Chapter 312: Sports Meet Events (Part 3) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"I didn't talk nonsense."
Shen Tang pushed Qi Shan's hand away.
His expression showed a hint of surprise.
She said, "It's obvious that Yuanliang isn't cut out to be a shrewd businessman! Real estate is a super-powerful scythe for harvesting韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people)! 韭菜 that haven't been harvested by it aren't considered genuine韭菜! We hire ordinary people to build houses, then sell the houses to them, earn back their money, and then use that money to hire them to continue working..."
Qi Shan: "..."
He only half understood the first few sentences.
I managed to understand the general meaning by guessing and piecing things together.
The following sentences are easy to understand.
At first glance, it seems to make no mistake.
However, the salaries they paid to ordinary people were only enough for them to have basic food and clothing, leaving them with only a little extra money.
It's impossible to complete according to our lord's plan.
Unless they offer higher wages to ordinary people.
Firstly, it's unrealistic; they don't have that much money and grain. Secondly, the value of human labor is limited. If it exceeds the intrinsic value of human labor, it will foster bad habits among the common people, such as laziness, lack of productivity, and unwillingness to cultivate the land, damaging other industries and causing endless troubles.
Qi Shan objected to this.
They hoped to nip their lord's unrealistic ideas in the bud.
Shen Tang said, "Of course I know about these issues."
Ordinary people don't have much money, and they don't earn enough, at least not enough to repair their houses. But they can get low-interest loans. It's similar to how low-interest mortgage loans were previously given to merchants and ordinary people to encourage them to go to other places to buy New Year's goods and then sell them.
Praying for goodness, he frowned.
Doesn't this bring us back to the same question?
They don't have that much extra money.
Seeing that Qi Shan still didn't understand, Shen Tang sighed—"Isn't it said that scholars and writers are black-hearted and cunning?"
Yuan Liang's honesty only makes his own shamelessness as a "heartless real estate developer and capitalist" stand out.
"We don't need that much money and supplies."
"unnecessary?"
Shen Tang said, “Yes, let’s assume that a house for an ordinary family of three costs 1,000 coins. Commoners can pay 250 coins upfront to move into the new house. The remaining 750 coins can be paid off over several years or more, with a fixed day each month for repayment. The amount must be something they can afford through hard work, so as not to affect their basic needs. How about that?”
Qi Shan followed Shen Tang's suggestion and continued to think about it.
The outlook is not optimistic: "The common people have already received new houses, so why would they voluntarily repay the remaining seven hundred and fifty coins?"
This method is too prone to bad debts.
Ordinary people can resort to any means to evade their debts. Most importantly, bad debts are not limited to one household, and the monthly collection process is cumbersome, meaning there is a risk of default or non-payment every month.
Leaving aside other places, let's just talk about Fugu City.
Chasing payments from the beginning of the month to the end can be exhausting.
Not to mention several years or more than ten years.
“The house doesn’t fully belong to the common people until they repay all their debts. If they still can’t repay even this low amount or are maliciously defaulting, the government has the right to take back the house and resell it. The proceeds, minus the amount the common people haven’t repaid, will be returned to them. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?”
Qi Shan asked another crucial question.
"But has the lord considered that commoners would have a hard time scraping together even fifty coins, let alone two hundred and fifty?"
How long has it been since the method of building roads and shelters to provide relief to disaster victims, emulating Yanzi's approach, was implemented? The starving people still rely on their daily allowances to feed themselves. No matter how frugal they are, their savings are insufficient to sustain them for even a few days.
How could he possibly come up with 250 coins?
Unless they get a raise.
Then the problem came full circle.
"Sigh, Yuanliang is just too honest..."
Prayer - Evil Scheme - Good: "???"
He never dreamed that he would be associated with this word in his life. If Qin Li and the others knew, they would laugh their heads off.
"We can issue a note."
"Make a note?"
Shen Tang pulled out a tattered piece of paper from his pocket, stamped it with his own personal seal, and showed it to Qi Shan, saying, "These are the kinds of slips of paper. We'll use some of these slips as collateral for some of the money. Let's call them 'housing slips' for now? Commoners accumulate these slips through their labor, and the value of a house can be exchanged for the number of slips..."
Qi Shan pondered silently for a moment.
"Isn't this tantamount to minting coins in disguise?"
Shen Tang said, "Yuan Liang can also think that way."
These notes are useless elsewhere, but for Shen Tang, they can be used as money to exchange for a new house. Shen Tang can use them to pawn part of his wages, reducing his financial burden and serving as a small-scale substitute for money.
Most importantly, this "money" is only with Shen Tang.
