usatvline Chapter 87 is too presumptuous~
Chapter 87 is too presumptuous~
Chapter 87 is too presumptuous~
When Lin Zhou was brought before Qin Hui, he was holding a book and putting on airs, adopting the demeanor of a reclusive sage.
"I only talked to Mr. Li about industry matters, I didn't mention the steel mill at all." Lin Zhou was also confused at this moment: "If they knew about this, I didn't know they would be so forceful."
Qin Hui chuckled, put down his book, and stared intently at Lin Zhou's bewildered face, which seemed to have never been bullied before. He then smiled helplessly: "Do you know how much I've lost in this?"
"I don't know how much the loss is," Lin Zhou said, spreading his hands. "Can't you just not give it to him?"
Hearing Lin Zhou's childish words, Qin Hui actually looked up, his face full of helplessness. He glanced at Cao Wenda and finally understood why this guy always looked so dejected whenever he mentioned Lin Zhou.
This guy—he's brainless.
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. Just tell me, what should we do?"
"Why don't we just make you another one?" Lin Zhou didn't think it was a big deal, and that another one would be fine, so he said frankly, "They can't do it, oh well, don't worry about it."
Qin Hui raised an eyebrow: "Why?"
Lin Zhou also told Qin Hui about the plan he had discussed with Mr. Li the day before, and then sat down in the chair next to him: "Prime Minister Qin, is there any water to drink? I'm thirsty, I haven't eaten since this morning."
Qin Hui waved his hand, signaling Cao Wenda to prepare food for Lin Zhou, then continued, "If that's the case, why do you say it can't be done?"
"A bunch of scholars, how would they know how to run a business? They haven't figured this out. Its costs need to be spread out by a large base. A few scholars, with no business experience and no logistics resources, aren't they just asking for trouble?" Lin Zhou sat there and began to spout nonsense about Qin Hui: "I didn't tell them everything when I was telling them. This thing can only be done by Qin Hui. Anyone else who tries will die."
Qin Hui frowned and sighed, "Boy, I'll teach you. As your elder, you shouldn't address me by my given name. This isn't the first time; didn't you address Han Liangchen like that last time? Don't you learn your lesson?"
"But I don't know what your name is—"
"Ouch—" Qin Hui rubbed his temples. "You can't just call me by my courtesy name! Ugh—you have to call me 'Sir,' 'Prime Minister,' or 'Prime Minister Qin.' It feels like I'm teaching my grandson!"
"Got it, got it, hehe————"
Seeing Lin Zhou's silly, goofy appearance, Qin Hui firmly denied that he harbored any malicious intentions. Lin Zhou was so stupid that he was practically idiotic. No one with malicious intentions would be so foolish and ignorant of the rules.
"Just write that down. Continue, tell me why only I can do it."
"Look, steelmaking requires coal, and coal isn't used in small quantities, but in tens of thousands of kilograms. Then there's transportation and logistics, mining, coal preparation and washing, and personnel training. And this is just the coal step. Without the integration of resources and power in the hands of hundreds or thousands of people, you can't even think about it; you'll lose a fortune."
"Oh?"
"So, if you say that, then they just had a sudden, whimsical idea?"
"Of course." Lin Zhou laughed. "Yesterday, Teacher Li said he wanted to save the Song Dynasty. Who wouldn't? Even the Prime Minister wouldn't! So we started talking about it, but they obviously thought they were more capable than the Prime Minister. I didn't know they would use this trick."
"Ah—I—" Qin Hui clicked his tongue: "I want to."
"Yes, I told them the Prime Minister would do it, but they didn't believe me." Lin Zhou spread his hands. "They want to lose money, so let them lose money, it's fine. Did Headmaster Chen give them the money?"
"Well, they did give it to me."
"Then I'll make you another one, and you'll wipe them out." Lin Zhou raised his chin in a particularly vulgar manner, and even made a "cluck" sound with his tongue.
Qin Hui was amused by the boy's clueless and ignorant appearance, and even felt a bit cheerful: "You little rascal—but is it really possible?"
"Sure, it's just turning one steel mill into two, the technology won't be lost. Or we can just build another one. Besides, I asked Shen Gai a few days ago, and he said the shortage of refined steel and iron is about two million catties a year. And the Jin Kingdom also needs it." Lin Zhou suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I'll tell my father-in-law to increase his purchase of refined steel by 30-50%, and only from the Prime Minister's factory. It's the country's money, and Jin Kingdom's money, heh—"
We're on the same side!
At this moment, these three words popped into Qin Hui's mind. He had seen too many so-called good and bad people, but only "his own people" could show such a wicked look. His guileless greed was simply too low-class.
Qin Hui shook his head: "You, you, stop putting on that act! Be more composed."
"Isn't this in front of the Prime Minister?" Lin Zhou sighed. "When they sell their products domestically, they can break even, but they definitely won't make a profit because their costs are too high."
"What do you think, how about traveling by water?"
"Then there must be a shipyard, right? Waterways are definitely cheaper, much cheaper."
Qin Hui clicked his tongue: "Ask the person behind you if they know how to build ships."
"Of course they would. How could someone who came back from Southeast Asia not know how to build ships? But—" Lin Zhou scratched his head and said, "Prime Minister, isn't the investment in this shipyard a bit too large?"
