Liu Zhao received the news as soon as he returned to the palace.
Gu Jiu began to doubt Chen Dachang's affairs.
Qian Fu apologized, "I am stupid, it's all my fault."
Liu Zhao waved his hand. "It's none of your business. Arrange Chen Dachang to work at Sihai Trading Company. With Madam's keen sense, she will definitely notice something fishy going on."
After sending Qian Fu away, Liu Zhao went straight to the upper room without hesitation and even without changing his clothes.
"Are you busy today?" Liu Zhao changed his outer robe in front of Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu glanced at him and said, "It's okay, they are just trivial matters. By the way, Chen Dachang is still alive, you know that."
Liu Zhao: "..." He asked him about Chen Dachang right away. Did he suspect him?
Gu Jiu continued, "Chen Dachang wants to leave the capital and go to Jiangnan, seeking shelter at the Sihai Trading Company. What do you think about this?"
Liu Zhao: “…” Is this a test?
"Si Hai Trading Company is your property. You can use him however you want. As for the fact that he's still alive, it's not surprising."
Gu Jiu smiled and put down the book in his hand. "Chen Dachang's ability is unquestionable. If he is willing to help me, I would be more than happy to help. It would be like adding wings to a tiger. But I don't trust him as a person."
Liu Zhao said simply, "Then we don't need him."
Gu Jiu looked at Liu Zhao, "Don't you think it's strange?"
"What's so strange about it?" Liu Zhao pretended to be stupid, just like that.
Gu Jiu said very seriously, "With Chen Dachang's skills, even if someone wants to harm him, he will find a way to get away safely. Even if he can't get away safely, he needs help. There are so many people in the capital, but he chose me. Isn't it strange? It seems that he has set his sights on me. Or maybe someone is behind him giving him advice."
"Who could be behind him? With Chen Dachang's status, I don't think there's anyone else besides my father who could drive him. Do you suspect my father is trying to sow discord within the Sihai Trading Company?"
Liu Zhao couldn't help but frown.
Gu Jiu looked at him with a smile.
Liu Zhao: “…” MMP, is it possible that his acting is not good enough?
Gu Jiu picked up the book again, smiled and said, "No matter who arranged for Chen Dachang to find me, I plan to use him."
Liu Zhao suddenly had the illusion that Gu Jiu saw through him.
See through but don’t say it out loud!
It's good to be confused sometimes!
Gu Jiu no longer mentioned Chen Dachang.
Liu Zhao couldn't continue the topic. After all, his goal had been achieved.
He just said symbolically, "Don't make it hard on yourself."
Gu Jiu flipped through the book without even glancing at him. "I'm not embarrassed. He's just a mere person. No matter what his past status was, the huge Sihai Trading Company can accommodate him."
"If you have any problems, tell me and I'll handle it for you."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Okay! I plan to set up a courier company. Please help me find some brave people, preferably veterans, who can write and calculate."
"What is a courier company?"
"I help people deliver letters and things, and I charge a small fee."
"A post station?"
"To be more precise, it's official mail. But my business is there to make money, and it primarily serves the common people."
Liu Zhao became interested.
Delivering letters plays a huge role in the military.
He asked, "Where are you going to send it?"
Gu Jiu casually said, "There's a ready-made route from the capital to Luozhou. We'll set up a courier point at each rest stop to pick up and deliver goods. We'll only deliver to various county towns, and the farthest we'll go is to each township or pavilion."
Liu Zhao asked curiously, "Can I make money?"
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him. "It's definitely not profitable in the early stages. It's mainly about building a reputation. In the later stages, there are more routes, so you can make money."
"If this business can really make money, the cost seems low, and it will be easy for others to learn it."
Liu Zhao hit the nail on the head.
Then Gu Jiu said something that later generations would say, "This lady has always been imitated, but never surpassed."
Take the most profitable real estate for example. There are no less than fifty real estate companies in Beijing. Who can compete with Sihai Real Estate?
Many businessmen, learning from the Xinmin County model, returned to their hometowns hoping to create a city, but unsurprisingly, most of them failed.
These merchants all overlooked an important factor: the reason why the Sihai Trading Company was successful in building the city was because it had the support of the emperor and the court.
Just by resettling tens of thousands of refugees, the court solved a long-standing problem.
Moreover, as more and more refugees poured into the capital, Sihai Trading Company had already resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Most of these refugees were concentrated in Xinmin County, and a small number were scattered in various counties in the capital area.
With such achievements as a foundation, Xinmin County outside the South City Gate was successfully built.
Someone did imitate Sihai Meat and Vegetable Shop and actually made it big, boosting the local economy.
Gu Jiu is happy to see these imitations as long as they do not waste time and money.
Many times, she would even take the initiative to support some businesses, and together they would heat up the market in the capital and take out the money hidden in the cellars of the landlords.
When the money starts to circulate, the market really starts to heat up.
This is a long and arduous task.
It is a long-term project to break people's consumption habits and make them willing to spend money.
