Chapter 88

Amidst the bloody facts and the city's turmoil, I quickly completed the transfer of most of the properties and businesses. With the private investigation results from people like Wu Ping and the temporary manpower provided by Lady Chen to enforce and implement my will, the process went smoothly.

By the way, there were also the accountants temporarily assigned to me by Yuwen Luoluo. Their professional knowledge and experience in relevant fields, and the fact that they had no direct vested interests, helped me quickly sort out the details of the assets and resources I owned.

The direct wealth, in the form of cash or precious metals, or by ticket, amounted to over 80,000 strings of coins, roughly 70 million coins. After setting aside the portion needed for daily operations and risk reserves, the interest from the large tickets alone made me a respectable household in Guangfu City.

Therefore, I happily issued the first settlement fees to Han Liangchen and Bo Fu, rewarding Wu Ping and others for their hard work and persistence, and also giving some money to the mounted guards and attendants, including Feng Juanqi, to solidify our initial relationship.

There were also about a dozen properties, either publicly or covertly owned, mainly distributed as safe houses, secret storage points, and hiding places. Most of these were indirectly rented out through agents with limited knowledge. Although this reduced the corresponding income, it served as a daily cover for the vacant parts.

Additionally, there were some equity and share certificates, mainly proving rights to certain shops, warehouses, and trading posts. This was the most complex part but also the easiest to reclaim once I confirmed certain interests and backgrounds.

The last part consisted of identity contracts, including those of household-born slaves and new contracts signed with the government, ranging from indentured servants to long-term hired slaves. There were dozens of such contracts, involving men, women, and children.

Although the Southern Dynasty had somewhat moved away from the lowly treatment of slaves as seen in the Tang Dynasty, in theory, I could still do whatever I wanted with them, as long as I had the means and execution. The cost would be a symbolic fine afterward.

As a modern person, I should despise and abhor such inhumane traditions and realities, but in fact, I had to thank this feudal class system for its rigid structure.

At least, it allowed me to maintain a certain level of hidden control and potential deterrence even when I was away. Of course, if I really couldn't return and was confirmed dead, that would be another matter.

I also had to thank the greed and laziness of the Luo clan's representatives and the local power struggles.

During this period, apart from some officials and clerks who came to inquire and were scared off by my secret or public identity, there were few who came to obstruct or challenge me, which was somewhat disappointing.

After all, anyone who could serve in Guangfu, even the commoners or the lower class, had a certain level of survival wisdom. The cost of being a vanguard or cannon fodder was not easy to bear.

Additionally, there were a few businesses registered under my predecessor's name, which I directly managed or supervised, providing the main source of income.

For example, Tian Gong Hao, the headquarters and permanent residence of the Luo clan's commercial association, was originally a small workshop specializing in the design and production of various glass crafts. Thanks to the legacy of the predecessors, there was already a history of large-scale glass production in this world. As my predecessor, I could only innovate in creativity and application to support a specialized industry.

Now, the business scope was not limited to glass crafts but included various materials for children's toys, adult trinkets, and pendants. It employed about a hundred skilled craftsmen and several times that number of apprentices, helpers, and salespeople.

In Guangfu and its surrounding areas, it had a good reputation and was currently the largest source of income. However, it was still limited to the local market, and expanding beyond Guangnan was quite challenging, requiring a significant share of the profits to be given to local influential agents.

For me, the value of Tian Gong Hao was not just in business but also in the cultivation of skilled craftsmen. I could already use them to produce small batches of versatile handmade parts and models.

Next was Lan Lan Lu, a food workshop specializing in a wide variety of pastries and candies, with a chain of retail stores.

Although as a foodie nurtured in the Great Dynasty, I couldn't compare to those who could easily mobilize resources for grand industrial projects or those who would start a restaurant and innovate cuisine to gain influence, the market demand and development space for food were still significant. After all, Guangfu was the largest and most luxurious city in the entire region, making it an ideal starting point.

Thanks to the predecessor, who brought cocoa seeds and promoted their cultivation in Hainan, the production of refined cocoa powder and the development of various chocolate products began. This crop, which could invigorate and refresh, became an indispensable part of daily life.

On this foundation, further promotion and expansion were natural. As the eldest son of the Luo clan, I could avoid most of the envy and harassment from the lower classes and gain support and tacit approval from influential figures by offering them shares and agency rights, making it a new emerging industry.

Additionally, there was a sideline of developing and testing portable rations for the naval forces, which required them to be cheap, durable, and filling, with other aspects like taste and appearance being secondary.

Despite this, during the initial stages of operation, I couldn't avoid the underhanded tactics of competitors, such as burning stores, threatening customers, and night attacks. While these were not as effective as my preventive and countermeasures, they were still annoying.

The appearance of modern-style chocolates and snacks became the reason Yuwen Luoluo took an interest in me.

Compared to Tian Gong Hao, which relied on seasonal demand, the food workshop had a large and stable daily turnover. However, the chocolate products were heavily dependent on the Luo clan, and I was already looking for new sources of raw materials.

Finally, there was Ba Yun She, one of the largest fireworks workshops and sales companies in Guangnan. Thanks to the predecessor, the fireworks industry had a solid foundation but was still at a low level due to the loss of technology.

Using the advanced thinking and experience of the predecessors, I developed more innovative varieties to profit while also using it as a cover for research activities. No one understood the social changes and era dynamics brought by gunpowder better than a time traveler. This was also a legitimate channel to obtain sulfur and saltpeter.

Before I left Guangnan, I had already started taking small-scale official orders to produce waterproof single-shot fireworks as a supplement to signal flares, and I was specially approved to use several carts of refined saltpeter for daily consumption. Of course, my actual goals and operations were already underway on a small scale, but I lacked sufficient space and practical verification.

The income from this business was not as high as the other two, but its importance was even greater due to its appeal to time travelers.

There were also other small-scale operations, such as distilleries, which were more for special needs and not expected to generate significant income.

I believed that through the alliance with Yuwen Luoluo from Yizhou and the initial intentions reached with the Ning family's industries in the region, controlled by Lady Chen, there would be even greater expansion potential.

Thus, after the inventory, I was now a capitalist who relied on exploiting surplus value.

The main labor and human resources for the Luo clan's businesses were from the clan's background, such as private troops or local households. Compared to the local hired workers, they were easier to control and more grateful for the opportunity to leave the remote countryside and come to the prosperous Guangfu. They were more likely to accept new things due to their drive and ambition.

After basic evaluation and performance, they were assigned to key or confidential positions, while the front-facing roles were left to the local hired workers.

In total, there were thousands of people directly or indirectly dependent on my name for their livelihood, with a few hundred core members. Based on the interests and positions of each industry, and the relationships among fellow clansmen and new recruits, several small groups had already formed.

However, heavily relying on clan members also made it inevitable for other internal forces to infiltrate.

For example, there were signs of some groups being secretly lured and corrupted by internal forces using my father's name. This was something I needed to address.

The reason I had to take drastic action upon my return, to set an example, was based on this. Although the clan could offer them benefits and pressure, I could directly take their lives and everything they owned.

This was one of the reasons I couldn't easily abandon this identity. At least, my predecessor had already started to expand new sources and channels, such as trying to contact some small groups from the north.