"Don't worry about it. If you can get this done, I'll find a way to get you a local official position, in charge of the shipping and grain transport." Qin Hui stopped pretending in front of Lin Zhou now, not because he had let his guard down, but because he felt he had been too subtle and this guy wouldn't understand.
"Can't I just not go? — Then my whole sinecure will be ruined."
If it were anyone else, they would be so grateful to receive a promise from Qin Hui that they would kneel down and call him "father." But this little brat looked at him with disgust, which amused Qin Hui.
That helpless laugh left even a man like him momentarily speechless.
Just then, Cao Wenda walked over with food. The first thing he saw was that the Prime Minister, who had been cold-faced and ready to kill that morning, was now smiling. He was completely taken aback. He glanced at Lin Zhou in surprise. However, after he put down his food, Prime Minister Qin only glanced at him and then frowned, seemingly somewhat displeased with his sudden intrusion.
Then, Prime Minister Qin waved his hand and chased Cao Wenda out like a dog. Standing at the door, Old Cao was filled with mixed emotions, even feeling a pang of sadness. He had been so loyal and diligent, yet this was the treatment he received.
And the fellow inside said something that made the Prime Minister beam with joy.
Seeing Lin Zhou stuffing himself with food, Qin Hui suddenly asked a very strange question: "What do you think of Yue Fei?"
"Yue Fei? A great hero, of course."
"Alas—remember this, Yue Fei was an unfaithful and treacherous man." Qin Hui emphasized, "He raised a private army..."
"Privately allocating land, establishing military settlements to plot rebellion, and disobeying imperial orders."
"Why is the Prime Minister telling me this? I'm the son-in-law of the Jurchens." Lin Zhou suddenly looked up at Qin Hui: "Yue Fei beat my father-in-law."
One sentence from Qin Hui made her unable to hold back her laughter, and she covered her mouth and burst out laughing.
Indeed, anyone in the world could be a member of Yue Fei's faction, but this fellow was absolutely impossible, because he was Jin Wuzhu's grandson-in-law, and Yue Fei was attacking his family.
"Hey, Your Excellency. Could you help me get a job for my good friend? He has an official title."
"Who?"
Lu You.
Qin Hui nearly spat out his tea. He put down his teacup, both amused and exasperated. "Do you know how many bizarre articles he wrote to criticize me? The only reason I haven't punished him is because I have some connection with the Lu family."
"Huh? He insulted you?"
"You don't know?"
"When will I ever read articles?"
—That makes sense. He certainly doesn't seem like someone who can read articles. But when it came to arranging a position for Lu You, Qin Hui simply shook his head and said, "You should make your mark. When you achieve success, I will promote you myself."
"What achievements or accomplishments can someone like me accomplish? I'll just drift through life."
Qin Hui didn't reply, but just waved his hand: "Go find that Cao Wenda, find the address, and build a new steel plant."
"
"Okay, I'll take care of it right away."
"Same old rule, you can handle the money yourself."
Qin Hui knew perfectly well how much Lin Zhou had embezzled before, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he gave Lin Zhou even more power. From this, we can see that, from a certain perspective, when he said Yue Fei was raising a private army, wasn't he himself doing the same?
"By the way, do we have any pretty princesses around here?" Lin Zhou suddenly asked lewdly, gesturing with his hand in front of his chest: "The more voluptuous ones. How about the Prime Minister introduces one? I've heard that the princesses of our Great Song Dynasty are quite open-minded."
Qin Hui, with his eyes closed, waved his hand impatiently at him: "Go away, don't bother me."
Greedy, lustful, despicable, and ignorant—he was riddled with bad habits. But it was precisely these bad habits that made Qin Hui feel a little more at ease. A person without desires is useless. His desires were so numerous yet so shallow, making him an easy target.
As Lin Zhou stepped outside, Cao Wenda immediately came to greet him, but before he could even speak, Lin Zhou had already put his hand on his shoulder: "Old Cao, we've struck it rich."
"What's wrong?"
As they walked, Lin Zhou whispered in his ear, "Let's build a bigger and better steel mill for the Prime Minister. I'll take a scoop from it, and you get three and I get seven."
"Four-six!"
"My lord! Old Cao wants—"
Just as Lin Zhou was about to wail, Old Cao quickly put his arm around his shoulder: "Ancestor—don't wail, it's alright!"
Once outside, Lin Zhou saw Lao Cao's face and couldn't help but laugh, remembering how Lao Cao had acted like a hermit when he first arrived. "Brother Cao, I remember when we first met, you weren't like this at all."
"Times have changed. Back then, your status was unknown, but now you are a favorite of the Prime Minister. How could I dare to do that?"
Cao Wenda was also quite helpless. Through the Prime Minister's attitude towards the two of them just now, he clearly found his own position. Lin Zhou was now the prime minister's favorite, and he couldn't afford to offend him.
"I'm not full."
"Come on! I'll treat you to something delicious." Cao Wenda grabbed Lin Zhou's hand: "Next time, if you manage to speak with the Prime Minister again, don't forget to say a few good words for me."
"How could I possibly betray my brother? I've been so grateful for your care these past few days. Let's eat first, then we'll go outside the city to choose a site, and I'll go talk to the workers about the construction schedule."
"Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work, brother."
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