Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 628 Keeping Your Word
This world is so amazing!
Jia Lian could only sigh softly.

In fact, in today's world, the ruling class of the Zhou Empire is still considered to be humane. They at least pay lip service to morality and do some things.

If you don't believe me, go and see what kind of lives the lower classes lead in London today.

Of course, they all share the same fundamental flaw: they're both inhumane, just to varying degrees.

When Jia Lian sought an audience with Li Yuan again, he was holding a revised plan.

Upon meeting Li Yuan, Jia Lian unfolded the business plan and explained the relevant matters concerning the listing of Royal Coal and Iron Group.

Don't say that the CSRC people listen to the emperor. The necessary procedures must be followed. The newly established group should produce an asset valuation table for the CSRC people to review.

According to Li Yuan, what's the point of reviewing? Wouldn't it be more efficient to just stamp it directly?
Jia Lian earnestly advised him that this was done for the benefit of the world, and that a review report should be published in the official gazette and in local newspapers.

Only after the review process can contact be made with the stock exchange to arrange the listing. The entire process must be open and transparent, or at least appear to be so.

"To establish anything, one must gain the trust of the people. In the past, Shang Yang established trust by moving a log; today, the Royal Coal and Iron Group's listing process is open and transparent." Jia Lian's words sounded good, but Li Yuan sensed something amiss. "When your railway went public, you didn't follow any procedures either." "No, that's not right either," Li Yuan thought. "The railway bureau regularly publishes all railway operating accounts."

"Your Majesty, in this peaceful and prosperous age, it is the most difficult thing to take money out of other people's pockets." Jia Lian continued to persuade him earnestly, even though he knew very well that procedural justice was a joke, but it was better to have it than not.

"Alright, we'll do as you say, sir!" Li Yuan finally realized that Jia Lian was making money legitimately, and for the imperial treasury. What a loyal subject!

Jia Lian's efforts to list the Royal Coal and Iron Group were incredibly frustrating for the Cabinet and the Six Ministries. Such a lucrative channel had been perfectly bypassed by them. Not a single penny of the profits was lost.

It's not that there was absolutely no outflow of funds, but at least taxes were paid to the Ministry of Revenue on a regular basis, that much is undeniable. All the transactions Jia Lian handled involved the regular payment of taxes to the Ministry of Revenue.

This alone makes it unique in the entire country.

However, taxes go into the national treasury and have nothing to do with going into an individual's pocket.

Inside a uniquely shaped building in the east of the city, there is a huge trading hall when you enter through the gate. Wires are strung across the floor, and clips holding bills shuttle back and forth on the wires, accompanied by the traders' hoarse shouts.
"Buy 50 lots of Beijing-Liaoning Railway at 33 yuan each!"

"Thirteen lots were sold at fifty yuan each on Jinpu Road."

……

On the blackboard on the wall, old transactions are constantly being erased, and new prices are being created.

The wealthy in the capital suddenly discovered a whole new and exciting world, where money no longer matters.

When stocks are traded privately, their prices have already increased fivefold, and many people who sold them back then are now filled with regret.

Even at the lowest price, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, which is not yet open to traffic, is priced at 20 yuan per share, a twenty-fold increase.

No business is this profitable. Although there's a 0.5% tax on every transaction here, what's a little tax? You know, buying stocks now is like making money.

After the exchange officially endorsed it, there was little activity initially, but after the New Year, the stock price began to double and surge continuously.

Anyone involved in stock trading can regularly view the financial statements of listed companies, once a quarter.

Dressed in plain clothes, Li Yuan arrived at the stock exchange. As he approached the entrance, he saw two lines of large characters written on the wall: "[Do not believe rumors] [Stock trading involves risks; invest with caution]".

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh. Risk? Heh, so much time has passed and the stock hasn't fallen; it's been rising all along.

Suddenly, the hall erupted in noise: "Another new stock has been listed!"

Several servants went out the gate and started posting notices on the bulletin board. Countless people rushed over, and Li Yuan also wanted to see them, but Hu Min desperately pulled him away.

"Read the notice aloud, it's not for nothing, you get twenty yuan for tea!" A big shot who couldn't go upstairs shouted from behind.

"Young Master Qian has given a reward, not a single word will be missing, read it out!" someone shouted from behind.

The money should be earned by the servants who post the notices. Soon, two servants read the notice aloud, and everyone could hear it clearly, including Li Yuan, who was standing at the back.

"Royal Coal & Iron Group has applied for listing. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has reviewed the application and hereby publishes the following information:..."

The Royal Coal & Iron Group is valued at 200 million yuan and has decided to go public to absorb 90 million shares, of which 50 million will enter the secondary market.

