Liu Ruoxi didn't notice Chu Xisheng's strange look. She told Chu Xisheng everything she had done in the past four days.
She spoke in a very orderly manner: "The gift money and various gifts received yesterday have been carefully counted. The total cash is twelve thousand taels, which are kept in the palace for later use. The gifts are wine, meat, fruits and vegetables, grains, oils, rice and noodles.
Chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, etc. I have the livestock raised in the backyard. The grain, oil, rice and noodles are worth more than a thousand taels, enough to feed more than 300 people for a month. I have put them in the warehouse, and the wine, meat, fruits and vegetables are sent to the kitchen.
In addition, in accordance with the order of the hall master, my subordinates have ordered all brothels and gambling houses to close down, and all women have been paid thirty taels of severance pay. Brother Li's "Shan Zi Tan" tribe is cleaning these houses, and it is expected to be completed in three days.
Free it up for rent—"
Chu Xisheng divided his three hundred and thirty gangs into thirty-three incense and four sub-alms.
There are about eighty people in each altar, one of which is directly led by Chu Xisheng, and the other three altars are managed by Chu Yunyun, Zhou Liangchen and Li Shenshan respectively. Each altar uses a character from their name as the name of the altar.
The name of the altar in Li Shenshan is called "Shan Zi Tan".
When Liu Ruoxi said the word 'renting', her expression suddenly changed.
She suddenly felt itchy all over her body, especially inside her bones. It was itchy to the bone marrow, and she felt like something hot was coming out of her bones.
Then her whole body was filled with heat and vitality.
"Hmm~"
Liu Ruoxi didn't know it was Chu Xisheng, so she used the 'Qin Muge Character Template Card' on her.
She couldn't bear it anymore and moaned involuntarily.
Liu Ruoxi then realized something was wrong. Under the slightly surprised gazes of Chu Xisheng and the others, Liu Ruoxi's face turned red as blood and she felt ashamed.
Chu Yunyun's eyes moved slightly, and she looked up and down at Liu Ruoxi thoughtfully: "Your cultivation seems to have reached the ninth level of perfection?"
Liu Ruoxi looked confused and looked around blankly: "I don't know."
She was still a little short of it originally, but today her true energy has inexplicably reached the state of perfection.
Chu Yunyun likes this girl very much.
She grabbed Liu Ruoxi's hand and concentrated on the feeling: "We have indeed reached the ninth level of perfection. We must take the secret medicine, otherwise we will lose money when the moon is full. Ruoxi, do you have the ninth level secret medicine?"
Liu Ruoxi shook her head.
Originally, her family background could barely support her to practice martial arts with her brother.
Now that her family is ruined, how can she have any money left to buy the secret medicine?
Chu Yunyun knew the truth at a glance. She said without thinking: "Your cultivation is at a critical juncture and cannot be delayed. I asked my brother to pay for the secret medicine."
Chu Xisheng twitched the corners of her lips and looked at Chu Yunyun.
He was quickly defeated.
Firstly, Liu Ruoxi's cultivation really couldn't be delayed, and secondly, he was the one who caused this matter.
"Yunyun's words make sense. You can't delay your practice. I can advance you four thousand taels of magic silver, which is enough for you to buy the best secret medicine."
Chu Xisheng happily agreed, thinking about the trophies he had entrusted to the Iron Flag Gang to sell.
The more than 40,000 taels that the Iron Banner Gang gave him was just a share of the seizures from Poppy Valley and Liu's Mansion.
He had not yet had time to sell the trophies he had obtained by killing several seventh-grade martial arts cultivators.
Chu Xisheng hopes to get the money back as soon as possible, otherwise once Liu Ruoxi pays out the money, his assets will be less than 6,000.
I feel like the leader of Xishan Hall is a loss-making businessman.
So far, he has not seen any hope of obtaining any funds for cultivation, but he has already invested a lot of money in it.
However, Chu Xisheng still had secret expectations in his heart.
He expected that the 50% off version of the 'Qin Muge Character Template Card' used on Liu Ruoxi would surprise him.
Even if he had half of Qin Muge's talent and half of his understanding, that would still be a very strong talent for cultivation.
