Han Du hesitated for a moment, originally thinking that since Lao Zhu agreed, this problem could be solved completely, but he did not expect that he would be taught a lesson by Lao Zhu.
Seeing that Han Du was hesitant to speak, Lao Zhu turned his head to look at Han Du, frowned, and a voice came out of his nose, "Huh? What, are you not satisfied?"
"No!" Han Du suddenly came back to his senses and saw that Lao Zhu looked a little unhappy. He thought that it would be better to have a thousand birds in the forest than to have a bird in hand. If he could solve the problem at hand, his work was not in vain.
Judging from what Lao Zhu meant, if he hesitated any longer, he might even lose the little thing in front of him.
"The emperor is clear about rewards and punishments, and I admire him very much." Han Du's brisk and joyful voice soon echoed in the spacious hall.
After receiving Han Du's affirmative answer, Lao Zhu clicked his fingers with satisfaction and asked Han Du to step back.
After a whole day of excitement during the Wanshou Festival in the palace, everything returned to normal the next day. Even the huge stage seemed to have never appeared.
There is no way, Lao Zhu is so cunning, he only gives officials three days of vacation throughout the year. They are Wanshou Festival, Winter Solstice and New Year. Three festivals, one day off.
Let alone the capitalists who will shed tears after hearing this, I am afraid that even the ancestors of the capitalists and the robbers will shed tears after hearing this.
However, although the officials' festival is gone and the daily midnight has returned, the excitement among the people has not faded away all of a sudden.
Moreover, this year's Wanshou Festival is so special, with so many novelties, it would be strange if people don't talk about it after dinner.
Since Han Du handed over the errand to Lao Zhu, he has been hiding in the racecourse that is about to be repaired all day long.
On this day, Han Du and An Qing were riding horses and walking side by side.
After the horse breeding place was built, Han Du asked Tang Ding to get him a batch of good horses. Anyway, during the Northern Expedition, so many war horses were captured and dozens or hundreds of horses were brought out. It was not a big deal at all.
.
Because Han Du often goes to the racecourse in Anqing, she will also come here for a walk from time to time.
It happened to be here today, so Han Du rode a horse to accompany her for a walk.
An Qing is not short in height. From a modern perspective, he is almost 1.7 meters tall, only less than ten centimeters shorter than Han Du. He has good facial features and had a trace of heroism when he was not married to Han Du. Plus
Her status as the Princess of the Ming Dynasty makes it extremely easy for people to feel unattainable and majestic.
But since giving birth to her son, the heroic spirit on An Qing's face has disappeared, and it has become more feminine and maternal. This not only does not destroy her beauty at all, but also adds a layer of feminine charm.
Especially her exquisite figure. When Han Du's eyes fell on her voluptuous waist on horseback, he felt a burning sensation in his lower abdomen. He secretly swallowed his saliva and did not dare to look more.
Horseback riding is also a sport. After riding for a long time, An Qing had fine beads of sweat on his forehead.
After tightening the reins, An Qing gasped several times in discomfort, raised his hand and gently wiped his forehead with a silk handkerchief, looked sideways at Han Du, and complained unhappily: "Are we going to continue riding?
I'm a little tired."
"When you are tired from riding, come down and take a walk." Han Du got off the horse first, and then went to pick An Qing off.
Although An Qing was already immune to Han Du's various little tricks on weekdays, if he was in their courtyard in the house and Han Du was close to him at any time, he would have no other feelings besides feeling beautiful happiness.
But it was in broad daylight, and An Qing's face turned red due to shyness. Fortunately, because he was riding a horse, he was already a little red, so Han Du didn't notice any difference.
"You, let me down, I'll go by myself." An Qing struggled twice in Han Du's arms.
Han Du came to his senses and quickly put her down.
The two of them led the horses and walked on the grass where the morning dew had not yet dried. They didn't care even if their boots got wet with dew.
After walking a few steps, An Qing returned to normal. He looked up at Han Du and asked, "My husband said this racecourse can make money, but why can't I see it? I've been here many times, but I haven't seen where I can make money."
.”
An Qing shook his head unabashedly and asked his doubts.
Han Du glanced at her with a smile, as if he had already guessed that An Qing would ask this question, and replied lightly: "Originally, we thought you would ask it a long time ago, but we didn't expect you to be able to hold back until now."
An Qing was stunned for a moment, but then he did not open his mouth to continue asking Han Du. Instead, he looked at Han Du with flashing eyes, waiting for his explanation.
