Palace.
Gu Jiu changed to a more comfortable sitting position.
Deng Cunli stood with his back bowed. Gu Jiu asked him to sit down but he refused and said it was against the rules.
Gu Jiu couldn't do anything to him, so he just stood there.
"What's going on now?" she asked casually.
Deng Cunli considered his words for a moment before saying, "I've heard from you that the Zhu family paid all taxes and fines on the last day of the five-day deadline, totaling 1.55 million taels."
"oh!"
"Many people in the court sympathize with the Zhu family. In the past two days, many imperial censors have impeached Madam?"
"Impeach me? Are you sure you're impeaching me and not the young master?" Gu Jiu was surprised.
She's just a woman in the inner chamber, what's there to impeach? Those censors must have nothing better to do.
Deng Cunli said with certainty, "It is indeed an impeachment of Madam."
Gu Jiu was a little curious, "Impeach me for what?"
Deng Cunli hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Impeach Madam for disrespecting superiors and subordinates, competing with the people for profit, controlling refugees, and misleading the people."
"Why didn't you directly impeach me for inciting the refugees to rebel?" Gu Jiu sneered, and all his disgust and disdain were naturally directed at those imperial censors.
Deng Cunli considered for a moment and continued, "As the project outside the South City Gate grows larger and larger, more and more interests will be involved. In the future, there will be more and more impeachments against Madam. This is the first time, and I believe that there will soon be a second impeachment, and a third impeachment..."
Gu Jiu raised his hand and interrupted him, "Which censors are impeaching me?"
Deng Cunli was well prepared and took out a list and handed it to her.
Gu Jiu looked at the list and didn't recognize any of them. These people were just minions of the Censorate, using her as a practice pen.
She smiled softly, "Make arrangements. Tell our people to concentrate their firepower on impeaching the Zhu family starting tomorrow."
Is her battle with the Zhu family over?
No!
The battle between them was just being conducted in a more covert way.
However, on the surface, the two families have shaken hands and made peace, and are not interfering with each other.
Deng Cunli nodded and said he would arrange this matter.
Gu Jiu asked, "Has the Zhu family sold any property?"
"Not really. The Zhu family has ample cash flow, and 1.55 million taels didn't empty their treasury."
"Really," Gu Jiu gritted his teeth, "It's so infuriating. What I hate most is families with abundant cash flow, they simply don't give people a way to survive. There's no sense of accomplishment at all."
The Zhu family did not need to sell any property to pay the 1.55 million taels of tax and fines on time, and their cash flow was astonishing.
She originally planned to take advantage of the situation and acquire the Zhu family's assets, but this plan had to be shelved.
The Zhu family never gave her the opportunity to take advantage of others' misfortune.
So annoying!
Deng Cunli reminded: "In the court, Madam should discuss with the young master and see how to deal with it."
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "If the imperial censors want to impeach us, let them do so. Don't stop them. But we can't let the Zhu family go."
No one is perfect, and I can't be either. Hundreds of thousands of people will gather outside the South City Gate, with tens of millions of dollars in profits at stake. Everyone will be jealous. Even His Majesty will be jealous. I have to have flaws and loopholes, do you understand?
Deng Cunli nodded slightly. "Just like the Duke of Lu, he seems to be full of loopholes, but once you have a lot of evidence against him, your Majesty can rest assured."
"That's the logic. Tens of thousands of refugees, tens of thousands of young and strong men, if gathered together and trained a little, they can become a fighting army. Do you think others won't be on guard against me? You and I should be thankful that the young master didn't interfere with the project outside the South City Gate from the beginning, and didn't reach out to those refugees. Otherwise, he and I would never be able to clear our names even if we jumped into the Yellow River."
Gu Jiu was also quite scared.
When I first designed this project, I was only thinking about how to make money and how to sell the houses. I didn't really think deeply about it. I didn't have the energy or the drive to do that.
Liu Zhao had expressed his willingness to help her when she was pregnant.
