Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1701 Attracting Investment
Hearing Zhang Dafu's explanation, Ye Mingsheng sized up the portly middle-aged man, then said meaningfully:

"Didn't you buy some for yourself and your colleagues in the government office to try?"

Faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhang Dafu looked somewhat embarrassed, but still answered truthfully:

"Your Majesty, you have always been frugal, and we will not waste what you have left over from these past few days!"

Hearing Zhang Dafu say that, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat amused and exasperated, but still continued to ask:

"Let's leave the tea issue aside, but how do we explain the inn rooms? The furniture is all rosewood, and the renovations alone must have cost several hundred taels of silver!"

"Your Majesty, you have discerning eyes! The renovation cost fifty taels of silver, and these furniture pieces are worth twenty or eighty taels of silver!"

Hearing that Zhang Dafu didn't try to deny it but instead quoted 330 taels, Ye Mingsheng nodded inwardly, thinking that this price was about the same as the market price. He was sure Zhang Dafu wasn't lying. He then asked:
"Your Rao'an Prefecture's annual tax revenue is less than three thousand taels of silver. How could you afford to renovate this post station with so much money?"

"Your Majesty, our government office did spend money on the renovations, but we didn't spend any money on the furniture!"

"Oh? What do you mean? These fine rosewood furniture pieces couldn't possibly have been given away for free."

"Sir, here's the thing. A while ago, a furniture merchant named Zhao Feng came from Jiangnan. He opened a furniture shop here and sells huanghuali wood furniture at about 80% of the market price..."

"Because it was 20% cheaper than the market price, many wealthy people in our area who liked huanghuali wood furniture bought a lot of furniture from him. However, by chance, someone discovered that the huanghuali wood furniture he sold was actually veneer furniture!"

What does "veneered furniture" mean?

In response to Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhang Dafu patiently explained:
"Veinized furniture refers to a technique used to pass off inferior furniture as superior furniture. It involves shaving precious wood into thin slices, attaching them to the surface of ordinary wood like leather, and then selling the ordinary wood furniture as precious wood furniture!"

"This Zhao Feng simply covered ordinary elm furniture with rosewood veneer and sold it as rosewood furniture. When he was discovered, Zhao Feng tried to run away, but our government office acted quickly and the constables immediately apprehended him!"

"At that time, Zhao Feng sold furniture worth a total of more than three thousand taels of silver. In order to reduce his punishment, Zhao Feng was willing to pay compensation to those who bought the furniture. After that, our government also fined him five hundred taels of silver!"

"At that time, Yi Jing was basically bankrupt. In the end, he couldn't raise 500 taels of silver, so he gave us 200 taels of silver, along with these rosewood furniture pieces worth 280 taels of silver. That was enough to barely pay the fine!"

"After acquiring these rosewood furniture pieces, I thought about it and then sent them to this post station. I also took fifty taels of silver from the government's accounts to renovate the post station nicely..."

Ye Mingsheng, somewhat curious upon hearing this, said:
Why did you go through all this trouble to renovate this post station?

"Your Majesty, you see, our Rao'an borders Qilu and Jiyu. Many people from Qilu, Jiyu and Yijing pass through our Rao'an. The road through Lüqiao Town is relatively flat and easy to travel, so many people traveling north and south take this route!"

"That's why I'm cleaning up the post station. Your Majesty, I can say without exaggeration that the post station in Lüqiao Town has the best accommodations within a radius of 300 li. Moreover, our post station is open to the public and operates like an inn. I estimate that by staying along this road, the post station can earn 50 taels of silver every year after deducting operating costs and daily repairs and maintenance!"

"The most important thing is not that I use this inn to make money, but that I use it to attract people. I told the innkeeper that as long as the guests who stay at the inn are willing to visit our Rao'an Prefecture for two days, they can get a 50% discount on their expenses at the inn!"

"Your Majesty, the prices at my inn are not low. Only wealthy people can afford to stay here. If they are willing to take a trip to Rao'an, we will have the opportunity to introduce some of Rao'an's specialties and local customs to them, which will also create investment opportunities!"

