"How would I know if a four-wheeled carriage could be mass-produced? Your Highness, I dare not speculate on your father's intentions."
The fourth prince Liu Yi was very unhappy.
He felt that Xiao Qin'er was becoming more and more materialistic, always talking about money when they met, which was extremely vulgar.
Xiao Qin'er was very disgusted. "I didn't ask you to pay a penny. I just asked you to find out some information, but you can't do it."
"It's not just me who can't do it. No one in the entire court or the entire harem can do it. You know what's going on outside right now. Who would dare to mention a four-wheeled carriage at this time? Who would dare?"
The fourth prince Liu Yi is very irritable.
Xiao Qin'er suddenly felt aggrieved. "I'm pregnant and still have to worry about the household expenses, and this is how you treat me. Then you can pay for your woman and your illegitimate children yourself, and don't ask me. From now on, I will have the accountant keep a separate account book, and we will settle every single item clearly."
"Don't be so unreasonable!" The fourth prince Liu Yi suppressed his anger.
Xiao Qin'er cried out of grievance, "You actually yelled at me, treated me harshly, and accused me of being unreasonable. Liu Yi, do you have a conscience?"
"Yes, yes, I have no conscience. I will accept the beating and punishment, okay?"
Xiao Qin'er sobbed twice, "Are you really going to accept the beating and punishment?"
"A gentleman's word is as good as gold."
Xiao Qin'er wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "Okay! Hand over your private money."
MMP!
The fourth prince Liu Yi regretted it!
He shouldn't have said he accepted the beating and the punishment.
He must be out of his mind. He knew that Xiao Qin'er was obsessed with money, but he still dared to accept the beating and punishment.
He was being petty, "I don't have any private money!"
Xiao Qin'er sneered repeatedly, "Do you think I will believe your nonsense?"
Liu Yi was worried. "I am a prince, I must have some money on me."
Xiao Qin'er's mouth twitched, and she smiled, "Go tell those women in the backyard about this."
"Why are you so jealous? Have any illegitimate children been born in the backyard in the past few years? Have there been any new people?"
"You don't have money to hire new people." Xiao Qin'er retorted bluntly.
Liu Yi looked depressed.
Don’t hit people in the face, and don’t expose people’s weaknesses!
Xiao Qin'er deliberately slapped him in the face and exposed his shortcomings. That was too much!
Liu Yi asked, "Last time I gave you 10,000 taels and asked you to buy some property. Have you done anything?"
Xiao Qin'er sneered, "Ten thousand taels, bought two farms and a shop. Do you want me to give you the house deeds and land deeds?"
Liu Yi frowned. "It will take years to recoup the cost of the farm and shop. We also need to hire people to take care of it, which is another expense. Why not invest in my sister-in-law's business and wait for the dividends every year without having to worry or support a group of employees?"
"You said we should be more stable, and the farm and the shop are the most stable. Besides, now that the family has separated, the mansion must have its own farm. From now on, rice, flour, vegetables and fruits will be supplied by the farm."
Liu Yi asked, "Are the farms and shops registered in the public account, or are they recorded under your dowry name?"
Xiao Qin'er snorted, "Don't think I'm so greedy. The farms and shops are all counted as public accounts, and the income is also recorded in the public accounts. They are considered the property of the Prince's Mansion. Your illegitimate sons and daughters will all have a share in the future."
Liu Yi denied it repeatedly, "It's not what you think. Your Highness never said that he would buy property for his concubines' sons and daughters."
Xiao Qin'er smiled, "I didn't say this was an estate for illegitimate children."
Liu Yi coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. "In short, don't overthink it. With so many people to support in the mansion, it's really outrageous that there's no income from the public treasury. Next time I'll find a way to get some money, you can invest it all in my sister-in-law's property and wait for the dividends."
"Will it be put into the public account?" Xiao Qin'er asked with a sneer.
Liu Yi coughed repeatedly, avoiding Xiao Qin'er's gaze. "Since this money was paid by His Highness, it should naturally be put into the public account."
Xiao Qin'er smiled knowingly, "Alright, you pay and you have the final say. If you say it should be deposited into the public account, then it should be deposited into the public account. It's best to hand over all your private property and register it all in the public account, so that your concubines, illegitimate children, and daughters won't argue with me in the future."
"What you said is really too harsh." Liu Yi looked displeased.
Xiao Qin'er sneered, "Liu Yi, let me tell you, I've been unhappy ever since you took your first concubine. For so many years, I tolerated you because of our friendship since childhood and because you were the father of my child.
But if you want me to pay to support your illegitimate children and let them share my children's inheritance, I tell you, dream on! Don't expect me to be kind and generous. This lady is not stupid! I will never use money to support a group of ungrateful people. You can call me jealous or greedy and selfish, but whoever dares to take away the interests of my children, I, Xiao Qin'er, will kill him.
"You are pregnant, don't lose your temper, or you might upset the fetus."
Xiao Qin'er became fierce, but Liu Yi's attitude became gentle.
Xiao Qin'er sneered, "Do you really care about the child in my belly?"
Liu Yi frowned, "If I didn't care, why would I have to swallow my anger? Your Highness is a prince, why should I bear your wrath?"
This is harsh to hear, but it is the truth.
Xiao Qin'er suppressed her anger and said, "Then hand over your private property."
