After Commander Cheng visited Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory for 10 days, Zhang Tie set off from Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory with his wives, Donder and the others by airboat to inspect and take over the official fields of over 100 million square meters in Ninghe Prefecture, Yanzhou Province.
Olina's words that night deeply touched Zhang Tie — — give our kids a more promising future.
This sentence was the driving force of Zhang Tie and the other mothers' actions.
Over these days, those women had already taken over the Master's Intelligence Center of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory which had been set up by Donder. Additionally, they started to establish a new institution — — Iron Heart Pavilion centered on the Master's Intelligence Center.
Zhang Tie's joke "Cabinet of Wives" became a reality at once.
In Iron Heart Pavilion, O 'Laura was responsible for the political affairs in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory; Olina was responsible for economy and commerce; Sabrina was responsible for intelligence. All the 6 Spencer sisters, Linda and Fiona had found their positions and tasks in Iron Heart Pavilion.
Beverly and Fiona were responsible for the most important Master's Intelligence Center of Iron Heart Pavilion, which was responsible for the communication and confidentiality of internal and external information. Additionally, they were responsible for all the secrets across Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory. Additionally, they could contact Zhang Tie directly. Therefore, they had to be absolutely trusted by Zhang Tie.
The 6 Spencer sisters were responsible for accounting and auditing respectively. Aimei and Aixue were responsible for finance and inventory. Linda was gentle and meticulous. Therefore, she was responsible for the administrative operation of the entire Iron Heart Pavilion. She was equal to the role of internal manager.
All the major events in Iron Heart Pavilion were decided by those women. If there was any disagreement, each of them would vote for it. If the number of votes was equal, it would be decided by Zhang Tie.
Only in a few days, all of Zhang Tie's women had exerted great energy. Even Linda and the other wives who were always relaxed had been involved in the work of Iron Heart Pavilion enthusiastically.
Zhang Tie's women became the heads of Iron Heart Pavilion. Meanwhile, Olina, O 'Laura's henchmen from Ice and Snow Wilderness and Sonia who had been on the side of Linda, Beverly and Fiona also entered Iron Heart Pavilion.
As a result, Iron Heart Pavilion became more like a country of women than a cabinet of wives. There was no man in Iron Heart Pavilion at all.
Today, before Zhang Tie and his subordinates came to Ninghe Prefecture, Zhang Tie's "Madams' Cabinet" finally sent a clear order to the entire Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory for the first time — — from next month, namely July 1, the consumption tax on liquors and liquors brewed with grains would be increased 6 times from 30% to 180%. However, the consumption tax on fruit liquors would remain unchanged.
This order was equal to controlling the consumption scale of liquors in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory at a stroke.
When Taixia Country was suffering from a food shortage, brewing liquor was scrambling for grains with others. By increasing the consumption tax on liquor, people could curb the consumption of liquor and use more grains in key places. Although a kg of liquor couldn't save a person's life, a few kg of grains could save a person's life in many cases.
It was Olina who proposed this suggestion. After Olina elaborated her reason, this suggestion was supported by all the wives of Zhang Tie in Iron Heart Pavilion. Closely after that, it became a government decree that was delivered by the Secret Office of the head of Iron Heart Pavilion, which could be applied across Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory.
The order was delivered before Zhang Tie's wives boarded the airboat. After boarding the airboat, Zhang Tie had started to talk about the first order that was delivered by Iron Heart Pavilion with those wives.
This order was not made on a whim. Instead, it was made after collecting sufficient data and making strict calculations. There were a lot of considerations involved.
Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory had almost 20 million people. After increasing the consumption tax on grains and liquors by 5 times, the annual brewing and production scale of liquors in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory would sharply decrease by 80% from 170,000 tons of liquors to about 30,000 tons per year. In this way, almost 400,000 tons of grains would be saved each year. Additionally, due to the increase in the consumption tax, Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory's annual tax on liquors and liquors would increase by 20%, which meant over 1 million gold coins.
