In the golden autumn, although the weather in the northwest has begun to get cold, it is the most comfortable time of the year for the people, and the streets are bustling with people.
Although the autumn harvest is very tiring, there was a lot of snow last year, so this year is a bumper year. In addition, potatoes are now gradually becoming popular in the northwest, so even poor families can eat half full and can't stop smiling.
As long as they have enough to eat, they can slowly save some money. After being busy for so long, they are willing to go to the town or the county town to buy some things while the weather is not too cold.
Xining Town has been bustling with people lately. Once you enter through the north gate, it's like a daily market with people everywhere.
There are a lot more guards in charge of patrols and soldiers on field duty. Although there are many noisy times, there is no trouble.
On this day, a leisurely carriage came all the way from Xining Town to Xiping County.
At the city gate, the field soldiers guarding the public camel and horse carriages saw it and greeted the coachman.
The slightly fat coachman responded with a smile and slowly walked into the city.
A customer riding in a camel-drawn carriage saw it. After the carriage started moving, he asked the soldiers riding on horseback, "Is this the garrison's carriage? Why are they in the county town?"
Because many customers traveled to and from Xining Town many times, after getting used to the stability of the camel-horse carriage, they had to accept the fact that it was slow. Everyone liked to chat and gradually talked more with the soldiers in charge of the escort.
Nowadays, there are four camel and horse carriages running back and forth between Xining Town and Xiping County every day, and everyone has become accustomed to the soldiers of the Gubei Army following them.
The soldiers also regarded this kind of field work as a way to relax in their spare time. At least guarding the camel and horse carriages was much easier than patrolling the border and training.
Hearing the guest's question, the soldiers beside him smiled and nodded, "It seems to be Uncle Geng from the garrison. He serves Master Qiao. I guess Master Qiao and his wife went to the county town to visit the general's wife."
Although Qiao Ruichen still holds the official title of garrison commander, his rank as General Yunhui is higher. The soldiers rarely call him "Sir" now, and all call him General.
If not Qiao Ruichen, then Miao Wan.
Nowadays, few people don’t know that Miao Wancai is the financial sponsor responsible for their supplies and military pay, so of course they address the Qiao family members in the more respectful way.
The passengers in the car were all gossiping after hearing this. They didn't know that the garrison commander's wife and General Yunhui's wife were the richest women in the entire Northwest.
Especially in June, Miao Wan invited all the prominent businessmen from the three northwestern counties to a charity dinner that the people still talk about today.
The red carpet, singing and dancing were all carefully painted by the painter on the Northwest Gazette.
Even if ordinary people have money, they cannot imagine how rich people spend their money. After all, there are many things they have never heard of.
With the official gazette, they could actually know how the rich spent their money. The official gazette in July and August sold better than ever before and successfully became the most popular thing in the three northwestern counties.
Even storytellers used things in the official newspaper as jokes.
At the moment, several guests are chatting with each other.
"I heard that Madam Qiao was raising funds for the Northwest Defense Army to prevent the Western Regions from attacking when the weather gets colder. She also founded the Northwest Chamber of Commerce and is now its president. She even built a road between the three counties in the name of the Chamber of Commerce."
"Your information is outdated. The Northwest Chamber of Commerce built the road to cover up their tracks, and raised funds to support the Northern Defense Army's suppression of bandits. The Three Counties are much more peaceful now. Otherwise, why would there be so many outsiders on our bus?"
"That's great! If the three counties can truly be at peace, more people will come to the interior to do business, and our lives will be better."
…
While they were chatting, the carriage that Uncle Geng had driven earlier had stopped at the gate of General Yunhui's mansion.
Qiao Shengwen was the first to get off the carriage, followed by Geng, who brought two maids, and Qiao Rui. The whole family got off the carriage.
The two maids were each holding a swaddling baby in their arms, and the little ones were sleeping soundly inside.
