Lu Feng let out another long "Oh" and explained with a smile: "Well, that must be the lady from the east courtyard of Qingbanqiao in the city. Who is from here? Those literati, famous people, and those rich

When many merchants want to visit here, they always bring young girls and actresses from the city to join in the fun."

"I heard that the best female actresses in Yangzhou live east of Qingbanqiao?" Li Xiaoyao asked next.

Su Zicheng frowned slightly, with a thick layer of disgust on his face.

Lu Feng shook his folding fan and said with a smile: "It depends on what you say. The female dancers on the east side of Qingban Bridge are all from their families. They are knowledgeable and courteous, and they are good at their own skills. In terms of appearance, the ones on the west side of the bridge are slightly better."

"Then who is the top name in Yangzhou City? Why haven't I heard of it?" Li Xiaoyao then asked.

Liu Xiuyun looked back and forth between the two of them inexplicably, wondering why the two of them suddenly talked about this young actress.

Lu Feng answered with a folding fan: "There is really no conclusion on this. Those literati think that Lulian is the best, good at poetry and painting, and good at playing the piano. Is she a talented woman? I think Yingyue is more interesting than Lulian. A

Miss, the most important thing is that you are good-looking and can serve others."

"Then you can pass these two?" Li Xiaoyao asked with a smile.

Su Zicheng raised his brows little by little and looked at Li Xiaoyao and then at Lu Feng as if he had some understanding.

Liu Xiuyun had a smile on her naive face, but her eyes were fixed on Lu Feng. Lu Feng waved his folding fan and started to change the topic elsewhere: "Is it possible... Speaking of this, I remembered a joke

, A few days ago, there was a scene on the west side of the bridge. A scholar was obsessed with a girl from Zhai Yue Tower... I don’t know her name. She took the girl’s words seriously and actually went home and divorced her.

I'm selling my property to ransom the prostitute and take her back, tell me, it's not a joke!"

Su Zicheng squinted at Lu Feng, then looked at Li Xiaoyao carefully, his body relaxed, he leaned back on the rocking chair, and listened intently to the conversation between the two.

Li Xiaoyao rocked the rocking chair, curled his lips and said: "How can this be considered a joke? There are not many people who spend their wealth on both sides of Qingbanqiao every year? It's just that your family's wealth is too rich, and the family is tight.

Otherwise, as far as your ambition is concerned, you are determined to be the best in the world. Today you will be the best, and tomorrow you will be the courtesan. These top names are just like those flowers, blooming one after another. How can you have a head? Not yet.

It will also lead to bankruptcy!”

"How could it be! Didn't I tell you? They are just toys. If you have money, you can play with them. If you don't have money, you will naturally let them go. Just like the cats and dogs. Look, no one takes them seriously. Except for that Leng scholar,

Don't take this too seriously, men are like this, and I'm not that stupid!" Lu Feng half straightened up and seriously advised Li Xiaoyao.

The folding fan in Su Zicheng's hand suddenly stopped, with a smile on his lips, he looked at Lu Feng and asked slowly: "Listen to what you said, Xiaoyao advised you not to squander all the family wealth? You didn't listen!

"

"No!" Lu Feng replied: "Does this small amount of money count as money? Xiao Wu said... Xiao Wu has a bad temper. She said that if she gets married, how can she keep the rules of a woman? Her husband must do the same.

, Isn’t this a joke? If you don’t allow concubines, you can be considered a very powerful woman, like my sister, but as powerful as Xiao Wu, she is really the first in the world!" Lu Feng gave Li Xiaoyao a thumbs up.

Li Xiaoyao leaned back on the rocking chair, smiling and swaying leisurely and ignoring him.

Su Zicheng looked at Lu Feng with a smile on his face, and the smile in his eyes gradually spread to his face.

Liu Xiuyun stared at Lu Feng for a long time, then turned to look at Li Xiaoyao, and sighed secretly.

There was an indescribable smell permeating the cabin. Lu Feng seemed to sense something was wrong. He turned to look at everyone and said with a smile: "Xiao Wu can't be counted as the first one, huh? Right? And that Concubine Wu."

, now she is the Queen Mother, that old pious woman is incredible! And..." Lu Feng raised his finger and pointed at Su Zicheng, then swallowed the words vaguely.

However, Su Zicheng didn't mind. He happily pointed to the long side of the boat with his folding fan and said with a gentle smile: "I see you are just talking at noon and don't eat much. Go pick some delicious snacks to eat."

Lu Feng looked at Su Zicheng in astonishment and inexplicably, why did his junior uncle become so friendly?

While I was in a daze, the boy took a boat and brought in a steaming pot of stewed fish and cakes.

Such a rough farm dish is made with great care. Every piece of fish in the pot has been stripped of its spines. It is paired with extremely tender cabbage, eggplant, tofu, etc. The small cakes are exquisite and exquisite, each one is about the size of a copper coin.

, the soup is extremely delicious, the bottom of the pancake is slightly burnt and crispy, and it is chewy and chewy, soaking in the soup, it tastes great.

Four people each had a bowl, and everyone enjoyed the meal.

After dinner, the boat had drifted with the waves to a place where lotus flowers were densely packed. Li Xiaoyao stretched out, held on to the window sill, and looked out at the lotus flowers and leaves. Lu Feng leaned over, pointed at the lotus flowers and said with a smile: "Look,

This lotus is really nice, I’ll pick some branches for you!”

"Oh! Don't go!" Li Xiaoyao hurriedly stretched out his hand to hold Lu Feng.

"Didn't you say that lotus flowers are the prettiest? I'll pick more." Lu Feng turned around and said with a smile.

