Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Zhu Yuanzhang stood barefoot on the gold bricks, holding a half-broken jade belt in his hand, glaring at Ouyang Lun who stepped into the Taile Palace, like an angry lion with its hair standing on end.

"You are such a jerk, Ouyang Lun!" He kicked the abacus beads at his feet away. "On the surface, you are working with us to make money, but behind the scenes, you cut off our cotton cloth, raised the price of hemp, and allowed small businesses to steal our business! What are you thinking? Do you think we don't know that your three ships are not carrying kapok but arsenic?!"

Zhu Biao was about to open his mouth to dissuade him, but was interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang with a wave of his hand; Empress Ma wanted to help him sit down, but he pushed her away in annoyance.

The old emperor panted heavily, his stubble trembling with his chin: "Let me ask you! Did you instruct the Songjiang cloth merchants to raise the price? Did you deliberately distribute the leftovers from the Yuluo Clothing Store? And that loom from the Western Regions - it's just a pile of scrap metal!"

Ouyang Lun bowed leisurely, took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, bent down and wiped the tea stains on the ground: "Your Majesty, calm down and listen to what I have to say first--"

"Listen to you!" Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the Book of Lord Shang on the table and threw it at him. "I should have known that your newspaper, business, and Nike are all aimed at squeezing out Zhu's! You are jealous of our Zhu family's reputation and want the whole world to know that you, Ouyang Lun, are the genius in business!"

The book flew past Ouyang Lun's ear and slammed against the screen. Empress Ma started to cough violently, and Zhu Biao hurriedly supported his mother, his eyes full of worry. Ouyang Lun remained calm, even taking the celadon teacup from the antique shelf, rinsing it with warm water, and brewing a cup of Biluochun: "Your Majesty, drink a cup of tea to moisten your throat first, and then you can scold me. I am not in a hurry."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him, curse words rolling in his throat. When the teacup was pushed in front of him, he took a sip as if possessed by a ghost - it turned out to be his favorite tea made from candied kumquats, sweet and sour, just enough to suppress his anger.

"What, are you tired of scolding?" Ouyang Lun raised his eyebrows, "Then I have something to say. Your Majesty, do you know why your Zhuji Clothing Shop is losing money?"

"Don't be so proud!" Zhu Yuanzhang stiffened his neck, "It's just that he relied on the cotton cloth he had stockpiled in advance and colluded with the fleet of the Qingjiang Earl to transport smuggled goods--"

"Wrong." Ouyang Lun interrupted him. "Zhu Ji is losing money because you made the three most annoying mistakes for businessmen." He tapped the table with his fingers. "First, you used the royal name to force down prices. It seems to be a small profit but quick turnover, but it actually hurts the fundamentals of business. Those cloth merchants were forced to lower their prices by 30%, and now they are just using me to make up for their losses. Second, you blindly followed Nike's 'limited edition' and 'fitting room', but you didn't understand that what the people want is not fancy clothes, but really durable and cheap clothes. Third..." He suddenly softened his voice, "You shouldn't let Queen Ma design the style while she was ill, and you shouldn't use the royal dignity as a business sign just to be angry."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face flushed instantly: "You...how do you know?"

"Everyone in Yingtian Prefecture knows that the handkerchief that the Empress coughed up blood from was sold by a palace servant for two taels of silver." Ouyang Lun sighed, "There is no father-son relationship in business wars, but people's hearts are different. If the Emperor can't even see this, he will have to pay for it all even if he has ten Zhujis."

Zhu Yuanzhang's neck veins popped up, and he stretched out his hand to poke Ouyang Lun's nose. "Don't act like Zhuge Liang in front of me! Your Nike company is developing "flying knit technology" and building "fitting rooms". How much silver did that pile of Western wooden shelves cost? Do you think I don't know how many pirates you feed during a trip to the sea?" The more he talked, the more he felt that it made sense. He simply sat back on the dragon chair, shaking the broken jade belt and sneering, "Don't think I'm old and confused - you opened three branches in Yingtian Prefecture last month, and the rent alone must have burned 10,000 taels of silver. How can you not lose money?"

Ouyang Lun pulled out a gold-stamped account book from his sleeve, and ran his fingertips across the yellowed pages: "Your Majesty, please read this. Nike's workshop adopts a 'three-shift' system. Each person can make five garments a day, which is twice as efficient as Zhu's. The fitting room seems to consume more wood, but it actually saves 30% of the loss from returns. As for sea transportation..." He suddenly lowered his voice, "Qingjiang Earl's fleet has already signed an 'escort profit sharing' agreement with my son-in-law. The pirates robbed other people's ships, but they protected our goods."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the densely packed numbers on the account book, his eyes twitching slightly: "Just brag! Unless you can turn stone into gold——"

"I can't say I can turn stone into gold, but last month's profit..." Ouyang Lun slowly took out a silver note and put it on the table, "It's exactly one million taels."

