Gu Jiu reminded Deng Cunli, "We must hurry up and build the academy. Other things can be delayed, but this academy must not be delayed. We must use the best materials to build the academy."
If you want to sell a house for tens of thousands of taels, what else can you rely on besides the location?
Of course it depends on the level and demand.
What is demand.
Since ancient times, people who have money have wanted to pursue spiritual wealth, commonly known as "big picture".
Only a high-end academy can have high-end real estate projects.
Do you want your children and grandchildren to study in a high-end academy?
Buy a house!
That’s right, what Gu Jiu wants to do is to build a school district house.
She planned to build a work-study school, which is a technical school in later generations, behind the second phase, and at the same time improve the quality of the second and third phase real estate projects.
As for the high-end academy, it was built on that mountain.
She wanted to build a first-class academy in the Zhou Dynasty to attract outstanding teachers and students from all over the world.
On the hillside, at the foot of the mountain, and behind the mountain, are the planned fourth and fifth phases of the real estate project. Perhaps there will be a sixth and seventh phase in the future...
Anyway, she bought enough land to build many, many houses.
She also reminded Deng Cunli, "I told you to find those retired doctors to open clinics here, and you have to hurry up."
In addition to education, there must also be supporting medical care.
No one is more impressive than the retired imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The pharmacy under Gu Jiu's name can sell prescriptions and medicinal materials, but it cannot sell his status.
Asking an old doctor to treat you is such an honorable thing.
Those wealthy people and prominent families like to ask people of status to do things for them.
At worst, the imperial physician could prescribe medicine and I could get it from the pharmacy under her name.
At worst, she could have the pharmacy open a chain of branches in Xinmin County.
Apart from education and medical care, the only thing left is transportation.
With transportation, there will be more traffic and more business opportunities, and those high-end consumption places will actively move into Xinmin County.
Gu Jiu called Deng Cunli and said, "Come with me to meet the elders."
The two men left the signing room and walked towards the public housing on the other side of the market.
Both were walking, escorted by guards.
Gu Jiu saw that some vendors had already started setting up stalls on the big locust tree dam. She said to Deng Cunli, "Find a way to attract more vendors to sell their wares here, no matter what they are."
Deng Cunli said, "Currently, ordinary people in Beijing are more willing to spend money. Merchants prefer to go to Beijing to do business. However, with the first batch of people moving in during the second phase, business opportunities here are becoming increasingly prosperous."
Gu Jiu nodded, "We'll take our time. When the population here exceeds 100,000 or 200,000, the market will flourish without us having to worry about it. We'll also build two more commercial markets by then."
We talked and walked and finally arrived at the public housing.
The Shaofu Household Director and the Minister of Revenue were glaring at each other, and Xinmin County Magistrate Gu Yu was caught in the middle and was in great pain.
Seeing Gu Jiu coming, it was like seeing a savior, "Sister Jiu, you are finally here."
Gu Jiu nodded with a smile, "I'm here. My two lords, how come you have time to come to this cheap place today? You're so nice."
"Madam Zhao is such a joker. The ground here is very clean, three times cleaner than some markets in the capital. How can it be cheap land? How could your shoes get dirty?" The Minister of Revenue laughed.
The Shaofu Housekeeper rolled his eyes in disgust, thinking that this stingy old man must be up to something bad again.
However, what the Minister of Revenue said was not wrong. I can’t say anything about the places next to Xinmin County, but its sanitary conditions are definitely the best in the entire capital.
Gu Jiu loves cleanliness, and even her subordinates can't stand the dirty ground.
Initially the medical team consisted of only fifty people, but now it has expanded to over three hundred people.
These people do nothing but clean the area with brooms and dustpans from morning to night, ensuring that the area they are responsible for is clean from morning to night.
There are people coming and going in the market every day, and it is thanks to the sanitation team that the ground is always kept clean and the garbage will be cleaned up within a quarter of an hour of falling to the ground.
