Chapter 635 A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.
The light was still on in the study.
Gu Junze was leaning against the window when he heard a man's flattering voice coming from inside.
"President, the prefect is pressing us hard. We have to hurry up and get the next batch of goods."
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Hurry!" a hoarse voice cursed impatiently. "Tell him that fine iron is not cabbage, it's available just because you say so! Let him wait a little longer!"
"Yes, yes."
Soon, the people inside came out and the lights in the study went out.
Gu Junze waited for a whole incense stick of time, and after confirming that there was no one there, he pushed open the window and slipped in.
He walked around the study and his eyes finally fell on the huge rosewood bookshelf.
He stretched out his hand, without knocking or touching, but pressed lightly on the seventh book from the left on the third row of the bookshelf.
“Click.”
With a slight sound, an entire wall on the side of the bookshelf slowly moved away, revealing a secret compartment that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
There was no gold, silver or jewelry in the secret compartment, only two locked iron boxes.
Gu Junze pulled out a thin wire from his boot, and with two slight crisp sounds, the lock opened.
In the first box was an account book.
It records the transactions between Jinxiu Pavilion and the weavers in the city, and every transaction is remembered clearly.
Grandma Sun's piece of brocade with cloud patterns and flowers was prominently displayed, and the purchase price was five taels.
He closed it expressionlessly.
Opened the second box.
Inside, there was also an account book.
The paper of this account book is yellowed, and it records another business deal in a densely packed manner using extremely small fonts.
"In February, we purchased 3,000 kilograms of fine iron and sent it to the blacksmith shop west of the city."
"In April, we obtained three hundred sets of armor and five thousand arrows."
"In May, purchase 500 dan of grain and fodder."
Gu Junze's pupils shrank into needle points in an instant.
Turning the pages, each transaction, the quantity of each batch of goods...these weapons, armor, and food, the quantity is huge, enough to arm an elite private army of several thousand people.
At the end of each record, the final destination of the goods is written in cinnabar pen by the same person who delivered the goods.
The prefect of Jinguan City, Chen Taimo.
What a great prefect of Jinguan City.
This is not collusion between officials and businessmen, it is clearly an attempt to rebel.
When I returned to the villa, the sky was already turning pale.
Chu Ruohan hadn't slept all night, and when she saw him come back, she immediately went to greet him.
Gu Junze told her about the two account books.
Chu Ruohan's face changed and all the color disappeared.
“This…this is…”
"It's treason." Gu Junze said it for her, without a trace of emotion in his voice.
"What are you going to do?"
Gu Junze poured himself a cup of cold tea and drank it in one gulp.
"A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake." He looked at the sky outside the window, which was about to get brighter, his eyes as deep as an ancient well.
"Since the snake refuses to come out of its hole, let's destroy its nest first."
He took out the small bamboo tube from his arms again.
Spread out a new piece of paper and dip the pen in ink.
He did not write too much nonsense, but simply stated the contents of the secret account and the current situation of Jinguan City, where the military preparations were in disrepair and the city defenses were all run by private soldiers.
Finally, I attached my own plan.
After writing the letter, he rolled it into a thin roll, stuffed it into a bamboo tube, and tied it to the leg of the carrier pigeon.
He walked to the window and opened it.
In the dim light of dawn, he loosened his grip.
The gray dove flapped its wings, broke through the morning mist, and flew towards the northern capital.
Chu Ruohan sat at the table. She hadn't slept all night, but there was no sign of fatigue in her eyes. Instead, they were surprisingly bright.
"They have woven a web in the city." She tapped the table lightly with her fingertips, a movement very similar to Gu Junze's.
"Use Jinxiu Pavilion to control the weavers, use Baicao Hall to control life and death, and then use the power of the prefect to filter out all those who disobey."
"The center of the network is the prefect Chen Taimo." Gu Junze's voice was very flat.
"The most frightening thing about a net is not that it's cut by a knife, but that a fish might come out of it and tear the net apart." Chu Ruohan raised her head and looked at Gu Junze.
There is a sharpness and decisiveness in her eyes that can only be found in the business world.
"They have achieved their current situation by monopolizing the fabric business. In that case, let's create another business for them."
"A business that is not his responsibility."
Gu Junze looked at her, with a faint curve at the corner of his mouth.
He knew that his wife would have to take the blame herself.
The next day, it was as if a huge rock had been thrown into Jinguan City.
Several huge red paper notices were posted all over the most crowded places in the city.
Especially at the entrance of Zhinu Lane, the red paper almost covered half of the mottled wall.
There is no official seal, nor the name of any business.
Only the thickest ink was used to write a few large characters.
"Weaving Girl Competition".
The content of the notice was simple and straightforward. It did not care about one's background and there was no threshold. Anyone who could weave could participate.
The line of words at the bottom was like a ball of fire, burning everyone's eyes.
"First place, reward of five hundred taels of silver."
Five hundred taels.
In Zhinu Lane, a lame man leaned against the wall and read the notice word by word.
There were people surrounding him in front and behind.
Those faces that were usually numb due to poverty and illness all came alive at this moment.
The breathing and heartbeat became heavy.
What is five hundred taels of silver?
It is about replacing the leaky house, about ensuring that the children have enough food to eat, about hiring a doctor and getting good medicine for the sick family member, it is... a way to survive.
The crowd was dead silent for a moment, then exploded completely.
"Five hundred taels! Did I hear that correctly?"
"Who is so generous? Are you crazy?"
"No matter if he's crazy or not, you should see clearly what the topic of the competition is."
Someone squeezed to the front, staring at the black words on the red paper, and reading every word.
"The theme of the competition is 'Lost Memories.' The requirement is to weave traditional patterns that are not popular in the market but are exquisitely crafted..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the cloudy eyes of several elderly weavers in the crowd suddenly lit up.
Those hidden skills that Shopkeeper Wang dismissed as “old antiques” and “unwanted”!
Those complex patterns that they thought they would never have the chance to touch again in their lifetime, suddenly became an opportunity that could be exchanged for five hundred taels of silver.
This is not a competition at all.
This is a belated respect for these old bones that have been trampled into the mud.
Lin Mansion.
Manager Wang rushed into the study, his face pale.
"Boss! Boss! Something happened!"
Behind the desk, a middle-aged man with a shrewd face was playing with two jade walnuts. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his eyelids.
"What are you panicking about?"
"Outside...someone posted a notice outside saying there's going to be some Weaving Girl Contest, and the first place prize is 500 taels of silver!"
Shopkeeper Wang's voice was trembling. "Isn't this just robbing Jinxiu Pavilion of its people? Those poor bastards are so greedy when they see the silver!"
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