Chapter 1 Dai Yuege's Arrival

Dai Yuege was the first to arrive at Huan Chao Pavilion. In modern terms, Dai Yuege was the boss of a construction team with extensive experience in construction and project management. His recent success was inextricably linked to the rise of the Ye family. Dai Yuege originally lived in Qingyun Lane and was a neighbor of the Ye family. The unpretentious boss Dai quickly became good friends with the good-tempered Ye Laogeng, often drinking together with their arms around each other’s shoulders, and later they even became sworn brothers. After Ye Laogeng got married and his wife Wang Jue became pregnant, Dai Yuege clamored to form a closer relationship with the Ye family through marriage. However, at that time, Dai Yuege only had two sons who were already quite old. Later, when Ye Tao was born, Dai Yuege wanted a daughter even more to fulfill his promise, but years of "effort" seemed to yield no results until Dai Yuege's youngest daughter, Dai Qiuyan, was born when Ye Tao was seven years old.

Originally, Ye Laogeng couldn't help but tease Dai Yuege when he didn't have a daughter. But now that he had a daughter, and she was so delicate and lovely, the marriage was naturally settled. At that time, Ye Tao's mind was filled with words like "lolita" and "raising." It was precisely because of this that the later unimaginable things like Ye Tao helping his fiancée change diapers happened. Unlike Dai Yuege's rough appearance and the Dai family's unreserved way of speaking, Dai Qiuyan, who was only seven years old, was a quiet little girl who was extremely patient. Dai Qiuyan, who often went to the Ye family's courtyard and Ye's workshop to play, would often sit quietly on the side, supporting her chin and watching when Ye Tao was busy with his work and couldn't get away. She often wouldn't move for an hour or two, and never complained. Ye Laogeng and his wife were very satisfied with such a daughter-in-law, although it would be at least seven or eight years before she could officially marry into the family. In Ye Tao's eyes, such a wife would probably not be "usable" for another ten years.

From Zhan Garden to Chun Nuan Residence, almost all the gardens designed by Ye Tao were built by Dai Yuege's construction team, as were the workshops of the Ye family's workshop. In order to ensure the quality and speed of construction, and to ensure that the final effect met the design requirements, Dai Yuege's construction team was armed to the teeth by Ye Tao with various new construction machines, making it possibly the most modern construction team of this era. And thanks to these novel designs, Dai Yuege was able to build courtyards and houses for others with unparalleled speed and quality. A few days ago, he even bought a piece of land himself, asked his son-in-law for a batch of design drawings, and built 12 small courtyards for sale, making more than twice the profit. This contractor was trending towards becoming a real estate developer.

Dai Yuege walked into the private room booked by Ye Tao and said dissatisfied, "Ye Tao, you haven't been fair these days."

Ye Tao asked strangely, "Ah? What did I do?"

"People say, 'Don't abandon your wife who shared your hardships.' You're chasing after that young lady from the capital, what about my daughter?" Dai Yuege wasn't angry, but more like he was joking. "At least, give my daughter an explanation. Qiuyan is still young. You've looked at her, played with her, and you can't just throw her aside."

Ye Tao quickly defended, "Uncle Dai, don't talk nonsense. What do you mean 'looked at her and played with her'? This would cause a big misunderstanding if it gets out. Besides, Miss Zhuo and I are just ordinary friends."

"Ordinary friends?" Dai Yuege snorted and said, "What did you say when I said the girl Yinru from Nongcui Tower was an ordinary friend? You said how could there be such a thing as ordinary friends between men and women? You even thought of making me kneel on a washboard."

So he wanted to get back at him for that... Ye Tao rolled his eyes and said weakly, "Uncle Dai, stop messing around, okay? I asked you here for serious business." As he said that, Ye Tao took out the rolled-up drawing in a bamboo tube and handed it to Dai Yuege.

As soon as Dai Yuege saw Ye Tao take out the drawing, he stopped interrupting. He unfolded the drawing and looked at it carefully, saying, "What is this for? A few buildings added together, it's quite a large area."

