Lao Zhu sneered: "Are you still worried that Anqing will be poor? Do you think that 300,000 yuan can evacuate the Zhenhai Hou Mansion?"
"Three hundred thousand silver is not a small amount. How many years has the Han family been in existence? And Han Du didn't take the bulk of it, whether it was coal mines or briquettes. How much money can the Han family have?" The son-in-law is also half a son, and he is in This is clearly reflected in the eyes of Queen Ma, the mother-in-law. She didn't know why, but she always looked at Han Du, and the more she looked at him, the more pleasing she became.
Now, maybe she wouldn't say anything when her own son was wronged, but she didn't want Han Du to be wronged.
"Do you know what Han Du's nickname is? Good Fortune Boy. He went to sea twice, and didn't he make a lot of money that time?" In other words, he gave me the bulk of his money, so I didn't pursue him, Lao Zhu thought to himself.
"Don't say 300,000 guan, Han Du can now get a million guan." Lao Zhu hummed twice, with an unspeakable meaning.
Maybe it's because Lao Zhu is no longer short of money in the past few years, so he doesn't feel much about Han Du's wealth. If a few years ago, when Lao Zhu was about to go crazy from poverty, he might not be able to help but kill Han Du and eat meat.
"Even if the Han family has a fortune of millions, throwing away even half of it for nothing will be a huge blow to the Han family." Empress Ma still felt sorry for her son-in-law's money.
"Everyone has heard that Han Du is wasting money by investing money in the racecourse. But in my opinion, that is not necessarily the case." Lao Zhu had an inexplicable feeling in his heart, feeling that Han Du could make a lot of money with this move.
"Why?" Queen Ma looked at Lao Zhu strangely.
After a pause, Lao Zhu said: "Han Du, this kid, never speaks freely. No matter how others don't think highly of the things he says can make money, or how they think he will lose money, in the end, without exception, All prove that he makes a lot of money.
In my opinion, it will be the same this time. Raising horses, which may seem impossible to make money to others, may be a way to make a fortune in Han Du's hands. "
After hearing this, Queen Ma couldn't help but look forward to Han Du's racecourse. She wanted to see how Han Du made money.
...
Ever since Han Du went crazy and wanted to invest 300,000 yuan to build a racecourse, there were absolutely no shortage of people coming to watch the excitement at the gate of the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion. However, these people were intimidated by the power of the guards at the Hou Mansion and did not dare to stand directly at the door and point. They could only pretend to be passing by. When they reached the gate, they took the opportunity to take a curious look inside.
Ever since Han Du was scolded as a prodigal, Muda felt that a thick cloud had been cast on the facade of the Zhenhai Hou Mansion. In addition, more and more people came to watch the excitement at the entrance of the Hou Mansion, Muda couldn't sit still anymore, so he simply stood at the door as a housekeeper, staring at everyone passing by.
As long as anyone dares to look at the Hou Mansion, they will immediately receive Muda's extraordinary gaze.
Normally, no matter who faced Muda's eyes like this, he couldn't help but feel short of breath. He didn't dare to stop at the door of the Marquis' Mansion and immediately walked away quickly.
But today, not only did some of them not leave, but they also dared to walk towards the door of the Hou Mansion.
"Stop, who are you? How dare you break into the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion." Muda shouted sharply, and the guards on both sides stepped forward quickly, unsheathing their long swords with a clank, and stopped the intruder.
The visitor was very young, he looked to be in his twenties, and he was dressed like a peasant. I don’t know where he got the courage to break into the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion.
"This adult misunderstood, the young one did not want to break in."
"Oh? Then what do you want to do?" Muda stared at the visitor closely, with a somewhat unkind look on his face. In the past few days, he had been disturbed by the people who wanted to watch the excitement, and he was even more angry when he saw someone coming to the door.
"Young man, I want to pay homage to the Marquis." The visitor saw the shining long knife in front of his eyes, swallowed secretly and did not dare to move, and replied cautiously.
Muda scoffed at the man's words and said, "What a joke! How noble is the Marquis? How can you, a common man like you, just see him if you want? Get out of here!"
