Chapter 459: First Volume, Chapter 459: Rich to the Point of Overflowing

First Volume, Chapter 459: Rich to the Point of Overflowing

The County Yamen Treasury funds are for Beixi County's People's Livelihood only; no private embezzlement allowed.

One hundred twenty-five thousand liang of Silver is not much, but Beixi County has only thirty-five thousand people—each person could receive three to four taels of Silver; recall that during Liang's peak, the average household annual expenditure was merely one to two taels of Silver.

If all this money were used properly, the people of Beixi County would already rival the living standards of Jingdu's citizens.

Lin Quqi was extremely proud of the County Yamen Treasury's silver reserves.

After all, every single copper coin in these funds was clean and pure.

Yet Qin Feng had serious objections to the County Yamen Treasury's reserves: "Only this much? What's this even enough for?"

"Those Jingdu nobles squander tens of thousands of liang of Silver at a time; we have thirty to forty thousand soldiers and civilians in Beixi County—how can this amount possibly suffice? I say, directly transfer several hundred thousand liang of Silver from the Tianji Camp Treasury into the County Yamen Treasury—round it up to fifty thousand liang of Silver."

Upon hearing this, Lin Quqi couldn't believe his ears.

This Qin Feng fights with dragon-like vigor and tiger-like ferocity, but whenever money is involved, he becomes utterly clueless.

True, Qin Feng is wealthy, but even he can't afford such reckless spending.

Lin Quqi waved his hands frantically: "We don't need that much. These funds won't even be used until the National War ends. Right now, the people's food, clothing, housing, and daily needs are all supplied by the Tianji Camp; only when the people must become self-reliant will the County Yamen Treasury begin to be consumed."

So that's how it is—Qin Feng sighed inwardly; he truly wasn't suited to be County Magistrate.

Given his nature, he'd always prioritize throwing money at problems, but if this continued, all of Heaven would come to see Beixi County as foolish and rich—soon enough, another flood of refugees would arrive, and he couldn't bear that burden.

Besides the County Yamen Treasury, Lin Quqi had also tallied the Tianji Camp Treasury's silver reserves.

"Currently, the Tianji Camp Treasury holds three million seven hundred fifty-six thousand liang of Silver; anything beyond that doesn't count."

Upon hearing the Tianji Camp's silver reserves, before Qin Feng could react, Li Zhang could no longer contain himself.

"How much?!"

"County Magistrate Lin, did I hear correctly? Three million seven hundred fifty-six thousand liang of Silver… how could the Tianji Camp have so much money? I know the Candy Industry and others bring in substantial revenue, but Beixi County has been spending heavily all along, enduring prolonged attrition with the Di—how is there still so much silver left?!"

Until now, Li Zhang had been deeply anxious, fearing Beixi County might one day run out of grain and ammunition.

Not only was it fighting the Di army alone, but it also had to feed countless civilians, and Qin Feng had been spending heavily to maneuver against his political enemies in Jingdu—all of it costly.

Most crucially, when Qin Feng built his Army, he spared no expense; the cost of just those three thousand Black Steeds alone could sustain an Army of fifty to sixty thousand men.

The Tianji Camp, which should have been bankrupt, was still overflowing with wealth—utterly unbelievable!

Not only was Li Zhang stunned, but even Qin Feng was taken aback: "What?! Only three million seven hundred fifty-six thousand liang of Silver?"

The moment he said "only," Li Zhang wanted to strangle Qin Feng right then and there.

What kind of household doesn't even notice three million liang of Silver?

Remember, the entire Northern Border's combined military and civilian budget for a year is barely this amount.

"Brother Qin, in your opinion, how much silver would be enough?" Li Zhang couldn't help but sneer.

Qin Feng shrugged, utterly matter-of-fact: "Money—there's never enough. Even three hundred million liang, I'd take it all. But honestly, based on my knowledge of the Tianji Camp's many industries, the reserves should be around ten million liang of Silver to match reality."

Li Zhang nearly laughed in anger.

Ten million liang? What nonsense is this?

With that much silver, you could fund the Northern Border and fight the Di for another two years!

Just as Li Zhang was about to refute Qin Feng's daydreaming, Lin Quqi's astonished exclamation rang out beside him.

Lin Quqi looked at Qin Feng with pure admiration: "Brother Qin, you've really been in Jingdu this whole time? You didn't sneak back to Beixi County secretly to investigate, did you?"

Qin Feng looked utterly confused: "Why would you say that?"

Lin Quqi's gaze grew even stranger: "Otherwise, how could you know so precisely about the Tianji Camp's income?"

"According to Second Miss, after deducting military expenditure and People's Livelihood consumption, the Tianji Camp's surplus should have reached ten million liang of Silver. But right now, only the profits from the Candy Industry have been steadily arriving in Beixi County; the 'patent fees' from the White Sugar Industry and Book Bureau have yet to be paid."

Patent fees?

Li Zhang felt his head spinning—he'd never heard the term "patent fee" in his entire life.

Unable to comprehend it, he hurriedly asked Lin Quqi: "County Magistrate Lin, what exactly are patent fees?"

Lin Quqi secretly admired Qin Feng's brilliant idea and smiled slightly as he explained: "Originally, the Tianji Camp was on the brink of collapse; at its most desperate, the city's grain reserves couldn't last half a month. To help Beixi County survive, Brother Qin sold off the White Sugar and Book Bureau industries entirely for cash."

"Yet even after selling them, Brother Qin still holds absolute control over these industries, because he holds the source of production."

"Patent means: without Brother Qin, none of this works."

"For example, with White Sugar: the merchants who bought the industries own the capital and profits, but they must pay Qin Feng a patent fee of one hundred thousand liang of Silver every six months."

Li Zhang faintly understood.

He muttered under his breath: "So you sold the White Sugar Industry… twice?"

Qin Feng slumped his head, putting on a wounded, indignant expression: "What do you mean 'sold twice'? I developed the White Sugar myself, and the production process was strictly overseen by the Tianji Camp to guarantee the highest quality delivered to customers. I worked so hard—what's wrong with charging a patent fee?"

At this, Qin Feng winced in pain, whining: "If Beixi County hadn't suddenly been flooded with starving refugees and nearly collapsed, I'd never have sold the White Sugar Industry."

Selling the White Sugar Industry had always been Qin Feng's emotional wound.

Qin Feng's dream was to become a Sugar Tycoon, seizing control of every industry related to sugar. Now, Candy thrived as a luxury among the elite, but without White Sugar—the essential commodity—Qin Feng, the Sugar Tycoon, remained incomplete.

Qin Feng sighed inwardly, treating it as charity, then looked up at Lin Quqi: "By now, the patent fees should've been paid—why haven't they arrived? Are those merchants trying to cheat me out of my money?"

In response to Qin Feng's accusation, Lin Quqi gave a bitter smile: "They are."

"According to Second Miss, the merchants had already prepared the silver—but when they heard war had started, they pulled it all back."