Chapter 63: Chamber of Commerce 1/2

Wu Baichuan felt a little uneasy seeing Jin Xiaoye.

If Jin Xiaoye was a cunning merchant, it would be fine; he wouldn’t feel guilty for breaking the agreement. But she was just a country girl!

And judging from Jin Xiaoye’s appearance, she probably didn’t have much money…

“Shopkeeper Jin, hello.” Wu Baichuan smiled and nodded at Jin Xiaoye.

“Shopkeeper Wu, I’ve almost prepared the goods you wanted. When are you going to come and take a look?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Wu Baichuan looked apologetic, “Shopkeeper Jin, I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with a lot of things related to the association in Chongcheng County recently, so I haven’t had time to go to your place.”

Since he said so, Jin Xiaoye could only say, “Then come and take a look at my place when you’re done with your work.”

“Alright, alright!” Wu Baichuan smiled and agreed, then looked at Li Qingzhi. “Shopkeeper Jin, is this your husband?”

“Yes, this is my husband,” Jin Xiaoye replied.

“Shopkeeper Jin, your husband is truly talented.” Wu Baichuan smiled.

Jin Xiaoye was very pleased to hear that. “My Ah Qing is a scholar, he’s very knowledgeable.”

Just as she was speaking, Jin Xiaoye’s noodles were served.

Today, Li Qingzhi ordered a bowl of noodles for Li Damao, Li Ermao, and Zhao Xiaodou each.

The portions at this noodle shop were generous, and the three children definitely couldn’t finish their noodles, so Li Qingzhi took some from their bowls, gave some to Jin Xiaoshu, and ate the rest himself.

One bowl of noodles was simply not enough for him!

In the seafood noodles that Li Damao and Li Ermao were eating, there were meatballs, river prawns, pork stomach, and baby bok choy. After Li Damao ate a meatball, he picked one up for Li Qingzhi and said, “Dad, this is delicious!”

Seeing this, Li Ermao picked up a piece of pork stomach and said to Li Qingzhi, “Dad, this one is delicious too.”

“Damao and Ermao are really good kids!” Li Qingzhi praised them, then gave them some fish from his own bowl, making sure to remove the bones first.

The family ate happily together, but Wu Baichuan didn’t quite like this person.

According to what Hong Hui said, he had a grudge against Jin Xiaoye’s husband, which was why he was targeting Jin Xiaoye.

Jin Xiaoye’s husband was perfectly fine, so why would he offend Hong Hui? He ruined the good business opportunity for her!

And also… the rest of the family was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, but this person’s clothes were of particularly good quality. He let his wife make money to support him, which was not good!

Wu Baichuan didn’t like such scholars.

After finishing his noodles, Wu Baichuan left.

He was indeed a bit busy recently, but the matters of the association didn’t concern him much. He was mainly busy with building relations with Zhu Qian.

He had to prepare the gift he would give to Zhu Qian tomorrow, as well as the gift for County Magistrate Gou, so that he could ask Zhu Qian to give it to County Magistrate Gou.

As Wu Baichuan left, Li Qingzhi frowned at his back.

He could feel that Wu Baichuan was a little uneasy when facing Jin Xiaoye.

Why would Wu Baichuan be uneasy? What did he want to do?

Li Qingzhi didn’t show it, but he had made up his mind to ask Wu Baichuan tomorrow.

As for why tomorrow… of course, it was to leverage County Magistrate Gou’s authority.

Li Qingzhi didn’t let Zhu Qian help Jin Xiaoye because he hoped that Jin Xiaoye’s business could thrive on her own efforts, rather than relying on various conveniences given by others.

But if Jin Xiaoye really encountered problems, he would definitely help her solve them.

Today, Li Qingzhi was going to school, so he specifically wore the expensive clothes that Zhu Xunmiao had given him.

When he arrived at the school, he went straight to find Li Xiucai and asked him various questions.

Li Xiucai had a very high opinion of Li Qingzhi and taught him wholeheartedly. Li Qingzhi benefited greatly from his teaching.

He planned to come to Li Xiucai’s school for two months after the new year, just to make a last-ditch effort to ensure that he would be successful in the county examination, the imperial examination, and the palace examination.

The day passed like this, and early the next morning, Li Qingzhi put on the expensive clothes again and went to the county seat.

This time, he didn’t go to Zhu’s house but went straight to the county office to see County Magistrate Gou.

Having not seen Li Qingzhi for more than ten days, County Magistrate Gou was particularly enthusiastic, chatting with Li Qingzhi for quite some time. He also mentioned that he had already identified a good location for building the wharf.

Zhu Qian had a large piece of land to the west of Chongcheng County, and he was willing to donate half of it to County Magistrate Gou to build the wharf.

Li Qingzhi secretly gave Zhu Qian a thumbs-up.

What Zhu Qian did was beneficial to County Magistrate Gou, saving him a large sum of money, and also greatly beneficial to himself.

He only donated half of the land, and the other half was still in his hands!

Once the dock is built, that piece of land will definitely increase greatly in value.

There are hardly any unclaimed lands near Chongcheng County, but not all lands have been cultivated. The large piece of land bought by Zhu Qian is wasteland, originally worthless, but it will be different in the future!

Li Qingzhi was particularly satisfied with the location of the dock chosen by County Magistrate Gou.

This dock will be built to the west of Chongcheng County. When it is built, Chongcheng County is likely to expand westward by about two miles, making Miaoqian Village even closer to the county seat.

Miaoqian Village is right to the west of Chongcheng County!

Li Qingzhi and County Magistrate Gou had been talking for a long time. It wasn’t until noon that they set off together to the place where the merchants’ association held its meetings.

The county seat of Chongcheng County is indeed a bit crowded, so this time the merchants’ association chose to hold the meeting in a garden outside the city.

That garden belongs to a declining family in Chongcheng County, similar to the Hong family, but unlike the Hong family, they don’t try hard to maintain their dignity. Not only do they plant fruit trees in the garden and sell the fruits every year, but they also rent out their garden to families who want to hold weddings or banquets, collecting rent to subsidize their living expenses.

The garden is very large and beautifully landscaped, so there are often people renting it out. This family relies on this income to make a living. Some families leave behind decorations like ribbons and artificial flowers after holding banquets, and they can make a small profit from it.

Every year, merchants in Chongcheng County need to pay a sum of money to the merchants’ association, which is not short of money, so they rent this garden.

Early in the morning, Zhu Qian arrived at the garden.

He is not yet the president of the merchants’ association, but there is a high probability that he will become the new president, so he came early to greet the guests.

The current president of the merchants’ association, who has not yet retired, is very unhappy with Zhu Qian’s behavior, but now everyone in the city thinks highly of County Magistrate Gou, and County Magistrate Gou has also gained control of real power… Zhu Qian is essentially the spokesman for County Magistrate Gou, so he has to yield.

So, in the garden, Zhu Qian was chatting and laughing with the merchants who had come over.

He still wore various gold ornaments, looking tacky, but no one mocked him, instead they all flattered him.

Wu Baichuan also arrived early. He seized the opportunity to come to Zhu Qian’s side and greeted him.

Zhu Qian smiled and talked to Wu Baichuan, praising Wu Baichuan for his good taste, always able to find the most suitable goods.

Wu Baichuan was very happy to hear this. He had long noticed that Zhu Qian treated him well and must value him highly.

As noon approached, all the merchants from the merchants’ association arrived, gathering together to drink tea and chat.