A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 158: /? (Update )

Gao Zunfu even forgot to drink the herbal tea.

But when he saw Zhao Yutang looking at him, he also threw fried soybeans into his mouth.

He looks like a playboy.

Song Xuan took a sip of the herbal tea:
"President Zhao, although I'm not very old, I have good teeth since I was young, so I can eat more."

"But I can sense that your friend's words don't sound sincere."

"Instead, you're just testing my limits. This isn't a sincere attempt to facilitate a deal."

"Hahaha."

Zhao Yutang smiled and said, "It's me who's being reckless. I'll go back and ask him what the price should be."

Song Xuan picked up the cold tea again: "No problem, no problem."

Zhao Yutang didn't get up and leave, but smiled and said, "I'll talk to my friend about his affairs tomorrow. Instead, I'll talk about my own affairs."

"Oh?"

Song Xuan put down the tea bowl in his hand and asked, "I wonder if President Zhao has anything else to say?"

"Shi Erlang knows that I'm mainly involved in the silk business, but silk sales haven't been good in recent years. I'm just running errands for the people above me."

"Unfortunately, the river is not only frequently blocked, but also plagued by pirates who rob merchant ships. Our guild has lost a lot of goods."

"As a result, our silk trade has suffered losses to this day."

Song Xuan said "Oh" and then asked:

"Then there are water bandits in the surrounding area. Won't the government send troops to eliminate them?"

"Ah." Zhao Yutang often sighed:
"Shi Er Lang, you don't know that the Guide Army is very brave when asking for money to suppress the bandits, but they don't have the courage to actually suppress the bandits."

"I heard that the soldiers in the Xiang army can't even support their families. They themselves are very weak. It's really hard for them to go to war."

Song Xuan also indirectly explained for the Xiang army.

"I also understand that the elite divisions in the world are all Imperial Guards. Even if there are good fighters in the Guide Army, they have all been promoted to the Imperial Guards."

Zhao Yutang then changed the subject:
"Shi Er Lang, I've been trying to find a way to make up for the losses in the silk business. If you and I open a bookstore together, is that okay?"

"I'll put up five thousand strings of cash as capital, and Twelve Lang doesn't have to put up a penny. We just need to send a shopkeeper to keep an eye on the accounts, and we'll split the profits 70% and 30%."

"No."

"No?"

Zhao Yutang never thought that he would refuse so quickly.

"Yes, no!"

Song Xuan slammed the table:
"It seems so unfair of me to divide the money this way."

"If you and I really cooperate, and President Zhao takes care of this, I'll give you 30% of the profits."

"If I tell you anything, people will laugh at me. I have to split it in half!"

The corner of Zhao Yutang's mouth twitched.

Song Twelve, this little bastard, actually thought that 30% should be given to me.

He must have said that on purpose.

Even Gao Zunfu, who had been eavesdropping, couldn't stand it anymore.

Let’s not talk about Zhao Yutang’s wolfish ambitions. He wants to take everything and kick you out.

But they offered 5,000 strings of cash and asked you to provide one person to split the profits into 30% and 70%, and you still say that 30% belongs to them.

You, Song Twelve, are really a master at pretending to be confused.

Gao Zunfu felt that five thousand strings of cash was not a low amount, at least he could buy a nice house in Tokyo.

"However, 5,000 guan is not enough."

Zhao Yutang didn't know how to respond for a moment, and then he heard Song Xuan say that five thousand strings of cash were not enough?
He immediately lost his voice: "How is it possible!"

"How is it impossible?"

Song Xuan picked up a few small soybeans and threw them into his mouth:

"How can I just say this without knowing how much this deal cost me?"

"The rest of the stuff like stamps, paper, labor, etc. don't account for the majority of the cost."

"The transparent glass used for the lottery machine alone is incredibly hard to find. I spent a fortune to find it."

"President Zhao, if you and I were to join forces, we would have to go to the trouble of finding that transparent glass to make the lottery equipment."

Zhao Yutang knew very well that with those two pieces of transparent glass, everyone could feel at ease.

The lottery is fair and can be clearly seen by everyone.

"Is this outcome really beyond Shi Er Lang's control?"

