From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 71: I want to see million taels in one month

If you are a beautiful strong woman, a wealthy woman, controlling endless wealth, unparalleled power, and having a well-behaved and obedient daughter, with countless people falling for your beauty and at your disposal, what else could a woman ask for in such a life!

Then your eldest nephew came up to you and secretly cursed you in front of your daughter for not being able to get married, saying that you didn't understand men and that you deserved to be single for the rest of your life. Then he turned around and said to you with a smile as if nothing had happened, "Aunt, give me 10 million!"

What will you do?
What can you do?
The eldest princess felt dizzy and felt like she was about to die. If she hadn't held on to the table, she would have fallen down.

"Aunt, what's wrong with you?"

Li Chengqian was startled when he saw the eldest princess suddenly stagger and her eyes were blurred. He quickly stood up and supported the eldest princess.

"Get out of here!" The princess recovered and pushed Li Chengqian away. She looked at him gloomily and said, "Ten million taels, how dare you ask for that?"

"Oh, Auntie is angry." Li Chengqian said as if nothing had happened. "What's there to be angry about? You didn't think I was mocking you just now, did you?"

"Is not it?"

"Of course not. The principles I taught Chen'er are suitable for her. Unlike you, Auntie, her appearance can only be described as beautiful. If she wants to control a man, she can only learn these methods. You are different. Auntie, you are a beauty, the most beautiful in the world. Men are nothing, and they are not worthy of being compared with you, don't you think?"

"I know you're lying to me, but this is a pass." The princess sat down and looked at Li Chengqian intently. "Do you really think that a woman can have everything just by being beautiful?"

"Auntie, I feel like this actually has no effect on you at all. Don't care about other people's opinions. Just insist that you are right. Appearance is justice, appearance is everything."

"Appearance?" The eldest princess vaguely understood the meaning of the word and couldn't help but look at Li Chengqian. She was finding it increasingly difficult to understand her nephew.

"Yes, appearance determines everything." Li Chengqian said, "That's why my aunt can defeat everyone."

"Even if you say so, even if you are the crown prince, even if you are acting as the salt administrator, ten million taels is impossible."

"Ten million taels is just to make up for this year's deficit. The court's annual salt tax is about 40 million taels. If the inner treasury takes over and pays 50 million taels, there should be no problem, right?"

The eldest princess froze, her voice a little hoarse, "What did you say?"

"I say, 10 million taels to make up for this year's deficit, and 50 million taels in salt tax every year thereafter, is that okay?"

"You're crazy! This is the imperial salt administration. Do you think your father would agree to hand it over to the inner treasury? Do you think the imperial court would agree to it?"

"Father handed over the Salt Administration to me, and at the same time, he also gave me absolute power over the salt laws. He is the emperor, his words are golden, and he is also very concerned about his reputation. Once he speaks, he has no face to take back what he has said. As for the court, they are a bunch of insects, not worthy of a say."

"You, you, you are the crown prince, and you look at the officials in the court like this?"

"Don't pay attention to them." Li Chengqian said, "Aunt, I'm here to discuss the big business of salt administration with you today. Other people's opinions are not important."

"I'm afraid you can't bear this responsibility." "I can bear it, I'm just afraid you can't." Li Chengqian said, taking out a small booklet and placing it on the stone table. "This is the new salt drying method that Ye Qingmei developed back then. It's perfect."

"Ye Qingmei!" Upon hearing these three words, the eldest princess's expression changed. She stared at the booklet on the table. As her thoughts turned, she seemed to have returned to the days more than ten years ago when she lived under the shadow of that woman.

"She's just a dead person. Don't think too highly of her." Li Chengqian said with a smile, "If she really was as omnipotent as the legend says, she wouldn't have died, don't you think?"

call! !

The princess let out a long sigh and stared at Li Chengqian, saying, "The imperial court's salt administration is no joke. Since you have this in mind, you should have thought of a way to deal with it, right?"

"It's not a matter of whether to respond or not. My thoughts are very simple."

"Salt, like any other commodity, goes through three stages: manufacturing, transportation, and sales."

"With this new solar salting method, there is no problem with manufacturing, and there is no problem with large-scale production. The larger the scale, the lower the cost and the greater the output."

"As for transportation and sales, the Neiku's channels are all over the world, and so are its caravans. Utilize the Neiku's resources to produce salt using this new salt-drying method, and then use the Neiku's channels to sell this salt in Neiku's stores. I only have two conditions: the first is an annual salt tax of 50 million taels, and the second is a maximum salt price of ten wen. The current price of official salt in Daqing is about thirty wen per catty, and private salt is ten wen per catty. Therefore, as long as the Neiku's salt price is below ten wen at the beginning, neither official nor private salt can compete with you. It won't be long before the Neiku has a monopoly on the entire market."

"Ten cents a pound, you're crazy, this is a loss-making scheme."

"Losing money? What are you losing money on? I've calculated that as long as we scale up, the cost of a pound of salt will be at most three wen. If production is well controlled and the scale is expanded to the current level of official salt, the cost may even drop to around one wen. If you sell it for ten wen, you'll have ten times the profit. How can you possibly lose money?"

"That's not how you run business. Just by calculating the costs, you can really make that much profit. There's also..."

"That's how it's calculated, aunt. Maths can't fool you. I've calculated that even if the inner treasury builds a salt field from scratch, as long as the scale reaches one-third of the official salt, and the cost is spread out, it will only take three years. The income from this item alone will be close to 100 million taels. Aunt, you are just in charge of the inner treasury. The money belongs to the old man. Why are you helping him make so much money? It's enough."

"It's not as simple as you say. If we do it directly, the salt administration of the imperial court will be..."

The imperial court's salt administration was linked to two things: salt tax and salt prices. Salt tax was crucial to the court's financial stability, while salt prices were fundamental to people's well-being and crucial to the stability of the nation.

This year's salt tax collected less than 30 million taels, leaving a deficit of 6 million taels. If you could pay 50 million taels every year, the court wouldn't lose anything. If you could lower the price of salt to 10 cents, the people would also make a profit. As long as both the court and the people are satisfied, that's all. Why worry so much?

"But what about the salt merchants and the officials in charge of the salt administration?"

"I don't care if they die." Li Chengqian sneered, "Salt merchants and salt officials, how many divisions do they have?"

The princess's scalp tingled at these words, as if she were reacquainted with Li Chengqian. "This will destabilize the court."

"It's nothing." Li Chengqian stood tall and turned to the princess, saying, "Within a month, I want to see ten million taels."

(Second update, thanks, accidentally clicked it to be released, I will try my best to update it today.)
(End of this chapter)