After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

The contract is now very specific; not only does it require completion within five years, it also specifies regulations. However, unlike before, she only demands the minimum standards, with no upper limit.

Chang Ning noticed this, but although he didn’t understand Zhao Hanzhang’s intentions, he didn’t ask. Instead, he handed the contract issued by the inner court to the county government, which transcribed it for those interested in purchasing land.

Indeed, the contents of the contracts are all the same, with only the price section left blank.

Zhao Erlang, without overthinking, immediately asked someone to invite Zhao Hu upon receiving the receipt and contract, "Have Seventh Ancestor bring the money, so we don’t make an unnecessary trip."

The government official received the order and left.

Zhao Zheng, standing aside, hesitated before speaking, "The Ministry of Revenue has taken away the Wang Family’s piece of land."

Zhao Erlang replied, "Didn’t we know this from the start? My sister wouldn’t sell it to Seventh Ancestor."

Zhao Zheng said, "...I’m saying that the Ministry of Revenue didn’t fully agree. Grandfather may not be willing to only deal with four plots, and asking him to bring money might upset him."

"If he’s unwilling, I’ll sell to someone else," said Zhao Erlang. "My sister needs the money urgently."

Zhao Zheng looked at him silently.

How to tell him that currently, everyone is watching, and his grandfather is the only one willing to pay a large sum in cash for land? And this was achieved with the Great General making concessions.

Seeing Zhao Erlang’s resolute side profile, Zhao Zheng silently held back. Forget it, Brother Yong’s mind works differently, and telling him might cause unforeseen trouble.

Since Zhao Zheng didn’t speak, Zhao Erlang confidently and proudly faced Zhao Hu. In his mind, since his sister is so capable and set so many terms, Zhao Hu must be the one eager to buy the land from Zhao Hanzhang.

Thus, he directly filled in the highest price set by the Ministry of Revenue on four contracts. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The Ministry of Revenue’s pricing wasn’t high; even the highest was within Zhao Hu’s acceptable range. Because Zhao Erlang filled in the price so matter-of-factly, it gave Zhao Hu the illusion that there was no room for bargaining, so he accepted the contracts without haggling and asked, "What about the other plot?"

"The price for that plot is undecided, so we can’t sign a contract yet." This reason was Zhao Zheng’s idea.

Zhao Hu glanced at the naive and innocent Zhao Erlang, didn’t suspect anything, frowned, and signed all four contracts. "Urge the Ministry of Revenue to set a price quickly. If they can’t decide, just name a price first. If it’s feasible, I’ll settle; if not, we can haggle. It’s wasting my time dragging on like this."

Zhao Erlang asked, "Seventh Ancestor, you’ve bought four plots of land at once and need to build houses. Do you have enough manpower?"

"Not enough. Why, are you offering to lend me your family’s servants?"

Zhao Erlang shook his head, "We have few servants, mostly personal soldiers, and I can’t lend them to you. But I’m curious, with insufficient manpower, why did you buy so much land at once? The Wang Family’s plot is huge. Sister says it’s such a prime piece that building a house on it will take three to four years even under good financial conditions."

Zhao Erlang hesitated before asking, "Seventh Ancestor, are you very wealthy? If I were to borrow money from you, would you lend it to me?"

Zhao Hu, without thinking, said, "I won’t!"

After speaking, seeing his grandson standing aside, he paused and softened his tone, "Erlang, it’s not that Uncle Ancestor doesn’t care for you, but because you haven’t settled down, I won’t lend you money."

Zhao Erlang looked puzzled, "What does settling down have to do with it?"

"It has everything to do with it. You need to establish a family and career. Only when you’ve settled down can your heart be steadied, and only then will your expenditures have limits," Zhao Hu said. "Otherwise, as someone unattached, spending without restraint, when would I get my money back if I lent it to you?"

"Remember, if someone wants to borrow money from you in the future, you must consider whether they can pay it back. Only when you’re sure they can and will pay, can you lend to them. Otherwise, if it’s about saving a life, you can offer some without expecting gratitude but hoping to avoid enmity. For such money, there’s no need to expect repayment."

He turned to Zhao Zheng and said, "Don’t follow your father’s example. Money and power are the only things in this world that can reassure people. Your father neither desires power nor grasps money, with hands as loose as a sieve. I can’t trust him with the family business, so in the future, I’ll leave it all to you."

Zhao Zheng wasn’t happy. He sternly replied, "How can I inherit the family business over my father?"

"If I say you can, you can," Zhao Hu said worriedly. "I’m afraid that if I leave the family business to your father, you father and son will end up begging in the streets. Then I truly won’t rest in peace even after death."

Zhao Zheng opened his mouth, unable to voice any rebuttal.

Zhao Erlang, however, rolled his eyes and said to Zhao Hu, "Seventh Ancestor, I think Uncle Cheng is quite good. You should give the family business to Uncle Cheng."

"Go, go, go. Do you know how much family business I have? Do you know what money is? Children should meddle less in adult matters."

Zhao Erlang widened his eyes, "Seventh Ancestor, you’re insulting me!"

Zhao Hu was taken aback, not expecting this fool to catch on, but he wouldn’t admit it. "Nonsense, how did I insult you? Name one word I used to insult you."

Zhao Erlang said angrily, "You insulted me; every word you said insulted me, even your gaze insults me. Don’t think I don’t know you’re calling me a fool in your heart. I’ve seen it many times."

Zhao Zheng quickly stepped between them to mediate, "County Lord, don’t you still need to meet the resettled immigrants? You need to issue the settlement certificate, or you won’t make it out today."

Zhao Erlang was displeased, snorted, and angrily went to count the money Zhao Hu had brought.

The money Zhao Hu brought was placed in the courtyard of the county government, packed in burlap sacks, and when poured out, produced the pleasant sound of coins clinking.

Zhao Erlang’s face looked better. He picked up a string and proudly raised his chin at Zhao Hu, "Seventh Ancestor, I not only know how to count money but also how to weigh it."

He instructed those around him, "Go and get the scales. Counting coins one by one would take forever. The weight of the court-minted coins is fixed; by weighing them, you know how much money there is."

Zhao Zheng’s forehead twitched, and he lowered his eyes, moving two steps to the side, distancing himself from Zhao Hu.

Sure enough, he had barely moved a step when Zhao Hu exploded in anger, shouting at Zhao Erlang, "Who does business like this? Don’t you know that there’s wear and tear on copper coins during circulation? These coins have passed through so many hands, clinking and clanging in and out, so there’s bound to be some abrasion. By weighing, you’d cheat me of two coins and profit off me!"

Zhao Erlang retorted, "When there’s a lot of money, this is how the army calculates military pay and grain money. Don’t fool me. I’m not stupid, I’m very smart. Even with wear and tear, a basket of money doesn’t amount to much more, and I haven’t even asked anyone to untie the money strings. Don’t money strings count as weight?"

Zhao Hu nearly spat on his face, "You’re counting the weight of something as light as a string? Why not just resort to robbery?"