In the Wenxiang Pavilion of Sihai Class, Hou Yao poured himself a glass of low-alcohol lychee wine and took a sip:
"Tsk, the original lychee wine, without any technology or hard work, it's so comfortable to drink."
Chen Junnan smiled contemptuously:
"Confucius said: Three points of drunkenness will make the road wider, and seven points of drunkenness will make everyone beautiful.
Real men are those who drink strong liquor. If you are not used to drinking strong liquor, it is because you are not strong enough..."
"stop--."
When Hou Yao saw that this guy was trying to sell his "Secret Book of Great Weapons" again, he immediately interrupted:
"Brother, that's enough. I told you now is not the time. That secret book is like a pornographic book. I really can't hold it in.
Your junior sister refused to let me say "hey hey hey" before she got married. If I practice that thing now, won't I kill myself?"
What he said was true. He had indeed wanted to practice for a long time, but he had no opponent.
If you keep holding it in like this, sooner or later you will get internal injuries.
"The Master said: Wine is an aphrodisiac. Find a way to get her drunk so that a bully can force her on you."
Hou Yao looked at him with contempt and said:
"You're talking like you're better than her in drinking, and you've forgotten that she knocked us all over during the wheel battle?
I seem to remember that you called a woman by her name that day, Hui...Zhen? That seems to be her name, right?"
Chen Junnan's face was slightly red and he refused to admit it and said:
"I don't know what is true or false? Confucius said: Women can only affect the speed of my sword.
People like us are only suitable for places like brothels. After you meet Li Kangsheng later, I will spend the night here.
Carefully taste the taste of the most beautiful oiran in the Sihai class."
Hou Yao glared at him with envy and hatred. To be honest, he really wanted to try it.
But he was really afraid. Yu Xiuer seemed to be simple and naive, but when she got stubborn, even ten thousand cows couldn't stop her.
Going to a brothel to play with an oiran was a topic she took the initiative to bring up to herself, and she said it very seriously.
But the more she said this, the more Hou Yao felt guilty, and he didn't know if she was deliberately speaking sarcastically to remind him not to step on her bottom line.
Because of this, he did not dare to take a step beyond his reach.
"Oh, it's better to be single..."
Just when Hou Yao was sighing, Miao Siniang, the old madam of Sihai Class, walked in with Li Kangsheng and deputy cadre Zhu Liang'ao:
"Oh, sir, the county magistrate, Mr. Ganhu is here. Do you think we should ask the two servant girls to come in?"
Hou Yao stood up and waved his hand:
"No, Si Niang, you can go and do your work. Master Li and I are just borrowing your place to chat."
Miao Siniang knew that the two of them had something serious to talk about, so she said with a smile:
"Look what you said, the county magistrate thinks highly of us by being able to come to our Sihai class. You guys can chat slowly, and I'll leave first."
After saying that, he respectfully left the room and closed the door.
After Miao Siniang left, Hou Yao treated Li Kangsheng as a subordinate.
He was only a county magistrate from the sixth rank, but Li Kangsheng was a cadre of the fifth rank.
Although they have different paths in civil and military affairs, the gap between the two is three levels, which is quite a big gap.
"The lower official Hou Yao has met Mr. Ganhu."
Li Kangsheng helped Hou Yao up with both hands:
"Master Magistrate, there is no need to be so polite. I am just a rough man. Although I have become a minor official, what I am most impatient with is the officialdom.
Seeing that Mr. Hou is young and promising, I will act like an old man and call you Brother Hou. How about you call me Brother Li?"
Hou Yao laughed loudly, immediately put away his polite manners, and said boldly:
"Brother Li, that brother has reached a high level. Come on, brother Li, I have prepared a pot of good wine for you. Let me toast you first."
Li Kangsheng took the wine glass, and then saw with confusion that Hou Yao himself picked up another wine on the table.
Hou Yao smiled and explained:
"Brother Li, this cup is a new spirit brewed by my brother. It's called 'Corn Fairy Brew' and it's not yet on the market. I brought it to my brother to have a try.
This wine is too strong, and I am a light drinker. I am afraid that if I drink just one glass of this wine, I will have to lie down here, which will affect the two of us talking about business, so I can only drink this fruit wine to satisfy my craving."
Li Kangsheng smiled with a look of realization:
"Brother Hou is interested. Okay, let me first taste how strong this wine is."
After saying that, he drank the wine offered by Hou Yao in one gulp.
"Hey——"
He felt a scalding heat gushing out of his throat, almost making him unsteady.
He was immediately shocked and his eyes widened with an expression of disbelief. The intensity of this wine was far beyond his imagination.
Zhu Liang'ao behind him also hurriedly stepped forward to help him, and at the same time he was extremely shocked.
He knew Li Kangsheng's drinking capacity best. Normally, he had to hold a jar to drink wine, and even the "Qianlixiang" from Sihai Class had to be drunk from a bowl.
But today, the wine was only a small glass, and it was able to make him show such an attitude, which was definitely unprecedented.
Li Kangsheng held his head and waited for a while before breaking free from the strong smell of alcohol.
Then he felt a strong aroma of wine emanating from his stomach. This aroma was very special and did not belong to any smell he was familiar with.
"Good wine, good wine——."
Li Kangsheng couldn't help showing a look of drunken ecstasy, and then he couldn't help but burp.
"Guuh——, this wine... is amazing."
