In fact, Li Jue's biggest concern in not allowing merchants from Pingkangfang to move in was that he was afraid it would damage his reputation...
Although he wasn't particularly concerned about his reputation, the business at Qujiang Pond was related to his aunt and Princess Jinyang behind her.
No matter what, Princess Jinyang is his own aunt. He may not care about his reputation, but Princess Jinyang cannot!
That's why he kept refusing the merchants from Pingkangfang...
But after Shan Daozhen explained the functions of the Jiaofangsi to him, he suddenly realized that his moral standards seemed a bit too high.
If even the imperial court doesn't care about saving face, why should I care about it?
"All right!"
“Go and tell them that I can allow them to move in and even grant them land to build houses, but the entry fee must be three times that of ordinary merchants!”
"What is three times?"
"Thirty thousand strings of cash!"
"Furthermore, I will only allow three companies; I won't allow even one more!"
"Okay!"
"I'll go tell them right away..."
When Shan Daozhen returned to Jinghu Villa, he was immediately surrounded by a group of female confidantes.
"How did the talks with Shan Dalang go?"
"If I, Shan Daozhen, were to take action, success would be a natural outcome!"
"real?"
"Shan Dalang, you're not allowed to lie to us. If you dare to lie to us, we'll team up and blacklist you from now on, hehehe..."
Dan Daozhen sat casually on the stool, letting a group of beautiful women massage his shoulders and back until he had enjoyed himself enough, before slowly speaking.
"Let me tell you, I had to beg and plead with him before I could finally persuade our Commandant!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Shan!"
"Our captain said that the business in your Pingkang Ward is special, and each business has to pay three times the entrance fee!"
"Three times, that many?"
"That's thirty thousand strings of cash! Are you treating us like pigs to be slaughtered?"
When Shan Daozhen heard them complaining, he immediately snorted coldly.
"You think it's too expensive?"
"If you think it's too expensive, don't open a shop in Qujiangchi!"
"To tell you the truth, even with three times the entrance fee, our captain will only allow three companies, not one more!"
"ah?"
The madam, who had just complained about the price, immediately became anxious upon hearing this.
"Mr. Shan, I don't mind the price, please reserve some space for me!"
"Master Shan, we at Lichun Brothel don't mind the price, so please reserve the best seats for us!"
"And our Qin Feng Pavilion too!"
“We, our Chu Qiuyuan…”
Just as a group of madams were noisily vying for the three spots around Shan Daozhen, a waiter rushed in and said something to one of the madams.
"Godmother Wang, something terrible has happened! His Majesty the Emperor has sealed off Qujiang Pool!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, the group of madams immediately abandoned Shan Daozhen and surrounded the young waiter.
"Explain yourself clearly, why did His Majesty designate Qujiang Pool as a fiefdom?"
"I don't know either. All I know is that Qujiang Pool is completely sealed off by the Imperial Guards, and no one is allowed to enter!"
"real?"
"Of course, if you godmothers don't believe me, you can go to Qujiang and see for yourselves!"
Upon hearing this, everyone complained that it was bad luck, and then they all left without looking back.
"What are you doing? Don't you want to open a shop at Qujiang Amusement Park?"
No way!
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Shan. We've decided to close the shop!"
Why?
"Is that even a question? The emperor has turned Qujiang Pool back into a royal garden. Even if your captains have extraordinary abilities, they can't expect us to open a shop in a royal garden, can they?"
"this……"
When Shan Daozhen heard this, he was completely stunned. He thought to himself, "When did His Majesty the Emperor become so free that he even cares about such a small matter?"
But he wouldn't back down, and he still made threats to the group of madams.
"Have you thought this through? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Hmph, who are you trying to scare, kid?"
"You'd better get your captain out of here as soon as possible. I reckon it won't be long before the owners of the restaurants and inns by Qujiang Pool come looking for you!"
The madam was absolutely right. No sooner had they left than a group of restaurant, inn, and teahouse owners swarmed in, clamoring for Li Jue to refund their money.
Upon discovering that Li Jue was not at Jinghu Villa, they ran to the main gate of Zhechong Prefecture and began shouting.
"Give me my money back!"
"Give me my money back!"
"You little liar, you've really fooled us, waaaaah..."
Upon hearing this, Li Jue hurriedly came out of his dormitory, but he was stopped by Shan Daozhen after only a few steps.
"Captain, don't go out! If you go out now, these bosses will eat you alive!"
"What's wrong?"
Why are they offering a refund?
"What else could it be? I don't know what got into His Majesty the Emperor, that he suddenly ordered the Qujiang Pool to be sealed off!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue was so frightened that he sat down on the ground. He had been afraid of encountering such a thing from the beginning, so he repeatedly confirmed with his aunt until she patted her chest and guaranteed that there would be no problem before he began to build the Qujiang Amusement Park.
I never expected that before I even opened for business, that old bastard Li Er would cause me so much trouble!
"Li Mingda, you've really screwed me over! Waaaaah!"
Although Li Jue suffered a huge blow this time, enough to bankrupt him a hundred times over, he still chose to meet with those bosses.
Before Li Jue appeared, these bosses were making a huge fuss. But when they saw Li Jue, they all immediately quieted down.
"Lieutenant Li, we won't make things difficult for you. Just return half of the money we invested, and we'll admit defeat!"
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