After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 631 - 625 I Go

赵瑚 grumbled, "Serves her right, she holds no regard for old ties. These two years, Chang Ning has given me so much trouble, I complained to her, but she wouldn’t punish Chang Ning."

赵铭 said, "She is unwilling to replace Chang Ning, but Seventh Uncle, your caravans traveling back and forth with goods were spared attacks by bandits because she and Zhao Ju intervened. Whenever she visits a place, if she sees a good shop or house, she would leave some opportunities for you at prices others couldn’t get..."

"Alright, alright, I haven’t been stingy with giving her money to spend; haven’t I donated enough whenever she called for provisions?"

赵铭 was expressionless, "But she did it to protect Yu State; otherwise, if the Xiongnu invaded, the entire vast estate would become the barbarians’."

赵瑚 was cornered by his words and finally said angrily, "Anyway, I’m not going to Luoyang."

Only then did 赵铭 say, "Third Lady mentioned it’s a one-to-one exchange, but if you, Seventh Uncle, speak up, given your assets, he might offer a bit more."

赵瑚 hesitated for a moment, "One to one point two?"

赵铭 twitched his mouth, maintaining a neutral expression as much as possible, "Seventh Uncle might give it a try."

赵瑚 frowned, "Can this new money really be the same as the old money? What if other states and counties don’t accept it, why should I exchange for new money?"

After pondering, 赵铭 said, "Actually, there are only two places that are uncertain."

"Which two places?"

"Jiangnan and He Yan State," 赵铭 said. "Xiliang has also minted its own new money, and now that Shu has become independent, they also plan to mint their own Copper Coin. The Two Lakes Region has frequent interactions with our Yu State and acknowledges our new currency."

Before minting the new money, both 赵含章 and 赵铭 considered that if the new money circulated only within Yu State and Luoyang, it was naturally at their discretion. Clearly, their ambitions did not stop there.

赵铭 said, "Moreover, to be blunt, as long as Third Lady is around for one day, and as long as Yu State remains in my Zhao Family’s control, the new money we mint will be useful. Yu State and Luoyang are Central State, the foundation of the world."

For some reason, 赵瑚 felt a tremor in his heart, "What if one day Yu State is no longer under my Zhao Family’s control..."

赵铭 replied coldly, "Then what difference does it make if the money is new or old? Seventh Uncle, at this stage, the Zhao Family has already staked everything, even our lives, following Third Lady."

But 赵瑚 didn’t think the same.

He rolled his eyes; if one day Yu State really fell into the hands of the enemy, he could just flee.

But fleeing would also require money.

He could run away to the furthest place, Jiangnan, where he would need to buy houses, shops, and land, especially land. It’s essential to have more, or else without a business that generates income, life would be difficult in old age, wouldn’t it?

But in a place unfamiliar to him, securing assets in Jiangnan would probably cost a lot, right?

While pondering, 赵瑚 finally conceded, "Fine, I’ll go to Luoyang!"

Just as well to earn a sum from 赵含章, and then send someone with money and goods to Jiangnan to try it out. If the new money is indeed usable there, he would procure more things, considering it a backup plan.

赵铭 slightly smiled and said, "Then I shall have someone prepare, Seventh Uncle should rest tomorrow, and the day after, set off."

"Why such a rush?" 赵瑚 replied, "This matter isn’t urgent; let me tour Chen County first."

Chen County has become much livelier, even visibly more prosperous.

The summer harvest had just concluded, so the streets were bustling with people. 赵瑚, feeling pleased, went to inspect his shops. He only had two shops in Chen County: a fabric shop and a restaurant.

The restaurant aside, it was a place even 赵含章 praised after visiting. Today, he primarily went to the fabric shop because the accounts there looked bleak.

The shop was directly acquired from Ji Yuan; at that time, Chen County was just beginning to flourish, so the price was extremely low, and the location was excellent.

Admittedly, there was some favor from 赵含章 involved.

But, despite such a good location, there were hardly any customers in the shop.

Feeling unhappy, 赵瑚 walked into the shop, noticing that there wasn’t much fabric inside either.

As soon as he entered, a staff member warmly greeted him, "Sir, are you here to look at fabrics?"

The staff member had a keen eye. Seeing 赵瑚’s attire, he guided him to the right side, smiling, "Take a look, these are new silks we’ve launched this year."

赵瑚 glanced at the silk brought down by the staff, moved forward and sifted through the remaining ones on the shelves, feeling disdainful, "In such a large store, there are only a few rolls of silk?"

The staff member smiled, "Sir, though we have less silk in quantity, each piece is the best quality, all top-grade silk transported from the Two Lakes Region. Looking around all of Chen County, no one can provide better or more silk than us."

"Nonsense, in such a big Chen County, how can the fabrics in this shop not even compare to those in Xiping?" 赵瑚 was just about to have his steward call over the manager of this fabric shop, but more people came into the store.

It was a group of four women, each carrying a roll of coarse linen. Seeing 赵瑚’s disapproval, the staff felt his business was hard to deal with, so he let him browse on his own while he went to greet the four women.

They were there to sell linen.

The staff touched the linen they brought, quickly settled on a price with them, and turned to the counter to fetch money.

赵瑚 was stunned. Although he owned several fabric shops, this was the first to collect scattered linen and then sell it on the shelves.

赵瑚 walked to the left side to see that in this fabric shop, not only was there a lack of silk, but there was also a notable shortage of other types of fabrics.

Few varieties, few quantities, even the colors were limited.

赵瑚 summoned the staff and asked, "Who taught you to collect scattered linen and then sell it in the shop?"

The staff now realized something was off and whispered, "It was the shopkeeper who taught us."

赵瑚 lost his temper, "Bring him to me!"

The staff immediately ran to fetch the manager.

The manager had just sent the account books to the Governor Mansion earlier in the morning; he didn’t expect the venerable elder to visit so soon and hurriedly knelt down to greet him.

Feeling disdainful, 赵瑚 waved his hand, "I arranged for someone to take you to meet the suppliers, didn’t I? How did you end up managing my well-off fabric shop into this state?"

He said, "I have so many fabric shops under my name, and none have been managed as poorly as this one."

The manager quickly said, "Master, I have tried my best, but the suppliers won’t come to Chen County; I can’t purchase fabrics even with money. The ones we currently have are thanks to the First Lady’s goodwill."

赵瑚 grumbled, "What’s it got to do with her?"

The manager said, "It’s guest merchants introduced by the First Lady’s side, which allowed us to get some more fabric. If you don’t believe me, you can see other fabric shops in Chen County; their business and fabric are even worse than ours."

赵瑚 was infuriated, "Why should I care about other shops? Why do you always compare yourself with them? Can’t you look at the fabric shops in Xiping, or other well-managed shops under my name?"

"If the mountain doesn’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain; don’t you understand? If the suppliers don’t come, can’t you send someone out to procure goods?" 赵瑚 said, "Ru Nan, Ruyin, Nanyang Country—can’t you go to any of these counties? If all else fails, ask me for people to directly go to the Two Lakes Region and fetch goods. You can’t just muddle through; don’t you realize my shop needs money, labor costs money as well?"