Film and Television World Life Record

Nie Yunzhu shook her head in confusion: "Perhaps not. Yunzhu's family used to be an official family. I was considered smart and clever. My father doted on me. When I was young, he hired someone to teach me poetry and songs... I was also known as a talented woman when I was young."

"Until I was ten years old, my father committed a crime, and both my father and mother died on their way to exile. One of my aunts also remarried, and I entered the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution)."

"As for whether anyone is still alive, I haven't inquired about it over the years. Maybe there are, maybe there aren't any. Yunzhu doesn't want to know the result."

Towards the end, her voice lowered, as if she were about to shed tears.

Li Mu sighed and gently patted her hand.

"You've suffered so much, but don't worry, I'll take care of things from now on!"

Hearing Li Mu's words, Nie Yunzhu felt a sweet warmth in her heart, as if she had received a promise, and her mood improved.

Chapter 605 Sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight

Upon returning to Jiangning from his inspection of Hulu Valley, the bustling construction scene within the valley stirred Li Mu's ambition to further his career.

Taking advantage of the flood and the low land prices, Li Mu spent more than 20,000 taels of silver to buy several hills near Hulu Valley, as well as six or seven thousand acres of wasteland between the hills.

These wastelands are naturally unsuitable for farming. However, since wastelands are ubiquitous in the mountains, it would take a great deal of effort to reclaim them and several years, or even more than a decade, to turn them into farmland. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so cheap.

Li Mu didn't need these wastelands to be turned into farmland. He bought these hills and wastelands for two reasons: first, to ensure the secrecy of Calabash Valley and prevent people from accidentally wandering in from the mountains; and second, to build workshops. These areas were on the outskirts of Calabash Valley, where he could build workshops that were noisy, polluting, and lacked advanced technology.

Thirdly, as a future training base, Hulu Valley is primarily used for production. Although the valley has a large space, even with the construction of numerous workshops, there is still more than enough land to train guards.

However, since it was a private training exercise, and it was an elite force being trained, a few dozen or a hundred people would be fine. But if the number increased to a thousand or even more, the artisans of Calabash Valley would inevitably feel uneasy and suspect that their master wanted to rebel or do something that could lead to execution.

If such a misunderstanding really occurs, it's hard to say whether people can work properly, and there's even a possibility that some might secretly run away or expose the misunderstanding.

Although the largest military force near Jiangning, the Wulie Army, is under Li Mu's control, exposing it wouldn't cause him any harm, so it's best to avoid it if possible.

Li Mu is currently in a low-key development phase, needing time to accumulate strength and not wanting to cause trouble.

On the other hand, with the Wu Lie Army as cover, it would be very convenient for Li Mu to expand his army near Jiangning in the future. With the newly purchased hills and six or seven thousand acres of wasteland, it would not be impossible to train tens of thousands of elite soldiers.

At that time, we can put up signs for the Wu Lie Army and fabricate several Wu Lie Army camps near Hulu Valley. Even if there is some disturbance here, it won't be a big problem.

Considering the future flow of goods in Hulu Valley, the importance of the river leading to the Yangtze River, just two miles away, is beyond doubt, both in terms of convenience and practicality.

Li Mu didn't hesitate for long. He spent another 20,000 taels of silver to buy all the land between Hulu Valley and the river, totaling more than 1,600 mu (a little over one square kilometer).

At the same time, a group of disaster victims were recruited to repair and expand the wharf and build the main road from the entrance of Hulu Valley to the wharf.

In this way, from production to transportation and loading, everything takes place within their own territory, ensuring a certain level of security and privacy.

……

In Hulu Valley, a large number of disaster victims were hired, and construction was in full swing.

On the other side, Xi Junyu, the manager of Su Family Cloth Shop, came to a restaurant that day. He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, quietly entered a private room. Inside were Wu Qilong, the eldest son of the Wu family, and Wu Qihao, the second son.

The Wu family and the Su family are both in the cloth business and are rivals. In the past, Wu Qilong, the eldest son of the Wu family, often boasted about his admiration for Xi Junyu and even tried to poach him on several occasions.

Xi Junyu remained unmoved until today, but for some reason, he secretly came to see him.

Half an hour later, the two seemed to have reached an agreement on something and raised their glasses for a drink. Xi Junyu then stood up and said, "Gentlemen, I still have some matters to attend to. How about we have another drink after that? I'll take my leave now."

Wu Qilong laughed heartily: "Brother Xi is right. After things are settled, we'll have a good drink together."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Xi Junyu quietly left the restaurant.