Han Du laughed twice and told An Qingpu: "Doing business is not just about buying high and selling low to earn the difference."
"What else is there?" The more Anqing listened, the more strange he became. Since ancient times, hasn't making money in business been about buying high and selling low, and making a profit from the price difference?
An Qing obviously didn't believe Han Du's words, and said: "My father once said that merchants do not engage in production, grow food, or weave cloth, and just rely on hoarding goods to live in strange places, which is of no benefit to the world."
Han Du did not refute An Qing, but nodded and said: "If it is this kind of people who hoard goods and use it to cause natural disasters and national disasters, it is not only useless to the world, but also harmful and extremely harmful."
Seeing An Qing, he was about to ask. Han Du guessed what she wanted to ask and explained directly: "But although these people are businessmen, these are not the only businessmen in the world. Take briquettes as an example. Some people use briquettes as an example.
Buying it, transporting it to the capital and selling it, and making some money from it, is completely possible in our opinion. It seems that a piece of briquettes has not changed at all from the workshop to the hands of the people in the capital. But don't forget,
Without these traders, these briquettes would not have been directly available to the people.
People need briquettes for cooking, but if there is no one to sell them, can they still go to the workshops to buy them directly?"
"They're both buying. What's the difference between buying from a vendor and buying in a workshop?" An Qing was confused by Han Du's words and couldn't figure it out for a moment.
Han Du stopped, turned sideways to face Anqing, and said solemnly: "Of course it is different. If all the people buy briquettes by themselves, then the workshop will not have such a big place to deal with the people of the entire capital at the same time. The workshop will
It was overcrowded.”
An Qing was stunned for a moment, and then the scene described by Han Du came to mind. He couldn't help laughing, and shook his head without refuting Han Du.
Indeed, how many people are there in the entire capital? If they all rush to buy briquettes themselves, it will probably be overcrowded.
"Also, many people think that merchants just buy goods from here, and there is no change in the goods. They roughly think that merchants have no contribution. This is wrong." Han Du shook his head with a smile.
"But, there is indeed no change in the goods." An Qing was confused.
Han Du signaled An Qing to continue walking, and then said softly to her: "Although the goods have not changed, the location of the goods has changed."
After a pause, he continued to explain: "Let's put it this way, farmers work hard every day for a year's harvest. And businessmen also run around every day. If they run around for a year, shouldn't they also have a harvest?
?”
Anqing seemed to understand somewhat, but seemed confused.
"If we think of merchants selling goods as farmers growing crops, would it be understandable?" Han Du guided Anqing's thinking.
After hearing this, An Qing realized something and nodded slowly. Then she asked again: "But what does this have to do with our racecourse? This racecourse doesn't have any goods."
Han Du laughed twice and explained: "This is what my husband wants to tell you. Business in the world is not just about selling goods. Real business can sell anything, including ideas, popularity, personality, and anxiety.
, expectations, etc., are all businesses and can be bought and sold. Even lifestyle, habits and the like can also be bought and sold."
An Qing was dumbfounded. She could not understand what Han Du said. Although she knew every word Han Du said, she had no idea what Han Du was talking about.
"Let me ask you, how does our racecourse make money?" An Qing was a little annoyed and acted like a little woman. She didn't care about money, although three hundred thousand dollars was a huge sum of money for anyone.
.But as long as it is a decision made by Han Du, even if she does not understand it, she will not object.
Han Du thought An Qing was feeling sorry for the 300,000 yuan, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, as long as our racecourse starts to open, we will make it back in a short time."
"As for how to make money?" Han Du pondered for a moment, raised his finger and pointed to an area of the racecourse and said, "Did you see that? That's where we plan to use for horse racing."
An Qing glanced in the direction Han Du was pointing, then withdrew his gaze and asked doubtfully: "Horse racing? Can this make money?"
"Of course!" Thinking of horse racing, Han Du couldn't help but get excited and rubbed his hands.
"You know the gambling houses in the capital, right? This horse racing is also called betting on horses. It is somewhat similar to betting on dice. No.
It’s much more fun than betting on dice.”
"Have you seen those laps of the track? There will be dozens of horses galloping on it. The horse that completes a certain number of laps first will be considered the winner. And before the horse racing begins, people
You can bet on the horse you like, and once the horse wins, you can win back a certain amount of money."
"Can you make money like this?" An Qing didn't believe it. You can win money by betting on the winning horse. It is indeed a lot of fun. But if the winner takes the money away, how can the racecourse make money?
