Chapter 68: A Big Business

The Divine Doctor had been tricked, and everyone was delighted to see this. Especially when they saw Qian Buduo's smug face turn sour, like he was constipated. "Let you show off, let you be so close to the Divine Doctor."

Chen Xie's forehead almost had the word 'angry' written on it. Damn it, I've been tricked, and you're still adding salt to the wound.

It was about this, anyway. Qian Buduo's flattery had fallen on deaf ears. Chen Xie wasn't some refined person; he was a Divine Doctor, a behind-the-scenes boss of the maritime merchants, a large landowner, and a major workshop owner, not some damn scholar.

"Divine Doctor, about this..." Qian Buduo was also embarrassed; even his thick skin had its limits. Chen Xie wasn't the least bit polite, waving his hand and saying, "Alright, I get it. I'll keep the paintings. Just for today's incident, if there's any big business, I won't forget the three of you."

Something seemed off. Qian Buduo hadn't recovered, but the other two, who were very calm, couldn't help but laugh. Qian Buduo had brought a few paintings, and as a result, they had all benefited. This Divine Doctor was a smart person and knew that in Dengzhou, one couldn't monopolize everything.

"Divine Doctor, are you just going to let those people off?" Qian Buduo changed the subject, trying to sow discord. The other two perked up, waiting for the show. Chen Xie rolled his eyes at Qian Buduo: "Old Qian, that's not very decent. If I remember correctly, twelve people went in, and among them, only half were local gentry from Dengzhou. The others, though they have property in Dengzhou, are not locals. Do I need to tell you their backgrounds?"

Wang Chulong gave a thumbs up: "Divine Doctor, smart! Let's be straightforward. These people are insatiable. Although we three also like silver, we want this business to last longer."

Wang Chulong was talking nonsense. He was an outsider, relying on his clan brother's connections to make money in Dengzhou. What does he mean by lasting business? Once Wang Ting's term is up, if he can move up, it makes sense, but if he goes home to retire, who would buy his account?

Chen Xie didn't believe this, but he knew history. Wang Ting could still stir things up for two more years, and he couldn't offend him for now. His own strength wasn't fully formed yet, and he couldn't afford to offend Wang Ting.

"Sure! I've always believed that money should be made together. I have a good idea. Are you interested in hearing it?" Chen Xie's idea naturally piqued everyone's interest.

"Divine Doctor, why don't we go somewhere else to talk?" Qian Buduo glanced at the direction of the workshop, hinting to the others.

Chen Xie, of course, knew what he meant, and smiled: "Old Qian, this idea isn't something one or two people can handle. Do you know why the provincial agents have been hesitant to bid? It's for this idea."

A cool breeze blew under the tree shade, and the servant Gu San brought a few men carrying a box over.

"Meeting all the lords. Lord, Lady Gu sent me to bring some iced drinks." Gu San stepped forward to speak, and Chen Xie waved his hand: "Bring them over." The box was opened, and inside were blankets. When the blankets were lifted, a piece of paper was revealed. After tearing the white paper, a block of ice, emitting a cold mist, appeared. Using a clean hammer, they chipped off pieces of ice and poured them into the iced plum juice.

As Gu San was pouring sugar from a glass bottle, Li Heng's eyes widened: "Wait, is this snow sugar?" Gu San nodded indifferently and continued. After he finished pouring, Li Heng grabbed the bottle and looked at the sugar inside, unable to suppress a gasp: "Si Hua, do you have more of this sugar?"

"Isn't it just white sugar? Why make such a fuss?" Chen Xie didn't care about this. In the Ming Dynasty, there was sugar, but the production process was poor, and it wasn't as good as modern industrial sugar. Chen Xie wasn't interested in this because it wasn't profitable, despite high sales volume. As a time-traveling merchant, he naturally chose high-profit, low-cost businesses.

"Si Hua, can we set up a workshop to produce this snow sugar? The Portuguese and the Dutch have a significant demand for these goods." Li Heng's meaning was clear; he had a market. Chen Xie, of course, wouldn't turn down money, but he couldn't agree to this.

"Brother Li, this workshop needs to be built where sugarcane grows. Do you think Shandong is suitable for growing sugarcane?" Chen Xie's words blocked Li Heng. If the workshop wasn't on Chen Xie's territory, could he be at ease? In this era, who wouldn't be tempted by silver?

"Brother Si Hua, you can send people to supervise. In places like Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi, sugarcane can be grown in large quantities. The sugar produced by the locals is nothing compared to this. Not making money when you can is just being foolish." Chen Xie looked at Wang Chulong, meaning for him to speak.

Li Heng's connections in Dengzhou were with the general Yang Guodong, who had ties with Zheng Zhilong and apparently had connections in the court, otherwise his business wouldn't be so big.

"Brother Li, you can't say that. If you were in my shoes, would you open a workshop in Dengzhou?" Wang Chulong, of course, had to speak up. At this moment, offending Chen Xie for Li Heng's business would be a huge loss.

