After Princess Jiaojiao was reborn, the little general’s crematorium

Chapter 16 Four major families
  After several twists and turns, Helian Wenyu finally saw the so-called black market.

"It actually opened outside the city?" Helian Wenyu asked puzzled.

"Of course. This is mainly to make it easier for people who trade on the black market to escape from the government's eyes. After all, many of the items sold in the black market are contraband and are easily targeted by the government."

Chunhua explained.

Helian Wenyu's eyes slowly swept across this so-called black market. It was more like a town than a market.

The dilapidated thatched houses, coupled with the straw stalls placed in front of the houses, formed the so-called black market.

Helian Wenyu and Chunhua walked into the black market, which seemed to open a door to a new world, which opened their eyes.

"There are actually armors for sale here?!"

Helian Wenyu was moved a little unbelievably.

When the Xuefeng Kingdom was founded, it was clearly stipulated that no weapons or armors were allowed to be sold to private individuals. Once discovered, they would be exiled, or the whole family would be executed.

I didn't expect that someone would show up openly here.

"Isn't this normal? If this doesn't exist, how can it be called a black market?"

Helian Wenyu thought about it, and it was right. She did not dwell on this anymore, but went straight to her topic this time: "Where is Ran Ran Yun's store?"

"The third shop from the bottom in the alley to the left of the third willow tree at the edge of the village," Chunhua tried hard to recall her information and replied, "But..."

After all, it is a black market, so there are still some risks.

Now without the protection of the guards behind her, once Her Royal Highness the Princess is in trouble, there will be no way out.

"Go and have a look."

Seeing Helian Wenyu walking forward minding her own business, Chunhua did not dare to say anything. She could only silently pray to the Buddha in her heart to protect her and prevent anything from happening.

Soon, they arrived at the shop.

As soon as they got closer, a strong scent of obscenity drifted into their noses.

Most of the people walking here are men with wretched looks. Maybe if you pick one out at random, he is a famous flower-picking thief in the world.

"Boss, I'll give you my two cents."

"Three taels of silver."

……

After observing for a while, he found that most of the medicines sold here were men's and women's medicines. Helian Wenyu felt nauseated, but remembering her previous purpose, she still endured the discomfort in her heart and said, "Shopkeeper, is there Ran Ran Yun?"

"Yes. Five taels of silver per penny, how much do you need?"

The shopkeeper's calculating hand suddenly stopped, his mustache twitched slightly, and his eyes were shining, waiting for their reply.

There are three people selling medicine.

One of them is a middle-aged woman who is about forty years old, and the other is a waiter. I think the one should be the shopkeeper.

Although he was surprised that it was two women buying medicine, he didn't ask any more questions and just quoted the price directly.

Regardless of the purpose and identity of the customer, this is the unspoken rule of all black markets.

If you have money, sell it, who cares who comes to you?
  "Can I see the sample?" Helian Wenyu asked.

"No."

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper rejected her immediately and said with contempt in his eyes:
  "This isn't your first time in the black market, is it? Don't you understand the basic rules of the black market? Pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other."

"If you doubt the quality of our products, he can just smash them into our store if he is dissatisfied after using them. However, the goods must be inspected before the transaction. There is no precedent for this in the black market."

Chunhua quietly told Helian Wenyu:

"The main thing here is to be afraid of the dark and eat the dark."

"What if the product is a relatively expensive item and the merchant takes it out for customers to snatch? There has been precedent for this before."

"Since they are selling contraband, they cannot report this to the authorities, so the merchants refused to inspect the goods first." Helian Wenyu nodded and said, "Give me two taels."

The shopkeeper raised his head in surprise. "What the guest officer said was two taels, not two coins?"

(One tael is equal to ten coins, sixteen taels is equal to one catty)
  By the way, you are here to purchase goods.

Others only pay a few cents, but you start with a few taels. Facing such a big customer, the shopkeeper brushed aside his previous negative service attitude and immediately put on a smile on his face.

Helian Wenyu threw him a gold ingot and said, "No need to look for it. I want to ask you something."

The shopkeeper bit it with his teeth, and after confirming that it was real gold, he smiled even more: "Sir, please ask me. I will definitely tell you everything I know."

"Xiao Er, serve tea."

This is a noble master who can throw out fifty taels of gold at will, so he must be well served.

Although the black market is a kind of huge profit, the problem is that even for an industry like his, after paying a certain protection fee, what you can get is only a few hundred taels of silver every year.

This time, I directly made nearly ten years of profits.

In Xuefeng Country, under normal circumstances, transactions are usually done with copper coins. The minimum denomination is one penny, sixteen coins is one guan, ten guan is one tael, and one hundred taels of silver can be exchanged for gold ingots with a face value of one tael.

The gold ingot that Helian Wenyu just threw away weighed at least fifty taels.

It's like a big customer that comes to your door.

"No need to serve tea."

Helian Wenyu stopped him.

After all, he was unfamiliar with the place and there was still a black market here. Who knew if he would secretly poison him?
  After all, she still understands how money and silk can move people's hearts.

The shopkeeper obviously understood her concerns and smiled and said, "I wonder what the guest wants to know?"

"Where do Ran Ranyun like you usually buy goods from?" Helian Wenyu's first question stumped the shopkeeper.

"This - you know this is a taboo for us businessmen. We generally have professional ethics and will not easily betray the seller's information."

No businessman will tell others how to purchase goods.

——Unless you add money.

Sure enough, when Helian Wen Yuhao threw the second fifty-tael gold ingot, the shopkeeper immediately said: "There is actually nothing to say about this."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes cunningly and spoke slowly: "In the capital, there is a family called the Yin family. Do you know about it?"

Helian Wenyu thought about it and soon knew which house he was talking about.

There are four major families and eighteen wealthy families in the capital.

Among them, eighteen wealthy families play a decisive role in the capital's economy, and 80% of the shops in the capital are linked to them.

The four major families are just the opposite, but they have unprecedented political influence.

More than 70% of the officials in the court are more or less related to them and have some connections and collusion.

The four major families are Guan, Zheng, Cui and Yin.

Among them, the representative of the Yin family is Dr. Ronglu, Yin Muqin of Shangzhu State, who is in the first rank.

"In fact, most of the pornographic industry and its ancillary products circulating in the market are controlled by the Yin family."

The shopkeeper continued.

This gave Helian Wenyu a headache.

This is not worth checking.

The Yin family was instrumental in rescuing the late emperor, and was instrumental in assisting Helian Jingxi's ascension to the throne. They were at the peak of their power.

(End of this chapter)