Chapter 331: Channelling Benefits

The land in the capital currently averaged around fifty to seventy strings per hectare, but when used as collateral, it was typically valued at half that amount—twenty five to thirty five strings. This was industry standard, and even with good relations to the Ma family, no one could break this precedent. Three thousand hectares would yield approximately one hundred thousand strings in loans.

But this represented nearly half the charity organization’s assets.

Although Zhang Fei had previously told them about leveraging land to obtain cash, explaining that the books didn’t show enough money and that waiting for annual grain harvests would make everything too late, no one had expected Zhang Fei to be so ruthless.

He was starting directly with one hundred thousand strings.

This amount made everyone apprehensive again. While football prospects were indeed promising, was it worth investing so much money?

Everyone glanced at Chen Maoqian and Fan Yong, silently urging them to speak up since they had good relationships with Zhang Fei.

“Zhang San, the tournament doesn’t require this much money, does it?” Chen Maoqian asked tentatively.

Zhang Fei said, “To organize football competitions, prize money is important. Next year I plan to set aside ten thousand strings for prizes to attract teams to compete. Adding venue rental fees, quality balls, and labor costs, I’ve calculated we’ll need approximately twenty thousand strings.”

“Ten thousand strings in prize money? That’s far too much.”

“Never mind ten thousand strings—even one thousand would draw competitors. This year the United Cloud Society’s prize was only around six hundred strings, never exceeding one thousand.”

After all, this was just entertainment, not wine or grain—essential consumer goods people couldn’t do without.

Zhang Fei explained, “It’s not that whoever wins gets ten thousand strings. This rewards all teams—every participating team receives some compensation, and it includes competition expenses. First place only gets two thousand strings.”

“Only”?

That “only” was quite audacious!

Everyone was speechless.

Zhang Fei had to continue explaining: “This is just the beginning. We need some attraction. If there’s no profit to be made, we can’t draw more competing teams. Once we establish the football league, we’ll adjust prize money based on actual profits.”

Fan Yong immediately said, “But Zhang San, as the saying goes, it’s hard to go from luxury to frugality. Setting prizes so high initially will make future reductions difficult.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “First, regardless of luxury or frugality, they’ll have no choice then—we hold the initiative. Second, I estimate we won’t need to reduce much, as the profits will be quite substantial.”

The timber merchant Zhou Yan said, “Can football competitions really earn that much? Even with a thousand spectators per match, the profit would be limited—probably not enough to cover interest payments.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Loans required interest payments!

The interest on one hundred thousand strings was no small sum.

“Ticket sales are just a negligible portion of the profits.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Don’t forget, I mentioned borrowing one hundred thousand strings, but we’re only using twenty thousand for competitions. The remaining eighty thousand will be invested in football-related industries, including movable type workshops and carriage rentals.”

“Football-related industries?”

“Exactly!”

Zhang Fei nodded, “For instance, ball manufacturing, clothing, shoes, and so forth.”

“How much money can those make?” Chen Maoqian asked, puzzled.

Zhang Fei said, “Once football becomes popular, these goods will sell tremendously, becoming one of our main income sources. Besides that, there’s another important investment—betting on matches.”

“Betting on matches?”

“Don’t you know the Hong family gambling house is taking bets on this competition?”

“Of course we know. Could it be that you, Zhang San—”

“Wrong. It’s not me, but money invested by the charity organization. From this one competition, we estimate earning one to two thousand strings.”

One to two thousand strings?

That would cover the prize money!

This was truly a money-making machine!

With this safety net, they could afford to play bigger.

Fan Yong suddenly coughed and quietly reminded, “Zhang San, while this business is good, you need to keep it low-key. You can’t operate openly.”

Zhang Fei asked, “Why not?”

Chen Maoxian said urgently, “Do I even need to say it? After all, we’re operating under the banner of charity. No, what I mean is, we’re doing charity work, yet we’re using this charity money for gambling. This will damage our reputation.”

He added, “Of course, I support it, but I think we need to keep it low-key.”

Zhang Fei replied, “This can’t be hidden, and there’s no way to keep it low-key.”

“How so?”

“It’s simple. Our accounts are completely open. The government sends people to audit us from time to time. How could we hide this? However…”

Zhang Fei smiled and continued, “You can all rest assured. This charitable gambling is charity, not gambling. Think about it – the money we win from gambling will also be used for charity, not for anyone’s personal enjoyment. If they’re dissatisfied with this, let them donate some money themselves!”

