roccoschili Chapter 133 Sichuan Opera Face Changing
Chapter 133 Sichuan Opera Face Changing
In Xianyang City, the headquarters of Qianyu Chamber of Commerce was bustling with activity.
If we were to ask who is the hardest-working person in their entrepreneurial team, it would be Lin Dafu.
Even during the New Year when the whole family is happy and reunited, he never stops for a moment and continues to work overtime.
The matters he was concerned with were numerous and varied, the most important of which was the sale of anthracite throughout the country.
Although anthracite is now sold at a low price of one penny per piece, there is actually still some profit in it.
Although the profit from a single piece of anthracite is so small that it is almost negligible, when the number accumulates to tens of thousands of pieces, the profit cannot be underestimated.
It is also thanks to Your Majesty's kindness that he insisted on pricing a piece of anthracite at only one penny, which made it almost impossible for merchants to make any profit.
If it were me who made the decision.
A piece of anthracite should cost at least two cents, right?
However, whenever he thought of Li Chengqian's original intention of insisting on selling it for only one penny, a warm feeling would arise in his heart involuntarily, and the corners of his mouth would unconsciously rise, revealing a relieved smile.
It is precisely such a Majesty who cares about the world and has compassion for the people that is worthy of his willingness to follow him at all costs and to the death.
But even so! It couldn't change Lin Dafu's deep feeling of helplessness towards Li Chengqian's spending speed.
The scale of the spending and the speed of the spending cannot be simply described with the word "fierce".
Look at the entire Chang'an city, with all the construction projects, big and small.
Not a single cent was spent from the national treasury on this series of construction projects; all expenses were borne solely by the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce.
Not to mention the operating costs of the numerous coal plants and the expenses required for food, clothing, housing and transportation for a large number of workers, the huge military expenditures required for fighting on the front lines alone are already a heavy burden.
Add to that the occasional grand annual gatherings, the upcoming wedding expenses for His Majesty, and the Zhenguan Ceremony His Majesty wants to hold...
Money is spent like water, it cannot be described!
Lin Dafu often wondered in his heart, is Chang'an City really so poor and destitute?
They are almost sucking all the money out of Xianyang City!
Just as Lin Dafu was looking worried and frowning, sighing over the table full of accounts, there was a gentle knock on his office door.
"Come in!" Lin Dafu responded casually without raising his head.
Zhang Xianhuai pushed the door open and walked in. His brow was covered with snowflakes. He had originally wanted to come to Lin Dafu's office to warm up. After all, it was snowing heavily outside and the weather was freezing cold.
He rode all the way from Chang'an!
But unexpectedly, there was not even a coal stove lit in Lin Dafu's office, which was not much better than the cold outside.
Lin Dafu glanced at Zhang Xianhuai and said unhappily, "What are you doing here again? It's definitely not good! Last time you intercepted a batch of coal from me, what are you doing this time?"
There was a lot of vigilance in his words!
"Teacher! Look at what you said! Am I, Zhang Xianhuai, that kind of person? I came here this time to bring good news!"
Zhang Xianhuai hurriedly defended himself with a flattering smile on his face.
Hearing Zhang Xianhuai's words, Lin Dafu just sneered and said disdainfully, "You? What good news can you have? When have you ever come here, didn't you just come to ask for money?"
In his impression, every time Zhang Xianhuai came, it was almost always to ask for money and property to support the development of various affairs.
Therefore, he did not have any expectations for Zhang Xianhuai's so-called "good news" this time.
"Teacher! This time there is really good news!"
Seeing that Lin Dafu didn't believe him, Zhang Xianhuai quickly raised his voice, trying to get his attention.
"Do you remember where I intercepted your coal last time?"
"Taiyuan?"
Lin Dafu responded nonchalantly.
"What happened to Taiyuan?"
In his opinion, Taiyuan was just one of many sales locations. Although it was troublesome to account for the coal interception last time, Zhang Xianhuai was also doing it for the purpose of saving the people, and as his teacher, he would definitely not say anything.