In his martial arts treasure house, the complete version of the Iron Madman template card only costs 140,000 martial arts points.
The 50% discount version of Qin Muge’s character template card costs 200,000 points.
It should be noted that this leader of the Iron Banner Gang is only 34 years old and currently ranks third on the list of famous heroes in Dongzhou.
His talent is extraordinary, but he is limited by the incomplete inheritance of the Iron Armor Hunyuan Gong of the 'Iron Armor Sect', which is not as good as the authentic Xuanmen sect such as Wuxiang Shenzong.
However, "Lunwu Shenji" still predicts that when he is about sixty years old in the future, he is expected to make up for the lack of Iron Armor Hunyuan Gong, enter the second level, and join the heavenly list!
Chu Xisheng walked back to his room, opened the secret door under the room, and took out the four thousand taels of silver notes he had collected.
However, Liu Ruoxi felt that the money was too hot to handle and did not dare to pick it up.
Chu Xisheng saved her life and left Liu Dingtang to her disposal. This was already a great kindness.
Liu Ruoxi was still shameless and asked Chu Xisheng to save her Uncle Wei.
In the end, she had to take money from Chu Xisheng to improve her cultivation. What was this?
I can't be so shameless.
"Take it! Practice hard and improve your cultivation as soon as possible so that you can pay back the money. If you feel you owe me, then work hard and don't slack off."
Chu Xisheng directly forced the money into Liu Ruoxi's hand.
He looked at the girl in front of him with affection on his face, as if he were looking at a newly bought calf.
I wonder if modern bosses feel this way when they look at their employees.
Anyway, his current idea is that the calf will grow up quickly so that he can make money——
Then he stood up from his seat and said: "Speaking of property, I just wanted to take a walk around the town to see the various businesses in my Xishan Hall. It's embarrassing to say that I became the master of this Xishan Hall, but I didn't
This Xishan Town knows nothing. You guys come with me, by the way, where are the good ministers?"
"The subordinates are being trained in the outer courtyard."
Li Shenshan had a strange look on his face when he thought of the heir apparent of the Zhou family: "Those Xishan hunters are very good at shooting and have decent personal combat capabilities, but they don't know how to use battle formations. In addition, he got a lot of medicinal materials from nowhere, and said
The purpose is to enable all subordinates to master the secret method of the Imperial Way within a month."
He saw that the total price of those medicinal materials was as high as more than 20,000 taels.
Li Shenshan felt that he, the leader of the hall, was also amazing. He could actually recruit someone like the heir to the Zhou family as his subordinate.
"The secret method of the imperial way?"
Chu Xisheng couldn't help but narrowed his eyes. This secret method is also called the "Army Secret Technique" and it originally originated from the army.
It allows a general to integrate the blood, energy, spirit and will of his soldiers to gain stronger combat power.
However, the threshold for using the secret method of the Imperial Way is very high. If a general wants to unite the strength of his soldiers, he must practice the secret method of the Imperial Way to a high level; in addition, his subordinates must also initially master the secret method.
The key is that the threshold for practice is also very high, and a large amount of medicinal materials are needed in the process.
It is said that just to get started, it costs thousands of taels of magic silver, which is expensive.
In addition, a special talisman and seal must be used as a hub to connect the divine will and true essence - this is where the various waist badges, seals and tiger talismans in the army come from.
Therefore, even the northern frontier troops are not popular among everyone.
It's even rarer in the south. Among the Iron Flag Gang, only the 'Iron Flag Hall' directly under Tie Kuangren and Tie Xiaosheng's 'Selecting Front Hall' have all the members mastering the secrets of the Imperial Way.
Tie Xiaoxiao was not there that day, otherwise his strength could have been improved by half a level with the help of the 800 gang members of Xuan Feng Hall.
Chu Xisheng was also very interested. After all, the people under his command came from Shence City, and they had all practiced the secret method of the Imperial Way.
However, he gave up after thinking about it.
Chu Xisheng has no money.
First of all, if he wanted to build such a system in Xishan Hall, he would have to invest 50,000 taels of magic silver in various talismans and a large amount of additional medicinal materials to allow all members to get started in practice.
