He Youyou looked at the sky.
It was completely dark.
Cheng Tingrui looked around and asked, "Youyou, are you all alone?"
He Youyou nodded: "Yes, Ali went to a palace banquet and hasn't returned yet. Today is a victory celebration banquet, and many military generals are attending. They'll probably drink a lot and won't be back until very late."
Cheng Tingrui carried a wooden box and placed it on the table.
The impatient He Youyou, before he could even speak, curiously touched the box and asked, "Minzhi, what is this?"
Cheng Tingrui opened the box and took out several account books.
"It's almost the end of the year, let me check the accounts with you."
He Youyou was even more surprised.
"In previous years, the accounts weren't reconciled until the twelfth lunar month. It's only the end of November now, how can they reconcile them so early?"
Cheng Tingrui's expression hardened slightly, but then he smiled and said, "The accounts are being settled early this year. The business is much larger than in previous years, and I was afraid we wouldn't have enough time, so I asked them to settle their accounts sooner. Besides, everyone has been working hard all year, so settling accounts early means they can go home for the New Year sooner."
"Oh, I see. But there's no need to rush. It's not safe to come over so late at night. We can do it tomorrow. It won't make a difference if we're in a hurry."
Cheng Tingrui spread out the ledger and lowered his eyes: "I'm always uneasy when I have something on my mind. It's better to finish it as soon as possible."
Seeing his attitude, He Youyou stopped refusing.
"Okay, let's finish quickly so you can go home early. If it's too late, there might be a curfew outside, and you won't be able to get back."
Cheng Tingrui twirled the paper in the ledger with his fingers, seemingly joking, "If it gets late, can't Youyou keep me here for the night?"
He Youyou replied without hesitation, "Of course you can. You're Ali's brother, which means you're my junior. We're family, so what's wrong with you staying overnight? With your relationship with Ali, you could even stay for a long time."
Cheng Tingrui felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
"So, between us... we can only discuss things from Ahri's perspective?"
He Youyou thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter if we don't talk about it from Ali's perspective. You are my partner and my god of wealth, so it's only right that I take you in."
Business is better this year than last year.
Besides the fact that it's larger in scale, as Cheng Tingrui mentioned, there's another reason.
Last year, we prepared for the caravan, established branch offices, and so on, which resulted in relatively high costs in all aspects.
This year, the costs are much lower, and the number of customers and markets has increased significantly compared to last year, with a wider variety of goods available.
Cheng Tingrui's calculations included not only the dividends from Youruitang, but also the profits from the Shen family dyeing workshop and the people from Youruitang's Jizhou branch entrusted by Matthew Yuan, plus the profits from the acquisition of the seedling contract, and the dividends from the ironware workshop.
"I rounded it up for you." Cheng Tingrui gave her the final number.
"One million?!" He Youyou asked in shock.
Cheng Tingrui smiled and nodded: "I'll send the silver notes over in a couple of days."
He Youyou fell silent.
It wasn't that she was shocked because she had never seen so much money before, but rather, what would happen after she earned this much money?
What else can we do?
In modern times, she doesn't need to find projects herself; every day, a plethora of projects are presented to her, waiting for her to choose.
But this era won't work; we have to find our own way.
The ironware business she is currently involved in with the King of Qi is considered one of the most prestigious businesses in this dynasty.
This kind of project is beyond the reach of ordinary businessmen.
In order to incubate more projects, she also specially set up an incubation group, hoping that they can make breakthroughs in various directions and realize the recycling of funds.
The incubation group is running smoothly.
However, precisely because things have gone too smoothly, she is currently... a bit idle and has nothing to do.
Just then, footsteps came from outside the hall.
Cheng Tingrui and He Youyou stood up at the same time.
Ali lifted the cotton curtain and entered the room. She was taken aback when she saw Cheng Tingrui in the hall.
He was still a little awkward facing his suddenly appearing older brother.
Cheng Tingrui was a few years older and more experienced in dealing with people.
He spoke first: "Ah Li, you're back."
Ah Li nodded: "Brother, why are you so late? Is something urgent?"
"Well, it's almost the end of the year, I'm here to check the accounts with Youyou."
Ahri said nothing more.
He took the imperial edict out of his sleeve, held it carefully, and handed it to He Youyou.
“Mother, I have done it. I have earned you a noble title.”
He Youyou placed the imperial edict on the table and read it carefully again and again.
"Grand Secretary?! Amazing, amazing! My son has risen to the fifth rank in one fell swoop. Minzhi, look how wonderful your brother is!"
Cheng Tingrui touched the imperial edict, feeling proud: "It's all thanks to Youyou's excellent teaching."
He Youyou, thick-skinned as ever, didn't stand on ceremony and readily admitted it.
Such a joyous occasion deserves a couple of drinks to celebrate.
But upon smelling the alcohol on Ah Li, he immediately realized that Ah Li had already drunk quite a bit in the palace.
"Ah Li, has the palace banquet ended?"
"Yes, it's over."
"Have all the people who attended the banquet left?"
"They've all left."
"Okay, then go wash up and go to bed. You must be tired after a long day."
As she spoke, He Youyou looked at Cheng Tingrui again: "Minzhi, it's getting late, why don't you stay here and rest? Share a room with Ali, you two can rest together and chat."
From He Youyou's perspective, she hopes that Cheng Tingrui and Ali can get closer.
Cheng Tingrui is a capable person and a powerful businessman.
With his help, Ahri's life will be smoother.
There's another point, which has always been a hidden worry of hers.
She worried that, as someone who didn't belong to this era, she might suddenly disappear at any time.
When that time comes, Ah Li will not be alone, with Cheng Tingrui's company and support.
With mutual support, the two will surely succeed.
Cheng Tingrui did not refuse her invitation.
He glanced silently at the doorway, then quickly looked away.
"Okay, then I'll be bothering you tonight."
Ali took Cheng Tingrui back to her room.
He Youyou sat alone in the hall, looking at the account books on the table.
As the pages were turned, numbers flashed by.
I'm definitely getting a bit bored.
She got up and went outside.
The winter nights are chilly.
A cold moon hung in the sky.
A long shadow was left on the ground.
It's so late, I'm afraid no more customers will come.
She pulled her fur coat tighter around herself and turned to go back to her bedroom.
Just as I entered the small gate in the backyard, I suddenly saw a person standing under the porch by the bedroom door.
Standing alone and upright in the cold wind.
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