Chapter Thirty-Four: Play Big or Go Home

  With the backing of Huai'an Prefecture's most powerful patron, Yang Bo has become much bolder. As for Li Guan Shi? He is even more so the best spokesperson for Yang Bo's pulling and supporting. Unlike Xu Zhou Prefecture's approach of going with the crowd, this time Yang Bo wants to play big, his target locked onto those wealthy and influential potential consumer groups.

  Li Guanshi has been ordered around by Yang Bo nonstop for the past two days, exhausting him to the point of collapse. If it weren't for the sake of the silver note, he would have turned against Yang Bo long ago.

  "Yang Gongzi, there are already enough people on this side," said Li Guanshi as he walked and chatted with Yang Bo.

  Today is Yang Bo's last on-site inspection tour. In one more day, the history of Huai'an Prefecture cannot be said to have ended absolutely, but it can be said that an unprecedented grand lottery is about to begin!

  The lottery location is located on the busiest South Street in Huai'an Prefecture, divided into three areas. The northernmost area is a high-end consumption area planned by Yang Bo, where one or two, five or ten taels of silver are used for betting. The prizes inside are dazzling, and under the supervision of Li Guanshi, a temporary wooden fence was set up, with a row of shiny horses tied to the feeding trough. These horses are all sturdy and majestic, with a red paper stuck on their forehead, with the words "Treasured Horse" written in large letters.

  Since he has arranged for a "car" Yang Bo, how could he forget about having a "house"?

  On the edge of the wooden fence was an inconspicuous table, on which were displayed many houses, with red deeds neatly arranged on top, each with a note indicating the plot number and value. Yang Bo also hesitated for a long time before moving his gaze away from the table, thinking about whether to reserve one for himself.

  Is this a house that will cost 7,000 to 8,000 yuan in the future? The value of the shop is even higher. Each red contract has been stamped with the seal of the local head, and there is no need to pay taxes or go through intermediaries. As long as you have the money, you can move in!

  These red contracts should attract a lot of people who are in urgent need, right? Yang Bo sighed and continued to patrol forward with Li Guanshi...

  Further ahead were rows of large square tables, surrounded by wooden railings, on which were neatly stacked various kinds of silk fabrics, truly a colorful and diverse array.

  The first row is various colored satin, divided into sky blue, stone blue, sand blue, moon white, soy sauce color, oil green, autumn color, true purple, and mugwort color, with more than ten varieties of flower colors. The specifications are divided into two types: large satin and small satin. After the mid-Ming dynasty, satin became a best-selling product nationwide, "all people can wear it as clothes". This is the favorite luxury goods of the scholar-official class.

  The second row is satin, including flower soft satin, plain soft satin, brocade satin, and ancient fragrance satin. The most expensive one is the sky blue ancient fragrance satin from Suzhou Prefecture, which costs several hundred taels of silver per bolt, making it unaffordable for ordinary people.

  The third row is Xuan paper, made from mulberry bark and silkworm silk, commonly known as "flower Xuan", with the characteristics of being light, thin and soft. It is mainly produced in the Jiangnan region and is one of the main materials for mounting calligraphy and paintings, also a favorite gift among scholars.

  The fourth row is brocade, including Yunjin, Zhuangjin, Suzhou Songjin, Shujin and so on. The patterns are even more colorful, with Liuxiajin, Yusi Jin, Sandi Jin, Huahua Jin, Fangfang Jin, Pudi Jin and so on. Because the production process requirements were high at that time, the weaving difficulty was great, so it was the most valuable fabric in this era. As the saying goes: "Brocade is gold, made with great effort, its price is like gold."

  The fifth row was silk and satin, and in each wooden railing inside, there were housekeepers assigned by Li Guan to patrol. Since Yang Bo patted his chest and guaranteed that he could bring at least 10,000 taels of silver income to Huai'an Prefecture, the prefectural governor sent out his own housekeepers without hesitation to maintain order.

  "That's probably going to have to go up early......" Yang Bo pointed at the piles of red banners on the side of the road, which he had designed himself. The gold characters on the red background were all different slogans.

