Many people came to the Hibiscus Garden.
There were civil and military officials, as well as titled madams. Their ranks were not low, and they were not allowed to come. If they were ordinary people, it was like a lottery. First, people were allowed to apply, and then they would be allowed to go.
However, businessmen with more than 10,000 strings of cash were not allowed to come. They were deliberately suppressed to let the businessmen know that just having money was not enough. In this world, money could not completely decide everything.
There was also heaven, earth, ruler, parents, and teachers. There were also ethics and morals to be followed. Do not rely on money to be above other people's character, and do not think about interfering with politics.
The people who came to the Hibiscus Garden to spend the New Year's Eve together were very obedient. When they were arranged to be far away from the Emperor, no one complained. The Emperor's safety was very important. What if someone tried to assassinate him?
When the Zhang Family and Wang Family arrived, they had already started to eat the dumplings. It was slightly late, and the road was not easy to walk.
Li Longji only ate two dumplings symbolically, and then kept clinking glasses with people to drink wine. He drank red wine mixed with fruit juice, not dry red wine. If he drank dry red wine, Li Longji could not bear to mix other things. It would affect the taste too much, so it was better not to drink dry red wine.
The officials also ate two dumplings symbolically, and did not eat much food. They were afraid that if they ate too much, their stomachs would feel uncomfortable. When the time came, whether or not to vomit would be a problem.
The person who drank the most was the Minister of Revenue, Wang Bei. The Zhang Family and Wang Family had already cut off a year's worth of benefits. If not for his daughter-in-law being pregnant, he would not even eat the birds in the northeast.
In front of the Emperor, he finally gave something during the New Year, but it was far less than what the other officials received. There was not much spare money at home, and all of it was invested in the cooperation with the Ministry of Works. Until now, there was still no profit.
Wang Bei admitted that. He could not help but admire Zhang Xiaobao. His calculations were too good, and there was no falsification in the accounts. The operation of the group always gave people the feeling that it was healthy and upward. The future prospects were very bright, but the income and expenses were always balanced.
It was like playing chess. If one's skill was high enough, it was very easy to win or lose. If one wanted to end every game in a draw, it was very difficult.
However, Zhang Xiaobao had done it. He had done it under the watchful eyes of countless people, and no one could find any fault with it. Every time the group had a new business deal or cooperation, it was the moment when the group's funds were about to dry up.
Then, someone would come up with a new solution and wait for them to sign and agree. If they were not willing to sign, they could hold a meeting and discuss other solutions together.
After a discussion, they realized that if they didn't follow the new plan, the group would go bankrupt. Hence, they signed the agreement. The result of signing the agreement was that they would enter the next crisis and continue to be trapped.
This was the scariest thing about Zhang Xiaobao. Everything was laid out in the open. When you were given hope, you would not be able to profit. When you were in despair, you would realize that you had not made a loss. Moreover, when you looked at the other things that he usually did, you would realize that he did not put much thought into this.
He had tricked the Minister of Revenue, who had dealt with finance for many years. No wonder the merchants of the Great Tang were so afraid of him.
Since there were no benefits to be had, then they would eat and drink as much as they could. The wine before them was made from grapes harvested from the northwest four years ago. It was said that after Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan tasted it, they were very satisfied. The taste was pure.
Drink, the more you drink, the more you take advantage of it.
Under the influence of such thoughts, Wang Bei drank until he was dizzy, but he still did not stop drinking. He had already drunk a bottle and a half of the six hundred milliliters of wine.
When the Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Family arrived at the Hibiscus Garden, all the people there were excited, and cheers rose and fell. Wang Bei tried his best to make his expression more gloomy, but because he had drunk too much, his face was flushed, and his spirit was stimulated by the alcohol.
Because of their status, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan did not want to be too ostentatious in front of others, so they took a detour to Li Longji's seat. Xiao Bei's group puffed out their chests and held their heads high, insisting on walking in the center of the banquet.
When they reached the seats of officials, they bowed slightly and cupped their hands in greeting. Everyone was an official, so Xiao Bei and the others would not kowtow to others. Moreover, the officials could not take out too much New Year's money.
As they walked, the officials smiled. Although Xiao Bei and the others were young, if they really offended them, they would turn around and investigate them. Basically, they would be caught with just one investigation. None of the officials who could sit in this position was clean.
