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

The audience in the stadium had mostly dispersed.

Some staff members in the stands began cleaning up the area.

Inside the main viewing platform pavilion, the four were still discussing their next strategy.

One hour later.

Xiao Ye took a sip of tea and spoke calmly.

"Then let's proceed according to this plan, each of us going our separate ways."

He said to King Qi, "You are in charge of arranging things in Lingzhou."

Xiao Jue closed his folding fan and replied with a smile, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, I am most skilled at acting."

Xiao Ye then looked at Gu Mingyue: "The matter of collecting grain will be handled secretly by Puji Hall."

Gu Mingyue nodded, "No problem."

Finally, Xiao Ye looked at Gu Mingli.

"Mingli, you and Pei Yu will represent the court to establish contact with the nobles who trade grain at the imperial palace."

Gu Mingli gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, I'll go tonight."

After assigning tasks, the four of them got up from the stands and left.

A showdown with the Cui family has quietly begun to unfold.

In the carriage returning to the city.

Gu Mingyue and her brother sat in the carriage, remaining silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

"Brother, don't you think the emperor is much more shrewd than what 'Future Headlines' portrays us to be?"

Gu Mingli hummed in agreement, stroking his chin as he pondered.

"It feels like 'Future Headlines' is based on the original script. Huang Jiaojiao seems to be someone outside the script, just like us..."

At this point, the brother and sister looked at each other for a long time, and both got goosebumps.

Gu Mingyue said, "Although we don't know if Huang Jiaojiao is a time traveler, we can at least be sure that his goal is to eliminate the powerful clans and restore peace and tranquility to the world."

Gu Mingli nodded.

"That's right. He was a dedicated and good emperor."

Gu Mingyue gently waved the round fan in her hand.

"So, all we need to do in this disaster relief effort is keep our father from rebelling."

In the following days, the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition was in full swing.

The daytime matches were increasingly exciting, and the area near the logistics park's commodity market was becoming more and more popular.

After finishing his own team's match every morning, Gu Mingli would change into casual clothes in the afternoon and mingle in the palace to organize the evening exchange meeting.

The side hall in the east courtyard of the imperial palace was temporarily converted into a reception room.

Tea and snacks filled the table, with more than a dozen low tables pushed together.

Because of Lord Gu's outstanding performance on the field, he is now seen by everyone as an unattainable figure, like the bright moon in the sky.

So when Young Master Gu came to chat with them, everyone was exceptionally enthusiastic.

Over the course of a few days, 19 out of the 27 grain merchants had already privately confirmed establishing clandestine business relationships with the imperial court.

The remaining eight young masters were less daring and all said they couldn't make the decision.

They all sent messengers on horseback to inquire about their fathers' or grandfathers' opinions.

Pei Yu is continuing to follow up.

The night grew deeper.

Four multi-tiered lamp stands were lit on an open space by the stream at Juhong Mountain Villa on the outskirts of Beijing.

Gu Mingyue stood in front of a wooden board with a simplified version of the "Logistics Station Workflow Diagram" drawn on it, explaining the workflow.

On the chart, arrows point from "Receiving" to "Warehouse," then to "Dispatch," then to "Shipping," and finally to "Signing."

Each step has a note or precaution written next to it.

More than three hundred illegitimate sons sat in the audience.

Each of them had an account book and a pen, and they were diligently making records.

The air was filled with the scent of flowing water, and the chirping of insects could be heard in the distance.

But nobody cared.

Because they were all studying with complete concentration.

"The step of receiving and inspecting goods is the one where mistakes are most likely to occur."

Gu Mingyue used charcoal to circle the character "验" on the wooden board.

"Check the quantity of goods, whether the condition is damaged, and whether the packaging is intact. These three things must be verified on the spot and written down in black and white on the receipt."

She turned around, her gaze sweeping over the faces below who were diligently taking notes.

"The invoice is made in triplicate. One copy is kept at the station for filing, one copy travels with the goods, and one copy is sent back to headquarters. Not a single one can be missing."

A young man in a bamboo-green robe raised his hand from the audience.

"Boss, if the goods are damaged during transportation, who is responsible?"

"Good question."

Gu Mingyue drew a square on the blank space of the wooden board and wrote the four words "Division of Responsibilities".

"We'll discuss this part tomorrow. Today, let's thoroughly understand the basic procedures."

The young master nodded obediently, lowered his head, and continued writing furiously.

Gu Mingyue looked at the group of young men below, who were earnestly discussing business knowledge, and smiled with satisfaction.

These spoiled brats, used to being scolded at home for being "uneducated and incompetent," are now studying even harder than they did for the imperial examinations.

People are not born superior or inferior.

It's not that some people will necessarily succeed while others won't.

That's just that they haven't found the right opportunity to succeed at the right time.

Now that Pujitang has given them the opportunity to succeed, no one wants to miss out on it.

The training lasted until 9 PM.

The illegitimate sons walked in twos and threes toward their respective wooden houses.

Some people were still on the road, answering each other's questions and repeating the process they had learned that night.

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Revenue in the capital.

King Xiao Jue of Qi has appeared here for three consecutive days.

Every time he came, he brought a roll of blueprints, which, when unfolded, was about half a meter long.

The map depicts a grand commercial city.

The words "Lingzhou Logistics Commodity City" were clearly marked at the top of the drawing.

Xiao Jue, dressed in a dark purple brocade robe, sat opposite the Vice Minister of Revenue at his desk, tapping his palm absently with a folding fan.

"Lord Wang, I'd like to make myself clear."

He leaned forward, lowered his voice, and spoke mysteriously.

"This was proposed by His Majesty. Originally, it was planned to be done in conjunction with Pujitang."

"As a result, the owner of Pujitang said that all the money he had was tied up in the logistics park and he couldn't come up with any cash."

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Xiao Jue shrugged, looking helpless.

"My brother is eager to push this forward, so he sent me to the Ministry of Revenue to ask how much readily available silver we have. The key issue is that this matter requires a lot of money, and there's no guarantee that we'll find another merchant like Pujitang who's willing to invest so much to take it on."

"Sigh, even if there were existing sites available for construction, the imperial court could just rent them."

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, surnamed Wang, was a distant relative by marriage to the Cui family.

Not many people in the court knew about this.

Therefore, he has always existed as a covert agent for the Cui family.

Upon hearing this, he remained expressionless, but the brush in his hand stopped moving.

He looked up and observed the expression on the King of Qi's face.

"How much capital is needed for the partnership that Your Highness mentioned?"

Xiao Jue held up three fingers and shook them.

"The minimum is 30 million taels. With the initial construction and distribution, it won't be less than 50 million taels."

"But what about the profits later on..."

"Tsk tsk... Have you heard? Pujitang auctioned off tens of millions of taels just for a single GG spot?"

Wang Shilang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he nodded.

The news that Pujitang had recently made a fortune had spread throughout Kyoto.

Who wouldn't be envious?

However, they do not compete with merchants for business; instead, they help merchants develop.

Therefore, merchants are now willing to join Pujitang's commodity city project.

That evening, a secret letter was delivered to the Cui residence through the back door of the Ministry of Revenue.