"President Zhao is so good at calculating, I'm sure he's read the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. The numbers produced by this lottery machine always have the same probability."

“Only in this way can we convince people and continue the business for a long time.”

Song Xuan took a sip of herbal tea to moisten his throat. "I bet President Zhao, with all that investment, isn't thinking of doing a one-time deal, right?"

The business of this Samsung lottery is so brisk.

Zhao Yutang plans to do this for a long time.

Therefore, he reluctantly began to believe what Song Xuan said about five thousand strings of cash not being enough.

After all, such a large piece of transparent glass is extremely rare, and it contains few impurities.

Even the treasury of the Song Dynasty royal family might not have such fine glass.

This kind of thing is something you can only encounter by chance.

"I don't know where Twelve Lang got it from. I've also sent someone to buy it."

Song Xuan remained silent and did not respond.

Zhao Yutang also understood that since he hadn't given Song Xuan any benefits, how could he tell him the truth about what he knew?
"Such a commercial secret is indeed a waste of time for me, Meng Lang."

Song Xuan waved his hand:
"I bought it from that man. I wanted to get a four-sided one, but unfortunately I didn't have much money, so I took two."

"If you want to save costs, you only need one side, facing the crowd in front."

"Ah."

Zhao Yutang learned from Song Xuan that the person who sold him the colored glaze had more than just two pieces.

But Song Xuan didn’t have enough capital, so he bought two pieces.

But Zhao Yutang was not led astray by Song Xuan. He decided to mobilize his own connections to look for Liuli.

If we could find transparent glass, there would be no need to beg Song Xuan to reveal the information.

"Shi Er Lang spent so much, I'm sure he must have invested tens of thousands of taels. I will tell my friend about this."

Zhao Yutang took the initiative to say goodbye, as he had to go back and think about it.

If we copy Song Xuan's shop completely, I'm afraid the investment in the lottery machine alone will be huge.

We still need to be a little cautious.

After all, it was not a small amount of money. Song Xuan watched him walk away.

Through their own attempts, everyone indirectly achieved their goals.

Song Xuan also understood that Zhao Yutang was a man with ulterior motives, but he just couldn't figure it out at the moment, so he came here to test the waters first.

As for the transparent colored glaze that he said he had spent a huge amount of money to buy, it was all made by him, and he also made some defective products.

Anyway, the sand didn’t cost much, it’s completely free.

It was just the glass that took some time and effort.

If Zhao Yutang wanted to do this business, it just so happened that the defective "transparent glass" in his hands could be sold to him.

Anyway, Song Xuan has made up his mind that whoever comes to do this business first will be the first to make a profit!
Song Xuan understood that with the current technology for making colored glaze, it was impossible to burn something that big.

This rumor has gotten out. It seems that Zhao Si can no longer be the only one to look after the equipment. More people have to be recruited.

Although Gao Zunfu came from a military family, five thousand strings of cash were still out of his reach.

At least his own salary was really not much, only five strings of cash a month, and that was as an official.

In addition to monthly salaries, the imperial guards would also receive rice or wheat, which was enough for their family to eat, and they would also receive cloth.

They are in the central government, but are rarely caught drawing empty salaries or exploiting the blood of soldiers.

Five thousand strings of cash.

Gao Zunfu must have saved up this money by not eating or drinking for many years.

Gao Zunfu had never expected that Song Xuan's cold paste shop in the countryside could earn so much money!
It was beyond his comprehension.

Even when Gao Zunfu was stunned, he saw Song Xuan casually pick up the plate of fried soybeans:
"Brother, meeting each other is fate. If you don't mind this fried soybean, try it."

Gao Zunfu really didn't expect that Song Xuan would take the initiative to talk to him, so his brain froze and he subconsciously took the plate of fried soybeans.

"Damn it, why is my hand so obedient!"

Gao Zunfu could only smile and thank Song Xuan. He knew that fried soybeans were not to his liking and that eating too much would cause bloating.

"From your accent, you don't seem like a local."

Gao Zunfu didn't expect Song Xuan to take the initiative to talk to him. He smiled and nodded again:

"Yes, I came here to do business. I want to see what I can do to make some money."

