Chapter 779: Road to Wealth Through Road Construction

Editor: Henyee Translations

Chu Qingzhi quickly said, “I won’t think it’s too little, but if your family really needs the money, don’t donate. Keep it for your own use.”

“Miss, rest assured, this is just surplus money from our household. It won’t affect anything.”

Chu Qingzhi said, “Then please tell me your names. I’ll also write them on a small plaque so that everyone knows.”

“There’s no need for that. We didn’t donate much.”

“It’s necessary. As long as you’ve donated, your name should be written.”

“Alright then.”

The donations from the villagers were quite substantial, with contributions of one hundred taels, ninety taels, eighty taels, ninety taels…

As Chu Qingzhi made the records, she thought to herself that every era has its patriots and people who love their community. This is great!

When the county magistrate heard that the villagers were donating money, his admiration for Chu Qingzhi knew no bounds. In his heart, getting a single coin from the villagers was harder than reaching the sky, yet now they were willingly offering their money!

After a day of fundraising, more than two hundred people donated, gathering over ten million taels of silver.

The county magistrate was incredulous, “Miss Qingzhi, I have the utmost respect for you. It’s unbelievable.”

“It’s nothing. You flatter me, Magistrate,” said Chu Qingzhi modestly, then got straight to the point.

“We’ll start construction tomorrow, and I’ll personally manage the accounts.” Chu Qingzhi knew that people trusted her, which is why they were willing to donate so much. If there were any discrepancies in the accounts, it would be hard to rebuild trust later. Moreover, managing this project well would greatly benefit Chu’s Trade.

“That sounds great,” agreed the county magistrate, wholeheartedly. With such a large sum of money, entrusting anyone could lead to problems, but Chu Qingzhi was the most reliable.

Under Chu Rong’s arrangement, the main roads in all four directions from Chu Village had begun construction.

The road towards Tongzi County had the most workers. That was the road that had trapped the horse in mud, which became extremely muddy on rainy days. Chu Shi’an also came to help. Chu Rong arranged a relatively easy position for him with comparatively higher pay, taking care of his childhood friend.

Chu Shi’an was immensely grateful to Chu Rong. Without the help of Chu Rong’s family, his and Chu Lan’er’s life would have been much harder.

“Chu Rong, is this road being repaired all the way to Tongzi County?” Chu Rong nodded, “Yes. We sell a lot of goods to Tongzi County. Once the road is fixed, it will be much more convenient to transport goods, even at night.” Chu Shi’an thought about it and agreed. He pulled Chu Rong aside and whispered, “I saw someone from the quarry talking secretly with Chu Mingyuan just now. Be careful.”

Chu Mingyuan was the village chief’s son.

Chu Rong became secretly vigilant, “I understand.”

Before long, Chu Qingzhi came over, “Dad.”

Chu Rong went up to Chu Qingzhi, asking with concern, “How’s the fundraising going? How did it turn out?”

Chu Qingzhi replied, “It went smoothly. Everyone supports the road construction.”

“That’s good,” said Chu Rong. “You’ve been working hard all day. Go rest. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Alright.” Chu Qingzhi checked the other three directions before heading home.

In the workshop area.

Hong Yujun prepared a cup of red wine and a cup of yellow wine, placing them on the table, “Qingzhi, try these.”

Chu Qingzhi sat down, picked up the grape wine, and noticed its deep ruby color. It had a rich fruity and alcoholic fragrance. After taking a small sip, she found it slightly sweet, with a smooth and elegant taste, truly top-notch.

Hong Yujun watched Chu Qingzhi nervously, “Qingzhi, how is it?”

She hadn’t tasted grape wine before and didn’t know what good grape wine should taste like.

Chu Qingzhi reassured her by patting her shoulder, “It’s excellent. I haven’t had tribute grape wine, but I imagine it would be similar.”

Receiving such high praise, Hong Yujun was thrilled, “Then it seems I’ve succeeded.”

Chu Qingzhi sincerely said, “It’s truly exceptional.”

Feeling relieved, Hong Yujun’s face lit up with a smile, “I’ve been worried about failing. Now, I can finally sleep well.”

Chu Qingzhi expressed concern, “It’s getting late. Have dinner and rest early.”

Hong Yujun nodded, “Mhm.”

Grape wine was highly sought after in Dalin, yet impossible to buy. Now that Hong Yujun had brewed over five hundred kilos, it was a significant fortune.

Chu Qingzhi wrote a letter to Zhou Xiangfu, inquiring if he wanted the grape wine. Selling it herself would require finding buyers, but handing it over to Zhou Xiangfu would settle everything in one go.

She only wanted to earn the amount she aimed for. How much Zhou Xiangfu sold it for was his business, not hers.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiangfu came in person after receiving the letter.

Grape wine was invaluable, and he was eager to see the quality. If it was good, he planned not only to buy it all at once but also to seek long-term cooperation.

“Miss Qingzhi, how much do you plan to sell it for per kilo?”

“Ten taels per kilo.” The cost of making grape wine was only about one tael of silver. Selling it for ten taels meant making a substantial profit.

“Deal!”

Chu Qingzhi casually mentioned, “Old Master Zhou, we’ll also be brewing medicinal wines and fruit wines in the future. You might want to take a look then.”

Zhou Xiangfu assured, “Don’t worry, Miss Chu. Everything from your family is of high quality. If you brew it, I’ll definitely support it first.”

Chu Qingzhi thanked him politely, “Thank you, Old Master Zhou.”

From brewing to selling the grape wine, it only took three days. Apart from the five kilo Chu Qingzhi kept for herself, everything was sold, totaling five thousand five hundred taels.

Chu Qingzhi gave Hong Yujun a bonus of five hundred taels just from the grape wine sales.

Hong Yujun was quite happy and started preparing tools to brew bayberry, Chinese date, pear, and cherry wines. With experience, this time she did everything at once to save time.

Her apprentices, Lin Wanning and SiYuheng, who initially helped Hong Yujun, became interested in winemaking and officially became her disciples.

However, there was too much to do this time, so Chu Qingzhi also came to help occasionally.

In the evening.

Thirty-five parrots lined up in order from “one” to “thirty-five” on a long perch, gazing eagerly at Chu Qingzhi.

Chu Qingzhi called roll, “Number one.”

Shuang’er responded, “Present!”

“Number two.”

“Present!”

“Number three.”

“Present!”

II II

“Number thirty-five.”

“Alright.”

Chu Qingzhi was satisfied with the training results. She looked at Shuang’er and asked, “Who did you follow today? What did they do?”

“Chu Junbao. Ate breakfast, moved stones, ate lunch, moved stones, and went home.”

Chu Qingzhi, “…”

Shuang’er was definitely slacking!

She asked number two, “Who did you follow today?”

“Chu Rong. Meeting people, repairing roads, counting money,…”

The more Chu Qingzhi listened, the more satisfied she became. Number two parrot roughly narrated Chu Rong’s entire day’s schedule, “Very good, I’ll reward you with three small caterpillars later.”

Number two parrot cheered, “Great, great…”