Chapter 279

Liu Cheng once despised Wang Yang's behavior of "not attending to his proper business" and being eager for profit. He couldn't understand how Wang Yang, with such talent and such a family background, could be so keen on the vulgar affairs of merchants? Of course, he hated Wang Yang to the bone at the time, so how could he think carefully? He just thought Wang Yang was blinded by greed, willing to be base, accustomed to being a philistine, and shameless!

Seems like that wasn't wrong either?

So even on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, when he was exhausted of words and wit and shattered in heart and soul by Wang Yang at the Yu family's house, he did not bow his head to Wang Yang's "heretical theories and fallacies," but instead believed even more that Wang Yang was a man of false words and sophistry, a great villain.

Later, when he was captured by the barbarians, Le Le Luo Luo had people take care of him at the beginning, and his life was still passable, but after Le Le Luo Luo stopped coming to see him, those barbarians gradually became casual with him. After his failed escape, he could be said to have suffered beatings and bullying, and his living conditions became even worse. At that time, he didn't know Le Ma and the others, and didn't have the care of the four women. The only things that belonged to him were a broken bowl and a broken straw mat, and he couldn't even get enough to eat. That was the most difficult period for him.

At that time, he wanted to eat meat like a madman; it was truly madness. Once, he saw a large bone thrown away by the barbarians. The two ends of the bone had already been gnawed shiny, but there were still two large pieces of ungnawed sinew and lean meat attached to the middle joint. Two whole large pieces of lean meat!! Dark red, looking very well-cooked, and glistening with oil in the sunlight. He swallowed his saliva, and as if possessed, he picked it up, wanting to put it in his mouth to gnaw.

This wasn't his first time being hungry, but it was the first time he realized—that he, a dignified member of the Hedong Liu clan, the son of a Duke, was no different from a wild dog once he was hungry enough.

"Talking about benevolence and righteousness with empty hands, Liu Cheng is the most useless of all."

"If you don't speak of profit with your mouth and don't look at money with your eyes, then where will the money come from? Where will the horses come from? Where will the soldiers and armor come from? Where will the grain and grass be gathered?"

"You despise farming so much, yet you have the nerve to say things like 'If a man does not plow, he may suffer hunger.' You, Liu Cheng, don't plow or harvest, yet I haven't seen you go hungry!"

"My Liu family is a high-ranking noble clan, a family of officials; what use is there for farming!"

At night, he was so sad he couldn't sleep. Those memories that had been forcibly buried before resurfaced, and each sentence cut back and forth on his heart like a blunt knife. Finally, he was astonished to find that the things Wang Yang said were actually incredibly reasonable!

He considered himself noble, despised merchants and traders, didn't speak of profit, and didn't look at money, but in his daily life, what he ate, drank, wore, and used—which one could be separated from profit? Which one could be separated from money? This is being ashamed to speak of profit while actually relying on it! Being ashamed to speak of money while actually leaning on it!

Relying on money and profit but not speaking of them, and not speaking of them while despising the methods of generating money and profit, is not only hypocritical but also incompetent. If the family didn't provide money and profit, how could he talk eloquently and despise Wang Yang? Besides, what qualifications did he have to despise Wang Yang? Other than being more handsome, more dashing, having a better family background, having better character, being more popular with women, and writing better calligraphy than him, what else was there?

If it were before, if Wang Yang had talked to him about warehouses and reselling in front of his face, he would have despised Wang Yang into the dust long ago! But now he really couldn't despise Wang Yang, and even if he wanted to persuade himself to secretly despise him, he couldn't!

These base and lowly deeds that he wouldn't even deign to listen to before, now that he listened to them seriously, were actually so "fascinating." Listening to the end, it even made him feel a sense of grandeur! This kind of excitement that got more intense the more he listened only stopped abruptly when he heard he had to put up ten million...

"Ten million? Where would I get ten million!"

Liu Cheng had been wealthy since childhood and wouldn't be scared by the number ten million, but since he could remember, the disposable cash in his hands had never exceeded eight hundred thousand...

"Then how much do you have?" Wang Yang looked into Liu Cheng's eyes.

Liu Cheng felt a bit guilty: "I... fifty thousand?"

Wang Yang's face turned cold.

Liu Cheng hurriedly said: "Sixty thousand at most! I really can't take out any more!"

Wang Yang: (→_→)

Liu Cheng couldn't hold his face anymore and stammered: "I don't manage affairs, and I don't have the habit of saving money. My monthly expenses are all drawn from the account. Being able to take out sixty thousand in cash is actually quite a lot; this is still me forcing it together—"

"Then keep forcing it together! You, a Liu of Hedong, isn't it easy to scrape together this much money? Gold, jade, brocade, silk—aren't these all money?"

When Liu Cheng heard he was being asked to sell his "family foundation," he immediately became anxious: "How can that be! If people find out... how can I face anyone!"

Wang Yang knew Liu Cheng cared about his face, so he prescribed the right medicine:

"I didn't ask you to sell them with great fanfare. You can take out some valuable calligraphy, paintings, or antiques, and just say you're tired of playing with them and want to sell them, or just find a middleman; you don't need to show your face. If anyone hears any rumors and asks, you just say you want to buy the treasures in my hands, such as the jade-carved gold belt pillow of Chen Siwang—"

Liu Cheng was shocked: "You have the pillow left by Cao Zijian?"

"I was just saying it casually; isn't it easy for you to fob them off now! You can push it onto me as much as you want. I'll just put out the word that you're selling some gold and jade trinkets to collect rare antiques. Others will only praise you for your high vision and elegance when they hear it. This won't lose you any face as Young Master Liu, right?"