"Alright, no more talk. Divine Doctor, continue with your idea." Qian Buduo, who had been quiet, shouted, and the other two fell silent. This made Chen Xie realize that Qian Buduo had the deepest background.

Chen Xie picked up the iced plum juice and took a big sip, suppressing the heat. He exhaled and felt refreshed, then looked at Qian Buduo with narrowed eyes, saying nothing for a long time.

Qian Buduo also put away his vulgar demeanor and said calmly, "Divine Doctor, you're right. The silver in this world can't be earned by one person alone."

Chen Xie snapped his fingers and laughed, "Absolutely correct!" He then took a piece of paper, wrote "One hundred taels of official silver!" on it, and handed it to Qian Buduo, saying, "During the Tang Xianzong period, there was something called 'flying money.' Suppose this is a piece of flying money. You take this flying money from Dengzhou to the capital, and then withdraw the corresponding silver from a designated money house. We can call this piece of paper a silver ticket. Now, suppose the Dengzhou maritime merchants join forces to set up a money house, which I call the Dengzhou headquarters. With a headquarters, there will naturally be branches. Suppose we set up a branch in Jinan, called the Dengzhou money house Jinan branch. Then, from Dengzhou to Jinan, you can take this silver ticket and withdraw one hundred taels of silver from the Jinan branch. This process..."

"Don't say anymore..." At this point, all three had wide eyes. Chen Xie calmly picked up the iced plum juice, took another sip, and said slowly, "What makes the most money in this world? I think using silver to make more silver is the fastest way."

Their breathing quickened, and Qian Buduo's reaction was the most obvious, with the fat man panting heavily.

"This isn't something one or two people can accomplish. First, you need support in the court, and second, you need strong backing in each province." The smart ones quickly grasped the key points. Li Heng and Wang Chulong also understood and were visibly excited.

"Alright, they're coming. Remember, I didn't say anything. Pretend this never happened. I'm a doctor and a military commissioner appointed by the Dengzhou government, and I've been honored with a commendation. I would never engage in such a business." Chen Xie started talking nonsense, but everyone agreed, "The Divine Doctor would never engage in such a lowly business."

This was just a lead-in. The idea of setting up a bank in the Ming Dynasty had been in Chen Xie's mind for a long time. However, the transportation and communication conditions of this era were too poor, and setting up a bank, though profitable, was not something that could be accomplished quickly. This idea was very attractive, so all three fell into the trap, pondering the possibilities.

For Chen Xie, it was just a matter of time. Once he had a modern army, he wouldn't care who came to bully him. Building a modern army was not a simple task. Chen Xie had only taken the first step, and it was already extremely difficult. The issues of food, pay, and weapons were easy to solve, but the fighting spirit of an army was the hardest to cultivate.

A group of wealthy landlords and merchants walked out of the workshop, all looking disheveled. Chen Xie didn't need to think to know how miserable they were. How could the workshop be so easy to stay in? How were the wheels made? By casting, using modern crucibles brought by Chen Xie, combined with Ming Dynasty coke as fuel, melting iron and pouring it into molds on the ground to solidify. Professional craftsmen worked in shifts of one hour, but these wealthy landlords and merchants would come out drenched in sweat. Otherwise, why would Chen Xie be so generous to let them in?

"Oh, Mr. Xu has fainted from heatstroke, Divine Doctor, Divine Doctor." Someone shouted, and Chen Xie immediately entered his "good person" mode, striding forward and saying, "Don't panic, carry him to the shade. Right, place him steadily. Mengzi, go get my medicine box."

Mengzi was the young boy Chen Xie had saved, who, with his parents, insisted on becoming a servant in the Divine Doctor's house. Chen Xie couldn't stop him, so he had to take him in as a follower.

Heatstroke, no big deal, shouldn't be fatal. A bottle of ten drops of water should do the trick.

After a bit of fuss, the well-known landowner Mr. Xu from Dengzhou slowly regained consciousness. This wasn't worth mentioning, but seeing everyone drenched in sweat, Chen Xie's mood improved greatly. Too bad only one person fainted; if half of them had fainted, it would have been perfect.

The iced plum juice was quickly consumed by these people, leaving the poor servants to watch from the side. Fortunately, our Divine Doctor was a good person and had the servants bring out watermelons from the well to cool them down.

Under the tree shade, the wealthy landlords, merchants, and bullies all became very obedient. They knew that the Divine Doctor's business wasn't easy to get involved in, especially with the crucibles, which were clearly a skill they didn't possess. Not to mention the bearings that even the craftsmen said they couldn't make.

"Divine Doctor, about last night's carriage, Old Qian wants one, three thousand taels of silver, he'll send it over soon." Qian Buduo was indeed smart. Chen Xie responded warmly, "Old Qian, getting a carriage is no problem. Just for the paintings you gave me, the silver can be waived. However, you'll have to wait a month."

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