"Haha, money is not a problem. My brother has nothing else. We have plenty of money. As long as we can maintain the current expansion speed, money is nothing. I will get you another 200 million yuan. You just keep doing it. This time
We must quickly establish such a huge chain network." Li Cong said with a smile. Boss Cui didn't agree with Li Cong's approach at the beginning. According to Boss Cui's idea, he would first start with a few people around him.
The counties and cities were slowly absorbed. When one county was completed, it would be another county, and when one province was completed, it would be another province. This was done step by step, but Li Cong felt that it was too slow.
If this is the case, I don’t even know what era it will be by the time the Cao family business is spread throughout the entire empire. It is too slow. Although the investment is huge now, it will be very fast when the returns are paid. By then, these investments will become apparent.
Very insignificant.
"You're really not short of money. Just leave it with me and I won't spend any more money on you. By the way, Xian'er told me something about the charity fund that day. This thing
What's going on? Why don't I understand this thing? Are there other things like insurance? This thing doesn't seem to be easy to get, right?" Boss Cui thought of what he told his sister when he saw him a few days ago.
, it seems like I heard those things for the first time.
"Haha, charity funds and insurance business are two different things. I will explain this to you in the future. This charity foundation will start immediately. It is better to start this insurance business slowly. I can only be our Cao
Cao's Insurance and Cao's Trading Company complement each other. The bigger our Cao's Trading Company spreads its business, the better and better the business of Cao's Insurance will be." Li Cong said with a smile, these things all require one thing.
The package came, so don't rush it. Li Cong also thought that Cui Xian'er and the others had nothing to do at home, so they might as well come out to help and enrich their own lives. When he was on earth, Li Cong would let his few
His wife helped him, and Li Cong wanted to do the same when he got here.
Boss Cui glanced at Li Cong with some confusion. He really didn't know much about these things. Sometimes Boss Cui wondered what kind of things were in his brother-in-law's head and how could he be so powerful. Many times he thought
I opened my brother-in-law’s head to see what was inside, but this was just an idea. If I really wanted to say it, the first person who fell out with me was my sister. Speaking of which, when I saw my sister a few days ago, I was helping her.
He was making clothes with Li Cong, but he, the older brother, didn’t even wear the clothes made by his sister. Li Cong was really lucky.
Naturally, Li Cong didn't know what Boss Cui was thinking at this time. He took some plans about the charity foundation written by Boss Cui and took them to Cui Xian'er. Speaking of which, this girl is really devoted to charity.
I am very interested. The last time I opened the porridge shed, Cui Xian'er felt very accomplished. In the past few days, Cui Xian'er and Li's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been discussing the matter of this charity foundation. The name has already been decided.
It was called the Cao Charitable Foundation, and the date was chosen. It opened on the eighth day of this month, and it only took a few days. The main target of this foundation is first of all the refugees around Ningcheng, Xinjiang.
Although the beast tide has been going on for several months, the number of refugees around here continues to increase. These refugees were not originally coming here, just because there is food to eat here. So a
People are coming here soon. They all want to have a full meal. They don’t have any other intention. They just want to come here to have a full meal. This is basically the case in years of great disasters.
, wherever there is food, everyone will go there.
Li Cong established this charity fund in the same way as other charity funds on earth. It is mainly the same as some large companies on earth. They all hope to promote their company under the guise of charity. This
One thing is understandable. No one is born willing to do charity. They will only think about charity when their own funds have accumulated to a certain level. For ordinary people, feeding themselves may be a problem. Why?
You may want to do charity. Charity is something that is visible and intangible to most people, and has nothing to do with them.
Of course, Li Cong's foundation will not let himself provide money. Li Cong's idea is also very simple. The operations of those foundations are the same. To hold some charity performances or auctions, this of course requires
Others pay for it and you use other people's money to promote yourself. If you use your own money to do charity, it is better to do advertising directly. This is why so many big companies have their own charitable foundations.
It can absorb some donations, and how it operates will be your own business. Outsiders don't need to explain it to you. Also, you don't need to pay taxes for things like charity, and you won't have to pay taxes when the time comes.
It is very convenient, which is also an important reason for its establishment. Of course, Li Cong's establishment of this business has nothing to do with tax collection. It is mainly to help Cao's firm gain popularity.