Gu Jiu said with a smile: "Both of you would never come to the temple without a reason. It's strange that you are here together today.
"Old Ancestor, we just met at the Shaofu Yamen an hour ago. Why are you here again? If you have something to do, just send someone to call me. Why bother mobilizing so many people and coming here in person?"
The Shaofu family commander snorted twice, "Well, I have something to say in person."
The subordinate of the Shaofu Household Officer could not bear to watch it so much that his face was distorted in an effort to endure it.
Gu Jiu asked with a smile: "I wonder if the ancestor has anything to say to the younger generation?"
The Shaofu Household Officer glanced at the Minister of Revenue and said, "Let this stingy old man speak first. I am not in a hurry."
Minister of Revenue: You are the stingy one, your whole family is stingy.
The Minister of Revenue was very depressed, thinking that his family, the Zhao family of Hedong, was a noble family that had been passed down for two or three hundred years. They were not a family with any other characteristics, but they were magnanimous.
He was actually nicknamed "Old Stingy" by the old and unruly Shaofu Housekeeper.
Don't think he doesn't know that everyone in the Shaofu privately calls him "Old Stingy".
snort!
Let’s not bother with this old guy for now, business is more important.
"Madam Zhao, the tax source you mentioned last time..."
He was looking at it eagerly.
The Minister of the Imperial Household: "Holy crap! What new tax source has the Ministry of Revenue created? This is outrageous! They're taking advantage of this and not even sharing the profits. Thankfully, he came along today. Otherwise, the Ministry of Revenue would have taken all the benefits, and the Minister of the Imperial Household would have been left with nothing."
The Shaofu's housekeeper looked at Gu Jiu again, his face full of expression: "Xiaojiu, you are so mean! Such a good thing, why don't you think about the Shaofu, but only think about the Ministry of Revenue. Have I not been good to you? I have lent you millions of taels, which is the first in the world. You leave the Shaofu aside to find tax sources for the Ministry of Revenue, don't you feel guilty?"
The Minister of Revenue glared: "You old thief, you're trying to steal my money again. I told you to take the salt and iron tax revenue, but I won't let you succeed this time."
The two old guys, who were almost 140 years old in total, glared at each other, acting like children.
Gu Jiu took a sip of tea, lowered his head and smiled, "Before discussing the source of tax revenue, I would like to ask the two elders to look at something first."
"What?"
Gu Jiu said, "It's a beautiful spring day outside. If you two adults don't mind, why don't you come with me for a walk outside."
"Let's go for a walk and get some sunshine. These old bones haven't moved for a long time."
Gu Jiu led the way, bringing the two adults and Gu Yu out of the public housing and heading towards the back alley of the market.
There is a carriage and horse shop in the back alley, and all the carriages and horses from the shops are stored in the back alley.
Therefore, the smell in the back alley is stronger.
"Xiaojiu, didn't you say you wanted to bask in the sun? Why did you bring us here?"
Gu Jiu asked with a smile: "My two lords, don't you notice anything different here?"
"What's the difference?"
Gu Jiu smiled but said nothing.
Gu Yu blinked and reminded the two adults if they could condescend to take a look at the carriage and horse business.
What?
Why watch the carriages and horses?
Gu Yu coughed lightly, "In the past, all carriages and horse-drawn carriages had yellow mud as their foundations. The more sophisticated ones would just pave a little straw. It was fine on sunny days, but when it rained, the ground was simply unbearable to walk on. It was all yellow mud and animal excrement, it was as filthy as it could be.
"You two gentlemen know that it rained in the capital this morning, soaking the ground. But look at this carriage and horse market, is there even a trace of dirt?"
Hey!
This reminder made them notice that the ground where the carriages and horses were walking was not loess.
"What is this? It's hard when you step on it."
Gu Jiu smiled mysteriously, "My two lords, please follow me."
