xymnovel Chapter 27 Zhao Guangmei's Visit
Chapter 27 Zhao Guangmei's Visit
Zhao Guangyi quickly helped Wang Jun up, his face beaming with smiles: "Brother Zhaoyuan, what are you doing? We're brothers, why the need for this? Come, have breakfast."
Regardless of Zhao Guangyi's intentions, at least his words and actions made Wang Jun feel comfortable, showing a respectful and courteous demeanor. Immediately, disregarding his full stomach, Wang Jun joined him in eating.
"Zhaoyuan, now that you've become an official, who will manage this brick and tile factory?"
"My son, Wang Lu, though young, can help me manage things. And my assistant, nicknamed 'Six Monkeys,' is also quite talented."
In addition, I have another shareholder in this factory named Pan Wu. With them around, I don't need to worry about anything. At most, I can only provide some guidance on the general direction.
Zhao Guangyi laughed and said, "If you are too busy, you might as well send some people from our Palace Guard to help you with some management. After all, you are also one of my Palace Guards."
As he spoke, Zhao Guangyi's eyes remained fixed on Wang Jun.
Wang Jun was also taken aback, but then he immediately beamed and said, "That would be perfect. My son and I are both from out of town and don't know anyone. Where would we find suitable help? With the help of the two kings, the brick factory will have a better future, and we can have less to worry about."
It was obvious that Zhao Er intended to seize the property by trickery, but Wang Jun did not show any dissatisfaction on his face.
Anyway, this brick and tile factory is currently filled with a large number of Imperial Guards. He doesn't care if the Palace Guards are replaced in charge of management, since the factory is not currently involved in acid or alkali production, which is his real trump card.
Zhao Guangyi was overjoyed to see that Wang Jun agreed so readily, and secretly praised him for his tact.
He immediately burst into laughter, and then said:
"Don't worry, our Song Dynasty does things differently than the previous dynasty. We won't let you suffer losses. Your brick and tile factory makes glazed tiles to sell, but most of the money you make is used to make bricks to build houses for the Imperial Guard. How can we let you spend your own money to do things for the country?"
"You used to be Han Tong's son-in-law, and Han Tong was the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards. The laws and regulations of the previous dynasty were incomplete, which was one thing, but in our Great Song Dynasty, it is absolutely unacceptable."
"I've discussed it with my elder brother. From now on, the bricks will continue to be fired and the tiles will continue to be made in this workshop, but they can't be made for free. The Privy Council will issue a contract directly to buy them from you."
Of course, the specific allocation of housing construction also needs to be planned in a systematic way and discussed in a long-term manner.
"Of course, the imperial court is currently short of funds; most of the silver in the national treasury has been used for rewards for soldiers."
"What my elder brother means is that the top-quality tea that was presented as tribute from the Southern Tang Dynasty last year, which is less than one million catties, will be used by the imperial court to offset the expenses you incurred in making bricks and tiles."
"Furthermore, I've already spoken with the Kaifeng Prefecture and asked them to issue a document stating that from now on, when merchants from the south come to Kaifeng to sell tea, they can only sell to you. You will be responsible for distributing these teas. After all, you're one of my people, hahaha."
Wang Jun was startled and quickly lowered his head in agreement. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the laws and regulations were inherited from the Later Zhou Dynasty. The Later Zhou Dynasty did not have a tea administration because it did not have any tea-producing areas. Although the Southern Tang Dynasty had been sending tribute in recent years, how many years had the Southern Tang Dynasty been conquered? Therefore, the tea sales policy was very chaotic and there were no rules.
It goes without saying how much money can be made from so much tea. To say that the tea is only used to pay for the imperial court to buy hollow bricks and ash would be too generous.
It seems that Zhao Guangyi intends to have Wang Jun act as his front man, so that he can ask Wang Jun for money in the future.
Being able to act as a front man for the future Emperor Taizong of Song, isn't that a good thing?
He quickly put on a delighted expression to accept it.
In summary, Wang Jun's attitude today can be summed up in two words: sensible and tactful.
Everyone likes a capable and sensible subordinate, and Zhao Guangyi was no exception.
Moreover, Wang Jun was somewhat mysterious, and both Zhao Kuangyin and he doubted whether he was truly "attainable of the age of fifty".
