Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

The minimum monthly commission is one hundred taels of silver.

Without any hesitation, both Officer Li and Officer Zhao immediately cupped their hands in agreement.

joke.

Is this Lord Housho?

This is his biological father!

That's over a thousand taels of silver a year. Even if you were a head constable in the capital and embezzled like crazy, you couldn't get that much silver.

The key point is that this silver comes from profit sharing, so they don't need to pay any separate tribute to their superiors.

"And you?"

"I am willing."

Zhao Banxia knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Although he lost more than a hundred taels of silver in a month, he couldn't think of things that way. The business he was doing was only backed by a constable from the Jingzhao Prefecture. Right now, many people didn't know the profits involved, but as more people found out in the future, they would definitely get involved.

At that point, not only will business be difficult to maintain, but even lives will be in danger.

Although we've lost money, we've built a relationship; a steady, long-term relationship is the best approach.

Without powerful backers in the capital, nothing can be accomplished.

"Well, since everyone agrees, then it's settled. Hand over all your previous ledgers for scavenging manure, along with the fee schedules and the prices for selling compost in a bit."

"Starting tomorrow, the fee schedule will be changed. The West Ward will be completely free, while the other wards will charge the normal fees. Also, the people working under me will receive an additional five taels of silver per month."

talking.

Qin Feng changed the subject abruptly.

"When someone asks about cleaning the latrines in the East Ward, the standard fee is set at five taels of silver per cleaning."

"Sir, five taels of silver per trip is definitely not something the people living in the East Ward will be willing to pay. In the end, the servants of those wealthy families will definitely have to pay for it themselves and then transport it out of the city."

Zhao the Half-Blind hurriedly replied.

Isn't this ridiculous?

Who would be willing to shovel excrement for five taels of silver?

The East Ward was the most profitable ward for them, with many shops, brothels, and wealthy households. The latrines there needed to be cleaned almost every few days.

Business is very stable.

"Just collect according to this standard. Before, when people were illegally collecting excrement, couldn't you stop them? What methods did you use before? What methods are you using now? Those wealthy families were collecting excrement and transporting it out of the city, but they were robbed on the way!"

Having connections in the government office will help you.

Are you suggesting that people should scoop out and carry the excrement themselves?

Then I might as well not live at all.

What does it mean to have a monopoly? It means that only they can do it, and whoever does it can be dealt with. You can't even do it yourself.

Moreover, no one will be able to clean the latrines in Dongfang in the future.

It would be much more difficult to govern.

"By the way, Qiu Tuizi, what have you been investigating about Dongfang lately? How's the cleanup going?"

Qiu Tuizi, who was standing at the door, heard the sound.

They walked up respectfully.

"Your Excellency, I have ordered my men to investigate and found that the East Ward is in chaos today; these scholars have gone mad."

"Crazy? What happened? Tell me in detail."

Qin Yu became interested and hurriedly asked.

Dongfang has always been relatively safe, making it very easy to govern. Just implement some welfare measures and build some facilities, and it would be difficult to lose.

How could things get so chaotic?

……

Dongfang.

The most bustling street.

Many shop owners are now gathered at the entrance, their expressions angry and their emotions agitated.

The newly appointed district head issued a notice yesterday.

It's written very clearly inside.

All shops in the East Ward, regardless of type, will offer a 20% discount to any scholar who makes a purchase.

The notice was posted.

That evening, many shops were packed with scholars from the capital.

This means all items are 20% off.

The rent in Dongfang was already the highest, and the labor costs were also high. The constables and gangsters all had to be bribed. Now, they had to offer an 80% discount. Many shopkeepers did the math at night and realized that if they let these scholars eat and drink in their shops, they would not only not make any money, but might even lose money.

"I lost five taels of silver yesterday. These scholars not only demand discounts but also offer free wine. I'm not making any money at all. If this continues, I might as well close down."

"You're much better now. Has this brothel owner ever run a business? Doesn't he know the rules? Even brothels offer discounts? He's offering discounts to girls, isn't he afraid of retribution?"

"If all else fails, we can join forces and go to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office. We're losing five taels of silver in just one day, and hundreds of taels a month. How can we possibly survive?"

"Don't you want to live? I heard this warden is from the Nanlin Party. If you offend them, losing your shop is a small matter, but what if you get thrown in jail? What will you do then?"

"..."

Several shopkeepers huddled together, sighing with worried expressions.

Let alone a behemoth like the Nanlin Party, even a constable from the yamen (government office) is someone a shopkeeper like them can't afford to mess with.

But continuing to lose money like this is not a sustainable solution.

"I've heard that Xifang is being managed quite well. People who used to open shops and hire people in Xifang can get rent reductions. Maybe... we should go to Xifang and take a look. Even if we earn less, it's better than losing money here."

The group's eyes lit up.

The news of the lawsuit filed by the Jingzhao Prefecture has been spreading like wildfire throughout the capital these past two days.

In some taverns, storytellers have started making up these kinds of stories.

"That's true. We can't refuse scholars when they come to our shop; we can't afford to offend them. So let's not open a shop in the East Wing anymore, but in the West Wing. They can't possibly chase after us, can they? It's better to earn a little less than to lose money."

After discussing it, everyone decided to assign the shop's tasks to the waiter.

They headed to Xifang together.

As long as the environment is right, even if business is bad, at least we can make ends meet and stay in Dongfang. Sooner or later, these scholars will drain us dry.

"The stall was smashed!"

Just then.

Ding Yun, along with a group of recruited subordinates—actually servants from each household—was carrying sticks and was clearing out the vendors in the East Ward.

"Sir, sir, you can't smash it! My family makes a living by selling snacks here every night. If you smash it, my family won't be able to survive."

The stall owner clung tightly to his stall, lying on the ground and pleading.

"Nonsense!"

Ding Yun gave a stern rebuke.

"If you dare to obstruct us again, don't blame us for taking you to jail. In the future, bookstores will be built along the streets of Dongfang, and no one will be allowed to set up stalls."

"What a great achievement this is! Don't you, a commoner, have any sense of responsibility? Do you think you have no way to make a living if you don't set up a stall here? That's utter nonsense."

"The Scholar's Book Pledge is a great act of enlightening the people. You should cooperate with the Dongfang action. This ward sees you as lazy. Your whole family goes out to work, how can you not even have a way to make a living? Tear it down!!!"

He suddenly waved his hand.

A large number of servants rushed up, pushed the stall owner aside, and smashed the entire stall to pieces.

When the other vendors saw this, they quickly packed up their stalls and left without waiting for these people to come over.

"Let's go to the West Ward. This lousy East Ward is open to anyone who wants to come. I'm not coming here. No stalls allowed. I want to see what these bastards eat in the middle of the night."

One of the men pushed the wooden cart and stomped his foot heavily.

"Yes, I went to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office that day. Maybe the West Ward has really been rectified? They don't give us a way to make a living here, they don't even allow us to set up stalls. The West Ward may earn less, but at least we can still set up stalls. I'm going too!"

"Let's go together!"

"Go away, what a load of crap you've set up with those book signs. You can't even afford to eat, what kind of books are you reading?"

Numerous vendors also flocked to Xifang.