Chapter 1553: Money Can't Be Spent

Gu Lin was ashamed: "I have. I bought five plots of land, two of which are in the Upper Lake District." Free money, who wouldn't want it? He Lingchuan smiled: "As expected of President Gu, not missing any opportunity."

Being able to buy in the Upper Lake District showed that he had acted very early.

Vision and courage, excellent qualities necessary for a successful businessman.

Gu Lin immediately said: "Island Master He is the Upper Council Zhi Shi for the new city expansion; I was just about to ask for advice."

Gu Lin was half his own person, so He Lingchuan spoke straightforwardly: "Within two months, you must sell them."

The new city expansion project had been going on for a month.

"Two months?" Gu Lin was moved, but didn't ask more, "Good!"

He personally poured a cup of tea for He Lingchuan before starting to report: "We purchased 490,000 jin of blood lotus, Duqin seeds, and other 39 types of medicinal materials from Xiaozhong Mountain, Long River, and Moyan; about 80,000 packs of semi-finished medicines and elixirs; and 1,700,000 jin of 21 types of spices."

"310,000 jin of various synthetic mineral powders and catalysts collected from Tong Mountain, Yin River, Zhuo'an, and other places; and more than 500 sets of standard magic artifacts purchased from Lingdonglai and other casting sects." Copper, iron, and various precious metals could not be purchased directly, as they were strictly managed by the authorities.

"This year the rain is sufficient, and the Tongguan horses have given birth to many cubs, so I also found a way to get more than 780 horses, both large and small, which will be transported out of the Yao Nation's territory in the next two days."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed and clapped his hands in praise: "Good, good, Tonglin Ji's treasure sword is not old."

Tongguan was a place name, adjacent to Chigu. On the Shanjin Plain, Chigu horses were famous. More than a hundred years ago, when the Ying people grazed Chigu horses, the stallions often slipped into the mountains and forests. The herdsmen in the Tongguan area secretly drove their own mares to find Chigu horses to breed.

The hybrid descendants of Chigu horses were thus produced, and after more than a hundred years of breeding, they became a stable new breed: Tongguan horses.

Although their performance on the battlefield was not as good as Chigu horses, their endurance was even better, and their temper was more stable and gentle, unlike Chigu horses which were so difficult to serve, and the survival rate of the cubs was high, so they also became a very popular horse breed.

Most importantly, the ancestors of the Tongguan people migrated from Pixia, Pei, and other places, and were not Yao Nation natives, so they didn't really follow the Yao Nation's laws. The Yao Nation strictly controlled the export of Chigu horses, but the Tongguan people had been selling horses openly and secretly, and the Yao King's court had questioned it several times, leading to serious conflicts. The management cost was simply too high, and later they could only open one eye and close one eye.

Tongguan's location was also close to the border, so Tongguan horses had always appeared in the border horse markets.

Such an important strategic resource was extremely needed by the Yangshan Archipelago.

"Try to collect as many as possible, but don't attract attention." He Lingchuan also knew that his requirement was too high.

Gu Lin, however, laughed: "Please rest assured, Tonglin Ji has empty-shell merchant houses all over the country, and we can also borrow other people's names to buy. The order for those 700 Tongguan horses was bought separately by eight merchant houses, two pastoral tribes, and several forces outside the pass on the surface. The horse market doesn't know how many batches of horses are sold every day, so it won't attract attention."

He helped He Lingchuan purchase various materials, also using the empty-shell merchant house method. According to He Lingchuan's understanding, that was one empty shell after another, dispersing, small amounts, and multiple purchases, so as not to alert the authorities.

The method was very complicated and not easy to trace.

Gu Lin was also very emotional.

After Tu Yuanhong died, he spent all his energy maintaining Tonglin Ji, not just these few storefronts and these hundred-plus people, but also the empty-shell merchant houses Tonglin Ji had all over the place. This kind of merchant house usually had people in charge locally, not only having some commercial activities but also having to get to know some officials and wealthy gentry, so that their actions wouldn't arouse suspicion.

These were the things that truly cost heart, effort, and money.

Gu Lin's painstaking maintenance had now finally borne fruit. All the empty-shell merchant houses were used, yet He Lingchuan still felt it wasn't enough.

If there were no accidents, the gains Tonglin Ji obtained from Yangshan would not only allow it to fully recover its vitality but also grow bigger and stronger.

But Gu Lin knew very well that he and Tonglin Ji were already trapped in a sinister vortex.

To make money, one must also have a life to spend it.

"How much money has been spent?"

"So far, 1,877,000 taels." Gu Lin reported the accounts, "The most expensive ones are still the magic artifacts from Lingdonglai."

"Too little." He Lingchuan stroked his chin, "Money will soon be worthless; it must be exchanged for materials as soon as possible."

King Yao had always been guarding against him taking away the huge sum of millions of taels. Hehe, actually, he had no such intention at all.

The Yao Nation's money was best left in the Yao Nation.

"What else do you want to buy?" Tonglin Ji had already gone all out.

He Lingchuan looked at his bloodshot eyes and saw that he had lost weight, knowing that he was probably so busy that he couldn't catch his breath recently.

But there was no way; time was tight and the task was heavy.

"Do you know Lu Yuanzheng, the eldest of the Lu family in Bai He?"

Gu Lin thought for a while: "He seems to be in charge of the seven major granaries. Tonglin Ji has dealt with him a few times before."

"Does he also manage the large granaries in Mangzhou North and Taoshui City?" These two places had rich soil and abundant grain, and were themselves important grain-producing areas of the Yao Nation.

"Yes."

"It's almost time for the granaries to exchange grain, and the Lu family has been short of money recently, even borrowing hundreds of thousands of taels from the Qi family. This is a good opportunity; you send someone to contact Lu Yuanzheng to buy grain, and the price should be favorable."

The public granaries had to exchange grain every summer and autumn, that is, sell some old grain and buy new grain, as a normal replacement. The Yao Nation's crops ripened late, and the autumn grain in various places would take another month or so to be harvested, and now was the time when the old grain was exhausted and the new grain had not yet arrived.

Gu Lin agreed and asked: "How much to buy?"

He Lingchuan held up a finger: "At least this number."

Gu Lin was shocked: "So much?"

"You do your best." He Lingchuan also knew that the number was too large, and Tonglin Ji might not be able to handle it.

Gu Lin coughed lightly: "No, no, it's still possible. At this time in previous years, the public granaries were already secretly selling grain."

He Lingchuan was a bit surprised: "Oh?"

"If we really wait until the autumn harvest, the grain price will be cheap, so it's better to sell it now. Anyway, we can buy new grain in a month or so, and when the accounts are wiped, it will be flat, and no one will know. Lu Yuanzheng manages these large granaries; how could he not know the tricks? According to the rules, it's naturally not allowed on the surface, and the amount of grain to be replaced each year is limited. But they have all been doing this secretly, and they have been doing it for more than ten years; who cares about the rules? Later, they sold earlier and sold more."

He Lingchuan nodded. Lu Yuanzheng spent 370,000 to buy his brother's safe return to the capital, and his family was severely injured, so he probably didn't have much surplus wealth. And catching up with the soaring land prices in the new city of Tianshui, he wanted to seize this opportunity to get rich, so he had to rivet his energy to make money.

He Lingchuan sent a large stack of silver notes in front of him; as long as he nodded, he could get it. Could he really hold back?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1554 =====