Chapter 49: The Peacock's Attempt

Chapter 49: Peacock's Attempt

Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou came with high spirits and returned fully satisfied, each writing a policy proposal and submitting it to Li Shimin.

Although their perspectives differed slightly, both agreed that as long as grain supplies remained steady, Gaoling could become an exceptional place to absorb disaster victims, successfully stabilizing the refugee crisis caused by the drought.

Li Shimin naturally breathed a sigh of relief and dispatched Du Zhenglun, a Palace Writer of the Central Secretariat, to various regions in Guanzhong to soothe the people's hearts.

To be honest, in terms of governance, Li Tai had already done everything a normal dynasty could possibly achieve, but whether the drought could be resolved ultimately depended on whether the heavens were willing to show some favor.

Clearly, the heavens were not very willing to show any favor.

Therefore, following Dou Luquan and Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling was soon dispatched to renowned mountains and great rivers to pray for rain.

Because Li Tai’s Gaoling stood firmly at the front lines, these prominent statesmen of the Zhenguan era could set off to pray for rain with peace of mind, without worrying about unrest breaking out, and thus they comfortably enjoyed lavish meals funded by the imperial treasury.

Meanwhile, as the influx of people grew larger, the job vacancies at the docks were gradually filled.

However, for Li Tai, there were plenty of places where he needed manpower; once the docks were fully staffed, people could simply be assigned to other tasks.

For example, constructing an official highway wide enough for eight carriages to run abreast, leading from Chang'an to Gaoling.

For example, increasing public restroom facilities to cope with the surge of incoming people.

For example, seizing the time before autumn arrived to reclaim as much arable land as possible.

To be honest, Li Tai even wanted to set up a sewage system to handle domestic wastewater.

However, while having people dig for the drainage system, they accidentally dug into someone's tomb of unknown origin.

Li Tai instantly snapped back to reality—the place he was staying in was called Chang'an, which would later become Xi'an!

Attempting to build a water system here in this era? Better think twice; who knew what might be dug up underneath!

Li Tai's plan to gradually gain experience while building a drainage system was instantly nipped in the bud.

That left only the option of building public restrooms integrated with fermentation, all of which belonged to his private property.

Though these things looked disgusting, in practical terms, they were immensely precious.

Before chemical fertilizers or guano resources appeared, these things were, to a certain extent, irreplaceable.

Just when Li Tai thought he could smoothly receive these refugees and transform them into citizens of Gaoling, Bai He brought him some news. Startled upon hearing it, Li Tai asked, "Is the news verified?"

"Peacock has already taken the problematic goods directly to the Zheng family estate!" Bai He said with a solemn expression.

"Just follow behind Peacock," Li Tai waved his hand and said, "Leave this matter for her to handle herself!"

"This maid obeys!" Upon hearing Li Tai's words, Bai He did not argue and nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Peacock arrived aggressively at the Zheng family residence, followed by cart after cart filled with hemp cloth!

Seeing Peacock's grand display, Zheng Mingshang immediately welcomed her inside and asked, "Yuxin, what is this..."

"Father, out of the kindness of my heart, I wanted to build a bridge for the Zheng family and secured a business deal for 100,000 bolts of hemp cloth.

Is this how the Zheng family repays me? Passing off inferior goods as quality items is one thing—the length shrunk by more than ten percent, and I didn't make an issue of it.

But there are actually bolts of hemp cloth that tear apart with a single pull. What does the Zheng family take me for?

Or do you think I am easy to bully, or that the Prince of Yue's Estate is easy to push around?!" Peacock angrily rebuked Zheng Mingshang.

"Yuxin..." Zheng Mingshang stammered, "Just how many unqualified bolts of cloth are there? I will replace them, I'll replace them right now!"

"Father, out of those 100,000 bolts of cloth, over 70,000 have defects. Even if you emptied all the money from the eldest branch's coffers, I'm afraid you still couldn't fill this hole!" Peacock said. "Such a massive problem has occurred at the Zheng family's textile shop; in any case, an explanation must be given to the Prince of Yue's Estate."

Hearing this, Zheng Mingshang was momentarily stunned, his head buzzing with dizziness.

To be honest, Zheng Fengchi had always instructed him never to covet the wealth of the Prince of Yue's Estate, so he had always supplied cloth that met the standards, with a quality that was at least upper-medium.

However, the other branches of the Zheng family, upon realizing that these bolts of hemp cloth were meant for ordinary commoners, and subsequently discovering that the person truly managing this business was Peacock, must have harbored crooked thoughts.

Especially during the second delivery when Peacock chose to let the shipment pass without inspection, it directly emboldened them.

After all, gathering 100,000 bolts of cloth was no easy feat, so they seized the opportunity to directly offload substandard cloth.

Yet they truly hadn't expected that—despite everything having been disguised so well last time that Peacock didn't notice—this time they merely stuffed in a tiny bit more trash, and Peacock caught them red-handed by blocking their front door with the goods.