In fact, he did not want to do this. The Su family and the Wu family were mortal enemies in the business world, and their competition was fierce in the past. As the manager of the Su family, he was now betraying the Su family and siding with the Wu family.

However, he used to have feelings for the Su family, so he naturally rejected the Wu family. Now that those feelings are gone, what does it matter to him whether the Su family prospers or declines?

Thinking of this, a beautiful figure inevitably appeared in my mind: Su Tan'er, the future head of the Su family business.

Back then, when he had just become the manager, Su Tan'er, who was only fourteen years old, showed remarkable business talent. Under the deliberate guidance of Old Master Su, Su Tan'er began to work with him and the other managers, discussing various business strategies together.

The girl was very intelligent, occasionally had amazing ideas, and had a gentle and humble personality. She was polite to everyone, and even very tolerant to her servants.

People would say strange things and gossip because she was a woman and went out to do business, but she never got angry.

Even if she felt wronged, she would just purse her lips and remain silent.

Xi Junyu thought to himself that there was such a beautiful and intelligent woman in the world, and he admired her greatly.

Speaking of which, Xi Junyu also came from a poor family. His mother died early, and his father was sick and an alcoholic. Although he was intelligent from a young age, he only studied for a few years before he could no longer continue.

Later, he found a job as a helper at the Su family's cloth shop to earn some pocket money to supplement his family's income. He demonstrated remarkable abilities at the Su family's cloth shop and was quickly promoted and given important responsibilities. He was nurtured and became the youngest manager in the Su family business community. He also gained some reputation in Jiangning's business circles and was considered a promising young talent.

Many businesses tried to poach him, including the Wu family, but he wasn't tempted and has stayed with the company ever since.

The kindness and generous treatment from the Su family in raising her were only one factor; the main reason was the young girl.

At that time, he and the young woman who had already shown promise worked together very well as the shopkeeper. He could make up for any mistakes Su Tan'er made in time, which made him have some unrealistic thoughts.

In particular, one day he heard that Old Master Su did not want Su Tan'er to marry out of the family and intended to choose a husband for Su Tan'er to marry into the family. He was tempted and did not reject the idea of ​​marrying into the family.

His family background was poor and his origins were unchangeable. Even if he had some talent in business, what good would it do? He would still be working for others and doing all the work for them.

Thinking about it this way, marrying into another family isn't actually that unacceptable.

In addition, the two have worked together for many years and understand each other's abilities and personalities. With such tacit understanding, they would be ideal partners after marriage.

Even if people bring up his past in the TV drama "The Son-in-Law," he doesn't care. As long as he has time to showcase his abilities, others will naturally look at him with new respect. One year, two years... everything will change.

Unfortunately, things in this world rarely go as planned, and the marriage proposal fell through before it even began.

He knew that the Su family must have considered him, but ultimately quietly ruled him out. The old man made the final decision and chose a scholar who knew nothing about business.

In his disheartened state, he silently asked himself countless times why. He and Su Tan'er worked together so well, had served the Su family for so many years, and were among the most capable. They were clearly the most ideal candidate. Why did they abandon him and choose a scholar instead?

Finally, he came to the conclusion that the Su family did not need a son-in-law who was too capable, ambitious, and difficult to manage.

His exceptional abilities had become a flaw, a thought he often chuckled to himself, feeling quite resentful.

When he first heard the news, he considered going directly to Su Tan'er to express his feelings of love. However, when he actually stood before her, he realized that this girl had always maintained a distance from others. She might be gentle and intelligent, or playful and humorous, but most of the time, she would remain neutral and an observer, learning as she went.

At that moment, he suddenly realized that he couldn't bring himself to say those words of admiration, because the other person wasn't as affectionate towards him as he had imagined.

Subsequently, Su Tan'er got married. The son-in-law, whom he had initially thought was just a weak scholar, turned out to be a great talent. The two were a loving couple, and his hopes for the future were finally dashed, leading him to consider leaving the Su family.

However, after serving the Su family for so many years, he was unwilling to leave just like that, which led to the scene just now.

With these thoughts in mind, a carriage quickly approached. The coachman asked, "Manager, where to next?"

Xi Junyu thought for a moment, "To the Su residence." With that, he got into the carriage, the driver gave a shout, and the carriage clattered away down the long street.

In the reception room of the Su family residence, Xi Junyu was reporting on the progress of his business to Su Tan'er.

"The matter with Manager Yu at Siqingfang has been settled. We can deliver the goods to them before the sixth day of the ninth lunar month..."

