Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

"Brand...style?"

Shi Buji and Yan Xiaoliu exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.

Gu Mingyue spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Our Pujitang takes the high-end route. Our medicinal herbs are top-grade, and our factory buildings have to match. Have you ever seen a luxury goods workshop using pine wood to build its sheds?"

"So our standard is: not the best, but the most expensive!"

If that's the case, how will she spend all the money in the remaining time?!

Shi Buji thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense.

The boss is indeed farsighted, far beyond the reach of ordinary people like us!

So, filled with admiration, Shi Buji picked up the list, took two assistants, and set off.

Before leaving, Yan Xiaoliu patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, boss!! I guarantee I'll buy you the best quality!"

Gu Mingyue nodded and earnestly instructed, "Remember! Get the most expensive one."

Two groups of people went out the door.

Gu Mingyue sat alone at the table and glanced at the remaining credit limit on the system screen.

49000 taels

It must be cleared within two days.

But simply buying materials is far from enough; we need to invest in something else.

"Master! Something big has happened!"

Yan Xiaoliu returned in a flurry of activity less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Gu Mingyue put down the account book in her hand. "Speak."

Yan Xiaoliu, panting heavily, pointed outside the shed.

"More people are coming! Over a thousand! They're from the Jiangzhou direction! They said they heard from a fellow villager that our Puji Hall is hiring, with room and board included and a monthly salary of five taels!"

Gu Mingyue got up and walked outside the wooden house, looking up at the view.

On the official road leading to Jiangzhou to the west, a dense mass of people stretched for half a mile.

Some were carrying bedding rolls, some were carrying tattered baskets, some were carrying elderly people on their backs, and some were holding children.

They all surged towards the direction of Pujitang.

Gu Mingyue stared at the slowly moving stream of people, her mind racing.

Although they have plenty of money, managing a team of 1,500 people is already their limit.

There is no established management team, no middle-level backbone, and information is not flowing smoothly.

If another thousand people are crammed in, and they eat, drink, relieve themselves, and sleep all in this piece of land in the west of the city, something bad will happen in less than three days.

Meanwhile, the King of Qi's spies were lurking in the shadows.

When the disaster victims protested, the Gu family was dragged out and sacrificed to the heavens.

Gu Mingyue withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the carriage.

"Tell the newcomers that the West City Workshop is full."

Yan Xiaoliu was taken aback.

"What about them?"

"I have other plans."

Gu Mingyue jumped onto the carriage and threw a sentence at Taozhi.

"Go back to the manor. Find my brother."

The East Courtyard of the Prime Minister's Residence.

Gu Mingli was practicing the seaweed dance in front of a bronze mirror.

Her two arms were like two tree branches snapped off by the wind, swaying from side to side at completely different rhythms.

Coupled with his serious scholarly face, the overall style exudes an air of "mental instability".

"elder brother."

Gu Mingyue pushed open the door and was indeed "shocked" when she saw this eye-watering scene.

She rubbed her forehead, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

"...Never mind, we'll talk about that later. Business is more important."

She went straight to the study, took the map of Jiangzhou from the bookshelf, and spread it on the table.

"Brother, more than a thousand more disaster victims have arrived."

Gu Mingli lowered his arm and walked over to look at the map. "They've all flocked to the capital region?"

"The news spread faster than an urgent message delivered by express courier. The phrase 'food and lodging included, monthly salary of five taels' spread among disaster victims at a rate comparable to modern short video algorithm recommendations."

Gu Mingli frowned. "What do you plan to do? If there are too many people, there will be a riot."

"We can't let them all crowd into the capital region."

Gu Mingyue pointed to the location of Jiangzhou on the map with her finger.

"They need to go back."

"Go back?" Gu Mingli was taken aback. "All three counties in Jiangzhou are flooded. The fertile fields are submerged. What's the point of going back? To plant rice or lotus flowers?"

"That's why we need a top-performing professor like you to give advice on agriculture."

Gu Mingyue dragged a chair over and sat down, placing her hands crossed on her knees.

"It is a fact that Jiangzhou cannot resume farming in the short term."

"But the disaster victims cannot stay in the Gyeonggi region and live off relief indefinitely. We must find an industry so that they can have work, earn money, and be self-sufficient after returning to their hometowns."

"Brother, with a terrain like Jiangzhou that's so densely covered in waterways, what else can you do besides farming?"

Gu Mingli stared at the map, his gaze falling on the crisscrossing rivers and lakes of Jiangzhou.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Raising ducks."

Gu Mingyue raised an eyebrow.

Gu Mingli's gaze instantly shifted from the blank stare he had just displayed while practicing the seaweed dance to that of a confident and composed university professor.

"Jiangzhou is located on the alluvial plain of the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River, with a well-developed water system and numerous lakes. After floods, large areas of shallow water mudflats will form in the low-lying areas. At present, this area is not suitable for growing crops, but it is a natural and excellent place for raising waterfowl."

He reached out and drew a circle on the map.

"Look at these counties, they're all located at the confluence of river networks. The aquatic plants are abundant, there's plenty of plankton, and fish, shrimp, and snails are everywhere. You can put ducks in the water and they don't even need to be fed; they can eat their fill on their own."

"The cost of raising them is low, and most locals have some experience."

Gu Mingli got more and more excited as he spoke.

"The core costs of waterfowl farming are only two: ducklings and labor."

"Ducklings can be purchased from surrounding counties and prefectures, costing only one cent per duckling. As for labor, the disaster victims returning to their hometowns are readily available labor."

"We also need to consider output, after all, what if King Qi comes to investigate again..."

"Duck eggs, duck down, duck meat—these are all essential consumer goods. Especially duck down..."

Gu Mingli pinched his chin and paused.

"There is no systematic down processing technology at this time. If I teach them modern down cleaning and sorting processes..."

He stopped and exchanged a glance with Gu Mingyue.

The brother and sister thought of the same thing at the same time.

"Winter coats filled with duck down."

Gu Mingyue leaned back in her chair.

In the winter of the Dayong Dynasty, the rich wore fur coats, while the poor wore cotton-padded jackets with catkins.

The concept of down being warm simply doesn't exist in this era.

If we could process duck down into warm filling and make it into winter clothing...

"Stop!" Gu Mingyue covered her forehead. "We're here to spend money!"

Gu Mingli also realized the problem, and his expression froze.

The brother and sister were silent for three seconds.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's not worry about making money for now."

Gu Mingyue took a deep breath and forcibly brought her thoughts back on track.

"The most important thing right now is to evacuate the excess disaster victims from the capital region back to Jiangzhou."

"Keep them busy and prevent them from causing trouble. As for the subsequent output, keep it as a new project for our cheap daddy to continue investing in."

She stood up and patted the map.

"I personally went to Jiangzhou to conduct on-site inspections. Site selection, cooperation negotiations, and industrial chain layout were all completed in one trip."

Gu Mingli straightened his robes. "I'll go with you. Jiangzhou isn't far anyway, we can be back the same day. I'm worried about you going out alone, a young girl like me."

Gu Mingyue looked at him. "Aren't you going to the palace tonight?"

"Yes, I have a day off today. His Majesty will choose me for the evening after tomorrow."

Gu Mingyue: "..."