The air in Xinzizao Gate under the early morning sun is fresh, and there are not too many people. People are entering and exiting the city gate in an orderly manner. In sharp contrast, there is a tax collector dragging his fat body busy at the city gate and sweating.
"You guys, stand on the right side of the city gate and be alert!" The fat tax collector transferred his dozen soldiers around, but he still couldn't find the best plan: "Don't give it to me for a while.
It’s embarrassing, it’s the Commander of the Imperial City Department’s Ximen who is here!”
After the fat tax collector finished speaking, he clumsily arranged the soldiers' appearance with his stubby fingers.
"Isn't that Commander Ximen the same one who slapped the fat man last time?" A soldier whispered: "Why are you so uncharacteristically fawning today?"
"What do you know?" The soldier next to him smiled and said: "This fat guy is dedicated to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Naturally, he is tossing us around. He even stood in line more than ten times in the morning. Commander Ximen Qing heard that it is Jiayuan now.
It would be strange not to fawn over the popular person in front of the king!"
"Coming, coming!" A soldier rushed over and reported to the fat tax official: "The commander is here!"
The fat tax official hurriedly took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the sweat on his head: "Are you reading that right?"
"How is that possible?" the soldier muttered: "The piece of mutton-fat jade pendant around your waist is very eye-catching, you haven't seen it wrong?"
"Okay!" The fat tax official nodded and said with a finger: "You guys, drive all the passers-by and merchants aside and wait for the commander!"
The soldier whispered: "Sir, is this appropriate?"
"It's appropriate, why isn't it appropriate?" The fat tax officer thought of the news from a police officer in black yesterday, and he started to sweat again as he spoke: "Do you want me to be taught a lesson by the commander again when you do things?
"
The order was passed on, and soon three or five soldiers raised their guns and drove the passers-by and merchants to both sides of the city gate.
"My lord, the commander is here, please wait nearby! No one is allowed to enter or leave the city gate!"
Some merchants immediately complained: "Where did the commander come from, with such great authority?"
The fat tax official heard this and quickly asked someone to move a chair. He climbed up and shouted: "The commander will be here soon. Everything is suspended! If anyone has any objections, the tax will be doubled!"
"
As soon as these words came out, the merchants were immediately speechless.
But then a voice came from behind: "Then what should I do if I have an opinion?"
When the fat tax official heard this lazy voice, he was so frightened that he jumped out of his chair, but he couldn't stand still and rolled over.
Thanks to this man's adaptability, he kowtowed on the spot and said, "I've seen the Commander before!"
The soldiers were startled, some knelt down and kowtowed, and some raised their spears and couldn't figure out the situation. Ximen Qing ignored the fat tax official kowtowing on the ground, jumped off his horse and walked in two steps to the newcomer merchant who was stopped.
, sang a fat song and said: "Ximen Qing will have to apologize for disturbing everyone in and out of the city gate!"
After speaking, Ximen Qing ordered the soldiers to step back and let pedestrians and merchants pass as usual.
"Master Commander, weren't you the one who ordered the city gate to be sealed?" a merchant asked loudly.
"Of course not." Ximen Qing coughed: "I came today just to greet my family. I informed you in advance. I didn't expect this person."
As he spoke, Ximen Qing pointed at the fat tax collector who was lying on the ground and did not dare to get up: "This person is secretly thinking about it and causing everyone a lot of inconvenience!"
"So that's it!" The merchant suddenly realized: "Corrupt officials like this who don't do things well and only know what they want from others must be punished!"
Ximen Qing nodded and said, "Of course!"
The merchant went away satisfied after receiving Ximen Qing's affirmative answer.
Ximen Qing saw that it was inconvenient to place the chair in the middle of the city gate, so he asked Wu Song to move it aside and sat down carelessly, ignoring the fat tax collector.
If it hadn't been for Ximen Qing, the fat tax collector wouldn't have had the courage to stand up, and he would kneel in the middle of the road and tremble.
The passers-by and merchants were still angry, so they took advantage of the chaos and punched and kicked them, spitting and spitting on each of them.
"It seems that this damn fat guy is really annoying. I'm afraid he is not only exploiting the merchants, but also some of his subordinates." Ximen Qing looked at the soldiers standing on both sides. In this situation, not even one came up to help.
, most of them looked up at the sky, as if they didn't see their immediate boss drowning in saliva.
In the end, the fat tax collector couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed on the ground and passed out. Ximen Qing asked the soldiers to drag him to the shady area at the city gate and put him there.
The only people who came to pick them up were Ximen Qing and Wu Song. Sun Erniang was at home helping Jiang Jing clean up, and Shi Qian must be sleeping at the moment.
Ximen Qing sat and thought about it. There were a lot of things going on at the moment, and he had to plan them carefully. Although King Jia nodded his head regarding the brewing rights, it was still a question of when he could get it;
The monk's secret medicine and the five-stone powder have to be reviewed by An Daoquan to see what they can be used for. In addition to restaurants, Ximen Qing also plans to develop more profitable projects, just to make the remaining money from the four items of wine, sex and wealth.
The following three steps are taken.
