PFC Chapter 24: They hired a whole cook.
Chapter 24: They hired a whole cook.
Li Xianda said proudly, "Of course, you don't even know who hired them. I didn't just hire one cook, I hired a full ten cooks."
There are chefs from all over the country; they can cook any dish you want. There's also one from the northern desert region whose barbecue is absolutely amazing—you must try it if you have the chance.
Zhou Hanzhang looked at Li Xianda and gave him a thumbs up, "My cousin's money is indeed impressive."
"Superpowers? What superpowers?"
Lee Hsien-ta looked bewildered. "When did I gain superpowers? How come I didn't even know it?"
Zhou Hanzhang looked at him and smiled, "It's all about the power of money."
What is banknote?
"It means a banknote."
Li Xianda came to his senses and laughed, "Your statement is quite novel; it's the first time I've heard it. However, it's not wrong. Money can indeed solve many problems. If it can't, then it's because we haven't spent enough money."
Zhou Hanzhang gave a thumbs up again, "My cousin is right."
However, Li Xianda sighed again, "It's a pity that none of our relatives are officials. You are the only one who is somewhat connected to the royal family, but your title of Little Prince is not very useful."
"Is my cousin looking down on me?"
Li Xianda quickly jumped up, "Don't talk nonsense. You are the apple of our eye in the family. Who would dare to look down on you? I'm the one who looks down on myself. I can't make you a prince with real power."
As he spoke, he suddenly became somewhat depressed, "I still need to work hard to earn some money so that I can buy an official position for my family later."
“Actually, there’s no need for that,” Zhou Hanzhang said after thinking for a moment.
"How is it unnecessary? Everyone knows that it's easier to get things done if you have connections in the court. Although we have enough money now, there are also many corrupt officials. Many small matters can be resolved with just a word, but they insist that we send thousands or tens of thousands of taels."
Li Xianda sighed.
Zhou Hanzhang was shocked. This wouldn't do. Wouldn't that be bribery?
Being caught accepting a huge bribe can lead to the confiscation of one's property and the extermination of one's entire family—a truly disastrous situation.
Those corrupt officials are always hungry, like bottomless pits. Even if they have a fortune, it's not enough to fill their stomachs.
She asked cautiously, "Have you kept any evidence of the money spent at home?"
Seeing that she wasn't stupid, Li Xianda said directly, "Of course we have kept them safe, and we've traded with many different forces, so we've kept all the evidence."
"As long as they don't have any bad intentions towards our Li family, there's a high chance that nothing will happen. Besides, it's just a small amount of money for our family, so it won't be a problem."
Zhou Hanzhang was deeply shocked; bribing multiple powerful figures in the court was no easy feat.
How much wealth does the Li family actually have?
How could my cousin say something so shocking in such a calm tone?
Even though my family is already very wealthy, we can't do as extravagantly as my cousin described.
"Cousin, just how much wealth does our family have?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Li Xianda shook his head. "I don't know either, and I haven't had anyone take stock of it. But my family has bought quite a few estates specifically for storing gold, and we also have a lot of silver in different banks."
He looked at Zhou Hanzhang and asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about this, cousin? Are you short of money?"
Before she could react, he quickly pulled out a stack of silver notes from his pocket and stuffed them into Zhou Hanzhang's hand.
"I didn't bring much with me today. You can take these as pocket money. See how much more you need, and I'll go back and get it."
Zhou Hanzhang looked at the stack of silver notes in his hand, took one out and looked at it, and his face twitched instantly.
"One hundred taels?" Her hands were trembling.
This was the largest denomination silver note at that time. According to the current calculation, one tael of silver is approximately equivalent to five thousand yuan in modern terms, so this hundred-tael silver note would be worth five hundred thousand yuan.
As a rich girl, she felt incredibly ignorant for the first time.
The stack of silver notes in his hand must have been at least several dozen, which is equivalent to several hundred thousand.
Wouldn't that mean I have tens of millions in my hands?
Good heavens, whose kid carries around over ten million yuan all the time?
This is unlike modern cards, which can only be used by the person holding them.
These are ancient banknotes; if you lose them and someone picks them up, you'll have nothing left.
What did Li Xianda just say?
I didn't bring much with me today, so I'm just using this as pocket money?
Who gives someone over ten million in pocket money for no reason? Even my own wealthy father has never given me ten million at once, and even said I could go back and get more if it wasn't enough.
She was so shocked she didn't know what to say.
Looking at her expression, Li Xianda assumed that she felt she hadn't given enough.
"It's okay, if you're in a hurry, I'll go back and get it now."
"No...no..." Zhou Hanzhang's breathing was a little unsteady.
She took a deep breath, composed herself, and then laboriously handed the silver notes back to Li Xianda.
"Cousin, how can I take so much money from you so casually? Please take it back."
Li Xianda didn't care about the money at all and pushed it away, saying, "Take it if you want. What's wrong with you lately? Why are you being so polite to me?"
"Besides, you usually just ask me for money when you don't have any. Why are you making excuses now that I'm giving it to you?"
Zhou Hanzhang recalled it and found that it was indeed the case.
I've liked this cousin since I was little, and he dotes on me. He always thinks of me first when there's something good, and he even gives me pocket money from time to time.
She looked at the silver notes in her hand, thought for a moment, and finally put them away.
"Thank you, cousin, but I wasn't asking about the family's situation because I was short of money; I was just asking casually."
"I don't know exactly how much wealth we have, but if nothing major happens, this amount of money should be enough for us to live on for several generations, right?"
Li Xianda was indeed not very clear about it.
However, using it for several generations is probably a conservative estimate.
"By the way, did you know? Many businesses in the capital belong to our family," he said secretly.
???
Zhou Hanzhang was practically utterly bewildered.
"Didn't Jiang Yichen just say he was going to host a banquet for you at Zuixianlou? Actually, that's our family's property, but my grandfather didn't want it to attract too much attention, so nobody outside knows it's ours."
"No, but how come I didn't know about this..." Zhou Hanzhang was completely stunned.
She knew the Drunken Immortal Pavilion well; it was said to be a place where money could be made in a day. Now it was practically hers.
"I didn't know at first. I discovered that the manager of Zuixianlou often came to see my grandfather secretly. One day I overheard them talking about Zuixianlou's accounts, and that's when I realized that this was our own family business."
Li Xianda continued with another startling statement, "Actually, it's not just Zuixianlou..."
Zhou Hanzhang directly raised his hand to stop him from continuing, saying, "I don't want to know anything else."
Li Xianda asked in bewilderment, "Why don't you want to know? Grandfather said these things were left to you and me. Aren't you afraid I'll swallow your share if you don't know?"