Chu Xisheng himself wanted to cultivate the secret method of the Imperial Way to the point where it could integrate the Qi, blood, essence and spiritual will of more than three hundred people, so he had to invest thirty thousand taels no matter what.
Even Liu Dingtang was reluctant to start it. The Haiqing Gang's Xishan Hall has 800 people, so the investment will only be more.
Only in the north, where the major frontier armies control many elixir-producing areas, and the price of elixirs is nearly half cheaper than in the south, can they be popularized on a large scale.
"Let him go. The Zhou family's swordsmanship emphasizes intention rather than force. With the help of the secret method of the emperor, his combat power will be stronger."
Chu Xisheng secretly sighed in his heart, a wealthy family is a wealthy family.
And where did he get so much money? Didn’t he promise not to rely on his family until he reached the sixth level?
Chu Xisheng shook her head and led a few people out of the Chu family mansion.
As soon as she went out, Chu Xisheng raised her eyebrows.
He saw a familiar girl standing in front of the inspection department's office opposite the Chu family's mansion, looking at the notice seriously.
Chu Xisheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly: "Luanli?"
——The girl in front of the sign is none other than Lu Luanli.
Lu Luanli turned around and saw Chu Xisheng and his party, his face looked a little surprised and a little embarrassed.
However, after seeing Chu Xisheng waving, she still walked over gracefully: "Long time no see, Hall Master Chu."
Although she participated in the opening ceremony of Xishan Hall yesterday and even received a red envelope of one hundred taels of magical silver, she was not able to speak to Chu Xisheng throughout the whole process.
"Why are you so polite? Just call me Senior Brother."
Chu Xisheng smiled.
He is the leader of the True Succession Examination and can directly obtain the identity of Erye True Succession, so Lu Luanli still has to call him Senior Brother.
Chu Xisheng then asked curiously: "Luan Li, are you here to find me? We've already come to the door, why don't you come in? Are you still shy?"
Lu Luanli's face turned slightly red: "Who said I came to see you? I came to see you on an errand. This time the Six Gates of Xiushui County suffered a big loss. Several arrests from the Xishan Inspection Department were implicated. I
I want to apply for an eighth-grade blue-clad head catcher here."
Chu Xisheng looked at the girl with strange eyes.
He guessed that Lu Luanli had fallen in love with him, otherwise why would he always like to be around him?
A blush also appeared on Lu Luanli's face.
She was also blaming herself, why did she come here for no reason?
However, after they left the Shenbing Academy, they were imprisoned for six days and finally were released. Chu Xisheng also went to borrow troops to attack Xishan Town, and was missing for ten days in total.
The key is that the inner gate of the Zhengyang Martial Arts School is closed, and the senior sisters she used to know have gone home, making Lu Luanli even more bored.
Eat well all day long and have nothing to do.
"What are you looking at?" Lu Luanli said in a bad tone: "Now that I am among the true disciples, I have to find a way to make a living outside the martial arts school to support myself."
What she said is also true.
After entering the True Legend, it was really time for Lu Luanli to find a job.
Otherwise, it would arouse people's suspicion that she was a girl from a local wealthy family, but she stayed in the martial arts school all day long with nothing to do.
"I see."
Chu Xisheng's mind moved slightly, and his eyes were filled with confusion: "Then why go to the Yamen? Instead of working as a catcher in the Inspection Department or as an errand in the Six Doors, you might as well come to work here! I guarantee a favorable treatment.
You are now at the eighth level. I will give you a monthly salary of 400 taels of magic silver, as well as the hush money you owe me, which can be waived. You are still free with me and do not need to be controlled by the rules of the yamen.
"
Generally, for an eighth-grade martial artist with complete battle plans and magical weapons, the monthly salary is around 400 taels. This monthly salary is indeed very high.
However, the girl in front of me appears to have an eighth-level cultivation level, but she can actually be used as a sixth-level cultivation level, and maybe even half of a fifth-level cultivation level.
Chu Xisheng thought that if he recruited Luan Li into his hall, then his Xishan Hall would be a bit strong.
