Traveling to Daliang Kingdom starts from falling into the water

Chapter 1083 Where Did the Twenty Thousand Taels Come From?
Before she knew it, the topic had veered off course. Before she could even explain how five thousand taels plus ten thousand taels would amount to exactly twenty thousand taels, Zhou Banxia cleared her throat and decisively got back to the point.

“Yes, how did I calculate this?” Gu Wenxuan patted his forehead. “I forgot to mention that there are still five thousand taels left. Father counted it as our investment.”

Why do I say that? This is how Dad calculated it: the estate and shops we bought together before, weren't they allocated to Dad, Mom, and Bao Ya?
My dad said that since you've already put that house in the county town under his name, he won't say anything more. So there's no reason for you to pay for the estate and the shop.

No rush, let me finish. That's what Mom thinks too. You and your sister-in-law are already at a disadvantage, and you're easy to talk to. She and Dad can't just let things slide.

So, my parents did the math and realized that the estate and shop were already much cheaper because of us, so my older brother and his wife would have profited.

This means that if they were to divide the estate and shops among us, my elder brother and sister-in-law, and Bao Ya in the future, we would already be at a disadvantage even if we split them equally.

You shouldn't object to this. What our parents said makes a lot of sense. It's alright between me and my older brother, and between you and your sister-in-law, but things are different when it comes to the grandson.

My dad gave me an example: if my mom gave my grandparents two shops, and they kept one for my brother and me, how would I feel?
Indeed, if I put myself in her shoes, just because my mother is willing to be filial to her parents-in-law doesn't mean I'd be happy to see them leave her things to my cousins.

I may not say it, but I'm definitely not happy inside. It has nothing to do with how much money I have in my pocket as a grandson. I would rather not have it and just leave it to my older brother.

Similarly, my elder brother and I are biological brothers, but our son and Chang Suocheng are cousins. Even if they're very close, can they be as close as biological brothers?

Impossible. Let alone cousins, even biological brothers would fight tooth and nail if their interests clashed too much.

Just like you mentioned, with the current system of primogeniture, many families with titles, even if they are brothers born of the same parents, would love to kill their eldest brother.

"Only someone like you, sir, with such an extraordinary background, are different from the brothers of families who inherit titles!"

"..." Why use someone as a metaphor? Do you want to praise what you said? Zhou Banxia glanced at him speechlessly, "That's still not five thousand taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Gu Wenxuan immediately raised his hand and counted on his fingers, "Three or four thousand taels of silver, right? Plus the money you gave our parents when they went to the capital last time."

There are other miscellaneous things, things you secretly gave to your parents, or expenses you had paid for their expenses in advance through the accounts. Five thousand taels is not much.

That's all. Right in front of me, Dad even told my older brother that this didn't even include the money we made before, which was your initial investment. Logically, you should get at least half of it.

Father said that since you refused to take it no matter what, he wouldn't bother to calculate it too clearly with you. He'd just consider it a loss for you, and this time, based on five thousand taels of silver plus carriages, horses, and guards, you'd get half.

"This is ridiculous..." Zhou Banxia chuckled. "Not only am I making money while lying down, but I'm also playing the good guy again."

Gu Wenxuan shook his head in disagreement, "How can you say that you've been the good guy? If we really look at it, you're the one who's suffered a loss, not the other way around. You've suffered a huge loss, haven't you?"
Just like my elder brother joked, it's only because of Father. If it were anyone else, they would have borrowed more than five thousand taels of silver from you. Otherwise, why would Master Yun have insisted on getting Father to partner with them?

You have no idea how much influence you have. At least when this batch of goods arrives in Tianjin, even without the help of Uncle Yun's backing, few people will dare to make things difficult for you.

"Even if you don't produce the visiting card the master gave you, everyone knows that even the Grand Canal Gang has to give you some face. Only you don't take your position as the eldest daughter of the Zhou family seriously."

"Hahaha, what nonsense!" Zhou Banxia wanted to cover her face when she heard this. "It's an exaggeration. Why didn't you say that even the Beggars' Sect gives me some face?" "You think that's not true? Not to mention far away, just in our Qingyang County area, don't even the beggars know that we have a happy event, and they come here all happy?"

Everyone knows you're kind-hearted. As long as you come and offer your congratulations, you're not only guaranteed a full meal, but you also get a lot of copper coins. No, last year they even gave you cotton-padded coats and quilts.

Although the cotton-padded jackets and quilts are old, and although everyone has their own ambitions, it's not good to make them sign indenture contracts and lose their freedom. Did you give the order?

A beggar has come. Whether he has good news or not, let him at least get some water and a full stomach. If I weren't so ruthless, this place would be the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect.

"Hahaha, are you trying to make me laugh to death? What do you mean by saying that if you weren't so heartless, I would have given people enough water to fill their stomachs first, but that was conditional, okay?"

You're making me sound like a saint. You should say the whole story, not just nitpick. Besides the twenty thousand taels of silver, how much did Master Ma's sworn brother contribute?"

I knew you'd try to change the subject again! Gu Wenxuan chuckled and pushed her forehead. "That side is only responsible for receiving and supplying goods."

So far, the total value of all the goods is about 30,000 to 40,000 taels of silver, so the other side needs to pay 20,000 taels of silver in advance to send someone to deliver the goods to Tianjin.

Of course, the so-called "cash" must be silver notes; otherwise, it would be difficult to obtain them. After paying the 20,000 taels of cash, the remaining balance must also be settled within three days after the funds are deposited and verified in the warehouse.

Mainly because it was the first time they were working together, they didn't pay a deposit in advance, so Dad and Uncle Yun discussed it and decided it would be best not to delay the final payment.

One reason was that Uncle Yun's sworn brother was loyal; he took the goods before paying a single penny, and didn't take away any profits that Uncle Yun and his father would make from the subsequent sales.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Banxia raised her right hand. "So, the other party only made a profit from the price difference between buying and selling the goods?"

"That's right, as expected of my wife, she's so clever. She understood as soon as I said it." Gu Wenxuan habitually uttered his catchphrase.

After saying that, before Zhou Banxia could react, he laughed first, "The supply price is roughly based on the price that Brother Yun mentioned in his correspondence with him."

The goods this time are quite varied, including all sorts of things, so some items haven't been priced yet. This is one of the reasons why Dad wants to set off the day after tomorrow.

Got it, there are already two reasons.

"Another reason why we don't want to delay the final payment is that, besides the fact that the other party is loyal, I think Dad means that he is afraid of scaring them away and wants to cooperate a second time."

Furthermore, if the collaboration goes smoothly, I'm even considering developing this business line. After all, such a good upstream partner is one I'd like to have too.

Exactly! He sounds like a sucker who does business based on loyalty, and she really wants a business partner like that, right? But then again...

This cooperation was based on Grandpa Yun's reputation. In the other party's mind, Grandpa Yun, their sworn brother, was worth losing 30,000 to 40,000 taels of silver.

"So, although Dad and Uncle Yun each contributed half of the capital in this collaboration, did Dad discuss with you how he and Uncle Yun would split the profits?"