After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 678 The Second Batch of Silver Enters the Treasury

The construction at Tongzhou Wharf is one-third complete.

The outlines of the ten large ships have begun to take shape. Although they are the same as the previous ship in terms of carrying capacity and scale, the new ships also incorporate the ingenuity of craftsmen from both the north and the south.

These proposals would make the crew members on ships more comfortable and less miserable during long voyages.

Lord Qiu declared that any suggestion that would benefit the construction of ocean-going vessels would still be rewarded upon adoption.

A good idea is worth one tael of silver, and a highly constructive suggestion will be rewarded with ten taels of silver.

It's not that Lord Qiu has come to his senses; it's just that he recently received a handwritten letter from the Second Prince.

These were all the Second Prince's ideas. Qiu Cheng felt a pang of regret for the money he had spent, but he also admired the prince's vision and ingenuity.

With such a capable, thoughtful, visionary, and far-sighted master, how could one not have a bright future?

"Sir, sir, Steward Chen is here!"

"Manager Chen? Chen Lin?"

"Uh, yes, it's the one who transported the silver last time!"

My subordinate is good at grasping the key points; isn't he the one who delivered the money?

"Quickly, come with me to greet them!"

When the two left the office, Chen Lin was already there.

"Oh dear, Steward Chen, I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner."

"Lord Qiu, there's no need to be so polite. Time is short and the task is heavy, let's get down to business."

The employer asked me to transport the second batch of funds, and the carts and horses are currently outside the dock. I would like to ask if you intend to store them at the Tongzhou County government office or somewhere else?

Upon hearing that more money had indeed arrived, Qiu Cheng immediately became excited.

"Of course, it should be transported to the county government office. There are people arranged by the owner there, so it's the safest option."

The dock here is a bit rudimentary. It's fine for storing wood and ironware, but it's best not to leave those things here, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to get a good night's sleep.

Chen Lin smiled but remained silent, knowing that Lord Qiu Cheng was a miser.

Moreover, Qiu Cheng believed that this was His Highness's entire fortune, so naturally, he felt immense pressure.

Chen Lin nodded. "Perfect timing. The carriages haven't entered the dock yet, so I've had them wait outside."

"In that case, let's escort the goods to the Tongzhou County government office together and put them into storage as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, that makes sense. Steward Chen still needs to return to the city, and we really can't afford to waste any more time. Let's set off now."

Magistrate Jiang might not be here, but Clerk Qian and Clerk Xing are definitely in the county office.

There were another hundred or so carriages and horses, which looked even more sturdy than last time.

Qiu Cheng didn't ask how much silver it was, since 500,000 taels had been transported last time, and this time it would only be more.

Sigh~ The Second Prince is truly a prophet. I didn't even mention the recent financial situation in the letter, yet His Highness knew that the silver in the treasury was almost gone.

What Chen Lin sent wasn't just money, it was a timely rain.

It wasn't that he was too embarrassed to ask for money; he was just genuinely too busy to remember.

We need to purchase timber again in a few days, but the silver in the county government's warehouse is only enough to pay the deposit.

After working for more than an hour, the silver from over a hundred carts was finally put into storage.

Master Qian locked the door first, followed by Master Xing and then Master Qiu.

Three oversized brass locks were hung in front of the warehouse door, and the three of them carefully put away the keys again, just like last time.

Although Master Qian and Master Xing were always together, they had to wait for Master Qiu's key to come with them if they wanted to access the silver.

Lord Qiu must inform his two advisors in advance before he takes any money; neither can be omitted.

Actually, the copper lock is secondary; it keeps out honest people, not scoundrels.

The most important security measure was the secret guards sent by the Second Prince. They were like human surveillance cameras, constantly monitoring any unusual activity around them.

After finishing all that, Qiu Cheng invited Chen Lin back to the dock for tea.

"No, it's getting late, I need to hurry back to report."

"Alright, let's get together after we return to Beijing once things at the dock are completely settled!"

"Alright, my employer and I will be waiting in the capital for news of Lord Qiu's project's completion. We'll celebrate with you then!"

"Hahahaha, there's no need for celebration. This isn't something I did all by myself."

Just like last time, Chen Lin came and went in a hurry, leaving behind only 800,000 taels of cold silver.

"Sigh, this time it's 800,000 taels, plus the 500,000 taels from last time, that's 1.3 million taels of silver."

The Second Prince's finances must be almost completely depleted, right? No, we need to be more careful with spending from now on, and it's best not to let the Prince send any more money.

Qiu Cheng muttered to himself, much to the bewilderment of his subordinates.

"Sir, what's wrong? Isn't it a good thing that the master is giving us silver?"

"It's a good thing, it's a good thing, but we can't be extravagant. We still need to be careful with everything. The boss's money doesn't grow on trees."

As I said before, save where you can, but of course, only after ensuring the artisans are well-fed and well-clothed.

"Yes, sir, we have never wasted a penny. We would stretch every single coin in half to spend it."

Qiu Cheng nodded, knowing that everyone was always very careful with their money.

He was very satisfied with this, and even the newly arrived Lord Dong was affected, now known as "Miser Dong".

Qiu Cheng knew his nickname was "Tightfisted Rooster," which was actually better than "Stingy Dong."

Torches and oil lamps have been lit on the dock; Qianqiu City is willing to spend money on this.

There was no other way. In order to meet the deadline, the Second Prince said he would give the workers some kind of "overtime pay" and also asked them to ensure that the nighttime lighting was in good condition to prevent accidents.

Qiu Cheng wanted to stop the work from starting at night, but the Second Prince's words made sense; once the river froze, the craftsmen would have to go home for the New Year.

They don't have much time left, so they need to work hard now to finish the job so they can wrap it up next spring after the ground thaws.

Qiu Cheng didn't make the arrangements all at once; he consulted with craftsmen from both the north and south.

To his surprise, everyone chose to work overtime to earn more money so they could bring home a prosperous New Year.

Both sides reached an agreement quickly, without forcing the craftsmen to work overtime against their wishes.

Moreover, the overtime pay is not low, so everyone is willing to work harder for the sake of the money.

From late autumn to early winter, since the dock started operating overtime, the daily meals provided have changed from three meals a day to three meals a day plus a late-night snack.

This led to even higher expenses, with money being spent like water.

However, the results were also very obvious. In just one and a half months, the project's progress bar was pulled to two-thirds complete.

Qiu Cheng felt a pang of pain every time he checked the stock of materials and silver, but seeing that the construction of the ships was indeed progressing quickly, he ignored the pain.

He even hoped the river would freeze over later, much later, so that perhaps they wouldn't have to wait until spring to resume work.