"President Tian, come and take a look. Here are some maps with pottery. Which one do you think is the best place to dig? I'll send people there and these three iron mines."
Li Yu didn't care what President Tian thought. He took out a map of Changning County and showed it to President Tian.
President Tian was still wondering why Li Yu wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he talked about taxes. Didn't he know that merchants who cooperated with the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce didn't have to pay taxes?
After being asked by Li Yu, he realized that it was a military map. He took a closer look and was disappointed. It turned out to be a game map.
After looking at the map, President Tian chose a place that supplied pottery and an iron mine. He didn't care much about the quality. The main reason was that these two places were close to the workshop. Judging from the current situation, the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce would have to repair the road to the place that supplied pottery and ore. He could save some money by choosing a place that was close to the workshop.
"Well, President Tian, choose these two places. I'll have people arrange it in a while. The charcoal used for pottery will be supplied by a special chamber of commerce. President Tian, you can rest assured."
Li Yu circled the two places on the map and said to President Tian, "There's one more thing. There will be many craftsmen from the capital who specialize in pottery. They have nothing to do with you. When you see them, don't think that I'll find other people to compete with you just after signing a contract with you. There's no such thing.
If there are really powerful chambers of commerce that want to do the same business in the future, I'll be partial to you under the same conditions. After all, I've invested a lot of money here and I don't want to lose it. Well, it's almost noon. Why don't you stay for a meal before leaving? "
President Tian was stunned again. He knew that Li Yu didn't want to have a meal with him and asked out of courtesy. It was nothing. After all, it was a meal. Perhaps Li Yu was unhappy because of the taxes.
But what did he mean by many craftsmen from the capital? And what if he was partial to the Qianshi Chamber of Commerce under the same conditions? Would he be partial to the other party?
President Tian, who couldn't calm down, had to ask when Li Yu was about to send him off, "Lord Li, what are the craftsmen doing? Could it be that there are other Chambers of Commerce that have taken a fancy to this place? "
"Craftsmen? Those are the most outstanding craftsmen of our Great Tang. After they finished participating in the competition in the capital, some of them were willing to stay behind and were arranged to live here. This place is close to the capital, and they don't do business here. Instead, they occupy a place here to study and improve pottery.
As for the other chambers of commerce wanting to invest in the same business as the Millennium Chamber of Commerce, there was no such thing. I was just saying. If someone really came, I couldn't just drive them away. It was just like the restaurants in the county. Once there was a restaurant, there would be no one else in the county that could open a restaurant, right?
President Tian, don't worry. I still have the same idea as before. As long as the conditions are the same, you won't suffer any losses. At the same time, I also guarantee that no matter how rich the person is, even if it's the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, I won't cooperate with them. "
Li Yu explained the situation to President Tian.
Chairman Tian couldn't figure it out for a while, so he could only reply, "Okay, then I'll go back now and finish the work of the workshop as soon as possible."
"Take care. Come, see the guest out." Li Yu stood up and escorted Chairman Tian to the door. He had the servants continue to escort him out while he returned, sat down on a chair, and spoke to the screen.
"Little Worm, you can come out now. Did you see President Tian's expression just now?"
"I saw it. He probably won't be able to sleep well tonight. Milord, are you really going to punish the merchants who worked with the Millennium Chamber of Commerce? At the very least, they'll have to pay three times the tax, and at the very most, it'll be five times the tax. If you punish them all at once, they'll lose money from the business they did a few days ago. "
Little Worm worriedly asked as he came out from behind the screen.
Li Yu nodded seriously. "Punish them. If they don't, the merchants will think of ways to evade the tax. This official wants the merchants of the county to know that if they want to make a fortune, they should do business properly. Don't always rely on crooked methods. If they're really capable, they can learn from the Zhang Family and the Wang Family and come up with more strange things."
Seeing that Li Yu had made up his mind, Little Worm didn't try to persuade him anymore. However, he muttered in his heart, "If all the merchants can be like the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, the Tang Empire will be bustling. Every day, we'll see many new things that we've never seen before."
*****
Just as Little Worm had said, Chairman Tian began to feel restless the moment he returned to the house. He felt that the hot weather was unbearable, and that the chirping of cicadas was too noisy. He didn't like anything he saw, and even drinking water tasted bitter.
One of the people from the chamber of commerce who went out came back. When he saw Chairman Tian, he asked with concern, "Chairman, did you talk to Li Yu? He's willing to take down the announcements every day? "
"Take down what? That's Li Yu's way of proving that he's honest. How can he take it down? "Chairman Tian fiercely shouted at the person who came back.
