Fortunately, when Xie Pei returned to Chonghua Palace, he found that the guards had already taken his food back.

The only bad thing is that the Minister of Revenue is still here, so we can only eat together.

Xie Pei's mood was obviously worse. Why did he come to eat his meals every day?

The Minister of Revenue just took a bite of the Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables and subconsciously ate a few more pieces. He felt sick of this stuff if he ate too much, but the people in the Crown Prince's Palace didn't feel that way at all.

"The steamed dishes that our family invited this year from the imperial chef Li family are not as delicious as yours."

The Imperial Chef Li family refers to Li Rongrong’s family.

Xie Pei didn't care about these. He only knew that it was Su Wan who did it, so he nodded casually.

But the Minister of Revenue liked it more and more as he ate, and when he was leaving, he even wanted to ask for two bowls. Xie Pei looked even more hesitant, but he still asked the guard to get them.

Fortunately, Su Wan steamed a lot at one time, and finally snatched three or four bowls from the officials on duty in the Guanglu Temple, and let the guards take them all away.

The Minister of Revenue went back happily with the official documents and the braised pork with preserved vegetables.

Although I had to work overtime during the holidays, it was worth it.

Not only did I have my post-New Year duties taken care of, but I also had delicious meals to eat. This New Year was a perfect time.

The prince also said that he was just giving a reminder now, and the specific steps would be discussed after the New Year. In other words, there was no need to come over to work overtime recently!

Even the Minister of Revenue is unwilling to work overtime!

In the next two days, everything was safe and sound everywhere. Su Wan even took up a day's duty. Anyway, there was really nothing to worry about in the Shangshenjian.

The inner palace is also very stable. I heard that the eldest prince and the second prince are almost inseparable. I don't know if they have reached any agreement.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of most people, the two of them are like grasshoppers in autumn.

It would be fine if they behaved themselves, but if they did not, they would definitely not have a good life when Xie Pei ascended the throne.

The Saint was recuperating in the Qianqing Palace. It was said that he had a new concubine who had some knowledge of pharmacology and could help the Saint sleep well.

Being able to have a good night's sleep is already very good for a saint.

The joys and sorrows of the inner palace have nothing to do with the outer palace, and Su Wan doesn't care about it at all. She is just waiting for the official start of work in the palace on the sixth day of the first lunar month. She also wants to see the changes in the palace.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, all palaces and places gradually returned to normal, as there was still a lot to do after the New Year.

The most important thing is to select palace maids, especially the Imperial Food Department. The Imperial Food Department has few people but is responsible for preparing a lot of meals for the palace maids. It is basically one of the departments that needs to select palace maids the most.

This time, Su Wan finally truly understood the process.

Starting after the New Year, various places in the capital will be asked to submit their names. If there are cooks from other places in Tianxiang Kingdom, it will also be fine, but they must have a guarantor and their ancestors for three generations must be checked to make sure there are no problems before they can be included in the list.

Other departments are different, but the selection of the Shangshi Division is roughly divided into two parts. One part is like Su Wan and Li Rongrong, who have craftsmanship at home and can be selected individually, but the head of the Shangshi Division must understand each person’s situation in advance. Su Wan is also doing this this year.

The second part is ordinary palace servants, who have no other skills and do the work of picking, washing and cleaning for the Shangshu. The conditions for this part are relatively loose, as long as they are in good health and diligent.

This year, the number of places for the Shangshi Division is 200, of which 50 are the former and 150 are the latter.

Su Wan was dazzled by looking at the list.

She finally understood why the superiors knew their situations very well when they first entered the palace, and there was a reason why they were assigned to different palaces.

However, this time we should pick a few chefs with good cooking skills and send them to the western kitchen. Although the food there is already quite good thanks to Su Wan's improvement, there must always be room for improvement.

The Deputy Prime Minister of the West Kitchen came several times because of this matter, but when he saw that the person in charge was Su Wan and Aunt Yonglan, the former left manager of the West Kitchen, he was relieved.

The two of them will definitely go to the west kitchen!

There's a new person entering the palace, and no one is more excited than the Imperial Chef!