Ye Tao said, "This is a building to be built in the capital, to be used as the headquarters of the Xíngjūnqí business, that is, the flagship store after the Yìzhàn Tower."

The term "flagship store" came out of his mouth unintentionally when he was discussing matters related to taverns and inns with Du Fengchi. Yicheng was by the sea, and their relationship with the super sea merchant Qi Zhentao was good, so the meaning of "flagship" was clear. After careful consideration, they felt that the term "flagship store" made a lot of sense, and it became a conventional term for them. Dai Yuege heard Ye Tao say this and asked, "Are you really planning to go to the capital?"

"Go to the capital? It's not like I'm going to take an exam... It's just opening a store in the capital, what's there to be surprised about?"

Dai Yuege didn't respond, but continued to look at the drawing for a while before asking, "This is just a rough plan, right? Do you have detailed drawings?"

Ye Tao nodded and said, "Yes, I've already made a set of drawings. After looking at these drawings, Uncle Dai, can you build such a building?"

This was like when he built the workshops of the Ye family's workshop, Zhan Garden, and Chun Nuan Residence. Although it didn't seem like much at first glance, there were always many difficult constructions each time. The workshops of the Ye family's workshop exhausted him and turned his hair gray, but he also mastered many new construction methods from then on. Those interesting construction machines made his construction team invincible when undertaking general construction.

"No problem, it's not like I'm the only one who has to figure it out, you can't run away." Dai Yuege thought for a while and asked, "This piece of land isn't cheap, right? The land price in the capital is hard to say."

"What a coincidence, Miss Zhuo happens to have some influence in the capital. Not to mention the land, other aspects will also be paved the way for. Otherwise, Uncle Dai, what ability do you think I have to wade into the muddy waters of the capital?" Ye Tao said.

Dai Yuege put down the drawing and said, "If you just want to be content with small wealth, I believe Yijia and the Yìzhàn Tower would already be enough, right? There are so many rich merchants in Yicheng, and you are very popular. But if you really want to become one of the top wealthy families in Dongping, you really have to go to the capital and make a name for yourself. Those wealthy families have mostly developed over decades or even hundreds of years to get where they are today. They have real estate and shops, and even if they suffer temporary setbacks in the business world, they won't be too hurt because of their farms spread all over the country. There are also those who suddenly become rich in a few years, which depends on courage and vision." Dai Yuege spoke eloquently, with a hint of guiding the world.

"Uncle Dai? Did you specially put your mind into researching these wealthy families?" Ye Tao nodded secretly, but said with a slight teasing tone.

"Where did you hear that? Isn't doing business like this? You kid, maybe you can bring the Ye family to the realm of a wealthy family in your lifetime. In recent years, Uncle Dai has been a little short-sighted. I never thought that in just these few years, I, Dai Yuege, would become someone who does business by watching your face. Fate is really unpredictable."

Ye Tao was a little embarrassed by what Dai Yuege said, and quickly said, "Uncle Dai, isn't it too early to be sentimental? Expanding the business to the capital is not a joke. I'm thinking of quickly establishing a foothold in the capital. Building houses and houses there, I still have to rely on you, Uncle Dai, but once I go, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop for a year or two. I'm looking for Uncle Dai today, and Du Fengchi later, to organize the current business in Yicheng."

Before long, Ye Laogeng, Du Fengchi, and Ye Tao's senior brothers arrived one after another. The private room of Huan Chao Pavilion was a very suitable place to talk about things. It was located at the end of the port, facing the sea. The sea breeze was refreshing, and it didn't feel hot at all. After eating a little something, Ye Tao repeated his idea and plan to develop in the capital.

"Develop in the capital? Why? Isn't it good for us to be in Yicheng?" Ye Tao's third senior brother Zhao Dazhu was a little puzzled. In Yicheng, the Ye family was now going smoothly. His senior brothers all had independent courtyards in Qingquan Village, which were not comparable to Chun Nuan Residence, but the difference was limited. They were all created according to their own personalities and the temperaments and hobbies of their families. Zhao Dazhu was a relatively pure craftsman. He was already very satisfied with the current days of having a house, a wife, children, and a horse, and having money to drink when he was free.

