Chu Yuepo echoed, "That's right. If we had discussed this matter with them beforehand, we would never have made such a big mistake."

Zu An said, "Anyone can make sarcastic remarks afterward. The reason why Father-in-law took the risk was for the sake of the Chu family's overall situation. The Chu family has been spending less than it earns during this period, so naturally every penny saved is precious."

Although Chu Chuyan didn't say it, he could roughly guess the reason behind it.

Qin Wanru's expression softened slightly. She used to dislike Zu An's sharp tongue, but now that he was speaking up for her, the side of him that she used to dislike now seemed quite endearing.

Having a man standing in front of you, sheltering you from the wind and rain, brings a sense of security.

Qin Wanru couldn't help but think of Chu Zhongtian, wondering when he would be able to return safely.

"Saving, saving, saving! In the end, not only did we not save any money, but we also completely ruined the Chu family. Sixteen million taels of silver! Where is the Chu family going to come up with so much money now!" Chu Tie said angrily.

Anger from Chu Tiesheng +358!

"Sixteen million taels?" Zu An was shocked. How could there be so much?

He was thinking that he had a lot of money in his pocket now, and he could help his wife get through the crisis, but it turned out that he didn't even have a fraction of the money he had.

"To prevent salt merchants from dumping salt at will, the imperial court has set a quota for salt permits each year. If the quota is exceeded, the salt permits for the following years must be withdrawn in advance. In addition to the 1.5 taels of silver for each salt permit, an extra 2.1 taels of silver must be paid in advance." Chu Chuyan paused, her expression somewhat unpleasant. "Furthermore, to prevent salt merchants from engaging in underhanded practices, the imperial court has also stipulated that those who conceal or fail to pay the advance silver will be fined several times the amount."

"More than half of this 16 million taels of silver is a fine," Chu Tiesheng continued. "Such a large sum of money, unless the Chu family is completely dismantled and sold off, where would we possibly come from!"

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I'm really not feeling well today, I'll make up for it with three updates tomorrow.