"Have you ever heard of gambling houses in the capital closing down? Which ones are not making money every day." Han Du has full confidence in people's gambling nature, and he is not targeting ordinary people, but those who are extremely rich.
wealthy businessmen, and nobles who regard money as dirt.
This is really not a joke by Han Du. The civil servants who keep talking about integrity and ask others to regard money as dirt are precisely the people who care about money the most. On the contrary, the proud soldiers and generals who are looked down upon by the civil servants do not value money very much.
, what they value is military merit.
"I've heard of it." An Qing nodded sincerely, looked up at Han Du and said in confusion: "Didn't the students of the academy force many gambling houses to close down?"
Han Du was speechless immediately, smiled flatteringly, and reluctantly explained: "That's for other reasons. Even after this incident, isn't the gambling house now very prosperous?"
An Qing nodded as he listened, this is indeed true.
"Don't worry, our horse farm will not only not lose money, but will make a lot of money." Han Du felt that it was very difficult to explain to An Qing, and he quickly wanted to stop talking.
An Qing was tired of listening and didn't want to pay attention to these things anymore. Anyway, she believed in Han Du. Since Han Du said that he could make money, there would be no problem.
The horse racing venue had just been built and was barely usable. Han Du couldn't wait to prepare for the opening and couldn't wait until the racecourse was completely built.
Sitting behind a long desk, I personally wrote the invitation. I wanted to invite a few close friends to visit the opening ceremony of my racecourse. There is a set of strict rules for formal invitations between nobles, such as this invitation.
.This invitation must be written personally by Han Du, the head of the Zhenhai Hou Mansion, to reflect the sincerity of the Zhenhai Hou Mansion. If it is not written by Han Du himself, it will be regarded by others as the Zhenhai Hou Mansion.
To look down on them is to humiliate them.
The Duke of Xin Tang He, the Duke of Ying Fu Youde, the Duke of Liang Lan Yu, the Marquis of Jingchuan Cao Zhen, the Marquis of Dingyuan Wang Bi, the Marquis of Heqing Zhang Yi, and the Marquis of Kuang Yi Xu Chengfei. As for Tang Ding, he has not separated from Tang He now, so there is no need
Please alone.
Even to other nobles, Han Du has to send invitations one by one. Unless they have a life-and-death hatred, you don't have to send them. As for whether they will come, that is another matter. Han Du sends invitations.
The post had already told them, and there was no intention of being arrogant or not taking them seriously.
Of course, usually, even if these people cannot come in person, they will send a butler to give a gift in return. Of course, there are also times when the invitation is lost. As long as this situation occurs once in that house, then this will happen in the future.
There is no need to send it home, they have no intention of walking around with you at all, and they don't even make superficial efforts.
On the opening day, Han Du took his whole family to the racecourse early and asked An Qing to arrange for his parents and Han Shu to enter. He waited at the gate for everyone to arrive.
The first one to arrive was Xu Chengfei, riding a horse, followed by several people. Before he came to Han Du, he got off his horse in advance, threw the reins to the servants aside, and walked towards Han Du with a big smile.
When Han Du saw it, he quickly took the initiative to greet him and said with a smile: "Brother Xu, why are you so polite? We are all brothers who share the same hardships, why do we need to show such a big courtesy."
Xu Chengfei laughed a few times, put aside Han Du's topic, stepped aside, and revealed the person behind him.
He stretched out his hand towards Han Du, turned around and said to this person: "This is the Marquis of Zhenhai. My cousin has been in the capital for many years, so he should have heard of his famous name."
Then he looked back at Han Du, raised his finger and pointed at this person, and introduced to Han Du: "This is our cousin Xu Xin. He has studied in private schools for several years. Although he has not been admitted to the imperial examination, he can still be said to be good.
I can write. I used to be in the capital, helping others write family letters to support my family, but now I am our housekeeper."
Han Du nodded and looked at this person carefully. This cousin of Xu Chengfei's race was exactly the opposite of Xu Chengfei. He looked short and thin, but he really had the posture of a scholar with no power to tie a chicken. His eyes were bright and obviously
He is also a person with a quick mind. He always looks at people with a smile on his face, which makes it easy for others to like him.
When they met for the first time, Han Du also had a good impression of him. After all, you wouldn't hit someone with a smiling face.
