When Chen Qing returned to the official office, it was already dusk, and the officials had all gone home from court, so Chen Qing had no choice but to go home directly and wait until tomorrow.
Chen Qing walked directly into the mansion, but Butler Tian chased him from behind, "Stop! Who are you? You dare to break into Prince Yong's Mansion."
"Steward Tian, it's me!" Chen Qing then remembered that he was still wearing a mask, and quickly spit out the whistle in his mouth, and his voice returned to normal.
"Your Majesty is wearing a mask?" Butler Tian also heard the voice.
"certainly!"
Butler Tian still couldn't believe it and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you should wash it off first! It will scare the ladies."
"Steward Tian, let me do it!"
Princess Lu Xiu came from the guest hall with a large group of servants. She glanced at Chen Qing and said with a smile: "Where did this wild boy come from? If you break into the palace, you will be punished!"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Hey! Whose wife is this? She is quite handsome!"
The maids and servants behind covered their mouths and snickered. Lu Xiu blushed, stepped forward and pinched Chen Qing's arm hard, and ordered: "Chun Yu and Dong Xue, hurry up and get a basin of hot water from the kitchen."
The two maids rushed away. Chen Qing went to the guest room and sat down. Lu Xiu carefully tore off the mask for her husband. After running hot water and washing his face, he returned to his original state.
Lu Xiu was a little displeased and said, "My husband went to have a private visit incognito again?"
"I'm just going to Wazi to take a walk and get to know the situation of the people at the bottom. Don't worry! The internal guards are in charge, and the soldiers are following them!"
As a maid and servant, Lu Xiu couldn't say anything.
Chen Qingxiao asked: "Why is Madam outside?"
"Counsellor Zhou's wife came just now and sat with her for a while."
"What is Counselor Zhou's wife doing here?"
"Nothing? I just want to ask about making winter clothes. Is it better to use kapok or straw cotton as the filling material? And let me introduce her to a tailor."
There were some words that Lu Xiu didn't say. In fact, Mrs. Zhou came to implicitly remind her not to make her husband pay for the tea, which would embarrass the prince. Of course, Zhou Kuan asked his wife to come over and remind the princess about the tea money today.
Not appropriate.
Naturally, Lu Xiu also regretted that she asked the shopkeeper to ask her husband for the account. She did not think carefully.
Fortunately, her husband is more tolerant and does not care about such things. Otherwise, her husband would be dissatisfied and her life would be difficult.
The carriage came, Chen Qing and his wife got in, and the carriage drove to the back garden.
"Husband, did you gain anything from a private visit incognito today?"
Chen Qing nodded, "There are two major gains. First, the luxury restriction order is a bit ill-considered and may be adjusted."
"Why? Isn't your husband worried that luxury will affect morale?"
"It will affect morale, but one size fits all is not right. It will affect the survival of the people at the bottom, so we need to find a proper solution."
"How can the luxury restriction order affect the people at the bottom? The people at the bottom have nothing to do with luxury!"
"It depends. For example, wealthy businessman A goes to Qing'an Tea House to drink a pot of Feng tea and spends one hundred guan. This hundred guan may include 80 guan for tea money, and another 20 guan for the wages of the shopkeeper, waiters and tea ladies.
There are also wages for water delivery people, rent, etc.
Now the rich businessmen are not allowed to drink Fengcha. One hundred guan of money cannot be spent. The rich businessmen have no losses, but the wages of the shopkeepers, waiters and tea ladies will be gone. If they have no money, the source of customers in Wazi will be gone. Then
How can we support multiple stores?”
"It seems to make sense!"
Chen Qing said with emotion: "So today a hawker said it right. Everyone has no skills. They just run errands, work as waiters, and do some small business. You buy mine and I buy yours. Where does the money come from? That's it.
It depends on the rich spending money to leak out."
"so what?"
"So blocking is worse than sparing. The rich should be allowed to enjoy luxury appropriately, but especially in terms of food and clothing, there should not be too many restrictions, so that they can spend money to benefit more people at the bottom."
Lu Xiu nodded and asked with a smile: "What is my husband's second harvest?"
"I learned about the market price of wood cotton cloth."
"I know it too! The market price of kapok cloth is three guan per piece, fine linen is 400 guan, extra fine linen is 600 guan, and the price of cotton filling is 1 guan per catty."
Chen Qing was stunned, "How could the lady know?"
"It's all in the newspapers! What's the market price every day? How much is the price of grain? How much is the price of meat? The price of cloth is all there. In addition, if you want to know the sentiments of the people at the bottom, ask the housekeeper Tian and Aunt Wen, or ask the maids.
