Zhao Hu snorted coldly. Zhao Hanzhang had legally set the maximum interest rate for private lending—how high could it be?

Although Zhao Hu was unscrupulous, at this moment he didn’t dare violate her laws, especially in her presence.

So he only asked, “How long are you borrowing for?”

Zhao Hanzhang: “One year. This time next year, I’ll return principal and interest in full.”

Zhao Hu mentally calculated how much he could collect by lending her money at the maximum rate. After a moment, he nodded. “All right, I’ll lend it to you.”

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s mood greatly improve, Zhao Hu coughed lightly and also leaned toward her, saying, “I heard from someone that next year’s labor conscription will be reduced, but the Central Secretariat has assigned quite a few road and waterworks projects to the Department of State Affairs. Will the court pay for this?”

Zhao Hanzhang looked half-amused. “Seventh Great-Uncle is very well-informed.”

Zhao Hu said, “This news isn’t only known to me. Many people already have it figured out.”

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes to conceal her thoughts. Reducing labor conscription wasn’t a secret—she had announced it publicly to let local officials give the people a rest.

But the Central Secretariat’s preliminary plans for mandatory road and waterworks projects had just taken shape and hadn’t yet been reviewed and approved by the Chancellery.

Zhao Hanzhang decided to hand this matter to Yuan Li for covert investigation. She knew that stopping all leaks of political information was impossible, especially this type of information they considered harmless to national security but potentially profitable—people couldn’t help sharing it with close associates.

But this was just the beginning. If not curbed now, once the practice became established, it would be even harder to stop later.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t ask Zhao Hu where he learned this. He probably wouldn’t say anyway. She lifted her eyes, which were now clear again. “What is Seventh Great-Uncle thinking?”

Zhao Hu said, “After New Year, I want to organize a work crew. I’ve already thought of the name—Zhao Family Work Crew. They’ll take jobs building houses for civilians and also work on road-digging and channel-excavation projects for the court. Give me a section of the road construction around Luoyang.”

Zhao Hanzhang: “Where will you get the manpower?”

“I have it! Aren’t those people who’ve been building houses for me just that?”

Zhao Hanzhang: “Didn’t they get land allotments? Won’t they go home to farm?”

“Is your court specifically scheduling road work during farming season?” Zhao Hu said, “I’ve already made arrangements with them. They’ll come out to work during the agricultural off-season. As long as one person from a village is in my crew, they can bring out all the able-bodied men from that village. So rest assured, there’ll be plenty of manpower.”

Zhao Hanzhang believed this. Working for wages—one person brings the family, one family brings the village. Wasn’t this just the social networking of Chinese villages?

“Your work crew relies entirely on temporary workers?”

“Not just that. I also have servants and tenant farmers.”

Speaking of this, Zhao Hanzhang perked up and said to Zhao Hu, “Seventh Great-Uncle, let me redeem some people from you.”

Zhao Hu immediately moved away from her, leaning back and saying, “Use my money to redeem my people? Don’t even think about it! Hmph, I’m already short on people as it is. If it weren’t for you…”

Zhao Hu actually wanted to buy more servants, but because the court had been too generous with land grants, the past two years had been manageable—with so many refugees, he could stop them on the road and find plenty willing to sell themselves to survive.

But starting this year, that wouldn’t work. Though there were still refugees, he couldn’t compete with the court anymore.

Zhao Hanzhang’s current prestige was too high. The common people trusted her greatly. The direct impact was that the court could get people to settle just by verbally promising them wasteland and registering their names, while they ignored him even when he offered real silver and grain to buy them.

Zhao Hu had vast tracts of land with no one to farm them, so he had no choice but to release some servants and send them to work the estates.

Actually, in Zhao Hu’s current commercial structure, the annual returns from farmland couldn’t compare to his workshops and shops.

But Zhao Hu still held on tightly and wouldn’t let go. Not only Zhao Hanzhang but even Zhao Song had advised him several times—if the land couldn’t be fully farmed, he could sell it, or do the court a favor and let them redeem it.

But Zhao Hu just wouldn’t agree.

He was shrewd. He couldn’t articulate any grand principles, but his initial capital came from farmland. Later, being able to follow behind Zhao Hanzhang to profit and gain advantages was also because he had large amounts of farmland producing grain.

That grain, converted to money, wasn’t much. But during wartime, even money couldn’t buy it. It was precisely with this grain that he obtained Zhao Hanzhang’s protection time and again. Using her protection, he opened merchant caravans and shops throughout the country.

The money he earned was then used to stockpile grain in large quantities, which he sold or donated to support Zhao’s army, thereby gaining even more advantages…

If asked who was most familiar with Ji Yuan and the military logistics officers besides Zhao Ming, it would be Zhao Hu.

Why could he be enfeoffed as a marquis before Zhao Ming?

Because although he didn’t serve on the front lines like Zhao Ming, he had always been Zhao Hanzhang’s strong rear support. His contributions were substantial.

Zhao Hu wasn’t smart, but his sensitivity to profit far exceeded ordinary people. He keenly sensed the importance of land and grain.

Not just for now, but for the future as well.

At least for the next three years, this wouldn’t change.

As for three years from now—he’d deal with that three years from now.

Besides, even if he were to sell land, he wouldn’t sell to the court. Though the court wouldn’t deliberately lowball him, he couldn’t get a high price either.

After the realm stabilized, those aristocratic families who had fled everywhere would return, wouldn’t they?

Even if just branch families returned, would they be content with just the few dozen mu of poor land the court distributed?

They would definitely want to buy farmland, preferably buying back the connected parcels that once belonged to their families and clans.

When buying land, Zhao Hu had calculated this point, so he specifically picked out good farmland abandoned by large families after they fled.

Mature fields, easy to cultivate, convenient irrigation, high yields, with potential high-price buyers—hoarding this land was incredibly worthwhile.

It was just a pity that some scoundrel had advised Zhao Hanzhang, who directly issued a law prohibiting private land sales.

Moreover, not only wouldn’t she let him buy land taken back as state property from the yamen, she also wouldn’t let him buy from private individuals.

So land trading was only allowed to circulate among them, these landlords with large land holdings?

The more Zhao Hu thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt Zhao Hanzhang had blocked so many of his paths to sudden wealth, and asked irritably, “Are you giving it or not?”

“Yes,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Since Seventh Great-Uncle has personally asked, how could I not give you face? However, let’s be clear upfront—whether it’s project quality or treatment of laborers, if you don’t meet regulations, I won’t show favoritism.”

Zhao Hu snorted. “I’m not counting on your favoritism either. Just don’t block my way. Because of you, how many people have I lost this year? How much money have I thrown away for nothing?”

The regulation that masters couldn’t prevent servants from self-redemption, and redemption fees couldn’t exceed three times the original sale price, had also impacted the North when it was issued.

Many servants in Zhao Hu’s household had cautiously requested self-redemption.

Zhao Hu had no choice but to raise servants’ wages and benefits to retain most of them. For the rest who were determined to leave, only then did he let them go.

Honestly, if Zhao Song hadn’t been watching from the side to prevent him from causing trouble, Zhao Hu had many methods to make them give up the idea of self-redemption.