The shop owner's cousin is named Jiang. He is a dark-skinned middle-aged man who looks very smart and capable.
"Mr. Chen, this is my cousin, Jiang Xiaonian, the proprietor of Jiang's Winery!" the innkeeper introduced to Chen Qing.
The two of them bowed their hands in greeting, and Chen Qing had just learned from the waiter that Jiang's Winery was ranked among the top ten in the county.
Chen Qing smiled and waved his hand, "Mr. Jiang, sit down and have a cup of tea first!"
Jiang Xiaonian was in a hurry. Jiuqu cakes were extremely popular, and he was afraid that others would come after hearing the news.
"Boss Chen, let's have tea later and take a look at the goods first!"
Chen Qing nodded and said to one of his subordinates: "Take Boss Jiang to see the goods and let him choose!"
His subordinates agreed and took Boss Jiang there, but Chen Qing sat outside drinking tea. He was not worried about the quality of his goods at all. They were all high-quality wine and koji cakes taken from the Bianliang Palace. I am afraid that none of the wine merchants here have seen them.
Pass.
After a while, Boss Jiang ran out like a gust of wind, "I want all these rice cakes. Boss Chen, please give me a price!"
“It’s not bad!”
"They are all top-quality goods. I haven't seen such good things in many years."
Seeing his anxious face, Chen Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, I can sell you anything, and the price won't be expensive. I want to know the market, tell me!"
When Jiang Dongzhu saw that the other party agreed to give the goods to him, he felt a little calmer. He sat down and said: "The market is good now. It is related to the tax exemption order issued by the Provost Envoy last year. In the past, wine was controlled by the government. We brewers had to pay a tax every year."
A large amount of money is spent to buy a liquor license. To sell liquor, you need a liquor license, and you have to pay money to the government every year. You have to buy koji cakes from the government at a high price. Finally, the price of liquor is very expensive. Nowadays, making and selling liquor are all tax-free, and koji cakes can also be used.
If you do it yourself, your business will start to improve.”
"Does your wine only serve Kaifeng Mansion?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Before, it was not allowed to sell wine across state lines, but now it is allowed, but it is not allowed to sell wine across roads. Yesterday, a wine merchant from Yingchang Prefecture came to my winery and bought two hundred barrels of wine."
"I don't quite understand it. Henan Road is supposed to have been pretty much destroyed. There are so many hungry people. Where do they get the money to buy alcohol and eat in restaurants?"
Boss Jiang smiled and said: "We often discuss this issue with customers who buy wine. There are several reasons. One is that wine is now tax-free and relatively cheap, so many restaurants want to stock more goods, but they are afraid that the price of wine will be high after tax.
rise."
Chen Qing nodded. This is a very important reason. Businessmen are hoarding goods while they are cheap. It is also because restaurants everywhere are not confident about the government's credit. But on the other hand, restaurants and shops everywhere are optimistic about the future, otherwise they would not stock up on wine.
"Aside from stocking up?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Then in recent months, people have really got a lot of money in their hands. Just look at Yuchi County. Every restaurant has opened, and almost all shops have opened. They have to hire people and pay wages. Another 50 cents a day.
Yes, you can buy a dime of wine if you save ten cents. There are still a few months of river widening, and hundreds of thousands of people have been hired. Basically everyone has earned seven or eight cents, so they also want to buy it.
If you want something, you should also drink some wine."
"It seems that the shops still have money to purchase goods."
"Over the years, I have accumulated some savings, but the Puppet Qi Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom collected taxes too harshly, so everyone had to pretend to be poor. The poorer you are, the safer you are, otherwise you will be targeted by the officials and your little wealth will be extorted.
"
Chen Qing laughed and said: "It makes sense, otherwise where would all the money go?"
Chen Qing took a sip of tea and asked: "How many years does Jiang Dongzhu think it will take for the Central Plains to return to the prosperity of the Xuanhe period?"
"I made a bet with others and they thought it would take at least ten years, but I think five or six years is enough."
"Tell me the reason!" Chen Qing said with great interest.
"The biggest reason is that the population is getting smaller. It is now only half the population of the Xuanhe period at most. With a smaller population, there is more land. The second important reason is that the government is tax-free and will be exempt from tax for ten years. This is a huge benefit for everyone.
They will work hard, accumulate wealth, and take advantage of the ten-year tax holiday to make it big. This opportunity will never come again in the future. For these two reasons, in five years, the prosperity will be comparable to that of the Xuanhe period, unless Jin Bing returns again.
There's nothing we can do if we break in and plunder the wealth again."
