Chapter 023: Big praise for Mr. Ye

Compared with the Wang family's vast and magnificent house, the Qin family's two-courtyard house, both in size and structure, is really ordinary.

But then again, the Qin family only started trading salt with Qin's father, by which time the Wang family had already accumulated wealth for several generations. In the Huaihe River and Huaibei region, with the Wang family around, the Qin family had a slim chance of gaining the upper hand. Just being able to get a piece of the Wang family's pie was already a great achievement.

The three of them were quickly led by Qin's father to the small courtyard and arrived at his study.

The three of them sat down as host and guest, and soon a maid wearing a bodice came and served tea.

Father Qin gestured for the two brothers to have some tea. "This is the Songluo tea I recently acquired. Please try it and see if it suits your taste."

"What a coincidence! I've been enjoying this pine moss tea lately." After saying that, Liu Yulan reached out and picked up the sweet white porcelain teacup. He raised his hand to his lips and took a sip. It was slightly bitter, but after that small sip, followed by the second and third sips, the bitterness in his mouth slowly turned into a sweet and mellow taste. "This must be the pine moss from Xiuning."

Hearing him call himself "boy" and seeing how carefully he tasted the fruit, Qin Laicai's smile grew wider. "Nephew, you're right. This is Xiuning Songluo, a gift from a familiar Xiuning merchant. I like it, and I'll bring some back later."

"Xiuning pine lozenge is the best among all pine lozenges. I won't be polite to you." During the first few years after entering the officialdom and being sent out, Liu Yulan worked at the grassroots level. Not to mention businessmen, he had dealt with people from all walks of life.

This has trained him to be able to be on good terms with anyone as long as he wants.

Just after a few words, Qin Laicai, who was originally very reserved towards him, had lost his initial reserve and returned to his cheerful demeanor when dealing with others. "We might be relatives in the future, so don't be polite."

At this point, Qin Laicai's expression froze for a moment. He glanced at the young man sitting below Liu Yulan, cleared his throat, and cautiously asked, "I wonder how Minxing brought up the marriage between the two families with my nephew?"

Sensing the other party's temptation, Liu Yulan knew that the other party probably didn't believe that their family would agree to let their younger brother become a son-in-law.

It is indeed impossible for a normal family to agree to this, but their family is not a normal family. Except for his grandmother, everyone else should be like him. They think that as long as their younger brother/son is willing to get married, it doesn't matter whether he becomes a son-in-law or is married home.

Of course, they can't say that, otherwise it seems that they don't value their younger brother.

"My younger brother has been like a wild horse, doing everything according to his own will since he was young. He passed the imperial examination at a young age, but just when everyone thought our family was going to produce the youngest top scholar in Zhao State, he said he didn't want to serve in the court. He gave up the imperial examination and went to learn pastry making from my grandmother."

"When it came time to find a partner, he couldn't stand the constant attempts to find a partner for him, so he simply ran away to Qiongzhou Prefecture and didn't want to come back for several years. Finally, his family promised him that they wouldn't interfere with his marriage, and that's when he finally returned. After returning, he basically moved between the several branches of Fang's Dessert Shop and rarely went home."

Liu Yulan said this to tell Qin's father that it wasn't that their family didn't care about their younger brother, but that they had no way to do it. "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. The rest of the family can be easily persuaded, but my grandmother definitely doesn't want him to become the Qin family's son-in-law."

Although Liu Zhiyan himself said that he didn't want to serve in the imperial court, that's why he didn't continue to take the imperial examination. But his words always sounded a little unreal. After all, the imperial examination was so difficult. We only heard that everyone was desperate to take it, but we never heard of anyone who had excellent talent but was unwilling to take it.

After hearing this from his brother, Qin Laicai completely believed that the young man who volunteered to be his son-in-law was indeed a good student.

But before he could be happy, he heard that his grandmother would not agree to him being a son-in-law.

Qin Laicai was not too disappointed. After all, this was what a normal person would think.

He was just about to say that it was okay not to come to the house, as long as he had a child with the surname Qin in the future.

Then Liu Yulan said, "However, Minxing said he would take care of things with his grandmother. The purpose of my visit today is to discuss the marriage proposal with you."

The words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back into his throat because of Liu Yulan's words, almost choking him. Qin Laicai quickly picked up the tea and took a big gulp. He needed to calm down.

Although the marriage is arranged by the parents and the matchmaker, if the parents agree and there is a matchmaker, it is reasonable and legal, and whether the grandmother agrees or not will not have much impact.

But from what Liu Yulan said just now, it is not difficult to hear that Liu Zhiyan has a good relationship with his grandmother.

Qin Laicai felt that it was not fair to hide the matter from the old lady and act first and ask for her consent later, so he suggested, "Let Minxing go to your grandmother first, explain the whole story clearly, and get her consent before discussing the rest of the matter."

Logically, this is what we should do. "That would be the best way to do it, but I have official business to attend to and can only stay in Yangzhou for three days. I can't wait for Minxing to go to his grandmother's place and come back to discuss the marriage proposal."