Who made them really short of people!

In fact, there are two ways to avoid a shortage of staff. One is to recruit people now, and the other is what Xie Pei did, which is to reduce the staff in other departments, so that the work of the Shangshi Department will be reduced.

Both are carried out basically simultaneously.

The Minister of Revenue originally thought that the Crown Prince would talk about this matter at the grand court meeting on the sixth day of the first lunar month.

But if it were to be said at the imperial court, it would inevitably be met with fierce opposition. Not to mention that some people felt that allowing palace servants to go out and do business would bring complete disgrace to the royal family.

Besides, Imperial Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu’s people wouldn’t listen to the content at all. Their idea was that as long as the prince proposed something, they should just directly oppose it.

Xie Pei naturally wouldn't do it in a big way, there would always be a way.

When Su Wan learned about this method, she discovered that this matter was related to her.

That is, many officials suddenly came to the Shangshi Bureau for help, with only one purpose.

"During the winter festival, the Ministry of Rites made a lot of snacks, and one of them was a delicacy called egg tarts. They tried it once and still can't forget it, so they want to ask the Ministry of Rites' kitchen to make some more."

"But the Ministry of Rites said that this was done by the palace servants of the Imperial Food Department. If you want it, you have to talk to the Imperial Food Department. After all, it is extra work, and they can't force you."

That being said, the Minister of Revenue also likes this food very much.

I just felt embarrassed to ask Su Wan from the Imperial Kitchen for it.

All of a sudden, the egg tarts I made years ago were brought up again, and the more I couldn’t eat them, the more I wanted to eat them.

So much so that people in Kyoto are also discussing what exactly egg tarts are.

Su Wan had a strange look on her face when she heard this. Xie Pei actually used egg tarts to open up a door?

Now you are asking for egg tarts, so if the Dessert Department of Shangshisi comes out to sell them, it is not a loss of face, but a reluctant agreement to everyone's request.

We sell you egg tarts, you should thank us.

He took control of the situation into his own hands, how impressive.

Sure enough, for the next few days, everyone in Kyoto was discussing this mysterious dessert.

And also pulled out the previous snow skin mooncakes.

"Remember the snowy mooncakes? They are also made by the Palace Dessert Department. They are very delicious. I was lucky enough to try a small piece at the home of a fifth-rank official. It was absolutely delicious."

"What is this? Don't you know? There are so many desserts in the dessert department, some of which we have never tasted before. There is a kind of dessert called butterfly cake, which is both beautiful and delicious."

"The pea yellow beans that are now sold very well in Kyoto also came from the palace."

"The egg tarts definitely taste good this time. Some say they taste better when they're hot."

"It would be great if I could buy some snacks from the palace. It would be so impressive to have them at home."

"You are just dreaming, that is the imperial palace."

"It's hard to say. There is a black market near the palace. You could buy food made in the palace kitchen there before, but unfortunately the black market has almost disappeared because of theft. I don't know where I can buy egg tarts. I really want to try them."

"Can you find a way to ask the palace for it?"

While others were still discussing it, some people had actually found the palace. In particular, some people who had eaten the hot egg tarts in the Ministry of Rites wanted to try them again and were willing to buy them, and even offer a high price.

At other times, Su Wan would have just done it, and maybe even taught her the method, but now she said with embarrassment: "The Imperial Kitchen has been busy lately, and the new palace people will be here in February, so I have to take care of this matter."

The head of the Imperial Food Department also said, "There are too many things to do. It's not very convenient."

Having said that, Su Wan still made more than twenty hot egg tarts and had them delivered to the Ministry of Rites headquarters.

Probably, it's okay if others don't have it, but your own people still have to have it, especially the old man in the library should give more. This is entirely a personal behavior.

If you never taste it, the enthusiasm may have passed.

But if others have it and you don’t, the nature of the matter is different.

I went to the Ministry of Rites to try one and was immediately amazed and fell in love with this delicacy.

Of course, this is Portuguese egg tart, which suits everyone's taste very well. It tastes sweet but not greasy, crispy on the outside and fragrant on the inside. Most people can not only accept it, but also like it very much.

