In Chang'an, Li Chang'an also elevated the status of merchants.

Allow some capable people to join the circle of merchants.

For example, Zhang Liang and Yang Guofu, the two brothers, have started running a restaurant.

The two restaurants with the most shops in Beijing were owned by these two people.

Li Chang'an taught them how to make a soupy dish, which sold very well throughout the capital.

They make a fortune every month.

However, because the two men were selling the same thing, these two dukes have now become mortal enemies.

They wish the other party would die sooner so they could monopolize the power.

Zhang Liang and Yang Guofu are living a very carefree life now.

In the past, I would accept bribes, not much money, but I would also risk doing things for them.

Moreover, they dared not spend the money they received as bribes, for fear of giving others a handle to use against them.

Things are different now. As long as you pay taxes according to the rules, there is no risk at all, no matter how much money you make.

You can spend the money you earn however you want.

Other nobles and dukes would criticize them for neglecting their duties and damaging the reputation of the Duke.

The two brothers had long since stopped caring about these few mild insults.

It's just jealousy.

After all, of all the magical treasures that Li Chang'an offered, the two brothers bought the most.

There's the elixir of immortality, the mirror that reflects your image clearly, the box that lights up when you press it, and the incense smoke that immortals exhale and exhale.

They didn't even ask about the price; they just started buying.

The main selling point is that they have plenty of money.

Even if those things are useless, they are happy to have them at home.

After all, this is a treasure from the celestial realm; keeping it at home allows one to absorb some of its divine energy.

Moreover, the money spent on these items would ultimately end up in Li Chang'an's hands.

This is tantamount to giving money to Li Chang'an.

Now, no matter what Li Chang'an does, these two brothers follow suit.

The maids and servants in the mansion were removed from their slave status and replaced with hired servants.

They did the same.

What provides lifelong security for its workers, allowing them to retire at a certain age and receive half of their wages?

They did it too.

Things like repairing bridges and roads, donating money to subsidize the elderly, and establishing schools so that children can go to school.

They did it anyway.

In short, whatever Li Chang'an does, they do too.

The main focus is on interpersonal relationships and social skills.

After doing these things, they found that they hadn't spent much money, but their reputation had actually improved.

Even the maids and servants who used to live in the house have become extremely loyal.

Walking on the street, the people looked at them with eyes full of gratitude.

This change made Zhang Liang and Yang Guofu trust Li Chang'an even more unconditionally.

Even when Li Chang'an suggested raising the commercial tax to a tiered tax system, the two of them wholeheartedly agreed.

Although this decision would require the two brothers, who earn a fortune every day, to hand over 45% of their money each month, they still agreed to it.

Zhang Liang and Yang Guofu had come to terms with it; they didn't care how much money they made, as long as they followed Li Chang'an, there was definitely nothing wrong with it.

With Li Chang'an's strong support for commerce, Chang'an City has become prosperous.

Countless merchants saw the business opportunity and flocked in.

This has led to an increase in housing prices in Tai'an City.

The entire city of Tai'an, and all the surrounding land, basically belong to Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an is also the largest material supplier in Tai'an City.

Therefore, no matter how much money these merchants made, it was always within Li Chang'an's control.

As the three entered the city, Zhang Jiadi finally saw what was different beneath the bustling exterior of Tai'an City.

First, there's the ground. Besides the stone slabs paving the road, there are two drainage ditches hidden on both sides of the road, but they're covered by the stone slabs.

The houses next to it were also built in a somewhat different way.

Every house has two floors.

The first floor looks somewhat like a shop.

Seeing his confusion, Li Chang'an explained.

"This is the commercial street I plan for the future, which is also a market."

"The lower level is responsible for the shops, the upper level is for living quarters, and there is a small courtyard and several buildings in the back, which are responsible for the workers' accommodations and warehouses, etc."

“The houses here will definitely go up in price when they are sold in the future.”

“If Brother Yujie wants to help his family members earn some money, he can have them buy houses here. Even if they don’t come to the shop in the future, they can still make some money by reselling them.”

Zhang Jiadi shook his head after hearing his words.

"I only have an elderly mother at home. The other members of the clan have their own lives and I don't need to worry about them."

After saying that, he walked into the shop with great interest and began to look around.

Inside, the floor was tiled, the walls were whitewashed, and everything was spotless, making the space feel large and open.

The courtyards inside are the same, each with a well and several small buildings.

Although it doesn't look big from the outside, it feels surprisingly spacious inside.

Since it was designed by Sha Niu, each shop is not very big, but the interior space is designed perfectly.

Every space was utilized and the arrangements were particularly reasonable.

He Qiang looked around and was somewhat tempted.

"Your Highness, how much is this shop?"

Li Chang'an looked at him and replied with a smile, "It's not expensive, only five thousand taels of silver."

Hearing this, He Qiang fell silent.

His head was buzzing, and he wondered if he had misheard.

Not expensive?

Five thousand taels of silver?

Although He Qiang was the leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, his net worth was only a few thousand taels of silver.

The Shu region was also a poor place, where the people only earned three or four taels of silver a year.

This one shop cost an ordinary person a thousand years' worth of income.

So not only him, but even Zhang Jiadi was somewhat surprised.

"Brother Haoran, you're selling it at such a high price, will those merchants even buy it?"

Looking at the two of them, Li Chang'an smiled.

He pointed to the shop and said, "Brother Yu Jie, you think it's expensive, but in the eyes of those merchants, it's already cheap."

"Half of the shops on this street have already been bought up."

"And this was before the buildings were even finished, when these merchants had already paid for and bought the shops."

“Some people even have to pull strings and give money to others to buy these shops in advance.”

"If I hadn't limited the quantity that could be purchased, I'm afraid all the shops on this street would have sold out."

"Especially the two dukes, Yang Guofu and Zhang Liang, were crying and begging to buy ten more shops."

The two were shocked upon hearing Li Chang'an's words.

Because there are over a thousand shops on this street.

Five thousand taels per household, that's five million taels of silver.

And this is just one street in Tai'an City.

He Qiang couldn't imagine how much money Li Chang'an would make after building this city.