Chapter 306 The problem of five thousand taels (asking for monthly votes)
The Zhang family who lived in the city were not big landowners, and Zhang Youyu had a crazy temper. The family's livelihood depended on his eldest brother Zhang Fengyi.
Therefore, in addition to his identity as a famous opera artist who "keeps his music from his mouth", Zhang Fengyi also has an identity as a calligraphy and painting dealer, or a bit like a calligraphy and painting agent.
With the great development of the commodity economy, Suzhou's cultural market has also become unprecedentedly prosperous. Which of Wen Zhengming's disciples has never sold paintings and calligraphy?
Zhang Fengyi benefited from this trend. He was Wen Zhengming's close friend in his later years and had a say in the calligraphy and painting market.
Moreover, the calligraphy and painting market is not just about hiring people to write and paint, there are many ways to do it.
For example, if someone gets a painting by a previous artist, and Zhang Fengyi can write an inscription or postscript on it based on the other party's fee, the painting will be able to sell for more money.
Another example is when the owner of a garden invites famous artists to paint a group of garden landscapes. There is a market for how to match them. Wen Zhengming was invited to paint "Thirty-one Scenes of the Humble Administrator's Garden".
Although Zhang Fengyi doesn't understand the principles of economics and is not a time traveler, he must have understood that the calligraphy and painting industry in Yangzhou City has huge potential.
Moreover, there are many nouveau riche salt merchants, and if they get some fake paintings, the profits will be multiplied!
So when Zhang Fengyi heard that Lin Daguan wanted to take him to explore the Yangzhou market, Zhang Fengyi agreed without even thinking about it.
After all, the Zhang family's expenses have been too high in recent years, and expenses have been very tight, and a younger brother like Zhang Youyu is completely uneconomical.
Hearing Zhang Fengyi's threat to cut off her monthly money, Zhang Youyu finally became a little scared. How can you buy happiness if you have no money?
He got up from the ground and shouted to Zhang Fengyi in dissatisfaction: "Don't think that I can't live without you! You are my eldest brother, not my father!"
Zhang Fengyi was so angry that she almost wanted to hit someone, but she held it back.
Zhang Youyu turned to Lin Tailai and asked: "I heard that you earn a lot? It's not difficult to support him as a teacher for a few months, right?"
Lin Tailai pointed to the trick of "Zhang Youyu betrayed his disciples", and everything was clear.
If there is no teacher-student relationship between Crazy Group, why should I spend money on you?
Zhang Youyu, the second-largest celebrity in Suzhou City but claimed to be the first, looked at his elder brother and then at Lin Tailai. He looked aggrieved like a fifty-year-old child, and silently tore off the trick.
Zhang Fengyi greeted Lin Daguan enthusiastically and said: "Friend Lin! Come and sit in Qiuzhi Garden! Let's discuss the scenery of Yangzhou!"
Zhang Youyu stood behind and shouted to Zhang Fengyi: "Lin Tailai is my most outstanding student. It's wrong for you to call him a friend!"
Zhang Fengyi waved her hand impatiently at Zhang Youyu, "Don't mess around, it's called everyone's own business!
Everyone in Suzhou knows that Zhang Fengyi can never leave his mouth and Lin Tailai can never leave his fists. My friend Lin and I are on equal terms!"
So Official Lin had another banquet at Zhangjia Qiuzhiyuan, and then went back to Sun Lianlian's house.
In the evening, Gao Changjiang came to report: "Every government office in the prefecture and county has notified us that we will meet the guests at Taohua Temple tomorrow."
On the next day, Lin Daguan climbed out of the hibiscus tent with difficulty and hurried to Peach Blossom Temple.
Fortunately, the distance is not too far. I rushed from Qujiaqiao in the north of the city to Taohua Temple in the northwest of the city, and it was only a short walk away.
But even so, when Lin Daguan arrived at Taohua Temple, two people were already waiting in front of the door.
One is the former seventh-rank official of the Suzhou Prefecture, and now the sixth-rank Suzhou Prefecture's grain supervisor, Mr. Liu.
Before Zhang Siwei came back to power last year, he stood decisively on the side of Lin Daguanren. He was the only non-Zhang Siwei minion among the official officials of the government at that time.
The other one is Mr. Guo, the former eighth-rank magistrate of Guanliang County in Wu County and now the seventh-rank official of Suzhou Prefecture.
Last year when Lin Daguan was on his western expedition, Guo Xiancheng personally went out to help, and later stood firm when he stood in line.
All in all, both of them were representatives of the correct position in the officialdom of Suzhou last year, and each was promoted to one rank.
They both had positions of real power, one in the government office was in charge of money and food, and the other in the government office was in charge of punishments.
Lin Daguan shouted from a distance: "Hey! I'm late!"
Liu Tongpan and Guo Tuiguan responded: "It's because we came early!"
Official Lin didn't waste any time and directly invited the two of them in.
After the guests and the host were seated, Lin Daguan asked again: "In the five months since I left, has there been anything worth mentioning in the Yamen?"
