Chapter 24: Such Audacity in Seeking Investment
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When Mi Zhu returned from the Administration for Industry and Commerce, he was a changed man.
Never had he imagined that farmers who made their living from the land could erupt with such overwhelming enthusiasm.
Lu County had more than twenty thousand houses. Even if one assumed there were only twenty thousand households, and each invested just two hundred coins, that would still amount to four million coins!
And that was counting only the residents within the county seat. If the people living in the surrounding areas were included as well, their investments alone could exceed ten million coins, perhaps by a great deal.
More importantly, the unconditional support of so many people for Lu Chuan meant that he would face no resistance at all in building the outer city.
When corvée labor was called for, these people would surely compete to join. They might not even need to be summoned; they would come forward on their own.
With money and labor available, construction of the outer city could begin at any time, provided there were enough raw materials!
At that moment, Mi Zhu finally understood how terrifyingly powerful the support of the common people could be.
“Someone come!”
“My lord, I’m here.”
The steward entered from outside.
Mi Zhu said, “Go find Lu Shui. Tell him I wish to see him and discuss the investment in the outer city in detail.”
Things had reached this point, and Mi Zhu felt he could no longer deceive himself. Investing in Lu County was very likely the greatest opportunity he had ever encountered—without exception.
…
Night had fallen at the Lu residence.
Lu Shui was reporting the day’s events to Lu Chuan.
“So, in just one day, we received nearly one hundred million coins in investment? Twenty million came from the residents of Lu County, while nearly eighty million came from traveling merchants from other places?”
Lu Shui nodded. “That is roughly the situation. To be honest, I was surprised myself. I never expected the residents of Lu County to be so enthusiastic, nor did I expect them to have so much money on hand. The average investment per household actually exceeded one thousand coins!”
“An average of more than one thousand coins?”
Lu Chuan was equally astonished.
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He knew that under his rule, everyone in Lu County lived and worked in peace and contentment. With the growth of commerce, many people had accumulated a certain amount of spare money; otherwise, his Lu Clan Bank could never have continued operating.
Yet he had assumed that an average household having accumulated several hundred coins would already be quite impressive. Clearly, he had still underestimated them.
“How much did the merchants from elsewhere invest on average?”
“There were two thousand five hundred outside merchants who invested, with an average of thirty thousand coins per person.”
Lu Chuan nodded. “Merchants really are wealthy. I never expected us to receive so much investment on the very first day. Tomorrow, post another notice stating that the outer city project will accept a total of two billion coins in investment. Once that amount is reached, no further investments will be accepted. Tell those who wish to invest to hurry.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“By the way, has there been any movement from Mi Zhu?”
“There has. I was just about to report it. After the notice was posted today, Mi Zhu came to see me. He said he was willing to invest one hundred million coins initially, then decide whether to increase his investment based on the progress of the outer city’s construction.”
Lu Chuan sneered. “Only one hundred million coins? Mi Zhu really is a shrewd one. Tomorrow, go see him and tell him that we will accept his one-hundred-million-coin investment, but the investment cap of two billion coins will not change. Once the full amount has been subscribed, even if he comes to us with money in hand, we will not accept it.”
“My lord, is that really appropriate? It seems to me that Mi Zhu has already taken an interest in the construction of the outer city. He only wants to proceed this way out of caution.”
“Of course I know he is being cautious. But I do not need cautious investors. I need investors willing to follow me all the way. The opportunity is right before him; whether he can seize it depends on how he performs. You must understand that Lu County has never lacked investment.
“Back when I had nothing at all, I was still able to develop Lu Family Village into the Lu County it is today. Now I can build the outer city of Lu County just as well!
“Once two billion coins have been invested, construction of the northern outer city will be completed within two years. If the full two billion coins are not raised, construction of the northern outer city still will not take more than two years!”
…
Lu Chuan was highly efficient. The notice had been posted only yesterday, and nearly one hundred million coins had already been invested. Today, construction of the northern outer city began.
First, corvée labor was called up. The workers began excavating the foundations of the city walls according to the plans for the northern outer city. At the same time, the county government issued purchase orders to every merchant in Lu County, acquiring all kinds of construction materials.
Next, the county government opened its granaries. Everyone participating in the corvée received three meals of dry grain each day, along with one meal of meat every five days.
Under such conditions, Lu Chuan had originally planned to recruit only three thousand laborers. Yet five thousand people arrived on the very first day.
Since there were more workers than expected, Lu Chuan accepted them all. More people only made the work easier. At most, he needed to organize additional personnel to maintain order at the site, appoint more supervisors, and arrange the work properly.
The people were brimming with enthusiasm. More than five thousand workers set their hands to the task together, and construction advanced at astonishing speed.
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But this left Lu Chuan anxious.
There was nothing wrong with building the outer city. The problem was that he had designed only a rough plan: a general shape, with none of the finer details filled in.
Urban drainage, district planning, and similar matters all required careful design. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
At first, Lu Chuan had thought that merely building the outer city walls would take several months, giving him ample time to complete the plans.
But after witnessing the people’s enthusiasm, he realized that the walls might not take even several months to finish. He therefore had to hurry and complete the detailed designs.
Mi Zhu also met with Lu Shui. At first, he had carried himself with considerable confidence. He had received word from inside sources that Lu Chuan had collected less than one hundred million coins in investment during the entire previous day, while he himself had put forward one hundred million coins in a single stroke!
Only then could he show Lu Chuan the difference between the Mi family and ordinary merchants!
But when he heard Lu Shui say that the northern outer city would accept only two billion coins in investment, and that once this amount was reached no further investment would be accepted from anyone, Mi Zhu’s expression changed.
How could there be such a rule?
Wasn’t investment supposed to be welcomed in any amount?
According to his plan, he would first put up one hundred million coins to test the waters. If construction of the outer city proceeded smoothly and he saw the profits it could bring, he would decisively increase his investment.
But Lu Chuan’s move had ruined his plan completely.
Lu Chuan had received one hundred million coins in investment on the very first day. Even if the momentum weakened later, he could certainly raise the full two billion within a month or so at most.
Mi Zhu was now certain that investing in the outer city would bring profits. The only question troubling him was how large those profits would be.
If he could not increase his investment later according to the circumstances, would his returns not be affected?
Mi Zhu tried to negotiate with Lu Shui and have some investment quota reserved for him, but Lu Shui insisted that the matter had to be handled strictly according to official procedure. No one would be allowed special treatment.
If Mi Zhu wished to increase his investment, he would have to act quickly. Once the deadline passed, no one could help him.
Mi Zhu was utterly speechless. In all his life, this was the first time he had seen someone solicit investment with such unyielding confidence.
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