In the southern provinces, the reputation of the Cao Family Trading Company is still very good, but if you go further north, it is not so good. Even if you go south into the Warcraft Mountains, it basically has no reputation. This year's popularity is very important for those who do business.
People are very important, but in this era there are no new advertising media, so we can only rely on traditional publicity. To be honest, the effect of these traditional publicity is not very good, but it is very expensive.
.
When Li Cong came in, Cui Xian'er and Li's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were talking there. The two of them were in very high spirits. Li and Cui Xian'er had a very good relationship in the past. Earlier, Li was worried about the princess coming in.
It will have a very bad impact on Cui Xian'er in the future, but now it seems that these girls know what they should do. Now Li Cong's family can be considered a harmonious family. Of course, there is no conflict if there are several wives and one husband.
It's impossible, but as long as it doesn't come to light, it means we can still get through it. This is basically the current situation, which is pretty good.
"Greetings to my mother. My mother's health has been really good recently. My son is really damned. He has been busy doing his own things during this period and rarely comes to say hello to his mother." Li Cong said as he came in.
Yes, this little mouth is really good at talking. Although Li Cong rarely comes to Li Cong to say hello. But Li Cong knows everything about Li. Li is definitely a warm-hearted person.
Basically, everyone will do whatever they ask for. How can someone who doesn't blame others blame his own son? Mrs. Li was originally very angry that Li Cong hadn't been here for a long time, but now she saw Li Cong coming over.
, it seems that those words I said are nothing. I just wish my son is safe.
"What's wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with me. I have to take care of everything. As time goes by, I think this old bone of mine won't be able to do anything." Li said with a smile,
Although she said she was not happy, she was still very happy in her heart. In the past, even if she was a maid, she couldn't compare. In winter, the maids' houses had charcoal fires, but the houses of Li's mother and son had nothing.
No, the weather is more than ten degrees below zero, that person is really cruel.
"Haha. Now that I am still old, I naturally have to rest at home. My son can take care of the things outside. Basically, they are trivial things." Li Cong said with a smile, there are still few things outside.
It's good to let Li Cong know. Li Cong chatted a few more words and saw several old people walking towards Li. In the past, Li would have been very scared, but it's different now.
There is no need to be afraid when meeting your mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law is a first-grade Madam of Fengsheng, and she is also a first-grade Madam of Imperial Order. Speaking of which, she is still a little lacking.
The few people here are all high-status people within the Cao clan. They come here to tell Li Cong some ways of running a family. It can be said that these people have very different ideas from Li Cong. These people come here
The time they have been here is not short, but so far they have not intervened in anything. The suffocation in their hearts will naturally come out on Li, but they are all busy paying attention to the previous one, but they have not paid attention
As for Li Cong's affairs, who knows that Li Cong is already the emperor's grandson-in-law. It's impossible for you old ladies from the countryside to find anything against Li Cong.
"A few old ladies are here, are they living a good life in the house?" Li Cong said with a smile. After the beast tide, it can be said that not many people from the Cao family came out, but people from the side branches of the Cao family did.
There were a lot of people. Now they heard that Li Cong was doing well, so they all came here one by one. This is how it is in this era. Although these people are not close to Li Cong, these people
Everyone has the name of an elder, and Li Cong needs to take good care of them. At first, Li Cong thought that these people were more or less familiar with the Li family in the past, and they would be companions after they came in.
It's very good. At the beginning, these people did really well, but as time went by, they also saw that this Li was not a person who knew how to fight at all, and little tails were coming out one by one.
Already.
"Both of you are in your own home. What's wrong? Brother, have you just come back? Brother, you still have to take care of the affairs in this house. Everything that comes out from the left and the right belongs to our Cao family.
If you have money, this outsider may not be so interested." The person speaking is still an aunt of Li Cong, but when Cao was here, he didn't like this concubine's aunt very much. During the beast tide, this
This aunt runs very fast, otherwise she wouldn't have kept her head.
Li Cong's smile slowly disappeared on his face. The Cao family had nothing to do with him. Although he had borrowed some connections from the Cao family in the past, the current Cao family was not the same as the previous Cao family.
It's absolutely different. Basically everything happening now is caused by myself. If it really has anything to do with the Cao family, it just has the word Cao on it. Other than that, it has nothing to do with it.