Additionally, by increasing the consumption tax on grains and liquors, instead of increasing the consumption tax on fruits and liquors, the alcoholics in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory would be guided to drink fruit liquors when they wanted to satisfy their cravings. Therefore, the demand for fruit liquors would increase. As a result, the supply of various fruits which could be used to brew fruit liquors would become tense. In order to relieve the tension of the supply of fruits, more people in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory would try to grow more fruits.
As grains prices were high, orchards in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory couldn't occupy grain fields; instead, they would try to expand the area of orchards by reclaiming wastelands in the mountainous areas where grains could not be planted.
With the increase of the supply of fruit liquors, the tax brought by fruit liquors would also increase, which could increase the annual revenue of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory.
The expansion of orchards would increase the wastelands in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory and the land value in the wilderness and promote the development of local economy.
The diversification and increase of the supply of fruits would indirectly lay a solid material foundation for Zhang family to produce all-purpose medicament on a large scale within Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory in the future.
Through this decree, the 400,000 tons of grains that could be saved each year could be purchased at the market price by increasing the tax on liquors and liquors as the grain storage of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory. The more grains storage of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory, the more secure the supply of grains in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory would be. The more secure the supply of grains, the more people would be attracted to settle down in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory and gradually expand the population scale of Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory, making Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory more prosperous and confident in facing crises.
After hearing these women's words, Zhang Tie really became speechless as he sighed about how he could have so many women on his side.
The Iron Heart Hall's small demonstration had already made Zhang Tie look at them in a new light.
"With the help of madams, I don't need to worry about the affairs in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory in the future. Previously, I always heard about how matriarchal clans and matriarchal societies were. After seeing your actions today, I feel that it's not bad for men to live in a matriarchal society!"
Zhang Tie's words made all the other women burst out into laughter.
"I agree with you!" Donder said with a solemn look.
"Thanks to General Manager Tang, you've smoothed out many aspects in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory these days. Otherwise, how could we share the burden for our husband as we've just come to Fire-Dragon Prefecture?" Aimei said with a smile, "Elder sister Olina's insight is really admirable!"
"When I heard Fiona say that men's drinking would make trouble, I suddenly remembered that we could do something about the liquor tax. I negotiated with O 'Laura first. It was O' Laura who proposed to divide the liquor into grain liquor and fruit liquor!" Olina didn't dare claim the credit.
O 'Laura also shook her head, "I was told by Beverly that Jinwu City was convenient to grow fruits. We need a lot of fruits to brew all-purpose medicament. If we drink too much all-purpose medicament, we would be as drunk as being drunk. Therefore, I suggested Olina to divide the liquor …"
Beverly also shook her head, "Elder sister Matia and the other elder sisters are good at actuarial planning …"
"Elder sister Linda has to prepare all the materials. That's the most troublesome job!" Matia hurriedly declined.
Noticing that Linda was going to be modest, Zhang Tie waved his hand with a smile, "Well, madams, don't be modest. We've made meritorious deeds this time. You're really my wife. General Manager Donder, thanks for your hard work. Hopefully, we could make concerted efforts to do a good job in Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory …"
"Not only Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory, even Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory has extended its force to Ninghe Prefecture. However, Commander Cheng is too … too much. It's a trap … ahem … ahem …" Donder pretended to cough twice as he dared not speak ill of Commander Cheng of Taixia Country. "Last year, Ninghe Prefecture had a good weather with a bumper harvest. The grain output of the official fields in Ninghe Prefecture was 10% higher than that before. According to the land rent of 50% last year, the grain output of those official fields could only reach such a high rate in 7-8 years. Even if there's no natural disasters and insect disasters, the grain output of those official fields could only reach 90% of that of the previous year. Commander Cheng's land rent of 50% is equal to 55% of that in normal years. In this case, even if those official fields in Ninghe Prefecture could recover their average grain output, we could only get 45% of the grain output in a year!"