Su Wan's movement made the egg tarts blow faster.

During this period, Su Wan and Xie Pei didn't even communicate with each other. They did this tacitly.

It sounds complicated, but in fact it only takes no more than five days.

Then, under Xie Pei's secret guidance, many people shouted that they wanted Shangshisi to sell egg tarts, and they would definitely pay a large sum of money to buy them.

There were so many people looking for it that the Shangshi Department was in a mess, which greatly delayed the original work.

What followed was that the Shangshi Bureau themselves proposed to open a small shop in the palace and send a limited amount of snacks there every day. You should no longer come to the palace to disturb the Shangshi Bureau's work.

Do you see the reason?

We opened a hidden little shop not to make money, but just to prevent everyone from crowding in the palace and delaying their work.

This was mostly the case in ancient times. Pursuing material things would be considered low moral character. Even if one wanted money, they would do it under the guise of asking for money.

Most people in the palace have not yet realized how much impact this small shop opened by the Shangshi Bureau will have on the entire Tianxiang Kingdom.

After following her superior to investigate the background of the palace maids who were about to enter the palace, Su Wan was going to open this small shop with the Dessert Manager.

After all, she was the one who made the egg tarts, so she must go.

The nanny from the Dessert Department and Deputy Prime Minister Li from the General Storehouse actually didn't quite understand the reason for opening the store.

On weekdays, many people want to buy snacks from the Dessert Department and fine wines from the Zaliku Brewing Department, but they are basically rejected directly.

I will only give it because I really can't refuse the favor. Although many people say that Zaliku is arrogant, what can he do?

Even if they have good skills, they are not here to serve you.

Originally thought that the egg tart incident could be resolved like this, but unexpectedly the superior asked them to open a store and deliver a fixed amount of eggs to them every day, in case there were any extras.

At first, it was just to deal with those nobles who wanted to have some snacks.

But after listening carefully, I found that it was not the case, and it did not seem like a casual suggestion.

Was it a long-planned plan?

Su Wan knew the inside story, but at the moment she was just sitting next to the officer, and she only heard the officer say, "The dessert department's store outside the palace is located in Nanxunfang, opposite the Dong'anli Gate. It is a courtyard of the Ministry of Rites. The storefront is very small, and one person can handle it. The rest of the people can just make snacks in the backyard."

"At first, we only sold egg tarts and almond cookies, with a limit of 100 pieces per day, and each piece had two pieces."

"You guys set the price. After selling the egg tarts, 20% of the raw materials will go to the workers, 30% will go to the miscellaneous warehouse, and 50% will go to the Imperial Food Department, and then to the Ministry of Rites."

etc.

Did they hear it right?

Twenty percent of it belongs to them? !

Do they still make money?

You have to know that in the past, when you worked for the palace, you basically didn't get any extra money.

At most, there would be some rewards from above. Whether it was disaster relief or the Qionglin Banquet, the situation was basically the same. No matter how much you worked, your monthly salary was fixed.

But can I earn money by doing extra work this time?

Even Deputy Prime Minister Li was slightly surprised. Another 30% was given to the Miscellaneous Utilities Library. Could the Miscellaneous Utilities Library suddenly have a profit?

As for the 50% given to the Ministry of Rites, it was naturally because the Ministry of Rites was their immediate superior, so it should be given to them instead of the Ministry of Revenue.

This is almost like a big pie falling on their heads.

Not to mention outside the palace, even inside the palace, if you want to live a good life, you need money.

There are many old maids in Zaliku. They don’t have to leave the palace because everyone in Zaliku is kind. As long as they stay here, their monthly salary is stable.

I didn't know what to do after leaving the palace. Instead of dealing with people outside, it would be better to live comfortably in an environment I was used to.

Now tell them that not only can they continue to stay in the palace, but they can also earn extra money?

Don’t think about more, it’s a good thing anyway!

In this way, with encouragement from above and willingness from below, this matter can be done quickly.

Su Wan knew basically everything the officer said. It was not something she guessed, but she had already read the documents.

The situation in the palace is complicated, and this is the only method we can use if we want to get many places in the palace moving.

