Chapter 385: Commercial Street

Inside the Weinan County office, Du Gou, Fang Yizhi, Ma Zhou, and Chen Yan gathered together.

The three of them gradually briefed Chen Yan on the county's situation during this period, including that the long‑planned Money Shop had actually been built, but had not yet opened officially.

What surprised Chen Yan was that Du Gou gave a rather high appraisal of Xu Lianyue, saying she truly has a talent for commerce, handling all matters in orderly fashion, and offering excellent plans for how the silk should develop and expand.

"Overall, there hasn't been any major incident in the county town lately; if you insist on mentioning something special, it's that the people who were secretly watching the workshop seem to have withdrawn," Du Gou said, using "seem," but his tone was fairly certain.

Chen Yan was not surprised either: "The Wei family has almost lost even the Wei Qu; they can only cut off the tail to protect themselves. Who would still dare to target my workshop?"

"Moreover… His Majesty's inexplicable attitude all along, and the fact that the Wei family was uncovered so quickly this time, may have let them guess something,"

"You mean…?" Du Gou said, rubbing his chin, "Someone has guessed that the person behind these trades is His Majesty?"

"Yes, that's normal," Chen Yan nodded. "This matter will be exposed sooner or later; no one is a fool. The Wei family got such a fate; it would be abnormal if other noble families couldn't guess it."

"In the past, His Majesty was still somewhat hesitant about this exposure; after all, a sovereign engaging in commerce and competing for profit with the people does sound unpleasant, and mishandling it would be troublesome."

"But now, with His Majesty's Tang Dynasty Daily gaining influence over public opinion, as long as no one catches evidence and He doesn't admit it personally, no one can do anything about His Majesty,"

Fang Yizhi clicked his tongue. "The Tang Dynasty Daily… that thing is indeed formidable; the conflict between His Majesty and the noble families will definitely intensify, and Chang'an City is likely to see a storm brewing."

Ma Zhou replied, "Isn't that just perfect for us? Our goal is to develop Weinan County; previously we were constrained by the situation in Chang'an and the noble families, but for a long stretch ahead we can accelerate development."

"That's not bad," Chen Yan smiled. "Last year His Majesty gave us a good environment and sufficient autonomy, but we were always hampered by various forces that slowed our progress. Now we can finally act freely and make a big push."

"By the way," he turned to ask Du Gou, "how has the library been doing lately?"

"Very good! To be precise, it's excellent!" Speaking of it, Du Gou said with admiration, "Thanks to the publicity in the Tang Dynasty Daily and the news that the Imperial Examination will be held this year, a flood of students has arrived from all directions since yesterday. The library has now switched to operating twelve hours a day, and spots are in such short supply that some people even bid a whole tael of silver for a single spot!"

Hm?

Chen Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Is that really a thing?"

"There's no way around it; precious books are irresistibly attractive to these students," Fang Yizhi explained. "These items can't be bought even with money, and with the Imperial Examination this year, time is tight, so wealthy students naturally seize every opportunity."

Ma Zhou strongly agreed with this point.

He had once been a poor‑family youth, so he understood these people's mindset.

Chen Yan tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering, "If I recall correctly, we originally set the library's site at over twenty mu, three stories tall, planning eight hundred spots per floor; full capacity would mean more than two thousand four hundred people."

"How have the tea houses, taverns, and various shops and merchandise around the library been selling during this period?"

Du Gou replied, "I can't tally that for now; after all, the library only became packed starting yesterday… However, I've looked around, and it's basically all full; it's hard to find any lodging there now."

"Hmm, understandable," Chen Yan said, unsurprised, then asked, "Last year I instructed you to acquire the surrounding land and shops; how much have you bought so far?"

Du Gou and Fang Yizhi turned their gaze to Ma Zhou, as he was in charge of this matter.

Ma Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Sir, the library sits at the junction of two markets, which is naturally a bustling place; the surrounding land and shop prices are not cheap…"

"I want to hear the results!" Chen Yan frowned slightly, his voice deepening.

"What does bustling matter? What does expense matter? Since the white wax was sold, silk has been sold across the lands by four wealthy merchants—does the county office lack money?"

"Don't try to fool me with bureaucratic tricks later; I want results!"

"Yes, Sir!" Ma Zhou swallowed a bit of saliva, a thin sheen of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

Don't underestimate Chen Yan because he's young; his upbringing surrounded him with top‑tier people, naturally giving him a formidable presence.

"According to your orders, sixty percent of the shops within a kilometer of the library have already been taken over by the county office; the remaining forty percent haven't been acquired yet for various reasons, the biggest being that the price wasn't agreed upon."

"As for the land, that's easy; essentially all of it has been secured."

"One kilometer…" Chen Yan swirled his tea cup, not entirely satisfied with the result but still within an acceptable range.

After a moment's thought, he said to Du Gou, "Send Xu Lianyue to negotiate with the owners of the remaining forty percent of the shops; buy as much as possible, however much can be secured."

"I plan to turn that area into a commercial street and start levying commercial tax officially. As for the vacant land, have her find four wealthy merchants—or other rich investors—to fund the construction of shops, completing the commercial street, and we can grant them preferential treatment."

"Will they agree?" Du Gou hesitated. "Those merchants are each more cunning than the last."

Heh… Chen Yan scoffed. "If the merchants are cunning, does that mean Xu Lianyue won't be?"

"Moreover, with such a massive foot traffic there, anyone with a brain can see that opening a shop will be profitable; how could profit‑driven merchants possibly refuse?"

"Also…" Chen Yan continued, "find a suitable spot within three kilometers of the library, gather the former workers, and have them immediately construct a large number of houses—build as many as you can, then sell them specifically to those students."

"Furthermore, the library itself should have branch locations; after each Imperial Examination there will be frequent sessions, and one library is certainly not enough."

The three's eyes lit up at this, and Fang Yizhi suggested, "In that case, why not open the library directly in Chang'an City? It would surely be even more profitable."

Chen Yan twitched the corner of his mouth, showing a look as if he were looking at a fool.

Du Gou also found it hard to explain, "Brother Fang, if we open the library in Chang'an City, wouldn't all the foot traffic be drawn to Chang'an instead?"

"Our purpose in opening the library is primarily to attract students."

Fang Yizhi choked a little, stammering, "Sorry, that was my poor consideration."

"......"