The rules have been slightly changed this time. Those who need to purchase a number should go to the offices of the four major banks to buy the number and participate in the lottery.

Buying stocks requires participating in a lottery; this is simply treating investors like dirt.

But people are just like that; the more something is like that, the more they flock to it.

The most critical issue is that stock prices on the exchange have never actually fallen.

The stamp duty collected by the exchange may seem small, but it actually amounts to hundreds of thousands of yuan every month. After deducting expenses, this money goes directly into the imperial treasury. The emperor is practically picking up money!
Li Yuan was excited to see that the stock of the Coal and Iron Group had finally been released, so he stood on tiptoe to look at the notice board. In fact, he had already seen it before, but the atmosphere was not as good as it was in person.

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry back and prepare, arrange for people to queue up overnight!"

Someone was walking and talking in hushed tones, and Li Yuan overheard them.

"Hu Min, I now finally understand why you, sir, forbade officials from buying and selling stocks!"

Hu Min remained silent. How could such things possibly be prevented? The key lay in the enforcement efforts of the relevant law enforcement agencies of the imperial court.

Wealth is a powerful motivator; who wouldn't want so much money?

Mr. Jia himself doesn't invest in stocks, but does that mean his relatives can't invest in stocks either?

"To ensure the long-term prosperity of the exchange, we still need to focus on the word 'public'," Hu Min could only offer this advice, but the chances were slim, as it was too easy to manipulate.

Li Yuan paused for a moment before saying, "Sir, you have done your best!"

There are two types of stocks: one type is traded in the trading hall, and the other type is the initial public offering (IPO) stock, which is directly arranged by Li Yuan to benefit members of the imperial family and relatives.

The initial shares were worth one yuan each, which was practically giving away money.

After the news spread, all the recent discontent with Jia Lian disappeared. Li Yuan knew very well that this was only temporary; once the stock was listed, there would still be people dissatisfied.

"Hu Min, when you get back, you'll have to work hard. The palace has allocated a budget of five million, so try your best to take care of everyone."

On the way back, Li Yuan instructed Hu Min to thank the Emperor on behalf of everyone in the palace. This incident demonstrated that Li Yuan's control over the harem had reached its zenith.

Just as he returned to the Qianqing Palace, a eunuch came to report that the Empress Dowager requested the Emperor's presence.

Li Yuan gave a helpless bitter smile, got up and went to Cining Palace.

There were two uncles present, their intentions were very clear: they wanted to buy pre-IPO shares, and they were asking for an exorbitant amount.

"Your Majesty, we don't need much, ten million shares will suffice."

Li Yuan wanted to explode on the spot, but seeing that the Empress Dowager's expression was also very unpleasant, he held back and forced a smile, saying, "I have a limited number of original shares, and there are many people who need to share the profits."

"Can others be compared to our own people? When Your Majesty was a child, I held Your Majesty in my arms, and Your Majesty even peed on me."

The speaker was his third uncle. Li Yuan maintained a forced smile. This uncle was largely responsible for the ten million yuan hole that almost cost him his right to compete for the throne.

"We'll discuss this later!" Li Yuan used a delaying tactic, smiling as he bowed and greeted Empress Dowager Zhou.

The two uncles persisted and continued to pester the emperor. Empress Zhou, unable to bear it any longer, said sternly, "You two shut up and let the emperor have some peace."

Li Yuan also knew that her heart was still with her mother's family; otherwise, she wouldn't have dug such a big pit back then, only to have it brought here by her now.

After chatting with Empress Zhou for a while, Li Yuan excused himself, saying he had something to attend to, and took his leave.

The two uncles stood up to see her off. After Li Yuan left quickly, the two uncles complained, "Big sister, why didn't you let us speak?"

The Empress Dowager angrily said, "Back then, you two acted as guarantors, almost causing the Emperor to be buried in Southeast Asia. We've never settled that score. Today, I gave you a chance to smooth things over, but you didn't say a single useful word. I've seen stupid people, but I've never seen anyone as stupid as you. Get out of here and wait for news. You are not allowed to enter the palace unless summoned."

The Empress Dowager understood Li Yuan; she knew he had already been very patient. His two younger brothers were hopelessly stupid, and the older brother who hadn't come was even more so. Anyone with a brain wouldn't have let them into the palace. If they had just stayed quiet and didn't say a word, Li Yuan might have given them some more benefits. Now, by causing trouble, they were sure to get the least benefit.

Back in the Qianqing Palace, Li Yuan recalled the events of that year. Ten million! Some of it was borrowed from his two uncles, and some were guaranteed by them. In total, it was seven million, and it was his father, the Emperor, who cleaned up the mess.

