Sent to the new dock on the East Coast, the group bid farewell upon disembarking here.
Xiangbei pointed excitedly to the two banks of the newly constructed diversion canal, where the construction work had just been completed. She was addressing General Huo, who was seeing off the prince as he disembarked from the ship.
"Uncle, look at this expansive dock square. In less than three months, a brand new, bustling modern commercial city will emerge here. This hub of transportation, facilitating both water and land travel, will surely become a new landmark on the East Coast! In a few days, there will be an investment auction here. I suggest you invest in several shops quickly. Opportunities don't wait, and once missed, they may not return."
"Invest in shops? Sure, Uncle was just thinking about preparing a small gift as a coming-of-age gift for XiangBei next year. Now, this is perfect. I'll have your cousin Qixiang stay to attend this investment auction before returning to the capital. I'll arrange for three shops as gifts for you. Uncle will return to the capital today. Remember to have your mother take you back to the capital to visit your grandfather. Your paternal grandfather has been longing to see you for over a decade. Isn't he heartbroken every day? I won't say much more. You are the most sensible child. Uncle will wait for you to return home in the capital. Your Highness, I take my leave," General Huo said, bowing to Cheng Mo after finishing his words.
Truly a decisive military style, from arranging to leaving, not a bit of hesitation or delay, he left without taking away a single cloud. The dashing investment of the grand general heralded the prelude to the live investment conference three days later.
The auction venue was set up on the dock square, with a huge commercial new city rendering visual representation displayed at the entrance. Developers from the county government and the royal mansion were distributing investment brochures around the area, containing detailed sectional illustrations.
The boundaries of the construction plots on the roads and in the middle of the square were marked with white and gray according to the size of the shop area. In this design, XiangBei specifically planned three themed street areas: the mother and child zone, the student street, and the elder's garden, so that Cousin Qixiang could buy her a shop in each area.
During these days, she also learned that the birth rate and survival rate in this era were the same as in ancient China, with more births but less survival. She didn't understand obstetrics, but she made efforts to develop modern maternal and child products and children's items, indirectly drawing attention and importance to women and children in society, which could be somewhat helpful, right?
She made up her mind. Since she had decided to help the development of this era, she would focus on education, helping to subtly cultivate more young people who accepted new ideas, new concepts, and mastered modern knowledge and skills. Stationery, printing, papermaking, new studies... There were quite a few series of products that could be developed. After all, she was considered a super nerd herself, so she could definitely help out.
"When children desire to support their parents, but the parents are not there already." was something she deeply understood from her own experience. If there was a chance to provide some health-soaking and medicinal food recipes, allowing Grandfather and Doctor Li's medical skills to benefit more elderly people, that would be great. She designed the Elder's Garden Street to resemble a leisure park, hoping that elderly people who came out for a stroll could have a community for socializing and playing chess, even if they didn't have the opportunity to enter the splendid courtyards of wealthy families. Hoping that one day they could provide life support for the elderly was perhaps just wishful thinking on her part, but who knows what the future holds?
Early investors who had contributed to the construction of the dock infrastructure were directed to the VIP seats, while other guests who had submitted a deposit of fifty taels gradually filled the venue. The investment fair began with auctions in various functional business areas.
The innovative form of investment, the refreshing plan for the commercial city, and the well-developed supporting construction undoubtedly guaranteed the unprecedented success of this event. However, if we were to attribute the greatest credit for it, it must be given to the water tower. Yes, the water tower.
As early as during the construction of the dock, XiangBei suggested to Chengshan to pre-set stone aqueducts and multiple water towers exceeding three stories high along the streets of the commercial district. Long wooden frames supported bamboo water troughs, connecting them to the water towers, transporting water to the entire commercial area, and leaving outlets for branching streams. Opening these outlets would make water usage very convenient in the future. In this primitive yet effective water supply system, each water tower was equipped with a coal-fired steam pump lever, circulating water from the stone aqueduct to the top of the tower. Astute businessmen saw endless possibilities here. Just with this, it was enough to trigger today's frenzy at the auction. The price of a 200-square-meter plot was auctioned for thousands of taels.
To further advance the new city plan, rows of construction material booths were set up on the central square of the dock. Whether it was soil compacting, bricklaying, kiln firing, carpentry, weaving, or fabric trading, each profession had a booth occupied by artisans from Hidden Guards Troops of Chang Mo. This arrangement not only ensured that buyers could experience a one-stop shopping experience, guaranteeing efficiency, but also allowed fellow craftsmen to directly perceive business opportunities because some buyers were already placing orders and communicating on-site.