Only by taking action can you understand the situation inside.

In fact, putting all that aside, just saying that the palace is willing to open a small store for the people, if this gets out, everyone will praise it for being considerate of the people.

People at Nanxunfang couldn't believe it either.

The palace's dessert department, at the request of the people and officials, actually opened a store here? !

They are next door to the palace?!

You should know that Nanxunfang is near the imperial palace and is usually very contented. In addition to the market town, there is also a residential area. People who can live near the imperial palace are either rich or noble.

They were already proud, and now when they saw the sign of the dessert shop hanging, they wanted to walk with their heads held high.

Although the Dessert Shop only has the word "Sweet" as its sign, one can tell from the handwriting that the person who wrote it has excellent calligraphy.

They opened a shop on the same street as the palace's dessert department!

How can this not be exciting!

But the dessert shop is too low-key. Two people standing side by side can block the shop.

And this is not a shop door, but a small window. After the window is opened, a beautiful board is laid on it, and a palace maid in palace dress is standing inside.

This window can only accommodate one person in line, and there are only two signs hanging on it, one saying "Milk-flavored Egg Tarts" and the other saying "Almond Cookies".

The prices are 500 wen for the milk-flavored egg tarts and 300 wen for the almond cookies.

What? You think it's expensive? You don't have to buy it.

Anyone who comes here can point at what they want to eat, and each person can buy a maximum of two portions, and there are only 100 portions in total.

After the food is sold out, no matter how early it is, the window will be closed. If you want to eat it, you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

So if you think it’s expensive, you can skip the queue!

Just saved money.

But this is Kyoto, there are more rich people than you can imagine.

One hundred copies were not enough to sell. Some people wanted to raise the price and make higher demands, such as prohibiting officials below the fifth rank from buying them.

But Su Wan just smiled and said nothing.

The price of egg tarts will continue to drop in the future until everyone can afford them. They are not setting any threshold.

Now they are just maintaining their status and making others think that their Shangshisi is either for making money or for bringing benefits to everyone.

But at the end of the day, when the store opened at 7 a.m., all the items were sold out in less than twenty-fifteen minutes, or half an hour.

It’s okay if it sells quickly.

The three sweets maids who came here to work were quite unbelieving when they saw the money they were given.

These egg tarts are very easy to make once you know the process. One person can make about a hundred in less than half an hour. Including the time it takes to sell them, it only takes one hour and one can earn eighty taels of silver.

After deducting the almost negligible costs, they can get a total income of fifteen taels. If they divide it among four people, each person can get nearly four taels?

You know, it took less than an hour in total.

These tasks are surprisingly easy for them.

The three maids looked at each other and immediately wanted to give all the profits to Su Wan. Although their superior had said that they would divide the 20% daily profit equally, this was Su Wan's recipe, so she must take the lion's share.

After all, the money came too easily, and they were a little bit unconvinced.

But Su Wan wanted to make them feel that the money was easy to earn, so why would they accept it? She said seriously: "Everyone comes to buy snacks not only for the egg tarts and almond cakes, but also for the reputation of the dessert department. So the money must be divided equally, don't be polite."

Having said that, he divided the money into four parts and handed it to everyone.

After working for less than an hour, each person earned nearly four taels of silver. You should know that some of them in the palace only earn fifteen taels of silver a month.

Not to mention that the store windows were all closed at this time, and there were still people outside knocking respectfully, saying that they could buy it at a high price and asked if they could be more flexible.

What if there is no limit on quantity and the sale is allowed?

The three maids were experienced in the world and couldn't help holding their breath at this moment.

They originally thought that coming here to do business was a shameful thing, but the impact it had on them was really too great.

Not only did they have money on hand, they could also earn 22 taels and 5 cents for the Miscellaneous Treasury, and could also hand over 37 taels and 5 cents to the Ministry of Rites.

You know, this is a day's money!

Although this amount of money is a drop in the bucket for the Zaliku and the Ministry of Rites, it is not worth mentioning at all.

But they always ask the higher-ups about the allocation of funds and when the money was given.

I guess the Ministry of Rites would be surprised if this silver was sent to them?