One of them is in charge of money and food, and the other is in charge of punishment and reputation. They are both in key positions.
Guo Tuiguan has nothing special to say here. Everyone knows that the biggest problem in the judicial field of Suzhou City is Lin Tailai, and in recent months, the biggest problem is not in Suzhou.
But there is something that Liu Tongpan really needs to ask Lin Daguan to make a decision on, and no one else can take his place.
"It's still a problem with Jinongcang." Liu Tongpan first threw out an introduction to see if Lin Tailai was interested in paying attention.
Last year, Officer Lin and Magistrate Zhu fought several times over the matter of retaking the Jinongcang from the government. Finally, with the sudden death of Zhang Siwei and the arrival of Governor Zhao, Magistrate Zhu completely stopped.
But last year, Mr. Lin grabbed the management rights of Ji Nong Warehouse in order to raise funds for projects. This year, I don’t know what Mr. Lin is thinking.
At this time, Lin Tailai heard Liu Tongpan talking about Jinongcang and immediately asked: "What happened to Jinongcang? Could it be that the newly arrived Zhongzhifu wants to take it back?"
As early as March, Magistrate Zhu took office directly, and the imperial court sent Magistrate Zhong over.
In the officialdom, the third rank can be called a senior official, and there is a huge gap between the fourth rank and the third rank.
Magistrate Zhu made a wrong bet last year and was tricked by the sudden death of Zhang Siwei. At the same time, he also offended the Shen family. It will definitely be difficult to pass the hurdle from the fourth grade to the third grade.
Therefore, Magistrate Zhu felt that his future was hopeless, and he felt that being an official in Suzhou Prefecture had become a laughing stock. He was oppressed by the governor above and supported by his colleagues in the government below. It was really boring, so he went home to retire.
Liu Tongpan explained: "Prefect Zhong has no intention of taking back the Jinongcang in Wu County and Changzhou County, but some other problems have arisen.
The disaster in Jiading and Kunshan was relatively serious the year before last. The government borrowed 20,000 shi of grain from Wu County and Changzhou County Jinongcang to support Jiading and Kunshan.
The grain was lent to the disaster-stricken households and registered, but it has never been returned.
Recently, Magistrate Yuan of Cheung Chau County pressed for payment of the debt. When Magistrate Zhong ordered the clerk to verify it, he found that the account book had been soaked in water and only half of it was left.
In other words, only 10,000 shi can be verified, and the other 10,000 shi cannot be verified."
Lin Tailai asked: "Don't say so many useless things. Just tell me directly what the consequences will be if the Ten Thousand Stone account cannot be verified."
"The consequence is that the 10,000 shi of rice grains that should have been lent to households in theory are no longer accounted for and cannot be recovered.
In other words, the Jinongcang in Wu County and Changzhou County had 10,000 shi, which was lost by the government.
Zhong Zhifu, the chief official of the government office, needs to be responsible for this shortfall."
Lin Tailai said in surprise: "Isn't this a deficit from the year before last? The prefect Zhu was still in office at that time.
When Magistrate Zhong took office in March this year, he must have handed over various accounts and warehouses to the previous magistrate, but he didn't hand over it clearly?"
Liu Tongpan replied: "I don't know what happened during the handover. Anyway, Prefect Zhong only discovered this problem recently."
Lin Tailai was speechless, this was what Magistrate Zhong deserved.
According to official rules, when a successor is handed over, all accounts must be reconciled. If a deficit is discovered during the handover, each successor is usually responsible for half.
But if the official handover is completed and the new chief takes over the seal, and new problems such as deficits are discovered, the new chief will be responsible for making up for it.
Even if he was deceived, he can only blame himself for not keeping his eyes open at first, causing his teeth to fall out and his blood to be swallowed. This is the situation that Zhong Zhifu is facing now.
Lin Daguan said indifferently: "Then let Magistrate Zhong make up for it slowly. What does it have to do with me?"
He is not the Holy Mother and Savior, he has to help everyone, and he has no friendship with Magistrate Zhong.
Liu Tongpan said with a wry smile: "Prefect Zhong asked me to ask if you are interested in making up for this shortfall."
Lin Tailai said in surprise: "I am asked to make up for the government's shortfall out of my own pocket. Am I stupid, or is he stupid?"
Liu Tongpan added: "But Magistrate Zhong said that the two counties' agricultural warehouses can be restored from government-run to the original government-private joint-run, jointly managed by the yamen and local representatives, and can be compared to the shareholder partnership model."
At the beginning more than a hundred years ago, Jinongcang was indeed a government-private joint venture, and later it gradually evolved into a government-run operation.
But as long as there is a precedent of public-private cooperation, in the name of restoring the old law, it seems that it can be explained legally.
Hearing this, Mr. Lin was stunned for a moment. Isn't this the "privatization of state-owned enterprises"?
As long as you have the strength to participate, even a fool knows not to miss it!
So Lin Tailai immediately turned to Gao Changjiang and said: "The purpose of our club has always been to serve the yamen, so it is also our club's unshirkable responsibility to help parents and officials solve their problems!
