My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1838 Prepare for a Rainy Day (Seeking a Monthly Ticket)

The Ninth Prince snorted and said, "When you give a gift to someone, you must ask for something. I am not in the Ministry of Internal Affairs anymore, so why did your old man think of asking me for help? What is so important that it cannot wait until the New Year? Why do you want to come to the capital at this time?"

Ji Hong showed shame on his face.

"I was not careful enough. When I was helping Master Jiu to find out about the pearl divers, my father found out about it. He happened to be receiving two foreign priests from France. He knew that the Sun King of France loved pearls the most. Following his example, their dukes and marquises also took pride in wearing pearl jewelry. Now European pearls are sold at sky-high prices..."

"My father knew that Master Jiu wanted to raise pearls, so he couldn't wait to urge his students to go to Beijing. He wanted to ask Master Jiu if he could wait until the pearls were raised and then sell them to Europe through the Ji family..."

The Ninth Prince originally thought that the old man of the Ji family was eyeing cashmere, but it turned out to be pearls.

"My pearls are still missing. Cashmere fabrics woven in Jiangning are very popular in Jiangnan this year. Don't you think you can sell cashmere fabrics on consignment?"

Ji Hong said: "There are families in Jiangnan who specialize in selling fabrics and silk and satin in the customs business. It is not appropriate for my family to interfere in the process."

The Ninth Prince said, "It will take at least four to five years for the pearls to show up. There won't be too many in the beginning. If there are more in the end, they will be sold to the royal family for exclusive use. If your family still has this plan, I will pass on the message for you."

Not only Ji Hong was stunned, but the Tenth Prince was also stunned, and they both looked at the Ninth Prince.

If pearl farming is successful, it will be a cash cow.

If it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to eat this big pie and would need protection, but the Ninth Prince is a prince.

In front of outsiders, the Tenth Prince did not rush to ask.

Ji Hong hesitated and said, "Master Jiu is thinking about the Royal Camp, but is the pearl farm still limited to Dongshan? Do you want to try other places as well?"

The Ninth Prince looked at Ji Hong and said, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. Now it's all just talk and imitation. What if it doesn't work? You are braver than me..."

Ji Hong said hurriedly: "My family has bought a lot of land in the past few decades. In addition to our hometown, we also have some in Yangzhou and Huai'an."

There is the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou and the Hongze Lake in Huai'an.

After hearing this, the Ninth Prince was really moved.

No one knows where pearls are best grown.

The Dongzhu is produced in the cold Northeast, while the Nanzhu is produced in the warm Guangxi.

As for pearl farming, we can choose another place as a pilot project.

In this way, if one place fails, it won't delay the other one.

Taihu Lake is in the south of the Yangtze River, while Slender West Lake and Hongze Lake are both in the north of the Yangtze River.

The Ninth Prince looked at Ji Hong and said, "It should be easy to figure out how to cultivate pearls. Do you want to learn a skill that can be passed down from generation to generation?"

Ji Hong hurriedly shook his head and said, "I dare not, I dare not. Even Master Jiu did not think of taking over this industry. How could my family have the courage to do so..."

"Even though the emperor doesn't like to build a garden, the Ji family has been listed as an imperial merchant in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But to be honest, from the 38th year to now, only three ships of Taihu stones have been transported to the capital..."

"My father is probably worried that he will lose his reputation as an imperial merchant in the future, so he shamelessly sends me to Beijing based on my family's relationship with Master Jiu..."

It was sheer luck that the Ji family became the imperial merchant.

If the Imperial Merchant is lost, we will lose a protective amulet.

The Ninth Prince saw that he was telling the truth and did not make things difficult for him.

"Although I am thinking that if the pearl farm can produce pearls, it will be managed by the royal family in the future, but it will not take three to five years. It will take at least ten years."

Or how about playing by yourself?
I am prepared to invest a capital of one hundred thousand taels of silver, just to earn a few hundred thousand taels of silver.

The timing of this tribute also has a story to tell.

Why do we give such expensive gifts on ordinary days?
Whether it is a gift for his father's 100th birthday or a gift to celebrate his 50th anniversary of ascending the throne, it is also a great filial piety on his part.

If the Ji family wants to register under the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and become the royal pearl merchant, it will take ten or eight years, and they have to wait.

Ji Hong said: "Even Master Jiu has patience, so we can wait as well."

The Ninth Prince weighed the pros and cons in his mind and decided that it would be safer to try raising the animal in two places rather than in one.

He looked at Ji Hong and said, "Money makes cowards bold. If it's a waste of time, it's fine. But if it's really cultivated, it will be a cash cow. There will be bold people. All dynasties have banned private salt, but no matter what time it is, private salt dealers cannot be stopped."

Ji Hong said without hesitation: "When the time comes, we will kill the chicken to scare the monkey. The property of Master Jiu cannot be peeped by them, and the majesty of the royal family cannot be offended by villains."

The Ninth Prince snorted and said, "Remember what you said. Most of these termites are born from within. Don't let the thief come out when the time comes. It would be better if the one pushed out is your Ji family's relatives and in-laws."

Ji Hong immediately became alert, thinking that this was indeed possible.

He stood up and said, "Since my student's father dared to take the initiative to take this task and help Master Jiu, then you should leave the confidentiality to the Ji family. If there are any omissions, the Ji family will clean up the mess and give Master Jiu an explanation without Master Jiu's instructions. We will never dare to be partial."

