Be a master through ancient times

Early in the morning, after Chu Ci clicked Mao, he went back to Houya and changed into his usual clothes to go out.Zhang Wenhai was waiting for him outside. Today they made an appointment with Zhao Kuan, and they will go to Jixianglou to meet and discuss business matters.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Jixiang Building.The younger brother who will come has already stepped forward to help lead the horse, and someone moved a pier from the shop so that Chuci and the others could step on and get off the cart.

Chu Ci and Zhang Wenhai looked at each other, startled by their battle.After getting out of the carriage, they realized that what was even more surprising was that there was no one in the huge restaurant at the moment.

"Second brother, isn't this restaurant open today?" Zhang Wenhai asked.

The second brother smiled and replied: "How can it be? It's Mr. Zhao. He said that today there are distinguished guests coming to discuss important matters. It's too crowded, so he reserved the whole restaurant."

Chu Ci and Zhang Wenhai were a little stunned, and they said it was no wonder, they didn't see such treatment when they came last time.However, who is the honored guest that Mr. Zhao is talking about?Besides them, who else did Zhao Kuan invite?

With such doubts in mind, the two followed the second brother into the restaurant, and then went straight to the second floor.The private room is still the same one as before, but it is double the size visible to the naked eye, and there are traces of demolition beside it. It seems that the two private rooms were dismantled and combined into one.

The larger the private room, the more expensive the furnishings inside. The original cat playing butterfly has been replaced with a picture of a tiger coming out of the mountain. If you look carefully from the side, you can find that the screen is actually double-sided embroidery, and the other side is embroidered with magpies climbing branches.Chu Ci took a few glances at the suggestive screen before bypassing it, cupped his hands to the person sitting inside and said, "Master Zhao is good, I haven't seen you for a few days, Chu is late today, and I will punish myself three times later." A cup of apology, a lot of forgiveness."

Zhao Kuan laughed and said: "As the saying goes, hospitality comes late. Chu Tixue and Mr. Zhang are both honored guests of Mr. Zhao. It is rare to be able to attend an appointment with face, so what does it matter if you are late? Besides, there is another honored guest who has not yet arrived, please. Just wait patiently, both of you." Zhao Kuan was still so enthusiastic when he spoke, and he seemed not at all affected by the exchange of gold melon tribute for fish balls.

After Chu Ci and Zhang Wenhai sat down, Zhao Kuan served tea again, this time it was not expensive gold melon tribute, but ordinary Tieguanyin.

Several people chatted while drinking tea, and no one brought the topic to business.This business is to see who can hold their breath and show timidity first, and they must be the ones who will suffer.

Zhang Wenhai sat at the side, listening to Chu Ci and Zhao Kuan's twists and turns, the two came and went, tit for tat, but there was no smell of fire at all, and there was even a proper smile on their faces, as if they hadn't seen each other for many years Friends are generally chatting.

He silently took a sip of tea, and his admiration for Chu Ci increased a few degrees.A talent like Brother Chu can write well, be a good official, behave well, and even know how to do business.I'm afraid he knows everything except not being able to have children?

Thinking of having a child, Zhang Wenhai thought, Brother Chu is getting older, it's time to think about starting a family.However, among the people he knew, there seemed to be no lady who could match him regardless of status and talent.Maybe it's time for him to ask someone to find out...

Chu Ci was talking to Zhao Kuan with a smirk, when suddenly his whole body turned cold, wondering if someone was plotting against him.Of course Chu Ci didn't know that his good brother was already thinking about his life-long affairs before he got married.

The awkward atmosphere lasted for about a quarter of an hour. When the voice came from below, Chu Ci knew that the distinguished guest invited by Zhao Kuan had arrived.

The footsteps gradually approached, Chu Ci and the others turned their heads to look, and the man happened to come out from behind the screen. When Chu Ci saw the person coming, his heart skipped a beat.

"Your Majesty, please take your seat. I am so touched that you took time out of your busy schedule to come here!" Zhao Kuan stood up to greet him, his attitude was so enthusiastic that he was flattering.

Chu Ci hated his teeth so much, he knew that Zhao Kuan's behavior was deliberately embarrassing himself, but he still had a surprised expression on his face, stood up and cupped his hands: "Prefect Lu, what a coincidence, Chu I really didn't expect to meet you here. Just now Master Zhao said that there will be a distinguished guest coming, I am still guessing, but now I see that it is indeed a distinguished guest."

