Fifty-fifty split

Luan Yi quickly played his final trump card, tempting, "Your Majesty, according to my plan, the Department Store can easily generate an annual revenue of one million silver taels!"

The Emperor Ling, deep in thought, lost his balance and nearly slid to the floor. He asked in shock, "How much?"

"One million!" Luan Yi replied with a solemn expression.

Thirty percent of one million silver taels would be three hundred thousand. You couldn't earn that much money even by selling official ranks and titles for ten years! "Is my lord speaking the truth?"

Luan Yi did not hesitate at all, "Absolute truth!"

"Luan Yi, do you know that if you fail to earn one million silver taels, it will be the crime of deceiving the emperor?" Zhang Rang seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Luan Yi nodded, "I know! I guarantee it can bring in one million. If Your Majesty does not believe me, I am willing to issue a military pledge! If I fail to earn one million silver taels, I am willing to forfeit my head."

Seeing Luan Yi so resolute and certain, Emperor Ling was overjoyed.

"In that case, is Your Majesty willing to join me in building this tall tower?" Luan Yi asked again, but the answer he received was identical to the previous one.

Emperor Ling put away his excited smile, a trace of smug triumph flashing in his eyes, and shook his head, "Inappropriate!"

"This..." Luan Yi was deeply disappointed, wondering what was going on. He had explained things so clearly and painted such a sweet picture of profits, yet why wouldn't Emperor Ling take the bait?

Just when Luan Yi thought the plan had ended in failure, he heard Emperor Ling say with a half-smile, "Building this tower is not entirely out of the question. However... My lord, consider this: when building the tower, I provide both the reputation and the land, which are two things. You provide the money and the manpower, which is also two things. Since we both contribute two things, why should we split it three to seven? Could it be that my reputation is worth less than money, or that the bustling prime location of the West Market is not as valuable as your labor?"

Hearing this, Luan Yi showed a look of astonishment on his face, but inside, he was blooming with laughter. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Ling gestured for Luan Yi to stand up and comforted him, "I do not mean to blame you. I only mean to say that your three-to-seven split is not quite fair. Logically, since I contribute more, I should receive a greater return; a six-to-four split would be more appropriate. However, considering your hard work and the fact that the idea came from you, I do not mind earning a little less and will just take half. The other half will belong to you. How does that sound?"

What a huge appetite! He was going to empty-handedly snatch a fifty percent profit. Luan Yi laughed inwardly. Money was of little consequence to him; the most important thing was to establish a long-term commercial relationship with Emperor Ling. "Your Majesty's words are very true. Since that is the case, let us split it fifty-fifty."

Emperor Ling burst into laughter, "Haha! What does Father Rang think?"

Zhang Rang desperately wanted to object, but Emperor Ling's heart had already been captivated by Luan Yi's promise of money. Persuasion was useless, so he could only cater to his wishes and say, "Whatever Your Majesty commands."

"Good!" Emperor Ling was immensely pleased, "Since everyone has no objections, we settle on a fifty-fifty split and shall immediately begin construction of the Department Store!"

"Your Majesty, to ensure our future pleasant cooperation and an abundant flow of wealth, I propose a toast to you." Beaming with joy, Luan Yi raised his wine cup and said.

"Cheers!" Spirits are high when joyous occasions arise. With a glowing face, Emperor Ling raised his cup and drank.

Luan Yi covered his face with his sleeve and also drained his cup in one gulp. "By the way, Your Majesty! To ensure the Department Store is built as soon as possible, the matter of the land should be finalized without delay."

"Naturally!" Emperor Ling swallowed the meat in his mouth, glanced sideways at Zhang Rang, and asked, "Father Rang, when can three mu of land be allocated from the West Market?"

Zhang Rang said coldly, "Tomorrow?"

"So fast?"

Zhang Rang gave Luan Yi a sidelong glance and said angrily, "Is the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince questioning this servant's ability to get things done?"

Luan Yi shook his head repeatedly while feeling inwardly shocked. As far as he knew, the West Market was densely packed with courtyards, and all the properties already belonged to others, making them impossible to buy... Could it be? Was this fellow Zhang Rang going to forcibly expropriate them? This move was utterly ruthless, causing innocent property owners to lose such vital assets... However, Luan Yi had no time to spare for pity right now. To get close to Emperor Ling and protect himself, he didn't mind infringing upon those people's interests; at worst, he would compensate those people with extra money and provisions later as recompense.

Luan Yi lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, I have another request, though I am hesitant to speak."

"Why so polite, my lord? Just say it."

"During the construction of the Department Store and its subsequent operation, many matters will require Your Majesty's final decision. However, as Your Majesty is daily occupied with affairs of state, it is impossible to spare too much energy to handle the business of the Department Store. This would inevitably lead to delays in important matters and cause us to miss profitable opportunities. Therefore, to ensure the normal turnover of the store, I suggest that Your Majesty dispatch a trusted envoy to the Department Store. On one hand, this person can act on Your Majesty's behalf to handle various affairs, and on the other hand, they can monitor the income and expenses within the building in real-time and report directly to Your Majesty!"

"My lord's words make a great deal of purpose!" Emperor Ling nodded repeatedly, just about to ask Zhang Rang if he had a suitable candidate to take on this role. But before he could, Luan Yi preempted him and recommended, "In Your Majesty's palace, there is the eunuch Yu Du, who is quite intelligent, understands mathematics, is literate, and is already familiar with me, so there will be no barriers in our communication. To ensure the smooth progress of the project and the smooth flow of future commerce, why not let this person take on this position and cooperate with me?"

