I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1438 claims to be beating a daughter, but in reality, it's beating Lord Sun.

Seeing that Sun Shan was so easy to talk to, Ma Fushang took advantage of the situation and went even further.

He said obsequiously, "My lord, this year's summer harvest was bountiful, and the autumn harvest will surely be even more bountiful. Hehe, my lord, bird droppings fertilizer is a top-notch product. If we could sell it outside, that would be even better."

Zhu, the wealthy merchant, chimed in, "Yes, sir. Bird droppings fertilizer is such a good thing that it should be sold. It's a unique product in our Yuanlu County. As soon as it's shipped out, farmers will rush to buy it. Even if they don't have money, they'll sell their pots and pans to buy it."

Zeng, the wealthy merchant, also said, "Sir, shouldn't the workshop hire more workers to make fertilizer? That way, we can sell it next year."

The three wealthy brothers were just rambling on and on, but what they really wanted was for Sun Shan to grant them agency rights so they could sell bird droppings fertilizer elsewhere.

It's such a waste of a chance to make money if we don't sell such a good product.

The three wealthy brothers astutely realized that following Sun Shan might allow their family's wealth to reach new heights.

Sun Shan also considered selling to outsiders, but unfortunately the workshop didn't have the money.

The funds raised earlier had long been used up, and there were still outstanding wages owed to workers and payments owed to suppliers. After finally managing to collect the cost of fertilizer for spring planting and pay off the outstanding wages and payments, the remaining surplus was only a small amount, like chicken scraps.

Not to mention that income doesn't cover expenses, they can't even make a slight surplus.

Nowadays, the workshop's warehouse is cleaner than the government's warehouse.

Then we needed to find someone to repair the roads and improve the workshops. There were so many things to do, and money was needed everywhere.

As for hiring more workers to expand the scale, the cost will definitely increase, and the workshop will be in debt again.

Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Your suggestions are good, but unfortunately the workshop is short of money and can't even afford to pay the workers. Sigh, what do you suggest we do?"

He paused, then continued, "Unless we gather the shareholders together and raise more money to produce more fertilizer, what do you think of this approach?"

Upon hearing the words "raise money," the three wealthy brothers' alarm bells immediately went off.

The money I raised before hasn't even been recouped, and now I have to invest more?

It's like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it's gone forever!

No, we absolutely cannot raise money. We should just raise all their net worth instead of repeatedly raising money.

What if the shareholders find out that it was their suggestion that made Mr. Sun think of "raising money"?

Aren't the three of them criminals?

Ma Fushang has been in business for over a decade or two. He is flexible and adaptable; he can overturn anything he said one second.

He said urgently, "Sir, what you say makes sense. The workshop is short of money, so we shouldn't blindly produce more bird droppings. We can't keep in debt, as that will damage the workshop's reputation. Hehe, sir, let's wait until the workshop is profitable before hiring people to produce more bird droppings fat girls."

Zhu, the wealthy merchant, thought exactly the same thing as Ma, and that they absolutely could not raise any more money.

It's called "collecting money," but it's no different from donating, no, it's even worse than donating.

Donating can earn you a "May good people live a long and peaceful life," but the money you contribute disappears in no time.

With a forced smile, he said, "Sir, everything should be done within your means. Do as much as you can afford, take it slow, and the workshop will gradually improve."

The wealthy merchant Zeng forced a smile: "Sir, the bird droppings fertilizer from Yuanlu County is enough for the people of Yuanlu County. We can't worry about other places. Hehe, the workshop is short of money, so we should focus on Yuanlu County. As for business outside, we can do it later."

The three wealthy brothers' attitudes completely changed when they heard about "raising money".

It's fine if we don't talk about money, but as soon as we do, they disappear in a flash.

Sun Shan looked at the three wealthy brothers with amusement, and nodded as if he had been persuaded: "You are right. The workshop has no money and it is not advisable to expand. After the autumn harvest, we will collect the bill for the bird droppings fertilizer and then consider it slowly."

Upon hearing this, the three wealthy brothers breathed a long sigh of relief.

After that, he chatted with Sun Shan about this and that, talking about whatever came to mind. It wasn't until Sun Shan got impatient and raised his teacup to see him out that he slunk away.

The three men hid behind the yamen, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads, and dared not mention the matter of sending the fat beauty from beginning to end.

The three brothers looked at the "beauty" tailor-made for Lord Sun not far away, and their mouths were full of bitterness.

The third brother, Zeng, a wealthy businessman, asked, "Eldest brother, second brother, are you really not going to see us off?"

It was placed right at the door, just two steps away from getting in. If we backed out at the last minute, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?

The second brother, Zhu Fushang, also sighed, "Brother, why don't we just give it away? We spent a lot of money searching for it, if we don't give it away... all our efforts will have been for nothing."

The eldest brother, Ma Fushang, was also frustrated, but among the three brothers, he was the most meticulous and thoughtful, and never acted rashly.

After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "Lord Sun is a poor young man, while Madam Sun is the daughter of a wealthy family. Do you think Lord Sun might be henpecked?"

Sending the right gift is good, sending the wrong gift is bad, and it's worse than not sending anything at all.

As the saying goes, the more you do, the more mistakes you make; if you do nothing, you neither gain nor lose.

Zhu Fushang rolled his eyes and said in a low voice, "Eldest brother, third brother, wait a moment, I'll be right back."

After saying that, he hurriedly ran to the back door, knocked on it, and then followed the gatekeeper inside.

Ma, the wealthy businessman, and Zeng, the wealthy businessman: .....

Second Brother | What are you doing, Second Brother? Why are you running into the yamen again? Could it be that you've turned back to find Lord Sun to talk about sending a beauty?

Thinking of this, Ma Fushang and Zeng Fushang broke out in a cold sweat, no matter how much they wiped it off.

After waiting for a while, Zeng, the wealthy merchant, bowed and said goodbye to the gatekeeper before rushing back.

The wealthy merchant Ma pressed further, "Second brother, what are you doing?"

It's not what he imagined, is it?

Zeng, the wealthy merchant, raised his voice to his ears, his eyes wide, and asked nervously, "Second Brother, what did Lord Sun say?"

Seeing that no one was around, Zhu Fushang said in a low voice, "I went back specifically to ask the gatekeeper for information. Hehe, if you want news about Madam Sun, it would be best to ask the maidservant by her side, but unfortunately we can't get in touch with her, so we have to ask the gatekeeper."

It turns out that the reason they went to the gatekeeper to inquire about information was not to return and deliver the beauty to Lord Sun.

Ma, the wealthy businessman, and Zeng, the wealthy businessman, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The wealthy merchant Ma asked eagerly, "What did the gatekeeper say? What is Madam Sun's temperament like?"

Zhu Fushang then revealed the news in this and that manner.

Of course, gathering information wasn't done directly. The first step was to ask Madam Sun what she liked, so that we could cater to her preferences and know how to give gifts.

After giving him a large purse, the gatekeeper told him everything.

He even joked, "It would be best to send Mrs. Sun a feather duster, hehe..."

The gatekeeper could hear the little fat girl's howls from time to time, which told him that Madam Sun had started fighting again.

Hehe, if you want to give gifts, sending a few feather dusters would be a good idea, so that Mrs. Sun doesn't have to go out and buy them.

The doorman made a teasing joke, and Zhu, the wealthy merchant, took it seriously.

Emma! A feather duster? They say it's for beating their daughter, but it's actually for beating Master Sun.

The gatekeeper's words implied that they were in the backyard, where Madam Sun held the highest position, and that if she got angry, even Lord Sun would dare to hit her.

Oh my god, isn't this the legendary "shrewish roar"?