Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 45: If you don’t make money, you are a fool

Just as Zhang Lao Er was about to take a nap, the half-closed door was pushed open again without warning!
Before the sound of the door opening had even stopped, Zhang Laosan's panting voice came in.

Zhang Tai quickly sat up from the couch and looked at Zhang An, who was covered in sweat, and asked, "What happened?"

"Second Brother! Lend me thirty thousand taels of silver!" Zhang An grabbed his hand tightly as soon as he came up. "Lend it to me now!"

Zhang Tai was stunned. He just blurted out 30,000 taels of silver? Did he think Zhang Tai owned a bank? "What trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

"I didn't cause any trouble! I'm going to do big business!"

As Zhang An spoke, he leaned closer and whispered the whole story in his ear.

Zhang Jing was also shocked: "How come I haven't heard about this? The government wants to expand the dock, but there's been no word about it! You haven't been fooled, have you?"

“You can’t fool him!” Zhang An slapped his thigh. “Am I blind? The clothes he’s wearing are not something money can buy! The jade he’s wearing is also top-quality! Not to mention that waist pendant!”
“When the Prince of Ji’s mansion held a wedding before, people from the imperial court came, and I saw them wearing the same thing on their waists! It was exactly the same!”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tai's expression also turned serious: "But it involves tens of thousands of taels of silver. Didn't you ask him about his background?"

Zhang An shook his head: "Do you think they're easy to fool? This is a private business. If you don't show them the money, how can they trust you? How can they tell you the truth?"

"To be honest, that young master Qin is very imposing despite his young age. If you disagree with him, he's the type to turn his back on you without hesitation!"

Zhang Tai thought it made sense, but 30,000 taels of silver was all his savings, and his third brother was always idle and had never done any business. He felt uneasy about putting the silver in his hands.

Seeing this, Zhang An said, "How about this? It won't be considered a loan from you; let's consider it a joint investment. Then we'll split the profits according to our respective percentages!"

Zhang Tai also began to waver.

We're brothers, and not lending him money would damage our relationship. But if I do lend it to him, will I get it back? And how much will I get back? He has no idea. Even if he really makes a lot of money, with his extravagant spending habits, how much will he actually save?
Partnering with him would be helping him and fulfilling our brotherly bond. If that young master Qin really is an official, then this is a sure-fire deal, and I can even make an extra profit!
It would be foolish not to make money when you can!

But he has always been cautious. Besides, he only has 30,000 taels of silver left. If he loses it, he'll be left with nothing.

He said, "Let's call our eldest brother too. He has connections with the government and knows more about things than we do. He knows whether this is true or not."

Although Zhang An was reluctant to make it public knowledge, he knew that his second son was not easy to persuade, and if he didn't put his mind at ease, the matter wouldn't be accomplished.

So she urged him to get up quickly and come towards the old house.

As soon as Zhang Qi heard that the two of them had arrived, he immediately told the housekeeper to close the door without saying a word.

Only after Zhang Qi explained that they were not there to divide the profits, but had other important business, did the butler dare to let them in.

Even so, Zhang Qi didn't give him a friendly look.

Fortunately, the second son knew his temperament well and didn't say much, but explained the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qi was also surprised: "Is that so?"

"What, you haven't heard of it either?"

Zhang Qi didn't know how to respond to that.

Because of those two scoundrels, he hasn't been in contact with the He family lately. He finally managed to get an audience with the imperial envoy, but nothing came of it. Not to mention, the three brothers' division of the family property has caused quite a stir. Even if the He family had news, why would they think to tell him?

But he couldn't lose face in front of these two.

"Of course I know about the changes at the docks, but I haven't heard about the government allocating funds. And this Young Master Qin you know, I've never even met him before?" Zhang Laosan hurriedly said, "He's traveling incognito, not really here to do grain trading, how could you have met him?"

"Then when will you let him meet me? I'll test him to see if it's true or not."

In the past, for the sake of arranging marriages for the children of both families, Old Master Xie traveled back and forth between Beijing and Tanzhou several times, and stayed at the Zhang family's house for many days.

At that time, he and Old Master Zhang talked about the affairs of the officialdom in the capital every day, and Zhang Qi overheard a lot of it.

In recent years, because members of the Su family, who are in charge of the Chamber of Commerce, also hold official positions in Beijing, he has had to pay attention to this matter. He can always tell whether someone is a fraudster or someone who truly has power and influence.

Zhang Lao Er was the first to agree: "That's exactly what I meant. As long as we confirm the other party's identity, if they are indeed an official from the capital, then we've hit the jackpot!"

He then urged Zhang Laosan, "Hurry up and make contact! We are all interested in investing and want to meet with this Young Master Qin in person to learn more about the situation."

……

When He Qu delivered Zhang Laosan's message to Shen Qingzhou, Shen Qingzhou had just received a reply from the capital.

"How is the situation in the court?"

Shen Qingzhou folded the letter: "Many generals from various parts of the Northwest have submitted memorials to the capital, alleging that the Yan family father and son embezzled military funds, which resulted in the border soldiers being unable to fight the enemy in the past few years. This matter has been confirmed by many parties."

"The Emperor was furious."

"That's great news!" He Qu exclaimed excitedly. "The Yan family's greatest asset is the Emperor. Once they lose the Emperor's trust, the Yan family's downfall is just around the corner!"

"Naive." Shen Qingzhou glanced at him and burned the letter. "They've been entrenched in the court for decades; what corner of the world doesn't have their people?"
"Although the emperor is dissatisfied, it is not enough to shake his foundation."

"I and all the people of the world bear a heavy responsibility and have a long way to go."

In his previous life, he joined forces with the censors, border generals, and various other parties to take multiple measures and ultimately succeeded in getting things done, but the Yan family still managed to escape. Now, he has only stirred up this little bit of trouble. How can he say he has succeeded?

"Go ask Lord Guo how the investigation at the Rice Market Chamber of Commerce is going. Then go and clean up the ship we ordered, and have the Zhang family members come aboard after they light the lanterns."

……

The lights are on.

The river was ablaze with the lights of fishing boats, and cargo ships of all sizes were packed together, each more extravagant than the last.

Zhang Laosan, along with his eldest and second eldest brothers, traveled in a small boat among the large ships, and finally found the target ship according to the directions left by He Qu.

Zhang Qi looked up and saw that the ship wasn't very big, only two stories, but from the outside it was decorated in a magnificent and opulent style. It didn't look like a cargo ship, but rather like a pleasure boat used by powerful and wealthy people on their southern tours.

They dared not be careless at that moment. Upon closer inspection, they saw that Zhang Laosan had already greeted the people on the boat, and some of them had come down.

The man who arrived was seven feet tall, with a long sword at his waist, and wore a very well-fitting dark robe with a badge hanging from his waist. The robe was undecorated, but the tailoring was impeccable.

Upon reaching him, the man sized him up and asked, "So the one who comes here is Third Master's elder brother, Master Zhang Qi?"

Zhang Qi hurriedly replied, "That's me!"

The man stepped aside and said, "My young master has been waiting for a long time. Please board the ship."

(End of this chapter)