We all understand why we should take the risk to visit privately incognito. If we encounter an assassin, even if we have personal guards, we will not be able to prevent him! If something happens to my husband, Ji'er is still so young. How can he support his great career? "
Lu Xiu seized the opportunity and criticized her husband unceremoniously for his private visit incognito. The lesson of Yuchi County in Kaifeng Prefecture was so profound, how could he forget it in the blink of an eye?
.........
After thinking about it for three days, Chen Qing finally made a decision to adjust the luxury restriction order. First, he removed food and clothing from the luxury restriction order. Generally, noble ladies would not show their faces easily and would only be active in the house, at home.
Or attend parties, etc. The luxury restriction order itself does not restrict home stay.
The same goes for eating and drinking. If you want to eat delicacies from the mountains and seas, you will eat them at home instead of in restaurants. It is better to eat in restaurants and prosper the catering industry.
What Chen Qing wants to ban is extravagant consumption like Fengle Tower. The luxury of Fengle Tower does not lie in what to eat or drink, but that entering Fengle Tower is a status. A bottle of good wine is sold for ten guan outside.
Fengle Building sells hundreds of pots per pot.
A table of dishes that only cost dozens of guan outside would cost hundreds of guan inside Fengle Building.
In addition, there are the most beautiful women to serve and even sleep with you. Strictly speaking, Fengle Building is just the highest-end brothel.
Secondly, there are luxury restrictions on living and traveling. You can ride in a carriage according to your rank. This rule cannot be broken. Those below the third grade can only ride in a horse-drawn carriage. It is the same whether you are an official or a wealthy businessman.
Those of rank three and above ride on a two-horse carriage, while a three-horse carriage can only be the carriage of King Yong.
As for living, we should still follow the old rules. If you want to live in a big house, you have to obtain an official rank, or make contributions to get a decorated officer. More than two acres is called a house, and less than two acres is called a hospital. Those below the fifth rank can only be hospitalized, and those above the fifth rank can
The same goes for residential buildings. Rich businessmen cannot obtain honorary titles. They are not allowed to purchase residential land of more than two acres. If they have already been purchased, they are not allowed to build.
This is actually equivalent to a qualification to buy a house. You must first do good deeds and get a medal. Before you get a medal, you can only rent a house to live in.
Zhou Kuan’s plan to impose heavy taxes on luxury goods has not been released yet. It is too difficult. The key is that it is too difficult to define luxury goods. What is a luxury goods? What is not a luxury goods? It is difficult to define at all. Tongzhou Kuquan sheep is a luxury
Pin, how do you know that the sheep he ate were Tongzhou Kuquan sheep?
Finally, the Internal Affairs Hall unanimously approved Chen Qing's revised plan, which removed restrictions on food and clothing, instead restricting business methods, and did not allow the emergence of status-restricted luxury restaurants like Fengle House.
The accommodation and transportation plans were also approved, with some minor adjustments being made in terms of transportation. In addition to King Yong, the troika also added the princess and the crown prince.
After the plan was approved by Chen Qing, it was immediately published in the Beijing News and received an enthusiastic response in Jingzhao City. Almost all restaurants and teahouses breathed a long sigh of relief.
In the official room, Chen Qing was listening to Wei Ji's report.
"Your Highness, almost all businesses believe that the previous luxury restriction order is an evil law. It does not restrict the rich from enjoying luxury at home, but it restricts the development of restaurants and teahouses. The shopkeeper of Tianwei Restaurant said that they
There are many secret dishes that take several years, and the process is very complicated. It is normal to sell a dish for ten guan, but with the limit of 20 guan, they can only serve two dishes, which is very unfair to them.
The boss of Taibai Restaurant also said that their Zhuangyuan wine and Green Plum wine are both good wines that have been stored for more than 20 years. A bottle costs ten guan. If 20 guan is used to define luxury, their wine will not be sold.
.”
Chen Qing patiently listened to the report and said to Wei Ji and Chao Qing next to him: "You two must also learn to dissuade in the future, and feedback the voices of lower-level officials and people to me in a timely manner. This luxury restriction order is a very unfortunate one."
The successful legal attempt not only cost a lot of manpower and material resources, but more importantly, it was divorced from reality and made a decision that was taken for granted. In the end, it was opposed by everyone from top to bottom, and had to be revised. The lesson is profound!"
Wei Ji and Chao Qing bowed together and said: "I know my faults despite my humble position!"
