After lunch, Qingyan accompanied Yin in the study, where he personally inquired about the prices of goods and concluded that the imperial merchants transporting seafood were profiting handsomely from them.
"Little darling, how much did those mussel dishes we had for lunch cost in the capital?" Yin was not a person who cared about the price of things, but since he took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, his thinking has really changed a lot, and he not only goes to the market on weekdays.
He also reviewed the mansion's accounts with Qingyan at any time, from which he could calculate how much silver the imperial merchants could earn each time.
Every time he calculated to the end, Yin had the idea of going into business directly. No wonder, Yin was the richest of the princes, and those trades could really make a lot of money.
Outsiders knew that the main source of income for his residence, besides his salary and various gifts from Emperor Kangxi, came from the Yuelai Inn and Linglong Pavilion.
During festivals, court officials would patronize the Yuelai Inn, booking private rooms there, and some would even stay overnight.
"Fourth Brother, actually, the expenses in the capital are very high. When the seafood is transported there, the manager said that more than a third of the seafood will be lost. All of this has to be included in the price. The expensive ice and transportation costs also have to be factored in. Therefore, the price of a dish of mussels will definitely be more than ten times higher." Qingyan did not hide anything and said it directly.
Yin couldn't help but gasp; this was practically robbery.
"Little darling, are you really sure? Do you really need this much?" Yin asked repeatedly to confirm.
Many imperial merchants who transported seafood had opened shops in the capital, some of which even supplied seafood to the princes' residences. With such a sudden increase in profits from transportation fees, Yin's mood became even more depressed.
Every year, the imperial treasury allocates silver to the imperial merchants. The imperial merchants use 40% of the silver to buy things, which is more than enough. The remaining 60% of the silver becomes their own.
“Yes, you should know that in the capital, these seafoods can fetch ten times the price once they’re transported there,” Qingyan said without hesitation.
The seafood here is very fresh, mostly caught directly from the sea by fishermen in the early morning. She made some sashimi. She also carried some wasabi paste made from wasabi powder that had been brought to the palace. Emperor Kangxi enjoyed it very much during lunch.
"However, you've put a lot of pressure on the Imperial Kitchen. This time when Your Majesty comes to Shandong, he'll probably have some favorite dishes, and I think sea snails are one of them," Yin said with a helpless smile after carefully observing Kangxi's meals.
After leaving home, Emperor Kangxi stopped adhering to the rule of not eating more than three times a day and never missed a dish he liked.
"Hehe, it has nothing to do with me. Shandong only has so many delicacies. When traveling incognito, of course I would look for local specialties. Who would want to eat food from the palace?" Qingyan asked strangely.
His prediction was correct. The imperial kitchen often couldn't find palatable ingredients, so they would go to the Yuelai Inn to look for them. In fact, they said it was the Yuelai Inn's responsibility to ensure that His Majesty had a good meal.
Upon hearing those words, Qingyan was immediately annoyed. Little did anyone know that the matter was far more complicated than imagined.
The Yuelai Inn was not listed among the imperial merchants and received no subsidies from the Ministry of Revenue, yet it was required to repeatedly help them find the finest delicacies. Even the Yuelai Inn's food tasters were under immense pressure.
"Fourth Brother, I won't help the Imperial Kitchen anymore. Yuelai Inn doesn't belong to anyone. They can't just shift the blame for not finding the premium ingredients onto Yuelai Inn." Qingyan had been tolerating this, but as soon as Yin mentioned the Imperial Kitchen, her temper flared up instantly, and she no longer wanted to hide anything.
That's enough!
He personally went to deal with the troubles in the imperial kitchen and appease the furious Qingyan.
"Well, from now on, we'll submit the meal orders to the palace ourselves, instead of the Imperial Kitchen." After much consideration, Yin decided that the mansion would handle it.
The people from the Imperial Kitchen were harsh on the tasters at the Yuelai Inn. Those people took the menu and never mentioned it to Emperor Kangxi, always saying that the Imperial Kitchen had carefully prepared the dishes.
"Hmph, those people have received the rewards and are still urging us on behind our backs, one recipe per month, do they really think the tasters are cheating!" Qingyan was furious, and fashionable terms appeared one after another.
Yin poured her a glass of plum juice, telling her to calm down first.
She drank some plum juice, and her anger gradually subsided, no longer as intense as before.
"Alright, Yuelai Inn no longer needs to take care of the Imperial Kitchen. I will go back and write a memorial." The manager of Yuelai Inn still adhered to the principle that merchants should not fight with officials.
In the past, the biggest advantage that allowed Yin to run a better shop than others was his social status.
"Really?! Fourth Brother, thank you so much! I'll have Yuelai Inn send some ingredients to the mansion every time they have a new dish. Once we've made it, you can taste it and see which one is palatable to Father Emperor. Then we'll prepare it and send it to the palace. We'll strictly control the quality and there will be absolutely no mistakes." Qingyan's eyes lit up.
The eunuchs from the imperial kitchen demanded their rooms and frequently caused trouble at the Yuelai Inn. Sometimes, they would even take and eat things there, disturbing the peace of the diners on the first floor.
Now, Yin's promise has saved a lot of trouble.
"Alright, you prepare it yourself. Before I go to court, I'll have Su Peisheng deliver it to Chengqian Palace." Yin agreed, which would allow him to pay his respects to Consort Tong a few more times a month. "It would be best if you were here too, and it could be prepared in the small kitchen of Chengqian Palace. It would be best to teach the cooks in the small kitchen, so that Father and Mother can use it if they want."
Qingyan laughed as he listened to Yin's rambling. People say that the Fourth Prince is a chatterbox, but he never cares about such things in front of people he knows well.
"Fourth Brother, how many days will you stay here?" Qingyan asked.
She needs a few days to check on the delivery situation. Each time, the supplier delivers very well for the first few times, but the remaining deliveries are not very good.
This situation persists despite repeated attempts to stop it, so she always takes extra precautions.
"It will take about ten days. Father Emperor has dispatched imperial guards in private to investigate the local living conditions." Yin understood Kangxi's procedures.
Qingyan was relieved. Ten days was just enough time to make ten deliveries and get a general understanding of the supplier's situation.
"Once the investigation is complete, we can leave together." Qingyan clasped his hands together and smiled.
She hoped for a few days of free time, and this time, Kangxi really obliged, granting her wish.
He picked up a brush and wrote a name on the rice paper. Qingyan shuddered. This person was her seafood supplier in the capital.
"Is there something wrong with this person?" Qingyan asked worriedly. "The seafood at the Yuelai Inn in the capital all comes from him."
"This man is an imperial merchant!" With just one sentence from Yin, Qingyan understood and disguised himself as an ordinary merchant.
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