When the two dukes came to visit, Li Chang'an had just gotten up and was having porridge with Lin Dongdong and Miao Qingqing.
Lin Dongdong had just finished lunch and was already full, but when she saw her brother-in-law drinking porridge, she wanted to have some too.
Li Chang'an liked to drink sweet porridge, and You Chu knew this. After serving the porridge, she took out a small jar of sugar.
This is a reward from the system, and now it's on the shelves for sale.
Today is the shop's first day of business, but Li Chang'an is too lazy to go and has left it to Zhao Hu and Zhang Jiadi to handle.
Using grain as wages allows us to hire more people, save copper coins, and provide a way of life for people who can't afford rice.
It's impossible to pay everyone's wages in gold.
Li Chang'an felt that his decision was like Ying Zheng touching an electric wire—he had completely lost control.
While he was thinking, Lin Dongdong kept adding sugar to the porridge, adding half a can of sugar to a bowl of plain porridge.
"Lin Dongdong, don't waste food!"
Li Chang'an looked at her and felt his eyes twitching incessantly.
He felt that being with Lin Dongdong would shorten his lifespan by at least ten years.
The quick-witted and brave Lin Dongdong looked up at her brother-in-law and said, "I didn't waste any; I only added three spoonfuls of sugar."
"Don't add too much, two spoonfuls are enough."
"Why, brother-in-law?"
Li Chang'an thought for a moment and then said, "Because adding three spoonfuls of sugar won't work."
Lin Dongdong held her head in her hands, feeling that her brother-in-law's smile was a little strange when he said those words.
"My lord, there are two men who claim to be Duke Xun and Duke E. They say they have something to discuss with you. What do you think?"
Sister Pomegranate, wearing a long dress, walked into the hall and said.
Now she's the housekeeper in charge of the backyard, and with Zhao Hu away, she holds the highest position.
After all, she used to be the manager of a brothel, and her conduct and interpersonal skills were far superior to others.
Zhao Hu had no objections, but Guo Dajiao, the housekeeper in charge of the kitchen, was a little uncomfortable.
She thought, "What kind of class is Sister Pomegranate? Why should she be a housekeeper like me?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an thought for a moment and asked, "What is the reputation of these two Dukes in the capital?"
"His reputation is alright. Apart from his fondness for staying overnight in brothels and indulging in debauchery, he hasn't done anything immoral."
"Alright, let's meet then."
After a while, Sister Pomegranate came over with two middle-aged men.
Both of them were dressed in gold and silver, looking like nouveau riche. When they entered the Marquis's mansion, they looked around nervously.
Upon seeing Li Chang'an, they exchanged a glance, then cupped their hands and said, "Yang Guofu, Duke of E, greets Your Excellency!"
"Zhang Liang, Duke of Xun, greets Your Excellency!"
Li Chang'an also stood up, a smile on his face: "You two dukes are too kind. I am just a lowly marquis. I should be the one visiting you first."
These words sent chills down Zhang Liang's spine.
No, you'd better not come visiting at all.
If you go and visit Yan Song's residence, you'll find that his entire family of over a hundred people will be executed by slow slicing.
The Yan family's ancestral graves have all been dug up.
If you come to visit us like this, how can anyone survive in our family?
"Your Excellency is too kind. As a disciple of a celestial being, how could I allow you to come and visit me?"
Yang Guofu bowed slightly in fear, still somewhat apprehensive about this disciple of the immortal.
Li Chang'an invited the two of them to sit down, took out a four-yuan bottle of iced tea from his backpack, and poured a glass for each of them.
"I wonder if there's anything I can do for you two dukes to visit us together?"
Zhang Liang took a sip of the chilled tea and felt completely refreshed.
"Smooth on the palate, cool on the throat, refreshing to the core, making the heart soar."
"Excellent tea, excellent tea!"
"I didn't expect you two to be such connoisseurs of tea. I'll give you a few bottles to take back and enjoy slowly."
Yang Guofu's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
The immortal tea from the Marquis of Anping's mansion was so rare that once it was produced, it was extremely difficult to obtain even a single bottle.
Apart from Emperor Jianyuan and some Confucian scholars who received some, the others had never even seen it.
After bowing in thanks, Yang Guofu said, "Does Your Excellency know that as soon as your rice shop opened, someone started eyeing it?"
"Oh, I run a small business here, and I treat everyone honestly, so who would target me?"
Seeing Li Chang'an's nonchalant expression, Yang Guofu spoke up.
"My lord, although you are honest and fair to all, selling grain at half price is blocking the path to wealth for many people."
"That day in the main hall you said that this rain would last for the second half of the year. All the major families in Jiangnan have received the news, and everyone is eager to make a fortune."
"The price of grain in the capital is rising rapidly; the heavier the rain, the more expensive the grain becomes."
"Your sudden sale at half price has made you a thorn in the side of all the major families in Jiangnan."
Li Chang'an was not surprised to hear this, but looked at the two dukes and said, "So they are planning to fight me?"
"Your Excellency is joking. Even if you gave these peasants ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to make a move."
"However, I fear that your good deed of distributing grain to the people will be in vain."
Zhang Liang added, "As far as we know, Minister of Revenue Heshen is planning to organize a group of people to buy up all your grain and then resell it at a high price."
"This is an open scheme. The two of us were just afraid that the Marquis would be unprepared and suffer losses."
Li Chang'an sized up the two of them, put down his teacup, and asked, "With such excellent information, I'm afraid the two Dukes know more than just this."
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