"Only 45%?" Zhang Tie rubbed his nose.
"Only 45%!" Donder nodded and let out a sigh, "The 45% is our total income from those official fields, excluding the farming cost, which is a large expenditure for hiring people. Besides, we should provide food and accommodation for the hired farmers, managers and stewards in the official fields. Besides, we should pay for grain seeds, farming tools, fertilizers, harvesting and rough processing of grains. This expenditure could account for about 40% of the total grain output. Even if the grain price is high and the wage of hired farmers is less, hired farmers still have to eat. It depends on their ability to reduce the cost to 25%. In this way, the fixed annual expenditure of those official fields is above 80% of the total output. If there is any trouble or the weather doesn't favor you when your grains are ripe, or if there are diseases and pests, you will definitely suffer a loss!" Donder let out a sigh and sighed, "The 45% is all of our income from those official fields, including the farming cost, farming cost, fertilizers, harvesting and rough processing. Even if the grain price is high and the wage of hired farmers is less, hired farmers still have to eat. It depends on their ability to reduce the cost to 25%. In this way, the fixed annual expenditure of those official fields is above 80% of the total output.
"Didn't anyone rent the official fields in Ninghe Prefecture before?"
"I've inquired about it these days. Previously, some dignitaries and dignitaries in Xuanyuan Hill wanted to rent official fields in Ninghe Prefecture. However, they could only pay 40% of the total land rent. If they paid more, they would basically lose their profits. Take this year as an example, all the grains across Xuanyuan Hill suffered a crop failure. All the lands that had been planted with demonized seeds would be affected. Even if the seeds were fine, the yield would also be affected. Therefore, nobody dared rent the official fields in Ninghe Prefecture at such a high price. Commander Cheng is well-known in the officialdom of Taixia Country for being black-skinned, black-skinned and black-skinned. Almost nobody dares offend him. If they promised Commander Cheng to rent over 100 million mu official fields in Ninghe Prefecture at the price of 50% of the total land rent, if the official fields suffered a crop failure in a few years, I'm afraid that all the major clans would go bankrupt because of this …"
Zhang Tie shook his head as he knew Commander Cheng's intention. 'Previously, Commander Cheng wanted to rob the official fields in Ninghe Prefecture; however, they could only pay 40% of the official fields in the name of Qianji Hermit. If the official fields of 120 million mu didn't have any harvest for a few years, any major clan would definitely spit out blood after paying 60 million mu of the official fields in Taixia Country.'
Zhang Tie was not anxious about Donder's words. He was confident. Crisis was only a crisis for those who had no power; however, for those who had power, all the crises were opportunities for turning around and making further progress.
Zhang Tie was not anxious; however, his wives became anxious. After exchanging a glance with each other, Spencer's wives had realized that it was a big trap. Diana watched Zhang Tie and asked, "Has Commander Cheng signed a contract with you? If not, you could talk with him!"
Zhang Tie revealed a bitter smile, "I know what you mean. But not everything in Taixia Country requires signing a contract!"
"Ahh, how come?"
"Aixue, please explain it to Diana. Some customs in Taixia Country are different than those in Sacred Iceland Kingdom; especially Ewentra Archipelago Kingdom!"
"Fine!" Aixue replied with a smile as she started to explain it to Spencer's wives.
Both Commander Cheng and Zhang Tie were trustworthy. Now that Commander Cheng had "leased" all the official fields in Ninghe Prefecture to Zhang Tie for 100 years, this agreement had come into effect the moment Commander Cheng left Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory, even if they didn't sign any contract, this agreement had come into effect the moment Commander Cheng left Fire-Dragon Bounty Territory.
In Taixia Country, the so-called contracts were used by those who did small business. Those who had some status would negotiate and decide things; especially in business. In the eyes of many people, it was doubtful and insulting for them to sign a contract. If so, they would never do business. Even those influential managers in big business groups would not sign a contract, not to mention figures like Commander Cheng and Zhang Tie.
