Fenghou

Chapter 888 Research

Li Sheng's uncle is called Zhang Ping, a very common name, and he has no skills. He has worked as a restaurant waiter in Ruzhou for more than ten years.

Chen Qing found a small stool in the yard and sat down. Li Sheng said from the side: "Uncle, this is my boss, a general. He came to investigate the people's livelihood, just to understand the lives of the common people. Just tell the truth, no There's going to be trouble."

"Hey! You all know my old background, there is nothing to hide."

"Is the child not here?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

"I went to school. He went to the literacy class. He didn't need money. After studying for half a year, he knew a lot of words."

Of course Chen Qing knew that the literacy class was a literacy class. It was free for one year and required to know [-] characters. It is required to learn the most basic listening, speaking, reading and writing, and a small tuition fee is charged.

If you still want to learn, you can enter the formal classes of government schools. You will study in elementary schools for five years, and then in county schools for another five years. Imperial examination.

Zhang Ping has a disability, and he wanted his son to help him, so his son finished the literacy class after only one year, saving money.

Chen Qing nodded and asked again: "How much is the monthly rent for this house?"

"It's rented from the government's shop house, so it's relatively cheap. It's [-] Wen a month. If it's a private house, this kind of house that can open a shop is at least [-] Guan a month."

Housekeeping is equivalent to today's housing management office. It was very common in the Song Dynasty. Almost every county has one. It specializes in renting out public housing. The rent is cheap and it is not easy to evict people. Therefore, it is very popular with the people at the bottom. The rental income obtained is used to supplement the county. expenses.

"Then how much money do you make a month from opening the store?"

Zhang Ping said casually: "It's a loss! How can I make money! I don't even have money for food."

"Uncle!"

Li Sheng's face darkened, "My general is here to investigate the public sentiment, you must tell the truth."

How could Zhang Ping tell the truth!To be honest, what if the nephew asked him to pay back the money?
He hesitated and said, "Actually! It's just enough to make ends meet. If you have one or two hundred Wen a month, it's not bad."

Chen Qing knew the cunning of the lower class people, and would never tell the truth if there was no benefit, so Chen Qing smiled and said, "How about it! Tell me the truth, since this is a public house, I can save you [-] yuan every month. text rent"

Chen Qing stopped his ecstasy, and said again: "But the premise is to tell the truth, and there must be no false words. If you dare to lie to me, I will let the county government take your house."

"I tell the truth! I must tell the truth."

Zhang Ping was overjoyed. He saved [-] Wen a month, [-] pens a year, and could pay back his sister's money in five years. He didn't have to worry about his sister coming to ask for money all day long.

Li Sheng added: "Uncle, the magistrate must also listen to my general. If you don't tell the truth, the consequences will be very serious."

"I know, what does the general want to ask?"

"Actually, I just want to know your family's monthly net income and expenses, how much can you save?"

Zhang Ping thought for a while and said: "Opening a grocery store here, the business is relatively stable, and I can make a net profit of about [-] Wen a month. Then my daughter works as a maid at Yang Yuan's family, and the owner manages food, clothing and housing. Earn [-] Wen, leave [-] Wen for her dowry, and [-] Wen to subsidize the family, so that the monthly income is [-] Wen, and then remove the [-] Wen for rent, [-] Wen and so on. Expenditures, food and clothing, about [-] yuan a month, but the premise is not to get sick, there is not much left when one gets sick."

"Is fifty Wen a day enough?"

"Enough is enough. We buy flour at thirty cents a bucket. A family of three is about five buckets a month. Coarse cloth is also cheap. Each person can wear a few coarse clothes and a fine cloth for several years. We use honeycomb coal for one hundred yuan a month. There is also [-] Wen per day for food, which is a big head. You can eat fish every five or six days, plus other money for soy sauce, vinegar and oil, and buy furniture and bedding. Money is enough."

The accounts were calculated very meticulously, which allowed Chen Qing to come into contact with the lives of the people at the lowest level for the first time. Of course, widowed elderly and orphans are another matter. The government has a nursery home, which can guarantee their minimum living standards.