It’s like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon——
"Can--"
Lu Luanli was slightly happy in her heart, and almost said the word 'yes' directly. As she spoke, she realized that she couldn't be so happy. She quickly changed her voice: "But I can consider it, but I doubt you have the money to hire someone now."
I?
I heard that you have closed all the brothels and gambling dens in your hands. Also, I just walked along and saw that more than 30 of your shops have been closed. Now everyone on this street is wondering what you do.
make a living."
Lu Luanli's eyes showed appreciation.
Although the financial situation of Xishan Hall is worrying, Chu Xisheng would rather not make money or harm women and people, but she likes it very much.
As expected of me, I like it - bah! I am the one who appreciates it.
"Why can't you afford it? You might as well work with me first. I can guarantee you at least two months' salary. If that doesn't work, I can ask the Iron Banner Master for money. I can't let my brothers go hungry.
.”
Chu Xisheng scratched his head: "I'm planning to look around Xishan to see if I can find a way to make money. Luan Li, you are well-informed and can help me with some ideas."
Chu Xisheng thought that it would be best if she could find a way to make money, but if that didn't work, she would have to rely on the chief helmsman.
Xishan Town threatens the east dock flank of the city, and Iron Madman cannot possibly watch his Xishan Hall collapse.
However, this would make Chu Xisheng seem incompetent——
※※※※
The first thing Chu Xisheng looked at were his dozens of shops and five vacant three-story wooden buildings.
In fact, there is nothing interesting to see. Liu Dingtang is domineering and greedy.
The shop buildings he occupied were all in prime locations in the town.
However, Xishan Town is just a town after all, and the flow of people on the streets here is very limited.
To the east of Xishan is Xiushui County, to the northeast is Chengdong Wharf, and across the river is the ancient market. They are all extremely prosperous and lively places. People near Xishan Town will go to these three places if they want to buy anything.
Therefore, these shops can only earn Xishan Hall more than 7,000 taels of magic silver a month.
Liu Dingtang has always relied on several brothels and gambling houses, the Shen family's opium, as well as the city tax and Ping'an money - the so-called 'blood tax' to raise 890,000 taels of magic silver every month to support him.
He has more than 800 people under his command.
What makes things worse now is that those merchants would rather not have these stores in prime locations than have business contacts with Xishan Hall.
Lu Luanli accompanied Chu Xisheng, and felt that the financial future of Xishan Hall was bleak.
She couldn't think of any good ideas, so she could only shake her head: "How about you go to the main helm and borrow a few boats from the Iron Banner Master, and then borrow some old tricks on the river. There are basically twelve branches of the Iron Banner Gang.
Relying on shipping for food, my life is very comfortable."
Chu Xisheng frowned, he was very surprised.
After all, Xishan Town is close to Xishan. It is a distribution center for all kinds of game, animal skins, animal bones, and animal tendons. It also produces various kinds of elixirs.
In terms of the amount of elixirs produced, it is comparable to that of the Fire Bone Cave.
But why is the popularity here so much worse than the Fire Bone Cave?
The distance here from Xiushui County is only fifteen miles shorter than the Fire Bone Cave, but there are more than 200,000 people living within a radius of twenty miles around Xishan.
It is extremely hot around the Fire Bone Cave, and there is not even a hair in the surrounding area for twenty miles.
The area of Xishan Town is quite considerable, with seven streets and a population of about 20,000.
If the size of this town were placed in the world where Chu Xisheng came from, it could have been a county town, but in this world, it was just a market town.
Chu Xisheng turned around in a circle, and then he stood at the gate of the east city, looking thoughtfully at the dozen or so Xishan gang members collecting city taxes at the gate.
They not only charge money for goods brought into the city, but also charge money for all kinds of firewood, rice, oil, salt, chicken, duck, fish, etc. that people bring into the city.
Liu Ruoxi glanced at Chu Xisheng's face and took the initiative to explain: "I have inquired in detail. When Liu Dingtang was in charge of Xishan, the monthly city tax was about 15,000 taels, half of which was allocated to the inspection department.
.
There is also Ping'an money. All shops in the city, as well as Xishan Orions, have to pay Ping'an money, which is blood tax, to Xishan Hall. They can receive about 20,000 taels, which is half of the inspection division's Yamen.
