Regardless of the circumstances, the gentry and landlords all felt that Zhu Yunwen had been deceived by their fabricated drought scheme.

Now they're actually asking them to do something like organize a food donation drive.

This was a ridiculous thing in the eyes of these gentry and landlords. As for what Zhu Yunwen said about what benefits he could gain from this donation, these gentry and landlords were somewhat interested and curious.

They wanted to know what good ideas Zhu Yunwen had that would allow everyone to benefit from this situation. Just as everyone was wondering, Zhu Yunwen spoke up:

"Actually, what I want to discuss with everyone is very simple: let's cooperate and hold a fundraising event for this drought."

You guys should take the lead and donate some grain, and then encourage all the wealthy people in Hekou County to donate money as well.

There are quite a few wealthy people in Hekou County. If they donate some money under your influence, it will amount to an astronomical sum.

We will use a portion of this money to buy food in preparation for a possible drought.

The other part of the money, we can use to divide it up.”

After Zhu Yunwen finished speaking, Old Sun was stunned, and the other gentry and landlords were also stunned at the same time.

For a moment, they didn't seem to understand what Zhu Yunwen was trying to say.

But what they heard were a few key words: money.

So, Old Sun hurriedly asked:

"What exactly does His Highness the Crown Prince mean by this? We don't quite understand yet."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen sneered inwardly.

Sure enough, these people value the word "profit" very much.

He didn't heed Zhu Yunwen's plan, but he was very interested in the words "dividing the money".

Zhu Yunwen then explained in detail:

"My point is simple: you local gentry and landlords have a great reputation in the area. You can donate a lot of money to this fundraising event."

Then, encourage other wealthy people in Hekou County to donate as well. If you all donate, it wouldn't be right for them not to.

If they also donate a large amount of money, then the total amount they donate will be astronomical.

Of this money, we will take half to actually purchase food for disaster relief, and the other half will be divided equally among those of us here.

As for the money used to buy grain, use it to buy grain for all of you present here. Do you understand what I mean?

After a moment of thought, Old Sun and the other local gentry and landlords looked at each other and saw excitement in each other's eyes.

They have already understood this principle.

To put it bluntly, they were cooperating with Zhu Yunwen to organize a donation and take the lead.

They mobilized other people in Hekou County to donate money. Then, they took half of all the money allocated for disaster relief and used it to buy food for the affected people.

The other half, they divided it all among those present.

This is indeed a highly profitable method, but there is one problem, which Mr. Sun inquired about:

"If we take the lead in donating, what will happen to the money we donate? Will we get a share of it?"

Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said:

"The money you led the way in donating will be returned to you in full. What we want to share is the money donated by the other wealthy people."

The more money you donate, the more you'll get back in full, and the larger your share will be when the profits are distributed. Do you understand what I mean?

Old Sun immediately nodded and said:

"I understand. This way of playing is really ahead of its time, something I've never heard of before."

In fact, in ancient times, there were many ways for gentry and landlords to make money and various ways to deceive the people.

But they had never really heard of anything like what Zhu Yunwen described.

They took the lead in donating money, and what they donated was returned in full, while they divided up the money donated by others.

A portion was used to actually solve the problem, while the other portion was divided equally among these people.

It looks like a sure way to make a huge profit.

So after a brief consideration, Old Sun felt that this matter was profitable and worthwhile.

So he said to Zhu Yunwen:

"Your Highness's method is acceptable, but I am curious, Your Highness, as the Crown Prince, are you also short of money?"

This is Mr. Sun's only remaining question.

Zhu Yunwen sighed and said in a complaining tone:

"I'm sure you've all heard that the current emperor, my grandfather, is an extremely frugal person."

Not only were the salaries of civil and military officials extremely strict, but the distribution of salaries to us members of the royal family was also very rigorous.

Don't let my status as a prince fool you; I'm actually quite frugal when it comes to money.

So, I had no choice but to try and find a way to build up my own little nest egg. You all understand, right?

If it were someone else, they might not understand, and it would be hard to imagine that the heir to the empire, the Crown Prince, would be so interested in money.

However, given the unique circumstances of the Ming Dynasty, this is somewhat understandable.

Moreover, those present were all local gentry and landlords who were driven by profit.

Their understanding of money is far more extreme than that of ordinary people.

Therefore, in their view, it was understandable that Zhu Yunwen, although the crown prince, liked money.

So everyone thought it made perfect sense, especially Old Master Sun, who was a miser, and thought it was perfectly normal for Zhu Yunwen to be interested in money.

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