The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 409

Zhou Chu said.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xianrong suddenly understood, and many things became clear in an instant.

"It's truly enviable that Lord Zhou has such a capable person as Boss Li under his command."

Zhu Xianrong said from the bottom of his heart.

Chu Li shook her head upon hearing this.

“Young Master is mistaken. Everything I know was taught by Hengqi. It’s not that I’m a capable person, but that Hengqi is powerful. Even without me, he can still teach others to do things for him.”

Chu Li couldn't help but speak up for Zhou Chu.

Zhu Xianrong was greatly shocked upon hearing this, and looked at Zhou Chu with disbelief.

Although he had already overestimated the man in front of him, Lord Zhou, he realized that he had been underestimating him all along, or rather, he had never seen the full picture of this man of the same age.

Zhu Xianrong glanced at Zhou Chu, and even though Zhou Chu was calm and smiling, Zhu Xianrong felt a lot of pressure and quickly looked away.

"There's something I'm curious about, and I'd like to ask Lord Zhou."

Now that Zhu Xianrong knows that Zhou Chu is behind Li Xingruo, he can't help but ask himself a question that has always been on his mind.

"Your Highness, please speak. I will answer to the best of my ability."

Zhou Chu smiled.

"As far as I know, the wages of the workers in Boss Li's businesses, whether it's the cloth shop or others, are exceptionally high, three or four times, or even five or six times, the wages of workers in other places. Why would Lord Zhou do this?"

Zhu Xianrong had been thinking about this question for a long time. He originally planned to ask Chu Li when he saw her again, but now that he knew everything Chu Li had learned was from Zhou Chu, he couldn't help but ask the person in charge.

"Because I treat them as human beings, not as mules and horses."

Zhou Chu said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xianrong was shocked and looked at Zhou Chu with disbelief.

Throughout history, neither rulers nor the gentry have ever truly cared about the common people. Zhu Xianrong's way of thinking is no different from theirs; he also doesn't really care about the common people, which is why he has this doubt.

"Your Highness may not know, but for all the workers who work for us, it's not just that their wages are high. They only need to work four hours a day, and they have at least eight days off every month, while their wages are still paid."

Zhou Chu continued.

As Zhu Xianrong listened to Zhou Chu's eloquent speech, his eyes were filled with disbelief.

"In that case, how will Lord Zhou make a profit?"

Zhu Xianrong was increasingly confused.

"Whether we can make a profit or not has never been about deducting workers' wages. As long as the business is doing well and the profit is high enough, even if I pay the workers a lot of wages, I will still make a lot. Moreover, the young master should know that none of the businesses under Chu Li's control are adulterated or of inferior quality. They are all made with the best materials, and any problems can be resolved at any time."

Zhou Chu said calmly.

Zhu Xianrong nodded upon hearing this. He understood these things, and that was why countless people in Jiangnan now only recognized Boss Li's shop. Boss Li's shops always had an extremely high daily foot traffic, and many items were sold out in less than half a day.

This is precisely what Zhu Xianrong admires about Chu Li. No merchant is without guile; few businessmen are thrifty, let alone resorting to common tactics like passing off inferior goods as superior ones. In fact, many industries have their own secrets.

But all of Boss Li's shops are open and transparent. Zhu Xianrong has observed them carefully and even doubted whether doing business this way can really make money.

He was filled with admiration after he saw more and more people only recognizing Boss Li's shop.

“Young Master, you have been in Zhangjia Village for two days now. You should have realized one thing: whether they are farmers or workers, they all have their own lives and their own families. To put it bluntly, they are no different from you and me. The so-called difference is just the gap in their background and status.”

Zhou Chu looked at Zhu Xianrong with a rare seriousness. He hoped that Zhu Xianrong would listen to what he was saying, as that would be a good thing for the people within the Chu Prince's fiefdom.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xianrong seemed to be deep in thought, and began to recall his experiences over the past two days.