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

Chapter 64 Dividends
Aunt Ma is now in charge of the catering of the inn, mainly making noodles, dumplings, etc., and occasionally cooking, which she also learned from Qin Liu.

Qin Liu had eaten the rice cooked by Aunt Ma last night and could only say that the taste was just so-so.

With Madam Ma's cooking skills, it is a bit difficult to develop the inn's catering business.

Qin Liu couldn't help but think of the hot pot business again.

As long as you adjust the dipping ingredients in proportion, the taste won't be too bad.

As for the problem of cutting meat, she could only slowly find a man with good knife skills.

Alas, the little mute who was good at cutting and peaceful was really missed!

Qin Liu looked at the tax item on the bill again and sighed slightly.

I actually paid 23 taels in taxes this past month!
The fundamental reason why restaurants are not very profitable is due to taxes.

Restaurants originally face low-end customers, focus on small profits but quick turnover, and have high requirements for refined management.If raw materials are not managed carefully, losses may occur.

Now, judging from the tax rate, it is not the one in thirty mentioned by Old Man Li, but a tax rate of 25%!
Qin Liu frowned, wondering why the tax was not collected according to the tax rate set by the court.

Early the next morning, Qin Liu went to Ma Yue to inquire about the situation.

Ma Yue said with a sad face: "Not long after you left, tax collectors came to the town, and there were several groups. The one you mentioned in thirty is one of them. To capture the Tatars, to build the city walls, to build the roads. Accept, let’s see if my brother accepts less for Qianhu’s sake.

I heard that the capital required the eunuchs from all over the country to pay money to the palace, so the eunuchs tried their best to plunder it everywhere.

No one came to collect taxes last year because the Tatars killed the tax collectors and no one dared to come to collect taxes.

Now that there is peace, the tax collectors are coming again. "

Qin Liu was helpless.

Ma Yue said: "Sister-in-law Li, you should take down the Yanzi Tower sign. They wanted to collect taxes last time, but I fooled them. Next time I come, they may not be fooled."

Qin Liu was stunned for a moment: "Yanzilou has closed down, does it still have to pay taxes?"

Ma Yue scratched his head: "They don't care whether they go out of business or not. As long as they can scrape out oil and water, who cares about that?"

Ma Yue paused and asked tentatively: "How about you put Jiangxuezhai and Yanzilou in my brother's name? You can pay less tax."

Qin Liu was surprised: "Can it still be like this?"

Ma Yue nodded: "Officials have protected each other since ancient times. My brother is now considered the biggest official in Shabaozi Town. How can they take it lightly?"

Qin Liu pondered for a moment and then said: "If this can be done, go ahead and do it today!"

Ma Yue responded and left.

Ma Ang came over at noon.

He hesitated: "These are your stores, and they are in my name..."

Qin Liu quickly explained: "The main reason is that I want to use Brother Ma's reputation to pay less taxes. If you don't want to, then forget it."

Ma Ang's face was calm, but his eyes were bright: "How could you not want to? You, you are too outsider."

Qin Liu mentioned the private school by the way: "I'm thinking about buying a piece of land on the street next door to build a private school, and inviting a gentleman from Xuanfu or the capital to come over. The teacher's repair will be done at our inn, and the children in the town will Anyone who wants to learn can come to school, what do you think?"

Ma Ang said: "A private school teacher needs more than ten taels of silver for a year's repairs. Can our shop sustain it?"

Qin Liu smiled and said: "A dozen taels a year can still be sustained, but if it is a dozen taels a month, I'm afraid I won't be able to sustain it."

Ma Ang also smiled: "I just took over the job from Thousand Households, and those Hundred Households are still not convinced. If there are multiple private schools in the town, and their children can come to school, those people will be able to manage it a lot easier. Also, what I said last time They are also very active in reclaiming wasteland. Some people have organized their own soldiers to open up wasteland. Everyone wants to find multiple ways to make a fortune."

Qin Liu was surprised: "Does the government not care about land reclamation?"

"Originally, we had to manage it. In the past, our guards had farms. When we were not fighting, we farmed the land and were self-sufficient. The court did not need to distribute military pay and food.

It’s just that after so many years, there are fewer and fewer farmlands, and they are all assigned to private names. And because of the many disasters caused by Tatar soldiers in recent years, those who farmed the land were either killed or taken to the grasslands, so a lot of land was left uncultivated.

We have fewer and fewer military households.Those with ability and connections fled to other places, leaving those who were left too poor to marry a wife or raise children..."

Qin Liu interjected: "You can't even afford a wife?"

Ma Ang said: "Isn't it? In the past, the imperial court had a wife system, which meant that the imperial court paid for the soldiers to find wives. Later, I couldn't even eat enough, let alone this."

"Then the imperial court doesn't object to privately opening up wasteland, right?"

"How can you object? The adults in the Xuan Mansion can still see clearly that it is a good thing to be able to fill the bellies of the soldiers without spending a penny from the court.

Besides, our situation is special, and the wasteland owes much to the Tatars.There are no Tatars in the pass to harass and kill, and there is very little land left uncultivated, which is also a benefit of our proximity to the grassland..."

This is so ironic.

Qin Liu really couldn't complain: "Why is this court so rubbish?"

Ma Ang shook his head gently and said no more.

Qin Liu doesn't understand politics and can't say anything else.

Qin Liu found Ma Yue again and gave the bonus to Ma Yue.

Ma Yue took the 12 taels of silver and was so excited that his eyes filled with tears.

In the past month, Qin Liu had given up his choice. He was in charge of the inn all by himself. He made his own decisions about everything. He was afraid but had to bite the bullet and do his best.

Only you know the hardships involved.

He is just a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old!

The rewards of hard work were also great. Sister-in-law Li divided the money without hesitation, which made him feel that his efforts were seen and recognized.

It feels so good to be respected!
However, despite being excited, Ma Yue still said rationally: "Sister-in-law Li, the investment in the inn has not been recovered yet, how can we divide the money now?"

Qin Liu smiled and said: "We will start recovering our investment next month."

Ma Yue didn't insist, suppressed his excitement and said, "Okay!"

He has 100% trust in Sister-in-law Li, and whatever she says will be whatever she says.

Qin Liu did not implement Ma Yue's proposal to take down the Yanzilou sign.

Yanzilou has accumulated a lot of hard work for her. She is very attached to it and will not let it go so easily.

Besides, Yanzi Tower is now Zhu Yue's property. Zhu Yue didn't say anything, so she couldn't take off the sign without authorization.

Qin Liu remembered Zhu Yue's instructions and did not go to the inn to inspect. Instead, he kept looking for Ma Yue Ma to understand the operating conditions of the inn.

The inn has three large bunks, each of which can sleep up to twenty people.Each person is charged [-] cents per night.

There are also inns in town that cost ten cents a night, but they don't provide hot showers like hers.

(End of this chapter)