webnovelfull Chapter 276 First Class Girl
Chapter 276 First Class Girl
Qillang took advantage of the school's break and went to the Crane King's Mansion.
I have mentioned this to Qilang twice before, and now I am here to have a serious talk about it.
The meeting place was still the banana garden. Zhou Qinghe was practicing with a boxer on the martial arts stage. Qilang sat in the audience and watched for a while. Then he felt pain all over his body.
After practicing one hundred arrows today, Zhao Fangyu turned around and took Qilang to another yard.
Xuanbi was guarding outside the door, Xingzhi came in holding the incense burner, Nongbo and Shuiying, one holding a tray and the other holding the water utensils for washing hands, plus an official who had just come up, opened the curtain.
Qillang had been in the capital for some time, and these things were no longer surprising to him. Although they were somewhat different in Longxi, the difference was not that big.
There was no need for the conversation between brother and sister to be too formal. A small banquet table was set up in the yard with an awning over it. Zhao Fangyu looked at Qilang and saw that he showed no signs of weight loss, so he knew that he was doing quite well in the capital.
"Seventh cousin said at the time that he wanted to bring his wife to Beijing. Has a date been set?"
A smile appeared on Qilang's lips, and his narrow eyes were filled with fragments of light when he mentioned his wife.
"I had originally planned to bring her here in the early spring of this year, but unfortunately, after I left, she was found to be pregnant, and the pregnancy is still early."
Qillang exuded a kind of kindness that could be described as a fatherly aura. Zhao Fangyu, who was just sitting beside him, seemed to be illuminated by his extra fatherly love.
Zhao Fangyu felt a little regretful. If Yao Yirong was here, the deal would be easier to negotiate. However, since Yao Yirong was pregnant, he had to prepare a gift for her.
While Zhao Fangyu was thinking about making something, Qilang slowly took a sip of tea.
He was also not used to the tea made in the capital, which was roasted, ground and sifted. It was far better to brew it directly like this, which was refreshing and did not require much effort.
"I originally planned to wait for my cousin's wife to come and tell her about it, but now that my cousin's wife is pregnant, I don't want to bother her with this mundane matter."
Zhao Fangyuxingzhi took two simplified versions of the investment promotion plans that he had previously prepared for the aristocratic families and calmly placed them in front of Qilang.
"I wasn't that anxious originally, but now that Qian and Gan have invaded the border, it's a good time to take advantage of the situation."
Qilang had already read the business document and had to admit that the daughter his aunt adopted was indeed capable.
Even his aunt didn't dare to think about opening shops all over Daliang, but she not only dared to think about it, but also dared to do it.
Whether she is using a tiger's skin to make a big banner or selling dog meat under the guise of selling mutton, the fact that she has this courage and insight is far beyond that of ordinary people.
Qi Lang read the booklet again and found nothing new, so he asked, "Have the other families agreed?"
Zhao Fangyu smiled faintly and shook his head, thinking that Qilang must have known about this business booklet for a long time.
But she was not embarrassed, and turned to talk about the revised content of the booklet:
"I have been involved in many things these days. In addition to the Qiangan incident, the princes may have to leave the capital to guard the border."
"The situation is not right. It is not appropriate to ask them to join the business listed in the business book at this time."
Zhao Fangyu held a string of small beads in one hand and tumbled them one by one without any pattern, and twirled them a few times when he felt like it.
This is the red agate that Zhou Qinghe had polished for her. It was said that the polishing process was extremely laborious. Zhao Fangyu could not bear to reject his kindness, so she wore it every day.
Qilang hummed: "This is not a good time, but why did my sister think of me?"
Zhao Fangyu made no secret of his ambition: "We'll do it slowly. I want to build a few trade routes between the capital and Longxi first."
"And along these trade routes, there are shops controlled by me, and the Li family protects the safety of the trade routes."
Qi Lang said in a neutral tone: "It sounds like this matter is of no benefit to the Li family?"
He is no longer the little kid he used to be. His uncle intends to train him, so naturally he puts the Li family first in everything.
This is something that has no benefits and involves the entire Li family. It's no different from giving it away for free.
Zhao Fangyu shook his head and continued, "A certain number of rice and grain shops will be opened on these trade routes. At the critical moment, we will do our best to ensure food and fodder."
Longxi is not big, but it is not small either.
One of the reasons why the Li family has been deeply involved in Longxi over the years is that their ancestors suffered losses.
There was a person who left Longxi and settled in the capital. He was oppressed and humiliated by the royal family of the time. In the end, he was arbitrarily convicted and his entire family was executed.
By the time the Longxi Li family learned the news, everyone had already been buried.
