After this incident, Hua Zhi understood why her cousin had behaved more attentive than usual in the past two days. Now that she thought about it, she thought that he probably knew at that time that his uncle wanted to cancel the engagement, and he felt guilty.
He could see clearly that it was his uncle who wanted to withdraw, otherwise his aunt would not have been able to stir up trouble, not to mention that her attitude today clearly showed that she was willing to disobey her mother-in-law. It was his uncle who gave her the courage.
Although she would find a way to break up the relationship even if the other party didn't mention it, she could bring it up, but her uncle's attitude was really hurtful. It hurt their feelings after all, and she couldn't let it go.
However, she has always been closer to her younger uncle. As a businessman, she should just interact with businessmen. Her eldest uncle is an official, so she should just mingle with officials.
Just as I was thinking, the door darkened and my uncle walked in with a smile on his face, "Look at you, I don't know how many people told me that the eldest girl came since I walked here. Those who didn't know thought that a distinguished guest had come. Your reputation is so famous, tsk."
"You can't just stop treating me as a guest just because I come a few more times." Hua Zhi stood up and greeted with a smile, her tone and attitude very relaxed.
The old lady looked very relieved, and stood up and said, "Zhi'er, you are not allowed to leave today. Stay and have dinner with your grandmother. I will ask the kitchen to make some vegetarian dishes that you like."
"Yes, at your discretion."
The old lady then left with satisfaction, and gave a wink to her second son where Hua Zhi couldn't see.
Zhu Haodong didn't know what happened. He observed Zhi'er but didn't see anything, so he just kept an eye on her. "Have you been here for a long time?"
"It's been a while."
"I thought you were so busy that you didn't even have enough time to rest. You look a little worse."
Hua Zhi was too embarrassed to say that her bad complexion was due to menstruation, so she took the bound booklet from Liu Xiang and handed it to him, "I have some new ideas for the soap business, take a look first."
Zhu Haodong had heard her talk once before, so he didn't hesitate to open the book and read it carefully. He read very slowly, even reading some parts word for word.
“Better than I expected.”
Hua Zhi raised her eyebrows.
Zhu Haodong laughed, "I thought you would only let us have some soup after you took back the deal, but it seems like we can still get a bite of meat."
"Of course, if it wasn't for the fact that doing so would bring you greater profits, I wouldn't take back the deal. I won't forget that I have a share in this deal. Besides, I need you to explain to General Zhou."
"Don't worry, the Zhou family won't have any objection to such a good thing." Zhu Haodong was sure of this. They had already tasted the sweetness and knew how huge the profit of this thing was. Moreover, they could not supply it with just the capital city now, let alone swallow up all of Jiuzhou. This thing was a consumable and had to be bought again after it was used up. Their workshop had already been expanded once, but it still looked very small. If it really became bigger as Zhier said, even if the three families only took 10% each, they should not underestimate it.
However, "If other places are also divided in this way, the benefits distributed will not be small. Will the emperor agree?"
"There won't be three in other places. At most, there will be two companies to check and balance each other. If the emperor divides 20% of the profits, he can still get 80%. What else does he want? When the business is expanded, I also plan to sell to neighboring countries. The profits are all real money. There is really no need to limit it to the present."
Zhu Haodong was surprised. "Sell to other countries? Would the emperor agree?"
"This is not a strategic material, why don't you agree?"
It seems... it makes sense. This is not iron, grain or tea. You can sell it and earn money. Why wouldn't you agree
However, "Zhi'er, aren't you thinking too far ahead? You haven't made enough money in Daqing yet, but you're already thinking about making money from other countries!"
"Plan first, and you'll eventually realize it."
Zhu Haodong looked like he was about to laugh. "I don't know why, but when you say something that hasn't even started yet, it always makes sense."
"It means what I said makes sense."
The uncle and nephew smiled at each other. The atmosphere was in perfect harmony. Zhi Niang, who was deliberately kept by the old lady, breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left the house. The old lady could rest assured that the eldest girl had not become estranged from the Zhu family.
No matter how good a plan is, it has to be implemented to see results. Hua Zhi is not a procrastinator. After receiving the news from General Zhou, she drafted a new contract for the three parties to sign, and then started to implement it.
She thought her uncle's workshop was too small, so she asked the emperor for an abandoned mansion, opened up what needed to be connected and removed what was not needed. Then she moved the entire small workshop there and posted a notice recruiting people. The two managers from the two families remained managers, and she pulled one from the Hua family over there. The rest of the matters were left to the three of them.
As for how the three of them get along, she doesn't care. If she has to take care of such things, what's the point of being in charge
Once she made her attitude clear, the others got along well with each other quickly. They each took charge of a task and got the workshop up and running in a very short time.
As soon as the idea of setting up a seventh ministry was proposed, it was like water being thrown into a frying pan. The court became completely lively. The salt tax originally belonged to the Ministry of Revenue, so Zhu Bowen, who had been stripped of his power, remained silent. Then others naturally supported it strongly. How many more officials would be needed to have one more ministry? From top to bottom, everyone wanted to get their own people in. They were all excited even when they were arm wrestling until their hands were about to break.
The emperor kept his troops inactive for several days, and when they had come up with some rules, he immediately brought up the issue of transportation, making it clear that he wanted to solve the two issues at once. The generals who had originally stayed out of the matter learned that the matter would be handed over to the military officers and they all got involved, either actively or passively. The court was bustling for several days.
The weather was getting colder day by day, and the matter had not yet come to a conclusion, but Hua Zhi had already begun to think about traveling to the north.
Gu Yanxi didn't agree, "It's getting colder the later we go. Why bother going through this? Wouldn't it be better to go after the New Year?"
"I want to get back before my grandmother's death anniversary. It's cold in the north for a long time. Even if I leave in March, it will still be cold. It's better to leave early." Hua Zhi clenched the cold fingertips. The injuries she had suffered could not be healed. The colder the weather, the colder her hands became.
"I will tell my grandfather that I will not go in the first half of next year, but in the second half. I will go once in April of the year after next, and then again in October. I will adjust the time to avoid the coldest time." Hua Zhi smiled again, "Maybe they will all be back the year after next, and I won't have to go."
"Who can predict the future? Anything is possible." Gu Yanxi held her hands together and frowned because of her low body temperature, even though it was not the first time. "I'll call Shaoyao out to show you."
"She's only been gone for a few days, don't bother her. Didn't you say the emperor also caught a cold? My illness won't heal in a short time, just follow her instructions and take care of it."
Gu Yanxi still frowned, but didn't say anything else.