Chapter 367: Clean Sweep

Chapter 367: Clean Sweep

Qiao Hui was stunned for a moment, then thrilled—Xianjin had mentioned marriage!

Though he didn’t know when it would happen, he was going to have a proper title soon!

Excited!

While Qiao Hui was excited, Xianjin was not excited at all.

Even the mightiest heroes can be brought down by financial woes, though it wasn’t just a little money, it was one thousand taels...

Even Chen Fu was trying to come up with solutions—the old man humbled himself and reluctantly signed "The Two Slaves'" fourteen-day publishing rights with a bookstore he didn’t particularly like but which was very wealthy, for a price of eighty-seven taels.

Despite Chen Fu’s efforts, it barely made a dent.

As Chen Fu was enduring this humiliation and considering whether to sell himself to that bookstore for three hundred taels for a period of three years, Qiao Fangzhi appeared and successfully saved his life.

At dinner, after Chen Fu let out his eighteenth sigh, Qiao Fangzhi put down his bowl, neatly placed his chopsticks, and looked at Xianjin. "Before, after I compiled the Great Wei Law, the Prince was so pleased that he bestowed one thousand five hundred taels of silver and some gold. You know I’m not good with mundane affairs. After the maritime ban was lifted and paper money was issued, the purchasing power of silver will definitely not be the same as it is now. The silver is just sitting there—since you’re always clever, do you have any good suggestions?"

At the time, Qiao Hui was training troops at the Western Mountain Camp. It was said that Liangliang, the Tibetan fox, was about to inspect them. Although "this is a team of losers," following the principle that it’s better to sharpen a gun right before battle, Qiao Hui had been welded to the Western Mountain these days.

Without Qiao Hui’s signal, Xianjin immediately put down her chopsticks respectfully, placed her hands neatly on her knees, and began to speak high-mindedly in front of the Daoist—her heart raced, her hands trembled. Finally, she hit upon a topic she excelled in!

"Your student believes that the devaluation of silver, or as you said, the decline in purchasing power, is a major trend and an inevitable development during a stable period. From the Zhenguan Rule to the present, from the Tang to the Song dynasties, there are clear patterns! In the Tang dynasty, one hundred wen could buy twenty units of rice, but in the Song dynasty, one hundred wen could only buy three units of rice and pay for three baths..."

Qiao Fangzhi: ...It’s impolite to eat while my beloved student is speaking.

But if the braised pork gets cold, won’t it be too greasy to eat?

Qiao Fangzhi hesitated but ultimately did not interrupt.

Xianjin spoke with great enthusiasm: "Therefore, if you want to maintain its value, investing in real estate, ancient books, and famous paintings is the safest option. If it’s hard to decide, we’ll buy large gold bars! As many as possible!"

Finally, she licked her lips and added with lingering excitement, "Ah, today’s time is too short. I’ll write an article for you later, please review it."

Qiao Fangzhi: ...

I feed and house you, and instead of gratitude, you bombard me with academic nonsense?

"Papa-papa-pa!"

Chen Fu, who had been freeloading at the Qiao household for ages, loudly applauded. "Well said! Scholarly! Truly impressive!"

Encouraged, Xianjin wanted to continue speaking.

Qiao Fangzhi, feeling aggrieved, glanced at the now cold braised pork. "No need, the explanation just now was already very detailed..."

Facing the relentless barrage from his cherished student and her inept father, Qiao Fangzhi finally got rid of his bad habit of beating around the bush and said through gritted teeth, "What I mean is, do you still need money for that shop? I can invest some money, and if it profits later, you can repay me with interest according to the proportion... It would also preserve the value of my money."

Xianjin had a sudden realization but became wary. "Is the Grand Princess sending you to rescue me?"

Qiao Fangzhi was so angry he wanted to scold, "Do you want to check the time the money arrives?"

Xianjin frowned and nodded. "Check, more reassuring." She added, "If you don’t want to acknowledge that ancestor, then you shouldn’t take advantage of her. Although your student is shameless in business, she is quite upright in character."

Qiao Fangzhi put a piece of braised pork in Chen Fu’s bowl.

She had someone bring the ledger again.

Xianjin carefully checked the time, casually took out a reed pen from her pocket, tore a piece of paper, and started writing and calculating. She pushed it in front of Qiao Fangzhi: "Master, consider this silver a loan from you. A total of 2,700 taels, which I'll repay in monthly installments over the next three years."

Qiao Fangzhi glanced at it, somewhat surprised: "This is nearly what the entire Qiao family spends in a month."

Xianjin wrote another number: "After three years, I will give you this amount."

Qiao Fangzhi was even more surprised: "I'm not asking you to pay it back early, just take your time—"

Once his unworthy eldest son is married off, what's left to repay?

"If you return all your earnings, will you still have capital to operate?" Qiao Fangzhi waved his hand: "I still receive a monthly salary from the government, and the offerings from the Qiao family's ancestral land are enough. I could even support another Baozhu, and you—"

Qiao Fangzhi's eyes fell on Chen Fu, who was shamelessly gnawing on the braised pork: "And your father."

It’s unknown what customs are like elsewhere, but in their region, it’s uncommon for the bride’s father to accompany her after marriage.

Qiao Fangzhi retracted his gaze: "I can afford it."

Xianjin was astonished: "Who told you that this is all the profit I calculated?"

Qiao Fangzhi, even more surprised: "Is doing business this profitable?!"

Xianjin, upon hearing this, thought for a moment, dipped her index finger in tea water, and dotted it on the table: "If I only focused my sales on one city, the revenue and profits would naturally be limited—"

Xianjin drew more than a dozen lines outward from the dot: "If I center it in the Capital City and spread the reputation of Xuan paper across the vast lands of Shenzhou, selling to all directions, even reaching Java, Laos, Ryukyu, Goguryeo, Japan... Just imagine how much profit that could generate!"

Qiao Fangzhi was greatly astonished: "The direct connection between South and North Zhili is facilitated by the Grand Canal, but the transportation costs to other regions would be too high, wouldn’t they?"

Xianjin nodded: "That’s why I plan to focus on South and North Zhili as the core and expand gradually once the roads are built—This is also why I've set the profit for you over three years."

Qiao Fangzhi squinted: "When the roads are built? Who told you they plan to build roads in the coming years?"

Xianjin shook her head: "No one told me." After a pause, she continued: "But based on my understanding of the Grand Princess, she will definitely prioritize road construction to ensure smooth travel across regions. Otherwise, her bold move to open sea routes first would be meaningless—after all, to get rich, you’ve got to build roads first."

Qiao Fangzhi murmured: "To get rich, you’ve got to build roads first..."

After a moment, Qiao Fangzhi looked up at Xianjin, his expression unreadable: "...You really just want to sell paper?"

Xianjin, after a moment of surprise, nodded firmly: "For now, and for the next twenty years, I just want to focus on business. I've been working on this blueprint for six years, and I can't abandon it."

Time shifts back to the present.

Upon hearing Qiao Fangzhi say that all his money had been invested in Xianjin's shop, Qiao Hui couldn't help but laugh.

Alright.

His father had helped him with the dowry.

Now he could freely enter and exit Xianjin’s room at night without any worries—he used to fear that Xianjin might take advantage of him and then leave...