yibin, but they were reluctant to treat him to a beggar's chicken. He even sent two beautiful girls to him.
Zhao Yulin was drinking tea and almost spit it out again.
My father-in-law is obviously jealous.
He said seriously, why don’t we just stay in Dad’s room?
"How dare you! This is a gift from the Emperor. Do you want to kill me?" Chen Yun's old face turned red.
Haha, Zhao Yulin felt amused. This old man still has some ideas. If it wasn’t a gift from the emperor, he might have accepted it with joy.
Zhao Yulin went out with a smile to go to the toilet.
When he returned to the living room, the Imperial Envoy and Mr. Xishu had already come out. The Imperial Envoy advised him cautiously that the Inspector was not a new scholar and he should think twice before doing anything in the future.
Zhao Yulin answered "yes, yes, yes" repeatedly. He thought that if he was too cautious, the Shenwei Army would starve to death and disband. Seeing that it was getting dark and the lights were on, he suggested going to Jiuzhouba to eat and play, and invite the imperial envoy to see the night view of Xuzhou.
The old man readily agreed and said with a smile that Yibin Jiuzhouba was prosperous and there had been rumors about Lin'an for a long time, so it was a good opportunity to go and see what it was like.
A large group of people marched towards Jiuzhouba in a mighty procession.
The feeling is different as soon as you enter the old street. It is comfortable to walk on the neat and flat tiles on the ground. The lanterns lined up on the street immediately attracted the officials from Lin'an.
The old man looked at the clean and tidy streets and the bustling crowds in surprise and asked Chen Yun: "Is it like this every day here?"
Chen Yun was very proud and said carefully: "In reply to the teacher, it is like this every day of the year."
Zhao Yulin introduced to him that Xuzhou has a special sewage treatment bureau with special personnel to clean the streets every day and to light up the streets. All the garbage collected is taken to a centralized pile outside the city.
The Imperial Envoy was filled with admiration when he heard this. The waiter hawking on the street saw the great official coming and stood outside the door shouting loudly, attracting the crowd to touch this, look at that and ask the price.
Zhao Yulin said that after traveling all over Jiuzhouba, he could buy almost everything he needed for food, clothing, housing and transportation, and they were definitely good value for money.
He led everyone to the Wang family's Lychee Green Wine Tavern and asked with a smile: How about we try the freshly brewed Lychee Green Tribute Wine here?
