"Madam, do you think this wine is too expensive?"
Wu Xian waved his hand to signal the person who brought the news to leave.
Madam Zheng was shocked: "Forty-six taels a jar is not expensive?"
She has been in charge of the household for so many years, and she is in charge of all the accounts in and out of the mansion. She knows the price and quality of each item. Even the best wine stored in the mansion's wine cellar is only more than twenty taels per jar!
More expensive wines are either of very high age or extremely rare, or they are tribute wines offered to the emperor of a country.
This kind of wine is not even available for sale for 100 taels!
Wu Xian smiled and said, "It's not expensive, not expensive at all."
"What kind of wine is this?"
Madam Zheng became more curious after hearing this.
"Of course it is a good wine that all scholars and warriors in the world cannot resist." Wu Xian took the cloth handed over by Madam Zheng, wiped his feet, put on new socks, walked to the side of Madam Zheng and sat down, chatting with her, "I thought that once Wen Zhu got this, he would sell it for a hundred or eighty taels, but I didn't expect it to be sold for only forty-six taels. It was quite unexpected."
Madam Zheng couldn't understand Wu Xian's attitude.
Selling a jar of wine at a sky-high price, isn't this something Wu Xian is very taboo about? Why do you think he feels regretful
“Isn’t this a good thing?” she asked.
Wu Xian leaned against the table, looking lazy: "How can it be a good thing? When Wen Zhu sells a jar, he has to pay a high amount of market tax and liquor tax... He sells it at a low price, so he pays less, and the value of the fifty jars of wine Wen Zhu sent over also drops..."
The wife was speechless.
I didn't expect that my husband would have this idea.
Most alcoholic beverages are made from grains. The common people cannot even get enough food and clothing, so how can they have extra grain to satisfy their alcohol addiction? Whether in Tianhai or other places, alcohol is a "light luxury" that is strictly controlled.
It doesn't matter if common people brew wine on a small scale privately, but if they want to buy and sell it, they must pay high market taxes and special wine taxes. In simple terms, if Shen Tang's wine is sold here, he has to pay taxes to Tianhai!
Well, it’s still the kind that doesn’t have a tax refund in March every year.
Wu Xian was willing to give Xu Jie a favor and not interfere in this matter because of this. Why should he kill a good thing that can generate income? This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone! Wu Xian also had another plan in mind.
The aristocratic families in Tianhai were living too comfortably, and some of them were secretly amassing wealth, but they were also testing the limits of the law. He couldn't punish them openly, but he could thin their wallets in a roundabout way!
Of course, I can't tell my wife these ideas directly.
The lady is not only his first wife.
She is also the sister of his elder and younger brothers-in-law.
Daughter of father-in-law and mother-in-law.
What Wu Xian could say to his wife was less than what he could say to Concubine Mi, and most of the time he could only say a few words.
He sneered, "I really don't know what Shen Youli's face will be when she knows the Tianhai City Tax and Liquor Tax? Wen Zhu does business like this, next time I will send him more people to protect him, so that Shen Youli won't get angry and chase him with a sword..."
To be fair, he did not disregard Qin Li's proposal.
Shen Tang's team was indeed a makeshift team.
But Shen Tang fought against Gong Xichou alone on the battlefield, which shows how strong his individual combat ability is. If he really listened to Qin Li's suggestion and overturned the other person's stall, the other person would draw his sword and assassinate him - Wu Xian felt a chill on his neck when he thought of this scene.
The best strategy is to divert the trouble away and kill someone with a borrowed knife.
Madam Zheng looked at her husband, who habitually squinted his eyes as if taking a nap, and hesitated to speak. After a while, the air was so quiet that only the breathing of the couple remained. Wu Xian asked, "Madam, are you worried about something?"
Madam Zheng took the opportunity to say, "This morning my sister-in-law suddenly sent me an invitation to attend the Plum Blossom Banquet..."
Wu Xian: "… prepare the congratulatory gifts, but you don't have to go."
Madam Zheng moved her lips.
Wu Xian added: "The wine that Wenzhu sent tastes good. Let's add five jars. You can handle the rest."
Madam Zheng said softly, "Yes."
Since the younger brother-in-law gave it to the elder brother-in-law, he couldn't be partial to one and asked the first wife to send it to the other family as well. After lying down for a while, Wu Xian didn't feel sleepy anymore, so he got up and
"I remembered that there are still some things to deal with. Madam, go to bed first."
Without waiting for Madam Zheng to say anything, he put on his clothes and left. Madam Zheng looked at her husband's receding back, her eyes almost red with anger, her fingers clutching her handkerchief, silently suppressing the bitterness in her nose.
The maidservant whispered: "Madam..."
After a long while, Madam Zheng said quietly, "He finally came here, but he was angered and left again..."
