Chapter 2613: Grain Shop (Reward for Book Friend "Suyin")
Bai Shan said, "We've been busy since returning to the capital, and haven't had time until now. We were planning to have a party at home, inviting everyone to come and chat, but it just so happened that Princess Danyang was having a summer banquet, and the princess and Liu Huan and the others found an excuse not to go. Naturally, it wasn't convenient for them to come to my house, so we just made the appointment outside."
He smiled and said, "I thought that my senior and his wife might not like to go to the summer banquet, so I invited them along."
Mrs. Tang heard a few words and turned her head and said, "That's right, I don't want to go to that summer banquet. It's so hot and the sun is so strong. Even in the pavilion, I feel uncomfortable. And if I put on some perfume and powder, I'll feel stuffy when there are so many people."
Manbao was curious, "Why is Princess Danyang holding a banquet at this time?"
Mingda said softly, "My aunt's cousin has reached marriageable age and is looking for a husband, so my aunt has been keen on holding banquets lately."
Manbao understood it immediately.
Madam Tang looked at Liu Huanle and asked, "Young Master Liu, why aren't you going? Didn't your grandmother ask you to go?"
Zhou Liru, who was sitting quietly eating, looked up, and Manbao immediately said, "Xuesao, he is my niece-in-law now."
Liu Huan: ...Although it's true, this title makes him very uncomfortable. After all, they are classmates, right?
Mrs. Tang was also stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Zhou Liru. Now among Zhou Man’s nieces, she is the only one who has not yet married, right?
She laughed and said, "When did this happen? Why aren't you inviting guests?"
Manbao smiled and said, "When we made the reservation, we just sat down together and had a meal. There's no need to publicize it too much."
The main reason is that Zhou Liru is still obsessed with his studies, and the Liu family also feels that Liu Huan's character is not stable enough, so they are not in a hurry to get married this year.
Mrs. Tang poured a glass of wine, raised it, and said with a smile, "Although it's late, I still want to congratulate you."
Liu Huan and Zhou Liru were suddenly mentioned, and they raised their glasses with slightly red faces to thank Mrs. Tang.
It was a rare occasion for everyone to get together, so Bai Shan was very generous and ordered many dishes and seasonal fruits.
There was an ice basin in the box, the window was open, and a breeze blew in. It was actually cooler than at home. Most importantly, outside the window was one of the busiest streets in the capital.
After dinner, everyone could lean against the window and look at the world downstairs. Mrs. Tang even invited everyone to play cards together.
Behind a screen, Lord Tang and his companions sat cross-legged on the couch and talked about the good poems and essays in the capital recently.
At this moment, some candidates have already arrived in Beijing to prepare for the Jinshi examination in the autumn.
Mr. Tang smiled and said, "Isn't this the largest private room in Jiufulou?"
Bai Shan nodded. Since there were many people invited, he directly ordered the largest one.
Lord Tang, who wasn't very wealthy, said, "How come you two are all so rich?"
Although Bai Shan is a bit stingy, it is undeniable that he is still very rich. Lord Tang can even feel that the Bai family is richer than the Tang family.
Bai Shan smiled and said, "Brother Tang, you're joking. You don't look like someone who's short of money."
He leaned in closer and whispered, "Could it be that my sister-in-law controls the family finances and doesn't spend any money on you?"
Lord Tang glanced nervously outside the screen, and couldn't help but give him an elbow, whispering, "Keep your voice down."
After he finished speaking, he felt something was wrong and asked quietly, "Didn't Zhou Man take your salary?"
Bai Shan shook his head, "My grandmother and mother collected the salaries of Manbao and me."
Before she got married, Manbao's salary was collected by the Zhou family. Since the money was not much, Old Zhou kept it for her. When she got married, Old Zhou asked Zhou Silang to exchange it for nice official silver for her as a dowry.
Lu Mi and the like are used at home and in restaurants.
After the marriage, the Zhou and Bai families still collected their salaries together, but the salary silver was collected by Old Lady Liu and kept in the public treasury for use, while the salary rice was still kept in the family's warehouse, used by both the family and the restaurant.
Even though Manbao is married, she still gets a large commission from the restaurant every year.
Every month Manbao and Baishan could receive twenty taels of silver from the public treasury. With this calculation, their monthly salary of five or six taels seemed not enough.
If it weren't for the income from their official land, they would be completely relying on their parents.
Bai Shan touched his chin and said, "I have to buy some gifts for my grandmother and mother when I go back."
Lord Tang: ...
Bai Shan asked him curiously, "Brother Tang, don't you have any monthly silver?"
Mr. Tang shifted his hips and whispered, "Yes, I do have some, but it's not enough to spend..."
Bai Erlang beside him also became curious, "How much is it per month?"
Lord Tang held up two fingers, and Bai Shan and Bai Erlang said, "Isn't it the same as ours? Why isn't it enough?"
Bai Erlang said, "I spend a maximum of five taels a month, and I still have fifteen taels left."
When Bai Erlang's monthly salary was only five taels, he could lend money to his classmates and earn interest. Not to mention now, he always has a lot of surplus every month.
Moreover, he kept his salary for himself, Mingda did not ask for it. As for the rice allowance, the leftovers from his family were directly sent to the grain shop to be sold.
"Oh, I was just about to tell you that I'm planning to open a grain store in Yongzhou New City. If you don't have enough rice, you can send it to my grain store and sell it. I'll give you a reasonable price."
Bai Shan nodded.
Mr. Tang asked him, "Why did you want to open a grain store?"
Bai Erlang said, "What can I do? The grain shops out there are keeping the prices very low. They make only three or four cents per bushel of rice. Why should I earn this much money for them when I own my own shop?"
In fact, it was Bai Erlang’s first time to receive salary, and he was very excited, so he took a special leave that day to receive his salary.
He only received it once and didn't care about it anymore. He only took the money and the rice was piled up in the warehouse at home.
The manager of the princess's mansion was negligent and did not store the rice properly. There was a lot of rain last month, and the rice in the warehouse was a little damp. Bai Erlang saw the hustle and bustle and went over to take a look out of curiosity. Only then did he discover that they had a lot of extra rice.
Part of it was his, and the other part was Mingda's share.
Mingda lives in the capital and receives a monthly salary.
Bai Erlang felt that their family could not eat so much rice, and the rice would just be eaten by rats, so he asked someone to send it to the grain store to sell.
As a result, the price of rice was severely suppressed. Not to mention the rice that had been damp, even the rice that was not damp was severely suppressed.
The part that has been damp is equivalent to giving it to the rice shop for free.
In a fit of anger, Bai Erlang sent all the rice to Yushan Hall, and then planned to open a grain shop, assign a manager and a clerk there so that he could sell the grain himself. How great would that be.
He said, "Anyway, not all the shops in the new city are rented out yet. The existing shops can be cleaned up and used to sell grain. When there is food, we can sell it. When there is no food, we can just close it down. How great is that."
Lord Tang and Bai Shan: ...
Lord Tang turned his head and looked at Bai Shan, "Would you like to try to persuade him?"
Bai Shan waved his hand and said nonchalantly: "Forget it, the shop is his own, and the managers and servants are all his own. As long as he doesn't lose money, it's fine."
Yin Huo then said, "Then I will give you any extra rice I have left."
He paused and then said, "And my father's."
Liu Huan immediately said, "I'll give you mine too."
Bai Erlang became delighted.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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