Although there are many brothels and houses in Bianliang City, this is a business that makes a lot of money, so Ximen Qing will not let it go. Although there are some preliminary plans, there is no suitable person to run it.
As a common gambling tool, Ximen Qing also needs to find ways to slowly promote mahjong. Of course, it won't be selling at cabbage prices. The hunger sales method will still be used, and some limited editions of exquisite products will also be produced.
Other gambling tools for later generations should also be considered
Even though five thousand guan per year is not a small amount for a leading catering company like Fenglelou, Ximen Qing will not be satisfied with the income of several thousand guan per year.
If every project is run well, it will be a lucrative business. One hundred thousand guan or even one million guan every year is not a dream.
But there is a headache that cannot be avoided, and that is taxes.
Ximen Qing made a point of finding out that heavy taxes were charged on both drinks and brothels.
We must find a way to do this.
"It would be fine if it were in later generations. In this era, officials have the final say."
Ximen Qing immediately knew where to start.
"Brother, the convoy is here!"
Wu Song on the side raised his arms excitedly and pointed at the small black dots slowly advancing in the distance.
Ximen Qing jumped up and put up an awning with his hands and looked into the distance. A convoy of this size was rare in Bianliang. Needless to say, it was Xue'er and Liu Niang who were coming!
"Let's go, let's go up to you!"
Ximen Qing said hello, and he and Wu Song remounted their horses and excitedly headed towards the convoy.
When the people in the motorcade saw the two horses galloping towards this direction, they all cheered.
When Xueer, Pan Jinlian, Hua Yuerong and others got the news, they all poked their heads out of the carriage and waved to Ximen Qing and Wu Song who were galloping towards them; while the prodigal Yan Qing and the scar-faced tiger Liu Renzhong were also sitting between them.
He dismounted his horse and faced him in the opposite direction.
The four horses came together. Ximen Qing saw that although Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong looked a little tired on their faces, they were in good spirits overall. Both of them were as straight as javelins on the horses!
"Brother Xiao Yi, the task is heavy, you have worked hard!" Ximen Qing saluted seriously on his horse: "It is not easy to protect you all the way, Ximen Qing thanks you!"
This time, Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong were so frightened that they rolled off their saddles and dismounted, and bowed deeply: "The official's words are serious!"
Ximen Qing and Wu Song also got off their horses and stepped forward to help them up. Yan Qing said: "With the two signboards of Liangshan and Huangcheng Division, no one dares to mess with them along the way, so it's smooth sailing."
"Xue'er is naughty by nature, so she didn't cause any trouble?"
Ximen Qing asked casually and saw some unbearable expressions on the faces of Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong.
"It's okay, it's okay." Scarface Tiger Liu Renzhong didn't know whether he was crying or smiling: "Xue'er is good at everything else, but she often has sudden whims that make people hard to guard against."
Ximen Qing asked and found out that Xue'er had a lot of troubles along the way. After setting off, she became very interested in traveling. She was either spending time here or sightseeing there, and she didn't know how many detours she took.
Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong spent countless words, but finally moved out of Ximen Qing to get Xueer to agree to return to the main road.
Afterwards, they had a normal conversation all the way, and there was nothing good to go to. Xueer was so idle that she actually thought of pretending to be bandits to test whether Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong were qualified for the job of guard.
"If you don't try, how will you know the convoy's security situation? If you encounter bandits, you will panic!"
Seeing Xueer's vow, Yan Qing needless to say that Liu Renzhong came down from Liangshan Mountain and was considered a bandit himself, so the two of them didn't take it seriously.
Unexpectedly, Xueer asked the team to rest on the spot for two hours, and then roared away with half the manpower.
When the convoy moved forward again, Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong saw that Xue'er's lips had been smeared black with charcoal or something, carrying a sharpened stick as a spear, and rushing through the woods with others.
When they came out and shouted "Leave money for traveling" in a serious manner, the two of them knew that Xueer was serious.
And when those people brought by Xue'er were all masked, shouting and waving their whistle sticks, and rushed up to cut the convoy in two, Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong hurriedly responded as if they had just woken up from a dream, laughing and laughing.
.
Naturally, they would not take action, but Xueer loudly blamed them for not being vigilant enough. If they really encountered bandits, the convoy would definitely be interrupted.
So this kind of drill was held again and again, until Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong were very serious about turning the convoy into a square formation, and Xueer gave up.
Ximen Qing was very happy after hearing this. Although Xueer's actions seemed like child's play, they were indeed vigilant all the way.
Wu Song's reaction was to turn away and his shoulders twitched, and naturally he laughed wildly.
Yan Qing and Liu Renzhong were a little embarrassed. At this moment, they heard Xue'er yell: "Are you two talking bad about me behind my back?"
The next moment, Xue'er crawled into Ximen Qing's arms like a bird flying into the forest and said coquettishly: "Master, Xue'er has good intentions! Don't listen to their nonsense!"
Ximen Qing touched the little goblin's head: "I know, I know."
Looking up, Pan Jinlian was holding Hua Yuerong's hand, watching the scene with a smile not far away.
"It's time" Ximen Qing sighed from the bottom of his heart.