Dressed as a widow, raising cubs, farming and building infrastructure in Ming Dynasty

Chapter 29
Liu Liuye showed admiration on his face: "In such a dangerous and dangerous place on the border, you, a woman and a family, have managed a prosperous business. I and other dignified men of seven feet are also very impressed. You and I are both surnamed Liu, and we are one family. I'm in a rush today, but when Liu passes by again tomorrow, how about we become brothers and sisters?"

Qin Liu just spent a little effort and favors to take in the group of them. It was a bit surprising that these people thought so highly of him.Anyway, she already had an adopted brother, so it didn’t matter how many more she had, so she naturally agreed happily.

Qin Liu waited for the city gate to open and sent Liu Liuye and his party out of the city before turning back.

Qin Liu went home and went straight to Old Man Li: "Dad, we are farming and opening shops, why don't we see officials come over to collect taxes and assign corvee labor?"

The people of Bazhou were almost driven into rebellion by the tyranny. Why didn't she feel the tyranny at all?
Old Man Li sighed: "In the past, there were officials in our town who collected taxes and assigned corvees. But these people were always hacked to death by the Tatar soldiers, and gradually they stopped sending people. Last year, our town suffered a major disaster. , there is no point in collecting taxes, nothing can be collected. It is estimated that after the spring, if the Tatars have not come over, there will be official missions to collect taxes."

Qin Liu was a little worried: "How is this tax collected?"

She was a little worried that if she opened an inn again, she would be targeted, and excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes would be levied on her, and she would end up bankrupt.

"We farm here, and we harvest three liters of wheat per acre, 3 in 5 scoops. If we open a shop, we will get one for thirty."

Seeing Qin Liu's confused face, Old Man Li added: "That means one acre of land costs almost one hundred catties of grain."

Qin Liu's jaw almost dropped in shock!
The yield of this acre of land is only 35 kilograms of grain. If you pay [-] kilograms of tax, you will have a remaining [-] kilograms. However, one acre of land can produce [-] to [-] kilograms of grain seeds!
In other words, after farmers work hard for a year, only a little over [-]% of the food they can actually keep for themselves!

If there is a drought or waterlogging and there is no harvest, do you have to sell off your land and sell your sons and daughters to make up for the taxes?
Harsh government is fiercer than a tiger, the ancients are honest and will not bully me!

Qin Liu thought for a while and said: "It seems that you can make a living in this kind of land. It is more profitable to do business."

Old Man Li shook his head: "How easy is it to do business? In the past, when I went to the capital with troops and horses, merchants had to collect taxes on their goods when they passed the customs and entered the city gate. In total, the taxes were not low. On the contrary, those officials were exempted from corvee and In terms of taxes, life is much easier. Some people even put their property shops under the names of officials, so they can collect less taxes."

Qin Liu thought about it. In this era, the cost of transporting goods is high, the time is slow, and there are easy losses on the road. The cost of doing business is also very high.

Just as she was thinking, she heard Old Man Lou coughing from outside the window.

Next to the window was the voice of Ma Ang's newlywed wife, Mrs. Qu: "Oh, I was shocked!"

Old Man Lou said respectfully: "Madam, come in and sit down. My shopkeeper is in the house."

Qin Liu frowned.This Mrs. Qu sneaked in to eavesdrop on their conversations more than once or twice.

Qin Liu now regretted not building a strong and high wall between the Ma and Li families.

Every morning when having breakfast, old man Lou brought steaming white flour buns and two cold dishes, and the little mute brought millet porridge into the main room. They could all see the envious and jealous look in Mrs. Qu's eyes in Ma's yard.

At first glance, this Mrs. Qu seems to be a lazy cook, not a fuel-saving lamp.

It's winter now. It's unrealistic to build a wall, and it's easy for the Ma family to think too much. Qin Liu can only stand still.

Fortunately, Mr. Zhang has stopped in the past few days and has not come to Yanzilou again. I don't know whether it is because he has been hit by too many soft nails, or because Mrs. Qu goes out more often.

Time has entered the twelfth lunar month. After the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, there are many fewer pedestrians passing by, and the business in Yanzi Tower has gradually calmed down.However, the booming business in the first half of the month made her another huge profit - 110 taels of silver in just half a month!

What is alarming is that a similar shabu-shabu restaurant has appeared on the street, but the decoration and location are not as good as her store. There is business, but it is much deserted.

Qin Liu sighed slightly.She understood that the huge profits from Yanzilou's shabu-shabu business would probably not last long.

The catering industry has low entry barriers and is easy to imitate.

When she showed off her skills at Ma Ang's wedding banquet, people learned a lot from her.It's just that her profit-making dish - hairy tripe is still a unique secret, and other restaurants have not yet realized to imitate it.

The supply of hairy tripe is really too small, and their store doesn't have it in stock every day, so naturally it won't be popularized in large banquets such as wedding banquets.

The Li family's life is getting smoother and smoother, but the Ma family's life is in turmoil.

After that Mrs. Qu touched the Ma family from top to bottom, she started to go crazy.It started with cursing people in the house, but after a few days it progressed to standing in the yard and cursing people.

If anyone from the Ma family said a word to the Li family, they would be scolded by her.

That's all. When he cursed, he always cursed the Li family, saying that they were white-eyed wolves and took advantage of the Ma family. If Ma Ang hadn't been an official, Yanzilou's business wouldn't have been so peaceful.

Qin Liu understood that she was jealous of the Li family's better life.

But she also quickly understood that since the opening of Yanzi Building, she has not encountered anyone who has come to cause trouble. It is unrealistic to say that she has not taken advantage of Ma Ang.

After much thought, Qin Liu decided to give up his money to buy a peaceful life.

She still went to Ma Ang: "Brother Ma, I think what Sister-in-law Qu said makes sense. Our two families originally bought this land together, and the house was built together. Now that Yanzi Building is open, there is no dividend from you. , It just doesn’t make sense. I’m thinking, starting from this month, I’ll give you a [-]% bonus every month.”

She was very grateful to Ma Ang and his soldiers for their great efforts in building the house.On weekdays, if Ma Ang is asked to do something for him, he never refuses.

Ma Ang's face turned red with shame, and he said, "Sister, this is my family's fault. Don't do this, it makes me feel uncomfortable."

Qin Liu thought for a while and said, "How about this? How about asking Sister Feng to come to my store to help me later and give you a [-]% bonus. This will improve our friendship as a neighbor and prevent your family from causing trouble again."

Ma Ang persisted, but Qin Liu refused to give in. In the end, Ma Ang was defeated: "In this way, whatever you want to build on the land across the street, I will help you manage it, and it will be considered as the consideration for this [-]% share. . But if the opposite side is completed, we can no longer share it."

Qin Liu smiled and said: "Sure. However, if Ma Yue needs help to take care of it at that time, I will talk to him and it is none of your business."

Ma Ang's eyes were red.

Qin Liu's ideas are very clear.The high profitability of Yanzilou's shabu-shabu business may not be sustainable for a long time, and profits are expected to drop significantly after the next year.

(End of this chapter)