This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

"Shall we go in and take a look?"

A young man dressed as a scholar tentatively spoke to his companion.

"Okay. Let's see if it's free?" his companion asked Zhang Ping'an loudly.

Zhang Ping'an smiled and said, "Of course not."

"Follow me if you want to see it." Zhang Ping'an turned and went into the shop.

Little do people know that the more free something is, the more expensive it actually is.

A group of people rushed into the shop.

Then they were stunned when they came in.

"This shop is different from the others!"

The shop that Zhang Xuanling found was quite large, but Zhang Ping'an had divided it into two parts, an inner and an outer section, by adding a partition in the middle.

Similar to a modern bank teller counter.

Above the partition, a large banner hangs.

"Investing in the stock market involves risks; please exercise caution."

Below that is a smaller line of text: Stock price fluctuations are entirely market-driven; investors are responsible for their own profits and losses. We urge all investors to make rational purchases. The final interpretation rights belong to the Dawu Stock Exchange.

On the counter was a half-meter-tall wooden sign with gold trim, black background and red lettering that read: Today's stock price is one tael.

"This shop is truly something else!"

"Yes, but I wonder what it's for?"

People whispered among themselves.

At this time, many court officials also changed into civilian clothes and came to find out what was going on.

Kong Wenxuan, the Minister of Personnel, dressed in a black robe, hid at the door and watched.

"Huh, why does this shop look like this?"

"Today's stock price? What's that?"

Kong Wenxuan thought he was knowledgeable and experienced, but once he saw what Zhang Ping'an had come up with, he immediately turned into a kindergarten child.

The Left Prime Minister also arrived, standing far behind with a cold smile on his lips.

"Hmph, I won't fall for that this time!"

"It seems that the lesson from Wenhua Garden is not enough to teach this old Kong a lesson."

Kong Wenxuan also saw the Left Chancellor, and seeing that he was hiding far away, he sneered.

"Prime Minister Lu has been swindled by the Wenhua Garden mansion again! Ha, what a coward. He's such a grown man, how could he possibly be swindled by the same person twice?"

Kong Wenxuan felt that no matter what schemes Zhang Ping'an had, as long as he was on guard, he would surely be able to find them.

Of course, he was unprepared for the house incident and hadn't anticipated it at all. Otherwise, with his intelligence, how could he have fallen for it!

Many people shared his thoughts. The Minister of Justice stood at the front, confident that he would not be tricked by Zhang Ping'an again this time.

"Who's in charge here? Tell everyone what this place does? What are stocks?"

"Yeah, what is this? I've never seen anything like it before!"

Many people were curious, and some couldn't resist asking Zhang Ping'an to explain.

Zhang Ping'an glanced at Kong Wenxuan and the others in the crowd, and seeing that most people had arrived, he began to give a brief explanation.

"Don't worry, everyone. Just think of these stocks as banknotes in a money exchange; you can exchange them for silver."

"However, the difference is that the value of stocks can fluctuate, while banknotes cannot."

The Minister of War, standing at the front, asked, "So, you mean if I spend one hundred taels of silver today to buy one hundred shares of your stock, it might only be worth ninety taels tomorrow?"

Zhang Ping'an nodded: "That's right. But, tomorrow it might become two hundred taels, or even a thousand taels."

The Minister of Revenue finally managed to squeeze in and raised his question: "Then what is the basis for these stock price fluctuations?"

"You can't just say it will go up or down whenever you want, can you?"

"That's natural. The basis for stock price fluctuations is the engineering behind them," Zhang Ping'an explained, trying to use vocabulary that people of this era could understand.

"The stocks being sold this time are related to the stone-paved road connecting the two capitals. The stocks are related to the future dividends of the stone-paved road. If everyone is optimistic about that stone-paved road, someone will naturally be willing to pay a high price to buy the stocks you hold."

"Of course, if everyone is pessimistic about that path and believes that it won't make money in the future, the stock will be sold off and the price will drop."

The Minister of Works asked, "If I buy stocks today, and the price goes up tomorrow, where do I sell them?"

Zhang Ping'an pointed to the counter: "You can sell it to us at the price of the day, or you can sell it to others at a higher price, but you need to register here to prevent being cheated."

"What if you refuse to accept our packages after the price increase? Are we supposed to take it to the authorities?"

This was a sarcastic question posed by the Minister of Personnel, who was hiding in the crowd.

"Good question!" Zhang Ping'an praised.

"If we don't accept it, you can choose to sue the authorities, or you can hold shares and become a shareholder of that road, and wait for dividends every year."

"Don't worry, everyone. We are issuing shares only to raise money for the initial road construction. We will not sell most of the shares. After all, once that road is completed, it will be a money tree that brings in a lot of money every day."

"Do you think this makes sense?"

Those who had seen the stone path from Zhuque Gate to Baiyun Mountain nodded in agreement with Zhang Ping'an's statement.

Once that road is completed, Zhang Ping'an probably wouldn't sell his shares no matter how much money was offered.

"Does anyone else have any questions? Please feel free to speak your mind."

In the crowd, everyone was whispering to each other, but no one asked any more questions.

The Minister of Revenue leaned close to the Minister of Personnel and whispered, "Brother Kong, what do you think? Is this kid really only selling his shares to raise money for the initial road construction?"

Kong Wenxuan frowned and said, "I can't see through it. I haven't discovered any conspiracy yet, and I think these shares are indeed worth buying."

"However, don't buy too much; test the waters first. If you can really buy and sell at any time, then it's not too late to increase your investment."

Kong Wenxuan was still very cautious.

Seeing that no one asked any questions, Zhang Ping'an assumed that everyone had understood, since his explanation was clear enough.

"Today is the first day. Ten thousand shares will be issued for the time being, each worth one tael of silver. Those who are interested can come and buy now."

After Zhang Ping'an finished speaking, the murmurs among the crowd grew louder, but no one stepped forward.

At this point, the crowd spontaneously parted to make way for them.

The red-robed grand eunuch, Li Dekui, walked in.

"Chief Steward Li!" Zhang Ping'an hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, bowing respectfully.

"Young Master Zhang, His Majesty bought all the stocks sold today."

Li Dekui smiled as he looked at Zhang Ping'an, his delicate fingers lightly touching Zhang's chest.

Zhang Ping'an felt goosebumps all over his body, took a step back without making a sound, and smiled.

"Then this humble servant congratulates Your Majesty on becoming one of the shareholders of the Two Capitals Expressway."

"No problem, no problem." Li Dehui looked at Zhang Ping'an with a smile. He found him pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at him, and he even wanted to adopt him as his godson.

Zhang Ping'an felt a chill run down his spine from the look in his eyes, and quickly handed him the prepared stock chart with both hands.

"Father-in-law, please accept this!"

Li Dehui glanced at the exquisitely crafted stock certificates in his hand, which came in various denominations, and his eyes lit up.

"Young Master Zhang is truly ingenious; his stock trading is even more sophisticated than his banknotes."

"You flatter me, Father-in-law!" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"Alright, I'll head back to report now!" Li Dehui gave Zhang Ping'an a deep look, then turned and left.

"Take care, Steward Li, let me see you out!" Zhang Ping'an followed him out the door.