Gu Jiu was not in a hurry. She had enough time and patience to slowly plan things out.
When the world no longer worries about food and making money becomes easy, even the most stingy rich man will spend his copper coins.
As long as there is consumption, the court will have taxes, merchants will have income, and the products produced by the workshops will be sold smoothly.
What should we do when the market is saturated and supply exceeds demand?
Are we just going to watch those workshops that follow the trend go bankrupt and those workers be left without work?
Gu Jiu smiled slightly.
Outside the Great Zhou, the world is vast.
The vast land and huge population will become the market of the Great Zhou and the cattle and sheep of the Great Zhou.
At worst, they can engage in semi-colonization and directly dump goods.
Of course, the current production volume is far from saturation.
In the vast Great Zhou, the market potential has been developed by less than 5%, and there is a great opportunity to develop it.
Before developing the market, Gu Jiu decided to start express delivery first.
When the commodity market is extremely abundant, the main service objects of the express delivery industry will be those businesses, factories, and big bosses and merchants.
Only when goods and money circulate can the commercial market develop.
Only by allocating food can it be delivered to its destination at the lowest cost.
Only then can the court's income be used effectively and unnecessary losses be truly reduced.
This is the blueprint in Gu Jiu's mind, and also Liu Zhao's blueprint.
Liu Zhao asked, "Is it feasible to use only veterans in this express delivery business?"
Gu Jiu shook his head. "Not good! With the development of the express delivery industry, do you know who will be most affected? It's the porters who make a living by delivering goods. Behind every porter is a family. My express delivery company, like the toll booth, employs half veterans and half local porters."
"Okay, I'll do as you say. Tell me more about how overseas colonization works."
There was a glint of excitement and danger in Liu Zhao's eyes.
Overseas colonization was a fatal temptation to him.
Gu Jiu bared her teeth. Did she release a monster?
Never mind!
Let’s deal with the present first.
I don’t know whether the couple can really achieve overseas colonization in their lifetime.
If that day really comes, Gu Jiu thought, she would also like to go abroad to have a look.
…
Gu Jiu made an appointment with Chen Dachang to meet at Xianrenju.
Gu Jiu disguised himself.
She claimed she was pregnant and would not go to the palace to pay her respects. Then she was out shopping and drinking tea.
If this gets to the palace, she will be in big trouble.
It is better to have less trouble than more.
Gu Jiu simply dressed up as a man, left the palace under the protection of Qian Fu, and came to Xianrenju.
Deng Cunli had been waiting at the back door of Xianrenju.
"Madam is here! Eunuch Chen has been waiting in the backyard for a long time."
Gu Jiu got off the carriage, holding a folding fan in his hand. From a distance, he looked like a dashing young man.
She played with her folding fan and asked, "Is he alone?"
"And an old servant who drove the coach."
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "Come on, follow me in to meet this old man."
Enter Xianrenju from the back door.
There is usually no one in the backyard.
But today, there are more people in the teahouse somewhere in the backyard, and there are also sounds of piano.
Deng Cunli was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "It's Eunuch Chen playing the piano."
I really didn't expect that Chen Dachang is good at everything including playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
Gu Jiu asked curiously, "What did you study in the inner study room back then?"
Deng Cunli bowed and said, "It's similar to the Imperial Academy, where the main focus is on studying the Four Books and the Five Classics. In addition, they also learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Eunuch Chen was the best student among our group back then."
Gu Jiu understood.
No wonder Chen Dachang was finally valued by the late emperor. But Deng Cunli almost failed to make it, and was introduced to Gu Jiu by Nanny Fang.
After the song was finished, Gu Jiu pushed the door open and walked in.
Bang bang bang!
Three slaps were heard.
"What a wonderful zither! Although I don't understand zither, I can hear the reluctance in Eunuch Chen's music. Could it be that Eunuch Chen is not happy to work at the Sihai Trading Company? Even less happy to go to Jiangnan?"
Gu Jiu spoke directly to the point without any politeness and went straight to the heart of the matter.
Chen Dachang looked up and saw Gu Jiu, who was dressed in men's clothes. The glaring sunlight made him dazzled.
"I heard that Madam Zhao is pregnant. How can she dress like this?"
"Why can't you dress like this? Eunuch Chen, have you forgotten that you are not an ordinary person? When I come to see you, I naturally have to cover up a little."
Gu Jiu flicked his sleeves and sat down on the ground.
There was a low table between the two of them.
The servant took the guqin away and replaced it with tea, water and snacks.
Gu Jiu gestured to Deng Cunli.
Deng Cunli quickly replaced the tea in front of Gu Jiu with boiled water.
She is pregnant and it is not appropriate for her to drink tea.
"Eunuch Chen, this lady doesn't trust you. But I am willing to use you."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
Late, late!
I'm so sorry!
Yuanbao didn't make any excuses and continued to write.
Starting tomorrow, update schedules will return to normal.
If things don’t go smoothly anymore, I really won’t be able to save the manuscript and will have to write during the Spring Festival.
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