The reason why you say this is simply because you want to be the master.
"Outsiders? I don't understand what Madam said. There don't seem to be any outsiders in this mansion. Although this mansion is not small, there are only a few serious masters in the mansion. My mother and my two wives, and others
It's nothing, right?" Li Cong said with a smile. Mrs. Li was still a little worried over there, but now she understood that her son was trying to support her, and the expression on his face was very determined.
You want to pick on me? That's impossible. You didn't treat us as human beings before, and now you want to manage the house as before? That's impossible.
Mrs. Cao had prepared a lot of words, but she didn’t expect Li Cong to say such a sentence. She immediately didn’t know how to go on. In the past, Li Cong always felt that they were a family and talked a lot, so they didn’t want to.
To put it bluntly, it's just a few more people to eat. Now it seems that it's not that simple. It can be seen from the expressions of mother and Cui Xian'er that the existence of these people is not a good thing for Li.
Think about it and you will know that in the past, Mrs. Li had no status in the family. This was Cao Zheng's aunt, and the status of the two people was determined. At the beginning, the aunt was in shock, so naturally she
He won't be so domineering anymore. Is it possible that he wants to take over the whole family now that he has established a foothold? Is Li Cong a fool? He can find a master for himself if he has nothing to do. Now it's just a matter of looking at it.
"It's like this. I think my two cousins were fine when Madam came here. I do have some errands for my two cousins to do. I don't know what my aunt means?" Li Cong thought for a while and said,
After all, filial piety is still required in this society. If you drive your aunt out, people outside will kill you for gossiping. Want to expand the Cao family business? It’s better not to think about it. Mr. Taoism will do it when the time comes.
It’s a good thing if they don’t come to your door to preach to you.
When the aunt heard that Li Cong was willing to arrange errands for her two sons, she immediately lost her dissatisfaction. These two sons have now become old bachelors and live in the front yard of the mansion.
All of them were in their forties or fifties, but they hadn't married yet. There were families in the past, but they all died in the beast wave. They ran very fast one by one without paying any attention to them.
It is definitely impossible to find someone else for my own wife now. It is okay for two people to have a relationship. But it is also impossible to find a wife if you don’t have money. If you can do it casually in the Cao family business
It's also very good to get a job. At least you have hope for the future, right?
"What can I mean? You guys have the final say on your affairs. The most I can do is chat with your mother in the back." The direction of the wind is not changing very quickly.
Kung Fu had already forgotten what happened just now, and said that he was just a person eating in the house.
"Well. Since my aunt doesn't have any objections, here's what I think. The Cao's Commercial Bank's grain transport team still lacks two stewards. If the two cousins are willing, they can go there in the afternoon." Regarding this aunt Li Cong,
It's not like socializing at all. These two cousins look like they are the ones who want to eat, drink and have fun. They are not expected to do any work when they are invited in, as long as they can be paid to continue their dawdling life.
That's just the first step. The second step is that Li Cong will give them a house. As long as you move out from here, the rest has nothing to do with me.
The aunt went out with a lot of thanks. When the woman went out, Li Cong could clearly feel that Mrs. Li was relieved. Li Cong sighed. His mother was noble now, but her heart was still too charitable.
Now, the princess is your daughter-in-law. How can such an aunt with no foundation still scare you like this?
After Li Cong said a few words, he saw Liu Qing peeking outside. Something must have happened. Li Cong came out, and Li Cong and his wife continued to talk about the charity foundation. Liu Qing
There is indeed something to come to see Li Cong. Li Cong's foundation plan includes training his own armed forces. Some time ago, Li Cong took out the genetic medicines on the earth and tested them.
I found that as long as those who have the ability, whether they are first-level warriors or fifth-level warriors, are basically useless. They are only effective for ordinary people. Even if the medicine is strengthened, it will have no effect at all, so
If Li Cong wants to build an armed force that he can control, he must start from scratch. It just so happens that the charity fund will establish an orphanage plan, and these orphans will be Li Cong's target in the future.
Li Cong's plan is very simple. He hopes that he can develop a pill that can allow these ordinary people to become warriors, archers, and even magicians. Of course, this path is not that simple.
