Chapter 50: Consideration

The Lantern Festival had just passed, and the lanterns in the streets and alleys of Gongzhou Prefecture had not yet been taken down. The flower pavilions were still standing, and the young apprentices in front of the shops were lazily sweeping up the garbage left by tourists. Street vendors were calling out listlessly, and people seemed to have not yet recovered from the festive atmosphere.

Today was the first day of the new year for the prefecture to open its offices. The magistrates of the counties under the prefecture and the officials of various departments gathered at the prefecture office. After a few pleasantries, Chen Tang began his speech, which was mostly about loyalty to the emperor and love for the country, and other such clichés. Then he moved on to the main topic.

This year, the tasks assigned by the higher authorities are heavy. All taxes must be collected in full. Where necessary, they must be urged and collected. The counties must increase their efforts, mobilize all levels to come up with ideas, introduce new tax categories, reform existing rates, develop economic hotspots, and tap into revenue potential to ensure that the taxes for the first half of the year are delivered to the capital on time, and that the prefecture's fiscal revenue exceeds half.

"Sir, a large amount of supplies has been transported into Da Zhao Village recently. Can we set up a tax checkpoint?" Chen Tang had just finished speaking when the newly appointed magistrate of Xiangyi County, Wu Jinxian, stood up and said.

"Are you stupid or what!" Unexpectedly, Chen Tang, who had been calm and composed, suddenly changed his expression and burst out in a rage, silencing the entire hall. They didn't think about it: a few days ago, the eldest son of Chancellor Cai had been tricked by the prince and borrowed 100,000 strings of cash as a ransom, which he might not be able to repay for a long time. Chen Tang thought that the money he had obtained would either go to the chancellor's residence or the prince's palace. How could he not be angry when he heard that Wu Jinxian was going to provoke Zhao Cheng?

"Sir, this subordinate..." Wu Jinxian was confused, not knowing where he had gone wrong.

"Do you know whose territory Da Zhao Village is?" Chen Tang walked over and asked.

"It belongs to this subordinate, under my jurisdiction!" Wu Jinxian answered quickly, inwardly cursing Chen Tang, "You're so stupid, asking such a simple question in the hall. Do you think I'm as stupid as you?"

"Hehe, Magistrate Wu is right! Do you know about the bandits that have appeared there recently?" Chen Tang said with a smile that sounded more like a sneer.

"This subordinate doesn't know. I will immediately send people to eliminate them!" Wu Jinxian straightened his back and answered, thinking, "With 20,000 troops in Gongzhou Prefecture, how could bandits appear? How can you, the prefect, even ask me this?"

"Eliminate them?!" This time, Chen Tang was speechless. If he eliminated the bandits, everyone present would probably be exterminated.

"Magistrate Xiangyi, you have such courage! You want to die, don't drag us all down with you!" The vice-prefect couldn't wait for Chen Tang to speak and jumped up to scold him.

"Magistrate Xiangyi, sit down quickly, don't say anything more," a department official who had a good relationship with him pulled at his sleeve.

"Brother Hu, what's going on?" Wu Jinxian was completely confused. Why were the two top officials in the prefecture scolding him? It was as if he had stolen their concubines and thrown their children into a well.

"Brother Wu, your information is too outdated. Da Zhao Village, Xiao Zhao Village, and the two surrounding villages are all the estates of the Second Prince, Prince Yen. He has been ordered to convalesce there for a year. The prince is unpredictable and often acts out of the ordinary. He learned how to rob from a play during the New Year and just robbed an imperial envoy, demanding a ransom before releasing him. Chancellor Cai almost lost his head. Everyone is trying to avoid him, and you want to provoke him!"

"Thank you, Brother Wu!" Wu Jinxian broke out in a cold sweat, bowed, and ran out, muttering, "I hope it's not too late. Don't let them run into the prince. May the Jade Emperor and the Buddha protect us." He had spent thousands of strings of cash and waited for years to get this position. Just as he was about to make up for it, he encountered this unlucky child. The people in the hall seemed to understand his feelings, sighed, shook their heads, and forgave his rudeness.

The next day, the prefect and the vice-prefect, who were usually at odds, surprisingly issued a joint internal secret document, requiring all county, town, and village officials and law enforcement personnel not to approach within ten miles of Da Zhao Village unless necessary. If they entered, they must strictly monitor their words and actions, behave appropriately, speak politely, and especially show respect to children under ten years old, being cautious and vigilant.

At the same time, a rectification group was immediately established, with the prefect as the leader and the vice-prefect as the deputy leader, to enter Xiangyi County. Using the near-miss of a major political responsibility accident by the magistrate of Xiangyi County as a starting point, a vigorous "set examples, catch typical cases" rectification movement was launched, focusing on civilized law enforcement.

