Yu Wenrong was stunned. He touched his body with both hands and shook his head helplessly. "I can't possibly carry so much money with me, right?"
Wang Bei added, "That's right. Who would carry a few hundred strings of cash with them? Do you think they're your little ones? You put so much money in your bag, as if you're afraid you don't have enough money to buy things. "
"Then what should we do?" Zhang Zhong looked troubled.
"Go back and get someone to deliver it to you. Can we still go back on our word?" Wang Bei felt that Zhang Zhong was very disgusting. What was his status? Would he not give money?
Zhang Zhong shook his head. "No, you can't break the rules. How about … you give me a written agreement first, and I'll lend you some money? I brought money. Look. "
As he spoke, Zhang Zhong took out a handful of bills. They were all large denominations.
"Okay, Lord Zhang, I finally know you today. You're ready, right? Lend, come, I'll give you a written agreement. " Wang Bei squeezed the words out of his mouth. He took the pen and paper from the person beside him and was about to write when he was stopped by Zhang Zhong.
"Wait, my money needs to flow. If I lend it out, there needs to be interest. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better if I kept it in the bank? 20% interest, according to the day, okay? "
"Okay, 5% is fine. I'll write." Wang Bei was about to write again when he was stopped by Zhang Zhong again.
"Don't write too little. One set is 200 strings of cash. You took out 150 strings of cash before, which was the deposit for three sets. I gave you a 20% discount, so it's 480 strings of cash. You have to write 330 strings of cash. Otherwise, you won't have enough money."
This time, Wang Bei stopped writing and stared at Zhang Zhong. The others were also angry. How could they raise the price at this time?
It wasn't that they were short of money. The benefits that the Zhang Family and Wang Family gave them were far more than this amount. Moreover, many precious things couldn't be measured by money.
They felt that they had been cheated. Why did the original amount change?
Minister of War Xiao Song came to Zhang Zhong and snorted. "In the beginning, it was 150 strings of cash. Why did you raise the price today? We paid for it. "
"When the price of the goods changes, the money you paid is still the deposit. That's right." Zhang Zhong opened his eyes wide and said innocently.
Jiang Cen joined in the fun. "We have a contract. It's written in black and white. How can we change it just like that? We have to follow the contract. "
"Contract? I have one too. "Zhang Zhong took out the contract and gestured for everyone to gather around.
He pointed to the words on it and said, "First, if there is a quality problem with the ordered product, we will replace and repair it for free. Second, if we can't provide the product, we will return all the deposits. Third, once the product is delivered, we must pay in full. Fourth, write down that we have paid a deposit of 150 strings of coins.
Do you see that? The 'order' in the first clause means that it hasn't been completely confirmed yet. That is to say, when the actual selling price of the product changes, it has to change accordingly, right? "
"I'm not buying anymore. Refund the money," Wang Ke said in a huff.
Zhang Zhong shook his head. "We can't refund it. Look at the last clause. It says that we have paid a deposit of 150 strings of coins. It doesn't say that the price of three sets of fish tanks is 150 strings of coins. It only says the total amount and uses the word 'confirmed'. The money you paid has already been confirmed, so we can't refund it."
"You're being shameless. How can you write a contract like that? It's clearly a scam. Zhang Zhong, you have a big family business. Do you have to play such a small trick with us? "
Wang Ke criticized Zhang Zhong, and the officials echoed him.
The others in the reception hall were dumbfounded. They watched the officials argue over money and gained a lot of insight.
Li Longji said, "Don't argue. Pay attention to your image. There's nothing wrong with the contract. Follow the contract. If you paid for the fish tank, take it back. If you don't, just pretend that you didn't buy it. The money won't be refunded. If you don't believe me, ask the others and see if that's the case. "
As Li Longji spoke, he looked at the people around him. Everyone nodded. Logically speaking, it should be like that. It was written clearly in the contract.
At this time, Gao Lishi appeared. He looked at the contract and then looked at the crowd. He sighed and said, "This shows that the laws of our dynasty are not complete. It seems that we are following the contract, but in fact, everyone knows the real situation. Today, we, as officials, have encountered this situation. We have to bear with it. Unless we use official status and power that we shouldn't use, we have to follow the contract.
Is that right? "As soon as Gao Lishi said this, the reception hall fell silent.
Everyone was thinking. After a while, Yu Wenrong said, "That's right. If it were the people, according to the current situation, there would be endless disputes. Even the local yamen officials wouldn't be able to sort them out. The law doesn't mention this. Therefore, we shouldn't be thinking about how much the fish tank is worth. Instead, we should be thinking about how to improve the laws of our dynasty.
