Free Web NovelChapter 425: Chapter 237: Inquiring about Information; Land Enclosure Analysis (Part 2)
"My lord!"
"Boss!"
Seeing Cheng Zongyang’s unexpected arrival, Li Lu and Li Yihuo quickly rose and cupped their fists in greeting.
Cheng Zongyang waved his hand, found a random seat, and sat down. "What are you two discussing?" he asked.
Li Lu quickly had someone pour tea, while Li Yihuo reported, "Boss, your subordinate was just discussing the matter of the Commerce Association’s warehouse location outside the city with Gang Leader Li."
This surprised Cheng Zongyang for a moment, but he quickly smiled. "You’re already preparing for it?"
Li Yihuo nodded. "Yes. Since there are no major problems with the negotiations overall, the minor issues can naturally be resolved. It’s just a matter of time, so this humble one went ahead and selected a few potential locations outside the city for you to choose from later, Boss."
Cheng Zongyang was very pleased. Li Yihuo was exactly the kind of talent who could analyze a problem and prepare a solution for his superior in advance.
’The An Family truly wasted such great talent!’
"Very good. Have you made your selections?" Cheng Zongyang asked.
Just then, Li Lu brought over a map and had two gang members come in to unroll and display it.
Cheng Zongyang looked at the map. It depicted the County Town, with farmland and a village outside its walls. The names were also marked, with the village labeled as Tiantuan Village.
Additionally, several areas had been circled: an open space between West City and South City; the region north of Tiantuan Village stretching toward the County Town; and an area across the main road from Tiantuan Village. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
These locations all had one thing in common—they were outside West City.
This was a simplified map of the area outside West City.
As Cheng Zongyang studied it from his chair, Li Yihuo walked over to the map and pointed at the first circle.
"Boss, this first circled area is just outside the city, near the wall, extending southward. The preliminary plan is for a fifty to one-hundred-mu plot. Building a transfer warehouse this close to the city wall would be very convenient for the Commerce Association’s logistics and trade, a clear benefit to them. However, it would interfere with our future plans for a street market."
Cheng Zongyang listened and nodded slightly, understanding the implications of Li Yihuo’s explanation.
"The second and third locations are similar. They would require clearing new land to develop an area for the Commerce Association’s transfer warehouse.
"The advantage is that they wouldn’t occupy the area right outside the city, so they won’t have a major impact on our future commercial plans. The second location is close to the west gate, which would actually help attract people and create a livelier commercial district outside the walls.
"The downside is its proximity to Tiantuan Village. The complex flow of people could easily affect the village.
"The third area is on the other side of the main road and isn’t as close to the County Town as the first two. For the Commerce Association, the advantage is that they can easily expand in the future. The disadvantage is the increased time for transporting goods.
"It would also reduce the crowds gathering at the commercial market outside the city, although this impact wouldn’t be significant. On the plus side, it won’t affect Tiantuan Village, cause road congestion outside the city, or interfere with future expansion of our commercial zone."
After hearing Li Yihuo’s summary, Cheng Zongyang understood the pros and cons. A moment later, he asked, "Are you leaning toward the third option?"
Li Yihuo smiled and cupped his fists. "You are wise, Boss. Since we are the ones building it, we must naturally consider the impact on us. As long as we bring the location a little closer, the distance between the two places won’t actually be that great."
Cheng Zongyang nodded. Of the three areas, he also favored the third.
’The first one is completely out of the question. It would interfere with the future planned zone outside the city. As for moving it to South City? That’s even more impossible!’
’The second location is too close to Tiantuan Village. The village’s future farmland will inevitably expand northward, toward the County Town, which would also affect the village’s development plans.’
’Therefore, the third area is the most practical choice. As long as we build it as close to the County Town as possible, a round trip would only take half an hour at most.’
"What about the Commerce Association’s location inside the city?" Cheng Zongyang asked. frёeωebɳovel.com
"It’s on West Main Street, in the area five alleys in from the market district by the city gate. The location previously housed businesses like a carriage service and teahouses.
