Old Man Pi didn't hide anything and directly told him about Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan setting up a bank in Baoxin County.
Old Man Yao also echoed, "It's said that the bank will be very useful in the future, but Xiao Bao and Cuckoo didn't say anything. I've asked them twice, and they both said that we'll know when the time comes."
Li Longji was now more concerned than the tolling of the bridge and Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan wanting to build the Yellow River Iron Chain Bridge. The tolling of the tolling had already been decided, and they just had to wait and see the results. The bridge on the Yellow River was nothing more than money.
Setting up a bank was new, and they didn't know the final use of it.
"Lishi, can you ask them?" Li Longji couldn't figure it out himself, so he sent Gao Lishi.
Gao Lishi was in a difficult position, but he still seriously thought about it and shook his head, "I might not be able to. Maybe Xiao Bao and Cuckoo haven't perfected it yet, or else they would have said more benefits. I'll ask them later."
Yao Chong suddenly said, "Your Majesty, why don't we also set up a bank after Xiao Bao and Cuckoo set up a bank and follow their method?"
"No, Xiao Bao and Cuckoo mean that they should set it up alone. It's best if no one else in the Tang Empire can set it up." Gao Lishi began to side with his godson.
Old Man Pi also said, "How is that possible? Do we have to write it down in the law? If others learn to set it up, let them do so, but the imperial court must not set it up. Unless Xiao Bao and Cuckoo deliberately find it and say that it can be set up, then it can be set up in the name of the imperial court. Otherwise, it will be too late to regret once it's wrong. "
Li Longji understood Bi Gou's words. It was because the policy was good, but once it was passed down, it was hard to control what the subordinates did. Especially when faced with a large amount of money, if the executor was greedy, he could check and take it back. If he lost it, it was useless to kill him.
While the four of them were talking, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also chatting while cooking.
There were too many people, so it was impossible for them to specially make stir-fried dishes. Two people prepared to make wontons. This was fast. After the stuffing was done, they used a pair of chopsticks or a small piece of bamboo.
Zhang Xiaobao was in charge of the live stuffing and the dumplings, while Wang Juan was in charge of the other supplementary ingredients. It was impossible for them to make the dumplings for Li Longji that were sold at street stalls with only some seaweed sprinkled on them and nothing else.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Zhang Xiaobao moved quickly and covered the room with a curtain. He asked Wang Juan, "Didn't Wu Huifei send someone to look for you secretly?"
"No, I told you when you looked for me. I don't know what she's thinking. Maybe she hasn't found the opportunity yet. I feel uncomfortable when I think of giving her the wonton I made. Should I put something else in it?"
Wang Juan said without turning her head. She was choosing pickled mustard greens that had been marinated for a long time. She had to use the most tender parts of the mustard greens.
Zhang Xiaobao pulled down the curtain and continued wrapping the wontons. "That works too. I'll make some croton powder. Then, we'll escape immediately. We'll go to Lu Zhou and start a rebellion. Li Longji must be very troubled."
"I think that's a good idea. It's impossible to taste the croton powder immediately. How about we put some diamond foam in it?" Wang Juan chimed in.
"It's better to be careful. Don't let her get anything on us. Otherwise, we'll have to spend a lot of effort to deal with her. It's troublesome." Zhang Xiaobao did not continue with the conversation. It was impossible. Why would he want to harm Li Longji?
*****
The fleet continued to move forward. After a few days, they could see people repairing the bridge on both sides of the river. When they moved forward again, they finally saw the iron chain bridge. It was just enough time. Someone was laying planks on it. The further they went, the better the planks were. When they were about to reach Changning, there were already people walking on the bridge.
In Changning County, Li Yu had been preparing for a long time. He wanted to bring Li Longji to Changning to have a look. Although Fen River did not flow through Changning, it was still more than ten miles away from Changning County. Normally, the people who would welcome them along the way would be from Linfen County.
If it were someone else, they would have given up when they saw the distance. However, Li Yu had no intention of giving up. He felt that his Changning County was the best. Although Linfen was in the center of the province, it was not as developed as Changning County.
Currently, every family in Changning County had a new house. The roads in the county were well-connected. It would be a pity if he did not bring Li Longji here to have a look.
Relying on the fact that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also on the ship, Li Yu had an idea. In order to welcome Li Longji, he spent 50,000 strings of coins to decorate the ready-made house.
It looked like a lot, but Li Yu did not feel bad at all. He spent most of the money on lanterns and curtains. He gave them to the residents in the county. After the lanterns were used, he folded them and put them away. They could still be used during the New Year. He changed the curtains and made a quilt cover.
The people who knew why Li Yu had so much money were the people from the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce. In order to monopolize the supply of pottery in Changning County, they signed three-year supply contracts with several places in the county. They were very happy when they signed the contracts. They thought that Li Yu was stupid and did not think of this.
In the end, they did not spend 150,000 strings of coins. They spent 120,000 strings of coins.
They did succeed, at least within three days after the contracts were signed. They increased the local price of pottery by 50%.
However, before they could be happy for a few more days, pottery from other counties came in and lowered the price by 40%. The team that transported the pottery was under Li Yu's banner.
At that price, they signed three-year contracts with other businessmen who wanted to open a kiln.
Chairman Tian knew that the pottery was not only in Changning County, but it was expensive to transport it from other counties. In the end, he sent people to the neighboring counties and found that the pottery was not worth a single copper coin. Li Yu asked people to go to the neighboring counties to discuss with the officials and build a road for them. Then, he bought a place with pottery.
What was most admirable was that once the road was completed, it would pass by the place where the clay was produced. In other words, Li Yu had spent money to build a road that was convenient for transporting clay, and he had gotten a place for free.
In this way, the yamen in Changning County was rich, and so was Li Yu. The tax collected and the profits from selling the pottery could be used to decorate the county.
At this time, Li Yu was waiting for the arrival of the fleet. He had sent people to check in advance. He was excited and worried. It was not that he had never seen Li Longji before, but that meeting was different from this one. This time, he was meeting with political achievements.
"Little Chong, you must keep an eye on the people in the county and the outsiders, especially the foreigners, including the businessmen. You can't make any mistakes. You did a good job exchanging the road for the land. You've already paid back the money you used to build the road. This time, I'll let you do it again. It's up to you whether it succeeds or not."
Li Yu said to Little Chong, who had just returned from making arrangements in the county.
Little Chong puffed out his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Sir. I've already arranged for people to protect the Emperor. No one will come within a thousand steps of him."
Li Yu felt sad when he thought of this. He had too few subordinates, only four hundred. He was not like his brother Li Xun, who could have as many subordinates as he wanted. It was not a problem to have a few thousand subordinates. After all, he had been adopted as the only son. Plus, he was rich, so he was treated differently.
Seeing Li Yu in a daze, Little Chong continued, "Sir, should we find a few people to disguise themselves as commoners and put in a good word for the Emperor?"
"Well … think of a way to contact Zhang Xiaobao and ask him." Li Yu hesitated and said.
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