Take the farm down to earth

Chapter 130
The emperor trusted Shi Zhongkui again, so Xia Shouzhong also had some scruples in his heart.

Besides, the construction of the Provincial Courtyard requires a lot of building materials, except for the most important and costly supporting columns, beams and artificial rocks.

The eunuchs in the palace did not focus all their attention on the giant trees. Instead, those building materials with huge demand were the real profitable categories.

In addition, because you want to make money for the emperor, you only stare at the giant tree, how can you make money while making some for yourself?
So under the temptation of 1.55 taels of silver, it was a pleasure to eat this wine.
-
Another few days passed, when Shi Zhongkui finally retrieved the information of all registered rice fields in Gyeonggi from the household department.

The letter of family visitation was finally sent to the cabinet.

The Supreme Emperor ordered and the emperor agreed, the cabinet would never reject it.

Besides, this matter does not involve government affairs, and there is no need to offend the old and new emperors, as well as offend many relatives of the emperor.

But this also made many people smell unusual.

And it's really like what Shi Zhongkui said, there are a lot of fools.

Concubine Wu Guifei was the first to jump out.

It is rumored that this woman is extremely beautiful, otherwise she would not be able to sit in the position of imperial concubine. A fool can understand why she always wants to overwhelm the empress because of the emperor's favor.

And with Concubine Wu Gui as the leader, some concubines really got excited.

But if you want to build a family home, if you are not a wealthy family, you can't even make up the first batch of funds for the yard.

The Jia family didn't think about building a garden at first. After all, they just calculated in their hearts and knew that building a garden that met the specifications of Yuanchun Xiande Concubine could not be done with more than 10,000 silver.

Hundreds of thousands, even millions of silver are possible.

And the emperor then decreed that next year's Lantern Festival will be the day to visit relatives.

The construction period was suddenly reduced to only 9 months, and overtime work was another big sum of money.

At that time, the price of building materials such as giant trees, rockery and strange stones, and white marble may increase by one or two times.

During Song Huizong's reign, many turmoil and uprisings broke out in the south just because of the birth date.

No wonder the Jia family spent a million taels of silver even though they used the backyard of the Ningrong and Rongfu's own houses, emptying the Jia family in one fell swoop.

Of course, this is also related to the joint corruption of the master and servants of the Jia family.

Jia Qiang from Ningguo Mansion just went to Jiangnan to buy a theater troupe full of little girls, and dare to say that it cost 5 taels of silver.

Lai Da and Lai Er, housekeepers of Ningrong and Rongfu, built a garden in their own home that was only slightly worse than the Grand View Garden after the Grand View Garden was improved.

It is conceivable how much corruption there is.

Moreover, the Lai family has no official status, and their children have no fame. Even the whole family is servants, so they dare to build such a big garden, which shows how rampant they are.

But the Jia family just pretended to be deaf and dumb, even Jia Baoyu and others had never been to the Lai family's garden, and no one suspected it after they came back, and no one thought it was wrong.

Moreover, he also helped Lai's parent, Sun Lai Shangrong, donated an official and asked for a real job as a county magistrate.

This kind of host family, it is unreasonable not to lose.

Xue Pan and Xue Biao came to the door again the next day and said that after Xia Shouzhong wanted to use 12 taels of silver to buy the 31 pieces of wood in his hand, he knew that the dead eunuch must have found a buyer.

"Tell him, if it's less than 16, then wait another month or two."

Xue Pan chuckled, but Xue Biao was a little worried, "Brother-in-law, those big eunuchs are people who cannibalize people without spit out their bones. If you offend them..."

Shi Zhongkui waved his hand, "Erlang is right, but blindly giving in will only make them push forward."

After finishing speaking, Shi Zhongkui thought for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "I will hand over the sign to see the emperor in a while, you can rest assured."

Only then did Xue Biao feel relieved.

If the 16 taels were sold, the 1.55 taels of silver to be given to Xia Shouzhong would be deducted.

It is equivalent to earning 6.45 taels in ten days, and the money grabbing is not so fast.

After lunch, Shi Zhongkui took a nap on purpose and arrived outside the palace gate at around 3:[-] in the afternoon.

Take out the bronze waist card for walking in the study room, and a eunuch ran in to report.

Half an hour later, when he walked outside the upper study room, Xia Shouzhong greeted him with a smile on his face.

He whispered, "The number one scholar is auspicious, and the servant girl will greet you."

Although Xia Shouzhong said so, he stood up straight, and the little eunuchs beside him couldn't see anything wrong.

Shi Zhongkui ignored him this time and went straight to the study.

Seeing this, the little eunuchs on the side had incredible expressions on their faces.

But Shi Zhongkui knew very well in his heart that if Xia Shouzhong was angry again, as long as he agreed to sell him 12 taels, all anger would disappear.

Moreover, the eunuch actually called himself a slave, and for the sake of money, his attitude was low enough.

Xia Shouzhong really smiled, and chased after him without showing the slightest anger.