After the tenth day of the first month, the Zhao family began a full mobilization, forming a leadership team, assigning tasks, and making plans. The chief steward, Zheng Fu, was appointed as the chief commander, responsible for all affairs on the construction site. The second steward, Zheng Lu, was in charge of procurement, responsible for buying materials and tools needed for the construction site. The third steward, Zheng Shou, was the chief of logistics, responsible for the supply of food and drink to ensure that the laborers were well-fed. The small stewards of various departments and even the laborers who knew a bit about construction were mostly dispatched, leaving only a few people to maintain the operation of the household.

The human and material resources of the household were all invested in the project, and the Lantern Festival was celebrated in a simple manner. On the sixteenth, the water conservancy technicians invited from Ying天府 arrived and began surveying and designing. The stone, wood, and tools ordered before the New Year were delivered one after another. The Zhao family was generous, paying in full for anything that met the requirements, without any delays.

On the twentieth day of the first month, the laborers from various villages entered the construction site. All those who had signed up arrived, and none of them took the money and ran away. The stewards divided the laborers into teams based on their skills, appointed those with prestige as foremen, and assigned tasks according to the plan. They adopted a production contract system, rewarding those who completed their tasks well, and requiring those who did not finish to work overtime to make up for it, without deducting their wages.

Although it was after the beginning of spring, it was still the dry season, and the river was shallow, with some parts still frozen. This was conducive to construction. However, time was tight, and they had to complete the embankment before the first spring rain, or everything would have to wait until autumn to restart.

People have a sense of gratitude. The household had prepaid the wages when they were in dire straits, helping them through the difficult times. Building the embankment and digging the canal would directly benefit them. Moreover, they were provided with two full meals a day, with meat, which was better than what they ate at home. Therefore, they worked hard and completed their tasks according to the plan.

After the project started on schedule, Zhao Cheng became the most idle person in the household. He was a cautious and open-minded person. Since he didn't understand the technical aspects, he entrusted the work to those who did. The ancient people could build the Grand Canal and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, which proved that water conservancy technology was mature. Building a small dam was not a problem. If he relied on his knowledge from the future and gave random suggestions, it might backfire.

What Zhao Cheng needed to do now was listen to reports, check the progress of the project, and prepare the money to cover the expenses. In the process, he discovered that the business model of the Song Dynasty had many similarities to that of modern society. For example, the stone materials for the project: since the area was a plain and did not produce stone, a large amount of stone was needed for the dam and road construction, all of which had to be purchased and transported from outside, a huge task. However, he saw that Zheng Lu only went to Ying天府 and solved this seemingly difficult problem.

It turned out that the merchants of the Song Dynasty had established various chambers of commerce based on the characteristics of their industries. Zheng Lu only needed to find the chamber of commerce that specialized in stone materials, specify the required specifications and types, negotiate the price, delivery location, and date, and pay a deposit. The chamber of commerce would then take care of the rest, including sourcing the materials and arranging transportation, delivering them on time. It was like the various contractors of today, providing one-stop service and being highly professional.

"Should I change the cooperation model of my distillery?" Zhao Cheng couldn't sit still, pacing around the room and muttering to himself.

He had signaled to his maternal grandfather's family about the production of distilled liquor for a reason. First, no one in his household was proficient in fermentation technology, which was essential for making good liquor. Second, distilling liquor had been strictly regulated throughout history, and the Song Dynasty was no exception. Liquor was sold by the government. If he cooperated with his maternal grandfather, these issues would not be a problem. However, his initial idea was to run the distillery himself and only give up part of the sales rights, making his maternal grandfather an agent.

Now, Zhao Cheng suddenly felt that he should change his approach. Making the liquor was one thing, but selling it was another. The household lacked people, especially sales talent. His maternal grandfather's family had been making and selling liquor for many years, gaining experience and strength, and establishing a mature sales network. If he partnered with them, he could quickly profit and use this platform to cultivate his own management talent and build his own team.

"Yes, that's what I'll do!" I came to this world not to be a slave to money. Money is just a tool. There are many important things I need to do. Why shouldn't I use a method that is both beneficial and advantageous? Zhao Cheng made up his mind.

"Why hasn't my maternal grandfather sent anyone yet? Do they not believe me, or do they think it's not profitable?" Zhao Cheng suddenly realized that he had decided to give them shares, but the main party had not come. Was he putting a warm face to a cold bottom? Zhao Cheng was puzzled.

"It's impossible!" If distilled liquor was as rare as Zheng Quan said, his maternal grandfather would not miss this opportunity. His status as an imperial relative meant he could not hold real power and would only be a leisurely duke for life. What he could do was use his status to do business and leave a legacy for his descendants.

Just as Zhao Cheng was worrying and thinking aimlessly in the room, Jianxi, holding up his clothes, ran in quickly to report, "Your Highness, the two dukes have brought gifts!"

"Oh!" Zhao Cheng's face immediately turned from gloomy to sunny. It was as if he had just been thinking about them, and they had come. He had been afraid they wouldn't come, but now two of them had arrived.

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(End of the chapter)