The money is not much, but what it represents is extremely important.

How can the lower-level departments return the money?

The three dizzy maids returned to the palace from Nanxunfang store and had basically calmed down.

They have experienced a lot, and now they finally understand what a great privilege it is to let them work in a store outside.

Not to mention anything else, just the fact that you can earn nearly four taels of silver every day, not to mention living a good life in the palace, at the end of a year, you can have enough money for your retirement.

When I get older and can no longer work, I can buy a small courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing and live a peaceful life with my old sisters using my money.

Who says that the later years of palace maids must be miserable?

Having money in hand gives you confidence!

The maids who originally didn't care about the small shop now almost treat it as a top priority.

This seemingly insignificant little thing in the palace will definitely change the fate of many people.

Although it seems inconspicuous in the eyes of most people, there are still some people who are carefully observing the situation in the dessert store.

For example, Chonghua Palace and the Ministry of Revenue.

When the Ministry of Revenue heard about how much money the dessert company's small shop earned, they were a little surprised, but also thought it was normal.

The snacks in the palace are already excellent, not to mention the egg tarts that have been popular recently. To be honest, he has eaten them before, and he got them at Chonghua Palace. He also likes the hot egg tarts, which taste especially good.

Even if the egg tarts and almond cakes were not made in the palace but in ordinary pastry shops, they would still sell well.

Although this amount of silver means basically nothing to the Ministry of Revenue, it is just the beginning and proves that this method is indeed feasible.

If we wait until the dessert department starts selling snacks, how much will we earn?

According to the prince's document, not asking how much money you make, as long as you can be responsible for your own profits and losses, that is progress.

That would reduce expenditure for the national treasury.

This is the case with the dessert department, but what about other departments?

Another change will come about. When some capable palace servants discover that they can make so much money, will they voluntarily leave the palace and go to Kyoto to make a living?

If they left on their own initiative, it was not forced by the palace.

As for those who don’t want to leave, they can naturally continue to stay, still following the previous standards.

While various departments are taking action, it is also possible to place people in there, and under the pretext of checking the accounts, gradually find out who is drawing a salary without doing anything.

This is a huge project, but if it is done well, the entire palace will be cleaned up and the prince will have the opportunity to understand the whole situation.

Even the situation of the Ministry of Revenue can be understood clearly.

The Crown Prince doesn't even need to say anything, the Minister of Revenue will take the initiative to let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince look at the accounts.

Because after this incident, they will definitely join the prince's army.

Now it seems that this is a good thing.

How could such a smart man as the Minister of Revenue not understand?

The dessert shop was open for five consecutive days, and every day's snacks were sold out within two quarters of an hour.

Moreover, there are people queuing in front of the window with the word "sweet" written on it before dawn. Do you still want to wait until it opens before queuing?

Then it's too late!

It’s simply not available!

The more limited this thing is, the more scarce it is.

There were so many people who wanted to buy at once that some even went to the Ministry of Rites and asked if they could ask the dessert department to sell more egg tarts. Kyoto has a population of one million and only selling one hundred a day was too much.

When word got to the Dessert Department, everyone in the Dessert Department would have probably wanted to make more.

But now I know that the profit is real, and they do have the energy to do more.

Can we actually increase the quantity?

Su Wan smiled again without saying anything. There was no need to say more. In order to make money, everyone would increase the number. Making money was a good thing.

There is no need to say more about the rest, everyone knows what to do.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, the small shops closed early as usual. The maids were talking about increasing the number of shops, but Su Wan was called and told not to return to the palace, but to go to the Ministry of Rites headquarters first.

Nanxunfang, where the shop is located, is very close to the Imperial Palace and the Ministry of Rites. Su Wan nodded and asked the maids to return to the palace first, and she would go to the Ministry of Rites later.

But just as the maids left, Xie Pei came over in a carriage. What did he mean by going to the Ministry of Rites? It was obvious that Xie Pei asked her to stay a little longer.

Su Wan was surprised and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Not busy?"

After the Chinese New Year, Xie Pei had a lot of things to do.

Xie Pei said, "Get in the car first."