Ah Chun had been waiting at the door for a long time. When Geng and the others had settled in, he hurried forward and bowed respectfully, "Greetings to the Master and Madam. Madam and Madam Cheng are in the study, discussing matters with several guests from Lin'an County. They asked me to see to the Master and Madam and settle them in first. The host will come over later at dinner time."
Geng and Qiao Shengwen exchanged a glance and agreed with a smile, "I've brought quite a few people with me. Let others take care of the house. Since Awan is busy, you should go and serve her first. Once she's done, you can let her see the child sooner. It's been over a month since we last met, and the child misses her."
When Miao Wan heard Ah Chun's words, her expressionless face softened a little.
Those two little guys are so lazy. When Taotao was their age, he could turn over and lift his head to fart, but they just eat and sleep all day long, without any intention of lifting their heads.
Miss her? I can’t tell in my dreams.
Miao Wan smiled at the chubby businessman across from her and said, "Boss Xiao, I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself. My children are still young, so I don't have the time to talk nonsense with you. I know you're a down-to-earth person, so I don't intend to bargain with you for too long. Why don't we both take a step back?"
I'll have to trouble you to take care of the iron and coal mines. I'll pay you one million taels of silver, and I won't have to worry about the management, nor do I need to make a profit. But you need to give me half of the iron and coal produced each year. If you like, I'll take the rest at the normal price. If not, you can dispose of it yourself. What do you think?"
Boss Xiao came here on behalf of several private mine owners in Lin'an County. He himself also has two small mines, but they are jade mines with a lot of impurities.
He wanted to buy a few more mines, but all his money was invested in the coal mines inside the Great Wall. That's why he was invited by Miao Wan to come to Xiping County to discuss cooperation.
Nowadays, most of the coal used in the northwest comes from the interior, and some is also used in the northwest, mostly in Lin'an County.
Lin'an County is very rich in mineral resources, and its location outside the Great Wall is sensitive. The proportion of official mines is much smaller than that inside the Great Wall, and there are many private mines.
Even some of the copper and iron used by the Gubei Army every year were purchased from private mines, so most merchants in Lin'an County were much richer than those in the other two counties.
But no matter how rich she is, it is mostly reflected in mines and property. In terms of real money, no one can compare to Miao Wan now.
Boss Xiao was deeply moved by the fact that she could take out one million taels without blinking an eye.
However, Miao Wan's request was indeed a bit painful for Boss Xiao. He smiled wryly and calmly negotiated the terms. "To buy a mine, it would cost at least one million taels. No one knows if it will be gone in a few years. If half goes to Madam, there must be a time limit. Otherwise, we have a family to support, and we really can't afford to lose money."
Miao Wan lowered her eyes, smiled and said nothing. A million taels of silver is a considerable sum of money inside the Great Wall, and it is even more valuable in the northwest. Very few people can take it out at will.
Although there are many mines in Lin'an County, the northwest is not a place rich in minerals today, and the mines are not very large. A mine will be empty in a few years, and one can be bought for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
Boss Xiao is taking advantage of her because she doesn't know anything about mining and is trying to cheat her out of her wealth.
"No one knows the quality of the mines you and other bosses want to take over. If the quality is poor, the bulk of the risk lies with me. Since we want to cooperate, I will bear the risk. Do you, Boss Xiao, expect me to bear all the risks?" Miao Wan's tone became much colder, and her words made Boss Xiao embarrassed.
"My money didn't come from the wind. You are bullying a woman like me."
Boss Xiao didn't expect Miao Wan to be so rude. Would a woman be so greedy and ask for half of it at once?
It took several companies working together to acquire those large mines, and now she wants half of them. Doesn't she allow people to discuss the terms?
Boss Xiao felt that if Miao Wan talked like this, there would be no need for cooperation.
