radicalducati Chapter 298 Private Painter
Chapter 298 Private Painter
The county magistrate's speed in taking action is astonishing.
When Wen Zongji returned home after his shift, he found a woman in his room. She was plump and beautiful, with her hair in a bun, sitting on a wooden chair, holding a sketchbook and drawing.
Upon seeing Wen Zongji enter, the woman rose to greet him.
Wen Zongji asked in confusion, "My lady, who is this?"
Pei Rujing explained, "This is Master Chen. His painting skills are excellent. His line drawings are famously concise and vivid. Mother helped me find him. From now on, Master Chen will be the private painter of the county princess's mansion, accompanying Rui-ge'er and painting every interesting moment of Rui-ge'er."
Plain drawing is a quick sketch, which focuses on capturing a fleeting moment.
Wen Zongji suddenly realized what Pei Rujing was thinking. It was just that there was no camera at this time, otherwise Pei Rujing would probably take eight hundred photos of Rui Ge'er every day.
"What interesting moments?"
Wen Zongji was eager to know what Pei Rujing was interested in.
Pei Rujing looked at Chen Dajia: "Chen Dajia, show your husband what you've accomplished today."
Master Chen responded and handed the album to Wen Zongji, saying, "Please give me your guidance, Master Wen."
Wen Zongji waved his hand: "I know nothing about this, so I can't offer any guidance..."
Before he could finish speaking, Wen Zongji froze.
The picture book was filled with pictures of Rui-ge drooling, grinning foolishly, or crying.
Wen Zongji's lips twitched: "You call this an interesting scene?"
Rui-ge'er probably wouldn't find it interesting.
Pei Rujing laughed and said, "Isn't this interesting? I'm waiting to show it to Rui-ge when he grows up."
"Rui-ge'er is your biological son."
Is it really okay to harm your own son like this?
"Nonsense," Pei Rujing rolled her eyes at him, "If he weren't my biological son, I wouldn't bother with him at all."
Wen Zongji glanced sympathetically at Rui Ge'er, who knew nothing, and said, "As long as my wife is happy."
Son, I can't save you!
Good luck to you.
However, Wen Zongji still reminded him: "Since everyone is here, why not record Rui'er's growth, the process of him learning to stand, and the moments when he can speak, walk and run in the future?"
We can't keep recording our embarrassing moments!
Otherwise, when Rui grows up, he'll probably just want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into and never come out again.
Pei Rujing agreed: "My husband is right. Anyway, since Lady Chen will be staying in the mansion from now on, we can draw more paintings to express our gratitude."
Ms. Chen nodded: "Alright, I've got it."
Pei Rujing is wealthy and generous, and Chen Dajia is very professional and will try his best to meet the employer's needs.
From then on, the county magistrate's mansion had a private painter who stayed by Rui Ge'er's side all day, recording every little detail of his growth.
……
Soon, it was October of the seventeenth year of Shun'an.
Today's supplement to "Floating Life" announced the auction date for the small courtyard on the east side of Xiyuan Garden—three days later, at Wangchunlou.
Just like the previous auctions, there is still an entrance fee, which has doubled compared to before, totaling two hundred taels of silver.
Two hundred taels of silver is not a small amount, but compared to the previous one hundred taels of silver, it has only doubled, so it doesn't seem like much.
In later generations, netizens would describe this idea as a test of obedience.
But nobody here thought that way, because they were all drawn to the rules of the auction.
The auction follows the principle of the highest bidder wins, but the number of courtyards is limited. To ensure that most people are satisfied, the Ministry of Revenue stipulates that each merchant guild is only allowed to auction one courtyard.
Upon seeing this regulation, all the merchants preparing to make a big splash were shocked. (Cola Novels—your personal mobile library, accessible anytime.)
They withdrew large sums of silver from other money shops and deposited them into Huitong Money Shop in order to acquire more courtyards.
They had anticipated that the topic wouldn't allow one person to shoot multiple sets, and they even found someone to shoot on their behalf, but now they're saying that a business can only shoot one set.
Merchants were dumbfounded when they saw this regulation.
Some might say, "Then just find someone outside our company to bid on your behalf."
But this raises a question.
Generally speaking, the interests of merchants are aligned. Merchants value profit, but they value integrity even more. Therefore, on the surface, everyone prioritizes the interests of the merchant guild and its alliances.
Since they already know that a merchant guild can only bid on one small courtyard, in order to be absolutely sure, the merchants of those small and medium-sized guilds are very likely to pool their money and bid on the same small courtyard together.
As for how to allocate the courtyard and the calligraphy by the prince inside after the purchase, that's another issue, but purchasing the courtyard is definitely all benefits and no drawbacks.
The merchants of Xida Trading Company were indeed wealthy and powerful, but no matter how wealthy they were, they could not possibly snatch food from the mouths of other trading companies that had already consolidated their funds after acquiring a small courtyard.
As for whether the Xida Trading Company will also consolidate its silver holdings?
It's unlikely!
The more wealthy and powerful a company is, the more difficult it is to reach an agreement on the distribution of profits, as they all feel that they have made greater contributions and should receive more.
However, there was only one piece of calligraphy in the small courtyard, which was simply not enough to share.
The auction hadn't even started yet; just the news had already left these merchants at a loss for what to do.
The common people, on the other hand, were enjoying the spectacle and discussing how the Western Merchant Guild would respond.
Everyone knows that Xida Trading Company is rich and powerful, and every member there is someone who can easily outshine everyone else.
The regulation issued by the Ministry of Revenue was essentially intended to restrict the Xida Trading Company.
Xida Trading Company was well aware of this, but the initiative lay with the Ministry of Revenue. They couldn't very well question the Ministry of Revenue about why they were doing this; that would be tantamount to asking a fool.
"In my opinion, the West Bank Trading Company can temporarily dissolve itself and then re-establish itself after the auction."
"You're really audacious, openly manipulating the imperial court! You don't even need an excuse; the Ministry of Revenue can just buy back the courtyard that was just auctioned off, then sell it again for a profit… Do you have a grudge against the Xida Trading Company?"
No normal person would think of such an idea that would only cause significant damage to oneself without harming the enemy.
"Since the Ministry of Revenue has issued this regulation, it is clearly telling Xida Trading Company that the imperial court does not allow you to own too many small courtyards. As the saying goes, the common people cannot fight with the officials. Just honestly abide by the rules. If you always try to do crooked things, you may end up losing everything."
"That's right. There are only ten courtyards in total. We should take whatever we can get. Don't be too greedy, or you'll end up losing more than you gain."
Discussions were heated in teahouses and restaurants everywhere, with most of the popular opinions being rational, and none advising the Xida Trading Company to go against the court's wishes.
Having read the Beijing Gazette extensively, they gained some understanding of the laws, which naturally increased their respect for the imperial court.
The influence of the Beijing Daily is subtle but clearly demonstrated at this moment.
No one knows what choice Xida Trading Company will make.
As everyone eagerly awaited the event, the time for the auction finally arrived.
The Wangchun Tower has been booked by the Ministry of Revenue today, and no one else will be allowed to enter except for those attending the auction.
Before the auction even started, Wen Zongji and Zhou Shiyue were already seated in a private room on the second floor, watching the commotion on the first floor through the window.
They wouldn't interact with those merchants; even the wealthiest individuals weren't entitled to have Wen Zongji and Zhou Shiyue personally preside over the auction.
The auction was still presided over by a minor official from the Ministry of Revenue.