Outsiders say that Wu Xian and his wife are a harmonious couple and a loving couple. This evaluation was true in the past, but it has been very different in recent years. One of the reasons that affected their relationship was her two unpromising elder and younger brothers.
Six-tenths of the family property was lost in their hands.
Later, Wu Xian discovered that the two brothers secretly instigated Wu Xian's two legitimate sons to fight each other and mistreat the younger brother, which happened to be Wu Xian's taboo. What's even more bizarre is that when the two brothers failed in their first plan, they came up with another plan and got close to Wu Xian's other brothers.
There are some other tricks...
The relationship between the two families is very tense.
Madam Zheng was also concerned about her elder brother and younger brother, which led to a strained relationship between her and Wu Xian. After being assassinated during an impromptu hunting trip, Wu Xian rarely came to Madam Zheng's place.
It's rare for me to come to the backyard, so I stay in other people's houses.
It’s not that Wu Xian suspected that his wife was trying to assassinate him. He still understood his first wife. As a married woman, with her brothers unreliable and her family going downhill year by year, her husband was the biggest support for her and her children.
But it is very likely that he trusted his brothers too much and inadvertently leaked Wu Xian's current situation.
Wu Xian couldn't force her to break off all ties with her family or completely give up her two good-for-nothing brothers. It was impossible for her to do that given her temper, so she just remained stiff.
In fact, as long as the wife doesn't mention the annoying pair of brothers from her natal family, the couple still have a lot to talk about.
Wu Xian went to the study in the snowy wind.
The attendant asked, "Are you really planning to stay here overnight?"
Wu Xian said unhappily, "Are we going to spend the night in another lady's room, and then the next day everyone in the mansion will know that we had a quarrel? Stop talking nonsense and find out if there is anything else you can do."
Attendant: “…”
But it would not look good if it got out that the head of the family came out of the wife's room and spent the night in the cold study room looking pitiful.
Unlike the miserable involutionary king Shen Tang, Wu Xian has a complete team. Even if he can finish today's work today, he can still take paid vacations every once in a while. The attendant looked around but couldn't find any mundane tasks that needed Wu Xian's attention.
This is the difference between people.
Wu Xian could only read the local stories to pass the time.
The attendant could only sigh upon seeing this - the head of the family was having a hard time, the wife was also having difficulties, and the two useless brothers did not try to correct their mistakes and revitalize the family, but instead had evil ideas and kept forcing their married sisters to cry, make a fuss, and even hang themselves.
After ten years of hard work...
Even a couple with a love stronger than gold will be separated.
The first batch of ten jars of wine was an unexpected hit.
The second batch broke through the 500 taels mark.
The next few batches grew little by little.
But the total price wasn't too outrageous.
After deducting the city tax and liquor tax, as well as the costs of labor, share, transportation and the like, Xu Jie fiddled with the abacus to do the accounting and converted them into roughly equivalent amounts of seedlings, farm tools and oxen.
Of course, this matter also requires Wu Xian’s consent.
After all, we can't leave any handle for Qin Li.
Wu Xian just took a glance and agreed.
Considering that Shen Tang paid so much tax for me.
Wu Xian's smile these days is so gentle that people who don't know the situation would think that his family has had a new baby.
He handed the list back and told Xu Jie, "Go ask Brother Shen if Heyin is short of food. If so, Tianhai can provide some at a lower price. The two families should help each other. If you have any difficulties, please let me know. Don't hesitate."
He fully demonstrated the four words "Tangdi's deep love", and several brothers who saw him would wonder who his brother was.
The corner of Xu Jie's mouth twitched slightly.
He said, "Yes."
"As the saying goes, 'An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure'. The Tianhai and Heyin families are close relatives, so naturally no one would covet the winemaking recipe in Brother Shen's hands. But if it gets out, there's no guarantee that other people with ulterior motives will have thoughts that they shouldn't have. Not only do we have to keep it secret, but Brother Shen should also be careful in choosing people to work with. Brother Shen is young, and he makes many mistakes. Remember to remind him when you go there this time."
Xu Jie replied: "Yes."
Wu Xian continued to talk a lot and gave many instructions.
Xu Jie wrote them down one by one.
After he left, Wu Xian called his confidants to accompany him.
"I have a task for you."
What task
Of course, I would bring some wine to meet Gu Ren and Zhang He.
Especially Zhang He, this guy is very rich!
When Xu Jie arrived at Heyin Fugu for the second time, he found that Fugu City had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to before. Most of the snow from a few days ago had melted, and although it was freezing cold, busy figures could still be seen in many places.
Xu Jie reported his identity and was taken to the government office.
He arrived just as Shen Tang came back.
"Is Wenzhu back now?"
Xu Jie: “…”
Why does this sound weird
He still said, "Well, Mr. Shen is fine."
"Hey, I'm fine. Is your trip going well?"