Gu Shuyao, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up to smooth things over. "You must have misunderstood Boss Xiao's intentions. Although you've contributed the most money, Boss Xiao and his team need to buy the mine and hire people to handle various paperwork. It's not easy to mine the minerals after purchasing it, and mining is dangerous. If something goes wrong, you'll be held accountable by the government. It's not as simple as you think."
Miao Wan curled her lips and said nothing.
Gu Shuyao smiled and looked at Boss Xiao. "But Boss Xiao, don't blame Madam Qiao for her harsh words. There will probably be a lot of people vying for this mine. She will have to deal with several generals over there, and she will have to spend a lot of money and goods. Moreover, the relationship between our merchants and us has been tense recently. Many of the ores needed for dyes are unavailable, which has also affected the business of the logistics center. She is in a hurry at the moment, so I hope you don't mind."
Boss Xiao's eyes changed. The reason why Miao Wan became the president of the Northwest Chamber of Commerce was because she was willing to give away the recipe and share the logistics center with merchants in the Northwest.
Even the specific operations were mostly handled by individual merchants, and the Qiao family was only responsible for providing goods, supervising and inspecting various processes.
Only after actually taking over the logistics center did Boss Xiao and others realize that this was a very profitable business. If it weren't for the logistics center, he wouldn't have thought of cooperating with others to operate a few more mines.
If the logistics center's business is unstable, it will have a significant impact on the merchants in Lin'an County.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but say, "I wonder how much you're short of? Although my jade mine doesn't produce much jade, it does produce some ore that can be used for dyeing. If you need anything, Madam Qiao, just let me know. I'm willing to do my best."
Miao Wan sighed upon hearing this. "The main thing is that in just over a month, merchants from all over the country will be entering the country. By then, the logistics center will be shipping goods for all regions, and it will be the busiest time. So you should know that the amount of goods will not be small, and there will be a gap..."
Needless to say, it won't be small.
Boss Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Then I can ask the Gull merchants in Lin'an County and the Hehuang Valley. If there are any leftovers, they can come to my wife as soon as possible."
Miao Wan smiled. "I heard there are many miscellaneous mines near Dengzhou Prefecture that no one is willing to take over. I heard that mines with a lot of impurities are more likely to produce dyed stones. If Boss Xiao can mine these mines immediately, perhaps he can fill this gap."
Boss Xiao was stunned.
Miao Wan immediately added, "I'll pay for this part of the money, but I'm not familiar with running a mining business, so I need Boss Xiao to take care of it. I just want the dyed stones.
If you can agree to this, the one million taels I promised you previously will remain unchanged. I only want 30% of the iron and coal from the new mine, over a five-year period, on the condition that all the dyestones from the mines you manage be sold to me at a price 30% lower than the market price."
She wasn't going to discuss this condition any further, so she picked up the tea after she finished speaking. "I originally planned to send this money to the capital, but if that doesn't work out, I can only ask Concubine Jin to come up with a solution. But I really don't want to trouble Concubine with everything. I have set this condition because I really have no other choice. Mr. Xiao, please consider it. I'd appreciate a reply as soon as possible."
Boss Xiao felt that the reduction from half to 30% was a loss of 20% of minerals. If mined more diligently, he would probably be able to make several million taels in five years. He could accept this in his heart.
But he didn't want to agree too quickly, so he followed Miao Wan's intention to see her off and stood up to say goodbye with a smile.
After Boss Xiao left, Gu Shuyao saw that Miao Wan still didn't get up, and sighed inwardly, "Your sons are here, why don't you go see them?"
Miao Wan's eyes were dazed for a moment, and she didn't answer Gu Shuyao's question, "No news from him yet?"
Gu Shuyao's throat tightened a little, "No news is good news."
Miao Wan sighed softly, "Please don't give me some clichéd plot where a beautiful woman saves a hero after falling off a cliff and then goes into seclusion to recuperate. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and end up a widow."
Gu Shuyao: “…”
Miao Wan seemed to be talking to herself and didn't expect Gu Shuyao's reply. She patted her cheeks to cheer herself up and got down to business.
