PS: Thanks to the book friend 0o Yu Xiaomo O0 for the reward, congratulations on becoming the first leader in this book^_^

Thank you book friend Chen Yunyan, Ange City’s reward of 710,000 yuan, and dozens of other book friends. I just asked for tickets yesterday and went to the ranking today. Thank you everyone~

After all, the second wife of the Chu family is just a woman. Although she is vicious, it is okay to make trouble within the Chu family, but it is not enough to put it outside. She still needs an old fox like Ding Kaishan who has been with Tongzhou Prefecture for decades.

Ding Kaishan pondered for a while and said, "According to what you said, Chu Xiu's current situation has been achieved. He has only used a few things to completely establish his position in the Chu family. He is not the eldest son, and it is not very popular with Chu Zongguang. Facing Chu Xiu, he cannot take advantage of the Chu family, so I have only one idea, and I can only attack Chu Xiu through the outside."

The second wife sighed and said, "But I am just a woman. I have some weight in the inner house of Chu family. I can't get involved in the outside world, so I'm here to ask you for your father."

Ding Kaishan stroked his long beard and said, "There are always solutions. I just remembered that the caravan under Chu Xiu had recently received a big business.

I have an apprentice who is now escorting people at the escort agency. Last time he happened to meet the Chu family's caravan when he was heading to Yan State. I heard that the Chu family's caravan reached an agreement with a large local merchant in Yan State to acquire the refined ore produced by the Chu family in the Nanshan mining area at a high price, and even a large deposit had been paid."

The second wife said a little jealously: "Since Chu Xiu came back from the Nanshan mining area, he had been transferred to the fortune. He encountered all kinds of good things."

Ding Kaishan said with a righteous expression: "This is not luck, but Chu Xiu's ability. Although he is competing with the child for the position of the heir of the family head, you must learn this carefully.

This business has nothing to do with Chu Xiu. He has no choice but to ignore the caravan, and the managers of several caravans will manage it themselves. This business was also negotiated by the caravans.

Your Chu family used to manage the caravan and just gave some monthly money to those caravans, but now Chu Xiu is willing to give half a share of the income to everyone in the caravan. Don’t underestimate this half. It is precisely because of this half that the caravans are so active and desperate.

The caravans earn more, and the people in the caravans can get the same amount of money.

Therefore, those caravans do not need to be supervised by Chu Xiu, and they are studying how to improve their income every day. The caravans' servants do not need to be urging to work. They are all very quick, because if they go one more time, they can get one more money.

People in your Chu family may not have noticed these things, but you don’t know that in Tongzhou Prefecture, they all say that the only thing that the younger generation of your Chu family can do is Chu Xiu.”

The second wife's face turned red and white, but she still couldn't accept that Chu Xiu was so outstanding.

Ding Kaishan smiled and said, "But no matter how outstanding Chu Xiu is, it is useless. The baby is my grandson. Of course, I have to stand on his side. The caravan under Chu Xiu has negotiated such a big business. What if something goes wrong? If the ore cannot be delivered on time, not only will the deposit be compensated to the other side, but even the reputation of the caravan under his command will be ruined.

There were countless caravans between Wei County and Yan State, and no one was willing to trade with a corrupt caravan.

The most profitable income that Chu Xiu held in his hand was the caravan. Without the caravan, you should be very clear about what his status within Chu Xiu would become."

The second wife frowned and said, "It's still not possible. Nanshan Mine Area transports a batch of ore every month. Although Chu Xiu is no longer in charge, he is also a member of the Chu family. If I refuse to give it to the master and make trouble, I will ignore it and delay the Chu family's business."

Ding Kaishan shook his head with a little regret, saying, "Daughter, how did I tell you back then? Don't keep staring at the Chu family's three-point land and have a broader vision.

Who asked you to suppress those ores? You sold them to others before delivering them to Chu Xiu. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

The second wife hesitated and said: "The Nanshan Mine Area produces refined ores. If the ore is sold at the highest price every month, it will be as much as tens of thousands of taels.

In the past, my Chu family kept some of these ores for spare use, and others were made into weapons and sold. Now who can eat so much ore in one go?

If the price is sold at a low price, Chu Xiu discovered it and stabbed it to the master, which harmed the interests of the Chu family. This is the master's bottom line."

It is true that Chu Zongguang has not been very concerned about the affairs of the Chu family over the years, but Chu Zongguang also has a bottom line, that is, no one, including his own son, cannot harm the interests of the Chu family, otherwise he will definitely be severely punished.

It is precisely because of this bottom line that although the Chu family has not developed over the years, it has not declined much.

