Since sir and Linglong have already calculated it properly, this old woman will not ask any more questions. But this old woman still has the same concern. Disaster relief is a massive undertaking. Sir, do you have enough money?
Zhu Chen said, “People-benefiting loans are like opening a floodgate. Once the gate opens, money will flow out like rushing water. By then, it will be impossible to close it again!”
“I will not launch loans across all of Chuanshu at the same time. Instead, I will start with a pilot in the areas around Xichuan that have suffered the most. If it works, we will expand it widely. If it does not work, we will pause for the time being.”
Jin Feng said, “Moreover, Her Highness captured a group of powerful nobles today. They have deep foundations, and the grain they hoarded combined is far more than what we have. It should be enough to hold things together.”
This was also the confidence that allowed Jin Feng to start the people-benefiting loans.
“Her Highness captured the hoarding nobles? How many did she capture?”
Zhu Chen, her daughter, and Ruan Tongjie were all greatly shocked.
All three were core high-level figures in the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce in Xichuan City. They had long known about the nobles hoarding grain.
However, the Ninth Princess’s arrest of the nobles had taken place at the Qing residence, and the news had not yet spread widely.
The three of them had been waiting at the chamber ever since they learned Jin Feng had returned to Xichuan City. They did not yet know about this development.
“From top to bottom, all of them were captured, including the white-glove proxies they used to control the bandits.” Jin Feng replied.
“Excellent! Those bastards are finally getting dealt with!”
Ruan Tongjie had gone out of the city a few days earlier on business and had seen the tragic scenes outside. She felt deep contempt for the nobles secretly driving up grain prices.
“But the forces behind these people are no small matter. Even if the Ninth Princess has captured them, she may not necessarily be able to extract the grain.”
Zhu Chen was not as optimistic as Ruan Tongjie.
She was older and had experienced far more. Her thinking was more thorough, and she understood what the forces behind those nobles represented.
“Auntie, you may not know yet, but the corpse of one of those nobles has already been hung at the north city gate.” Jin Feng said.
“Her Highness the Princess is truly going all out this time. She has completely torn face with the nobles?”
Zhu Chen’s eyes widened in shock.
“At a time like this, there is no choice but to tear face. If we drag it out any longer, who knows how many more people in Chuanshu will die!”
“By doing this, the Ninth Princess has offended far too many nobles. Can she withstand the pressure from the capital?”
“We will deal with the capital later. First, we save the people from the disaster.”
Although Jin Feng did not understand court politics, he also knew what it meant to suddenly kill so many nobles and seize their grain.
But he could not care about that anymore.
Otherwise, by the time the Ninth Princess finished bargaining with the nobles, everyone would already be starved to death.
In the current situation, they needed to cut through the mess with a swift blade.
The nobles and their underlings who controlled the grain were all now in Qing Xinyao’s hands. Jin Feng believed the Ninth Princess and Qing Xinyao would definitely squeeze out every last bit of their grain.
And all that grain would later be handed over to Jin Feng for him to uniformly distribute for disaster relief.
“Sir, you and Her Highness the Princess are truly… truly…”
Zhu Chen did not even know how to describe Jin Feng and the Ninth Princess anymore.
What the two of them were doing was far too bold. They completely ignored the unspoken rules among the nobles.
After this incident, they would surely be ostracised by all the nobles.
“You are taking such a huge risk and even putting all your assets on the line. If the common people do not repay you the grain later, forget about making money. You might not even recover your principal!”
Ruan Tongjie also came to her senses and felt it was not worth it for Jin Feng. “What exactly are you trying to achieve?”
“I just want peace of mind.” Jin Feng said. “If the money is gone, we can earn it again. If the people are gone, regret will come too late.”
“Sir, sometimes you cannot think too well of people. You are kind, but that does not mean everyone else is kind.”
Zhu Chen reminded him. “The most unpredictable thing in the world is the human heart. You and Her Highness pity the common people and are willing to lend them money and grain. But once the door for people-benefiting loans opens, it will not be just one or two families asking to borrow. It will be millions of households.
If someone takes the lead and refuses to repay, many others will follow suit. Can you really go door to door to collect the debts?”
“Auntie’s concern is very reasonable. Regarding this kind of situation, this is what I think.”
Jin Feng said. “First, most of the grain I give to the common people will be counted as wages, just advanced to them in advance. I will not give large amounts at once. Even if someone takes the grain and runs, the loss will not be too great.
Moreover, in the current situation, if they run from me, where can they possibly go?”
“That is indeed a way. If working can give them a path to survival, I believe no one would want to drag their entire family away from home just for a bit of grain.”
Zhu Chen finally nodded. “But from a business perspective, I still think what sir is doing is too impulsive. It is not profitable…”
At this point, she suddenly stopped speaking. “Forgive me, sir. This old woman is not questioning your decision. I have just been in business for too long, so my thinking is vulgar. Please do not be angry.”
“Auntie, you are thinking for my sake. How could I possibly be angry? Not only am I not angry, I am extremely grateful that I brought you back from Jiangnan back then!”
Jin Feng said sincerely. “A family with an elder is like having a treasure! You are right. A business without profit cannot last long! I am rather idealistic and not very good at business. In the future, if you feel I have done something wrong, feel free to come and tell me directly. I will definitely consider your opinions seriously!”
After saying that, he turned to Big Liu and instructed. “From now on, whenever Auntie comes to see me, no matter the time, do not block her.”
Jin Feng was not putting on a show. He genuinely wanted to recruit Zhu Chen.
He was just an engineering man. The reason he had come this far was purely because of technology. He had created products far ahead of this era.
As the butterfly effect from his appearance accelerated, Great Kang’s industry would surely develop rapidly. His advantages would grow smaller and smaller.
Although Tang Xiaobei was somewhat better at business than him, she was still too young and often failed to consider things thoroughly.
Zhu Chen perfectly filled this gap.
She was experienced, calm, had the desire to prove her abilities, and dared to raise objections when something was wrong. She did not blindly flatter.
Although she called herself “this old woman”, she was actually not that old. She was still in the prime of her strength and capability.
From every angle, she was a talent worth recruiting.
Recruiting someone could not be done with just empty words. There needed to be real benefits.
After instructing Big Liu, Jin Feng looked at Ruan Tongjie again.
“Later, go and inquire about who currently holds the Zhu family’s old residence. Find a way to buy it back and return it to Auntie.”
“The Zhu family old residence is in the hands of the Mo family. I will arrange for someone to negotiate with the Mo family right away.”
Ruan Tongjie quickly nodded.
“Thank you, sir!”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chen’s eyes immediately reddened. She was about to pull Zhu Linglong to kneel to Jin Feng, but Jin Feng quickly helped her up.
Zhu Chen was indeed a very ambitious woman, and she had real ability.
Back then, the business of the Zhu family inn had basically been managed by her behind the scenes.
It was just bad timing. Born in this world where men were superior to women, she could only stay in the background. Sometimes her opinions were even overruled by her husband.
Only after meeting Jin Feng, when he let her take charge of building the teahouse, did she finally feel she had found a place to fully use her talents.
