Regardless of who cooperated with whom, if all these plans were to proceed smoothly, the first task was to get money. But where would this money come from? This naturally had to be taken from the wealthy merchants and gentry in Lincheng. But expecting people to hand over gold ingots for nothing was definitely not easy. However, Yinzuo was not too worried about this. After all, this business was in line with his fourth brother's expertise. Although his fourth brother was not yet the ruthless prince who confiscated property or the iron-blooded emperor in history, he didn't think such a small matter would bother him.
"County Magistrate Sun, go find me some people who are familiar with the surrounding areas of Lincheng. Fourth brother, I want to take some people out of the city for a walk. We have to choose a place to build a dugout first, right? We can't dig right at the city gate."
As soon as Yinzuo said this, he was immediately rewarded with a big pot sticker by his fourth brother. How could our Zhaojun Prince be willing to be beaten for no reason? He covered the back of his head and glared at his fourth brother.
"Fourth brother, why did you hit me?"
Why should I hit you? Then why did you have to run to me and act stupidly? Yinzhen glanced at Yinzuo, who was full of dissatisfaction, and felt that the slap he just gave was still not light, so he raised his hand and hit him on the forehead again.
"Akshan, Hatu, you two, keep an eye on your master. No one is allowed to leave the city without my order. County Magistrate Sun, the location of this dugout is now yours. Please also compile a list of the wealthy merchants and gentry in Lincheng for me. I will send them a notice tomorrow in my name..."
Yinzuo was indignant at first after being slapped twice by his brother, but he was not stupid. Combined with Yinzhen's words that he was not allowed to leave the city, Yinzuo quickly figured out why he was slapped just now.
"Fourth brother, you too, clearly have good intentions, fearing that I might get into trouble if I take my men out of the city. But why don't you just talk things over nicely instead of just hitting people? You didn't learn this bad habit from anyone. This is just me being incredibly smart and understanding. If I'd met someone as big as Old Nine or Fourteen, I'd probably be arguing with you right now. Didn't I tell you before that communication is so important? Many misunderstandings arise from a lack of communication..."
When Yinzhen heard Yinzuo's mumbling, he couldn't help but want to take action again. Look at what he said, it's as if you didn't stick your neck out to argue with me just now. And if I talk to you nicely, will you listen carefully?
"How dare you say that? When have you ever listened to me when I've tried to talk to you? Only by hurting you like this can I make you remember."
County Magistrate Sun was very efficient in his work. Soon he handed the list of wealthy businessmen and gentry to Yinzhen. Yinzhen discussed the list with County Magistrate Sun and after shortlisting a few, he asked someone to use his name card to invite them.
Since arriving in Lincheng, even though Yinzuo lived next door to Yinzhen, the two brothers had not seen each other for several days. It was not because Yinzhen was too busy to come back to live, but mainly because their schedules were different. Yinzuo knew that his fourth brother was busy so he simply did not bother him. Every day he either took the guards to check the disaster situation around the city, or got together with the people from the Ministry of Works to study the blueprints of the dugout. His requirements were very simple. In a word, he wanted to do the biggest thing with the least money.
It must be said that Yinzhen really had some abilities. On the fifth day after arriving in Lincheng, Yinzuo got up in the morning, got himself dressed, and as soon as he walked out of the bedroom, he saw Yinzhen waiting for him in the flower hall, as well as several large boxes of silver ingots on the ground!
"The money has been delivered to you, and County Magistrate Sun has also chosen a location. If there are no problems on your side, we can start work at any time."
Now that everything is ready, Yinzuo, the east wind, naturally cannot let down at this time. As the saying goes, money makes the devil work. Yinzuo now has money in his hands, so it is naturally not difficult to get the disaster victims outside the city to work for him. Once the recruitment notice of ten cents a day was posted, thousands of disaster victims were gathered in just two days.
"County Magistrate Sun, have your people divide the victims we've recruited into teams of ten. Then have them go to the nearby villages and towns to search for abandoned houses that were crushed by the heavy snow. Collect tiles, wood, tarpaulins—anything they think might be useful. Then, have someone take these items to the site you've chosen for the dugout..."
What Yinzuo wants now are two words - fast and economical, and those ownerless houses collapsed by heavy snow can undoubtedly meet both of his conditions at the same time. As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers. In just two or three days, the treasure hunting team collected a large amount of materials. Before County Magistrate Sun sent people to bring these things back, Yinzuo took people from the Ministry of Works to conduct an on-site survey. When he came back, he adjusted the previous drawings and was ready to start work as soon as the materials from County Magistrate Sun arrived.
The most difficult step in building the dugout is digging the hole, but fortunately there are many strong laborers recruited from the disaster victims. As long as the tools are in place, this small matter is naturally not a problem. Yinzuo divided everyone into two groups, one group went out to continue collecting materials, and the other group stayed to regroup and build the dugout according to the process, and this busy work lasted until New Year's Eve.
"Oh, what a pity! I can't go to pay New Year's greetings to Khan Ama and Huang Mama tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year. We've been away for so long, I miss them a little bit."
When Yinzhen heard Yinzuo's words, he paused in picking up the food, looked up at Yinzuo who was sitting opposite him, and said with a teasing smile.
"That's a pity. You can't go to pay New Year's greetings to Khan Ama and Huang Mama. I'm afraid you'll lose a lot of money this year."
Isn't it? Otherwise, how could I say it's a pity? I've lost a lot this year... Yinzhen couldn't help but laugh at Yinzuo's lost look. He put down his chopsticks, stood up, went to the table next to him, took out a bulging purse, and handed it to Yinzuo.
"Look at what you've accomplished. It's just a little silver, isn't it? Fourth brother will make it up to you. Come, take it."
What does it mean to be blinded by money? Yinzhen finally saw it today. Wow, he was so sad and disappointed just a second ago, but as soon as he got the purse, he immediately became beaming. What else can this be?
"Sixth brother, are you sure you're thinking about the Khan and the Queen? Why do I feel like you're thinking about the money they have? Do you want me to give you a mirror and take a good look at you? You're almost obsessed with money."
Look, look. Didn't we say it's best to see clearly, but don't speak out? Besides, I think the most important thing is the person. Isn't money just a by-product? And you haven't heard that saying? "With money, you're a man; without money, you're not." Money is a jerk, but it looks really good.
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