Chapter 1300: A golden house to hide a beauty

Late July, Jizhou, Yecheng.

Near noon, inside a massive shop occupying six or seven storefronts in the East Market of Yecheng, Jia Dong, dressed in fine silk and satin, sat in the main hall of the shop's rear residence.

Six or seven shopkeepers and over a dozen apprentices were sitting on both sides below Jia Dong, checking accounts.

At the end of every month, the accounts from every county in Jizhou had to be checked once and then sent to Jia Dong.

After Jia Dong checked them again, they would be sent to Liangzhou the following month along with that month's income.

It was not just Jizhou that did this.

Nowadays, Liangzhou's business was growing larger and larger, covering Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and other places.

It was just that other places were not as prosperous or as comprehensive as the business here in Jizhou.

As the starting point for Liangzhou's initial trade development, and with the trade routes the Zhen clan had operated for so many years, things naturally proceeded smoothly.

Furthermore, Jizhou was prosperous, with a large population, many noble clans, and many powerful local families.

Various goods produced in Liangzhou were very popular in Jizhou.

Snow salt, white paper, soap, and silk products.

Without exception, they were treasures that wealthy families in Jizhou flocked to.

Coupled with the connection to Jizhou Inspector Yuan Shao, Liangzhou's trade routes in Jizhou could be said to be unobstructed.

Every month, they earned vast amounts of money for Liangzhou.

Jia Dong rested his legs on the table in front of him, holding a small teapot, listening to the sound of the abacus, sipping tea, with a contented expression.

Compared to the down-and-out appearance of three years ago, Jia Dong had already gained several circles in weight.

The whole person looked fairer and more prosperous.

Whenever someone said they envied Jia Dong.

Envied Jia Dong for controlling such massive wealth and living such a good life, Jia Dong's face would brim with a smug expression.

And he would tell that person.

That he, Jia Dong, owed his success today to three parts luck, three parts courage, and three parts wisdom.

As for the three parts luck, it was meeting Duan Yu back in Jinyang.

As for the three parts courage, it was because he had risked his life to join the Taiping Dao when it was causing trouble in Jizhou and had made great contributions.

As for wisdom...

It was no exaggeration for him to say his current status was as stable as an old dog.

Behind him stood Lady Zhen and Lady Zhang.

One managed trade routes for Duan Yu, and the other had a powerful background.

With these two ladies backing him, it would be strange if his status were not secure.

"Calculate carefully; not a single mistake is allowed."

Jia Dong, having sipped his tea, held the small teapot and said: "The abacus beads in your hands are the future of me, Jia Dong, and yourselves. Calculate well, and in the future, when the business grows, you will be the managers of various regions. Calculate poorly, and you and I will all suffer the consequences."

"The reason I, Jia Dong, have this status today is because I am bold and meticulous."

The shopkeepers and apprentices in the hall nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and began to check the accounts carefully again.

Just as Jia Dong was crossing his legs and continuing to drink tea, a subordinate suddenly came into the hall and whispered a few words into Jia Dong's ear.

After hearing this, Jia Dong immediately sprang up from his chair and walked toward the outside.

Jia Dong, with his subordinates, walked through the shop.

The passing attendants and shop assistants all hurriedly bowed to Jia Dong.

If it were any other day, Jia Dong would certainly have smiled and greeted them one by one.

But today, Jia Dong's steps seemed somewhat hurried.

He even bumped head-on into an attendant holding accounts as he was leaving.

"Don't you have eyes when you walk!"

Jia Dong glared at the assistant who had bumped into him.

The assistant hurriedly climbed up from the ground, picked up the accounts, and bowed to Jia Dong to apologize: "I'm sorry, Chief Manager, I'm sorry. This small one did not mean it; I came to deliver the accounts to the Chief Manager."

Only then did Jia Dong look up at the person.

This assistant was not from the Liangzhou Merchant Firm, but from the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm.

"Go, go, go, deliver them inside."

Saying this, Jia Dong hurriedly boarded his carriage.

The assistant, holding the accounts, scratched his head, delivered the accounts to the backyard, and then returned to the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm, which was not far from the Liangzhou Merchant Firm.

There was no doubt that the most prosperous merchant firm in Jizhou in the past was the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm.

From Zhongshan State to Changshan State, and then to Wei Commandery, the Zhen clan's merchant firm was spread across every corner and every county.

Business was also at its peak.

But ever since that incident two years ago, the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm had plummeted.

More than two years ago, the other branches of the Zhen clan united to bully Zhen Jiang and withheld a batch of white paper and snow salt.

But no one expected that the snow salt and white paper actually belonged to Duan Yu.

Duan Yu came to their door.

Although he did not kill them all, he took away more than half of the Zhen clan's foundation.

The remaining portion was only because Duan Yu spared them for the sake of Zhen Jiang.

Otherwise, the remaining branches of the Zhen clan would probably have starved to death by now.

However, even so, the Zhen clan's business plummeted.

By now, they had to rely on the Liangzhou Merchant Firm to survive.

Over the past two years, Jia Dong had almost monopolized all the profitable businesses in Jizhou.

With Yuan Shao's support and the deterrent of Duan Yu's identity, no one dared to compete with Jia Dong—or rather, with the Liangzhou Merchant Firm—for anything profitable.

If the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm wanted to survive under these circumstances, they could only rely on the Liangzhou Merchant Firm.

Jia Dong, adhering to the principle of leaving a way out for others to meet again in the future, and out of consideration for Zhen Jiang, did not haggle too much and left a path for the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm to survive.

It was just that he needed to personally verify the Zhen Clan Merchant Firm's accounts every month.

The assistant who returned from the Liangzhou Merchant Firm reported the delivery of the account books to Zhen Jian, the head of the Zhen clan's main branch, in his study.

"The accounts have been delivered. Did that Jia Dong look them over?"

Zhen Jian, sitting in his study, asked without raising his head.

The assistant shook his head and said: "Reporting to the Clan Head, the accounts have been delivered, but Chief Manager Jia did not look at them."

"I happened to run into Chief Manager Jia when I entered the door and bumped into him head-on."

"Chief Manager Jia scolded me twice and then left in a hurry without checking the accounts."

*Hmm? * ===== CHAPTER 1302 =====