The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

With his shrewdness, he naturally understood the implied meaning in Zhou Chu's words instantly.

This kid wants to go into business with the princess's residence.

This forced him to re-evaluate the young man in front of him.

At such a young age, he was already so adept at social maneuvering. The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture couldn't help but marvel at how remarkable this young man was.

Compared to the 10,000 strings of cash, he would much rather get involved in this business.

However, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture also knew that, not to mention the Princess's Mansion behind this, it was not something he could interfere with.

Even if you can intervene, try not to.

Having observed this for many years, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture understood a very simple truth: "He who takes a bribe is bound to be subservient; he who eats another's food is obligated to him."

If I really go into business with Zhou Chu, I'm afraid I won't be able to refuse him any requests in the future.

Having served as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture for so many years, he naturally understood one principle: collect cash whenever possible, as it is the most straightforward and efficient way; anything else will lead to endless troubles.

"Which shops has Your Highness taken a fancy to?"

The prefect asked.

"The Zhang family in the south of the city, the Cheng family in the east of the city, and the Ning family in the north of the city—these were the three families whose largest shops were recently raided and confiscated by the Prefect."

Zhou Chu had already thought this through.

When Zhou Chu first decided to partner with the Princess's Mansion to do business, he started making plans and had already chosen the location for the shop.

These three families were all wealthy households, and their homes were raided some time ago. The three shops that Zhou Chu chose were also extremely large, each no smaller than the current Yun Gui Fang.

At normal prices, it would be impossible to acquire these three shops for 300,000 strings of cash.

Each of these three shops is seven or eight times larger than the previous Feng family shop.

These businesses were owned by government officials, so the shops they occupied were not only large in area, but also in prime locations.

The reason the shop hasn't been sold yet is because the lawsuits between the three companies are still ongoing.

Even so, countless people throughout the capital had already been watching these shops, just waiting for their cases to be resolved.

They never expected that Zhou Chu would snatch it away so easily.

Normally, according to procedure, the prefect would not hand over these shops before the case is closed.

He is greedy, but not stupid. If any problems arise in the case, he will be the one to suffer.

He had been approached by others before, but he had firmly refused them all.

But now and then.

Just because others can't do it doesn't mean the Princess's Mansion can't. Selling these three shops to the Princess's Mansion would give him no worries.

Even if problems arise afterward, he could easily shift the blame to the princess's residence.

No one will investigate the princess's residence.

So even if Zhou Chu offered less money than others, he would still give these shops to Zhou Chu, especially since Zhou Chu offered more than others.

Is this still a choice?

As for the shop's price? A cheaper price? That's a minor matter.

It would be unreasonable for the princess's residence to buy shops at the same price as everyone else.

"Brother, I'm taking a risk for you. If anything happens to me in the future, you can't just stand by and watch me die."

The prefect put away the money notes in front of him.

The prefect had other plans behind his quick acceptance of Zhou Chu's offer.

He could tell that this young man was destined for greatness.

The network of contacts he currently possesses is already quite impressive.

Having reached his position, he naturally had to think about leaving himself a way out.

He wouldn't have these thoughts if it were anyone else. He knew very well that if something really happened to him, it would be good enough if others didn't kick him while he was down.

But Zhou Chu is different; this young man is benevolent and righteous.

He knew about what Zhou Chu had done when the Lu family had gotten into trouble.

Therefore, he believed that as long as the young man in front of him agreed, he would definitely help him out if something happened to him.

This is the name of the tree that represents a person's shadow.

In this era, a person's reputation can play a significant role.

At this moment, the prefect changed his way of addressing Zhou Chu, indicating that he had begun to take this young man seriously.

"Don't worry, sir. The people can see that you are fair and honest."

Zhou Chu assured him.

Upon hearing this, the prefect was overjoyed.

After finishing these tasks, Zhou Chu returned home and went to his study.

"There's something I need you to do."

Zhou Chu glanced at Chu Li in the study and said.

These days, whenever Zhou Chu has time, he teaches her a lot of business knowledge, including some business theories from later generations.

However, Zhou Chu was, after all, a history student, and didn't know much about later business theories. Much of what he knew came from the internet, and he only had a superficial understanding of them.

For example, the concepts of short selling and long selling were only explained in general terms.

However, Chu Li was very smart. After listening to Zhou Chu's explanation, she instantly felt her understanding broadened, and countless ideas surged into her mind.

"it is good."

Chu Li agreed without even thinking about it, and didn't even ask what it was about.