Ye Tao thought for a while and said, "Let's not say anything else, let's just talk like our craftsmen. Brother Dazhu, you also know that for a carpenter, the only thing worth boasting about in his life is that others like and trust the work in his hands. How much can a carpenter, or any potter or blacksmith, make and sell in his lifetime? Building houses and gardens is no longer carpentry work. Let's just talk about carpentry work. How many sets of complete furniture can a carpenter make in his lifetime, even if his craftsmanship is high? 20 sets? 30 sets? Most of the time, they are still mending and doing odd jobs to make a living. But we rely on selling furniture to become wealthy households. Could everyone have imagined this at the beginning?"

Not only Zhao Dazhu, but everyone present shook their heads.

Ye Tao continued, "From the beginning of the Ye family's workshop to now, a total of nearly 400,000 pieces of various woodenware have been made. Excluding those made for the Yicheng garrison and navy, there are 260,000 pieces of furniture. Other small things such as Xíngjūnqí are not even counted. But how many households are there in Yicheng? 160,000 households. In fact, on average, every household has something made by us. In the first year, everyone was watching and didn't know if the things were good or not, so business was relatively quiet. But in the later years, business was quite good, right? However, things like furniture, sold to this point, are basically at the end. I have carefully looked at the accounts for the past half year, and the monthly turnover has increased by less than 10%. Moreover, judging from the destination of the things sold, at least 40% have flowed to other places, and even outside of Dongping. Excluding this part, the sales of Yijia are actually gradually declining. But, what is the price of our Yijia products sold in other places? A low table with a mirrored paint finish costs no less than 5 taels of gold. A gilded wardrobe—everyone knows that only the two doors are mirrored paint gilded, the sides and top are bright paint, and only clear varnish is applied to the back—20 taels of gold is still in short supply. The capital is this kind of price. The big head of the money earned from the hard-working things is taken by others. This is somewhat unwilling, right? Moreover, this also shows that the development of Yijia Home Furnishings has encountered a bottleneck. If we don't develop outward, but just guard the local market in Yicheng, how long can we do it? Furniture is not clothes, which will often break and be replaced. Even if all the furniture in every household is from Yijia in the future, so what?"

Seeing everyone's thoughtful expressions, Ye Tao paused and said, "Opening Yijia in the capital is just that the Ye family's workshop is also split into Yicheng and Beijing parts. The production capacity will be allocated separately. Basically, both sides can still be satisfied. After entering Beijing, the brand of Yijia Home Furnishings does not need to be too loud. We are already the largest production and sales organization of woodenware and furniture in Dongping. If we guarantee the quality, we don't worry about sales. In Beijing, as long as we can sell steadily and gradually build up our reputation. And going to Beijing, it seems that the more important thing is the business of Xíngjūnqí and Yìzhàn Tower."

Everyone had seen the architectural plan drawn by Ye Tao for the Yìzhàn Tower flagship store in Beijing. It was no longer a building but a complex of buildings. A three-story building for Xíngjūnqí ordinary rules, a three-piece chess set for the competition rules of the large-scale battle, and in the future, an area will be opened up for Huànlíngqí. A two-story building is used for chess competitions with the "Grand Strategy" rules that are gradually maturing. Another building is also two stories high, but it is just a soundproof game room and a column-free hall that can accommodate more than 600 people, which is very similar to the structure of a modern concert hall and theater, and is used for chess game explanations. The last building is exclusively assigned to the Yìzhàn Shop for selling Xíngjūnqí and other chess products and peripheral products. The space in the middle of the four buildings can accommodate rows of tables and chairs, and large cloth parasols can be set up to allow people to drink tea and chat.

This kind of majestic building complex is indeed extremely admirable, especially the chess game explanation hall. Not only will it set a series of records in the architectural history of this era and become a classic of its generation, but it may also be the first hall in this era to consider many acoustic principles. But everyone's concern is that it is a bit too much to build such a large-scale building complex for a low-priced Xíngjūnqí. Will it be possible to recover so much money that has been thrown in?