Seeing Zheng Mingshang standing unsteadily, Peacock continued:

"For now, this batch of goods is still being held in my custody. Coming to the Zheng family today, I have no wish to sour relations.

If Father and my uncles can confer and replace the entire shipment today, taking back these inferior hemp fabrics,

then I will pretend nothing ever happened!"

"This..." Zheng Mingshang knew without even thinking that the other branches absolutely could not produce that much!

"Father, when that massive business opportunity arose, I did not forget the Zheng family.

Now that trouble has struck, I still hope the Zheng family can resolve this privately, and I hope you won't make things difficult for me.

If I fail to complete the task assigned by the Prince of Yue, I am surely doomed, but the Zheng family will undoubtedly be implicated as well."

Peacock said, sounding half threatening and half pleading.

"This..." Zheng Mingshang furrowed his brow. If it were merely a contract signed by Peacock, finding a way to default on it wouldn't be too difficult.

But if they offended the Prince of Yue this time, could the Zheng family really continue to survive in Chang'an?!

"Father, make your choice. I will stay right here at the Zheng family estate today and wait for your decision!" Peacock declared.

"I'll go consult the other branches right now!" Zheng Mingshang told Peacock. "I will definitely give you an explanation."

"I'll await your decision," Peacock said indifferently to Zheng Mingshang, and with that, she took a seat.

Watching Zheng Mingshang leave, Peacock could not help but sigh softly.

Originally, she had made up her mind that as long as her father pushed all the blame onto the other branches, she would directly have the imperial bailiffs arrest them to repay the debt.

In that way, all of the Zheng family's assets would fall into her father's hands.

Whether she wanted to take them over in the future would become quite easy.

Clearly, however, her father did not want to pave a path for himself using the deaths of others. In that case, the people from the other Zheng branches would at best suffer a minor blow to their vitality, and instead, they would likely harbor resentment toward both her and her father!

"Scheming against this group of people is truly meaningless!"

Peacock's eyes swept over the Zheng family estate, which she had always thought of as lofty and imposing. Yet after spending time under Li Tai's command, returning here made the Zheng family feel rather small.

In reality, the discussion between Zheng Mingshang and the rest of the Zheng family was exceedingly protracted.

First, Zheng Mingshang flew into a rage, exposing the news that Peacock had discovered the substandard cloth.

Then, a crowd surrounded Zheng Mingshang to complain: the time was too short, the production schedule was too rushed, Peacock was simply ungrateful, and they were all family after all—why couldn't she show a little flexibility?

All in all, a chorus of human nature was on display. No matter how they discussed it, since the matter had been exposed, they ultimately had to find a way to resolve it. After all, these were the Prince of Yue's goods, not Peacock's.

At the very least, because Peacock was from their own household, there was still room for maneuver.

That was why, as soon as trouble arose, Peacock came straight to the Zheng family to figure out a solution together, hoping to cover the matter up.

The problem now, however, was that the Zheng family truly could not produce qualified hemp cloth in such a short time.

Strictly speaking, this material was equivalent to money; if 100,000 bolts of cloth could be easily produced, the Zheng family wouldn't have resorted to using substandard materials as a substitute.

Under these circumstances, the members of the Zheng family finally came before Peacock to discuss a joint solution.

"Yuxin..." As everyone looked at one another, the Second Branch spoke up first.

However, Peacock raised a hand to interrupt the Second Branch, saying, "Second Uncle, my name is Peacock, and I am representing the Prince of Yue's Estate to handle this matter."

"Fine, fine, fine, Peacock!" the Second Branch hurriedly said. "We truly cannot produce 70,000 bolts of hemp cloth for replacement.

How about we return all the profits we made from the first two transactions? Niece Peacock, have mercy and spare our family!"

"Is this the consensus of everyone?" Peacock scanned the room, her gaze finally landing solemnly on Zheng Mingshang.

"Yuxin, if the Zheng family still had a stock of hemp cloth, we would definitely supply it to you, but we really can't scrape it together on such short notice."

Zheng Mingshang paused slightly, then continued,

"The Prince of Yue is currently managing refugees in Gaoling, and we are somewhat aware of what this cloth is used for.

We only hope this matter can be resolved with money. If not, then at least give us an idea so we can consider it!"

A mist of tears seemed to veil Peacock's eyes as she said:

"As you all know, the Prince of Yue is dealing with the refugee crisis!

As I said before, the Prince of Yue could easily go to the Ministry of Revenue to requisition hemp cloth.

It was simply because I thought there was a profit to be made that I took on this task and handed it to the Zheng family to prepare. But looking at it now, it seems I was wrong!

What the Prince of Yue needs is clothing for those refugees, not money.

If our Zheng family is unable to provide garments for those refugees due to corruption, the Prince of Yue still has other options.

