Chapter 291 Donation Road
"Have you seen the notice? It says that donating over 10,000 taels will get you 20 years of free cement road use. Do you think it's a good deal?"
"Let's not talk about whether it's cost-effective or not, we have to donate just for the monument."
The merchant who asked the question blinked and thought to himself, you may be rich and powerful and don't care, but it will take us several years to make 10,000 taels from our small business.
Xiao family in Luoshui Town.
During dinner in the evening, Xiao Shun mentioned the recent announcement, saying that there was no need to discuss this matter with his father and grandfather.
"Dad, how much do you think is a suitable amount for our family to contribute this time?"
Mr. Xiao pondered and said, "Of course we have to contribute ten thousand taels, but how many? Too much will make us look like we're taking the lead, too little will just be a loss of face."
He looked at his son and said, "Tomorrow you can ask other families what their attitudes are."
Old Master Xiao also said, "It's best for our family not to get involved."
"Grandpa, everyone is watching now. Let's see who will come forward first."
Chen Yue's family has also been discussing this matter recently, and she said carefully:
"Husband, my family recently wrote to me asking about this matter. They told me that they would give at least 10,000 taels."
Mr. Xiao agreed, "It's safe for my in-laws to do this. Let's wait and see how much the first person to come forward will donate, and then we'll decide."
Cao Fang also wanted to show off by saying that his family would donate ten thousand taels, but the Cao family's business had been bad recently, and it would be difficult for them to come up with even a thousand taels.
When she thought about making the eldest wife proud again, she was so angry that she couldn't eat her meal.
Three days had passed since the notice was posted, but Xie Shuangbai hadn't received anyone's response. Instead, he had received letters from his sister and Ning Yuan.
In the letter, my sister asked Youranju about donating 100,000 taels to build a road.
Youranju has recently opened many branches and workshops, with daily turnover of at least several thousand taels, and even hundreds of thousands of taels.
Xie Shuangbai wrote back to tell her that the money would be paid directly from the bank in Fencheng and asked the accountant to register it.
Ning Yuan's letter also talked about this matter. He planned to invest 50,000 taels, and his sister-in-law agreed, so she asked for his opinion.
Xie Shuangbai wrote back to him immediately.
He had just finished writing the letter when Mu Ning arrived.
He had a thin layer of sweat on his face from running, and Xie Shuangbai poured him a glass of water.
"I have contacted the Mu family to invest 100,000 yuan to build the road."
Xie Shuangbai was quite surprised, "They will agree."
"I put the benefits before them, and they will definitely agree for the sake of the benefits.
"In fact, I deliberately said 100,000 taels just to make them bleed more. Now they are blind in the North. If they want to obtain confidential information, only I can do it. My damn father will definitely agree.
Besides, I'm not saying anything nonsense. Just the free use of this highway will make it all back in the future. Of course, I'll make the money back, and they'll pay for me to pave the road."
Mu Ning smiled with a triumphant expression.
Xie Shuangbai teased him, "You're quite clever in business now." He said, "Then you will contribute 100,000 on behalf of the Mu family, 120,000 from Youranju, and 50,000 from the Ning family. Let's start with the three of us."
Mu Ning looked at Xie Shuangbai and smiled: "Okay, I will donate money in a big way tomorrow."
The next morning, the government office was frightened by Mu Ning and Wang Yun who came to donate money.
Youranju invested 120,000 yuan, the Mu family's Yuelai Inn invested 100,000 yuan, and the young master of the Ning family invested 50,000 yuan.
These lines of numbers simply blinded the eyes of the yamen clerks.
In order to commend the three people's enthusiasm, Rongye granted them the right to use the cement road for free for an unlimited period of time.
As soon as this news came out, it caused another uproar.
It’s a good deal to spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to use it for free for life.
Many wealthy people are regretting that they did not catch up with the trend. It is really a missed opportunity.
But for ordinary people, these are just fun.
Tens of thousands of taels is something they would never dare to imagine in their lifetime.
At the same time, the Xiao family, the Cao family, and the Chen family also received the news.
Old Master Xiao knew that even if he donated more now, he would not have this privilege anymore, so he decided to donate 20,000 taels to build the road.
He believed that no family in Luoshui Town could afford 20,000 taels, so it would not be shameful for his family to travel along the road to Luoshui Town.
Xiao Shun was also afraid that other families would take him by surprise, so he immediately took the silver to the government office to register his donation.
At one time, many wealthy families showed great enthusiasm in donating roads.
When Cao Fang learned that the Cao family had only donated three thousand taels due to poor business, his face turned green, but he had no money to support his parents' home, so he could only sulk in the house and scold the old women in the house.
The Chen Yue family was rich but not as rich as the Xiao family. In the end, they also contributed 20,000 taels, just like the Xiao family.
The remaining wealthy families basically have a minimum of 1,000 taels.
There are also some enthusiastic small wealthy people who contribute money just to leave their names on the monument of kindness.
What surprised Xie Shuangbai the most was that Wang Dadi was also there.
They took out two hundred taels and said that Nangang New Village voluntarily donated money to build the road in gratitude to the prince for giving them such a good place to live.
The surrounding villages of Beigang, Xigang and Donggang were also unwilling to lag behind, and soon competition began between the villages.
This was also something Xie Shuangbai didn't expect.
In the end, it took dozens of kindness tablets to complete the list of donors, and a total of more than one million taels of charity were collected.
Such a big commotion certainly did not escape the reports of the censors in the capital.
This morning, some officials criticized this matter.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Liang has collected one million in gold and silver in the northern border, which is enough to cover half a year's tax revenue for the national treasury. I urge Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation into the use of this money."
Zhang Ge Lao closed his eyes and said nothing, but Lord Li from his faction immediately stepped forward and refuted:
"I think Lord Wang has nothing better to say lately, and he actually described such a good deed as money-making.
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Liang, has done a good deed in building roads for the people. Your Majesty, your speculation has really chilled the Prince's heart, and also chilled the sincere hearts of the people!"
Of course, Lord Wang did not agree with him.
"Master Li, the people are ignorant. The prince said he would build a road, but how can you tell if he actually built the road or just pocketed the money for his own enjoyment?"
Lord Li counterattacked:
"Lord Wang gave the prince this title without hesitation.
The prince has been stationed at the border for more than ten years, devoted himself to resisting the barbarians. Now the changes in Fencheng are obvious to all. How dare the prince build roads in such a high-profile manner? Could he be corrupt?
I believe that the prince will definitely build a visible road for the people."
He asked sternly, "I just don't know what Lord Wang's intentions are. He's already speaking freely before the matter has been finalized. Is the Censorate really that lax in its work these days?"
Everyone in the Censorate looked at Lord Li with displeasure. An old censor said:
"Lord Li, please be careful with your words. We in the Censorate have always adhered to the principle of dealing with matters rather than individuals. Lord Wang is merely raising doubts and reminding everyone. It would be best if the Prince of Liang could truly build a road for the people.
But if we don't even dare to question it, then wouldn't that allow the King of Liang to become a local tyrant in the northern border? "
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Everyone knows the emperor's attitude towards the Prince of Liang. The Censorate is really powerful and even doesn't let go of the emperor's pain points.
Sure enough, Rongyu's face changed after hearing this.
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