From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 590: Chapter 592: Agreement Reached

Bai Jinglie understood the meaning behind Jin Qianqian’s words.

In the future, no matter who was in charge of this business, the Gu family could not be excluded.

"What about the previous five-year profit-sharing contract...?"

"That, of course, remains unchanged," Jin Qianqian said, smiling coldly at Bai Jinglie. "A one-hundred-thousand-tael share in exchange for so much talent... you’ve made out like a bandit, Prince Bai."

She knew that when it came to sea voyages, these people had more than enough experience and ability.

If she were more ruthless and simply took all these people with her, Bai Jinglie’s resulting losses would be incalculable.

Forget about training new staff. By the time he managed to recruit so many people again—never mind whether he’d even be able to command their respect—any mistake at sea would lead to catastrophic losses.

Bai Jinglie internally conceded defeat. He might have to deal with this couple again in the future, so he couldn’t afford to burn his bridges now.

The last time, he had thought the sea trade was fraught with risk. To save face, he had reluctantly invested one hundred thousand taels of silver, only to reap returns several times over.

When the second opportunity came around and he wanted to reinvest, they shut him out with a single phrase about "readjusting and reallocating shares."

Worse, he couldn’t even complain, as the lion’s share had already been sent to Shangjing. The whole affair still vexed him.

"Then we’ll do as Mrs. Gu says," Bai Jinglie said, pressing his hand on the stack of contracts. He had made his choice.

Jin Qianqian said, "That’s easily settled. I’ve already had the contracts drafted. Prince Bai, please take a look and see if any changes are needed. If so, I’ll have them rewritten."

Lidong had already placed the contracts before Bai Jinglie.

’She’s clearly come fully prepared, with everything arranged in advance.’

’So all that effort, all those plans he’d concocted before coming here... and he was still being led by the nose.’

Bai Jinglie rubbed his nose, resigned himself to his fate, and bowed his head to carefully examine the terms.

"I have no changes!" ’He had to admit, she had thought of everything. Even the terms they had just negotiated were already included.’

’He mocked himself inwardly once again. It seemed that in the future, when negotiating with this Mrs. Gu, he should just ask her to list her terms and agree right away. What was the point of running in circles, only to end up accepting her conditions? She was just toying with him.’

Jin Qianqian signed the contract and affixed her personal seal. As she was leaving, she added casually, "Don’t think these terms are too generous. If I were to manage it properly myself, the profits from just two years wouldn’t be any less than this..."

Any lingering displeasure in Bai Jinglie’s heart instantly turned to sympathy.

’If it were him, he’d feel short-changed even if he had demanded higher terms.’

’It was meant to be a long-term enterprise, but now she was forced to give it up due to various factors. By that calculation, Mrs. Gu was the one taking the major loss.’

The moment Jin Qianqian, the one supposedly taking a major loss, returned to the inner courtyard of the Gu Mansion, she let out a huge stretch.

"Finally! I can relax for a while. All the stress of the past few years nearly turned my hair white. Now, I’m just a major shareholder collecting dividends." If she didn’t have to maintain her image, Jin Qianqian would have let out a few triumphant shouts.

"Others might dream of wealth to rival a nation, but I’m not that foolish," Jin Qianqian declared to Ancient Wen Heng in a rush of words.

"It’s not like I have a death wish, trying to compete with the Emperor in wealth.

Our situation now is perfect. We can quietly build our fortune, live a good life, and not worry about money. That’s all we need. There’s no reason to challenge imperial power."

"My wife is truly one of the sanest people alive," Ancient Wen Heng said, handing her a cup of tea. "You’ve worked hard today, my dear. Have some water and rest."

Jin Qianqian took the cup and took a sip before saying, "Bai Jinglie was a perfectly fine Princely Heir to a Marquis, but these past few years, he’s started to reek of money.

He tried to haggle with me at first. He’s clearly getting the better deal, yet he still wanted to squeeze out more."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "He was probably just trying to secure some extra benefits for himself. After all, you were the one who refused to let him reinvest the year before last."

Jin Qianqian said, "You can’t really blame me for that. If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with the Emperor.

I’m just a bit regretful now. It took so much effort to cultivate all those capable people, and now I’ve just handed them all over to him for a bargain."

Ancient Wen Heng smiled at her. "Are you sure about that?"

Jin Qianqian shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I might have transferred a few of them away... but who ever feels they have enough good people?"

Since she had already decided to withdraw, it was impossible for her not to have made some preparations.

She had already found excuses to transfer her most capable lieutenants to various other posts last year.

Their replacements were competent, but they still fell short of the originals.

Still, she hadn’t truly swindled Bai Jinglie. The people she left behind were more than capable of managing things on their own. As long as he didn’t alienate them, the operation would run smoothly for at least the next decade.

As for what happened after that? Who knew. The human heart is the most difficult thing to control. She had trained the staff well; she couldn’t guarantee their loyalty to him for a lifetime.

"It’s just a shame. There was some very promising young talent among them.

When the time is right, I’ll have Minghai and the others reach out. Once their contracts are up, if any of them are interested, they can come work for us."

Seeing that she was already plotting to poach people years down the line, Ancient Wen Heng shook his head in amusement. "Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up with more people than you know what to do with?"

Jin Qianqian playfully pinched his arm, her tone filled with feigned disgust. "You haven’t been working out. Your muscles are getting soft. You can’t just sit around all day.

And as for having too many people? Are you kidding me?

In a few more years, our two little cubs will be ready to strike out on their own. We’ll need to give them some staff to manage, to let them cut their teeth."

Ancient Wen Heng rubbed the spot on his arm she had just pinched. It really didn’t feel as firm as it used to.

’Once I’m done with the work at hand, I need to get back to physical training,’ he thought. ’I want to have a long, happy life with my wife.’

"You spoil them too much, thinking so far ahead for them already."

Hearing his jealous tone, Jin Qianqian shot him a sidelong glance and retorted in an equally tart voice, "You don’t spoil them? Then who is it that has to go check on them every single night before bed?"

Ancient Wen Heng said, "...I’m just afraid they’ll kick their blankets off."

Seeing the knowing, half-amused look in his wife’s eyes, he knew it was a lame excuse.

’With so many nannies and maids looking after the two little cubs, how could they possibly get cold?’

"In any case, it’s far too early for you to be planning all this for them."

Seeing that Ancient Wen Heng was still trying to be stubborn, Jin Qianqian didn’t press the point. "Anyway, I’m free as a bird now. Just let me know if there’s anything you need help with. Make a list.

The sooner we finish up things here, the sooner we can go back.

I’m starting to miss our residence in Fu County and the Gu Mansion in Shangjing."

It wasn’t that she had no fondness for this place, but rather that she understood what had to be sacrificed.