These two plots of land originally belonged to Jia Lian, but they were exchanged for land in Liaodong, which finally balanced the accounts. Later, it was announced that iron and coal mines had been discovered, which finally cleaned up the mess completely.

As for the land in Anshan, even if coal mines have been discovered, that's thanks to the man's abilities.

Li Yuan became increasingly angry and decided to make his two uncles come to their senses this time.

Three days later, when the distribution plan came out, the two uncles were so angry they jumped up and down. All three uncles were only entitled to 10,000 shares of the original stock. Wasn't this just throwing money away like a beggar?

The three brothers refused to listen and went to the palace together to request an audience, but were turned away. After discussing it, they decided to use the old method: wait at the palace gate, even if it meant setting up a tent and spending the night there, they couldn't miss this opportunity to make money.

It was obvious that Li Yuan wasn't going to give them any face this time. None of the Zhou family's servants were allowed to come near them; they wouldn't be given food or water. They were told to starve or die of thirst at the palace gates if they dared.

The three brothers weren't exactly tough guys. They couldn't even stand being outside the palace gates for a morning, let alone starve to death. They rushed off to find food and drink. But none of the restaurants along the way would serve them. Furious, the three returned home only to be blocked at the door by the Imperial Guards. No matter how much they protested, they couldn't leave.

This incident was quite a scandal, and it even made it into all the newspapers in Beijing the following day.

Li Yuan wasn't the only one surrounded; Jia Lian was too.

However, Jia Lian, who was prepared, left the city ahead of time and went to Shuiyue Nunnery, where he set up camp in a pavilion on the back mountain.

All matters are handled by the relevant officials, and everything has been arranged. Without Jia Lian's permission, anyone who dares to engage in corruption will lose their head.

The weather was still quite cool, and Jia Lian didn't suffer much in the pavilion on the back mountain, except for a few mosquito bites.

Miaoyu arrived with two servants, angrily trying to drive Jia Lian away.

“This is a place for quiet cultivation, how can you do such an indecent thing?” Miaoyu said, pointing to Jia Lian’s barbecue grill. She hadn’t originally planned to come out and chase him away, but the food smelled so good that she had sprinkled cumin on it.

"You're here! Sit down and have a couple of skewers with me!" Jia Lian greeted her with a smile. Miao Yu sat down opposite him, looking at the dripping skewers and muttering, "This is coarse food!"

Then he said some strange things, such as, "One should not be too particular about the finest food or the most delicate preparation of ingredients."

Jia Lian didn't care at all. He picked up a few skewers, put them on a plate, and pushed them in front of Miaoyu: "Try them, they're really delicious."

Miaoyu looked back and saw that the two women had already gone far away. Only then did she pick up the skewer and carefully take a bite.

Mmm, it's delicious, and then I just couldn't stop eating it.

As Jia Lian ate and chatted, he mentioned why he had come here to seek refuge. Miaoyu sighed and said, "People are blinded by profit. How pitiful and lamentable!"

Jia Lian chuckled and teased, "You live here and get two hundred taels a month, and even more during holidays. Money may just be a general equivalent, but when you can actually buy something, nobody can do without it."

Miaoyu fell silent instantly; the truth is the most hurtful thing!
Over the years, the Jia family has been covering her expenses, with neither saying a word nor asking any questions, maintaining this tacit understanding.

"You're disgusted with me?" Miaoyu asked suddenly after a long silence.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but burst into laughter. Miao Yu, enraged, got up and tried to hit him with her whisk, but she didn't hit him hard; she just tickled him.

After laughing, Jia Lian looked at Miaoyu and said, "I have been entrusted by the late emperor to take care of you for the rest of my life!"

Miaoyu blushed deeply under his gaze, got up and left without daring to look back.

The listing process of Royal Coal & Iron Group went very smoothly. Li Yuan issued 40 million original shares, which won over a large number of people.

Especially for the eunuchs and maids in the palace, Hu Min truly ensured that everyone received a share, though perhaps not much—one hundred taels each. Any extra amount was divided among those of higher status in the palace.

Even widows like Yuan Chun, the widow of the late emperor, had a quota of 10,000 yuan, which sounded very nice, as the foundation for a princess's dowry.

On the day the stock was officially listed, Jia Lian finally made his return to the public eye.

When I got up in the morning and was washing myself by the spring water, Miaoyu appeared. She sat down quietly to brew tea.

After Jia Lian finished washing up, a cup of tea was brought to him. Looking at Miao Yu, who had personally done it for him, Jia Lian laughed and said, "Don't do this, or I won't leave."

Miaoyu put down her teacup and boldly looked at Jia Lian, asking, "Do you stand by what you said that day?"

Jia Lian smiled slightly: "Of course I will keep my word. I, Jia, have always been a man of my word."

(End of this chapter)