When everyone raised this question, Ye Tao smiled strangely and said, "How many people are there in Yicheng? How many people like to play chess? How many people have the Yìzhàn Tower received among them? How many people have spent money in the Yìzhàn Tower? Do you know in your hearts?"

At this point, Du Fengchi suddenly realized, "So your membership card system can be used for this purpose?"

Ye Tao nodded and said, "The population of Yicheng is less than one million, actually only 700,000. There are often several tens of thousands of various merchants and boat teams coming and going. But among these 700,000 permanent residents, the Yìzhàn Tower has 17,000 members, and 11,200 people have spent money in the Yìzhàn Tower. Among them, more than 9,000 people come often. This system is not perfect, maybe it's because there are not many benefits of registering as a member. There are also many other people who have come to buy things or rent chess pieces and chessboards. Moreover, the Yìzhàn Tower actually made more profit than Yijia Home Furnishings in the past few months."

Ye Tao's words stunned everyone. In this time and space, everyone does not yet have the concept of the gaming industry. There are hundreds of kinds of commodities involved in the Yìzhàn Tower and the Yìzhàn Shop, and there is a gradual expansion trend. Most of those who make these small things are apprentices and newly promoted workers in the Ye family's workshop. Ye Tao's senior brothers disdain to touch these things that are "not technically content." Moreover, the number of each type of goods is not very large. Except for chess pieces and chessboards, other things have to be remade after a long time, and everyone does not take it to heart. However, it is the various things in the Yìzhàn Shop that gather the small profits into a torrent, and it has actually become so powerful. Although the profit of each item sold is almost negligible compared to the furniture in Yijia Home Furnishings, especially the very high-end series of furniture, it cannot stop the large number. Moreover, the more you love Xíngjūnqí, the more attractive these peripheral things are. In the end, I can't wait to move the whole store back.

Ye Tao smiled and said, "Unexpectedly, right? Imagine, how many people are there in the capital? If you manage it well, how many people will spend money on it? You know, if you buy one or two things, you don't feel like you have spent much money at all. When a room is piled up and it looks wrong, you feel that you have spent too much money on it. Moreover, the things made by our Ye family's workshop are all of excellent quality, so you don't feel wronged when you spend such money, what do you think?"

Ye Tao's explanation gradually dispelled everyone's doubts. Everyone began to recognize that the Yìzhàn Tower really has a lot of development prospects. Land acquisition and building houses are not difficult problems for these people present, and because the land cost and construction cost are low, although the cost of building such a complex of buildings is still quite considerable, it is not the astronomical figure that Ye Tao came from. Everyone figured this out, and the discussion immediately became heated. In the end, it was decided to let Ye Laogeng and the eldest senior brother Guan Haishan, and the fourth senior brother Qian Shun continue to stay in Yicheng to manage the affairs of the Ye family's workshop, Yijia Home Furnishings, and the Yìzhàn Tower. The second senior brother Suo Yong and the third senior brother Zhao Dazhu will take a group of apprentices and some apprentices who are willing to go out and make a name for themselves to Beijing to establish branches of the workshop, Yijia Home Furnishings, and the Yìzhàn Tower. Originally, Du Fengchi was called here to ask Du Fengchi to give some help to so many people going to Beijing. After all, the Du family also has inns and hotels in Beijing, so they are more familiar with the people. But after listening to Ye Tao's words, Du Fengchi finally decided that he would open the flagship store of the Du family's restaurant and hotel opposite the Yìzhàn Tower flagship store!

Ye Tao remained silent and looked at Du Fengchi. Good guy, he really had courage. In this era, there are no hotels that can be called star-rated, so why not instigate the Du family to become a tycoon in this field? Thinking maliciously, Ye Tao made a decision.

=======

The update was a bit late today, but this chapter has the amount of two usual chapters, and there will be another chapter tonight.