Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 246 The Foundation of Cooperation
Qin Zhao was filled with sadness after meeting the little girl from the Tian family, but he could only restrain his almost overflowing sympathy and go to see Zhang Yanling.

In the new workshop laboratory, Zhang Yanling was wearing a strange white suit and doing his experiments.

"Second son."

Qin Zhaoli greeted people at the door of the laboratory but did not rush in.

Zhang Yanling took off his goggles, tidied himself up briefly, then went out to the yard and took a few deep breaths of fresh air.

Qin Zhao asked, "What is the Second Young Master doing?"

"Do some research."

Zhang Yanling said it as if it was a common thing, "As a great alchemist... no, I should say as a chemist, I should always put experiments first, because experiments are the only way to test theorems."

"..."

Qin Zhao was speechless for a moment.

What is all this mess?

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile: "Did Mr. Qin just go to see her?"

"She has seen him, and has been told about the Zheng and Tian families. She will stay there peacefully. I wonder when the Second Young Master will take her in as his concubine?"

Qin Zhao asked with a smile.

"Cough cough."

Zhang Yanling coughed twice to hide his embarrassment, then said, "Master Qin, are you joking with me?"

Qin Zhao said: "Second Young Master should be very clear about the key to cooperation between officials and businessmen. The Tian family is now a dead ashes. If they want to revive, they can only rely on your blessing. In addition to taking over the house, is there any other way to create a more solid cooperative relationship?"

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Isn't there still a cooperation model with Mr. Qin? Just give me money."

"The problem is that they don't have the money right now."

Qin Zhao shook his head and said, "Because of the official suppression, their family will not have the opportunity to earn enough start-up capital in the short term."

"This is quite troublesome... Master Qin, do you think my age is suitable for thinking about unrealistic things? And there is no need for me to have a child bride by my side, who is two years older than me... This is... a headache."

Zhang Yanling frowned, as if he was really thinking about this issue.

Qin Zhao nodded, and said, "The Second Young Master likes younger ones."

"..."

Now it was Zhang Yanling's turn to be speechless.

Sure enough, the thinking of these businessmen is different from that of ordinary people. They are all thinking about how to deepen cooperation.

Merchants have a low status, so if they want to gain the support of those in power, they must show "sincerity", which is nothing more than the four elements of wine, sex, money and anger.

Among them, money and sex are the most direct.

Qin Zhao seemed to realize that it was inappropriate to always talk about this topic. After all, it was the Tian family's business, not her own business.

She immediately took on the attitude of a strong woman and asked, "Second Young Master, the matter of the telescope and the soap may have come to an end, but both of them have been targeted by Eunuch Liang. He does not seem to have completely lost his power at the moment. If we rashly make these two things and sell them to the public, they will definitely be discovered by him."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Master Qin is worried that we will lose a big chunk of the money we make from our business partnership?"

"Ah."

Qin Zhao did not hide the truth and nodded, "We agreed to do the soda ash business before, but if the good products made from soda ash cannot be sold, it will be a big blow to us. Of course, I also know that the second young master has other plans. After all, everything is to pave the way for the crown prince to consolidate his position as the heir to the throne."

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Are you afraid that the five thousand taels of silver you invested will not only not be recovered, but will also become a wedding dress for others, and I will use it to consolidate my position as the crown prince?"

Qin Zhao said: "I don't dare to have such thoughts. It is good to be able to help the prince, but..."

"Ah."

Zhang Yanling nodded in understanding.

He knew that Qin Zhao was afraid of investing in the prince because the cycle was long and the rate of return was unpredictable. After all, no one thought that the current emperor, who was around 40 years old, would die within half a year.

"It seems that the glass business can no longer be carried out, right?"

Qin Zhao asked again.

Zhang Yanling continued to nod: "I transferred the business to the Zheng family before. Liang Fang is probably looking around for who is behind him. All related businesses should be put aside."

"That……"

Qin Zhao seemed very embarrassed.

Zhang Yanling thought for a moment and asked, "Can Master Qin wait?"