Immediately prepare 5,000 taels of silver to settle the deficit of 10,000 shi owed by the government."
Last year, Lin Daguan had been thinking about how to participate in the management of Jinong warehouse in his personal capacity, but he would definitely not be able to pass the prefecture level. He did not expect that the opportunity would come now.
Nowadays, the price of rice in the market is about one stone and five qian. If the deficit of 10,000 shi is about 5,000 taels, it can be made up.
Although Lin Daguan's words were heroic, Gao Changjiang looked embarrassed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to get five thousand taels."
Just two days after returning, Lin Tailai, who had not yet looked at the accounts, asked doubtfully: "Not even five thousand taels?"
Gao Changjiang quickly invited Mr. Lin to the corner of the courtyard and replied in a low voice: "The policy you have set when sitting here said that making money will not be the first priority within two years.
It is necessary to maintain a positive expansion trend, making the platform larger and more influential, and eliminating competitors as the top priority.
The profits of the protection tax collection business of traditional societies in the nine cities have always been meager. Last year, the total was only more than a thousand;
At Mudu Port Customs, many of them were transferred to help the royal tax envoy to achieve political achievements.
As for the smuggling business run by the two empresses, they probably made thousands of taels;
The business of the engineering team last year was just a trial run by a new team, and they were all government projects. We built a new city gate and dredged a twenty-mile river, and we made about a thousand liang after the cost."
Lin Tailai couldn't help but said: "It adds up to a lot!"
Gao Changjiang replied: "It all adds up to a lot, the profit can be seven to eight thousand, but part of it goes to the two empresses and your family's personal pockets.
And now that the stalls are so big, there are many places to spend money. Besides, this year we have to start building a mansion, so we have to set aside some money.
So, the club can indeed earn 5,000 taels, but it’s really hard to come up with 5,000 taels now.”
Lin Daguan sighed: "I didn't expect that our association would be so large, and it wouldn't make as much money as a big salt merchant in Yangzhou City."
Gao Changjiang didn't find it strange, "You can't say that. It's only been a year since we established the update society. It's still an early stage of high investment. It will be different after a few years."
It is said that it took at least two or three generations for those big salt merchants to reach their current scale."
Lin Tailai said helplessly: "I originally thought that the money would be enough for the time being, but today I found out that when the money is used, I will regret it."
Gao Changjiang suggested: "Forget it, just sit in the restaurant and don't go to make up for the shortfall of the farm warehouse.
I don't think it's worthwhile to spend all the club's money just for the sake of a co-ownership title.
Besides, you can already use the agricultural warehouse through the county government, so why bother with this?"
Lin Tailai shook his head, "Participating in the management of Jinong Warehouse may indeed be useless to others.
Even if they manage the agricultural warehouse, they cannot play any more role. They can only provide relief loans to households and suppress rice prices through selling.
But for me, Jinongcang is very useful and can be used for many purposes. You will know it later.
And although you can use the agricultural warehouse through the county government now, what if the county government changes people in the future? It is better to keep it in your own hands."
Gao Changjiang advised again: "No matter how well you think about sitting in a restaurant, it is still difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice, and she can't hold five thousand taels in her hand.
Moreover, no one can lend such a large amount of money to Zuoguan, and the business gang whose family has rich silver reserves has long been offended by Zuoguan."
Lin Tailai thought for a while and said: "So now that I think about it, I can only go to Yangzhou City to search. After all, there are many rich people there.
And they can't affect Suzhou City. Even if they pay money, they won't affect my control of Jinongcang.
It seems that going to Yangzhou City again must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."
Speaking of Yangzhou City, Gao Changjiang couldn't help complaining: "When I was in Yangzhou City, I rented 7,000 salt coins from the Zheng family, and when I changed hands, I shared most of the profits with the Cao Army."
"Okay, okay, don't say this again." Lin Daguan did not regret at all, "Money is nothing compared to people's hearts!"
Gao Changjiang reminded again: "Jinongcang only accepts grain and rice, not silver, so you need to find a lot of physical items to sit in the restaurant."
"It doesn't matter, I have my own opinion!"
After saying this, Official Lin returned to the room and said to Liu Tongpuan: "Go back and tell Magistrate Zhong that he is short of ten thousand stones, and I will find a way to make up for him.
However, the grain must be sent to the two counties' agricultural warehouses in the name of donation, and then I will designate people to participate in the management of the agricultural warehouses as public opinion representatives, and have veto power over the affairs of the agricultural warehouses.
But there’s no need to worry yet, we’ll make up for the shortfall when new grains come on the market after the autumn harvest.”
Liu Tongpuan breathed a sigh of relief, he could finally go back and give an explanation to the prefect.
Although he has the support of people and is not afraid of the prefect, it would be very uncomfortable if he was picked on by the prefect every day in the yamen.
I'm not in good condition today, so I'll just write something down and ask for the last monthly ticket for this month. I'll make up for it tomorrow morning when I finish the work.