With a "pop", Zhu Yuanzhang's teacup hit the gold brick hard, and the amber tea splashed on the front of his dragon robe. Zhu Biao stood up suddenly, and the hook of the jade belt on his waist scraped the edge of the table; the embroidery frame in Empress Ma's hand fell to the ground with a "clang", and the silver thread trembled into a shadow under the candlelight. The old emperor stared at the red seal of "Ministry of Revenue Official Silver" on the banknote with his eyes wide open, and his Adam's apple rolled up and down three times before he squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: "You, you say it again?"

"I made a net profit of one million taels last month," Ouyang Lun repeated calmly, tapping the edge of the banknote with his fingertips. "This is the amount after deducting the purchase cost of Nanyang kapok, the share of the fleet, and the cost of expanding the workshop. If we only count the profit from the finished garments..."

"Impossible!" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table and stood up, shaking the celadon vases on the antique shelf. "How can you, a clothes seller, make so much money?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened. Judging from the total volume, his Zhuji Clothing Shop and Ouyang Lun's Nike clothing store were similar. How come he lost hundreds of thousands while Ouyang Lun made a net profit of one million!

This is so magical!
"Because what I sell is not clothes, but 'rules'." Ouyang Lun stood up and pushed open the palace door. The moonlight poured in like a silk thread, casting his shadow on the gold bricks, which was even slimmer than the old emperor's. "From the day the cotton was planted to the day the finished clothes were put on the shelves, the amount of money earned from each process was calculated clearly. A weaver will be rewarded five cents for making an extra piece, and an apprentice will be fined ten cents for making a mistake. Even the servants who sweep the floor can get half a liter of rice by sweeping three workshops. Your Majesty, this is the 'royal dignity' that a businessman should understand."

Empress Ma suddenly bent down to pick up the embroidery frame, and her fingertips stroked the unfinished "patchwork quilt" pattern on the frame: "Lun'er, are you saying that Zhu Ji made a mistake in talking about the word 'royal' but not putting the word 'body' into practice?"

"The Queen is smart." Ouyang Lun bowed. "The embroiderers at Zhu's work until midnight every day, but they can't even have a sip of hot soup; the purchasing manager Wang takes kickbacks from the cloth merchants, but puts inferior cotton into the warehouse as high-quality goods - such a business will lose a lot of money even if it has ten dragon robes to protect it."

Zhu Yuanzhang's back gradually pressed against the backrest of the dragon throne, and the cold sweat on his palms soaked the broken jade belt into dampness. He suddenly remembered the day before when he went to Zhu's workshop incognito and saw the embroiderers squatting in the corner eating cold steamed bread, the evasive look in Wang Hongru's eyes when he reported the bill, and how he insisted on embroidering a golden dragon pattern on his cuffs out of spite, which tripled the price of the finished garment...

"Then you..." He suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse as if he had swallowed a handful of sand, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Ouyang Lun smiled, with a hint of helplessness in his smile: "If I had said from the beginning that 'Zhu's will definitely fail', would the emperor have listened?" He turned and looked at the gradually full moon outside the palace, "Business war is like controlling a river, it is better to drain than to block. I am just using the price of cloth, kapok, and those small businesses to let the emperor see for himself what it means to 'people's hearts are like water, and business is like a river'."

Zhu Biao reached out and pressed the back of his father's trembling hand, and said softly: "Father, maybe... it's time to let my sister try."

Zhu Yuanzhang stretched out his hand, grabbed the banknote, and patted Ouyang Lun on the chest: "I have ten days to sort out all the bad debts of Zhu's for us! And..." He turned his face away, his voice muffled as if it was stuffed with a ball of cotton, "Increase the monthly salary of the embroiderers, and allow them to rest for half an hour every day at 3 p.m. to drink mutton soup."

Ouyang Lun took the banknote and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve: "This is the 'Zhu Ji Reform Proposal' drafted by your son-in-law. It has thirteen points in total. Please review it, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it and saw the first item was "lay off seven redundant staff members in the purchasing department". He immediately blew his beard and glared: "Are you trying to poach our employees?!"

"I dare not." Ouyang Lun shook his head. "It's just that I heard that Manager Wang's nephew has a 30% stake in Songjiang Cloth Shop. The emperor doesn't want Zhuji's money to flow into the pockets of corrupt officials, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's fingers tapped out rapid drum beats on the armrests of the dragon throne. He suddenly stood up and tied the broken jade belt around his waist: "Let's go! Let's go to Zhu's workshop now! We want to see what your 'three-shift work' is all about!"

Empress Ma looked at the two people's hurried backs and shook her head and laughed. Outside the palace, Ouyang Lun's voice came faintly: "Grand Emperor, you see, the lights in this workshop should be arranged like this, which can save lamp oil and allow the embroiderer to see the stitches clearly..."

Zhu Yuanzhang then complained: "What a bunch of fancy tricks! When we were conquering the world, we could easily kill three Yuan soldiers in the dark..."

Two hours later, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ouyang Lun came back. Zhu Yuanzhang looked angry and helpless. He was angry because Ouyang Lun pointed out the problems and took over all the properties of Zhuji Clothing Shop. But he was helpless because he couldn't scold Ouyang Lun and still hoped that Ouyang Lun could help his Zhuji Clothing Shop to revive.

