Chapter 365: Settling the Score
Editor: Atlas Studios
Eventually, General Yuan was convinced by Qi Xiuyuan. He turned around and sighed at Shen Mu, who was beside him. “I’m afraid we’re really old.”
Shen Mu smiled and said, “You may admit you’re old, but don’t drag me down with you. Back then, I also advised you to shrink the battlefront. We’ve been old friends for decades, yet you’re only willing to listen to a brat. My heart and liver are all hurt.”
General Yuan laughed, knowing that he was joking. He gently whipped his horse’s butt and said with a smile, “You don’t say. I’m willing to listen to opinions that are younger than mine.”
Shen Mu shook his head but still said, “Qi Xiuyuan is indeed a rare talent.”
General Yuan said proudly, “How is it? We didn’t make a wasted trip, right?”
Shen Mu’s smile faded slightly as he asked, “He’s not married yet, right?”
General Yuan’s smile froze and he nodded.
Shen Mu said in a deep voice, “Does His Majesty have a daughter of suitable age?”
“Even if he doesn’t, there are still conferred princesses.” General Yuan said nonchalantly, “If he can marry a princess or a conferred princess, it will be good for him.”
However, Shen Mu didn’t think so. If Qi Xiuyuan married a princess or a conferred princess, he might not gain much trust from Your Majesty, but it would increase many constraints.
But that was Qi Xiuyuan’s private matter. Although Shen Mu felt that it was a pity, he could not interfere.
Since the two top generals had agreed to shrink the battlefront, they naturally would not take the initiative to provoke the Jin soldiers again. Hence, ever since the ceasefire on New Year’s Eve, there had been no more conflict between the two sides.
On the Great Zhou side, Qi Xiuyuan and General Yuan were assigning troops to defend, but the Jin Kingdom had been holding back.
General Yuan and Qi Xiuyuan weren’t the only ones who felt that something was wrong. Even Qi Haoran, who was far away in Mingshui County, sensed that something wasn’t quite right.
He really wanted to get up and go to the front line to take a look, but he was ruthlessly suppressed by Mu Yangling. Although that wound did not hurt his internal organs, the wound was huge and long. Now that the wound had just scabbed over, it was a crucial time for healing. How could she let him leave?
Even Fan Zijin suppressed him with a straight face and said, “Eldest Cousin is not a fool. If you can sense that something is wrong, Eldest Cousin will only realize it sooner. If you’re worried, just write a letter and ask. Why do you have to go personally?”
Qi Haoran thought about it and agreed. He turned around and went back to his room to write a letter.
Since New Year’s Eve, Qi Haoran had been staying in the Mu family’s house with Mu Yangling.
As there were many rooms in the Mu family, it was more than enough to accommodate Qi Haoran and Fei Bai. When Shu Wanniang heard that Qi Haoran was going to spend the New Year alone, her maternal instincts exploded and she immediately invited him to stay. She also took extra care of him because he was injured.
On the other hand, Fan Zijin came over on the first day of the Lunar New Year. On the Eve, he had been busy for the entire day before he remembered that he was attending to the deceased soldiers’ compensation personally for the sake of Qi Haoran. Annoyed, he immediately handed the account book and roster to the logistics personnel from the five divisions. Then, he found a few stewards from his own family, and told them that they should do as they saw fit with however much money there was. Then, he washed his hands off of the matter and returned.
When he returned to Xingzhou Prefecture, he found out that Qi Haoran wasn’t at home for the New Year and had gone to the Mu residence. Although it was embarrassing to go to someone else’s house to celebrate the New Year, Fan Zijin mentally prepared himself and still moved there on the first day of the New Year.
Shu Wanniang arranged a room for Fan Zijin beside Qi Haoran’s and then asked Yanmo to share a room with Fei Bai.
Therefore, although the Mu family was missing Mu Shi this year, it was still very lively.
Seeing that Qi Haoran had returned to his room, Fan Zijin turned to Mu Yangling and said, “Let’s settle the money matters. I’ll give you the dividends for the first half of the year.”