"Duke Zhuangyuan, what do you think if the servants let you add 1 taels?"

Only then did Shi Zhongkui stop, smiled and cupped his hands, "Why don't you have a bet with the eunuch as an official, how about it?"

Xia Shouzhong was taken aback for a moment, and then Shi Zhongkui continued, "Wait for three months, if it doesn't rise to 6000 taels, I will double the rebate I promised to my father-in-law."

Fifteen thousand and five times doubled to 1000 taels of silver, Xia Shouzhong's breathing became heavy.

But when I think of 6000 taels of wood, if I buy it at a price of 13, I seem to be able to earn at least 5, so I am not willing to agree.

"How much does the champion want?"

"17 million taels."

Xia Shouzhong's face darkened when he heard this, but Shi Zhongkui added, "I'll give you 500 taels a piece, if you can't sell it for 6000 taels, I will lose 15500 silver to my father-in-law, and I will buy those logs back for 6 taels. it is good?"

Xia Shouzhong thought about it for a while, although the money has become less, but if it really sells for less than 6 taels, there is still a guarantee of [-] taels.

And if 6 were sold, 31 pieces would be 18.5.

Subtract 17, leaving 1.5, plus a rebate of 1.55 taels, equal to 3.05 taels.

No matter how I counted, I didn't take much advantage from Shi Zhongkui.

You can gamble that the wood will continue to rise, but in this case, besides Wu Guifei's family, there must be one or two other gardens.

And you have to pay 17 to buy the 31 pieces of wood.

Thinking about the past few years since the emperor ascended the throne, he only made seven to 80,000 taels of silver in total.

Xia Shouzhong shook his head directly, "Forget it, I'm so confused by Mr. Zhuangyuan's going around, I'd better take my share and forget it."

But Shi Zhongkui knew that when he really sold 17 taels, the dead eunuch would definitely feel jealous and make trouble.

"Elder-in-law shouldn't be staring at a few logs, but should find a reason to arrest a few supervisors of the white marble mine, and even the internal officials who guard the mine to punish him.

Xiaguan promised that a family like Concubine Wu's natal family would rush to buy it in order to complete the project in time.

The price of all these materials will definitely rise again.

Even set a fire, burn a few giant logs and some other building materials, and it's easy to double or double. "

After Xia Shouzhong listened, he was immediately stunned.

Still, the heart of a scholar is dark enough, and his hands are also black.

I just want to make a fortune, but they want to dig meat from Wu Guifei's natal family.

No, this is to kill the Wu family and other garden repair families.

After all, when the garden is halfway up, it has to be repaired even if it is a waste of money.

Otherwise, the guilt is greater.

And not only was this not difficult at all, but only eunuchs like myself could do it, so I became excited and grateful in an instant.

But because of this, Xia Shouzhong didn't want or want to offend Shi Zhongkui anymore.

In fact, if he thinks about it, who knows what means will be waiting for him.

"Mr. Zhuangyuan is indeed the smartest person in the world. In the future, I will ask Mr. Zhuangyuan to give you more advice and give us some advice about our family."

"Don't dare, my father-in-law made a joke." Shi Zhongkui followed Xia Shouzhong into the upper study with a smile.

In the evening, Xia Shouzhong learned from his godson that Xue Pan had rumored that 16 taels had to be paid in one lump sum.

After thinking about it, Xia Shouzhong finally agreed.

I found a few eunuchs to discuss with the emperor, and finally everyone got together and quickly raised 16 taels of silver.

Then Xia Shouzhong directly deducted 1.55 taels of silver, handed over 14.45 taels of silver to Xue Pan, and got the 31 giant trees.

Of course, it is not that there are no eunuchs who want to use dirty tricks.

But Xia Shouzhong said, after meeting His Majesty in the upper study yesterday, the No. [-] Scholar won a waist card that could mobilize hundreds of Xiuyiwei households, which immediately frightened the other eunuchs and imperial merchants.

Besides, Xia Shouzhong was not worried that he would lose money. After all, Shi Zhongkui said that if he couldn't sell 6 taels, he would buy it back for 6 taels.

Xia Shouzhong even thought for a while that he could get another 1.55 taels of silver by simply lowering the price.

At the same time, because the price has become lower, several eunuchs and imperial merchants will eventually be willing to sell the giant wood at a low price, and they can make another fortune in the middle.

But think about it, if the matter is revealed, it would be tantamount to offending Shi Zhongkui to death.

Several eunuchs and imperial merchants will definitely kill themselves.

When it reaches the emperor's ears, it must be the end of a glass of poisoned wine.

Thinking about Shi Zhongkui's method of calculating Concubine Wu's natal family, Xia Shouzhong felt that he could earn more.

And if he could help the emperor earn [-] or [-] silver, his position would definitely be more stable.

As for Concubine Wu Gui, she and her natal family committed suicide anyway, who is to blame?

