Chapter 90 The Teahouse's Predicament: Li Yang's Business - Selling Kui Longzhu...

Miaoxiang Tea House, second-floor private room.

Zhong Qian looked anxious and paced around the people.

"Oh no, what should we do? Boss, please think of a solution. We can't keep storing these tea leaves in the shop forever."

Li Yang was also extremely anxious, waving the ledger around and fanning himself, "Manager Zhong, stop going around in circles, you're making my head spin."

He got up, walked to the window, and propped up the window frame, saying, "How about this, you first check if we have any extra tea vouchers that we can distribute. Also, have you heard anything from the tea shop lately?"

Just like salt permits, tea permits are needed to purchase tea at tea shops. With Madam Zhang's connections and Emperor Qing's prior endorsement, obtaining tea permits was a piece of cake.

Now, Madam Zhang has cut off the thread, and although the tea and salt trade has been separated into the Salt Transport and Tea Bureau, I'm afraid that because of Lord Zhang, the Tea Bureau will come knocking on our door to cause trouble soon.

“These teas have just arrived at the shop, so the tea master won’t come looking for trouble.” Zhong Qian wiped the sweat from his brow, anxiously saying, “But, boss, selling tea privately is a serious crime. If the tea in the warehouse cannot be sold within a month, it will be an unforgivable offense.”

Yes, in Daqing, tea was exchanged for silver. Foreign merchants would bring boxes of silver across the ocean to Daqing to exchange for tea and porcelain. Naturally, the imperial court had to strictly control private tea trade.

Smuggling tea is no laughing matter. Official laws stipulate that if a merchant hoards tea and fails to sell it within a month, the tea will be confiscated, the merchant will be fined, and the merchant will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane.

Suddenly remembering something, Li Yang hurriedly asked, "Manager Zhong, how's the matter of the merchants wanting to purchase tea that you mentioned last time? Are you able to clear some of the inventory?"

“Oh dear, master, these itinerant merchants are just a small business, how can they possibly handle so much of our goods?” Zhong Qian slapped his thigh and then suggested to Li Yang, “Master, why don’t you take another look at Madam Zhang’s place…”

“Young Madam,” Xiao Lu knocked on the door, “that foreigner came again last time.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yang was overjoyed and quickly pressed down on Zhong Qian's arm, saying, "Manager Zhong, here's what we'll do: you should try to sell as much as you can, and also have Madam Sang try to buy as much stock as possible at Ruyi Pavilion. We'll talk about the rest when I get back."

Turning to the deer, he asked, "Where are they? In the backyard?" Receiving a nod, he added, "Go quickly and ask Sister Ziyan to come to the backyard to look for us."

After saying that, he ran out of the room like a gust of wind.

In early spring, the pavilions and waterside terraces felt slightly cool, and curtains were drawn down, revealing tall figures standing in the courtyard.

Li Yang strode through the winding corridor, "Lu Jie!"

His back turned as he turned around. In the dappled light, his nose was high and straight, his features distinct, as if sculpted by an axe. His gaze was like the clear sky after rain. He bowed and said, "Zhao Zhao."

"Please sit down, please sit down. You said you'd be back in two months, but it's been almost a year..." As she spoke, she swung in and sat down. "Come and try our shop's latest tea blend in a bit, and see if I've mastered it."

As the two were talking, Xiao Lu led someone over, saying, "Young Madam."

"Zhaozhao." Ziyan followed behind Xiaolu, smiling sweetly as she looked at the two of them.

"Sister Ziyan, come quickly." Li Yang pulled Ziyan over with one hand and instructed, "Little Deer, brew some Kuilong Pearls."

"Lu Jie, sit down, what are you daydreaming about?" She stretched out her hand, her slender white fingers waving in front of him.

The foreigner just stared at Ziyan, dumbfounded.

Upon hearing this, Ziyan covered her mouth and chuckled.

“Oh,” Lu Jie’s ears turned red. “May I ask your name, young lady? I am Lu Jie. You are so graceful and beautiful, with a face like a fairy. I was stunned for a moment.”

