Li Shimin was completely stunned by what the old man in front of him said.

When did his Tang Dynasty become so wealthy that it has more linen than it can wear?

It should be noted that in the current land tax system implemented in the Tang Dynasty, hemp cloth was the main tax item.

If the Tang Dynasty truly had a continuous supply of linen, then this emperor would be laughing in his sleep!

"Would the esteemed guest like to buy some?"

What's the price?

"A bolt of cloth costs only two strings of cash!"

Li Shimin frowned slightly upon hearing this. Normally, a bolt of cloth would only cost two strings of cash and three hundred coins. Now, this old man was exaggerating so much that he would only get a discount of three hundred coins in the end!

"Sir, don't listen to old man Tian's nonsense!"

"There's no such thing as not being able to wear them all. It's just that the quality of his linen is too poor, and His Highness the eldest grandson doesn't want to buy it, so he's in a hurry to lower the price!"

"The price of decent linen remains the same as before, with only a slight fluctuation of twenty or thirty coins!"

Old Man Tian was furious when a passerby exposed his little scheme.

"What kind of nosy dog ​​are you? I'm just selling my own stuff, what's it to you!"

"Furthermore, if it weren't for the spinning machine invented by my eldest grandson, would I have spent money to buy a loom and hire people to weave cloth?"

When passersby saw what Old Man Tian said, they immediately put down their loads and started arguing with him.

"What does this have to do with the eldest grandson? It's all because you wanted to make money! You wanted to make money but didn't have the ability, so you deserved to be scammed!"

"you……"

"If I don't teach you a lesson today, I'm not surnamed Tian!"

Just as Old Man Tian was about to step forward and fight the young man carrying the load, Li Shimin grabbed him and stopped him.

"Old man, calm down, don't stoop to the level of a young man!"

"If you hurt someone, and they take it to the authorities, you could end up in jail!"

The young man carrying the load on his shoulder sneered upon hearing this.

"Going to jail is great!"

"Hey old man, don't move. Let me punch you a few times, then you can take me to the authorities and have them provide me with a few good meals."

After being persuaded by Li Shimin, Old Man Tian had already calmed down. Instead of paying attention to the young man carrying the load, he started arguing with him.

"I want to go to jail too. If you're so tough, stand there and let me punch you a few times!"

"Go ahead and fight!"

"I'll just stand here and see how you hit me!"

When Old Man Tian saw that the young man in front of him was so lacking in martial ethics, he immediately turned around and left in a huff, leaving Li Shimin and his group looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Gentlemen, if you wish to buy linen, please go to the Prince of Qin's residence. The Prince of Qin's linen is not only plentiful but also of good quality. If you buy in bulk, the price is negotiable!"

"The cloth woven by the weavers in our Chang'an County is all sold to His Highness Prince Qin. Each family basically has no stock left!"

Seeing that the young man in front of him was of good character, Li Shimin immediately pulled him to a tea stall and they chatted.

"Young man, tell me, how does this cloth weaving work?"

"Also, why is your Chang'an County so lively? It's many times more lively than Wannian County!"

Zhang Erzhuang chuckled upon hearing this.

"My esteemed friend, you may not know this, but Wannian County is nothing but a shiny sheep dung ball; it can't compare to our Chang'an County at all!"

"Now many merchants from Wannian County are coming to our Chang'an County!"

Why is that?

"What else could it be? Of course, it's not profitable over there!"

"My lord, don't be fooled by the fact that Chang'an and Wannian are only separated by Zhuque Avenue; the difference in the competence of the county officials on the two sides is like heaven and earth!"

"The county magistrate of Wannian County, I don't know whose nonsense he listened to, actually set a fixed price for grain, only allowing it to be sold for three coins per dou!"

"That muddle-headed official doesn't even consider what kind of year it is now. Cloth, bricks, and eggs have all gone up in price. He still wants to sell grain for three coins. Isn't that going to kill people?"

"Many merchants are afraid of losing money, so they can only secretly come to our Chang'an County to do business."

“Comparatively speaking, our Chang’an County is much better. The government never sets prices; the people can sell for whatever price they want.”

"Moreover, there are many workshops in Chang'an, especially since His Highness the Prince of Qin invented the spinning machine. Every day, he sells spindles at a low price to the people of Chang'an County so they can take them home to weave cloth. The woven cloth can then be sold back to the Prince of Qin's residence!"

"Because weaving requires more people, our Chang'an County is more bustling than Wannian County..."

Li Shimin fell into deep thought after hearing Zhang Erzhuang's words. He began to understand Li Jue's intention: to find work for the people and enable them to earn money through hard work.

People who have spare money are naturally willing to spend it.

With this back and forth, wouldn't Chang'an County become lively?

"Is there anything else, sir?"

"If there's nothing else, I still need to go buy some sesame cakes!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin shook his head, and then Zhang Erzhuang picked up his load and began selling along the street.

Li Shimin followed Zhang Erzhuang for a while and found that the guy's business was not bad; he sold more than fifty sesame cakes in just a short time.

Li Shimin followed for a while, when he was suddenly stopped by a young man.

"Are you distinguished guests interested in purchasing a loom?"

"Let me tell you, the looms in my family are of the best quality; they were personally instructed by His Highness the eldest grandson!"

Li Shimin asked, puzzled.

Why would we buy a loom?

"Don't you know who the important person is?"

"Know what?"

"His eldest grandson has invented a machine that can spin yarn on its own. You just need to buy a few looms, then buy yarn spindles from his eldest grandson, and hire a few weavers to weave cloth. You can earn at least a few strings of cash a day!"

"Making over a hundred strings of cash in a month is not a dream!"

Li Shimin asked with some doubt upon hearing this.

"Is it really that good?"

"certainly!"

"Let me do the math for you. One spindle costs 1,200 coins, and a bolt of cloth woven from it can be sold for 2,300 coins. That's a profit of 1,100 coins!"

“A skilled weaver can weave a bolt of cloth in three days. Even if the wage is 150 coins, she can still earn nearly 1,000 coins!”

Li Shimin looked down and did the math, realizing this business was actually quite good. If he bought a few hundred looms, wouldn't he be able to make money while lying down?

"You still don't believe me, sir?"

"If you don't believe me, go and ask around. Many nobles in Chang'an do the same thing, such as General Li Jing, Duke of Wei; Cheng Yaojin, Duke of Lu; and General Yuchi, Duke of E..."

“Each of them owns at least a thousand looms, and they still buy more every day…”

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes widened in disbelief, and he looked at Li Jing, Yuchi Jingde, and the others with an incredulous expression.

The three men whose names were called immediately shrank back in fear when they saw Li Shimin looking at them with a hostile gaze.

Li Shimin dismissed the young man who was selling looms, then summoned the three men over with a gloomy expression.

"Don't you owe me an explanation?"