Of course, there was no need to go to the Ministry of Rites. Xie Pei had already made arrangements. After the Nanxunfang dessert shop closed, he took Su Wan to Wangyue Tower for lunch.

After Su Wan got in the car, Xie Pei spoke: "Today is your birthday, did you forget?"

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the fifteenth year of Tianze.

Su Wan’s fourteenth birthday.

She did forget, but Su Wan herself didn't care much about her birthday.

But not caring about it yourself and caring about it with others are two different things.

They had lunch at Wangyue Tower at noon. In the afternoon, Xie Pei asked someone to bring his aunt to Wangyue Tower as well. Although they couldn't meet normally, it was already very good to be able to meet and talk like this.

When the two returned to the palace, Xie Pei handed Su Wan a small square box the size of a palm.

Needless to say, it must be a birthday gift.

When he opened the box, he saw a pair of seals carved from the finest red jade.

The best jade is the one with red rooster-comb color, which is obviously the top-grade red jade.

One of them was engraved with the word "菀" written by Xie Pei, and the other one only had the surrounding pattern and was blank inside.

Xie Pei said: "When it is difficult to identify yourself, use a blank seal. If you need to identify yourself, use the one with words on it."

"Ordinary people can't tell that this is my handwriting, so you can use it."

If there were more characters, it would definitely be recognized, but with only one character, "菀", even someone who saw Xie Pei's memorials every day would probably not be able to tell it apart.

Xie Pei added: "The document I showed you last time was stamped with this blank seal."

This surprised Su Wan a little.

In fact, she just said it casually after drinking. Now the detailed plans are all made by Xie Pei, so why should her name be used?

"Then did the ministers ask who the blank seal belonged to?"

"If they ask, I will just say it's a master. When the time is right, they will naturally know who it is." Xie Pei's eyes were full of meaning.

Su Wan was grateful. In fact, Xie Pei could have chosen not to do this, but he still did so and reserved some credit for her.

Su Wan couldn't help but said seriously: "You will definitely become a wise ruler like your grandfather."

I understand once again why those old ministers are willing to devote their lives to the late emperor.

So this is what it feels like to have a good boss!

When the time comes to reveal her identity, these achievements will definitely be a great help to her.

The deep meaning in Xie Pei's eyes disappeared instantly, leaving only helplessness.

Okay, you can think that way.

Xie Pei prepared this pair of seals on the first day of the Lunar New Year, in order to give them to Su Wan as a birthday gift.

Now the gift has finally been given.

When Su Wan returned to the Shangshenjian, it was almost evening. As expected, everything had been arranged and no one asked her what she had been doing.

Xie Pei is awesome.

However, after Su Wan came back, she heard another piece of news.

That is what the dessert department decided to do. In the future, they would add two more kinds of food and sell 100 copies of each.

And add two more maids.

The old maids who have been in the palace for a long time basically just need to give guidance, and the rest is done with things like opening a shop and attracting business.

There is no need for Su Wan to be there to give orders.

Now that she saw that they had figured out the way, Su Wan also took the initiative to resign.

The excuse was ready: "It's almost February, and the time to select palace maids has come. I don't have time to be in the dessert shop. Besides, the maids can make egg tarts and almond cakes, so I'm not needed at all. Besides, it's a small shop of the dessert department, so it's better if all the people in the dessert department are there."

When the officer heard this, he looked at her with a smile. There were only the two of them here, so the officer couldn't help but sigh, "Your Highness is so lucky to have a good helper like you."

Advance when it is time to advance, retreat when it is time to retreat, without any delay.

No matter how you look at it, she's smarter than the average 14-year-old girl.

However, although Su Wan has withdrawn, the money for her egg tarts and almond cakes will be paid on time every day, and the maids in the dessert department will not take advantage of this.

Su Wan didn't care.

She has become a member of the prince's faction. When the prince ascends the throne, will he be short of money?

Look at these two red jade seals, they are worth a lot of money.

If I don’t have money, I’ll pawn this. It will probably be enough for me and my aunt to live on for the rest of our lives, right?

