Doted By The Regent King-Chapter 564: The Capital to Settle Down and Establish Oneself

If it were an ordinary shop, Wufu would not be so formal, nor would she consider sharing the profits, but the one she was considering acquiring now had also caught the eye of the Lord Magistrate’s brother-in-law. However, the other party was not very honorable and intended to buy it at a low price.

Wufu wanted this shop because she had heard that it originally operated as a restaurant, and if she took over, she had decided to continue running it as one. Firstly, in business, as long as the product was guaranteed, business would not be bad.

Secondly, a restaurant sees all kinds of people coming and going, among which information flows most rapidly and broadly.

While Wufu intended to do business, she also wanted to turn it into a site for information gathering. If she managed to make it to where anyone wanting information would come to her restaurant to purchase it, it would be difficult not to prosper.

That said, Wufu did not yearn for silver excessively. With the family fortune she currently held, investing in some estates and farmland would be more than enough for her to live a comfortable life.

But what Wufu wanted was not just silver. She wanted to have the capital and confidence to establish herself in this place, no, in this world. That meant making herself strong enough that people wouldn’t easily meddle with her.

Such a thought stemmed from her recent experiences and the chord that Liu Jin had struck in her mind earlier. Du Yingliang wanting to buy a prosperous shop at a low price—what was his confidence based on? Was it not because he had a brother-in-law who was the Lord Magistrate?

This illustrated just how vital power and influence were. If she didn’t want to become the next Liu Ming, she had to become like a Lord Magistrate, a Prefectural Magistrate, or a prince.

However, she was not a man, incapable of sitting for the imperial examinations or becoming an official. Seeking power was difficult, but in this world, where there were people, there was always Jianghu. It would be ideal to be amongst the nobles and powerful people. If not, there were other paths to take—like getting the Government Office to take notice of her.

The so-called deterrence from being bullied arbitrarily meant accumulating as much capital as possible, making others wary so that one would not be too passive.

And all these weren’t things one could just talk about—they had to be developed step by step, like planting a seed, nurturing it carefully, watching it sprout and grow branches until it became a towering tree.

...

Wen Congrui was quite surprised when he received Wufu’s visiting card. He set aside his work and went to the Floral Hall to meet his guest, noticing a young servant boy and an unfamiliar maid by her side, which prompted him to raise an eyebrow.

Upon seeing Wen Congrui, Wufu rose and greeted him with a bow, with Purple Jade and Liu Jin behind her also following suit.

"When did you return from the prefectural city? Do you come here at this time because there is an urgent matter?" Wen Congrui gestured for her to sit down and asked politely.

Wufu replied, "I returned on the sixteenth. Today, indeed, there is a matter I wish to discuss with you, my lord."

"Oh?" Wen Congrui picked up his tea.

"I heard that this year’s snowfall has been exceptionally dense and heavy. Several beggars and displaced people at the City God Temple have frozen to death, right? And there have been incidences of snow collapsing houses in various places?" Wufu asked with a smile.

Wen Congrui’s eyes flickered as he looked at her, "Miss Wufu seems to be well informed about the wellbeing of the people."

"It’s something I heard from those below me," Wufu sighed with a show of sympathy, adding, "I suppose this matter is troubling for you, is it not, my lord?"

Such affairs fell under the jurisdiction of the County Government Office. Wen Congrui, aiming to be an official lauded by all, would have to find ways to handle these issues and reduce the frequency of such accidents.

And how would he do that? Naturally, it would require a significant amount of silver. But unless the disaster reached the scale of a snow catastrophe, neither the national treasury nor the imperial court would allocate funds. To provide shelter for the displaced and others would depend on the County Government Office’s own coffers.

Exactly how much leeway was in those coffers Wen Congrui knew very well, but Wufu bringing this up, what was she aiming for?