They will not be taken to other places by ordinary people.
As long as the common people within the territory of Heyin do not leave and continue to work diligently on this land, and Shen Tang's grain reserves are sufficient to support the employed common people, he can create a bustling and prosperous scene throughout the territory of Heyin.
More and more migrants will be attracted here.
With more people under his rule, they will create more value. Once spring planting and autumn harvest, Shen Tang's grain reserves will be sufficient to sustain the common people's work. At that time, the facade of outward prosperity will become reality!
Why--
Speaking of this, we must thank the allies of the Alliance for their "generosity" and the seven local bullies of Fugu City for their rich resources. Shen Tang estimated that if he secretly sold everything he owned and gritted his teeth, he could definitely support himself until the autumn harvest next year.
If the "housing permit" is reinstated...
There is still more time available.
If they were to go to their neighbor Wu Xian's place halfway through the harvest and complain about being poor, they wouldn't truly collapse even if the autumn harvest wasn't ideal the following year. As long as they could revitalize He Yin's economy and get it flowing healthily, Shen Tang's pressure would only lessen.
Qi Shan said, "If someone makes a fake..."
Where there is profit, there will be people willing to take risks.
"Isn't my literary monogram enough?"
"Of course, that's not enough." However, compared to other anti-counterfeiting methods, the Wenxin monogram is indeed a good choice.
This measure is feasible if it can curb the fraudulent issuance of "property purchase agreements".
A sudden inspiration struck Shen Tang.
"We can add an anti-counterfeiting code."
Each "property certificate" is unique.
“If my monogram isn’t enough, we can add other people’s. If that doesn’t work, we can split a ‘property certificate’ in two and make it into a contract-like form… However, if we do that, verifying the ‘property certificate’ will be quite a task.”
The so-called "contract document" is a document with contractual nature, similar in function to modern invoices and contracts. It is usually made in duplicate or one copy is divided in half, and kept by both parties. It facilitates "after-sales service" and allows for "tracing the origin" of the goods.
In some relatively peaceful small countries, merchants selling goods were required to provide customers with a "contract" for registration, which facilitated the work of local officials in auditing accounts and collecting taxes. Merchants attempting to evade taxes and embezzle large sums could even face the five punishments.
Qi Shan pondered for a long time.
Undoubtedly, our lord's idea is highly feasible and can indeed alleviate our financial pressure.
However, the amount of this "house certificate" should be carefully considered. The common people trust their prefect, and its value is linked to houses. Once these two points are removed, this thing is worthless.
Qi Shan was filled with worries.
Walking this unknown path requires utmost caution and prudence at every step. A collapse would have unimaginable consequences.
Unlike Qi Shan's gloomy face, Shen Tang seemed carefree. After settling his cunning, almost supernatural, mountain-boar mount, he returned to his post under the expectant gaze of the clerk. Heaven knows the clerk's utter devastation upon discovering that Shen Jun, who should have been diligently working at his desk, was absent—
Since taking office, Shen Jun has never been late even once.
The lower-ranking officials were all worried that Shen Tang might have an accident on his way to work.
During this period, I felt extremely restless.
"Mr. Shen, these are the documents and forms that Mr. Gu needs today." The clerk piled all the documents and forms that needed to be calculated and statistically analyzed onto Shen Tang's desk, making a very high stack. After a while, he brought over another stack, "...These are the documents that Mr. Kang needs..."
"This is what Mr. Chu will need for lunch..."
"This is Qi Xian..."
The clerk turned his head and saw Qi Shan right behind him.
He was so nervous he almost knocked over the four stacks of "towers".
Qi Shan gestured for him to go and attend to his own business.
Seeing his lord's short stature nearly drowned out by the endless stream of official documents, his conscience briefly stirred, but quickly hardened again. No pain, no gain! No fragrance of plum blossoms without enduring the bitter cold…
Looking at the workload to be dealt with today, Shen Tang pouted: "Yuanliang, what do you think of Gongxi Chou?"
Fighting him is more enjoyable than working.
Chen, a corporate slave, misses her friends.
Qi Shan said calmly, "I don't want to at all."
When the lord fought with Gongxi Chou, he would inevitably suffer some injuries, sometimes even serious internal injuries. This made Qi Shan particularly dislike the name Gongxi Chou.
Shen Tang seemed not to hear her and continued muttering to herself.
"Yuanliang, what do you think he and Xiaofang are doing now?"
Qi Shan said, "Let's play with the beads and hurry on our way."
