Chapter 287 Spending Money to Repair Roads
Now that the Zhou family's shop has grown bigger, she is busier than usual.
When Zhou Ruiyuan returned that night, Du Wanchun took out the map of Qingzhou Prefecture.
She drew out the most suitable places on the map for building official roads and waterways.
Zhou Ruiyuan looked at them and said with delight, "Wanchun, did you draw all of these?"
Du Wanchun smiled and said, "Yes, look here, there are several counties without roads. If the roads here were open, we could transport rice to them to sell."
Zhou Ruiyuan nodded slightly, then slowly said, "These places do indeed need road repairs, but..."
"Are you short of money?" Du Wanchun asked with a smile.
Zhou Ruiyuan slowly put down the map. "That's right."
Du Wanchun turned around and took out an account book from the room. "Although our family is not considered extremely wealthy now, we still have enough money to repair the road."
As she spoke, she directly drew out an account for 10,000 taels of silver from the ledger.
Zhou Ruiyuan was stunned. "You're willing to spend so much silver to repair roads in Qingzhou Prefecture?"
Du Wanchun said slowly, "Of course I'm willing. Once the road is repaired, the people's lives will improve, and when the people's lives improve, our shops will have a steady stream of business."
Although she kept saying that she was only concerned about her own shop, her words were all for the sake of her business.
But Zhou Ruiyuan knew that she was doing it for his career advancement.
Paying out of his own pocket to repair roads would not only win him popular support but also earn him a good reputation among officials in the court, so it would do him no harm.
Seeing that he did not reply, Du Wanchun assumed that he was reluctant to part with the money, and comforted him with a smile: "Husband, don't worry, in the future we will not only earn back this 10,000 taels, but also 30,000 taels and 40,000 taels."
Zhou Ruiyuan reached out and gently hugged her. "Thank you, Wanchun."
Du Wanchun smiled and said, "If you really want to thank someone, you should thank your mother. Some of the money here is from incense that your mother made."
Zhou Ruiyuan buried his head in her neck and nodded gently, "After we return to the capital, you and Mother won't have to suffer like this anymore."
Du Wanchun replied, "It's not hardship at all. Our family is happy and harmonious, which is great."
Zhou Ruiyuan felt a pang of anxiety upon hearing this and hugged her even tighter.
The light in their room stayed on all night again.
The following day, Zhou Ruiyuan took the silver notes she gave him and returned to the county government office to continue the road repair work.
Several official roads were built in the nearby counties, which greatly increased the number of merchants traveling to and from Cheng'an County.
If all the official roads that Du Wanchun drew are repaired this time, even more people will come here.
Road construction takes time; it can take anywhere from a year to three to five years.
Zhou Ruiyuan was not in a hurry and took his time to arrange the matter.
Following Zhou Ruiyuan's advice, Wei Xun returned to the Northern Barbarians with the princess's whip, and this departure lasted for half a year.
Significant changes have occurred in the past six months.
Du Wanchun opened two more rice shops in the two neighboring prefectures of Qingzhou.
The perfume creams in the rouge shop are selling better and better.
Recently, she and Aunt Zhou have created an expensive anti-aging cream.
However, ordinary women in Cheng'an County could not afford it, so Du Wanchun sent someone to deliver the anti-aging cream to Miss Han, who was far away in the capital.
Miss Han and Zhou Feng have been married for several months and their relationship is very good.
After receiving the anti-aging cream, Miss Han couldn't wait to send some to her best friend as well.
In this way, the word eventually reached the hands of various noble ladies in the capital.
Months later, the noble ladies who had used the anti-aging cream all asked Miss Han where they bought it, and Miss Han told them about Du Wanchun's rouge shop.
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