Chapter 515 The Meaning of Charity

When the news of the charity sale came out, all the prominent families were worried, worrying that they would be on the invitation list, but also worried that they would not be on the list.

The former is because of financial loss, while the latter represents one's status and status.

Some families who had plenty of surplus wealth but were not taken seriously even secretly thought about how to get themselves on the Queen Mother's invitation list.

…

Yuxiu Palace.

After returning from Ci'an Palace, Si Linglong has been busy with the charity sale banquet arrangements. First, she drew up the name list and then arranged the preparations with the Department of Internal Affairs.

Normally, it would take at least ten days or half a month to prepare for any banquet in the palace. But this time, as matters were urgent, Si Linglong simply set a deadline of three days. In just one day, she was already busy as hell.

Qinglu ran around all day and her legs were sore from running. She finally returned to the palace and immediately asked someone to bring a hot towel to apply a foot compress to Si Linglong.

"Your Majesty, why do you have to work so hard on yourself? In the past, whenever there was a disaster and the treasury was short of money, the emperor would just say a word and everyone would donate money obediently. Why bother to hold a charity banquet?"

While enjoying Qinglu's foot massage, Si Linglong took a closer look at the list and responded to her casually.

"How can it be the same? Simply asking for the kindness of others is unrealistic. The emperor's words can certainly quickly raise donations, but many people are more concerned with appearance. If you want people to take the initiative to open their wallets, there must be some benefits that make them willing to pay for it."

"This benefit does not only refer to the objects they can get, but also includes vanity, victory, status, fame, and so on."

"Except for the court officials who are truly dedicated to the people, those who are truly well-off will not work simply out of kindness, because kindness will not make their pockets fatter. Rather than selfless dedication, more people prefer to weigh the pros and cons."

Even in modern times, some entrepreneurs donate not just for the sake of donating money. First, they want to build a good reputation for their company. Second, some donations are tax-exempt, and compared to high taxes, donations are sometimes more cost-effective.

Si Linglong believes that everyone has their own selfish desires. You cannot ask everyone to make selfless contributions, but you can target human nature and make an equal exchange with the other party.

This is the significance of this charity banquet.

Just within a day, people outside were trying every means to squeeze into the list of guests attending the palace banquet.

Si Linglong looked at the final list, a sly smile forming at the corner of her mouth.

But Qinglu and even Shuhong beside her were stunned by her words.

What she didn't know was that at this moment, Helian Yue was standing outside the bedroom door, listening to everything she said just now.

Before coming here, someone had already told him what she had said to Concubine Quan.

Even though I already knew in advance that she was the real initiator of this charity banquet, and even though I knew that she was not as naive and ignorant as she seemed, after hearing what she said, I was still somewhat surprised by her insight.

If I say I'm not happy in my heart, that would be a lie.

Knowing that she was so hesitant behind him, even the annoyance of dealing with the snow disaster in Chuanlin seemed to be swept away.

Helian Yue was thinking this and was about to step inside, but he suddenly heard Si Linglong's excited voice coming from inside the room.

"Shuhong, go and put away the soft gold-woven pillow that the emperor used to sleep on last night."

"What are you going to do with it, Madam?"

"Of course it will be sold at the charity banquet in two days. This is the pillow that the emperor used to sleep on. There will definitely be a lot of people vying for it."

Si Linglong imagined the scene of countless people scrambling to raise the price, and she couldn't help but reveal an increasingly foxy smile on her face.

"It's all about money." He added, "Oh, yes, let's go back to Fu Tai and ask him for a few sachets used by the emperor. Remember to get used ones with the emperor's body fragrance... ahem, no, they have to be items with dragon spirit. We must grab them like crazy."

Shu Hong was silent for a long time before she nodded silently, "Yes."

Helian Yue at the door: ...