Chapter 563: The Fiefdom’s Resolution

Chapter 563: The Fiefdom's Resolution

In addition, the jewelry workshop has also reached a considerable scale. To safeguard the crafting techniques from being leaked, He Zhiran specifically went to the talent market and hired over twenty craftsmen, who are solely responsible for using molds to create various gold and silver jewelry.

Moreover, some exceptionally skilled craftsmen can even craft jewelry inlaid with various gemstones.

On Tang Mingrui's side, he has already opened more than ten hotpot eateries, and the business's success speaks for itself.

As soon as the hotpot business got on track, he immediately shifted his focus to launching a jewelry store.

No matter the era, the pre-New Year period is always the most profitable time for merchants.

People typically save all year to splurge during the New Year.

Therefore, he must capitalize on the opportunity to make substantial profits before the New Year.

The molds prepared by He Zhiran for making jewelry not only have beautiful designs but also a production speed unmatched by handcrafting.

In other words, the time it takes to produce a hundred pieces of jewelry using molds might only allow for one piece to be made by hand.

Therefore, by the time she notified Tang Mingrui to ready the storefront, the Mo family had already crafted countless pieces of gold and silver jewelry.

Given the time crunch and the nearing New Year, Tang Mingrui couldn't travel too far to arrange things and could only temporarily open a jewelry store within the city limits.

However, he was well aware that these jewelry pieces, with their beautiful and unique designs, would undoubtedly captivate women. Relying solely on the Northwest's affluent families would not achieve the desired effect.

Fortunately, he had many connections in other regions, and He Zhiran cooperated by sketching a poster for a unique piece of jewelry. Though not as realistic as photography, it far exceeded the era's ink paintings.

Moreover, the poster was clearly a drawing, admired without suspicion.

To help Tang Mingrui distribute the poster to more people, He Zhiran purchased a photocopier from Taobao Mall and stored it in her space, making hundreds of copies of the poster.

This proved invaluable to Tang Mingrui. The posters were sent to various prefectures, and on the day the Northwest jewelry store opened, it was teeming with customers.

Due to the unique designs of the jewelry, the pricing was inherently higher. Even so, all the goods displayed in the store on the opening day were sold out.

This trend caught Tang Mingrui by surprise. He knew that people's consumption habits would be stronger before the New Year, but he didn't expect it to be this strong.

In fact, He Zhiran had supplied him with a considerable amount of jewelry, but jewelers of this era were notably cautious. After all, the world was chaotic, with bandits and robbers everywhere. A robbery would result in significant losses.

Therefore, on the first day of Tang Mingrui's jewelry store opening, he only displayed an estimated amount of goods, never anticipating a complete sell-out.

If it were a food store, it wouldn't be strange for the goods to sell out, but who has ever heard of a jewelry store's goods being sold out?

It could only mean that the store owner didn't have enough strength to display more goods, or the store was having a clearance sale.

However, neither was the case. The goods were abundant, surpassing other stores, with exorbitant prices.

This could only mean that the jewelry perfectly matched the aesthetic of the people in this era.

In any case, both the jewelry store and the hotpot eateries allowed Tang Mingrui and He Zhiran to make a substantial profit before the New Year.

The dividends He Zhiran garnered were clear to all and could be legitimately used for the construction of the fiefdom.

The income from the rabbit fur coats was also astonishing, leaving the Mo family in awe.

Even Minister He's family found it incredible. When did their daughter (sister) develop such a money-making mind?

At the same time, He Ziming's medical clinic also successfully opened in Yuncheng. He Zhiran had Lan'er accompany her elder brother to help at the clinic every day, aiming to strengthen their relationship before marriage.

Of course, she managed to pull this off because her mother had persuaded her father to agree to their marriage.

Just before the New Year, an imperial edict came through from the Imperial City, clearing Fang Chuanzhou, Xie Tianhai, and Hu Cong of all charges.

Nan Yu knew that Mo Jiuya was desperate for help in building his fief, so he let the three decide for themselves whether to stay or go.

If they were willing to stay in the Northwest to assist Mo Jiuya, he wouldn’t drag them back to the Imperial City for official jobs. Conversely, if they preferred to return to the Imperial City, Nan Yu would be thrilled to have them back, as he had just ascended the throne and was in need of capable people.

Upon receiving the edict, the three men immediately expressed their willingness to continue living in the Northwest.

Hu Cong, for his part, was all in on staying. He was a free-spirited person and, like the Mo family, had become thoroughly disillusioned with the imperial court.

Especially now that he had a meticulously assembled engineering team, he got to do what he loved every single day, and He Zhiran would throw new projects his way now and then.

Hu Cong thought all this was way more fun than just being some Ministry of Works official in the Imperial City.

Moreover, he was on his own, with no family to tie him down, and enjoyed a carefree life, which he considered much better than being restricted in the Imperial City.

Speaking of Hu Cong being alone, Lady Mo and De Fei had been pretty worried about him finding a wife and had already engaged several matchmakers in the city to help him find a new one.

Hu Cong didn’t mind this at all, as he’d put his past behind him a long time ago. He trusted the judgment of Lady Mo and De Fei, believing that anyone they gave the thumbs up to would be a solid choice.

Not long ago, Lady Mo and De Fei had found a suitable young woman for him.

The young woman's family was simple, consisting only of an elder brother, his wife, and a young nephew.

Her parents had passed away within a few years of each other, and she had delayed her marriage due to the mourning period.

Now twenty-two years old, she had already passed the prime age for marriage, and her brother and sister-in-law were reluctant to let her settle for less, so the matter had been delayed until now.

Upon hearing about Hu Cong's situation, although he was older and had a wife who had left him, they recognized that he was capable and had no children or elderly parents to care for, which made him a good match for the young woman.

Under the arrangements of Lady Mo and De Fei, the two families had already taken care of the formalities and were waiting for the wedding to take place after the first month of the lunar year.

Hu Cong had carved out a life for himself in the Northwest and was about to start a family, bringing a sense of fulfillment to his life.

Fang Chuanzhou and Xie Tianhai were deeply grateful to the Mo family, which was the primary reason they were unwilling to leave the Northwest.

In addition, both guys were getting up there in age, and their kids weren’t exactly setting the world on fire, so even if they went to the Imperial City, there would be no good positions for them.

Recently, they had heard from He Zhiran about plans to establish a compulsory education school, where every child aged six to fifteen in the fief, regardless of gender, would be required to attend.

Most importantly, the school would not charge any fees.