Yes, but it’s okay to have more people that you can control. This plan is divided into two parts. One part of the people will take the elixir studied by Li Cong and become stronger people. The other part is that these people will study hard.
For some business management matters, they will become the managers of Cao's firm everywhere in the future.
The society is not completely indifferent to orphans, but people in this era are not very interested in charity at all, that is, some old ladies from wealthy families who eat fast and chant Buddha want to do some good deeds. As for other things
People would never have such thoughts at all. They just have this idea for a moment. After this period of heat, they basically don’t care about these things. Some such things will also happen in temples, but in recent years, temples
There are quite a few monks here who make money through this, but not many who actually do charity through this. So although Jiang Ningcheng has several charity halls, most of them just put up a brand. In recent years, they
Nothing really happened.
I heard that the earl was going to take over these charity halls. The city lord's palace and the county magistrate were very happy. Being an official would benefit one party, and they didn't want their streets to be full of orphans. Generally speaking, these people have no parents.
There are quite a few children there. They don’t have the ability to take care of this matter themselves. The main issue is money. Now that the earl has this idea, they would be really sorry for themselves if they don’t help. What if they really do something?
He can also take credit for his achievements. He quickly handed over the information of these charity halls to Li Cong one by one.
Currently, there are four charity halls in Chengzhong, Jiangning, and one in each of the six counties below. There are a total of 1,025 orphans in the ten charity halls, of which 255 are boys and the rest are girls. This society has
It was still very similar in ancient China. Boys were more precious. Even if the family was poor, they would not throw away the boys in their family. This girl is different. She really can't afford it.
They can only be sent to the charity hall. They are all children from poor families, and they are all under ten years old. Speaking of this age, it actually has something to do with the rules of the charity hall here, because they simply don’t have enough money.
To raise these children, they have to go out to find their own way after the age of ten. Many ten-year-old children cry at the door for several days, but compared to those younger children, sending them out is the best option.
It was the right choice. Li Cong smiled helplessly. If they were pushed into society at the age of ten, these people would probably have nothing but hatred for society in the future. Will the public security of this society be better in the future? Orphans will definitely affect social security.
important factor.
It is impossible for Li Cong to train all the more than a thousand children into his own armed forces. It is really difficult to train so many people. He really doesn't have that ability. Even though he makes a lot of money now, but
If they really started to train, this would be an astronomical figure. Li Cong gave this task to Liu Qing and asked him to stay with these children for a period of time to see which of these people have potential and train them by himself.
I also know how much I know when I'm doing it.
"Master, I took a look. It seems that these children are not very well nourished. Each one of them lacks a lot of food than their peers, and their brains are not very flexible. A place like the Charity Hall is not for children.
The children are growing up well, but there is no guarantee of food there, and each of them has a very withdrawn temperament." Liu Qing knew Li Cong's plan, and in Liu Qing's opinion, each of these people will be in trouble in the future.
It will be difficult to become talented. Even if they become talented, each of these people will have problems. If not, they will cause great danger to society. I really don’t know why the boss is doing this. If there is a shortage of manpower
You can just hire someone, and there won't be any big problems.
Li Cong smiled and said nothing. What he needed was a ruthless team, a team as sharp as arrows, so the temperament of these children was what he needed. As for how they would control these things in the future, it was not
Liu Qing thought about it. If he didn't have those genetic medicines, he wouldn't dare to use these guys. You must know that these guys are really terrible. If one of them is not good, he may bring several Hitlers to this society.
Yes, such things are definitely not alarmist. After knowing the situation, Li Cong naturally knew what to do next.
"Now the procedures have basically been completed. You will be given half a year to take good care of these children. Put together all their temperaments and other things that can be changed, and put the most withdrawn ones that cannot be changed.
Together, I have a use. From now on, no matter whose children are willing to be abandoned for whatever reason, we will keep them all. This is also an iron rule of our foundation." Li Cong said with a smile. The nature that can be changed
You will go to various places to be stewards of the Cao family business. Those who are very lonely will naturally be the sharp swords in your hands in the future. If anyone has trouble with you in the future, I am afraid these sharp swords will be on your heads.
Looking at Li Cong's back, Liu Qing really didn't know what his young master wanted these dirty children to do, but he had become familiar with Li Cong for such a long time. Li Cong knew how to handle everything.