I dare not believe it, yet I dare not disbelieve it.
But regardless, what does it mean that someone who might be of age is so humble and respectful towards him? Does it mean that destiny might very well be within his own grasp?
Given Zhao Guangyi's current status, and considering his position, it's not just wishful thinking on his part.
........................
After Wang Jun went to work early in the morning, Wang Lu stayed at home and read books by himself.
The Song Dynasty has now been established, and Han Tong's life has been saved. Wang Jun is in charge of the brick and tile factory. Wang Lu is not a science student and can't help much anyway. At his age, he doesn't have any important things to do, so he consciously stays at home to study.
He still wanted to enter officialdom through the proper imperial examination system, rather than relying on luck for advancement. The imperial examination system in the early Song Dynasty was simple, and there was no method of anonymizing names. He felt that as long as he studied seriously for two years, he had a good chance of passing the examination with flying colors.
It's a bit boring. After all, I'm over thirty years old. Picking up textbooks again to study classical Chinese texts and the Four Books and Five Classics makes my eyelids droop and my mind wanders.
Then I quickly slapped myself twice to cheer myself up and continue reading.
"Lu Lang."
There was a light knock on the door, just a token gesture. Without waiting for his permission, Han Ling'er pushed the door open and came in, carrying a bowl of dates.
"I just washed these dates, have some."
As she spoke, Han Ling'er sat down on Wang Lu's table quite naturally, revealing a section of her thigh because it was at home.
His relationship with Han Ling'er was strange no matter how he tried to get along with her, and there was really nothing he could do about it. Just hearing the name "Lu Lang" made him feel uncomfortable.
But this is actually a fairly common way of calling someone in this era. What else should we call them? Lu'er? Dalang? They sound even more awkward.
He was young, to put it bluntly, he hadn't even reached puberty yet, so Han Ling'er wasn't on guard against him and therefore didn't pay much attention to his behavior at home.
On the contrary, she always tries to please him. After all, they are family, and Han Ling'er hopes that Wang Lu can truly accept her.
Of course, there was another reason: Wang Jun had gone to work, and Han Ling'er was bored, so she was happy to chat with Wang Lu to relieve her boredom.
But Wang Lu just felt awkward and hadn't gotten used to it yet.
"What book is Lu Lang reading?"
"The Book of Poetry by Mao."
"oh."
Han Ling'er glanced at his bookshelf and said, "What books do you have that I can look at?"
"Take a look at this one, you can read it as a storybook." Wang Lu found her a copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals.
"oh."
after awhile.
"Is there anything that can help you two, like books on managing the workshop, accounting, or making money? You two are both going to be officials in the future, so you probably won't have the time or energy to manage the family business anymore."
"It seems not, but if you want to learn, it would be better to go to the factory and get hands-on experience. You always learn business by doing. Didn't you talk to my dad about it?"
"Not yet, I... I'm a little hesitant to tell him."
Wang Lu was stunned for a moment. You have to know that this was the early Song Dynasty, or more accurately, just after the Five Dynasties. There should have been no discrimination against women, and it was normal for women to go out and do things.
After all, men either die, join the army, or do corvée labor. After two hundred years of war, what's the point of talking about female virtues?
However, he quickly realized that this was directed at him. He was afraid that Wang Lu would be uncomfortable if she went to the brick factory. After all, she was his stepmother. The Han family was already powerful, and if she took control of this business, it would be easy to think about something so sordid.
"No problem, my dad won't mind. Here's what we'll do: I'll talk to him when he gets back today. We'd be more than happy if you could help us out."
"real?"
"Um."
Han Ling'er took out a dog plush toy with a big mouth: "Thank you, Lu Lang, you're so kind."
Wang Lu: "…………"
Just then, a servant from the manor came to report: "Young master, the Third King has come in person, saying he wants to see you, and is waiting at the gatehouse."
"Zhao Guangmei? Still waiting at the gatehouse? Are you all out of your minds? With his status, you're letting him wait at the gatehouse instead of inviting him into the living room?"
"We invited him in, but he wouldn't come in. He insisted on waiting to be announced at the gatehouse."
"I'll go take a look."