"How long?"

Qin Zhao asked back.

"It may take half a year at the shortest, or a year at the longest. I won't tell you what will happen during this period, but at least after this period, we can smoothly advance the glass and soap business. Before that, I just need to concentrate on making soda ash."

Zhang Yanling was not in a hurry at all.

Qin Zhao would naturally wonder what might happen during this period of time, but of course she would not think about the emperor's death.

She felt that this was not what Zhang Yanling was talking about.

If the emperor had not passed away, Liang Fang would have lost power during this period, and no one would have been able to stop the expansion of Zhang Yanling's business empire.

"Master Qin, I heard that the official salt business is not doing well this year."

Zhang Yanling didn't wait for Qin Zhao's reply, but intentionally changed the subject and asked with a smile.

"Yes."

Qin Zhao said, "Because of this, most of the merchants in Huizhou cannot guarantee their profits this year and may have a hard time making ends meet."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "So you have higher expectations for my business? I still say the same thing. If you want to withdraw your investment within six months, just tell me anytime and I will return the five thousand taels of silver to you intact."

"will not."

Qin Zhao's answer this time was quite straightforward. "Being able to cooperate with the Second Young Master means a lot of money in the future. How could I be so short-sighted? I just hope that the Second Young Master... can speed up the development of the industry and see the income sooner!"

"it is good."

Zhang Yanling was very satisfied with Qin Zhao's attitude and nodded in approval. "I will write another plan for you in the next two days. But I'm actually very busy recently. I have to write storybooks when I have nothing to do. I have to write until the early hours of the morning. It's really tiring. I can say that I racked my brains. After all, I'm not a god and can't recite the whole text..."

"Ah? What are you talking about?"

Qin Zhao's eyes widened, a look of confusion on his face.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "I won't go into details. You can read my plan in a few days."

……

Forbidden City.

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Jianshen climbed out of the couch early in the morning. Just as he said, he had indeed slept less recently. And because he was worried, he was full of anticipation this morning. He could clearly sleep a little longer but he couldn't.

“Has it been delivered?”

There was a slight noise outside, so Zhu Jianshen asked.

Qin Chang also heard that the emperor had woken up, and dragged his tired body to serve him.

The emperor could go to bed early and get up early, but Qin Chang needed to review memorials on behalf of the emperor after nightfall. He had limited abilities, and the two guys in the cabinet were just idling around, so many things in the court required him to rack his brains.

I feel anxious every day.

"It hasn't been delivered yet..."

Qin Chang walked in and replied.

"Ugh!"

Zhu Jianshen sighed in disappointment, and then asked, "Are you not coming to submit the manuscript today? Otherwise, send someone to the East Palace to ask?"

Qin Chang said, "Your Majesty, it's only dawn outside, I'm afraid the prince hasn't gotten up yet."

Zhu Jianshen frowned and said, "Then let him send someone to deliver the written work to me before he goes to sleep, so that I can see it when I wake up in the morning. Isn't that better?"

"This……"

Tan Chang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will tell the prince."

At this moment, Wei Tai's voice came from outside: "Here he comes, Qin Ji is here."

Knowing that the emperor liked to read storybooks and that the prince would submit his manuscripts every morning, the two bigwigs from the Imperial Household Department took the opportunity to join in the fun.

After all, when the emperor is happy, anyone who hangs around in front of him will be remembered, and any small contribution will be considered a meritorious performance.

Zhu Jianshen hadn't even put on his clothes properly and was about to get out of bed. Qin Chang hurried over to help him put on his shoes.

Zhu Jianshen looked at the slightly dim hall and ordered, "Light the lamps. I can't sit on the couch and watch."

Qin Chang was startled for a moment, then realized that the emperor had learned his lesson from sitting for too long yesterday and his legs were numb, so he prepared to go to the desk to read.

"It's time to light the lamp."

Qin Chang glanced out the window and said, "The sun hasn't risen yet. Reading in the dark will hurt your eyes."