After thinking about it for a period of time, you will definitely not start doing things without investigating. Since the young master has said that, we can stop thinking about being slaves.
The Tiger Mercenary Group is in the stronghold of Jiang Ningcheng. The boss of the Tiger Mercenary Group, Kaishan Hu, who has been resting for a long time, slowly opened his eyes. The second and third masters next to him also have many elders and guardians.
Everyone held their breath. No one was sure that even if the boss woke up at this time, taking Xiao Huan Dan was actually dangerous. In the end, there were only two, and one of them was the boss.
There will be no sequelae in the future. Of course, the other one is that the boss has woken up, but his health is not good. He is just getting better. It will be good if he can wake up for one day at most. Looking at the look in his eyes at this moment, they don't know what the boss is.
How is it going?
"Boss... how do you feel?" the second boss asked timidly. In the past, the boss's eyes were very warm when he looked at me, as if he was a big brother, but now I don't know
What's going on? The boss's eyes are so fierce and spicy, as if he is not the same person. Could it be that the boss's temperament has changed due to sleeping for many years? In any case, several people here seem to be thinking in their hearts.
Not very comfortable.
"Well, I think it's okay. Why are you all here? Is there nothing going on in the organization? Second and third, you two can stay here, and the others can go out." Kaishanhu glanced at those people
Elders, he saw fear in the eyes of the elders and protectors. These people must have done something behind his back, and it was obvious that these people did not want him to wake up, but they didn't think so.
He succeeded, and he still woke up.
After everyone went out, the boss's eyes changed again. The second boss and the third boss felt relieved. However, both of them thought about their mistakes over the years, and didn't wait for the boss to say anything.
Both men knelt down.
"Brother, it's all our fault. The Tiger Mercenary Group is almost split apart due to the two of us..." The second brother started talking when the boss was unconscious. This time
It took several hours for Zi to make his statement. The expression on the boss's face was very rich. Speaking of the boss's own direct line power, it was just the power in the hands of the second and third sons. The rest had little to do with him.
They listen to themselves mainly because they are very capable, and nothing else matters.
The boss was silent for a long time after listening to what the second brother said. When he was still awake, he knew that things were not that simple. Those people had a purpose when they looked at him. They would not be so obedient. He didn't expect that he was unconscious.
During this period of time, these people have actually gone so far and done things like splitting. There is really something wrong with these people's brains. Although the boss wants to kill them all quickly, he also understands that now is not the time.
When I should be angry, my current strength is less than half of what I was at my peak. This is all because I am too eager to achieve success. It is too difficult to deal with these elders now. Each of them has different abilities.
There has been a lot of progress in these years, but not only have I not made any progress in these years, but on the contrary, I have fallen so far behind.
"I already know this. You two just get up. I can't blame you. I still know what you two are capable of. It's hard for you to manage such a large organization, especially the third child.
, I didn’t like to use my brain very much before, but now you have helped me use my brain for such a long time. I really want to thank you two.” The boss’s eyes were red when he spoke. It was only him who could wake up after all these years.
These two guys did not give up on themselves, otherwise they might have to sleep forever. At that time, it had nothing to do with him what the Tiger Mercenary Group would become, and this matter also tested these two brothers.
There were many opportunities for the two of them to replace the boss, but they did not do so. From this, it can be seen that the quality of these two people is really very good.
The third child was moved and felt bitter immediately after hearing the boss's words. His brain is not the material for playing tricks at all, and he has been really embarrassed over the years. Hearing the boss's words affirmed that he already felt that these years have not been in vain.
wasted.
"Second brother, I'm still not sure about the master you just mentioned. I knew a lot of masters in the past, but if the master you mentioned is true, I think he might be among the top three in the world.
Maybe it is possible to be number one. There are many masters among the hermit masters. But I have never heard of any of these people being space magicians. A space magician will appear anywhere.
Change the balance of the entire region. Not to mention a ninth-level space magician. If he can break through and become a tenth-level magician, this continent will really belong to this guy." The boss said, he also wanted to become stronger. If he really
Just like people like the second brother said, a tiger mercenary group is nothing, the world belongs to oneself.
"Boss, I really didn't lie about this. Not only did the third child see it at that time, but also the reputable people in our organization, as well as some experts from other organizations. He is indeed a space magician, and he is also a space magician.