He talked about the Siqingfang incident, the recent disaster, and its impact on the Su family's business, knowing that Su Tan'er was quite concerned about these things.

Su Tan'er listened intently, holding her teacup, occasionally nodding and asking a few questions.

After chatting for a while, Xi Junyu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said, "Boss, there are some things I shouldn't have asked, but there have been quite a few changes in the business recently, so I still want to ask: do you want to obtain a palace permit and become an imperial merchant?"

Su Tan'er looked at him with some surprise, seemingly not expecting him to ask such a question.

Xi Junyu shook his head and said, "Even if you don't answer, I can guess. For so long now, the Su family has been intercepting funds in various places, so you've obviously been making preparations. I don't know when you came up with this idea, maybe you've been thinking about it for years, using the palace permit to become an imperial merchant. But, this matter is not that simple."

Since the Treaty of Shanyuan, the demand for cloth has been a headache, as the annual tribute to the Liao Dynasty included a certain amount of silk.

The annual demand for 300,000 bolts of silk is no small amount, yet the imperial court could not offer a price for such a huge quantity of cloth, and the price was even much lower than the market price.

Of course, becoming a royal merchant would certainly grant certain privileges, so some large merchants would adopt a strategy of low profit margins and high sales volume, or simply not consider making money, taking orders paid in tribute, and using the privileges granted by the court to develop other businesses.

The Su family may lack sufficient resources to take on a small portion of the annual tribute orders, but once they accept an order from the royal family, they don't care about your buffer time; you must deliver on time.

To avoid disrupting the existing business, a new workshop and new sources of materials are needed, requiring a huge investment but yielding very little profit.

Unless they improve their technology, reduce costs, and increase profits, or seize the opportunity to become a supplier of tribute goods, using higher-quality silk and better dyes to capture a portion of the palace's more profitable high-end demand and build their reputation.

However, whether it's improving new technologies, reducing costs, or developing better dyes to meet the palace's high-end demands, all of these are extremely difficult.

As Xi Junyu spoke, he looked at Su Tan'er and paused slightly.

“I know you’re improving new technologies in order to reduce costs and increase profits, and you can make money just as much from the tribute orders. If it were a few years ago, I would definitely support you doing this, but have you considered the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, such as whether the court will still need tribute next year or the year after?”

Su Tan'er finally spoke: "Manager Xi, do you... think the imperial court won't need to pay tribute next year and the year after?"

Xi Junyu shook his head and said, "Master, look at the current situation in the world. The Liao and Jin kingdoms are on the verge of war. Once war breaks out, it will be like two tigers fighting, and one of them will surely be injured. Our dynasty is waiting in comfort, and it is hard to say whether we will still need to pay tribute in the future."

"If you no longer need the annual tribute, or the demand for the annual tribute decreases, and you have built a large number of new workshops... what will you do if there is nothing to produce and you have invested so much money to create a deficit?"

Su Tan'er was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Manager Xi, what do you think of the Jin and Liao countries?"

Xi Junyu paused for a moment: "A wolf in sheep's clothing, crude and brutal, a barbarian."

Su Tan'er said, "We all know they are wolves in sheep's clothing, crude and cruel, so why would you think the victor would cancel the tribute?"

Xi Junyu said, "When two tigers fight, they are exhausted. Our dynasty is in a state of rest and waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out. How dare we ask for tribute?"

Su Tan'er sighed and said, "But we've been giving you money every year since I was born."

"Some things are hard to say, of course I also hope that we can defeat the Liao and Jin people, but... we've never won!"

"The Treaty of Shanyuan more than sixty years ago, the Treaty of Heishui seven years ago, and now the Jin Kingdom has joined the fray. What will happen if a war breaks out? Will we really not have to pay tribute again?"

As she spoke, her voice grew somewhat somber: "I also hope that our dynasty can win. If one day the army sets out, my grandfather and father have already prepared the funds to help with the military expenses. But if we ultimately fail to win, then... what will we do! Will we have to pay even more in tribute?"

Looking at the silent Xi Junyu, Su Tan'er continued, "Of course, if the two tigers fight and both are injured, and our dynasty doesn't need to pay any more tribute, that would be the best outcome. Our Su family would be willing to accept the loss. Besides, the improved looms have lower production costs and a greater competitive advantage, allowing us to seize more market share. Even if we lose a little in the short term, we'll still make a profit in the future. It's the other cloth merchants who should be worried!"

Xi Junyu was taken aback, not expecting the other party to have this idea, but it did make some sense.