The southern part of the new city gradually began to see a boom in commerce, and people brought in from other places found a place to settle down here.

The most famous of all was Zhang Ji Cloth Shop, which opened five stores in Tokyo within two years, and each store was extremely successful.

It targets ordinary people, so the price is not expensive.

Zhang Qingyuan, the owner of Zhang's Cloth Shop, was also a shrewd man. In recent years, the imperial court had undertaken a large number of construction projects, which had secured the income of many people. Food was the top priority, and clothing was naturally the second priority.

Although the imperial court also established its own embroidery workshops, it was impossible to meet the needs of everyone. Such a huge market attracted the attention of many merchants.

There's a reason why Zhang Qingyuan was able to grow so quickly: he married his beautiful daughter to Gu Yongzhi, a junior official in the Ministry of Commerce, as his concubine, and thus benefited greatly from the resources released by the Ministry of Commerce in recent years.

Having connections in the imperial court makes things easier. The five plots of land purchased from the Ministry of Revenue were very cheap because the five shops had large sales volumes and a significant advantage in purchasing fabrics, allowing them to sell at the lowest possible prices.

Most importantly, some of his main competitors would be invited for tea from time to time, and their businesses would suddenly plummet after the tea session.

Zhang Qingyuan is a typical businessman who rose to prominence under the new policies.

Take, for example, the latest "Great Song Wealth News" ranking of the richest merchants in the Great Song Dynasty. Zhang Qingyuan ranked twentieth with a net worth of 3 million guan.

The bigwigs ranked above 20th either started in the grain business or built their fortunes through housing construction and road repair.

It is said that Zhangji Cloth Shop contracted a large amount of fertile land in the south last year to grow cotton and mulberry trees, preparing for a full-scale expansion in Gyeonggi Province.

While Zhang's Cloth Shop was making a fortune, some smaller cloth shops were facing the risk of bankruptcy.

Li's Cloth Shop was just one of those cloth shops that were about to go bankrupt. It was very ordinary, run by a widow. The only unusual thing about it was that the widow was very beautiful.

However, people won't turn down their own money.

A simple cloth garment sold for 50 coins at Li's Cloth Shop, but only 40 coins at Zhang's Cloth Shop.

On this day, an ordinary-looking man walked into Li's Cloth Shop, not to buy clothes.

When he went in, there was an argument going on inside.

"Li Qiu'e, don't be stubborn and ask for trouble!"

The speaker was a man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, and he had a fierce expression on his face.

The other person was a young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with fair skin and a beautiful face. At this moment, she frowned and said, "This is the business left by my husband. I will not sell it!"

The man said, "Li Qiu'e, you should think this over carefully! Our Zhang family will not let you down!"

Li Yue'e said bluntly, "Steward Zhang, you should leave. I still have business to do here!"

The steward chuckled coldly, "Doing business? What business do you have left? We're doing this for your own good. Instead of holding onto this losing business, why not sell it to us? My young master said he can offer 50 strings of cash!"

"50 strings of cash? Then I'll offer 500 strings!"

The man who had just entered spoke slowly.

Butler Zhang was slightly taken aback, looked over, and asked in surprise, "What did you just say?"

"I said I'd offer 500 strings of cash!"

Steward Zhang suddenly laughed: "Are you crazy! You want 500 strings of cash for this little cloth shop!"

Li Qiu'e also thought she had misheard for a moment, and stared blankly at the man.

The shop was bought by her husband for 50 strings of cash before his death. Now it has some regular customers. Although it can't compare with Zhang's Cloth Shop, it still has some regular customers and can support the family. It's worth some money.

However, it's definitely not worth 500 strings of cash!

The man took out a stack of paper money and said, "Boss Li, count it and see if it's five hundred strings of cash. If it's not enough, I'll pay more!"

When the butler saw the money on the front counter, his eyes almost popped out.

Three years ago, 500 guan could have bought ten shops here, and even now, it can only buy eight shops.

Is this person crazy?!

Steward Zhang's face turned pale: "Who are you? Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble for Zhang's Cloth Shop?"

“That’s right, I’m going to make trouble for Zhang’s Cloth Shop. Go back and tell your master that Li’s Cloth Shop’s goal this year is to bankrupt Zhang’s Cloth Shop.”

Steward Zhang was so angry that his beard stood on end: "Do you dare to give your name?!"

"You are not qualified to know my name."

Steward Zhang stormed off, muttering before he left, "500 strings of cash! 500 strings for this wretched little place! Are you crazy?!"

Li Qiu'e also found this matter unbelievable.

"Please come with me to meet someone, Mr. Li. That person wants to buy Li's Cloth Shop."

"My lord, I am sorry I cannot grant your request. This cloth shop was left to me by my husband and cannot be sold."

"Mr. Li, you've misunderstood. According to the new commercial laws of the Song Dynasty, my husband only wants to invest money in Li's Cloth Shop. The actual management rights still belong to you."

Why does your husband want to buy my little shop?

"Mr. Li will know when he goes to see him."

The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier. Li Yue'e got off the carriage and entered Yongsheng Manor.

Zhao Huan was fiddling with a spinning wheel with Ye Chong.

When Li Qiu'e entered, she was slightly taken aback. She was just an ordinary commoner, but the moment she stepped into Yongsheng Manor, she knew that the owner of this place was of extraordinary status.

She stood obediently to one side and said very politely, "This humble girl, Li Qiu'e, greets you gentlemen."

Zhao Huan took a towel dampened with warm water from Shao Chengzhang, wiped his hands clean, and said, "Li Qiu'e, you've finally arrived. Please take a seat!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!