Today is never going to end, is it?
Liu Yi said: "Your Highness has no private property."
"Nonsense! You let Wang Shun secretly acquire property outside, and you really think I don't know? Liu Yi, don't forget, we are now essentially running our own government office. The Shaofu covers part of the expenses, but we have to figure out the rest ourselves. If you don't hand over your private property, do you expect me to use my dowry to support an entire family?"
Liu Yi rubbed his brows and said, "I just don't believe that with so many people in the family receiving titles and salaries, it's not enough to support the family."
The emperor's grandson and granddaughter, regardless of whether they were born legitimate or illegitimate, all had a share of titles and salaries.
All concubines in the backyard, including women with a legitimate status, also received a salary.
The Shaofu also provides rice, meat, vegetables, cloth, etc. every month.
In other words, the Shaofu solved most of the food, clothing and daily expenses.
Xiao Qin'er always said that there was not enough money, and Liu Yi was very suspicious.
Xiao Qin'er knew that Liu Yi didn't believe it, so she was prepared.
She placed the account book of all expenses after moving into the new house in front of Liu Yi.
She patted the account book, "Every month's income and expenditure are all in it. Take a look yourself. I'm not talking nonsense. Is the income from the public account sufficient to cover the expenses of the whole family? The servants' wages for last month should have been paid three days ago, but the account office has no money and has been delaying it. The servants in the mansion have already complained. You can ask the servants around you what they think about this matter."
Liu Yi frowned and opened the account book.
As a prince's mansion, the public income is certainly not small, but the expenses are also not small.
Today the four treasures of the study, tomorrow the head ornaments and jewelry...
Social interactions are another huge expense...
When going out to visit friends, one must make new clothes and buy new jewelry...
My son wants to buy a horse and a saddle...
There are still a group of servants and guards in the mansion that Master Wu needs to support...
In short, the income sources are limited, but the expenses are unlimited.
Liu Yi looked through the expenses of the past two months and suddenly felt a headache.
He threw the account book on the table and frowned in thought.
Xiao Qin'er didn't interfere with him and waited for him to figure it out.
After a long while, Liu Yi said, "In a few days, I'll find a way to raise 20,000 taels for you. This time, don't buy any property. Invest it directly in your sister-in-law's business."
Xiao Qin'er said, "My sister-in-law's business isn't accepting new investments. We can only rely on the carriages. Since the emperor hasn't given any orders yet, Sihai can't mass-produce carriages. As a result, we have money but nowhere to invest it."
Liu Yi sighed, "Don't count on me for the four-wheeled carriage. I don't have the ability to convince my father."
Xiao Qin'er looked dissatisfied. "I heard from my second sister-in-law that if we could mass-produce four-wheeled carriages, we could make at least hundreds of thousands of taels of profit a year. The annual dividends would be very substantial. With this dividend, we could cover most of the expenses of the mansion."
Liu Yi said, "I'm also looking forward to this business being successful. I invested in an iron mine two years ago. If the four-wheeled carriage can be mass-produced, the iron mine can also make some money."
"You said you had no private property, you lied to me." Xiao Qin'er was furious.
Liu Yi was very upset. "I only invested in an iron mine. Apart from that, I really don't have any other private property."
Xiao Qin'er looked resentful.
Liu Yi was tired and too lazy to coax anyone, so he simply kept silent.
Xiao Qin'er was angry for a while, but soon she figured it out.
She asked curiously, "Why do you think Father is dragging his feet on this matter? I haven't been out lately, but I know that many families in the capital are counting on the rapid mass production of four-wheeled carriages. Everyone has prepared money and is ready to invest in them."
Liu Yi said indifferently: "I don't know!"
Xiao Qin'er continued, "People outside are in a panic. Many people have been arrested by the Jinwu Guards. I guess another batch of officials will be raided. I'm thinking about saving some money and buying the houses of the officials whose homes have been raided."
"Do you have money?" Liu Yi asked curiously, "You want to invest in a four-wheeled carriage and buy a house. Are you sure you have enough money?"
Xiao Qin'er laughed and said, "I plan to go to the Shaofu Bank to apply for a loan."
puff!
Liu Yi was stimulated.
Xiao Qin'er is definitely at the forefront of consumer loans.
Currently, the main loan items of major banks are commercial loans, that is, loans from businesses to banks.
Private loans, except for specific project mortgages, other types of private loans are very small.
Usually, people would take the risk of taking out a loan when their family was in trouble and needed money to survive. Moreover, the amount of such loans was very small, usually ranging from a few taels to dozens of taels.
People like Xiao Qin'er who are prepared to borrow tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy a house for investment are very rare.
People are used to spending as much as they can afford, and this spending habit is difficult to change in a short period of time.
Xiao Qin'er's thinking is definitely ahead of the curve.
Not feeling the excitement was enough, she added, "I'm also planning to borrow tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy Sihai bonds. They'll yield 10% a year, which is more stable than opening a shop."
puff!
Liu Yi was stimulated again.
He felt a little dizzy, as if he was really getting to know Xiao Qin'er for the first time.
"You're planning to take out a loan to buy a house or bonds? Are you crazy? Can you afford the interest at the bank? Don't think that just because you're the prince's wife, the Shaofu Bank will give you a discount."
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