Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 214: Paperwork Xue Baochai

After the 20th day of free porridge, Cangzhou City was completely free from its dilapidated state.

Until the 20th, families who are still in difficult conditions and unable to find a livelihood in the city can still receive one month's food rations from the warehouse in the north of the city. This is considered as extra care that Yue Ling gives to these needy families.

In Cangzhou City under Yue Ling's rule, the proportion of this type of disaster victims has decreased significantly, and now only accounts for two or three tenths.

The proportion is even smaller than in previous harvest years in Cangzhou.

The reason is obvious. Yue Ling is trying his best to create new job opportunities in the city so that more families can have jobs.

He presided over the construction of water conservancy projects, canals, repair of houses, leveling of roads, and conscription of soldiers into the army.

The gentry were in charge of repairing river embankments, dredging rivers and maintaining river channels.

and fifty thousand mu of new fields managed by the Nanpi County Magistrate.

These three items absorbed a large number of disaster victims, not to mention the gradual recovery of the city's markets and water transport at the docks.

Even the most incompetent disaster victims can choose to apply to work at the seaside salt fields. Although the seaside salt fields are newly built and the conditions are difficult, they still have enough food and clothing.

The remaining people who have not yet found work are mainly women and children who have lost the breadwinners of their families due to various disasters. As for this group of people, Yue Ling really has no better solution at the moment.

Although there was no shortage of food and silver in the warehouse, Yue Ling's daily expenses were also extremely huge. To solve this problem, he would probably have to wait until Cangzhou City was truly transformed and became a relatively wealthy provincial capital.

Everything is thriving, but in Yue Ling's eyes, he still feels that the development is insufficient and no real changes have been made to Cangzhou City.

But Cangzhou is not a provincial capital with complex terrain after all. The key is that there are no minerals. The main fuel used is still firewood, and coal is extremely scarce. How can we talk about progress?

Yue Ling always felt bad about this matter.

Ancient exploration technology was also extremely limited, but Yue Ling also specially trained a group of people to search for minerals from Cangzhou to the surrounding eight counties.

Although it is like looking for a needle in a haystack, Yue Ling believes that everything depends on human effort.

Today, June 20th,
In the inn, Xue Baochai was busier than before. Even Tongxi and Tonggui, who lived in Aunt Xue's room, were called into her room to help with the work.

Bent over her desk, Xue Baochai was still working on her writing, but she was still coordinating the Xue family's business in Cangzhou Prefecture and even the entire East China region.

Ying'er was reading the news from outside, "Miss, the Huang family is going to sell a few shops to us at a low price, including the Huang family's silver shop. If the Huang family loses even the silver shop in Cangzhou, they will be left with nothing and will never be able to compete with us again."

Compared to the excited little maid, Xue Baochai seemed much calmer.

Raising her head slightly, Xue Baochai began to ponder.

"The Huang family only has a few shops left. Now they are selling the silver shop that they rely on for survival. It seems that they are going to withdraw. But Cangzhou is the place where the Huang family made their fortune. Before this, Huang Jiazhi was an ordinary country gentleman who was unknown to the public. How can he bear to give it up?"

"We have held out in Cangzhou City for so long, but now we are about to be defeated. Is there going to be some changes?"

Retracting her thoughts, Xue Baochai said to Ying'er, "Send a pawnshop owner to contact the Huang family and get the purchase price to the lowest. We don't have to buy out his silver shop, and besides our family, no other family in Cangzhou can take it over."

Ying'er was taking notes beside her, writing down a small note and preparing to send it out.

Xue Baochai added, "The Huang family's recent behavior in the business community is very unusual. You should inform the Marquis again. The Huang family seems to be thinking of withdrawing."

"it is good."

Ying'er left, and Xiangling came up and said, "Young lady, the boat that bought things from Gusu has returned and is now docked at the pier."

Xue Baochai nodded and said, "Send the prepared gifts to the government office for Miss Lin. Also, go and tell Ying'er what I just said to you."

Tongxi stepped forward again and said to Xue Baochai, "Wait a minute, young lady. The news just came back that Zhao Yuanxing's recent movements have been investigated. He is escorting troops along the canal to Dongchang Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture."

Since it was Yue Ling's order, Xue Baochai did not dare to take it lightly, "Don't you have any other places to go? Are you only escorting in these two places?"

Tongxi handed the letter to Xue Baochai, saying that it was written in detail in the letter, and the places he had been to in the past twenty days were also marked in detail. The company that hired the escort agency is an old customer of the Xue family in Shandong, so the information should be flawless.

Xue Baochai said, "There is no word 'should', there must be no mistakes. Let me take a look first. This is a matter to be reported to the Marquis, and it is not a trivial matter like the business. If any information is missed and it affects the Marquis's judgment, no one can afford to be offended."

Before Xue Baochai could take a few more glances, Tonggui ran in from outside.

Coming to Xue Baochai's desk, Tonggui took a few deep breaths and said hurriedly, "The Marquis sent a message saying that he wants a few cargo ships. Recently, the Marquis was transporting supplies to the seaside, and there were many reefs near the beach, which damaged several ships. This batch of new ships needs a double bottom, and the vulnerable parts need to be covered with iron sheets for protection."

