Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Liu Zhongshun's eyes went blank, and cold sweat streamed down his face.

The latest standards from the county?

The houses in the county all require solid construction and durable materials.

The cost would be astronomical! He couldn't possibly come up with enough money, even if he had ten lives.

"Lord... I'm afraid I... don't have that kind of money," Liu Zhongshun stammered.

Fang Zheng smiled and said, "If you don't have the money, the county can lend it to you. I will send people to inspect your performance during the first phase of the project. If you perform well, you will have priority in contracting the subsequent wasteland. If you perform poorly... then I will consider replacing you at any time."

"As for the remaining profit after deducting the cost of selling the houses...."

"The county gets ninety percent! My brother and I will only take ten percent. Are you satisfied, Lord?" Liu Zhongshun was overjoyed.

Fang Zheng smiled and waved his hand, "That's not necessary. You earn money with your abilities, why would I exploit you? You're all old-timers in the county, how can you not even understand this basic rule?"

"The county will only take fifty percent of the profit."

Fifty percent!

Liu Zhongshun's eyes suddenly straightened, and he grabbed Zhou Qiang and knelt on the ground with a thud.

He repeatedly shouted, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Fang Zheng bent down and helped Liu Zhongshun up, saying gently, "It's nothing. Whether it succeeds or not depends on your ability."

"If you are bullied outside, aren't we all family in Taoyuan County? Shouldn't we help you out?"

It really is the Lord!

Liu Zhongshun and Zhou Qiang were moved, looking at Fang Zheng with tearful eyes.

Fang Zheng said slowly, "Judging from your formation and methods today, it doesn't seem like you want to do long-term business. You just want to grab some silver and leave, right?"

His little thoughts were exposed, and Liu Zhongshun was struck by lightning, his forehead covered in sweat.

Fang Zheng shook his head at the sight.

He really was like that, stimulated too much and single-mindedly wanted to make money, not even taking the right path.

"Old Liu, I, your Lord, have also been deceived and swindled along the way. I know exactly what you're thinking."

"In the beginning, everyone wants to frantically pursue money. But once you get the money, you'll realize that it's meaningless."

"I don't even touch money now, I have no interest in money!"

Ao Chen's lips twitched fiercely, then quickly returned to a normal expression.

Liu Zhongshun swallowed and said, "The Lord's teachings are correct."

Fang Zheng nodded and continued, "I won't say much about some things. When you have that ability in the future, you will naturally understand."

"If you ever have money and succeed, don't forget the people in the county who helped you."

"Money is only valuable when it helps people create happiness. Do you have any other requests you want to make? You can tell me everything today."

Seeing that Fang Zheng didn't overly criticize him, Liu Zhongshun calmed down and said, "Lord... I want to build a Jinyiwei training ground nearby... I don't know if you, Lord..."

"Smart! No problem, build it as you please. I will send people here to train when I have time. In addition, I can also give you a few Jinyiwei gold cards to use for lucky draws when selling houses," Fang Zheng said with a smile.

He increasingly admired Liu Zhongshun in his heart.

A talent, truly a talent. With his help, there's no reason why it won't succeed in the future!

"Are there any other questions?"

"No, Lord, your great kindness will never be forgotten by Liu Zhongshun," Liu Zhongshun said gratefully.

Fang Zheng said, "Okay, go and discuss the details with Ao Chen. He will help you as much as possible within a reasonable scope, but there are some things you need to pay attention to."

"Do less... illegal and undisciplined things."

"Ao Chen, let's go."

Liu Zhongshun watched Fang Zheng's departing figure with tearful eyes, his thoughts extremely complicated.

Zhou Qiang was already overjoyed, and leaned over excitedly, "Brother Liu! Brother Liu! The Lord is helping us!"

Liu Zhongshun reached out and wiped his eyes, "We can be considered to have made a name for ourselves, brother... Just do as the Lord said, and don't let him down."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud noise rang out, and the two turned to look. They saw an extremely embarrassed figure standing on the stage.

"Taoist Hua is bleeding from his butt!!!!!"

.......

"Lord, are you sure you really want to help him?" On the way back, Ao Chen was puzzled.

"Yes, let's see how they do later. These two people have good potential. In terms of brains, they might be stronger than those merchants in our county who run businesses outside. After they succeed, I have other important uses for them. Try to help them as much as possible," Fang Zheng said happily.

"Lord, if we really build a ring of houses outside the city according to the county's standards, as you said, it will be a huge expense, and I'm afraid there will be a deficit in silver," Ao Chen said worriedly, "His Majesty has already seen gunpowder and firearms. The county's research institutes must be moved to the open according to your requirements. Those research institutes are big spenders of silver. Adding the cost of building houses, what if there is not enough silver?"

"The research institute's funding should still be given, we can't just focus on immediate benefits. I will talk to the Ministry of War about the firearms. Penicillin will also be used in the capital in the future. These are all ways to make money, it just takes some time," Fang Zheng said.

"What if there is no income in the short term? The money for building houses will be spent quickly," Ao Chen suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Lord, I have a plan! It might be able to get us through this."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"Fines! Increase the fines for merchants. If there is a deficit in our county, we can just make it up," Ao Chen said.

"......."

Fang Zheng stopped and sighed at Ao Chen, "Don't come up with such bad ideas again. Even a dog could come up with this kind of method! The county has been under your management for so long, how come you haven't made any progress?"

"Then what should we do? Lord, I'm out of ideas," Ao Chen said shamefully.

"Raise taxes then."

"Raise taxes? The people will probably be even more dissatisfied," Ao Chen muttered to himself.

This method doesn't seem much better than fines.

"Of course, we can't just simply raise taxes. In the future, let the shops registered in the county pay two fees when hiring people," Fang Zheng raised his head and thought, "One fee will be called the Elderly Assistance Fund, and the other will be called the Housing Fund. Not only employers have to pay, but employees also have to pay. As for the specific proportions, we can study them later."

"It's like the county is helping them save for retirement and buying a house. The Elderly Assistance Fund will start to be returned to them after they have paid for a certain number of years, to help them with their retirement in the future. The Housing Fund can be used as a deduction when they buy a house."

Ao Chen's eyes widened, "Lord, isn't this the same thing? Which merchant would be willing to pay more money for no reason? Our county has never forced it."

"Stupid! How would they pay more money? Let me ask you, you want to open a restaurant and plan to hire a waiter. The budget is only two hundred wen. At this time, the county asks you to pay the Elderly Assistance Fund and the Housing Fund for the waiter. What are you going to do? Add it on top of the two hundred wen?"

"I would subtract it from the two hundred wen..."

"That's the conclusion! You look at it from the employer's perspective. The budget is determined by the market price. It's just a matter of distribution. They didn't pay a single wen more, it's still the same cost."