Later, some people in the court speculated about business and maliciously cut off the food supply of the Longxi army, so that the entire army had to starve together.
Therefore, the largest landlords near Longxi were several military families.
No one wants to beg for food from others, but with so many mouths to feed, we can't let corruption and mischief in the court cause trouble and let a group of soldiers starve to death.
It's not that they haven't thought about transporting grain and fodder from other regions, similar to what Zhao Fangyu did, but transporting large quantities of grain and fodder is difficult, and the emperor doesn't want the border to be overstocked with grain and fodder.
Among the first group of people who looted food and supplies, there were even some Jinyiwei.
Even though they changed their clothes, the swords and martial arts used by those people were completely different from those of ordinary people.
This subtle method had naturally been used before, but after being discovered by the Jinyiwei in the imperial court, these shops would suddenly catch fire one after another, or the owner's family would suddenly die, and all kinds of accidents occurred one after another.
Except for the initial period, some food and grass were indeed transported to Longxi, but later it was no longer possible.
The few major families could only guard every inch of land on the border of Longxi and try their best to collect every harvest of grain and grass.
The aristocratic families and the royal family have been in opposition since the beginning. Qilang's eyes fell on Zhao Fangyu and he gently put down the cup in his hand.
"What the princess has thought about is of course very good, but there are thousands of accidents in this world, so no one has ever accomplished this in these years."
The savings of the aristocratic families over thousands of years are naturally more profound than Zhao Fangyu's small workshop that suddenly became rich.
This business brochure has been out for such a long time, but no one has copied it.
The problem has already been explained.
Zhao Fangyu's move was no less than challenging the emperor.
Zhao Fangyu smiled and said, "Not all of the shops I run are rice shops. The one in Fourteen States is a fragrant dew shop, which runs all the way from the capital to Fourteen States."
"Sometimes, food is precious, and so is news."
Otherwise, there would be no such thing as the Jinyiwei.
Only then did Qilang raise his eyes and take a serious look at the woman in gorgeous clothes sitting opposite him.
Zhao Fangyu was dressed simply today, in a blue jacket, a lychee-colored and white camellia bodice, and a bright red skirt tied around her waist.
There were only two or three hairpins on his head, and he even wore a red beard which was common among the people.
Zhao Fangyu would not explain it in such details to others, but the person sitting opposite him was Li Jia Qilang, and they were all in the same boat, so it wouldn't hurt to explain it in more details.
"If it were any other family, gathering people to do business and staying well-informed would be the most important thing."
"But if it's the Li family, then I won't keep these things hidden underneath from my seventh cousin either."
The people outside the door had already left, leaving only Xuanbi sitting on the roof, with four big maids guarding the four corners of the yard.
Zhao Fangyu glanced out the window and slowly added a spoonful of spice into the incense burner.
"As everyone knows, the Fourteen States' business in the capital has been declining due to the impact of the Yang Family's Xianglu Shop, and it is now much worse than before."
"In order to seek wealth and fame, I opened shops in all the prosperous cities."
The distances between prosperous cities vary. Those that are close are still okay, but for those that are far away, if there are two or three inconspicuous small shops in the middle, everything will be different.
In business, it is normal to have regular reports, as long as they contain some key information that is enough to turn the tide at a specific time.
Zhao Fangyu does not have the military power to change the situation, but the Li family does.
Qilang looked at Zhao Fangyu with a strange look. How come they were both girls, but there was such a big difference between them?
Zhao Fangyu's method seems naive and seems to be full of loopholes, but it can't be resisted by one sentence: although this move is risky, the chances of success are high.
The Xianglu shop is indeed not as conspicuous as the rice shop.
And the information... is indeed much more informed than them.
"Your Majesty's Royal Guards are not vegetarians."
If the Embroidered Uniform Guards discovered that Zhao Fangyu's Xianglu Shop was secretly doing such a heinous thing, it would be a disaster.
Zhao Fangyu poured Qilang another cup of tea and continued, "The Jinyiwei will naturally keep an eye on the others first."
"A shop owned by a noble family is definitely better than my half-dead Fourteen States."
The shops opened by the aristocratic families in collaboration with Zhao Fangyu are the main focus of the Jinyiwei. As for Zhao Fang's perfume and rouge shops, they are relatively safe.
Make noise in the east and attack in the west.
Qilang said this inwardly, but still felt something was wrong.
"How can we transport food and grass if we establish a business route through Xianglu Shop?"
Food is not a small item, and large quantities of food are bound to be intercepted. Even if there is such a trade route, it is not a perfect solution.
Zhao Fangyu took out another map.
The black ink line meanders, slowly connecting the red dots on the map, forming several winding curves.