"From Tokyo?"

Gao Zunfu subconsciously felt that he had been exposed, or someone had told Song Xuan.

"Your accent sounds like you're from Tokyo. After all, the dialect varies from place to place."

After listening to Song Xuan's explanation, Gao Zunfu pretended to laugh a few times, but in fact he was stalling for time to think about how to answer.

"Little brother, you really have a good eye."

Gao Zunfu continued to write:
"I've been wandering around Songcheng for a few days and noticed that Song Twelve's bookshop is bustling with people. Business is booming, so I wanted to take a look and learn a few tricks so I can show off my skills when I return to Tokyo."

He took out the storybook and opened it. There were quite a few lottery tickets inside:
"Unfortunately, none of the numbers I picked matched."

"Maybe you're just unlucky, brother."

Song Xuan picked up the cold tea and smiled:
"However, if you want to do my business, you need to have some strength, and the initial investment is not small."

"Besides, you're not the only one eyeing my business."

"Don't worry, Twelve Lang. I don't intend to compete with you for business in Song City."

Gao Zunfu continued with a smile on his face.

Song Xuan chuckled secretly in his heart. The conversation between him and Zhao Yutang just now was not loud.

It seems that this person's attention is completely focused on this.

However, Song Xuan was not in a hurry to expose Gao Zunfu for revealing the truth, and continued to pretend not to know and complain:
"Everyone thinks my shop is profitable, but as the owner, who knows how expensive food and daily necessities are?"

"According to my calculations, it will take several years for my shop to recoup its investment."

“If someone doesn’t win the lottery for a long time, the enthusiasm will dissipate and business will inevitably decline.”

"Even this, there are still people who want to steal my business."

Gao Zunfu listened to Song Xuan's nagging complaints and understood him a little.

Then he watched Song Xuan slowly walk back to the bookstore, casually threw a copper coin, which landed accurately in the old beggar's broken bowl, and then he walked into the house.

Gao Zunfu guessed that he went to study and then slept to rest. He spent every day like this.

What Zhao Yutang said just now was not wrong. Passing the imperial examination was the only way out for Song Xuan.

Gao Zunfu grabbed the handful of fried soybeans and left the surveillance point. He had a great harvest today.

It seems that Song Xuan has no objection to partnering with others to start the Samsung lottery business, but it will cost a lot of money.

……

Gu Zimo waited for a few days and finally saw a reply from the Dou family, saying that they would be looking for someone, the more the better.

Killer No. 2 was standing in front of him at this time.

Gu Zimo took the initiative to ask: "What star killer are you?"

Last time he misheard it and thought it was the invisible killer, but after thinking about it carefully, it should be five stars.

The killer was very confused when he was questioned like this.

What the hell is a few star killers?
Never heard of it.

However, considering that his employer was willing to pay him, he thought about it and replied with the Big Dipper:
"I am the Seven Star Killer."

"Okay, since you're the Seven Star Killer, I'll give you three kan."

Last time, the five-star killer only gave two strings of cash.

Gu Zimo immediately took out three strings of cash and handed them to him:
"Take the money and hide it well to avoid exposure. Use this money first. Do not use the gold or silver here to avoid exposure."

When the killer hired by the Dou family heard this, he took the money in confusion.

He was told that he had to follow this person's arrangements, but he didn't expect that he would give money.

The Dou family didn’t say this!
But he came here for the money, and now he has an extra two strings of cash in his pocket, so how can he not be happy?

It's a windfall.

These officials have very rich family backgrounds and can take money whenever they want.

"it is good."

Gu Zimo recalled the conversation with the first killer and couldn't let them meet each other.

This is to avoid the situation where one monk has water to drink, two monks carry water to drink, and three monks have no water to drink.

The people who assassinate Song Xuan are good. When the time comes, the saturation assassination will definitely make Song Xuan defenseless.

"Go hide near the Confucius Temple. If I see the opportunity and ask you to take action, I will hold a piece of malt sugar in my hand."

Gu Zimo said with a serious expression: "In this case, you must show up. We are discussing the assassination."

"I remember."

(End of this chapter)