"Are you sure those mines in Lin'an County and Dengzhou Prefecture are rare earth mines?"
Gu Shuyao nodded, the gentle expression she had just shown in front of Boss Xiao gone, and she said seriously, "I've sent people to collect samples. If the quantity is sufficient, the weapons of the Gubei Army will no longer be a problem. I'm sure we can teach those foreigners a lesson they'll never forget."
Rare earth minerals are the "gold" of industry, and their largest applications are in military and smelting and chemical industries.
They don't have too many iron ore and copper ore resources on hand. If they can be optimized with rare earth ores, Gu Shuyao is confident that she can train a commando team that will terrify the enemy in terms of both quantity and quality.
Gu Shuyao had to do experiments to figure out how to do it, and Miao Wan, a little waste of liberal arts, had even less idea.
She just needed to know that this thing was useful in fighting.
"Leave it to me. If Boss Xiao and the others have other ideas, I'll have them direct them to me. I'll ensure the first batch of dyed stones arrives this month at the latest." Miao Wan kept calculating in her mind, "It would be best if they could be used before they freeze."
Because Qiao Ruichen's life and death and whereabouts are unknown, Miao Wan is unprecedentedly wary of outsiders. After establishing the Northwest Chamber of Commerce, she becomes even more ruthless in suppressing merchants.
Boss Chen from Anyong County and two other bosses, Boss Zhou and Boss Yang, have happily gotten involved in the logistics center business. Naturally, they will not give customers any convenience to do things that harm others and benefit themselves.
The merchants were having a hard time doing business and were still eager to stir up trouble. However, because Miao Wan had set up the Chamber of Commerce, it was extremely difficult for them to gather information and send it back as a frontier.
What I originally wanted to do in Xia Li, it's already autumn and they haven't yet achieved a large scale.
But Miao Wan was not only wary of merchants. When the weather got cold, it had become a habit for foreigners like the Xifan people to use Dayue as a granary.
If a real fight breaks out, it could happen at any time from now on.
Gu Shuyao also felt a sense of urgency. She didn't tell Miao Wan that it wasn't just Xifan and Northern Mongolia. Several other small countries were even more active than Northern Mongolia in their intentions to make moves.
There will definitely be a war this winter.
So Gu Shuyao was very busy and she didn't have time to comfort Miao Wan. After confirming the matter of the rare earth mine, she hurried back to Xining Town.
Miao Wan was busy in the study for a long time. Only when Ah Chun came to urge her did she go to the front hall, pinching her forehead.
In the past few months, she has been busier than when she first started her business.
Only by being busy could she stop worrying about whether Qiao Ruichen would die.
Only if she is busy enough can she remain calm and face the situation of how to take revenge if Qiao Ruichen is dead.
Before entering, she heard the laughter of Qiao Rui and Taotao, accompanied by Geng's gentle scolding and Qiao Shengwen's helpless laughter and scolding.
For Miao Wan, this felt like a warmth from another world, so hot that her eyes became a little blurry. She took a deep breath, blinked away the moisture in her eyes, and then walked in with a smile.
Just for this warmth, I will wait for Qiao Bailao to come back. If there really is a beauty who saves the hero, I will forgive him once as long as he doesn't add a few more jokes about amnesia or the beauty running away with the baby.
Just as she stepped into the door, Qiao Ruichen, who had been in a coma for more than half a month, happened to open his eyes.
When he opened his eyes, he found that there were more than ten little kids lying around him, all staring at him eagerly.
Seeing that he had woken up, the little carrot heads were very excited and started chattering and shouting -
"Dad is awake!"
"Dad opened his eyes!"
"Ouch! Daddy choked!"
"Ah! Dad fainted from choking!"
The author has something to say:
Wishing all my little cuties a Happy New Year in advance! May everything go well for you! May everything go smoothly! May you be in good health! May you be prettier, thinner, and richer in the coming year! ! ! !
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