Zhang Xianhuai glanced at Lin Dafu dimly, a glint of pride flickering in his eyes, and said slowly, "Teacher, I am following the orders of His Majesty to seize the head of the Wang family in Taiyuan!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Dafu immediately perked up and quickly put down the pen in his hand, which had become a little stiff due to the cold.
His hands had already turned red from the cold, like two carrots.
He quickly stood up, opened the door, and shouted outside, "Someone, light a few coal stoves in my room! My good apprentice is here, and we can't let him get cold."
At this moment, his attitude took a 180-degree turn and he became very enthusiastic towards Zhang Xianhuai.
When he returned to his seat, Lin Dafu smiled kindly at Zhang Xianhuai, and his tone became more cordial: "Xianhuai, go on."
"Teacher, His Majesty is not going to deposit this money into the national treasury, but will instead hand it all over to the Qianyu Chamber of Commerce."
Zhang Xianhuai said excitedly.
"This time, just like before, His Majesty wants to build ships. Ten of the large ships shown in the blueprint, and many smaller ones as well."
After hearing Zhang Xianhuai's words, Lin Dafu, who had just sat down, stood up quickly again as if bounced by a spring.
"Ah, don't light those coal stoves just now, it's a waste!"
He shouted anxiously.
The huge cost of shipbuilding and the tight financial situation of the Chamber of Commerce also came to mind.
In his opinion, the money needed to build a ship is too much!
"Hey, teacher! Please listen to me! Do you know how much money the Wang family has?"
Seeing Lin Dafu's reaction, Zhang Xianhuai hurriedly spoke.
Lin Dafu looked at Zhang Xianhuai and asked, "Do you know how expensive it is to build a big ship?"
In his mind, the cost of building a shipbuilding fleet was undoubtedly an astronomical figure, and even with the Wang family's wealth, it might not be easy to support it.
"Hey teacher! Take a look at this list first!"
As Zhang Xianhuai spoke, he took out a list from his pocket and handed it to Lin Dafu.
Lin Dafu took the list from Zhang Xianhuai with disdain on his face, thinking it was just a list of ordinary belongings, but after just a casual glance, he couldn't take his eyes off it.
The list detailed various rare treasures, gold and silver treasures, land and shops, etc.
The quantity and value are staggering.
"Rich! So rich!"
Lin Dafu couldn't help but blurt out. Although he knew that the aristocratic family was wealthy, he had never expected that the Wang family would be so wealthy.
He hurriedly opened the door with the list in hand and shouted to the servant outside, "No need to use the coal stove, bring me ten charcoal stoves! I want the best beast-gold charcoal! I must not let my beloved students feel the cold!"
At this moment, he was in a very good mood and his attitude towards Zhang Xianhuai became better and better.
In his eyes, Zhang Xianhuai had made a great contribution this time.
"Xian Huai! You did a great job this time. Go back and ask His Majesty something for me."
Lin Dafu said to Zhang Xianhuai with a smile on his face.
Zhang Xianhuai looked at Lin Dafu suspiciously and asked, "Teacher, what's the matter?"
"Is Your Majesty going to take action against the other families? It's only a matter of time."
There was a glimmer of greed and expectation in Lin Dafu's eyes.
"Ask your majesty if you can let me participate in the house raiding in the future. I have experience in house raiding."
In his opinion, copying the aristocratic family can bring huge wealth to the Chamber of Commerce, which is too tempting for him!
"Looking at so many things on your list, I always feel like you must have missed something!"
As he spoke, he carefully examined the list in his hand.
Listening to Lin Dafu's words, Zhang Xianhuai was a little dissatisfied. He straightened his back and shouted, "Teacher! What nonsense are you talking about! Your student is the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei!"
He felt that Lin Dafu's words were questioning him.
I felt quite dissatisfied.
"You're not insulting your apprentice! You're questioning my professionalism!"