Hou Yao didn't expect that Li Kangsheng was so powerful that he drank a glass of wine in one gulp.
This cup contains at least twenty taels. This is 68-degree corn wine.
"Li... Master Li, Brother Li, are you... okay?"
Li Kangsheng's eyes were blurry and he was already half tipsy. He looked back at Zhu Liang'ao and pushed him away:
"What are you supporting? It's just a glass of wine. Do you think I'm drunk?"
As soon as Zhu Liang'ao let go, Li Kangsheng staggered and held on to the back of the chair to keep from falling.
He quickly went up to support him, and then said with a wry smile:
"What do you think I am? You can't even stand still..."
Li Kangsheng leaned on the back of his chair and sat down. To be honest, after drinking for so many years, this was the first time he encountered a small glass of wine that could make him drunk three times:
"What a fool, this wine is so strong."
Hou Yao also sat down and pointed to the dishes on the table:
"Brother Li, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were so arrogant when drinking. I'll give you a small cup next time."
Li Kangsheng glared at him angrily and shouted:
"You look down on me? Bring me a bowl, I can have another bowl."
Zhu Liang'ao hurriedly said in Li Kangsheng's ear:
"Sir, we are here to talk, not to drink. Take the wine with you and drink slowly when you go back."
Li Kangsheng then shook his head to wake himself up a little.
Then he brewed his emotions for a while, turned to look at Hou Yao, and started his performance:
"Brother Hou, let's talk about things first. You don't know how aggrieved I am as a cadre.
There are thousands of brothers all over Pengcheng, and they have to spend money to eat and drink, but the court doesn't bother them.
I rely entirely on my brother to earn money for support. Now that my brother is getting older, he is gradually unable to do what he wants.
I am the God of Wealth who has descended to earth, can you help me and give my brothers a bite to eat?"
As he spoke, he shed two tears of emotion. His performance was spot on, and he vividly portrayed a good worker who struggled to maintain the health center.
If we hadn't known for a long time that this old boy was the culprit who turned Bao'an into a capital of private salt, we would almost believe that this man was a good person.
Hou Yao watched the old dog's performance with a smile. In fact, he had been waiting for this guy to come to his door for a long time.
"Brother Li's words are too outrageous, aren't they? We are all brothers, let's not hide it from Brother Li.
In fact, the industries that have appeared in the county now are just the tip of the iceberg of my many industries.
If Brother Li wants to make a fortune, there is no problem.
I'm not bragging, just tell me how much money you want to make in a year, right? I'll arrange it all for you."
Li Kangsheng asked with a look of disbelief:
"As much...as much as you want?"
Hou Yao nodded confidently. Of course he said this on purpose. He wanted to use this method to test how big the person's appetite was.
"Brother Li, just ask, it doesn't matter how much you say."
Li Kangsheng turned around and looked at Zhu Liang'ao, then turned around, stretched out five fingers and shouted:
"Five hundred thousand taels a year, is that okay?"
The salt tax in Daxia is only more than five million taels a year. Five hundred thousand taels is already one-tenth of the salt tax revenue, which can be said to be a very high price.
However, compared with the income from private salt, this amount of money is still slightly inferior.
The price of salt in Daxia is as high as 300 cents per catty, which is nearly six times higher than that in the previous Zhou Dynasty. This is also the main reason for the proliferation of illegal salt.
Daxia's national policy has always been to adopt the policy of low taxes and hiding wealth among the people.
As a result, the country was poor and the people were rich. In fact, the entire Daxia Kingdom, except for a few areas in the northwest and southwest, had extremely prosperous commerce in most places.
The common people lived a happy life, otherwise they would not be able to support such a high price of salt.
The annual income of Li Kangsheng's salt farm is about 900,000 taels. Even the difference in the past two years is a little bit, it is nearly 700,000 taels.
Hou Yao had naturally done some research before meeting Li Kangsheng. Seeing that he only reported such a number, he knew that he was not a greedy person.
He has strength and knows how to control himself. This person has a bottom line and can be tried to win over.
Hou Yao made up his mind, took a sip of fruit wine and said slowly:
"It's only five hundred thousand taels. Brother Li is looking down on me. Let's do this. I will give you one million taels every year.
We must allow the soldiers who protect our country to have a good year, don't you think?"
"One...one million?"
Li Kangsheng and Zhu Liang'ao were both surprised. They had never earned so much money in a year.
"Hou...Master Hou, are you kidding me?"
Hou Yao laughed loudly and said:
"This is only temporary. My business has just started now. If it is less this year, it will not be a problem to double it next year or the year after."
"Double that again? Two million?"
Li Kangsheng couldn't sit still this time. If he really had so much money, he wouldn't even have to do the private salt business.
"Master Hou, are you sure you didn't deceive me?"
Hou Yao nodded affirmatively:
"I have no other abilities, I just know how to make money. Besides, Mr. Li has the responsibility of guarding the land, so I should give you more money."
Li Kangsheng was sober from drinking now, he quickly got up and clasped his fists and said:
"Okay, as long as I can keep my promise, we will be brothers from now on. Anyone who dares to have trouble with me will have trouble with a few of our brothers in Pengcheng Guard."
Hou Yao also stood up and cupped his fists and said:
"Thank you so much, Brother Li. From now on, I can rely on my brother to take care of you. Come on, let me give you another drink."