The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Outside the school, Li Shimin, upon hearing this, was astonished: "Chengqian took out ten gold ingots to do business with Huai'an and the others?"

Without a second thought, Li Shimin instantly turned to look at Empress Zhangsun.

The latter coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "I think it would be a good thing if Chengqian could make money with Huai'an. Anyway, this matter doesn't need to be registered under Chengqian's name, so it can be handled by the people around me."

"If we lose money, wouldn't that give us a way to control Huai'an? Such talent is wasted on just teaching."

"Erlang, you're in dire need of manpower right now..."

Empress Zhangsun left her words at that, and Li Shimin had already fully understood his wife's plan. His lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Looking inside, Li Shimin murmured, "Guanyinbi, although I don't know what kind of business Huai'an led them to do, it sounds like it's alcohol."

"Brewing alcohol requires grains, so how can that be a good thing?"

Empress Zhangsun pursed her lips: "I also can't figure it out, but I think that since Huai'an dared to say such a thing, he must have his reasons."

"Let's hear what Huai'an has to say first?"

"Alright..."

"..."

At this moment, as Chen Huai'an finished speaking, the teenagers couldn't help but widen their eyes.

"Oh, me?"

Cheng Chumo pointed at himself, looking completely bewildered: "I did a good deed? I sold the right wine?"

"Yes! You made the right choice," Chen Huai'an replied confidently.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. Li Zhen asked, puzzled, "Sir, what exactly are you referring to?"

"We made a deal, and a jar of wine cost two hundred coins. In the eyes of the common people, we're definitely unscrupulous merchants. How is this considered a good thing?"

Chen Huai'an scoffed: "You're overthinking it. Ordinary people don't care whether you sell a jar of wine for two hundred or two thousand coins, they simply can't afford it anyway."

"I would only keep my distance from this kind of wine, and at most use it as a topic of conversation in my spare time."

"The only people who will really criticize you are those who can afford it but feel bad about buying it."

Li Zhen thought about it carefully and nodded: "That seems to make sense."

"That's a good thing, but where should we begin?"

Chen Huai'an smiled and glanced around: "Don't understand?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison, their eyes fixed on him.

"Alright, let's discuss this in detail." Chen Huai'an organized his thoughts and began slowly, "I'm asking you, since we've pooled so much money to start a business, shouldn't we be hiring a lot of people to help?"

"That's right!" Cheng Chumo said matter-of-factly, "Since we want to make big money, we definitely need a lot of manpower to help us."

"Sir, didn't you already tell us to recruit people?"

"Now that we've hired people, should we pay them wages?" Chen Huai'an asked again.

Li Chengqian blurted out, "Of course I want it!"

"It is only natural to pay someone for their work."

Chen Huai'an laughed: "So what kind of people did I hire, and how much did I pay them?"

Everyone was stunned by these words.

Li Chengqian, his eyes glazed over, said, "Sir, you're talking about recruiting people in the slums of Chang'an. Men earn 80 coins a day, and women earn 60 coins a day..."

"Am I paying too little?" Chen Huai'an asked again.

Tang He's upper lip was a little dry, as if he realized something: "The wages the master pays are extremely high. In Chang'an, even someone with a skill, such as the best carpenter, only earns a little over a hundred coins a day."

"He has no skills, he only sells his physical labor, and the wages are... quite high."

After he finished speaking, the classroom became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Having been reminded to this extent, there's no need to say anything more.

Let alone eighty coins, even if it were fifty, forty, or even thirty coins, a large number of people would still be eager to do it.

Because this world is just that bitter.

With this wage, they could recruit one hundred people... no, they should say one hundred families.

From now on, I will be able to live well in Chang'an City on this salary.

With money, they could buy food and no longer live a life of uncertainty. With money, they could see a doctor and not suffer from illness for long. With money, they could buy cloth and make some clothes at the end of the year. They could even pay tuition and send their children to school so that their children could have a better future.

How can this not be considered a good thing?

"Do you understand now?"

Chen Huai'an asked with a smile, then slowly said, "You may seem to be doing business to make money, but as long as you follow the rules and pay the workers on time, you can help them in a subtle way."

"This is more meaningful than any disaster relief or charity."

"Because you pooled your money to start a business, these 100 people now have a stable and substantial income, and they no longer have to live in constant fear or go hungry."

"You've incidentally saved a hundred people—no, no, a hundred families! And when your business expands, won't you be hiring even more people?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"So today there are 100 people, tomorrow there are 200 people, the day after tomorrow there may be 500 people, 1,000 people, and in the future there may be 10,000 people."

"In this way, you have helped ten thousand families and saved tens of thousands of people."

"Am I right to say that?"

Li Chengqian's expression was blank, feeling as if his understanding had been shocked like never before: "Sir... is right."

"In that case, haven't we achieved a win-win situation for both us and the people?" Chen Huai'an tilted his head. "We made money, they made money, and their families were able to survive."

"So... I'm saying this is a good thing, is there a problem?"

"Reputation? What others think? Are they more important than those hundred families?"

The two rhetorical questions exploded in everyone's minds like a thunderclap, leaving them speechless.

Li Shimin remained silent while outside.

Empress Zhangsun's eyes were filled with amazement.

So this is what real disaster relief is all about!

So this is what a true merchant is like!

So this is what a true win-win situation looks like!

"..."

"Sir, I understand." After a long while, Li Chengqian suddenly thought of something and said with delight, "In this way, these people can survive, and I can use the money I earn to provide disaster relief to the court and save more people."

"If this cycle continues, everything will move in a positive direction, right, Mr. Yao?"

After hearing Li Chengqian's words, Chen Huai'an was not pleased at all; instead, a hint of sarcasm appeared in his eyes: "Is that what you think?"

"Isn't it...?" Seemingly sensing Chen Huai'an's emotions, Li Chengqian suddenly became uneasy.

Did I say something wrong and upset my husband?

"Wrong again!"

Chen Huai'an sneered, "And it's ridiculously wrong, childish, and laughable!"

"Give the money to the imperial court for disaster relief?"

"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life!"

"..."