"Happy New Year, Minister Wang. Eh? Minister Wang, you drank too much? You're even drinking bottled wine. Drink less, alcohol is not good for the body. "
Xiao Bei took the lead and walked in front of Wang Bei. When he saw the bottle of wine next to the small table and the expression on his face, he kindly advised him. Last year, his elder brother had schemed against him. It was the New Year, and for the sake of celebration, he would not cause trouble for the time being. Otherwise, he would appear too petty.
Wang Bei also returned the greeting, feeling very awkward. The other party was clearly a child. Although he was much smarter than other children his age, a child was still a child. Even Xiao Yuan, a child prodigy with a photographic memory, felt uncomfortable looking at him. Children should not compare themselves with adults.
Suppressing the unhappiness in his heart, Wang Bei said vengefully, "It's fine. The wine today is very good, especially the wine that your family brewed four years ago. I drank to my heart's content."
"Ah?" Xiao Bei was stunned, then asked in confusion, "If that's the case, why didn't Official Wang take it home and slowly drink it? Today's banquet in the Hibiscus Garden was provided by my family. Each person was given two bottles of bottled wine, and all officials of the fifth rank and above had it. It was for you to take it home to drink.
The wine that was brewed the year before last at the banquet was in barrels. I couldn't tell the difference between the two wines, but my elder brother and elder sister said that the wine from four years ago was better, so each person was given two bottles. Now that you've drunk so much, what are you going to take home? Aren't you going to let your family try it? "
After saying this, Xiao Bei sighed, shook his head, and continued to walk up. The head of the secretariat was at the top, and after him was Li Longji.
Wang Bei saw that Xiao Bei and the others were talking to the prime minister again. He was already half-sober. He looked at Jiang Cen, an official of the Sinongsi Temple, and asked in astonishment, "Can this wine be taken home?"
"Yes." Jiang Cen nodded. His rank was not high. If not for the Sinongsi Temple's increasing importance in recent years, he would not have been able to stand beside Wang Bei.
"Each person gets two bottles of this wine. I don't know when the same good wine will be brewed next time, so it's very precious. This official is reluctant to part with it and wants to keep it. However, this official admires Official Wang's forthrightness and generosity."
"…" Wang Bei's forehead was clearly covered in sweat. He looked at the remaining half bottle of wine and asked, "How long can it be stored after opening the bottle?"
"This … it doesn't seem to be able to be stored for long. With the cold weather today, it should be possible to store it for three to five days. After all, the light bulb factory has the equipment to pump out the air. It should be able to be stored for a period of time after sucking out the air. This official has not done any research, but many crops should be able to be stored in vacuum."
Jiang Cen did not understand what Wang Bei meant, but still gave him an answer that he could think of.
"Hehe, hehe, so that's how it is. Aiya, I'm already dizzy from drinking. How about this, I'll give you the remaining half bottle. When you want to open the bottle, you can invite me to drink with you. How about that?" Wang Bei thought of an idea.
"Official Wang is joking. This official is not strong enough to drink today. I really can't drink anymore. My apologies, my apologies." Jiang Cen now knew what was going on with Wang Bei. He did not want to give away the wine in the future. If this wine was properly stored, its taste would become better and better, and the opened bottle would be worthless.
Wang Bei did not want to force it and sat back down dejectedly. Looking at the remaining wine, he did not know whether to drink or not to drink. He was extremely vexed. He drank too quickly and forgot to properly savor it.
Xiaobei did not care about what Wang Bei was thinking. At this time, she had already come to Li Longji's seat and knelt down. Then, she kowtowed three times in a row and shouted, "Uncle Emperor, Xiaobei wishes you a new year. I wish the Great Tang a new year and wish Uncle Emperor a new year."
Xiaoyuan and the others also knelt down and kowtowed. Everyone had their own auspicious words. After kowtowing, they did not get up and looked up at Li Longji.
Li Longji immediately felt immense pressure. This year's New Year's money was not easy to handle. Xiaobei and the others had earned more than four million strings of cash this year, which was comparable to the Great Tang's annual income at the beginning of the Kaiyuan era. With this kind of wealth, how much money would he have to give to match their status?
Thus, Li Longji looked at Zhang Xiaobao, who had just turned around, asking how much money he had now.
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