Chapter 4, The Small Treasury Plan

Ah? What? Bone ash porcelain? Zhu Youzong was once again greatly startled. It is no wonder; not to mention the Ming Dynasty, even in the 21st century, would you dare to tell someone that this thing is called bone ash porcelain? If you did, they might not only refuse to buy it, but those who are unaware might even mistake your shop for a temple.

"Fourth brother, what is the matter with you?" Zhu Yousong's sweat was almost forming a small stream, fearing that his most cherished fourth brother might suddenly lose his mind again. If he were to jump into the lake while holding him, wouldn't their plump father scold them mercilessly?

Headache! Zhu Youcong's head is currently very, very painful, as the news he was tricked into during the candied hawthorn banquet a few days ago is causing him great distress

"Remember, what is the Fourth Brother trying to say?" Zhu Youceng looked bewildered, truly unable to understand what his Fourth Brother was up to

Indeed, there is land at home, but it is not the twenty thousand acres mentioned in historical texts. The figure of twenty thousand is literal; in reality, it refers to the silver from the fields, which amounts to about twenty thousand taels annually. As for money, it is certainly not an annual income of forty-six thousand taels, but rather over ten thousand taels from various taxes along the river from Yangzhou to Taiping in Anhui, and this is often in arrears. Of course, the historical records do not account for Zhang Juzheng's wealth, but the allocation of official funds to the Fufu is indeed substantial, roughly around one million taels. The largest sum should be the annual salt tax of one thousand three hundred taels from Huai, which was obtained through deception when leaving the capital. Considering the income from the family’s shops over the years and the extortion from his corpulent father, the family should currently have around two million taels in savings. However, in the face of the impending chaos, this is merely a drop in the bucket. The land is effectively converted into silver and does not truly belong to the family in a way that allows them to send people to cultivate it, which highlights the issue of food supply. If one cannot even fill their stomach, who would want to associate with you? Let alone win people's hearts during a year of disaster! Similarly, the loss of land has made military training a significant problem. Without land, how can one train? Where can one train? One cannot simply dig pits like Goujian did in ancient times, can they? Even if they were to dig pits, there must be a place to do so! Are they to dig right here in the Fuwang Mansion? Where would the family of *Tu* *Shu* live?

Elder brother... After finishing the meal, Zhu Youcong forcibly dragged Zhu Yousong to the garden, not allowing the servants to follow, rubbing his hands together in a very lewd manner

"Yes! Yes! Our family absolutely cannot use it, but making it to earn some pocket money for us brothers is also not bad!" Zhu Youzong truly lives up to being a rich second generation, as his reaction is quite sharp. Although it is not the elixir of immortality he initially imagined, and the formula is indeed quite frightening, it does not prevent him from seeing the business opportunity within.

Birthday? Zhu Youcong is quite displeased. It's just a birthday, isn't it? An eight-year-old brat still talking about a birthday celebration, as if he were seventy or eighty years old. But it's fine; having been here for so many days without stepping out of the residence, it would be nice to go out for a stroll!

Elder brother! Upon seeing this situation, Zhu Youcong felt even more frustrated

Ah... it's difficult... Zhu Youcong anxiously paced around the room, pulling at his hair. Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a porcelain vase that his elder brother had sent him the night before. According to Zhu Yousong, this porcelain vase was crafted in the imperial kiln of Emperor Chai Rong of the Later Zhou during the early years of the Xian De era of the Five Dynasties. It is renowned for its qualities of being 'as thin as paper, as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, and as resonant as a chime,' valued at a fortune, and favored by wealthy merchants in Jiangnan. He felt as if a thought was beginning to form in his mind, but it remained too vague to clarify.

Why are you still being so polite, little brother? In the future, just let big brother know if there's anything!" Zhu Youzong waved his hand and pulled Zhu Youcong, saying: "Let's go! We should go inside first; it's not good for the fourth brother to catch a chill right after recovering from a serious illness. Big brother will arrange for the craftsmen as soon as I get back. Even if this matter doesn't work out, just come to big brother if you need money!"

Big brother! Is there something going on? The angelic expression has returned, and the speed at which the chubby Zhu Youcong changes his face rivals that of a master of Sichuan opera

With excitement, Zhu Youcong hugged his elder brother and shouted, "Haha! ... Bone china! This is wonderful, it is indeed bone china! The production method is the same as that of today's porcelain, just adding thirty percent bone ash during the mixing process. The finished product, however, boasts high whiteness, good transparency, fine texture, and a smooth, even glaze, almost comparable to that of the Chai kiln! As long as we manage the porcelain craftsmen well, we can easily deceive people into believing this is a Chai kiln masterpiece. Who's afraid of not being able to extract money from the wealthy merchants of Jiangnan?! The production method is the same as that of today's porcelain, just adding thirty percent bone ash during the mixing process. The finished product, however, boasts high whiteness, good transparency, fine texture, and a smooth, even glaze, almost comparable to that of the Chai kiln! As long as we manage the porcelain craftsmen well, we can easily deceive people into believing this is a Chai kiln masterpiece. Who's afraid of not being able to extract money from the wealthy merchants of Jiangnan?! What? Counterfeit and inferior products? So what if they are counterfeit and inferior? Do you have an appraisal report? Can the police come through time to arrest me?

