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“What?” Mo Zichen opened his cold eyes and sat up suddenly, then shot out of the room like an arrow.
The west compound was already half-dismantled by the time the three of them arrived. Sounds of axes, big hammers, and shovels rose and fell.
Su Biluo stood a distance away, watching with her hands behind her back, observing them carefully as if she were a foreman.
Mo Zichen’s slanted eyebrows knit when he saw the sky filled with dust.
“What the hell are you doing, you disgraceful girl? I let you raise money for this general, but that doesn’t mean you can dismantle this general’s property!”
He rushed over and grabbed her and pulled her over so he could rebuke her.
Su Biluo wasn’t afraid of him. She was actually smiling, her watery eyes squinting into limpid moons.
“Grand General, ‘There’s no construction without destruction’. Surely you know that? Do you think silver just blows in on the wind? How can I make money without some starting capital? This abandoned west compound is just sitting here useless. Wouldn’t it be such a pity to not utilize it?”
“What are you going to do?” He pushed her away and glared at her, his sharp eyes like a frigid arrow about to plunge into her heart.
Su Biluo arched her brow and gave him a sidelong glance, then looked satisfied at the Zheng brothers skillfully giving their orders to the workers. Looks like I found the right foremen, she thought to herself.
“Can’t you see? I’m dismantling the compound. If I don’t, how can I build a new one, how can I make money? General, since we signed a contract, you ought to trust me. I must have full authority, otherwise I won’t be able to do this. The general’s objective is nothing but money. As long as I’m raising it you should just look the other way, okay?”
“Hmph,” Mo Zichen sneered. “If you can really raise the money, then fine. But if you can’t raise it, then since you dismantled my west compound, I’ll dismantle your bones.”
Su Biluo clenched her teeth and raised her chin confidently. “Alright! It’s settled then. But let’s get one thing clear: I need the dowry as my capital, otherwise I won’t be able to do much. Even a clever wife can’t cook without rice. I won’t be able to raise the money fast enough.”
Mo Zichen nodded. “Mm! Do what you need, spend what you want. Just don’t disturb the two old dowagers in the north compound.”
She smiled. “Relax. If there’s one thing that can be said for this general’s estate, it’s that it’s big. All the knocking and beating about here won’t disturb the other compounds. Look. there’s a big lake on the other side of the west compound; it’s swallowing up all the noise.”
Just then the steward, Mo Di, arrived with a few pageboys in tow to check things out. His face fell when he saw what was happening. “Madame, how could you do such a thing?”
Mo Zichen said, “If she says tear it down, tear it down. Mo Di, you’re here just in time. From now on, assist the madame with whatever she needs done. As long as it can help the estate raise money, let her do it. Report to me if things go too far.”
Then he left.
Su Biluo admired his unrestrained, stalwart back as he left, not hearing any of Mo Di’s nagging. She looked to the lake and felt this view was a gift from heaven.
“Steward, buy a small pleasure boat and put it on the lake, and decorate it nicely. We need it to attract clients.” She said it like she was mumbling to herself, but it was also like an order.
Soon afterward she called Mo Di and the foreman, Zheng Lun, together for a business discussion.
She made a rough blueprint of the entertainment center she wanted and gave it to Zheng Lun so he could make arrangements and assign shifts to the workers.
She also made a budget and had Mo Di make a list of all the expenses, then set them free to do their work while she herself went back to her room to sleep.
Making money was about efficiency. It was going to kill her to raise 300,000 taels in half a year. But if she couldn’t do it that fast then the soldiers and officers would not have any provisions.
She felt exhausted as soon as her head hit the pillow, but she couldn’t sleep, instead considerately thinking about a lot of things from Mo Zichen’s position.
At some point, she finally drifted off to dreamland.
The Courtyard 