If the money really went to charity, they indeed wouldn’t fear criticism from others.

But the problem was, everyone’s hearts weren’t truly set on doing charity!

“All of it goes to charity?”

The paper shop merchant Huang Can asked quietly.

Everyone looked toward Zhang Fei.

What fools – how could such things be said openly? Zhang Fei pretended not to hear and said, “By the way! My affairs are really too busy, so I plan to have Fan Zheng assist me. Do you all have any objections?”

Fan Yong immediately said, “Of course there’s no problem.”

As soon as he spoke, almost everyone looked at him.

He’s your son – of course you have no problem with it!

Zhang Fei continued, “This football competition isn’t a simple business. It requires sufficient manpower to manage many things. I’ll leave the hiring to all of you.”

Right! That’s what they had agreed on initially – the wages were the main channel for benefit distribution!

Everyone nodded in unison.

Now everyone had no objections.

The bowl of water had to be held level.

Zhang Fei said, “But let me say this upfront: ability determines everything. After all, this charity concerns everyone’s goodwill. If someone lacks ability or even causes us to lose money, they will face corresponding punishment.”

“Yes, yes, of course, of course.”

Actually, even if Zhang Fei hadn’t said this, they would have monitored each other, since this was everyone’s money.

Zhang Fei turned to Fan Yong and said, “Mogul Fan, I think watching football without drinking is like not watching at all. I hope your White Crystal Inn can brew a type of alcohol suitable for drinking while watching games.”

Drinking while watching games? That was actually a good idea! Fan Yong’s eyes lit up at first, but then he frowned and said, “You can’t have a table of dishes in front of you while watching games. Without appetizers, drinking would be boring!”

Zhang Fei smiled and said, “That’s for you to figure out. But if you can brew it, I believe it will sell very well.”

Fan Yong nodded repeatedly, “Alright, alright, I’ll go back and think it over carefully.”

Zhang Fei nodded, then turned to Chen Maoxian, who was practically drooling, “Mogul Chen.”

“Present!”

Chen Maoxian almost stood at attention.

Zhang Fei said, “We may need many shops to sell football-related products, so I’m entrusting the shop matters to you.”

Chen Maoxian nodded, “No problem.”

Zhang Fei continued, “There will also be leather, silk, and so on. We’ll discuss the specifics later.”

The wealthy merchants all showed satisfied smiles on their faces.

They understood!

They all understood!

The meat would stay in the pot after all.

So it didn’t matter!

Looking at it this way, the football competition was worth pursuing. Why not make it bigger? How else could they distribute the benefits?

If they just set up a movable type printing workshop, the benefit distribution would be too obvious. As long as the court wasn’t stupid, they would definitely see through it. But this football competition had a very complex profit structure with plenty of room for maneuvering.

Their expectations for the charitable organization were actually quite low – mainly for tax avoidance. Whether they could make money was something they hadn’t held much hope for.

Zhang Fei asked, “Does anyone else have objections?”

The wealthy merchants all shook their heads.

Zhang Fei continued, “Alright then. We’ll have Fan Zheng negotiate with the Ma family to see how this lending should work.”

“If the interest is too high, we can’t accept it.”

Although the meat stayed in the pot, everyone still hoped to get a larger share for themselves.

The Ma family was practically earning money lying down. If the interest was still too high, that would be going too far.

After discussing these matters of benefit distribution, the donors finally left satisfied.

“They’ve all left!”

Shortly after the wealthy merchants departed, Xu Zhiqian entered the hall arm-in-arm with Gao Wenyin.

Zhang Fei feigned surprise and said, “Zhiqian, you’re back so early. Was the football match quite boring? Did it bore you to death?”

Gao Wenyin pursed her lips in a gentle smile.

Xu Zhiqian said with a grin, “Whether I was bored doesn’t matter. What’s important is that everyone else enjoyed watching it.”

Zhang Fei said disdainfully, “What happened to your previous attitude?”

“My attitude has never changed,” Xu Zhiqian said, puffing out her chest. “My attitude has always been to worry about your failure while hoping for your success. If your football match can succeed, I’d be overjoyed.”

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes. “Now you’re just being unreasonable.”

Gao Wenyin quietly chimed in, “Zhang San, Miss Xu is indeed concerned about you.”

“Exactly.”

Xu Zhiqian continued, “Besides, I wasn’t the only one who thought your football wouldn’t succeed. But I don’t know why, today those people acted as if they were possessed, even my sisters were like that. Do you know the reason?”

This question had been troubling her all along.