Then I would like to express my gratitude to you, elder brother

Hehe... the Tartars... Zhu Youcong's heart was so dark that he seemed to see the scene of smoke and cannon fire everywhere, with the Tartars falling one by one. A grand and terrifying plan thus took shape in the heart of this eight-year-old, fair-skinned, and plump boy who weighed over one hundred pounds

Today, upon seeing the vase that my elder brother sent a few days ago, I suddenly recalled the guidance of the immortal in my dream Zhu Youcong has once again taken on the role of a charlatan, the first time being when he tricked his plump father into seeking Lu Xiangsheng

In this way, Zhu Youcong is in a bit of a predicament; it seems that time travel is not as enjoyable as it appears! What to do? It now seems that the first problem to solve is making money, and making it frantically! But how to earn it? This is indeed a major issue. Should he control the salt and other daily necessities around Luoyang like his plump father? That would truly be the most foolish approach. Not to mention the thin profit margins of daily necessities, the more frightening aspect is that it would lead to conflicts with the group of scholars from Jiangnan in the court. One misstep could result in being accused of competing with the people for profits. Therefore, such a move that offends others is something Zhu Youcong must resolutely avoid. If he is not to compete with the people for profits, then he must think of ways to extract money from the pockets of wealthy merchants in Jiangnan. But how to do that? He can't just show up with a big knife, can he? Hmm, that’s not a bad idea to consider! But robbery cannot be a long-term strategy; can you rob once or twice, or even ten or eight times? Producing mobile phones, televisions, computers, cars, and airplanes? Don’t be ridiculous, it’s the Ming Dynasty now! If there were such things, it would be like returning to the twentieth century! But robbery cannot be a long-term strategy; can you rob once or twice, or even ten or eight times? Producing mobile phones, televisions, computers, cars, and airplanes? Don’t be ridiculous, it’s the Ming Dynasty now! If there were such things, it would be like returning to the twentieth century! Making glass products? A very beautiful wish, and one that many time travelers and enthusiasts like. But our little chubby Zhu Youcong is only eight years old; you can’t expect him to tell people about quartz sandstone, what feldspar is, and casually teach them how to make crucibles and refine soda ash! He would be captured and put on display as a rare talent!

Done! Zhu Youcong was so happy after sending off the elder brother; if it weren't for his weight, he would have almost learned to do somersaults like a monkey. It seems that the issue of startup capital is not a big problem now. What should be done next? Training troops can only wait until the startup capital is secured, but it doesn't hurt to consider equipment in advance. Well, this needs to be prepared. It is now the Ming Dynasty, and the army is extensively using firearms such as bird guns and Hongyi cannons, and there is also the Divine Machine Camp in the capital. The troublesome part is that the firing speed of firearms is too slow. Should we first improve the firearms of the Ming Dynasty? It is not impossible, after all, the firearms of the Ming Dynasty have already reached a considerable level. There are many types of firearms; just the ones he knows include divine guns, general iron cannons, second general iron cannons, general bronze cannons, junior general bronze cannons, divine cannons, large bronze falconets, divine artillery, flying cannons, bronze guns, iron guns, mounted falconets, divine arrows, iron Xuanfeng cannons, tassel cannons, iron falconets, iron three-start cannons, bowl cannons, junior divine cannons, iron caltrops, and newly created devices such as the Nine-Dragon Plate Gun, iron whip gun, rocket plate gun, mother-and-son cannon, and rockets. The difficulty lies in gunpowder; the gunpowder ratio in the Ming Dynasty is already close to the optimal ratio, leaving little room for improvement as a propellant. This means that it is necessary to create some things that are supposedly impossible to appear in the late Ming Dynasty.

Hmm, big brother, recently I... Zhu Youcong had no idea what his big brother was thinking; otherwise, he would have probably exploded with anger long ago. Continuing to rub his hands, he threw a flirtatious glance! That's right, a flirtatious glance, the kind that an eight-year-old chubby boy would give! Absolutely the sort of glance that could make an army of a hundred thousand collectively retch.

Hmm, just now, my elder brother almost forgot in the midst of his busyness! Zhu Youzong nodded and said: "Today, Father instructed that in a few days, the three of us should take the fourth brother out of the residence to Linglong Pavilion to pick out some small items in preparation for your birthday!"