Fortunately, she firmly rejected Liu Zhao's kindness.
Thinking about it now, I am really glad that I rejected Liu Zhao.
If Liu Zhao reached out to those refugees, it would be hard to say who would win or lose in this fight between her and the Zhu family.
Deng Cunli was also frightened.
"Madam, should we recruit half refugees and half locals from now on?"
Gu Jiu nodded and said, "For now, the recruitment ratio is 60% refugees, 30% locals, and 10% skilled workers. You must remind the managers below that when work begins, locals and refugees must be separated to avoid fighting between the two sides."
"I understand."
The locals will never truly accept these refugees, at least not within two generations.
Only by the third and fourth generations will it be possible for everyone to live together peacefully without distinction between locals and refugees.
Gu Jiu would not take the thankless task of helping refugees integrate into the capital.
There is no need for this and it is impossible.
Tens of thousands of people have left their homes, and it is a dream to expect the locals to quickly accept them.
In modern society, even with such developed transportation information, regional discrimination cannot be eliminated, let alone in ancient times.
Local consciousness is engraved in our genes and cannot be changed without the efforts of several generations.
Isolating the two sides, making them wary of each other and competing with each other will bring more benefits than disadvantages to Gu Jiu.
As for who dares to cause trouble, the guards led by Song Zheng are no pushovers.
When it is time to punish, there will be no inappropriate mercy.
How tens of thousands of refugees learned to line up and obey orders was thanks to the sticks in the hands of the guards.
Spread out the map.
The entire area outside the South City Gate, hundreds of thousands of acres of land and forests, are all on the map.
Xincun Market only occupies a very small area.
There are also large tracts of open space and forests waiting for Gu Jiu to build.
She pointed to the planned industrial land and said, "We can start building the industrial zone. The coal plant will be built on the back of the mountain to prevent pollution. We can consider setting up a small market in the open space between the industrial zone and the residential area to facilitate shopping for workers after work. Of course, the main focus of commerce will be on the newly built Nanchengmen Market in the southeast."
Deng Cunli took out a small notebook and wrote them down one by one.
Gu Jiu asked him, "I heard that someone really likes the market that's being built?"
"Exactly."
"How's it going?"
Deng Cunli said, "The leasing process is going smoothly. They are all established merchants in the capital. They have already rented over a hundred shops, all for a five-year term. However, no one is interested in the fifty shops at the end of the alley."
The entire market has nearly 500 shops, and those in good locations are only rented out and not sold.
The fifty shops in the worst locations can be rented or sold.
It was obvious that the old merchants in the capital looked down on those fifty shops and preferred to rent shops in good locations.
When he heard that it couldn't be sold, Gu Jiu didn't care, "It doesn't matter if it can't be sold. At worst, we can use it as a warehouse."
She flipped through the plan and asked, "Is the relocation of the refugees going smoothly?"
"It went very smoothly. Aside from a few who delayed their relocation by a day or two, the vast majority of refugees moved out of the shantytown before the three-day deadline."
Gu Jiu asked, "Has it been demolished?"
“It’s being demolished.”
The relocation of the first batch of refugees involved more than a thousand shacks, which freed up a large area.
Deng Cunli directly drew the area that had been relocated on the map.
"We are arranging people to level the ground in the next two days, and the second phase of the project will be able to start soon."
Gu Jiu nodded, "Hurry up. We'll try to have the first batch of houses in the second phase completed before winter comes. When winter comes, construction will stop and we can focus on selling houses. When ordinary people in Beijing buy new houses, they can spend the New Year in their new houses."
Deng Cunli calculated the time and found that winter was not far away.
He said: "If we concentrate our manpower on building houses, we can build about 500 houses before winter comes."
Gu Jiu laughed, "Five hundred buildings isn't bad either. Sell all five hundred, collect some money, and give everyone bonuses at the end of the year. As for dividends, there won't be any this year."
I spent all my money this year and didn't make any.
The various community facilities alone are enough to waste all the energy.