Walking out of the carriage and horse shop and coming to the back of Phase II, there is a street. All the carriages and horses transporting construction materials pass through this street.
She pointed to the road and said, "Please look, my lords."
Hey!
"Why is this road so smooth and solid? With so many carriages and horses carrying heavy loads, the road hasn't collapsed?"
"Look at the ground. It's called yellow mud, but the color isn't right. Furthermore, I've never seen such a smooth road. How did they do that?"
Gu Jiu still smiled mysteriously, "The carriage is here. You two adults may want to get on the carriage and feel how smooth this road is."
The two adults were completely curious and got on the carriage.
This street is five miles long, and the carriage ran back and forth.
When the carriage stopped, the Shaofu's household official was the first to shout, "Oh my, this is incredible! Sitting in the carriage, it's so stable. It's more stable than walking on the bluestone pavement. Not to mention the yellow mud official road, it's not even worthy of comparison with this road."
Both adults got off the carriage with excited expressions.
Both of them were savvy people. After seeing it once and riding it themselves to experience it, they knew that this road was really good.
If it can be promoted, it will definitely greatly improve the communication efficiency between the two places and promote business exchanges.
"Madam Zhao, what is this road built for? How much does it cost?"
If the cost is too high, then you can only regret it.
Gu Jiu laughed. "The material used for paving the road is very simple: mortar, also known as earth cement. Some time ago, a craftsman improved the formula of earth cement, making it harder without increasing the cost."
Look, so many carriages and horses carrying hundreds of pounds of weight have been rolling over this road every day for a month and a half, and there have been several heavy rains during this period, yet the road remains solid and smooth, without any damage."
Upon hearing this, the two adults hurried to the road to check the road surface.
Gu Jiu was afraid of a car accident.
This road has a huge amount of traffic due to the second phase of the project.
"Come back soon, my two lords."
Several guards rushed to the middle of the road to stop the vehicles coming and going to prevent them from hitting the two adults.
The two adults checked along the way and finally burst into laughter.
The two old men, who were over a hundred years old in total, smiled like a 200-pound fat man and ran all the way to Gu Jiu.
"Xiao Jiu, how much is this earth and cement you mentioned?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Ten cents a load."
One load weighs a hundred and twenty pounds.
The two adults' eyes lit up, "Is it really that cheap?"
"Of course."
"Ha ha……"
The two adults laughed happily.
The Minister of Revenue danced with joy, "If we use this earth and cement to pave a road to Hedong, how much time can we save on a round trip?"
The Minister of the Imperial Household disagreed, "Why should we build a road to Hedong? The road should be built to the south."
"There's nothing good about Hedong. Why can't we pave dirt and cement roads?"
Two elderly men, a combined age of 140, started arguing in the street over which direction to pave the cement road.
Looking at this scene, Gu Jiu couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"My Lords, the sun is shining. Let's go back to the public housing and have some tea. If you have any ideas, we can discuss them slowly."
The two adults glared at each other, neither willing to give in.
The Minister of Revenue remembered the purpose of his visit today and finally regained some of his rationality.
He quietly asked Gu Yu, "Can this dirt and cement road save half the time?"
Gu Yu said, "More than that. It takes about twenty days to travel from the capital to Hedong. If a dirt and cement road were paved, it would only take seven or eight days."
"That's great!" The Minister of Revenue was overjoyed.
The Zhao family was a wealthy family in Hedong, and members of the family traveled between the capital and Hedong almost every month or two, wasting most of their time on the road.
If the journey of twenty days can be shortened to seven or eight days, it will be very convenient to go back and forth.
Moreover, earth and cement are not expensive, only ten cents per load. The key is that the cement road surface is hard and flat enough, so carriages can run back and forth on it quickly and smoothly.
There is no cheaper or better road surface in the world.
The Minister of Revenue felt like he had found a treasure.
The Shaofu Household Director thought about how much money it would cost to build such a road that was several thousand miles long.
