Fan Xian hurried to help him up, but the shopkeeper insisted on kneeling and kowtowing. He then rose and said, "So you are my future boss. I have to kowtow no matter what. Furthermore, you are the head envoy of this diplomatic mission. I am in a foreign country, and even if I wanted to pay my respects to the people back home, I would have nowhere to go."
The shopkeeper suddenly came to his senses. He remembered that he had mentioned some taboo names in front of this man from the south. He couldn't help but ask, "Master Fan, what brings you to my humble shop?"
Northern Qi was, after all, far away from the Qing Emperor, so the merchants here were a bit more daring. That was why they still kept their old signboards and kept mentioning the old boss they were so proud of. Fan Xian looked at the shopkeeper's expression and knew that he was afraid these words would get back to the capital and offend the royal family, who now controlled all the businesses outside of Qing.
He smiled and told the shopkeeper why he had come. He wanted the shopkeeper to pick out a few exquisite glass wine utensils.
"What are they used for?" asked the shopkeeper curiously. He had originally thought that Master Fan was taking advantage of this diplomatic mission to check out the business he would be managing in the future. He didn't know that Fan Xian was actually planning to buy glass products.
Ling Jing explained a bit, and the shopkeeper hurriedly called out his assistants. A few agile assistants listened and hurried into the storeroom. It seemed that the truly high-end goods were not stored in the front of the shop. While they waited, Fan Xian and the shopkeeper began to chat. The shopkeeper knew what Fan Xian wanted to know, and didn't dare to hide anything. He gave him a rough estimate of the number of glass products that Qing had exported to Northern Qi over the years.
Although it was only a rough estimate, Fan Xian was still somewhat surprised. There was only one glass shop in Shangjing, and its annual revenue was terrifying. It was no wonder that despite the wealth of the Kingdom of Qi, they were only on par with the Kingdom of Qing in terms of wealth.
The shopkeeper suddenly sighed. "But for some reason, the goods sent from the capital have not been as good as before, and there is nothing new, so business has been a bit worse."
"How bad is it compared to when it was at its peak?" asked Fan Xian.
"About thirty percent off."
Fan Xian pondered for a moment. He knew where the problem was. After the Ye family had been taken into the palace treasury, the Eldest Princess had full control. Even if that crazy woman was someone with great political wisdom and skill, when faced with something completely new like glass soap, she would probably still be clueless. Since the quality of the glass was poor, there must have been a problem with the ingredients and process. Since the shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall could not do it themselves, there was no way they could make adjustments.
But business was only thirty percent off. It seemed that the Eldest Princess knew the importance of these businesses to the Kingdom of Qing's economy, and did not cause trouble.
But business was only thirty percent off.
While they were talking, the young workers had already brought out the most precious glass bottles in the shop. Fan Xian picked one up and squinted at it against the sunlight outside the shop. He found that there was not a trace of impurity in the glass. It was indeed much better than the glass windows in the capital. He couldn't help but smile and say, "These are the ones."
The shopkeeper hurriedly called for the shopkeeper to wrap it up. Unexpectedly, Fan Xian waved his hand. "Don't worry." The shopkeeper did not understand what he meant, and could only listen.
Suddenly, the shopkeeper looked troubled. Fan Xian had already noticed it. "What is your surname?" he asked.
"My surname is Yu," replied the shopkeeper quickly.
"An apprentice of Qingyu Hall with the surname Yu?" Fan Xian smiled to himself. "Is there something troubling you, Shopkeeper Yu?"
The shopkeeper smiled wryly. "Master Fan, these glass bottles were prepared for the Empress Dowager's birthday at the end of the month."
Fan Xian was slightly surprised. "Could it be that the nobles of Northern Qi ordered these gifts for your birthday? Then I can't accept them. Shopkeeper Yu, please give me a few more. "
Shopkeeper Yu was surprised. He did not expect such a high-ranking official to be so easy to talk to. He quickly explained, "We didn't order them, because the nobles of Northern Qi always knew that our shop always had a few good items. Speaking of which, these glass bottles are not the most expensive gifts... but the rules of the palace treasury are strict. This month is usually a rich month, and if you take these, when you report to the south at the end of the month, you will be short a lot of money. I'm afraid that the people of the palace treasury will..."
Before he finished speaking, Fan Xian understood what the shopkeeper was afraid of. He smiled. "Don't worry, of course they will pay you."
Wang Qinian also laughed. "Afraid that the palace treasury will check your accounts? Don't you know that the person in front of you is the future master of the palace treasury? "
Shopkeeper Yu stammered as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. In his heart, he thought, even if this Master Fan is the future master of the palace treasury, the problem is that the person in charge of the thousands of businesses in the world right now... is not a master.
Suddenly, Fan Xian patted his pouch and smiled bitterly. "It seems that I forgot to bring something on this trip to Northern Qi." Everyone silently understood. As the head of the diplomatic mission, Fan Xian's trip to Northern Qi was naturally a public one. Although he had some spare silver on him, there was no way he would have prepared so many banknotes.
Shopkeeper Yu continued to wipe his sweat. "Master, if this is official business, then naturally it should be reported to the public accounts. Master, please write a list, and I will send it back to the capital. That should be enough to pay off the bill."