Fan Zijin asked Yanmo to bring over two ledgers and handed them to Mu Yangling. “Do the calculations.”
However, Mu Yangling handed it to Xiuhong and Liu Lang and said, “You guys count it.”
Having studied for a little more than a month, Liu Lang was a little excited. Although he had previously did the accounts with Xiuhong, it was the first time a mission had landed in his hands. Liu Lang took the account book in high spirits and entered the study.
Xiuhong wasn’t as excited as Liu Lang. She quietly took the account book to the study and prepared the brazier and refreshments before sitting down to do the calculations.
Fan Zijin kept looking at them. After a while, he turned around and said, “There aren’t many people you can use, but they’re all people around you. You don’t have to inspect them before directly handing the tasks to them. You’re better than me in that aspect.”
At this point, Fan Zijin looked a little tired. It was different for him because the Fan family and the Qi family’s family business were not here. If he wanted to hire people, he had to buy them before assessing their characters and let them learn the skills. After they mastered it, he would then make arrangements. This was too tiring and time-consuming. Alas, he did not have a good solution at the moment.
Mu Yangling hesitated for a moment before suggesting, “I don’t think you need to choose your employees one by one before teaching them. You can just buy a group of smart people and open a school for them to learn. After they graduate, you can arrange for them to be sent to workshops and shops. If they are usable talents, they can be slowly promoted step by step. If not, they can be transferred or sold. Although it will cost more money, it will save a lot of energy and time.”
“What’s more, they all started from the bottom. After suffering, they will only cherish and work harder on the important tasks given to them. If you choose someone before teaching them like this, then immediately appoint them to the position of the steward or deputy steward, they won’t cherish the position since it comes too easily.”
Fan Zijin was deep in thought. After a while, he sized up Mu Yangling in surprise and said, “You came up with this idea?”
Mu Yangling glared at him. “Don’t think that you’re the only smart one. Sometimes, you just have to think simply. Why do smart people like you have to be so suspicious? It’s clearly the simplest thing, but it can be made complicated by you. If you’re really afraid that a spy will sneak in, it’s very simple. Set up the rules and regulations and stipulate what can be said and what can’t be revealed to outsiders. When the time comes, if you suspect anyone, just transfer them away.”
“Human energy is limited. Not only do you have to do so much business, but you also have to take care of the logistics of the army and guard against spies. Even a man made from steel will collapse under such workload. Even Haoran knows that one’s health is the foundation. I think you and Big Brother Qi are inferior to Haoran.”
With that, Mu Yangling left Fan Zijin behind.
However, Fan Zijin lowered his head and pondered over Mu Yangling’s words.
Xiuhong’s calculations were fast. Liu Lang was a little slow at first, but when he got the hang of it, he became rather swift. Although he couldn’t catch up to Xiuhong’s speed, he wasn’t much slower.
Therefore, before dinner, the two of them handed the account book to Mu Yangling and reported, “There’s no problem with the account book.”
Mu Yangling nodded and put the account book aside to let Xiuhong and Liu Lang calculate. Actually, it was just going through the motions as she didn’t believe that Fan Zijin would lie to her at this time. He needn’t do such a thing.
“How’s the profit for the past six months?”
Xiuhong said happily, “Cousin, I’ve calculated. You’ll get 6,758 taels of silver in the first half of the year.”
This was even when there was only the rabbit meat shop’s business in the first half of the year. Later on, not only did they add silk, but they also added cloth shops and so on. Because they used Mu Yangling and the others’ dividends to invest, Mu Yangling had a 30% share in those businesses, too.
This meant that as time went on, she would receive more and more dividends. At the thought of this, Xiuhong’s eyes lit up. Her cousin was right. This was indeed a profitable business. It seemed like she had wronged Young Master Fan for the past three years. Previously, she’d only seen him constantly carrying the rabbits from their home, but she hadn’t seen so far ahead.
Liu Lang was also very shocked because he didn’t expect the amount to be this large. Their entire family’s savings wasn’t even a fraction of this sum. He looked at his Cousin Ah Ling with a complicated gaze, even more determined to follow her now.