When Su Wan came back in the evening, she received gifts from her friends, including those from Wei Jun, Zhuo Hui, Chunxiang, Yu Shuxi, and others.

Even General Xu from the Armory sent a gift, but it seemed that it was given out of consideration for Xie Pei.

No matter how it was given, Su Wan remembered the favor.

I will definitely pay it back in the future.

Su Wan said she would not go to the dessert shop, and she really would not go.

But we know the situation over there. They started selling sweets on the eleventh day of the first lunar month, and by the beginning of February, their profits had reached more than two thousand silver coins.

This number surprised not only the people in the Confectionery Department, but even the superiors and the Ministry of Rites. After all, the amount given to the Ministry of Rites alone was 1,200 taels of silver.

This amount of silver was enough to pay the monthly salary of six hundred palace maids.

You know, January hasn’t even been the whole month yet, only the dim sum for the 20th has been sold.

No matter which official it is, no one can say that it’s just two thousand taels of silver, what’s the big deal.

This is not a small amount no matter how you look at it.

How can such a small shop make so much money?

What if the scale is a little bigger?

This is just the Dessert Department. Do you want to know what the wine tastes like in the winery of the Zaliku?

I dare not think about it.

How can we allow the departments in the palace to do business? It's so ugly. We all have to save face. Now just sell a little bit so that everyone can have a taste.

The people from the Ministry of Rites said this, but they were already moved in their hearts.

Someone even suggested: "If the Imperial Food Bureau selects a few people every month to open a restaurant in Kyoto, what will the business be like?"

The cooking skills of Shangshisi are beyond doubt. If they were to allocate people to open a restaurant, I'm afraid we would have to book seats a month in advance.

I heard that a good restaurant in Kyoto can earn tens of thousands of taels of silver a month, so their Shangshisi must be good, right?

Ten thousand taels a month, that would be 120,000 taels a year.

Even the most noble scholar would be shamefully moved!

What's more, the people in the Ministry of Rites are not old masters.

No one said anything that would cause trouble for the palace servants. After all, they could get 20% of the profits, so it wasn't like they were working for nothing.

What should I do if I suddenly feel that this is a way out?

Everyone in the Ministry of Rites thought so, and even more so in the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue was amazed at this plan.

At the small court meeting on the fifth day of February, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will formally propose the proposal.

With the example of the small dessert shop, everyone knows the importance of such an initiative.

But it will definitely be opposed and rejected by many people, and then there will be a long argument.

The Minister of Revenue had a headache just thinking about it, and was a little annoyed by people like Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu who opposed him without any reason.

Sure enough, when the proposal to let palace servants open shops in the streets was put forward, although it was in the name of benefiting the people, the ministers present knew what the purpose of doing so was as soon as they glanced at it.

Since the prince took over the national treasury in December last year, he has been checking the accounts.

These are all important officials in the court. Although they are not as familiar with the accounts as the Minister of Revenue, they can imagine what the national treasury looks like.

This is the sequelae left by the previous emperor. No one can say much about it. The current emperor is not a powerful person. He cannot solve the problems that the previous emperor could not solve.

Therefore, the empty treasury is inevitable.

They also heard that the prince himself paid for the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to host guests from neighboring foreign countries, and it seemed that he also used some of the money to make up for the shortfall in the palace, otherwise some government offices would not be able to pay their monthly salaries.

The deficit in the palace is at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

It is indeed not easy for the prince.

The Saint and Concubine Jiang really went too far, creating such a mess on purpose.

Everyone knew about these things vaguely, and was curious about how the prince would handle them.

They originally thought that the layoffs would be made during the selection of palace servants, and some of them were thinking about how to find an excuse for the prince.

Who knew that the prince didn't want to lay off any people, but instead wanted the palace servants to go out and make money on their own?

Is this possible?

When the twenty-day accounts of the Dessert Department of the Ministry of Rites were brought out, everyone fell silent, even the ministers of Imperial Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu.

Only one official managed to utter a word: "In twenty days, I only earned two or three thousand silver coins."

Dongge University Scholar sneered: "For such a small shop, two or three thousand taels for twenty days, is this not enough? I wonder how much this gentleman's monthly salary is? Do you think this little money is not worth it?"