At this point, anything beneficial to the construction of the Department Store was readily agreed to by Emperor Ling. "In that case, as my lord says, I will dispatch Yu Du to assist you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After finishing his meal with Emperor Ling, Zhang Rang indeed sent a stack of land deeds to Luan Yi's hands early the next morning. Counting them over, there were neither more nor less than three mu and two fen in total, which was more than enough for Luan Yi to build a grand department store.

To ensure that Zhang Rang would not tamper with the construction quality during the building process, Luan Yi specifically mobilized a reliable team of craftsmen from Jinan State to completely demolish the houses on that plot of land in the West Market. This immediately attracted nearby residents and passing merchants to stop, curiously watch, and engage in animated discussions:

"Hey? What are they doing?"

"I heard that Master Ziqi is going to build a tower on this land!"

"Build a tower? What kind of tower? Surely they aren't building thatched huts again!" That person said with a smile, but midway through his laughter, he noticed the angry expressions on the faces of the listeners. "How dare you make fun of Master Ziqi! Do you have a death wish?"

"Don't be angry, everyone. This old man was just joking, just joking, nothing serious!"

"Scram!"

Days passed by one after another, and the debris from the collapsed houses was hauled away one cartload after another. The foundation of the building gradually revealed its embryonic form.

Attentive observers made measurements and were astounded to find that this so-called building was actually thirty zhang long and twenty zhang wide, making it even larger than the Jianshi Hall in the imperial palace.

"Goodness! Only His Majesty the Emperor can build a hall this large. Master Ziqi is merely a Junior Tutor; isn't he afraid of being dragged out and beheaded for occupying such a massive piece of land?"

However, people soon realized that such worries were completely redundant. The building had been under construction for so long, yet no officials had come to stop it. The reason was obvious: building such a massive structure had received official approval. Cleverer individuals immediately guessed that this building must be inextricably linked to the Emperor. As for the exact nature of the relationship, opinions varied. Some said that Emperor Ling had a sudden whim to build an imperial lodge in the West Market. This theory wasn't entirely groundless, after all, in the hearts of the common people, Emperor Ling had long since become the embodiment of a muddled emperor, having pulled off plenty of such stunts before. Yet this guess was soon debunked because the building had been designed without any courtyards. Lacking courtyard walls for protection, it naturally could not be an imperial lodge.

Others claimed that His Majesty was going to build an official brothel here. Of course, this wasn't a kiln for firing ceramics, but rather a brothel-like establishment. Emperor Ling intended to gather palace maids whom he had grown tired of playing with into this place for people to amuse themselves with, thereby generating wealth. This theory won the approval of many, and households all over the city hid their women away tightly, terrified that a moment of carelessness might lead to them being abducted into the palace and then cast into that building.

However, the only thing that puzzled the public about this theory was that it was hard for people to connect such an official brothel with Luan Yi.

Regardless of how people speculated, one thing was certain: from the moment of its foundation laying, the Department Store had attracted widespread attention from the citizens of Luoyang. Idle onlookers would visit the West Market every day to check on the construction progress, watching with their own eyes as craftsmen added bricks and tiles to the plot.

The first floor was completed, featuring twelve towering pillars and a magnificent aura. To the astonishment of the townspeople, the building did not top out there; instead, it continued to rise upward.

The second floor also took shape, brilliant and grand, similarly supported by twelve towering pillars, tall and majestic. The craftsmen did not stop, constructing yet another floor.

Upon reaching this third floor, after the roof was finally sealed, the construction project temporarily came to a close—shifting from vertical expansion to horizontal embellishment. Windows, doors, pillars, and railings were given fresh coats of paint; painters even scaled heights to paint beautiful patterns under the eaves and other areas.

Down below, crowds of common people stared dumbfounded at the skyscraper that had taken a full year to build, too shocked to speak for a long time.

Goodness, just how tall is this? It's even taller than the city walls of Luoyang.

Standing at the foot of the building, Yu Du was even more overwhelmingly shocked. He felt that at this moment, he was nothing more than an ant in the presence of this structure. Standing over six zhang tall, what a terrifying figure! Such a feat was unprecedented in the history of the Han Dynasty, and it could definitely be called the tallest building in the Han. Oh no, calling it merely the tallest building in the Han still failed to capture its majestic might; it should properly be called the tallest building under heaven.

He subconsciously glanced sideways at the elegant young man beside him. Only he in this entire world could have designed such a building. He wondered how such an exquisite and ingenious structure was ever conceived.

Luan Yi had no idea what Yu Du was thinking at the moment. Although he was excited about the impending completion of the building, he was mostly dissatisfied with its scale. According to his initial vision, the Department Store should have been even larger and taller. Unfortunately, the Han Dynasty lacked reinforced concrete and had limited technology, making it impossible to construct very tall buildings. The one before his eyes was already the limit of current architectural capability; it could be neither larger nor taller.

He let out a wistful sigh and said to Yu Du, "Eunuch, the building is basically complete. Please report to His Majesty that the Department Store can cut the ribbon and open for business next month. At that time, we hope His Majesty will bestow a majestic name upon this building."

"Understood!" Yu Du bowed respectfully. "Lord Junior Tutor, please do not call this servant 'Eunuch' anymore; just address me by my given name!"

Luan Yi curled the corner of his mouth upwards. "In that case, Yu Du need not be overly polite with me either. Stop calling me Lord Junior Tutor; just call me by my courtesy name."

"I wouldn't dare refuse!"