Li Xiaoyao pointed at the lotus in the lake and said: "Look at what time it is. The flowers are half-open. The petals of this lotus are large and sparse, so they can only be slightly opened. Look at the lotus all over the lake.

Is there any branch that is slightly open? They are all blooming like this. If you pick it off and shake it for a moment, the petals will fall off!"

Su Zicheng moved half a step over, looked out and said with a smile: "Xiao Yao is right, the lotus flowers look better in the morning. It's late today. Let's go back."

After the boat docked, a few people returned to the courtyard. A row of more than a dozen red lanterns had been lit at the entrance of the courtyard, illuminating the entrance of the courtyard.

In the concierge, Shi Yu, Zhao Hongzhi, and Ming Qian were anxiously waiting for the two of them to come back. When they saw Su Zicheng and Li Xiaoyao dismounting in front of the door, they hurried out to greet them. Li Xiaoyao looked at the three of them with faces filled with sadness.

He couldn't help but be happy and said with a smile: "Is it going well today?"

"Yes! I can't wait any longer. All those whose names were posted the day before yesterday are here..." Shi Yu hurriedly stepped forward and replied.

"Let's talk after we go in." Su Zicheng interrupted Shi Yu. Shi Yu stopped in a hurry and fell half a step behind. Together with Zhao Hongzhi and Ming Qian, he followed in again.

Lu Feng and Liu Xiuyun went straight in, and Li Xiaoyao followed Su Zicheng into the flower hall inside the second door and sat down, allowing the three of them to sit down.

Shi Yuchang sat straight in front of the chair. Seeing Su Zicheng take a sip of tea, put down the cup, and hurriedly stood up to report: "Your Majesty, Fifth Master, we can no longer accept it. The tea mountain has been competing for five rounds, and the price has been rising all the way.

There were two rounds of competition for the Yantian, but both were sold out, and five rounds of competition for the liquor license. The price went up all the way, Mr. Zhao and I, and Mr. Ming was shocked..."

"How much money were collected in total? Is it all in cash?" Li Xiaoyao took advantage of the gap in the conversation and asked, intercepting Shi Yu's words.

Shi Yu smiled from ear to ear, and bowed his hands respectfully to Li Xiaoyao: "They are all cash, and they are all banknotes that can be redeemed on sight. I have already taken them to the bank to withdraw the money, all in total," Shi Yudun

After a pause, he said softly: "Nine, three hundred and one thousand taels!"

Li Xiaoyao frowned and said flatly, "Hmm."

Su Zicheng was stunned for a moment, looked at Shi Yu and asked, "How much?"

"Your Majesty, a total of 9,310,000 taels of silver." Shi Yu answered clearly with a smile on his face.

Su Zicheng's face was tense, and after a while he nodded stiffly.

Li Xiaoyao glanced at him, looked at Shi Yu and said with a smile: "It's a lot more than I expected. Leave the detailed list for me to take a look at. Mr. Zhao and Mr. Ming will stay one night first. I have read the details. Tomorrow

Let’s discuss the future matters with the three of them. The merchants have spent money, but they must earn enough money, otherwise it will be like killing the goose that lays the goose to seize the egg.”

The three of them stood up and agreed in unison. Shi Yu presented the booklet, then resigned with Zhao Hongzhi and Ming Qian.

Seeing the three of them exiting the flower hall and turning a corner and out of sight, Li Xiaoyao picked up the detailed booklet, turned to look at Su Zicheng and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, your face is so tight, is it too little?"

Su Zicheng burst into a smile, jumped up from his chair and shouted: "That's still less?! Nine million and three hundred thousand taels! More than nine million taels!" Su Zicheng waved his hand and turned it around several times, laughing: "

More than nine million! A Huainan Road has more than nine million a year, and that doesn’t include this year’s grain tax! This year is a good year for Huainan Road!”

Li Xiaoyao clapped the detailed booklet in his hand vigorously, "Not more than nine million every year! This is the money from selling tea mountains and salt fields! These tea mountains and salt fields can only be sold once, and they cannot be sold every year. They will be gone next year.

!”

"Taxes on tea, salt, and wine will go up next year. How can there be no tax? Even if it's less, it's still...a few million taels?!" Su Zicheng couldn't calculate how many million taels there were at the moment.

Li Xiaoyao breathed out: "How many millions of taels are there?! Wine can't be taxed. This wine license is a tax for one year. Tea is one item. I can charge some tax next year, but salt, I'm just thinking about it."

There is no tax for three years. Those sold are said to be salt fields, but in fact they are wasteland on the seaside. If you want to open them to dry salt, you will invest money in them in the first year or two. If you impose taxes again, you will kill the goose to get the eggs! You won't be able to make millions next year.

of!"

"If it doesn't work next year, there will be the year after that. If it doesn't work the year after, there will be the year after that. Don't be afraid. With these more than nine million taels, we have money to collect grain and money to work for the army. Let's go back quickly and write to my elder brother.

Big brother is worried about money these days!"

Li Xiaoyao's words did not dampen Su Zicheng's excitement even a little bit. He was still beaming with joy. He stretched out his fingers and flicked the booklet in Li Xiaoyao's hand very briskly, smiling so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.

Li Xiaoyao smiled with his eyes bent, holding the booklet in his arms, laughing with Su Zicheng as they entered the inner courtyard, and then went back.

Outside the gate, Ruan Da, who was blue-faced and covered in cold sweat, watched Su Zicheng and his entourage enter the gate. However, he was blocked by the guards. He wanted to shout but didn't dare. He just turned around anxiously. He caught a glimpse of Dongping and hurriedly squeezed in.
Chapter completed!