From all-purpose medicament to fiery oil, Zhang Tie could easily earn tens of millions even hundreds of millions of gold coins a year. However, Zhang Tie had not signed any contract with anyone. Not only Zhang Tie, even his elder brother Zhang Yang who was in charge of Jinwu Business Group rarely signed any contract. At his level, the moment they made a deal, they would clap hands with each other, which meant that the deal would remain unchanged even if the ground and the mountains shook.
The bet between Guan Qianchong the commander of Black Armor Army and Zhang Tie was also like this. Even Taiyi Fantasy Sect, the top one of the top 7 sects in Taixia Country was like this. Those who broke their promises and repudiated their debts would definitely have a bad reputation in Taixia Country.
This custom in Taixia Country was different than those commercial rules in Western Continent and Ewentra Archipelago. In Western Continent and Ewentra Archipelago, everybody was used to writing those things and clauses on paper. By contrast, oral agreements were more effective in many cases in Taixia Country.
"The contract between Western Continent and Ewentra Archipelago is written on paper; however, many contracts in Eastern Continent are written on a person's personality and reputation. Therefore, even though there's no contract, the agreement between Commander Cheng and my husband could not be changed. If my husband breaks the agreement, my husband's reputation and reputation would suffer a great strike!" Aixue concluded.
Zhang Tie nodded inside after hearing Aixue's words. After hearing Aixue's words, Zhang Tie became puzzled, 'Why did someone say that Hua people didn't have contractual spirit in the period before the Catastrophe? That's bullsh * t!'
"Ahh, what should we do then?" Spencer's women slightly frowned.
"Younger sisters, don't worry. Have you seen him being worried?" Olina pointed at Zhang Tie with a smile.
Those women looked at Zhang Tie as they found that Zhang Tie only had a faint, calm smile on his face. It seemed that he didn't mind the "big pit" that Commander Cheng dug for him at all.
Even Donder became curious as he glanced at Zhang Tie from the beginning to the end. After that, he asked with a hesitant look, "Do you know how to farm? Why didn't I discover that before?"
"I, Qianji Hermit, deserve my reputation!" Zhang Tie said with a solemn look …
This was Zhang Tie's humor. In Zhang Tie's imagination, he felt that those who heard him would definitely throw a contemptuous glance at him before saying, "Cut" together with him in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere …
If it were before, Donder might have sprung up and slapped him on the head — — Brat, you're cocky again.
Actually, after saying that, he found that Donder, Olina and the other girls were watching him with admirable, sparkling eyes. They all felt that he was not trying to enliven the atmosphere; instead, he was making a solemn promise. They didn't sense the "ingenious" humor in his words at all …
At this moment, Zhang Tie suddenly realized that he was not suitable to be humorous anymore. Because his words would be taken seriously by everyone.
In a split second, Qianji Hermit could only touch his nose as he felt as lonely as snow …
Ninghe Prefecture was in the southeast of Yanzhou Province. As long as they passed through Gaoping Prefecture, Yanzhou Province, they would arrive at Ninghe Prefecture from Fire Dragon Bounty Territory to the south. There was only Gaoping Prefecture between Fire Dragon Bounty Territory and Ninghe Prefecture. As for Zhang Tie who had an airboat, such a short distance was like taking a bus to the most boisterous commercial district in a Class A city. It only took the airboat a bit more than 2 hours to arrive at Ninghe Prefecture. After talking with Donder and the other wives for a short while, Iron-Dragon Airboat had arrived at Ninghe Prefecture.
Looking down from the sky, the ground of Ninghe Prefecture was pitch-dark within thousands of square miles like being splashed by ink.
Nobody on the airboat might have seen such a scene in their lives.
The snowscape was white. They had all seen the snowscape over thousands of miles. If the snowscape was replaced by black, it would be the scene on the ground of Ninghe Prefecture …
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