Gu Jiu wants to build a city and a century-long project.
Just building an underground sewage channel and an underground flood discharge channel would cost a huge amount of money.
The capital, especially the southern part, is flooded when it rains. You can go boating in the city.
This is what Yuhua Lane was like in the past.
Gu Jiu learned the lessons from the construction of Nancheng City and paid special attention to the flood discharge channel.
She didn't want three days of heavy rain to flood the entire area outside the South City Gate and become synonymous with dirtiness and disorder.
Even if the houses built by Gu Jiu were not expensive, they were at least of guaranteed quality, allowing people to buy with confidence and live in peace of mind.
Therefore, the foundations of the houses outside the South City Gate were raised a little.
Deng Cunli asked a crucial question: "When winter comes and construction stops, so many young and strong laborers will have no work and no income, and many of them have mortgages. What will we do then?"
Gu Jiu was very straightforward. "Arrange them to build roads, dig canals, dredge rivers. Go up the mountain to open up wasteland. Or go to the docks to carry heavy bags. There will always be a place to put them."
Deng Cunli frowned. "The ground is frozen solid in winter, so it's not the right time to work in the fields. Asking them to build roads and dig canals won't yield any progress in a day. Madam, are you planning to support them this way?"
Gu Jiu didn't deny it. "What if I don't feed them? Let them starve? I know it's difficult to start work in winter, but I can't feed them like relief food for nothing and let them all develop the habit of being lazy and gluttonous.
Working means having food to eat and wages to receive. This is the principle and the bottom line. I believe that even in winter, those refugees are happy to work every day just to eat meat soup. We can even give them an additional benefit."
"What benefits?"
"Free cotton clothes."
Deng Cunli was surprised. Cotton clothes are not cheap, and with so many refugees, giving them free clothes would bankrupt them!
Gu Jiu smiled mysteriously, "As far as I know, the military camp has a lot of old cotton clothes. You said that I cooperated with the military camp and sold new cotton clothes at a low price in exchange for old cotton clothes.
"We can alter the old cotton clothes slightly, wash them, add some cotton to them, and distribute them to the refugees who are working. This will please the Ministry of War, win over the hearts of the refugees, and also help them find jobs. It's like killing three birds with one stone."
Deng Cunli frowned, "The Ministry of War may not agree to cooperate."
"It doesn't matter if the Ministry of War disagrees. The Marquis of Lu will definitely be willing to do this business with me."
Gu Jiu even thought that even if the Duke of Lu disagreed, she could set up a cotton clothing store in the capital, exchanging old clothes for new ones at low prices. She would never worry about not being able to collect enough old cotton clothes.
After all, solutions are invented by people.
Of course, it would be best to cooperate with the Ministry of War. Winning orders from the Ministry of War would allow the textile workshop to expand operations, continue recruiting workers, and operate at full capacity, thus solving employment problems for even more people.
She thought, "We could even open a secondhand store and sell old quilts."
"Madam, do you mean to open a pawnshop?"
"No, it's not a pawnshop. It's a secondhand shop. I collect everything, refurbish it, and sell it at secondhand prices. What do you think of this business? I don't plan to run it myself, but I can invest money. Whoever wants to take over this business can come to me and sign an agreement, and I'll help him open the store."
"I'm willing!" Qingmei was the first to sign up.
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "You can't do that. You have to serve me."
Qingmei was very disappointed. Of course, she didn't really want to start a second-hand goods business.
Deng Cunli thought for a moment and said, "Why not let the business be handed over to the people below to raise funds, and my wife can also invest some money in it."
“Who is raising funds?”
Deng Cunli had already thought about it. "Song Zheng and his guards. They have a wide network of contacts and are good at collecting second-hand goods."
"Will it interfere with your work? Don't spend all your time wandering around the streets collecting junk instead of doing anything else."