Ziyan nodded and smiled, then curtsied to the man, saying, "Ziyan is very polite."

Seeing the two interacting, Li Yang picked up the tea tray that Xiao Lu had brought. "Indeed, Sister Ziyan is the most beautiful woman in this town." While busy, she didn't forget to peek out and say, "Sister Ziyan, you're more than just that. Back when we were working on the Kui Long Pearl, we owed a lot to Lu Jie. He provided the 'sample' and taught me how to make tables..."

They chatted over tea.

"Zhaozhao, when will you be able to free up some space in your storeroom? I went to Manager Zhong this morning but he couldn't give me a result. If you don't free up some space soon, there will be nowhere to put the tea we've picked." Ziyan took the opportunity of drinking tea to start a conversation.

Upon hearing this, Li Yang frowned. "Sister Ziyan, it's not Manager Zhong's fault. The root of the problem lies with me."

Madam Zhang has now cut off all his escape routes, trying to use herself to control Chen Junbai. Li Yang has no chance of getting back to Madam Zhang's side. But he bought so much stuff from Madam Zhang with just empty promises, and now he is in a desperate situation.

Ziyan pondered for a moment upon hearing this, "Even Madam Sang's Ruyi Boat cannot digest so many Kuilong Pearls. I can discuss it with Madam Sang again to see if other pleasure boats can digest some, but those pleasure boats do not belong to the Chen family."

Lu Jie listened for a while and said, "If we're talking about the capital, I might have some connections."

One sentence made the two beautiful young women who were still worrying look at him ask in surprise: You have connections?

"Over the years, I have traveled between Daqing and Persia, and frequently visited the capital. I have made many friends while doing business in the capital, and perhaps I can be of some help."

In this situation, we can only try anything as a last resort. As long as this batch of tea doesn't pile up in the shop, and the tea merchant comes next month, everything will be fine.

Thinking of this, she turned to Lu Jie and asked, "But the tea in my shop can only be stored for a month at most, after which it may be confiscated by the Tea Bureau. Even if you travel back and forth to the capital, I'm afraid it won't be in time."

Lu Jie laughed upon hearing this, "Zhaozhao, merchant ships travel far and wide, naturally carrying a large number of carrier pigeons. In that case, you only need to tell me the amount and quality of the tea, and I will contact my friends in the capital. I will receive a reply in three to five days."

A message was sent by carrier pigeon... She looked blankly at Ziyan, noticing the doubt still lingering in her eyes.

Li Yang picked up his teacup and took a sip. After calming down and thinking it over carefully, he made up his mind. Madam Zhang has connections in the capital. Could it be that Madam Zhang can control people's meals and clothing in the capital? Now that Lu Jie also has connections in the capital, it is not impossible to give it a try.

In a few moments, she made up her mind, and the group immediately wrote down the details and handed them over to Lu Jie to handle.

Lu Jie returned to his residence, took out the detailed rules written by Li Yang, spread out the paper and ink, quickly combined the two into one, stuffed it into a thin bamboo tube, and released the carrier pigeon.

The carrier pigeon flew all the way to the capital and landed on a stone table in a garden.

The man in black took down the bamboo tube, threw in a handful of millet, and turned to deliver the letter to the study.

A moment later, a deep, steady male voice came from the study, "Tell him it's time to bring Li Yang to the capital."

Li Yang was still in the teahouse, facing Zhong Qian and Zi Yan. The three of them looked at each other, like ants on a hot pan.

Rao said that Manager Zhong had some business talent. After these two days of running around selling, he had sold more than 20% of the tea in the warehouse. However, no matter how rich Songshan Town was, it was still a small place. The amount that was originally stockpiled by merchants from the capital could not be sold in Songshan Town at all.

Eighty percent remains. In the past few days, Lu Jie has also helped with some work among the foreign merchants. Including Zi Yan and Sang Mama's hard work, only one-tenth of the goods were sold.

Seventy percent remain.