Chen Qing nodded. This boss Jiang still has some knowledge. He saw one of the most critical issues, that is, population. If the population is reduced by half, the per capita resources will be more, which will naturally lead to rapid development. In all dynasties, development was at its peak during the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The reason is that the population is small and the resources per capita are abundant.
At this time, the innkeeper rushed in and said: "Hurry up! Wu Dongzhu of Wu's Winery has smelled it and wants to come over to see the koji cakes."
Boss Jiang jumped up in fright and hurriedly said to Chen Qing: "Let's settle the bill. One jiuqu cake costs 800 cents. Yours is of high quality. I reckon it's five for one. Is this price acceptable?"
Chen Qing knew the market price. An ordinary Jiuqu cake in Bianliang cost 1 yuan per piece. His price was 2 yuan, which was difficult to buy. However, it was normal for Yuchi County to be cheaper than Bianliang. The price was not bad.
He nodded happily and said: "Let's calculate it according to the consistent five! I brought a total of two thousand, which is exactly three thousand guan of money. It is best to give silver."
"It's hard to get money now! Let's go to the counter shop and give you the three thousand guan from the counter shop directly. Then the counter shop will issue a counter ticket and you can get the money in Bianliang without having to carry the three thousand guan with you.
Put the money in and hit the road.”
"Is it Fu Kee Cabinet Shop?"
Fuji Cabinet Shop is the largest cabinet shop on Henan Road and is headquartered in Bianliang. Its owner is a wealthy family from Hebei. It is said that he is somewhat related to Wanyan Wushu's confidant Army Master Fan Gong, which is why he survived the iron hoof of the golden soldiers who were like tigers and wolves.
, he played a huge role when Chen Qing liquidated the high officials of the puppet Qi Dynasty, so he was spared under Chen Qing's rule.
"It's Fu Kee Counter Shop. If we have more money, we can use its counter. It's very convenient!"
Chen Qing nodded, "I'll let my subordinates handle it with you. The goods will be placed in the inn. You can come and pick them up at any time!"
"Can you let me inspect all the goods, while your men are watching?"
Chen Qing understood his caution and nodded happily, "You can just inspect the goods!"
Chen Qing gave a few instructions to his two men, and then he went to wander on the streets. Of course, he was not just wandering around, but he was learning about the situation in the county through the pedestrians and shops on the street.
For example, you can tell from the clothes, skin color, mental outlook, etc., and also from the situation of the store.
The north and south streets in Yuchi County are called Dukang Street, which is related to wine. As expected, there are wine shops all along the way. There is a shop every few steps. The street is full of the smell of wine lees.
There are many pedestrians, most of them dressed in older clothes, mainly gray and black, and wearing fine linen shirts, but there are also some wearing coarse linen clothes, mainly the elderly.
At this time, Chen Qing saw a familiar store, the Pingcang Store with a red roof and white wooden walls. There was a flagpole next to it, and the banner carried read "Pingcang Store" in three big characters.
There was a queue in front of the store, with three queues, each with hundreds of people. The Pingcang store supplies coarse grains and coarse cloth. Coarse salt has been cancelled. The Pingcang store supplies coarse salt, which seriously affects the salt tax.
The Pingcang store was not opened by the county, but directly by Zhang Xiao's pacification envoy, bypassing the state and county governments. The price was cheap. Each bucket of shelled wheat only cost 20 coins, and a piece of coarse cloth cost 30 coins. Basically,
It doesn't make any money, but it guarantees the food and clothing of the people at the lowest level.
This is also Chen Qing's original intention. Every single elderly person over fifty years old and orphans under fourteen years old can receive a monthly subsidy of one hundred cents, which is enough for them to eat.
Why do we need to be over fifty years old? The life span of ordinary people is actually relatively short. Most of them can only live to be over fifty years old. The actual expenditure is not much. There are only twenty or thirty lonely elderly people over fifty years old in each county.
, this expenditure is more of a symbolic meaning.
"Dang! Dang!"
A few gongs sounded, and an official sedan came in front. A dozen government officials walked in front holding signs, avoiding and being silent. This was the official sedan that should be used by the county magistrate.
At this moment, a young woman wearing sackcloth and wearing mourning kneeled in front of the sedan chair with two children who were also wearing mourning. The young woman raised the petition above her head and shouted, "The women of the country have been wronged. Please plead with the county king to help."
The women of the people redress their grievances!”
Chen Qing didn't expect that he would encounter such a bloody thing. He stopped on the roadside to see how the Tang magistrate would deal with it.
