Gu Jiu was doing the math, and with Liu Zhao returning home, the expenses of the East Courtyard skyrocketed this month.
Only half of the month had passed, and the money allocated to the East Court by the government had been used up.
The private properties Liu Zhao acquired privately consisted of two farms and a few shops, with limited annual income.
She took an abacus and calculated the accounts again and again.
In the end, she would definitely need Tao's dowry to supplement the family income, otherwise she would not be able to make ends meet.
No wonder Xiao Qin'er was thinking about ways to make money every day. It was probably because Liu Yi's expenses were too high for her to bear.
When he got to the end of the calculation, he really couldn't continue. Gu Jiu simply threw the abacus aside, feeling a little depressed.
What's wrong with these imperial grandchildren? They only earn so little money, but their expenses are higher than anyone else's.
Before the marriage, all expenses were borne by the public, and the prince and princess would occasionally contribute a little.
After getting married, all expenses were paid according to the rules, exactly how much was paid, not a single ounce of silver more.
What about the remaining portion? The princes and princesses did not provide any subsidies, and all the subsidies came from the wives’ dowries.
What a broken rule.
Xiao Cui came back from the accounting office and took a few receipts.
"Madam, the young master has just purchased a set of four treasures of the study, valued at three hundred taels. Here's the receipt. The accountant asked me to ask Madam if the three hundred taels should be paid to the accountant now, or deducted directly from the expenses of the East Court next month?"
Gu Jiu felt a headache and took the receipt and glanced at it quickly.
Hui ink, rice paper, Hu brush, Duan inkstone, all of which are luxury goods among the four treasures of the study. Three hundred taels is not expensive.
However, when she was asked to pay for the three hundred taels, Gu Jiu felt like a thousand horses were running wildly in her heart.
At the rate Liu Zhao was spending money, even if he had ten thousand taels a month, let alone two thousand, it wouldn't be enough.
She instructed Xiao Cui, "Give this receipt to the young master and tell him that the money for the East Courtyard has been used up this month. Tell him to make up the shortfall of three hundred taels himself."
Xiao Cui was a little scared, "Madam, do you really want to say that?"
Gu Jiu glared at him, "Go, do as I say, don't change a single word."
Xiao Cui could only obey the order and leave.
After Xiao Cui left, Qing Mei said, "Xiao Cui is afraid of the young master. Madam has given her this task, which is difficult for her."
Gu Jiu picked up the abacus again and resigned himself to his fate and did the math.
"You can't be afraid forever. You're the only ones I need around me. If you're afraid and don't do anything, I'll have to promote someone else."
Qingmei hurriedly said, "I just said it casually, madam, please don't take it to heart."
Gu Jiu shook his head, "I don't care, but the money is arguing with me."
Gu Jiu doesn't have much spare money left.
In the northwest, Deng Cunli had already accepted a military supply order for 200,000 sets of woolen garments.
Relying on Pei Yun's face, Duke Lu approved a 30% deposit to the workshop, but it was not enough.
She and Pei Yun each contributed 7,000 taels and the other 5,000 taels, and they collected a total of 12,000 taels and sent it to the workshop.
Since she owned 60% of the shares in the workshop, she paid the lion's share, while Pei Yun paid the smaller share.
We can't let Pei Yun hold 40% of the shares and pay the same amount of money. That's not how business works.
After paying seven thousand taels, only about two thousand taels of the dowry that Gu Jiu brought when she got married were left.
The pearl flower business continued, bringing in a few dozen or a hundred taels of profit each month. The highest income came during the two months around the Lunar New Year, when she alone received over a hundred taels in dividends.
The pharmacy business finally took off thanks to the four prescriptions she gave them. They had finally established a firm foothold in the Beijing pharmaceutical market.
Now there is a slight surplus every month.
However, the pharmacy needs to stockpile a large amount of medicinal materials, and Gu Jiu cannot extract profits from the pharmacy, which would cut off the pharmacy's cash flow.
As for the farm and shop that came with her as a dowry, the profits would not be handed over until the end of the year.