Judging by their journey, the Zhai brothers are still on their way back to Shen, while Gong Xichou—a man with a complex background but exceptional talent, whose strength almost crushes his peers, making him unparalleled in his region—would be highly valued wherever he goes, and his life would definitely be more comfortable than his lord's. His lord mentions them every now and then, but they've probably already forgotten about him.
Shen Tang: "..."
She muttered to herself, feeling wronged.
"I want to too..."
Qi Shan paused in her action of opening the JianShu app.
Looking at his lord, who seemed to have barely grown up, he said in an extremely soft voice, "For half an hour every day, Chu Wuhui and the others must not see you, or they will start nagging again."
"What?"
"Riding a pig".
Although he wholeheartedly wanted to cultivate his lord into someone with the "appearance of a gentleman and the inner qualities of a monarch," Qi Shan took a step back considering the lord's actual age and the difficulty of the task. He also felt somewhat sorry for his lord.
Our lord has such a bizarre hobby...
Perhaps, maybe, possibly it's because they're too poor.
There's no other fun thing to do.
_(:з)∠)_
It's just riding a pig, isn't it?
As long as she's happy.
A proper balance between work and rest can also improve efficiency.
Shen Tang glanced at the sun outside in surprise.
Does the sun rise in the west today?
Several days later.
Clang clang clang—
Clang clang clang—
New notices were posted in front of the government office.
The minor official posted the notices and then explained them while banging a gong.
"Don't squeeze me, don't squeeze me..."
"You old geezer, you can't even read, why are you pushing?"
"...What's written on this again?"
Not only in front of the government office, but also at various locations along the construction site in the southwest corner of Fugu City, there were minor officials beating drums and gongs. It happened to be a break for everyone, and they all gathered around when they heard the gongs.
One of them, impatient, urged the clerk, "Don't keep me in suspense, what are Lord Shen's orders?"
In Fugu City, Shen Junyue was practically the backbone.
It was Shen Jun who, undaunted by power, overthrew those disgusting bastards, upheld justice for the common people, and ensured that they had work to do every day, were well-fed, and received their wages after work. He was even more caring than a biological father.
Every time the minor official banged the gong, it meant he wanted to "expand recruitment".
Regardless of whether they were men or women, children or the elderly, they were paid for the amount of work they did. The lucky starving people who were chosen to work eagerly awaited the sound of the gong each day, hoping to give their families a chance.
The minor official asked, "What's the rush?"
"Why would we rush you if we're not in a hurry?"
The minor official wasn't annoyed; he just laughed and cursed.
"Keep urging me, keep urging me, or I won't let you listen."
He spent his days dealing with these starving people and gradually became somewhat familiar with them, which made the others who gathered around laugh.
Another person asked, "Good thing or bad thing?"
Upon hearing this, the clerk's face hardened, and he said, "Nonsense! How could anything bad happen under Lord Shen's rule? Today is a great day! From now on, when wages are settled, we can receive 'housing slips,' and there are also a few 'cloth strips,' 'fried dough sticks,' 'wine strips,' 'candy strips,' and 'cake strips'..."
The group of people listened with bewildered expressions.
They heard all sorts of things...
The minor official had no choice but to explain their uses one by one.
Everyone was on tenterhooks.
What is this "条"? I've never heard of it before.
You're right if you haven't heard of it...
These old officials had never heard of it either.
These designs were supposedly created by Shen Jun.
Chen, the scapegoat, Tang: "..."
Honestly, the "housing agreement" was indeed her suggestion, but the messy "agreements" that followed were not; they were entirely created by Qi Shan, Chu Yao, and a few others who copied her idea and applied it in a different way.
They discovered that the starving people had eaten their fill and still had some money left over, but they were reluctant to spend it.
The inability of money to circulate is detrimental to the governor of He County.
To encourage commoners to spend their "money" and to incentivize merchants who transported goods from afar, the local government would purchase their goods and display them in designated shops. Commoners could exchange "strips" for substantial discounts, especially on cakes, candy, and wine, which were very affordable.
As for the goods needed for "cake strips", "sugar strips", and "wine strips", they were provided by the lord privately and free of charge.
_(:з)∠)_
When you're poor, every penny you can save is a penny earned.
The official spoke with great passion, but the onlookers remained bewildered. It wasn't until the day of settlement that they discovered a variety of unusual "notes" had indeed been added. Most of the starving people were cautious and didn't choose any of the "notes," opting instead for the old method of payment.
However, some people who have tasted the benefits of "daring to try" have chosen to boldly trust Shen Jun.
('')シ┳━┳
Is there any sickle sharper than the real estate industry when it comes to harvesting韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people)?
(End of this chapter)
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