Zhang Dafu became more and more excited as he spoke, his spittle flying everywhere. He didn't seem like a Party member at all, but rather a businessman. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but say:
"You certainly have a good eye for business!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say that, Zhang Dafu chuckled somewhat sheepishly and said:

"Your Majesty, you are wise enough to know that I am indeed a merchant by birth!"

"Oh?"

"My family has been merchants for three generations. We started with a steamed bun shop, and through three generations working from dawn till dusk, we built up three restaurants and five grain stores, making us a fairly well-off family in Tieshan, Liaoyang..."

"You're from Tieshan? How did you get into politics?"

Zhang Dafu introduced without hesitation:

"Your Majesty, I am from Tieshan. My father wanted me to study and pursue an official career since I was a child, but I didn't have the talent. I was over twenty years old when I became a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations). Later, Liaoyang was in turmoil, and a Xiucai couldn't do much. So I stayed at home and helped my father and brother with accounting and managing the restaurant!"

“Back when you were in charge of Liaoyang, my father saw that the Fengwu Army was well-disciplined and did not harass the people, so the people lived in peace and prosperity. Therefore, my father felt that the Fengwu Army had a future, so he sent me to join you!”

"I passed the provincial administration exam and was assigned to the Yijing government office. After entering the pass, I followed the Fengwu Army to Youyan. I worked in Yuyang for a while, in charge of the trade with the Luobei people. Later, I was transferred to Rao'an as the prefect on official business!"

Listening to Zhang Dafu's self-introduction, Ye Mingsheng nodded with interest and said:
"So you have your own set of insights into business development?"

"Your Majesty is unworthy of such praise! I merely have some thoughts of my own!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng said:
"So how is your inn actually doing? Has it made money and attracted people?"

Faced with Ye Mingsheng's direct question, Zhang Dafu immediately looked embarrassed. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but ask, "You didn't attract a single person, did you?"

Zhang Dafu nodded awkwardly. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng was immediately disappointed. He had initially thought Zhang Dafu was a talented individual; he had spoken so well, first about using the post station to make money, then about using it to attract wealthy people to Rao'an—but it was all just empty talk…
Seeing Ye Mingsheng's disappointed look, Zhang Dafu quickly explained:

"Your Majesty, the entire post station was only renovated a month ago. We originally intended to start operating it then, but after receiving news that you were coming to inspect it, for safety reasons, we thought we would receive you first and then begin operations!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly upon hearing this, then seemed to remember something and asked:
"After you made Zhao Feng pay compensation and fined him, what happened to him?"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng ask this, Zhang Dafu's eyes darted away, but he understood that he had to answer Ye Mingsheng's question. Thinking of this, he steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and said truthfully:
"I'm letting him go!"

"What? You let him go?"

"Yes! I released him after giving him a lecture!"

Hearing Zhang Dafu say this, Ye Mingsheng frowned and said:
"Why did you do that?"

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of our Great Qian Dynasty, Zhao Feng has been selling counterfeit and substandard products, and will be sentenced to one to twenty years in prison, depending on the severity of the offense, with the maximum penalty being death!"

"But at the same time, according to our Great Qian Law, if Zhao Feng obtains a letter of forgiveness from the victim, his sentence will be shortened!"

"Zhao Feng paid 5,000 taels of silver in compensation and obtained letters of understanding from thirteen customers who bought furniture from him. In addition, he showed a good attitude in admitting his guilt, and his family actively raised various funds!"

"The last possibility is this: his manager did it first to get a commission, without his knowledge. Later, when he found out, a lot of furniture had already been sold, so he just let it go. We've arrested and interrogated that manager..."

After listening to Zhang Dafu's explanation, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and asked:
"How much silver did Zhao Feng's family give you?"

Zhang Dafu was taken aback, then said:
"Your Majesty, Zhao Feng's family did offer me money, but I refused it. I decided to release him out of consideration for Rao'an's development!"

After finishing his sentence, Zhang Dafu, feeling the suspicion in Ye Mingsheng's gaze, gritted his teeth and said directly:

"Your Majesty, you may have the Joint Investigation Department investigate me! I, Zhang Dafu, swear to Heaven! I have not accepted a single tael of silver from Zhao Feng and his family!"