Afterwards, Xia Shouzhong discussed with several eunuchs, and instigated other families to follow suit.

Choose to choose, and the first choice excludes concubines whose natal family has no money.

Secondly, those who are not favored are not eligible to participate.

In the end, six or seven were selected, and only one named Zhou Guiren wrote to her natal family to build a garden.

On the contrary, Yuanchun was surprisingly quiet.

She has been a female history in the palace for almost ten years, and she has become an old lady from the young age of cardamom. She said that Jia Yuanchun had no brains, and she might have died a long time ago.

One plan failed, Xia Shouzhong and others made another plan.

Since Concubine Wu Gui is a stick, it is too easy to instigate her to quarrel with others.

Xia Shouzhong and the others didn't intend to stare at Jia Yuanchun because of Shi Zhongkui.

But this does not prevent Concubine Wu from regarding Jia Yuanchun, the newly promoted and virtuous concubine, as her biggest competitor besides the queen.

Moreover, harem battles are often unreasonable at all.

Maybe just because the emperor stayed with a certain concubine for one more night, some people wished that this person would die.

All kinds of methods are used, which are as vicious as they want.

It's no wonder that when Jia Yuanchun returned home to visit his relatives, he would cry in front of Jia's mother and his wife Wang that the palace was a 'shameful place'.

Of course, even in front of close relatives, it is really stupid to say this.

But it also reflects from the side that Jia Yuanchun must have been greatly wronged in the palace.

And the emperor did not help her uphold justice.

Only then did he see his close relatives, and his mind was broken, and his IQ was several levels lower.
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After Xue Pan got the money, he hurried to find Shi Zhongkui with Xue Biao.

Before that, Shi Zhongkui and Xue Pan paid 10 taels and 5 taels respectively.

Equivalent to a 2 to 1 contribution ratio.

Earning 6.45 taels, Shi Zhongkui directly called the shots and gave Xue Biao a reward of 3000 taels.

This also has the meaning of temptation.

Xue Biao didn't want it anyway, and even knelt on the ground and said that it is right for a younger brother to help his brother-in-law and cousin.

And I only went to Tanggu for a few days before and after, so there is no reason to take 3000 taels.

Shi Zhongkui valued him even more now.

At the same time, Shi Zhongkui knew very well that giving money was the lowest-cost return compared to asking for an official.

And talent is rare, Xue Biao had a silver ticket of 15 taels before.

Not only did he not make mistakes in the middle, but he was even more courageous.

Of course, Shi Zhongkui secretly let Chinchilla follow him all the time.

Moreover, Xue Biao can see his own position clearly, and because of his kinship, his own people who have a low probability of betrayal are more important.

He gave the banknote to Xue Pan, and Xue Pan grabbed the banknote and stuffed it into Xue Biao's clothes.

Of the remaining 14.15 taels, Shi Zhongkui took 9.5 taels.

Before Xue Biao returned 7 yuan, he also returned 2.34 yuan to Xue Pan in proportion, and the fraction was not so small.

Xue Pan calculated for a long time before calculating that he had made a profit of 1.99 taels this time.

Shi Zhongkui earned 4.16 taels.

After thinking about it, he took out 5 taels and handed it to Xue Pan, and asked him to distribute it to the dozen or so servants of Xue's family who went to Tanggu this time.

How could Xue Pan want it? He directly said that Shi Zhongkui was not in charge of this matter, and he would reward his servants.

Shi Zhongkui didn't argue, he went back to the bedroom and came out with three boxes in his hand.

"Two of the three boxes contain 100 taels of silver dollars, and the other contains 400 silver melon seeds of a tael. Take them back to my mother-in-law, Baochai and Baoqin."

Money is the most suitable gift for Aunt Xue.

Xue Pan picked it up without even thinking about it, but Xue Biao thanked her again and again, and considering that the girl only had 40 taels of silver, it was really only a meeting gift.

While feeling relieved, regret suddenly emerged.

Compared with the young master of Mei Hanlin's family, Shi Zhongkui directly beat him by a thousand miles.

And to put it bluntly, Mei Hanlin has been an official for nearly ten years, and he is still only a seventh-rank Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy.

It means that after so many years, he has only been promoted by half a level.

But Shi Zhongkui is not only an Hanlin, but once he becomes an official, his official rank will be half as high as Mei Hanlin.

Such a comparison, even Mei Hanlin has lived in vain for decades.

For a moment, Xue Biao felt that if his sister could also marry Shi Zhongkui, she would be much better than Mr. Mei Hanlin who was only a scholar.

When Xue Pan returned home, he showed off to his mother and Baochai. When the mother and daughter saw the 6.99 taels of banknotes, they were very excited.

In addition, before the restaurant Xue Pan also earned 2 taels, it means that within two months, he earned 4 taels.

Thinking about all the shopkeepers of the Xue family last year, the money handed over was only less than 7.

Both mother and daughter shed tears of joy, and what is even more commendable is that Xue Pan earned it himself.

(End of this chapter)