Xu Jie took out a few rolls of account books from his sleeve and handed them over. The accounting method he used was still very old-fashioned, and Shen Tang had a hard time reading it. There were clear records of how many jars were sold and how much money they paid on each day. Shen Tang calculated that he had made a lot of money!
But the smile has not yet risen...
When she saw the final settlement, her smile disappeared instantly.
"Wait—Wenzhu, this account is wrong!"
Xu Jie pretended to be shocked and puzzled: "What's wrong?"
Shen Tang said: "Look, the first batch is 460 taels, the second batch is 530 taels, and the third batch... Let's take an average and assume that each batch is 500 taels. A jar should have 50 taels... But why is there a surplus..."
She pointed at the pitiful twenty-three hundred taels at the end. Although twenty-three hundred taels was a huge fortune for her, it was far from the expected amount!
Xu Jie had no choice but to explain patiently.
Tianhai's city tax plus liquor tax was almost half of what he had to pay. In order to get his lord Wu Xian to agree to sell strategic materials such as seedlings, oxen, and farm tools, he also gave them a sum of money privately. After deducting other miscellaneous amounts, this was all he had to pay.
All the seedlings are good seedlings.
Although the farm tools are not brand new, they are cheap.
The oxen used for plowing have been in service for many years and are very experienced.
Shen Tang's hands were shaking as he held the account book.
Inwardly, he gnashed his teeth and cursed Wu Xian's ancestors over and over again, but on the surface, he had to be considerate, showing his sincerity and innocence to the extreme. Was Wu Xian cutting leeks? When Shen Tang thought that he was the leek, his blood pressure rose.
When it comes to black, the sky and the sea are darker.
Pay double the city tax and liquor tax, and take 5 out of 10!
Xu Jie also truthfully relayed Wu Xian's earnest instructions.
But in Shen Tang's ears, it was a combination of soft and hard tactics. If Shen Tang could accept it, the business would continue, everyone would make money, and she wouldn't have to worry about the treasure being exposed and attracting the covetousness of the outside world. If she didn't accept it, the consequences would be unpredictable.
A man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure.
There are scholars with a literary mind and warriors with a brave mind all over the world.
Shen Tang swallowed the old blood that was stuck in his throat.
He originally wanted to trick Wu Xian and empty his small treasury by making something for nothing, but he didn't expect Wu Xian to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune.
Shen Tang is certainly not afraid of the so-called outside covetousness.
At worst, I can just confess the magical nature of those wines.
The crisis can be resolved naturally.
But you can no longer reap the benefits by taking advantage of others.
The wine created by the Word Spirit is not worth such a high price.
In a flash, Shen Tang had made a decision.
Why not take the money that comes from nothing
More than two thousand three hundred taels is pure profit!
How many seedlings can I buy
Shen Tang's expression-changing skills were also perfect. He looked ashamed and said, "Oh, I was distracted and forgot about the city tax and liquor tax. Please forgive me. Brother Zhaode's worry is not unreasonable. Don't worry, I will only do business with one company in the future."
The knife will only kill your family!
My back teeth were grinding against each other in my heart.
Xu Jie was surprised to see that Shen Tang had no objection.
He thought he would see Shen Tang furious, after all, what Wu Xian did was indeed quite hurtful.
"only-"
Shen Tang changed the subject.
Complaining in a low and aggrieved voice.
"The liquor tax and market tax are too high..."
Xu Jie said: "There is nothing we can do about this. It is the same everywhere. There is a shortage of food. If we don't control it, the common people will start making wine for the huge profits. Then more people will starve to death and the price of food will rise sharply... It will be detrimental to the stability of people's livelihood..."
He really meant what he said.
Shen Tang pondered: "Is it not possible to reasonably avoid taxes?"
Xu Jie: "Reasonable... tax avoidance?"
Shen Tang slapped his thigh and said, "Yes."
Xu Jie couldn't figure out how to find a loophole.
Shen Tang said, "You can't be as rigid in doing business as you are. The liquor tax is high, so why don't you sell wheat? Buy a bushel of wheat and get a jar of wine for free. The wine is given away, not sold. You should only pay the market tax on wheat, so can't you avoid the liquor tax?"
Xu Jie: “…”
Shen Tang asked tentatively: "Is this not okay?"
Xu Jie said with difficulty: "This, this..."
He thought about it and realized that this was actually possible.
Shen Tang sneered in his heart. If you play tricks on her, she has a hundred legal ways to avoid taxes!
She put her arm around Xu Jie's shoulder, and the two of them conspired like brothers: "In addition to selling wheat, there is another way. Let's play 'matching goods'. You let customers recharge, that is, the money is handed over to you in advance, and then they spend it. For example, recharge 1,000 taels to buy things in your store. When the purchase reaches a certain amount, you can use it at a low price, such as one tael to buy a jar of wine. If that doesn't work, hold a blind box lottery, one hundred taels for each draw, and ten consecutive draws will definitely give away a jar of wine..."
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