But I... and perhaps the entire Zheng family, will never be able to work for the Prince of Yue again."

Zheng Mingshang gritted his teeth. He had experienced firsthand the difficulties of building this connection with the Prince of Yue.

Especially as Li Tai's capabilities shone brighter, the value of this connection with the Prince of Yue grew increasingly high.

Under such circumstances, the Zheng family would never willingly abandon the Prince of Yue—or more accurately, be abandoned by him.

Because being abandoned by the Prince of Yue would likely become the first domino to fall for the Zheng family, and Zheng Mingshang dared not imagine what would happen afterward.

Therefore, Zheng Mingshang decisively said, "Yuxin, if you have any ideas, just state them all. Don't hold anything back!"

Peacock reined in her emotions and spoke:

"First, I will purchase these inferior bolts of cloth at one-tenth of the price, to be used as an emergency measure no matter what.

To be honest, I don't think we need this many, but if the Zheng family takes them back, I'm afraid I won't feel at ease.

Second, I want the names of the raw material suppliers for the Zheng family's hemp cloth; I will procure the yarn directly from them.

If the Zheng family cannot produce good hemp cloth, I will make it with my own hands.

If the Zheng family wants to jump ship, let them jump, but I am already a person of the Prince of Yue's Estate; I cannot get off this ship!"

"You ruthless, vicious woman, your surname is Zheng too! Eldest Brother, you absolutely cannot allow this! These raw material suppliers are the foundation of the Zheng family.

Besides, even if these inferior fabrics can't be sold for half price, selling them at one-third is certainly doable.

If we really do this, all the profits we've made will have to be coughed up!" The members of the various branches soon began to shout loudly.

"It seems the Zheng family does not accept my sincerity in seeking a reconciliation!"

Peacock's expression shifted as she made a move to leave, saying,

"Since we cannot reach an agreement, then let it be said that I was blind and trusted my own maternal family!"

Yet Peacock had only taken a few steps before stopping, as Zheng Fengchi walked in from outside.

"Yuxin is here!" Zheng Fengchi walked in with a beaming smile and said,

"I stood outside and listened for a while, and I know how this came about—it is our fault.

The Zheng family has always taken integrity as its foundation; all of those inferior bolts of cloth shall be donated entirely to the Prince of Yue, as the Zheng family's contribution to disaster relief this time.

We are family, why talk about money? How unneighborly that would be!"

"Peacock thanks Grandfather on behalf of the Prince of Yue!" Seeing Zheng Fengchi speak thus, Peacock's expression shifted slightly as she bowed to him.

"Since Grandfather has hurried back, there must be many internal affairs of the Zheng family to attend to. Peacock will not disturb you any longer and takes her leave."

"Mm, mm!" Zheng Fengchi looked at Peacock slowly and said,

"Yuxin, though you changed your name, your surname hasn't changed. You remembered your Zheng family roots this time, and you've done very well."

"Peacock takes her leave!" Hearing Zheng Fengchi's words, Yuxin bowed and departed.

Because Yuxin knew very well that as long as Zheng Fengchi was around, she could gain no advantage within the Zheng family.

Upon returning from the Zheng family estate, Peacock knelt outside the entrance of Li Tai's study, earnestly and sincerely admitting her fault.

"Get up." Returning later, Li Tai looked at Peacock's posture and said calmly.

Just as Peacock was about to speak, Li Tai interrupted: "I already know about your affair. You bought 70,000 bolts of hemp cloth at ten percent of the price; though the quality is lacking, you ultimately completed the task. What reason do I have to blame you?"

"This matter is Peacock's failure; I ask the Prince of Yue to punish me!" Peacock still dared not rise.

Li Tai waved a hand and said, "Get up. In this matter, you made no missteps.

You used your own dowry as collateral to take out a loan, prepared to buy the hemp cloth even if Zheng family had delivered genuine goods today.

Using your own money to pay for your own miscalculation—very brave!

Don't be so brave next time. Those things are your only possessions; in this day and age, nothing is worth gambling your entire net worth on.

Even if it's for me... there's no need."

Hearing Li Tai's words, Peacock was momentarily stunned. She had originally thought Li Tai would praise or be moved upon learning of this.

"I appreciate that you can think for yourself and solve problems on your own, but don't pull such stunts again."

Li Tai sighed with some emotion, saying:

"Furthermore, go back to the Zheng family tomorrow and say that I thank them for gifting the 70,000 bolts of hemp cloth, and that I will continue to purchase hemp cloth from the Zheng family in the future.

One thousand bolts per month, cash on delivery.

However, if problems arise again, the Zheng family can go look elsewhere; I simply cannot stomach such deceitful partners."

Li Tai walked over to Peacock, wanting to pat her shoulder to encourage her, thinking:

Peacock has started developing so she's slightly taller, but I haven't... wait, that seems like it would land right on her chest...

Sheepishly, he withdrew his hand.