Hearing Zhang Dafu speak so decisively and righteously, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised. The members of the Daqian Party were always terrified of the Joint Investigation Department, and very few dared to allow the Joint Investigation Department to investigate them.

Thinking about this, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and said:
"Since you say you're acting in Rao An's best interests, then tell me how you're thinking about it?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng was determined to pester him and get to the bottom of things, Zhang Dafu could only grit his teeth and say:
"Your Majesty, Zhao Feng is a merchant from Jiangnan. Right now, Jiangnan merchants are the wealthiest in the entire Great Qian Dynasty. So when I'm trying to attract investment, I will definitely do my best to win over these Jiangnan merchants!"

"So this time, Zhao Feng's case is just a case of commercial fraud, and no one was killed. Secondly, Zhao Feng has already paid all the compensation he was owed, so I don't want to dwell on it!"

After speaking, Zhang Dafu glanced at Ye Mingsheng. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng remained unmoved, he gritted his teeth and spoke his mind:

"Your Majesty, those merchants from Jiangnan all trade with each other. If I sentence Zhao Feng, will any Jiangnan merchants dare to do business in Rao'an in the future...?"

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Yijing Palace
Murong Qingwu looked at her disgruntled daughter and her bewildered son and couldn't help but sigh.

She's facing one problem after another. Despite having laid a tight net, she hasn't been able to capture Zhao Dahai. Last time, Ah Da's intervention prevented some people from meeting with Wang Tong, but it also caused Wang Tong to be so frightened that the Yijing Prefecture's Joint Investigation Department has started to take notice.

Just as Murong Qinghu was thinking about how to handle this matter, her daughter unexpectedly caused even more trouble!

Murong Qingwu had already learned about the conflict between her daughter and Ye Xingtong, and had personally asked the nanny and palace maid who were present that day. In Murong Qingwu's view, it was just a conflict between two children, nothing serious. Ye Xingtong did not do it on purpose, so she did not intend to investigate the matter further.

Clearly, Bai Yuanyuan on the other side had the same idea and did not intend to make a big deal out of this!
Although both mothers wanted to settle things quietly and handle the matter discreetly, some people did not want to do so, such as An Miaoyi!

Thinking of this, Murong Qingwu couldn't help but ask:
How did you find out about the Jinxianglou incident?

Faced with her mother's question, Ye Kexin hesitated, and seeing this, Murong Qingwu angrily rebuked her:
"Unfortunately, you'd better tell me the truth! Don't try to bluff me..."

The reason why An Miaoyi kept focusing on the conflict between the two children was largely due to the Jinxianglou incident.

Although Jinxianglou is not one of the eight famous restaurants in Yijing, it is one of the more well-known Sichuan restaurants in Yijing, and its business is booming.

In Daqian, people are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat. This is especially true for merchants. Once people know that they are rich and that they are making money in a certain business, they will immediately attract covetous eyes. However, in Daqian, the Communist Party members are the most powerful. Compared with them, merchants are often a weak group, or even fish on the chopping block.

Back then, seeing that Xin Kang Ji's business was booming, An Miaoyi wanted to take it over. Although the owner of Xin Kang Ji was unwilling, he was wary of An Miaoyi's status. In addition, An Miaoyi had already made a lot of money by taking advantage of information asymmetry, so she asked for a high price for Xin Kang Ji. Therefore, although the owner of Xin Kang Ji was unwilling, he reluctantly sold Xin Kang Ji to An Miaoyi.

Although Bai Yuanyuan has made some money over the years through information asymmetry, it is still nothing compared to An Miaoyi. An Miaoyi can offer a high price to Xin Kangji, one of the eight famous restaurants in Yijing, but Bai Yuanyuan cannot offer a high price to Jinxianglou. In addition, Wang Yingjie, the owner of Jinxianglou, is unwilling to give up his family business that has been running for three generations, so the matter is deadlocked.

In Bai Yuanyuan's view, Wang Yingjie's actions were utterly shameless, a classic case of refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Therefore, Bai Yuanyuan didn't hold back and directly asked his second brother to fabricate a pretext to send Wang Yingjie to jail. Although the prison in Yijing Prefecture wasn't as powerful as the Central Investigation Department's, it was still far beyond the reach of a pampered restaurant owner…