Deng Cunli said hurriedly, "I believe that as long as this second-hand shop sticks to the old-for-new policy, we won't have trouble collecting enough used goods. I'm just worried that others might misunderstand us as passing off old goods as new, or inferior goods as good ones."
Gu Jiu laughed when he heard that.
The counterfeiting and imitation methods these days are really no match for those in modern society.
Old is old, refurbished is also old.
Nowadays, when people are willing to exchange old things for new ones, they are bound to buy things that are very well worn, such as worn quilts and tattered clothes.
How can something this old be passed off as new?
No one would trade in nearly new clothes. Even if someone did, they would go to a pawn shop, not a secondhand store.
Gu Jiu said, "Don't worry about being misunderstood. Old is old and it won't become new. It's easy to make something new look old, but it's extremely difficult to make something old look new. Any used second-hand item will always leave traces."
Deng Cunli took note of this and prepared to go down and discuss the issue of fundraising with Song Zheng.
If you want, you can open a second-hand store.
If they were unwilling, it didn't matter whether the second-hand shop opened or not. Directly cooperating between the textile workshop and the Ministry of War would save a lot of trouble.
Gu Jiu writes and draws.
After a struggle between her and the Zhu family, more and more people started targeting her and the Nanchengmenwai project.
This time it is the Zhu family, next time it may be the Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li or many other families.
She had to find a way to resolve it.
Gu Jiu said softly: "It seems necessary to organize a second round of fund raising."
"Madam, have you decided to share the profit risk?" Deng Cunli instantly realized the purpose of Gu Jiu's actions.
Gu Jiu did not deny it. "It's time to share the burden, so that everyone can share the benefits. But we won't share it as a whole, but cut it into many small pieces. This time, we will raise funds for the second phase of the project, the textile workshop, and the coal plant."
"Has the madam decided?"
"I'll think about it."
Just a second phase project and two factories do not seem to be attractive enough.
She needs to add some more chips.
She said to Deng Cunli, "Send someone to keep an eye on the Zhu family. Last time, at the palace gate, Cheng Enbo Zhu Ci vomited blood and fainted. Something must have happened. Recently, apart from paying taxes, the Zhu family has been quiet, which is a bit strange. The Zhu family must be hiding something."
"I understand."
After finishing the work, Deng Cunli left the palace and returned to the construction site.
Gu Jiu slumped in the chair, looking at her bulging belly. The due date was very close.
Soon she was able to unload the cargo, as light as a swallow.
I just don't know whether this baby is a boy or a girl.
She naturally hopes for a boy, because boys can live an easier life and not have to suffer as much as girls.
These days, women are really being driven to death.
She couldn't bear to give birth to a daughter and let her suffer.
I walked around the yard a few times to stretch my muscles.
The closer it gets to her due date, the more she needs to exercise so that the birth goes smoothly.
By the time Liu Zhao came back, she had already twisted twice and done two sets of stretching exercises.
"Come, come here."
She waved to him.
Gu Jiu stepped forward and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Put your arms around my waist. I need to stretch. Otherwise, I feel like my waist is getting rusty."
"Is this okay? Won't something happen to the child?"
"My offspring will be fine with a simple stretch."
She really felt that her twenty-year-old waist was about to rust.
The main reason is too little waist exercise.
With Liu Zhao's assistance, he stretched boldly for two rounds, and his waist, which had been stretched for twenty years, finally came back to life.
She slumped down on the couch and said to Liu Zhao, "Please make an appointment with the old man from the Ministry of War. I have something to discuss with him."
"What's the matter? Why don't you just talk to me directly?"
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "Okay. I plan to cooperate with the Ministry of War and sell cotton clothes at a low price in exchange for old cotton clothes from the military camp."
Liu Zhao frowned. What a magical operation.
"Can you make the decision? If not, just be good and make an appointment for me to meet with the Minister."
Liu Zhao pinched his nose and said, "Military procurement is indeed not my responsibility. Okay, I'll arrange a meeting with the Minister for you."
Under Gu Jiu's gaze, Liu Zhao decisively compromised.
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