If the household tax is collected, it will be equivalent to the living expenses of their family for one month. If the commercial tax is collected, the small shop will be [-] Wen per month, and their family will only have [-] Wen per month left in the end. , on the verge of collapse at any time.

Chen Qing sighed secretly, the household tax and business tax were too cruel to these low-level people.

"How much salt, wine, tea and sugar does your family eat every month?" Chen Qing asked again.

"No wine or tea, no sugar, our family only has salt."

"Then let's talk about salt! How much do you eat every month?"

"About a catty a month! Seventy cash."

"A catty of salt every month?" Chen Qing was taken aback. It is equivalent to eating half a tael of salt every day, which is too much!
"The main reason is that pickled vegetables need salt. For example, there are no vegetables in winter. We buy more in summer when there are a lot of them on the market. After pickling, the meat is the same. In autumn and winter, there are more fat pigs for slaughter, and the meat is slightly cheaper. We buy more meat for pickling. If It’s not for pickling vegetables, a catty of salt takes months.”

Chen Qing asked a few more questions, and the other party answered them one by one, and they could tell the truth, Chen Qing smiled at Li Sheng: "About the rent reduction of his house, I will write you a note, and you will go to the county government to handle it tomorrow. "

"Understandable!"

Zhang Ping next to him heard that writing a note could reduce the rent by [-] Wen. He was really moved, so he pulled Li Sheng and said in a low voice, "Can you tell your general that I can also sell briquettes here."

Briquette is generally sold in flat stores, but in a metropolis like Jingzhao with a population of over one million, it is unrealistic to rely entirely on flat stores, so the county government will select some large shops in various neighborhoods to sell honeycomb coal. license, but salt and sugar are not, and must be sold in unwinding shops.

Some people will wonder why briquettes are allowed to be agents, but salt and sugar cannot be agents. This involves a tax issue. It is a good way to crack down on private salt and sugar, monopolizing channels.

If Zhang Ping’s small grocery store sells official salt on behalf of others, then he will also secretly sell private salt, and it will be difficult for the government to find out whether the salt he sells every day is official salt or private salt, and it is difficult for others to report.

Honeycomb coal has no tax, it is actually a kind of welfare that the government gives to the people, it is sold at a low price and does not make money, the cost of any individual to make honeycomb coal will be much higher than that of the government, and it cannot compete with the government at all, so the government only needs to limit the price for the agent, If you dare to sell at a high price, people will naturally report you.

Chen Qing heard it clearly, turned back and smiled and said, "This request is not too high, I can act as an agent for you!"

Li Sheng clicked his tongue secretly, the prince still didn't understand the situation, this request is not low!There are also a hundred shops in Jingzhao City that have been qualified to sell briquettes, but Zhang Ping is his uncle, and it is a good thing to be qualified to sell briquettes, so he will not talk too much.

Zhang Ping just mentioned it casually, without any hope at all. How could a small grocery store like his be qualified to sell honeycomb coal? Everyone else is a big store, so I didn't expect this general to agree.

Zhang Ping was so excited that he almost fainted. He was too aware of the profit inside. The profit of selling ten briquettes for two Wen from the government seemed small, but it couldn't cover the huge amount!
There are thousands of households around, and every household uses honeycomb briquettes, and at least [-] yuan is sold every day. He can make a profit of [-] yuan a day, and [-] yuan a month.

Zhang Ping pulled his wife and knelt down, desperately kowtowed: "Thank you, General! Thank you, General!"

Chen Qing was taken aback, and asked Li Sheng with a smile, "Is it profitable to sell briquettes?"

Li Sheng said with a wry smile: "The main reason is that the brand is hard to get. Once you get it, there are many people around, and they can earn twenty or thirty yuan a month. Their family has completely turned around."

Chen Qing nodded, "I keep my word. Since I promise you, it will not change. The rent will be reduced for you, and the briquettes will be sold to you, but I have a condition. Let your son continue to study and finish the literacy class. Go to primary school for five years."

(End of this chapter)