Lu Jie was quite confident about this: "This amount of tea might be difficult to sell in Songshan Town, but the capital is several times larger than Songshan Town, and the flow of people is much larger and more diverse. This amount is really nothing in the capital."

Li Yang agreed, after all, Madam Zhang had said the same thing to her, which was why she ordered such a large quantity of tea.

“But with so much tea piling up in the warehouse, the tea company will be coming soon. There’s really no time to wait for the capital to come and put out this fire.” Zhong Qian was a pessimist and always liked to raise many questions first. “Since this foreigner is so confident, can he buy our goods first?”

Manager Zhong's idea was not bad, but it was rejected by Lu Jie.

“Zhaozhao, I’m willing to help, but the procedures for foreign merchants picking tea are complicated, and I’m afraid your shop doesn’t have the necessary qualifications. It would take at least several months, and possibly up to a year, to complete all the paperwork…”

That night, Li Yang returned to the Chen residence and saw that the other party was in high spirits. Upon asking, he learned that it was because he and Lord Lin had put pressure on Zhang Youdao that Zhang Youdao had finally stopped the matter of the surplus silver. He promised to make an account book of the surplus silver as soon as possible. Once Lord Lin got the book, he could investigate the deficit and report all the matters to the Emperor. That would be a day when justice would be served.

Compared to his enthusiasm, Li Yang was rather listless, so he told him about the events of the past few days.

Chen Junbo pondered for a moment, "Manager Zhong is right. Not to mention the authenticity of that foreign merchant's channels in Beijing, even if they can sell out all the tea in the warehouse, you can't wait that long. Zhang Youdao is already at his breaking point, and I believe he will soon resort to desperate measures. It would be bad if the tea bureau came knocking on our door then."

"I know all that. I'm just trying to come up with a solution." Li Yang rested his head on his arm, completely ignoring the table full of delicious food.

Seeing this, Chen Junbo served her a bowl of chicken soup. Today the chicken soup was clear, with a few bright yellow chicken fat floating on the surface, and the aroma was wonderful. "If you can't eat, just drink a bowl of soup. There's a way to deal with this."

Upon hearing this, Li Yang sat up straight and reached out to take the chicken soup. "You have a solution?"

Chen Junbo simply looked at her quietly, then gestured with his eyes to the chicken soup in her hand.

Seeing this, Li Yang immediately picked up the bowl and gulped down a bowl of warm soup.

A warm feeling spread through her body, and she instantly felt that someone was there to protect her. It was a really nice feeling.

"Tell me quickly, what method is it?"

Chen Junbo smiled and wiped the oil from the corner of her lips with his thumb, then washed his hands with a handkerchief and said with a smile, "If the teahouse is shut down under the pretext of poor management, even the tea master can't be blamed. As for the tea in the warehouse, I'm afraid it will have to be sold to the public at the purchase price."

He chuckled and pointed out the loopholes in the relevant laws, offering Li Yang a strategic and insightful advice: "Simply close the teahouse and mortgage it; it's just a matter of paying some fines. Now that the teahouse and tea shop are both under your name, and your mother has long since stopped interfering in the affairs, selling the teahouse will solve your current predicament."

"Sell the teahouse? You mean you're closing it down?" Li Yang asked, stunned.

His smug suggestion was simply to sell the teahouse, close it down, and shut it down? Did he really need to come up with such a solution? The reason everyone at the teahouse had been so distressed these past few days was precisely because they wanted to keep the teahouse running.

“Exactly,” Chen Junbo said with a light smile. “Zhaozhao, this teahouse is just for your leisure, and the profit and loss are not on paper. If things are as they are now, why not give up the teahouse? If you like running a shop, you have many shops at home. Just pick one that interests you and continue to do it. Just don’t overwork yourself.”

As he spoke, he placed a piece of chicken into her rice bowl with his chopsticks, saying, "I don't want to see you worry about these things."

He was engrossed in his work, but he didn't notice that the young woman in front of him looked dazed and her eyes were darting around, as if she was brewing something.