Chapter 110 The Qi Family of Xiangnan
“To create a ‘divine revelation’…” Mu Xi finally answered, then continued her train of thought, “We also need to carve words on the boulder, for now, just carve… carve… carve ‘Princess Sheng’, that’s four words. Ah… no… to be precise, it’s not about carving, but about making the words appear natural, as if they were created by nature itself. Do you understand what I mean?”
"Ah, hahaha... hahaha..." Qi Yingyu laughed awkwardly while her mind raced. After laughing for more than ten times, she finally caught up with her train of thought. "Oh dear, the young master wants me to get a huge rock and pretend it's a meteorite that fell from the sky. The meteorite will carry 'divine revelation' to create momentum for the young master to regain his identity in the future."
Mu Xi patted Qi Yingyu on the shoulder: "That's exactly what I mean."
"Hahaha... It's not hard to get a fake meteorite, the hard part is how to make it fall from the sky!" Qi Yingyu immediately started to think about it seriously.
Mu Xi said confidently, "You don't need to worry about that. I will make the arrangements myself. Just focus on the three things I just mentioned: renting the dock, clearing the river surface, and retrieving the meteorite. Remember, the meteorite must be realistic. The four characters on it should not be too obviously deliberate, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain."
“Hahaha… ‘The Princess’s Promotion’ is a good omen, a good omen… Hahaha, Your Highness, rest assured. Even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen pigs run, right? This Yan Sheng always has a few ‘divine revelations’ throughout the year, each with its own unique twists. I’ll make sure that the meteorite that fell that day doesn’t reveal any flaws.” Qi Yingyu readily agreed, even rubbing her hands together excitedly. “Your Highness is finally going to take action. I will definitely go all out. Your Highness’s hope is my hope, hahaha… When the time comes…”
Mu Xi, growing impatient, continued with the process: "This is just the first step; there are many more things to do. How much silver is Boss Qi planning to donate to Qifengtai?"
"Uh..." Qi Yingyu's laughter suddenly stopped halfway through. She had been secretly relieved that Mu Xi hadn't come to ask for money, but it turned out there was more to come. "Hahaha... Your Highness, do you know that renting the dock, clearing the ships, building the meteorite, plus the subsequent labor costs, can't all be made public? Let alone 50,000 taels, even 100,000 taels wouldn't be enough, hahaha..."
"Having rented the dock, do you think Boss Qi would just leave it unused? No way, that's not business sense." When it comes to doing business and calculating profits, Mu Xi in her previous life believed she was no less capable than Qi Yingyu.
Qi Yingyu continued to laugh awkwardly: "Hahaha...that's true, but..."
Mu Xi didn't have the time or energy to play games and had to keep pushing forward: "Boss Qi, do you see that viewing tower that's already standing next to the altar? It hasn't been named yet. A few days ago, I ran into Miss Qi Zhuying from the Qi family of Xiangnan. You two are practically family, right? She offered 200,000 taels of silver, but I didn't accept it. I was just thinking of giving you this opportunity."
Upon hearing the name "Qi Zhuying," Qi Yingyu's eyes lit up at first, but then she put on a face that looked more like a grimace than a smile: "Oh dear, hahaha... How can I compare to her? The head of the Qi family in Xiangnan had a daughter late in life, and Qi Zhuying is his only precious daughter. Let alone 200,000 taels, even 2 million taels would be nothing more than a breath."
"So, since we're from the same clan, how can there be such a big difference?" Mu Xi had been scheming ever since she saw Qi Zhuying lose the opportunity to spend 100,000 taels of silver. "I'll leave the naming rights for this viewing tower to you. When the viewing tower is completed, I'll invite that Miss Qi to attend the ceremony. Wouldn't that make you look good in front of that clansman?"
"Hahaha... The young master wants to introduce us?" Qi Yingyu seemed interested for a moment, then quickly waved her hand, muttering to herself, "Forget it, we're completely unrelated. If they see us, they'll think I'm trying to climb the social ladder. Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, and being caught by a big fish might not be a good thing..."
Before Mu Xi could even begin her scheme, Qi Yingyu was already backing down: "Our business has only just begun. Do you think donating a few hundred thousand taels of silver to the Viewing Pavilion is enough? Of course, with your millions of taels of wealth, what's a tenth of that? But in the long run, I can't exhaust the resources. It's all for your sake."
Qi Yingyu muttered to herself, seemingly oblivious to whether she had heard or not, scratching her chin as she murmured, "This Qi family head of Xiangnan, Qi Qingyuan, is nicknamed 'Qi Jinlin.' He's known for his mispronounced nicknames, not his given names. He's not someone you can easily scheme against. Back then... my father... well, let's not talk about it. So what if we're from the same clan? We're way out of his league. Speaking of which, his three young masters... well, well..."
Although Qi Yingyu said she was backing down, her understanding of the Qi family in Xiangnan was probably far greater than that of outsiders.
Unable to bear Qi Yingyu's incessant nagging, Mu Xi asked directly, "Do you actually have any intention of 'recognizing an ancestor and returning to a clan'? Would it be more prosperous to join a major clan from a minor one?"
"Oh dear, hahaha... Your Highness, what a question... hahaha... People are never satisfied, I'm not that kind of person." Qi Yingyu laughed and waved her hands repeatedly, but then she began to ponder, "Qi Jinlin has seemingly retired, now only knowing how to dote on his grandchildren, spoil his wife and daughters, but those three sons aren't just sitting there for nothing. The eldest son, Qi Heji... he controls money shops, businesses, and mines, but he's conservative and lacks decisiveness, and he's also jealous and petty. It seems he has some conflicts with Master Qi in private. The second son, Qi Zhenyang, is fond of dabbling in culture, obsessed with calligraphy, painting, and antiques, seemingly not very interested in business, but he controls shipping and escort agencies, using them to resell a lot of rare goods from Jiuyou. As for the third son, Qi Xiangze, he currently manages silk, salt, tea, gold and silver shops, restaurants, etc., and makes quite a bit of money, but he's arrogant, extravagant, pleasure-seeking, wasteful, impulsive, and easily angered. It's said he also has poor gambling skills..."
Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?
And you still say you're not greedy?
They must have thoroughly researched the Qi family of Hunan long ago, right?
Qi Yingyu, oblivious to everything, continued muttering, "Those three young masters, I heard, are all sons of the principal wife, and their ages are close, so they're all at odds and constantly vying for power. Of course, that's only natural. The eldest probably worries about his position all the time, so it's normal for him to be wary of and suppress his two younger brothers. The second son seems to be uninvolved, but who knows what he's really thinking? The third son is a typical playboy, a troublemaker, and someone has to clean up his messes all the time. Sigh, it seems that Master Qi's nickname 'Qi Jinlin' is somewhat undeserved. Even in war, you know you must first secure your home before fighting external threats. The business world is like a battlefield, and he has three sons, none of whom have produced a capable heir. If we start with one of them..."
Mu Xi was completely confused, but couldn't help but retort, "You've been trying to curry favor with me for a long time, haven't you?"
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