Zhao Fangyu drew circles on several mountains near Longxi and said, "If we don't use the food and grass on weekdays, and hide them in a dark room in the mountains, and take them out quietly at a critical moment, will it still be conspicuous?"
That is naturally inconspicuous.
A mountain of food...
It wasn't just one mountain, it was several.
If Zhao Fangyu's trade route is built, not only Zhao Fangyu, but even the Li family can mobilize their own troops and hide the food and grass in the mountains slowly like ants moving a mountain.
The winters in Longxi were extremely difficult in the past two years.
The food shortage was so severe that the Li family joined forces with several other families to borrow food from the people, and finally they were able to survive...
During those two winters, the entire Longxi people tightened their belts.
But even so, many people still died.
Most of them were elderly people who sacrificed their lives for Longxi when they were young. Now that they were old, they felt that they were a burden wasting food and starved themselves to death.
Food has always been a heavy mountain, weighing on the shoulders of Longxi and all the military generals and clans on the border.
This is a unique tacit understanding between the imperial court and the military generals.
They are wary of each other, but cannot completely break away from each other's influence.
Although Zhao Fangyu's method is a bit rough, it must be said that it is indeed a method.
There are two official checkpoints in front to cover the business route. Everyone only pays attention to the sudden appearance of the fragrant dew shop. Who would care about the two bags of grain piled on the old farmer's ox cart on the road?
Two bags of grain, if used frugally, are enough for a family to eat for a while.
Moreover, the news that Zhao Fangyu said might not be impossible.
If one day her shops and business routes spread all over Daliang, she would then have a special information channel independent of the Jinyiwei.
Reliable and accurate.
Combined with the Li family...
Zhao Fangyu looked at Qilang with a burning gaze and smiled brilliantly.
How can winning over people with gold, silver, food and fodder be able to outweigh common interests?
Benefit others before benefiting yourself. The Li family is not only Zhao Fangyu's backer, but also a unique big card in her hand that she can use.
Qilang looked at the map again and his eyes narrowed.
He had read the business brochure and wondered why Zhao Fangyu was so high-profile. Combining this with Zhao Fangyu's actions in recent days, he understood.
Maybe this strange fragrant dew from Nanzhao was also made by her herself.
The fragrant dew from Nanzhao nurtured the Yang family and the third prince, lifted them up high, and then threw them down heavily.
The business was then taken over by Princess Hua Luan.
Hua Luan represents the royal family, and Hua Luan's Xianglu Shop has Zhao Fangyu's arm, which ties the interests of the two together.
Zhao Fangyu is like a huge cocoon, with layers upon layers of various relationships linking him.
Business that the royal family intervenes in is naturally safe.
If he guessed correctly, the eldest princess also made a share of the profits from the shop opened by the aristocratic families.
This game of chess is very confusing, and it seems that anyone can get involved. The more people get involved, the more headaches it becomes for those who want to sort out the relationships.
There is more than one trade route, different trade routes, different times, breaking the whole into parts, hiding some food in the mountains regularly every month. If one month is not enough, then two months will be enough, and if two months are not enough, then three months will be enough. There will always be a day when those mountains are filled up.
"Aren't you afraid that His Majesty will be displeased with you?"
Qilang stared at Zhao Fangyu, as if he wanted to see clearly whether this was a trap set for Longxi.
After all, the royal family has intervened in Zhao Fangyu's business, and she herself is now a member of the royal family.
Zhao Fangyu looked straight into Li Jiaqilang's eyes with a clear gaze: "If he is not envied by others, he is a mediocre person. Besides, he has disliked me and Zhou Qinghe for a long time."
Zhou Qinghe has been unpopular since he was a child.
"As long as the Li family is stable, I will be stable. The throne is still undecided, and the Li family is my support."
This business is a token of allegiance to the Li family.
Qilang changed his posture and his eyes fell on the book in front of him. He felt that it was a pity that Zhao Fangyu was born a woman.
But she also felt that although she was a woman, it did not affect her in any way.
In fact, it is precisely because she is a woman that the perfume, rouge and powder, the intersections of the harem, the dense and interconnected relationships that affect the entire body, can form such a perfect network.
"If you were a girl from the Longxi Li family, the Longxi men would beat you to a pulp."
A good woman is always sought after by many families, but someone like Zhao Fangyu is hard to come by.
The Li family has been training for many years, but has not yet produced a girl who is bold enough to join the game.
If Zhao Fangyu succeeds in this move, the Li family will not have to worry about food and grass for at least a few years.
Zhao Fangyu picked up the teacup and laughed again. The green tea tasted like wine. "So what? It has nothing to do with me. I want to be the best lady in the world."
Qilang and Zhao Fangyu smiled at each other, and everything was said without words.