"My suggestion is to connect the buildings on both sides of the fourth and fifth alleys, then seal off the alley entrances. This would create a plot of about eight mu, where we could construct a three or four-story building. The foot traffic that used to pass through those alleys could be rerouted to the third and sixth alleys, so it wouldn’t affect the residents’ passage.
"By placing it here, first, the Commerce Association won’t obstruct the flow of people at the city gate, nor will it be affected by the market vendors. Second, it’s close to the city gate. And third, it won’t interfere with the storefronts already occupied by the Cheng Family and the Gang."
"The distance is acceptable. But is the area large enough?" Cheng Zongyang asked, satisfied. ’Li Yihuo really has considered everything.’
"Boss, that depends on the scale of the Commerce Association. In the Prefecture City, the Da Yi Commerce Association’s retail area alone occupies seventeen mu and is a seven-story building—the tallest and largest Commerce Association in the city. And their surrounding warehouses take up another hundred mu!"
"We certainly can’t match that in our County Town, which is why the warehouse is being moved outside the city, leaving only an eight-mu plot inside for the storefront. We could even reduce that to six mu. After all, this will just be a branch office. A smaller size is acceptable, and it would also reduce construction costs and time for us."
Cheng Zongyang nodded in agreement and fell into thought.
’Eight mu is about 5,300 square meters. In truth, that area should be more than enough. We’ll be building several stories up, and it won’t have as much business as the Prefecture City headquarters, so it naturally won’t need as much space.’
’But I still need to discuss this with Chen Kaishan. The Commerce Association will have its own requirements, after all. They definitely won’t agree if it’s too small, and I won’t agree if it’s too large. We’ll have to negotiate.’ He then said aloud:
"Let’s proceed with the eight-mu plan for now. I will negotiate with their people and try to push for a smaller area. Is there anything else?" Cheng Zongyang asked.
Li Yihuo shook his head slightly. "Not for the moment. Gang Leader Li and I were just discussing how to coordinate with the people from the Ministry of Works Hall for the construction once a site is chosen. We’ll still need the construction blueprints from the Commerce Association. Don’t forget to get them, Boss."
Cheng Zongyang stood up. "Alright. I’ll leave it to you two, then. Oh, and old brother," he said, turning to Li Lu, "when you find Steward Zhang, have him come to my residence. I need to see him about something."
Hearing this, Li Lu immediately nodded in agreement. "No problem. I’ll send someone to find him right away."
After leaving, Cheng Zongyang went straight back to his residence.
In his study, he let his consciousness enter the Wilderness World. He wanted to check on the Commerce Association’s booklet. He had only read half of it before and hadn’t bothered to look at the rest, since he hadn’t cared much about it at the time.
He emerged from the small cabin, intending to go to the third floor of the warehouse, when he happened to see Luo Dingran outside in an open area, taking inventory of a pile of items.
The items were an assortment of porcelain, ironware, and so on. Curious, he walked over and saw Luo Dingran examining the branded characters on a Three-legged Tripod. In his other hand, he held a piece of paper, seemingly cross-referencing something.
"Find anything interesting?" Cheng Zongyang asked suddenly.
"My lord." Hearing his voice, Luo Dingran quickly put the items down and was about to bow, but Cheng Zongyang stopped him. "Alright now, no need for formalities."
Luo Dingran smiled. "My lord, the purchase order for the character translations was completed about fifteen minutes ago. It cost 300 Points. I was just matching them to the text on the Bronze Tripod."
Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang’s eyes lit up.
He had previously put up a transcribed copy of a stone inscription for consignment. Although he had scrambled the content, he had immediately placed a standing purchase order for it, waiting for someone to sell it back. Thankfully, the rules for the acquisition and purchase order sections hadn’t changed, otherwise, who knows how long he would have had to wait.
It had taken nearly half a month to finally get a result.
"What’s the status? Has the stone inscription been translated?" Cheng Zongyang asked excitedly, forgetting what he had come here to do.
’The booklet isn’t important. This translation is what truly matters!’
Luo Dingran replied, "Ding Xing should have finished matching the characters. You can go over there and take a look."
Cheng Zongyang immediately headed for the Book Workshop behind the main building. Luo Dingran followed, carrying the Three-legged Bronze Tripod.
