In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 690 Li Mingyuan's Regret

"As far as I know, most of the land and wealth of Chenjia Village are also in the hands of young friend Chen. Yet the people of Chenjia Village are able to benefit from it. What explanation do you have for this?"

Li Mingyuan stared into Chen Dao's eyes and asked.

"Because the kid isn't that greedy!"

Chen Dao said with a hint of sarcasm, "I have met some landlords and powerful families in Qingzhou and witnessed their greedy faces. They occupy the most land, but they do not need to cultivate it themselves. Instead, they enslave the people to cultivate it for them. They would rather let the grain they produce rot in the warehouse than give a single grain to the people. The farmers who cultivate it for them can hardly even fill their stomachs. How ridiculous!"

Li Mingyuan nodded slightly. The landlords and aristocratic families that Chen Dao mentioned were exactly the same as what he knew. In the Xia Kingdom, aristocratic families all had serfs. These serfs worked hard and sweated for the aristocratic families, and the reward they received was only enough to barely fill their stomachs with two meals a day. Their status within the aristocratic families was even lower than that of cattle and horses.

"The reason why the villagers of Chenjia Village have become rich is because the boy is far less greedy than those aristocratic families."

Chen Dao continued, "The aristocratic families will give away at most 10%, or even less, of the profits they earn from the common people, but I will give away at least 50% to the common people!"

This is why the villagers of Chenjia Village are so wealthy. The young man has become rich because of the villagers' hard work, and naturally he wants to give back to them so they can live a good life.

"I see."

Li Mingyuan looked at Chen Dao with admiration in his eyes. Chen Dao's reasoning was very simple: some people take too much. Those powerful families benefit from the people but never think of giving back to them. Instead, they enslave the people, which is why the people are poor.

In contrast, Chen Dao, the largest landlord and capitalist in Chenjia Village, was a landlord with a "conscience," therefore...

The villagers of Chenjia Village can also enjoy the benefits of the village's development, and live a prosperous and happy life.

What Chen Dao did sounds simple—nothing more than distributing more benefits to the people. But in reality, how many people can do what Chen Dao did?

Those powerful families, let alone sharing their interests with the common people, would be attacked by the masses if even Li Mingyuan, the former prime minister, tried to touch their interests. This shows how greedy those powerful families were.

"Young friend, you are quite generous."

Li Mingyuan said with a smile, "I have traveled all over the land and seen countless greedy people, but it is extremely rare to find someone like young friend Chen who does not love money."

"To be honest, Prime Minister Li, I also like money."

Upon hearing Chen Dao's words, Zheng Qiuyan, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but nod in agreement. How could Chen Dao not love money?

He's so greedy!

When she was negotiating with me, she was so calculating and petty, just like a middle-aged woman at the market.

"but……"

Chen Dao then changed the subject, saying, "I think that as long as you have enough money to eat and wear, that's enough! Any more is useless."

This was Chen Dao's truest thought. He had never been a person who cared about money more than anything. Money was something you couldn't take with you when you died, so what did it matter how much you had? Could you take it to the underworld to enjoy?

Li Mingyuan looked directly into Chen Dao's eyes, and seeing that Chen Dao's expression seemed genuine, he couldn't help but sigh, "Young friend, you're quite open-minded! If everyone in the world were like you, that would be wonderful!"

If everyone in the world, especially those from noble families, were less greedy like Chen Dao, then his ambitions would surely have been realized long ago, right?

Li Mingyuan sighed inwardly and said, "Yesterday I went to the drill ground of Chenjia Village and saw the Chen family army, which was as fierce as wolves and tigers. I wonder if you, young friend, have the ambition to compete for the world?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dao gave Li Mingyuan a deep look and asked in return, "I wonder if Prime Minister Li hopes I have it, or hopes I don't?"

I hope you have it!

Without hesitation, Li Mingyuan said that the world was destined to change hands. If someone like Chen Dao could sit on the throne of the world's ruler, it would definitely be a good thing for the people of the Nine Provinces.

At least Chen Dao wasn't that greedy; at least he treated the people well and was willing to share more benefits with them.

Unlike the White Lotus Sect, which sought to exploit and exploit the people, this sect did not.

"Then I'm afraid Prime Minister Li will be disappointed."

Chen Dao shook his head; he had never considered becoming emperor.

To be a good emperor, one must not only have strong political wisdom, but also be good at intrigue and fighting against seasoned veterans in the bureaucracy.

Chen Dao was just a seventeen-year-old boy. Even if you include his age from his previous life, he only had about thirty years of life experience. He was no match for those seasoned veterans in officialdom.

Moreover... being an emperor requires not only these things, but also diligence.

Historical records indicate that Zhu Yuanzhang worked an average of 13 to 18 hours a day, processing more than 200 memorials daily...

The thought of such long working hours and such a huge workload made Chen Dao's scalp tingle. It was even more terrifying than the 996 work schedule in his previous life. Chen Dao believed that he had absolutely no chance of enduring it.

Of course, this is under the premise of wanting to be a good emperor. If you don't have the idea of ​​being a good emperor, then being an emperor is quite simple.

Just look at the one in the capital now. He spends his days enjoying himself in the harem, leaving all political affairs to the prime minister and the six ministries. His life couldn't be more comfortable.

However, Chen Dao considered himself a responsible person. The emperor's every word and action affected millions of people. He could not live like the emperor in the capital, who hid in the harem to enjoy himself and did not care about the lives of the people.

Therefore, Chen Dao, who believed he lacked the ability and could not ignore the lives of ordinary people, never considered becoming emperor.

It's good as it is now. Chen Dao is happy to be a "local tyrant" in Chenjia Village, and the villagers are also happy. That's enough.

"The reason I established the Chen Family Army is simply to ensure the safety of Chen Family Village."

Chen Dao said, "As for becoming emperor, I have never thought about it."

Li Mingyuan stared intently at Chen Dao's face, and seeing that Chen Dao's expression did not seem to be fake, he couldn't help but feel regret.

He was utterly disillusioned with the emperor and the court, and desperately hoped that a wise ruler would emerge in the land to bring happiness and stability to its people.

Previously, the wise ruler he favored was Yang Zheng of Liangzhou, and now he has added Chen Dao to his list of favorites, but unfortunately...

Chen Dao had no intention of vying for the position of the ruler of the world.

"Pity."

Li Mingyuan sighed with disappointment, "If you, young friend, can start an uprising, it may be a blessing for the people of Kyushu."

"Prime Minister Li, there is no need to be disappointed!"

Chen Dao smiled and said, "Even if the boy doesn't cause trouble, the people of Kyushu may still benefit from Chen Family Village."