Those spectators, including her sisters, had been too crazy.

Zhang Fei asked back, “Weren’t you possessed too?”

“No!” Xu Zhiqian shook her head gently.

Zhang Fei paused and asked, “Were you actually watching the match at the time?”

Xu Zhiqian’s eyes sparkled, “I was observing everyone’s reactions.”

“I see.”

Zhang Fei smiled, “Next time you should watch the match seriously, preferably with a team to support, then you’ll be able to experience its magic.”

“Really?” Xu Zhiqian no longer had the confidence to question Zhang Fei, so she asked, “Have you already agreed to invest money in football?”

Zhang Fei nodded.

“How much do you plan to invest?”

“One hundred thousand strings.”

“One hundred thousand strings?”

Gao Wenyin exclaimed in surprise.

Xu Zhiqian was stunned. “That much?”

Zhang Fei smiled, “If it can’t even accommodate one hundred thousand strings, then I wouldn’t have chosen to organize this football league.”

Xu Zhiqian became worried again.

This was practically betting everything on one throw!

However, reality told Xu Zhiqian that football was definitely worth anticipating.

The popularity of the football match quickly spread from the stadium to the streets, since today’s spectators weren’t just high officials and nobles, but people from all social classes.

Therefore, tonight in all the major restaurants, teahouses, and taverns, everyone was discussing this football match.

Including the White Crystal Inn, where Fan Yong observed everything and quickly had people try to brew a type of wine suitable for watching football.

But they weren’t debating whether old or new football was better. Instead, they were discussing how unfortunate the Guards’ loss was, how shameless Cao Dongdong had been, and they were wildly criticizing the referee and the tie system.

This left those disdainful young dandies quite puzzled – was this football match good or not?

If it was good, why was everyone cursing it? There wasn’t a single person praising it. When talking about the match, everyone was full of complaints.

But if it wasn’t good, why was almost everyone talking about this football match – free kicks, corner kicks, offsides?

Some people even used cloth to demonstrate what offside meant and the formations both sides had used, and everyone argued endlessly about these topics too.

However, compared to the enthusiasm in the streets, very few court officials discussed the football match, since Wang Anshi’s reforms had already begun and their attention wasn’t focused on entertainment at the moment.

Especially since during this match, there had been a small episode where Wang Anshi and Sima Guang formally recommended Zhang Fei to the emperor.

Moreover, everyone had seen very clearly at the time that both men wanted to win Zhang Fei over to their own side.

These two represented the reform and conservative factions respectively.

Those on Wang Anshi’s side weren’t surprised, since in many people’s view, Zhang Fei was already Wang Anshi’s man.

It was precisely for this reason that the conservative faction members felt very surprised.

This included Liu Shu and Qi Hui, the two main assistants helping Sima Guang with judicial reform.

“Academician Sima, I don’t deny Zhang San’s talent, but he clearly supports Wang Anshi. Why should we waste our efforts?”

Liu Shu asked in confusion.

He and Qi Hui had not been demoted last time, precisely because Sima Guang believed that the procuratorate lacked assistants at the time, and these two were officials from the Ministry of Punishments and the Court of Penal Review – they were legal officials by nature, so it was understandable that Su Shi would consult with them.

Sima Guang said, “It’s true that Zhang San has supported Wang Anshi several times, but you must not forget that he has also helped me on several occasions.”

Qi Hui immediately replied, “This shows the boy is quite cunning, playing both sides to curry favor – he’s not trustworthy.”

Between reform and conservatism, Zhang Fei had indeed never taken a clear stance, but judging from some of his actions, he obviously leaned more toward reform.

The main evidence was that lawsuit about ancestral laws. Previously, ancestral laws defended the laws and institutions established by ancestors, but after that lawsuit, Zhang Fei had injected reform genes into ancestral laws, arguing that corrupt practices must be eliminated, and without reform, it would be impossible to eliminate corrupt practices.

Relatively speaking, the conservative faction didn’t trust Zhang Fei as much.

Sima Guang said, “But there’s one thing about him that has never changed.”

“What’s that?”

“His defense of the law.” Sima Guang glanced at them. “In this regard, he has done even better than you two.”

The two men immediately fell silent in shame.

This was indeed indisputable. Although Zhang Fei always won, he consistently won his victories based on the law, not through crooked means – his victories were honorable and aboveboard.

On the other hand, they often cast the law aside, attempting to suppress Zhang Fei through power and influence.