However, our brothers are not very familiar with each other, and they have not made much in the past two days. Speaking of this, I am just about to ask the hall master for instructions. Liu Dingtang used to have more than 20 accountants, should he invite some of them back? "
The gangsters in Xishan Hall are all big and rough, and they can't even calculate the accounts clearly. It's really hard for them to ask them to collect city taxes and peace money.
"The accountant can hire some loyal and reliable people to come back, but the city entry tax can be stopped."
Chu Xisheng pointed to the city gate: "From now on, just leave a few people on guard at each city gate."
After Chu Yunyun and Lu Luanli heard this, they couldn't help being surprised and looked at each other.
Li Shenshan was also surprised: "Master, you don't even collect the city tax?"
He was deeply worried and suspected that he would really drink the northwest wind in a few months.
"I want to collect it!"
Chu Xisheng shook his head slightly: "But tax is not collected like this. In the future, any goods entering the city will be free of charge. We only collect transaction tax. We will ask some accountants to come back and register the quantity of these goods. When these merchants sell them,
Then pay us, especially the hunters, and allow them to come and go freely."
Chu Yunyun frowned slightly, unable to figure out what Chu Xisheng was doing.
Liu Ruoxi was thoughtful when she heard the words, her eyes were bright: "But if this happens, the inspection department may have opinions."
Chu Xisheng smiled: "I am the mayor of Xishan Town and the head of the town. I have the final say on how to collect the city entrance tax. If the inspection department is not willing, you can negotiate with them. They used to
Aren’t you getting seventeen thousand taels of magic silver from Liu Dingtang every month? We will agree on this number for them in the future.”
As the saying goes, imperial power does not go to the countryside, Daning does not have officials in local towns and villages, and all local gentry govern themselves.
The town's inspection department is only responsible for public security and theft, and does not involve in government affairs.
Liu Dingtang has always been the township leader of Xishan Town and the head of the town.
After Liu Dingtang died, this position also fell to Chu Xisheng.
The county captain Shen Zhou and the officials of the Xiushui County Yamen must be reluctant.
However, if the county does not give Chu Xisheng the post of township magistrate, they will not even be able to collect the local poll tax and land tax. In the past, the county government relied on Liu Dingtang's 800 gang members to collect taxes violently.
Tie Kuangren used this to blackmail the county government and transfer Liu Dingtang's various properties to Chu Xisheng's name.
Chu Xisheng then left the city for a walk.
He found that the land annexation near Xishan Town was quite serious. There were many wealthy families in the area, there were groups of landlords, and the clan power was also very strong.
These rural tycoons all support considerable military strength, so Xishan Hall cannot collect peace money from them.
They can guarantee safety themselves, so why should they pay you safety money?
Chu Xisheng came to the east foot of Xishan Mountain again.
In fact, he is very familiar with this place. When he first came to Xiushui County, he and Chu Yunyun made a living hunting in Xishan.
However, Chu Xisheng still took a closer look at more than a dozen hills.
He mainly looked at the streams and springs on various hills.
There are many water sources in Xishan, but they are not climatic. Most of them flow to the north and merge into the Shenxiu River.
Chu Xisheng looked around, with a slight smile on his face: "This place can still make money. Xishan is a treasure. Look at the medicine and wood in this mountain. It's not a big problem to feed the hundreds of people in Xishan Hall.
.”
Lu Luanli curled his lips and looked disapproving.
There are many towering trees here, but no precious wood.
Those giant trees are good materials for building ships, but if they cannot be transported out of the mountains, they cannot be sold for money.
As for medicinal materials, the situation is similar.
Xishan is surrounded by low-grade and cheap medicinal materials, and only with sufficient trading volume can there be profit.
Not only is it difficult to transport these things, but you also have to guard against monsters on the mountain. How easy is it to feed these hundreds of people?
Chu Xisheng, however, was already confident and rode his horse down from the top of the mountain.
If his idea can be realized, not only will he be able to support Xishan Hall, but he will also be able to earn tens of thousands of magic silver every month from now on.
This chapter has been completed!