Peasant Woman's Decreed Life as a Wife

Chapter 2388: Chapter 2385: Facing Off

Grand Tutor Deng knew very well that he relied on this daughter to live comfortably, so naturally, he hurriedly raised money to send her to the palace.

With Deng Jieyu having ample silver, the Deng residence struggled, as the family was in urgent need of taels of silver.

Now, with the workshops boom in Great Chu, Grand Tutor Deng’s family was also envious and opened several workshops, but with products yet to be made, the taels of silver had already been invested, and they hadn’t broken even yet. They were short of money and needed to earn it back from other places.

The success of the imperial court’s workshops instantly gave Grand Tutor Deng an idea.

"Minister Zhong, this is indeed my intention, after all, commoners are not tight-lipped. If by any chance they leak the secrets of the workshop, wouldn’t that mean the business would be stolen, and the produced goods would have no buyers? Wouldn’t that result in a huge loss? How do we make up for the loss of these taels of silver?"

"Minister Deng, do you perhaps think that having all workers bound by contracts would ensure safety?" Elder Zhong snorted lightly, full of sarcasm.

Grand Tutor Deng was displeased and retorted, "Minister Zhong, although you may not want to admit it, it’s true that holding the contract of the other party ensures that no one dares to betray their master, thus making it safer."

"It’s evident that Minister Deng doesn’t understand common people. Let’s talk about these servants with signed contracts. What about the servants used at Minister Deng’s residence? Do they all follow Minister Deng’s orders?"

This statement involved a lot, especially the insinuation contained within, which instantly made Grand Tutor Deng’s face turn red with anger. He said somewhat angrily, "Minister Zhong, what do you mean by that?"

"Oh, I’m just stating the facts. Even within a household, servants can be divided into several factions, following different commands, not to mention a workshop."

"Your Majesty, I speak frankly, having investigated the working conditions of commoners before."

"In the past, there were not many opportunities for commoners to work, mostly at docks, in account houses, or building houses. These were all labor-intensive jobs requiring little in terms of long-term contracts; they were mostly short-term jobs, paid daily."

"As for female workers, the opportunities were even fewer. Generally, the only chance for women to work was as embroiderers."

"In my opinion, these short-term workers are key to the future development of our Great Chu. After all, to produce goods, we will increasingly need manpower. We can’t possibly make everyone sign contracts just to provide the opportunity to work, right?" Elder Zhong pointed out the crucial aspect.

Grand Tutor Deng intended to insert people into the imperial court’s workshops so he could easily collaborate with them and also obtain some inside information on trends above, which were never captured before, and grasp money-making opportunities.

Seeing Elder Zhong obstruct him at every turn, he felt inwardly indignant and unfair, "Minister Zhong, could it be that workshops are doing charity? If the secrets of the workshops are leaked, who will take responsibility?"

"Moreover, there are not only merchants from Great Chu but also spies from Beirong and the Southern Border. These people must be strictly guarded against; we can’t let them steal all our business, right?"

Li Chongjin spoke up, "Minister Zhong, there’s no need to worry about that, as the border is strictly guarded now. Even if Beirong produces goods, transporting them in large quantities to Great Chu won’t be easy."

"Of course, no matter what, there’s a need for growth. Only by producing better goods can we win the favor of customers."

"Prince, you are mistaken. Currently, Beirong and Great Chu are trading; the border gates cannot prevent Beirong merchants from coming to Great Chu."