Wei Tai first asked the eunuch to go into the inner hall to light the lamps, while he ran out to meet Tan Ji.

Without letting Tan Ji into the Qianqing Palace, Wei Tai simply asked a few questions about the situation in the Eastern Palace, then took the things, sent Tan Ji away, turned around and trotted into the inner hall, respectfully placing the manuscript on the desk in front of the emperor.

Zhu Jianshen looked at the thick pile of manuscripts on the table and said with a smile, "I wrote a lot today."

"Yes."

Tan Chang responded with a smile.

Wei Tai said, "Tan Ji said earlier that the prince has not rested yet. He has been busy since yesterday morning and has not even closed his eyes. Everyone in the East Palace is helping the prince... In addition to the prince and Tan Ji, the princess also helped."

After Wei Tai said this, he watched the emperor's reaction.

Zhu Jianshen did not react much, but just nodded slightly. Wei Tai thought to himself that this was probably a disguised affirmation for the emperor who ruled the world.

Then Zhu Jianshen, like a long-hungry reader, read the manuscript presented by the prince with great interest.

Qin Chang and Wei Tai did not want to disturb them, so they bowed and left the hall, but did not go far away and waited nearby.

"Eunuch Qin, this is really bizarre. How can His Majesty be so passionate about a storybook? This is considered as forgetting to eat and sleep, right? By the way, were those manuscripts written by the prince?" Wei Tai asked.

Tan Chang laughed and said, "If it was written by the prince, how could it be copied by several people together? In fact, it is just copying what others have written in advance."

Wei Tai said: "That's all?"

Qin Chang shook his head and said, "You sound simple, but there is a lot of tricks behind it. The prince wrote it himself, which means that the prince is devoted to Your Majesty and has a heart of loyalty and filial piety. If the prince can't do it alone, he can ask the people around him to help, so Your Majesty won't say anything. The prince's move can be said to be simple in the emperor's heart!"

Wei Tai asked curiously: "Why not just donate the manuscript?"

"Do you know what the manuscript says?" Qin Chang asked.

"This……"

Wei Tai was speechless for a moment.

Qin Chang said, "Isn't that right? The manuscript came from the people after all. The handwriting is rough and sloppy, but I don't know if it was written by a poor scholar or a low-class storyteller. How can it be qualified to be accepted by your majesty? Besides, how can directly handing in the manuscript show the prince's filial piety?"

Wei Tai praised: "Why do I feel that the prince is very different this year?"

Qin Chang said: "The prince has become more mature after getting married, and more and more people in the court are helping him. For example, Li Zisheng used to wear the same pants as Liang Fang, but what about now? From what I know, the family of the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace is not simple."

Wei Tai nodded: "Yes, I heard that it can even prevent and treat smallpox. Now there are many people in the palace who grow medicine. After February this year, there has not been a single smallpox outbreak reported in various parts of the north. It is amazing."

Qin Chang laughed and said, "Do you think that's all he is capable of? You are the supervisor of the East Factory, you wouldn't even know where the prince got the manuscript from, right?"

Wei Tai looked ashamed and said, "Of course I know. Tan Ji brought him into the palace from the Zhang family."

"Isn't that it?"

Qin Chang said, "It seems that after the Crown Prince got married, not only did the officials of the Eastern Palace help him a lot, but even the Crown Princess's family members began to help. In the past, everyone pushed when the wall fell, and it seemed that everyone put Empress Wan's will first, but now... it seems that all this will has been transferred to the Crown Prince."

Wei Tai said with emotion: "Then the position of the crown prince is really..."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Qin Chang looked around and warned in a low voice, "We cannot discuss the affairs of the Heavenly Family casually, otherwise we will be the next Liang Fang. Look at him, he went against Heaven, and now it is obvious what his fate is."

"Then what happens next..."

Wei Tai asked Qin Chang for instructions.

Tan Chang waved his hand and said with a smile: "Just follow God's will, and you won't go wrong."

Wei Tai understood instantly.

The so-called following God's will, isn't that just helping the prince?
(End of this chapter)