After the visitor heard this, he was very unwilling and said quickly: "Sir, I know the Marquis and I have helped him."
"Oh? Do you know the Marquis? How do you know him?" Muda was surprised when he heard this, thinking that Han Du knew this person, and quickly waved the guard who was about to drive him away to stop.
"Sir, I am working hard on the cement road that the Marquis built in three days. I have seen the Marquis before."
Hearing this reason, Muda became even more angry, and quickly waved his hand to drive this person away in disgust, "Get out! Get out! Get out! There are tens of thousands of people working to build the cement road. Do you think the Marquis will remember them all?" Go away, seeing as you have met the Marquis, I won’t make things difficult for you.”
The man had no choice but to leave without saying anything.
...
Since Han Du decided to build a racecourse, he didn't dare to delay it for a moment. I drew the drawings first, then borrowed a few craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry, and went to the foot of Zhongshan Mountain to compare the actual work with the drawings one by one.
"Master Marquis, build this racecourse here. Don't you also want to build a grandstand? If you build the racecourse here, you can build the grandstand along the hillside. This will not only save a lot of manpower and material resources, but also build a better grandstand." It’s also stronger than building it directly.”
"Well, this is a good idea." Han Du took a few glances at the drawings and the hillside in front of him, and felt that this was an excellent place.
Han Du and several craftsmen discussed while walking, and soon determined the general location of the racecourse.
Just as Han Du was about to go back, a man was stopped by a guard.
Even so
, this person also kept struggling and shouted loudly: "The little one wants to see the Marquis, the little one wants to see the Marquis..."
Han Du was about to get on the carriage when he suddenly heard someone shouting. He looked up and saw someone blocking the road ahead. I couldn't help but ask the people around me in a deep voice: "What's going on?"
A guard guarding Han Du quickly ran forward to inquire.
Soon the man came back, clasped his fists and replied to Han Du: "Replying to the Marquis, there is a commoner who is clamoring to see the Marquis. Please give me instructions."
Han Du pondered for a while, but did not intend to drive this person away directly. Instead, he said: "Bring him here, I will ask what's going on?"
"yes."
Two guards, one on the left and one on the right, escorted the person in front of Han Du.
This person ignored his hands being grabbed, nodded to Han Du with a smile on his face, and said: "My dear, my dear, my dear, my dear, my dear, my dear..."
Han Du stretched out his hand and pressed it slightly to comfort him.
This person suppressed his excitement and calmed down a little.
"Why are you so persistent in wanting to see me?" Han Du asked immediately.
The man nodded to Han Du again and said, "The younger one is called Sanwazi. When the Marquis built the cement road, the younger one was one of the laborers who mixed the cement. Because of this labor, the younger one learned how to use cement."
Hearing Sanwazi say that he could use cement, Han Du suddenly laughed. Using cement may seem simple, but in the Ming Dynasty, where per capita was illiterate, it was something that many people could not learn. If this Sanwazi can learn it, he is obviously smarter.
Hearing Sanwazi say this, Han Du suddenly felt a little friendly, smiled and raised his hand to let him go.
"Then you stopped me because you wanted to say that you know how to use cement?"
"No." Sanwazi rubbed his arm that was a little sore from being scratched, "Master Hou, it's like this. Ever since I learned the craft of using cement, I have been doing some cement work in the county. My parents have met. , so we gathered people like the younger ones and gave them some of the cement work in the county. In the past few years, our county has a group of people who are good at using cement."
Han Du was a little surprised when he heard that he would hand over the work in the county to people like Sanwazi? Who is so foresight? Isn’t this a government outsourcing project?
"Didn't I hear that the Marquis is going to build a racecourse? Cement will definitely be used. So I volunteered to come to see the Marquis to see if I can be of any help."
Han Du pondered, not to mention, what these three boys said was a solution. It's not like Han Du didn't think about asking the Ministry of Industry to help with the construction, but since Xue Xiang resigned, the Ministry of Industry has been replaced.
In addition, Han Du had conflicts with the Ministry of Industry. Although the relationship eased a bit with Xue Xiang's help, it was not much better.