Gu Jiu used an abacus to calculate that the two farms and a few shops could save her six or seven thousand taels of silver in a year, plus ten thousand kilograms of grain.
The shop also needed cash turnover and inventory. Therefore, it was impossible to hand over all the profits. Being able to hand over 6,000 to 7,000 taels was considered a good harvest.
Her dowry shop was a business for ordinary people, not a highly profitable one. Naturally, the profits were limited.
With this calculation, she only had two thousand taels of spare money to use.
She really doubted whether this amount of money could last until the end of the year.
Her business was so extensive that she needed money everywhere, but she was very short on money.
What’s even more annoying is that there is a big spender in the family, Gongzi Zhao.
Xiao Cui came back from the Wenshuyuan and said, "Madam, the master said that he gave all his money to you and asked you to take out three hundred taels."
Bang!
Gu Jiu slammed the table in anger.
"Shameless."
"Madam, please calm down." Qingmei advised hurriedly, fearing that Gu Jiu would get angry and beat Gongzi Zhao.
Gu Jiu picked up the account book and said, "Come on, follow me to the Wenshuyuan to see the Master. I have to settle accounts with him today."
They took the account books, the abacus, and even the sandalwood box they had taken from Qian Fu during the first month of the year, and marched towards the Wenshuyuan.
Shiqin's maids were startled when they saw that Gu Jiu came with bad intentions.
After being glared at by Gu Jiu, he didn't dare to go into the study to inform Gongzi Zhao.
I can only pray in my heart: Young Master, I wish you good luck.
Gongzi Zhao was painting with his newly bought four treasures of the study.
Hearing the noise, he looked up and said, "Sit down for a while, I'll wipe my pen."
"I don't have time to sit here and have fun." Gu Jiu stepped forward and slammed the account book onto the desk. "Take a look for yourself. This is our East Courtyard's expenses this year."
Liu Zhao frowned, looked at the account book, then looked at Gu Jiu, "What kind of evil rage are you getting?"
Gu Jiu looked at him with a half-smile, "I'm not angry, it's the silver that's causing trouble for me. As for me, I can only cause trouble for you."
Liu Zhao looked suspicious and picked up the account book and flipped through a few pages.
You don’t know until you see it. Once you see it, you will realize that the East Court has such a huge monthly expenditure and money is spent everywhere.
Originally, the accountant allocated two thousand taels of silver to the East Courtyard every month. It was basically enough for the family as long as they did not waste money or go on shopping all day long.
However, the cutting expenses at the beginning of the year were suddenly cut by 30%, resulting in a loss of 600 taels per month.
With a monthly expense of 1,400 taels, Gu Jiu would still have some surplus every month when he was alone.
As soon as Liu Zhao came back, there was no money left. In just half a month, all 1,400 taels had been used up, and he would have to pay for the remaining half a month.
Gu Jiu said, "It's still several months before the end of the year when the shop and farm are due. At this rate, the money I have won't last until the end of the year. Especially you. You've only been back a few days, and you've already spent over a thousand taels of silver, and all of it was paid from the East Court. Why don't you pay it from the job?"
Liu Zhao frowned slightly, "Have you used up all the money I asked Qian Fu to give you at the beginning of the year?"
Gu Jiu placed the sandalwood box on the table and said, "Everything is in there. I didn't touch a single penny of yours."
Liu Zhao said unhappily, "I gave you this money so you can use it. Why don't you use it?"
"I thought the money from the public school was enough to cover daily expenses. It turns out I underestimated your ability to spend money."
Liu Zhao opened the sandalwood box, which contained four to five thousand taels of silver notes. He gave them all to Gu Jiu and said, "With this money, we should be able to make it to the end of the year."
Gu Jiu didn't reach out to take the money. She had a stern face and looked very unhappy.
Then he picked up the abacus and started to settle accounts with Liu Zhao.
"The combined assets of you and me, in a good year, could yield between nine thousand and ten thousand taels of silver and tens of thousands of catties of grain.
Based on your and my expenses, the annual expenses will range from 25,000 to 35,000 taels.
