After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 792 - 782: Raising Money

Zhao Dian bowed his head and said, "In the past, the income from the residence’s shops, estates, and caravans would be entered into our communal account, plus the Fifth Grandfather could occasionally subsidize it, so even if the income and expenses didn’t balance, it could be made up. But since we followed Your Majesty to Yun City, you haven’t contributed any money to the communal account from your side."

That portion was the inheritance left to him by Zhao Changyu; when leaving Luoyang, he was ready for the possibility of his demise, so it was naturally impossible for him to take the family wealth with him, thus he handed all the money to Zhao Hanzhang.

"A year ago, you instructed to have the assets divided. Except for the houses, shops, and estates you purchased yourself, the rest of the assets were handed over for Fifth Grandfather to manage, even the account books and seals were sent back."

Ah, Zhao Zhongyu remembered, a year ago, he was so infuriated by Zhao Ji’s foolishness that he knew deep down the clan couldn’t be entrusted to Zhao Ji.

So, to avoid future resentment and disputes over inheritance within the clan, he specifically had his personal assets separated, and temporarily handed the portion that should be held by the Clan Leader over to Zhao Song for management.

In the future, whether Zhao Yi becomes the Clan Leader or Zhao Erlang’s son does, they can directly retrieve that portion of the assets from Zhao Song.

That was the accumulation of the Zhao Family over many years, an inheritance of the clan, with the legitimate eldest son entitled to seventy percent, and the remaining thirty percent inherited by other descendants, thus seventy percent again and again, passed down from one son to another, resulting in the family fortune as it is today.

Thus, the family could remain prosperous, with a strong legitimate line to protect the clan.

Therefore, this family fortune does not belong to just the Clan Leader’s family, but to the entire clan.

It’s also for this reason that Zhao Changyu left the majority of his wealth to Zhao Zhongyu, and Zhao Zhongyu, even though he is reluctant, after seeing his son’s stupidity and shortsightedness, could only painfully return it to the clan, awaiting a more competent Clan Leader from the legitimate line in the future.

"So... without that asset, I’m out of money?"

Zhao Zhongyu couldn’t believe it.

Zhao Dian lowered his head and quietly said, "Fifth Grandfather, the houses, shops, and estates you purchased are mostly in Luoyang. This past year, only a trickle has been received, and we’ve been surviving on the two estates and fields in Xiping."

"How do I only have two estates in Xiping? I remember there were several shops and many pieces of land."

Zhao Dian’s voice grew even quieter, "Upon reviewing the account book, that portion had already been exchanged with the Third Lady four years ago for Luoyang’s shops and estates."

Zhao Zhongyu was completely speechless; he was somewhat dazed and only now reacted, "You mean she has been certain four years ago that Luoyang would fall into chaos?"

Zhao Dian kept his head down and didn’t dare to speak.

Zhao Zhongyu was filled with complex emotions, not as angry anymore, and a bit proud, but mostly bitter and sour. Why is it that his elder brother’s luck has always been better than his?

Born of the same parents, his elder brother is just smarter. Though he had a smart son, he was physically weak; while his son may not be as intelligent as Zhao Zhi, he’s strong and robust.

In this regard, they’re evenly matched.

But he has a smart and healthy grandson, doesn’t he?

Zhao Changyu chose Zhao Ji to inherit the title because of Zhao Yi, right?

So Zhao Zhongyu thought that Heaven had been fair to both brothers; at least, comparing grandsons, he won.

But going round and round, he ended up losing; his granddaughter is much stronger than his grandson, even stronger than him.

If she could foresee the decline of Luoyang four years ago, such foresight is not inferior to her grandfather’s.

"Fifth Grandfather, what should we do about the money?" Zhao Dian’s question pulled Zhao Zhongyu’s thoughts back. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Zhao Zhongyu came to his senses and asked, "Have you searched everywhere? Can’t squeeze out any more money?"

"I’ve left only the silver and coin needed for daily necessities; I’ve accounted for everything else, but it’s just not enough."

Zhao Zhongyu took the account book, flipped through it, and pointed at one item. "Remove this, the family is already struggling like this, why eat lamb and scorpion?"

"It’s for the master. He’s recovering and says one should heal by eating what resembles the ailment..."

"Eating what resembles what is all nonsense; he is not a sheep. What form is he trying to complement?" Zhao Zhongyu paused and then said, "If he truly wants to eat, later on, have someone go to the market to see if there are any clean-scraped lamb bones, buy a couple and make soup."

Zhao Dian complied.

Zhao Zhongyu continued to flip through, his frown deepening, "His expenses are so high; he’s injured yet still drinking. Gather all his wine, see if the restaurant will take it back. If not, find someone to sell it."

"And these medicines," Zhao Zhongyu paused again, still unable to take away his son’s right to take medication, "Next time, don’t summon a doctor home; have someone carry him to the pharmacy for consultation, it’ll also be a change of scenery for him."

Having the doctor come home incurs transportation fees, saving a bit where they can.

Zhao Zhongyu, no less the brother of Zhao Changyu, when not initially mindful, otherwise when he becomes mindful, he demonstrates his brother’s frugal manner.

Flipping through the ledger, he would occasionally cross out a few unnecessary expenses, or replace them with cheaper alternatives.

Even when it came to groceries, he didn’t permit household servants to shop at the East Market but encouraged them to go to the South Market or better yet, to a small marketplace just outside the city gates where external farmers would occasionally bring goods due to lack of scale, prices were quite random, and bargaining could bring down the cost.

Zhao Zhongyu even reduced his living standards, thereby squeezing out considerable funds from the remaining money, but it’s still not enough.

Zhao Zhongyu furrowed his brow tightly, asking, "Does Jizhi have anything that can be easily liquidated? Some gold and silver jewelry, or jade will do."

Zhao Dian was not very familiar with Zhao Ji’s belongings, but Zhao Zhongyu had some, "Fifth Grandfather’s storeroom contains a gold-embedded coronet."

That was something Zhao Zhongyu wore in his youth and loved, but since he got older, he no longer wore gold-embedded items, instead opting for jade ones.

Zhao Zhongyu pretended not to hear, seriously thought for a moment, then said, "I remember he has a saddle inlaid with jade pieces, warm in winter and cool in summer. Tomorrow, retrieve it; there are many generals here now, it’s a very liquid item."

Zhao Dian complied and quietly withdrew.

Zhao Ji hadn’t ridden a horse for a long time, plus he was currently confined to recover, completely unaware of this matter. Zhao Dian rummaged through his courtyard’s storeroom, fetched the saddle, and took it away.

He was out for just half a day, and then came back carrying a pouch filled with gold pieces.

Zhao Zhongyu handed these gold pieces and the money squeezed out before over to Zhao Hanzhang, with a calm expression, "Let me know if it’s still not enough."

Zhao Hanzhang accepted with delight, unaware of the difficulty in accumulating this money. In her memory, her elders were all quite wealthy. Now, in the Zhao Family clan, shouldn’t there be no one poorer than her?