Xue Baochai frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "If the Marquis did not need it urgently, he should have gone to the Jiangnan Shipyard to rush the manufacture. This is an urgent matter for the Marquis. First, tow out the Xue family's cargo ship that meets the requirements, modify it according to the Marquis's requirements, and send it to the Marquis first."

"Hire more craftsmen at the dock and complete the task on time, regardless of cost." The girls each took their assignments and went out in separate directions.

Aunt Xue hid at the door and eavesdropped for a while. When she saw the maids all went out, she quickly dodged and put on airs, pretending to have just passed by the door.

When Tongxi passed by, she became busy again and asked in a low voice: "How much money can Bao-ya-tou earn by working so hard every day? Why do we have to pay for working for the Marquis? Isn't this a losing business?"

Tongxi replied, "The Marquis paid a deposit, and it was not our family's money. I don't know the details of how much money the young lady has earned during this period. The accounts are not in my hands, so I have never seen them."

"But I heard Ying'er say in her idle chat that if the young lady leaks some money this year, it will be enough for our Xue family to eat and wear. So I guess we have already made hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in this period of time, and tens of thousands of taels of silver in our bank account."

"Even so, the young lady is still expanding the trade route. Perhaps after this year, the revenue of Cangzhou alone will exceed the total of the Xuejiafeng brands in other places."

Hearing this, Aunt Xue was stunned on the spot, "How can the small city of Cangzhou be so powerful?"

Tongxi smiled awkwardly and said, "Other places are big, but they don't have as much business as our Xue family. We are only worried that the young lady will get sick from working so hard all day. If the madam is free, why not make some soup for the young lady, which would be a help."

Aunt Xue's face turned stern, she pinched her waist and scolded, "You little girl, you've been doing work for Bao for a few days and you've become so arrogant that you're even lecturing your master."

Tongxi had worked in the Xue family for a long time, but he didn't know why the lady could give birth to such a smart girl. It was obvious that the two of them had nothing in common except their looks.

"Madam, how dare I teach you a lesson? It's just that Madam and the girl have been unhappy for a while. Now that the girl has made some achievements, if Madam doesn't change her attitude, how can the relationship be repaired? Making some soup is also a proof that Madam is caring for the girl. It's better than not daring to come in and ask me here."

Hearing this, Aunt Xue pondered deeply and murmured, "It does make sense."

Tongxi sighed secretly, "Then I will go and help the young lady first."

Aunt Xue nodded and said, "Go ahead, don't ruin Baoyatou's plan!"

The sound insulation of the inn is not as good as that of the Xue family’s old house.

At this moment, Xue Baochai, who was listening to their loud "plot" in the room, was speechless.

"Just don't act too much and don't provoke the Marquis's dislike. There's no need to pretend to care about anything."

Xue Baochai held her forehead and picked up the pen again, "If I had a father like Censor Lin, I wouldn't have to work so hard. When Miss Lin was six years old, he had the courage to arrange this marriage, and he was even more discerning and chose the Marquis at first sight."

"I don't know how many detours I have avoided. Mr. Lin's career will be much smoother in the future."

"Forget it. Now the Xue family has changed. That's enough. People are greedy and greed leads to stupidity..."

……

Cangzhou Prefecture, government office,

Yue Ling sat calmly in the hall, ready to face the murderous intention hidden in the city.

He likes this feeling.

He gave Li Dehui a lot of convenience. In order to ensure that he could sneak out at night to meet the Huang family, he withdrew all the checkpoints and reduced the number of night patrol soldiers along the way, just to allow these villains hiding in the darkness to gather their strength and put on a big show for him.

The real hunter often appears as the prey.

When they were preparing to murder Yue Ling, Yue Ling was thinking about how to catch them all in one fell swoop and implicate more sinister villains.

"Japanese pirates? Aristocratic families? Southeast noble families? Which one of them is the most powerful one? I'll tell you after a few moves."

At the right time, Jia Yun came from outside and reported, "My Lord, Zhao Yuanxing from the Yunxing Escort Agency is here to visit."

Yue Ling smiled and said, "He's a little late. How come you took so long to prepare? Let him in."

After a while, Jia Yun led a strong middle-aged man into the hall.

Zhao Yuanxing was dressed in short clothes, looking very capable, with an upright posture and a stern face. The beard on his cheeks made him look more mature, and he indeed looked much more stable than Zhao Hao.

Zhao Yuanxing bowed and said, "Zhao Yuanxing from the Yunxing Escort Agency greets you, sir. Now that my nephew Zhao Hao has joined the army, it has caused trouble for you, sir."

First of all, it was a way for adults to get close to each other. Yue Ling also echoed, "Why would it be troublesome? I think highly of Zhao Hao. He has good martial arts and will have great potential in the future."

Zhao Yuanxing smiled and said, "There is still a long way to go. The Marquis needs to remind him."

Yue Ling waved his hand, and Jia Yun stepped forward to offer him tea. He then asked, "What brings you to the government office today?"

(End of this chapter)