A multi-type magician. We saw several types of magic that day. This guy is definitely no ordinary person. He can control several ninth-level warriors with just one move." The second brother still thought about what happened that day.
It's a bit scary. Those people don't have very good tempers. If they are accidentally killed, they will probably just think that they are unlucky and no one will avenge them.
"Yes, boss, that person is really awesome. When I saw that person, I felt a little chilled all over just by looking at me. That guy is definitely not a simple person. I feel that he may be the best in the world.
"There are always many people willing to listen to news about strong people. At this time, the third child also came over and said, although the second and third child's skills are not very good, the eyes they have trained over the years are very good. Boss
He nodded. He was pretty sure.
"Who is the Cao Ke that the senior mentioned? Why have we become the envy of others?" The boss still doesn't understand this.
"Haha, boss, let me tell you this. When you were in coma, my second sister and I would go there as soon as we heard about the alchemist. We must find someone who can refine the Xiaohuan Dan.
Not to mention that we really found him, the disciple of that master, that Cao Ke. But at that time, Cao Ke was not as famous as he is now. At best, he was just a young man. The relationship between us and the boy was still very good.
That's right, the senior asked us to take care of that kid before he left. In fact, I think there is no need for us to help with the help of the Magician's Guild and his master." The third guy rushed to say, and the boss shook his head helplessly.
Shaking his head, I originally thought that my third brother's mind would be normal, but now it seems that he is still the same as before. There is such a master behind him. There are so many people like him with chins today, so hurry up if you don't tell me.
He leaned closer to me, and he even said that he didn't need to be taken care of. I really don't know what was going on in this guy's mind.
"Okay, third brother. Brother is tired. You go out and get some food for him." The second child also said helplessly. The third child slapped himself on the forehead and ran out to get something. "I'm sorry, brother."
, I have taught him, but he..."
"But he's not enlightened, right? Well, in fact, Third Brother's temperament is quite good, but it's better to let him have some brains. Forget it, let's talk about his affairs later, and we can't give it to this kid now.
I changed it." The boss was also helpless.
"Brother, actually we have a very good relationship with that Cao Ke. When we came to visit him, he was still a very ordinary person. We didn't treat that boy badly. This incident was mainly because of the Second Elder.
The reason is that our compensation this time is very large, but I think we can make it back in the future business. The things sold in the Cao Family Firm founded by Cao Ke cannot be bought elsewhere, and the profit is very big.
The big one." The second brother briefly talked about his relationship with Li Cong.
"Well, you've done a good job on this. Let the Second Elder and the others pay for this later. I will use this matter to test them. If they still want to rebel, they will definitely not pay for it. If they want to be with us,
If you make a fortune, they will provide this money. You immediately send someone to discuss this matter with Cao Ke. As long as it is not too excessive, we will agree. You go handle this matter first. This is important.
Zhongzhizhong, please go out and call me the elders and guardians." The boss thought for a while and asked those people to come in. He originally wanted to talk to these people later, but now it seems that it must be done quickly.
Time waits for no one. If I wait until my abilities are restored, I don’t know what the situation will be like.
"Brother, your injury is just fine. Isn't it too dangerous to meet those elders alone? Do you want me to call someone to watch?" The second brother glanced at the boss. This boss's body is now good enough to be an eighth-level warrior.
, but he is really weak.
"Haha, if you have more people, they have more people. If you call them, they will call them. Naturally, I will not see them alone. Instead, I will gather these people together and treat them one by one.
There is an intention to rebel, but how can they do it in front of so many people? Absolutely impossible." The boss said with a smile, and the second thought the same thing, so he went on.
In fact, at this moment, people on both sides of the Tiger Mercenary Group are reflecting on their actions. They almost suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, that peerless expert did not care about us. Otherwise, at least many people would not be able to return today.
I came here to save the boss for this reason. The boss is a master after all. She is his younger brother. If something happens, she can’t just retreat and ignore everything. In that case, the boss will
He is really not very competent. Anyone would abandon such a boss.
No one knows what the boss said to the elders, but many people know that the elders began to change defenses the next day, and they were all very respectful. The second brother asked the boss, and all he got was a chuckle.
Sound, there is nothing left. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly votes, and your support is my biggest motivation. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated.