266: Chapter 266 Planning

The journey back passed very quickly.

For several consecutive days, aside from basic physiological needs, Pei Qingyun stayed inside the carriage.

This allowed him to arrive at Wuyang County a day earlier than expected.

"We have arrived in Wuyang." Pei Qingyun poked his head out, looking at the familiar city before him, his mood exceptionally relaxed.

Although it was midday, the commoners at the main gate were still lined up neatly like a long dragon.

Over the past few years, under the vigorous expansion of the Pei Clan, Wuyang City had developed rapidly.

Among the various towns of Wuyang County, any wealthy merchants and Great Families with a certain level of ambition were moving to Wuyang City.

However, this kind of migration would eventually reach its limit.

The population of a county is fixed; after multiple waves of migration, the population of Wuyang City had expanded again and again.

Those in the various towns who had the ability and chose to move here had already arrived six months ago, accounting for ninety percent. The remainder basically lacked the ability to survive in Wuyang City, or were unwilling to leave their ancestral lands.

Nowadays, the reason Wuyang City could still maintain such a high volume of population flow was entirely due to people from outside counties.

Ever since the success of the Yuanhong Trading Market, merchants and Great Families from all over Jinhuai Prefecture were like fish that had caught the scent of blood.

It was precisely this point that created the current grand occasion, and this was merely a side effect.

Compared to before Pei Qingyun left, the total transaction volume of Wuyang City had increased by nearly twenty percent. Twenty percent might not seem like much, but in reality, it was an extremely terrifying figure.

Take the current Jinhuai Prefecture city, for example; its annual total transaction volume was only four or five times that of Wuyang City.

If Wuyang City were to catch up with an annual growth rate of twenty percent, according to theoretical calculations, in at most ten years, Wuyang City's total economic volume could surpass that of the Jinhuai Prefecture city.

Of course, most of this twenty percent growth was brought about by the Yuanhong Trading Market.

Even so, the changes this brought to Wuyang City were significant.

In fact, he had long since learned about the changes in the Yuanhong Trading Market and Wuyang City through letters from the Family.

It was just that it wasn't seeing it with his own eyes, so it lacked that little something.

After taking a few more looks, Pei Qingyun withdrew his gaze. "Let's enter the city."

Very quickly, Pei Qingyun entered the city by carriage.

Upon returning to the Pei Clan Estate, Pei Qingyun went straight to the Ancestral House.

However, he was still noticed by quite a few passing clansmen.

In less than a moment, the news of his return spread throughout the entire Pei Clan Estate.

The moment he learned that Pei Qingyun had returned, Pei Tianrong came to the Ancestral House to pay a visit.

"Old Ancestor, you have returned." Pei Tianrong bowed respectfully.

Pei Qingyun waved his hand, signaling for Pei Tianrong to rise. "During the two-plus months I was away, did the Family encounter any difficulties that could not be resolved?"

"No, everything went very smoothly. Over these two months, the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market has completely stabilized. This is the operating situation for the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market for these two months." As he spoke, Pei Tianrong handed the ledger in his hand to Pei Qingyun.

Pei Qingyun did not flip through it, but instead placed it on the tea table. "I won't look at the accounts. You can just give me a rough verbal summary."

Pei Tianrong spoke without much thought, "In these two months, the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market leased and sold two hundred and eighty-three shops, totaling two hundred and thirty-eight thousand five hundred taels. As of now, all shops in the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market have been leased or sold out."

Clearly, he had put effort into the accounts.

Listening to Pei Tianrong's account, Pei Qingyun nodded with satisfaction. "It went even more smoothly than I expected. You have worked hard during this period."

Pei Tianrong said solemnly, "Thank you for your concern, Old Ancestor. Everything Tianrong has done is merely within the scope of my duties. If not for the Old Ancestor's wise leadership, there would be no Yuanhong Trading Market today. These past two-plus months, you have been traveling to other prefectures for the sake of the Family; that is truly hard work. Everything Tianrong has done is truly insignificant."

In Pei Qingyun's view, Pei Tianrong was a great hand at managing internal affairs, but he was just too boring in front of him, always keeping a stiff face.

This made him somewhat helpless as he said, "Alright, stop with the flattery. Since all the shops in the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market have been leased and sold out, the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market needs to be put on the agenda. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

After a brief moment of thought, Pei Tianrong slowly said, "Based on the leasing and sales situation of the first phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market, I believe the scale of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market should be expanded by another thirty percent. In addition, the total proportion of large shops in the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market should be adjusted to ten percent. As for the timing, as you mentioned in your last reply letter, the start of construction can be advanced to early next year at the earliest."

"Is there anything else to add?" Pei Qingyun asked again.

"No." Pei Tianrong shook his head, looking puzzled.

"The idea of expanding the scale of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market is not problematic in itself. I considered this issue before returning, and the fact that you could think of this point shows you have used your brain. However, there is one point you did not make clear. If the scale is expanded, then the designated area for the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market can only continue to expand north and east, which is close to the Hengduan Mountain Range."

"To expand the scale, naturally, one must clear out the Vicious Beasts near the Hengduan Mountain Range, which will increase the construction difficulty of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market by more than fifty percent. Additionally, to ensure safety during the construction of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market, the number of guards must also be increased by half. Calculating everything together, the cost of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market will be at least eighty percent higher than the first phase." Pei Qingyun explained.

Hearing this, Pei Tianrong suddenly realized, and his expression turned solemn again.

He indeed had not considered this point.

Expanding the scale by thirty percent, yet the cost would increase by eighty percent.

No matter how you look at it, it was not a cost-effective deal.

"The Old Ancestor has a Wisdom Eye; this point was not considered thoroughly by Tianrong. According to your view, we shall execute it according to the original plan." Pei Tianrong said.

Pei Qingyun shook his head and said, "No, no, no! I am saying this not to oppose your expansion of the scale of the second phase of the Yuanhong Trading Market. If the Yuanhong Trading Market is to become big, it will sooner or later have to expand to the periphery of the Hengduan Mountain Range. Expanding later is not as good as expanding early."

Pei Tianrong answered truthfully, "But if that is the case, starting construction early next year would put too much pressure on capital, unless we divert funds from other industries to rotate."

Although the Pei Clan has an annual income of over one million, the places where money is spent are equally astonishing.

Aside from the most basic monthly stipends for clansmen, there were the low-grade medicinal herbs he purchased in Longnan Prefecture, the expansion of the medicinal herb garden scale, or the expansion of ranch breeding, and many other such things.

After all, the strength of a Family is not just the cultivation and number of its clansmen; the aspects involved are even more numerous.

It is just like fighting a war; it is not enough to just have weapons; one also needs logistics. Sometimes the number of people in logistics is even greater than the number of people fighting.

Similarly, the path of expansion for the Pei Clan is the same.

From ordinary clansmen to the top brass in the Five Viscera Realm, everything is linked layer by layer; missing even one link will not work.

In short, all these aspects require money.

Even if we can't advance in lockstep, we cannot let the gap be too wide.