Lu Zhifu was not as surprised as Chu Ci, but with a little surprise, he pulled the corner of his mouth lightly, showing a smile that was not a smile, and said: "Chu Ti is polite, Lu is not a distinguished guest. This is auspicious Lou Lu has not been here a few times, but Chu Tixue should be a regular visitor here, right?"

Hearing Lu Zhifu's words with a gun and a stick, Chu Ci knew something was wrong.It seems that Zhao Kuan didn't care about calculations, but came up with a trick, telling Lu Zhifu the content of the contract in advance, and trapped him in a passive position.The current attitude of the prefect Lu clearly felt that Chu Ci wanted to seize the credit for repairing the pier.

"I can't be a regular customer, and Chu only came twice. If I knew that you would be able to spare some time in Lu Zhifu, I should have invited you to come with me when we discussed the sale of Yurong Pills last time." Chu Ci hinted He, last time, was mainly to talk about the sale of Yurong Pills, not to build a pier.

"It's also in charge of a yamen. It doesn't make sense that Chu Ti learns that you can get out of the door, but I have to stay in the yamen all day, right? Could it be that Chu Ti learns that I am not as good at handling official affairs as you are?" Reassured, he still spoke in the tone of an old hermaphrodite.

Chu Ci glanced at Zhao Kuan from the corner of his eye, and sure enough, he found a glint of color in his old fox eyes, and his sowing dissension was really effective.

It wasn't until several people finally sat down that Zhang Wenhai, who was on the background board beside him, came to his senses. Thinking about what Chu Ci analyzed with him last time, he became nervous all of a sudden.Will prefect Lu impeach Brother Chu?

Chu Ci patted him under the table to signal him to stay calm.After Zhao Kuan said a few more polite words over there, the topic finally turned to the matter of building the wharf.

"Chu Tixue, last time you said you had to talk to the magistrate Lu beforehand about the construction of the wharf. I don't know how the two of you discussed it? Mr. Zhao thought to let the two of you discuss it face to face, so as not to encounter problems. Shi Chuti taught you that you can't be the master, and you just delayed for two days, you two won't blame me, right?" Zhao Kuan said with a smile.

Lu Zhifu also smiled and said: "Master Zhao is too worried. I am afraid that in Chu Tixue's mind, I am not the one who makes decisions. It doesn't matter whether it is discussed or not. Let Chu Tixue make the decision."

"..." Chu Ci took a deep breath and advised himself to hold back, "Prefect Lu just joked, you are the governor of a prefecture, if you don't discuss the construction of the wharf with you, who would you talk to? It's just that Chu felt that Mr. Zhao's conditions were a bit... thinking that he would report the matter to you after discussing it. Chu is also very happy that you can come today, so why don't you read Mr. Zhao's request first? "

Chu Ci tried his best to express his kindness, but he didn't expect that old fox Zhao Kuan would really do this trick.Now I just hope that prefect Lu can put the overall situation first, and don't be too impulsive.

Fortunately, prefect Lu has not completely lost his mind.He gave Chu Ci a sideways look, and then took the paper that Chu Ci handed over.After seeing the first item clearly, he frowned, then raised his eyes to look at Zhao Kuan and Chu Ci, and looked down again after a while.

After about half a cup of tea, Zhifu Lu finally finished studying the two thin sheets of paper.

"Master Zhao, these demands of yours are indeed a bit... embarrassing." Lu Zhifu said tactfully, he has also heard about the wealth of the person in front of him, so it's better not to offend him as much as possible.

Zhao Kuan showed a look of surprise, and said: "Is this request embarrassing? But Zhao's conditions in other state capitals are even worse than this, and they agreed. Zhao originally thought that Zhangzhou Prefecture has always been They are all impoverished places, and the conditions have been relaxed on purpose!"

Governor Lu felt a little embarrassed when he heard it. Although he often complained that Zhangzhou was not as rich as other prefectures, it was still unpleasant to ask someone to point it out in person.He coughed, and then said: "The land in Zhangzhou is barren, and most of the people live by fishing, so the local finances are a little tight. Master Zhao, can you relax the conditions?"

