"There's no need to distinguish between you and me in our relationship." Li Dan said this, but he felt helpless in his heart. Helping others to get married would be a bargain for this guy!
Yan Siqi looked at it again, feeling a little unconvinced and more confused, and became more and more certain that Li Dan was hiding something from him.
Li Dan felt uneasy at Yan Siqi's gaze and waved his hands vigorously, saying, "I've advised you before not to keep staring at Dongfan all the time. I told you to spend more time on Borneo."
This is true, but Yan Siqi was still puzzled. He scratched his head and said, "Okay, I have invested a lot in Borneo in the past year or so, as you know."
"It's still too little," Li Dan said. "Money doesn't mean much to you and me anymore. Even if we have mountains of gold and silver, what good is it to be a miser? We should have greater ambitions and higher pursuits."
Haha, Yan Siqi leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and said with a half-smile, "Tell me, what are your great ambitions and pursuits?"
Li Dan responded with an unfathomable smile and said, "You'll know later. I can't tell you now."
After knocking twice on the table, Li Dan continued, "You should take more responsibility for the Chamber of Commerce's work. I'm old and my energy is not as good as before."
Yan Siqi was perplexed, thinking Li Dan was looking for a better job and handing the Chamber of Commerce chairmanship to him. While this was a good thing, it still left him perplexed.
I'm almost a provincial governor, why would I care about a chamber of commerce president?
Li Dan smiled faintly, stood up, and walked out with his hands behind his back, saying earnestly as he walked, "Do your job well, and you won't suffer any loss. If you don't listen to the advice of the elderly, you will suffer the consequences. How could I cheat you? It's better to do the job well than to indulge in idle thoughts."
Yan Siqi rolled his eyes at Li Dan's back, touched his chin and fell into deep thought.
There was definitely something being hidden from him, and it was certainly something serious, likely a commission from the Emperor. But judging by his unhurried demeanor, it seemed he wasn't taking any other action besides buying war bonds.
After much thought, Yan Siqi still couldn't come up with an idea and was helpless. He decided to do as Li Dan said.
Well, let’s buy war bonds too. I’ll do whatever you do.
Yan Siqi's eyes lit up, feeling he had grasped the key. "I need to keep a close eye on this guy."
……………….
The rich no longer care about money, like Li Dan and Yan Siqi; the poor are still struggling for food and clothing, while the middle class sets their dream to become rich like Li Dan and Yan Siqi.
Zheng Ren is a member of the middle class and a small owner of a weaving workshop.
From families to small workshops to large factories, the emperor has chosen the path for the Ming Dynasty's textile industry and constantly created favorable conditions.
Sixteen-spindle spinning machines and looms with efficiency increased more than ten times are breaking the traditional family weaving model.
"Not bad, not bad." Zheng Ren watched the workers operating the spinning machines and looms, nodded in approval, and smiled from ear to ear.
It used to take sixteen people to spin a single spindle, but now only one person is needed; the same is true for looms, which save a lot of manpower while greatly increasing output.
The workshop owners who were originally skeptical were attracted by the efficiency of the new machinery after seeing it and generously paid for it.
This is also competition. If others have something that you don’t, not only will your output be lower than theirs, but your costs will also be much higher. You will be at a disadvantage in sales. How long can you sustain this?
Zheng Ren was able to make his fortune by following the traditional path of weavers at the time: starting with one loom, then multiple looms, and with continued investment and accumulation of capital, he first expanded his business into a small workshop, and finally into a large one.
But in recent years, the traditional model has become increasingly unsuitable for society and has developed more slowly.
The reason is very simple. They cannot compete with large and small workshops in terms of efficiency, cost and sales. It takes longer for family production to accumulate funds before they can purchase looms and textile machines.
So, some bold and shrewd people calculated and applied for bank loans to expand production. The interest rate of bank loans was not high, much lower than the high interest rates of money houses. If production and sales continued normally, the principal and interest could be repaid in a year.
Zheng Ren is not the first to try something new. As a cautious small workshop owner, he would not be willing to mortgage his house if he were not facing pressure from his peers!
But after seeing the efficiency of the new looms and the quality of the products, Zheng Ren felt relieved. With the mortgage repayments now in sight, his house was practically safe.
After walking around the workshop, Zheng Ren's complexion improved and his spirits rose. He had fallen out with his family over the loan, and now he was going to show them how rich a person could be without courage.
"Boss, a customer is here. Please go and receive him." The waiter came over and greeted Zheng Ren.
"I'll go right away, I'll go right away." Zheng Ren waved his hand and followed the clerk to the store.
A merchant was sitting there drinking tea. Judging from his attire, he looked ordinary. But Zheng Ren didn't dare to neglect him. He walked forward with a smile on his face and bowed.
"Boss Zheng, this deal—" The merchant looked around the narrow shop, smiled, and said, "I've seen the samples, they're quite good. But with this quantity, I wonder if you can deliver on time?"
Zheng Ren's face flushed, knowing that the store's facade was somewhat embarrassing. After looking at the list of goods handed over by the customer, he hurriedly said, "But please rest assured, customer, I have just purchased new looms and textile machines. The goods you requested will be delivered on time."
"What about the pattern?" the merchant asked with a smile.
Zheng Ren nodded vigorously and gave a firm answer, "All the weavers in my workshop have more than two years of experience. The pattern is not complicated and I'm sure you will be satisfied."
"Okay." The merchant let out a long sigh and motioned the servant to come forward and pay the deposit.
After Zheng Ren finished counting, he signed and sealed the document, and the deal was done.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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