The Ninth Prince listened and nodded, "Just keep in mind, I may look kind sometimes, but that's just the case. If someone really bullies me and hurts my dignity, I won't tolerate it!"

Ji Hong bowed and said, "Student will remember this and will not dare to disappoint Master Jiu's trust..."

It's getting dark.

The Ninth Prince served tea to the guests and gave them some instructions.

"Think about how to use your family's land. Should you rent it to me or something? Forget about giving it away directly. If it gets to the ears of the censor, I will be charged with extorting the local people. After the New Year..."

At this point, the Ninth Prince calculated in his mind the time when Gui Yuan would return to the capital, and said, "Come over again around the Lantern Festival. I plan to arrange for someone to go to Jiangnan, and I'll need you to take care of things by then."

Ji Hong said: "I dare not, since you are someone that Ninth Master values, I can only respect you... Then I will take my leave and will come back to wish you and Tenth Master a happy new year after the New Year..."

The Ninth Prince signaled He Yuzhu to send Ji Hong out.

The Tenth Prince said, "It's just an industry. Isn't Ninth Brother being too cautious?"

The Ninth Prince looked at the Tenth Prince and said, "Khan Ama is Ama, he won't bother with us, but... will it be the same in the future? Instead of making people jealous and getting bullied, it's better to be filial to Khan Ama directly, and end up well..."

He is not a person who likes to suffer losses.

This decision is also for the future.

Just look at the situations of Prince Yu and Prince Gong, and you will know that as the emperor's brothers, you have no control over how your life will be.

In his heart, the Tenth Prince thought about the Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince, nodded, and said, "Ninth Brother thinks long-term, this is indeed more stable."

The Ninth Prince looked at the clock and said to the Tenth Prince, "I will not keep you for dinner. Your Ninth Sister-in-law is not eating properly now. I have to keep an eye on her."

The two brothers didn't need to be polite, the Ninth Prince just chased them away.

"You should go home too. You've been angry for two days, that's enough. Stop being so rude to your sister-in-law. A silly wife is better than a vicious one. You should arrange a trusted maid to keep an eye on the internal affairs of the palace!"

You can tell a person’s future by looking at the age of three. If a person has not been very smart for seventeen or eighteen years, how can he become smart immediately?

There is no shortage of servants in the Tenth Prince's palace, including the maid left by the Imperial Concubine.

Just let someone with a keen eye keep an eye on the internal affairs.

The Tenth Prince stood up and listened to his brother's advice.

I can only think of the best.

Regardless of whether the little prince’s death this time was a man-made disaster or not, the relationship between husband and wife cannot be damaged because of this incident.

In that case, Buyin, who married far away, would be pitiful, and I, who hoped for a happy family, would also be pitiful...

After the Tenth Prince left, the Ninth Prince returned to the main courtyard.

Shushu was lying on the kang in the west room.

In front of her were two sets of baby clothes, made of steamed and rubbed fine cotton cloth, which looked very light and soft, and were matched with two pairs of soft-soled small shoes.

The Ninth Prince came in through the curtain, and when he saw the small clothes, he said, "Was it made in the needlework room? How come Master remembers that when Fengsheng and the others were little, they only had bellybands on them?"

Then they are wrapped in various blankets, and only when it is almost time for the one-year-old baby to start wearing clothes.

Shushu got up and sat up, saying, "It was sent as part of Walnut's New Year gift. I asked Baiguo to dig it out."

The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "That's thoughtful..."

He remembered that Gao Bin's grandmother was seriously ill, and said, "Gao Bin's grandmother is dying. Tomorrow you send someone close to her to deliver a box of ginseng. Also prepare a box of Korean ginseng. I will take it to the government office."

Without waiting for Shushu to ask further questions, the Ninth Prince told her that the elders from the Gao and Yiduli families were seriously ill.

After hearing this, Shushu said, "I heard Hetao say that Gao Bin's grandmother is a sensible old lady. It's really hard to get through the New Year."

Anyone who has elderly people at home will inevitably encounter this day.

Shushu decided that she should be more filial to her parents and Amu in the future.

Don't wait until later to regret it.

The Ninth Prince explained Ji Hong's purpose of coming and also expressed his doubts.

"Their old man is not quite right. The Ji family is not a family without foundation. Why would they be so anxious just because they are worried about losing the imperial merchant..."

"Khan Ama will be touring the south again next year. Is someone trying to blackmail him in his name?"

The Ninth Prince guessed.

Shushu immediately thought of Li Xu.

That one is now a "princeling".

Even if the local officials wanted to make money under the pretext of welcoming the emperor, they would not go too far with the Ji family, the richest family in Jiangnan.

The Ji family is not an ordinary merchant family, but a family of officials, and there are more than one or two members of the family who are officials.

In official circles, everyone maintains some dignity.

As for Li Xu, even though he was in charge of the Suzhou Weaving House, the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue every year had a fixed amount of spending, and Li Xu could not get his hands on much.

If the prince asked Li Xu for money, then Li Xu would definitely have to find a way...

The head of the Ji family had served as an official in his early years and was not an ignorant person.

Are you afraid that the water is too deep and you want to stir it in?
Shushu said to the Ninth Prince, "Since you have taken on so many responsibilities in front of the Ji family, remember to report this to the Emperor later, so that he won't have other plans and cause a conflict between the two."

After hearing this, the Ninth Prince immediately said seriously: "Yes, I have to inform Khan Ama early, so that Khan Ama won't come back to save trouble and let Li Xu take over. If that happens, I will be sick to death..."

(End of this chapter)