From the looks of the contract, it is clearly disadvantageous to us, the buyer, while providing enormous benefits to the seller. It is simply unfair to the buyer and seller. This kind of contract should have a supplementary law to correct it. When a situation occurs where one of the parties is benefiting from the contract and the true transaction between the two parties when the contract was signed, then the contract should be nullified, and the party who violated the true intent of the transaction should be punished. Otherwise, my Great Tang will be thrown into chaos. "
Everyone thought about it again. Thinking about it, it really was the case. Originally, when the two sides made a deal, the goal was to achieve their own benefits. This was the intention set by the two sides when the contract was signed. The purpose of the contract was to achieve, complete, and satisfy this intention.
But later on, if one side found out that the contract had violated the true intent of the signing and used the contract to obtain additional benefits, then everyone would play with the contract. Most importantly, the contract also needed to be protected by the law. Many contents were written, but they might not be recognized and supported by the law of the Great Tang.
The Minister of Rites, Su Yi, stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this subject understands. When we return, this subject will immediately gather people to improve the laws of our dynasty and patch up any loopholes that may appear. But … Your Majesty also knows that no matter how we patch it up, there will always be people who will find loopholes. For example … Xiao Bao."
Everyone nodded. It was true. There were only thieves for a thousand days, but there were no thieves for a thousand days. The attacker would always have an easier time than the defender, and the defender would always lose.
This was especially true for someone like Xiao Bao. As long as he was willing, he could exploit one loophole after another. It was impossible to guard against.
"Really change it? Why didn't you mention it in the past? Ah? "Li Longji asked with a serious expression.
The officials lowered their heads. Why didn't they mention it in the past? Wasn't it because they wanted to obtain more benefits for their families? Moreover, with their high statuses, they didn't have to worry about being cheated.
"Only after love do you know the depth of your knowledge. Only after getting drunk do you know how strong the wine is." Zhang Zhong said. This was a line that his future daughter-in-law had said in a poem that she had copied from someone else.
"Furthermore, We can give an example. For example, when buying a house, because the location is good, we will first sell it and then have the buyer pay a deposit. Merchants who lack funds will use this deposit or the full amount to buy the materials for construction. Once the construction is done, we will suddenly raise the price, just like when we bought the fish tank today.
Even if you spend a lot of effort to get the money back, you will lose the interest that you saved in the bank. What will make you even angrier is that you didn't manage to buy the house. You put in a lot of effort, but in the end, you didn't get anything. A narrow-minded person will only anger themselves to death. Thus, We will not allow such a thing to happen. "
Li Longji added. He had also heard Zhang Xiaobao's example. Because the price of the house was high, it was the best explanation of the problem.
Yuan Qianyao cupped his fists at Zhang Zhong. "Brother Yongcheng, we have learned from you. Today's situation was probably set up by Her Majesty and you. We usually have good benefits, and we don't lack money. However, when the price of the fish tank changed, we were very angry. We don't care about the amount of money, but we can't stand being cheated.
If we are like this, what about others? I will write an IOU to borrow money and buy. 160 strings of coins for a set. I will buy three sets. I will put one set in my office, another set at home, and another set for those who need to be warned. Every time I see the ornamental fish swimming in the fish tank, I will encourage myself. "
"I will also borrow money." Yu Wenrong added.
"Borrow."
"Sign it."
The officials went to write the IOU one by one.
Li Longji looked and smiled. "We are relieved. With all of you here, the Tang Empire has nothing to worry about."
"Okay, I will give each of you a fish worth 10 strings of coins." One of the non-officials shouted.
The others immediately followed. One wanted to give some water plants, another wanted to give a few stones. They all opened their bags.
They felt that today was too blissful. They actually saw so many things, and the scene in front of them made them feel even more comfortable. The Emperor and officials of the imperial court were sincerely serving the people. They weren't high and mighty and didn't care about anything.
The officials at the top were good, and they weren't afraid that the officials at the bottom would go against them. They believed that if there were any officials who dared to make false judgments, the people at the top would teach the officials at the bottom a lesson.
Zhang Zhong didn't expect that he would be able to earn additional interest. For a moment, he felt quite embarrassed. He smiled at every colleague who came to write the IOU and said that there would be other returns. After all, there was still a gift. It seemed that he had to reconsider what to give.
Not long after, the money was paid. The fish tanks were carried away one by one. There were also other items that were sent away. Li Longji said a few words to the others and left with the officials. Behind him, there were shouts of "long live", which attracted the attention of the passersby.
After asking around, they found out about what happened at the fish tank store. In just a few days, this matter spread throughout the entire Tang Empire. In an instant, the sound of firecrackers could be heard, and the local officials were under great pressure.
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