After hearing this, Zhao Kuan's face was gloomy: "Magistrate Lu thinks that Zhao is deliberately taking advantage? If so, there is nothing to talk about. Today's banquet is all for Zhao."

Seeing that he was about to leave at the slightest disagreement, Zhifu Lu immediately panicked: "Master Zhao, please speak up if you have something to say, since you came to my Zhangzhou Mansion to do business with sincerity, why bother to leave in such a hurry?"

Zhao Kuan sneered: "Since the prefect Lu knows that I came here sincerely, why bother to say that insincere words? As the head of a prefecture, prefect Lu will not be unclear about how much benefits a pier can bring. I have always liked to do good deeds, but I am still a businessman after all. There are a large number of people waiting to eat and use them. It is nothing if I lose a little, so I can treat it as a friend. But a business that is completely losing money, please forgive Zhao for not being able to do it. "

Lu Zhifu's face turned red when he was told, he was very annoyed, but he couldn't open his mouth to refute.In terms of Zhao Kuan's financial resources and his influence in Nanfu Province, if he is offended, it is estimated that the business tax revenue in the second half of the year will be an ugly figure.

He said with a smile on his face, "Master Zhao's kind deeds are known to everyone in Southern Fujian. I also know that it is not easy for you to do business. Now that you think about it, those conditions are not considered—"

"Prefect Lu, let's have a cup of tea. It's summer, and the weather is hot, and your face is red." Seeing that Prefect Lu was about to compromise, Chu Ci cut off his words no matter what.

Although Zhifu Lu didn't like Chuci, he knew his ability well. He must have something to say when he interrupted him now, so he didn't rush to reprimand him. Instead, he picked up his cup and started to drink tea pretendingly.

"Chu Tixue, didn't you say that the magistrate Lu is in charge of building the wharf? Why did you interrupt suddenly? Are you dissatisfied with the magistrate?" Zhao Kuan's face darkened again, and he secretly hated Chu in his heart. It's cunning, and I also hate that the magistrate Lu is not firm in his will, and he was about to succeed just now!

Chu Ci chuckled: "No, I didn't interrupt on purpose, it's just that some things haven't been clarified, and it's too early to make a conclusion. Why don't we break down the conditions you raised one by one, and then make a decision? ?”

"Hehe, what did Chu Tixue want to say?"

"Let's talk about your first article first. It says that if the wharf is built and the government must exempt the shops under your name from taxation for three years, this article is obviously against the law of the Great Wei. There is a saying in the Law of the Great Wei: All merchants must pay every year. Fifteen of the income, to warn others. The tax paid is handed over to the local government, and then submitted to the household department into the national treasury. Unless there is an amnesty, no one is allowed to refuse to pay or underpay the tax. Once the illegal person is found, he will be punished. To be punished by hanging."

Chu Ci was so familiar that he tore out the law on the spot. Looking at Zhao Kuan's dull expression, Chu Ci continued: "Master Zhao, you asked the government to exempt you from taxes. This is a violation of the national law. The crime is not a small one! Listen! Said that you behaved like this in other mansions, if it is strictly investigated, this... alas!" He sighed, as if Zhao Kuan was already a dead person.

After a while, Zhao Kuan squeezed out a smile: "Chu Ti's theory is a joke. Zhao pays taxes every year in accordance with the law. As for the clause, it was just written by the servants who didn't understand the rules. I originally wanted to say What matters is, after the wharf is completed, can the taxation of the shops under my name be delayed for a year or two, after all, the construction of the wharf requires a lot of money.”

"Oh!" Chu Ci suddenly realized, "That's how it is! I don't know whether Mr. Zhao's servant is stupid or poisonous. I almost thought he was trying to harm you! Since it's a delay, it doesn't matter. The court paid taxes for three years. Once the liquidation is settled, as long as you pay it within the stipulated time, it will be fine. Brother Zhang, hurry up and get your pen and ink, and change this clause, so as not to injure Mr. Zhao.”

Zhang Wenhai froze for a moment, then grinned, and responded loudly: "Oh, I'll go right away." After finishing speaking, he ran out the door, asked Xiaoer for a pen and paper, and pressed Zhao Kuan's first note. Change what you just said.

Zhao Kuan watched the ink marks on the white paper gradually dry out, but blood flowed out of his heart as if he had been cut by a knife. That Chu Ci dared to threaten him with this matter was really unbearable!