Prefect He received the Imperial Prince's edict and was puzzled for a long time.
During the New Year, the edict arrived so suddenly, and it was a law for protecting desert agriculture. Could desert agriculture be feasible? If it were, he wouldn't have been a poor prefect in the border province for over a decade.
He was from a poor farming family, with no background or support in the capital. The reason he became the prefect of this border province was simply because it was too poor, and no one else was willing to come. The Emperor had sent him to take charge, and if this place were even slightly prosperous, he wouldn't have had the slightest chance.
While others went to gnaw on prime cuts, he was thrown a few hard bones with no meat at all.
He had long since come to terms with it. Being a border province prefect was the end of his career. Faced with the naturally harsh environment and uncontrollable droughts, he was utterly helpless.
He might as well just muddle along; there was nothing wrong with being a salted fish.
However, what made Prefect He slightly uncomfortable was that the unlucky Imperial Prince, like him, wanted to turn the desert into an oasis. For his impractical dream, he was here to bother them, the salted fish, which was rather tiring.
The Imperial Prince was still young. Banished to this impoverished backwater by his own father, the Emperor, he was undoubtedly resentful. Therefore, relying solely on youthful passion, he wanted to achieve something. He could understand this. There was no hurry. He would wait until the Imperial Prince was tired of his endeavors and disheartened, then he would drop this drive and become a salted fish with him.
With the Emperor's son accompanying him as a salted fish, Prefect He was not lonely.
However, despite saying this, he still didn't dare to openly defy the Imperial Prince's order. Therefore, he dispatched his subordinates to immediately print and distribute the Imperial Prince's agricultural law announcements in all counties.
Before the Lantern Festival, the announcements were basically posted in every village in the border province.
On the Lantern Festival, A-Bian reported the situation of each county to the Imperial Prince. The Imperial Prince was slightly satisfied. Although Prefect He was quite a salted fish, he also knew when to advance and retreat. He might interact with him more in the future. If he could be won over, it wouldn't be too bad.
As he was contemplating, A-Qiu walked in, "Master, Xiao Bai has something to discuss with you and wants you to go to the front yard."
At this moment, in front of the courtyard, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye were sitting under a newly built bamboo pavilion, drinking flower tea, chatting and laughing.
Yesterday, after hearing A-Qiu mention that the Imperial Prince would leave Red Tree Slope after the Lantern Festival, Bai Sheng thought about discussing the matter of cooperating with the Imperial Prince to make money as soon as possible.
The Imperial Prince walked out of the main door and saw Bai Sheng and Lu Ye sitting together, looking quite leisurely and comfortable. He paused slightly and then strode over.
Whether he was disturbing their marital bliss, the Imperial Prince never cared. If he were truly disturbing them, he would be overjoyed. Making the vinegar jar, surnamed Lu, angry was what he was most willing to do.
Therefore, in front of Bai Sheng and Lu Ye, the Imperial Prince was always extremely tactless.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye stood up and bowed slightly, smiling, "Imperial Prince, please sit."
"Darkie, you're looking for me?" The Imperial Prince liked to refer to himself as "I" in front of Bai Sheng. He rarely used "This Prince" unless he was extremely angered by Darkie.
Bai Sheng said, "Indeed, there are some important matters I wish to discuss with the Imperial Prince."
"Speak," the Imperial Prince sat down lazily and gestured. A-Qiu and A-Bian stood behind him as if they knew what to do.
Bai Sheng looked at the Imperial Prince with a steady gaze, "This commoner knows that the Imperial Prince is not short of money, but developing the desert and providing relief to the people requires a considerable sum of money. I wonder if the Imperial Prince is interested in making money?"
The Imperial Prince stopped turning his teacup and looked intently at Bai Sheng, "What? Darkie, are you going to pull me into making money together?"
Under the Imperial Prince's gaze, Lu Ye, with a mischievous hand, placed his arm around Bai Sheng's waist.
The Imperial Prince gave him a subtle glare.
Bai Sheng immediately nodded and smiled, "I dare not say 'pull you in,' I just want to make money with the Imperial Prince. You know, our border province is inherently barren, and even when doing business, we only earn money from ordinary people. In our Great Xia Kingdom, the places with the most wealthy people are in the capital. If we earn the money of the wealthy people in the capital and use it for the construction of our border province, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Earning money from those scoundrels in the capital, the Imperial Prince was naturally willing. He wished he could take all their money, leaving them unable to even buy underpants. However, to open up the market in the capital, ordinary goods would not suffice.
"I am naturally very happy to cooperate with Darkie in making money," the Imperial Prince said, glancing at Lu Ye, "However, although there are many wealthy people in the capital, if you want to earn their money, unless it is extremely high-quality goods, ordinary items will not catch their eye. Those pigs are too extravagant!"
"It's good that they are extravagant; I'm afraid they won't be," Bai Sheng chuckled, "We will provide all the goods, and finding shops, managers, and shop assistants in the capital will be the Imperial Prince's responsibility. After all, the Imperial Prince grew up in the capital and is more familiar with the environment. Moreover, you should have some trustworthy people. For all the profits, we will keep it simple, five-five split, how about it?"
Many good things in Bai Sheng's space could not be openly sold in the border province. If they were taken to the capital, with the Emperor far away, no one would suspect where those things came from.
The Imperial Prince smiled, "If I only need to prepare these things, wouldn't I be taking too much advantage?"
Bai Sheng said, "Our family and the Imperial Prince are friends. It doesn't matter whether we take advantage or not. Moreover, with the Imperial Prince's people providing protection in the capital, our actions will be much safer and more convenient. In fact, we are also taking considerable advantage."
"Alright, then it's settled. Although I cannot freely return to the capital, it does not mean that my people cannot. These matters are not difficult at all. However, Darkie, can you tell me what specific goods your business will sell?"
Bai Sheng took a sip of tea, glanced at Lu Ye, and said, "One is a fruit shop, catering to the high-end market. The shop should preferably be located in areas where wealthy people are concentrated. As for the staff, we need one manager, two waiters, and one person to organize the goods. The wages should be 10 wen more than the capital's prices; another—"
"Wait a moment, A-Qiu, get paper and pen to take notes," the Imperial Prince commanded.
A-Qiu heard the order and quickly returned to the room to fetch paper and pen.
Bai Sheng continued, "For the other business, we will open a grain store, also catering to the high-end market. The location needs to be large, preferably with a storefront in the front and a large warehouse in the back. We will still assign one manager, two waiters, and two warehouse keepers. The wages will be the same as the fruit shop."
"Anything else?" the Imperial Prince asked. To do business, one must expand comprehensively. To say that the Imperial Prince's manor was not short of money would be impossible. Only with money, a lot of money, could the desert transformation be carried out; otherwise, everything would be talk. Bai Sheng's cooperation with him was equivalent to sending charcoal in the snow.
Bai Sheng smiled, "Let's do these two first. There are several other businesses related to women. We will start after I 'unload.'"
"Unload?" the Imperial Prince raised an eyebrow.
Bai Sheng laughed heartily and pointed to his belly, "Give birth to a baby."
The Imperial Prince instantly understood and gave Lu Ye another sharp look. This "little white face" had no other skills, but he was a true stud horse, very adept at getting people pregnant.