"A promissory note? That's a good idea. " Fan Xian thought to himself. He accepted the brush, ink, and paper that he had prepared earlier. He thought that this Shopkeeper Yu was very observant. He had probably seen too many cases of envoys writing promissory notes. He scribbled a few lines on the paper, and Shopkeeper Yu carefully wrote down the amount of money. When it was Fan Xian's turn to sign, he hesitated. He turned around and asked Wang Qinian, "Does the Council have money?"
Wang Qinian smiled bitterly. "One-third of the Council's finances are provided by His Majesty, and two-thirds by the Ministry of Revenue, which is your father. In recent years, things have been a little tight."
Fan Xian turned to look at Gao Da. You follow your father, so of course the Tiger Guards are rich. Gao Da saw the young master looking at him, and his face was filled with embarrassment. "Young master, the old master is very strict with the Tiger Guards' finances."
Fan Xian sighed and looked at Lin Jing. "It seems that I will have to use the name of the Office of the Grand Herald."
Lin Jing held back a bitter smile. He thought, You are clearly eating the Office of the Grand Herald. What else can I say? Anyway, it was all public accounts, so Lin Jing did not feel bad. He even joked, "The palace treasury and the external treasury are always inferior to the national treasury."
This was very true. Whether it was the palace treasury, which was currently managed by the Eldest Princess, or the Ministry of Revenue, which was managed by Count Sinan, in the end, it was still the money of the Kingdom of Qing. Fan Xian and Lin Jing, the envoy and deputy, confidently signed their names. They glanced at the 2,000 taels of silver on the paper, and then walked out of the glass shop.
They did not have any attendants following them, so Shopkeeper Yu carefully instructed the workers to carry the precious glass bottles and follow them out. Because Fan Xian did not instruct them to return them to the diplomatic mission, they presumably had other uses for them.
As they walked past the toy shop that sold nine rings and Xiarong Road, Fan Xian only glanced at it, his gaze gentle. The shop in front of them sold wine, and Fan Xian walked in first. The shopkeeper had already been informed by his servants that a few high-ranking officials from his hometown had arrived, and was standing at the door to welcome them respectfully.
Fan Xian sat on a chair and glanced around. He found that the wine utensils were also very expensive, but they were far inferior to the glass bottles he had "bought". He waved his hand and asked the owner to step forward. "What is the best wine?"
The shopkeeper's surname was Sheng, and he produced a thin, transparent bottle as if by magic. The wine in the bottle was suffused with an extremely alluring red color, rich but not thick.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. "Grape wine?" he asked in surprise.
"Master Fan, you truly are an immortal of wine and poetry." Shopkeeper Sheng had long since inquired about the composition of the diplomatic mission from his hometown. He smiled flatteringly. "It is indeed grape wine."
He took out a cup and poured some into it. Fan Xian closed his eyes, swirled the open cup slightly, and brought it to his nose for a sniff. Seeing this, not only did Wang Qinian, who had once lived a luxurious life, but even Lin Jing and Shopkeeper Sheng were filled with admiration. Master Fan was indeed the descendant of a famous family.
Fan Xian was no master of wine; he was just putting on a show. He placed the cup on the table next to him. "I'll take this wine," he said. "Pick out some stronger ones."
Shopkeeper Sheng did not dare to tarry, and hurriedly offered them up one by one. Fan Xian took a sip, and frowned slightly. This was not much different from the wine he normally drank. It was far inferior to the sorghum wine Uncle Wu Zhu had made for him in Danzhou, and the tribute wine from the capital.
Seeing Fan Xian frown, Shopkeeper Sheng said in a low voice, "Strong wine is forbidden in the north. Please understand, Master."
Fan Xian knew that Shopkeeper Sheng was not speaking the truth. There was nothing in this world that money could not buy. Many of the nobles of Northern Qi were rich and powerful, and their hands were never soft when it came to spending money. Shopkeeper Sheng must have prepared some high-class goods. Fan Xian did not say much, and only shook his head to show his dissatisfaction.
Shopkeeper Sheng suddenly looked at him, and then took out two more bottles of wine. Fan Xian furrowed his brows slightly. In that glance earlier, this seemingly ordinary boss had revealed an extraordinary expression.
Fan Xian took a sip in a small porcelain cup, and then frowned. He did not say anything for a long time.
Everyone thought that the wine did not taste good. Wang Qinian could not help but ask, "Master, what is it?"
Fan Xian took a deep breath, turning the burning sensation in his throat into a thrill of excitement. "Good wine!" he exclaimed in admiration. Good wine! What is it called? "
Shopkeeper Sheng smiled. "Five Grain Liquor."
Fan Xian's expression did not change, and he praised again. "Good name." But in his heart, he smiled bitterly. "Ye Qingmei, back in the day you were so free."
Having done all this, the four officials rose and left. But as he was leaving, Fan Xian noticed that the shopkeeper, whose surname was Sheng, was giving him a meaningful look. Thinking back to what he had noticed earlier, Fan Xian stopped and let the other three go first. He turned around and followed the shopkeeper to the accounting room in the back.
There was no one in the accounting room, and it was strangely quiet.
As soon as Shopkeeper Sheng entered the room, he seemed to have changed into a different person. His entire body straightened, and his expression was solemn. He bowed to Fan Xian, who was sitting on the chair, and said in a low voice, "Sheng Huairen of the palace treasury greets you, Master."
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