After all, there was now a tradition of officials being superior to commoners, and Zhang Fei was ultimately just a common citizen. Some words coming from Zhang Fei’s mouth were simply inappropriate – this was challenging the authority of the official masters.

Moreover, to put it another way, Zhang Fei had no power or influence, so he could only rely on the law.

In an inherently unfair system, emphasizing fairness always sounded somewhat strange.

Sima Guang continued, “In the last case involving the procuratorate, we lost precisely on this point. If we ourselves don’t defend the law, what grounds do we have to supervise the Reform Planning Commission?

Zhang Fei’s talent and his insights into justice can make up for our shortcomings. If Zhang Fei is willing to help us complete judicial reform, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.”

Seeing that these two still had some doubts, Sima Guang added, “If Zhang San truly throws in completely with Wang Anshi, then he would be able to provide Wang Anshi with means to evade legal supervision, which would be very disadvantageous for us.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Shu and Qi Hui nodded in unison.

Whether Zhang Fei joined them wasn’t something they particularly valued, but they truly feared Zhang Fei joining Wang Anshi’s side. Currently, their strategy was focused on local areas, and the only thing that could stop the New Policies was the judiciary.

So Zhang Fei was indeed quite crucial.

This would be a case of one side gaining while the other lost – double the damage!

Liu Shu asked, “Does Academician Sima have a way to make him assist us in completing judicial reform?”

Sima Guang nodded confidently, “The role he could play at the Reform Planning Commission would be extremely limited, but if he joins us, he’ll be able to fully display his talents. However, you must also set aside your prejudices against Zhang San and stop constantly thinking about teaching him lessons.”

Liu Shu couldn’t help but laugh self-mockingly, “Teach him lessons? If he doesn’t teach us lessons, we should burn incense in gratitude. Those who have offended him seem to have all met bad ends.”

This time Gu Ji was also finished.

Among the court officials, this was already the third victim.

Even without Sima Guang saying so, no one would be foolish enough to trouble Zhang Fei over trivial matters anymore.

Of course, if Zhang Fei were to participate in court politics in the future, that would be another matter entirely.

Sima Guang sighed deeply, “Actually, people like Wang Wenshan, Wang Hong, and Gu Ji – they didn’t lose to Zhang Fei, but brought suffering upon themselves. They always tried to suppress others through power and influence, even willing to break laws and regulations. Added to the fact that they didn’t conduct themselves properly in daily life, they were counterattacked by Zhang San. In fact, far more than just these three had conflicts with Zhang San – why did nothing happen to the others? You should learn from this!”

Liu Shu and Qi Hui nodded awkwardly.

Those three men were basically all corrupt to the core. As long as their power and influence couldn’t suppress Zhang Fei, they would find themselves in a very passive position, because Zhang Fei was just a political novice who, aside from his humble status, had basically no vulnerabilities that could be attacked. And regarding his status, he had the backing of Xu Zun, Wang Anshi, and Sima Guang.

Under Sima Guang’s suggestion, the conservative faction also reached internal consensus to try their best to win over Zhang Fei, but their main purpose was to prevent Zhang Fei from joining Wang Anshi’s camp.

With the competition between the reform faction and the conservative faction, Zhang Fei, who remained among the common people, gained a relatively favorable external environment.

As long as he didn’t take sides, neither faction would regard him as a thorn in their side.

He could focus on beginning his commercial ventures.

On the third day after the match, the News Gazette published an article celebrating the successful conclusion of the Ancestral Celebration Charity Competition.

All donated funds were accounted for, not a single coin missing.

Both sides scored two goals each, for a total of four goals. The charity would contribute four hundred strings to donate winter supplies for the people, and would later publish the list of recipients to facilitate public supervision.

This action caused quite a few people to change their opinion of the charity.

It seemed they were genuinely committed to charity work.

At the same time, they contributed another thousand strings, donating separately to the police bureau for developing police equipment, and to the Imperial Guards for constructing training grounds.

People had been discussing this matter for the past two days, since it had been announced beforehand that the winner would receive a thousand strings, but now with a tie, there was the possibility that the money might not be donated after all.

It was entirely possible.

But the charity still contributed the thousand strings.

This earned them quite a few thumbs up from people.

They were true to their word.

But this was just the appetizer. The charity was officially renamed the Great Song Charity Foundation, with headquarters at the White Crystal Inn, and would contribute ten thousand strings as prize money to organize a football league.

Ten thousand strings?

This absolutely broke all prize money records!

Even the top graduate-scholar couldn’t earn such a reward!