In fact, this person is just being stubborn.

If we calculate it as two thousand five hundred a month, it is almost twenty thousand taels of silver a year, which is higher than the annual salary of ministers.

Who wouldn't look down on it?

Just like what Dongke University Scholar said, it was just a small shop.

The smallest shop.

Xie Pei said: "It's not just for money, one is to find a way out for the palace servants who have left the palace. If they open a shop outside, they can give priority to hiring old people in the palace to work. For example, Deputy Chief Chai of the Imperial Household Department who retired last year, he is still in good health, but he has reached old age, so he has to leave the palace."

"The late emperor has always been kind to the palace servants. If we can invite him to work again and pay him silver every month, it will also give these old palace servants a place to go."

"If those palace servants who have left the palace can help in these shops, it will not only solve their future livelihood, but also show the benevolence of Tianxiang Kingdom."

"That sounds nice! Isn't it just that there is no way to deal with so many palace servants, so they let them leave the palace? And they're saying it's for their own good." Concubine Chu's people finally seized the opportunity and said immediately.

Xie Pei said seriously: "It is indeed a problem that the palace has a lot of expenses. It is not good to see it like this without changing it."

"This method can not only solve the problems of the palace people, but also benefit the people. Why not do it?"

The most important thing is that you can make money, but Xie Pei can't say that.

The Minister of Revenue immediately said, "Although the Sweet Food Department doesn't make much money, the national treasury needs money everywhere, so we can't just take a few thousand taels and not take it lightly."

"In the spring, the troops need money and food to repair the city walls before the summer and autumn floods. They also need to reinforce the riverbanks, roads and paddy fields across the country. Money is needed everywhere."

"The treasury has been empty for a long time. If this continues, what will happen to the border areas? Because there is not much money and food, the troops stationed in the border areas are far less than before. Now the enemy dare not attack. If they see any clues, it will be too late."

When the Minister of War heard this, his ears pricked up: "Yes, the army has not made new weapons and new armor for five years. The soldiers' arrows are already worn out, and the helmets and horses are fed very poorly. It's good that the situation is stable now, but if there is a disaster, we will definitely not be able to resist it. A saint should be prepared for danger in times of peace."

The Ministry of War has been asking the Ministry of Revenue for food and money for a long time.

Today, I finally heard them give in, so I must help them.

Not to mention the Ministry of War, even the City Defense Department was moved.

Money and food are all good things.

They want it too.

But the Ministry of Revenue was too stingy and always said it had no money.

Now there is a way to make money, do you want to try it?

Su Wan, who was making the final count of the list of new palace maids in the Shangshi Department, had no idea that the small court meeting had begun to expand its scope madly because of the several thousand taels of profit made by the Dessert Department.

Even saints know that this is an excellent practice.

If you want to get out of the current predicament in the palace, this is a very good thing to do.

After getting rid of the palace, maybe we can solve the problem of paying ministers too generous salaries.

Even a saint could see that if Xie Pei were to do it, it might be possible to solve the problem.

But this made him even angrier.

It's impossible that he has been a saint for more than ten years and still hasn't solved the problem, and then let Xie Pei accomplish it. If that's the case, where would he put his face?

Everyone would say he is a waste.

No, he has heard this kind of reputation for many years and it cannot go on like this.

The sage spoke directly: "It is not okay to compete with the people for profit."

"We do not compete with the people for profits, and the profits are generally handed over to the national treasury for the people's livelihood."

The Minister of Revenue immediately said that he had already told the Crown Prince this.

But as soon as he said this, the Minister of Revenue suddenly realized that he was already standing in the prince's team. After all, he answered too quickly and directly refuted the saint's statement.

Sure enough, the saint looked him up and down, and his eyes were not very friendly.

The Minister of Revenue made a decision in a split second: "Please let the palace have a try, I won't let you down."

Now that you have chosen your side, stand more firmly.

Anyway, judging from the situations of the two people, the prince is more powerful.

The Minister of Revenue's determination made the Saint cough violently, as if his lungs were about to burst.

Fortunately, there is a new favorite concubine