Liu Cheng hesitated.

Wang Yang could actually force him, but it's best if both parties are willing in such matters; otherwise, there are too many hidden dangers, and the business won't last long. Seeing that Liu Cheng couldn't make up his mind, he said again:

"Actually, I can cooperate with anyone, but why choose you? Firstly, you have dealt with the barbarians and are familiar with their thinking and style of doing things. Secondly, you have suffered in these days and should have been compensated. So you deserve this profit, and others can't say anything. After all, the cause of opening the barbarian road lies with you. Even the Emperor pities your suffering and will always sympathize a bit. Thirdly, you are the one who was imprisoned, and I am the one who went on the mission. We brothers are equivalent to 'the near-water tower getting the moon first.' If we don't earn this money, who should?"

"Actually, I could have discussed this with your brother or your father in advance; wouldn't it be easy to raise ten million? But why didn't I look for them? Because it's a bit eye-catching to let them participate; there are so many eyes watching. But we can; neither of us has an official position, and it's purely a private cooperation. Firstly, to appease the barbarians, and secondly, to share the worries for the court—that's why the warehouse was built. The business is our own, and it has nothing to do with others."

"And this business will become more and more profitable. If others do it, they might exploit the barbarian tribe's interests, suppress their prices, or earn too much in the middle, making the barbarians dissatisfied. Once there is a gap, the barbarian road that was finally opened might be tossed and broken. But you are different. After you take the four concubines, you will be one of the Wenyang tribe's own. You won't treat the barbarian tribe harshly, and the barbarians won't be jealous when they see you making money. Everyone can discuss things, and you can earn money harmoniously..."

Liu Cheng was moved by Wang Yang's thorough consideration for him and confirmed again: "Can the barbarian tribe really agree to let Le Ma and the others follow me?"

"I am seventy percent sure. In addition, we are building this warehouse not only to sell the barbarian tribe's things to the Han land, but also to sell the Han land's things to the barbarian tribe in the future! The more the barbarian tribe earns, the stronger their purchasing power will be. The more they communicate, the greater their desire to buy! This is called an emerging market, and the potential is huge! Opportunities like this are hard to come by! If you really don't want to do this business, then I'll find someone else. Don't worry about the four concubines; I will still do my best to handle it for you."

How righteous!

Liu Cheng gritted his teeth: "I'll do this business! But I can only scrape together three million at most."

"Think of another way!"

"I really have no other way. I've already counted everything I can sell or pledge, and I'm still afraid it won't reach three million. I can't sell my family heirlooms too, can I?"

"I heard you have a large collection of books; you can sell them to me!"

Liu Cheng's face changed, and he said vigilantly: "I can't sell the books. Brother, you can't take advantage of someone's precarious position!"

"You're overthinking it. I saw you were short of funds, so I thought I'd help out. How could I take advantage of your precarious position?"

Wang Yang failed in his attempt to rob someone in a fire and immediately denied it.

"Anyway, three million is me exhausting my family foundation. Any more, and I can only ask my father and brother."

A silver-plated pewter spearhead, and he's a rich second generation? So weak...

Wang Yang didn't really want to drag Duke Liu and Director Liu Tan Tan into this. They were in the officialdom, and it was inconvenient for them to act. If they attracted impeachment from political enemies, it would be a shame to ruin such a good business. It is said that Duke Liu was impeached for running a warehouse when he was guarding Xiangzhou. And Director Liu Tan Tan is now the Prefect of Wenyang, so it is not appropriate for him to be the owner. Furthermore, as long as Liu Cheng is there, they will naturally be attentive when help is needed, but if they are directly pulled in as shareholders, they will be strong major shareholders. It will be hard to say who will have the final say in this business in the future. Director Liu Tan Tan is better, but it's mainly Duke Liu. Wang Yang had never met Duke Liu and didn't know his temperament or attitude, so he had no bottom in his heart.

Seeing Wang Yang silent, Liu Cheng said: "Besides, building a warehouse doesn't need that much money, right? Thirteen million is already enough; I can take a smaller share of the profit—"

"How much! You still have ten million!" Wang Yang's eyes lit up.

"No, I'm talking about you, brother. Don't you have ten million?"

Wang Yang's eyebrows twitched: "Where would I get ten million?!"

Liu Cheng asked suspiciously: "Didn't you say each person takes ten million, and then we split the profit half and half?"

"When did I say each person takes ten million? I said you take ten million..."

Liu Cheng was stunned and said incredulously:

"So you meant before that you wanted me to put up ten million alone, and then we split the profit fifty-fifty???"

Wang Yang said as a matter of course: "The whole idea was mine, and I'm the one dealing with the barbarians. This is called technical investment, and it's also labor contribution. The half I occupy is called 'dry shares'."

Dry your great Ju Yu-born bones!

"You call this 'empty-handed white wolf'!!!"

Liu Cheng was so angry he was confused, and even his voice changed pitch! He didn't understand the few words Wang Yang said later, but he felt that Wang Yang was simply not acting like a human being!!!

"You only have three million and you have the nerve to call yourself a wolf? At most, you're a roe deer! I see it clearly now; you rich generations are all empty shells, and you can't be counted on at all when it comes to spending real money! You're not as straightforward as my little Shan! How about this: I'll also put up three million, and together we'll have six million. If we control the costs well and bring in a smaller first batch of goods, it should be enough."

Wang Yang endured the pain of bleeding money, his face depressed.

Liu Cheng:???

Six million is enough? Then why did you ask me for ten million before??????

——————

Note: Regarding the source of Wang Yang's three million, see Chapter 142, "How Can a Cunning Tiger Not Eat People."