After all, Han Du insisted on forcing Wai Lang, a member of the Ministry of Works, to death because of the beating of Heizi. This was a shameful thing in the eyes of the people in the Ministry of Works.
Han Du couldn't count on the Ministry of Industry. Originally, Han Du was still worrying about where to find people to build the construction. Unexpectedly, he fell asleep and bumped into the pillow.
"You mean, if I give you money, you will help me build this racecourse?" Although Han Du was already moved in his heart, he still asked Sanwazi calmly on the surface.
Sanwazi nodded excitedly and replied: "Hey, yes, it's exactly what the Marquis said."
Han Du exhaled a breath from his nose and said with a smile: "Well, I have plenty of money. But I want to know, how many people do you have? Can you repair such a large racecourse? Are there any problems with it?" "
Originally, Handu was prepared to bite the bullet and let the Ministry of Industry build it, so there was no problem with money. No matter how high the price of these three boys is, it cannot be higher than that of the Ministry of Industry.
But the key thing is whether there is any problem with the quality if these three boys are allowed to build it. If the quality is not up to standard, no matter how cheap it is, Handu will not let him build it. He would rather be slaughtered by the Ministry of Industry. After all, there is absolutely no problem with the quality of the Ministry of Industry's construction.
"Don't worry, Mr. Hou, we have repaired it more than once in the county. Even the county magistrate has praised the work we have done. There will definitely be no problem. There are more than a thousand of us, and we will definitely not miss Hou. It’s my business.”
The county magistrate thinks there is no problem, but it does not mean that there is really no problem.
Han Du knew very well about county magistrates. Many county magistrates were simply nerds before this. Not to mention the quality of the project, even if they left the subordinate staff below, the case would not be closed.
"Which county are you in? I want to see what you do with my own eyes before making a decision."
"Okay, okay, the younger one is from Jurong County." Sanwazi replied quickly.
Han Du nodded.
The next day, Han Du got up early and headed to Jurong County.
Jurong County is dozens of miles away from the capital, and it took Han Du more than an hour to get there on horseback.
Sanwazi was waiting on the county road before dawn. When he saw Han Du coming, he quickly went to greet him.
"Good morning, Lord Marquis~" Sanwazi didn't know what to say to Han Du, so he just said hello stiffly.
Han Du nodded, "That's fine for you. Let's go. I'll go visit the local magistrate first."
Arriving at the county government office, the guards around Han Du immediately stepped forward to negotiate with the government officials. "The Marquis of Zhenhai has come to visit the county magistrate, so go quickly and report."
When the yamen servant heard that it was a marquis who was coming, he didn't dare to be negligent. He hurriedly went in to report, not even daring to ask Han Du to wait here.
Han Du was not polite, and the Yamen servant turned around and ran in.
, Han Du walked into the county government office on his back feet. As soon as I walked into the lobby, I saw the government servant coming out in a hurry.
When the yamen officer saw Han Du coming here, his expression suddenly changed, but he did not dare to say anything, so he bowed and led the way, inviting Han Du in.
Han Du came to the study and when he saw the county magistrate, he couldn't help but said in surprise, "So it's you?"
The man in front of him was the former County Magistrate Zhou.
When Magistrate Zhou saw Han Du, he was not at all happy. He curled his lips and bowed to Han Du and said, "I'm the next official, Zhou Huai, to pay my respects to the Marquis of Zhenhai."
Han Du walked over to Zhou Huai and sat down unceremoniously. He smiled and said, "So your name is Zhou Huai. I still know your name after all this time."
This Zhou Huai was the county magistrate who felt sorry for him when he was building the cement road. Therefore, Han Du remembered it very clearly.
"What? I heard that you handed over all the construction work in the county to people like Sanwazi?"
"Exactly." Zhou Huai nodded, as if answering that Han Du had eaten rice this morning.
Seeing his understatement, Han Du couldn't help but narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "The imperial court has its own laws. How dare you make your own decisions and let people like Sanwazi get involved? Aren't you afraid that the censor will refer to your book?" ?”