Xu Xin suddenly became excited and hurriedly came forward to pay homage: "The reputation of Marquis Zhenhai is as loud as a thunder in my ears. It's better to meet him today than to meet him. I am so lucky in my lifetime!"
As expected, Xu Xin earned his living by writing family letters to others. He was impeccable in his dealings with others, and his attitude toward Han Du was sincere, and there was no trace of fraud at all.
"Steward Xu, nice to meet you." Han Du nodded and met Xu Xin.
"Where, where, the Marquis has promoted the little old man." Xu Xin bowed respectfully to Han Du again, then took a step back, returned to the position behind Xu Chengfei, and stood quietly without saying a word.
Stepping forward to meet Han Du, Xu Xin performed all the etiquette. He stepped back and stood behind Xu Chengfei, as if he was only following Xu Chengfei's lead, and he had a clear understanding of his own identity.
Xu Chengfei turned around and said to Xu Xin: "Since my cousin knows Marquis Zhenhai, in the future when Marquis Zhenhai comes to the house to see us, he can directly let Marquis Zhenhai enter the house without having to report."
"Yes, Lord Marquis." Xu Xin bowed and agreed.
Then, Xu Chengfei waved his hand and signaled to Xu Xin: "Please present the gift list."
Naturally, the person next to Han Du will be responsible for the gift list, so Han Du doesn't have to worry about it. Otherwise, if he is a dignified prince, but he goes to accept other people's gifts, will he lose his identity?
Han Du laughed twice, happily stepped forward to hold Xu Chengfei's hand, and said: "We are very happy if you come here to show your respect. What else do you need to bring? Come on, let's go inside and talk."
"please!"
After Han Du settled Xu Chengfei, he hurriedly came out to prepare for the next arriving noble.
Tang and Tang Ding came hand in hand, and Lan Yu also came not long after. Then, the people who came became more dense. Cao Zhen, Zhang Yi, Wang Bi and others came one by one. Fu Youde also rushed after these people.
coming.
To Han Du's surprise, Cao Xing, the Marquis of Huaiyuan, Zhang Wen, the Marquis of Huining, Chen Huan, the Marquis of Puding, and Sun Ke, the Marquis of Quaning, also came in person.
Other nobles who did not come in person also sent butlers to send back gifts.
Just when Han Du estimated that it was almost time and no one would come anymore, Zhu Biao came with a group of people beaming.
Han Du was shocked when he saw it and hurried forward to greet him.
"I, Han Du, pay homage to His Highness the Crown Prince. I am late to welcome you, so please forgive me."
"Humph, you are indeed late. You didn't even send anyone to inform Gu Yiyi of such a big matter." Although Zhu Biao's tone was unkind, the smile on his face did not weaken at all. He was obviously teasing Han Du.
Han Du was embarrassed when he heard this. He had not planned to invite Zhu Biao, but he did not expect that he would come on his own initiative after hearing the news. The reason why he did not invite Zhu Biao was because sooner or later, this racecourse would become a place for enjoyment. If he
If Zhu Biao is invited, everyone will definitely know what kind of place the racecourse is.
At that time, if Lao Zhu feels that he has corrupted Zhu Biao and failed to lead him in a good direction, what should he do if he wants to settle accounts with himself?
"Your Highness is unaware that this racecourse is also a place for wanton pleasure, so it is natural for me not to invite Your Highness to come." Han Du explained with a stern expression.
How could this be a place of pleasure? Shouldn't the place of pleasure be Jiaofangsi and those brothels?
Zhu Biao raised his eyes and glanced around, but there was no place in this wilderness that looked like a place of enjoyment.
"Stop talking nonsense, do you want to drive me out now that I'm here?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare. Your Highness can come, and I cannot ask for it. Your Highness please come first!" Han Du stepped aside and stretched out his hand to signal Zhu Biao to come in.
When you reach the highest loft, you have a commanding view of the entire racecourse. There is also a large viewing platform, which is perfect for watching horse racing.
When Zhu Biao entered, Tang He took the lead and stood up, and everyone bowed to Zhu Biao.
"I am waiting to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"No gifts, no gifts." Zhu Biao smiled and gave a little help to everyone.
"Thank you, Your Highness." After receiving Zhu Biao's signal, everyone stood up.
In order to dispel everyone's concerns, Zhu Biao even said: "There are no princes or princes here today. Since you are all here by invitation, let's have fun."
"Thank you, Your Highness," everyone replied with a smile.
Zhu Biao is kind and has no airs in front of everyone, which naturally makes everyone feel much more comfortable.