On May 26th, at 1:15 AM, the construction of the Embroidery Building began. A chicken was sacrificed, and the gods of the four directions were worshipped. Even Magistrate Sun personally attended the ceremony. The opening ceremony of the Embroidery Building was grand and lively. The Smooth Sailing Building was closed for a day. Lu Yan changed into a pretty little dress, tied her hair in two buns, and went to watch the excitement.

The simultaneous sound of firecrackers signifies the beginning.

Lu Yunfeng personally went to oversee things at the embroidered building. The recruitment was quick, and neither the construction team nor the timber and stone suppliers dared to cause trouble, paying them the best prices.

Construction was underway in the western suburbs, and the docks in the east were also busy. The Zhu family was expanding the docks and adding more boats, and everyone was ready to make a big splash.

Qin Xiaozhou had some rare free time, and coincidentally, a new batch of clothes that had been ruined at the clothing store had been made, so he decided to deliver them to someone today.

Lu Yan followed behind her and knocked on the back door of the Tan family. Tan Xue, as the third young lady of the Tan family, had spent a lot of money at the clothing store that day, but later an unexpected event occurred, and she left in a hurry.

Tan Sheng remembered Qin Xiaozhou and immediately welcomed her in. When they arrived at Tan Xue's courtyard, she immediately beamed with joy upon seeing the brand-new clothes. "I thought they were just a waste. It was my fault for abandoning you that day. I didn't expect you to remake them and personally deliver them to me."

"The deal is done, there's no reason to just take the money and not deliver the goods." Qin Xiaozhou smiled calmly, "After the embroidery building is completed and Hua Xiangrong reopens, we'll have to rely on your patronage, Third Miss."

Tan Xue nodded repeatedly, "Of course, Manager Qin will also save some new styles of clothes for me, so I will wear your clothes from now on."

Unexpectedly, after sitting for only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the old lady and the lady of the Tan family arrived. Upon seeing Qin Xiaozhou, they couldn't help but nod and praise her, "I've heard that you, a woman, have managed to build a building called 'Smooth Sailing,' where only women are allowed to enter?"

Qin Xiaozhou remained neither humble nor arrogant. "Madam Tan is too kind. I just feel that there is no place in this world that men cannot go, but there are many requirements for women. So I will do my best to find a small space for women."

"Good, good, good." Madam Tan praised three times. "I also heard about what happened at the entrance of the Flower Concealing Shop the other day. It's good that Manager Qin was able to send over new clothes today."

If one only cares about the people in front of them, they would want to make up for the losses by taking double the money from those customers, or at the very least, send over the clothes that were accidentally ruined. But Qin Xiaozhou accepted the loss, made new clothes, and went to the customers' homes in person. This foresight, patience, and wisdom far surpassed those of others.

Qin Xiaozhou said righteously, "The deal is done and cannot be canceled. I, Qin Xiaozhou, will never sell inferior products."

After leaving the Tan residence, Qin Xiaozhou delivered the gift to Sun Xunqiao. Sun Xunqiao, who was now confined to her room to make her wedding dress, had not been to Yifanfengshunlou for several days. When she saw Qin Xiaozhou, she almost burst into tears. The two were originally just casual acquaintances, but Sun Xunqiao, probably because she had been confined for a long time and was uneasy about the future, actually pulled Qin Xiaozhou aside to chat.

Finally, when the topic turned to girls, she said, "Sister Qin, could you also make your blood-nourishing and qi-tonifying remedy that can relieve menstrual cramps into takeout? I haven't had it for several days, and my complexion has gotten worse."

Qin Xiaozhou reassured her, "This stuff is too soupy to take out. Nourishing your blood and qi isn't something that can be done overnight. Just adjust your mindset. You can come to my shop after you get married."

Sun Xunqiao was greatly disappointed, and pitifully watched Qin Xiaozhou leave, wishing she could spread her wings and fly over the courtyard wall.

Before the embroidery workshop was even in sight, Sun Yuanyuan came to the door first. Qin Xiaozhou had mentioned that he would hold a competition to select embroiderers in the county town, and Sun Yuanyuan had already taken care of that.

Sun Yuanyuan was looking forward to the completion of the embroidery building. "That day I left in a hurry and came to find my father. I originally thought it was just to quell the farce, but I didn't expect it to develop into a big project of building the embroidery building. In the past few days, my father has sent people to find skilled craftsmen many times. He even came to the site in person on the day the construction started. It can be seen how much he values ​​this matter."

These words sounded more like a gesture of goodwill. They were all gathered together for mutual benefit. Qin Xiaozhou never felt that there was anything wrong with these young ladies abandoning him that day. Besides, Sun Yuanyuan was the daughter of the county magistrate. In Fenggu County, she had to live at the behest of the county magistrate. Why would she still hold onto those things now? "The completion of the embroidery tower today is all thanks to you and your father. The selection of embroiderers will also depend on you. The date is set for the first day of the sixth month. There are still four or five days left. I wonder how many people will come to participate."

These words were polite and respectful, which pleased Sun Yuanyuan greatly, and she immediately promised to do her best.

June is the semi-annual tax payment period for merchants. From the first day of June to the fifteenth day of June, if a merchant fails to pay taxes to the government office with their account books within the stipulated time, the government office can arrest the person on charges of tax evasion, and either impose a fine of three times the amount of tax evaded or imprison them, depending on the amount of tax evaded.

Merchants had to register with the government office. Even peddlers who went from street to street had to register if their income exceeded ten taels of silver and then pay taxes. If they did business privately and the government office did not keep a record of it, they could be arrested and sentenced.

In the last two days of May, Qin Xiaozhou started checking the accounts and counting the money. Lu Yan followed behind like a little tail, saying, "Sister-in-law, you said we do all these accounts ourselves, and only we know the daily income and expenditure. Do you think the people in the government will know if we pay more or less?"

Since ancient times, agriculture has been valued more than commerce. Merchants' taxes are ten times heavier than land taxes. As long as some people make money, there will always be others who try to cheat and pay less tax.

Qin Xiaozhou flipped through the account books. "They may not realize for a while that too much clarity will leave no fish, but if they go too far, they can use tax evasion as a pretext to confiscate your property if the county government is short of money. Although it is easy to find a pretext to condemn someone, you must first be upright and honest in order to deal with any changes."

"Alright." Lu Yan looked at the amount of silver she had to pay in taxes and felt a pang of heartache. "Eight hundred and seventy-eight taels and four mace of silver is enough to buy the entire Wangjia Village and Zhaojia Taizi, but we have to give it to the yamen for nothing."

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