Faced with Han Du's threats, Zhou Huai calmly shook his head and said, "Afraid, why aren't you afraid? But I can't do anything about it. This county is poor. If we really do it in a satisfactory way, then the county won't be able to repair a few in the whole year." There are only a few roads and canals. Of course, if the Supervisory Office is willing to pay for the construction of the county, then the official can do without the people like Sanwazi."
As soon as Han Du heard Zhou Huai's words, he knew that this was a bastard. I glanced at him curiously, wondering how a man with a scholarly background could acquire such a habit of not being stingy.
"They are just beginners. Aren't you afraid that there will be something wrong with what they build?"
Zhou Huai calmly held the tea cup, blew a few breaths, and said: "Every time they repair, the official will send someone to watch. And after the repair is completed, a special person will be sent to inspect. Only if the inspection passes, Only then can they get money, and they will build it carefully for the money. Moreover, in the eyes of the lower officials, the things they build are better than those built by those from the Ministry of Works."
Whether it's good or not, Han Du hasn't seen it yet, so I won't care. What made Han Du even more curious was where did Zhou Huai get the courage from.
"The emperor has promulgated a strict road guide system. You have so many of them gathering and running around the county. What will happen to the road guide?"
Gathering more than a thousand people is not a trivial matter. If someone with an intention finds out, it is not impossible to impeach Zhou Huai for gathering a crowd to rebel.
"Of course I will follow Lu Yin's instructions." Zhou Huai looked up at Han Du and said calmly.
"You follow the directions? There are so many people, and you lead them all?" This time it was Han Du's turn to be a little surprised. You must know that there were not thirty or fifty people, but more than a thousand people.
Everyone has a guide, and just these more than a thousand guides can make Zhou Huai very tired. If it were a lazy county magistrate, let alone issuing road guides one by one, I am afraid that after hearing this number, he would think that one thing is worse than one thing less, and directly refused.
"It's just some paper with a big seal on it. It's worth it to feed and clothe so many people." Zhou Huai didn't think much and said calmly.
"The Point Guard Is Here"
Han Du didn't say anything after hearing this. He just looked at Zhou Huai intently and quickly smiled slowly.
After a while, Han Ducai said: "I want to see how they did before. Is it convenient?"
Zhou Huai gently put his teacup in his hands, stood up and bowed, saying, "Please come with the Lord Marquis and your subordinates."
Under the leadership of Zhou Huai, Han Du checked one by one the various projects that Sanwazi and others had done before. It is indeed well made and the quality is very good.
However, Han Du did not agree to Sanwazi on the spot, and just asked him to wait for the news.
Han Du left Jurong and went to see Lao Zhu as soon as he returned to the capital.
Lao Zhu happened to have some free time today. He was standing behind the imperial desk and was splashing ink with great interest.
Even when Han Du paid a visit, Lao Zhu didn't even raise his head and just dealt with it casually.
"Get back on your feet. If you don't go to repair your horse farm, why do you come to see me?"
"It's because of the construction of the racecourse that I came to ask the emperor for help." Han Du smiled awkwardly.
Lao Zhu pursed a smile at the corner of his mouth. He didn't look at Han Du, but asked directly: "What do you think of me?"
Han Du hurriedly acted like a bitch, just glanced at the imperial case, and quickly shouted: "Okay, your Majesty has a good word."
Originally, after Lao Zhu finished writing, he was just quite proud and subconsciously asked Han Du. But he didn't expect that Han Du would look like this. Not only did Lao Zhu not feel good about it, but he also felt that Han Du was not even afraid of flattery. Anyway, now Lao Zhu is being fucked up and down by Han Du, and he is not very comfortable.
With a snap, he threw the brush in his hand into the inkstone and said in a bad tone: "Then tell me what's so good about my word. If it's right, I'll spare you. If it's wrong, you can Take care of me carefully."
This is a threat, and it’s something I want to say. What should I do? Han Du was not only a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, as his mind was spinning, Han Du's eyes lit up, he lowered his head and looked at Lao Zhu's handwriting carefully, and suddenly praised: "The emperor's writing style is natural and smooth, his manners are vivid, his wind spirit is unique, he has the will of God, and he follows the natural way." The charm.”
Lao Zhu was overjoyed when he heard this. Han Du's words could be said to have spoken to his heart.
