Chapter 693 Conditions (Thanks to the tip from book friend "Gail")
Manbao stared at Magistrate Tang's face for a long time, knowing that today would not end peacefully. So she pulled her fourth brother and the smartest Bai Shan aside and whispered to each other, "What should we do?"
Bai Shan looked at Zhou Silang and said, "Can you make it cheaper?"
Zhou Silang whispered, "Of course I can, but no matter how little, I should at least make some profit, right?"
This is not just his business, but that of the whole family. Now Zhou Dalang and his family basically pick out good wheat seeds from all over the house, and buy them back at a price 20% to 30% higher than the market price of wheat. Then he goes back and brings the seeds back. After selling them, he sends the money back and gets new wheat seeds.
Because it was a small business and he only sold around Yizhou City, he didn't dare to buy too much wheat seeds every time. For example, this time he only brought two sacks. Previously, in order to catch up with the planting time of winter wheat, he had transported truckloads of wheat here several times.
Now that the winter wheat has almost been planted, he dare not sell too much, for fear that the wheat will be left in his hands. After all, his family has no use for the wheat seeds, and it is too expensive to eat them as wheat.
I'm afraid it's okay if his father doesn't eat it, but he will get sick if he eats it.
Heartache sick.
Therefore, Zhou Silang was very careful to control costs. He whispered, "I can't make a loss, or my father will beat me to death."
"Of course I can't lose money," Manbao looked at her fourth brother speechlessly, "I'm not stupid."
Bai Shan made the decision: "Then let's reduce it to 110 wen per dou."
Zhou Silang was heartbroken, "That one bucket cost me thirty cents."
Manbao ignored him and asked Baishan: "What are the conditions?"
Bai Shan lowered his voice and said, "Ask him for a document permitting the sale, and for exemption from the fees for entering and leaving the city..."
Manbao's eyes lit up and he added, "Yes, since the price is low, then we can just go with sales and buy all the wheat seeds for next year's two seasons. We can make a lot of money by selling at a low profit margin. By the way, why does the sale of wheat seeds need to be approved by the government?"
How come she doesn't know this?
Bai Shan happened to have seen such a rule, but he didn't think of Zhou Silang at that time.
He whispered, "Things like salt, iron, and grain seeds, which are crucial to people's livelihoods and national destiny, must be sold through the local county government. They'll confirm the store owner's ability to bear the associated risks before they're allowed to sell. This isn't just true for seeds; the sale of grain also has this regulation. It's just that your fourth brother doesn't own a shop, so he pulls a cart around and sells it, and the government doesn't prosecute unless the people report him."
Bai Shan lowered his voice and said, "Once you open a shop, you have to pay a portion of your quarterly income to the government as taxes. When the tax revenue reaches a certain amount, you become a merchant and your household registration will be changed."
Manbao knew this. When she first bought a shop for her sister-in-law in the county town, she asked Magistrate Yang about it. Magistrate Yang said that based on the profits of her sister-in-law's shop, unless she could own three shops at the same time, she would not need to change her household registration because the amount of tax she paid each quarter was not large.
It still doesn't reach the business limit.
"With the official document permitting the sale, and your fourth brother not owning a shop, this is considered an exemption from commercial taxes. The two combined should be about the same."
Before Manbao agreed, Zhou Silang had already clapped his hands and said happily: "This is good, this is good. If you calculate it this way, it seems that we are not at a loss."
Manbao looked at him silently for a while, still saying nothing, then nodded and said, "Then Fourth Brother, go talk to County Magistrate Tang."
Zhou Silang looked at her suspiciously, "Is everything okay?"
Manbao shook his head, "No more, go ahead."
Zhou Silang took two steps hesitantly, and when he saw that his youngest sister didn't stop him, he quickly walked towards County Magistrate Tang.
Bai Shan waited until he was far away and asked, "What's wrong?"
Manbao sighed sadly and said, "If there were a shop, our new wheat seeds wouldn't be so much lower than the market price. Calculate the difference between the current market price of new wheat seeds and ours."
Bai Shan calculated for a moment, opened his mouth wide, and said in annoyance, "I forgot about this. Why didn't you remind Zhou Si just now?"
"Because it suddenly occurred to me that our calculations aren't right," Manbao said. "The grain prices in Yizhou City right now are wrong, and the seed prices are wrong too. Our wheat is one price when it's harvested and delivered to the grain merchants, and another when it leaves the grain shops. If you calculate carefully, no matter how many times it changes hands, it's a fact that it's more than doubled from the time it goes in to the time it comes out."
"It takes us four to five months to plow, sow, work, and harvest, and we put in so much effort and sweat. But they can do it all in less than a month and earn more than we do." Man Bao said, "No matter how much Magistrate Tang tries to lower the price, this batch of grain seeds will eventually go to the refugees for free. The grain my fourth brother sold also went directly to the farmers who needed to farm. So why should we follow the market price?"
"We just need to calculate the selling price based on our own costs. As long as we can make a profit and the profit is enough to compensate for the energy and physical effort we put in, that's fine." Manbao smiled and said, "So I think, if the price is low, then the price is low."
County Magistrate Tang, who wanted to check the quality of their wheat seeds, sent Zhou Silang to turn out the grain seeds from the cart. Turning around, he saw two children huddled together and whispering. When he walked over, he heard these words.
He couldn't help but pause for a moment, then stepped forward with a smile, "What are you talking about?"
Manbao turned around and replied, "I won't tell you."
I already knew it even if you didn't tell me. County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and changed the subject, "Have you still been going to the prefectural school to read books secretly recently?"
After being caught as a thief, Manbao stuck out his tongue guiltily.
Seeing that she was obedient, County Magistrate Tang was satisfied and smiled as he brought up another matter. "By the way, I've been discussing this with several drugstore owners lately. We'd like to have doctors from the city examine the refugees before the weather gets too cold. If they're sick, they should be treated early. Otherwise, with the cold weather, some people might not survive the winter. Aren't you learning to prescribe medicine? Would you like to have a separate table for them?"
Manbao's eyes lit up and he asked, "Can I?"
After asking, he frowned again, "Although I also write prescriptions on my own in the pharmacy, Doctor Ji always sits behind me to help me check."
County Magistrate Tang smiled and said, "Of course you can. I'll build a tent for you, and you'll be there specifically to receive female guests. Some women find it difficult to see a doctor when they're sick, and since you're a female doctor, I'm sure many will come to you for treatment."
Manbao asked, "What about the prescription? Can they afford it if I prescribe it?"
County Magistrate Tang sighed, "That's why I said I was poor. Ultimately, these medicines will have to be paid for by our county government. I'll give you a prescription later. As long as the medicine you prescribe is on the prescription, they can get the medicine. If not, they will have to go to the pharmacy to make up for it themselves."
At this moment, Manbao and Baishan looked at County Magistrate Tang with a lot of respect, "County Magistrate Tang, you are such a good person, no, a good official."
County Magistrate Tang touched his chin proudly, but didn't touch his beard. However, he smiled happily at the two of them.
Mr. Zhuang, who had been sitting in the yard watching the show silently, oh no, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but shook his head slightly, thinking that although the two disciples were smart, they were still too naive.
Good night
(End of this chapter)
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