The public treasury only gave us 16,800 taels, plus our annual income, it would be 26,800 taels.
Based on an annual expenditure of 30,000 taels, the deficit was 3,200 taels. If we use the upper limit of 35,000 taels, the annual deficit would be 8,200 taels.
Remember, I'm calculating this based on a good year's profits. If we encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities, we'll lose at least tens of thousands of taels a year. And when we have children in the future, the deficit will only be even greater."
Gu Jiu flipped the abacus and threw it on the table, stating the purpose of today's plan. "If you continue to spend money like this, we will owe a deficit of several thousand taels this year alone. I don't think your little money will be enough to fill the deficit."
Liu Zhao: MMP, I'm a grandson of the emperor, and I'm being criticized for spending a little money. This life is unbearable.
He is such a pathetic grandson of the emperor.
He hummed expressionlessly, breathing out through his nose.
Gu Jiu: Haha!
"I've said so much, and this is your reaction."
Liu Zhao said, "I'll find a way to deal with the money."
"What method?" Gu Jiu stared at him suspiciously.
Liu Zhao was slightly impatient and said, "You don't need to ask about this matter."
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him. "You mean you want to keep burning money? It seems like everything I said fell on deaf ears, going in one ear and out the other. It didn't even enter your heart."
Liu Zhao frowned. "This is how I've spent my money since I was young. If you ask me to save money, I don't know where to start. From now on, all of my assets are in your hands. You can do whatever you want with them. Just leave my spending alone."
Gu Jiu gritted his teeth and wanted to bite off a piece of flesh from Liu Zhao.
She said, "If you want me to control your spending, that's fine. Whatever you come up with, first get me ten thousand taels of silver. I have a lot of use for it. If you can get me ten thousand taels, I'll let you spend it as you please next year. No nonsense."
Liu Zhao pondered for a moment and asked, "Only ten thousand taels?"
"Could you get more silver?" Gu Jiu asked suspiciously.
Liu Zhao shook his head, denied it, and acted petty.
"Okay, I'll get you 10,000 taels of silver. Can you tell me what you want to do?"
Gu Jiu waved his hand, "In addition to the silver, I also need you to get me a few skilled jewelry craftsmen from the Ministry of Works. I will pay them well."
She is finally entering the lucrative luxury goods industry.
After several years, I finally got to this point. It wasn’t easy!
She had planned as early as the beginning of the year to convert the teahouse under Liu Zhao's name into a jewelry store.
Ten thousand taels of pneumatic funds are basically enough.
She had even trained the accountant and manager of the jewelry shop, but she had no place to put them, which was really frustrating.
Liu Zhao nodded and agreed. "Ten thousand taels, plus a few skilled jewelry craftsmen, I'll get it done for you within three days. From now on, you must not interfere with how I spend my money."
Gu Jiu gritted his teeth and said, "I will approve an additional 1,500 taels for your expenses per month, no more."
Liu Zhao frowned, "Only 1,500 taels."
"If you think it's too little, then one thousand taels." Gu Jiu was annoyed.
Excluding public expenses, she hadn't spent the 1,500 taels in several months.
In later generations, women spend money while men earn money.
With her, everything was reversed. She was busy making money, while Liu Zhao was busy burning it. She dared to complain that 1,500 taels a month was too little.
Gu Jiu always felt like he was itching to beat up Liu Zhao.
It turns out that being the head of the family is not that easy.
A life where you don’t have to worry about money and can just spend your time shopping is the real enjoyment.
However, if you want power, you cannot help but worry.
Money and power are like twin brothers. If you have power, you naturally have to worry about money.
Unless she was willing to hand over the power of the inner court to Liu Zhao and let Liu Zhao worry about the money.
She looked at Liu Zhao suspiciously.
Liu Zhao could do something else, but making money is probably not an option for him.
As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Let Liu Zhao compete with the royal family members and civil and military officials.
She is responsible for making money and shopping.
Her business empire is huge, and this is just the beginning, less than one-tenth of the planned size.
