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

Gu Mingyue's fingers slowly tightened, gripping the edge of the carriage curtain.

No wonder her father had already heard rumors.

Given this situation, without the emperor's secret arrangements, who could have protected so many disaster victims and helped them escape to the capital?

Once the disaster victims arrived, the disaster relief effort really took off.

The embezzlement of disaster relief funds will be thoroughly investigated.

They prioritize their families.

It seems the emperor is a ruthless man. I wonder if her brother will be able to get his way into the emperor's bed?

"Peach branch".

"Hey! I'm here, miss."

"Go and see if there are many able-bodied men among those disaster victims?"

"Okay, sure!"

Taozhi walked quickly to the side of the refugee line, stood on tiptoe to take a look, then pinched her nose and ran back to the carriage.

"Miss, there are plenty of strong men. Over there, there are many young and strong men. There are also quite a few women who look robust, but they are too thin and very hungry."

Gu Mingyue silently estimated in her mind.

Thousands of people.

Young and middle-aged laborers account for at least 30% of the workforce.

Moreover, these people had just escaped from the flood-stricken area, and among them were undoubtedly bricklayers, carpenters, farmers, and river workers—all skilled in manual labor.

We need to find a larger place and lure them all there.

Stay away from the capital!

Gu Mingyue's plan became clearer.

"Let's go. To the western suburbs."

"Where...are we going?" Taozhi asked blankly.

"barren mountain."

……

The carriage turned onto the official road and bumped along for another half an hour before entering a dirt road near the western hunting grounds.

The further into the mountains we went, the narrower the road became, and the weeds on both sides grew taller and taller, almost covering the wheels of our vehicles.

Taozhi, clutching the teapot, was jostled around so much that even the osmanthus pastry jumped off the plate and rolled into the corner of the carriage.

"Miss... what a terrible road! My bottom is being bounced around like it's been turned into eight pieces!"

Gu Mingyue sat as steady as a mountain, one hand holding onto the carriage wall, the other clutching the treasure list given to her by her father.

She first needed to confirm the location of the 50,000 taels of silver.

A dry well. A hunting ground in the western suburbs.

The carriage stopped in front of a desolate grove of low bushes.

Gu Mingyue jumped out of the car and looked up.

The hunting grounds had been abandoned for many years; the fences had collapsed and weeds were growing rampant.

In the distance, you can see a dry well with a low wall built around it halfway with rubble. The wellhead is covered with several layers of rotten wooden planks, and a layer of green moss grows on it.

She visually assessed the location, and it matched the description on the list perfectly.

"Gong Huo".

A burly guard stepped forward from behind Gu Mingyue and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Yes, miss!"

Gu Mingyue turned to look at him, her eyes sharp and serious.

"Now take some men to transport the silver to the money exchange and convert it into banknotes. Then wait for me opposite the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."

Gong Huo scratched his head. "Miss, won't the imperial court find out about this?"

Gu Mingyue rolled her eyes, speechless.

"Could we send more teams to visit more money changers and exchange the money separately?"

"Okay, sure!"

Gong Huo quickly accepted the order and led his men to transport the silver.

With the money in hand, Gu Mingyue turned and got into the car to continue inspecting the wasteland on the outskirts of Beijing.

She now needs to find a place to settle the refugees.

As the carriage rounded a hillside and entered another, narrower section of mountain road...

The road surface became even bumpier.

Taozhi frowned and complained, "What kind of roads are these! They're all red rocky boulders! No wonder there are so few people here."

"Red rocks?"

Gu Mingyue lifted the carriage curtain and looked around.

"parking!"

When the car came to a stop, Gu Mingyue got up and got out.

"What's wrong, Miss?"

Taozhi didn't know why her young lady wanted to get off the bus in this desolate wilderness, so she could only obediently follow.

"Miss, you can't wander around like this. What if there are bandits or something in this area? We don't have any guards with us right now."

"It's alright, I'll just take a look, I won't go deep into the mountains."

Gu Mingyue squatted down, picked up a handful of soil, and examined it carefully.

"Soil and rock?!"

Her eyes lit up suddenly. This soil is great! You can't grow crops or produce fruit here.

Gu Mingyue dropped the soil, clapped her hands, and looked up.

The mountains and forests stretch endlessly.

Every inch of hillside, every gully, and every corner within sight is covered with the same kind of tree.

The tree trunk is short, no more than a person's height, with branches growing horizontally, and its shape is not attractive.

The dark green, leathery leaves gleamed with an oily sheen in the afternoon sun.

And every branch was densely covered with round, green, fist-sized fruits.

countless.

Thousands upon thousands.

Like heavy green cannonballs, they bent the branches low.

A few fruits were overripe and fell to the ground, cracking open to reveal their pale yellow, juicy flesh.

Peach branch took two steps back with a look of disgust.

"Miss, this is that... Bitter Grapefruit Mountain."

"A prince from the previous dynasty opened a tea garden here, but whatever variety he planted, it all turned out badly."

"As a result, the pomelo trees grew wildly in large patches, but the fruit they produced was bitter, astringent, and small. It was completely inedible."

"Later, during our Great Yong Dynasty, this mountain became an unclaimed wasteland, and even tea merchants were unwilling to buy this land because they thought the soil was unsuitable."

As she spoke, she realized that her young mistress did not react at all.

"Miss?"

"A barren mountain that nobody wants to buy?"

A smile appeared in Gu Mingyue's eyes.

"Barren mountains are wonderful!"

Investing in development here is a sure way to lose money!

They surveyed the barren mountains.

Gu Mingyue then had the carriage circle around the west side of the city again.

The western part of the city is far from the main gate of Kyoto.

Backed by the barren mountain we had just visited, overgrown with weeds, a clear stream meandered by beside it.

On the hillside across the stream, there are still hundreds of acres of wild tea fields that are half-dead and look like they have been abandoned for several years and no one has taken care of them.

More importantly, this area is right next to the official road leading to Jiangzhou, and it is a gathering place for Jiangzhou disaster victims.

Gu Mingyue stood at the edge of the wasteland, hands on her hips, looking left and right.

It's like a real estate developer seeing a plot of land in an urban village slated for demolition.

It has a remote location, low land prices, and a large area.

Most importantly, the surrounding area is all unclaimed wasteland, allowing for massive expansion.

"Okay, this is it."

She wants to build a "money-devouring beast" project here!

Gu Mingyue chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Who would have thought that this investment genius would one day specialize in finding money-losing projects?

"Let's go back to the city and go to the government office to get the land deed."

……