"Shh! Lower your voice, or it will be bad if someone hears us discussing the book," Zhu Youcong quickly stopped his elder brother and said mysteriously, "Quietly, elder brother, go find a few craftsmen to try making it. If it really works, we might as well find someone to sell it in Jiangnan. After all, our family definitely cannot use it"

Should we not tell Father about this matter? Zhu Youcong asked tentatively, fearing that this younger brother might inadvertently let the news slip, which would lead to his stingy old father cutting off support.

Fourth brother ... ... '' Just as he was hesitating, Zhu Youceng came bustling in with a group of people. Why do I say 'again'? Well, ever since Zhu Youcong, this dear elder brother, returned, he would invariably bring a crowd of people at this hour every day, hauling in a large amount of food under the pretext of fulfilling their father's orders, stuffing Zhu Youcong like a goose, to the point that now, upon seeing food, he feels like vomiting!

Ah, it's still the young master Ming Shili! Although the family has quite a bit of income, the expenses for such a large family are considerable! However, it's fortunate that, while not exactly affluent, it is still better than that of an ordinary household! Zhu Youzong is not a good person either; he quickly took advantage of the situation, almost implying that the family of the Prince of Fortune is now begging for alms.

Do you still remember the dream I had recently, brother? Zhu Youcong quickly ended this nostalgic conversation between the two brothers, otherwise even the hibernating toads would come out to glare at them before turning back to sleep.

"Well, come on, serve the dishes!" Zhu Youzong called out to the staff while saying to Zhu Youcong, "Fourth brother, didn't you say a few days ago that the meat closest to the bone is the most delicious? This morning, I asked the chef to personally supervise the preparation of this dish. Come and have a taste!"

Hmm, wait a moment, a bone? Zhu Youcong turned his head and looked again at that Chaiyao vase! I really wish there were something that resembled this legendary masterpiece!

"Fourth brother, what do you want to do?" Zhu Youzong was quite frightened. This fourth brother is not just an ordinary eccentric! ... A while ago, he was making a fuss about committing suicide, and recently he often locks himself in his room. Now he is acting so lewd; it can't be that ... ... In the middle of winter, Zhu Youzong was also scared into a cold sweat by his own thoughts

"What does he want with the books! Is the fourth brother short on money?" Zhu Yousong was both afraid and puzzled; his fourth brother, who usually never stepped out of the house, had caused the family to suspect that he might be undergoing a gender transition warning period. How could he suddenly bring up money?

Ah... are you really going to pick the meat off the bones to cook? Brother, I know you mean well, but this is quite extravagant. Just look at this plate; it must have at least two pounds of meat. How many bones do you have to pick to get that? If this gets out, people will surely think I'm being ridiculous!

Oh? What guidance did the immortal give to the Fourth Brother? Zhu Youcong suddenly became excited. Could it be that by smashing a vase and tinkering with it, one could concoct some elixir of immortality? In that case, it wouldn't matter if it was a priceless vase; even if it meant losing ten pounds of flesh or running around the Wang residence in his underpants for ten laps, he would do it!

My younger brother often observes our father and several elder brothers managing the household with frugality and saving, and it truly pains my heart! Nonsense, pure nonsense; the royal family is not as extravagant as rumored, but it certainly has nothing to do with frugality or saving! In order to deceive his elder brother, Zhu Youcong has become utterly shameless.

No need, of course not, there's no need to trouble Father over such a trivial matter, just leave it to my elder brother

Well, I remember that in my dream, the immortal instructed me to mix three parts of bone ash with porcelain clay, first firing it into shape, and then applying glaze to create the object. Its lightness and smoothness can be considered a celestial product, comparable to that of a wood-fired kiln! Of course, a celestial product is indeed a celestial product. According to the teachings of both Daoism and Buddhism, which assert that all animals possess a spirit, what else could it be if not a celestial product? It cannot be referred to as a ghostly product, can it? In any case, it is certainly not an ordinary product! According to the teachings of both Daoism and Buddhism, which assert that all animals possess a spirit, what else could it be if not a celestial product? It cannot be referred to as a ghostly product, can it? In any case, it is certainly not an ordinary product!

Hehe, it's nothing, it's nothing. Let's eat, let's eat! After finishing, I have important matters to discuss with my elder brother! Zhu Youcong knows that although his elder brother is not as favored as he is, he is still much older than him. Therefore, it is far better to handle certain matters through his elder brother than to do them himself.

Four... Four younger brother! Just as Zhu Youcong was lost in thought, Zhu Yousong unexpectedly turned back for some unknown reason. As soon as he entered the room, he was startled by the sinister expression of a certain unscrupulous little chubby boy.