Zhu Yuanzhang's momentum weakened, and he suddenly asked in a low voice: "Then...how did you make one million taels?"

"Because I never consider myself a 'royal company'." Ouyang Lun unfolded a roll of account book from his sleeve. "Nike sportswear, the fabric is a guaranteed purchase price signed with cotton farmers, and the profit is from the efficiency of the workshop assembly line; the fitting room looks fancy, but in fact it makes the people feel that 'the clothes are worth wearing'; as for the three Fu ships..." He chuckled, "They are indeed carrying kapok, but they are shipped from Luzon Island in exchange for spices. The profit is the difference in shipping prices."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head suddenly, his eyes burning: "You mean... transoceanic trade?"

"That's right." Ouyang Lun pushed the account book over. "Your Majesty, please take a look. If we can open up the sea transportation of the Nanyang Su wood, the Persian pepper, and the Tianzhu cotton, the profits will be more than ten times. But your Zhuji only focuses on the small piece of land on land, and you are reluctant to pay the storage fee for the Yingtianfu wharf. How can you not fail?"

Empress Ma suddenly reached out and pressed the back of Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, and whispered, "Chongba, Lun'er is right. We are old, and it's time to listen to the ideas of young people."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the jumping figures in the account book, and then looked at the tea stains on Ouyang Lun's shirt - that was caused by his pushing just now. He suddenly remembered the time when Ouyang Lun first married Princess Ningguo, and he was so nervous that he knocked over the wine glass at the wedding banquet.

"You..." He cleared his throat, "Did you really make a million taels?"

Ouyang Lun smiled and nodded, then took out a banknote from his pocket and said, "This is the profit for this month. I wanted to give it to you as a birthday gift, but now it seems..."

"Who wants your filthy money!" Zhu Yuanzhang snatched the banknote, but his eyes widened when he saw the number on it, "Is it really that much?"

Zhu Biao leaned over to take a look, and his throat moved: "This, this is more than the revenue of the treasury in half a year..."

Empress Ma shook her head and laughed, poking her husband's forehead with her fingertips: "You have been an emperor your whole life, but you can't even figure out the accounts of merchants."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly snorted, "Take it! Renegotiate the contract with the Songjiang cloth merchant for us, and allocate thirty Nanyang looms to Zhu's company - they must be really useful!"

Ouyang Lun took the banknote, a smile flashed in his eyes: "I obey your command. But there is one condition——"

"You still dare to negotiate conditions?!" Zhu Yuanzhang puffed his beard and glared.

"The conditions are very simple." Ouyang Lun bowed, "Please ask Your Majesty to go to Nike's workshop incognito tomorrow to see what an 'assembly line' is; then go to Yingtianfu Wharf to see the 'Fuchuan No. 3' that your minister has just built."

"No!" Zhu Yuanzhang turned his face away.

"Then I have no choice but to sell all the kapok trees to Yunjin Manor." Ouyang Lun pretended to leave.

"Hey..." Zhu Yuanzhang stamped his feet anxiously, "Let's go! But let's make it clear first, if you can't figure out the trick..."

“If you can’t see the way, I will punish myself by not drinking your candied kumquat tea for three months.” Ouyang Lun chuckled.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him, but turned around and secretly hid the broken jade belt in his sleeve - how embarrassing it would be if someone saw that the emperor's jade belt was broken?
Outside the palace, the new moon was rising. Zhu Biao watched his father and his wife walking side by side to the corridor, and suddenly heard Zhu Yuanzhang muttering: "Boy, if that loom dares to cheat us again, we will..."

"So what?" Ouyang Lun's voice was filled with laughter.

"Just...just replace all the Persian carpets in your study with Zhuji's coarse cloth!"

A burst of laughter came from the corridor, startling the birds roosting on the eaves.

At 3:30 on the second day, when Ouyang Lun was still in bed, Zhu Yuanzhang had already kicked open the side door of the clan residence with two Jinyiwei. The old emperor held half of the jade belt in his hand, like a sword out of its sheath, and shouted at the figure on the bed: "Ouyang Lun! The sun is burning your butt!"

The carved bed curtain was suddenly thrown open, and Ouyang Lun sat up with his messy hair, looking at his father-in-law in front of him with sleepy eyes: "Grand Emperor, are you going to imitate Jing Ke's assassination of Qin?"

"I'm not going to stab you!" Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed his outer robe and said, "Didn't we say we were going to your crappy workshop? Hurry up!"

“Now?” Ouyang Lun looked out the window, and the sky was just beginning to turn pale. “Your Highness hasn’t even changed into your court robes…”

"Why change into court clothes!" Zhu Yuanzhang threw a set of coarse cloth shorts at his face, "Incognito! Do you understand incognito? Let me tell you, if you dare to play tricks--"

"Yes, yes, yes." Ouyang Lun stood up helplessly and let the palace servant put on his clothes. He secretly complained in his heart: I chatted with the old emperor until the beginning of the night yesterday, and now I have only slept for less than two hours. (End of this chapter)