Thinking that these matters should have been handled by his parents, Liu Yulan explained, "My parents are both busy right now, and Minxing is anxious, so they asked me, their brother, to step in. When my parents have time, they will definitely come to meet my uncle in person."

Qin Laicai vaguely guessed that the Liu family was better than he had imagined.

The knowledge that a young man from a good family was about to come and become his son-in-law made Qin Laifu feel like he had been struck by luck. He felt that he should make an effort, and after hesitating, he said, "Otherwise, please write a letter to inform your father and mother of this matter. I, along with Minxing, will go to see your grandmother and personally seek her consent. Then, I will discuss the marriage proposal with her."

This was indeed a good idea, but Liu Yulan didn't agree without permission. Instead, she turned to look at her brother, who had been listening attentively. "I think uncle's suggestion is feasible. What do you think?"

Thinking that his grandmother would definitely chase him with a stick if she heard that he was eager to become someone's son-in-law, Liu Zhiyan didn't want to let Qin's father go with him. But he knew that telling his grandmother about this in advance would definitely make her less angry than doing it first and asking for permission later.

Thinking of this, Liu Zhiyan couldn't say no even if he wanted to. "Just do as uncle says."

After he and Xiaoxue'er finished arranging their affairs, Liu Zhiyan no longer had the heart to sit here and listen to their conversation. He stood up and said to the two of them, "You guys continue chatting. I'll go see how Xiaoxue'er is doing in school today."

He had been coming to the Qin family frequently during this period and was already familiar with them. He knew how to get around without anyone leading the way.

However, he just saw that the maids and nanny who served Qin Xue in the backyard were all in the front yard. He was afraid that if he went to the backyard rashly, he would encounter some inappropriate scene, so he asked Tang Shuang, who was waiting behind, to go to the backyard first to say hello.

Qin Laicai didn't say anything to stop his brother, so Liu Yulan naturally wouldn't say anything either.

But seeing her brother's thoughtful arrangements, Liu Yulan felt conflicted.

This brat had never been so considerate to his two sisters, not to mention those unrelated girls, in his entire life. Now, he was so considerate to a girl he had known for just two months. He suddenly felt like this brother was being raised by the Qin family.

Thinking of this, Liu Yulan suddenly felt a strange feeling towards Qin Laicai, whom she had liked just now. "Uncle, since you are a salt merchant, you should know about the salt industry reform. I wonder what your opinion is on this reform of the imperial court?"

Knowing that his daughter must be anxious about the outcome of today's meeting between the two families, Liu Zhiyan was also very considerate. Qin Laicai did not stop him from going to the backyard to meet people. He watched him leave. Before he could regain his composure, he heard Liu Yulan's sudden question. He looked at her in surprise, "My dear nephew, are you also concerned about the salt administration?"

"I heard from Minxing that the Qin family is a salt merchant, so I did some research in advance."

Hearing this, Qin Laicai didn't think much about it and began to talk about his views on salt administration reform. "Compared with the existing salt permit system, the new salt ticket system opens up competition to small and medium-sized merchants, which can curb monopolies and lower salt prices. Simplified procedures can increase tax revenue. Breaking down regional restrictions and allowing salt to circulate freely can benefit people's livelihoods."

"It can be said that the salt ticket system is beneficial to small and medium-sized merchants and ordinary people, but it is not a good thing for the hereditary salt merchants who have always monopolized the exclusive right to "shore permits." Without the hereditary monopoly of salt permits, and with the influx of small and medium-sized merchants to compete, the monopoly of the big salt merchants was broken, and it was no longer possible to monopolize the salt profits.

"Uncle, do you think they will be willing to accept the fact that the interests of the big salt merchants have been affected?"

"I'm definitely not willing to accept this." If it were him, he wouldn't accept this either, "but the situation is stronger than me."

"Ever since Lady Ye was appointed an official in the imperial court thanks to the high-yield rice she developed, she has personally promoted it to every corner of the country, creating several grain-producing areas and practically achieving her vision of ensuring everyone was fed."

"And the cement she researched has made the country's roads more interconnected, making travel more convenient. Just like flowing water brings vitality, the movement of people can make the entire world more vibrant, bringing more income to all industries, and all of this is subject to taxation."

"More importantly, with Lord Ye insisting on diplomacy, when we trade with other barbarians, it will no longer be like the tribute system of the past, but normal exchanges. The extra taxes collected from this will be a huge amount."

"In the past, salt tax was the main source of tax revenue for the dynasty. However, as the dynasty grew stronger, the main source of tax revenue became high-yield grain and the growing commercial taxes."

"The imperial court is powerful, and it does not rely on the taxes paid by salt merchants to fill the national treasury. What can they do if they are unwilling to accept the loss of their support?" In the past, if faced with such a situation, the big salt merchants would have united to cause trouble, but now no one is making trouble.

Don’t they want to make trouble? Of course not.

They know very well that there is no point in making a fuss.