  "When one side is in trouble, all sides support; Huai'an Prefecture donates love and holds a charity lottery activity"

  "Take from the people and use for the people."

  "Some are relatively plain: 'Raising idle silver coins to build a beautiful Huai'an Prefecture'"

  "Not begrudging one's efforts, virtue is bestowed upon others while oneself forgets one's worries, enough to be called a good person!"

  Of course, most of it is naked temptation "50,000 silver prize, one touch changes life"

  Li Guanshi nodded and waved his hand towards the rear, whereupon the family servants swarmed up to hang things on the doorframe, branches, and bamboo poles.

  Far and wide, piece after piece of red festive atmosphere...

  The flag was hung properly, and Yang Bo nodded in satisfaction. The two continued their inspection. Li Guan Shi still had some misgivings and asked: "Young Master Yang, the current situation is indeed grand, but I wonder if the 10,000 taels of silver you mentioned to the adults earlier can be...?"

  Yang Bo smiled silently, and Li Guan Shi was also a straightforward person. It wasn't in vain that he had spent some money on him, now his own words would be passed to the ears of Master Zhifu!

  Yang Bo then said: "Li, don't worry for now, I'm more concerned that we don't have enough manpower. Here's what you do, tell Lord Yan that Yang wants to ask him for a few accountants to collect the silver..."

  After hearing Yang Bo's guarantee, Li Guanshi slightly put his mind at ease, and the two walked towards the grid-like plank house in front of them. Here, the family guards patrolled with knives, two by two, and anyone who wanted to approach the outer fence would be severely scolded, because valuable items were on display here.

  The first room was filled with all sorts of gold and silver ornaments, including phoenix hairpins adorned with a hundred birds, hollowed-out bracelets with a hundred blessings, and everything else one could possibly want. These were the items Yang Bo used to attract women who loved beauty.

  The second item is relatively rare and expensive, with ten quail egg-sized Dongzhu pearls neatly arranged in a sandalwood box, shining with dazzling luster. Due to the fall of most of Liaodong, this type of pearl produced in the Songhua River has also become more rare.

  Li Guanshi nodded silently: "Even if one is wealthy, it's not easy to get even one, let alone ten! I didn't expect Young Master Yang to collect all ten in one breath!"

  The third room is various jade stones, Xiuyan jade, hard jade (i.e. emerald), jade marrow, Lantian jade, and Hetian jade are carved into various patterns, including white jade lions, emerald bok choy, chicken blood seals, fortune- bringing Qilin, god of wealth, brocade carp...

  Although Li Guanshi was a seasoned and knowledgeable person, he also felt dizzy and disoriented when he arrived here. He secretly glanced at Yang Bo's joyful face and thought to himself: "I'm afraid the entire Huai'an Prefecture has been swept clean by him, I wonder where Young Master Yang got such audacity?"

  Yang Bo had no idea that Li was secretly criticizing him, he was staring at the fourth plank house, where there was only one object, a coral tree about two feet tall, with its entire body blood red!

  This is the top prize for the gambling event, worth five thousand taels of white silver...

  If it weren't for Yang Bo's deceitful use of the Magistrate's name, under various threats and inducements, Zhou Qifeng's family in Beicheng would not have reluctantly agreed to lend him some money for a few days. However, they were still uneasy about it, so they sent two clever shop assistants to follow Xianghu closely, keeping an eye on her every step. As soon as Yang Bo approached, several pairs of eyes fixed intently on him.

  The reward will be drawn by the child on the last day and returned to Zhou Qifeng's master together with one hundred taels of silver.

  Although the conditions were harsh and the reward was expensive, Yang Bo still gritted his teeth and agreed. An activity that must be held at the end is called the eyeball effect in later generations!

  To the south, there are two areas, which are Yang Bo's mid-range and low-end districts. The betting amount is five qian and one qian silver, respectively. The prizes cover all aspects of clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, so it's not necessary to elaborate.

  Yang Bo was lost in thought for a moment, and the general arrangement was also settled. The hanging heart finally came down, now everything is ready, just wait and see tomorrow!