Ding Kaishan shook his head and said, "Who asked you to sell it at a low price? Just sell it at the market price. Chu Xiu sold this batch of ore to a large merchant in Yan State. He may make twice the profit, but how much money can he give to the Chu family? It's less than one-third of it.

After you sell this batch of ore, you give all the profits you earn to the Chu family without leaving any of them. In this way, the Chu family will not lose, and you will not lose either, so the only one who loses is Chu Xiu.”

"Then who will I sell this batch of ore?"

Ding Kaishan smiled and said, "I am here with your father. With my connections, are you still afraid that this ore cannot be sold? The personal confidant of the third son of the Li family is my disciple. I can help you get the Li family to eat this batch of ore.

The Li family’s methods of forging weapons are much better than your Chu family, but they do not have minerals. If the Chu family is willing to sell, even if it is more than the market price, I believe the Li family will agree."

When the second wife heard this, she shook her head and said, "The Li family is not good. When my Chu family first gained a foothold in Tongzhou Prefecture, the Li family was the one who made the most embarrassment with us. If the ore was sold to the Li family, the master would not agree or not, and the rest of the Chu family would not agree."

Ding Kaishan waved his hand casually and said, "You have been thinking too much. Since you were a child, you have been such an indecisive person. How can you succeed if you are afraid of wolves in front of you and tigers in the back?

When the Li family first gained a foothold in Tongzhou Prefecture, they were indeed sad with you, but that was the past. After so many years, the old man of the Li family was already dead, and your Chu family did not take revenge.

So you don’t have to be afraid of this matter at all. As long as Chu Zong doesn’t speak, no one in the Chu family will hold the matter accountable. Anyway, the Chu family will not suffer any losses in the end, right?”

Seeing that the second wife was still hesitating, a trace of splendor appeared in Ding Kaishan's eyes and said, "Or, let's do this first. You sell me the ore and I will sell it to Mr. Li San. This has nothing to do with you."

The second wife thought about it and Ding Kaishan's words seemed to make some sense. Anyway, his father could not cheat him, so the second wife said directly: "Since that's the case, I'll trouble you, dad."

Ding Kaishan nodded and said, "By the way, how much refined ore is produced in one month in your Chujia Nanshan Mine?"

The second wife thought for a while and said, "I am a woman, and I don't know much about these things, but it should be about 50,000 kilograms."

Ding Kaishan was a little surprised and said, "According to the highest market price, 50,000 kilograms of refined ore can be sold for 50,000 taels of silver. By this calculation, the most profitable business of your Chu family should be this mine."

The second wife smiled bitterly and shook her head and said, "It's not that easy. People are prone to death in the mines. Every year, our Chu family buys a large number of prisoners from the government.

These ores must be refined before they can be used. A 50,000 kilogram of refined ore requires at least 500,000 kilograms of refined ore. The cost is too high, so the profit is actually not too much."

Ding Kaishan showed a thoughtful expression and said to the second wife: "Okay, let me leave this matter. Just send someone to send the refined ore to me later. Then I will definitely give you more silver than 50,000 taels.

Don't worry, although Chu Zongguang is not good at doing this, I can't let you marry into the Chu family for nothing. This Chu family will sooner or later belong to my grandson in the future!"

The second wife left happily. Compared with the eldest wife, her only advantage was the background in Tongzhou Prefecture.

With Ding Kaishan as powerful foreign aid, what can the eldest lady do even if she is from a big family? The family behind her is not in Tongzhou Prefecture.

The next morning, the servants of the Chu family pulled over a truckload of ore and sang arrived at the Kaishan Martial Arts Hall.

Ding Kaishan looked at the ores and asked the manager: "How many kilograms of ore are you sending?"

The manager glanced at the booklet and said, "It's fifty-seven thousand jin."

Ding Kaishan raised his eyebrows and said, "Go and change it to 52,000 kilograms."

The manager was stunned, then he understood what Ding Kaishan meant and smiled bitterly: "Owner Ding, I have lost 5,000 kilograms of refined ore at once. I can't explain it even if I go back."

Ding Kaishan waved his hand and said, "You know my identity too, so you should also know who told you about this matter. Is it so difficult to change the account? Remember, don't talk nonsense when you go back!"

The manager nodded quickly, and then he remembered that this Pavilion Master Ding was the second wife's father. The second wife wanted to secretly give her father some benefits, so of course she would not make any statement. Naturally, he would not have to explain it to anyone.

Thinking of this, the manager changed his mind and changed the 57,000 kilograms of refined ore to 52,000 kilograms. Only then did Ding Kaishan let them all leave with satisfaction.
Chapter completed!