"Young master, people from the Chen family have arrived. They insist on seeing you. What do you think..."
In Mingzhou City, despite knowing that Pu Jinshan's mood was extremely agitated, Pu Kaishan had no choice but to brace himself and enter his study.
"Is there anything you can't handle yourself? Do you think I'm not disgraced enough already?"
Being paraded through the streets in shackles for three days had a significant impact on Pu Jinshan's state of mind.
Even though he had been out of the yamen for several days, he still hadn't stepped out of his study even once.
"Young master, the costs for the new ships the Chen family built need to be settled, but..."
"But what? Does our Pu family lack that little bit of money?"
Before Pu Kaishan could finish speaking, Pu Jinshan couldn't help but scold.
"We just received news from the head of the family that the copper coins Cai family is settling with us this year might be delayed by three months. The money we have on hand..."
"What did you say? Delayed by three months?"
Upon hearing Pu Kaishan's words, Pu Jinshan couldn't help but tremble all over.
He had told his father about this many times before. The Pu family had very little liquid cash on hand, and any significant mistake could easily lead to big problems.
However, Pu Haida had never listened to him until now.
Moreover, over the years, the Pu family had indeed expanded rapidly according to Pu Haida's plan, and their influence and voice among the eight great families had grown.
The sudden emergence of such a situation truly sent a cold sweat down his spine.
"The head of the family is already looking for someone to negotiate with the Cai family, but it doesn't look like there will be any results in a short time. I fear there's someone pulling strings behind this matter..."
"Could it be that person surnamed Han again?"
Upon hearing Pu Kaishan's words, Pu Jinshan instinctively thought of Han Mo.
"It can't be that serious, can it? We don't have any mortal enmity with him. For such a small matter, would he be willing to fight us to the death? Besides, can this kid really influence the Cai family's opinion?"
As soon as Pu Jinshan finished speaking, Pu Kaishan directly dismissed his idea.
Even if Han Mo had some ability, he was still far from being able to influence the Cai family.
Even though Cai Jing had retired, he was still the former prime minister. Even if the Cai faction had fallen apart, the roots of the Cai family were still intact.
If something were to happen to the Cai family, even Cai You, who was at odds with his father, would not stand by and do nothing. How could Han Mo, a mere seventh-rank official, possibly move the Cai family?
"How much cash do we have on hand now?"
Facing family crisis, no matter how uncomfortable he felt, Pu Jinshan had to pull himself together and deal with it.
"We have about less than 300,000 guan in copper coins. As for other miscellaneous gold and silver items, I've estimated that if they were all converted, it would be around 300,000 to 400,000 guan!"
Seeing that Pu Jinshan had finally perked up, Pu Kaishan quickly replied.
"Then how much copper coin do we need to pay the Chen family?"
"They delivered a total of 6 ships this year, and the total cost is about 300,000 guan. Plus the cost of repairing our ships in their dock this year, it's about seventy to eighty thousand guan..."
"So, it seems we have enough copper coin on hand..."
"This calculation isn't right. We're not afraid of the Chen family alone, but the problem is that in at most 7 days, we also have to settle accounts with the Qian family, Wang family, and Zhang family..."
After hearing Pu Kaishan's words, Pu Jinshan finally understood the predicament they were about to face.
"Then what if we mortgage all our current assets?"
After hesitating for a moment, Pu Jinshan asked again.
"Young master, I think you should go back to Quanzhou City at this time. If we really mortgage all our assets, what will we do in three months if the Cai family postpones again..."
Although saying this at this time was a bit demoralizing, Pu Kaishan still lowered his voice and said.
"You mean, the Cai family wants us to..."
Pu Jinshan dared not continue when he reached this point.
"Although I have no evidence, I feel that this matter is a bit unusual!"
"Prepare a carriage for me now. I'm leaving tonight!"
"What about the Chen family..."
"Tell them I can pay them all their money now, but from now on, they won't get a single cent of business from my Pu family!"
"Yes!"
Although this was not a good solution, Pu Kaishan himself understood that to last longer, they had to keep more copper coins in their hands.
Otherwise, these three months would not be easy to endure.
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"Young master, Pu Jinshan's carriage is heading towards Quanzhou!"
As soon as Pu Jinshan left Mingzhou City, Han Mo received the news.
"It seems they have finally realized the crisis, but the situation is already set. What can they do now? Since he dares to leave Mingzhou City at this time, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Young master, what should we do next..."
"Go to the military camp now and borrow a set of movable type from General Wang. Make a thousand copies of the contents on this list, and scatter them all out tonight under the cover of darkness!"
"What about Quanzhou..."
"Mingzhou City is a mixed bag. Once the news spreads here, do we still need to go to Quanzhou for those matters?"
"Yes! Young master is brilliant!"
"Alright, stop flattering me and get to work! After these matters are settled, I can also set up a business for each of the brothers in Mingzhou City. Go back and ask them if anyone is willing to stay in Mingzhou City and report their names to me."
Although the territory of Mingzhou was indeed good, people are different. Whether it was dietary habits or other things, these northwest men were more or less unaccustomed to Mingzhou City.
Han Mo did not force them in this regard.
Zhe Ke Cun was accustomed to training those without family or kin as death warriors, but Han Mo preferred to leave a root for each of them. After all, as the sages said, those without a permanent livelihood have no permanent aspirations.