"Even if it's ten cents a load, it's still too expensive to build a road."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "It's okay."
Do you really think she wants to donate soil and cement for charity and build roads for the court for free?
This is possible.
But don't think that tolls are just for show and toll booths are unnecessary.
After building the road, it's only natural to collect tolls.
For this game of chess, Gu Jiu had already set up the chessboard, planned the chess moves, and had already placed a few pieces.
She dared to borrow several million taels from the Shaofu. Did she really think she would only use it to repair the house?
There is nothing more satisfying than building roads.
Not only does she want to be the largest real estate developer in Da Zhou, she also wants to be an infrastructure fanatic.
Hahaha……
Gu Jiu really wanted to laugh out loud three times, it felt so good!
But this matter still needs momentum.
It is not enough to rely solely on the road behind the second phase as a model.
Gu Jiu has set his sights on the official road outside the South City Gate and plans to turn it into a model road.
After returning to the public housing, they washed up and sat down to drink tea.
The Minister of the Imperial Household and the Minister of Revenue both stared at Gu Jiu, but no one spoke.
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, then said to the Minister of Revenue, "The Ministry of Revenue can add a new tax source in the capital. Everything is ready."
"What water source?"
"Traveling merchant tax."
As soon as these three words came out of Gu Jiu's mouth, the two adults understood.
The so-called itinerant merchants are different from traveling merchants and sedentary merchants. They do not have fixed stalls and sell their goods on the streets all day long.
There are many such vendors in the capital. The exact number has not been counted, but it is definitely quite a lot.
There are also many in Xinmin County.
The current mainstream view is that the imperial court, from top to bottom, is not very welcoming to these traveling merchants.
The yamen runners would drive away these vendors from time to time, not allowing them to go to this street or that street.
If there was an inspection by the higher authorities, the bailiffs would simply overturn the goods and arrest the person, locking him up for seven or eight days. Sometimes they would only release him after his family paid money to redeem him.
Only Xinmin County welcomes traveling merchants.
"Is it possible to collect a tax on traveling merchants? How much can we collect?"
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "Your Excellency, just give it a try and see how much you can charge. A peddler carrying a basket and hawking his wares will collect five cents in taxes a day, while a peddler driving an oxcart or donkey cart will collect fifteen cents in taxes a day."
Except for the Imperial City, they can hawk their wares anywhere. To motivate the officials, prevent corruption, and facilitate peddlers, I have specially devised a peddler tax plan.
Qingmei immediately took out a bound book of tax plans, but did not give it to either of the two adults.
The two adults stared at the proposal with envy in their eyes.
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, "What do you want? The truth is, to collect taxes on traveling merchants?"
The Minister of Revenue nodded repeatedly, "No matter how small a mosquito's meat is, it's still meat. How can we not want to eat it? My Lord, your Shaofu will probably not look down on this little mosquito's meat."
The Shaofu Household Secretary now has a new pursuit, "Don't worry, I won't compete with you for the itinerant merchant tax."
Whether or not it was possible to impose a tax on traveling merchants was still uncertain. He didn't need to go to the court to make a fuss over such a small amount of money.
The Minister of Revenue looked excited and said, "Madam, please feel free to ask for any conditions you have."
Gu Jiu held the proposal and smiled softly, "The two adults have already experienced the cement road. I dare to ask them to help build momentum in the court. Regarding the specific construction plan, I have also prepared a proposal here."
Two identical proposal books were placed in front of the two adults.
Build roads at your own expense and set up toll booths to collect tolls?
The two adults were a little confused.
How much does it cost to build a road at your own expense?
Gu Jiu said, "I know the court has no money, so I dare not expect the court to allocate funds for road construction. I am willing to bear all the expenses of the road construction. All refugees in the world can come to the construction site to build the road and earn a salary to support their families. We also welcome the people along the way.
My only request is that the court allow me to set up a toll booth to collect tolls from merchants. The court must not interfere in any affairs of the toll booth.
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