Liu Zhao said with a hint of disdain, "1,500 is 1,500. Tomorrow I'll buy some shares in your business, and at the end of the year you can give me some money, so that I can have some private money."
Gu Jiu looked at him with a half-smile, "You want some private money?"
Liu Zhao nodded calmly. Couldn't he have some private money? How could a grandson of the emperor not have two taels of silver?
Gu Jiu smiled, moved closer to him, pulled his collar, and asked, "What do you want the private money for?"
Liu Zhao said: "There will inevitably be times when you need money urgently. It's good to have some money in case of emergency."
Very frank and sincere.
Gu Jiu asked with a smile: "Are you not going to do anything bad?"
"I wonder what bad things my lady is talking about?"
Gu Jiu rolled up his collar and said, "What men, women, power and sex transactions."
"You're overthinking it. I only need people, not men or women. If you're really worried, why don't we have a child?"
snort!
You are so beautiful.
Gu Jiu pushed the person away.
"It's not impossible for you to buy shares, but let's make it clear first. You can only own 10% at most, but you have to pay at least 5,000 taels of silver. Otherwise, you can't even think of getting involved in my business."
"How could you, my husband and I, be so cruel?"
Gu Jiu raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I specialize in killing familiar people."
Liu Zhao shook his head. "In three days, I'll give you 15,000 taels. 100% of it will be yours. Don't forget to give me some money at the end of the year."
Gu Jiu was satisfied and walked away leisurely.
Liu Zhao shook his head and smiled, the tenderness in his eyes almost overflowing.
Three days later, he had 15,000 taels in his hand, and Gu Jiu suddenly felt refreshed. The sky was bluer, the ground was greener, and everyone looked pleasing to him.
I also ate half a bowl of rice in the evening.
After dinner, Liu Zhao went to serve her.
He drove everyone out of the bedroom, closed the door, and said, "I'll give you a massage. You've been working hard all day."
If someone shows you kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief.
Gu Jiu kicked him away and said, "I'm tired and need to sleep."
"It's still early, it's not too late to go to bed later."
"No, I have to sleep now."
"During the day, you were so powerful. Now, isn't it my turn to be powerful at night? Hmm?"
He bit her ear viciously, as if he wanted to eat her.
Gu Jiu felt a little guilty and bit his lip, "Who told you to spend money recklessly?"
"Don't forget, in bed, this young master has the final say."
The man's voice was low, deep, and magnetic, and it was very seductive when it fell into the ears.
Gu Jiu felt his heart was so excited.
Oh, oh, oh!
She's about to become voice-controlled.
Can you please stop teasing her?
"Even if you have the final say in bed, at least let me rest."
"It hasn't even started yet, why are you resting? I heard from the maid that you've been taking care of your body and your strength is getting better and better. You can't complain about the hard work before it even starts."
Gu Jiu secretly rolled his eyes. "I've been feeding you for so many days, but you're still not full? Aren't you afraid of kidney deficiency?"
Liu Zhao's face was dark and the veins on his forehead were twitching.
One day, he will be provoked to death by Gu Jiu.
"This young master will let you know whether your kidneys are weak or not."
After personal experience, Gu Jiu was certain that Liu Zhao's kidneys were not deficient. He estimated that they could still be used for several decades.
Oh my god, it’s been several decades. It feels like this life is so hard.
Afterwards, the two lay side by side quietly.
Gu Jiu kicked him once, and then kicked him again.
"What are you doing?" Liu Zhao turned his head and looked at her.
Gu Jiu was very dissatisfied, "I'm thirsty, give me some water."
Liu Zhao stood up and poured her a glass of warm water.
She drank some water and her throat finally felt better.
She leaned into his arms and said, "I heard that the Fourth Young Master embezzled money from Jiangnan. Is this true?"
Liu Zhao didn't answer but asked, "Did you find anything when you interacted with Fourth Brother's wife?"
Gu Jiu chuckled softly, "Recently, my fourth sister-in-law bought two new sets of head ornaments, worth several thousand taels. With such lavish spending, many people in the mansion are curious about how she makes money."
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