The person was stunned. He carefully observed Chairman Tian's expression and asked cautiously, "Chairman, are you in some kind of trouble? Why don't you tell us? We can think of a solution together. "
"We're in big trouble. I don't know what Li Yu's intentions are. First, he asked me how many days have passed since the last contract was signed. He specifically said that there are still two days left. If the merchants don't pay the taxes, they'll be punished. I can't think of any other methods."
Chairman Tian tried his best to calm down. He told the person beside him one thing. The person who came back didn't say anything, waiting for the chairman to continue.
"The second thing is that he wants many artisans from the capital who specialize in pottery. They're the ones who stayed from the capital's craftsmen competition. They should all be quite skilled. They're not here to do business, just to study. However, who can guarantee that they're really like this? There are already quite a few artisans here. If they join us, no matter how we use special methods to make people think that it's a new technology, they'll be able to figure it out.
"The third thing is that Li Yu mentioned that if a new chamber of commerce comes, as long as they want less benefits than us, he'll be willing to support them. I don't know if it's because someone wants to come or if he's just threatening us.
Tell me, with three things in a row, which one of them can make people feel at ease? If Li Yu really finds a few more chambers of commerce to do the same business as us, that kind of competition will be the most uncomfortable. "
After Chairman Tian finished speaking, he felt a little better. He picked up the herbal tea on the table and poured it into his mouth. He looked at the person beside him, waiting for him to speak.
The person who just came back was also frightened by Chairman Tian's words. He whispered, "Chairman, why don't we stop cooperating with other merchants? Is this what Li Yu meant?"
"Are you stupid? Right now, we're cooperating with other merchants. Everything is according to the contract. Even if Li Yu isn't happy, as long as he still wants some face, he won't use other methods to deal with us. Once we stop cooperating with other merchants, how will other people see us?
Are they afraid? Are they not capable enough? Or do they know that they've done something wrong and take the initiative to correct it? No matter what, it's not good for us. Even if we have to endure it, we have to endure it. "
Chairman Tian considered many things, but he couldn't solve them even if he said it out loud. He could only wait.
*****
Two days later, the weather was a little gloomy. The wind was still strong, blowing from the southwest to the northeast. The people who had set up stalls outside knew that it was going to rain. They all packed up and found shelter from the rain.
The shops with houses didn't need to. Shun Feng Pastry Restaurant was one of those shops. Usually, business was good. Normally, taxes were paid every half a month. It was a fixed amount, unlike some merchants who paid according to the quantity of goods.
The owner of Shun Feng Pastry Restaurant was surnamed Wang. His name was Wang Sunfeng. He had named the restaurant after himself. Today was the day he was supposed to pay his taxes. Because according to the half a month period, it was just right. He had delayed it for ten days.
But he wasn't worried at all. Even though the waiter had already warned him not to offend the yamen, Wang Sunfeng still felt that he should wait and see.
"Hurry up. It's going to rain soon. If the stalls outside can't sell, there will be more people coming in to eat. If anyone dares to slack off, I'll deduct their wages."
Looking at the sky outside, Wang Sunfeng was very happy. There were fewer competitors now. If it could rain until night time, his income today would be equivalent to two days of good weather.
Just as he was feeling happy, two bailiffs from the yamen came. They knew each other. One of the bailiffs sat at a table and said to Wang Sunfeng, "Brother Wang, isn't it time to pay the tax? It's been ten days."
"Aiyo, Brother Fu, you're wrong. I've already signed a contract with the Millennium Chamber of Commerce. Even if I take money out today, it will be sent to them. They're tax-free for ten years. Look, when we signed the contract, we copied down the relevant places. The people from the Millennium Chamber of Commerce even put their fingerprints on it. It can't be faked."
Wang Sunfeng didn't want to pay at all. He could save half of the money. It wasn't a small amount.
"So you're refusing to pay your taxes? Then don't blame me for not being able to do it. Arrest him. " As the runner spoke, the chain went for Wang Sunfeng's neck. Wang Sunfeng could have dodged, but he didn't. If he dodged, he would be resisting arrest.
"What right do you have to arrest me? I didn't do anything wrong. I want to talk to the county magistrate." Wang Sunfeng was brought to the yamen by the runners.
At this time, there were many people in the yamen who had been arrested. They didn't dare to move because they knew Li Yu's identity. They just wanted an explanation.
When most of the people had arrived, Li Yu came to the front with a contract in his hand. He said to the crowd, "Is there anyone who doesn't agree? Fine, I'll tell you. Look carefully. When Party A cooperates with Party B, they are tax-free. When they signed the contract with you, they didn't cooperate with me in this regard.
You'll pay what you have to pay. No one can escape. Pay your taxes and pay your fines. Then you can go home. "
"Sir, you can say whatever you want. Why do you have the final say?" A merchant rolled his eyes and said.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
